Preparing For a Christmas Market

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I am holding a stall at this year’s Stockton Sparkles Christmas Market. I've had stalls at a couple of smaller craft fairs in the past, neither very successfully I admit, and I was rather put off. However, it’s Christmas… and from word-of-mouth I’ve heard this four-day event promises to be busy, full of cheer, helping everyone get into the festive spirit!

Now I have done a few shows with my previous employers (yes, Doughty’s) and anyone who knows them will know they don’t do things by halves! Thankfully, it was always down to the boys to decide what to take and how much, and where to place it, how to display it and so on (you can read more on what goes into the Festival of Quilts show in a previous blog). It always looked pretty stressful to me… and now I’m feeling a little of that pain!

I know my log cabin/shed is miniscule compared to their 10m long stands, but the choices and decisions are very similar – what do I take? Do I have enough stock? How should I display it? Should I only take finished items, or take some quilting items too? These questions and worries have been floating around my brain for weeks now, but with only two days to go, I think I’ve sussed it – take everything and see what happens!!

So if you are lucky enough to live up here in these parts, and would like some festive cheer, some fun Christmas shopping and some delicious nibbles (including mulled wine… yay!) why not pop along to Stockton High Street, the market runs from Thursday 26^th Nov (9am – 7.30pm, when they will be turning on the Christmas lights) Fri & Sat (9am – 6pm) to Sunday 29^th Nov (10am – 4pm).Here is just a taster of handmade goodies I’ll be bringing with me this week – from cute stocking fillers and Secret Santa ideas... 

 

to my "T-T-Teessider" and "Parmo" cushions, including some new designs such as
"I Love Gin, Me"...

 

plus my Beginner Quilt kits - a great gift for introducing someone to the wonderful craft of patchwork and quilting.
 

I was lucky enough to have these great kits featured in this month's British Patchwork & Quilting.

I have also decided to sell some of my handmade quilts, I do love every quilt I make and hate parting with them, but there really is only so many I can cuddle under on a chilly night, so I would rather they go to good homes who will love and snuggle them more than I ever could. Justin got busy making me his great quilt ladder to show off my babies.

 
I will also be bringing some Sewmotion Strippers (fabric pre-cuts for quilters!) some fat quarter bundles and my quilt patterns for the already addicted quilter.

I know not everything here is currently available to buy online, but I will be uploading more products next week. If something does catch your eye, or if you would like one of my cushions in colours of your choice, please drop me a line at louisa@sewmotion.com

 

Sunday Stash #8, Boro and Two New Patterns

A couple of weeks ago we went to visit my mum in London, which just happened to be the same weekend Middlesbrough Football Club were playing at Wembley… we honestly didn’t plan it this way! As some of you may know, Justin is a Boro fan, and I myself have been known to go to the odd game. including Ostrava in the Czech Republic, and Eindhoven for the Uefa Cup final, I'll have you know! Me a glory seeker?? Never!

Anyway, Justin was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Monday, and after seeing a friend Sunday afternoon, we decided to wonder over to Trafalgar Square where we’d heard Boro fans were starting to congregate. Now, I don’t know if this is just with Boro fans, or it’s the same with other family clubs, but I can honestly say that I love being around these fans. Not only are they the most friendly of people, but they really will have a laugh with anyone! I especially found this on a 5hr journey on a Czech train going from Prague to Ostrava! But that was a lifetime ago!

I’ve heard there were approx. five thousand fans in Trafalgar Square that night, and yes, some were climbing on the statues, and there may have been the odd half naked body in the fountains, but there was also such a great atmosphere, loads of families with young kids, lads a little tipsy on London-priced beer, and just a great joy of being there and sharing the hope for the match the next day. Does this happen with other teams?? I really don’t know. There was no trouble all night, all weekend for that matter. The only dampner on the whole thing was that the actual team ‘failed to turn up’ as the pundits say, and lost 2-0.

As we were in London, I of course had to visit Liberty. So having sent Justin off to Wembley, me and mum went ‘up west’ where I had heard the landmark store had recently revamped their haberdashery dept. I was not disappointed, its beautiful and I strongly recommend a visit. Rather than having the tables of goodies around the balcony, there is now a separate room with even more kits and sets and general gorgeousness than ever! So inspiring! The scarf hall also looks amazing at the moment.

Unfortunately, as much as I love Liberty, working for myself at the moment means I can’t really justify buying their fabric. So how happy do you think I was when on Sunday morning, having walked around Spitalfields craft market, then Brick Lane to find The Rib Man, (best ribs ever!!!) we came across a back street fabric merchant, owned by a very smart older gentlemen. Sadly I can’t remember the name of the shop, or exactly where it was… hopefully I’ll find it again one day. Not only were there some beautiful dress fabrics, suitings, and heavier weight cottons, but I also found a horde of beautiful Liberty prints, for about half price! I recently bought this dressmaking book, with great intentions, so I treated myself to a couple of metres of each of these. I’m hoping to make a summer top or two… if not they’ll make lovely soft quilts!

Talking of quilts, I thought I’d just share my latest pattern releases with you. First we have Floating Lilies…

This bright and modern quilt is based on hexagons and 60degree triangles, which when used together, avoids having to tackle those tricky Y-seams. The pattern also features partially-seamed hexagons for which I have added a new free tutorial here to whet your appetite! I have also included suggestions for pieced backing and for quilting your finished top. I am particularly pleased with the back where I decided to do more partial hexies, but in the oppposite colourway.

My second pattern is Snowballs in Spring, based on the traditional and very simple snowball block.

I was amazed at how quickly this quilt came together, and plan to make more of them. I decided to sew the blocks in a wonky Trip Around the World pattern, but I became worried it wasn’t working, the fabrics seemed a little too busy to show off the design. However, after a ponder over how to quilt it, I thought concentric circles emanating from the design’s centre square may bring the pattern together, which I think it has, I’m now very happy!

Both of these patterns include fabric requirements, full colour cutting and sewing instructions and layout plans. There is advice and suggestions on backings and quilting and I have included Helping Hand hints and links to my free online tutorials to guide you along the way. These patterns are available from my Folksy shop, in both PDF format (£5.95) and paper format (£6.95).

I hope you have like my ramblings, thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, please do, and if you would like more inspiration and ideas, why not pop over to Molli Sparkles’ Sunday Stash link-up.

For a bit of mid-week socialising, why not pay a visit to Let's Bee Social over on Sew Fresh Quilts, I do love this lady's work!