Five fabrics, five threads...

Shopping for fabric and thread is serious business.

So serious in fact that I think long and hard about what I'm buying, and most especially about why I'm buying it in the first place. 

Most hand embroiderers and quilters are becoming increasingly mindful of their stash purchases these days and I am one of them, which is why I thought you may like to know the guidelines I follow when visiting a quilt shop.

In the photo above you can see five fabrics and five skeins of embroidery thread which were purchased last week.

The fabrics are a cream cotton/linen blend (perfect for embroidery), two Tilda prints, and two Tilda basics in spot and check. The threads were purchased to blend with all five fabrics...

As simple as it sounds, this is my criteria for a shopping trip to the quilt store...

* Can the fabrics be used together in multiple settings?

* Can I mix and match the threads with the fabrics?

* Exactly what projects will I make from these items?

* How much do I need of each fabric? 

* Are any of the fabrics likely to be out of stock soon - if it's possible I may need more later should I buy an extra 1/4 metre now?

* Am I sure there's not a similar print sitting in my stash at home? If there could be, how needful am I of the fabric in my hand? 

* Are any of these purchases an impulse buy? If so, what will I make with it? Only buy if I have a clear purpose in mind.

* Can I afford the items?

Note: If buying fabrics for a quilt or a large project you may ask yourself different questions, and hopefully you would have a detailed list of what you need to avoid being tempted with things you don't need.

 Now I'm not perfect, and the odd 'impulse' fat quarter will occasionally travel home with me, but not very often. There were too many impulse fabrics left holidaying on my shelves in the past and I no longer desire their company nor enjoy adding to their numbers, so I've become rather 'Scrooge-y' and fussy about fabric acquisition.

The five fabrics and five threads I purchased last week all mix and match to my requirements...

 

 I can use the linen, pink spot, or blue check as backgrounds for my stitchery designs....

 ...or I can blend the check and spot with the two florals for a patchwork design.

Each of the threads will sit beautifully on, or surrounded by, the fabrics I chose, plus in my home thread drawer are more colours which will marry with these new skeins (such as a deeper pink, mid-range green, and a cream)...

Back home unpacking the bag after my little shopping trip, I was excited about these carefully considered purchases; not guilty nor regretful, just very content knowing I would use them all.

If you're wondering how much I bought of each fabric -

1 metre cream cotton/linen blend

1/2 metre blue/pink/green floral

1/2 metre blue/cream floral

1/4 metre pink spot

1/4 metre blue check

Do you have a list of questions you ask yourself before you buy fabric?

 hugs

Different colours, different styles...

Last week and over the weekend I finished embroidering the final three patterns for this month's Stitchery Club issue, as well as a pastel version of "3 of Hearts" and a fabric envelope for our March Project Sheet.

'Sweet Home' was inspired by a recent quiet time when I was reflecting on what mattered most in my day to day homemaker life. The answer? Creating a home which wraps itself around my family and friends as they walk in the door, filling it with thoughtfulness, calm and beauty. That atmosphere means a lot to me and I believe it should not only be welcoming but reflect my work-in-progress hospitable heart.

The fabric used in the applique is a 2008 print by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill from her "Flowers for Emma" fabric line. I chose it for the soft range of blues and that little touch of gold, which seemed very restful to my eyes. Using only two thread colours for the stitchery carried that same restful feel into the completed design...

'Over in the Clover' is my little nod to St Patrick's Day, though I did not add a four leaf clover but stuck with nature's trio. I wanted to recreate a soft and pretty floral spray, the kind my Nana had on the corners of her handkerchiefs before we'd ever heard of Kleenex...

This month I've stitched two of the designs twice to show how using different colours or fabrics can create two very different finishes.

I think small stitcheries are lovely to have on hand for quick gifts, don't you?

'Blooming Heart' is one of the designs I have stitched in two different palettes - country & pastel...

It's also the design featured on the front of the little fabric pocket we'll be making in the Club this month...

'3 of Hearts' is lovely in soft pastels with a touch of Tilda fabric for applique...

...but look how different it can be when stitched with country flair!

You can change the appearance of any pattern to suit your personal style or the preference of someone you're stitching for by simply swapping fabric and thread. 

Perhaps you'll look at your patterns with fresh eyes now? Don't limit yourself to the colours used in the original - play around with something different and see what happens.

These are the remaining two patterns in the March 17th issue of The Stitchery Club...

The Stitchery Club issues are emailed monthly as a PDF file to club members so you can save them to your computer, print up the pattern sheets, and start stitching straight away!

Six new patterns, $9.95. That's less that $2 a pattern. Great value.

Visit the Club page HERE for more details about becoming a member.

It's so easy, and this month I'm sending all new members a copy of Issue 2 (November 2014) as their free joining gift!

You can join for as long or as little as you like. 

There's no minimum membership period to lock you in.

I really hope you'll come play with all of us in The Stitchery Club!

But remember, to receive this month's issue on March 17th you'll need to join by the 16th.

May your day be blessed, and overflowing with good things.

The Notebook: Files - bold blooms and colours...

This month I've been browsing through the September 2010 issue of Notebook: magazine...

...and this is what immediately caught my attention. 

In fact, that photo is the sole reason I decided to re-read this particular issue for my Notebook: Files this month. 

(If you missed my January blog post on The Notebook: Files you will find it here)

You see, I used to think I was your average shabby chic style gal because I adored photos of calm white spaces, soft linens, and old lace on ever-so-creamy white furnishings. I began collecting pretty rose adorned trinkets and scattered them around the house, inhaling and exhaling gently as I stood back to gaze on my new-found floral on white shabby chic display. And I still love them!

BUT.

Over the last year or so much time has been spent pondering the depths of my inner Jennifer, an adventuresome journey of discovery with the sole purpose of meeting me - the me that somehow got lost in the busy and dizzy, hustle and bustle of motherhood, wiving, homeschooling, designing and business managing. The me who wanted the world to stop for a while so she could catch her breath and examine her surroundings to see if they really reflected her style and who she was today.

(by the way, I highly recommend such an adventure)

As the months rolled by I discovered white places were no longer where my eyes would automatically travel when I entered a store or browsed books and magazines. Increasingly my gaze would search for colour, vibrant vintage style colour and design,  with a bit of cream or white thrown in for background or contrast. 

And that is why the cover photo on this month's revisit of Notebook: and the companion article inside immediately captured my heart.

As I turned each page and drank in the lively domestic friendship of pastels sitting beside bold blooms of colour I knew this was confirmation of where my own decorating path was about to flow...

Let's detour a moment, shall we?

Last year, during the first few months of my inner delving, I haunted the local library on a weekly basis poring over their two rather impressive shelves of home-decorating books.

There was one I borrowed three times, and after being reminded by the lovely librarian on duty that third time, "You know you've already borrowed this twice, don't you?", decided if I liked it that much I should probably buy a copy of my own. So I did.

As my heart skipped a beat over the photos in the Notebook: article I remembered this book, sitting 'over there' on my homemaking bookshelf almost forgotten, so I brewed a big pot of Vanilla & Rose tea before settling down to compare and enjoy both.

The vibrant colours, vintage style, pastel accents, mismatched chairs, bold florals with touches of cream and white had stamped themselves firmly on my heart and I knew there was no turning back.

At the moment I'm really drawn to kitchens (maybe because of that dream?)...

Oh, this kitchen. My heart almost jumped from my chest! 

It's a wonderful thing to question your own style, and to allow yourself a slow and delightful time of re-discovery. It's like switching the light on in a room you'd forgotten you had.

Something else I've discovered through this past year is that my previous attraction to the white shabby chic style was actually a reflection of my emotional need for calm. When I would sit for hours on a Saturday evening browsing shabby chic books and blogs it brought a still silence to my mind, a needed few hours of mental rest. I came away relaxed and temporarily restored. Interesting, yeh?

About the same time I began my year of self-discovery I created a Pinterest board to gather ideas for designing a kitchen in case one day we were blessed to buy a home of our home and escape the rental roundabout. It's over here if you'd like to see it.
I've also started a Notebook: magazine Pinterest page here to keep track of the monthly musings I'll be sharing through 2016 and 2017. So much easier if you want to go back and reference something.

Do you need a journey of self-discovery too?

I wonder what you'll find...

hugs

The yellow apology...

Is there a colour you just avoid?

Yellow is was mine.

When we were away on our road trip last month I woke from a very vivid dream on the morning of the second day. In the dream I was standing in a yellow kitchen - a 50's style of kitchen with a large faded and worn wooden table and matching chairs, yellow gingham tablecloth, white vase filled with yellow and white daisies, and a wide yellow floral curtained window above the sink...and I was happy.

Not the happy where you feel gooey and nice about a sweet baby advert on the telly, but the happy that wells up from deep inside your heart and fills every cell of your being. The kind of happy that radiates so wide you feel like you're walking on sunshine and nothing could ever be more wonderful.

The feeling I had deep within as I stood looking over that yellow kitchen took my breath away and I carried it inside me for the next day or two, not sharing a word with Mr E about it until I could no longer access the tangible emotion my dream had evoked.

On the third morning of our trip I told him about the dream and a few tears fell from my eyes as I realised there is a difference between the 'joy of the Lord' I hold dear all the time and in all circumstances, and personal happiness that fills and overflows from the human heart. What a revelation that was!

Emotion aside, the oddest thing about the kitchen and it's furnishings were all the different shades of yellow, and I am NOT a yellow person. I use it sparingly, if at all. I never choose yellow, and I never wear yellow. My response to the question "what about yellow?" is yuk. Every time.

So why did this yellow kitchen fill my happy tank to overflowing?

No idea yet, but I'm sure in time the Lord will bring clarity.

On Saturday I walked through each room of the house looking for evidence of yellow.

Mr E watched quizzically as I hunted in and around, up and down, camera in hand, muttering under my breath "there must be yellow here somewhere" and and occasional "aha!" Wise man, he did not ask what I was doing but quietly headed outside to work on my car. 

Here's all the yellow I found in my home...

When I looked, really looked, at the interior of my home, it was glaringly obvious that those few touches of yellow 'lifted' every scene in which they were placed.

And then in walks Mr E and begins explaining (in male technical jargon that drifts way over my head) what was wrong with the electrical system in my car, and the biggest  'aha' dropped from my lips.

My car is yellow.

And anyone who knows me face to face knows that I love my little yellow Lancer.

The first time I saw one it stole my heart, and many years later (2013) Mr E bought me one. 

It's 12 years old and he cares for it diligently so I can keep driving it here and there for another 12 years.

How odd of me.

I'm re-acquainting myself with Yellow this year, and as you can see I have formally apologised for my less than welcoming behaviour towards it in the past.

 Hopefully it will forgive me and we'll get along swimmingly for ever and ever.

Is there a colour you've avoided?