A DRUNKEN TILES QUILT

I’m so excited to finally share this quilt with you today.  It’s been complete for some time now and I’ve been itching to let it see the bright lights of the blogsphere.  You may remember from this post that this quilt was originally named ‘A-quilt-that-reminds-me-of-the-beach-until-I-think-of-a-better-name’.  Well, it’s now called ‘Drunken Tiles’, and can be found in the latest issue of Fat Quarterly Magazine which is published today!

I was honoured back in November when I was sent a bundle of Sphere by Zen Chic for Moda from Lynne at Lily’s Quilts, tasked with designing and  making something for the upcoming precuts issue of Fat Quarterly.  Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have seen some colourful scribblings and a few WIP shots as I worked on this quilt earlier in the year.  I didn’t want to tempt fate and mention who it was for just in case it wasn’t good enough and I didn’t make the cut!  When I found out I had I was over joyed.  I’ve loved every minute of my quilting journey but never would have imagined, way back when I started, that a quilt I’d designed would be featured in so prominent a publication.  Things like that just don’t happen to this guy!

This quilt make full use of the fat eighths I was sent.  I was aiming for a quick and simple design that could be made up in a range of sizes and fabrics, appealing to beginners and more experience quilters alike.  I used a stack and cut approach to make the blocks, pairing the prints with coordinating Kona solids, speedily delivered by The Village Haberdashery.  I used a widescreen crosshatch print by Carolyn Friendlander for the backing, which I’ve since panic stashed, and finished the quilt off with a great bike path print by Alison Glass.  The quilting reflects the fabric collection’s circular name and is a meandering stipple with loops.

I love the fresh, zesty colours of the Sphere collection and you can see why I was quick to associate it with sun, sand and all things summer.  I feel warm just looking at it!  The fabric dictated the location of the photo shoot, the first that’s taken place away from my house.  I took advantage of a rare day of sun in Wales during March to snap the shots.

Be sure to check out the issue for all the other great quilts that are featured!

 

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A-QUILT-THAT-REMINDS-ME-OF-THE-BEACH-UNTIL-I-THINK-OF-A-BETTER-NAME-QUILT WIP

Those of you who follow me on Instagram may have noticed I’ve been messing around with a bundle of Sphere by Zen Chic for Moda recently.  I can’t really say too much but this is a special project for me and for that reason I haven’t shared much of its progress here.  I’m waiting for it to be finished before I finally reveal all…not like that cheeky!

As I’ve made this quilt I’ve grown to love the fabric collection even more. I loved the comma collection, also by Zen Chic, and Sphere has some great, bold prints as well as more subtle stash blenders.  The colours are so fresh, and although I usually shy away from yellows  I had great fun matching the collection to solids using my new Kona colour card.  I even took the opportunity for a little night sewing in the attic whilst the man was away.  It was strangely satisfying to look up and see the moon rather than the sun.

As this quilt has a an imminent deadline I’ve made great progress in a short space of time.  In fact, this is probably the quickest I’ve made a quilt.  After a marathon quilting session yesterday and this morning, all that remains to be done is squaring up and binding.  My binding fabric arrived this morning after some super quick delivery time from The Village Haberdashery, and is already cut and sewn together.  Talk amongst yourselves whilst I go and press it…well, you want that reveal don’t you?

STASHING #8

Doesn’t your heart just melt when you hear that four-letter word.  You know, the one that gives you goosebumps and makes you flutter your eyelashes at your significant other.  That’s it, sale, or more specifically, fabric sale!  I know that’s two words consisting of ten letters but who cares; this isn’t a Scrabble board!  After all the over-indulgence of the festive period I need to shed a few pounds and so did my wallet.  My inbox was full of newsletters and ads detailing all the wonderful fabric sales that were taking place.  I didn’t really know where to start so I just dove right in!

M Is For Make had a great selection of reduced fabric and I indulged my love of graphic neutrals.  There are still bargains to be found, with up to 70% off some lines.  New items have recently been added, much to my chagrin, including Feathers and Bike Path from the Sun Print collection by Alison Glass.

Clockwise from left:

Riley Blake – Small Chevron in black, Timeless Treasures – Sketch in charcoal, Robert Kaufman – Owl Nest in Black, Uno – Raindrops in white, Stitch Floral – Stitch Square in stone, Michael Miller – Random Pencil Check in denim, Michael Miller – Random Pencil Check in linen, 2wenty Thr3e – Modern Girl in pavement, 2wenty Thr3e – Fox Trot in pavement.

The Village Haberdashery had a great sale, with up to 65% off some fabrics.  I added to the stash with simple chevrons and some more pieces from the ‘Uno’ Collection, a few of which are still available.

Clockwise from left:

Riley Blake – Chevron in grey, Uno – Floating Axes in turquoise, Riley Blake – Chevron in navy, Uno – Half Moon Stripe in teal, Riley Blake – Small Chevron in grey, Uno – Half Moon Stripe in navy, Riley Blake – Chevron in aqua.

Finally, some bargains a little closer to home.  I was hoping that the haberdashery department at work would be putting the Tula Pink ‘Acacia’ prints into clearance, but alas I had to make do with these.  I’m not usually fond of these types of novelty prints, but having finished a baby quilt recently I guess I was thinking with that cap on.  The stripe will make great binding and The Hungry Caterpillar print was too cute to leave behind.

That’s it!  What bargains have you added to your stash recently?

A VISIT TO THE VILLAGE…AND A GIVEAWAY!

Firstly, hello to all those joining me from Lily’s Quilts.  The Small Blog Meet is a great way to get to know others just like you.  There’s so much inspiration and creativity out there, so take a moment to enjoy it by visiting some other blogs.  If you’re a blogger with fewer than 50 followers, be sure to link back so that others can find you.

I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since I had my mini holiday in London.  I love that city; the sights, the sounds and the bountiful opportunities for stash-sourcing.  What with shopping and sight-seeing the two-day break flew by, but I made sure to save time to visit The Village Haberdashery.

The Village Haberdashery
47 Mill Ln, London NW6 1NB
020 7794 5635

I first came across this shop online late last year.  I was looking for a fabric retailer that focused on the high quality, designer prints that I was beginning to incorporate into my quilts.  In fact, my first purchase was a number of the fabrics I used in the dinosaur quilt.  The whole ordering process was simple and hassle-free and I vowed then that it would be my go-to online store.  Imagine then  my pleasant surprise when I found out that a bricks-and-mortar store was to open; an expansion of the online operation.  I was excited…very excited.  The opportunities for fabric shopping here in Cardiff are somewhat limited, so I knew that I’d have to visit the store whenever I next found myself in London.

The Village Haberdashery is easy to find.  A 15 minute walk from West Hampstead underground station (located in Zone 2 on the Jubilee line) will take you past a bustling concourse to the quieter, more idyllic Mill Lane, where the beautifully dressed shop front will catch your eye before the sign above it.  I’d arrange to meet Annie, the owner, who’d kindly agreed to answer some questions about how the shop came about.  She’d just returned from Quilt Market so I was eager to find out about all the goodies she saw there.  After my wandering eye had taken in the wall of fabric, the notions and trims, we got talking, stopping now and then to serve a customer or see to Harvey, her adorable son who she told me is also director of sales; quite an achievement for somebody still in nappies!

“I used to work in PR”, Annie tells me, masterfully juggling materials and motherhood, “but that would be hard to go back to now.”  I learn that the online store started in February 2012.  Annie lives just down the road from the shop and used to work from home.  “When things started to take off I knew I’d need a bigger space.  It was perfect timing when this place came up.”

The store is gorgeous.  Bolts of fabric line one wall.  Even with a quick glance I spotted Heather Ross, Riley Blake, Michael Miller and Denyse Schmidt.  Despite the media-fulled warnings of a super storm days before, the sun streamed through the window and made the prints all the more appealing.  As the name suggest, the shop stocks more than fabric, offering shoppers a delightful array of threads, yarns, notions and trims.  With so much choice, I asked Annie what fabrics she likes and how she decides what to order.  “I’m drawn to bright colours and interesting, small collections.  I love anything by Anna Maria Horner and Cloud 9.  I tend to stare at things until something takes my eye.”

Annie told me that a typical day involves getting up at around 7am, feeding Harvey and packing supplies to bring to the shop.  It’s so nice that Harvey and Annie get to spend their days together at the shop.  At 10am they open, and the hours are filled with fulfilling web orders, checking the inventory, ordering stock, blogging and general tidying, all whilst attending to the steady stream of customers that come through the door.  The shop also runs classes.  Thursday nights are knitting nights, but a quick glance at the ‘classes‘ section of the website and you’re bound to find something that takes your fancy, from crochet to machine applique.  There are also patchwork classes run by fabric designers, though these fill up quickly so it’s best to book early.  “Another thing we’re doing at the moment is projects in a bag.  Everything you need for a project to just grab and go.”

Despite the money burning a hole in my pocket, I left with just a couple of additions for the stash, though it was hard to walk away from the as-yet-unreleased ‘Botanics’ jelly roll by Carolyn Friedlander that Annie had brought back from Market.  When I say I left with just a couple of things, that’s not entirely true.  I’m so excited about Quilt From The Attic’s first giveaway!  Annie has very generously provided a bundle of ‘Collage‘ by  Carrie Bloomston.  This gorgeous fabric is bold and artful, filled with letters and textures that make it perfect for so many projects.

As this is my first ever giveaway, you have 5 chances to win:

• Sign up to follow Quilts From The Attic and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
• Sign up to receive The Village Haberdashery newsletter and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
• Share a link to the giveaway (tweet, blog, Facebook, Pinterest) and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
• Like Quilts From The Attic’s Facebook page and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
• Like The Village Haberdashery’s Facebook page and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

I’ll leave the giveaway open for a week then randomly draw a winner.  Please make sure I have a way to contact you should you win.  I’ll also announce the winner by edit to this post.  Thanks for entering and good luck!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

The winning comment was number 9.  Congratulations hannlib!  I hope you enjoy your prize.