New Year, New Site

When I started this blog about 2 years ago now, I just went with a really bare bones theme, did a few things to it, collected more ideas but wasn’t going to spend too much time on it just yet in case I didn’t use it that much.

Fast forward to now and we’re not doing too badly, so I think it’s finally time for a new outfit!

This is the WordPress Twenty Fourteen theme with a few customisations here and there. I build websites as my day job, I didn’t really want to spend my sewing time ‘working’ so I’ve taken a good looking theme and just done enough to make it mine.

I hope you like it, it’s all nice and responsive so should work well on most devices, however in older versions of Internet Explorer it might not be awesome (try a new browser like Firefox or Chrome, or at least upgrade IE, pretty please!? You’ll love it, I promise). If you have any issues feel free to let me know.

Psst… you can follow my blog with Bloglovin if you want to, but you don’t have to, it’s just a necessary evil to show this link to get my blog registered over there.

Sunday Stash – GJs Discount Fabrics

For Sunday Stash this week we have part two of my fabric buying adventures in Melbourne from a few weeks ago.

I’ve seen GJ’s Discount Fabrics mentioned by a few Aussie bloggers, in particular on Red Pepper Quilts and You Sew Girl as their local quilt store, click through to their posts to see some beautiful photos of the store and their fabulous fabric range.

The store is an easy tram trip from the CBD out north to East Brunswick, it should take about 20 minutes, unless your tram gets stuck behind another tram that breaks down, in which case it’s about 15 minutes on a tram and 20 minutes to walk the remaining 5 blocks… ask me how I know!

I must have been seeing spots because at first I picked up these dotty fabrics, the two on the left were pre-cut fat quarters, the third from left is a bright fluro dot on a linen background that unfortunately doesn’t photograph well but trust me it’s really bright. On the right, I believe the white on teal is a birch organic cotton.

Polka dot fabric in blues and oranges

Spots and dots in blues and oranges.

Not only do they have a great range of quilting cottons, including a wall of Kona cottons and a tonne of basics like spots and stripes, there’s a whole other floor of dance & costume fabrics. Lycra and sequins and glitter.. oh my! I was very disciplined however and went back downstairs without anything shiny.

Right by the cutting counter I spied some sneaky raccoons looking out at me, I’ve had my eye on those raccoons for some time so grabbed half a meter each of that and a complementary Humming Bird print. These are destined for a purse/wallet/bag type thing (when I finally decide which one).

Tula Pink Acacia Fabrics - Racoon & Humming Bird

From Tula Pink’s Acacia range – Humming Bird in Dusk, Raccoon in Blueberry.

The sooner I get a few more WIPs out of the way, the sooner I get the play with these gorgeous additions to my stash. Linking up to Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles so I can go see what everyone else is playing with.

Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles

Super Stars – A Finished Charity Quilt

Super Stars is my first quilt finish for 2014. It probably should have been my final finish for 2013 but just spilled over, oh well it’s finally done! It finishes at 60″ x 75″ using a 4×5 layout of 15″ blocks.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt

I used a 50w Aurifil thread (2021) to free motion quilt a pattern of loops and stars in the background and a wonky star in the middle of each of the pieced stars.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt - Quilting

This quilt was made as part of the Vintage Made Modern charity quilt challenge, issued by Rachael, the leader of our guild, to use up some of the huge stash of vintage fabrics we’d been gifted, as well as to help our favourite charities.

Some of the blocks were cut & pieced by fellow members of the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild at our dedicated sew day in August (yep that’s me, piecing away on my Juki and pulling a ridiculous face). We managed to get all the blocks cut and pieced in the one day.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt

Over the next couple monthly sew days I got all the blocks put together into a top and then basted the quilt. The floral print on the back was the first fabric I picked and then I pulled the other fabrics from there. All except for the yellows are a white-on-colour small floral print.

This was my first time doing free motion quilting on anything larger than a fat quarter, it was also my first attempt at machine binding. I used a 2.5″ wide strip for my binding to give myself a little extra to catch on the back. It’s a good method, I just need a little more practice so I can then reduce the strip width back to my usual 2.25″.

Super Stars - WMQG Charity Quilt - Backing & Binding

I’m linking up this finish with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Sunday Stash – Amitie Textiles

Happy New Year everyone!

Considering the rapid intake of fabric over the holidays, all technically purchased or received in 2013,  you’d think I was partaking in the Fabriholics Anonymous fabric fast of 2014 and doing some last minute stashing. I’m not, at least, not intentionally, though there is always the vague intent to use what I have and only buy what I need for a particular project.

My latest additions have come to me in different forms:

  • a particular line & coordinates I purchased for myself “for Christmas” that I’ve been holding out on for months
  • fabric received as a Christmas gift
  • fabric purchased while visiting specific stores while on holiday (different state, doesn’t count right?)
  • and a few on-a-whim scrap packs purchased via an Instagram sale from the lovely Ms Poppleton (she has great taste, these scraps are so yummy!).

Today I’m going to share some of my holiday purchases from an amazing store called Amitie Textiles. We popped down to Melbourne for a few days to ring in the New Year and as a bit of a significant birthday present, so of course I found a few fabric stores highly recommended by fellow bloggers to visit, and Amitie was at the top of my list.

It’s a fairly quick and easy train ride from the city and a short walk from the station, so totally worth the trip. They have a gorgeous store stocking so many beautiful fabrics, patterns and notions but by far my favourite was the range of Liberty prints in store. I could have stayed there just running my hands over the fabric for hours. It was a tough choice, but I couldn’t go past some of the new season prints…

Liberty Prints from Amitie Textiles

Liberty Art Fabrics Tana Lawn, L-R: Juno’s Garden C, Eve C, Willow D

Liberty Fabrics from Amitie Textiles

Liberty Art Fabrics Tana Lawn, L-R: Older print not sure**, Isabel Susan A, Heidi Maria A

**I know that the print on the left above is not from the new collection, and I haven’t had any luck finding it yet, if you know what it is I’d love to know!

I picked up the pattern for the Gypsy Wife quilt by Jen Kingwell after seeing the real live quilt in store, so had to grab a couple handfuls of fat sixteenths to start me along on my scrappy way.

Amitie Textiles - Fat Sixteenths

Top Row: 4 Liberty print fat sixteenths | Bottom Row: 10 randomly picked fat sixteenths

I can’t wait to show you some of my other recent stash additions, but it’s all a little too much for one post so I’ll be linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash over the next few weeks.

Sunday Stash with Molli Sparkles