blu-shed

91 magazine

2012-02-03T18:35:00.000Z

red and white cornishware by t.g.green

i was contacted a while ago by twitter friend sophie, an interior design journalist to send her a photo of my summersville collection to place in the news section of the second issue of 91 magazine. if you're a fan of vintage style you're in for a treat! this online magazine is beautifully shot and jam packed full of interesting articles. one in particular caught my eye, about the company t.g.green, famous for it's blue and white 'cornishware'. another is a fascinating insight into wallpaper great, cole and son. i could go on raving, because the magazine peeks through the the keyhole of many a lovely abode...but i won't say anymore because you can see for yourself right here for free!

pot full o' sharpies

2012-01-31T16:13:00.001Z

pen pot, originally uploaded by lusummers.

a pretty photo today in my new studio (check out those metro tiles, they're called 'bond street'!) a newly thrifted pen pot (£1.25 from my least favourite charity shop in town, the one that never has cool stuff, so this indeed was a find) on my paperchase box...a little composition that makes me very happy on this very grey miserable tuesday.

honoured

2012-01-26T12:27:00.001Z

tattoos are a funny thing. they're a very personal thing. personally, i'm a wimp. i a) couldn't deal with the pain of it being done and b) knowing me i'd scab up really disgustingly for months afterwards. my zumba instructor kris has tons of them and they say they remind her of great times in her life. my friend katy is practically famous in the quilt world for hers. i'm not sure i could do it. but often think, if i had one, what would it be and where would it go? it's often in the same thought vein as these gems that i often think about while i'm in the shower: if i were to audition for x-factor, what would i sing and who would i want as my mentor? & if i had plastic surgery, what would i have done first? you know, those completely delusional, keep-them-to-yourself-thoughts. anyway, i digress. i got a message from a customer, renee. and she's had a tattoo done on her inner arm. based on my bloomsbury flowers. and it's awesome, just look. to love something i've designed that much and to then permanently adhere (?) it to yourself, well, that's just plain amazing. in her own words:

"On a recent trip to Berlin, for the Hello Etsy conference, I decided to get a tattoo to celebrate the amazing adventure!!! I knew exactly what I wanted and came up with a little illustration based on your work. I get so many compliments and people just love it."

and check out renee's blog too. she's gorgeous, i have a new girl crush.

epp! nearly 2 weeks?

2012-01-23T16:41:00.000Z

i'm so sorry! that to do list was a long one, but it got done. and of course, another started! still lots to do, but i couldn't resist popping in to post a picture of this super cute table cloth by elling design i found in the charity shop today for a mere £1.50. it was One Of Those Moments, that only a thrifter would truly appreciate. i'm talking The Sweaty Palmed Purchase. charity shop fiends, you know what i'm talking about.

as an aside, i've tried googling 'elling design' and have come up with a 2 table cloths exactly like this in different colours sold on etsy, but nothing else...? i know elling is in denmark so perhaps it's just a souvenir piece made and sold for the tourist trade? whatever, it's so cute, i just love it.

in the background

2012-01-10T10:14:00.001Z

i've got a to do list to do. paperwork, studio cleaning for a photo shoot (!) more paperwork, some other printing, thinking about a valentine's design...it all needs to be done. at the bottom of the list is the thing i really want to be doing: playing with pretty coloured inks on pretty coloured fabrics, sigh. just 10 things to get out of the way and i'm there...what would you rather be doing today?

taking a punt

2012-01-03T15:36:00.002Z

i don't buy that much on the evil E but i do an awful lot of browsing...i often type in 'vintage wallpaper' but it seems that too many sellers are too savvy to let things go too cheaply these days. i like finding the person who's just cleared out their nan's attic and dumped everything on ebay just to get rid of it at any price...and i totally found one such person with this wallpaper - a dodgy blurred picture was all that gave a clue to the pattern, but it was blue, and i was looking for blue...and for 99p, could i go wrong? admittedly with p&p it was a little bit more, but i was in a 'what the hell mood'. so i took a punt and it's better than i hoped! a perfect blue to go with my new blue cabinet doors in the studio, and just the right shade of slightly grim mustard to prove it's proper vintage ;) now to decide if there's enough for the wall i want to paper or if i want to down the patchwork wallpaper wall look, seen here. not too sure yet. in the meantime i shall stroke my new purchase.

star light, star bright

2011-12-30T15:51:00.002Z

i've just packed away all the christmas decorations and everywhere is looking a bit bare. i always feel a mixture of sad & relieved when that job's done and this year is no exception. i know it's a little early for most people, but for us it's late - i'm usually fed up with them by boxing day. anyway, a very happy new year to everyone, hope you're doing something more exciting than staying in like we are! - here's to an exciting 2012! lots of love xxx

winner!

2011-12-22T11:57:00.000Z

no: 69

i thought it was about time to choose a winner for the recipe book - i forgot to put an end date, opps. anyway, the random number generator picked comment 69 (which sadly made me laugh, isn't that pathetic?) which is cecilia! congratulations! the comments were packed full of delicious sounding festive recipes, yum...

i will use this time to wish you all a happy holiday season, and to thank you all for reading my blog. 2011 has been immense for me in lots of ways, and i've lots planned for 2012. stick around - it's nice to have you here :) lots of love xxx

don't ask me why...

2011-12-19T11:42:00.000Z

...i called this project ker-istmas ker-ackers...i was obviously in a foolish mood. anyhoo, you've just about got enough time to whip up some of these beauties for the christmas feast...it's a totally no-sew project and you can see the instructions here on the fat quarterly blog! many thanks to katy who came over with some emergency melody miller fabric supplies for the project! after a lot of a few cock-ups, the crackers came together quickly and easily and are a lot of fun to make - result!

hurrah for kraft paper!

2011-12-15T09:41:00.001Z

every year i think i ought to print my own paper for christmas gifts but never get around to it. but this year i have! i'll be honest - the hexagons are taking forever to do as i made a foam stamp, so i might just stick to one or two dotted around the paper, but apart from that, this is a quick and satisfying project! i like how the white ink acts as a bit of a resist and you can see the design through the colours. small things please.

calling all quilt shops...

2011-12-08T12:00:00.001Z

i'm trying to be a nice organised designer and have a list of stockists of summersville so you're only a hop away from a purchase. i will of course be selling it myself in my etsy shop, but if you're overseas, you might prefer to buy it locally. so i need your help! if you know if your LQS is *definitely* going to stock summersville, (& by definitely, i mean summersville has actually been ordered) let me know in the comments section below with a link to the store. i've started already with a few from twitter, but the more i get, the more i'll organise into countries so it's easier to negotiate. thanks so much for your help with this, i appreciate it!

still on the summersville subject, i treated myself to some beautiful fabric markers by pebeo the other day and set about colouring in some summersville scraps - how cool a project would this be? then your summersville fabric can be completely personalised!

recipe book cover. a tutorial by lu summers. oh, & another giveaway.

2011-12-07T14:30:00.001Z

well, after the excitement of yesterday's blog hop (hello to any new followers) i'm going to try and keep the mood high with a tutorial...this isn't a photo rich tute, sorry about that, but i will try and explain each step as best i can. i made this recipe book cover to take to houston to the quilt festival, but forgot to take it, what a wally. i came across it during my big studio clean up and thought it might make a nice gift for a clever cook. this tutorial assumes you can use a sewing machine and you have basic hand stitching knowledge.

so here you go...

you will need

a hard back notebook or sketchbook 4 x 6 inches

10 x 6.5 inch piece of thick wool felt OR if you don't have wool felt, normal craft felt is fine, but double it up and use fusible web to stick it together, this is the felt cover

2 pieces of thin craft felt 3 x 6.5 inches (this can be any colour, can contrast or blend with the felt for the front) these are the felt flaps that hold the book in place

scraps of quilting fabric in different designs and colours for the fabric circles

cardboard circles (i used a couple of craft punches in 2 different sizes, 1.5 inch & 2.5 inch diameter)

9 inch length of thin ribbon or linen thread for the closure

1 button, any size for the closure

water soluble pen for the embroidered fabric circle

general sewing kit (pins, scissors, sewing thread, few strands of embroidery thread, needles, you get the gist)

sewing machine

iron

spray starch (useful but not essential)

1. take the cardboard discs and draw around the fabric scraps on the wrong side. cut out each circle, leaving a generous seam allowance. do this so you have around 6 or 7 in total.

2. choose a plain fabric for the stitched 'recipe' circle and write a word ('recipe', or 'cooks notes' or just 'notes', whatever you fancy) on the right side of the plain fabric with the water soluble pen.

3. use the embroidery thread to embroider over the written word. the easiest stitch for this is back stitch, keep it as small and neat as possible.

4. do an even gathering stitch around the fabric circle in the seam allowance. before gathering, pop a cardboard disc in the back to gather around. remember to make sure the embroidery is in the centre of the circle) pull tight and tie a knot, and then iron with a hot iron on both sides so you make a perfect circle. spray starch might be useful for this step.

5. cut the threads and release the cardboard disc. pin the fabric circle to the thick felt, (make sure that when you close the cover, this circle is on the front) but not too close to the edges (at least .75 inches away from edge)

6. do the same to all the fabric circles, and pin in a pleasing composition on the thick felt cover. when happy, use small over stitches to secure them to the felt cover.

7. turn over the thick felt cover, take the felt flaps and pin one to the very left hand edge.

8. do the same to the other felt flap on the opposite side, but this time trap the ribbon or thread between the thick felt cover and the flap. pin into place.

9. use a sewing machine to stitch all the way around the felt cover using a 0.25 seam allowance, making sure to catch the ribbon or thread in the stitches. make sure the book fits - you're after a snug but not overly tight fit. adjust if necessary.

10. sew the button centre right on the front felt cover, then twist the ribbon or thread around the button to close the cover securely. step back and thoroughly pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

if there are any points that are confusing/or you just don't get, let me know...i'll answer any queries with updates in this blogpost - i'll colour them in red at the end of the post as they might help others...!

if you simply can't be bothered to make this yourself, then don't worry! i'm giving away the recipe cover with plain hard backed book - ready to give to a friend/loved one/your neighbour/your cat/your window cleaner. there are 3 ways you can to win:

1. simply leave a comment now telling me your favourite ever holiday recipe, not details you understand, just the name of it and what it is! ;)

2. tweet a link to this tute and leave a comment

3. become a follower of this blog and leave a comment

i will send the book anywhere in the world, BUT (i cannot stress this enough) YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL where i can get hold of you. if i have to go searching for you, i'm afraid i'll pick another winner.

DISCLAIMER: i agree this would make a very fetching holiday gift. but if the winner happens to be overseas, i will wait until the holiday postal madness is over before sending, which means this won't go in the post until january. i also cannot take any responsibility if this package goes missing in the post...

thanks for your understanding!

moda designer blog hop

2011-12-05T15:10:00.001Z

i'm honoured to be part of the moda designer blog hop this time around...the idea is that each day for 5 days in december, 4 or 5 moda designers will each post a new quilt block pattern and favourite recipe, and here's mine!

making the under over block

framed block on my christmas mantel

introducing the 'under over' quilt block - so called because it reminded me of woven ribbons...the inspiration for it actually came from a paperchase box i bought to carry all the little bits and pieces i made for the moda stand in houston, so rather fitting i thought. (i'd link to it, but they don't appear to have it in their online shop)

pretty treeeeeee

i've had a lovely weekend clearing the decks then filling them up again with christmasy goodness...and yes, i'm really anal about doing the christmas tree, red, white, silver, and just an occasion flash of gold.

and after all that hard work, there's nothing nicer than sitting down with a bowl of still-warm 'up and over' pudding with a scoop of ice cream - delicious!

up and over pudding recipe, yum!

UPDATE: for those of you struggling to properly print the recipe and block, right click on each image & download and save to your computer, then print as normal. sorry for the problems!

be sure to hop over to the other blogs today for lots more quilt block patterns and recipes, or check out the this moda blog post to find out the full schedule.

today's other participants are:

kansas troubles
figtree quilts
cosmo cricket
liz scott

so have fun and check out some new quilty peeps! (especially joanna of fig tree & julie of cosmo cricket - they were my houston homies)

de stashing...

2011-11-29T12:12:00.001Z

i'm having a massive cleanup of my studio - and have just found some lovely buckets of beads that would make a smashing stocking filler - lots of colours and only £2.50 :) in the shop now!
i'm coming across all sorts of stuff - UK folks i'll keep you up to date if there's anything up for grabs where you'd just have to let me have the postage...i do have some mini quilt hangers if anyone's interested???

i can't wait...

2011-11-28T11:15:00.001Z

to get my mitts on fiona dalton's awesome looking book hop skip jump, not least because fiona bought quite a few pieces of weave fabric from me that feature on some of her adorable animals. i'm DYING to get hold of a copy, but it's not being distributed in the UK yet...are you listening penguin australia???? fiona kindly took some shots of her book of the animals with some of my fabric in...seriously cute, yes?
if you live in australia, fiona's book is available from fishpond and readings so you can buy a copy then just tell me how brilliant it is. because fiona herself is quite frankly, brilliant.

it's the beginning...

2011-11-27T14:18:00.001Z

...of my festive decorating...i won't say this is especially original - i'm pretty sure you've all seen the scrap wood christmas trees hanging around the t'internet of late. i really wanted to do something cool for the kid's new(ish) playroom and so roped sam in to do the heavy work (because girls just can't use screwdrivers, can they?) and set off around the farm yard looking for scrap wood. bearing in mind it was blowing a gale yesterday, and it was just beginning to get dark, i dragged home some likely looking suspects and think i did a fair job of sizing up the right pieces of wood for the job by eye in the freezing cold and gathering dusk.

anyway, it doesn't take a genius to work out how we did it: a long piece of wood for the trunk (we used an old fence post all covered in spray paint) and a variety of scraps for the branches. screwed the branches to the trunk using a variety of random screws (we're so organised and technical) or in some cases we nailed them because sam's workbox was a bit lacking in the right gear. i'd actually had the forethought to buy some hooks, but they were deemed by everyone as 'too shiny' so i dulled them down with black spray paint (more trudging out into the dark so i didn't kill us all with fumes.)

the boxes are from a floral wholesalers - i think they're wedding favour boxes, or maybe balloon weight thingies? anyway, they were the right colour and roughly the right size for treats and about a quid for 10. i stuck on some pretty white and red lace tape (although afterwards realised my own bloomsbury tape would've looked way cooler) and stamped the numbers 1 through 24 onto stickers. because i'm a lazy cow, i threw some chocolate coins in the boxes when the kids weren't looking and voila. easy as pie, the whole family got involved and we did it all while watching strictly. i even found some little LED lights to pop in the bucket at the bottom, and as luck would have it, found some batteries that were still alive. so at night it lights up. awesomeness. next year i'll do something other than the boxes because i think they're a bit big and well, boxy. glassine envelopes might be nice. or little bundles of sweets in fabric. whatever. this'll do for now.

oh, and arth wanted to let you know it isn't quite finished because it hasn't got a star on top. no angels allowed, too girly.

beach

2011-11-18T18:17:00.001Z

last saturday, sam, the kids and i spent a beautiful if slightly chilly few days on the italian island of sicily. oh my word what a place. just stunning. and while the weather wasn't exactly amazing, it's surprising how fast a few happy hours can pass looking for sea glass with the kids while the hubs sat on a rock looking out to sea. and in my head, i'd already artfully arranged (read: threw) the glass in a sweet little lisa stevens bowl.

everyone's a winner baby...*

2011-11-17T13:17:00.001Z

*that's a lie actually

i had a lot of fun reading all your comments, and what a lucky bunch you are! from finding cool stuff on the street, to winning the most spectacular of vacations and the humblest of fat quarters, and just about everything else in between!

the winners have been picked by the random generator, and the first name out of the hat was leigh, who commented:

I won a rocking chair when I was about 10. From what I remember it was pretty grim. I've no idea what happened to it. If I had it now I would definitely re-cover it with some fab fabric! Leigh x

the runners up, each winning a summersville needlecase were:

justine, who said:

My best free thing ever is a £100 voucher towards a holiday that I won on a blog giveaway!! Second to that are the fabric freebies my friends are kind enough to share ;)

clara, who said:

My best free thing ever is my woodburning stove....wherever would i be without it???? (bed probably)

and lastly, aubrey, who said:

The best free thing I've scored is a beautiful framed painting from the 1920's from my friend's mother who works at a thrift store. Behind the matte board I found an entire paper from that era. Quite fascinating!

i've sent emails to all the winners to get their addresses...should anything go awry or they don't reply to the emails, i will pick new winners.

many many thanks to all who entered! i'm pretty sure there will be more giveaways in the near future...maybe one of a summersville moda fabric persuasion...who knows? oh, and moda took pity on me and sent me some more scrap of summersville - this is the first time i've seen the entire collection together, so i was pretty excited when the care package dropped through the door!

it's all about the free shit.

2011-11-08T12:10:00.001Z

'grand' prize

giveaway alert! leave me a comment below telling me the best free thing you've ever scored (it could be something you've won, something you found in a skip or on the side of the road...) go on, tell me!
the first person picked by the random generator will win the 'grand' prize of booty i scored from market which includes lots of moda charm packs, some leaf pins, a summersville needle book, an embroidery pattern and loads more.

cute little needle book

there will be three further winners of a summersville needle book that moda had made for me to giveaway in the booth at market. you can be from anywhere in the world because i'm nice like that. the winners will be drawn on thursday, 17th november.

PLEASE!!! remember to leave me an email where i can reach you. if there's no email address, i'll pick another winner. good luck!

so, market

2011-11-08T11:57:00.000Z

john deciding which school houses to attend

thomas outside starbucks

katy and jan

it is very odd to think that this time last week katy and i were just about to come into land at heathrow after a whirlwind 4 days in houston. we flew out with aneela, who until last week i'd been friendly with on the t'internet for a while but not met. we spent 10 hours getting to know each other pretty well on the way over, my throat was already sore from yapping when we landed...

after checking in at the hotel we literally threw our bags in the room and set off to meet a bunch of people (including our roomie, tach, of fat quarterly magazine) at the local mexican restaurant. i don't think i've ever been so tired or less felt like mexican food (it was 3am to us!) but meeting folks like jan of daisy janie, john quilt dad, the always hatted thomas knauer of andover fabrics, the wonderful in every way sarah fielke, and her quilt sherpa damo and honestly the most adorable person in the world, amy seriously woke me right up!

the quilt market itself takes place at a huge convention centre and we spent friday hanging out there and bumping into lots of internet pals and drinking starbucks. i'd got a couple of meetings with moda fabrics where i was introduced to the distributors and company reps. i also got to meet ellen of the long thread and malka of stitch in dye, both of whom are new moda designers. they were so lovely, we got on terrifically well. they certainly made a lot more sense than i did in their talks; at this stage i could barely string a sentence together as i'd not slept for 48 hours (i never sleep well from home.)

then friday afternoon and evening! oh my god! school house first - this is where designers and authors give 15 or 30 minute talks on their new lines. it's aimed at store owners and gives great advice on how to promote books and fabrics lines. it's an amazing and somewhat strange experience; many talks you might like to see go on at the same time - you have to choose which one you *really* want to see, then run down the maze of corridors trying to find the right room for the next talk...it's bloody exhausting, but tons of fun. to see the talks i went to, katy has written a great post called 'schoolhouse sessions' that goes into greater depth.

sample spree came next and this is where you rush around like demented loonies buying fabric that's not due out for a *long* time...at least, that's what everyone else did - i managed to lose everybody immediately and spent the next half hour trying to find them...

then fabric 2.0. this is a party for quilt bloggers. i met SO many people, including the very wonderful patricia of a little hut, and finally, *finally* i met a very dear and longtime internet friend, michelle of cloud 9 fabrics.

saturday and sunday were mainly spent at the moda booth chatting to quilt store owners about the line and generally having a good time. the other moda designers were a total joy to spend time with - as well as ellen, malka and aneela, there was julie comstock of cosmo cricket, joanna of fig tree quilts and kate spain. so many laughs had, from an outsider's point of view, we must've really looked like we were having a ball!saturday night is party night. you basically ping pong from party to party (all seemingly held in different rooms at the hilton hotel) aneela and i spent some time at the moda party where we had delicious food (and i shared cheesecake with joanna, and drank iced tea which was absolutely disgusting) there was some pretty funny entertainment (THE.RHYTHM.OF.MAGIC!!!) ohhh, hysterically, they have a facebook page! then we crept out to go to the bar where there was another party going on. this is where i met the totally delightful owners jen and jan of lola pink fabrics and i was a little bit wobbly meeting melody miller and her sidekick, allison. lovely lovely girls. we even had cocktails with them the day we left (we actually kidnapped melody outside the lifts in our hotel and forced her to come to joannes and michaels {both american stores, non US peeps} with us, it was hilarious. well, it was to us, perhaps you had to be there.) so, that's it in a nutshell. fall market: exciting, exhausting, exhilarating & bloody good fun. til next year, houston.

baby you're a firework...

2011-11-06T18:49:00.003Z

sam lit a couple of fireworks for the boys last night and i managed to capture 2 goodish shots out of about 7000. cool huh?

home

2011-11-03T10:11:00.000Z

oh, what a whirlwind week! so much to tell you, so much fun had, so many laughs. my voice has disappeared, and i met the BEST people. but for now while i regroup, just a picture of my work on the moda booth...to see a few more, check out my flickr set.

flying away...

2011-10-26T14:15:00.003+01:00

...not this minute, but tomorrow! off to houston to promote summersville, ekk! this includes chatting to the moda reps about myself and my fabric for 15 minutes, OMG. then i've got to do it all over again when the internation reps arrive in the evening...i'm not thinking too much about that because if i do, i might not go ;) in amongst all the serious business of fabric design i hope to have a lot of silliness and fun. i'll be on the plane with katy and aneela so the 10 hour flight should whizz past, especially as aneela is going to pass on her crochet and embroidery skills! and i can't wait to meet some of the many twitter and blogs pals, especially sarah, thomas, michelle and jan. i hope to keep you up to date with what's going on, but bear in mind i'm not the most tech savvy person in the world which is why i design with pen and paper. see you in a week!

feathers...

2011-10-19T10:53:00.000+01:00

it's funny to think this time last week i was tearing my hair out over this quilt. for 2 days. then i woke up the following day, and a feeling of calm came over me and i stitched like a mad woman and a few hours later the top was finished. it was definitely a hard fought battle though, this quilt...mum and i had to unpick half a quilt's worth of quilting over the weekend, i'm afraid to say i wasn't keen on what mum had done (yes, i did feel like a total cow...) but then all of a sudden, it was finished and bound and looking *fantastic* i'm not sure what i can do to thank mum for all this amazing work...other that make her proud of me at houston! x

a little scream...

2011-10-18T17:00:00.003+01:00

...escaped from me when i arrived home this afternoon - 4 boxes of tape sat awaiting to be coo-ed over and stroked and kissed and hugged and photographed. they will be available in my etsy shop ~~within the next half hour or so~~ ~~at some point in the next few hours, i hadn't realised it's time to get dinner ready!~~ done and in the shop right this very minute! ...and for the first time, you'll be able to buy one of each colour at a special price, which is marvellous news...and even better news is that now i'm no longer doing wholesale, i've been able to reduce the price by a pound for single rolls too. how good is that???

a little bit silent...

2011-10-17T16:35:00.000+01:00

...but behind the scenes it's all a bit crazy. i'm preparing lots of goodies to take over to houston and the flower quilt (which i decided to call summersville bloom, although thanks for the suggestions, they were all great) is now quilted and bound. i couldn't get a great shot of the whole thing, but i just had to show all that lovely texture, it really brings the quilt to life. you can just peek a little bit of border - it's worked brilliantly and really pulled the piece together. quilt number 3 is on the quilt frame and i hope to show you some of that this week along with some other summersville magic ;)

being pollyanna

2011-10-11T16:44:00.000+01:00

i've had a bit of a crappy day today work wise, but i decided to look for things about the day to be glad about. one of them is this amazing vintage fabric found at the 'help the aged' charity shop in town. there were 3 pieces marked at £2 a piece and each of them is at least a metre wide by 1.5 metres long. i don't know what i'll use it for yet, but i shall add it to my vintage fabric finds bag (much of which was given to me by wonderful anna) and one day i'll make the most amazing quilt. this was one of those items that screamed out to me from across the shop - you know the ones that make you elbow people in the face to get to? well, that was me this morning. i'm getting my comeuppance now though, as i'm a little bit meh. so what do you do when you feel a bit meh? make a pineapple upside down cake of course. which is in the oven as i type. another reason to be glad. what makes you glad?

i spy...

2011-10-10T15:30:00.001+01:00

with my little eye...just thought this was cute - a beautifully photographed bundle of loveliness - can you spot some summersville? i can see three pieces...(click on the photo to make it bigger)

flower quilt, a little bit more...

2011-10-06T16:52:00.001+01:00

so, the flower quilt (amazing name needed, any ideas? was thinking 'summersville spring'...) went together with surprising ease and very quickly. i was a bit ambitious to begin with, i thought i'd make it 5 x 5 (making 25 blocks) but really, what was i thinking? 3 x 3 is plenty big enough, especially with a rather marvellous piano key style border (will show pictures when quilted) this would be especially sweet in a little girl's bedroom, on the wall or made bigger for a single bed - it's quite modern and punchy. i'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to see it quilted! poor mum is getting seriously overworked, but i think she's enjoying the challenge, secretly ;)

a little glimpse...

2011-10-04T16:50:00.001+01:00

flower quilt, originally uploaded by lusummers.

of the next quilt...busy stitching away and so far, i'm loving this!

ta da!

2011-10-03T15:03:00.001+01:00

mum's finished the quilting, hurrah! i'm SO in love with this quilt, it's one of those rare projects where it's come out looking exactly how i wanted it to! and the quilting is fabulous, if you want to see it a bit better, do click through on each photo to view it bigger - you'll see much clearer detail. mum will attach the binding today, then we'll hand stitch it tomorrow. one quilt down, 2 to go. more on quilt number 2 tomorrow! x

seeing spots...

2011-09-30T18:56:00.003+01:00

...playing with colour and a little circular stamp yesterday - yes, each one of those spots was individually stamped - a strangely cathartic process but not one i'd wish to repeat on a daily basis. don't expect to see this for sale any time soon - i will save it for something extra special i think!

quilt progression...

2011-09-29T12:37:00.004+01:00

...so exciting! as i type, summersville strings is on the longarm machine being quilted by my clever mum. i took the opportunity to take some images this morning just before she carried on, and it's just amazing. it's exactly what i pictured while i was making it - i deliberately wanted some nice areas of plain (i toyed with black, but am happy i went with cream) for the quilting to really show up. i cannot wait to get this bound and finished!

sneaky...

2011-09-27T17:00:00.002+01:00

...look who i found curled up asleep in my scrap box? yes, he's asleep, not dead. cheeky boy.

quilt wip

2011-09-26T15:48:00.004+01:00

so, the summersville strings quilt is nearing piecing completion and goes on the longarm machine tomorrow! i'm so excited to see it finished. i've a horrible feeling it's going to be a nightmare to do though, i deliberately haven't double checked the lengths of each edge because i'm too frightened to find how uneven they are...i'm being an ostrich and may well let my mother take care of that bit...and apologies for the dreadful creases in the quilt, i was too excited about getting a shot of it!

a little break...

2011-09-21T21:04:00.003+01:00

from me yapping about the summersville line! just popping in to tell you about a cushion i made for the daisy janie "shades of grey" fabric challenge is now up on the fat quarterly blog! go and check it out!

edges & quilt peeks

2011-09-20T20:21:00.004+01:00

yesterday i forgot to post a pic of my selvage! there is something pretty exciting about seeing your name on the edge of a piece of fabric...

so, i've been slaving away all day making blocks for my new quilt, it's a twist on a string quilt - (summersville strings?) - i've never made one before. i love the look of them but me being me couldn't make an ordinary one, oh no, i have to complicate things. that's just the way it is. that's how i roll. i roll in a complicated manner. anyway, doing it this way leaves lots of lovely space for mother spencer to work her quilting magic...i'd better inform her she's got work to do...

i've been overwhelmed with the comments here, on twitter and on flickr about the summersville line - i've been practically reduced to tears with the sweet messages of goodwill (not that it means much - i cry at diagnosis murder, remember haha) thank you SO much, each and every one has been read, and laughed over and cherished. thank you. x

i've been keeping a secret...

2011-09-19T17:32:00.005+01:00

i'm not really sure how i've kept this to myself but back in march i got an email asking if i'd like to submit some designs to moda fabrics. yup, that's right, i said moda fabrics... i replied saying not on your nelly...i'm kidding, i'm kidding! of course i jumped at the chance and nervously sent off a box of goodies and waited a rather anxious couple of weeks for them to arrive. then i received an email entitled 'it's a yes!' and i let out a rather large squeal of joy heard in several counties and after lots of waiting and several months later, here we are with a stack of sample fabrics and only 6 weeks till quilt market in houston where i shall be officially revealing my debut line for moda fabrics! it's to be called (what else?) 'summersville'...how exciting is that??? i'm so, so happy with how the samples have turned out, the scales are a tiny bit different than the originals, and i'm thrilled - especially with scandi, which has been supersized, OMG, brilliant! there are 8 designs in the range in 5 different colours and guess what??? some of them are coated! that's right, like oilcloth. i can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to seeing the samples of that!

so over the next few weeks i'll be showing you my projects for market - i've lots of things planned and not long to make them in...so what am i doing yapping away to myself here? i'd better go and chain myself to the sewing machine...i can think of worse fates...tomorrow i should be a little further forward with my first quilt and will take some images for you to see. SQUEAL!

feelin' fringey

2011-09-08T16:50:00.003+01:00

i'm not sure what's going on at the moment, blogging wise. i've gone from a post a day to one a week practically. sorry. must try harder. what's going on? well, lots of exciting things to come, i'm waiting for the postman to deliver some stuff you might be interested in...how secretive! but once it arrives then it's going to be *crazy* and you'll be pig sick of me droning on about the same thing at every post. so i'm warning you in advance.

i leave you today with a 'new me' pic...you may recall after a lot of soul searching and kerfuffle i finally got my hair cut a while back - i've let it grow out a little to length i like more, but i decided to have a fringe (bangs) cut. i was a little apprehensive, i'll admit. the last time i had a fringe, it was at least 25 years ago and jason donovan was top of the charts. having announced this on twitter this morning i got masses of support - i have now discovered fringes are good for the following: hiding unruly eyebrows (yup, got them in abundance) hiding spots, hiding 'creases', (always creases, never wrinkles) looking younger (debatable in my case) and i now have to master the fine art of washing a greasy fringe only when short in time...who knew?

don't try this at home...

2011-09-03T10:23:00.003+01:00

wednesday morning i was happily working away, in my pyjamas, bed hair and all packing mug orders for all the lovely lovely people who took me up on my BOGOF offer, when all of a sudden i managed to slice the side/top (corner?) of my finger off with my rotary cutter. do you know in about 15 years i've never ever even cut myself a tiny bit with one of these? sheesh. it hurt quite a lot as you might think, and after sticking the wound under a tap and hopping about to try and make the pain go away (which didn't really work as a pain relieving activity) my 8 year old son rang the relevant people in my life (mum first, then my husband! ha!) and then i proceeded to get a little bit panicky about the loss of blood and started to cry. what a hero i am. to cut a long story short, i ended up at the local minor injuries unit where they bandaged me up and told me not to do it again. ok, i won't i said, then carried on packing mugs, because i may be a total baby when it comes to pain, but i'm nothing if not hardworking.

i say you buy one, you get one free!

2011-08-30T17:29:00.004+01:00

...i've decided to stop selling my mugs at wholesale prices to other retailers. which is EXCELLENT news for you! to start the ball rolling i'm having a buy one get one free offer, yahoooooo! yes, that's right, 2 mugs for £8 (plus p&p) until 10 pm thursday evening GMT. so you've got 2 days to fill your shopping cart over at the SHOP!

frank's fields

2011-08-29T09:02:00.003+01:00

this is what keeps my eldest quiet for hours...packing peanuts 'sown' carefully in the 'field'. (of course, all i can see is a pretty cool design...*puts thinking cap on*) for his irrigation pipes he's sticky taped drinking straws together. genius, huh? today he says he'll be mostly irrigating (watering on a huge scale for those unfamiliar with such a term) and hopes to harvest the crops later if the weather is good in the playroom.

cuteness

2011-08-26T18:42:00.004+01:00

i'm not sure my husband was quite as excited as i was to find these frankly adorable little measuring jugs (that measure in cups as well as ml and fl oz) in waitrose reduced to just £2.25 a set. in fact i'm pretty sure he tutted, rolled his eyes then asked me if we needed any more bin bags. men are funny creatures, aren't they?

don't fence me in...

2011-08-24T10:42:00.003+01:00

when the weather was nicer at the beginning of the holidays, the boys and i biked up to the little village playground. it's never busy there and it's rather picturesque - down a fairly long track, and snuggled in between a paddock with a horse called annie and the cricket field. the view beyond these things is pretty too - lots of grazing sheep and with meadows behind. the boys played, i played too - i took my sketchbook with me and drew in the sun. it struck me that there were lots of fences, both wire and wood - ugly in a way, but lots of different shapes and grids - some new, some bent up and old, different angles and lines. so i drew them all and turned them into this design, called, surprisingly, fences.

peeking...

2011-08-23T17:34:00.004+01:00

....into a little sewing peek project i'm doing for fat quaterly's designer's challenge using pieces of the shades of grey collection by jan dicintio. i've done some patchwork i've never attempted before, and i've really enjoyed it. i couldn't do it properly 'by the book' though, cos that's just not how i roll...(and no, those points above are not supposed to match! ha!)

...well, i couldn't leave them there, could i?

2011-08-22T15:18:00.005+01:00

hmmm...spotted this delicious meakin pattern at the charity shop...a funny assortment of plates and bowls really, but for £2.50 i couldn't say no. i'm slowly but surely collecting plates to put up in the dining room wall and these are just about perfection. and come to think of it, look similar to this, don't they? i'm obviously checking out turquoise and green lately...which is funny really because i'm sewing in those colours with grey right now too.

special offer...

2011-08-19T18:27:00.005+01:00

now it's nearly back to school time, i thought i'd have a little special offer on my felt sketchbooks...so, i've dropped the price from £14 to just £7! there are only one of each colour left, but lots of designs, all the favourites, scandi, totem, weave, avenue, twist & alphabetty and also some in my plantlife design. i'll be adding more this evening. if you want more than one i'm happy to do an even better deal of £12 for the two...so get shopping - and remember, once they're gone, that's it! gone forever and ever and ever. you get my point. if you want to take advantage of the offer, email me! luciesummers{at}yahoo{dot}co{dot}uk. click here to go to the 'write' section of my shop.

oh FoQ...

2011-08-18T11:33:00.006+01:00

has it really been a week? blimey - i've packed quite a lot into that 7 days!

first up - festival of quilts...what a great laugh! i spent most of the time hanging around with the fat quarterly crew, handing out postcards and chatting and generally being silly...the above picture of hexagon and stars was nicked from katy because for some reason i didn't get one decent shot of it. i'm not sure if 'highly commended' counts as 'award winning' but that's what we got so mum and i were pretty chuffed. i got the judges comments back yesterday with the quilt and some lovely things were said. i was *really* happy with the way the quilt hang and felt very proud of it. it's a funny ol' thing putting work into exhibitions - it's a bit like putting a piece of yourself out there to be scrutinised and picked over - so it's a relief when it's well received (even though i heard one lady say 'it would have been nicer without the horrid purple'! hahahahaha!)

i also met up with never-met-before online pals lupin and kirsty and it was a delight to meet them at last.

jumping

2011-08-10T14:38:00.003+01:00

like always, i'm leaping from project to project right now...this morning i had the urge to play with screens, ink, stencils and came up with this little poster. it's sparked off an idea for something else, so i will revisit it at another date when i've more time.

i'm visiting festival of quilts tomorrow, so i'll be pretty excited to see my quilt again!

colour flashes

2011-08-05T18:33:00.003+01:00

tiny little snippets of print and colour - that's what i'm being inspired by lately.

stripey

2011-08-04T20:30:00.002+01:00

yesterday was perfect. i managed to print all day long, just for me. i'm using these pieces of my brushstrokes design in a new quilt. blissful.

stitch

2011-08-03T11:13:00.003+01:00

back in february i sent away these little nesting boxes for a project in stitch magazine, and now they're home. i made them from pieces of nature walk fabric given to me by the fabulous michelle of the even more fabulous cloud 9 organic fabrics. it was an absolute joy to work with, and i had a thoroughly lovely time concocting the project. my favourite piece i could have used over and over and over (for curtains, quilts, skirt, dress, you name it!) was 'clearing', a perfect print in every way.

and what a magazine this is! i've only flicked so far, but there's a brilliant article on different seams, which is SO useful, i know i shall refer to it again and again. i can't wait to sit down later with a cup of tea and enjoy the sunshine. apparently, the sun id disappearing for the foreseeable future, so i need to make the most of it!

it's all spokey dokey

2011-08-02T15:53:00.005+01:00

LOOK! i've got a new design...(and another just finished and ready to send off too! eek!) but this one's called 'spokes' and i'm super super pleased with it...it's like a kinda spotty fabric with a modern twist...and i've got plans for something else using this design too, i just need some time to play. time. hmmm, i like time. i'd like some more time. can i ask for more time for christmas? i love summer, but i don't love the lack of time!

i'm planning on doing a little deal in my shop, a special listing for people to buy - choose any two fabric prints for $15...when i get more of that TIME i shall list everything. probably this evening when my little darlings are in bed.

issue 6...

2011-08-01T10:56:00.003+01:00

...of fat quaterly this time around is about alternative fabrics...so they asked me for a little how-to for a paper quilt. my droplets poster is always really popular in my etsy shop, so much so i've actually had to stop producing it because so many have gone missing in the post, i had to replace 6 of them, and i just can't afford to do that. anyway, i love the simplicity of the piece so decided to make a mini quilt with the same elements. i think it turned out pretty sweetly. it resides on the window ledge near my purple sofa and it's really rather cheerful :)

if you want to subscribe to fat quaterly, click here and follow the links. it's really a worth while buy - i often browse the back issues and find them really inspiring. loads of projects and masses of interviews with some really interesting designers and quilty peeps. do it now, you won't regret it!

and we have a winner!

2011-07-30T19:19:00.005+01:00

ok folks, it's the moment that 27 of you have been waiting for, the winner of the 101 patchwork projects book. the first person drawn out of the hat was number 24 which is auspicious as it's my birthday, but NO! this person is unknown! .....sorry unknown, but i did ask for an email address quite clearly in the post. so i've randomly generated another number and it's...DK from kentucky! yay! i shall email you right away DK for your postal address (& although DK didn't leave an email on the comment, it's on her blogger profile page for those of you green with envy and being pernickety about the rules ;)

the image has nothing to do with anything, i just couldn't bear not to have something pretty in my post. and it's photographic evidence that i don't kill every plant i come in contact with.

little gifts...

2011-07-28T15:13:00.003+01:00

look what i found on the window ledge from my littlest boy. he's generally a cheeky little sod, but he's got a kind heart.

tex-tiles

2011-07-27T20:47:00.008+01:00

it's all about books at the moment isn't it? the latest one i've got is a self published title by a good friend of mine, textile artist and quilt maker yvonne brown. i went to visit her a week ago in her brand new eco home and i tell you, i swooned. seriously beautiful, with a little gallery as you walk in the front door and a studio to die for. i'm already planning on all sort of fun days with her making a mess and creating some interesting pieces of work. she's full of information - tons of enthusiasm and ideas and i always have a lovely time gossiping, drinking tea and eating biscuits when i visit.

she excitedly showed me her latest project, her new book called tex-tiles and other treasures: using medieval tiles and stonework, is influenced (obviously!) by the arts and crafts of the medieval period. from her website:

***

Yvonne Brown creates beautiful fabric art inspired by the arts and crafts of the medieval period. But how are her pieces made? And what techniques does she use to recreate not only her sources, but the effects that time has had on them?

Using Medieval tiles and stonework is the first in a series of books describing just how Yvonne produces the fabric art and embroideries that have made her well-known all over the world.

***

well done yvonne, it's a beautiful book! for more details and to browse her fantastic body of work, visit yvonne's website

101 patchwork projects giveaway...

2011-07-26T14:42:00.005+01:00

this is rather old news but the truth is, when i received my box of complimentary issues from the lovely people behind quilting arts magazine, i tidied them away in such a greatly brilliant place i'd forgotten where they were. so when i found them a few minutes ago on top of the fridge (yep, i told you it was greatly brilliant) i thought i'd not only mention that i happen to be on the front cover with not one but two of my projects, i'd also have a giveaway! yay!

this is a great big fat magazine/book (you may have gathered it might be somewhat weighty there being 101 projects and all) and has been split into 8 project sections:

patchwork gifts, me, decor, dining, studio, quilts, kids and pets. there are some great projects, 4 of them from me, haha. i particularly love the soft sided portfolio and fabric envelope pockets by missy shepler in the patchwork gifts section, and the bright hopes pencil case by kaelin telschow is particularly lovely in the patchwork studio section.

if you'd like to win a copy of this great magazine, please leave a comment telling me your favourite patchwork block. this is open to worldwide readers, although i might change my mind if it costs me an arm and a leg to send it to you (i'm joking.) i will pick out a winner on saturday when i remember...good luck! please remember to leave your name and your email address. failure to do this will mean i'll pick another winner...so don't miss out! do as i say! ;)

COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!

those blocks again...

2011-07-25T11:14:00.003+01:00

this is what became of the blocks from this post, i didn't fudge them together at all, no, these were planned within an inch of their lives...i didn't just keep adding pieces of fabric as i went and hope for the best, no siree bob.*

then i wondered what they'd look like as a larger piece (this is around 60cm square) so played about in picnik for a few minutes. it's interesting how the black and white blocks become the dominant ones...or is it because they're both the same (weave) fabric design? possibly.

*yes, that's exactly how i made them

me me me...

2011-07-21T13:41:00.006+01:00

yeah, it's all about me this week...

i'm in making magazine this month...and not just a little glimpse of my fabric either, a whole 3 pages! 3 pages of me nattering on, oh lucky readers of making magazine. and a black and white photo of me taken by my completely disinterested husband who was impatient to get back to work. i was allowed 2 shots - this is the least awful one, in the other one you could see my chin whiskers and glass eye. if you're wondering why i have no arms it's because they were in my jeans pockets. i was going for 'nonchalant' but i'm not sure i managed it. and having seen this again, i wish i hadn't had my hair cut off. bah.

a big thank you to julie who sent me the magazine as our town doesn't sell it...check out her etsy shop, i just bought a set of these beads and they are so delicious i could eat them.

painted pages...

2011-07-19T19:00:00.006+01:00

so, ages ago an exciting email popped into my inbox from the extraordinarily talented sarah ahearn. we became friends a while ago when i stumbled onto her flickr photostream and was completely blown away by artwork - her imagery and colours just resonated completely with me.

fast forward a few years, and the email from sarah was asking me to contribute in a small way to her new book, painted pages. well, of course i jumped at the chance and a few weeks ago, i received this beautiful book in the post. and it's truly truly beautiful. jam packed full of inspiration, ideas for techniques, exercises, peeks into other people's sketchbooks (as well as sarah's) all interspersed with gorgeous photographs and images of sarah's artwork. sarah cleverly combines collage techniques with painting resulting in work that's bursting with colour and personality. the bonus with this book is that it's both coffee table book and workbook - there's enough eye-candy to satisfy a quick flick through while relaxing with a cup of tea but it also warrants proper consideration to provide inspiration for your own work. it's a keeper. check it out.

oh, and for those who care, my doodles are in the third image down :)

so, what does one do...

2011-07-18T17:09:00.004+01:00

...when the quilt that's been haunting one's dreams for the past 2 months has been finished and sent off to an exhibition? one starts another of course! and seemingly one starts speaking like the queen.

i started playing a while ago with these blocks, then revisited them yesterday and today, having a fine ol' time thinking i was being all designery and all that then i found this tutorial and then today, i saw this on aneela's blog. my blocks are like a hybrid of the two...weirdness.

right, i'm off to dine on roast swan, drag the corgis around the block and polish the crown jewels. catcha later.

done and dusted

2011-07-15T17:25:00.005+01:00

well, it's done. done and done. DONE! i'm exhausted...why? i've no idea, the strain maybe? i feel lighter though...and i think lighter still when the quilt is sent off next week to its temporary home in birmingham for a few days in august. and of course what did mum and i talk about while finishing the binding? well, we were plotting next year's quilt of course!

note: i just did a really rough tot-up of hours mum and i put into this quilt, and it came to 55 hours. and with things like hand stitching the binding and sleeve, that's both of us working at the same time. phew! 55 hours! (and actually, that doesn't include the hours it took to print all the fabrics either!)

on the home straight...

2011-07-14T17:41:00.003+01:00

i'm wondering how many more clichéd title posts i can get out of this quilt...?

so...binding has been cut and attached and i'm just waiting for mum to come over and we'll hand stitch it to the back. in the meantime, here are some images...click on each one to make them bigger :)

light at the end of the tunnel...

2011-07-13T15:36:00.005+01:00

so, we took the quilt off the machine yesterday to do some unpicking (not much thankfully) and pegged it up onto a handy curtain rail above the window in mum's dining room (there are no curtains yet, she's just moved in!) i loved how the quilt glowed with the sun streaming through the window and made the quilting pinpricks stand out like little lights...small things please and amuse :)

...and today, mum finished the quilting! big fanfare! it looks great but needs a press - it's a little bit puffy in the wrong places at the moment. i didn't take any pics of it at this stage, i had to rush out of the door to pick up the boys. but we're getting there! binding tomorrow, will take pics!

in progress...

2011-07-11T19:53:00.004+01:00

today mum and i pinned the hexagon quilt on to the quilting frame. this hasn't been an easy quilt, and there are more frustrations to come - there's some unpicking to do tomorrow...BUT when i see these in progress shots, i get excited all over again. as you can see the design has changed from the original, it just wasn't working before, the balance was all wrong. but now i'm happy with it and can't wait to finish it completely. ekk! exciting! and just in time for the deadline, hopefully!

paper quilts? huh?

2011-07-10T11:01:00.007+01:00

i had my work at an exhibition in a local church over the past two days, and it was lovely to see my all my paper quilts up in one space. i had a cosy little side chapel all to myself and had quite a few visitors coming for a look and a chat. there were mostly positive comments, but some "paper quilts? what? what are they for?!" ha!

the second image is a view from my space - up on the roof of the church are these gorgeous painted tiles...rather fitting for a patchwork exhibition i thought. i've no idea why some are green and others red, but they made for a nice view...

ouch!

2011-07-05T17:03:00.002+01:00

sam just bought this in from the hen house. all i can say is yowsers, that looked like it hurt! poor chicken, i hope she's not traumatised...

popping in...

2011-07-05T14:14:00.002+01:00

just nipping in to let you know that scratch is on the trueup blog today! yay! thank so much kim :)

scratch

2011-07-02T21:05:00.003+01:00

it's been far too long since i did something new fabric design wise, so here you go! it's called scratch and it's like a tiny weeny animal print (which i don't generally like i'll admit, but i love this!) so good for adding texture and a little bit of whimsy. i'm looking forward to making a quilt with just these fabrics. i've just released it in four colours, but if it sells well i shall introduce it in every ink colour i've got. i think it's a really handy print and may take over from the 'weave' design. it's right here in the etsy shop

collages

2011-06-30T21:04:00.004+01:00

at some point in the summer, i shall be moving my studio from what is really meant to be the farm office into the old kitchen...it's over the other side of the house and looks into the front garden which will be rather nice. i'm not sure it's much bigger than the space i'm in now, but it's in the old part of the house and so has high ceilings and a big sash window. i've been pretty indulgent with lighting too so it's shaping up to be a really great room. it also has a mahoosive cupboard that i shall use as strorage and dark room. i'm excited...

anyway, i started moving some boxes around (somewhat halfheartedly i have to say) and found these little paper collages i made at the beginning of the year. i've decided to sell them, so if you saw them months ago and liked the look of them, they can be bought at the very affordable price of $20 each (around £12)...just click here to go to my shop! i might even find some extra little goodies for the packages...

happiness

2011-06-29T14:08:00.001+01:00

happiness, originally uploaded by lusummers.

as a potato farmer's wife, this made me laugh!

flower power

2011-06-16T16:17:00.002+01:00

oh so groovy! spotted on the bottom shelf of the charity shop, this ginormous 70's tea tray was originally from st michaels (marks and spencers that was) and i love love love it. and also loved the price: £3. i literally threw myself onto it and hugged it to my chest, scared of it being taken away from me - by whom i do not know, there were no other customers in the shop. so success! the tray is now on my gorgeous new set of custom built kitchen shelves that divide the kitchen from the dining room. i've not shown you those yet, but i will, i promise.

clever sami

2011-06-09T16:38:00.002+01:00

clever sami, originally uploaded by lusummers.

my friend sami teasedale is rather a clever sausage - she's an amazing maker of lovely stitched pieces and has used scraps of my seafoam scandi print to make this beautiful necklace. it's my new favourite wear-it-every-day necklace. it will go with everything i own. the pear brooch is *gorgeous* and features off cuts of the quilt i'm making at the moment along with more scandi and more of sami's delicious stitchery. it will live on my denim jacket where it will look splendid. thank you SO much sami, i shall treasure them always! take a look at her blog where you'll see her using more of my fabric and there's even a pair of earrings and a ring up for grabs on her giveway! but hurry as you've only got until tomorrow to enter :)

happy accident

2011-06-03T09:36:00.002+01:00

i unfolded this piece of cotton fabric i grabbed the other day to wipe up ink spills while i'm printing and found this rather pretty result. i like a nice piece of bonus fabric!

awfully boring...

2011-06-01T20:23:00.003+01:00

...i know, i'm sorry...! but apart from taking the kids to cadbury world today, all i've really done is sew lately. but it's nearly there, and i promise not to bore you too much more with it. it doesn't look like much work really does it? it's so time consuming, but rather enjoyable. i do love this technique (a sort of reverse applique) it's like a little bit of magic with every block. needs a few more triangles and some better block placement then it's time to sew it together and quilt. and bind. and label. and make a sleeve. etc. etc.

hexagon and star quilt progress

2011-05-28T09:26:00.002+01:00

things have been a little bit crazy around here - so many on the go projects, lots of exciting things coming up in casa summers...3 that are so mind blowingly exciting i can't wait to share!

in the meantime, here's more quilt progress. i've not only neglected this blog but my poor quilt that was started in such a fit of excitement almost a month ago has been left abandoned in a pile. i've done so much computer stuff lately that i wanted a break from it, and this is perfect. so by the end of the half term break, this little beauty is going to be not only all 'starred' it's going to be pieced together too. i'm determined. (i decided that entering 4 quilts in to festival of quilts was madness, so i was kind to myself and i'm just entering this one.)

i've got a few other bits to share, but i'll save all that for later. have a great weekend! x

a little peek...

2011-05-11T17:24:00.001+01:00

a little peek..., originally uploaded by lusummers.

nowhere near finished, but i couldn't resist posting a WIP shot...so many stars to stitch! am having to set myself targets to keep myself focused - 'right, another 2 and i'll have my lunch/cup of tea/'!

loops

2011-05-08T18:38:00.002+01:00

for some reason i haven't properly released this design on etsy - i've been working with it lately and i love the scale of it against my 'daintier' designs. it's a bit of fun too - some nice organic loops in summery colours to cheer the place up (and i'm obsessed with black with brights at the moment, so i had to add some drama!) i can imagine this being used in a cushion cover, lovely. available in the shop, natch.

edges

2011-04-30T16:07:00.003+01:00

the start of something new and quilty. it's that time of year again where of course i've left it rather late to decide to make something for the festival of quilts 2011. anyhoo, i'm registered now and i shall have a month before having to fill in the official forms so if things go to plan it will be done. oh good god, why do i always do this? and of course i haven't just registered for one quilt, i've registered for 4 categories. cue hysterical laughter...

on the plus side, the planning and design of one quilt i done - it exists in my head which is sometimes half the battle. i shall of course be blogging progress...i've been a naughty blogger of late and will try harder, promise.

epp.

2011-04-22T18:17:00.003+01:00

after much ado, faffing around and after quite a kerfuffle, the mugs are *finally* here. they're spiffy and shiny and gorgeous and bone china-ry and i'm really really happy with them. truly thrilled. it's funny how en masse they're a little bit more thrilling than three in a row. so now it's time for my little chick-mugs to fly off to new homes...they can be bought when you click right here!

another design...

2011-04-11T16:40:00.003+01:00

i'm so sorry about this. i'm getting boring aren't i? i don't blog in like, forever, then when i do i'm all: look at this design, vote for me! - i show you new items, and they don't turn up (i'm talking about my mugs...apparently, due the end of the week. but honestly? they'll be here when they're here.)

so anyway, look at this design, vote for me!

you'll have to pretty bored to do so mind, there are 23, yes twenty three pages of designs to trawl through. you might be lucky and i'll be on page one. the likelihood is i'll be on page 22...anyway it's the spoonflower 'rain' design competition and i've entered 'droplets' above. and if you manage to vote? i will be forever grateful, thank you. oh, and speaking of thank you, a big big massive smacker on the lips to those of you who voted for me in the project selvage competition, i sadly didn't make it, but hey ho...i'm bound to have a shed load of stuff for you to vote for in the future ;)

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

voting...

2011-03-31T16:14:00.005+01:00

so, my busy town design made it through to the semi final and now i'd love some help! if you like my design enough, i'd love you to vote for it, and/or any others you love - i've got seriously tough competition so i think i'll need all the help i can get...thank you so much :) xxx

CLICK HERE to vote!

entering...

2011-03-22T21:26:00.006Z

it might just be me and my smutty mind, but that blog post title sounds vaguely rude...and about a very non-smutty project - for i have entered a design in the spoonflower/project selvage competition to design a fabric for baby boys. it's a variation of my 'town' design which i've always wanted to expand and this seemed like a good opportunity. hopefully it comes across as being sweet without being too saccharine, but not overly boisterous. i've been really spending time faffing with colour, i'm at last happy with that. i really really wish i had decent photoshop/illustrator skills, but sadly my brain just wants to explode. so i kept it simple, stupid. for that's what i'm all about. lo-tech, me. anyway, it would be really nice to get through to the next round (entries will be chosen by the spoonflower folk at this stage) but after that, it's voting time to whittle it down to the final ten. if i get as far as the last 75, i'll be boring you to death with it because i'd really need your help voting for me...fingers crossed!

opps...forgetful me...

2011-03-21T17:31:00.004Z

the other day i was thinking how cool it was that i'd got proper printed wrapping paper *and* awesome decorative tape, when it occurred to me that i hadn't actually sold a lot of the paper lately. actually, scratch lately, let's say almost a year. because i'd forgotten to renew it when i last sold some. opps. i thought the images could do with an upgrade so i reshot them. and now they're on sale bathed in sunshine...and i've already sold quite a few, which is always nice. you can buy some here, if you so wish.

granniness...

2011-03-21T14:45:00.003Z

apparently, my spell check doesn't like the word granniness, but what else sums up these latest thrifty acquisitions? loving the granniness of the table cloth which is in the sunniest yellow colours...a whole £1 and it's a really decent size with no rips or stains. and the wallpaper, oh the wallpaper. 20p for the roll. i was *giddy* when i picked that little beauty up. it goes fabulously with another wallpaper i bought ages ago so i'm thinking of a granny wall in my new studio which is coming along nicely...

i spy with my little eye something beginning with t...

2011-03-01T18:53:00.004Z

TAPE! it's blooming tape! with my new design on it (which is called bloomsbury, by the way. inspiration struck as i was listing it on etsy a few minutes ago.) the eagle eyed among you (or even the bleary eyed among you, it's not that hard to spot and i've just realised it's my new blog banner, i'd forgotten, durrrr) may notice that it's the same design as my new mugs. which should be here next week-ish if the wind is blowing in the right direction...summersville is gettin' all fancy. ha! anyway, what are you waiting for? go and buy some flipping tape otherwise i'll be tripping over boxes of it for the next 20 years...

i'm an idiot...

2011-02-15T14:04:00.005Z

i really am. i worked my arse off last week for the joseph joseph competition, thinking the deadline was today. but it isn't. it was friday. what a stunning professional i am. but never mind, i'll show you the designs because i'm really pleased with them. they're fun and happy, it got me out of my comfort zone and made me do something different and i *loved* making them. so they weren't a waste of time after all :)

UPDATE: oh my god. i think i'm going crazy. the lovely monda left a comment telling me that i had in fact, NOT missed the deadline for i cannot read properly. the deadline is in fact the 11th march, not february. double idiot! gah!

something different

2011-02-11T19:00:00.002Z

after all the excitement of the great mug adventure (and thank you to all who left such lovely comments, here, on twitter and on flickr!) now it's time for something completely different...inspired by this competition, i thought i'd have a go. now as my computer skills aren't exactly 'whizzy' (read: totally non-existent) i decided to do simple paper collages using food related imagery. i had an absolute ball painting and screen printing on to paper and getting my hands dirty for the last few days! the above pics are a tiny weeny peak - i've only got time to submit two designs and i'm pretty sure the good folks at joseph joseph will laugh their socks off at them and my meagre computer skills, but seriously, i couldn't care less because these were so much fun to make!

so, this is what all the excitement was about...

2011-02-09T15:04:00.005Z

so over the christmas break in between being ill and having a house full of ill people, i relaxed with my pen and paper (oh, i'm so hi-tec) and designed these mugs...it's very strange seeing something 'flat' and very 2D to suddenly becoming a proper 'thing' - something you can pick up and hold and use. these are my samples, to make sure i'm happy with the colours. and i surely am. i have to say that the turquoise was a little bit deeper in my head, but actually this is a luscious colour. i was also a bit worried the red might be a bit bright, but it's lovely...and you never go wrong with black and white, do you? so once i've signed these off, they'll go into production with some cute little 'summersville' backstamps underneath, ready to be sold in about 6 weeks. how will i wait that long??? i will be wholesaling them in the UK as well as retailing them, so you might see them in a shop near you soon (ish)! ohhhh, exciting!

naughty girl

2011-02-08T16:45:00.003Z

has it really been over two weeks since my last ~~confession~~ post? good grief how time flies! well, there's lots going on at casa summers, my new studio is being plastered as i type and looks like it's going to be a lovely new space. i'll post some before, in the middle ofs and afters as soon as i can. in the meantime, i've been working away on some new things, some lovely summersville goodies, the first samples of which will hopefully be here tomorrow...i'll leave you dangling there i think!

above is a pic of my new/old/preloved ercol chairs in the new dining room. an absolute bargain at £40 for four from our local sue ryder shop. i've got super chum anna to thank for spotting these beauties and nearly giving both of us a heart attack. i paid her in cups of tea and homemade cookies. a fair swap i feel :)

love heart in sky and orange

2011-01-17T17:57:00.001Z

love heart in sky and orange, originally uploaded by lusummers.

sorry it's all bit a bit shop updatey of late, but with valentine's day galloping up fast and having lots of customers around the globe, i thought you'd like to know that i've done my loveheart poster in sky blue and orange. loving a little spring-like colouring!
available in my etsy shop.

love love love

2011-01-12T13:43:00.002Z

valentine's day is just around the corner so i've made this 'love heart' poster in its honour. you can get one right here!

005 january 5th

2011-01-06T15:35:00.002Z

004 january 4th

2011-01-05T15:56:00.004Z

003 january 3rd

2011-01-05T15:56:00.002Z

002 january 2nd

2011-01-05T15:55:00.002Z

001 january 1st

2011-01-05T15:53:00.002Z

so, the aim is for one a day, but i'm not going to beat myself up about it...

better late than never

2011-01-05T11:12:00.002Z

pincushions..., originally uploaded by lusummers.

happy new year!

well, what a funny ol' christmas. usually i get all festive during christmas week, wrapping presents in front of rubbish movies, listening to bad christmas songs and general red cheeked excitement. but this year we all had the flu - frank fell ill the day the boys broke up for christmas, then one by one we all succumbed. it was truly the most awful illness i can ever remember having. and it pretty much wiped out christmas - i will never forget the smell of the turkey as it cooked, urg! the upside was i lost a ton of weight. but it's all gone back on and more as i rediscovered the shortbread biscuit tin. opps. anyway, we are all pretty much back to normal, but completely wiped out, hence the tardiness of this post.

i've got lots of projects in the pipeline for this year, and my resolution is 'stop fucking about and GET ON WITH IT'. this is the year i actually get my finger out and stop fannying around. i've already had some projects accepted this year into quilting art's new book '101 patchwork projects' which is exciting - the above pic is a sneak peek into one of the projects, some little stripy pincushions.

another little side project is to try and loosen up a little and make some more paper collages. you might remember last year's attempt - summersville sketch- which of course on reflection was far too ambitious and i fell at the first hurdle. so i'm not making any rules with this - just making a small piece of work as and when. i'm working on some old worktop samples, they're a nice size with rounded corners, lovely to work on. so keep your eyes peeled, i'll be posting my progress...

stage by stage...

2010-12-17T13:50:00.005Z

the above photo was taken while standing at the window, the below one was taken standing near the archway.

it's madness really, trying to do stuff just before christmas, but this weather is crap for farmers so sam is making the most of it...after the builders pulled down the stud wall, the plasterer came and did the walls. these are now dry so sam's been undercoating...i snapped him a minute ago painting the ceiling! then i found these photos taken before we started, complete with red carpet and manky old sofa, thought it made a nice 'before & during'. the oak flooring arrived yesterday and we're hoping to have the dining room in operation on christmas day. and see the open fireplace with the concrete hearth? that's where the cat decided he was going to take a pee just after sam had levelled it out...