2 little birds

My Dear Daughter number 2 was invited to a birthday party this weekend and I decided it would be nice to make her friend a pressie instead of buying just another piece of plastic, so I got busy and made her one of the gorgeous Melly and Me patterns, Hooty and Tweet.

What I didn't know was that she was an Owl fanatic and her bedroom is totally decorated with little tweeters :)

 I decided to make a few extras for the shop, so Hooty and Tweet will be heading to their new home next week.

 I cut up some kits as I was cutting, so if your interested give us a call at the shop next week. My Patch Fabrics 02 4472 2471 or have a look at our Ebay Shop.

Hugs Paula

Cake Pops!

I have had sooo much fun today!

I little while ago I stumbled upon the Bakerella Website and just fell in love with the gorgeous Cake Pops, after all what is better than gorgeous little cakes? Little cakes on a stick of course!

So I ordered the book and waited patiently for it to arrive. Then I got the book and realised I couldn't buy the candy melts where I live, so I ordered 'lots' from an online cake decorating shop and I was finally ready to get going. But of course I'd forgotten to order some lollipop sticks. hahaha
The cake pop gods were against me, so back online and finally this morning the sticks arrived and I was champing at the bit to get going.

So I head into town to buy all the little bits to decorate my cake pops, I was going to make little pigs, so I bought every miniture lolly I could find!

I crumbled up my cake and added the icing, then rolled them into balls, but of course I was too impatient to let them chill for long enough and my first attempt was less than perfect ;)

 hahaha, not quite the perfectly smooth cute little balls I'd seen on Bakerellas website or in her book, so I put my cake balls in the freezer and sat down to have a proper read of the book (rather than just looking at the adorable pictures).

I decided to forget about making little pigs and just try and make nice smooth cake pops with sprinkles and this is what I came up with :)

 I realised that my candy melts were too thick and I freacked out a little when I thought I might have to go back to the shop for some copha, but thankfully the magic lady Ms Bakerella said you can subsitute some vegetable oil, I knew I had some of that in my pantry, so a few teaspoons in the mix and I was off and running. Or really off and dipping :)

 Ohhh they are so much fun to make, but the kids just got home from school, so I'm sure my little pops wont last for long. :)

Hugs Paula

Big Sale!

Today I bring great news!

Val is the owner of the shop I work at a few days a week and she has been on a buying frenzy since we opened, so much so that she has forgotten how much she ordered and now the shop is totally overflowing! Seriously she had to take some fabric home because ther was absolutely no room left for the stock.

Anyway this is great news for you because we are now having a storewide 20% off sale! That means you'll get 20% off even the new fabrics, we just got in some of the most gorgeous Riley Blake and Robert Kauffman fabrics! There's the Laminate fabrics, Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler, just about everything thats new and fresh! There's also heaps of flannel that has an even bigger discount, so give Val a call today on 02 4455 4087.

I've also gotten into the spirit with my Beautiful Big Bras Ebay shop and I'm making everything Freight Free!! So head over to my ebay shop and grab a bargain this week! So click here to shop now.

Have a great week,
Hugs Paula

Blackboard fabric mini Tutorial

I think it must go back to my childhood, but I just love Blackboards! I always have I don't know why, so when I discovered blackboard fabric some time back, let me tell you I was a happy girl :)

I've had a little bit for some time and I've been wanting to do a canvas blackboard for ages so when some of the new Riley blake fabrics came in to work last week I just couldn't help myself!

I used a 45cm square canvas that i got at the cheap shop and a Metric fat quarter of the tree fabric for the background. I also used some leftover batting which was about a FQ size, a second co-ordinating novelty fabric, some brown fabric for the trunk and about a 6" strip of blackboard fabric. If you can buy a fat Quarter, that would be plenty! I also used a small amount of fusible webbing (Vliesofix)

 I first just drew a really simple tree trunk shape on the paper side of the fusible webbing. I used the pattern on my fabric as inspiration, don't get stressed about it, just a big simple shape is fine! Iron the webbing onto the brown fabric and cut the shape out on the drawn line.

I layed the background FQ on top of the canvas and centred it (I just eyeballed it) I put the tree stump a bit up from the bottom of the canvas frame. I carefully lifted the FQ and took it to my iron, trying not to move it and ironed it in place. I'm not overly fussed about it being perfect, but you could take more care if you like.

I then took it to my machine and machine blanket stitched it in place. If you don't have a blanket stitch on your machine a satin stitch or even just a zig zag is fine. You could also just hand stitch it if you want.

 Now onto the precious blackboard fabric! Yeah!! I got a marker, I actually used a purple gel pen because it showed up easily on the back of the fabric and it was already on my sewing table ;) I traced around 3 circle shaped objects that were in the room. They were a small plate, a DVD Disk holder and a cup. You could do any shape you like.I cut the circles out and took them to my project.

Tips on Blackboard fabric: I really don't know what its made of to be honest, but it looks like a vinyl and  it really does not like the iron or pins!! So if your fabric is a bit curly try not to worry, you are stitching it down and it won't matter. If its really wrinkly, turn your iron down low and just swipe over it really quickly. If you iron it for too long it will go shiny and won't behave properly later. Let it cool and if you really need to, do it again. You must let it cool between each swipe or it will melt and be a big mess on your ironing board.

If you use pins on it, you will have a permanent hole in the fabric,  and ironing is out so using any fusible fabric is pretty much out, so I just used a liquid glue. I tried a glue stick, but mine was a bit dried out and didn't work well. I had the runny glue, so I used it instead. I just put a dab around the circles and stuck them into place. You really don't need much, its just to hold it in place while you stitch it.

 I took this to the machine and did a blanket stitch all around. Remember to take it really slow because you only get one chance at this! Each stitch puts a whole in the fabric, this is why I like to use a really simple shape like a circle, I have also done stars and squares would work too. I haven't tried stitching through it by hand, basically because I think it would be a challenge to get the needle through. If you want to though, go for it :)

I also ironed some fusible webbing onto the back of some cute little novelty fabrics and fussy cut them out. I ironed them onto my background and pinned my top to the batting and just raw edge appliqued them in place. I think next time I would use a fabric that is more contrasting, because they got lost a bit on my background.

Priming the blackboard fabric: I have read that you need to 'prime' the fabric before you use it or the first thing you write on it will be there forever. Basically you need to turn your chalk sideways and rub the chalk all over the blackboard fabric so its totally covered in chalk. You then rub it out and your ready to go. I generally use a damp cloth to remove all the chalk and it works for me, but you can test this on your scraps if you like.

You can do a bit of free motion quilting if you like then just staple the finished project onto your canvas and your done.

If you are interested in a kit for this project, email me and I will let you know how much it would be for the fabrics. The canvas would be a bit hard to post :)

Have fun and remember to email any pics if you give this a try.

Hugs Paula

Stitching Therapy!

I really have been trying to get back here and update my blog, but life just seems to be so busy all the time.
My patterns have just gone crazy (thank you so much to everyone who has bought a pattern) and my work at the shop My Patch is so much fun, but even though I only work 2 days a week, I am finding it so hard to stop and take a breather. I'm sure you know what I mean :)

So it was a bit of a forced break for me this past week when I was back in hospital yet again for some more surgery on my knee (this was surgery number 4). Anyway, things went well and hopefully it looks like this is that last one! YEAH!! I'm a bit slowed down being on crutches so I've found some time to do a bit of stitching for therapy :)

When I was at the Sydney Trade Show a month or so back, I spotted this beautiful Block of the Month project, designed by my awesome publisher Helen Stubbings of Hugs and Kisses and Colourque fame. So when I knew I was going to be in hospital for a few days I prepared a heap of blocks to take with me and I actually got a lot of it done!

The project is a Wallhanging designed to be like the samplers of old that our Mums and Mums Mums used to make when they were kids. I thought It would make a really nice heirloom project to leave for my children, to commemorate my love of fabric/stitching/Quilting. :)

 It includes all the important dates in my life, like my birthday and marriage date.

 Some Needleturn which I'm soooo happy with!

And some lovely poetry. There's also lots of 1/2" hexagons which I'm really enjoying doing!

So there we go, I have finally shown you what I've been up to.

Oh I nearly forgot, in my spare time ;) I've started selling some Plus Size Bras on ebay :) I got a bit tired of frumpy and plain and boring bras, so I went searching and found some really gorgeous bras and started importing them.

I think I'm on a winner because they are selling like hotcakes and I just put in another order, so there will be more to list in about a week. So if your interested head over to my ebay shop, Beautiful Big Bras theres nothing under a 16C.

Hugs Paula xxx

My Sydney Trip and Prize winners!

Last week my mum, my baby and I headed up to Sydney for the Trade Show and Quilt Show at Darling Harbour. We were so luck to have a family friend at Kirrabilly to stay with and therefore had the most amazing view! On our last night we headed up stairs to the top of the units and OMG! The view was just breathtaking!

 This is my favourite shot.

 Can you imagine, we were so lucky to stay at their amazing home, so Auntie Julie and Unncle Charles Thank You!!!
The trade show was great! We got to see some amazing products and meet some fantastic people! A little bit of Quilting industry star spotting was a highlight too ;)
This is part of the Pattern Press stall which housed all my designs! Mine are on the left of the chair. It was so great to see it all together.

 At the Quilt and Craft Show along with the amazing quilts, some of my favourite things where these new ribbons by Kaffe Fassett. Just gorgeous!!

 Heres another shot of the Harbour, it was just sooo stunning!

Anyway we had a heap of fun and spent waaayyy to much money, but thats all part of it right? I picked up some awesome new products and I hope to find the time soon to do some reviews on here for you to join in the fun.

I also was very slack and forgot to announce the winners of my new patterns. I've done the draw and Congrats to Nadine and Rita! I will be in contact ladies.

I hope you have a great week and will be back soon with some new (or new to me) product reviews :)

Hugs Paula

My 2 new patterns available soon and a giveaway!

I'm so ridiculously excited :) I have finally finished my next two patterns and they are being printed as I type. Yeah!

As you may have guessed I'm a huge fan of the Sweetwater girls, I love love love their fabrics and purely out of coincidence I have made up my first new pattern using 2 of their ranges. 'Pure and Sunkissed'

This is my first quilt pattern and I'm so proud of it! It is call the 'Love is all around' Quilt. This quilt is designed for every mum or grandmother who I have heard say "They just grow so quick!" I wanted to design a quilt that was fun and cute for a baby, but was still suitable for a toddler, teen and even adult, so this was what I came up with.

 This is the boy version and is a cot quilt size, but is easily 'upsized' by increasing the size of the blocks! I used 2 Charm packs for this quilt, but you could easily make it with 2 layer cakes for a huge quilt!

I also designed a girl version and decided to make this one in just 2 colours, I really love how this one came out and as we backed it with flannel this quilt is soooo cuddly!

The 'Love is all around quilt pattern' will be available from Pattern Press and your favourite quilt shops in the next week, depending on the volcanos and how it affects distribution.

My second new pattern is just so much fun! My kids love to count down to everything! They countdown to Christmas of course, Easter and birthdays, so I decided to design some toys that make counting down so much fun!
So here it is, the 'How Many Sleeps - Countdown Cubes' Pattern.

 First up of course who doesn't count how many sleeps there is until their Birthday? ;)

 And of course Christmas,

 Heres the Easter block with a cute little egg with bunny ears!

 I love the Halloween block, but for those of us who are very patriotic, I'll be putting up a free design for Australia Day soon, so if you don't celebrate Halloween you can just replace this block with the free Australia Day block.

 Its always fun to count down to holiday time,

 And finally the ultimate countdown is to the New Year!

As well as being fun, these blocks are really educational, teaching kids number recognition and how to count backwards.
I'm also really excited about the 'How many sleeps - Countdown Cubes' because they are my first pattern that will include iron on transfers of the embroidery designs. How cool is that!!

To celebrate I think we need to have a giveway!, So if you would like to win a copy of either of my new patterns, just leave me a message on this post and I will draw a winner when I get back from the Trade show in Sydney next friday the 24th of June at 9am. Don't forget to tell your friends! If we get lots of entries I might give away some of my other patterns too! So tell everyone you know :)

A huge thanks goes to my Mum, Lesley! Without her, neither of these patterns would have been finished! She is so amazing, her embroidery skills are out of this world, and is always quick to offer her 'unpicking skills' when I make a boo boo ;)
She also helped piece the quilts and did a fantastic job of quilting them too. So Thank you Nan, Your the best! Check out her ebay shop for gorgeous Batiks!

I hope you love my new designs as much as I do!! Remember to ask your favourite quilt or fabric shop to order in my patterns from Pattern Press.

Hugs Paula

With 4 kids, how do you find the time?

I hear this question on a regular basis, so I thought I'd show you :) This is how I get most of my machine work done.

Emma just wasn't happy this afternoon, so she helped me finish, rather almost finish my next pattern.

I have 2 new patterns being launch at the Sydney Quilting expo, and photography is due on Wednesday, so its busy busy busy around here :)

I had another exciting day last week when I hosted my first workshop! I was rediculously nervous but the ladies were awesome and did a great job on my softie patterns. They were too shy to have their pictures up here, so Sue took a picture of me. eeek, I'm not usually this side of the camera.

It was so much fun and the results were fantastic!

Hugs Paula

Lots of stitching and a giveaway

Last Saturday I took my beautiful Mum in to work and we had a brilliant day finishing off some quilts we were making for the shop. This is one of them, Designed by Zan Taylor this is the Alpha Beezy Quilt lots of applique but this is a really great fun and pretty easy quilt to make!

 I've been telling you about the kids school holiday workshops that we are holding in July, well this is one of the projects that the 7 - 10 year olds will be making. Its a little pincushion that is also a bracelet. The kids can take the pincushion part off if they like and can just wear the bracelet.

 They will also be making this needlebook, they will learn to gather ribbon to make a flower, they'll be sewing on a button, they'll do some hand stitching and will even have a go on a machine! Should be a fun day!

 These are both of the kids projects, perfect for beginners too, they give you a taste of lots of different styles of stitching, we'll be putting kits together soon.

Valerie at My Patch (my work) is having a giveaway on her facebook page. If you'd like to win 4 Fat Quarters of my favourite range, Sunkissed by Moda, (the fabrics I used in the cushion in the picture) head over to the My Patch facebook page and click 'like'. When we get to 65 likers Val will do the draw.
Don't forget to tell her I sent you :)

Hugs Paula

A sneek peak and the kids workshop project

I have been working away and have almost finished my next pattern, YEAH!!!

So I thought I'd give you a little sneek peak.

Huge Thanks goes out to Nan (my mum) for doing the amazing embroidery!! She is so incredibly talented!

I've also been working on the kids workshop projects, this is what the 11 and ups will be working on.

I made this gorgeous little cushion with the amazing Sweetwater range from Moda. I am so addicted to this range and I think I really need to make a quilt for my bed with this range, it is just so stunning.

Anyway if you or your kids are interested in joining in a workshop on the school holidays give Val a call at the shop on 02 4455 4087.

Hugs Paula

PS. I'm looking for some test sewers of my next pattern. If you have young kids (0 - 2) could you please email me or leave a comment on this post with the age and gender of your kids and I will get back to you soon with the details. paula.storm@gmail.com

My first Workshop!

I'm so excited and also totally terrified at the prospect of hosting my first workshop!

On June the 2nd in conjunction with My Patch Fabrics in Milton NSW we will be having a Softie workshop where you can choose any of my patterns and we will take you through the construction and more than likely finish the project of your choice.

I'll be giving you hints and tips to create successful softies, not just my patterns but others as well, you can even make a Sit Me Up Donut if you like, so if your interested please give Valerie a call and book in on 02 4455 4087 or email her, the cost is $40 plus pattern and materials. There is limited spots, so please book early :)

Another exciting piece of news is I will also be hosting a school holiday program for kids! I'll be working with the kids in two serperate workshop sessions. The first with younger kids 7 - 10 year olds and the second with 11 and ups using their machines. I'll be posting pictures in the next few days of the projects we will be making. The cost is $25 and includes requirements.

We have stacks more workshops going on at the moment too, Sheena Chapman is hosting a Kaleidoscope workshop on May 21, just email Valerie and she will send you a workshop programme. Or join the My Patch Facebook page for regular updates.

Hugs Paula

My Babys 5th Birthday Hello Kitty Cake.

One of my gorgeous baby girls celebrated her 5th birthday today, She just adores Hello Kitty, so I had a bit of a google search and found a cake that I liked, I changed it a bit and this is what happened.

 Emma adored the Fairy bread :) 

 Chloe and her 15 friends yes 15, had an awesome day! 

The cake didn't last long though, isn't it always the way, you spend hours and hours decorating and in minutes its gone.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mummys out there, I hope you had a more relaxing day than I did :)

Hugs Paula

Sewing and spending :)

It's been a long while since I last posted, but it's because I have been extremely busy. What has kept me the most busy is my new job at Val's shop in Milton NSW, called My Patch Fabrics, (also on Facebook) I absolutely loooove that I can grab a pattern and some fabric and just get sewing with no designing decision pressure!

One of my favourite patterns at the moment is from 'One Red Robin', the Baby Chibi dolls are just too cute!! I've been wanting to make them since the day the shop opened and I finally got to them this week, what do you think?

 I love the little lady bug buttons in the shop so I added one to the flower on my girl Chibi.

What else is going on, well my Mum who I told you about a few weeks ago is now selling Baby Gap clothes on Ebay as well as the hand embroidered t-shirts. This embroidered Owl shirt is one of my favourites!! The stitching is very very well done, what you expect from Baby Gap and at just $12.50 its a bargain! Luckily I get mates rates :)

 My sister also has an ebay shop with stacks of Baby Gap Pyjamas and clothes, she has also just gotten in some wall stichers, We had a birthday in my house yesterday and my 2nd born was very pleased with 2 gorgeous pairs of pj's and some gorgeous heart stickers for her bedroom!
The love bird jammies are my favourite!

Jack looks sooo cute in this outfit! It has a really nice weight to it, with the shirt over the top of the suit (they are attatched), just beautiful quality and they look adorable with jeans!

This outfit though is my absolute favourite!!! My little supermodel looks so rediculously gorgeous in this Carter's outfit! I'll try and get a picture of her in it, just adorable!

Anyway, back to the sewing room for me, I have so many projects on the go, I just need to finish one and I'll be happy :) wishful thinking I think hehe.We are working on some new patterns for kids sewing classes at the shop, got to get to them early ;)

Hugs Paula

My big news!

 I hinted at some really big news a week or so ago on Facebook and the time has come to spill the beans :)

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by the extremely talented Helen Stubbings from Hugs and Kisses, shes the creator of Colourque. Anyway she is also the owner of Pattern Press.

Pattern Press is the distributor of patterns by amazing artists like Monica Poole of Moonshine Designs, One Red Robin, and heaps more! Anyway Helen offered to distribute my patterns for me!!

Can you imagine!! Anyway I laughed and cried and was shaking for hours!! Before I replyed rather quickly with a big fat YES! :)

So the last week has been filled with redesigning my pattern covers and instructions which will now be in a booklet format, I think this will be great for people like me who constantly loose pages of patterns that I'm working on.

So heres a look at the new covers:

       

The next piece of exciting news is that Helen will be taking my patterns to Spring Market in Salt Lake City next month! I'm just so overwhelmed with how quickly this has all happened, but really really happy too :) so back to the sewing room to stitch up some more samples...

So keep a lookout for my patterns in your favourite shop, and if they don't have them ask them to contact pattern press, The patterns aren't up on their website yet, but can be ordered by emailing the Pattern Press team orders@patternpress.com.au or by phone on +61 362787507.

In other news I started my new job at My Patch fabrics in Milton yesterday, it was sooo much fun, how can you get paid to work in such an amazing shop!! I was totally exhausted at the end of the day, but it was a heap of fun too :)

Hugs Paula