pOm pOm Trim.... snowballs!! and a Scottie x

 Quick Flash update...

There are new prices on the 15 metre cards of pOm pOm trim.

Now available in these cute snowballs, aswell as Aqua, Raspberry and Apple - for just £12.50 for the full 15metres on a card. Awesome value. I am so happy as that makes it cheap enough to use for any  projects - or even Christmas wrapping!

Aaaah, i made a cute mini-scottie as a prototype to "see if i could"...

 Then i made my daughter a bigger version for her bed.

Randomly i had the exact same ribbon in my stash that matches his own collar.

 - "ahhhhhh" she said *sniff* "you should have put lavender in it"

ggrrr, the thing is, i thought EXACTLY that same thing when i had finished him!! tsk tsk

Another bright and linen mix Log Cabin cushion as i was desperate to try some of the new fabric stash i had bought. Now i have seen it together, i am even more convinced it needs to be made into a quilt!

That's all folks xxx

2011.....no rest for the [very] wicked

 Was there a holiday? Did we have a break from work?

Forgive me if that all seems a vvverrrryyyy long time ago now!

Aaaaah, i shall not complain about 'work' - you all know i LOVE it.

I had to catch up on a few commission pieces from 2010....

 Mainly, log cabin cushions-a-plenty.

The above is a smaller cushion, packed with Hops, Lavender and Chamomile. The brief was "use blue", so i did.

 Then there were 2 cushions - much larger, approx 20inch x 20inch

I was so pleased with how these turned out.

A lady ordered them for her daughter.... and then kept them for her own bedroom!

[well, why not?]

 Old shirt labels and mixed linens (mmmmm, linen) and some Japanese fun scraps.

 Starting a new batch of thhhhheeee cutest PinPuffs, with an eyelet and bookring so you can hang it: on a bag, on your sewing machine, on your needlebook....

 This is totally irrelevant to my sewing activities but WOW! how much do i love my new giant bird ring? It is an awesome Sales find of £2 and totally too big to be practical.

 This cushion is for me - in red, pink, slate, blue... it shouldn't work, but it does....

 Yummy scrap of vintage lacework and more old shirt labels....

 And, lastly, yellow Tulips - from my friend MrsB

[she knows what i mean]

Joy to the world my friends

and the happiest of fresh New Years xxx

Cushion Making....

 I had a lovely crafty day last week, sewing up some cushions. I admit tha,t a few have been sitting in the cushion box for some weeks 'waiting' patiently for their final filling.

 This is a really large cushion made in log-cabin style patchwork and quilting.

It is a comission from a local lady who liked my work but wanted something BIGGER!

I tend to make smaller pieces as they sell better at Craft Fairs and are easier to ship internationally, so it was a real pleasure to go bigger with this cushion.

 I love adding all the details to my pieces. Appliqued trims and patches, the odd button, ribbon tags. I think this is what makes my work 'me' (however often we 'artists/ designers' are replicated.....)

 I must confess at buying these handmade crocheted flowers as an embellishment for my pieces. I have no time or talents for this. I love the detail they add and how a flat faced cushion becomes touchable / tactile. Most senses are stimualated in these designs

Tactile exteriors coupled with the fact that these cushions are packed with:

LAVENDER (for relaxation)

CHAMOMILE (for sweet dreams)

DRIED HOPS (for restful sleep)

 I just feel i can never photograph these to their true potential. Maybe because internet selling relies on just one sense - you can't sniff these or hold them in your hand, like you can at a Craft Fair or in a shop.

 They are primarily made to put on your bed (hence the herbal stuffing)

but they are equally at home on a dining chair or a sofa.

And, of course, choosing between all the delicious fabrics available is probably my favourite task.

Linens and unbleached cottons V bright crisp quilting cottons?

There is room for a little of everything x

and now for some quilting...

I haven't quilted anything since i was about 13 years old.
I tried quilting when my mum bought me a book called "Happy Quilts"... i probably still have one or two hand-stitched hexagony 'shapes', half started and never finished, in a mothy box somewhere.
My mum wasn't a confident seamistress and didn't feel able to hand down what untrained knowledge she did posess, so, in turn, i never felt equipped with the confidence to continue. 20 years later... (can that be true?) and i am an entirely different being.... indeed, i am now a Fish.
I had it in my head last week that i was going to try some simple, 'Log Cabin'-esque, quilted pillows. And so that is what i spent last night and this morning, doing.

I made this large and simple quilted pillow for my cheeky little nephew. Actually he loves KNIGHTS! so i might work on a mini quilt for him (if i can source some good Knights fabric)

And below was the first quilted item i have finished - ever!: Needless to say, in true KirstyFish manner, i am now hooked and obsessed with quilted scatter cushions (lavender stuffed of course)

My first mini-pillow used strips of fabric 1.5" wide and i found it took me too long. You know what a short attention span i have. So i increased the width to 2" strips and it was a quicker process with just as much satisfaction.

Now, i am going through my family members thinking "what would my niece like?" ..... "it IS Mothers Day soon" - any excuse to make me some more.

All that yummy fabric.... *sigh*

This afternoon i ordered 50 metres of batting, 10yards of fabric and 2kg of lavender.

You know i don't exaggerate about 'how much' i get obsessed with things. You have seen the evidence right here!

Not being entirely frivolous, i decided to back the pillows in contrasting felt, as you *know* i have plenty of that stuff :)

And a few little details on the back to finish, gives them that special touch.

Because you love crafting too, you'll know how great my day was today... x