Black Friday Sale

You can take the girl out of America, but you can't take America out of the girl.  Today is Black Friday at home...one of my favorite days of the year.  I loved celebrating Thanksgiving for the family catch ups, naps on the living room floor with my cousins and football on the television.  But on Black Friday I got to hit the shops with my mom, aunts and grandmother.  A day out with the ladies.  My aunts could really sniff out a bargain and my Gram was a great sport hitting up the malls.  I think Mom tolerated the crowds because I loved going.

What better way to celebrate Black Friday than with a Fluffy Sheep Quilting sale?  This Friday, Saturday and Sunday I am offering 20% off everything in the shop with the code BlackSheep....even the new stuff like Scrumptious, Briar Rose, Road 15 and Sunnyside.  Just enter the code at checkout by clicking on Use Coupon Code to the left under the pictures of your pretty fabric in the shopping cart.  Happy shopping!

Shop keeping....

Just a few small bits and bobs to tell you about...mostly fabric happiness from the shop.

First, we have a winner for the Minimalista giveaway.  The creative Rebecca (seriously...check out her blog!) will find this pretty bundle in her post box.

She was lucky number 90 of 179 entrants:

To pick up a bit of Minimalista for yourself, just hop over here.

Second, and still on the Minimalista theme, I cut and packaged up my LV charms for Rachael's LV charm swap at the Floral Suitcase.  I used Confetti Watermellon as my fabric of choice.  Love the cute little bunting-like print here!  Hope you gals like them, too!

And finally, a Sunnyside shop update.  There are now two new Sunnyside prints available in the shop.  They were ordered, didn't arrive, were cancelled, then made a surprise appearance.  It's hard to keep up sometimes.  There will be a celebration of their arrival over on Instagram starting tomorrow (Tuesday), so be sure you're following me @fluffysheepquilting.  Don't miss out!

Galway Food & Craft Fair Recap

Looking for the FQ bundle giveaway?  Click here.

PLEASE be sure you leave your email address if you're a no-reply commenter. I must have deleted 20-25 entries because I can't get in touch with entrants.

As you may remember, this past weekend was the Galway Food & Craft Fair.  Once again, it was an absolute hit for the local crafts people.  We had a wonderful time getting to know the new-to-us folks and seeing old friends from last year. It is always a great opportunity to make new connections, discuss ideas and pick up tips and hints from those more experienced.  

The Galway Enterprise Board did a wonderful job in balancing food with craft and choosing vendors that nicely complimented one another.  There were jewellery makers, knitters, potters, felters, wood turners, bone carvers, boat makers and blacksmiths to name a few. A little something for everyone.  I couldn't resist and did a bit of Christmas shopping myself.  Thanks, Lynsey!

On Friday night I had 3 super fantastic helpers move my display from the back of two jeeps into my 3m x 2m space.  They set up shelves, hung quilts, put up bunting and even arranged my thread in color order.  Who could ask for more?  They were wonderful.  In exchange, I treated them to dinner....at McDonald's across the road.  We had a great laugh together :)  Thank you Brian, Paul and Luke.

The left of my booth was for quilts as folks tend to come from the right.  I wanted that to be the first thing the visitor saw.  The Kona solids threw in a bit of color to catch the eye.  In the little central white baskets there were FQs galore highlighted with little mini hanging lights.  Love them.  Kat, the logo was shining bright on a sign above the stall.  You can kind of see it in the image above.  I didn't forget to brand, brand, brand!  You taught me well...and to use white table cloths.  Genius.

The right of the booth was filled with prints, more FQs, bundles, precuts and perle.  I wish I had a bit more space to cut fabric, but I could not dedicate much more space without compromising the quilter eye candy.

I am so sorry these images are fuzzy.  I was taking them at opening on Saturday morning and I was jittery with excitement.  How childish, right?  I couldn't steady myself!

On Sunday, though I re-arranged the left side of the booth to make the six hanging quilts more approachable and accessible.  I found lots of lookers on Saturday, but people did not want to bother me to take them down...and we all know the best part of a quilt is touching/feeling its softness.  Sunday there were many more hands-on investigators so it was a good move.

It was a wonderful weekend.  It was so great to see many of you, to meet new-to-me quilters in Galway, to renew friendships with local craftspeople and to work on my display for future events.  I thank all of you who came by and made this event such a success as well as the Galway Enterprise Board for hosting.  For you, blog readers, I would love to hear what you think of the shop stall.  What would you change?  What do you think works or does not work?  I am always looking to improve so I am entirely grateful for your suggestions.  Thanks, guys!  xx

Minimalista Giveaway!

Last week was 100% focused on preparing for this past weekend's Food & Craft Gift Fair.  Thankfully my Minimalista order from Art Gallery Fabrics arrived just in time to be included on the FSQ shelves for all of Galway to see.  It was a smashing hit!

While I was preparing FQ bundles for the festival, I set one aside to giveaway to those of you who were not able to pop by.  I can't keep all of the fabric goodness to myself, can I?

To enter, leave one comment below telling me which is your favorite print or your favorite color in this line.  For a bonus entry blog,  instagram or FB about this giveaway and leave a bit of evidence that you did so in a comment.

The small print: I am happy to ship internationally.  I will delete your entry if you are a no-reply commenter.  If you think you may be, leave your email address in your comment.  I will choose a winner on Friday at 8AM Galway time by random number generator.  Good luck!

Galway's Local Food & Craft Gift Fair 2013

I am delighted to bring the entire Fluffy Sheep Quilting shop to the super fantastic Galway Local Food & Craft Gift Fair this upcoming weekend.  I have been cutting FQs, creating bundles, stocking up on perle and I think I am finally ready for show time!

For those of you in the Galway area on Saturday or Sunday, please do stop in and support your local artisan.  As you see from the press release below, there is something for everyone.  I did a good bit of my Christmas shopping there last year and met some really wonderful crafters in our local area. You are in for a treat.

Pop down to stall D8 and say hi, please.  You'll know me from the gigantic shelves of Kona solids and modern fabrics, from the gorgeous quilts hanging on the wall and from the bunting made at the latest minute possible.

PS - If you're not in the Galway area, I'll show you lots and lots of photos next week.  You won't miss out...except for the shopping of course.

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The Galway County & City Enterprise Board in conjunction with the Galway City Council; Galway County Council and The Galway Advertiser in 2012 held the very first LOCAL Food & Craft Gift Fair which showcased Galway designers, handcrafted goods and artisan produce. This year again, there will be over 40 stands featuring local crafts people and artisan food producers which will be held on the weekend of: Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of November in the Blackbox Theatre. 

When: November Saturday 16^th from 10am – 6pm and Sunday 17^th from 11am – 5pm.

Where: Blackbox Theatre

These local crafts and food producers will be selling their products which will range from a selection of homemade and artisan foods; ceramics; jewellery; textiles; quilts; pottery; wood crafted pieces. Many of the crafts people will be giving demonstrations of their work at various times throughout the weekend and the Galway FM outside broadcast will be there on Saturday morning with Valerie Hughes.

There will be a children’s play area with Jumping Clay Galway who will have lots of workshops for your children so Mum and Dad can have some time browsing the many stands which will be showcasing the best of local Galway design, craft and food. There will be many other local products available to buy and gifts for any occasion. 

The fair will have over 40 stands featuring local crafts people and artisan food producers which will include:

·         Ambrose and Brid O’Halloran - Wood turners

·         Away with the Fairies – Fairies in Jars; bags; cushions

·         Bake – Cake Pops; Muffins; Cookies

·         Boladh Mills Candles

·         Bone Carving Studio and Gallery

·         Bowl-a-granola – Homemade Granola

·         Breege Walash Design – knitted accessories from lambs wool

·         Coco Loves Flo – Textiles; Childrens clothes; cushions

·         Curry & spice – indian Meals

·         Denise Hogan – Glass products /paintings

·         Fluffy Sheep Quilting – handmade childrens/ baby quilts

·         Friends and Family Trees – Mounted prints and Hand Drawings

·         Galway Hooker Brewery

·         Galway School of Boatbuilding and Lettermullen Heritage Centre

·         Goodness Cakes – Baked goods and confectionary

·         Helen Griffin Ceramics – hand thrown earthen ware ceramics

·         Juliet Ball Cloonmore Pottery – functional and decorative pottery

·         Inishbofin Artisan – Seaweed artwork

·         Katy G – Handmade teddy bears and dolls; cushions and handmade plaques

·         Kinvara Skincare

·         Kinvara Smoked Salmon

·         Knit Spin Felt – handcrafted felt and knitwear accessories

·         Lizzies Homemade Jam – Homemade jams and chutneys

·         Lynsey de Burca – Silver contemporary jewellery

·         Made In Aran – Furniture and handmade wooden accessories and gifts

·         Louise Spokes – Art, glass; jewellery

·         Matrix Custom Interiors – Solid timber picture and photo frames

·         O’Rourkes Farm – Breads; Cakes; Christmas pudding; scones

·         Olyart – Animated prints

·         Pangur Ban – Quiches/pies/tarts/breads/baked goods/woolly hats

·         Mariposa Textiles – Fabric upholstery/original print Irish linen cushions/office organisers

·         Reborn Art – Sculptures; Christmas decorations; lamps; kitchen utensils; gifts

·         Roundstone Music and Crafts

·         Solaris Teas

·         Slow Food Galway

·         Stephen Quinn – Blacksmith

·         The Soap Room – handmade soaps; hand and foot creams; soap dishes

·         The Friendly Farmer – organic turkeys

·         The Loft Studios – ceramics and textiles

·         The Cake Studio [Irene Bohan]

·         Turnstone Pottery – Tamaru Hunt

Heather Ross Was In My Postbox!

When I returned home after my trip to Berlin, I found a large flat envelope had arrived from the US.  Huh.  I don't remember ordering anything and generally my forgotten fabric splurges come in thicker parcels.  I flipped it over to see the return address and I found this....

Well holy cow!  You don't see that often.  (Well, maybe you do Hadley...)  Of course!  Quite a while ago I purchased two Briar Rose prints from Heather Ross' online shop.  I nearly forgot that I bought them all together.

This print from the Briar Rose fabric line is one of my absolute favorite prints in the last 5 years or so.  I love frogs. I love green and orange. I love little toadstools and wild flowers.  This is essentially my happiness.

I was thrilled to find them in HR's shop and could not resist buying both.  I think they will look fantastic framed and hanging next to one another in my sewing room.

Now I just need to find a cute frame.  Or maybe I can craft one myself using other Briar Rose fabric.  Wouldn't something like this be fun with one of the orange Briar Rose prints?

Business Travel Meets Creative Happiness

I had to travel to Berlin for most of this past week to meet several work collaborators and discuss science.  The people I was meeting with are always kind, smart, helpful and quickly volunteer an idea or two.  These are always great meetings.  However, no matter how beneficial the meeting is I am always missing my evening creating time when I travel for work.

I was stuck in a generic hotel room in the central part of Berlin.  Nothing makes this feel more comfortable than scattering around a few "travel handmade" goodies like zippy pouches or totes for touring town.

On this trip I had two zippy pouches with me, each one containing a different project.  I was super lucky to score both zippy pouches in swaps.  The first was made for me by Kat (pictured with the generic check in desk orchid) and the second was made for me by Di (pictured with the hotel bar tea light and fake plants).

More on that later.  We did get out for one morning and one afternoon to do a bit of sight seeing....

But the only location not to be missed on my list was the local fabric shop.  This trip I went to visit Volksfaden.  Not only did they have a fabulous selection of modern fabrics, but they also created the most wonderful atmosphere in which to shop.  I loved the bits and bobs they had scattered around to keep your interest or inspire you.

I picked up a few goodies, but not too much as my suitcase was awfully full on the way over!  I'd be mocked by my boss man if I was over the limit on the way home due to fabric shopping.  After a bit more sight seeing and dinner, we headed off to the airport to kill time....

Out of Kat's zippy pouch I pulled a knitting project.

That travelled right with me from those uncomfortable airport gate seats into even more uncomfortable air plane seats.  I have travelled a good bit through Europe and to/from the US lately, each time bringing a knitting project.  The needles have never been a problem with airport security.  I do tell the security screener that they're in my bag and usually they can't even be bothered to look at them.

Once I was on the flight and I could settle into my fold-down table top, I pulled out a hand sewing project from Di's zippy pouch.  I am making a cathedral windows wall hanging (if I have a short attention span) or quilt (if I am into a 20+ year project), so I have my little window fabric already folded, pressed and ready to go.  My focus fabrics are pre-cut and ready to use.  Inside my pouch is also a printed version of the instructions (just in case...) as well as a spool of Aurifil, a needle book and....

little scissors!  Yes, they will let you on a flight with small scissors so long as they are less than 6 cm from the fulcrum to the tip.  You might check the detailed information your airline carrier supplies online, but this has been generally true for me time and time again.  I always pull them out of my carry on, show them to the screener and leave them out, free in the x-ray bin.  Again, the screener barely bats an eye.

I finished a few cathedral window blocks on this flight, but more importantly just having to sit here with this project re-ignited my interest in hand sewing.  That alone made carrying these supplies on my travels worthwhile.  Anyway, I thought you might like a little peek into how I bring crafty goodness on my travels.  Might you have another suggestion of how your creative endeavours travel with you?  I am always open to suggestions!

Swoon Blocks 8 & 9

Woo hoo!  I've made my final two Swoon blocks!  I had such a wonderful time piecing these blocks, using such pretty fabrics and getting over my fear of the flying goose.  There's something incredibly satisfying when finishing off one of these oversized blocks.

The curse of the winter photograph is starting to make its annual appearance.  These blocks have Kona Bone as the background fabric.  Blah blah blah bad lighting.

I am really digging the blue and yellow/orange block.  A great pop of color contrasting with the other 8 blocks.  Now just to sash, add on two borders and we can call it finished.  I can't wait to see this quilted and on our bed.

Dublin Knitting & Stitching Show: The Loot

What ever about the quilt exhibits at the Knitting & Stitching Show.  You guys want to see the fabric loot!

I picked up another 5 FQs to go with my growing stash of Andover Locally Grown.  It's funny.  These prints catch my eye time and time again, but they're not my usual color scheme or theme.  I'll just go with it and see where it takes me.

I bought a meter of Locally Grown sheep just because I couldn't walk by and leave them there.  I'll make something for the shop out of these cuties.  Ideas?  An apron for markets, maybe?  I think it's a bit too subdued for bunting, but I'm open to other ideas...

Found a few stash builders mostly in teals and pinks.  I was looking primarily for reds, but failed there.  Still, these will brighten up the FQ shelves, won't they?

And two LV prints with little stars.  I have two projects in mind that require LV fabrics, but generally I'm not a LV person.  Need to keep collecting goodies when I find them.

And then I kind of lost my mind and bought six Japanese prints.  These FQs are thicker linen:cotton mixes, so perfect for bags or pouches.  For now I'm going to just stroke them, unfold them and re-fold them.  As you do...

Now I just need to get stitching and use a bit of this ever growing stash!  Yikes!

Dublin Knitting & Stitching: The Quilts

The Knitting and Stitching Show was held in Dublin this past Thurs through Sunday.  It's the biggest show in Ireland for folks who are into textiles and wool with exhibitors from all over Ireland as well as visitors from the UK.  This year did not disappoint with a great selection of fabrics as well as a few bright happy quilts in the exhibition.

Let's start with this amazing appliqué by Maureen Burns.  Appliqué (generally speaking) is not my thing in general, but I am in love with the colors used here, the gorgeous border and the amazing detail.  Incredible job, Maureen.

Of course there was a star quilt that immediately caught my eye!  Created by Galway's very own Margaret Cunnane this scrappy beauty pulled me in from across the room.  It's amazing what you can do with four patch pieces.  

The colors in this geometric masterpiece was just stunning.  How Moya Gerahty kept these biased seams under control I will never know.  The points here were just perfect time and time again!

My absolute favorite in the exhibit is this string quilt by Anne Maher.  I love how it's done in "frames" and how the quilting so perfectly highlights the block design.  I wish I had a detailed image of this quilt.  Where was my mind!?!?  

Irish quilters, you put on an amazing show.  On the train home, my mind was filled with quilty inspiration.  Thank you for such a great exhibition!  Come back tomorrow for a look at the new additions to my stash!  Woo hoo!