Playtime

My sewing room has been 'de-commissioned' to make way for beds two little people. I am itching to get back into production but, in the meantime, all I can do is play.

These beautiful thread colours and fabrics are an inspiration and, as I play, I dream of what I can create.

The first thing I will be doing when things get back to normal is to finish off the mystery quilt. I have completed the last block of embroidery and all that remains is to join everything together. That will be a nail biting time and I hope my piecing has been accurate.

The first of many

I have made what I hope will be the first of many little dresses for the littlest one. (I am not counting the Christening gown.) Mandy and I chose a denim fabric for the dress with a red velvet trim.


I lined the yolk with a Liberty fabric because I thought a double layer of denim would make the dress too bulky. I am happy with the result and she looks adorable wearing it.

The liberty fabric matches the plum buttons perfectly.

I used an oliver & S pattern. These gorgeous patterns are the brainchild of Leisl who writes the Disdressed blog which I like to read. Every pattern comes with a wrap-around sleeve from which you can cut out a little paper doll and dress her with cut out clothes. It made me feel seven years old again when I did this.

You can buy the patterns from Oliver & S in the US, but they are also available from Duckcloth here in Australia and I bought mine here because it arrived faster and being the impatient person I am I wanted it immediately.

We are very excited because Duckcloth is now selling the cut cloth fabrics on line. Check out their great website.

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I have been tagged by Michelle at Hathersage Hall. I have never been tagged before and am not really sure I know what it means, but it makes me feel like a real blogger and not just someone who does this for her own fun. Apparently I have to write six unimportant things about me. Well, here's the surprise - everything about me is unimportant, except for the fact that I managed to produce two wonderful daughters and they are very important. Well, here we go...

I love the three fs - family, flowers and fabric. Make that four fs and add food to the list.

I like to be able to go to bed at night knowing that I have achieved something during the day - even if it is only something small.

I love to read and could happily spend all my money in bookshops (after I have spent all my money on fabric, flowers and food).

I have so many projects and books I want to either start or read, I doubt there will be enough time left in my life.

I would love to be able to travel to somewhere fabulous at least once a year.

Roses are my fabourite flowers.

And that gives me a good excuse to post a photo of a rose from my garden which I love - Meg (and because it is a while since I posted a photo of a rose).

Apparently I am now supposed to tag six other people. I hate to be a spoilsport and hope I don't break some sort of chain which will mean I go straight to blogger hell, but I don't feel confident at this stage of my blogging career to do this.

Material girls

Our new fabrics have been on the website for some time, but I thought I should show them in the blog as well because the pics on the website are very small (a problem which we hope to overcome). Even these do not show the fabrics at their vibrant best. I am amazed at how hard it is to photograph a piece of fabric. I am sure a professional would laugh at my attempt, but we can't afford professional photography. Clicking on the image below will enlarge it and make the designs easier to see.

Copyright the cut cloth

The exciting thing is that we/our wonderful screenprinter, Gregory, can print any of these designs in any colour a customer would like, so if someone has, say, a red couch and they would like cushions in the same colour - we can do it. How good is that! The fabrics are also available for sale by the meter.

The most popular fabric so far has been this one

and we have had to order more from Gregory. I feel for him working in this hot weather - he tells me his oven for 'cooking' the fabric after it has been screenprinted reaches 140 degrees. Can you imagine how hot that would make his studio when the air temperature is already over 100 degrees (in the old measurement). I feel weak at the knees just thinking about it and will have to stop my monotonous complaints about the heat.

Creating a Miracle

Our screenprinter, Gregory, called this morning. He was about to print our fabrics and asked if would we like to come and watch the process. WOULD WE? We were in his studio in 15 minutes and spent the next half hour totally enthralled. Here is a screen ready to have the ink applied.
Gregory prints the first screen and creates a miracle. The fabric is draped above the table like a tent and, with the fans gently whirring overhead, I was immediately transported to an exotic location. The fabric then goes into a heat box to be "cooked" in order to set the ink.
Tomorrow, all the fabrics will be finished. Here is a sneak preview from some of the proof prints Gregory has done. We are so grateful to him for being so patient with us. At times, our lack of knowledge must have been very difficult for him. His advice and suggestions along the way have been invaluable.
As I was watching this fascinating process I couldn't help thinking how my life has changed over the last 12 months. What I was doing a year ago (stuck behind a desk for ten hours a day) and what I am doing now couldn't be more different and I am loving it.

Streetscape

Today Mandy and I met with our wonderful screenprinter, Gregory. When we arrived at his studio we were met with this scene which was enhancing the suburban streetscape. For a while we were so overcome we could only sit in the car and admire all these beautiful screens sitting and 'cooking' in the sunshine. Next week, they will be used to produce our new fabric. For the rest of the day we could not get these images out of our minds. We both agreed that, in the journey of the cut cloth, today would have to rate as the most exciting day we have had.

Bamboozled by Colour

We are getting down to the pointy end with our fabric. We have an idea of which colours we would like to use, but there are so many variations within each colour range it is giving us headaches. We think we have chosen a colour and then we see something which we like better or which we think will work better with the other colours. We had no idea it would be so difficult to finalise this aspect. The choice of colour can change completely the way the design looks and, until the fabric is actually printed, it is hard to know how it is really going to look. We want to give the range a summery look, but we don't want it to look too pastel or 'lolly'. So we will continue to bury ourselves in colour and hopefully, at the end of the exercise, we will emerge with something with which we are extremely happy. Wish us luck!