Sunday Stash #1

This year my stash has increased 100 fold.  I think it's because I just. love. fabric.   I am purchasing fabrics faster than I can make things.  So what better way to admire my burgeoning collection than to join:

 

 

 

 

 

 So without further ado, I  share with you my latest, and most festive purchase to date:

 

 

 

There are endless exciting possibilities for this fabric.

 

But over the festive period I am going to be away from my sewing machine for longer than I care to think about, so I am going to have to indulge in a little EPP. 

 

My plan is to make a placemat for Santa's mince pies and the carrots for Rudolph.  I am in the very early design stages, but I am thinking possibly a snowflake type formation. 

 

I just can't wait to get started playing around with some festive little hexies. 

 

 

What are you making this Christmas?

 

 

Sarah x 



 

 



A Sneak Peak

For the last week I have been working feverishly on a project that I am very excited about. 

 

It's a quilt and pattern that I'm putting together for a magazine publication.  I won't go into anymore detail for now, but I hope it will be on the shelves of a newsagents near you some time next year.  (Cue squeals of excitement not dissimilar to a child on Christmas morning). 

 

It's been so much fun, and lots of hard work, and I can't tell you how much I want to share it with you. 

 

But of course that would spoil the surprise.  So for now, the best I can do is give you a little sneak peak of the quilt top, before I started what can only be described as a machine quilting marathon.

 

 

 

The marathon quiltathon continues. And I am loving every stitch. 

 

Linking up with:

 



Sarah x

 

Tea and a Chat with Handmade Harbour

I had the pleasure of having 'tea and a chat' with the lovely Wendy of Handmade Harbour today.  I would be thrilled if you would take a peek.

 

http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.com/2012/11/tea-and-chat-with-sarah-ashford-of.html

 

Wendy has a lovely blog, with lots of craft chat, interviews and advice.  She also has a website http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/index.html   where she sells wooden plaques and signs. Aren't they just gorgeous, and would make the perfect gift for Christmas. :-)

 

Thank you so much Wendy for having me, it's been great sharing the story of Quilt Candy so far and I hope we meet again soon.

 

Linking up with:

 

 

Sarah x

 

Choosing Fabrics

I think I love quilting so much because I love fabric so much.  And what better way put beautiful fabrics to good use than in a quilt that is going to be loved and cherished.

 

Regrettably, the range of fabrics available in Jersey is somewhat limited.  I do so miss the luxury of walking into a quiltng shop and mixing and matching fabrics, playing with colours and pattern combinations.  So I do have to mainly rely on the internet for my fabric purchases.  You never can quite experience the fabrics in the same way as if you had them in your hand.  It also makes it hard to mix and match; sometimes the colours in real life are just that bit different to how they appear online. 

 

So to get over this, I tend to purchase fabrics in bundles and collections.  There are so many gorgeous bundles out there, and I do have to resist clicking 'add to basket' every time a new collection comes out.  But sometimes I see a new collection that I know is perfect for my brand and I just to have it immediately. 

 

That's what happened when I saw the Petite Odile Collection by French General.  It was in my basket before you could say 'Paypal.'  Just look at how gorgeous it is. 

 

 

 

 

I love the warm, muted tones paired with the beautiful vintage details. 

 

Children playing;

 

 

 

Dogs wandering;

 

 

Letters dancing;

Flowers blooming;

Berries gleaming.

 

I have some exciting ideas for a quilt with this exquisite fabric and I can't wait to make a start and share them with you. 

Sarah x

Spreading the Word

Jersey is such a small and beautiful place. 

 

 

And it's also full of beautiful independent shops, selling beautiful things. 

 

There is one shop in particular that I love, a boutique shop selling designer baby gifts.  It's called Boo's Boutique and it's in the centre of town, conveniently only 5 minutes walk from the maternity ward at the hospital.  Here is their facebook page if you would like to take a look;  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Boos-Boutique/297780853585424

So imagine how thrilled I was when they agreed to stock my latest promotional postcards that arrived the other day;

They have pride of place at the counter. Perfect :-)


Sarah x

Happy Drawing Blanket

I had been looking forward to using my leftover Ed Emberley Happy Drawing Fabrics for some time now.  (The original quilt is here.)

 

And then the weirdest thing happened.  I got them from my stash, and I thought I'd just catch up with a few blogs before starting to sew.  I went to my friend Yzo's blog over at Chez Roo and low and behold, she was using a different version of the very same fabric at exactly the same time. 

 

Check it out here... http://chezroo.blogspot.com/2012/11/chop-chop.html

And it gave me an idea.  I just loved the idea of appliquing individual animals.  So I thought I would add a couple to the solid patches of my blanket. 

 

And I thought this sleeping blue frog on the back would be quite fun too. 

Don't they look cute!  Thank you so much Yzo for the inspiration. 


Here is the finished blanket;

And here it is keeping one of my son's dinosaurs warm.

I think I love the porcupine most of all.  Which one is your favourite?

Sarah x

Mug Rug Love

I wanted to share with you a little project that I have been working on these last couple of days.  Not Quilt Candy related, and but let's say Quilt Candy inspired. 



A trio of mug rugs

 

Let me tell you about it.

 

My daughter, who is three and a half, started nursery at the local school back in September.  And she just loves it.  Every day she does so many wonderful activities, whether it be arts and crafts, singing, reading, playing outside, swimming, forest school, music, dancing, the list is endless. 

 

So I wanted to make her teachers a little extra special thank you present for Christmas.  And this is what I came up with.

This one for her Keyworker;

This one for the other Nursery Officer;

And this one for the teacher.

I combined my new favourite technique, English paper piecing (EPP) with a little hand quilting, using my favourite no. 8 pearle cotton thread.  The binding was machine stitched on the front and hand sewn on the back.  



I am a qualified primary school teacher myself and I know just how much work goes into ensuring that the children have as many valuable learning experiences as possible.  So this is my way of saying thank you. 

And what better way than sitting down and having a nice cup of tea. 


Sarah x

PS Apologies for the small collage photos.  Blogger does not want to play ball today.  Anyone else had the same problems?