Plush Addict

One of the best things about being a sewing teacher is being able to buy fabric for classes!

I get to buy lots of different types of fabric and often I buy things that don't suit my taste, but my students turn them into amazing items!

I am always on the lookout for new places to buy fabric and to be able to recommend to my classes. Over the last week I have ordered from a shop I have been following for a while on social media - Plush Addict.

They have a wonderful range of wonderful fabrics including all the latest designer ranges.

I needed a whole collection of Kona Solids for a class I am teaching tomorrow. We have been making wonderful cushion covers with a eight point star. The fronts have a mix of pattern and Kona solids.

I hadn't realised that Plush Addict carried all 277 Kona solids until last week when I managed to get hold of some much needed Bone. They delivered the order so quickly I knew I had the right place to order fabric for my class.

So on Friday morning I started shopping - £89 later I put a quick note on the order saying I needed the fabric by Tuesday morning did they think I needed to pay for tracked deliver.

To my delight the bundle arrived on Monday morning with a wonderful note and a bag of sweeties!

So pleased with they service and the selection they carry!

Go check them out!

Strictly Solids BOM May

April flew by and I hope you had fun sewing the block for the Strictly Solids BOM.

We are just venturing into May and the sun is finally shining in my part of England - I have just jinxed it by mentioning it though!

This month we are going to try something a bit more complex looking, but actually pretty simple!

We first start with a diamond. You can have a diamond of any size, but there is one here to download if you want:

After you have cut out the central diamond, you need to add strips to the edges. I cut mine 1.5" wide, but make sure the strips are longer than the sides of the diamonds so you can cut them accurately:

Sew with a 1/4" seam and press the seam towards the diamond:

Add a strip on the opposite side:

Trim away the excess fabric and strips on the other sides:

Keep adding strips to the shape in the same order as the first 4 strips. Keep checking the size of the diamond  placing the central diamond in the middle of the ruler.

Once the tips of the diamond have gone beyond the edge of the 12.5" ruler trim:

Keep adding strips to the edges in the same order:

Keep building the checking the size of the block:

Be sure to aligning the ruler up with the central diamond and trim the excess fabric.

Once the block measures 12.5" trim all the excess fabric away:

I needed to add a smaller pieces into the corner to finish the block, but it is a very effective use of solids!

Hope you enjoy trying it out and I can't wait to see your blocks!

You can put photos into the Strictly Solids BOM flickr group.

Inspiration.....

Yesterday bundle of Kona Solids arrived from The Village Haberdashery.

It is a serious mix of greens, cerise and white. When I say serious mix of greens I mean 7 shades of green!

Some of them are here:

Kona Solids Sage

Kona Solids Jade Green

Kona Solids Emerald

As you can see they are close in colour value. When my bundle arrived all of the greens were labelled so I knew which one was which...

The last time ordered a huge bundle of oranges and yellows from Simply Solids, Justine had labelled them and in my haste to wash the fabric (yes, I am wash before cut quilter) I had ripped the labels off and the got confused later as to which was which!

So I have pile of solids that I have to match to the colour chart every time I want to use/order more colour... not very sensible!

As I was getting the ready to wash my new batch of greens when I had a brain wave - what if I took a square of the colour and put the label on that?

Then I could take all my squares and out them on a notice board to show the colours I have/ have used and be able to organise myself much quicker!

So I took those greens and cut the swatches and attached the label, then I got my precious Kona Solids Colour Chart and started working through all my other solids:

I find matching quite hard because the glue has changed the hue slightly, so I also went through my receipts so I had a starting point for each colour.. yes I have that many!

 

 

After working through a few of them I started putting them on the board:

 

 

 

They aren't in colour order yet, more a of a pulled this out order...

 

 

 

But when I get them all ordered and named I will have swatches big enough to match to the pattern fabrics I use and be able to order more accurately from the web, it will take the guess work out of colour matching...

 

 

 

Sometimes I get a good idea....