Creative Customer August Competition Winner

As always their were so many fantastic entries in this months creative customer competition! Be sure to have a look at our customers amazing talents showcased in our handmade inspiration gallery.

Congrats to Rebekah who made this fabulous and funky laptop bag using a combination of Amy Butler, Kokka Yugyoku Floral Purple and Kokka Croquant Brown Stripe fabrics.

I chose Rebekah's laptop bag this month as I loved how she pulled off such an amazing and eye-catching bag using three very different fabrics that came together so well! Notice how the croquant stripe is the same tone as in the outline of Amy Butler's design and also came together well with the white within both of these fabrics and the Yugyoku floral also picked up and complimented a couple of colour's in the Amy Butler fabric while at the same time introducing new colours to the mix contributing to the funkiness of this bag. The basic stripe also broke up and worked really well with the two patterned fabrics. Great eye Rebekah and what an inspiration! Rebekah has been inspired by Amy Butler patterns but also managed to put this bag together based on things she has seen over the years. I also love the chair the bag is hanging from.... where can I get myself one of these?

Thanks to all customers who were a part of our competition last month and I look forward to receiving this month's entries of customer creativeness! Further details on entering are available here.

Kristen Doran Hummingbird

Kristen Doran is well known for her beautifully detailed hand screen printed textiles both here in Australia and overseas. Her latest unique and contemporary 'hummingbird' is stunning in design and features a gorgeous soft mustard and grey colour palette.

I am a huge fan of Kristen's versatile craft panels most commonly used for cushions, bag making, wall art, and childrens interiors but I am delighted to see her recently print on yardage, broadening its applications for larger home decorating and furnishing projects!

Available in two lovely basecloths! A cotton/linen blend which is a great all-rounder for homewares such as lampshades, cushions, drapery, and light upholstery whilst still a lovely weight for skirts and bags as well as 100% cotton, perfect for summer skirts, blouses, linen, as well as lighter home decorating projects.

Photos courtesy of Kristen Doran.

Kristen's latest 'Cuckoo' craft panels are gorgeously unique and reflect another fabulous aspect of Kristen's designs being continuously appropriate for all ages! Fun for a child's decor as well as sophisticated enough for a ladies bag, or contemporary cushion in the living room!

Gorgeous deep red, chocolate and avocado green on stone.



and deep red, charcoal and dusty blue on stone..

SULTANchic Upholstery

I have many customers asking whether the medium-weight Japanese fabrics such as Kokka and Echino, are suitable for upholstery purposes. My answer to this question is "yes", however a fabulous example is the above chairs upholstered by Albert, owner of SULTANchic a fantastic and very unique business running out of New York. Albert sources unique and vintage furniture from all over the world and lovingly restores and transforms them into 'one of a kind' works of art! Albert purchased 'Kokka Blooms Aqua' from us and the results above are exquisite!

Thankyou so much for sharing your wonderful images Albert and I can't wait to see what you come up with next for the Echino!

Creative Customer June & July Competition Winners

JUNE GALLERY WINNER!

Laura has done a fantastic job re-upholstering a complete set of worn Parker chairs with Amy Butler 'Dream Poppies Tangerine'. Laura also covered the fabric with PVC to act as an oilcloth and prevent spills from toddlers damaging the fabric surface. See the before and after shots below. What a fabulous difference this has made!

JULY GALLERY WINNERS!

Well done Michelle! You are one of our chosen July gallery winners for submitting three lovely handmade skirts using the fantastic Make It Perfect 'Flipsy' pattern. View Michelle's other fabulous flipsy skirts and appliqued tee in our online gallery.

Congratulations to Margaret who has been busy making so many handmade items from this gorgeous shopping bag and quilt using predominantly Sandi Henderson fabrics from the 'Farmers Market' collection to adorable 'Magoo' below made up in Anna Maria Horner 'Cathedral Peony'. View more of Margaret's wonderful creations in our gallery.

Thanks to all our customers who so generously contributed to our gallery over the last two months. If you are interested in submitting your handmade creation to our online inspirational gallery please visit here for more details.

Don't forget to visit our 'new arrivals' page as there have been loads of new fabric and pattern ranges added to the store in the past few weeks with many more to come!

Show Pics

Here are some belated pics from our stand at the Craft & Quilt Fair in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. It was great to meet so many of our customers and my apologies to those I missed meeting who emailed me and gave such wonderful feedback after the show. Thanks to Dave for taking time off his day job to help out at the show and to Amy, Sarah and Shannon who worked tirelessly before, during and after the show!! Shannon, thankyou ever so much for joining us again, you are certainly amazing for working sooo hard for four long days selling our wares as well as your own!

VISIT US AT THE MELBOURNE CRAFT & QUILT FAIR

We're excited about next week's Craft & Quilt Fair at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th July.

Come and say hi to us at Stand G28. We look forward to meeting some of our regular and new customers!

I have been working hard to upload many "NEW" fabrics into our shop and there are loads more Japanese fabrics and designer collections still to come! We have a large stand at the fair and will have many of our fabric collections and pattern ranges available. If in Melbourne, take this wonderful opportunity to see and touch the fabrics, view made up pattern samples and brand NEW fabric ranges and pick up a few sale items. Yes, we will also be filling our popular remnant baskets full of old and new goodies!

Shannon Lamden aka Aunty Cookie will be joining us again with many of her lush hand printed fabrics available for purchase!

Well done Kristen on your rockin matryoshkas making it on the front cover of 'The Craft Fair Friend' here!

Feel free to email me if you are after any particular fabrics from our store and I will do my best to have them available on our stand.

1st five comments get a $10 gift voucher to spend at our stand during the show. First five commentees please email me so I can return email your vouchers to you! Hope to see you there!

NEW Heather Ross Far Far Away

Above image courtesy of Heather Ross

The much anticipated Heather Ross, Far Far Away collection is in store now and it really is exquisite! Printed on the softest double gauze, this collection will look amazing for adult and children's apparel such as skirts and blouses or make a stunning quilt, doona cover or cushions!

If you love this collection do not delay as it is deemed to be extremely popular and there have been many queries as to when it will arrive.


My appologies for the delay in announcing the June Handmade Inspiration Gallery winner! We have recently had large volumes of new arrivals and more to upload onto our website over the next couple of weeks. Winner for the month of June and July will be announced early August! Customer entries for both months will be uploaded into our gallery soon.