Sew pretty

Sewing themed cupcakes?  The perfect accompaniment for the Wendover Sewcial last night, of course.

Decked out with all the essentials, including pins, needles, ribbon, scissors and even hand-painted fabric. 

Based on a Pretty Witty Cakes tutorial by Stephanie Janice, these were great fun to make.  I particularly liked the use of the fondant plaques.  They are very easy to do and look fabulous perched on top of their buttercream swirls. 

A practical baby gift

A special letter arrived the other day.  It was a thank you letter from Claudia and included some lovely photos of her enjoying the quilt that I made for her.  Thanks Claudia.  I am so pleased to know that you liked it.

This is another baby quilt that I made recently and it has already been purchased as a gift for a new mum.  I think it will make a wonderfully versatile and practical present.  

The size, approximately 27 by 30 inches, is perfect as a play mat,  changing mat or pram blanket when the baby is little.  It can be folded and rolled small enough to fit into a bag so the quilt can go wherever they go.  Being made from 100% cotton makes it so easy to care for.  Just give it a short, cold machine wash and dry it flat or pop it in a dryer on a low setting.  It will come out as good as new.

Once the baby gets a bit older, the various woodland animals will be great for playing games of i-spy.   It will make a colourful addition at the end of their big bed, as a wall hanging or thrown over a chair.  A useful and beautiful gift for any baby.  

Pat Bravo at The Village Haberdashery

The Village Haberdashery was the place to be on Saturday as Pat Bravo, founder and owner of Art Gallery Fabrics, was visiting to show case their upcoming fabric collections.

Pat showing some of the fabrics from the forthcoming Geometric Bliss collection.

Art Gallery Fabrics was born from a desire to provide modern fabric designs in quality fabrics.  Pat explained that their fabrics have a much higher thread count which is what makes them softer and drape so beautifully (so that's their secret). 

I am fan of their squared elements range and it is my go-to fabric for binding.  It comes in such a fantastic range of colours and they co-ordinate so well with the other collections.   

Of the many new collections coming out soon, my favourite is Cherie.

It is a romantic collection of greys, pinks and pale turquoise that is just lovely.  This one is definitely on my shopping list.

In addition to the fabulous quilting fabrics, Art Gallery Fabrics also includes some knit fabrics and voiles in each collection.

The knit fabrics are a good weight and include a small amount of spandex to prevent bagging.  The designs are gorgeous too and would make fabulous t-shirts, children's clothes and dresses.


Rather than being sheer, the voiles resemble a lawn fabric and combine a soft, silky feel with the easy care of cotton.  They are just prefect for summer dresses and pyjamas.











It was wonderful to have the opportunity to meet Pat and to see at first hand the lovely collections that are due later in the year.

Many thanks to Pat for an inspirational presentation and to Annie from The Village Haberdashery for organising the event.

Let them eat cake...

Cakes and sewing just seem to go together, well, to my mind anyway.  Rae and Jacqui from Fabric HQ very kindly let me make some cakes for the Sewcial last night.

Here's what was on offer.  Lovely marshmallow flowers in gorgeous colours of yellow, pink and green.   They are rather a labour of love but very tasty.

And these pretty little floral creations that were deemed almost (almost!) too beautiful to eat.  Not that that saved them in the end, the scent of vanilla being too much to resist.