PILE IT ON

You could be forgiven for thinking all I make are piles. Indeed, there has been more pile making than project making recently. It's a by-product of stash enhancement.

Many people have asked me over the months where I got the materials for Max's bubble quilt plus some of the fabrics I've used as kimono flaps on knitted jackets. It's all hand screen printed by two lovely ladies in Lilyfield in Sydney, who go by the name Prints Charming. They have, until now, been selling small scale through local fabric shops, and a few interstate shops. They recently opened a small shop adjacent to their workshop in Lilyfield which carries some fabric and some pieces made up - quilts and clothes, all of which are gorgeous. The best bit though, is being invited back into the workshop. These ladies are great - they run a small business doing what they love, they screen print everything themselves on the premises so every fabric run is unique and different. They get to experiment, play with colour, and be surrounded by fabric paint and rolls of material. And watching them pull box after box of fabric pieces out to show you and inspire you was a wonderful way to spend a morning.  Their sense of colour and graphic is great, and I love the fact they have made such a strong statement for children's fabrics. And I love the fact they loved Max's quilt. The pile of red on the left - patterned up, cut out, sewn up and about to fly across the ocean to a little girl called Brynne.

And then there are the piles of Had To Have fabrics. These piles I can blame on other people. Their links carried me to online shops, and my fingers twitched to buy. And after the third or fourth visit back to a site, well, it's only courteous to actually stop and buy. Eventually, via DaciaRay (and via a few other people along the way), I stopped at Kitty Craft and bought some quarters of various fabrics.

I have well and truly failed miserably at use What You Have Month. Now that's a surprise to some of you I bet. So now, slowly, I am turning these piles into things. My backtack project is hip hoppiting along, and is very white - ahhh, still teasing. Pyjamas have been made, and I know now why I am afraid of clothes. I am especially afraid of collars. And buttonholes now the magic buttonhole maker on my machine doesn't work. It turns out I am a heathen clothes sewer as well. So much so I think I need to learn to use bias binding (another fear). I've got another bunny cut out for Petite 6.5st. And in amongst all that, the various knitted inserts to the new baby quilt are coming along. I'm stalling on that one. Next week, hopefully, we find out the sex of Petite 6.5st, and then I can alter materials, proportions and balance if I need to.

As I've been typing this up, I've been trying to get some decent shots of the cats. Which is harder than you think with a flash, and cats who don't sit or stand still when a camera is pointed at them. Max has to do a show and tell thing each week, and we have failed terribly as parents the last couple of weeks and have not primed our child for wondrous adventures to show and tell. So I've resorted to speaking about the cats and sending print outs of cat photos. I'm really hoping that doesn't read as lame as it sounds, and is. Maybe he can discover a new planet this weekend and make up for it next weekend.

Comments

[Jo]

Speaking of cats, I was in Spotlight today and saw some gorgeous cat print fabric. Why don't I see any of that in your stash??

[kristen]

I love prints charming. Can you believe I drove through Lilyfield on Sat, but didn't have their address with me. Torture! So had to just be satisfied with Balmain markets. Bought a nice fabric necklace I might put up on the blog.
I am in love with your pin cushion.

[lisa]

oh, cats. they are hard to photograph unless they are sleeping. mine are destroying the house at the moment. i bought some stuff from kittycraft last week and can't wait for it to come. your photos are always such eye candy!

[Dacia Ray]

I got sucked in to the KittyCraft fabrics, too. They are just too cute to pass up. You always have such gorgeous fabrics and color palettes, so thanks for sharing your sources. ;) My cat will not get out of photos. Anytime she sees me with the camera out, she immediately gets up in the lens or tries to insert herself into the scenery. I have so many pics with a kitty part or her posing in the background!

[Kelli]

That shop sounds like such a find! I'm glad you are having fun with your piles. Petite 6.5 version two is going to be here in no time. Too exciting!

[kelly]

you do spoil us, don't you?!? were tremendously excited, and i think Brynne is planning on staying in pajamas for as long as she can! so exciting....

[M-H]

Oh, I am so going to that shop! Thanks, Alison.

[Emma]

Oh thankyou thankyou thankyou! I saw some of their fabric at a craft show, and stupid me didn't buy any. Then I couldn't think which stall it was from and went off on a wild goose chase in to the city (Brisbane) after it with no luck. I was hoping some blogger would serendipitously lead me in the right direction! A pity they don't seem to have any QLD stockists though...
And that fabric with the blue circles, I couldn't read the rest of the post properly because I just kept looking back at it.

[joyce]

i too stopped at kitty-craft. i love the junko onishi fabric.

[jhoanna]

Thanks for the tip about Prints Charming - always good to know about Aussie-made fabrics! (Thought you might also want to update the link to Prints Charming that you included in your post as it's not working :-))

[Alison]

I've rechecked the link, and reposted it so it should work now.

[roo]

Hello. I may have commented before, but I don't remember.
I'm a great fan of your site and have constantly, quietly admired all the beautiful fabric that appears on your blog. "Prints Charming" is one shop I will rush to as soon as I can! Thank you for the info.

[Meg]

Beautiful, beautiful fabric. Prints Charming sounds absolutely blissful, I will look them up as soon as I can. Did I mention that was beautiful fabric?

[Luise]

Just saw your sweater for Thumper on Cari's blog. Goodness -- it's perfect! Did you follow a pattern or sort of make it up? Any advice would be welcome -- meanwhile, my heartiest congratulations to you!

[vegasandvenice]

It seems strange to say this but your piles are in my dreams!

[Diana]

Hi, this is a random question, but can you tell me if your fabrics from kitty craft came in normal widths? There is a great one I am admiring on kitty craft.. I need one that is 44" wide, but the FAQ seems to indicate that their fabrics are narrower. Was this the case with the ones you got?