stashing and sales
Occasionally there's a fabric line I can't wait to get my hands on and Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson is one of those! I'm trying to buy fabric with projects in mind, so I picked out these prints from Pink Castle Fabrics to add to my 1930's Farmer's Wife quilt:
top to bottom: Just A Trim in Cream, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson; Bobby Pins in Blush, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson and Ribbons and Bows in Night, Good Hair Day by Kim Andersson.
I love the retro vibe, fun theme and I'm now wishing I got some of the Up Do print!
Next up I got a lovely package from Brighton Sewing Centre, tied up with a pink bow. I added in the zips to get free postage and how fabulous is that gold one?!
fabrics top to bottom: Rainclouds in White, Rain or Shine by Stephanie Thannhauser; Ladder Lines in Black and White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander; Weave in White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander and Breeze in White, Doe by Carolyn Friedlander.
Today I received this gorgeous bunch of binding strips from the lovely Sarah to use for binding the quilts for Nat and her husband's parents:
I also received the latest copy of Simply Moderne, it's packed full of fabulous inspiration! I spotted some familiar faces and there's a great interview with Lee of Freshly Pieced.
There was some excitement today when one of Fred's front teeth finally fell out, I think the other one won't be too far behind!
There are lots of fabulous bargains to be had and fabric sales a plenty online, check out these great offers:
You can get $5 off the Lori Holt's 2016 Cozy Cottage Calendar at Fat Quarter Shop with the code COZY2016
Green Fairy Quilts are having daily deals for their 12 days of Christmas and there are amazing discounts at up to 40% off!
Pink Castle Fabrics are also having 12 Days of Christmas, with flash sales for 24hrs - sign up for their newsletter or social media to see the great deals!
And if you made it through all that, well done :)
I'm looking forward to a peaceful Christmas and fitting in sewing whenever I can with 3 crazy kids ingesting too much sugar!
colouring sticker fun!
The Wild Olive patterns and printables are so adorable and I was thrilled to see the Kawaii Christmas Coloring Pages that Mollie released the other day - with a link to another Kawaii Coloring Picture.
In a moment of genius I decided to print them on A4 sticker paper (I got 100 sheets from Amazon
for £4.75) and we have been having so much fun colouring our own stickers!
for £4.75) and we have been having so much fun colouring our own stickers!
I suggest colouring them all first and then cutting out the ones you want to use. The kids have all had a go and it keeps them really busy! After all it's colouring and stickers!! Even my husband had fun (despite the fact I had accidentally printed his on the wrong side so they weren't stickers!).
Here are my colourings (not all done yet)...
I know colouring books are a big trend but honestly it's not my thing, I do like colouring though and the fact I could cut these up and use them as stickers meant I really enjoyed it! I've even put some in my planner already :)
Yes I am a big kid when it comes to stationery. Stickers are my love and kawaii stickers are even better!
You can get the printables at Wild Olive but be quick because they are only available for a short time! Also please be respectful and remember they are for personal use only.
Happy colouring and sticking!
Linking up to crazy mom quilts for finish it up friday
space ~ le challenge ~ Levi's 2.0
It's time for the le challenge link again and this month's theme was space.
I have to admit to just not being able to make any of the things I had thought about for this month. Winter illness has swept through the household and it's been exhausting.
There were things that needed to be made though and I have a stack of WIPs that I want to get to, so I decided to literally make space. Instead of starting something new I pulled a project from the pile that's amassed on my desk!
I made this cushion for my sister to give to my brother in law. She gave me his old Levi's t-shirt that had a great monochrome pattern on, which happened to match beautifully with Doe by Carolyn Friedlander (you can still find some here and here).
I cut out the panel from the front of the t-shirt (I use pinking shears) then ironed some fusible interfacing on the back.
I kept it really simple, just adding some pieces either side of the t-shirt and then strips above and below.
I used a piece of wadding and a plain piece of cotton for the backing then quilted the strips using quilt as you go so it came together really quickly. The fabric is fairly busy so I didn't want to add too much with the quilting. I sort of echoed the curved shape of the Levi's logo in the strip of fabric underneath the t-shirt panel and did the same on the top strip . I used grey/white variegated perle thread.
For the backing I used a grey/mustard Intersections, Doe print and made a covered zip closure.
I hope he likes it!
Now it's your turn to link up - head over to le challenge for a chance to win some fabulous prizes! The link is open until 8pm GMT on 16th December.
how did I miss this? - stashing
I had a Fat Quarter Shop splurge recently... I really wanted a couple of prints (from Katie Jump Rope, Fibs and Fables and Gooseberry) and then I came across some more gorgeous prints, a couple of which I had never seen before and am really in love with!
left to right: Atomic Dot in Nugget, Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt; Floral Stripe in Sorbet, New Bedford by Denyse Schmidt; Gooseberry Patch in Midnight, Gooseberry by Lella Boutique and Ruffled in Midnight, Gooseberry by Lella Boutique (LOVE this print!)
Now I know brown isn't always popular with modern quilters but that Katie Jump Rope print is stunning! My six year old daughter also declared it her favourite of the whole lot so that's saying something!
left to right: Escape in Midnight, Fibs and Fables by Anna Maria Horner; Minutes in Brick, Fibs and Fables by Anna Maria Horner; Splash in Spring, Cascade by Jessica Levitt (very pretty and a useful low volume print) and Sprinkles Glitch in Rainbow, Playing Pop by AGF Studios.
I do not know how I hadn't seen the Playing Pop line (not enough blog reading?!) but it is gorgeous. There are some stunning prints, modern and funky in great colours. I think the AGF Studios lines are often brilliant and this one really appeals to me. The Sugar Crystals and Clueless Hearts prints are my favourites - I need to find an excuse to get them! ;)
I didn't need an excuse to get the one above because it's got my name in it! Lucy Monkey Magic, Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell (now sold out but you can get the Carnevale colourway on sale if you're quick!). I love that you get so many different dots in one cut of fabric!
There is currently a sale on the new Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis at Pretty Fabrics and Trims so I got a couple and I will be using these in my Farmer's Wife 1930's quilt:
left to right: Babs in Navy, Vintage Florals by Michael Miller; Flowerbed in Creamsicle, Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis and Allotments in Ash, Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis.
Finally I went a bit bonkers at Aliexpress and got a load of stationery - for me, for the kids and for gifts! It was fun opening that box!
Have you had any fun parcels to open recently?
playing catch up ~ Granny, Jenny, Addie & Margaret
It's been a while since I blogged about my Farmer's Wife 1930's blocks. I have been making them, just at a slow pace and to be honest I'm very behind but hoping to catch up over Christmas.
Here are four more finished blocks:
#41 Granny
The fabric choices were easy for this one because I chose prints that remind me of my late Granny. Elegant yet still familiar, pretty and busy!
#45 Jenny
This letter is so true of my kids, they love being with me and doing jobs around the house. They often get involved in whatever I'm doing and I tell them we can get those things done faster if we do them together (most of the time, occasionally I need them to get out of my way!). A nice reminder to enjoy the kids and make time to play. I picked the viewfinders and pandas as a result.
#1 Addie
This one was sort of a random pick of fabrics... the dots look like rows in a field, the Liberty print is for the "worlds of wildflowers" and the deep blue Carkai fabric for the "beautiful Columbia River". The letter wasn't as poignant for me as others have been but the block does make me happy!
#57 Margaret
My mum's name is Margaret and the letter really made me smile! I had the perfect Liberty print (thank you Molli!) to create a "whole menagerie", Liberty Tana Lawn, Theo in B. Another ideal print is Fragile, Zephyr by Rashida Coleman-Hale for the family sitting down for dinner. I only had a square of that fabric from a charm pack so couldn't fussy cut as much as I wanted - I might get more because the bowls and spoons are so cute! The other colours used and the placement of the fabrics were to suggest "Outside there was rain, wind, darkness, but indoors there was warmth, light, food, shelter, Home and Love".
All of these blocks were hand pieced (I intend to post a tutorial on that - we've all had winter lurgy recently but I will get to it soon!) and I do find it easier than English Paper Piecing when it comes to the smaller shapes. I will just use both techniques as and when, depending on the block and my mood!
I've been thinking about my blog a lot recently and would like to get back to writing more and chatting to everyone or no one at all. Life is always busy but I love this community and the friendships and it feels important, not just to show what I've done but to share the journey and document all that goes along with it.
Have a happy weekend!
Linking up with crazy mom quilts for finish it up Friday
gifts to give and memories to keep - Cheerz discount code!
If you are anything like me then you take loads of photos and do nothing with them. All those memories in phones, cameras and computers waiting to 'one day' be printed out or turned into something. With all the best intentions for holding on to these memories I have very little time and sorting through pictures is not a priority.
I do share photos though, nearly every day in fact, on Facebook and Instagram. That's why it's so easy to finally make some tangible and beautiful keepsakes using my favourite pictures...
Cheerz is 'a photo printing app and website that lets you print your memories in a fun, creative way. The idea is simple: you can create unique photo products like retro-style prints, magnets or photo books in just minutes, using photos from your phone, Instagram and Facebook'. They are a French company, the photos are printed in Paris and hand checked by the team. You can really see the quality and care that goes into them.
I had seen similar ideas before but there's something different about Cheerz, it's not the standard kind of photo gifts. The design and packaging of the products, as well as the ethos of the company is fun, stylish and approachable.
And it is simple. Honestly. It took more time for me to pick the pictures I wanted printing than it did to log in, upload, crop and play with colourful frames! Cheerz have created a very user friendly site that makes choosing your products and photos a simple and genuinely fun experience.
I personalised my Cheerz box for our three kids. My husband and I wrote a message to the kids that was the first picture in the box. I uploaded pictures of the three of them at all different ages, since they are growing so fast. It's fun having so many good memories in one place and to see the bond of my little clan.
They were so excited to sit down and look through all the pictures, they love asking about when they were babies and there were a lot of giggles at more recent good memories. They have since asked to look through it a few times, it's a nice way for me to reflect and they love listening to stories about themselves!! Of course the pictures you print could be anything you like - holidays, friends, family, artwork, crafts or celebrations.
If you are looking for something special to give as a holiday gift then this is perfect! Gifts that look great, are personal, thoughtful and don't cost a fortune.
How gorgeous is the geometric Christmas packaging? Such beautiful gifts to give! To check out the whole range of products click here. Prints start from just 29p each, magnet boxes are £7.95, Cheerz boxes are £12.95 and there's much more. You could easily create your own gifts using the prints or the adorable retro strips, which start from only £6.45.
You can get £4 off your order when you spend over £8, just use the code LUCBRA at checkout - they deliver to most European countries and currently they show you the date your order will be delivered (usually about a week) so go order now in time for Christmas!
My Cheerz box was kindly sent to me by Cheerz in exchange for my honest review and honestly I love it!
Kevin Baby Quilt
Today is the second day of the Fat Quarter Baby Blog Tour! The new book Fat Quarter Baby is full of adorable and fun quilt patterns!
There are 20 quilts in the book, all with boys and girls names. This is 'Kevin' and it was a joy to make! I chose modern fabric prints in quite autumnal colours that I think suit the guitar pattern.
It's been a dull and blustery day so I had my son help me to get some pictures.
His arms were getting tired.
I will be hand quilting this one, it's calling out for some guitar strings! And I have the backing and binding fabric on hand for when I'm done.
Check out the other bloggers on the tour here to see all the fabulous quilts and get your copy of the Fat Quarter Baby Book!
method ~ le challenge ~ pencil case
Always last minute last night I created a present for my middle daughter to give as a birthday present to her friend.
I decided to use a simple method of appliqué. Quick and easy.
I used my favourite method of straight line quilting using my hera marker to mark some guidelines and the edge of the walking foot to fill in the lines - I have a tutorial for cross hatch quilting here.
I made a pencil case using the Noodlehead tutorial - I've used this many times but still need to check the position of the zip each time (especially when I'm sewing late at night!).
The edges don't look quite as wrinkly in real life and I like the effect of just quilting over the letters.
I'm hoping he will like the pencil case as I don't think there would be many things in the UK with his name printed on them. Zip cases are always a fun and useful make and this method of appliqué was super fast!
If you'd like to see more makes around the theme 'method' or to link up for a chance to win $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop and $10 to spend at Eco Fabric Store or Fibers To Fabric head over to Le Challenge!
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