Crafting Saturday

Today really has been all about crafting and it's only tea time!  I'm really tired out.  Crafting is relaxing but it can also be tiring.  I feel exhausted right now so I'm not sure I will spend any more time on the sewing machine today.

This morning I went to pick up a parcel of fabric which I purchased on Thursday from Fabritastic.  It was the first time I had bought anything from there.  I'm impressed with the service - I put the order in on Thursday and the following day there was a parcel note from Royal Mail when I came home from work.  The fabrics and postage were also both reasonably priced.

The first lot of fabric is all by Aneela Hoey by Moda.  Most are from the Hello Petal range and a couple from the Posy range.  I should have bought the cats ages ago when I first saw them in January but I didn't and since then it's been difficult to source them.  I love cats and most cat fabrics so these are a great addition to my stash.  I keep pinning quilts with low volume fabrics so I am starting to collect some of these as I anticipate using low volume fabrics against bright coloured fabrics soon.

The elephant fabrics are by Michael Miller.  I've had them before in the robin's egg blue and in limeade (not pictured here).  I'm now adding orchid and sky blue.  I think these will end up in children's quilts and are good staples to have in.  The fabric on the left is also by Michael Miller, it's Ant Maze and will go perfectly in a boy's quilt I have in mind to make soonish.  I like to put boxes of fabric together to marinade so I can see them together; this helps me to figure out the patterns and style I want to pursue.

Now today's fatigue hasn't come from just collecting fabrics and putting them together for photographs.  Today I've been on a free motion embroidery course at a local craft shop, Craft Den.  I had a great time and was pleased to come away with a canvas which is ready to put on the wall.  I didn't find free motion embroidery easy but it was enjoyable and I feel that I did some "skilling up" and that with practice I would get better at this.  I'm not usually a fan of applique but I actually enjoyed this style of sewing over the top.  As a new sewer I know there is plenty for me to learn and today's class certainly got me using new techniques.  I'm feeling rather pleased with myself.  My husband is going to paint my craft room tomorrow so I think this canvas will find a home on the walls there this week.