Foreign Treats

I forgot to blog about two wonderfully exciting things that happened a few months ago. Marianne contacted me in August to ask if I would be interested in being interviewed for her three-page article in the October-November issue of the French magazine Quilt Country.

Of course I said yes! It was fun working with Marianne. She had so many interesting questions that I had never really thought about before! I think the article turned out fabulous. I'm planning on giving a copy to my Mom for Christmas. Thank you Marianne! I don't have any extra copies for sale but you can purchase your own copy.

I have added a copy of Quilt Country to my other foreign magazines that include articles about me. Britain, Russia & France... I find that quite exciting :o)

Another excitement happened in London... Liberty of London at Cafe Liberty to be exact! An online blog friend Kerry of VeryKerryBerry asked if she could use my Quilted Teacup pattern to make a sample to go with a Tea Cozy she had made for Liberty Fabrics. I couldn't decline such a sweet offer. She even printed and sewed one of my labels onto the bottom and included my pattern info. Thanks again Kerry! (following: top photo courtesy of Liberty Cafe, bottom photo courtesy of Kerry)

I will leave you now with this lovely treat... a photo of an orange chiffon cake I made for a friend's birthday... if only you could smell & taste it!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Gardening on my Mind

I started my seeds in newspaper pots this year so when I saw this fabulous "Seed Tray" paper-piecing block by Amy of During Quiet Time I knew that I had finally found the perfect use for that newspaper fabric in my stash!

These 10.5" x 10.5" blocks are quite challenging but very fun to make. I have purchased the first eight garden patterns from Amy's shop and plan to buy them all as they become available!

I may add some other garden blocks such as the magical Vintage Mason Jar Tea Lanterns block by Sonja of Artisania, and maybe try piecing some of my own so that I will end up with a queen-sized garden masterpiece!

We have had a lot of rain lately which means that my plants are small but on the other hand I haven't had to water my garden much! I whipped up Christie Fowler's "Rain Cloud" mugrug from Zakka Style that I was most recently published in.

Speaking of books, you will be able to find an article on my blog in this month's Russian CrossStitcher magazine! I think it's quite exciting because this is the first time to be published in Russia. I will give you all a peek at the article later :o)

Here are some more leaf potholders that I made for a friend's housewarming present a few months back. She loves purples and blues and celestial as you can probably tell by looking at them because they are not my usual colours to work with. I pieced together the fabrics in straight lines but curve-pieced the centre vein of each leaf. I like them even more than these crazy patch leaves.

And last but not least, after 5 years of using my Teacup Pouch every day I had finally worn all the fabric off the handle. It was time to make myself a new pouch... and of course it had to have something about gardening on it... and linen of course!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Cotton & Thyme

My SpringTime Bag pattern can now be found in the Taiwanese quarterly quilting book: Cotton Life no.5! This one announces that SPRING has finally arrived with all the daffodil and tulip colours and flower prints galore!

Cotton Life is written in Chinese but includes photos for each step of every project so it very easy to follow. All measurements are in centimetres and includes full-size templates. Each issue includes 28-32 projects including accessories, clothing, housewares, bags, quilts and much more!

I was surprised to see my name on the front cover and I love how they designed my page! Take a sneak peek inside before you purchase a copy from my SHOP.

Here is a closer look at all the details. There is a flowerpot pocket on the front of the bag...

and a little birdie on the back...

and the pattern for the Butterfly Keychain is included!

The bag is also fully reversible if you decide that you want to go plain.

I was out in the sunshine all day yesterday preparing the gardens and planting early veggies. All of my window sills are full of herb, veggie & squash seedlings. Did I mention that "my time (thyme) is up"?!?! Enjoy your SpringTime!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Cotton Life no.4

Cotton Life no.4 includes two of my patterns: Winter Wonderland Candlemat and 'Tis the Season wall-hanging! There are photos for each step of every project so it very easy to follow even if you do not read Chinese. All measurements are in centimetres and includes full-size templates. Each issue includes 28-32 projects including accessories, clothing, housewares, bags, quilts and much more!

I was really happy with how both of these projects turned out :o) Here is a closer look at 'Tis the Season wall-hanging...

And a closer look at Winter Wonderland candlemat...

Cotton Life no.4 is now in my SHOP! Get yourself a copy and have fun sewing these and many more wonderful projects for next Christmas!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Books, Wool & a Spider

As one of the pattern designers, I am proud to present "Cotton Life" all the way from Taiwan!

This new sewing book has a great Zakka look! There are photos for each step of every project so it very easy to follow even if you do not read Chinese. All measurements are in centimetres and includes full-size templates. Each issue includes 28-32 projects including accessories, clothing, housewares, bags, quilts and much more!

Cotton Life no.3 includes my Autumn Leaf Bag set! Look for my patterns in every issue that follows! Now you can find them in my SHOP.

I drooled all over this delicious wool at the fabric store so they made me buy it! I love Autumn colours!

Speaking of Autumn, Halloween is just around the corner. I recently joined the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild and October's block of the month was a 6 1/2 inch square block with a Halloween theme of course! Here is what I came up with! I had lots of fun using up my scraps :o)

... and what would a patchwork spiderweb be without a button spider!

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)

Books & Zippers

Things change...

I have decided to take more of a pattern-design route in my life as most of you already know. Designing the first two issues for Quilter's Connection Magazine was fun and a great learning experience but also quite stressful. It didn't leave much time in my life to focus on my own patterns so I decided it was time to move on. I still design a page now & then or help out with photography or patterns but at a much more toned down level. What I learned is already helping me on my path to my own pattern-making.

Click on the image to get a sneak peek inside!

Several months ago, I was contacted by a new Taiwanese sewing book called Cotton Life to join their team as one of their main designers. This quarterly magazine has a Japanese flair with photos for every step which makes it easy to follow even if you can't read Chinese! I have always dreamed of being part of such a book and I am very excited to once again be published in another language!

For issue No.3 (my first issue), I designed a quilted bag, pouch & keychain set. Now why I designed a round zippered pouch I will never know! Sewing zippers into round bags is DIFFICULT! I tried many ways but I soon realized that sewing them by machine was NOT an option for me! So I decided to do it the Japanese way and sew it in by hand!

The first two pouches were good but the zippers stuck out the sides and I didn't like the loose lining.

The final pouch consisted of two tiny round pillow-cased quilts. I also set the zipper further back so it wouldn't be noticeable from the front.

I was very happy with the finished product... yet another pattern I must add to my list! Send an e-mail directly to Cotton Life to PURCHASE A COPY. For those of you who can wait, I will be adding a few copies of each issue to my Etsy Shop :o)

Enjoy your afternoon tea & quilted crafts :o)