Half a Dozen Roses

Spoonflower had a buy one "fat quarter sized fabric" (approx 21" X 18") get one free offer recently, so I got some fabrics for a few projects I have been planning, also to test out colours are correct they are now printing European orders through their new German based company. USA and Canadian orders will be sent through their USA based printing company. This was printed on 100% cotton fabric
This is is my "1/2 a Dozen Roses" design. The six roses fit on one fat quarter of fabric I will post some of the other finished projects as I complete them :) and I yes am very happy with the colours and print quality

The roses can be used as brooches (just sew or glue on a brooch back) or to decorate clothing, bags, hats, cushions, on curtain tie backs anywhere you want to add a splash of colour and shape. I have more 1/2 roses fat quarters and the works with different fabric prints (had lots of requests for  steampunk prints with cogs and gears as roses) 

This design is also available at Woven Monkey a UK based printing company.

Fabric Love's Swatch Kit

I saw this magazine in the supermarket last month "Love Patchwork & Quilting" (a nice magazine), really it was the free gift I saw "a fabric lovers swatch kit" and thought it was an excellent idea. It contained 100 cards, 100 double sized stickers (to stick the fabric sample to the card) and a metal keyring.
It's meant for people to stick swatches from there fabric stash onto the little pre-printed cards with  information on one side to fill in with details so you can remember your fabric name, details etc. then add to the keyring to keep to keep organised.
For me I thought it would be an excellent way to have samples of my fabric designs at hand and organised. So I made a template to fit the card tags and ordered some of my design minis from both from Woven monkey and spoonflower in the correct sizes and started organising my fabrics. I think this is so useful for co-ordinating with other fabrics, buttons, threads, zips or just for showing my fabric design, plus its so small and neat and can fit in my bag when out 'n' about. This is one of the best free gifts from a magazine I have ever had :)

Floral Border Print

I received a sample of Spoonflower's new fabric last week its called sport lycra. Its a soft and stretchy lycra that take's colour really well. It has a 4-way stretch and is a mix of 88% polyester and 12% Lycra®.
I used my floral border design for the print. I wanted to see how the colour and detail would come out on the lycra. I was very happy with the results.

Now what do I need made from lycra?
Maybe some stretchy bags or pockets...

Spoonflower - Free Shipping Day

Spoonflower are having a free Shipping Day from Monday 9am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) to Tuesday 9am (EDT) it's free shipping worldwide. So I am off to order some fabric :)

Bees

Spoonflower's latest design contest is called Bees. I had to enter this one. I love bees and could watch them buzzing around flowers all day the noise is so relaxing. They are so important pollinating over 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops, without bees the cost of pollinating food would be so expensive many of our favourites may no longer be produced like broccoli, cucumbers, pumpkins, blueberries, watermelons, apples, cranberries, and cherries, almonds. Plus they make both honey and beeswax. Bees are decreasing so plant a few flowers for them in your garden.
The brief for this weeks contest was "Create a bee-inspired design to be previewed at the fat quarter size (21" x 18"). Deadline for entry is Tuesday, April 21st. Voting will open on Thursday, April 23rd" Here's my design called Bees Together, it matches my filet crochet chart on my website (its a free chart) called Here Come The Bees.
To see this weeks entries and vote for the designs you like the link is below. There is no need to sign in and you can vote for as many as you choose.
http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=300
I am looking forward to seeing all the other entries.

January Speeds By

It feels like the month has only just started not coming to an end. I have been busy transferring and updating patterns because as of the 1st of January the EU VAT laws on digital services, that includes digital downloads (this also includes music, apps, ebooks) yes knitting and crochet patterns. Here's the link for the UK government page for more information. Basically I can register in all the EU countries that might sell one of my patterns in and file quarterly paperwork (even if I don't sell anything) or as many have no longer have my pattern for sale (big companies who are VAT registered do not have to do this). But a third option was found in December when Loveknitting.com came forward (together with ravelry.com) and they will handle the payments and paperwork for designers who go through them. This means all my EU (except the UK as I live here) pattern sales will now go through loveknitting.com links will still be on ravelry as normal. Loveknitting also sell books, needles, hooks and yarn.

My other transfers have been to a new fabric shop on Woven Monkey similar to Spoonflower who I still love. Woven Monkey are UK based
this is a little info from their site "Woven Monkey was set up to give individuals the opportunity to have their own designs printed onto fabric. All our printing takes place right here in the UK, at our premises in Derbyshire. The textile industry has a rich heritage in the area, dating back almost 300 years. We’re passionate about reviving the industry through new ideas and technology"
They use the latest in digital fabric printing methods and very important for me was they use eco-friendly pigment inks on natural fibres. Been UK based it also means UK and EU customers who want to buy fabric will not have to worry about additional customs charges and lower shipping costs (they post free if in the UK)

Midnight Cat does Damask

This weeks Spoonflower.com contest is Cat Damask here's the information that was given for entries - "This week we're asking designers to come up with damask-inspired prints that incorporate illustrations of cats. Previews will be sized as quarter yards (21" x 18") “

This is my entry "Midnight Cat does Damask", can you see the damask shaped cat-head?

http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3502190

There are 320 entries this week, you can vote for as many or as few entries as you like or just have a look, no need to sign in or join to vote. Note: you have to go all the way down to the end entry to confirm your vote/ s. To see them all and vote here's the link

http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=270

Mom's Soda Bread Tea Towel

 

I had planned on doing all the competitions Spoonflower set for the month of April. For two reasons, because it was the Easter break and I had time off from my teaching work and two my mom would have been 70 this month she died this year at the start of January, so it is an upsetting month for us, she believed you should do positive things to be happy, so that's the main reason I set myself this task. I though there was 4 competitions set for April one each week but there was 5 and it is very apt that the last competition from Spoonflower this month is "Moms recipe tea towels" the brief was "No matter where you live in the world, nothing spells comfort like a home cooked meal from your mom or grandmother. Celebrate the important culinary women in your life this Mother's Day by designing a lovely recipe just like mom used to make. Recipes should fit a fat quarter-yard of our Linen-Cotton Canvas fabric. Entries will be previewed at the scale of a fat quarter (27" x 18")"
So the image up top is my entry "Mom's recipes - soda bread tea towel" with yes my moms soda bread recipe. is on it. She made this all the time often making extra to give to friends.  I have this recipe also on my foodie blog if you fancy making it :) My mom liked her fancy tea towels I am sure she would have been so happy to see the recipe on one.
To vote or just look at any of the entries in this week competition click on the link below, please remember to make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of the page and hit submit when you do vote so it is counted (you don't need to sign up to vote)
http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=245

Custom wallpaper contest

This weeks spoonflower contest is not for fabric, but for wallpaper.
Spoonflower print custom fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap and decals, I know they have done a gift wrap contest before but I think this is their first wallpaper contest.

The brief this weeks was "Floral coloring book wallpaper - At Spoonflower, we like to keep our childlike creativity and curiosity alive. That's why we're oh so excited about this week's contest: floral coloring book wallpaper. Create a black and white design that is ready for crayons, pencils, and markers to go wild. Designs are intended for wallpaper, but previews will be sized as a quarter yard of fabric (21" x 18")"


So I got the pencils, pens and paper out and started drawing flowers. I then scanned the rough images into photoshop, cleaned them up and experimented moving them around and I came up with this design. I enjoyed this contest.

To have a look at all this weeks entries and vote for the ones you like go to
http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=244 
just make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of the page and hit submit when you do vote so it is counted, you don't need to sign up to vote

Earth Day Cut & Sew Bag

 This weeks spoonflower competition is for an Earth Day Cut & Sew Bag, the brief was "To honor earth day 2014, we're asking you to create a cut & sew pattern for a reusable shopping bag. The design should be set up to be centered. Preview will be sized at a single yard of (42" X 36") kona cotton."
This fabric design had two stages, the designing of the bag/ pattern and then the design to go on the bag. Spoonflower did supply a file for a bag if people could not make their own, but I felt it had a lot of wasted fabric space and I also wanted to put lining in my bag.
For me when designing the bag I tried to use as much of the yard as I could, I think there should be very little wastage if something is for earth day. The bag is lined for strength and has no seams on the bottom again for strength. The straps are wider so they don't cut into your shoulders when been used, I may even add a light-weight wadding/ batting to them give them extra support and comfort.
For the design on the bag, I used the crocheted hexagon I had been playing with recently (I posted about last month) and decided to scan them into photoshop. I had to do this many thing as what looks like a good hexagon when scanned for some reason does not always look like a hexagon or the stitches do not show nicely. I played with the scanned hexagons for several hours and created a few different fabric prints I was happy with to use on the bag. I also played with the colour a little, keeping with earth day theme I wanted a "green bag" that was green!
I have ordered the fabric and I am waiting for it to arrive to see how it looks when printed. I will make the bag and post a "how to" when it comes.
To vote for my bag or to see/ vote for the other bags in the competition click the link below http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=243 there are some really nice designs. You can vote for as many as you like (only 1 vote per person) just make sure you go all the way down to the bottom of the page and hit submit when you do vote so it is counted (you don't need to sign up to vote)

Fabric Design Challenges

Restricted Palette for Whales Contest

In my last post I said I was not teaching this month as its the Easter break (a long break....), so I am concentrating on designing/ making and finishing items, plus having some fun by doing some challenges. So I am trying to enter the 4 challenges/ contests this month (1 each week) that spoonflower.com set on their site. The theme of this weeks contest is fabrics celebrating "whales" Here are the the instructions - All designs submitted have to use a restricted palette chosen by spoonflower (the pic shows the 4 colours and white), designs may include white but not black and will be displayed at 21" X 18" (a fat quarter)

This week, contestants used a restricted jewel-toned color palette to celebrate the most fascinating and magnificent sea creatures - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/#sthash.dXz9lSNq.dpuf

This week, contestants used a restricted jewel-toned color palette to celebrate the most fascinating and magnificent sea creatures - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/#sthash.dXz9lSNq.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. All designs submitted must use a restricted palette, visible below. Previews will be shown at (21" x 18"). Deadline for entry is April 1st, 2014. Designs may include white, but should not include black. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. All designs submitted must use a restricted palette, visible below. Previews will be shown at (21" x 18"). Deadline for entry is April 1st, 2014. Designs may include white, but should not include black. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. All designs submitted must use a restricted palette, visible below. Previews will be shown at (21" x 18"). Deadline for entry is April 1st, 2014. Designs may include white, but should not include black. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

Spoonflower cofounder Stephen Fraser is predicting that whales are going to be huge in 2014. All designs submitted must use a restricted palette, visible below. Previews will be shown at (21" x 18"). Deadline for entry is April 1st, 2014. Designs may include white, but should not include black. - See more at: http://blog.spoonflower.com/upcoming-spoonflower-contests.html#sthash.MmlO5a6J.dpuf

This is my entry called "Going Down" these whales are narwhals also known as the unicorn of the sea. The palette was a definitely a challenge but I enjoyed doing this design and got to use my pen and tablet, I drew the whales in photoshop (its not just for photo editing) I normally outline using real pens and paper and scan into photoshop, to tidy the drawings and colour them, but as I said I decided to have fun/ challenges and work in a different way. In fact this way was much quicker.
You can see this and the other designs entered into this weeks contest at http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=241

You can vote for as many or as few entries as you like (you can even vote for me) or just have a look, no need to sign in or join to vote. Note: you have to go all the way down to the end entry to confirm your vote/ s, there are lots of great entries this week. It so interesting to see how using the same theme and colours so many different ideas are produced.
Now I have voted and are onto next weeks challenge "lilies"

Its May and Spring maybe?

Maybe I am speaking to soon but the bitter cold weather seems to have gone. The sun is appearing a little more each day and staying longer so brighter evenings.
Which has got me thinking of all the new colourful flowers now blooming and the insects buzzing about them.

So inspired I have added a new e-booklet to my ravelry and newly re-opened etsy shops. It is called the "The Garden Collection 2” and contains 2 charts “Swirly Snails” and “Fluttering Moths” both charts match the previous garden collection designs.

And while I am in the create making mood I have been cleaning my sewing machine (my poor machine really needs servicing another spring cleaning job to be sorted very soon) ready for my fabrics from spoonflower.com which have just arrived. I have been planning to make a shopper bag for a while but could not decide which designs to pick. So I choose 2 (well you can never have enough bags). I plan to make a lightweight cotton shopper using the "Circle in a Square - small red/ oranges"
" pattern with a peach fabric to line it and a heavier weight bag in cotton/ linen with the "50's Lace" design and a hot pink lining. I will add the finished bags as I make them :)

Snowflakes

Spoonflower Snowflakes Fabric Contest started yesterday
Here's my entry, "Floating Snowflakes" There are lots of entries this time and the voting is on until the end of this month so pop over to their site and have a look and vote for the ones you like :)










Luckily the samples have already arrived for this design and they have printed up very nicely. The design is in 2 sizes the larger size is the one in the contest.

Sugar Mice and all things Nice

This weeks Spoonflower contest is "Sweets" (scatter print) Fabric Contest - The theme of this contest is fabric designs depicting sweets that use small-scale repeating motifs that are non-directional, or scattered. So this is my entry Sugar & Mice and all things Nice
:) I had fun with this one even added mice, sweet sugar ones that is : )
Have visit to their site there are lots of great designs in this week competition vote for your favourites

Fabric inspiration for Spoonflower Contests

I have been inspired with some of Spoonflowers latest fabric designing contests and have entered into a few up-and-coming ones. I think it can be a bit addictive, plus I really enjoy seeing what the other designers have created. 
This is for the current contest  "Holiday Cocktail Napkin Set Fabric" 
My design is a set of Ivy leaf shaped cocktail napkins. A fat quarter makes 4 double sided or 8 single sided cocktail napkins. Recipes include Ginger punch, Eggnog, Orange & cranberry fizz and Mulled wine. I ordered some fabric and it is somewhere in the post I'll make up my napkins and post some pics here. Hopefully before Christmas (my post is really bad)

This is for the contest starting on Thursday evening Spoonflower are partnering with Mollie Makes Magazine for this one. Its called Flights of Fancy and has a restricted palette, the brief was - Create a bird or flight-related fabric design (repeating) that uses the following palette grey, light teal, apple green and pale yellow. I have created a design We Fly with lots of humming birds (I have always liked humming birds), again this print is also somewhere in the post.

And this one is for the Nasher/ Matisse Contest starting on 24th November. Spoonflower are this time partnering with The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University for a contest to design textiles that would look at home in a Matisse painting. Entries must use the specified colour palette (RGB hex codes: #DE8371, #C33855, #D1CC56, #2E486B, #FFFFFF). Please do NOT recreate a textile in the images but instead create a new design with this palette.So this is what I have entered it a Floral Matisse inspired design.

Spoonflower Contest

Spoonflower Mid-Century Cocktail Dress Prints Fabric Contest

Here's the brief for this contest from spoonflower - "The costume designer from one of our local theatres, the Cary Players, is looking for a print to use for a vintage pattern cocktail dress in an upcoming production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. To help them out -- and because it's such a fun theme -- we're asking designers to come up with a print for a mid-20th century cocktail dress. Entries will be previewed at the scale of a swatch (8" x 8")"

So here's my entry for this week's contest, with an idea of how the fabric could be used for the a cocktail dress. Check out this weeks contest there are lots of great entry's :) 

Not forgetting NezumiWorld.com I have been adding some new pages including a new free chart Cogs & Gears, a little bit of steampunk Chart can be used for filet crochet, beading, fairisle, cross stitch.

New fabric design samples

Very happy got the first of a new batch of fabric proofs yesterday, Spoonflower recently changed their colour profile for printing, this is a good thing as hopefully there will be better reds and fabrics should print more like those on screen, but it also means that some old colours may now print differently. So far this batch have printed to the colours I was hoping. Two more batches to arrive soon so fingers crossed they will be OK as well :)

Flowerbird Fabric Collection

I finished making the 1st of the little flowerbirds I posted about a few weeks ago, plus now the rest of the matching fabric samples have arrived. The finished bird is a silk & cotton mix fabric, its very soft and has a nice shiny surface. All the other samples are 100% cotton I will make another bird up to see how it feels in the cotton. The main different between the fabrics so far has been the colour the silk mix is slightly paler but the shine of the fabric also brings out a aqua tint in the blue. The cotton print is much crisper and the colour stronger also the cotton has a more matte finish. I am going to have a play with the samples to see what else I can make. :)

Spoonflower Birds (palette-limited) Fabric Contest

Here's my latest entry for Spoonflowers - Birds limited palete (only 4 colours allowed) Fabric Contest
my "Patchwork Flower Birds" I am also making a little 3D version of one of the birds to store my crochet hooks, they will rest on its back between the wings :) I'll post it when I have sewn it up.

Free Swatch at Spoonflower

Spoonflower's Third Annual Free Swatch Day Starts Thursday, Aug. 18th, 2011

Get a single free, custom fabric swatch for 24 hours between
noon EST on Thursday, August 18, and noon EST on Friday, August 19 shipping of the swatch is free, too. Check their site for full details.