yay!

after sitting unfinished for ages, i finally completed my folksy upcycle christmas competition piece. i gave you a sneak peak a while back, but here it is in all it's glory: flora mixed media mini quilt. i'm really happy with it, it's got that soft faded old look i was going for, but i've used my more modern imagery on it with my weave and scandi screen prints. if you have a folksy account and you like my piece, i'd be thrilled if you could favourite it! :)

snowflakes

so...what have i been up to lately? well, obviously not blogging, that's for sure :)

i've been really busy with wholesale orders which is great but scary, frankly! not sleeping too well either which always happens when i've a lot on my mind.

but...in amongst the chaos i've stolen some time to make these teatowels - they are made with paper stencils with a blank screen over the top and they've turned out miles better than i expected. not quite finished yet as i've got to sew the ends but they're limited edition, as i won't be able to get the fabric again. i'll list them in both shops asap...

white space...

this is my current favourite part of the house, despite the fact i've done nothing with it except had it painted white. (and actually out of shot are half packed/clothes strewn boxes, for this is my 'dressing room' {yes, really - originally sam's childhood bedroom, how spoilt am i?!} and i haven't got wardrobes yet)

BUT there's this little restful space in amongst all the crap, with a view of meadows, surrounded by white, and if i try really hard, i can pretend my whole house is an oasis of calm like this and not a chaos of farm toys, dirty clothes waiting to be washed, clean clothes waiting to be ironed, and piles of dirty dishes.

a tiny little peak...

at my folksy competition piece. it's sort of a backwards step in the direction of my old work by the fact it's a collage-style art piece/mini quilt, but hopefully with the addition of screenprinted pieces, it's a positive step (maybe sideways?) if you see what i mean.

just to remind you of the competition rues; it's to create a new 'something' (anything you like basically) using charity shop finds. because i have a brain like a sieve i forgot to take pictures of my 'before' items, but they included a roll of vintage paper (£1) a box of embroidered hankies (£1) some assorted linen embroidered tray cloths (£1.50) an old book (80p.)

it's not finished yet, but i've had a really productive couple of days, dyeing, painting, screenprinting, over dyeing, blockprinting, cutting, reassembling, sewing...just the ticket. all this and the kids on half term too, good gracious!

just a little bit bloomin' great...

shauna, from the company i got my fabric printed through, quail by mail, sent me these pictures of my 'big totem' pattern in two of her fabulous shirt designs. i've ordered a white 3/4 length sleeve shirt, and a kimono shirt in green. i can't flipping wait to get them! the royal mail better not mess this up, i tell you! is it terribly sad to be so excited to be wearing my own fabric design? actually i don't care if it is...i shall be resplendent in totem!

new stuff

i feel i've been neglecting my shops of late - i haven't added anything new in yonks, so i've been busy remedying that. i don't generally go all out for various themed holiday items, but for christmas i make an exception. personally i'm a dyed-in-the-wool red and white kinda gal, but i couldn't resist doing a set of retro style ornaments in turquoise and green as well as the traditional red. now available in both shops, please click on the shop links on the right if you're interested!

another thing i've been working on, is a soft backed range of sketch & notebooks. you may wonder why to bother making these when i have a full range of hardback ones, but it occurred to me that the hardback versions are *really* heavy to send, especially worldwide. these soft backed ones also have a more modern feel - the covers butt up against the pages, which i love. i've also added a thin ribbon bookmark and a little envelope in the front for little bits and bobs. they have a great feel to them, and although i've got them listed as patchwork books, i can of course do them plain in any of my designs, feel free to contact me! i sold lots of notebooks last year, they are perfect stocking fillers.

drool...

hmmm, i'm thinking that perhaps i need some help in keeping me away from the charity shops - i had a rummage in the one i don't go in to too often yesterday and came out well chuffed with this delicious studio meakin coffee set (the pot, sugar bowl, jug and 6 cups and saucers) in the best condition ever, i don't think it's ever been used. the pattern is called dahlia and is from the 60's. have you ever seen a more perfect graphic? a tenner the lot. people, i'm on a freakin' roll!