Fabric Purchases!

Since I was last here I've been away for the weekend. I went to the Festival of Quilts for two days with a couple of friends, staying overnight in Birmingham... old news really as there have already been plenty of blog posts about the show. I usually only go up for one day, so it was rather nice to have the luxury of not feeling like I needed to rush around packing everything into a single day as well as being able to spend time with my friends. Although if I'm honest I had pretty much seen all I wanted to see, bought what I needed to buy and even took a 1 hour workshop all on the first day.

 

 

There were some fabulous exhibitions of work in the galleries from established artists but the one that stood out for me was the solo show by Hungarian artist Eszter Bornemisza, whose delicate, fragmented pieces crossed that boundary from quilts to fine art... actually I'm not sure they could really be classed as quilts but they were stunning.

 

I was also rather taken by the quilts of Ineke van Unen just for their exuberent use of colour.

 

Unfortunately not so many of the competition quilts really grabbed my attention. Maybe I'm just getting too critical but despite some exquisite workmanship, I felt many were let down by design... and far too many look as though they should be on beds, not walls! My preference is for the abstract rather than pictorial and I did rather like this winner of the contemporary quilt category... all made from old shirts and ties!

 

My shopping on Saturday was limited to what I actually needed and I bought a few Kaffe Fassett shot cottons in shades of purple for a cushion I'd been commissioned to make. I spent most of yesterday cutting them up and combining them with some of my stash to make this patchwork cover based on Janice Gunner's wonky log cabin designs.

 

Today it was quilted, piped and made up into a cushion which I'm now a bit reluctant to part with...

 

It matches the sofa in my living room rather too well. But if I keep it I'll only have to make another and I don't really think I can be bothered!

 

My other necessary fabric purchase was to find something that looked vaguely like cat fur. Jacob rather likes the cat pictures by Louis Wain and wanted a tea cosy for his small teapot that matches his tea mug. I made the tea cosy this afternoon but I'm not entirely happy with it... there's not really enough definition. Back to the drawing board with that one...

 

 

But probably not just yet... because I've a third fabric purchase to deal with. This was not on my list of fabric that I needed to buy, but of course having the luxury of a whole extra day to wander around meant I spotted some totally unecessary fabric that I just had to have. This is destined to become another reversible skirt...

 

Watch this space!

Tea Break

After taking a huge bag to the dump, six bags to the charity shop and having filled my recycling box with old magazines, I've still not finished clearing up my studio. There will be photos when I've done but today I needed a break from the clearing and cleaning.

 

 

Having cleared a path to my sewing machine I transformed a couple of old embroidered tray cloths into a pair of tea cosies.

 

Adding a little free machine embroidery to complement the hand stitching.

 

A pretty addition to the one I made last week.

 

And I'm pleased that I hadn't cleared out these old embroideries but instead have given them a new lease of life.

 

And while I was in the mood I made half a dozen cards too...

 

After all, not much point in having a clean and tidy studio for Open Studios if I haven't got anything to sell!

 

Now I must dash... I'm typing this with half an eye on the football "Come on England".

Advent :: Day thirteen

 

Another Christmas tea cosy finished today.

 

 

A request for a different text and a slight variation in design resulted in this version. It is never a chore to tweak a design because there is real pleasure in knowing something has been custom made just the way someone wants it. And in knowing that it has been a thoughtful gift for someone special.

 

Only one more tea cosy to make and then I might make a start on one or two of my own gifts!

Secret Sewing Project

You may have caught wind of a secret sewing project!

A few weeks ago at the beginning of the summer Celia send me an email to say she was designing her own fabrics... very exciting! But even more exciting, she asked if I would like to recieve a sample of the fabrics to make up into something. Yes please!

 

 

The fabrics arrived and the colours and prints were beautiful.

 

So beautiful that I dithered and dallied not wanting to cut into them - so many decisions about what to make and which combinations of the fabrics to put together.

 

Eventually I took the plunge and made a tea cosy featuring a lovely print (Ruby Hearts)  taken from Celia's woodblock "The Birds' Wedding".

 

Different birds front and back.

 

And fully lined with one of the other fabrics (Sea Sprigs)

 

I know that it is not terribly modest to say that it is quite lovely... but it is and I think that is more to do with the fabric than my sewing/design skills.

 

There was still plenty of fabric left so I embarked on a second project which took me right out of my comfort zone...

 

a pieced and quilted cushion cover.

 

With rather cute little buttons on the envelope back.

 

I'm sure you can see that these really are beautiful fabrics and they are available to purchase from celia here:

 www.spoonflower.com/profiles/celiahart

However if sewing is not your thing, both the tea cosy (sold!) and the cushion cover (sold) are in my Esty shop. Rather reluctantly I must say as I would quite like to hang on to them.

 

And because there was still some fabric left I have made a little padded purse to give away.

 

Finished with a zip and fully lined...

 

Perfect make up bag size (18 cm x 14 cm)

 

Just leave a comment by next Friday, 11th October and I'll pick a winner.

You can see what the other secret sewers Su and Tracy have been up to today too!

A Shopping Opportunity

After yesterday's minor disappointment I took a friend's advice to down my G & T and fire up the Etsy shop.

 

 

There you will find tea and cake, vicars and monsters... all mixed up together.

 

Six new items listed so far and more to follow if I get my act together

 

Perfect gift shopping if you are one of those people who are terribly organised for ... well you know what... I don't want to mention it in August.

 

And a little bonus... if you are a newsletter subscriber (you'll find the link on my side bar) I'll be offering a small discount only available to subscribers.

 

So... what are you waiting for...

 

Christmas? (oops... now you've made me say it)

A Royal Tea Party

Like many places in the UK, our village is having a Jubilee party. We're holding a big village picnic on our recreation ground on Monday with music, games, a crown parade and a big raffle to raise money so that all of the children in the village will receive a souvenir of the Jubilee

So I made a tea cosy as a raffle prize...

well, actually I made two tea cosies. One for the raffle and one for my shop

I thought that after my desperate plee to get you to buy my Jubilee books (Thank you so much... only one left!) I might add some other items... starting with a tea cosy.

So here it is... still going with the Jubilee theme, a pretty pink and blue tea cosy.

Fully lined and with a thermal inter-lining it is perfect for bringing a regal touch to your afternoon tea. It is one of only two that will ever be made and it is in my shop now and you would have to come to our tea party and buy a raffle ticket to stand a chance of owning the other one!

On a different note, thank you all for the lovely messages about the phone box and the exhibition! I'm back there again all day tomorrow.