A little distraction...

Just in case you didn't know this about me, I L.O.V.E. vintage and I've never been one to shy away from a good treasure hunt at any second hand store. The only thing really stopping me from filling every nook in my home with vintage finds is my poor hubby. Firstly he's trained me from long ago to hear his voice in the back of my head asking "Do you really need it?" Don't know how he managed that one but I live with it rattling around in my head, and secondly I can't bring myself to decorate our home in such a "girly" way, after all he lives here too. Though my latest argument is that he's out numbered 2 to 1 and he seems to be fine with that! ;) 

So one thing I always check for, since I love anything involving fabric, is table cloths. This is only a little one measuring 89cm (35") square. But the colours are really gorgeous and  the embroidery is nice and simple. I can just imagine having a nice cuppa in the garden on this cutie. 

The photo's don't seem to do it justice. It's found a home on my bedside in the meantime. :)

Also scored this queen bed sheet in amazing condition. I love this blue and I think I'll be using it for a quilt backing sometime. Don't have a quilt for it yet but I'm sure that will change soon. 

And lastly this little tea pot. Well that's what I'm assuming it is since it has a lid. Oh I just fell in love with the colour instantly and I knew I had to have it. It was then not even my hubbies voice in my head was heard, the only voice I could hear in there was mine!! :)

I did a quick google search for the stamp on the bottom and it turns out its from the 1930's. 

Look at those three beauties together there. As you can imagine I had the biggest grin on my face handing these over to the gentleman at the cash register. Couldn't wait to get these home. That particular store has to be my favourite. I always seem to find the best stuff in there. The last time I visited I found this mirror.

Of course it wasn't red when I found it. It was actually what ever was underneath the gold leaf that had rubbed off. It looked like it had been stored in a garage somewhere for a long time, the paper backing was rough and hanging on by one corner. There was a stamp on the back of this as well. 

It was manufactured in Canada somewhere. Not sure of the time though. 

I was planning on spraying it white until I got it home and just had the urge to do something really dramatic with it and I've had the urge to paint something red for too long now. This really took the edge off. :P

 I don't know if it's just me but I am really curious about things like this. I just think of the history in pieces such as this mirror. How did it get to Australia from Canada? How many reflections has it seen? ..... I really could go on..... but I think I'm starting to ramble.

P.S. I'll be sending the surprise parcel on it's way very soon so I'll be able to share with you the pics of the finished project below.

Sneak Peek...

Just wanted to quickly share with you a mini project I'm working on. I've never really been a huge scrappy quilter but Jolene at Blue Elephant Stitches really inspired me to give this kinda quilting a go. I put this together with some scraps from various quilts and this in itself is a huge thing for me. I love opening up new charm packs or buying fresh fabrics so pulling all these out on a whim was the first step to embracing this style. I am a turquoise kinda girl so I might be a bit biased when it comes to this colour combo but I think it turned out great. (apologies for the bad pic above) 

I don't want to give to much away until the secret recipient receives their little parcel. ;)

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Coaster Love

Yup it's more coasters. They are so much fun to make. I started these four last night and finished up the hand binding while Little Miss watched Rio on TV this morning. They're made with some fabric scraps from a quilt I'm almost finished.  

And boy do these pop. That red is so vibrant even with out the photo editing and the print is so fun & quirky. I love it! How many coasters do you think a girl needs?? :P

All that's left to do on the quilt is to sew on the binding and it's ready to go.

And speaking of binding...

I've seen some amazing pics in blogland of just binding and I've always wanted to play around with it. I must sound like a bit of a nut but it's the simple things in sewing that are the most enjoyable to me. :)

Progress...

I have to admit I've never hand quilted anything. I've always machine quilted and not free motion style just your standard walking foot straight line style. It's never bothered me, I kinda enjoy the straight forward simplicity of it. But I had a little go at hand quilting with my Dream cushion and I really like it!!

 I know it's ment to be seen on both sides but I really just wanted to emphasize the wording.

It's not perfect but I'm liking the look of the hand stitched letters. Was lots of fun and surprisingly quick too. So I've already got onto Etsy and bought myself the beginnings of what will probably be a thread obsession collection. 

Oh and look what arrived on my door step yesterday...

Yup new fabric. I get so giddy when I get to open a package from the supplier. It's just so exciting. 

And how adorable is this miniature bunting pattern on the first piece of fabric. I can't wait to have a play... probably should finish a project before I start something else... really... I should.... ;) 

For the moment I'm only listing in my Craftumi store but please don't hesitate to email me if you are from overseas and would like to purchase any fabric. I can make a listing for you on Etsy.

A Field of Strawberry Dreams

I'm not sure if I'm the only one (although I doubt it) but even though I sell charm packs in my store, if I find one I like I'll buy it. There is no exception when it comes to Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree quilts.

I missed out on getting my hands on this range for my store so I had to have one in my stash. Yesterday I had a chance to start a little project with it. 

A cushion for my bed. It's such a calming colour pallet it was just meant to be.

 I finally got to finish my HST quilt. Well it's been done for a little while but I totally forgot to share it with you. I really like the vibrant colours that's in the Lollipops charm pack...

...and to really make it pop I went with yellow polka dot fabric on the back and a herringbone orange fabric for binding. Really makes it a happy quilt I think. It's made with 100% cotton fabric and batting 

This quilt is in my Madeit store now.

That's pretty much it up to today. I decided to go with simple square blocks for the red quilt I mentioned in my previous post.  The simple pattern really makes the fabric the focus. I'll share with you when it's done.

Cya next time ;)

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Girls night in.

How did you enjoy your long weekend? You can see what I got up to :)

My sister and I agreed we were over due for a sewing session so what better chance than a long weekend. I packed up my machine, headed over to her place and we made a night of it. Of course it wouldn't be a girly night with out some "girly" drinks. If your thinking "this is a set up for some big mess" don't worry these babies stayed on the kitchen bench while we sewed the night away. And sew we did!!

We were sewing away till 1am and the only thing that got us to bed was thinking that someone had to get up with the kids in the morning. This is what I took along in hopes I would get most of them done. 

My Jelly Girl quilt pattern from Fig Tree & Co and the sorted jelly roll strips. I also took my pin-wheel quilt but that one didn't leave the basket.

I really made a lot of progress! It would have taken me another 2 or 3 months to finish had I kept going the way I was. All I've got left is to cut the white triangles and then join these strips together.  This quilt is for my little miss's big girl bed which she'll be in very soon with the rate that she's growing. 

 I also started this quilt using a pattern from this book but I'm thinking its way too busy for my taste. Maybe I should stick to something more simple for this fabric... what do you think?? I don't usually work with such rich colours. Though this quilt would look amazing in solids. Mmmmm there's another idea to add to the list. ;)

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Coming soon...

Look what's coming soon. Oh I'm so looking forward to playing with these fabrics. Gorgeous Reunion by Sweetwater and Good Fortune by Kate Spain. Kate Spain just makes the most amazing fabrics and this one is no exception. It remind's me of the stunning origami paper that a friend once gave me from her trip to Japan. 

Can't wait!!

If you's like to be the first to find out when new fabrics hit the DreamPatch store be sure to join this site and you'll find out as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard!! 

Have an amazing day!!!