1,000+ followers - GIVEAWAY(S)!
**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
As promised I'm having a little giveaway to celebrate reaching over 1,000 followers on Bloglovin!
I would like to thank everyone who visits me here, reads about the projects I sew, follows my progress and quilting journey and takes time to comment. It means a lot to me. I adore this community, it provides me with so much inspiration and encouragement and also motivates me to challenge myself and keep on learning.
To show my appreciation I am giving away some of my stash and having two different giveaways! One here and one on Instagram. You probably know fabric and stationery are two of my favourite things so here's what you can win...
6 fat eighths of brilliant low volume prints - Triangularity Stardust, Chromatics by AGF studio; Sprinkled Morning, Meadow by Leah Duncan; Smile and Wave, Koi by Rashida Coleman Hale; Teensy Weensy Lotus, Littlest by AGF Studio; White Tint Dandelions by Santee; Linen Closet Bees by Makower, a fat quarter of Crystal Arrowheads, Arizona by April Rhodes and some fun glittery Hema stickers!
They really do make a beautiful bundle:
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**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**
Please, please, please read those options carefully and if you are a 'no reply' blogger I am afraid I don't have time to hunt you down to tell you if you win so please leave an email address with your comment e.g. spongebob (at) yahoo (dot) com.
The giveaway is open worldwide, it ends 1st March 2015 and the winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here.
Good luck!
p.s. don't forget to check out my Instagram giveaway too :)
happy stitching progress
I finished my hexagon panel for the Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt, I decided to English Paper Piece this panel because I'm faster at it and it is easier to get all those neat points!
I love the totally random (yet lovingly chosen) mix of fabrics:
I also completed all the Orange Peel blocks:
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I'm so happy I decided to mix the modern fabrics with the 30s repro ones, I really love how they play together!
dots ~ le challenge ~ printed jersey scarf
This months challenge was to create something with a 'dots' theme and it was the perfect opportunity for me to make a jersey scarf, which I have wanted to do for a while.
I ordered 2.4m of 64" wide cream jersey and a pot of Dylon Fabric Paint in Gold from Minerva Crafts. I wanted to make a long scarf so it could be worn in lots of ways, wrapped round a couple of times in winter and as a shawl for those cool summer nights.
I started by cutting the jersey in half lengthwise (which means I also get to make another one!) and ransacked the house for things to use for printing. I have seen a couple of tutorials that use corks so I grabbed one of those, I had a spare foam mini roller refill (the kind for painting walls) and then some random toys that had fun shapes...
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I cut a test strip from the extra fabric and had a play:
This is well worth doing if you plan to make your own. Some shapes looked good the first time but subsequent stamps not so great. I didn't like the cork at all (on the right) and the wooden shapes looked cool but not neat enough. The plastic bobbin made such a great shape (reminds me of the steam punk pattern) but wasn't what I wanted for this scarf. I loved the pizza shape made by the watermelon and that led me to cut the end of the foam roller, a really simple way to make your own shape!
You have to cut away the foam quite far down so that it doesn't ruin the shape when you press down. A did a few tests and made a triangle shape. I practised dipping it in the paint and printing a couple of times. Turned out I preferred to dip it in the paint every time I stamped so that I got a really good amount of paint each time. I also pressed down lightly and sort of rolled the stamp around so it created a nice shape. If it didn't work out I just went over it!
So I was happy with the triangles but the theme is 'dots'!! I didn't want to use the cork and everything else seemed too big... then I had a revelation and grabbed one of my kids pencils, the rubber on top was perfect!
Here's my printing station (aka dining table), the laminated table cloth was perfect and I didn't use anything else underneath (you could use newspaper if you want to protect your floor, table etc). You can also tell I didn't wash or iron the fabric before starting, I'm reckless like that.
It's hard to see in the photos but the gold Dylon fabric paint has a beautiful shine to it in the light. Once the paint was dry (after about 4 hours) I used a cloth over it and set the design with a hot dry iron. It did feel a bit stiff but a quick cool wash softened it up and I threw it in the tumble dryer (not sure if you are supposed to but it was fine!). It really is the most snuggly scarf and I'm thrilled with the design. The dots make it a bit retro and the triangles look 80s but the gold keeps it modern.
I adore jersey. It's so easy to wear and the fact it just rolls up at the edges so you don't have to sew it means it's super easy to make your own scarf! Minerva Crafts stock great wearable colours of this jersey and you can order in quantities of .10m (minimum .5m), perfect to get the right length of scarf for you.
Here's some bad selfies of me tying it in different ways:
I love my new scarf!! And this is the first tick off my FAL list :)
If you have made anything with dots or dot themed in the past month come and link up your finishes at le challenge for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop
stitching and saving
If you didn't know already I am totally addicted to hand sewing and have made more progress on my green tea and sweet beans quilt. These blocks have all been hand pieced (no paper), apart from the odd bit of English Paper Piecing where I chose to change up the design.
My second tulip block:
Rather than use the appliqué shapes in the original pattern (they just look too egg like for me!?!) I decided to do English Paper Pieced shapes for the flowers in the appliqué blocks. So here's my first finished block:
I am working on the orange peel appliqué blocks now, I have been using trusty Aurifil 50wt #2600 to piece all the blocks and it works beautifully for the appliqué too:
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Fancy seeing my progress so far? Obviously this isn't how they'll look together in the end and you can really tell that I've just been picking fabric and working on one block at a time. I might need to work more dark fabrics into it to balance it more:
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It doesn't help that the light comes through the window at the top of this picture! I'm exciting to make more blocks and see how it progresses. I would like to think I could envision it as a whole but I really am just choosing fabrics that I love for each block. In the end I know I will adore it because of that, regardless of whether it 'works' in terms of value, colours etc. in the accepted theory sense.
I've joined the drop for 100 Wonder Clips at Massdrop, I use Wonder Clips so much and love a great saving:
If you use Wonder Clips you know how fabulous they are and if you haven't this is such a great way to get them at a brilliant price! I use them when I'm hand sewing binding, they really help stop my hands from aching and keep everything in place. They are super handy just to use like paper clips too, I keep my sewing organised by clipping my cut pieces together. I realise you could use bulldog clips or pegs or whatever but honestly Wonder Clips are one of those products that just work better. They are strong, don't damage your fabric and are perfect to hold things in place when you sew. Head over to Massdrop to get yours :)
While you are there also check out the quilting voting page, where we can all vote on what products we would like to see at Massdrop and even make suggestions!
While you are there also check out the quilting voting page, where we can all vote on what products we would like to see at Massdrop and even make suggestions!
Also I've been browsing Amazon a bit recently and there's so many fabulous quilt books out and coming soon, check my sidebar over on the right to see what I'm loving!
Oh and I noticed this the other day...
which I think calls for a giveaway! Thank you to everyone that's following my blog, stay tuned :)
messy space, new stash
Well this is the mess that it my sewing space (it's just a desk shoved in the corner of our dining room). It's no surprise really since I've been doing so much hand sewing, things just get dumped here. I need to get back to some machine sewing though so this will have to get sorted out sharpish!
Over the past couple of weeks I've added some lovely additions to my stash and I have plans for them all so you'll see them popping up here and there!
First this divine bundle from Miss Matatabi:
Swedish Kitchen in teal, Lighthearted by Ayumi Takahashi; Swedish Text in mint, Lighthearted by Ayumi Takahashi (available here); Floral in cream and mint, Lighthearted by Ayumi Takahashi; Shibuya in Linen, Tokyo Train Ride by Sarah Watts and Irome in Winter, Color of the Seasons by Kokka (currently sold out but Spring is available here).
And then no prizes for guessing why I had to get this adorable Tickle Pink Cats, Hello Petal by Aneela Hoey print! Fussy cutting ahead!
More gorgeousness arrived from Pink Castle Fabrics, I had a hard time choosing which First of Infinity panel to get but chose the pastel because I love the soft colours - this print is so gorgeous I would happily have them all!
Top row: First of Infinity Book Panel
Bottom row: Feed Sacks in Peach by Suzuko Koseki; Kona in white (always useful!); Ghost Saltines in Evergreen, Cookie Book by Kimberly Kight; Cottage Path in Grass, Daydream by Swirly Girls Design and Roots Dot in Green, Roots and Wings by Deena Rutter
At Patchfinders we have a great selection of fabrics that are only £6 per metre so I snagged some of this pretty Stof print:
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I've had that horrible stomach illness that all three of my kids had last week so this weekend so far as been exhausting but today I feel better and am ready for some serious sewing (and maybe some tidying up of that mess if I can be bothered... probably not!!).
I will be back to show you more progress on my green tea and sweet beans blocks, I finally have another quilt finish to show off and next weekend it's time for the DOTS le challenge finish, so a busy week ahead!
If you have been working with dots and have a finish that has a 'dots' theme, join us next weekend and link up for a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!
Happy Sunday all!
Happy Sunday all!
love the improvements at Minerva Crafts
Minerva Crafts have been hard at work updating their website, considering the thousands of products they stock that is no small feat! I spend a lot of time on websites, checking out products, searching for items and of course the odd bit of shopping ;)
I am so impressed with the upgrades they've made, it really is easy to find what you need and to browse through all the different craft categories. The search box is excellent and actually does find what you're looking for, perfect when you are in a hurry!
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Of course they have a brilliant Quilting section, with great brands and everything you could possibly need. You can see what's new and also search by price, very handy.
And let's not forget the fabric... loads of it...
Fabulous basics like Klona cotton, which is 54" wide and only £7.99 per metre.
They have Camelot Design Studio, Rowan and many more great designers and prints.
You can see all the quilting fabrics here, they also have a huge selection of dressmaking fabric and more. Don't forget the sale section!
Minerva Crafts have categorised all the sewing patterns so if you love dressmaking it is simple to find what you want and they have an amazing choice from all the big brands and the best independent labels:
Another fun addition is the gift cards, you can now customise a gift card and have it sent to the recipient on the day of your choice! Such a great idea and perfect for the forgetful amongst us (or our hubbies!!)
Grab a cuppa, head over to Minerva Crafts and check out their huge range for yourself!
satisfaction
Sometimes you just need a quick make, a satisfying little bit of sewing that takes hardly any time from start to finish. I was in need of such fulfilment this week and chose to make these cute little baskets using Ayumi's Organizer Basket Tutorial.
It just so happens that they each fit six spools of Aurifil thread perfectly!
My tidying / decluttering / cleaning kick continues and I'm pleased to say my house is looking all the better for it! I still have a lot to do and am working my way round the house bit by bit. Each room is making me happy as it gets sorted out. Cute storage baskets that serve a purpose help too! I expect I will be making more and filling drawers with quilty goodness.
I taught a flying geese cushion class today and had such a lovely group! They were very productive and created gorgeous designs. I love seeing the mix of fabrics and everyone being creative with their layouts:
This week we enjoyed a little snow (which is already melting), the baby girl couldn't stop saying 'SNOW!' but my eldest girl was ill and grumpy :(
Wishing you all a productive and sewing filled weekend!
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