2020

Safe to say it's been very quiet here on my blog. 2020 was a bit of a shock; returning to work after having a baby, only for Covid restrictions to kick in a week later.

Travel plans thrown into disarray; our anniversary trip to Hawaii was first to go, and right now we should be in Chicago getting ready for a white Christmas. Unfortunately the universe had other plans.

Lots of missed time with family and friends as we endured over 100 days of lockdown. There are times when I'm glad to have a house full of fabric!

I've had lots of lovely new fabrics arrive this year, the most recent being Shine On and Hibernate.

I also have lots of fabulous fabrics in the Sale section, with most priced at $15/m.

Wishing everyone a merry and safe Christmas, wherever you may be. If you are in or are heading into lockdown, I wish you all the best. It's not fun, but it is doable, and will be over before you know it.

Kate

Summer Dance by Bethan Janine for Dashwood Studio

Long time no see! In a world of Instagram blogger gets a little neglected these days. But I promise the shop is still going strong, and you can find my most up to date information on Instagram.

The newest arrival in the shop is Summer Dance, which is a great mini collection featuring an array of creatures including the most gorgeous butterfly and bee prints. It's impossible to choose a favourite.

The butterfly is definitely my top pick at the moment though.

You can find the full range and bundles here

Smitten by Bonnie and Camille for Moda

This one has been in the store for a few weeks now but is still on my "get it while it's hot" list.

Such a great range of prints, and includes the addition of wide back lawns and some cute washi tape.

LemonTree from Tilda at Bella's Patchwork

Another gorgeous range that I currently have in the shop is LemonTree from Tilda. I must snaffle some away for myself before it all sells out!

I have most of the range available along with a fat quarter and half metre bundle option.

Pattern Launch: Vernazza

Last year I was lucky enough to have another one of my quilts published in Love Patchwork and Quilting which is released in the UK. Enough time has now passed that I can launch this pattern as a PDF, available directly from my website.

This quilt was inspired by some of the gorgeous tiles I saw during a trip to Cinque Terre in Italy, and was perfectly suited to the Grand Canal fabric range from Kate Spain. You can find the pattern here.

Nest from Art Gallery Fabrics

Sweet sayings and imagery reminiscent of childhood come together with modern designs in Nest. This gender neutral collection showcases cute paws, little bears, and adorable lambs against a contrasting black and white palette for cuddly sewing.

Nest from Art Gallery Fabrics has arrived! I have the full range of cottons available including the three panels. Some prints are selling fast so don't delay.

Dollhouse by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics

Amy never disappoints with her fabric ranges, and this one is no exception. The complete range of Dollhouse has arrived in store, and is available by the metre and as a number of different bundle options.

You'll also see our website has had a little makeover, and is now mobile friendly, so you can shop no matter where you are.

Clearance Sale: Bonnie and Camille Basics

Space is at a premium in our temporary gigs so it's time for this range to find a new home. All prints just $14 per metre!

Prints are selling out fast. Happy shopping!

Wild Bloom by Bari J for Art Gallery

I'm so excited for this range, which is due in store this month.

Wild Bloom is an expression of Bari J’s endless love for flowers. A medley of meticulously painted bouquets, tiny ditzy flowers, vases and branches are splashed with exuberant color and are contrasted by sashiko inspired blenders to have you madly in love with Bari’s signature style.

I will have the full range in stock, as well as fat quarter and half metre bundles. Bundles are available to pre-order now, with the rest of the range available for order soon.

The Good Life by Bonnie and Camille

This gorgeous range is due in the shop any day now, and can be preordered via the website.

Can't wait for it to arrive!

Early Bird by Kate Spain for Moda

Kate Spain is definitely up there as my favourite fabric designer, and she's such a lovely person to boot. Her newest range, Early Bird, has just arrived in the shop and it might just be my favourite yet (I blame all the pink prints!).

I've got a selection of bolts in the shop, along with the full range of precuts.

And if you're a Kate Spain fan, check out my sale section as you'll find some good bargains there as well (including Latitude Batiks bundles).

Basics by Bonnie and Camille for Moda

Newly arrived in store, and on sale for just $18/m for "launch day", I have the full range in stock along with all of the precuts.

Your stash won't be the same without some of these fabulous essential prints.

You can find them here.

Early Precuts: Sugar Pie, Coney Island and Early Bird

We're very lucky to have some early release precuts for Moda ranges that are not due to be released for a few months yet. Numbers are very limited and we cannot get more stock until the official release.

We have Coney Island by Fig Tree Quilts.

Sugar Pie from Lella Boutique.

And Early Bird from Kate Spain.

We're also very close to the arrival of Basics from Bonnie and Camille; bundles of this range can now be preordered and is expected this month.

New Arrivals at Bella's Patchwork

It's such a busy time of year with Christmas coming, and it's definitely busy in the shop. we've had so many lovely new fabrics arrive recently.

Latitude Batiks by Kate Spain
A gorgeous mix of favourite prints and some new ones too. We have quite a selection including all the precut options.

Grand Canal by Kate Spain
Another fabulous range from Kate, this one is inspired by Venice. We have lots of fabrics, precuts, and even a stunning quilt kit in stock.

Sweet Escape from Dashwood Studio
Perfect for the coming summer, featuring some gorgeous prints of bicycles, strawberries and hot air balloons.

Floral Splendor by Cathy Nordstrom
A new experiment for us, as we've never stocked Andover before. This range also screams summer, with a lovely mix of retro florals and geometric shapes. We also have Cathy's range Millefleur in stock.

Ruby Red in Love Patchwork and Quilting

So excited to finally show this quilt off; my Ruby Red quilt which is in today's issue of Love Patchwork and Quilting (issue 40). For this quilt I raided all of the red prints in my stash of Bonnie and Camille fabrics, and there is everything from Bliss right through to Vintage Picnic.

They did such a great job of styling the quilt too; makes me even more excited that I have another quilt with them early next year.

LPQ Issue 40.

Miss Daisy

After we lost Millie at the end of last year, at a very impressive 15 years of age, there's been a gaping whole in my life which has been waiting for the perfect puppy to fill it. After a few false starts and a few broken hearts, Miss Daisy came to live with us recently.

 

 

 

The puppy life is certainly tiring; the constant looking out for puddles and the midnight trips outside for pee time, but she is so worth it. Lola had been pretty lonely without Millie, and now she has this little rascal to keep her company.

 

At 11 weeks old, she has mastered "sit" and "go for a wee", and I'm working on "give me a kiss" which was one of my favourite Millie moves. Right now she has quite the taste for slippers and shoe laces, and likes to collect all of her toys in her bed or under the couch.

Pandalicious by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery

Fresh in the shop this week is this gorgeous range featuring lots and lots of Panda goodness.

I've got the Bao Bao Sweet colour range in stock and have them by the metre, or in fat quarter or half-metre bundles. Too cute!

Fabric Shopping in Japan

I was very lucky to spend a week in Japan earlier this month, and that meant sneaking in a little fabric shopping. Who could possibly resist buying cute Japanese fabrics in Japan itself?

 

First stop was Nippori in Tokyo, otherwise known as Fabric Town. This is a whole strip of fabric shops; not just quilting but clothing and all sorts of other fabric.

 

I

 didn't have a lot of time so I headed for the largest and most well-known: Tomato. This is a series of stores each stocking different fabrics, but the one for quilt fabric is the largest. The top two floors are where its at. The ground floor is great for 100yen fabric but the line goes out the door and I didn't see anything that really caught my eye. I will admit I didn't really find anything much of interest to me in Tomato, I guess because I have my own shop and can access most fabrics anyway. So I walked away with a little Hello Kitty Kokka and that was about it.

 

I also found a great little shop (called Elegance) selling Liberty fabric for approximately 3000yen per metre and grabbed a couple of pieces there, but failed to take a photo of the shop.

 

I hit my fabric jackpot when I arrived in Kyoto. There are two stores a few blocks apart: Nomura Tailor, and Nomura Tailor House (the latter being a bit smaller, but in my mind the better of the two). I went to Nomura Tailor House first.

 

And was thrilled with the selection of fabric available. All the bolts are neatly sorted, and most are available as fat eights at bargain prices, or half metre cuts all pre-packed.

 

I walked out the door with an arm load.

 

 

As a good scientist I also visited Nomura House, but found it wasn't really necessary. Though I did not visit the upper floor. They had most of the same fabrics, but it was difficult to locate them once you'd viewed the samples hung on the wall.

 

 

 

So if you only have time for one and quilting fabric is your thing, go to Nomura Tailor House. You wont be disappointed.

Handmade by Bonnie and Camille for Moda (Pre-Order)

The next range from Bonnie and Camille has been revealed and it is cute!

I'm now taking pre-orders and lay-bys for Handmade, due to arrive in September. Pop on over to the website for details.

Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda

Could any range of fabric be more highly anticipated than this one?

Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille features lots of our favourite prints from Bliss and Ruby, but in miniature!

I have the full range in the store (although a couple of prints have already sold out) and the complete range of pre-cuts as well. I even have the coordinating Aurifil thread sets available.

 Pop on in to take a look.