Fabric Binge

A few months back I did some temping for a local newspaper, and I promised my Facebook followers that as soon as the money came through, I'd have a fabric binge. Well, after four months of waiting the cash finally showed up in my bank account... and I headed over to Castle Court Quilter so fast that my feet barely touched the ground.

My fabric haul, in a neat pile of loveliness. Almost too pretty to cut up. Almost.

Swallows on blue and sage, and a corresponding blue, white and sage print. These are all from the Floragaphix range that has been so popular.

Bright florals are always a joy to work with. And they make very cheery pads!

Birds and books.

More batiks, as requested. The batik range is small, but I liked this earthy design and the vibrant red floral.

The ever popular "Gypsy" print, this time in bright red. Should look fabulous with black fleece and snaps.

A couple of old favourites that I'd run out of.

Finally, how organised is this?

A print for this year's holiday pads. Hey, I said HOLIDAY, I didn't even mention the C word! This will sit in my cabinet until November, and until then we will speak of it no more.

Speaking of Facebook, I'm 7 "likes" away from 100. It's very exciting! To show how much your support means to me, I will hold another giveaway as soon as I reach triple figures. If you haven't already liked my Facebook page, please do - the sooner I reach my target, the sooner you get a chance to win a free pad! (That's a menstrual pad, not an iPad. Sorry, you can't play Angry Birds on it.)

Christmas Pads!

Given that it is snowing softly outside, this seems like the perfect time to announce a new arrival to the store - Christmas pads!


I have to admit that I previously never understood the point of holiday pads, until a couple of years ago when I received one in a trade. That year Aunt Flo arrived on Christmas day (having arrived on my birthday the previous month), and I was very glad to have a shiny new festive pad to wear. It helped take the sting out of being crampy at Christmas, and has since become one of my favourite year-round pads.

So far the Christmas pads are available in pantiliner, 8.5 inch, 9 inch, and 10.25 inch sizes. 11.75 inch Christmas pads are in progress, and I have a menstrual cup pouch waiting to be sewn up.


Speaking of Christmas, after four years of living together, my partner and I have just bought our very first Christmas tree! I can't wait to decorate it. I don't think I will be adorning it with mini pads, though... ;)

Fabric Addiction

I love that I have a job that enables me to feed my fabric addiction. Buying fabric counts as work, and is therefore justified. I don't even mind that it isn't for me, as long as I get to play with it.

Now that I've moved to Shropshire, I'm about two miles away from the most wonderful quilting shop I've ever visited. Tucked away above a dentist's surgery in a small rural village, you'd never know it was there. Discovering it is like finding hidden treasure. Two rooms are dedicaded to floor-to-ceiling shelving packed with bolts of gorgeous designer quilting fabric. These are adjacent to an enormous studio with state of the art quilting and cutting equipment, where they host workshops and events. You can even hire the studio for personal use, if sewing at home is difficult.

After we got settled in, of course one of the first things we did was visit this place. This is what I came away with:


*swoon*

Some of these beautiful new prints have already been made up into pads, and I have more cut out, so look out for them in the shop! I seem to be all about the blossoms and birds at the moment; it must be summer.


In other news, the shop got pretty well cleared out earlier this month, so my partner stepped in to help me re-stock. We've discovered that we make quite a formidable team! She's taken most of the cutting off my hands, leaving me free to concentrate on the sewing. I hadn't realised how much time the fabric cutting eats up - a lot, it turns out. With her help I've reached a record 40 products in the shop, several of them having more than one in stock. More choice for you, and less stress for me!

We don't know how long she'll be able to help me before she gets too busy again, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. I like having a minion.