Cutting Garden Weekend Workshop

There's been a lot of prep work going on this week from the Sunshine Coast to Vancouver to Whistler. Scrap bin diving, pressing, cutting. And more cutting, cutting, cutting.  This is Cutting Garden Weekend for myself and 19 friends! We're all coming together to spend two days working on this gorgeous, scrappy quilt and learn a few new piecing techniques.  I'm looking forward to sharing some of my most special scraps and swapping 2" squares with everyone. This quilt really is a joy to lie under and seek out those precious fussy cuts and coveted prints.

I've got some exciting news for all of you, too! I finally opened a pattern shop on Craftsy! Now you can purchase .pdf downloadable patterns for 5 of my designs including Cutting Garden. The best part of this pattern is that I'll be donating a portion of profits to the BC Cancer Agency twice yearly in memory of my friend Deanna and Tracey's friend Chelsa. 

Once we arrive at our great venue Saturday morning and grab a cup of coffee or tea the fun will start. We'll all be able to take a rest from the rotary/ruler routine and cut in bulk with two super cute Sizzix Fabi cutting systems. I've got all of the necessary dies required for our 2" squares, 2" strips, half triangle squares and circles.  Many thanks to the Sizzix company for generously providing us with the equipment we need! One lucky quilter is going to win their own Sizzix Fabi to take home this weekend! 

I'm grateful to the following sponsors for providing some fantastic loot for our goodie bags that are all packed and ready to go.  Everyone will leave with some great new patterns, notions and kits, all provided by my generous industry friends.

        

  

   

Plus Bernina Canada!

I'll share some workshop photos next week. I hope you  have some fun sewing plans this weekend, too!

New Year Sponsor News and an epic giveaway!

Did Santa run out of room in his sleigh for your wished-for fabric? No need to pout; I can help.

The gals at Sew Sisters will get your order to you in Canada totally FREE of shipping charges this weekend. I often wait for free shipping deals to stock up on quilt backs, since 6 meters of fabric makes for a rather heavy package.  While you're at it, they've also got a promo offer of 30% off WonderUnder if a fusible web project is on your 2016 list. 

  

  

Here are four great quilt back options I found in the clearance section! Just My Type and Oh Boy.

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Over at Fabric Spark, Daryl's got some lovely new fabric in stock from Erin McMorris, along with some fabulous new bundles (FQ or 1/2 yards for some) hand-picked by her and some of your favourite bloggers. I may even have a little bundle up my sleeve for next month ; )

Noe by Erin McMorris

A gorgeous bundle based on some of Leanne's selections, available in the pre-cut section.

EXTRA EXCITING NOTE:

My blog partners have all jumped on board to support my upcoming epic giveaway on Instagram.  I've been offering giveaways here since I started blogging, but now I've reached a big milestone over there on IG. Any day now, I will reach 5000 followers - that's pretty crazy. I want to celebrate and say thanks to everyone that follows along and interacts with me there, so that's where the epic 5K giveaway will take place. If you don't have a smart phone, IG is also available on the web or ipad. I'd hate for you to miss out! I'm busy sewing up something pretty fab for one lucky winner and it's going to be packed with great stuff.

Stay tuned! Just as soon as the prizes arrive here, I will photograph and post the giveaway...plus I've still got to dig up 3 more followers to make it to 5K, so I have some time.

It's Basic!

Looking to stock up for your winter sewing projects? Sew Sisters has a great promotion running the entire month of November. I think I've used every one of these Kona colours and neutrals or backgrounds! Take your pick of Ash, Snow, White, Charcoal or Black and order a minimum of one meter (that's 40" off the bolt for you yardy-types) to get the discount!

Fabric Please! Discount Code!

I'm pleased to welcome a new partner here at Poppyprint - a Canadian online retailer called Fabric Please!  I asked Rita to share a little bit about herself and her shop, but you all get a whole lot more: a discount code good for the entire month of November! 

Rita tells me that she's sewn most of her life and like most of us, she's always loved fabric. It seemed a natural career choice for her to help others fulfill their fabric needs.   The online retail option was a perfect fit for her family, keeping her at home and allowing for flexibility with her work.

At Fabric Please! you'll find an eclectic selection, leaning toward fresh modern prints with a few pretty florals thrown in to balance it all out.  Rita tries to carry a selection from the leading designers (Tula Pink, Lotta Jansdotter, Jen Kingwell, Art Gallery and various Moda designers to name a few) in both yardage and bundles.  You'll also find Aurifil thread cone and spools (in multile weights), batting and an extensive SALE section. She buys what she likes and also listens to her customers, sourcing their favourites or helping them find what they need for the best price elsewhere if necessary.  She's got a great business motto: I'd rather have a customer go away happy instead of just going away. 

Rita enjoys passing savings along to her customers and offers them flat rate shipping ($8-CAN, $15-US, $30-INT) so they have more money to spend on the thing that matters most... pretty fabric!  Every order placed with Fabric Please! also receives a little “something for nothing”, which is Rita's way of saying "thank you!"  You'll find a free fat quarter, a mini-spool of Aurifil thread or a notion of some sort hidden in Rita's signature brown paper packages tied up with string. I love surprises, so this is right up my alley!

In addition to her shop, you can find Rita all over the web:

Newsletter:  http://fabricplease.com/blog/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FabricPlease/

Instagram:  fabricplease

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ritaferber/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FabricPlease

Personal Blog:  http://pinprickedfingers.com

To celebrate our new partnership, Poppyprint readers can enjoy 25% off their total orders from today until midnight on November 30, just use the coupon code POPPYPRINT (and feel free to use it multiple times). 

Thank you Rita!

My Favourite Thread Deal

I'm happy to pass along the news to you lovely readers that my blog partner Sew Sisters has a fabulous special on this month!

This is the only piecing thread I use, ever. I've been piecing with Aurifil 50wt (orange spools) for over 10 years and all of my quilts are wearing perfectly fine with no broken seams (side-pressing works, people). I've been growing my collection of 40 wt Aurifil (green spools) colours as well and am enjoying it immensely for quilting!  28 wt (grey spools) remains my top-stitching thread of choice for work on bags, pouches, sashiko by machine, and anywhere that I need a punch of colour.

The special is for a multi-pack of these three perfect peicing staples: white, dove and black. I'll be buying one right after I post! Get them while they're hot, right here.   I think I'll also check out Tula's extra wide Free Fall backing fabric in 6 different colours and have a peruse through Jeni Bakers Curiosities line that just arrived!

108" wide Free Fall - navy

Look, it's George!!

Happy Shopping!

Need Some Quilt Backings? How About Bindings?

If you're like me, you've got a stack of quilt tops just waiting for a good sale so that you can stock up on yardage to use for backings. So, here is some sponsor news for you: Sew Sisters has just added a bunch of new fabrics to their end of season sale rack at a shocking $4.99/m!!!  That means a queen-sized quilt back could be had for less than 40 bucks.   Everything is in limited quantities, so no dilly-dallying!

Like this Love Grows print from Paintbrush Studio.

This Kaffe Fassett Folk Art print would do for the back of a Christmas table runner or tree skirt!

There are also several prints that I think would make really fun binding, like this navy/white Riley Black Fly Aweigh Waves (also available in yellow and red).

Or this Riley Blake Unicorns & Rainbows bias stripe (available in 2 additional colourways). I love a bias stripe that I can cut on the straight of grain!

This Pepe in Paris bias stripe is a sure winner, too.

While you're there, if you don't already own a package of Clover Wonder Clips, then pick up the August featured product and be amazed at how useful they are in your sewing room: secure your binding for tacking, hold outer and lining of bags together, clip stacks of blocks in row order. Know any more uses? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

Happy Shopping!

Looking for that special SPARK? or maybe a giveaway?

Then you're in the right place!! I'm really proud and happy to have a new partner here on Poppyprint: Canadian online shop Fabric Spark.  I met Daryl at Spring Quilt Market and was immediately drawn to her kind demeanour and mutual love of unique fabric substrates and prints.  We recently enjoyed an unexpected visit right here in Vancouver!  I wanted you all to know more about Daryl and her lovely shop, so asked her to share her philosophy and vision.

Fabric Spark started as Daryl Aitken’s passion project. She had nurtured a love of design and creative endeavors in her spare time as a sewist/knitter/crafter and in her career spanning over 30 years in advertising and marketing. For most of that time, making took a distant back seat to work, but finally last year after selling her small business, Daryl got to turn her attention back to her first love.

Nani Iro double gauze!

Fabric Spark was launched last January and reflects Daryl’s belief that good fabric design should spark your imagination and start the ideas flowing. “I like to look at a piece of fabric the way a sculptor looks at a hunk of marble… if it’s really great, I start thinking immediately about all of the things I’d like to make with it” That’s her buying filter for the shop – the fabric needs to inspire her, and in turn, hopefully inspire her customers....

Lotta Jansdotter's Follie collection

..and it does! Daryl provides a personally inspired write-up for just about all of the collections in her shop and even makes a few suggestions about what she’d do with it: what’s the “spark” from the fabric?  

I love Daryl's May bundle - still available!

Fabric Spark also has a great selection of patterns and Wool and theGang yarn from the UK, and there are monthly subscriptions that deliver a specially-curated bundle of coordinating fat quarters to subscribers every month.  She is also kindly selling autographed copies of my book from her shop at a great price (yay!). 

Often Daryl find unique limited run prints (I love her Japanese and double gauze finds!). Be sure to sign up for her newsletter at the bottom of her shop homepage so you don't miss out on these special fabrics. You can also keep up with shop happenings and specials on the blog, Facebook or Instagram. Fabric Spark is one of the few Canadian retailers with stock of Anna Graham's sublime Rainwalk (in organic quilting cottons and cotton canvas - pictured above). I may have just placed an order....

****GIVEAWAY BUNDLE****

Thanks for reading all about my newest partner. I hope you'll check out her shop and support a fellow fabric junkie. Daryl would like to share one of her custom bundles featuring some gorgeous classics (below) with one of my readers (that's YOU). All you have to do is leave one comment below for a chance. A random winner will be chosen Monday evening (Aug.3) after what I hope is a lovely long weekend. Please be sure your email is linked to your comment, or written into your comment - if I can't contact you, I'm afraid the random number robot will get to choose another winner.

This is my last birthday month giveaway. Good luck friends!

ETA:Comments are now closed, thanks for stopping by. Congratulations to Kristy of Hopefulthreads who is commenter #84. The RNG chose YOU!

Stitching at Sea

Ahoy! We're home from our epic week aboard the Celebrity Infinity!  Myself and 18 quilty friends spent a wonderful week exploring the Alaskan ports of Icy Straight Point (Hoonah), Juneau and Ketchikan, plus a trip into the Hubbard Glacier which was spectacular. We were so very well taken care of by the wonderful staff aboard the ship (shout out to the electricians who kept our irons hot and our machines running!). In addition to plenty of sewing time, we ate so well, drank lots of delicious wine and coffee, danced, were entertained in the theatre and a few of us even played the slots and went ziplining (more in the next post!).

This embroidery hoop was my surprise for all of the Stitch at Sea Alaska participants. I drew up the design and had my pal Berene tidy it up in Illustrator so that I could print it directly onto white Essex linen through my inkjet (I cut the linen to 8 1/2" x 11" pieces and ironed them onto freezer paper. If you set your printer to 'cardstock' it will grab the thickness of the linen + freezer paper and feed it through!). 

conference room Beta - our studio for the week (design walls/batting supplied by Pellon!)

I taught two workshops on the cruise for a total of 9 hours of instruction, but we had many more hours of free sewing (one night at sea several intrepid quilters stitched until midnight!). First we played with the luscious Oakshott colourshotts which I had kitted into four Alaskan-themed colourways for my Improv Under the Influence technique class. Students had their choice of Midnight Sun, Northern Lights, Glacier or Fireweed. You can see the results here (sadly, too windy for an outdoor photo, so we took over the Grand Staircase inside the ship).

Most people stuck with the "Chess on the Steps" layout, but as you can see, a few took my encouragement to try alternate layouts for their improv borders.

The second workshop was much more precise: the mini Lonestar Circle. We were all feeling the effects of a week at sea, being well fed and toured around.  People chose their Cotton & Steel FQ sets I'd curated, cut their strips and started piecing, but we didn't get far enough for photos, really. On our final day, the sun was shining through the Inside Passage and most of us chose to pack up our supplies and head up to the top deck to enjoy some stitching in the sunshine while keeping an eye out for whales.  Many of us were rewarded with Orca sightings! I saw a baby jump fully out of the ocean (I thought it was a porpoise), but then the mama's massive dorsal fin appeared, followed by her tail. I was super excited to have my first "Orca in the wild" sighting!  

More photos and stories coming....but first a word from our sponsors:

Over the previous few months I contacted several folks in the industry and was able to put together some fabulous goody bags for everyone, in addition to collecting enough incredible door prizes that each quilter went home with a bonus as well. Special thanks to all of these generous sponsors!