All the things

Hi everyone..... I'm so sorry, I know I've been very quiet the past little while! Things have been just absolutely BANANAS in my world, and to top if all off ​I tore my rotator cuff and I have a stye in my eye!! I guess the stress hasn't helped with that but suffice to say I have been "hermiting" a little.

The biggest thing happening in my world in the last few weeks is that the company that usually facilitates (books the stall vendors, sells the tickets, puts the walls up etc) the QuiltNSW Sydney Quilt Show, which is the biggest quilt show in Australia has had a bunch of problems I wont go into, with the result that Craft Alive are no longer putting on our show and we (the small show committee and the two co-Presidents, me and Molli Sparkles) have re-organised an entire quilt show in the last two weeks. Believe me when I say peeps that this has been an absolutely EPIC and herculean task, and we're nowhere near done. It's been taking up every waking moment for all of us - and taking away a fair few of our sleeping moments too I might add! It's going to be an amazing, amazing show when we finally climb this mountain, and we hope that everyone who can come, will! After all, with over 350 quilts, loads of excellent vendors, fantastic workshops including GIUCY GIUCE - its exciting! September 17 - 20 at Rosehill Racecourse peeps. Tickets go on sale very soon.

Enough of that but on to the other things keeping me busy. Between the show and the shoulder the sewing has slowed to an absolute crawl, and because of that I'm waaaaay behind on things that need stitching... including my Slodki BOM. Fear not if you're doing the BOM, the quilt tops will be finished for July 1 but only by the skin of my teeth!

My fabric collection is at the mill being printed which is exciting, but also means that very soon I'll be thrown headlong into the making of the quilts to support it. I have designed them all in the past few weeks, because they all have to be digitally filled with the fabrics so that they can go into the sales folders, which are then used to show and sell the fabric to the patchwork shops. I then have to do all the maths for each one, so that the shops know how many yards of which prints are used in each quilt design should they want to kit them for their stores. It's incredible that for fabric that won't hit the shops until mid next year, I have already been working on design for nearly 8 months and I still have a lot of work left to do before the sales folders go to print at the end of July.

My Lemonade Stand program starts on July 15 - all 6 of the projects are designed but I have to film the videos for the first one, finish the dolly quilt off and finish editing the pattern. Again, will all be done in time for launch, no debate about that - but I was going to have this finished WEEKS ago and instead I will be sitting on a plane tomorrow stitching it! I hope you will come along for the ride on this program - its always such fun. Each month for 6 months I release two patterns to you - one is a small project and the other, a small quilt, or dolly quilt. They always have design and technique in common, and together they are enough for a month's work, or just a quick fix if you only want to make one or the other.

The first month is a beautiful little velvet needlebook with some applique on the front, and a matching velvet ORT pouch to put your waste threads in while you're stitching on the go. There is a small kit available with the velvet required in a few different colours, the lining and the felt for the pages. It's lovely peaceful carry-about stitching, and the result is something you can use when you're carrying your stitching about!

In the coming months I have planned a gorgeous pouch with tumblers pieced on the sides, a folder for your appliqué, a rice bag with decorative sides, an appliquéd apron...

I have been planning an exciting collaboration project together with a friend, and a friend of a friend, for quite a few months, but they have had to fall to the bottom of the pile while I deal with the things that have been building up in my business! Very soon though we will be able to announce what we have planned, and I'm really excited for it. Three designers, one cute project, lots of fun.

Aaaaand right at the bottom of the pile, looking a little squashed, is the Lap App cover and bag. I know that loads of you have been waiting patiently and asking me very nicely for it and I promise, it IS coming, but I really have to wade through everything else before I can get to it.

Right in the middle of everything, when I really, really need to be home getting everything done? We have a holiday booked! Of course we do. We booked to go to Bali while sitting in the airport to go home from Bali at the same time last year. While I love future me for planning my trip it could not be worse timing!! Or maybe the best timing, so that I swim a lot and drink some cocktails before I pop a gasket. As I write this I'm sitting in the hotel at Sydney airport, where we are staying overnight because our flight to Denpasar boards at 5.45am. Anyhoo I shall give you a shout from Bali peeps, where I will try to find something a little more inspiring for you than my very long to do list :) I hope you are all well and happy and stitching loads. Take care of yourselves!

Sarah x

PS. Whats an ORT? Glad you asked.

In sewing, needlepoint and other textile arts, an ORT refers to the small, discarded scraps and leftover snips of thread or yarn. These are the remnants clipped after finishing a colour, or the tiny excess pieces trimmed from the eye of the needle. While some crafters playfully refer to it as an acronym for Old Raggedy Threads or Odd Random Threads, linguists and the stitching community agree it is actually an archaic Old/Middle English word (cognate with Middle Low German) meaning "leftover" or "small remainder," historically used to describe food scraps.

So there you go. :)