Fabric Stash Not at its Best!

Do I show and tell or hide away all incriminating evidence of how much of a mess my fabric stash has become? Believe me I have asked myself that a few times over the last day or so!! You see I'm lucky enough to have a lovely large cupboard from IKEA that was bought especially for my fabric but over the last few months as 'a crafty hen' has got busier and busier so my 'cupboard' has got untidier and untidier to the stage it has become impossible to find anything or even to put any fabric away in there. So the question has been do I admit to working in these conditions or lead you to believe that my work space is one of calm and serenity. 

Oh well here goes!

  

It started off as such a lovely space to organise and display my stash in lovely neat stacks of colour and pattern. A way of finding fabric quickly and being constantly inspired but alas no! My work time has swapped from nap time which is no longer to an hour or two of an evening and most nights I work until I can no longer focus on my sewing as my eyelids are closing or until my OH wants to claim my 'work space' back to the bedroom it shares with and kicks me out so he can go to sleep! So I inevitably leave my fabrics out or do I quick tidy away which has over time become a case of 'folding' and placing in a bag conveniently placed by my cutting table.

  

So enough is enough! I can't continue like this with such a mess and a disgrace of a fabric stash on my hands! So a plan of action has been made and my plan for the Easter holidays is to have a BIG tidy up!! 

My plan is to remove most of the fabric on the left hand side which is vintage or thrifted and in general the fabric that I am not using as much at the moment and to store it in the loft, you didn't think I would be able to part with any did you?!! This is where to me my plan has faults as I really don't like the idea of not having all my fabric to hand! But I'm going to have to learn to cope! I'm hoping to them rearrange my piles and hopefully to leave at least one shelf clear that will house the fabrics that I am currently working with which means they have room to go even when time is short.

So yes when others have Easter plans of camping trips and days of relaxation mine are of folding and stacking fabric! With the odd day out of course! I have already made a start and already it feels good! A little organisation and tidy up is, I think going to be good for 'a crafty hen' and as I've already managed to do a little I'm already beginning to notice a difference. 

So there it is a little like airing your dirty laundry in public! I've gone and done it and it feels ok!! In fact I feel even more determined to sort it out though it's going to be slow progress as I keep getting distracted by all the fabric I had forgotten about and remembering what I bought it for and all the projects I have yet to sew!

But one thing at a time!

At Home With The Blues

I love the colour blue, especially when found on this Cathrineholm coffee pot that Mr D spotted at a vintage fair on Saturday for the ghastly sum of £6! 

 

 

I'm hoping this means that our thrifting drought has ended! 

It's now taking pride of place in our kitchen. And taking centre stage in our garden is my new blue hydrangea. The photo does not do the vibrancy of the colour justice. It is such a gorgeous blue and a welcome splash of colour in the garden especially under the grey skies we have been having lately.

And on my work table this small fat quarter makes my heart jump, every time I catch a glimpse of it. It is such an attractive blue and being voile it is so silky to the touch.

My regret is that I only managed to buy such a small amount off Kate from misformake. It is such a powerful blue and I am having to stop myself from getting too distracted by it's charm. 

Vintage Solution

I got some very strange looks as I carted my newly bought vintage suitcases home this week. There we were youngest in double pushchair sat next to 3 suitcases piled on top of one another in the seat next to her, with #2 walking alongside. Not only did we get some puzzled glances we also got some odd comments! I couldn't decide in the end if people thought it was cruel that my 3 year old was having to walk whilst the suitcases travelled in style or if they thought I was a gypsy travelling alone with two young kids either way, I couldn't help but laugh!

And here they are safely at home with the other two I bought a few weeks ago. I must say I am totally in love with there usefulness and charm. Each one is so different, in size, colour and in condition, and even the most scruffiest one tells a story. The large suitcase on the bottom fascinates me with its stickers of countries visited.

To me , they conjure up some fantastic images and stories in my mind!

They work so well storing all my excess fabric and are great for transporting my handmade goods to the fairs, it was an ingenious idea of Mr D, though at the time of suggesting it I don't think he was expecting five to appear in our bedroom! He is beginning to think a studio would be a very good idea, I wish!!

For now I will be grateful for my new found storage solution, at least they stack neatly away on top of my wardrobe and I can spend my nights dreaming of where they have travelled and what they have seen.

I can imagine they have a tale or too to tell!

It must be the sunshine!

The weather over the last few days really has been magnificent.

Blue skies, a warmth in the sun, a smell about the air that is a sign that everything is beginning to wake up. Little by little there are true signs of spring, the birds are singing the spring bulbs are brightening the garden up and the seedlings are making good progress in the greenhouse. And as for me, 

I've been surrounding myself with 'spring' fabrics!

It's been a real joy to pick out this gorgeous orange and pink vintage floral print and match it up with other vintage and new fabrics. With the sun streaming through the window whilst I sew, creating this large drawstring bag has been a pleasure.

Both sides are different and are finished with a trim of velvet ribbon. 

It is fully lined with another summery vintage print and closes with a cream barley twist rope. It is a perfect size for keeping laundry in or even toys.

It is part of my slowly increasing 'Dotty Vintage' range in my Folksy shop . I have also added a set of two burp cloths also made out of this lovely range of cheerful fabrics.

These handy cloths match perfectly with my 'dotty vintage' bib making it a lovely idea for a gift.

Well that's me done!! 

I'm off to have a good night sleep as tomorrow we are digging over the allotment, a job that needs doing but is rather back breaking! At least it looks like we will be doing it in sunshine!

Enjoy :)

The Post I've Been Meaning To Write!

Honestly this is one of those blog posts I've mean being to write for the past few weeks!
I've been very lucky to have been passed 2 blog awards a Stylish Award from Emily Parkes and Lou at littlegreenshed and a Liebster award from Justine at sewjustinesew. A big thank you to all three of you, it's always lovely to know that people do read what you waffle on about!!
One of the parts of the award is to list 7 facts about yourself, interesting facts!! And this is where my mind goes blank! I have been lucky enough to receive a couple of awards before and did manage then to come up with 7 facts, but another 7 things, do I have that many more interesting facts about myself!! I must have! I am very happy to realise that I am not the only one who has struggled to think of things. Beth at Thelinencat  made me laugh when she wrote "let’s face it, obviously I’m just very dull" when she suffered a mental block when trying to think of those 7 things! I can understand entirely how Beth was feeling.

 But not to be defeated I have put my thinking cap on and have had a brainstorming session . This got me thinking, "What intrigues me about people I'm interested in?" I'm always fascinated to see inside someone's home, even better inside someone's work space/studio this got me thinking about people's collections. What someone collects can often tell you a lot about someone and then I got thinking about fabric! At the end of the day I collect fabric and the nosey person I am always enjoys seeing other peoples fabric stash!
So I thought I would show you my 7 favourite prints that I have stashed away!!

I once read an article about fabric shopping that said people who buy fabric come under one of two categorises; one who buys fabric to use for a project, and the other, a person who buys fabric on impulse. Well I do both! But it is the fabrics that get my heart pumping that little bit quicker that really excite me. I often have an idea in my mind of what I will eventually use them for others I quite frankly just have to have!!! The following fabrics are in no particular order but this one has got to be the one that I am most precious about. I am yet to use it and am annoyed that I only have a fat quarter to play with! I bought it from  Isabelleandkate's shop on folksy which I didn't realise until much later was misformake's shop.

I have no idea who the designer of the fabric is other than it is Japanese. I love the simplicity of the design and the colours and know that one day when I use this fabric it will definitely be for a project for myself!!
 The next fabric is a vintage piece. It's called 'Heidi' and is by Genia Sapper. I fell in love with the print when I spotted it in a design magazine and spent awhile tracking it down, I eventually found the odd piece on ebay. After being outbid many times I finally 'won' this piece which was used as a curtain. I intend to use it for cushions but haven't yet been able to bring myself to cut into it!

 My third fabric is an Amy Butler print called Chrysanthemum. I love the olive colour of the background and the sky blue leaves of the chrysanthemum's. Let's be honest no fabric stash would be complete without an Amy Butler fabric!

 Anna Maria Horner is another designer I can't imagine my fabric stash being without! I've been slowly collecting her Little Folks Voile to make a quilt for my daughter and it is this print that especially stands out for me. It's the use of the deep colour's that I particularly like and can imagine using it one day for a top for myself.

Now this fabric I bought the second I saw it! It's a great Japanese woodland print.



You'll probably see a theme running through my favourite 7 fabrics that I didn't quite realise until I started to photograph them, that they all tend to be blues and browns! Like this one again from Japan.

I bought this fabric from one of my favourite shops on etsy ikoplus. Again it's such a lovely simple design, and being a blend of cotton and linen makes the fabric such a lovely weight.  Staying with a simple design is this print from Joel Dewberry.

This is one of those fabrics where you buy a fat quarter, only to know as soon as you see it that, that won't be enough so immediately buy more, and then have a panic on when you realise that it's becoming more and more difficult to find!! I just love this print from his deer valley collection. It has a great vintage feel to the design. And then finally my 7th fabric choice is a vintage fabric that I picked up from the scrap store. I managed to find two pieces and have already cut one up ready to make into a quilt for our lounge.

So there you have it my favourite 7 fabrics. I've had great fun pulling out and choosing them and have come to the conclusion that instead of having them stacked away hidden in my cupboard, it would seem somewhat more sane if I was to use them all!
Why is it that some fabrics are just so difficult to cut into!!

Vintage Wise Old Men

It's surprising what can be found in a sleepy village in Devon.

Well actually, not that sleepy, it would be better described as positively thronging! Which is a great sight to see and one that I feel I miss out on, as I normally work on a Saturday. So with day off work booked we decided last minute to cancel our family shopping trip to Exeter, I'm so glad we did. We haven't been to Exeter for well over a year and I have very fond memories of sitting outside a cafe by the Cathedral but whatever were we thinking, Christmas shopping with three young kids?? Thankfully we came to our senses before it was too late and headed instead to Ashburton. 

Ashburton is filled with independent shops, antiques and collectables sit amongst quirky giftware shops, and a lovely vintage emporium that was so wonderfully set up that the boys collapsed onto the sofas and asked where the TV was! Which was great as it gave me chance to mooch and stumble across these two vintage hanging ornaments and this lovely teal vintage fabric.

We found an amazing fish deli, that not only provided us with red mullet for our evenings dinner but also a great selection of olives where we found the brightest green olives I've ever seen. They even had a sign up saying "these have not been dyed" as they were so vivid. The boys came to the conclusion that they must be alien olives!

I couldn't resist this card by Rob Ryan which I hope to frame as part of our decorations. 

But it really was these two wise men that were the star find of the day, with their crowns and their jewels, and who are now going to take pride of place in our festive decorations.

46 days and counting!

The trouble with Halloween and Bonfire night being over is that you become very aware of what is just round the corner.

 

There's simply no hiding away from the fact that in 46 days time it will be Christmas day!

So I've decided to embrace the fact that in 46 DAYS time we will have wrapping paper all over the lounge floor! We will be tripping over more toys and that the boys will have already eaten too much chocolate.

In fact I've embraced it so much, that the boys already have a star that lights up hanging in their room. Well that and the fact that #2 made it impossible to leave the shop without it, and then once at home there was no way he was going to let me put it away until December. So for an easy life its up and shining, and I'm passing it off as a night light!

So if like me your starting to think of Christmas, and are looking for some decorations for the festive season, then you might like to know that I have just listed two more sets of "Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest" in my shop.

 A more traditional set of five Gold and Green trees, and then a very "Granny Chic" set of five purple and blue trees, which I must say are my favourite so far and are definitely not just for Christmas!

The colours of Autumn

Halloween has not passed us by this year without leaving its mark. 

Our kitchen table has become home to an ever growing collection of pumpkins, in all shapes and sizes.

I'd love to be able to tell you that we grew them all, but that would be stretching the truth somewhat!

I think seeing these wonderful coloured squashes everyday has started to influence me in my shopping,

I couldn't resist this hand knitted cushion that sits on the sofa looking like one huge over grown pumpkin!

Or these vintage fabrics, reflecting the colours of Autumn,

I'm even enjoying the fallen leaves that cover our lawn. Unlike Mr D who is trying very hard to keep on top of collecting them up. The brightness that they bring lights the garden up, which is very welcome in the dull grey days we've been having of late.

So even though Halloween is over and the nights are drawing in I'm refusing to let go of Autumn and I'm not quite ready to admit that Christmas is just around the corner!

Happily Drowning in Vintage Fabric!

I'm having great fun sorting through my vintage fabric and putting prints together to make more Christmas Tree's.

My Christmas Forest is certainly growing and more sets will soon be available to buy in my Folksy shop

I've just added some more vintage baby bibs

I love this print but are quickly running out of the fabric, one of the draw backs of working with vintage fabric, though it makes the handmade item that bit more unique.

I'm really happy with this print. I've been searching for a vintage fabric that is suitable for a boy for quite awhile, and I think this is perfect. It certainty will add some retro vibe to any boys outfit.

I'm building up quite a selection of vintage bibs, that I think it's about time I tackle the storage buckets I was busy making for the boys when my machine broke. I'm quite nervous though as the fabric was obviously too thick that it did quite a bit of damage to my machine so I think a re-think is in order!
So it's back to the drawing board for me!

Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest

I've been busy making trees! 

Christmas trees with a touch of "granny chic".

This set of five trees is now available in my Folksy shop and will make a great alternative to your more traditional Christmas decorations, sitting either on their own or together as a "forest".

They are very 'child friendly', and can be stacked on top of one another to make one large tree or stacked inside one another turning this into a fun hiding game of "Hidden Tree, Hidden Forest"

I've already made a set for us at home, and all the kids have had delight playing with them, it's been interesting watching them as they stack and sort them, then watching as they turn them into hats and then start playing games by hiding other toys under them and having to guess which tree the treasure is hidden under, not that you have to guess to hard as #2 ends up telling you within seconds!

So if your looking for a Christmas decoration that is unusual and quirky and one that is sure to add a vintage vibe to your celebrations then this could be the one for you!
I'll be adding more sets in different vintage fabrics and colours over the next few weeks or if there is a colour-way that your interested in then please email me.