And the winner is...

Just a reminder (in case you were patiently waiting) there is no new theme until January 15th. We are taking a little holiday break and hope you will join us in 2015 for more exciting challenges! We would like to thank all of you for joining in and being so creative this year.

So the winner of the INK challenge is...

...Nesta from Ella and Nesta who made a pretty pouch with a great text print to carry in her handbag. Congratulations you have won a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!

Hope you all have a peaceful December and see you back here in 2015!

Lucy and Nat
xx

Le Challenge #18 - INK

This challenge seemed to come around fast and we're looking forward to seeing your ink creations!

Here's what we made:

see Lucy's vintage elf at Charm About You

see Nat's handmade Christmas wrapping paper at Made in Home

If you are new to Le Challenge find more information here - please read the guidelines!

Link your finished INK makes below for a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop :)

Please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description and use the hashtag #lechallenge if you are linking up from Instagram.

An InLinkz Link-up

More inspiration from Laura at Made Peachy

Today we have an inspiring post by the wonderfully creative Laura from Made Peachy, whose beautiful calligraphy is a perfect fit for our INK challenge theme this month. 

If you’ve checked out my Instagram feed, or my blog in recent times you’ll have noticed that I’m in the midst of a love affair with modern Calligraphy.

This elegant art form is something that takes practice - years of practice, if we’re going to be honest about it. Yet, still this is a creative pastime that I can’t get enough of right now. So much so that I’m shouting it from the rooftops, so I’m here today to share the love for Modern Calligraphy and perhaps give you that little nudge that you might need to give it a go!

First off, lets dispel a couple of myths and get a few things clear…

MYTH: You need to be super artistic to be able to master calligraphy.

Well, sure calligraphy is an art form, but it is one that is learnt and developed with practice. Repeated drills of shaping stylish letters will yield stunning and highly artistic lettering, even if you claim to not have an artistic bone in your body.

MYTH: You can’t contemplate taking up calligraphy if your everyday handwriting is horrifically bad.

Calligraphy is very different from your everyday writing. Ok, so if you're starting out with a scrawl of script that is illegible at the best of times then you’ll just have your work cut out, but there is no reason (providing you put in the practice!) that you can’t achieve stunning lettering skills.

MYTH: Practice is so boring!

Ordinarily I would agree. I mean repeating the same task (that you might be pretty shabby at when you start out) does sound dull. But, here’s the thing, calligraphy practice is slow, careful and considered, it is a perfect way to stop and slow down  - and unwind - during a busy day. Don't be surprised if you find that you’ll be sneaking in a little bit of lettering practice every time you have a moment to spare!

As I’ve said, calligraphy is a slow burn of a craft so - full disclosure - I’m still learning, still finding my own style and still trying to master the art of not covering everything in the surrounding area with blobs of ink. However, in the last few months of my whirlwind romance with this creative hobby I have not only been amazed at the progress, but also learnt a few little things along the way.

Thinking of trying your own hand at modern calligraphy? Check out these handy hints for beginners…

New Nibs

While you are learning, mastering the smooth even pressure can result in breaking and bending nibs out of shape. Writing with a damaged nib is no fun and no good for achieving results that you can be really proud of, stocking up with lots of nibs will ensure that you can get the most out of your practice sessions.

Need some help with picking out some calligraphy supplies - check out these Starting Calligraphy Essentials!

Easy on the Ink

Getting just the right amount of ink in your dip pen is a fiddly business. You might be tempted to load it up with as much as you possibly can to ensure you can write out the whole entire word without refilling it. Too much ink can cause uneven strokes on the letters and often results in splodges and splatters on the paper. Load your pen

sparingly, you can always re-ink part way through a word and even work back over letters to refill sections as needed.

Stay Chilled
Relax! This is meant to be a fun creative hobby! Its all too tempting when we are concentrating really hard to tense up through our shoulders and back. This is the very worst thing for practising calligraphers - tense muscles, in your hand, arm and shoulder make it really tricky to create those lush swooping loops and flourishes that you’re striving for.

Fancy looking for some tips online inspiration for calligraphy? Check out this round up of free Calligraphy resources! 

Clean Up!
This might sound like the dullest piece of advice, no one likes to clean up! Inks will dry pretty quickly on abandoned pens, and removing it once it has completely dried is a difficult job, and can often leave your nibs damaged or in a sorry state. A quick clean up of nibs and pen holders when you've finished your practice will help to give them longevity…and they will be ready for with the mood hits for more lettering!

Learning solo can be a little daunting - it is often hard to spot your own mistakes or fathom out the tricks of the trade to get you to the next level. Why not try an online calligraphy course? 

I plan on spending a lot of time over the winter working on my lettering practice and no doubt have a lot more to learn - but what a satisfying creative journey it will be. Have you discovered top tips for working with inks or building your calligraphy skills - be sure to share, I’d love to hear them!

Blog: http://www.madepeachy.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MadePeachy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Made-Peachy/201655609989556?ref=hl
Instagram: http://instagram.com/madepeachy
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/MadePeachy/


Thank you so much Laura! 
Be sure to check her out on social media, she has fabulous and unique tutorials on her blog and takes the most gorgeous and inspiring pictures.

There is about a week before the INK challenge link opens so we hope to see you back here then for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop and if you're new to le challenge you can find all the details about our fun monthly link here!

Ink {fabric inspiration}

I have to admit this month's theme, INK, had me stumped but the more I thought about it the more possibilities there are. Since so much of what we use when sewing and crafting contains ink that you could really stretch the theme to fit anything!

Here's a few of the fun things I found at the Fat Quarter Shop for inspiration...

Brilliant pens you could use in your make: Sewline Styla Water Erasable Pen or Pigma Micron Pen

Any kind of writing: Penmanship, Elementary by Sweet Water

You could write something special: Airmail, Eric and Julie Comstock

The colour of ink: Inky, Paint by Such Designs

All colours of ink!: Paint Swatches by Dear Stella

Squirt some ink!!: Octopus by Timeless Treasures

I will be totally honest and tell you I've not started my project yet but there are a few days until the link opens so hopefully I can have a finish to show!

Join us on 15th December to link up your finished 'ink' makes and a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. If you're new you can read all about le challenge here.

How are you all getting on?

And the winner is ...

... Michelle from Bolt to Beauty. I just love her interpretation of X - the Roman numeral for 10 - amazing! I never thought of that! Congratulations for the double win this month - the FQS voucher and your choice of zips! 

See you all on December 15 for your 'ink' interpretations - as for me I will start packing that hospital bag and hope to share a bit of good news, involving a cute little face, very soon - most probably on my blog. 

Next up...

We've had so much fun seeing all your wonderful projects so far this year! Thank you all for joining in and accepting le challenge as part of your creative lives :)

This is the last challenge of the year and the theme is...

INK

source

The link will open on December 15th (well the 14th GMT 10am until 16th GMT 8pm) and then we will take a little break and the next theme will be announced on 15th January.

It would be great to end the year with a bang and we encourage you to get really creative and think outside the box! Or maybe draw on it ;)

I have to admit I'm a little stumped about what to make for this one. We would love you to leave a comment with your ideas or inklings of what you might make!?

Le Challenge #17 - X

We are super excited to see what you've all come up with for the X theme this month!

Here's what we've been up to:

see Lucy's X stitch and X quilt at Charm About You

See Nat's new pouch tutorial over at Made in Home

Check back tomorrow to find out the new theme and if you are new to Le Challenge find more information here - please read the guidelines!

Link up here for a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop to spend on anything you like and a rainbow bundle of zips from Rickety Rose Crafts - you get to chose any 25 colours and sizes of the closed-end zips!

Please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description and use the hashtag #lechallenge if you're linking up from Instagram.

An InLinkz Link-up

More inspiration from Mr X Stitch

Today we have some thought-provoking inspiration from Jamie 'Mr X Stitch' Chalmers, who is an amazing textile artist and passionate advocate of creative needlework. Our theme this month is 'X' and who better to motivate us than the Kingpin of Contemporary Embroidery!

People often ask me why I’m Mr X Stitch and not Mr Cross Stitch. Some people don’t seem to understand the value of X, its mystery and its power. But to me the X is critical.

We live in an age where people want us to follow the norm. The powers that be want us to be good little citizens, doing as we’re told, so that they can continue tweaking the way of the world to suit the rich and to disable the rest. To me, the X represents the counter-culture. It represents those moments where we choose to stand against the rules and do things our way. The X is man versus the system. The X is an expression of humanity, and it’s becoming more vital than ever.

I don’t think that the X is a bad thing, but by going against the norm, it’s certainly provocative. People think that because I’ve challenged the traditional stereotypes of embroidery, both through my own practice and through the work curated on my site, that I’m just interested in shock value and swearing. But there’s much more than that. Mr X is a tool for change, and there’s no denying that I can use the novelty factor to have an impact,  but for me the critical element to all of this is individual expression.

There’s a massive debate about art vs craft that has been going on for years, and it often seems to centre around which forms of product are art and which aren’t. For instance, it is generally agreed that oil painting and sculpture is art, but that cross stitch is craft. But this distinction misses the point and serves to perpetuate a class paradigm that means that Damien Hirst can charge £100000 for someone painting circles on a wall, but that people balk at paying £50 for a cross stitch that took ten hours.

My view on this debate is this:

·          If you buy a kit and follow the kit without a moment’s thought, it’s a nice hobby.

·         The minute you start paying attention to the work and adapting your process to improve the outcome, it’s a craft.

·         The minute you start adapting the content to include your own self-expression, you’re an artist.

End of story.

People ask me why I’m Mr X Stitch and not Mr Cross Stitch. It’s because I want to inspire people to do their own thing, I want everyone to find the artist within them and be more creative. Creativity is a necessary survival mechanism in a world of passive consumption of bland corporatized nonsense.  The X is the way forward. So go forth and do your own thing – let’s change the world!


How's that for motivation?! Thank you so much Mr X Stitch! You can find more work by Mr X Stitch and a whole host of info, groups and awesome stitchings on the Mr X Stitch website. 

We hope you are inspired to create and we would love to see your finished project that fits the theme 'X', using any medium,  in our link party that opens on 15th November. You can read the guidelines and more about le challenge here. 

One random winner will win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop and your choice of 25 close ended zips from Rickety Rose Crafts!

And the winner is...

Thank you for all your fabulous 'mix' entries, you were all very creative in your interpretations and we really had a great mix of finished projects!

Random.org was put to work and chose:

which was CoveredByThread. Congratulations! I have sent you a message :)

Remember that the next theme is X on 15th November and there are two giveaway prizes - a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop and your choice of 25 close ended zips from Rickety Rose Crafts!

We also have a really creative and interesting guest post lined up, as well as our regular inspiration posts, so stay tuned. 

I need to get to work on my project but am bursting with ideas for this one, how about you?

Next up...

We are really excited about this theme! REALLY!

What's more there's an extra giveaway prize this month so we hope you'll join in and get creative with your interpretations.

The theme this month is X

The letter X, the shape X, a cross... you know what we're talking about!

Join us on 15th November with your finished projects and link up for a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop to spend on anything you like and a rainbow bundle of zips from Rickety Rose Crafts - you get to chose any 25 colours and sizes of the closed-end zips!

Le Challenge #16 - Mix

We are excited to see what you've come up with for the Mix theme!

Here's what we've been up to:

Lucy mixed her hobbies at Charm About You

Nat has been mixing fabrics for a new cushion at Made in Home

Check back tomorrow to find out the new theme and if you are new to Le Challenge find more information here - please read the guidelines!

For a chance to win a $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate make sure you link up your finished projects based on the theme 'Mix'. Please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description and use the hashtag #lechallenge if you're linking up from Instagram.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mix {fabric inspiration}

This is one of those themes that the more you think about it you realise there's so many possibilities but if you're a little stuck here's some fabric inspiration for the theme 'mix'.

My first thought (and I know others thought the same!) was mixtapes, those wonderful mixes people made on cassettes way back when.

The kitchen is a great place to mix, maybe make something to help you around the kitchen or something decorative like this cute Mixing it Up pattern.

There must be a way of creating a remix, perhaps using something over again? An old WIP turned into something new? It's an excuse for me to show the remix print ;)

Of course it's simple to create a project using a mix of different fabric styles or designers, like Lee Heinrich's Blogger's Choice Bundle.

You could mix colours or textures, like in this color wheel fabric.

Or a nice mix of fonts with these Sewing Studio Words and Black Chalkboard Words.



I hope that's shown you the scope of the possibilities!

Join us on 15th October to link up your finished 'mix' makes and a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. If you're new you can read all about le challenge here.


How are your projects coming along?

And the winner is...

Thanks for all your entries and spreading the word about le challenge! 

The winner is.... 

So that will be Lou who made the Clamshell Cushion. Congrats Lou! Will get in touch with you so that you can receive your voucher from the Fat Quarter Shop and your bundle of 10 vintage sheet fat quarters from Mary's shop. 

And don't forget to link up your 'MIX' projects on October 15. 

Next up...

We try to make the themes for le challenge interesting and not too specific, we love that you are all so inventive and creative with your makes and your interpretations of the themes!

This month is another very open theme with lots of possibilities, are you ready?....


The theme is MIX.


You could mix your mediums, mix some colours, mix it up and try something new. Honestly the more you think about the more you're head will be bursting with ideas!


Join us on 15th October with your finished projects and link up for a random chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.

Le Challenge #15 - Era

Welcome back! We are back in the swing of things and looking forward to seeing your 'era' finishes!

Here's what we've been up to:

Lucy made a start, read the whole story at Charm About You

Read about Nat's embroidered felt boxy pouch here

Check back tomorrow to find out the new theme and if you are new to Le Challenge find more information here - please read the guidelines!

For a chance to win a $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate and 10 fat quarters of vintage sheets from Mary Emmens make sure you link up your finished projects based on the theme 'Era'. Please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description and use the hashtag #lechallenge if you're linking up from Instagram.

An InLinkz Link-up

More inspiration from Mary Emmens

Today we're featuring the creative talent Mary from Mary Emmens, to share her fabulous vintage inspiration. She's also kindly offering a giveaway to September's winner and a discount code for her shop for everyone!

I was flattered to be asked to guest post for this month's Le Challenge theme of 'Era'. There are so many different ways to interpret this, you can probably think of more than me, mine is possibly restricted to something 'vintage'. If you know me you probably know that I have a fondness for vintage sheets. I believe that 'vintage' is deemed to be anything that is over 20 years old, my vintage sheets come from an era of the 1960's, 70's and even 80's. But whatever decade they come from it is the colours, the softness, the awesome prints that hooked me in. I started collecting them 4 years or so ago and have amassed quite a few. My first quilt using vintage sheets was this one:

   

 I can't quite believe it; 111 stars of different sizes and different types including;

   

 Here are a few other quilts I have made with strings, charms and fat quarters:

     Vintage Sheet String Quilt 

I soon discovered that while making quilts used up some of my sheets, I still had plenty to spare so opened an Etsy shop to try and reduce my stash!

 Chevron Baby Vintage Sheet Quilt 

You can find quilt kits, charm packs, fat quarters and strips. I'm very happy to make up custom orders; cut other size charms and sometimes I can even supply yardage.

   Vintage Sheet Baby Quilt  

Orbit Quilt made from Vintage Sheets 

But it's not all about quilts! And to be honest a month isn't a long time to whip up a quilt for the theme of 'Era' so how about some other items I've been inspired to make, including bibs, aprons, bags and bunting:

   

So you could go hunting for vintage sheets or other vintage fabrics, you may already have some in your stash. One of my favourite makes using vintage sheets is this bag from the Zakka Style book, teamed with an old pair of jeans, it's hardwearing and lovely to look at:

   

I'm sure you can all find somewhere to hang up some bunting whatever fabric it is made from:

 

One of the most favourite things I have done with vintage sheets is transformed a set of new stairs in our house from this:

   

 to this:

 

I hope I've provided you with some inspiration and to help inspire you to join in this month I'm donating a bundle of 10 vintage sheet fat quarters from my shop to the winner of the Le Challenge link, the bundle will contain fabrics similar to these below but are dependent on what other lovelies I find over the next few weeks!

   

And if you can't wait to see if you win you can use discount code: lechallenge to get 15% off any purchase in my shop up 15 September 2014.

Thank you so much Mary! Such beautiful makes and great inspiration, those stairs are one of the coolest things we've seen. I have previously made a cot quilt using one of Mary's kits and it's been loved by my two girls. Both Nat and I have joined in Mary's wonderful vintage sheet FQ swaps and we've thought about using them in our 'era' projects.

The link party will open on September 15th for you to link up your finished projects based on the theme 'era'. A random winner will be chosen and receive a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop as well as a lovely bundle of 10 FQs from Mary's shop!