Showing posts with label Fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fabric. Show all posts

Saturday, January 4, 2014

fair stash & repros

 so you know
a girl has 'got-to-have' a great fabric stash hey!?
there may have been some great sales on lately ...
my deliberate fabric selection has changed a lot in the last year
i've gone from thinking fabric for items for markets
to sewing more clothing items for me
with some 'tweaking' to the fabric shopping list
in order to 'make' for a friend's new shop being opened in feb
very excited about that
so this bundle may have made its way home with me this week
some for me & some to sew to sell
stay tuned hey!
now back on the topic of 'stashing'
there's some innate desire to stash & own & treasure
with those who sew
sometimes the stashing can get in the way of the making
for women is it the 'gatherer' instinct
is it something to do with the temptation of the 'great sale'?
but i have to say that i love that when i 'need' to problem solve
a design element i can turn to my stash & the answer is there!
lucky me ....
so in the big furniture & sorting re-shuffle that happened
about our home last year with the completion & set-up of 'the studio'
we moved this fabulous wardrobe into my sewing room
(yes i am completely spoilt as i have an art studio & a sewing room!)
we've had this piece for years & its had a variety of uses
was a fantastic op shop buy a few years ago
my FIL fitted the shelves for me
there's a beveled mirror on each door as well
.... & since sewing more clothing having a mirror 
in your sewing room .... is very very handy!
i spent 3 evenings collecting all my fabrics from assorted storage
unfolded, pressed & refolded & sorted
yep ... totally worth it!
so when i say i've raided the 'top shelf'
i mean it .... dualities!

great story behind these little fishies
..... swim fishes swim along the grainline!

i have purchased lots of fabric on line in the past but this
last year has brought on much more expensive 'shipping' to australia
so yeah ..... not so much! to make it worth it you really need to buy bulk
& that's just not always necessary .....
and as well as that i've found more & more
that i like the thrill of finding & handling fabrics
that has a lot to do with the making clothing change
so rathdowne remnants & spotty & darn cheap fabrics
have been more frequented 
..... with no encouragement from others!?
their advice is gold

my recent spotty splash out - top pic
have you been to spotlight lately & seen there
vintage linen range? called?
well i did spot some IG discussion & some disapproval
of Spotty's choice here to reproduce these designs
for people who know 'fabric' to us they are
one of the designs from Denyse Schmidt's
Flea Market Fancy Free Spirit range 
from some years back by Westminster Fibers
 yeah that's true ..... but its also not
they are designs used early last century
that have no 'copy right' & may be used for reproduction
kind of makes you feel like you've been cheated a little huh!
can you spot the difference between them?
which is which?
left :: spotlight version in stores now - linen
right :: flea market fancy - quilters cotton
the spotty one being a linen is slightly more grainy looking of course
i love this design & i have absolutely NO issue with it being reproduced
& with the recent 40% off it made it very afforable
i only bought x1m & am now wishing i'd bought more

i came across this same reproduction issue a few years ago
when i found a little plate in an op shop 
i did .... i wrote to 'amy' ..... she/or one of her staff kindly wrote back to me
saying they'd investigate ... they did & explained
they also asked for my postal address ....
lucky me was sent some ab patterns of my choice!!
so no getting upset peoples .....
we do not live in an ideas vacuum
there really are very few 'original' ideas out there
support our bricks & mortar stores .... we need them
but what i would like to see happen
is some kind of coding as to where the fabrics were
'grown' ..... i'd love to know there fair-trade ratings!!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

individual consumption

have you read the small print?
its right there in ink
down the long selvege edge ... repeated
just say'n ....
i've seen handmade works created with fabrics such as these
that have been for sale on line & at markets ...
big big trouble in the chook house peoples
if you make items for sale using such fabrics
be careful .... the wording may vary
but the meaning is the same ....
.... sometimes on unexpected fabric ranges
so be aware!!

"sold for non commercial home use"
"for individual use only"
"for personal use only and not intended for commercial sale"
& my current favourite ...
"license required for any use beyond individual consumption"

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

spring sunshine-y goodies


its been a glorious spring day here ...
with some real warmth in the sunshine
we spent some of this morning soaking it up
then just because we were just around the corner ....
.... there were some "darn cheap fabrics" to check out!
paid an average of $7 a meter ... 
a really good quality cotton price 
in a bricks n' mortar fabric shop here in australia!
the very left aqua & coloured block is a flannel & i can see pj pants ...
the 2nd one from the left
how i adore this .... very retro groovy flowers
its a "riley blake" would you believe ... 
i can see appliqued tops & little skirts & "groovy baby" bibs of course
love picking up a few fresh & interesting fabrics from that shop
you do need to pick through the country cottage looking stuff 
but there is always buried treasure ... keep your eyes peeled
not on our beaten path as such so its not so tempting as a regular destination!

check back soon
i have a couple of giveaways in store
as part of Blogtoberfest ...

Saturday, August 18, 2012

a little red & the whole rainbow

 our little friend Gabi turns 5 tomorrow
i've been busting to make one of
ooshka babushka dolls
made her into a little red riding hood
fabric themed of course!
with a red lined cape
.... & she has an alter ego ... Miss Super "G"
...... so if you'd gone down to the woods today
... you were in for a great surprise!
there was a colour filled rainbow party for her today
 a special layered Birthday cake was made
by her clever mummy!
& cake pops too!
 not sure who was the more pleased with this little gift?
Gabi or her mummy or me!? enJOY xxx


Friday, June 1, 2012

i love fabric ... & little stitches for SIT

quite excited!!
it was an awesome parcel week
lots of LRRH
some of which is destined to become
little girls' skirts
like one?
let me know ...
carrots & peas have always been a favorite too
also looking forward to making something
for keeps from
just the black on off white ...
and
I've been nearly sitting on my letter box
... waiting as patiently as I could
for my name tag in our
SIT swap .... thankyou to Gilly for organising it!
this is what the lovely Megan made for me
all the way from sunny QLD
 love the teeny tine itsy-bitsy ticker tape
design to it ...
and this is the name tag that I made a few weeks back for Michelle
 ... this time next week we'll be in full swing
can hardly wait ...

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

happy bamboo

 new look bamboo baby
travel patchwork blankets
soft
gorgeous
hypoallergenic
anti bacterial
environmental
organic
ethical
pesticide free
absorbent
cool
warm
breathable
sustainable
i've amp-ed up the design of these just a notch
if you like or would like to give one as a gift
i can help you out
 so a little package arrived on saturday
in the shape of a lovely little baby girl
welcome to the world little emily
you can spot the older version
back here ... still good-uns

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Thrifted Lotus

Huh?
Yeah ... made a whirlwind thrifty trip
to a favourite haunt today ..
.
.. bribed my boy with fruity treats as we walked about!

Found this sweet little serving plate ...... that at first I thought it just reminded me
of some favourite fabric
that I can't quite let myself to cut into yet ....
... and then on closer inspection at home
compared one with the other!Woah! Yeah man ....
No recognition of our favourite artist Amy in sight!
Lotus pattern is identical to my naked eye!
Do you think I should tell her??!
Yeah, ok I'll drop her a line & see what she says about it!!
I'll let you know what she says huh!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Whirly Gigs ... Swap 1 March 2010

I sadly missed out on the social time but here are our 'swaps' from our first Block Swap ...
Here are all mine plus a few extras I've made along the way! Great fun!
... I'm "in" with x2 sets of the Whirly Gigs but we have the HST's going on as well ...
&
of course some more fabric shopping was to be done:
Red & Aqua fabrics of course!
From: The Sweet Home Quilt Co

Friday, March 26, 2010

x2 stamps out of 11 ...

Not a bad effort for an Aussie a long long way from home
.... just happened to be the weekend of the "Quilt Shop Hop" .... great idea!
Two shops visited means I have x2 charms & x2 patterns ...
one from Sweet Home Quilt Co
which smelt soooo good .... like a cinnamon apple pie baking!
(I just loved the mini quilts above: all from Sweet Home, these images are from their blog! ... particularly the one with the old sewing machine!)
The set of 3 would have been about 10x14cm each & the other about 20x25cm
So cute!
I want to make a mini quilt! or 2!
& the other from Intown Quilters ....
My purchases: ... so many wonderful choices & a bright cheery atmosphere at Intown Quilters, I didn't quite know where to start ... we had a stressful drive getting there! TomTom said only 15mins but it took 45 in traffic! Thought I was walking in at 15mins before closing ... to discover specially extended hours! Perfect!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Summer Colour Eye-Candy!

Ginger Blossom . . . waiting patiently for 2010!
&
the new owner!