Our Christmas gift to you... no peeking! xx

Oh and don't forget ....

Enjoy your Christmas time and we look forward to getting back to you and HQ in the new year!

Rae & Jacqui

Need a last minute present idea, anyone?

I love my camera, but I really REALLY hate the strap. So it was about time I got round to making something for myself - and here it is . . .

Following the LBG Studio tutorial this beautifully comfy and super cool patchwork padded camera strap couldn't be easier. It struck me the other day that this would be a fantastic present for someone . . . at least one lovely person I know will be getting one of these in their stocking next week!

It's one of those projects that you can make up with tiny pieces of leftover fabric in your stash. So if you've left the Christmas shopping a bit late, this may just save your skin.

I couldn't help showing here the little Lotta Jansdotter/Blend Love Bird that was sent to me from the wonderful Charlie Deighton - the Suzy Ultman Critter Community bird fabric goes so well with it.

LBG Studio have some other great tutorials worth checking out if you have five minutes over the holidays. I hope this helps a few of you out with the last minute Christmas panic but if you're stuck for time between now and the big day, it's not too late to order a Fabric HQ Gift Voucher which we can send to you or direct to the lucky recipient with a special message from you.  Just contact us on the website before ordering so we can get the necessaries.

Fabric HQ will be taking a little break between 21st and 31st of December but any orders made via the website over this period will be sent out pronto after that.

We hope you have a fantastic Christmas, everybody and a very, very jolly new year.  See you all after the holidays!

Jacqui & Rae
x

.. and the winner is .......

Thank you everyone who entered our prize draw for the wonderful Zesty Soap giveaway.

We are pleased to announce that the lucky winner is.....

Congratulations Bossymamma!  Please email me at rae@fabrichq.co.uk asap and with the 3 soaps you'd like and we'll try to get those plus the gift set out to you by Christmas.

I hope you love these as much as I do.

.... and later tonight

A fantastic last minute Christmas gift for the photographer in your life using any spare scraps of fabric you have in your stash.  Visit the HQ blog again later this evening for this brilliantly quick gift idea.

Bye for now.

Christmas Fabric Sale!

In order to create space for the ever so lovely lot of fabric we have coming in the new year, we have reduced all our Christmas fabric to £2.50 a fat quarter!  There is limited stock available so grab a bargain while you can.  You can visit our Christmas shop by clicking on the picture below.

Happy Christmas!

 



 

Oh and don't forget our fabulous Zesty Soap giveaway is only open until midnight on Friday 14th December.

 

Zesty Soap Company

 

Don't miss out on your chance to win this brilliant prize.  To enter see the Gorgeous Soap Giveaway blog entry.

Gorgeous Soap Giveaway

Gift Set - Photo by Zesty Soap

With Christmas just around the corner, one lucky person is going to win this fantastic prize courtesy of Zesty Soap.  Tanya and Jason of Zesty are very kindly offering one of you a luscious gift set (pictured above) plus three soaps of your choice.



Lavender and Geranium - photo by Zesty Soap

 

So if you fancy treating yourself or are looking for the perfect gift for someone that's not fabric obsessed (I find it hard to believe but apparently there are people out there who aren't, you know!) here's what you need to do:

1. Get yourself over to www.zestysoap.co.uk or www.facebook.com/zestysoap
2. Have a look at their luscious soaps (you can almost smell them!)
3. Choose your favourites
4. Leave a comment on this post telling us which you like best (if you can choose!)
5. Follow Zesty's blog for extra entries

We will chose a winner at random on Friday 14th December so be sure to check back to see if you are that very lucky someone!



Christmas in a bar! Photo by Zesty Soap

This really is a wonderful prize - Zesty's soaps are a joy to have in your bathroom. They look and smell amazing. A fantastic Christmas present - if you can bear to give them away!

Whirlygig Snowflake Garland Tutorial

Earlier this week I made this Christmas garland out of yo-yo thing-a-ma-jigs and I must say, I'm rather pleased with it!  Thought I'd share how it was made with all you lovely people as it really is easy peasy.  A great project to do with crafty older kiddies, perhaps?

Had a dilemma as to what to call these but I think I'm keen on a couple of names friends/family have suggested.  I've mixed them together to make this the Whirlygig Snowflake Garland, thanks to Jan and Vanessa - bit of a mouthful, but hey, it's Christmas (nearly!)

Ok, but how do we make them?  I hear you cry! To the point . . . . .

1.   Cut several circles of fabric in 3 different sizes: 10, 15 and 20cm across. You could use all the same fabric or a mixture of patterns and colours.  I used offcuts of Kate Spain's gorgeous 'Joy' collection. Lay the circle face down.

 

 

2. Double over a length of cotton and tie the end.  Fold over the edge of the circle. . .

 

 

3. . . . pull the cotton all the way through.

 

 

 

4. Sew a running stitch all the way around the circle, folding a seam inwards to the wrong side as you go.  Keep the stitches fairly large at about 1 or 1 . 5 cms.

 

 

 

5. When you have finished, your cirlce will look like this . . .

 

 

 

6. . . and like this on the right side.

 

 

7. Pull the cotton to gather the circle in on itself.

 

 

 

 

 

8. When the cotton is pulled fully, your fabric should now look a little like this. Ta-da!  Push the needle through the centre and out the other side.

 

 

 

9. Fasten the cotton on the reverse of the fabric.

 





 

 

10. Et Voila!  Your first whirlygig snowflake!

 

 



 

 

11. Take all your different sized cirlces and repeat until you have enough for the length of garland you require.  Arrange them so that different sizes are next to each other and run a length of cotton through each one.  You can experiment with where you thread them.  Different positions give various looks. . . lots of lovely variations are possible!

 

 



 

 

So there you are, a super-cute garland to hang from shelves, fireplaces or Christmas trees - wherever takes your fancy!

Right, off to finish second craft fair prep - Starting to feel a bit Christmassy now! 

Washi Dress Paper Pattern

At last, it's here!

We're so excited that we've finally received our Washi paper patterns from the wonderful Rae Hoekstra aka Made By Rae.




photo by Rae Hoekstra

A must for every wardrobe, this sweet and flattering dress features an optional cut-out 'U' on the scoop neckline, an above the knee hemline, pockets and shirring in the back for an easy, comfortable fit. No zippers or closures are needed making it a wonderful project for the intermediate sewist!

 

Pattern includes clear, step by step instructions and diagrams, a fit guide and plenty of tips and hints throughout for techniques such as shirring with elastic thread and sewing darts.

 

The addition of a long sleeve pattern piece makes the Washi the perfect dress for the colder months as well as a must for your summer wardrobe. Visit Rae's website www.made-by-rae.com where you can download for free the long sleeve pattern and see the tutorial for adding it to your very own Washi.

 

These are a limited edition print so grab them while you can. We can't tell you how much we LOVE this dress!

 

 

Tis the season to do craft fairs .....

Fa-la-la-la-la   la-la   la-la!

This weekend we're doing the first of our Christmas craft fairs and we've been busy - very busy, putting together bundles and making some super cute bunting with some of our Christmas fabric so forgive the short blog tonight.

Smaller pieces of bunting look absolutely gorgeous hung from shelves, over fireplaces and along stairs. We've used fabric from Kate Spain's Joy collection here....

 

 

 

and here for a bright Scandinavian festive feel.

 

 

 

 

We've also made up some more traditional looking 'shelf ' bunting with the Classic Trees and Vintage Berries. 

 



 

We've also received our oh so lovely Christmas ribbons ....

 

 

 

 

Gingham ribbons ....

 



 

 

Pom poms!......

 

 

....and ricrac!

 

 

 

I've got to think of a few projects for these beauties once the Christmas fair season is over.... any ideas?

 

Just listening to the weather forecast as I type (I know how to live it up on a Friday night!!) and it looks like the colder weather is on its way - frosty, sparkly Sunday morning coming up by the sounds of it - that should put those punters in the Christmas mood...

 

Roll on Sunday!

 

Christmas is a coming

In case anyone needs some inspiration, here are some of our favourite Christmas fabrics. If you like what you see, click the images to take you through to the website for more info.


Only one fat quarter of Tinsel by Maude Asbury left!!!



Tinsel by Maude Asbury
 

Snowflakes on White for Riley Blake is the perfect fabric for a bright, contemporary Christmas project.



Snowflake on White

If you prefer your Christmas a little more retro, check out Sheri McCully's Alpine Wonderland collection.


Alpine Wonderland by Sheri McCully



Alpine Trees by Sheri McCully

We've totally fallen in love with this collection from Kate Spain.  Here is just a taster; see the website for more of this festive screen printed bunch of beauties - rightly named 'Joy'.


Winter Garden Tonal Snow from Joy by Kate Spain



Tree Line Holly Berry from Joy by Kate Spain



Peace Holly from Joy by Kate Spain

If you prefer your Christmas a little more traditional, have a look at the Classic and Vintage ranges including our own hand made bias binding.



Vintage Berries handmade bias binding



Classic Trees in Cream

If you're looking for a bit of fun this Christmas, these two Michael Miller fabrics are for you.



Many Mini Gnomes for Michael Miller



Heavenly Pixies for Michael Miller

. . . and finally, the amazing Brrr! by Laurie Wisbrun; the coolest Christmas fabric around! Check out the whole range by clicking the picture below.



Main Ice from Brrr! by Laurie Wisbrun

Whichever fabrics tickle your fancy this Christmas, we'd love to hear what you're planning to create.

Happy making!

Ribbon, ric rac and pom poms, anyone?

We had a lovely parcel in the post today - the beginnings of our new haberdashery range - yay!!!

We've started the range with some lovely ric rac, ribbons and mini pom poms (proper photos to follow). We'll have them on the website in the next few days.  Great for stocking fillers, finishing Christmas projects or even to wrap a gift for a fabric lover - gorgeous!

OK, so this is exciting!

 

No, no, it really is....

Sometime in the next week or so, we are going to have a rather special pattern for sale.  Many of you, I'm sure will be familiar with Rae Hoekstra and her amazing blog, Made By Rae.  Rae has been selling the PDF pattern for her sensational Washi Dress for a while now but we are so excited to say we're going to be selling the paper pattern - hooray!!



photo by Rae Hoekstra www.made-by.rae.com

The Washi Dress has developed a bit of a cult following, which is totally no surprise as it's the most flattering and infinitely versatile pattern we here at HQ have seen for years!  If you use Rae's Flickr link or blog you can see a gazillion Washis in an amazing array of fabrics.  The iconic 'U' cut-out gives this dress its distinctive neckline but it can be changed to suit its wearer.  I made one recently (I'll post the picture later) and decided to change the neckline as I already have the top with the 'U'. It's such a lovely pattern to work with - for those with relatively little sewing experience it's a simple, straightforward project and it's a cinch for the seasoned stitcher.



photo by Rae Hoekstra www.made-by.rae.com

The paper pattern does not include the long sleeved version shown here but you can download the pattern piece for free from Rae's site.  Click here for the link.

Other news......

New habby bits and bobs

Next week is going to be quite a busy one at HQ.  Not only are we expecting our Washi Dress paper patterns to arrive (if customs are nice to us, that is - it's coming from The States!) but we will also have some new haberdashery bits and bobs.  We've gone a bit pompom and ricrac mad here of late and felt it only polite to share!  Also, we've got some beautiful Christmas themed ribbons coming, so watch this space and the website for photos and details.

Christmas shopping, anyone?

HQ are going to be at the Make Believe Cafe
in Berkhamsted on Sunday 18th November 10.30-3pm
where we'll have some lovely fabric stacks
for sale amongst other things. If you haven't been to the Cafe yet, you must go, especially with kids - they will love you forever!

A Little Bird Told Me Gallery

. . . and then on 24th and 25th November (10-4pm both days) we'll be at the Courtyard Christmas Fair in Wendover, organised by the amazing Melanie at the A Little Bird Told Me Gallery.  Check out the gallery for gorgeous contemporary artwork as well as unique, handcrafted gift ideas.

Come join us if you're nearby and start your Christmas craftiness in style!

Last but not least ....

Oh, and don't forget our Roar! bundle giveaway over at Sew Scrumptious - just a few days left to enter!!