Getting organised (or .... I love IKEA)

In honour of our first wedding anniversary, Dan and I got some quality kid-free time organised this weekend.

How did we spend it?
A very romantic trip to IKEA of course!!

New shelving for my sewing room to try and get my ever growing stash under control!!

I knew I would never be able to maintain a beautifully stacked display of fabrics like these fabulous stacks ....

1. my fabric stash, 2. To-Do, 3. My CLEAN stash ;), 4. A cabinet of fabric..., 5. My little sewing room and stash, 6. Repurposed, 7. Folded and Color Coded, 8. Folded, 9. organized fabric

 

So, I bought a heap of drawers / boxes to fit the shelves and filled them with colour coded fabrics.

 

Here is the inside of my 2 favourite drawers:

 

 

And of course, some new fabric to add to the mix:

 

 Dream On layer cake purchased at Over The Rainbow

 

 Tufted Tweets fat quarter stack purchased at Fabric Worm

 

Echino Spring 2010 fat quarter stack also purchased at Fabric Worm

 

I think I need to take a break from fabric shopping for a while. Wonder how long that will last??

 

Andi :-) 

 

PS Dan and I did also manage a romantic dinner in town ... just in case you were worried!! 

Inspiration - Where do you find yours?

As mentioned on a recent post, I've been book shopping.

From top to bottom:

Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner

The Gentle Art of Quilt Making by Jane Brocket

City Quilts by Cherri House

Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts by Kaffe Fassett

I find I am using books like these ones more and more for general inspiration and less and less for the actual patterns they contain. For me it's all about the eye candy .... not just the quilts themselves but also the settings in which they are photographed. Beautiful textiles in gorgeous photographs make me feel good! They give me inspiration to sit down at the sewing machine and start playing with fabrics.

But I find that the actual patterns are so (often) self-evident or rehashed from previous books, that I tend not to actually use them. I guess there's not a lot new about patchworking. There's only so many ways one can sew squares, rectangles and triangles.

In addition to these sorts of books, I have begun looking to general design and pattern books for inspiration. Books about interiors. Books about architectural style. Books full of lovely photographs to inspire the imagination.

Where do you look for your creative inspiration?

Andi :-)

Maddie needs a big girl quilt!!

It occurred to me that my great-niece Madeleine, who will turn 4 in a couple of months, doesn't have a Patch Andi quilt on her big girl bed!!!

How neglectful of me!!!!

So this is her quilt top all finished.

Blocks are large-ish .... 7 inches sewn.

Matches the red gingham sheets on her bed.

Now, on to the backing .....

Andi :-)

More info on the Craft Room classes

I've just had a heavenly time at Amitie selecting fabrics for the 'Quilt-as-you-go Cushion' classes.

Lots of choices with brights and neutrals included.

Tempting?

Andi  :-)

Modern Melbourne Quilt Guild

A fun new group meeting monthly in the North Melbourne area.
Yesterday was the third monthly meeting and I actually remembered to take some photos this time ...

Lots of stitching, eating and chatting ....

Many gorgeous creations to admire ...

And lots more .... but you can see more of the lovely eye candy by visiting the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild site.

If you are in the Melbourne area, enjoy a quilty thing or two, and haven't joined up yet ..... check it out!!!

Hope to see you there some time.

Andi :-)


PS Don't forget to check out the Melbourne Craft Room Classes!!

The Craft Room ... wanna come??

Notebook Magazine has finally brought the Craft Room to Melbourne .... a great selection of crafty classes for beginner and experienced crafters alike.

Come along and learn basic sewing, English paper piecing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, pattern making (or even a bit of quilting with me!!) There's a great selection of teachers taking classes at one of Melbourne's best quilt fabric shops so you can get your fill of eye candy too!!

Read more about it here.

Sign up for August classes here.

Come along and have a giggle and make something new.

Andi :-)