A holiday isn't a holiday if you haven't a new, clean, fresh bag to accompany you.

I'm now ready for my holiday.

If you don't count not having done any packing...at least I have the bag.

I'm not sure who's going to be more excited on Ruby's birthday...her or me.

We've chatted for ages about her getting her own machine and I decided at 9 she was probably old enough. I wanted to wait until I felt she was old enough to have it in her room and be responsible enough to use it on her own there.

The night before her birthday I'm going to put it up on a new desk in her room, that will also be a surprise.

I am beyond excited to see her reaction when she wakes up.

I am well aware that I am going to have to have nothing else planned for that entire day, so we can both play at her machine all day. It's going to be a hardship.

I am also well aware that I am going to have to keep my fabric stash under lock and key from here-on-in...

Me and my obsessive personality...

I won't rest until I tire of a design...

I wish my obsession would stretch to tidying my studio...

It seems this week that alot of us are making things from our scrap piles. Maybe it's a belated spring clean...trying to tidy up a bit. Or maybe it's wanting a piece of a favourite fabric that all we have is a tiny scrap, not big enough for anything substantial.

I bought these sunnies this week super duper cheap in the Gap sale. So super duper cheap they came without a case.

So there was an excuse if ever I've had one to throw one together. I'm obviously going to be using this alot. It's going to be in and out of my bag all summer long. I want something pretty when I do. So a quick dive into my scrap pile to find the most beautiful, treasured pieces that I had.

I love Cloud 9 fabrics and Aunty Cookie's, so I'm over the moon that I get to carry a piece of these around with me every day.

And despite the fact that my sister (how very dare she) said she would like one, but without that awful yellow *gasp*, I love the little ray of sunshine peaking out.

For a long time now I've wanted to learn the art of screen-printing. As you well know I have a thing for hand-printed fabrics. I love the individual-ness of them and the depth of colour that you can get. I also love the less graphic and more individual approach. Screen-printed fabrics can be simpler, where just one image can speak a thousand words.

I got my chance today to begin, what I know is going to be, my love affair, my obsession, my new creative journey, thanks to Manda. Manda started this journey a few months ago and those that follow her know, as to be expected, what a natural she is. So what better teacher!

I began with a design that I have used quite a bit in embroidery and set to work by printing on various pieces of linen, just to get the feel for it. I have to say at this point that my, oh so wonderful, teacher had taken all the donkey work out of it and prepared my screen for me and all that was left for me was to play with fabric and ink...perfect!

As I imagined, I am hooked. I love it. And, as I anticipated, my head is bursting with ideas that I want to do and directions I want to take it. But I need to remind myself to slow down, take one step at a time. It will all happen...

Delivery day. My favourite day of the week.

I bought these few little beauties on Etsy last weekend and they've just dropped through my letterbox.

I was obviously still in my yellow phase when I ordered them.

I'm really pleased with all of them, but am particularly loving the brown and white dandelion on yellow piece.

And I love how the lovely sellers from Asia always include a pretty addition or 2.

Plenty of inspiration potential with this little lot.

What have you been purchasing lately?

I've talked before about the joys of blogging and how it enables us to find others that ordinarily are too far away to reach. Like all of you, I have met through blogging, Twitter, Flickr so many wonderful, talented people all over the world and closer still in Britain, who I consider to be my friends.

One such friend, is my very talented artist friend, Tara. Tara and I met a while ago now and whilst we have only met in person a small handful of times, I consider her one of my close friends. A day hardly goes by that we aren't in touch (normally on the scrabs board on Facebook it has to be said ;-))

We 'met' when we were both running our own online gift shops (Tara has subsequently closed Boutiko and is concentrating on her life as an artist). We instantly had a lot in common and became each others sounding board, helpline and general buddy.

Tara, generally doesn't sew. She paints. I think this gave us respect for each others talents. Her work is amazing. It is generally mixed media and she uses a lot of wording in her work. She was doing a series of little dolls on canvasses that I just had to buy for Ruby's birthday. I'm still itching to give them to her.

Tara came back from a recent trip overseas to new Zealand and was inspired to start her "Portrait of My Friends" series. They are so clever and beautiful and I loved them. It was around this time that I had begun my love affair with Log Cabins, which it seemed Tara had quite a thing for.

So our swap idea was born. I was going to do a log cabin for Tara and she was going to do a picture for me. Perfect!

Tara picked the colours and I decided on the rest...a little like she is going to do for me. I finally had time to make Tara's cushion this week, although I am slightly perturbed by one thing...it looks too at home on my bed!

But this one is for my buddy Tara in celebration of why I blog.