whole lotta love for Jansdotter

Sorry, I've been saving up that title ever since we first ordered the new Lotta Jansdotter range, Glimma... and now it's here!

Just as beautiful as her last two collections, Echo and Bella; Glimma is quintessential Jansdotter.  Clean crisp lines and colours inspired by nature make Glimma a must have for this summer.  The collection includes designs on 100% cotton...

 

and - a first for Lotta - also on canvas!  

  

 

Making Glimma a really versatile collection, lending itself beautifully to so many different projects.

 

 

 This is sure to be a firm favourite here at HQ - we just can't get enough of Lotta!

 

 

 Whether it's canvas or cotton - to get your hands on Lotta's latest, click here!

 

 

Exciting Heather Ross News! Plus Ode To Orla Update

Oh, how exciting to be able to tell you that we have Heather Ross' new Briar Rose collection as a pre-order on the website!

This long awaited new collection celebrates summer, sunshine and lazy days spent amongst the clover. I cannot WAIT to get my hands on it! We are expecting it to hit HQ sometime in July/August but we think this one is going to be a hit so, to pre-order click here.

 

Applique Update

Ode to Orla is the name of the first block in my new quilt project.  In my previous post I explained how I am stepping out of my comfort zone and going 'sans machine' for the entirety of this project - terrifying, I thought!  But actually, this applique lark is proving really addictive! 

So here's my little stash of fabrics.  I may not use them all - and have already added others, but I love the really bold feel of these super-bright playschool colours.  It has already been nicknamed 'The CBeebies Quilt' in our house.

 

 

Anyway, this was my 'Ode to Orla (not a leaf in sight yet!) on Tuesday at the first ever Wendover Sewing Bee where I actually got some sewing done.

 

 

It was quite embarrassing to have to take it at this stage along to our second class on Friday - especially when there were some in the class who had totally completed theirs and were raring to go on the second.  But I was comforted by the fact that I wasn't the only one to have made little progress and assured by Deb that it would all come together (and besides, our next class isn't for a few weeks now!)

 

With this in mind I thought I ought to get my finger out.  So here it is after a quiet hour in the shop on Saturday, thanks to the horrendous thunderstorm that was the weather in Wendover on Saturday afternoon .. hailstones .... HUGE ones!  In May! Very odd weather.

 

 

 

Doesn't look much different, huh? I know - but there is quite a bit of progress, honest! For one, I swapped two of the little circles round (did you notice?) and also a lot more has actually been sewn on and not just basted.  Deb taught us how to do traditional needle tuck applique on Friday - I am tempted to have a go - but perhaps on the next block.  I'm too pleased with the progress on this one to go flub it up at this stage!



 

So - progress on the 'totally by hand' thing? I don't think I'm totally ditching my 'Impatient Maker' moniker, but I definitely am ENJOYING this! 

 

Stepping out of my comfort zone

I am very excited! On Friday I am well and truly stepping out of my comfort zone and starting an applique quilting class. Yes, I could have picked up a book and got the hang of it myself.  But there is something rather lovely about learning a new skill alongside others.  Something about a shared experience that you just can't get by sitting at home on your tod. I'm lucky to have Plain Stitch practically on my doorstep and those of you who have read this blog before will know that Deb of Plain Stitch is going to hold 'taster' classes at HQ's new home in Wendover.  Deb's Modern Applique Course is a bit longer - taking in 9 classes over 7 months - one class per block.

It's something I've always wanted to do and I have made a few quilts before, but they've always been machine pieced and then hand tied.  Yes, I know it's cheating but it's QUICK! You still get a gorgeously colourful and snuggly quilt but in a fraction of the time. I am, to those who know me, renowned for my impatience.  Mum can spend a couple of years (actually I think her record is 5!) happily picking up a quilt as and when and patiently, lovingly, hand-quilt it with beautiful, minuscule, even stitches - and I get that, I really do.  The satisfaction in the knowledge that you have made something beautiful totally by hand in this on-demand, shortcut world in which we live is immense.

But I well and truly live in that world and although I can accept that nature intends for me to wait 6 months for my parsnips to sweeten up, I cannot accept that the thing of beauty I want in my life has to take that long to create when my Janome is calling, no - screaming to me, that I could have it next week!

 

Well, I am attempting to become a changed woman.  I'm not saying I will give up on being a quick-fix queen - dedicated to her machine; I have far too many things that I need and want to sew - like the roman blind my husband begs for every morning after getting out of the shower!  But I have decided that this one is for the long haul.  I'm going to make this quilt COMPLETELY by hand! Yes, completely!  And now I've said it here, I've got you lot to answer to if 'Ms Impatient Maker' decides to make a Mr Hyde-like appearance.

 

I'm thinking of using some of these fabrics. . .

I want this quilt to be nice and bright as it's eventually going to go on the  trampoline dilapidated sofa in the kitchen where the boys spend most of their play time.

So, do we want to take bets on how long it will take me to finish it?  My guess is that you will have to be reading this blog in a year's time to find out for sure!

It's lovely to hear from you - let us know about your own quilting experiences and any thoughts on the totally by hand way versus quick fix machining!

Sewing Bee - yipeee!

For those of you in or near Wendover, Deb of PlainSitch and I are putting out a call to all you creative types to come and join us at the brand new Wendover Sewing Bee!  We constantly hear about people doing amazing things on their own who want to get together with like-minded people.  Well here's your chance.  If you have been sewing for years, a short period of time or it's something you've always wanted to get into but haven't known where to start, come along and see what it's all about.

It will be separate from the classes at Fabric HQ or Deb's longer quilting classes.  It's a place to get together with like-minded people and sew, chat and drink tea (with the odd cake courtesy of Rachel thrown in to keep up your creative stamina!)  A couple of hours for you without the every day distractions of home or work competing for your attention and giving you that frustrated sewing feeling.

As inspiring as The Great British Sewing Bee has been (and there are some great tutorials from Judge May Martin here, by the way), we want ours to be more than just a clothes making gathering.  Any sewing project you have, you can bring along - it'll be the perfect chance to finish all of those UFOs (Un-Finished Objects!) you've got lying around.  You can ask advice and swap ideas as well as be inspired by what others are working on.  What could be better? And I for one am relishing the opportunity to have a couple of hours a month dedicated sewing time - with so much else going on, it's a rarity these days!

Interested?

When: Monthly, starting Tuesday May 7th 9-11am
Where: St Anne's Hall, Aylesbury Road, Wendover
What: Bring along your project - big or small! Chat; drink tea; SEW!!!

Coming soon . . .

We've been wanting to extend our range of basics and are really excited to have the full range of these little lovelies winging their way to HQ.

as well as a these . . .

That's all for now - have a lovely weekend!

Shop's Open!

Firstly I need to apologise for the radio silence here on the blog these past few weeks.  We've been - if this is not an understatement - a little busy.  But it's been worth it. Finally we can announce that we have moved into HQ's second home - the wonderful Courtyard Gallery in Wendover!

 

The fantastic Melanie Bird, who runs both the Courtyard and A Little Bird Told Me Galleries, invited us to increase our small offering of stacks and quarters and we now have nearly 150 fabrics in pre-cut quarters, halves and full metres as well as ribbons, ric rac, buttons and other lovely habby delights on offer.

 

We're really excited about this next step for HQ - it means we have a space that we can make our own and are now finally able to share face to face our love of beautiful fabrics.

 

 

And, with the help of the brilliant Deb Maguire of PlainStitch, we are now able to make reality another of our dreams: to hold sewing classes in our very own space! Details of these classes will be up on the website in the next day or two.

 

 

 

So if you are anywhere near Wendover (and you dedicated followers of fabric shops know that 'near' is a very loose and relative term when it comes to getting your fabric fix!) please do drop in and say hello at The Barn Courtyard, 25 The High Street, Wendover, HP22 6DU.  We want to make clear that the shop is an ongoing project which (with a bit of luck and the continued support of you lovely people) will grow into our full time home sometime in the near future. 'The Shopette' is what we are calling it for now but there are so many delicious goodies there already.

Jacqui will of course continue her sterling work looking after our website operations but up until such time as we can acutally be living in the same county (yes, 50 odd miles between us does make things a bit awkward sometimes!) we will be working from seperate bases. We are, however, so excited about what the Gallery has the potential to give us: one base for Fabric HQ.

We are touched by all the support we've had from so many of you truly wonderful people. It would be great to finally meet some of you face to face and spend a little time chatting about what floats our collective boat: Fabric!

 

New in . . .

What with the massive success of Jill MacDonald's 'What a World' collection, we were astronomically excited (sorry, it's been a long couple of weeks!) about the arrival of her new collection logically entitled 'Out of This World'.

 

This adorable children's collection makes astronomy fun! The planets, suns, moons, stars, rocket ships and astronauts are all presented in bold primary colours - we love it!

 

Visit the website for more lovely new arrivals and keep checking back for some exciting haberdashery due in soon. We've been listening to you and have acted!

One for the dressmakers

 We're so excited - look what's on its way: Beautiful new Art Gallery Fabrics!  These high thread count 100% cotton fabrics have an amazingly soft feel, lending themselves fantastically to dressmaking as well as crafting, quilting and home decor.  We spent an age drooling over these fabrics at Craft, Hobby and Stitch last month and finally they are on their way! We have ordered fabrics from the following collections:

 

Floressence . . .

 

Color Me Retro . . .

 

and Indie . . .

 

A couple of weeks ago I used the bundle of quarters I picked up at the show to make this scarf.

  

I love the feel of this scarf - it's so soft.  I'm planning a dress in one of the new fabrics . . . maybe one from the Indie collection? Decisions, decisions!

Talking of Dresses . . .

Washi dress pattern update:  The pattern is proving so popular that the lovely people over at Made-By-Rae are reprinting - hooray!

 

We're waiting on a date but rest assured, we'll let you know when they hit HQ.

 

Oh, and guess what?

Fabric HQ have been featured in Make and Craft magazine in their April issue!

 

How exciting!

. . . and the winner is . . .

Comment number 293!

 

Congratulations Annalie Lockhart! Please get in touch with Jacqui on our Facebook page so that we can get this fabulous fabric stash on its way to you.

 

 

Commiserations to all those who did not win -we really were overwhelmed by how many people entered our giveaway and would like to thank all those who left lovely comments too - you are so very lovely!  There can, of course, only be one winner this time but please sign up for our newsletter (at the bottom of the page here) so we can keep you informed of future news and giveaways - you wouldn't want to miss out on that now, would you?

 

 

Just to let you all know that our Christmas fabric sale will be ending on Wednesday evening so, if you are very cleverer and more organised than me, click here to grab yourselves a bargain for Christmas 2013!

 

Enjoy the rest of the week - looks like Spring has finally sprung! Come back on Friday for an update on the lovely new range of Art Gallery fabrics that we have been getting so excited about.

So, our exciting news is . . .

We're opening a shop!

The time has come to do what we always dreamed of and have somewhere that people can mooch around, touch and see our fabrics in the flesh (so to speak!)  We're taking space at A Little Bird Told Me Gallery in The Barn Courtyard, Wendover High Street, Buckinghamshire and we're hoping to be up and running sometime over the Easter holidays - a date which seems to be approaching at lightening speed!

Our work online will continue as usual, with Jacqui at the helm, doing a sterling job of getting all your gorgeous little parcels out to you in super quick time. But, if you, or anyone you know is near to Wendover, do pop in and say hello. It will be so wonderful to finally meet some of you in person. We'll keep you posted here and on Facebook as to when we're properly settled in to our new home and our opening times. It's all ever so exciting (and, if we're honest, a little bit scary!) turning our dream of a proper home for HQ into a reality. But the support and enthusiasm we've had from you all has made it all jolly good fun so far - and we plan on there being lots more fun to come! ; - )

But back to the reason we're all here - the fabric!

Just arrived - This wonderfully colourful vintage beauty of a collection: Sew Retro

. . . and coming soon: Need a bit of spring 'zing'?  Michael Miller's Zoology in fresh pinks and this season's must have colours, lime and orange fit the bill.

Please don't forget!

Your chance to enter our fantastic fabric giveaway worth over £100 ends at midnight tomorrow - 1st March.  Don't miss out - do it now!!!  Yes, right now ... right here!  Good luck to everyone - the winner will be announced on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend x

Taming the inner control freak





In Friday's post I showed you this scrummy stack of Art Gallery fabrics that I picked up at the Hobby Craft and Stitch show at the NEC earlier in the month and left you with the question: What could I make with these?  Well, as much as I really want to make a new quilt (I think the last one I made was about ten years ago - correct me if I'm wrong, mum!) and this stack would have made the most amazing quilt, I thought that was a bit ambitious given that I had only three days in which to complete said project.

 

So, seeing as we love the flexibility of Art Gallery's fabrics, I thought I'd make a patchwork scarf instead of a patchwork quilt (I love projects you can complete in an hour or two - makes me feel very smug!)  The weight of the fabric really does lend itself beautifully to making clothing and I simply adore all those rich colours.

 

Seeing as this really is a very easy project, I set myself a little challenge:  Could I do what I've been told is a real skill in patchworking: be completely and utterly random with what goes where?

 

I thought it would be easy - but it's so very very NOT easy (for me, at least) to let the fates decide. I think the logic is that Nature is random - and beautiful - so to mimic Nature = beauty.  Here goes then!

 

I knew I couldn't use all the fabrics in the stack, unless I wanted tiny blocks of each - the patterns are too gorgeous not to be shown off so I left out the two most geometric . . .

 

 



and then got cutting! 

 

Once I'd cut the strips I cut them again into smaller strips, trying to be as random as possible.

Then came the really hard bit:  I threw all the fabric strips into the air, closed my eyes and picked them up randomly and put them into a pile. I then divided the pile in two and sewed them together in the order they were in the pile I'd made.  Boy this was hard for me!  Would they look OK?  What if two of the patterns next to each other are too similar?  I really didn't know I had such a hard time accepting randomness, although this comes as no surprise to my husband who groans every time I ask him to hang a picture - out comes the tape measure to make sure it's EXACTLY in the centre of a wall - 'Does it REALLY matter if it's 5mm off?', he pleads.  'YES!' is my unfailing answer.  You are beginning, no doubt, to see why this was so hard for me. 

 

Anyway, two sides of the scarf sewn together and laid top sides facing - shock, horror, there are two strips of the same fabric touching!!  Let it go . . . it will be alright . . .  

. . . and it was!  I am sooo in love with this scarf!

 

 

 

 

  . . . and it goes beautifully with this t-shirt despite the hanging thread left in my haste!

 

 

. . . and now I can do random-ness?  Well I did move ONE piece of fabric - only one, I promise! Two of the cream backgrounds were together.  To be honest, I think it would have looked just a cool if I'd left alone!   Random-ness: 1 - Rae: 0.

 

The Art Gallery fabrics are all so absolutely gorgeous that we are having trouble deciding which ones to get first - Watch the 'Coming Soon' page of the shop for details of which collections we will have, erm - 'Coming Soon!'

 

Is it just me or do you find it hard to leave fabrics combinations to chance? What do you think of the scarf?  Better if I'd planned it?  Be honest now - I promise I won't be offended!  Do you have a tried and tested method you use for choosing fabric combo's?

 

Let us know what you think or if you have any tips and tricks on random-ness to share by using the comment box below. We always LOVE to hear from you!