Hey, big spender ...

After weeks of relative restraint on quilting purchases, I have weakened lately in preparation for a flurry of creative activity (ha, so don't quote me ... lots of plans, no prospect of any spare time)! In my mailbox this week:

A soft & sumptuous 'Strawberry Fields' layer cake, by Fig Tree & Co for Moda. Purchased from Jane at the very appropriately named Want It, Need It Quilt Store. I highly recommend Jane's store for her prompt delivery and competitive Australian prices on Moda precuts. I have a new quilt planned for these lovelies.

A spring clip and chain from Marg Low Designs, to make Marg's 'Delightful Blooms' purse in this month's Australian Homespun - a perfect little Easter holiday project, that will surely be accomplished in a wink?

And a new quilt pattern from Shea at Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio, at the request of my son, who says it's very cool and wants in it exactly these colours! It is called 'Seeing Squares' and is available here. On first reading, it seems a very clever and well written pattern. I am looking forward to getting my teeth into this one. Son is even offering to learn to quilt, knowing full well how long his last quilt took me to make! Perhaps I'll take him up on it!

Hey, big spender ... S-P-E-N-D a little time with me!

Bloom x

Free to a good home

Just popping in briefly amidst helping my kids through what seems an insurmountable stack of homework and projects. If you want to know anything about the themes of the graphic novel 'Maus', or anything at all about the South China Karst or even the Taj Mahal, well I'm your girl!

Driven to drink, I am sipping a half-glass, late evening tipple of sauv blanc, and having a 15-minute surf before bed. I happened upon this little lovely:

The uber-talented Aussie stitchery designer Bronwyn Hayes of Red Brolly, has designed this very sweet Easter project, and has generously released it on her blog for FREE! Run, go get it here! Thank you Bronwyn, for such a perfect project just in time for some holiday stitching ... if I can just get these teachers to stop giving my kids homework!

A quick fix

There is such satisfaction in finishing a quick project. I made this little iPod case today.

It is from Janelle Wind's lovely book, 'Pieces of Me'. (There is a list of stockists of Janelle's patterns on the left sidebar of her blog).

I have used some precious scraps of Denyse Schmidt's 'Flea Market Fancy', a cobble stone print from 'Flights of Fancy' by Paula Prass, and an XLN Basics orange dot. Oh, and a very old, worn button, which I thought just sort of worked.

Now the only argument to be won is which of the three girls in the house this belongs to. I am betting on the oldest and most persuasive one - ha, that would be me!

Roast plum and blackberry cake

A sweet gem from the Sunday paper, using the last, luscious fruits of summer - a very moist and delicious dessert cake. It is a little soft for lunch boxes, although my kids didn't mind! The recipe is by Karen Martini. Enjoy!

Distracted by colour

My apologies for a quiet blog for the last little while. Life has been busy with kids' swimming carnivals, a school fete, some work days here and there, and trips to the farm. There has regretfully been no sewing time, but mercifully, some thinking time!

I have been thinking about colour. It all started here, with this Anna Maria Horner 'Good Folks' print purchased recently. I noticed an astonishing FIFTEEN colour dots on the selvedge. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this means fifteen different screens for a single print - wow! No wonder this fabric packs a punch!

I love to use the colours of selvedge dots to inspire colour schemes for quilting or stitchery designs.

Another source of colour inspiration is Color Collective. Lauren Willhite has compiled this wonderful resource by using the works of artists, designers and photographers to inspire imaginative, often unusual but always beautiful palettes of colour. Any day that you are stuck for a new colour combination, you are bound to find something to enliven your senses at this site.

image source

You can waste a whole lot of time over at Kuler, where there are endless colour schemes to fire your imagination. Under the 'create' tab, you can upload your own photographs and Kuler will generate colour palettes to match. You can even choose a 'mood' for your palette from colourful, bright, muted, deep or dark.

For colour advice, specific to quilters, there are some great posts written by bloggers to refer to. My first port of call would be the queen of colour herself, Rita at Red Pepper Quilts. Rita has written a wonderful post called Colour in quilting in which she advises to take time to notice colour in the everyday.

Jeni, at In Color Order, is writing a brilliant series of posts called The Art of Choosing which deals with fabric and colour. She has lots of great advice about choosing and organising fabric, based around principles of colour. Pop over to Jeni's and feast your eyes!

And just for fun, here's what happens when colour, a bookshelf and someone with a whole lot of time collide!

Imagine doing this with your fabric stash - how fun! Have a great week,

Bloom x