Fabric Fetish

Hello.....

I met Janine about a year ago in my store and she told me she had been collecting vintage kimono fabrics for a while now and in fact she had a bit of an "addiction" to them..... From one addict to another I completely understood her desire to acquire & admire amazing textures and colours. Having said that I was completely blown away by Janine's stash. 

"Whoa girl I'm impressed"

Janine expressed a wish to use her fabric so she could appreciate them in and around her home everyday however she was hesitant to cut them up incase she made a mistake.

Janine booked some one on one class time with me so together we could make her ideas become a reality. (At Materialise we dovetail our classes to suit the individual needs of each customer. Therefore I don't a write a class list with a list of projects.... Each customer comes in and tells me what they want to make and together we workshop the idea and then we make it happen.......)

 Drawing from her outstanding collection of kimono scraps, Janine added a luscious selection of raw silk & silk velvet in a variety of enriching colours & pieced together (front & back) two amazing oblong cushions 40x60cm

The dark jade green, ochre yellow and coral red tones in the delicate oriental floral piece (above - down right side) perfectly compliment the other oriental prints Janine has used. 

It starts to get even more exciting with the addition of purple in both dark violet & grape tones. This torn & frayed scrap piece (above) has been naively stitched using an aurifil thread in a "violent" violet shade bringing forth the true beauty & crunchiness of this silk fabric.

Using the selvages as a feature on the grape purple & green stripe fabrics we overlayed these pieces then stitched them into place using several lines of straight stitch in complimentary thread colours. An invisible zip (above) was inserted along the bottom edge.

Some of the kimono pieces used had small holes or marks so we employed a variety of creative techniques to mask imperfections & improve the overall structural integrity of the fabric. All the fabrics were individually stabilised using a very good quality cotton backed iron on vilene. This makes the fabric more manageable & adds strength.

In order to integrate the embellishments and add to the overall design Janine carefully chose a stunning array of aurifil threads in colours which serve to highlight & compliment the colours of the kimono fabrics.

 

The overall layout & design has been carefully considered in this beautifully balanced combination.

Janine chose to back this cushion with a stunning akky green silk velvet which she trimmed top & bottom with midnight blue raw silk. 

 

Janine's second cushion will be used in a different area in her home and uses a more vibrant selection of colours combining orange, watermelon pink, yellow with a hint of green & purple.

This traditional watermelon coloured shibori piece has been embellished using this outstanding canary yellow silk scrap. 

Stitching detail.....

Using thread ends as a low key embellishment

The amazing pieced back of this cushion is another cushion all on it's own!! Pulling the colours from the kimono prints on the front Janine pieced together the back which compliments perfectly!!! 

"I love it"

Using quiltlite as a thin wadding at the back of the raw silk Janine has used this square quilting detail to anchor the quiltlite. This extra padding makes the cushion feel really 'phat'. 

Stitching detail using aurifil thread (watermelon pink).... up close & personal 

The quilting lines look better if they are sewn uneven.

Above are 12 blocks Janine has pieced together for a quilt she is making using the kimono fabrics as a series of central blocks that will be bordered....

See you soon....!

"....hmmm where am I, am I lost? ........."

Addicted to Polka Dots

As the new stock rolls in it's becoming alarmingly apparent that I have gone completely overboard and O.D'd on spots..... We have polka dots in every shape, size, colour & even in every shade of every colour...

"A girls gotta have options"


Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

As it turns out I'm not the only one addicted to spots... 

Last week some of the cool people in Perth dropped by to use the shop as a set for the short film they are making. 

Written by young film-maker Tania (pictured below) "De Choix" is a fun story about a girl who is addicted to polka dots in every which way.....
"haha I love it!"

The guys working on the set where really professional, it was great fun watching this talented & extremely organised crew do their thing... 

After shooting all morning at Materialise they then headed to Wall Candy on Beaufort Street in Mt Lawly. Kewl!!!

As promised my quilt "Tribute to Dior, Homage to Liberty" is back up in the shop for a little while. So for all those customers who have been asking to see it again please come in and take a look.......  (I won't hang it for a long time because I don't want it to go out of shape)

I made this quilt 4 years ago now for a competition in France. The theme for the comp was "Fashion, the reflection of an era"...... Using entirely Liberty fabrics I pieced hundreds of tiny scraps together to represent a voluptuous flowing skirt... 

Here are some pictures of one of my latest patchwork projects that I thought may be of some interest. Lately quite a few customers have talked about wanting to do some upholstery... 

Another addiction I seem to have is with old chairs. For years I've been collecting cool 'one off' old chairs that I like. The garage is looking a little crowded so I got stuck into piecing a selection of my favourite oldy worldy rosy fabrics which I then quilted and used to cover this cute little bedroom chair.

It's not quite finished..... I still need to make the box pleated skirt which covers the legs

Available for all to see soon in the store......

Ok... Wiggle it just a lil' bit!

How cute is this fabric???? Mum made me a dress using this fabric when I was a little girl. (So it's over 30 yrs old) I found some small scraps recently which I'm using in a quilt I'm currently making at home.

I'm proud to say that Vanessa (my sister in law) is keeping the tradition alive for my little niece Stella. Ness came to the shop and made some cute little bubble skirts for Stella (3 yrs old). Stella chose the fabric for the skirt shown above. It's no surprise she chose the Flower Fairies by M. Miller..... Stella was speechless the day she came to the shop and saw this fabric the same as the books she has. What little girl doesn't lurve a fairy?

Lindsey who now has 3 grandchildren came to my very first quilt class (about 7 years ago) and made her first strippy quilt for Madelene her first grandchild. Lindsey makes many beautiful things as gifts for her friends and family and this w'ittle family of wabbits is no exception. Using an assortment of fresh novelty prints from Kokka & Alexander Henry Fabrics for their tummies & ears with a lively array of Yuwa spots and stripes for bodies, arms n' legs.  They are rather special indeed!

"I have given them names; Sophie, Georgie, Clare & Ash"

As you probably already know Lucy girl has worked diligently to make her masterpiece Materialise... Featuring 'Birdsong' by Liberty Lucy chose to make a strippy quilt  but then went berserk using the kewlest co-ordinating bits & pieces... Check it out! (pardon the pun)

Lucy found the dark pink Liberty she used (above pic - on bottom row) to be the best blender. 

Combined with an exciting selection of prints & patterns in an amuzhing array of orange, yellow, lime green and magenta pink tones....   from 'Liberty Paisley Collection' by Kaffe Fassett, 'Little Folks' by Anna Maria Horner, 'Love' by Amy Butler.... Yeah baby!

YumYumYum!

Here are some pics of the store. We have cute new buttons in lots of different colours. Lady birds too!

Also simple yet stylish 3 tier wooden sewing boxes are now available. 

Our cute n' fresh Novelty FAT packs. Included above is the beautiful baby cot sheeting fabric (4 designs avail) $12.50 per metre.

 

We just received a cool new range of yarn dyed checks and tonal fabrics that are great for the boys.

 

 And we all know how hard it is to find cool stuff for the boys.

There are also quite a few cool Oriental style prints and fabrics that are amazing to touch. So sexy (need I say more)

Sallee another long standing client came into the store this week and finished patching the top of this stunning quilt.

Sallee has collected a fantastic selection of blousey floral prints from kaffe, philip jacobs, jennifer paganelli & amy butler & tonally mixed them with some striking stripes & spots. 

I recently planted a new garden bed at home along my new blue fence. I chose this rather exciting and beautiful Australian native plant that grows in the bush where I grew up (Darlington). Mum would always try to grow the same species in our area so we would go to Zanthorrea Nursery and try to find the plants that were common to our bushland. So it's kind of fitting that it's flowering so magnificently (in October) the anniversary of her passing...

This is a purple fringed lily and I LOVE IT! And I love you too Mum, I miss you & I think of you every single day..... xx love always

Gettin' A Groove on......

Hi there..... 

Over the last 2 weeks Materialise has had over 200 new bolts of fabric delivered. 

"There is some pretty good stuff. Even if I do say so myself"

Fabrics have arrived that customers have previously been searching for.....

Getting the stock processed, scanned & online is a mission & takes time. So I've taken some pics inside the store so you can see what I see...... Have fun!

From Michael Miller we have the coolest array of prints which I have matched to a varied selection of checks, stripes & spots, spots, spots......

Yes we have multi coloured love hearts with bling (tasteful amounts of glitter)

Margie & I had an absolute ball making this cute little "Analise" patchwork skirt one Saturday. We chose 7 fabrics & used a Portabellopixie pattern created by Sandi Henderson to make this 'must have' skirt. Dress option also available.

Great size range available too! 6mths to 8yrs. 

Yuwa's that we know and love are back

Joel Dewberry's latest range Modern Meadow

And an old classic... Yarn dyed ticking stripes & gingham checks.

A good basic at a very good price.

This is probably my most favourite bay. I love the soft colours in this multi stripe by Michael Miller. Probably because it has this new fabric called Delovely Damask also by MM.

The damask print has been printed in glitter. It looks really amazing in the flesh. 

So to all the people that have come in and asked for a print on fabric similar to the wallpaper in my store....."Here it is"!!! in pink, blue, white on white, black & silver

If you click on this pic you can kind of see the glitter in the sun

Designed by Itaya Naomi for Yuwa these beautiful oriental style prints are top of the pops in my world. 

We have made a Boho Quilt Kit using these fabrics. The kit include a set of step by step instructions with easy to follow photos... Yay!

 Blue & Pink

Red & Black

I've been waiting to meet these fabrics for a while now.....

I got inspired when these new Provence style fabrics came in

So I started making the log cabin quilt that Kay, Shelley and I have been planning to make for about 2 yrs now. 

 Hopefully there are some things here that will inspire you. See you soon.....

                                                               'oh' she says.....