Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Joy of Giving - A Quilt for My Dad

One of the reasons I like making and sewing is the joy of being able to gift something you have made.

This year for Christmas I gave my Dad a quilt that I made from up cycled shirts.   I put out the call for old shirts amongst family and friends and received lots of lovely shirt fabrics.  


This quilt was improv pieced.  I had a love hate relationship with this - I loved randomly putting fabrics together but I did not enjoy the having to square things up to create the completed quilt top and it did languish in the to be finished pile for a long time.  So instead of a birthday present it became a Christmas present (whoops!).


The Back

The quilting is just straight lines, 1 inch apart (give or take).  Because the fabrics are up cycled they were very soft.




Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Tuesday Stack - A Stack of Sewing

There has been a stack of making going on at Stitchbird.  Lots of handmade goodies ready for the Christmas season.  I thought I would share a small selection of some of the making.  This is a few of the kid's messenger bags, lace zippered purses and purses we have made for the shop.


You won't find these in the on-line store as they are only one of two made of each design.  But if you see something you would like please comment here or send an email.

                      

Have you been doing some Christmas making?

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Earthy


Stella Intermix Grey from Dear Stella
Jardin de Provence Spot by Daphne B for Wyndham Fabrics
Country Life Cow Parsley and Bees from Lewis and Irene
Jardin de Provence Floral by Daphne B for Windham Fabrics
Country Life Sheep from Lewis and Irene
Shimmer Sphere in Stone by Jennifer Sampou

The fabric that started this stack is the beautiful Jardin de Proven Floral.  With each stack I usually have a starter fabric that the stack is based on and in this case this was the fabric.


This week's Tuesday Stack is available for sale here.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Anniversary Treats

It is a year since we moved across the drive to Shop 25, Kilbirnie Plaza. To celebrate we are giving away fabric. For every $50 spent on fabric in store you get to choose a fat quarter of fabric. So our on line customers don't miss out we have a treat for you too, with a free gift for every order over $100. Thanks everyone for being such great customers and happy sewing!


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Golden Bay Toys are World Famous


This Golden Bay Toy's Caterpillar is going home with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.  I wonder who will be the lucky recipient?  These toys are hand made by my brother-in-law, Murray in Golden Bay.  He does a wonderful job and it is great to see him getting this royal recognition.

And does this caterpillar turn into a monarch butterfly?  We think it might.

Stitchbird is proud to stock a range of Golden Bay Toys.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Sherbet


Thank you Di for choosing this week's Tuesday Stack.  The colours remind me of Sherbet - sweet and delicious.  

From the top the fabrics are :
Atrium Eclipse Slate fron Joel Dewberry
Eden Wildflower by Tula Pink
Sketch Candy by Timeless Treasures
Atrium Cumulus by Joel Dewberry
Sketch Coral from Timeless Treasures
Eden Labyrinth Peach by Tula Pink and
Eden Deity Sherbet by Tula Pink

This week's Tuesday Stack is available for sale here.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Tuesday Stack - If you Go Down to the Woods


This week's Tuesday Stack started with The Woodland fabric and grew from there.

Mesa Spirit Animal by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Cotton and Steel
Dottie Goldilocks by Cotton and Steel
The Woodland by Kokka
Tokyo Train Ride Harajuku by Sarah Watts for Cotton and Steel
True Colours Lady Bug Mustard by Tula Pink

This week's Tuesday Stack is available for sale here.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Because We Felt Like It!


A stack with a difference!  We have 80 different colours of felt.  The felt is a beautiful been of Wool and Rayon and each sheet measures 30 x 45 cms.  They are great for all sorts of crafting.

The Apple House Creative Card is one of Jodie Carlton's fantastic patterns that we sell.  

You can check out the felt selection on line here and our full range of sewing patterns here.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Irome Spring from Kokka


This week's Tuesday Stack is a biggy.  To herald in spring it seemed appropriate to blog about the new Irome Spring range from Kokka.

They are:


There are 11 fabrics in this stack.  As a special Tuesday Stack offer you can buy the 11 fat quarters for the price of 10.
The stack is on sale here.


Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Crazy Cat Lady

This stack is for the cat crazy people out there (like me!):



The fabrics in this week's stack include:

Dapper Cat from Michael Miller
Cats on Pink from Japan
Cats in Trees from Japan
Cute Cat Sketches Mint from Timeless Treasures

This week's stack is on sale over here.

And to put all your fabrics in, why not show your cat pride with a Cat Lady for Life Tote.


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Pretty Scary


With Halloween a little over a month away, these lovelies took my eye for this week's Tuesday Stack.   However I don't think they should just be used for Halloween projects - they are too cool for that.  I have my eye on some of the cats and the mummies for my scrappy bear paw blocks.

So from top to bottom we have:

Spellbound Cats Charcoal from Cotton and Steel
Mochi Mochi Lime by Rashida Hale Coleman for Cotton and Steel
Spellbound Mummies Charcoal from Cotton and Steel
Spot on Pomegranate from Robert Kaufman
Spellbound Doily Web from Cotton and Steel
Spellbound Elixir Black from Cotton and Steel

This week's Tuesday Stack is available for sale here.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Tuesday Stack - For the Boys


Some customers ask - where is all the cool fabric for boys?  This stack has really cool boy fabric (which many girls would also love!)

Little Flyers Patches Blue from Riley Blake
Little Flyers Beep Grey from Riley Blake
Little Flyers Flight from Riley Blake
Dottie Gold on Gelato in Cotton and Steel
Woodland Creatures Cream from Timeless Treasures



I have already cut out a cot quilt with these fabrics and am just plating with the arrangement of fabrics.  I used the Mod Cot Quilt Pattern for this quilt.

This week's Tuesday Stack is for sale here.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Christmas is Coming

We have been receiving Christmas stock since about May, but it seemed too early to blog about Christmas.  But in the last couple of weeks we have seen more and more people buying Christmas pressies (far too organised - and I am jealous) and getting their Christmas craft on.  So this week I am hopping on that Christmas sleigh and doing a Christmas stack.


Jingle Polar Bears from Ann Kelle
Garden Pindot Red by Michael Miller
Postcards for Santa Gold Dots by My Mind's Eye for Riley Blake
Postcards for Santa Deer from Riley Black
Holly's Tree Farm Forest Grass By Sweetwater for Moda

Have you started some Christmas crafting?

The Christmas is Coming stack is for sale here.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Spring Watercolours


Today is the first day of spring but it has been a soggy day in Wellington.  These fabrics remind me of watercolours, which seemed appropriate given the wet rainy day.

En Garden Natural by Nani Iro
Spectacle Pink by Nani Iro
Poppy Trip Red by Nani Iro
En Garden Pink by Nani Iro
Charms Plus Dots Gold by Ellen Luckett Baker
Mountain Views Neon by Nani Iro

This week's Tuesday Stack is available for sale here.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Graphic and a Giveaway Winner



Heath Decor Weight Black from Alexander Henry
Charms Sheep by Ellen Luckett Baker
Samber Natural from Echino
Charms Half Round Metallic Gold by Ellen Luckett Baker
Monochrome Shades Charcoal by Ellen Luckett Baker

This week's Tuesday Stack is for sale here.

And now for the winner of last week's Tuesday Stack Giveaway.  Each comment on the blog and Facebook page was assigned a number and the True Random Number Generator thingamebobby used and the winners are....  


Sarah May Bowden and her friend Sara Chambers.  Congratulations to the two Sara(h)s.

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway - I am sorry you cannot all be winners.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Introducing The Tinies and a Giveaway


This week's stack is based around The Tinies by Marisa of Creative Thursday for Kokka.  The colours and designs of these fabrics are great.  The range contains Cotton Linen mixes as well as 100% cotton prints.  I have also included one of the beautiful Yuwa Spots.  

From top to bottom there is:



The Tinies Stack is available for sale here.

We are giving away two of these stacks.  If you would like to win this Tuesday Stack for you and a friend just leave a comment here, with your friend's name and what you would like to make with these fabrics.  You can enter a second time by commenting on the Facebook post here.

Entries are limited to New Zealand and Australian residents.  Entries close at midnight Monday 17 August.  The winners will be announced next Tuesday.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Lighthearted

Tuesday Stack was interrupted last week due to illness.  This was doubly frustrating as I had just received a huge shipment of fabric.  After almost a week at home I am so glad to be back at work.  Ordinarily I would think time at home to sew was a bonus - but I was too sick to sew.  (Yes such a state does exist!)

So...I am slowly getting through the new fabrics that have arrived in store and getting them on line.  With over 100 new fabrics this week's Tuesday Stack was hard to pick.  In the end I went with Ayumi Mills' fabric line Lighthearted. 

I have followed Ayumi's blog Pink Penguin for a number of years now - I like her design aesthetic so when she designed her fabric range for Kokka I knew I had to order it.


As well as designing fabric Ayumi writes a column in Patchwork Tsushin a favourite Japanese quilt mag and last year published her book Patchwork Please.  I blogged about her book here.

This stack is for sale here.  As a special to celebrate our new shipment of fabric you will buy a fat quarter in all 10 designs for the price of 9.

Tuesday Stack - Cotton and Steel


I am loving the new Cotton and Steel in store.

Heath Pink/Hot Pink from Alexander Henry

This stack is sale for on line here.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Tuesday Stack - What's all this about Low Volume Fabric?

This week's Tuesday Stack is all about Low Volume fabrics.  I get people who ask; "what do you mean by Low Volume?".  So I have attempted to explain what it means to me below, with some examples.  I am not saying this is the definition as I am sure others may interpret it differently.

The term low volume fabric is a relatively new one in the quilting world.  It refers to fabrics which have a white, cream, taupe or light grey background which when put with other fabrics in a quilt read as white or light.  Low volume fabrics can have prints on them, but the prints do not tend to have colour in them or if they do very little.  

Fashion Magazine White by Suzuko Koseki (included in this week's stack) for example features a little colour.  I love this fabric and have used it a number of times as a low volume fabric.

This Mini Quilt using Rachel Woodenspoon's Raspberry Kiss Block was made for Mrs Moog as part of a mini quilt swap.  And features low volume fabrics.


The old white on white and cream on cream fabrics were perhaps the first low volume fabrics and whilst I might use these I like to have a little bit more "going on" on my low volume fabrics.

Low volume fabrics are generally used to provide negative space in quilts and modern quilting.  To me negative space is that place where your eye can have a rest from all the colours and designs in a quilt.  The negative space helps the rest of the colours and designs to "pop" and be noticed.

I like using low volume fabrics in my quilts because they provide interest in the background. However be warned once you start using them they do become addictive and another fabric collection is born.  I have a special section in store and on line which is dedicated to Low Volume Fabrics (just in case you catch the low volume bug). 

Currently I am using low volume fabrics in a scrappy bear paw quilt.




So this week's stack is all about low volume fabric and features some of the newer low volume prints in store, as well as some old favourites.


This week's fabrics clockwise from top right are:

Whisper Shadow from Robert Kaufman
Black and White Tiger Stripes by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Cotton and Steel
In the Jungle by Sevenberry
Kitten's Meow Toile by Heather Rosas
Pythagore from Yuwa
Fashion Magazine White by Suzuko Koseki

This week's low volume stack is available for sale on line here.


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Gorgeous New Linens


These beautiful new linens are from Yuwa in Japan.  They are a generous 130 cms wide and can be used for quilting, bag making and home decor items.  The linen has a very soft and lightly washed look.

Included in this stack (left to right and then down):

Whether you are buying for a specific project or are stash building these would make great additions to the fabric collection.

You can buy a fat quarter of each of these fabrics here.  Plus as a special if you buy this Tuesday stack there is $1 off per fat quarter for a limited time.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Tuesday Stack - So Soft

There have been so many new fabrics arrive in store it is hard to know where to begin.


This week I was drawn to the soft and subtle colours of these fabrics.  The fabrics are (from left to right):

Spot on Pink -  a great spot from Robert Kaufman
Pretty in Pink Floral from Sevenberry
Spring Street Calico Grey from Dear Stella

I just want to cut some now and go and sew.

This week's stack is for sale here.

Stay warm and happy sewing.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Tuesday Stack - Tammy's Stack

This week's stack was put together by the newest member of the Stitchbird team - Tammy.  Tammy is originally from Canada, where she ran her own event management company.  She has been a quilter for a number of years and also enjoys other crafting and sewing.  Tammy works in store on Mondays and Thursdays.


Tammy could not resist the bear fabric.


Bears on Bikes from Sevenberry
Pipi Blue/Green from Echino
Medallion Bright Green by Ellen Luckett Baker

This stack is sale for here.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Modern Baby Quilt Class and Peasant Top / Dress Class

I have been very bad at blogging about all the lovely things that are being made at Stitchbird recently.  

Last night was the last class of the Modern Baby Quilt tutored by Adrianne of On the Windy Side.

And here are the lovely class attendees with their beautiful quilts.


Aya, Ann and Nancy


Colleen, Rachelle and Amanda

I love how each person's fabric selections make their quilts individual to them.  

Beautiful quilts ladies!

And last Saturday saw the first Girls Peasant Top/ Dress class tutored by Trish


Lisa, Megan, Sharyn, Amanda, Gloria, Bex

Super cute!

There are more classes still available if you would like to come and sew with us.  You can check out the class listings here

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Tuesday Stack - The Return of the Stack

Lately the stack has been looking bit like this (a bit like my sewing).


A big thank you to everyone who supported our Third Birthday Sale.  I hope you got some great bargains and are sewing up a storm.  Please feel free to share your creations, I love seeing what gets made.

Normal Tuesday stacking has resumed with this week's stack:


Cats Mice Pink from Makower
Colour Full Words Indigo by Jennifer Sampou

This stack is available for sale here.  

Happy Stitching.