D’ya think?

more fantastically non-pc advertising here to brighten your Tuesday …

Made by You, well … Me … Monday … Festive Mug Rug

A little festive mug rug I posted on Skip to My Lou’s Made by You Monday space 

Look!  I even managed to quilt in neat-ish parallel lines!

Woo Hoo!

… If you scoot over to Cindy's you'll see some tremendous festive makings ... 

Sunday {Spoonflower} Stash

I’ve been wanting to do something about spoonflower for ages, but I waited until I'd actually ordered, received and sewn with their prints before posting.
 
If you’re not familiar with them, spoonflower are a digital fabric printing company in the U.S. and anybody can upload a pattern and order fabric from them.  Most of these designs are then available to the rest of us to order.  It’s like a kind of fabric flickr!
 
This is what I’ve had from them.  They are all lush and crisply printed and generally yum.
 
early bird by isabelle (aka) troismiettes

birdhouse by Isabelle

   

carousel by zesti

cheater friday by melanie sullivan
(texas freckles)

 

you may recognise this from when I bought a swatch and used it for hexies  but I knew then I’d be back for more, so I bought a full metre!  It’s divine.  I may use it for hexies, or just make a cheat quilt with some hand quilting.  I don’t know yet - no hurry!

fox in the snow by crafty mcgee

I bought a swatch of this to see if it would make good hexies.  It does, it does!

newspaper boats by Heather Ross

I love this Heather Ross fabric and I can see it in so many potential projects.

mellophones by marchingbandstuff

I made an ipod case using this and it sewed up really beautifully.

These are spoonflower’s current prices: 
 

Everything I ordered was in their standard quilting weight.  On reflection I think I might try the organic cotton sateen or the linen-cotton canvas next time.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the quilting weight, but it is quite light and I’m so in love with linen at the moment that I think it would be worth the extra $5.

I did have a little set-to with customs because I had ordered over £18 worth - I didn’t actually get charged any customs as such, just VAT … but then our glorious post office added a whopping £8 ‘handling fee’ which I think is a bit rich, considering that’s their job!

If you are in any doubt as to what the UK rules are, have a look here:

Link to HM Revenue & Customs International Postage FAQs

It hasn’t really put me off, although I obviously need to bear that in mind for the future - especially with our VAT rising to 20%!! 

But if you order within the limits (or are prepared to swallow a potential charge) then I can only recommend it as a really good way to find new designers and some really fantastic prints.

My next step is to design a little something myself maybe?  Hmmmmm.

That’s what I like about spoonflower.  It opens up a realm of possibilities.  

Have you ordered from them?  What were your impressions? Leave a comment, do!

Reasons to be Thankful: Melody Miller Giveaway Winner …

  
Let's get my blushing out of the way first -



Sally at DitzyandDotty (great blog!) had her first giveaway of a scrappy purse + some scraps and the pattern to make another - what a great giveaway! … I won … and I am thankful.

So now it’s time to make at least one of you happy:

The winner of the Melody Miller scrappy giveaway is …

which is

 Nikki

 

Congratulations Nikki! I know you'll do wonderful things with them ... Drop me an email with your details and I’ll pop the little darlings in the post … 

Next week I’ll be celebrating 100 posts (whodathunkit?) and paying forward some of that good giveaway karma with a nice fresh Brighton Breezy Giveaway …

Reclaim The Fun

I’m a big fan of Fun. 

One of the aspects of getting older I’m so not keen on, is how easily we seem to lose our capacity for Fun … or maybe even forget we ever had it?  I’m not saying we do this on purpose.  It just happens.

Fun doesn’t require you to be happy and irresponsible 24/7.  It doesn't want you have to deny the serious stuff going on in your life.

It just requires that occasionally, in the midst of the everyday drudge, you just let go and welcome it with jazz hands as it sweeps you off your feet for a couple of gentle minutes.

please enjoy this gentlest of 1min 42s:

Volkswagen has another great viral campaign - Fun Theory -  a competition for innovative fun solutions to common problems ... You can see them at the Fun Theory website.

Happy Friday!  

Remember to let the fun in this weekend.

Scrappy {Hoop} Swap - Love Wins

Back in October, when I signed up to my first swap - the Scrappy {Hoop} swap - I really didn’t know what to expect.  I was deeply touched that people would take time to craft a thing of loveliness and then send it to someone they may not know (or indeed ever meet) out there in that boundary-laden, physical world of ours.  

I knew I wanted to join in.  I like anything that embraces and exploits the lack of geographical boundary here in the Blogolopolis.  

And frankly, who wouldn’t want to get involved when something like this arrives, from jennirc, all those boundaries away, in Texas?

thank you Jenni.

At this point it may not be entirely cool to admit that I’ve never really subscribed to all that “It’s better to give than to receive” stuff.  I know I should, and in many ways I do ... ish.  But, I’m so happy I took part and I genuinely zoomed in on the pleasure I had from making the hoop for my partner.

Whoa! **insert sound of stylus screeching across vinyl**  

Was I mad?

Opening up that Priority Mail envelope, ripping through that beautiful rainbow stripey tissue paper, prising open that ziploc bag and revealing something that had been made with great thought just for me … ?

... Blissful.

So now I've moved along to 

“It’s really great to receive if you have given”

 ...  we're making progress ... 

Love Wings

You can never be too busy! Christmas Card Swap from the Creative Collective

You know what they say - if you need something done, ask a busy person to do it! So why not get involved in this fab Christmas card swap from the Creative Collective? (via Kellie @ 74 Lime Lane)

Click on the link or the picture above to go to the instructions for how to join in - you send out handmade cards to 5 partners by December 10th, and you need to register with swapbot, but otherwise it's easy peasy christmas treesy.

I love getting cards, so I'm already over-excited :) - let's spread the festive cheer chaps!

My Creative Space - Happy Thanks-giveaway-ing

So, today’s the real Thanksgiving, eh?

Well, my creative space is brimming over with thankfulness.

While yesterday I was being thankful in low key reflective mode,  today I’m jumping about with much more cheery thankfulness:

On an entirely material level, I am thankful for Giveaways!  

Last night my return from work was greeted by a whopping amount of randomly generated booty from I’m a Ginger Monkey’s Scrap Vomit Technicolour Yawn giveaway! 


Honestly !  There isn’t a “Yay!” typographically big enough to describe my squeaky jump for joy happiness as I lifted the lid of a rather yummy brown cardboard box to reveal this not-so-little lot.

pic from I'm a Ginger Monkey

Wowza Katy, thank you so much! it was like opening a treasure chest!  I don’t think I’ve ever had that many new FQs in me mitts before. (Other than when doing a bit of furtive fabric stroking in shops, that is)  

I am truly thankful.  

-- Especially as one of the fabrics seems to be the key piece that brings together all my random thoughts about the (as yet still imaginary) quilt project ...

... Stay tuned … I think I may be onto something ... more pics another day …

I promise to pay it forward with a new giveaway very very soon - 

But until I do, there’s another fab giveaway over here at I’m A Ginger Monkey - it’s only open to the UK though  … but it’s for this fantastic stack of 19 FQs of solids, THE HURRICANE, from Backstitch - go check it out! - it runs until November 29th :)

pic from I'm a Ginger Monkey

Don’t forget you’ll have something else to be thankful for if you pop on over to Kirsty’s and take a while to immerse yourself in all that lovely talented creativity …

Full of Thanks + a last shout for ruby star rising Giveaway …

I’m not American, I’m quite, quite English, as it happens.  

But you know what?  I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to have an annual day of thanksgiving.  So, here I am, waving my little flag here in Brighton, a day early!

Today I am full of thankfulness.




Today it's also four months since my brother died.

I am overwhelmingly thankful that my grieving process has taken the form of self-expression, rather than self-destruction.  


Just as when he was ill 'doing crafty stuff with my hands' saw me through long hours of waiting, it now sees me through many hours of missing. 




 




I am thankful for having the patience to rip it up and start again sometimes - I learn a little more each time.

This doesn’t just apply to sewing …










 

I’m thankful for the very real community that I have found since I first arrived in the Blogolopolis.

Generosity of spirit is a welcome delight irrespective of whether the day’s been awesome or irksome.  

It’s great to be able to share and contribute to it, in whatever way.




Wishing you all - wherever you are - and whatever you are thankful for - a good, good day :)


I’ll draw the winner for my Melody Miller scraps giveaway on Friday night (UK time) so hop over here to enter if you haven’t already - and don’t worry if your comment looks like it has disappeared - I have them all backed up :)

{ Modern } Relief 2010

Heather, from { House } of A La Mode has organised a fantastic fundraising raffle in aid of World Vision with help from 17 {Modern} Quilters, who joined her in donating the quilts that will be raffled.
 

I'm not going to apologise if you've already seen this a gazillion times on other people's blogs.  The cause is so so worthwhile and  the message is simple.


I'll just copy and paste directly from Heather's post as she can explain what {Modern} Relief is all about much better than I can!  ...

{ Modern } Relief is a simple concept. We are Modern Quilters uniting through the holiday season by bringing the warmth of our quilts and the warmth of your hearts together for others in need. This season, 2010, we will be supporting World Vision. We hope YOU will join us in taking a stand against hunger by participating in our fund raising raffle. Please let me introduce to you World Vision.

World Vision is leading the effort to end hunger.

In the next seven seconds, another hungry child will die.

World Vision is on the front lines of the fight against hunger. Today — and every day — we’ll distribute nearly 600 metric tons of emergency food aid, nourishing the hungry. We’ll give local farmers the seeds, tools, and training they need to grow their own food and feed their own communities. And we will plead the cause of the hungry in halls of power all over the world.

Please join us in creating a world without hunger — a world in which no child dies for want of nutritious food. This site offers in-depth information on hunger, its causes, and how it can be stopped. You can learn more about key hunger-related issues and share what you discover with friends and family. Use this link to begin your journey.
Please meet the members of this season’s event and view their donations that they have generously provided to this fundraiser raffle.
Heather from { House } of A La Mode

Amy from Amy's Creative Side

Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson!

Nettie from a quilt is nice

Aneela from Comfortstitching

Brioni from Flossyblossy John from Quilt Dad

Kate from One Flew Over

Ashley from Film in the Fridge

Katy from i'm a ginger monkey

Tacha from Hanies

Amanda from Sasikirana Handmade

Jennifer & Jessica from Twin Fibers

Nova from a cuppa and a catch up

Ryan from I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts

Julie from Jaybird QuiltsJacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Alissa from Handmade by Alissa


The Guidelines:
- To enter this raffle please click on the PayPal button, this will bring you to the { Modern } Relief PayPal account.
- The cost to enter this Raffle is $10.00 per entry.
- Entries are unlimited, so please feel free to give till your heart’s content.
- Winners of the raffle will be chosen by a random generator on December 1st, 2010.
- Each { Modern } Relief Quilter participating in this event will post the entire list of winners for the donated quilts on their blogs during the second week of December and the grand total of our contributions to this cause.
- Additionally, they will also contact their personal winners at that time too.

We THANK you!