stitched blooms blog tour and giveaway!

I am really excited to be today's stop on Carina's blog tour for her wonderful new embroidery book Stitched Blooms!

I met Carina Envoldsen-Harris back in 2008, just six months into this blogging lark! We both joined up to a handprinted swatch swap on Jesse's blog, exchanged handprinted swatches and have been friends ever since.

Since then we have stayed in touch and continued to cheer each other on in all our crafty pursuits, despite the many miles between us - she lives in the UK and I'm in Australia.

Carina is talented in more than a few areas, but I've always especially admired her original embroidery and her distinctive colour sense. Carina's unique embroidery designs are somehow both modern and traditional, and showcase her Scandinavian roots. 

I posted way back in 2009 about my love for embroidery (and featured Carina's work amongst others in that post) and have a jampacked embroidery board on my pinterest page, but somehow I've never really got that far at doing some myself!

So not only is it a real honour to share this book with you, it has also been just the nudge I needed to really make a start at embroidering, to make a finished project.

Stitched Blooms is the perfect book to take you from early baby steps to more complex designs. It's very accessible and the great thing is that Carina gives you not only detailed instructions for some wonderful projects in the book, but also provides an extra 237 motifs on CD, for you to mix and match, size up and down depending on your project. All those lovely blooms to inspire!

To practice I started with two of these motifs, lovely leaf patterns, which I sized and positioned together. I used back stitch to outline these and found quickly I love the meditation of the stitching, its one of those perfect projects that you can do with half an eye while life spins around you.

Gaining confidence from my little leaves, but resolving to make my stitches smaller and more consistent, I moved on to the simple Pom-Pom Luminarie project from the book. Luckily I had all the embroidery threads and some white cotton fabric in my stash. Sadly no pompom trim (must change that!) but I used this cute mini rickrack I've been saving. It fits my little jar of quilting pins perfectly and looks so cute on the shelf. Switch it for a little battery tea light and you have a beautiful light source.

I love that embroidery is so quick and easy and inexpensive, yet it gives items a really unique and handmade quality which would be perfect for gifting. I'll definitely be doing more, in fact I'm starting to see the world in embroidery patterns this week. I can't wait to experiment, and try my hand at some other projects from the book. I can see some hand stitched Christmas presents in my future.

Carina's colours are always distinctive - clean and bright, without being overwhelming. I was so pleased to see the section on colour in the book where she explains colour theory in simple and interesting terms. Even better - for today's giveaway you get the chance to win a set of seven embroidery flosses in one of her beautiful colour palettes.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below, international entries welcome. If you have time I'd love to know if you have embroidered before or whether you're a newbie or wannabee like me! I'll leave it open till Wednesday next week. Please leave a contact email address in your entry.

And if you have been wanting to get into embroidery, but something has always stopped you, this book could be the spark to start you on those first baby steps to making handsewn items to keep or give away. Hmmm, I'm just thinkin how sweet one of Carina's stitched blooms would look on a little white onesie for a new baby!

p.s. So happy my spotty fabric makes a little appearance in Carina's sewing pouch project above!

three year plan

The other night I went along to my second ABCD social meetup, close to home at the Three Weeds pub in Rozelle. I also signed up for the goodie bag and took along some Ruby Slippers cards to share, 28 of them!

To see some (better) pictures of the night and the contents of the goodie bags (treasure!) do visit the lovely Steph at her Bondville blog. Steph and Lisa (the red thread) are the generous organisers of the ABCD catchups.

There is something wonderful about being in the company of creative types. That unspoken understanding of the need to make, create and surround oneself with beautifully made things. Its always a great chance to share inspiration and information with like minds.

We were asked to come with thoughts about our three year plan to share in small discussion groups during the night. A simple enough topic but one which made me really aware of my lack of a one week plan, let alone three years!

Saffron Craig chaired our little group which also included Cath from Prints Charming. Both inspiring women for a fledgeling fabric designer like me. Each person then shared their big dreams and their small ones, finishing with me, and while I fumbled out some vague plans, I resolved to go home and really think about what I want to do. Get a plan! It made me wonder too if I'm guilty of exploring too many creative paths, maybe its time to choose a single direction. Hmm, not sure I can do that!

Anyway, making fabric remains a major goal of mine, and despite appearances I have been productive, see sneaky peek above. I have some new fabrics to share, just no time to make anything from them or take photos! All that is about to change. I think its time to show you what I've been up to and I feel some scrap packs coming, I do love a scrap pack!

And after all, spring is here and my sixth blogging anniverary approaches! Amazing!

p.s. a rare selfie with lovely girls Lamina and Sheryl.

my creative space - shibori

I'm early with my creative space this week, I couldn't wait to share. On Saturday I finally got to a Shibori workshop which is something that I've been wanting to do for ages. Somehow though the workshops always clashed with other commitments. Even better it was held at Koskela, a great new creative showroom space in Rosebery which shares digs with a big cafe called Kitchen by Mike and Megan Morton's The School.

This great workshop was run by professional textile artists Karen and Pepa of Shibori. They took time to talk about the history of shibori and explain some different methods of resist techniques, made up the vat of indigo dye and then turned us loose on the fabric!

The three techniques we got to play with were:
Arashi - pole wrapping shibori
Kumo - spiderweb (the circles)
Itajime - shape resist

Shibori is a surface dye which means that only the parts on the outside, in contact with the dye solution will dye at full strength. So the pattern is composed of different shades of blue against white depending on which areas are covered.

Here are some photos from the day, one of my lovely friends Janet and Marg holding up their kumo shibori, and even a (rare) photo of me with mine. I loved Marg's square itajime print which she made at the last minute, the square pattern up top. The effect of the dye on the dry fabric was wonderful. I also loved the pole wrapped singlet top that one of the girls made, the picture below mine. Actually there were lots of great results on the day, and lots of oohing and aahing as some of the prettier effects were revealed.

At the end of the lesson the three of us bought a dye kit to make up our own vat. I can't wait to play more with this fascinating technique. The great thing about Shibori is the random way the different variables come together for a unique result. Unwrapping each fabric parcel is a wonderful surprise.

After the workshop we queued up to have lunch at Kitchen by Mike. Luckily this slow cooked Lamb Tagine with couscous was worth the wait. Add in a little stop at Remnants Warehouse (just around the corner) on the way home and you have a perfect day!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Planner Giveaway, and Personal Planners for giving us such a great prize. The winner chosen by the old reliable random number peeps is Carly from the Crafted by Carly blog. In a nice coincidence I see she has a Donna Hay giveaway going on now, so if you missed out why not try your luck over there.

Planner Giveaway!

There's something about the start of the year that makes me want to get organised, really organised. I love the idea of a clean slate, an empty calendar, a new start. The shiny new year inspires in me a desire to write lists, organise stuff and clean out drawers! You too?

To be really organised I need a calendar, and I need a diary. This year I have a lovely Klimt calendar, a small diary to carry in my bag and a diary/workbook for our business/family/life.

What I don't have is a separate diary/planner for Flower Press, which means all those important dates, orders, wholesale enquiries, giveaway details, communications, business contacts and 'to do' lists are floating around on pieces of paper, in notes on my phone or in random files on the computer. Even worse some important things are committed to memory and usually surface last thing at night and then get forgotten for another week!

So it was serendipity when the people at Personal Planners contacted me about hosting a giveaway on the blog. They've offered me my own personalised planner and one to give away to one of my readers. I thought it might be something you guys would like.

I realise its February and some of you might have already bought a diary, but one of the nice things about Personal Planners is you can personalise them to start from any month. I quite like the idea of a planner that doesn't end till February, so I don't lose track of things over the holidays, or you might prefer one that runs from financial year to financial year.

In fact the personalisation is the great feature of these planners and how they get their name. You choose the format (from four different sizes), the layout, the design of the pages, colours, both front and back cover images and even the colour of the elastic closure. There are optional boxes for to-do list, gym session, preschool, idea of the week and weather. Friend’s and family member’s birthdays can also be added to the inlay directly from Facebook or as a typed in list. They then print and deliver the finished product directly to your doorstep.

My biggest problem is choosing just one design for the pages, there were a few that caught my eye. My second problem will be choosing a cover image. As you can see I spent a little time this morning trying out some different ideas.

Personal Planners are giving away a planner to one lucky winner, choose from any size and format and personalise it to your heart's content, shipping is included. The giveaway is open for a week ending next Monday my time. Just leave your name and contact in a comment below. Here's their facebook link if you'd like to see other examples or read a review, and maybe like their page while you're there. Or go to the website and have a play around with layouts, I've chosen square days but you don't have to, see if there's one you'd like to spend the year with!

Oh and I forgot to say, the giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

handmade christmas giveaway

Like most of you I try to avoid cheap, badly made junk at Christmas, things that will be enjoyed for a day and then discarded. Its harder with kids and so I was really happy this year to see my kids' christmas lists get shorter and more thoughtful.

Instead I love giving useful, beautiful and carefully made gifts that will be used and loved for a long time. I love to see my tea towels in people's kitchens, a print of mine framed in a child's room or my cushions resting on someone's couch. I love friends eating jam I made, cutting a plant I grew for them or (in the future!) washing with my handmade soap (and thank you for all the enthusiasm for my soap making, I think I may have inspired a few batches!).

I love to get handmade and I love to give it.

Another person who loves and promotes handmade is Christina Lowry. Christina made a rickrack ring which I wear every day, one of many handmade pieces around my house made by friends and makers around the world which I cherish.

Christina is running a lovely giveaway series on her blog this Christmas promoting Handmade giving - called the 12 Days of Christmas. Each day for 12 days she is featuring Handmade crafters and offering a chance to win some of their makings.

Today is Day Nine and its time to give away some Flower Press wares!! To win one unbleached 100% linen teatowel, screenprinted with my Filigree design in Tomato red and one of my A4 Ruby Slippers prints, on archival quality Epson paper, ready to slip into a frame for an original gift (or to keep for yourself!) head over to Christina's A Little Bird Told Me blog and leave a comment. Easy.

Let's promote handmade giving this Christmas.

my creative space - spotty

I made a start on my Honey Cowl this week, using my lovely Classy Cashmere mix yarn from Zigo Zago. Its nice to have a simple project to pick up, I do love the meditation of knitting, so calming.

I also made this spur of the moment top (Built by Wendy Simplicity 3835). I whipped it up in a couple of hours using some bright polka dot fabric I'd actually bought for binding a quilt! The fabric wasn't big enough but I turned the sleeves sideways, made them shorter and it all sort of came together. Its bright ;-)

I picked up another pattern and more fabric at the Spotlight sale, I just went to buy cotton tape for Marble Bags, but you know how it is!

Sizing continues to be my biggest issue, I'd love a better idea of how size and ease and my shape are best calculated. Perhaps its only experience that will give me that though. I seem to cut too big, knowing I can go smaller but not larger. Add in the American and European sizes, and inches and centimetres and... aaagh. Its the bit I really dread about making clothes.

More creative spaces here.

Most importantly though I'd like to announce the two winners of the Zigo Zago giveaway, chosen by random.org:

Deep Seaflower and PomPom Quarterly magazine
Tania from Ivy Nest who said:
"Oooh look at all that yummy yarn. Quite liking the Sea Flower, being partial to all things blue. I must hop over to that site. Citronille patterns as well as all that yarn? Sounds like my kind of shop :)"

Cocoa Kiss
Jenni from Baa Me Knits who said:
"I'm an earthy girl so I would have to pick the Cocoa Kiss and I would make The Lonely Tree Shawl by Sylvia Bo Bilvia on Ravelry :-)"

Could you both please contact me with your address details.

I want to thank Alex again for such a wonderful giveaway. Don't forget that she has a 10% discount in her shop for flower press readers, just put the code Flowerpress in at checkout.

Oh and today I've been taking some photos for the Flower Press SALE which will finally start tomorrow. Promise!

five

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the flowerpress blog!

Thank you to everyone who has visited, blogged, pinned, inspired or been inspired by this space. Thanks too to everyone who entered my giveaways, followed my tutorials or visited the flower press shop.

And a big thank you to all the Show & Tellers who have shared their interviews here.

I'll be back next week to celebrate with some more posts, a sale in the shop, two giveaway winners (still time to enter!) and some new sewing, but I just wanted to mark and share this milestone here :-)

my creative space - Zigo Zago Giveaway

I was delighted last week when Alex from online yarn and fabric shop Zigo Zago contacted me about a having a giveaway for Flower Press readers. Zigo Zago stocks the most beautiful collection of artisan yarns, sewing and knitting patterns, fabrics and knitting needles.

All the fabulous artisan yarn brands are here, including Swans Island organic hand dyed merinos, the famous Madeline Tosh and Malabrigo brands, Cascade with all its beautiful colours, Skein, the Fibre Company, Abuelita and Dream in Color. What a fantastic selection. And how wonderful to be able to buy all these greats in one place with local shipping.

Alex also has a carefully curated, well priced selection of fabrics, sewing and knitting patterns, and knitting needles. There are some lovely kid's knitting patterns that I haven't seen before from Coastal Kids and Never not Knitting, and the great French Citronille sewing patterns for children and adults as well as lots of Make it Perfect designs. She stocks needles from Addi, Knit Pro and cute Tasmanian wooden needles from ArtViva.

I'm so lucky - Alex sent me a skein of Classy with Cashmere to try, the wine coloured In Vino Veritas above. This hand dyed yarn made by small indie company Dream in Color is a mix of merino, with 20% cashmere and a touch of nylon. It is sooo soft against the skin, such luxury. I'd told her I'd been dying to make a cowl and this will be perfect for the project. (I'm thinking the Honey Cowl pattern by Madeline Tosh). There's nothing worse than spending ages knitting something that turns out to be too itchy to wear. I really think this is going to be a learning curve for me, a new stage in my knitting, working with a luxury yarn like this, I feel there might be no going back!

The really fabulous news is that Alex sent two extra skeins of this wonderful Classy with Cashmere yarn and a cute pattern mag called PomPom Quarterly to give away to you guys! Between us we've chosen two beautiful colours, Deap Sea Flower and Cocoa Kiss, you really need to see these in person to see the subtle hand dyed mix of colour and to feel the softness of the cashmere mix! These would be perfect to knit up a special Christmas gift for someone special.

To enter all you need to do is tell me which of the skeins you would like to win, the Sea Flower or Cocoa Kiss, and what you think you might make with it. There will be two winners of a skein each. Easy! The Giveaway is open for a week, closing Wednesday night with the winners announced on Thursday. The first entry chosen will also win the copy of PomPom Quarterly, produced by two ladies who work at the famed LOOP in London. It has some great new patterns, don't you love this cardie.

One more thing, Alex has also generously given Flower Press readers a discount code of 10% to use on purchases - the code is Flowerpress and just needs to be entered at checkout to redeem.

For lucky locals, Alex is opening a bricks and mortar shop in Castlemaine next month. I'm jealous of all of you who will be close enough to check it out. I think she has such a great selection and I would love to be closer to support a small indie yarn and fabric seller!

So my creative space for the next little while will be filled with beautiful wool and meditative knitting.

Better Homes and Gardens Live giveaway

Better Homes and Gardens Live is Sydney's biggest home and garden event, and its on again this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (14-16th September) out at Sydney Showground at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. The Show will feature food, renovation, art, craft, gardening and pets, with 350 exhibitors and a packed schedule of free live demonstrations and plenty of giveaways.

I was gifted a bunch of free tickets from Umi Loans (no this isn't a sponsored post) and I'm keen to share them with you guys. I'm giving away three sets of two adult tickets (kids under 16 have free entry with an accompanying adult). So if you think you'd like some please email me or leave a comment below with your email address and I will send you the relevant codes to redeem tickets online - two each to the first three entries.

I'm hoping to get a chance to pop out some time over the weekend, sounds like fun.

moments

The other day I came across a big Giveaway on Cloud9 Fabrics giving ten winners their choice of 2 yards of fabric, cut from past and present collections. I'm a big fan of this little company which produces organic quilting fabrics, often commissioning artists and independent designers to produce guest collections. Some of the artists I admire who have designed ranges include owner Michelle Engel Blenckso, Heather Moore from Skinny Laminx, Julia Rothman, Gennine Zlatkis and Kayanna Nelson from JuneCraft.

So despite the fact I never win anything I joined in. Imagine my surprise when I was away recently to get an email saying I was one of the chosen winners! I've been wanting these Julia Rothman prints (floral and fish) for a while, a couple of the others are from Heather's collection and two others mini florals by Michelle. I really like the unusual and slightly more grown up colourways of these ranges. Sometimes quilting fabrics can be a bit pastel, pink or bright for my taste so its a nice change to see some mustard and blacks, turquoise and deep reds. Anyway, not sure what I will sew with them but don't they look sweet all together. Thanks Cloud9!

Matching perfectly are the new growth on our baby photinia hedge and this new spotty graphic visitor to our garden (making a little nest) a pardalote. I managed to get my new 'bird' lens hooked on before he came back to get this action shot!

If you follow me on instagram, forgive the repeat of this little orange candle project, seen on pinterest and tried out last night. I love it, its so clever! The orange pith forms the wick and the peel a cup to hold oil, in this case olive oil. It takes a while to light but then burns for hours giving off a slightly orangey smell. I was so tickled with this clever little experiment.

You can even make a little cover as we did but as we found later you need to cut a little chimney at the top or the flame burns it. Link to the tutorial on my pinterest making board.