2012

January

2012 started with great promise, the year in which I finally quit my day job to commit to M is for make full time. It started with the amazing technicoloured dream quilt, the first I had finished and the one I use the most.

February

In February, I finally finished the gathering flowers quilt for my daughter, almost a year in the making. Not ably assisted by the new addition to our house; Meg. Meg who chewed through the power cable of my sewing machine allowing another new addition to the house. I wuv you new sewing machine.

New addition #2

March

March found me nostalgic for the kind of quilts my mum made when I was a child and I embarked on my first trip into English paper piecing. Enter the Rogue Hexagon Quilt. How I love this quilt, these are my most favourite colours. This one went to my boy and saw him wrapped up in it whatever the weather at night, and me trying to unwrap him so that he isn't slow-baked by the morning. I finally finished the quilt here.

New look M is for make

I spent months working on the new look M is for make behind the scenes, I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Summer

The Summer was spent on my next EPP quilt for better and for worse. I spent quite a lot of the Christmas holidays adding to this quilt and still think it might be my favourite; so many memories. I've decided that whatever project I have on the go, I will always have an EPP quilt as backup to travel with me. I will share the finished quilt (when hopefully I finish it) in 2013.

October

I made my first quilt for a gift in October and thoroughly love this Chickopee quilt as it fueled my obsession with triangles.

Autumn

I am still struggling to make sense of life after Autumn, waking up one morning blissfully unaware of how everything will change that day. Things that have become clear this year are the importance of family, friends, memories, taking photos. In 2012 I have appreciated the extraordinary kindness of friends and been marked by experiences that I will never forget.

The last few months of the year have been spent busy sewing 2 very special quilts for Christmas, I will share them with you in more detail next year, but yes, they involve triangles.

November: for my sister

December: for my mum

And on the last day of 2012 I feel very ready for 2013, how about you? Ready for something new and great, and look; here they are...

Hello Kitty

Wishing you a happy new year, and thank you so much for joining me in 2012,

Kate

x

Christmas opening

Christmas is almost upon us, so I wanted to let you know that I will be taking a break and all orders placed from the 22nd December will be posted on 2nd January.

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas,

Kate
x

'Handle with Care' by Suzy Ultman

Also in: 'Handle with Care' by Suzy Ultman...

Type by Julia Rothman

 

Just arrived: the glorious 'Type' by Julia Rothman.

Confronting my old nemesis...

Christmas seems like the perfect time to tackle my old nemesis: zips. I've documented previous bouts with my nemesis, this time, I had my trusty side-kick Janome to help.

I also had an instruction manual and a new zipper foot to help too. The zipper foot on my old machine resembled a flimsy ski that skated along my zips without a care in the world, merrily allowing them to go horribly wrong without a second thought. My new zipper foot is weighty and substantial and not like a ski at all, showing the zip exactly who is the boss; me. Or maybe my machine, the jury is out.

For concealed zips (I don't know how to do any other) I always baste down the opening first - does anyone else do that? I was taught to at my pattern cutting course, it could be a bit of over-kill but it seems to work really well. And lo - the zip went in with no problems at all, not even any up-picking required, the cushion was finished in near record time.

These cushions are going to be a Christmas present for my nieces, they chose the fabric themselves - excellent taste I think. I used a feather cushion pad inside so they are satisfyingly plump and squishy.

This cushion is made from Fox Family and the next from Vintage Stamps; a long time favourite of mine.

And it's a relief to have 2 more handmade presents wrapped and under the tree, with only a week left I have more sewing to do.

In searching for my zipper foot I discovered a whole bag of feet that came with my machine. No idea what most of them are for, but I suspect some involve hems. I have another more substantial foot on the way too.

Happy feet

I hope your Christmas sewing is going well, still plenty of time, no need to panic at all.

Anticipation

Anticipation for Christmas is slowly building in our house. The tree went up this weekend and has been randomly plastered with decorations by the kids. I have resisted the urge to re-arrange them all this year, who needs perfection anyway?

I have been doing a lot of sewing for Christmas which I won't be able to share with you until after those gifts have been given which is a little frustrating. But not long now.

I am eagerly anticipating Christmas and then 2013, this has been a tough old year. Apparently 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' I am hoping that will become evident in the coming months.

Our latest drama involves this dog, a car and a small fortune in emergency vet's fees. Miraculously she came off unscathed, added a few grey hairs to my collection though.

I hope your preparations for Christmas are going well, do you have any secret Christmas sewing underway? 

PS Apologies for having to add verification to comments for the blog. Having resisted it for as long as I could, the spam was getting just too much. I love your comments and hope it doesn't put you off!

Camp Modern by Birch fabrics now in

Now in stock, the beautiful Camp Modern from Birch fabrics. I love the muted colours and prints in this organic collection. These prints definitely belong somewhere in my house, but what to make?

Aurifil thread now in stock

Now in stock; the quilters favourite thread Aurifil, all the most popular shades are available here.

If you want to find out more about Aurifil, then read this excellent post on Lily's Quilts.

Sewaholic Cordova Jacket pattern now in stock!

New in today the Cordova Jacket pattern from Sewaholic.

The Cordova Jacket is great for for work, a dressy jacket that’s not a blazer. The collarless design not only means you don’t have to sew a collar, but it works well with cosy scarves and cowls. Princess seams make it easy to adjust the fit, and the double peplum creates an instant hourglass silhouette. It’s great with jeans or trousers, equally great with a dress. It is modelled here with jeans and a simple tank to keep the focus on the jacket.

The pattern is in stock here.

Black Friday sale!

I am having a huge Black Friday sale on all fabrics and patterns, ready for the lead up to Christmas.

From Friday until Sunday 25th November 9pm, use the code 'BlackFriday' (at the checkout after paypal) to receive 20% off all orders.

Everything is on sale, including fabrics already discounted in the sale section, such as Simpatico by Cloud 9 Fabrics or Flea Market Fancy. Or pick up one of the popular bundles for an early Christmas present?

The Chickopee collection by Denyse Schmidt and Thangles used to make this quilt are also available.

The offer runs through till 9pm Sunday night, don't forget to sign up for the newsletter while you are there to hear about these offers first.

Work in progress

A little sneak of a project I have just started, again using Thangles. Did I mention that I now stock them ? A more detailed post about Thangles to follow, but here they are in the meantime.

The triangles come together so quickly, they are brilliant. My addiction to triangles has not faded since my last quilt, this time I am combining them with a little Field Study. I have whipped up a whole load this morning as I find myself full of cold, still resplendent in my PJ's but my desire to make triangles has not diminished.

Wishing you all a happy weekend,

x

Taking a break ...

Just to give you some notice that with half term upon me, I shall be taking a break and all orders placed 30/10/12 - 3/11/12 will be posted on 5/11/12.

Wishing you a great week and wish me luck as I try to sew a ghost bride costume for Halloween for my 8 year old!

Kate

x

Wiksten patterns now in stock

It seems like Wiksten patterns have been everywhere in the last few months. Blogs, Instagram, Flickr; they are full of people making beautiful versions of these patterns over and over like an addiction! Well I have become part of the action and am now happy to stock the Tova and Tank patterns from Wiksten.

Take a look at all the different Tova's on Flickr for some inspiration, it's such a versatile top. There is no denying that it is one of the more expensive patterns that I have in stock, but it comes on beautiful thick paper and you will use it over and over as your addition takes hold!

The other pattern is the Tank, every wardrobe needs several of these as a basic. Again, Flickr has some great examples.

There are some more sewing patterns on the way, so do check back if you are thinking about adding some new additions to your wardrobe.