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Cheesecake and Heineken

Cheesecake and Heineken? Yep, that's what I'm eating for dinner at 10.50pm tonight (OK, there was soup too). I've been busy setting up our stand for Better Home and Gardens Live. It's on tomorrow through Sunday (15th - 17th Oct) at Sydney Olympic Park ('oh, you mean Homebush' as the Sydneysiders say).

I've left the kidlets with their Dad for four whole days. Heh, he won't know what hit him. So, if you're planning on going, please drop in and see us.

On the stand we'll have a little bit of this...

and a little bit of that...

Hope to see you there!

Calling all Melbourne Customers...We're Off to Market

We'll be at Mathilda's Market on Sunday showcasing some of our children's fabrics and patterns. We'd really love it if you'd drop in and say hello!

Gift Voucher Winners

Thank you SO much to all who participated in our recent survey! We had a fabulous response and were delighted with all of the extremely positive comments and constructive feedback we received.

It took some time, but we finally narrowed the shortlist to 5 lucky winners. Congratulations to Sonya, Jackie, Angela, Nina, and Christiane who each received a $100 gift voucher to our online fabric store. Happy shopping!

Nani IRO Versatile Skirt

Yet another Versatile Skirt in a quirky, abstract Nani IRO Fuukei print. The basecloth is a linen/cotton blend. You'd never know it was partly cotton though, it looks like 100% linen and the slightly open weave makes it drape beautifully. It was fun playing around with this print to decide which bits of the print to place where. A great design for spring!

Project details:

Versatile Wrap Skirt Pattern by Make it Perfect

Nani IRO Fuukei Blue on Natural Linen

New Nani IRO 2010

We've recently uploaded the new Nani IRO 2010 collection to the store. It's mostly double gauze except for the Poster Fleur prints which are a lovely soft cotton and linen canvas.

Generally in the southern hemisphere we get summer collections in winter and winter collections in summer, but this particular collection has a couple of nice moody, winterish colourways (below).

Amy Butler Full Moon Jacket

Now, I wouldn't necessarily think that this Amy Butler Full Moon Polka Dot fabric is a classic candidate for a jacket. If a customer asked me if it was suitable for a jacket, I'd probably say "You could try it, but I'd recommend something a bit heavier with a little more body." It seems though I'd just be being lazy. Check out this superfantastic jacket made up in this fabric by the Selfish Seamstress.

For more nitty gritty details, see this post here, and this one here.

How did she get it looking so fantastic? Along with the usual facing and lining, she also interlined each of the fabric pieces with muslin and top stitched with a double straight stitch! Respect.

Last Chance to Win a Gift Voucher

We've had a huge response to our customer survey so far. Thanks to all those who've responded and given us such valuable feedback!

It closes at the end of this week, so if you haven't already, take the survey for your chance to win one of 5 $100 gift vouchers. It will take only 5 minutes of your time. We're not asking anything intrusive - just some general feedback on our products, web site and customer service.

Embroidered Linen

We recently had these gorgeous linen designs embroidered in India to our specifications. These are really large scale prints, so they're perfect for blinds, curtains, cushions or table linen. The branches design in particular would look amazing slightly offset so the branches run down one side of the cushion rather than in the centre.

Market Skirt Pattern

Here's a sample of the Market Skirt pattern made up in Amy Butler's Water Bouquet in the Midnight colourway.

This is a nice simple pattern with a gentle a-line shape. It's super-easy to make. No zips or waistband. Just elastic casing around the waist. Very comfy!

It also makes a great early pregnancy or postnatal skirt too. Because, let's face it, if you want to sew maternity clothes, there's not exactly a truckload of options to choose from.

The Water Bouquet is also available in the Mint colourway below.

Laminated Linen

Laminated linen? Ok, so it doesn't make for a very exciting picture, but how practical is this? This morning's breakfast, last night's dinner, simply wipe it clean. Mess sorted.

It looks like a garden variety natural linen, until you touch it and realise it's coated. The coating is a thin matte laminate. Not too shiny. Not too stiff. Just right.

Laminated linen - available from our online fabric store.

New Organic Cotton

We've recently added the latest release Cloud 9 organic cotton prints to the Cloud 9 category. The ones above are my favourites.

We've also added this new collection of organic cotton fabrics called Circa 50 by Birch Fabrics. They are printed on light weight base cloth which is so lusciously soft. Perfect for childrens quilts, quilt covers and clothing.

Echino Birdsong Versatile Skirt

This truly is a versatile skirt! The Make It Perfect Versatile Skirt is by far our best selling skirt pattern. It's a simple wrap skirt that is super-easy to make: no zips, no buttons, no clips, no hooks and eyes, no fuss. It's great for both summer and winter skirts.

We've made this one from the Echino Birdsong fabric in green. You could tone it down a bit for winter with long boots and a cardi, or liven it up in summer with a t-shirt and flat sandals. There's a lot going in this and most of the Echino fabric prints, so I like to tone the rest of the outfit down with plain colours and shapes.

Project Details:

Make It Perfect Versatile Skirt Pattern

Echino Birdsong Green

Before Birch. After Birch.

I love a before and after photo. Of anything really. Renovations, botox, weight loss....

So, here's a little chair that's actually gained weight and style. I picked this up ages ago on eBay for $3.50 and had it reupholstered in Lara Cameron's Birch print in Dusty Pink fabric. I'm really pleased with it!

It looks great in my baby daughter's bedroom, especially matched with these gorgeous fabric wall stickers from Love Mae (I used the tree with the birds and positioned it so the longest branch stretches over her cot).

Mae: I DO love you!

New Organic Cotton and Hemp

We've recently added some new beautifully textured hemp and organic cottons to the store. These ones above are:
Hemp and organic cotton stripe indigo

Hemp and organic cotton denim indigo
Hemp canvas natural

The canvas is quite heavy at 350gsm and could be used for upholstery or other projects where you need a tough, textured natural fibre. The other two are lighter and very versatile. I particularly love the mottled colouring in the indigo denim. It's a nice soft one with a beautiful texture and would be lovely in clothing.

Also new are these gorgeous Ink & Spindle fabrics on hemp and organic cotton. Birch red on cream hemp, Wrens red on natural hemp cotton, and Ginkgo lime and fuchsia on cream hemp.