Fabric Friday: Birch Fabric

I came across a beautiful range of retro yet whimsical quilting fabrics this morning.  It was love at first sight.  How can one not love fabric with forest creatures on it, especially a fox and a rabbit.

Birch Fabrics creates an environmentally friendly cotton alternative ideal for quilting.  All their fabrics are produced from 100% organic cotton and printed with low impact dyes.  All their fabrics are ideal for nursery room decor but I wouldn't mind foxy cushions for our lounge.

My personal favourite is the Fort Firefly cotton range.  However if you like a little touch of retro and illustrated fabrics then you will find it very hard not to fall in love with at least one of their ranges.

All images by Birch Organic Fabric

I am waiting for a list stockist in South Africa and I am also enquiring about becoming a wholesale buyer.  If you love their fabrics as much as I do, then click here to send me an email and I will share the stockist details with you as soon as I receive it.

Wonky Rabbit

There are very few things in life that I can tolerate but noise is not one of them.  I can work with music playing and have been known to fall asleep while listening to Pitbull but lots of different noises all at once - no thank you!  Today was filled with noise, noise and noise.  Between the paving team at our house cutting bricks, the artificial grass (we can't seem to keep real grass alive) team compacting the ground and two hyperactive dogs barking at all the people, my head felt like it was about to explode.

On my to do list was design work, quilting and an early morning blog post.  None of that happened of course.  My designs didn't want to look right.  I was sure my quilts was going to be skew so I didn't even attempt that.  And I am not sure if I would have been able to spell my name correctly with all the noise let alone write a blog post.  So I did the only other thing that I could think of doing, make a bunny out of scrap fabric.  

I didn't have a pattern so I had to make use of different items from my kitchen for the shapes that I required.  You will be surprised if you start looking at the shapes of your kitchen utensils and not see a pot lid but a bunny body.

The finished result is a little bit wonky and  I am not sure if this bunny rabbit will be given to it's planned new owner.  Even though it's not a perfect bunny rabbit, it has character.  

Roomene has named the rabbit, Kalbas.  Do you think Kalbas can be a gift or must she be turned into a watch rabbit to keep an eye on my sewing machine in my studio?

Sealed and Shipped

There are a few hats that I wear under the name Sew Long.  Two of these hats have been established a few years ago and have been on my head for a while - graphic designer and events coordinator.  I am also wearing a brand new shiny hat for quilter and crafter.  Today this hat is sitting proudly on my head and it feels even more shiny and right because my first orders left the premises.

I received my first order through Roomene (my bff and travel buddy) just over a week ago.  Her colleague, Liezel, saw the lace bunting on the blog and asked Roomene to place an order.  I assume Roomene suffers from FOMO (fear of missing out - in case my mom reads this post and doesn't know) and also ordered a string of pretty flags.  I am currently working on a few more orders but I finally feels like this new dream and adventure is a reality.  Roomene and Liezel, hope you are both happy with your orders made with love.

I am currently working on a logo and more branding elements for Sew Long - keeping in mind all the important information taught by Nadia van der Mescht at the workship this past weekend.  In the near future you might see a new logo and few changes to my blog as well as more platforms for you to visit when work is not at the top of your priority list. Hope you approve and if you see any changes, please feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

My revamped space

My weekend was spent in sunny Durban at a creative business workshop with Nadia van der Mescht and 9 other lovely creatives.  Nadia went all out and the whole day was a visual treat with pretty decor, good food and awesome goodie boxes but most of all we left with brains and notebooks filled with advice and tips to help grow our creative businesses.

 
I also collected my R500 Typo voucher that I won on her blog (thanks again Nadia and Typo) a while ago and went straight from the airport to Typo in Sandton to shop.  I bought myself a big bag filled with things for my studio / sewing room and revamped my space yesterday afternoon.  I took all the Amy Butler cut offs from a few quilts that I am making and used that to make the blue felt pin board (beyond ugly) in my office socially acceptable.  My new beautiful revamped board is now the home of my top patterns that I want to attempt in the months to come, as soon as I get the time.

OPTIONS! Amsterdam

When visiting different cities and countries more than once, you will find that you have favourite shops that you just have to visit again.  For example there is a shop in Plettenbergbay with a blue roof.  I want to own everything in that little shop and have to visit it every time we pop over to Plett when we vacation in Natures Valley.  But I still have no idea what the shop is called and the whole family referes to it as the "blou winkel" (blue shop).

I had the same problem at a shop in Amsterdam.  I had no idea what it was called but last year I bought Tobie an awesome shirt and wallet there and my mom had to go back to buy more wallets for the men in our family because they felt unloved and uncool if you ask me!  I had to go back this time and took a  card with their Facebook page but couldn't find it again.  Luckily I had to spend some time at the drivers licence renewal office this morning and examined every corner of my handbag and found it.  Yeah!

OPTIONS! is a contemporary department store located in central Amsterdam for lovers of beautiful things, fun, handmade, good design and interesting stories.

Items are lovingly selected by the OPTIONS! team and sourced from creatives, students and friends in Tokyo, London, Helsinki, Berlin and beyond. The store stocks an extensive range, from design gifts, stationery, ceramics, furniture, clothing and magazines to bespoke products from upcoming and established international interior and fashion designers.

Here are a few photos that I borrowed from the OPTIONS! Facebook page to share with you.  Worth a visit if you are ever wondering the streets of Amsterdam.  Just remember they only take card so make sure your credit card is ready to be swiped!

Proof!

I think my head is 98% overloaded today.  However I am not complaining.  So far working from home has been a wonderful experience.  The best part is my work uniform - wool slippers that Toto bought for me for Mothers Day.  I have also been very blessed with work streaming in.

Today I spent 3 hours (maybe a bit more) buying beautiful quilt material from Arthur Bales for five future quilts.  I know I'm going to struggle to let go of these quilts and the new owners will have to untangle it from my grasp while I sleep.  They will be featured on my blog as soon as they are done.

Here is a little bit of proof that I haven't been lounging around in my slippers watching Homeland all day long (I only watch one episode a day, promise!)

This means business

This weekend I am packing my bags and leaving!  I am leaving chilly Johannesburg, my husband and doggies behind and heading for Durban.  Not only am I going to visit my awesome friends Mr & Mrs Anderson (and their new pocket size puppy) but I am also attending a workshop by Nadia van der Mescht.

I've been a big fan of Nadia's blog as well as her boutonnieres for a very long time and she was also kind enough to put a Sew Long banner on her website when I just started my blog.  I saw pictures of her previous workshop and that nasty feeling called jealousy attacked me without notice.  Luckily Nadia decided to host another workshop and I won't be surprised if I was the first to book.

One of the things that we have to take with us are business cards.  For most people this is not a problem, but for me: BIG problem.  I had business cards, but I can't remember the password to that email account so they are pretty useless and have now been recycled.

Most mornings I find myself lacking any creativity and I have to entertain myself first before I am able to start working.  Yesterday I did this:

Taking pictures of half of my face looking towards my nose and wondering if people who see it will think that my other eye is also looking toward my nose.  I can't do any party tricks with my eyes, so this way I can pretend that I am the queen of eye tricks.

Today I did this:

I bought a pretty vintage scissor rubber stamp in Amsterdam as well as these colourful tags from Hema in Holland.  Wasn't sure what I would use them for but they are now my DIY business cards.  I bought one of those instant office stamps from CNA and TADAAAA!  instant business cards.