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Wednesday, 31 August 2011

I am a fabric magnet!


After a long weekend off, I returned to work yesterday to find 3 packets waiting for me. 
2 of these I was expecting, but an airmail packet was a bit of a mystery. 
When I opened it and found this cute little mini quilt, my first thought was that someone had sent me their Doll Quilt by mistake!
But then I found the card and realised it was from Dolores (Deeroo blog), who is one of the sweetest, kindest people in the world. She had made this little quilt, with it's haberdashery themed fabrics, to hang in my new craft class studio. She said she would feel like she was there in spirit then. How lovely is that?
And not only that, but a big pile of Kaffe fabrics (along with a few others)!! Just because she is so nice and generous! Thank you SO much Dolores!!! I was so touched by your thoughtful gift.



Here it is hanging in the studio, the owls are keeping an eye on it (well one of them is)!

And after all that excitement I still had 2 more packages to open! The next one was from Leila 'Where the orchids grow'. I was reading Leila's lovely blog last week, and she was showing off the gorgeous new quilt she is making from Anna Maria Horner fabrics (her hand quilting on this is just incredible). I had been salivating over the amazing fabrics she was working with, when I saw that she was selling leftover scrap packs in her Etsy shop! I went straight over and ordered some. Here's the booty - tons of it! And some little sweeties too - thanks Leila!
This next package I was expecting too. I have been trying not to buy too much fabric recently (*cough*), but I recently came across a new (to me) online shop called My Fabric House, and they had such unusual fabrics that before I knew it I was clicking on buttons and adding to my basket in an uncontrollable fashion (how does this happen?!). I particularly love that Santa one, and it is so hard to find decent Christmas fabrics. Apart from the Kokka stamps linen, I hadn't seen any of the others before. But then, as you all know, I am pretty useless at recognising fabric lines.
But that is all about to change! Because the next fabric to arrive, unexpectedly yesterday morning, was even more exciting!
You all know by now that I have started offering craft classes in my shop, and alongside these I have started stocking some wool and haberdashery supplies (crochet hooks, felt, thimbles, pins, perle cotton and even a whole display of Gutermann's cotton thread!). But of course there is a vital ingredient missing... Yep, you guessed it - FABRIC!! 
I have wanted to stock fabric for ages, and I did tip my toe in the water with Greengate fabric. But you can't really use that for quilts, so I thought it was time I investigated the craft fabric market and got in touch with the Moda wholesaler. Before I could really think about this too hard the agent had turned up in the shop, taken an order for new Moda lines that are coming out over the next few months and sold me some pre-cuts that he already had!!
And here they are, 'Countdown to Christmas' layer cakes and 'Cabbages and Roses' and 'Hometown' FQ bundles. And coming in from October I have a selection of bolts from American Jane's Fairytale Friends, Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934, Little Green Apples, Cape Ann, Felicity and Domestic Bliss!
I totally expect you lot to know what all these are!! I am really going to have to keep up now and do my homework, so expect a lot more fabric knowledge from me in the near future (as long as it's Moda lol). And can you imagine how much fun I had picking these? And how awesome it is going to be when they actually arrive?!!!
It is a bit nerve wracking, with things the way they are, to be investing in something I have not really sold before. But I have wanted to do it for so long and it seems to make so much sense when I will be teaching patchwork, that I am just going for it. 
And the plan is to eventually sell on-line too, so maybe soon I will have something I can offer all my readers, far and wide!