fabric finds and other cool stuff

I must confess, it’s been a few years since I’ve been to a quilt show (I know, shocking!), but a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a couple of tickets to the British Quilt & Stitch Village at Uttoxeter Racecourse. So, that’s where I’ve been this weekend – gazing at beautiful quilts and embroidery, not to mention  spending a small fortune on fabric and other cool stuff!

I didn’t intend to spend so much, really I didn’t, but with all that fabric, those buttons, that ribbon and all the other brilliant ‘stuff’ all under one roof, I was doomed from the start!

With exhibits and traders spread over several halls, the experience was a lot more leisurely than the likes of the Malvern and Birmingham quilt shows; none of that pushin’ n shovin’ malarkey! Just how I like it 🙂

I found some gorgeous new pastels to add to my stash.  I think I should have enough to make a quilt from them all now, so I’m on the look out for just the right pattern.

I also stumbled across these cute wee charms that you can tie on to handmade gifts.  Can’t wait to use those!

This is cute too.  A little patchwork-styled sitcky note holder!  How fab is that!

I am easily pleased, I know, but I did buy something else that was awfully sensible (for me anyway).  I’ve always looked at those daylight lamps – you know, the ones with a magnifying glass to help you see your stitching better?  When I’ve looked at them before, I could never quite justify the expense.  But, lately, my eyes have been feeling a little strained and my eyesight isn’t quite what it used to be. So, I took the plunge and am now a bonafide LED, daylight, magnifying lamp user! I used it last night for the first time and I wish I had invested in one years ago – what a difference it makes!  I would definitely recommend it!

So, my debit card had taken a battering and I was already headed towards the exit.

Honest I was.

Then I spotted this little lot.

What was I to do? I mean, really?

I may never set eyes on such loveliness again, I thought. So, needless to say, those beautiful linens are now keeping good company with the rest of my fabric stash.  I just had to, right? Right.

With all these new additions to my stash, it really is time that I used up some of my existing stock, so to speak. I’ve been working on a little set of fabric storage boxes, which I’ll share with you in my next post.  But until then, here’s a little peek at my progress so far.

Happy stitching everyone!

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thoughtful thursdays

When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people.

As I grow older, I also grow wiser and now I admire kind people ♥

a treasury of applique

Given the choice, I prefer hand sewing over machine and appliqué has got to be one of my favourite techniques.  It’s like a form of art, I guess – the way you can take the teeniest, tiniest scraps and layer them, so as to build a picture out of nothing.  The down side to this, of course, is that I find it difficult to throw even the smallest piece of fabric away.

I recently made a little appliqued sewing caddy and it has been getting such a lot of attention from fellow stitchers that I thought I would share it here on my blog.

I first saw the pattern by Hitomi Fujita in one of my quilting magazines, yonks ago, and I fell in love with it straight away (Australian Patchwork & Quilting, Vol.4, No.6).

But, you know how it goes – it went down on my ‘to do’ list and then was forgotten about, until a few months ago, when I was flicking through my collection of old magazines (I can’t throw them away either :)) and I came across the pattern again. 

I’m so glad I didn’t just file the pattern away again, because now I have the most wonderful little home for all my sewing essentials.

There is a place for everything, from my embroidery scissors

a small fastener ensures that my scissors stay securely in place

to my tape measure and leather thimble

pockets where I keep my pins, embroidery threads and the all important stitch ripper!

places for a ruler, pencils and threads

there is even a pin cushion and needle book

The great thing is that the needle book and the pin cushion are both detachable from the pouch, as they are secured in place with velcro. Genius!

but, best of all, I got to do lots of lovely applique on the outside

This labour of love is now one of my most cherished creations ….. every stitch holding a memory of thousands of tiny seconds of time spent in my sewing room doing what I love most ♥

Happy stitching everyone!

** Edited 21.12.13**  I have had many requests for the pattern for this sewing caddy. Unfortunately, I don’t know where you might obtain the pattern these days – some of my readers have tried contacting the magazine, but unfortunately they have not been very helpful 😦  I do know that some people have managed to get a copy via Ebay and others via Bonanza.com or by posting a request on quilting forums.

Under copyright law, I am at liberty to publish my own photographs of my interpretation of the design, so long as I give credit to the source and the designer (which I have done in this post) but, unfortunately, the copyright for the design lies with the designer (which is not me!) and so I am not able to re-distribute the pattern in any shape or form, sorry. Natalie x

thoughtful thursdays

 

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.

– Irish Blessing

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by the lovely Irina over at El Petit Taller.  Thank you Irina!

If you’ve never heard of this award before, it is for fledgling bloggers like myself and is a way for them to get to know others, get more followers and discover other blogs that they might like!

To accept the award there are a few rules to follow:

• Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
• Choose eleven new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award on to and link them in your post.
• Create eleven new questions for the chosen bloggers.
• Comment on their page to tell them about the award.
• Each blogger should post eleven random facts about themselves.
• No Tag Backs!!!

These are the questions Irina has asked me:

1. what person do you most admire?  My Mum! I admire her for many reasons,  not least for her courage, her boundless energy and her capacity to always put others before herself.  She has taught me the value of family, friendship and love.

2. what’s on your bedside table right now? A reading lamp and a photograph of me and my son when he was about 4 years old (he is 19 now).

3. what’s your favorite cooking recipe?  I have a really sweet tooth, so my favourite recipe is for Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Cake.  It’s super easy – plop everything into a bowl and mix! Never fails – yum!

4. is there a sewing book you would recommend? The first sewing book I ever referred to was ‘The Sampler Quilt Book’ by Lynne Edwards. It was the perfect introduction to patchwork and quilting! I also like Strips & Strings by Evelyn Sloppy.

5. what’s your favorite journey? Home. My favourite journey always leads me home.

I would like to nominate these lovely blogs for a Liebster Award:

• Fiberluscious
• Lucy the Happy Quilter
• Once Upon a Time in the North
• Sewfrench
• Sew Vintage Emporium
• Runcibledays
• Pink Stitches
• Tizzy Crafts
• Adventures in Thread
• Rose & Dahlia
• Everyday I’m Stitchin’

And these are my questions for them:

1. Sweet or savoury?
2. A few really good friends or lots of acquaintances?
3. City girl or country?
4. Morning person or night owl?
5. What is the most unusual thing you have ever eaten?
6. What is your earliest memory?
7. What is your favourite smell?
8. What 3 words would you choose to describe yourself?
9. What qualities do you most treasure in a friend?
10. How did you choose a name for your blog?
11. Is there such a thing as ‘enough’ fabric?

Now for some random facts about me:

• I cannot walk in heels to save my life
• As a teenager, I once fell asleep on a bus – standing up!!
• I lived in Cyprus for 3 years from the ages of 3 to 6
• I went to a total of 14 different schools when I was growing up
• My favourite chocolate is Lindor by Lindt 
• I love to bake
• 24 years ago I had a holiday romance and I’m still married to him!
• I am a self confessed fabric stroker
• My favourite book is ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd
• I love the sight of bluebells in the woods, so beautiful!
• I have a miniature Yorkshire Terrier called Beebo

Now all that’s left for me to do is to pop over to my chosen blogs and let them all know that I have nominated them for this wonderful award!  But before I do, I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures of a quilt I made from the ‘Strips & Strings’ book I mentioned earlier.

Happy stitching everyone!

spring arrives with a baa-ng!

I’m back in my sewing room after a lovely Easter break with my family in Northern Ireland.   Long walks, (way too many) coffee shops and ‘wee buns’, warm fires at night and a glass or two of my favourite tipple!

It’s funny, but I still refer to Northern Ireland as ‘home’, even though I have lived in England now for more than half of my life. There is definitely something magical about going ‘home’ – that feeling of true belonging that cannot be felt anywhere else on earth.

It was lambing season whilst I was there, but sadly there were fewer lambs than usual in the fields surrounding my parents house this year. The recent heavy snow falls meant that many sheep and their lambs perished, buried in huge snow drifts of up to fifteen feet high in some areas! 

Thankfully, many pregnant ewes survived the harsh conditions and, now that the snow has all but melted, lambs are once again a happy sight on the Irish hillsides 🙂

It was scenes like the ones above that inspired me to create a sheep-themed pouch like the button pouch featured in my ‘button love’ post.

 

 

I use this one to keep cotton wool in, but there are any number of uses for it. You can find the tutorial for it here.

I’m back home in England now and as I sit at my sewing table, looking out at the daffodils making a later than usual appearance, it makes me smile to see their sweet golden faces heralding the arrival of spring at last!

Happy stitching everyone!

thoughtful thursdays

 

 

“There is no such thing as a small act of kindness”

– Marjorie Pay Hinckley