Birthdays and a Giveaway

The birthdays are all done.  Lula had hers yesterday and we seemed to have unintentionally gone for an Ichigo-Strawberry theme.  The doll is Hini Ichigo, a Pullip and has not left Lula's side since she opened her box.  We made the cupcakes for her girl friends and much lovely birthday fun was had be us all.  

The Hello Kitty rice paper hearts and cup holders can be found on ebay.

Penny sent her a vintage waist pinnie- so cute and a perfect fit.

And I made her a soft and huggable pillow using Ayumi's new popsicle pattern for Super buzzy- more strawberries here too!

The middle lolly is filled with a mango sorbet- in my imagination obviously- as this is a favourite with L.  I was recently sent some Art Gallery fabrics by the kind folks at Hantex and this fabric from their Floral Elements blender line really reminded me of Mango and the flower print added a little ice texture!  Art Gallery fabrics really do feel different.  They remind me of the smooth and silky cotton of Heather Ross Munki fabrics.  They are fine with a delicate sheen- I've tried to capture this with a extreme close up!

This makes them a delight for paper piecing.  Bulky seams are an occupational hazard with foundation piecing and a finer fabric which still has the strength of quilting cotton is a boon for seams. I wanted chocolate all around the 'bite' of ice-cream like Ayumi's orginal Ringo Pie block so you can imagine the potential for lumpy bumpy layers here but the Art Gallery cotton really helped keep seams flat.

The new LillyBelle line by Bari J for Art Gallery has been catching my eye since I saw the illustrations in the 'Inspiration booklet'.  There is a big focus on clothing so I thought I would try a couple of the LillyBelle prints- I plumped for Henna Stripe in grey and mustard boards for the fabric line.  There is a  video too so you can see the fabrics in action and get a feel for the colours and the story behind the print.  I like this style of promotion with a narrative of how the designs link together and where they have come from.  This is my next dressmaking project.

And a now time for a mini giveaway!  Four fat quarters which include a couple of solids, a couple of floral elements blenders and a Lace elements print.  By the way, if you are reading Art Gallery, I would love some polka dot or thin strips in your blender lines- that would be mighty fine.

I will post anywhere, they are waiting here so you to claim them and stop them disappearing into my stash you are going to have to do a tiny bit of work-

Comments are Closed

Thankyou to all who took part!

 Please leave a comment and recommend either:

1.  A recipe- salads and soups are especially welcome.  I don't eat meat but I do eat fish and there is always cake- I love cake, especially fruit cakes, so a recipe would be good,

or...

2. a book recommendation.  

In the meantime, if you want to find more Art Gallery fabrics including the freshly available LillyBelle and the coming very soon "Indie" by Pat Bravo (check out the 'Tapestry' print for great clothing fabric) this link will take you to UK stockists online and local shops.  I know Annie at Village Haberdashery has LillyBelle in at the moment too.

Usual giveaway rules apply- if I can't find your email I will not be able to contact you if you win so please add to your comment if needed. I'll randomly choose a winner in a week x   Looking forward to the recipes and recommendations!   Giveaway closed and the winner has been notified.