CHARM ABOUT YOU

"The Patterns to Print marketplace is a great resource when you need a new sewing pattern and you need it immediately! Without having to worry about checking multiple websites and performing several online searches, you can download your next sewing pattern for a knit top, clutch bag or paper pieced cushion in moments, all from one place.

Its founder, Samantha Hussey, is the brilliant handbag designer behind the Mrs H sewing patterns. She set it up in January 2015 to help other independent sewing pattern designers overcome issues with VAT imposed by the European parliament which threatened to put a lot of indie designers out of business. As a result, she has created a fabulous UK based resource working in partnership with other designers around the World, and it is still growing."

I had a good nosy around the site and found so many really gorgeous patterns! Here are some of my favourites:

It's fabulous to have a UK based site like this, which will cleverly sort out the EU VAT on behalf of the Patterns to Print sellers. If you're interested in selling your patterns please contact Patterns to Print as they are continuing to expand. 

The giveaway is now closed, the winner is 

Having bought glasses from Firmoo before I happily agreed to review another pair. My last pair were the typical black framed geek glasses, I'm sticking with the theme but this time opted for a large ombré style. 

There's loads of those little stickers on one sheet so I wrote out the alphabet and still have room left to write numbers and/or repeat the alphabet if I want to!

Now I can organise all my cut fabric pieces ready for sewing! I also know I can throw them in a pile and they will stay that way ;)

These clips will live in a special little bag inside the bag where I keep my unlabelled wonder clips (phew! I just might finally have an excuse to make a triple zip pouch!). When Clover finally come out with printed wonder clips I would like to have some credit please, although it will be hard to make them look this sweet ;)

Regardless of whether you use wonder clips or not, the mini hexie stickers are perfect for planners, calendars or to label other things.

I have blogged about The Reset Girl shop before, I love using the stickers in my planner, and as a stationery addict I like following Cori, AKA The Reset Girl, on instagram and watching the fun videos on her YouTube channel. This is not a sponsored post, I just happen to enjoy her work and products and want to share the good stuff... so much so that I arranged a giveaway.

As she is such a sweetheart Cori is kindly offering five of you the chance to win a Mini Sheet of Hexies!

I couldn't resist using that happy chef and a giant chocolate cake to entice people into the café! My kids love it and it makes me smile too. There are lots of possibilities for fussy cutting prints and really making the cottage your own.

The pattern is clearly written and it takes hardly any time to cut out all the required pieces for the cottage, it's also easy to play about and audition fabrics before you sew them together. I changed from a darker grey to the pale grey around the door. The colour choices are a bit unusual for me but I like that I made myself use up scraps and do something a bit different.

The border in the pattern is so fun and I picked some patterned and bright scraps to give it nice pops of colour. I used a piece of ribbon to create a 'sign' for the café and then hand quilted in the borders and around the window and door to add texture. I finished the cushion with a covered zip back and the lime stripe binding makes the perfect vivid frame for the cushion.

More work on my Farmer's Wife 1930's sew along blocks. These three blocks were all hand pieced. I decided to rotary cut the pieces and used Marti Michell's templates for the triangles, which made it so easy! As the pieces get smaller it really helps to not have dog ears and I found the points came together as well as when I was English Paper Piecing. I will be doing a tutorial for hand piecing soon.


#78 Old Maid
I love this block! It looks so fabulous on point. The letter from Miss Homemaker was a nice testament to the satisfaction of keeping house for your family (provided they are grateful!). I chose homely feeling fabrics for this block, gingham is perfect for a Farmer's Wife homemaker!



#94 Susannah
A great lesson in saving and business! Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a Ford for $15?! I decided to use colours to represent elements of the letter - the green for money, the brown for wood and the pink for the children's pigs! I hope my children will be as resourceful.

#49 Katherine
One of my middle names. The letter was a tale of hard work, struggle and also contentment. I tried to reflect this in my fabric picks; the black and white for the toils, the brown for the fields of the farm and the flowers for the "well earned" rest as her children grow and leave home.





Now for the thank you! I received a package the other day from the lovely Amy, I had put my name down to get a gift from her and then I would pay it forward. You have probably seen this idea around blog land and social media. The first three people that comment to say they would like a handmade gift from me will receive a package within the next few months BUT only if you agree to pay it forward in the same way.
**EDIT - Thank you! I now have three people but stay tuned because I will have more giveaways coming soon!