Ruby's first Mini Quilt Kit and a reorganisation in the SewingRoom!
/Morning everyone!
I'm up early this morning, so thought I would blog away with all my news. First of all, I have had a bit of a reorganisation in the sewing room to accommodate all my plans. Like most quilters and fabric junkies, I seemed to have endless ikea trays and boxes full of bits and pieces, odd fat quarters, offcuts and precuts, fabrics that have been given to me along the way and fabrics that I have bought with plans in mind, that somehow have never quite come to fruition. Being organised seems like a small thing, but I know from friends, that quilters are notoriously not so good at this. Hoarding, stashing and making a mess are bywords for our species. Trying to start a small business though means addressing this and a little more order is called for. Time to get to grips with this addiction and I have to say...it is totally liberating!!! I have always been tidy in my sewing room - but that doesn't mean organised and fabrics stuffed in boxes with the lids neatly on, belies the true story. Trouble was, that once I started....oh good lord! I had stuff all over the floor in no time and was shocked, dare I say, a little ashamed of all this gorgeous fabric that I uncovered.
I began by ordering some shelving from IKEA to go all along one wall and once I knew that was on the way, time was off the essence. I have to admit that it was kind of fun too. On the other side of my sewing room, I have a tall narrow bookcase and this is organised already - here I keep my real stash of beloved fabrics...Anna Maria Horner, which is notoriously difficult to come by in the UK, Bonnie and Camille and Tula Pink and Fig Tree. I had a large box of my much treasured Liberty fabrics too. So what on earth was all the rest???? First of all I sorted out my fabric trays by designer. I have my favourites! I now have a tray of Kaffe Fassett, a Tilda one and and Alison Glass one. I was struck by just how different these collections were and actually, I love that. I am not a faithful girl when it comes to fabric...I like to mix it all up and anyhow, different fabric styles work for different people and rooms. I put all my plain fabrics in a large wicker chest and this works well as they are not so pretty to look at, but essential in just about all quilting projects and now they are all in one place, I can just dive in to find coordinates for my projects.
My shelves arrived and I spent a happy day building them and arranging them. My threads are organised in dip in cookie jars - I love these as you can see easily what you have and sort them by make. I have an Alabama Chanin button thread one, a variegated cotton one, a variegated perle cotton #8 one and an aurafil perle cotton #12 jar. To be honest...these are better than cookies for me - LOL!
I started to see some themes in sorting out my fabric. I folded and pressed all my text print fabrics and organised my colour bolts of Moda Cross weave and Kona cottons as well as the few printed bolts I have too. With all the fabrics that are left, I started to sort them out into colour piles and have made up loads of pretty studio scrap bags that will accompany me to craft fairs etc along the way. These are a great thing to buy if you are a beginner in quilting because you get lots of bits and bobs to experiment with.
In general, bringing clarity to the sewing room has brought clarity to my sewing plans. I am usually quite realistic in how many projects I can tackle in a year and now have a list of 3 for next year. I have lots of design plans too and am working on the graphics and this way, I can see what fabrics I have available to work with easily. I was also able to move things around a bit to get a more spacious feel in the sewing room - my grandmother's sewing table and my mum's sewing machine, taking pride of place - just so I don't ever forget where it all started. I know how lucky I am to have this sewing space and it brings a smile to face every time I walk into the room. Whether you have a spare bedroom or an attic as your sewing room - a little bit of organisation can make a whole heap of difference.
Finally, I wanted to show the first of my little kits, which is now available in my Etsy shop. It is just as cute as can be and would make a great project for a beginner and a great gift for a little one in your life. The kit contains everything you need to make this EXCEPT the embroidery threads. There is such a small amount of embroidery and colour choices are a personal thing and chances are if you sew, that you have something in your stash that you can use. Otherwise, it includes, the Wadding, Backing and binding fabrics and even the tiny micro button for your door. All fabrics are 100% cotton and the wadding is 'Simply Bamboo', which is eco friendly and heaven to the touch. It is a sweet little present all wrapped up nicely in Ruby's own little box.
Kits are priced at £22 plus postage. I will be putting together embroidery kits next week and the mini Regatta quilt, so pop back soon!
To celebrate, I am giving away a kit this weekend. For a chance to win, tag a friend on Instagram (RubySeppings) or Facebook (RubySeppingsDesigns) or recommend the blog and leave a comment, and I'll pick a winner next week. Free shipping to anywhere!
Happy Weekend,
Ruby x
