​Hi peeps, Well the end of the year is upon us. Did I get the box pouches made? Nope not yet. Theres still 5 days until Christmas...but the last week has been spent packing the avalanche of orders from my Thank You coupon and the Lemonade Stand kits (wow those went in a flash!! Trying to see if I can makes extras for next month!). I still haven't baked the Christmas cakes or the gingerbread. I only wrapped the last present this morning. It seems I am not superwoman after all and what I really need is a good lie down. Who knew? :D The pouches are in pieces but I have quilted the exterior panels and made the pockets. I'm nearly there! They're going to look great, I just have to get back down to the studio and get some sewing time in. I've also been working on a Christmas ornament for Charlie and Lizzie (my eldest son and his wife). I started a tradition of making them an ornament every year when they first moved in together. When Oscar and Alyssa have their own place and their own tree (hopefully next year!) I will start doing it for them too. I've also made an ornament for Lizzie's mum, Pats. Funny story - Pats used to come to me at Material Obsession for lessons, a billion years ago. I taught her to sew! Waaaay before Charlie and Lizzie met in fact Charlie must have only been maybe 5 or 6? When Charlie and Lizzie started dating and Charlie went to their house for the first time, he came home and said - Mum, its really weird, Lizzies mum has all your books?! What a small world :) Anyway I digress. The ornament is from this pattern on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/866671944/petite-christmas-decorations-no11-tiny?ref=yr_purchases She's an Aussie designer who teaches at a shop fairly local to me, Stitch Willoughby https://stitchshop.com.au/ They do kits for her little ornaments and sell her paper patterns if you're so inclined! She has a ballerina and a little robin and a nutcracker and some other cute stuff. I used her templates but I didn't follow her decoration or construction instructions, and I put a bell on the top. ​They're not finished either - this pic is me crafting on the couch late last night with the dog in my lap. I have a busy weekend ahead. It's a short post this week, I do hope you'll forgive me. There won't be a post next week because Wednesday is Christmas, and I'm sure you all have better things to do than read waffle from me! The next post will be in the new year, although Wednesday is also January 1 so wether its posted on the Wednesday will depend enormously on how much champagne I drank on Tuesday night :) I feel like the posts have been coming sort of Wednesday - Friday anyway... it gives me time sometimes to finish something I want to show you, or wait for something to come in etc. I get the feeling that none of you mind. The January posts will all be a kind of year that was wrap up, including a book list of everything I read in 2024 and what I have lined up for my holiday reading. My Goodreads challenge currently has three books to go to reach my target. I'm hoping that the out of office notice I just put on my emails will help me get those last three books read in the next 12 days!! I'll let you know how I go. If you're on Goodreads and you want to follow me I'm just Sarah Fielke. I'm also going to be telling you our exciting news sometime in January. It won't be ready to go until the end of March, but I think you StitchyMites should be the first to know. I'm excited and apprehensive, and absolutely bloody exhausted from the work and stress of getting this particular baby out into the world, but its birth will mean that Damo works with me full time now, which is very awesome! I can't wait to tell you all about it - watch this space! And so thats the end of me for now! I'm about to go and pop on a festive frock, do my hair and makeup and go out for a very zhuzhy lunch with my best friend Jack who's had a dumpster fire of a 2024. We decided that our mutual collapse over the finish line deserved a proper celebration!! So I'm ignoring all the things that need to be done and the mess in my house, and the emails I didn't answer yet and I'm going to drink some bubbles and hug my girl. I hope you all have the most wonderful wonderful joy filled Christmas, and a very happy and excellent New Year, and I will see you all on the other side. Take care of yourselves, and your families, and your friends, and I'm sending you very much love and good wishes from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Thanks for 2024 peeps Sarah xxx

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well and not driving yourselves bananas in the lead up to Christmas. I AM driving myself bananas - despite having a trillion business related fires to put out, I am also it seems completely unable to let go of any of the Christmas baking, planning, wrapping and general hubbub. Totally and utterly self inflicted I'm afraid!! I've taken myself off to a coffee shop this morning to write this to you, so that I don't look at all the other things I havent DONE yet. Do you get like that at this time of year? I always have this beautifully romantic, misty eyed view of Christmas... I absolutely love it, and yet I always manage to actually REACH it feeling completely wrecked.  Thanks for all the messages about your Christmas cooking! Tracey I went directly to Donna Hay to get the recipe for the shrub - it sounds delicious and I am going to make it for Christmas Eve. Here's the link in case anyone is wanting to have a go too! https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/christmas-recipes/fruit-shrubs Jeanne I LOVE pecan pie and so does my dad, in fact its his favourite. It's not much of an Australian thing​, but if he's coming to dinner and it's winter I always make one for dessert. I'd love your recipe if you don't mind sharing it! I'd love your sugar cookie recipe too Dianne  - that sounds like something that Hope would love to have a go at. I have trouble getting her interested in sewing (I'll wear her down eventually!!) but she loves to cook with me. I haven't gotten to the zip pouches yet this week - when I can finally tell you about this new business we are starting you will understand why. They have to be made though because they're a part of two Christmas presents, so I will be able to show them to you next week. I DID get another Christmas present made this week though, for a stitchy friend.  I bought Sue Stitchbury's new book, Calico & Stitch, a few weeks ago from Tambourine to Tilba  https://www.tamborinetotilba.com.au/   It's very not something I would. usually buy - that style is too shabby chic and cutesy for me. But something about those little ladies of her just tickles my fancy, so I thought I would make something from it for my friend in Sue's style, and when I make other things from it I'll use my usually bright sparky colours and funk the ladies up a bit.  I made her thread roll, which I'm not quite finished with, but I thought I would cover a tape measure to go with it. I've never done this before, and it's not Sue's pattern,  I just made it up as I went along​. I liked doing it so much I'm going to add one to one of the Lemonade Stand projects, but I thought I would show you how as it seems such an impressive little thing and its SO EASY. Here's what I did. Start with any sized round, retractable tape measure. Feed a piece of ribbon through the pull of the tape, and tie a knot close to the pull, then trim the ends. Yep, you could probably do this at the end, I don't know why I did it first. 😃🤣 Trace around the outside of the case, right up against the edge, onto cardboard - I used a cereal box. Cut the circle out and repeat to make a second one. Trace around the circle onto the back of the fabric for the front and the back of the case. Cut two pieces of fusible fleece the same size as the circle to pad it out a bit. You could also use leftover quilt batting, but you will have to glue it on instead of fusing it. If you are going to embroider or applique onto your fabric, you can do that now. If not, glue one of the cardboard circles onto the fleece. I just used a Sewline glue stick for this, they're going to be stitched on so the card just needs to stay in place while you sew it. Put a big ring of glue around the edge of the cardboard and press the fabric over it to glue it down. If you do this in small increments and smooth the edges over firmly as you go, you don't need to use gathering stitches or clip curves or anything like that.   Measure around the outside edge of your tape case, from the start of the opening where the tape comes out, back around to the other side. Add at least 1/4" to each end to get the length (so add a 1/2" to the measurement you took). Measure the width of the side of your tape case - mine was 1/2". Add 1/4" to either side of this - so I cut a 1" piece. Cut a piece of fabric to this length and width. Cut a piece of fusible fleece to the length and width of the case but WITHOUT the 1/4" added. Fuse this to the back of the fabric (you can also use batting, this is just easier).  Iron the edges of the fabric over on all four sides, and then run a little stitch to hold the edges down and make it easier to sew. Just go through the fleece, not through the fabric at the front.  Run another big lot of glue around the edge of the tape, with the folded end starting at one edge of the tape opening and finishing at the other. You will have to hold it in place firmly for a few minutes while it sticks. Cover the back of the case in glue and stick the fabric covered cardboard circle for the back on top. I used a book to hold it down for a few moments so its was stuck. It doesn't matter if this stays permanently, its just to make it easier to sew. Using. a matching thread, slip stitch the circle to the edge piece, using small stitches, catching the very edge of both fabrics and pulling nice and firmly. Remember, you don't want it to come apart when the tape is used! Run. some glue around the front side of the tape, making sure not to glue on the retractor button 😋 Glue and stitch as before. And here's my finished tape! I'm rather chuffed with it. If you've got a spare hour and a half, you'll have one finished and ready to wrap in no time. Have fun peeps, see you next week when hopefully I will be all serene and Christmassy - BAHAHAHAHA. Ok just maybe less frantic. Happy Friday! Sarah

Afternoon all, how's your Thursday? I feel a bit like I'm running along behind everything that needs to get done, and I never quite catch up to it. I'll keep running though, because thats what we do - I wish it burned calories like real running, that does seem rather unfair. I'd be as skinny as a rake if it did! Lots of fun Christmas highjinks happening. Thanks to everyone for your lovely messages about my cooking video with Hope :D She was SO excited to be "producing content" for me that I didn't have the heart not to. She and her parents are off to Fiji for the holidays next week and it's not our family's turn for Christmas, so this past few days has been my Hopey time. We went Christmas shopping earlier in the week. Apparently she does not need anything on Christmas Day and would like it all right now, thanks Aunty Sair. All extremely important items for her Year 6 dance, like cream suede Adidas Sambas and lip gloss and perfume. She's my only little girl so not only do I spoil her rotten, but I have an absolutely wonderful time doing it. She's heaven.  The figs are truly delicious though, boil some up you'll be glad you did. My little Christmas hampers to neighbours and family will include this year figs, this Apple, Ginger, Chilli and Mint Jelly ( https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegan/apple-jelly/ ) and some gingerbread. The jelly is made, the figs are made. Gingerbread yet to materialize. Oh and the Christmas cakes. Must get on to those. Do you like to bake or make food for gifts at Christmas? I'd love to know your go to recipes! Drop them in the comments. This week is full of stitching up the samples for The Lemonade Stand program - the kits and pattern will be revealed on December 15 (the first pattern doesn't drop until January 15). I'm on the last little bit, but I've been on it for days and I can't seem to find enough hours in the day to finish that last few stitches!! December, December.  I'm determined to get it finished this afternoon so that I can put it together and move onto the February project, which is also half done and in pieces, as is the March project. They're all designed and ready to go, it's just the actual execution. Pushing piles of fat quarters up hills! Another fun little sewing project waiting for me is to turn these vintage tablecloths I bought on Facebook (there's a great group called Vintage Fabric Destash Australia - like most Facebook groups some of the members can be a bit hectic but there is a lot of cool vintage fabric up for sale on there to repurpose, like table linens and sheets and tea towels) into zippy box pouches for the girls in my family for their Christmas stockings. I have a fun Kaffe green/green stripe for the lining and red zippers. I'm going to use the Ultimate Boxy Pouch pattern that I bought on Etsy for them - yes, I can make a box pouch without a pattern but I liked the shape of this, and the zipper on the outside, and I always believe in buying someone's pattern rather than reproducing their design. As a designer I wholeheartedly believe in supporting other designers where I can! Sister solidarity :) https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/1535558640/ultimate-boxy-pouch-pdf-sewing-pattern?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=ultimate+boxy+pouch&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&pro=1&bes=1&sts=1&dd=1&content_source=a6445f39bf753a6e2d4f8dd1d2a1228371bc2e3e%253A1535558640&organic_search_click=1 ​Unfortunately its REALLY hot and humid in Sydney and all I REALLY want to do at the moment is flop in the shade and read my book. In a very unlike me moment I have three on the go. I'm usually very much a read one and then start the next one girl, but for some reason I'm kind of simultaneously reading I Seek a Kind Person and The Boy Who Lived. And I had started The Peacock and the Sparrow and got distracted when The Boy Who Lived arrived in the mail. I'm enjoying all three of them, in different ways.  I Seek a Kind Person is very interesting but quite a dense read, the writer could do with a little bit of air in his facts. I will definitely finish it, I just needed a little break between things so I started The Peacock and the Sparrow, which is a spy thriller billed as one of the books of the year by the New Yorker.  I wasn't far into it when The Boy Who Lived arrived in the post, and I have been just dying to read it. I am a complete Harry Potter tragic - my boys both grew up with it, I took Charlie out of school each time a new book was released and we spent the whole day reading on the couch together. This story isn't really about Harry Potter though, its the story of Daniel Radcliffe's stuntman, and best mate, who had a terrible accident on set while filming The Deathly Hallows and was left a quadriplegic. There's a wonderful documentary of the same name if you're so inclined (in Australia it's on Binge). The book is written by David and is fascinating and touching and brave and honest. I really recommend it even if you don't really know much about the Harry Potter phenomenon, because David is an inspirational human.  Anyhow sitting here chatting to you lot wont get those Lemonade projects finished! What are you reading? What are you cooking for Christmas? What are you sewing for gifts? Enquiring minds want to know! Have a great week peeps Sarah x and hello from Chippie :)

​Hi everyone, Apologies for the lateness of this week's StitchyMites, but as you'll see I was waiting on a special guest, who I promised could help me cook. We have made some jars of balsamic figs for you! This is one of my favourite Christmas recipes, because it's easy but it doesn't look it, they makes a lovely gift and they're totally delicious! You can use the figs with cheese and crackers, sliced thinly on top of a salad with feta, with ham or cold turkey, and they're even good cut in little chunks and stirred through ice cream. To make the figs, you will need: 250g dried wild figs 1 cup (250ml) of balsamic vinegar 3/4 cup (185ml) water 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar Cut a little over half of the figs in half (be careful, they're quite hard and they have a habit of rolling away). Put them into a big saucepan along with the whole figs, vinegar, water and sugar and give it all a big stir. Don't forget the whole figs like we nearly did! Bring to the boil and then boil hard for 15 mins. The bubbles will start to sound a bit crackly, and the liquid will become syrupy and sticky looking, but not too thick. Leave to cool for at least half an hour, then spoon into clean glass jars (they don't need to be sterilised) and seal. The figs will keep in the cupboard for 3 months, but need to be refrigerated after they are opened. They're really very festive but they're good all year round in my opinion! I hope you enjoy making them - and that you enjoy the video, filmed, edited and music added almost entirely by Hopey, just for you. Happy weekend peeps, see you next week Sarah

​Hi everyone, Thanks for all your lovely emails and comments after last week's video! I will do that a little more often as you all seemed to enjoy it so much. It was nice to hear from you all, I do often feel like these posts go out into nowhere so it was really lovely to know that you're actually enjoying them. More please :D I've started a few drawings from some of the photos I took in Europe. The way this usually works is that I take hundreds (literally!) of photos, and I don't even look at them for weeks afterwards. Then I download them all onto my laptop, have a look through and delete any that I've changed my mind about being interesting. Sometimes I will sort them into other folders, but for now this lot is all sitting in a "europe trip 2024" folder, waiting to be flipped through when I feel like a boost. These sketches may or may not turn into a quilt!! Sketching them doesn't mean I'm about to stitch them - although sometimes I do get excited and I start something straight away. There are a quite a few from this weeks sketches I did that will turn into appliqué, or parts of appliqué, for The Lemonade Stand projects. This is a wooden panel in the drawing room of Hever Castle in Kent, England. Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and many of the details in the Castle are original, but this panel was actually put in during the restoration between 1903 and 1906. The Castle was bought by William Waldorf Astor, and as he restored it he wanted to try to keep his additions as in keeping with the original detail as possible. So these panels are a new addition, but still charmingly medieval in flavour.  I started by doing a little pencil sketch of the parts of the panel I wanted to use. I always sketch half, because if something is going to be a mirror image of itself theres no need to sketch both sides out.  Once I have everything in place, or around about, then I go over the top in a black pen. I always correct the shapes to my liking with each new drawing, until I'm happy with them. When I have the shapes I like, then I trace a new drawing out over the top of the pencil/pen drawing, which gives me a cleaner line. Sometimes I'm still correcting as I go. Then when I'm happy, I duplicate the image and flip the other half, and put them together. (If the drawing is a mirror image that is! This one just happened to be). Then I can have an idea of what a complete block might look like. The hand drawn half block and mirror image  digital blocks are the only parts of this process I would file away for later. And once I have a complete block, I can start to play with it and think about what I might do with it. This might make a nice 4 block quilt (obviously the motifs would have to be manipulated to fit block sizes etc as they overlap a bit here). Or a medallion of course, I do so love a medallion quilt!! Mind you I'm also thinking about making a whole quilt of the lovely things I found at Hever Castle, so maybe they would lay out differently. We will see if this ever eventuates. When I do come back to a drawing like this, I would usually start my quilt design by printing the full block out. At the moment its drawn up to about 8" square.  I would decide how big I want the finished block (or quilt) to be, and then plot that out onto graph paper. I use the photocopier to manipulate the size of the drawing up to down to fit it into whatever space I've drawn for it on my graph paper, and then trace out the full block onto the graph paper. Then I can see how large or small each of the pieces will be when they are in fabric, by assigning a size (1", 2") to each of the squares in the paper.  Lastly I draw each shape out to the size they will end up being using the graph and my original drawings as guides. I make laminate templates from them, and. trace around each one to get a smooth line for Oscar to make the digital templates from - then its off to cut out my fabric! Here's another little piece I was playing with this morning. This is an ivory inlaid Indian cabinet that I found in the V&A, circa about 1750 from memory. It's an amazing object and covered with flowers and leaves, as well as figures, birds and animals. So very beautiful! Sometimes when something is really just a repeat of itself, I'll just draw it out until its enough of a reminder to jog my memory next time I see it, rather than going the whole hog like the Hever panel. So here is my little pencil sketch of the tree -  And here is the pen overlay, with the leaf and flower shapes, and the bird perched at the top. This. would be a beautiful embroidery actually. Hmmm. There are hundreds more to come... and they may happen this week, or next week, or in 2028. Who knows, but the photos are stored in a file all ready to make me think the next time I need a burst of ideas. Writing this process out for you has really made me think about it actually, I'm not sure that I ever really appreciated how many steps I go through before I put an idea in the bank. Would it be faster for me to do all this on the computer? Yes and no. I would have to learn how, for starters. But I also get a lot of peace and enjoyment from doing it by hand. It allows me to think about each shape and how it will stitch out as I draw it over and over. By the time I sew things down, I am very familiar with how things sit and lock together, so that I can see how everything will work together as I cut and sew the fabric. So maybe it would be quicker, but I'm not sure that my quilts would really benefit from it. Plus it makes me happy, and it makes me feel creative and productive, and it makes me want to sew - so thats an important part of the process, right? I came across this piece on Instagram today, from an artist I follow and enjoy,  @lynn_guinta. I think this really sums this whole post up for me - my process gives me unlimited refills. Off you go peeps, make some art and you'll feel better in the morning. Sarah x

Hi peeps Well with Christmas just 7 weeks away, I thought I would take a little detour from my trip away and give you some stitchy Christmas ideas!  Maybe for yourself... maybe for a stitchy friend or family member. Some are from my website, but some are things I love or own or want Santa to pop into my Christmas stocking too. I hope you find this little round up fun! If you order from my website in the next few days there is still plenty of time for the package to arrive with international postage. From sarahfielke.com: Big Tickets: Liberty Project Cube Introducing the Australian designed and patented Large Storage Cube in Liberty from Tonic. A stunning and functional storage solution for your sewing accessories, this meticulously designed and sturdy cube features double gold zips that open to reveal five clasps, perfect for clipping in your scissors. Inside, you'll also find three accordion-style zip pockets, which are great for English Paper Piecing and keeping small pieces like leaves for applique. Elasticated pockets in the lid and on the base are great for needles, threads, templates and other little bits and bobs.   Please note that these cubes were originally designed as jewellery cases. Click through to the website to watch the video above to show whats inside and how I like to use the cube to store my sewing. The cubes come in 5 different Liberty fabrics for the outside, and each has a co-ordinating mirco suede inside. They are beautifully made, I absolutely love mine! Lap App This small adjustable lap table provides a rest for hands making it ideal for appliqué and handwork. The Lap App is made of Natural Baltic Birch and Pine woods and features special Star Knobs making it easy to adjust. The base, which sits in one’s lap, measures 12″ x 8″ includes 3 spindles for thread storage and an extra strong magnet to prevent needles from getting lost. The center pedestal measures approximately 5″ high and can be adjusted in multiple directions – up/down and forward/backward. The rectangular top surface also measures 12″ x 8″ and pivots to be flat or diagonal to suit the application and the user’s preference. It features a non slip area for tracing and marking. Each Lap App comes with a 100% cotton, padded cover that is both removable and washable. The cover features a pocket for a small pair of needlework scissors. Here is a video of me having a chat about my love for the Lap App! I also stock the small wool mats that are made to fit the top of the Lap App (they are also BRILLIANT for lining up your appliqué), and little wooden storage boxes that sit underneath the Lap App top. LED Lamp This rechargable LED Lamp is. the perfect size to sit next you you while you stitch. I also like to wedge the stand under my leg when I'm cross stitching, and use the 3 x magnifying window at the top to help with my 36 count linen! The lamp has three progressively brighter settings, and is rechargable with a USB cord. It's very light and compact, I find it really useful for stitching when I'm travelling, as well as in a darker corner at home. The neck of the lamp is fully flexible and will curve or turn in any direction. Sohmo Go-To Scissor Set Be prepared for all crafting situations with all three pairs of the serrated blade Go-To Scissors. These pretty scissors are super sharp, light weight and comfortable. SOHMO Go-To Scissors feature one micro-serrated blade and one straight blade. The serrated blade pulls the fabric into the blades rather than pushing it away like traditional straight-bladed scissors, providing more control and precision.   Set includes 3 sizes: SOHMO - Go-To scissors - Large 8" SOHMO - Go-To scissors - Medium 6" SOHMO - Go-To scissors - Small 4"   SOHMO Go-To scissors feature a comfortable silicone handle, which offers superior grip as you cut through fabrics, ribbon and trim. SOHMO Go-To scissors are loved by crafters of all kinds, and are great for fabric, scrap booking, card making, needlework, embroidery… the list goes on!   The scissors are also available separately. Little Treats: Bee Thread Cutter These are SO CUTE!! The charming and highly functional Lori Holt Bee Thread Cutter, is a must-have addition to your sewing toolkit. This delightful bee-shaped thread cutter is inspired by the iconic bee design of Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet, combining style and practicality.   Featuring a hidden, efficient blade, effortlessly cut through threads with ease and precision. The compact size of approximately 1" wide allows for easy storage, while the adhesive foam square enables you to attach it directly to your sewing machine for convenience and accessibility. Flower Power Pin Holder Lori Holt does it again for the cute sewing room bits and bobs. The Flower Power Magnet Pin Holder features a vintage flower design in Lori's Sea Glass colour. This durable plastic pin holder has a super strong magnet and works great with the Sohmo Glass Head pins I also sell. The approximate size of the flower is 4" x 1 3/4". Iron on Koala Patch I stock quite a few different Kylie and the Machine patches and labels, but this little guy is my absolute fave. "I'm Probably Thinking about Sewing" is one such a cute addition to any little sewing project - and Kylie's sewing homage to our loveable furry guys in the gum trees of Australia 😊 Each package contains 1 x iron on patch that is 47mm x 47mm, and made from woven polyester thread and an adhesive backing. StitchyMites receive a 5% discount on your full shopping basket when you checkout any products from my shop. Code: 48DAYS Valid till Nov 22 2024. Other Wanty Things! Beautiful Sewing Tins Oooooh I may have bought a few of these for a few stitchy friends this coming Christmas!!  And one for me too. Pam is a small maker in Australia, so you do need to watch her Instagram account in order to purchase these, but she's also very lovely and helpful so you can always message her to find out when the next drop of tins will be, or what designs she has coming. Pam's Instagram account is @ancienne_creations, unfortunately she doesn't have a website or anything so Insta is the only way to get to her! The tins are incredible reasonable as not only do they have pretty outsides, but Pam lines the inside beautifully and also includes a needlebook, tape measure, some little treats and a pair of scissors. Here's a little video of my own tin - CORGIS!! Sewing Box Cross Stitch I love to do embroidery, and cross stitch has always been my favourite. There's always beautiful new ones coming out but this one has caught my eye at the present - sewing themed motifs by Tiny Modernist. The idea is that you could use the motifs in seperate pieces, or combine them all and stitch them to decorate the top of a standard sewing box - the kind you get from somewhere like Spotlight or Joann. Would be such a lovely thing to have for yourself but also to stitch for a beautiful present. I really love this idea! Christmas Ornaments Every year I make both the boys and my step-mother and sister in law a Christmas ornament. Last year everyone got the beautiful felt elf figures from MMM Craft ( https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/927597223/little-elves-pdf-pattern-hand-sewn-wool?click_key=e6c5ba6dcf2b05ab75ed92671bb2120b76fb80d9%3A927597223&click_sum=60b18b5a&ref=shop_home_active_4&crt=1&sts=1 ) but they are soooooo much work so this year I'm being a little less ambitious :) These gorgeous little stitchery ornaments are from the Jolly and Bright pattern by Kathy Schmitz. I bought mine in a lovely little kit from The Crewel Goeblin, which is my favourite embroidery shop, but Julie seems to be out of stock. You could try contacting her, (because the kit is lovely) but Googling around I was able to find this in a lot of different places, just not with the fabric and threads included. In Australia I found them at another of my. go to embroidery stores, All Threads  https://www.allthreads.com.au/products/jolly-and-bright-redwork-ornaments-embroidery-pattern-by-kathy-schmitz Ruby Star Society Socks I have bought several pairs of RSS socks over the years as they're fun and they're comfy! And they come from a few of my favourite fabric designers. They have a few new design coming, among them the very very popular Teddy and the Bears, and Starry. Cute as a button. Lizzy House Zipper Pulls Lizzy is right up there with my absolute favourite fabric designers. Her whimsical designs are just right up my alley. After a break of several years she is back designing fabric, this time for Moda - her first new collection, Love Letter, is due out very soon! She has released a selection of four absolutely gorgeous zipper pulls to go with it and you'd better believe I've ordered them all. I can't wait for them to arrive! Too cute. Thats a few little bits and pieces I thought of! I hope they give you some idea for stuffing some stockings, or passing on to your loved one who may need a poke in the right direction :) Sarah x

Hi Smites! This week I thought I would veer away a little bit from the visiting of a certain place, and instead give you a tapestry tour of Paris and England as seen through my iPhone.  I'll start with the Cluny Museum in Paris,   https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/ the National Museum of the Middle Ages. This is a museum I wasn't at all familiar with, the last time I was in Paris it didn't exist in its current form. The first day we checked into our hotel, we went for a walk and discovered it hiding just around the block. ​It underwent an emormous and quite wonderful upgrade in the last few years, and only opened in it's current form in Paris in 2023.  The bottom floor of the museum houses Roman baths, over which the museum was built.   https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/site/the-ancient-thermae.html We didn't realise that the museum only opens half of it's collection at a time - we had set aside the morning to visit, and the baths were only open in the afternoon on that day. If I'd realised what an incredible collection they have I would have set aside the full day.... in fact, I would go back to Paris just to spend a day or even two in there. It really is a remarkable museum, especially for someone like me who is obsessive and passionate about medieval art, but for anyone really.​ But I digress! Tapestries. Amongst the absolute pirate's hoard of treasures in the museum is now housed the full suite of six Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. They are in their own seperate room, hung on four walls, along with a real unicorn's horn hiding in the corner. (OK, its from a narwhal. A little pixie dust here please people!) The tapestries are so incredibly beautiful. I saw them once before in Sydney, when they were brought to Australia for a special exhibition in 2018 - as I've now discovered, while this very room at the Musee de Cluny was being built to house them. There's actually a great webpage left from that exhibition that has better information about the tapestries than the Cluny website!   https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/artboards/theladyandtheunicorn/ The tapestries were made in the late 15th to early 16th centuries in Belgium, and today they are considered one of the great masterpieces of Western art.  Five of the tapestries are commonly interpreted as depicting the five senses – taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. The sixth displays the words "À mon seul désir", meaning "to my only desire". The sixth tapestry's intended meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding. Each of the six tapestries depicts a noble lady with a unicorn on her left and a lion on her right. The tapestries are worked in the millefleurs style, meaning thousand flowers. The figure of the lady is surrounded by  countless flowers, orange trees, pines and oaks, as well as animals such as rabbits and dogs, a monkey and birds, along with the unicorn and the lion. You could look at them for hours. Sitting in the darkened room  with the pieces, they give off a quiet power and beauty. We were so lucky that the museum wasn't busy, and Flo and I had a good 15 minutes in there completely alone with the lady and her beasts before anyone else turned up. These are my own photos and video -  there are a lot of better lit and more detailed ones at the links I've provided, and a lot more information, so go and have a detailed look if you are so inclined! Just when we thought we had seen the Cluny textiles, through a few more galleries and we happened upon this beauty. Made around the same time, but this time in The Netherlands. This next tapestry is at the Palace of Versailles, where we went the next day. It's a little different in that it's not a huge wall tapestry, its a chair in the Queen's bedchamber that took my fancy. I just love that little face. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Palace of Versailles was completely emptied. 17,000 lots of furniture and objects in the royal collections were dispersed at revolutionary sales. Since the beginning of the 20th century, generations of curators have passionately and untiringly hunted and identified furniture and objects that came from Versailles or were ordered for other royal or princely palaces in order to acquire them, and some have been restored to the Palace. There wasn't much (any really!!) information at the Palace about the pieces in each room, but from searching online I know that they are all contemporary to the pre-Revolution age of the building. Here is another grand tapestry piece from one of the salon rooms in the Palace. I think my favourite stop of all of our wanderings was Hever Castle. In case you haven't already figured it out, I am an absolute history NERD and I love history in general but particularly everything to do with medieval European and Tudor history. As a kid, the story of Henry VIII and his wives was one of my favourites, and I. have always had such a fascination with Anne Boleyn. Visiting her childhood home of Hever, the place where she was courted by the King, has always been on my bucket list so it was a massive, massive tick to go there. There will be more about Hever  and the Tudor artworks, carvings and textiles there (just try and stop me), but just for today here are three wonderful tapestries from the castle - the last one is red because the room was badly lit and it was very difficult to get a photo. The piece in the first picture is hanging in the bedroom that is presumed to have been Anne's room, when she was living at the castle during Henry's courtship. There's some a great articles linked below about all the tapestries, giving information about their size, stories and when they were made etc, as well as some better photos. In my search for links for you I also found a podcast about items in gallery. collections, and the first episode available is about the tapestries at Hever! I haven't listened yet but I am going to this afternoon while I stitch on my Lemonade Stand projects. (BTW have you signed up yet?? It's going to. be FUN) https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/news/tapestries-medieval-mondays/ https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/news/marriage-tapestry-goes-conservation-2/ https://ployradford.com/2019/08/01/three-tapestries-hever-castle/ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/past-matters/episodes/Three-tapestries---Hever-Castle-e4qd0b ​​​ Lucky last from London, my visit to the V&A Museum which is always an absolute treat. This tapestry was made around 1425 in the Southern Netherlands.  The events of a hunt are shown from right to left.  The tapestry is absolutely beautiful, and HUGE, and also notable for the wide variety of flowers shown in it including daisies, poppies, clover and red campion.  The tapestry above is housed in its own room, but there is a vast tapestry room at the V&A which is one of my favourite places in the whole building. Silent, and sealed for temperature control, it has 10 absolute stunners in it, all also made in the Netherlands during the 1400's. My favourite, although its the smallest, is the one with the unicorn at the centre. Just a stunner! Anyway I do hope you're enjoying my wanderings about Europe StitchyMites... see you next week, and I hope you have a good one! Sarah x

Good morning Smites, from Tunbridge Wells in the surprisingly sunny UK :) What a week it's been! Sure, there's been a few lows... (Windsor Castle is closed on Tuesdays, who knew? Yes we should have checked.... Flat tyre on the rental car at Hever Castle was fun and games.... and I've developed a shocking cold) but the highs always outweigh and we're having a wonderful time. Our few days in Paris was absolutely wonderful. My bestie Flo, who is French, happened to be in France visiting her mum at the same time as we were going to be there - such a fab coincidence! She came from Lille and met us in Paris and we had such a fun few days, with our very own French speaking guide. Here are a few of the highlights! Our visit to the Pompidou was as wonderful as it always is. We arrived a bit early for our booked time, so we walked around to visit the Stravinsky Fountain, one of my faves! The fountain was made in 1983 by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. Its featured in loads of movies so you might recognise it - one of my favourites is the 1995 remake of Sabrina, with Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear and Julia Ormond. And if you haven't seen THAT, then oooh you're in for a treat :) Pretty sure you can find it on Apple TV or Prime. Such swoon, many tears. There is a wonderful new(ish) Shepard Fairey mural behind the fountain, which was completed in 2019 so I hadn't seen it before except on his Instagram. Big Shepard Fairey fans in our house so I was excited to see it and send pics to my youngest son. Behind the Pompidou there is a church, you can see it behind the video of the fountain. As we were so early we decided to go in. The area the Pompidou is in is a little dingier than some of the bigger Paris sights, and the church has not been conserved and looked after the way some of the larger ones have. The existing Church of Saint-Merri was finished in around 1560, but there has been a church of some form on the site since 700 AD. You can read more about the history of the church here if you are interested -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Merri#:~:text=The%20Church%20of%20Saint%2DMerri,Rive%20Droite%20(Right%20Bank) . The inside of the church is dark and a little unkempt, but its worth a visit for the artwork in the 12 small side chapels - one for each station of the cross - that ring behind the main altar. They have painted walls in a variety of designs that really caught my eye. There is also a spectacular series of frescoes and a tomb at the side of the church, with a high vaulted ceiling.  My favourite thing that we found was this artwork, but unfortunately there was no information about who painted it or where it came from. It's completely different to everything else in the church, I thought it was absolutely wonderful and I'm so glad we saw it. Back to the Pompidou! If you are going to Paris and want to visit I have some sad news... you'll need to do it soon, as it's about to close for 5 years for a massive restoration. The building is incredible in itself, but it was built in 1976 and is well overdue for a bit of a tart up. I'm glad we got to go before it closed though, the last time I was there was in about 1988, and I was with my mum. I have lots of fond memories of that trip, we loved going to museums and art galleries together and Paris was no exception. I remember my 16 year old self stopping dead as we entered a room filled entirely with Giacometti machettes, and turning to Mum with my mouth open and tears in my eyes.  Some of the stand outs this time were this wonderful piece by Mikhäil Larionov, a neo-primitivist from Russia. This was painted in 1912 and was part of a series of four pictures for the four seasons. This is Autumn, and by far my favourite of the four. The figures and the tree (and of course the birds) are awesome. Love it. This picture is by Robert Delauny, its called Paysage Au Disque (Landscape and Disc), painted in 1096. The colours and lines around that circle make me want to piece it! One from a German artist this time, Maria Marc -  the wife of Bauhaus artist Franz Marc. I don't actually know much about her, but a few of the google searches I found said she was known for her textiles - I went off down the rabbit hole to find some, but couldn't. Watch this space, if I find anything I'll let you know, and if you know something already, let me know please! :) The figures in the picture are wonderful. Its called Wiehnachtsengel mit Bethlemenszene (Christmas Angel with Bethlehem), and was painted in 1911.  A fabulous little Frieda was hiding around the corner.... I don't need to tell you about her do I? And look, a bird.... :D OK so I took HUNDREDS more photos and I don't want you all to fall asleep, but heres a couple more of the faves. Marvellous madness from Victor Brauner - Fascinating stitching by Bridget Cronnin -  And these dear little suitcases which I managed to not take any notes on and have no idea who the artist is. Sorry about that, artist. They're fab. By the time I finished this post we had arrived in London!! Sorry to be so slow with these over the last few weeks peeps but the travel and the work and the holiday combined has rather messed up the old StitchyMites schedule. I hope you're enjoying seeing a little of what has inspired me over the trip... there's still Versailles and the Arc de Triomphe and Hever Castle and Canterbury Cathedral to come so tell me if you're getting bored! I went to Liberty shopping today, then to Hand and Lock (oooooh so beautiful), and the to Loop Knitting which rounded out an absolutely heavenly first London day. Tomorrow is the V&A, I am in seventh heaven. Have a great week Smites, take care of yourselves Sarah x

Hi StitchyMites, I hope everything is wonderful where you are. Things are wonderful where I am because we arrived in Paris yesterday! I apologise for the slightly spotty and not perfectly times StitchyMites posts while we are away - my teaching schedule has been quite hectic in Germany and The Netherlands and now we are having a little holiday.  It's a long time since Damo and I were overseas together, before Covid in fact. Usually when I travel to teach I go by myself, I go in and do then work and get straight back out again :) In December though we have been married 30 years, so we decided that a little trip was in order! As I write this the sun is coming up in Paris! Today we have planned a walk through the Luxembourg Gardens, which is just at the end of the road where our hotel is, and then we will keep walking to Notre Dame. I don't think you can go inside the cathedral yet - its still being fixed after the big fire - but we can stand outside and walk around the bottom. And then a trip to my second favourite art museum in the world, the Centre Pompidou! I will take lots of photos for our next post. If you have been following my travels on social media you will have seen all the posts about my classes and students and. the lovely shops I've been visiting! I will do a round up post at the end of our trip with all the quilt photos and group photos of their work. Everywhere I've been we have been making my Tweedle Dee project bag, if you want to play along with the rest you can find the pattern here, as well as linen for the background and the Japanese koki clips and cord for the closure at the top. In. a bit of a throwback to my design inspiration posts a few months ago, I thought I would show you some of the photos I've been taking that. won't make it to social media! These are things I see as I wander around the place, and then file away for a spark of a thought on a rainy day. Sometimes they aren't the greatest photos, but they're all things that have ticked my fancy as we've travelled. I'll leave you with a little snippet of something truly beautiful... when we stayed in Den Bosch in The Netherlands, our friend Herman sings in the choir in St John's Cathedral there. The cathedral began to be constructed in around 1220, and is thought to have been finished in 1340, although with fires along the way it has been partially rebuilt several times. It's a stunning Romanesque building in the Gothic style, the carvings inside are amazing and it has a fascinating history - here's the Wikipedia link if you're interested in learning more.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Cathedral_ (%27s-Hertogenbosch) And here is a small snippet of the choir, including Herman, singing during service last Sunday. Absolutely beautiful!! Enjoy your Friday peeps, I'm off to find a croissant. I'm sure I won't have to look too far. Sarah. x

Sorry for our tardiness but we were swamped getting out the door and to start teaching in Europe BUT.... Welcome to The Lemonade Stand! Some of you may have seen this already, but we have a surprise for you! What is it? Step right up for a cup of something sweet. This mini club is the program not meant to happen :) But due to popular demand for a mini BOM style program as a filler, we have opened the pop up Lemonade stand… but hey, when life gives you lemons, right? The Lemonade Stand is 6 months of mini projects including Dolly Quilts, bags, pillows and other small projects. Each month for 6 months, you will receive access to a pattern for a small project OR a small quilt, along with video tutorial. Each project will contain instructions for adapting the design to a dolly quilt, OR to a project pouch, cushion, tote bag etc. You could make one or the other each month, or both! A fun way to learn sewing and quilting skills! And because you have been so patient, you get a 10% discount when you purchase upfront. Just use this code LEMONADE10 when you purchase the upfront subscription for $88AUD. Click here to join If you have already joined, I will apply the discount for either subscription plan. Sarah will be back on board next week now that we are here in Europe and are back in control. Damian

Some of you may have seen my email regarding the Alice Caroline Christmas Sew-Along Festival. Another project that I had been rushing to finish to meet the launch. If you didn't here are the details: Alice Caroline's Christmas Sew-Along Festival will help get you in the mood - after all, it's only 90 days away! I've been asked to design a project especially for the Festival, along with 18 other amazing peeps and their beautiful makes. You can choose to make your project from Liberty Fabric or from anything you like - I made mine using the 2024 Liberty Christmas Collection and I can tell you its so very beautiful in the flesh. When you sign up to join in the fun, you get lifetime access to all 18 of the Christmas themed projects, including a half hour video for each! Signups have just opened right now - make sure to use my link so that they know I sent you. Get your Jingle Bells on and I'll see you there. If you sign up now there is a large early bird discount. Click here to sign up But the projects haven't been shown yet. So here is a sneak peak of my project in this festival. Please keep to yourselves and I hope to see you make this one for Christmas.