Happy Mail 1

It was my birthday at the end of the summer (what summer???) and as our boys and their wives/girlfriends all live many miles away from us birthday presents these days arrive in the post.

Whilst my family obviously know that I quilt, the room full of fabric is a bit of a giveaway (!) they don't often cater to that in their gift-giving. I suspect, in part, as it is probably quite hard to work out what might be appropriate/useful and what might not.

So, you can imagine my surprise and delight when this turned up on my birthday.

Two metres of Liberty fabric from our eldest son and his wife!!!

I have bought bits and pieces of Liberty fabric over the years but other than this Jewellery Roll and this Bias Applique cushion I have not been brave enough to cut into any of it. Clearly that will need to change as my son and his wife will undoubtedly expect to see that bundle transformed into something substantial sometime soon :)

Whilst I was happily stroking that gorgeous bundle of fabric Ruth at Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner was pondering on the nature of blogging and rewarding her loyal readers with a fabric giveaway. To my surprise a few weeks later I received an email from Ruth telling me that my name had been picked out of the (virtual) hat as the giveaway winner!

After we returned from holiday this lovely bundle arrived in the post. We are just in the process of remodelling our bedroom and it will be decorated in a palette of sage greens and stone with a hint of pink so these fabrics couldn't have been a better match if I had planned it myself. The bedroom has been stripped back to the bare boards so I have plenty of time to plan what to do :)

Aren't surprises in the post lovely to receive?

Liberty and linen - a match made in heaven!

A long while ago, right at the beginning of the year, I shared a sneak peek of a project that I was working on with some vintage linen and Liberty fabric. I am delighted to finally be able to show you the completed project.

As regular readers will know I am often to be found rifling through the linen baskets at vintage and antique fairs, and frequently come across something that needs to come home with me. A recent purchase of a vintage linen traycloth and a FQ of Liberty Lawn fabric, when combined with a FQ of Pearl Bracelets, was the inspiration behind this jewellery roll for my soon-to-be new daughter-in-law.

Why, did it take so long to share it though? Well, that is because there was the small matter of a publishing deadline to meet!

This is my first ever project to be published, and not just anywhere either, but in the fabulous ezine, Fat Quarterly. Issue 18 is all about Zakka, creating items that are cute, practical and fun and I am in some illustrious company I can tell you :) With a beautiful fabric basket, charming clock and a tasteful tablecloth being just some of the great projects to pick from there is something in the issue for everyone.

So, if you are looking to add a little Zakka style to your stitching you should definitely check out the current issue of  Fat Quarterly

With several other vintage traycloths lurking in my cupboard and a jewellery roll of my own that has definitely seen better days, I think I might just have to make another one for myself now too. 

Linking to Show and Tell Monday, Fabric Tuesday,
Sew Cute Tuesday

2014 FAL - Q1 Starting out again!

It is the start of a new FAL so time for optimism and wishful thinking :)



This year's FAL is being hosted by the multi-talented Katy otherwise known as The Littlest Thistle. Check out her post if you want to join in the fun.

Having only managed to finish 2 out of the 6 finishes I was hoping for in the last quarter of 2013, there are plenty of UFO's hanging around my sewing room patiently waiting for their turn on the sewing table. One of the 2 finishes I did achieve was a long-standing BOM so in an effort to continue that momentum I am putting the remaining 2 outstanding BOM's in my cupboard top of my list for finishing this quarter.

First up,the wallhanging I have been paper-piecing monthly with Quiet Play's BOM



I had the last block of 9 left to paper piece (the photo below only shows 7 blocks as I haven't taken any photos of them altogether since I made the 8th block), but have decided that an 8 block wallhanging will fit better in the space available. So instead of paper-piecing the last block all that I need to do is add the sashing, baste and quilt it. Doesn't sound too difficult does it?

Second, another carry forward from last years FAL, the Craftsy BOM quilt top.

All the blocks are made (and have been made for months), the sashing fabric is purchased and waiting to be cut up so I just need to knuckle down and do it! It would be great to have this finished in time for my son and daughter-in-laws house move in the Spring, especially as it was also meant to be a Christmas present!

The third project I would like to finish this quarter is the cushion I planned from the New Zealand Falcon pattern by the very talented Tartankiwi.  Our local rugby team are known as the Falcons, and the males in this family are mad-keen rugby fans so it would be a fitting addition to our current collection of cushions.Would be nice to have it finished before the end of the rugby season too :)

The fourth project I really would like to finish this quarter is the Bargello quilt that I started in a class last August.

Again, all this needs is borders, basting and binding! Can you tell these are my least favourite parts of making a quilt??

The next set of projects have all been in my head for ages but I have never actually written them down anywhere, so I am hoping that by blogging about them I might actually get around to making them. So my fifth project for this quarter is another cushion, this time with some Celtic Knotwork applique. I know exactly what I want to do with this so I just need to knuckle down, draft up a pattern and sew it!

I am going for broke here with a sixth, seventh and eighth project :)

The sixth is another cushion, this time with Linen that I brought back from Latvia and some lovely Liberty fabric that I have been too nervous to cut into!

Again I know exactly what I want to do with this, I just need to sit down and do it!


More Liberty fabric and some vintage linen in the seventh project for a secret project that I am really excited about, that will, hopefully, be revealed later in the year.

And finally (thank goodness I hear you cry!) a Christmas project (!!!) using these cute fabrics. The reason for this project will be revealed rather sooner than the one above in the next couple of days, but let's just say now that I am planning to be the most organised I have ever been for Christmas this year :)

I think that is more than enough to be going on with, don't you?

One of my resolutions for 2014 is to use up my stash, and completing all of these projects will certainly help me to do that.

Well, that's the plan wish me luck :)

Paying it Forward

 The lovely and very talented Catherine at Knotted Cotton hosted a Pay it Forward gift on her blog some time ago, and I, with two other lucky bloggers Caroline and Kay, was lucky enough to be picked as a recipient.

Naturally with a timescale of one year attached to the gifting, I had forgotten all about it until I received this gorgeous pouch in the post!

Liberty and linen, what a great combination,but then the icing on the cake - all that beautiful hand stitching too! Apparently there was considerable chocolate consumption involved in the making of this pouch, which you can read about here. I have to say though, Catherine, it is definitely worth wrecking a diet for :) Those are 1 inch squares!!

So, now that I have received my gift from Catherine, it is my turn to Pay it Forward, which is where you come in.

If you would like to receive a handmade gift from this little corner of blogland sometime in the next year, then just leave a comment to say so. I will undertake to send a handmade gift to the first three commenters who wish to participate. The only stipulation is that, upon receipt of your gift, you must be willing to Pay it Forward to 3 more bloggers in turn within a year. That's not too onerous now is it!


Now I am off to play with my beads and decide what deserves to be stored inside all that Liberty and linen loveliness :)