knock knock... {fabric inspiration}

We hope you've been getting on with your projects for the theme 'wood' but here's some ideas to help spark some creativity...

head Into The Woods with fabric by Lella Boutique

or be inspired by stories set in the woods, like these gorgeous patterns: 

Wolf Bait Cape pattern and Rose Red Woodland Doll pattern by Lella Boutique

this growth chart has a great woodland theme

you could be more literally and use wood patterns as inspiration: 

Nature Tree Rings, Northwoods Artisan Batiks by Lunn Studios and 

Green Wood, Happy Harvest by Doodlebug Design

or even woodcuts! 

or you could be inspired by beach wood, like this Driftwood pattern

and the possibilities for creating things literally made of wood are endless!!

I have to admit to not starting yet (ekkk!) but there's still one week to go until the link opens and I have an idea brewing.

Pop back on the 15th of May to link up your finished projects based on the theme 'wood' and a random winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop :)

If you are new round these woods then please head here to read the what we're all about and the 'rules'.

How is everyone getting on? Any more ideas you'd like to add leave a comment!

not long now... {fabric inspiration}

Just popping in to remind you that the link for the 'tradition' challenge will open on Tuesday next week!

If you're new to le challenge this month we want you to link up anything based on the theme tradition - it can be interpreted however you like so long as you link to any finished crafty project made in the past month, see all the rules HERE.

You might want to use a traditional pattern mixed with reproduction fabrics as this Mint Jelly and Jam Quilt Kit does

or kick it old school like Hidden Vintage Farmhouse

maybe you like a little period drama with Downton Abbey?

or perhaps you are a Family Guy and have a way to create something based on family traditions?

Or even a holiday tradition? (don't hate me, I know it's only April but some people like to be prepared!! and The Very Hungry Caterpillar is so cute!)

Is saying 'Cheers' a tradition?

I know some of you are already finished and hope you're all excited about seeing all the makes inspired by TRADITION 

Dots {fabric inspiration}

Feeling dotty? A little reminder that the link party will open on Valentine's Day so you have just over to week to get your DOTS projects finished and join us for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop (FYI - the link stays open until 8pm on the 16th GMT so you still get lovey dovey time!).

repro dots; pin dots; fun dots; mixed dots; painted dots; wide dots

Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head. Round, circles, bubbles, they look good with stripes! I have tried thinking of some crazy inspiration but dots are so simple. So many colours, sizes, mixed with other patterns. Anything goes!

So are you doing something straightforward with this theme or have you come up with a wild interpretation? 

There's still time to finish something even if you haven't started yet ;)

If you're new to le challenge we would love you to join in with our link party and you can find out all the details and guidelines here.

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?

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!

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?

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!