Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A Spoonful of Sugar




 When Lisa of A Spoonful of Sugar invited me to join her blog tour for her new book I was excited. I have blog-known Lisa for about a hundred blog years and i am a great admirer of her blog - it is stunning ! Things being what they are i was also a little bit concerned about the timing as I knew I would be preparing for market. Lisa assured me she would give me a spot early in the tour - and she did !

I welcome you to the  Spoonful of Sugar Book book tour blog hop.



I am sure you all know Lisa and Sarah, the dynamic mother/daughter team behind The Spoonful of Sugar Blog... well Lisa has just released her first book and it is stunning! 
Of course if you know Lisa's blog you would expect nothing less. Her style is so recognisable ! This book is as beautiful and considered as her blog. 


There are projects to suit everyone in this book. From cute little felt beetles to the most stunning Cathedral Windows pincushion (which I look forward to trying after market.).


I made the sweet coasters and they came together far quicker than I imagined. I used some Ella Blue basic for the text and the little tonal is from my new range. The instructions and diagrams are comprehensive and super easy to follow. Anything that can be embellished with Ric Rac is a winner.


There is a great mix of projects in the book, some raw edge applique, Sashiko and English Paper Piecing as well as patchwork and crochet -truly something for everyone.
This book is going to become my go-to for hand made gifts.


I want to include a hundred pictures in the post and show you all the gorgeous projects but instead you can follow along the Blog Hop below and see as each person makes a project from the book.
 The tour is going to include giveaways and there will be a fun sew-along on Instagram.
The Sew-along starts on June 1st to August 9 and will consist of five rounds of two weeks. There are going to be prizes for each round and a grand prize winner generously sponsored by Alisha from Ministry of Fabric



April 27 – Minki Kim from Minki’s Work Table
April 28 – Melissa LeRay from Oh How Sweet
April 29 – Jemima Flendt from Tied With a Ribbon

April 30 – Beverley McCullough from Flamingo Toes

May 2 – Sedef Imer from Down Grapevine Lane
May 3 – Nadra Ridgeway from Ellis and Higgs


May 4 – Amy Morinaka from Chick Chick Sewing
May 5 – Caroline Critchfield from Sew Can She
May 6 – Kristyne Czepuryk from Pretty By Hand
May 7 – Bronwyn Hayes from Red Brolly

May 9 –  Anorina Morris from Samelia’s Mum
May 10 – Peta Peace from She Quilts A Lot
May 11 – Faith Essenburg from Sarana Ave
May 12 – Angie Wilson from Gnome Angel
May 13 – Sharon Burgess from Lilabelle Lane Creations
May 14 – Stacy Olson from Stacy Olson

May 16 – Ayda Algin from Cafenohut
May 17 – Jennie Pickett from Clover and Violet
May 18 – Wynn Tan from Zakka Art
May 19 – Lisa Cox from A Spoonful of Sugar



As Lisa said - not everyone can win a prize so she has generously added this sweet little hexie pincushion tutorial to her blog to say thanks for everyone's support and encouragement . She is an egg of outstanding quality.


Hexie Pincushion Sewing Tutorial by A Spoonful of Sugar

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Nod if you can hear me

 

Yes the sampling arrived. Do you know I get five metres of each print in my sampling?... In this case 20 prints . One hundred metres of fabric - that seems so mountainous but once it is tucked away on bolts it seems like not much at all.

I have made three quilt tops and given them to the wonderful Jeanette of Precious Thyme Quilting here in Ballarat. I made a fourth but have yet to sew the blocks together. (I fell out of love with it). I have cut up a zillion things and sewn some fruit.

I have written and re-written the to-do list each day and just like the weatherman I work on short and long range predictions, I cross reference and highlight. I borrow time from here and there and I always feel like I am running behind.

It is a madness.

 

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Free quilt pattern - I blame the iron

Recently,  I was availing myself of the amenities at the shopping centre and took the time to read those interesting facts on the back of the door.
No, not the " for a good time  - call Kim" type notices - this one was about iron deficiency.
Apparently a lack of iron can lead to forgetfulness and silly mistakes. I am calling it. I am hereby drastically iron deficient.
That is my excuse for not posting this freebie pattern earlier.


 I made this quilt with the help of my friend Michelle (stitcher extraordinaire) and took it to Houston last October. I thought I might release it as a pattern - but you know, I have been feeling like every shade of shit lately so thought I should just share it for the fun of it. 


I promptly sent the link out with my newsletter and then forgot all about it (lack of iron obviously)


How cute are all those little quilty bubbles. Emma Jansen did the quilting for me in some sort of trade that I have now forgotten but I am sure I got the best end of the deal.

Anyway, the pattern is all organised and you can download it from here .


There is a whole bunch of free stuff over there on the sidebar under Free Patterns  - help yourself !!

I am off to eat some spinach.