Book Signing Evenings...

So the book is out...a lot of you have already kindly bought it...and I hope you love it!

I am very excited to say that I have been invited to a couple of fabulous shops for Book Signing Evenings and would love to see you at one of them if you are able to.

The first is at my favourite local design shop, Chirpy, here in Leeds, next Wednesday evening, 27 August, 7-9pm.

The second is at a favourite London fabric store, The Village Haberdashery, on Monday 8 September, 7-9pm.

Come to either - come to both! - I will have books to sign for you as well as demonstrating one of the techniques in the book. You will also have an opportunity to have a little print yourself! 

I really hope you can come!

a fabric kinda week...

it's been one of those weeks...

a fabric kinda week...

the best kinda weeks ;-)

first up, i had a delivery of delicious green konas from the village haberdashery (more on what they are for another time...unless you follow me on IG...and then you will know)

second up, some scrumptious oakshotts that have been made into something for a commission - again more about that another time.

also this week i had delivery of several fabrics from 2 new collections that i think rate as 2 of my all time favourites. they are so beautiful.

firstly i ordered a couple from the much (by me) awaited new Cloud 9 collection - Tsuru by Rashida Coleman-Hale. boy is it beautiful. 

the bottom one is to make some pj bottoms for moi and the top is a little extra sneaky peak. i think i am going to be needing a lot more of these as well as the others in the collection.

finally but by no means least, by sheer quantity, let alone sheer beauty are these little bolts (there really isn't a lot of fabric on a bolt...ahem) of beyond stunning Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. if i could have done i would have taken these to bed with me last night...

i know this appears like a lot of fabric, but it is necessary, all has a purpose, all is already cut into...as i said...all necessities.

stocking up...

 It's all very well at this time of year focussing on gift buying and making that we all need to do, but are you remembering to look after Number 1 and making sure you have plenty of supplies to keep you occupied over the festive break??

First up, very exciting news, you can pop along to the imminently opening bricks and mortar The Village Haberdashery this weekend. How exciting is that?! From these sneak peak photos it looks delicious! I used to live at number 15...my hubs is quite relieved we are now over 200 miles away!

If you can't get down there Annie's online shop is still open for ordering all her usual scrummy stock including the fabulous new line Splendour. I quite fancy a bit of that.

Also out and about with new things to entice you for Christmas crafting is Aurifil threads at M is for Make. I am dying to try these wonder threads out that everyone is raving on about. Also newly in at HQ M is for Make is the new line from Birch Fabrics, Camp Modern. I just love the colourways of this collection and the designs. It shouts winter wonderland to me and if you haven't used these organic fabrics before, believe me you will love them. They are so crisp and a pleasure to sew with.

 Fancy a little dress making this holidays? Alice at Backstitch has a wonderful array of patterns newly in, including the fabulous Washi Dress which is at the top of my list. I'm also very keen to make the Briar Sweater and T Shirt. I think it will be one of those "have to have for every day of the week" tops. Alice has also just got in a couple of the new By Hand London patterns. The Elizalex dress looks perfect if you need to quickly rustle up a special little something. 

The latest collection in at Seamstar is Aneela Hoey's cuter than cute Sew Stitchy. Absolutely perfect for sewing up a few last minute forgotten gifts. Don't forget to check out  Courtney's Christmas Shop for other wonderful Christmassy fabrics and trimmings to dress your gifts.

A winner and a sponsor offer...

First up the winner of the fabulous Green Bee pattern giveaway from Annie at The Village Haberdashery is...

Metro Quilter who would, like a lot of us, like to try out the Diamond Ring Pattern. Well done Metro Quilter and thank you all for entering and if, unlike Metro Quilter, you were unsuccessful, do go check out the patterns again and treat yourself to a little cheer-me-up purchase ;-)

Speaking of cheering up purchases - should you need a little excuse - Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics is having a MAHOOSIVE Holiday Weekend sale on now and all over the weekend. There are some fantastic discounts...

25% off the fab Stamped by Ellen Luckett Baker. I just love this line and the colours are great too.

Another favourite with 25% off too is the whimsy fabrics from Yuwa. Some really cool ones.

 There is also 25% off Liberty fabrics and ALL Pre cuts and Bundles!

And if that's not enough, while you are there you can pick up notions and patterns for a 10% discount.

I am pretty sure that by now you hate me - or at least your bank manager does - but just to point out another reason to head over to Pink castle Fabrics...

Do you know about Stash Club? It's Pink castle Fabric's monthly subscription club where you receive a different colour stash of fabulous prints every month. You can choose the number of fabrics you receive and also the size pieces. Lots of options.  I am pretty sure it will be fantastic...so sign up here if you want a fabulous stash of fabric arriving through your door...

So that's it from me today...have a great day and happy shopping!

green bee giveaway...

I have a great giveaway for you this week!

Annie of The Village Haberdashery is offering one of Alexia Abegg's new Green Bee sewing patterns to one lucky (UK /Europe based) reader.

Alexia is one talented lady and with talented hubby Rob Bancroft about to bring out his debut fabric line microMod with Cloud 9 fabrics, they are one hellava force to be reckoned with.

Annie has just done a wonderful interview with Alexia. If you haven't seen it yet, pop over there to read all about it.

In the meantime back to the patterns and the giveaway...

Annie is stocking 4 of the quilt patterns and 5 of the dress-making ones. They are all stunning, with fantastic and clear instructions, but I am particularly drawn to the diamond ring quilt pattern, which I am so putting on my To Make list and if I still had little people I'd certainly be drawn to Anya.

So for the giveaway and the chance to win one of these stunning patterns...you know the drill...4 ways to win...

1. Leave a comment here to say you'd love to enter and which pattern you would choose if you won (see the full collection that Annie is stocking here)

2. Go 'Like' The Village Haberdashery on Facebook and come back here and tell me you've done it.

3. Go sign up for The Village Haberdashery Newsletter (scroll down to bottom right) and come back here to tell me you have.

4. Go tweet about it and yup, you guessed it, come back here to tell me you have ;-)

Good luck! you have until this time next week Weds 21 November.

Apologies again for non European peeps...will have a fab giveaway for you very soon ;-)

Also PLEASE make sure you leave a valid email address...no email address, no entry...simples.

ally pally here they come!

After a couple of years of visiting and being in awe of what is available at The Knitting & Stitching Show, Annie from The Village Haberdashery is delighted to announce that this year she will be attending with all her scrumptious goodies.

You can find Annie with all her delights at booth J22. She will be bringing all the latest fabric collections including Cosmos and Out to Sea (both as seen below), as well as her favourite yarns and a wide selection of sewing patterns.

With every purchase you make at the show, you'll receive a voucher for free shipping on your next online order.

You can also enter to win one of three £50 vouchers just by stopping by...can't say fairer than that!

Unfortunately I won't see you there, but if you go I hope you'll have a fab time and pop by and see Annie.

In the meantime go visit online and particularly the sale section where there is an additional 10% off all sale fabrics. Annie has lots of new collections arriving soon and a girl has to make room. Simply enter SALE10 at the checkout until Tues 9 Oct.

what's new...

It's that time of year when there are lots of new fabric lines entering our shops and The Village Haberdashery has some great new collections landing.

Storyboek Two, organic cottons from Birch fabric is just as whimsical and fun as the first and includes this very cute bunny and fox design. 

I am so excited about Oh Deer by Momo and can envisage plenty of Christmas related projects with the fabulous Deer in cherry.

For something a bit different go check out the sophisticated Indie from Art Gallery fabrics. I particularly love the Tapestry design which will be a fantastic blender in winter inspired projects.

To make way for all these delicious new fabrics, Annie has thrown even more fabrics into her Sale section...and boy what a sale section. There is 15% off summer hits including Crabtastic, Flea Market Fancy, Alegria, Happy Drawing and Hello Pilgrim. I have a feeling you will need to be quick to grab some of these as well as up to 20% on other lines too.



Head over to the sale section now and explore all the new lines too while you are there.
Happy shopping!

Summer of the Simpatico...

September already? Wow where did the summer go?

Amazingly for once I actually got a summer project finished. Well, if you exclude the fact that it isn't actually made into anything, but a completed thing none-the-less.

Summer 2012 will definitely be remembered as Summer of the Simpatico. I did a tutorial of my fold-over pouches for The Daily Stitch - Annie of The Village Haberdashery's blog in Simpatico and I had such a summery, fresh making time with them that I decided that I was going to use the collection for my summer of hexie fun. We spent a lot of time in the car this summer - London for the Olympics, Bristol for family birthdays, mid France via London (again) and Paris. I was in need of a good hand stitching project that could be done on the move as well as picked up in a shady place.

Perfect!

 I am not 100% sure what it will become - possibly a wall hanging, possibly a cushion, but definitely not a quilt! I really really loved sewing these little hexies (just over 1" across!) and loved sewing them together too, but the reality of now the summer is over that it will stay in a corner with all the other "i've-started-but-goodness-knows-when-i'll-ever-finish-it" projects is making me realise that I need to stop here.

Also, to be honest, I'm a tad disappointed with how I've pieced it. The flowers (top pic)  were so lovely when sewn individually but when I began piecing together they all got lost together and looks rather random instead. If I wasn't away and impatient about not wanting to wait to come home and finish (besides, we had a 600 mile journey - I needed some hexie-ness) I would probably have pieced the flowers with solids between so they would show up better. I may trying embroidering in coordinating floss around each flower. They may stand out a little clearer.

Either way Summer of the Simpatico was a very enjoyable one.

Now we are back I have started on the next project. This one may take a while. I have been wanting to make a quilt for our bed for a couple of years. I even started some blocks last year but I was never that enamoured and now I've gone right off them - too much yellow. Yes, you did here correctly. The wallpaper in our room is rather bold and I think what is needed is something a little more easy on the eye. I've been drawn to all the Low Volume creating going on at the moment and thought this was the way to go here. I am also tying my hands behind my back and not including any yellow but a little splash of red. You may remember the gorgeous pillow my lovely friend Kylie sent me at the beginning of this year. The splash of coral red works so beautifully in the room. I am not entirely sure where this quilt is going or where it will end up, but here is the start of Block 1.

I hope you have had a good creative summer (month for you Southern hemisphere peeps) and do link up to Lynne's Fresh sewing Day if you want to see what other people have been up to.

What's new...from my UK sponsors...

As well as each of my sponsors providing you with the fantastic new ranges of Bella by Lotta Jansdotter and Bloomsbury Gardens by Liberty Lifestyle amongst others, they all have their own individual taste and picks of what is new out there.Lucky us to have so many wonderful fabric lines hand picked for us.

Here is a review of some of my favourites available from each of them.

First up Kate from M is for Make brings us Patty Young's terrific Running Stitch fabrics. They are so zesty and zingy and will liven up any project. I'm planning on using some as the coordinating fabrics in my pencil rolls, but in the meantime have cut a little scrap for some cards. I think I will be using these in cards a lot in the future.

I don't know how long this fabric will be available in Kate's store, so you had best head over here now to stock up.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of Umbrella Prints fabrics. I fell in love with their hand screen printed designs and now just as head over heels with their organic quilting collections. 

The latest collection Elephants Love Water (such a clever title!) by the talented Amy and Carly is now available at The Village Haberdashery. Annie should be praised to the heavens for being so discerning as to step out of the box and choose something a little different. It isn't the cheapest choose, being £7/fat quarter, but being cut from a 150cm width bolt it ends up not being as pricey as you think.

Live a little...and some of these to your stash and you'll be thanking me big time. Go right here to grab a little...or a lot...

Next up Petites Odile the new chic and sophisticated collection from French General chosen by Alice at Backstitch. The pretty design is beautifully made in muted colours which would be a class act in any project as well as being perfect for dressmaking. I particularly love Claudine in Oyster. 

Head here if you fancy stocking up on something a little classy to your stash.

Last but by no means least something a little quirky. I'm not a huge fan of novelty prints but these Ric Rac Rabbits are so fun! Courtney from Seamstar always finds something fun and this is no exception. I used Bunny Friends in Burnt Orange on Teal (more turquoise) in my pencil rolls and so pleased with the result. It teams perfectly with Summersville Brushstrokes in Orange too.

If quirky fun is your thing go here to grab some. There are several great designs in various colours. You'll be spoilt for choice!

If like me you are lucky enough to be in sunnier climes enjoying a bit of R & R, what better than to be enjoying a little happier hour ordering some of these lovelies in the happy knowledge that a few pretty parcels will be waiting for your return.

Oh for the love of our modern world!

This little (?) pile of loveliness arrived from one of my lovely sponsors this week...

After having been studiously pouring over my Kona chart I ordered a bunch of neutrals, along with some pretty tangerines. It's amazing how varied neutrals can be and you never quite have the right one to hand. I'm actually looking into doing something with all of them together...an idea is forming.

So a little bit about The Village Haberdashery...

Annie openend The Village Haberdashery just a few months ago but it is already reaching lots of radars. Annie seems to know what everyone wants and stocks a wide variety of fabulous fabrics, including an amazing range of our favourite Kona solids. And if she doesn't have the one in you are after, she will do her best to get it, as my little stash is case in point. 

Aurifil thread, the name on everyone's lips at the moment and stocked here, is another example of how Annie has her finger on the pulse and wants to provide for all our sewing needs and desires.

Perhaps you are a knitter or crocheter? Take a look at the selection of yarns stocked at The Village Haberdashery. Scrumptious, every one of them. I'm saving up for some of this...a beautiful blue wool with a mix of luscious mohair and entwined with glittery tinsel, neon coral crochet flowers, tiny yellow velvet daisies and shimmering turquoise 

sequins. Wow!

Please do take a look at The Village Haberdashery...I think you will like it.

I am absolutely delighted to share my news with you that my blog is now sponsored by the following fantastic UK online fabric stores.

I am extremely honoured and proud that these wonderful shops view my blog as worthy enough to sponsor and so if you don't know them already please do click on the links on the right and peruse their wonderful collections.

Each one is very different from the next with what they offer and I will be telling you about all of them over the next few day.

Let me introduce the first one to you today and those of you that are regular readers of my blog will find it a very familiar name. 

M is for Make is run by the lovely Kate who handpicks the most wonderful collection of fabrics from all over the world. Kate is based in Brighton and M is for Make is the result  of a lifelong love of pretty fabrics and sewing.

Kate supplements her lovely collection of fabrics with the best collection of beautiful Japanese sewing books and fantastic sewing patterns. I have several of the Japanese sewing books and even though I don't understand a word of them, the photographs alone are enough to entice me into thinking one day I may be able to make something from them.

You may remember Kate generously offering me a selection of fabrics - any selection I wanted - to make a quilt for Siblings Together. A couple of the fabrics I had chosen hadn't yet been released and coincidentally coinciding with the launch of my sponsors they arrived this week. I have a feeling that the Denyse Schmidt on the top is not going to hang around for long.

The partnership with my sponsors is going to bring lots of exciting news, giveaways and other opportunities for you, so please stick around as I announce each in turn.