Link Love: 41 Years Strong

It’s my birthday today. Yay, me! 41 years old and looking not a day past 67. I really love my birthday, not for the gifts and the birthday wishes but because it signifies how lucky I have been to get a full year around the sun. A year filled with my boys, my loves (fabric, chocolate, trashy tv and creativity), my family and all the crazy unexpected adventures. This year I’m acutely aware of how fragile life can be and how we’re not all guaranteed a long life. The past twelve months have been… interesting. I’ve done a lot of hard learning and growing and I feel like, for the first time in a long time, I’m finding my feet again.

I’ve been in the sewing room the past week making and playing. It’s really exciting to be in that creative groove again. I’d forgotten how much of a rush it is when you’re having fun. Time and space just slip away and I find myself losing hours. I’ve been working hard to get things in place for #100Days100Blocks2018 and so I’ve been playing with my Tula Pink stash. I’ve never made an all Tula quilt before and I confess it’s really stretching me. I love the challenges that come from having to play with just one designer and nothing else. (Lucky for me she’s now got solids in her collection!)

I’d better get cracking. Today I have the house to myself and I’m planning on cleaning and cooking all day. I want to get the house in order and surprise the boys with my birthday dinner (lasagne and condensed milk tart!). I have realised in the last 12 months that I’m happiest when I’m doing things for them. I’m so very lucky to be surrounded by people I love and adore. I hope that you have the same joy in your life. Wishing you a fabulous week filled with love, laughter and much fabric fondling!

The lovely ladies at Make Modern have decided to give you a little something something to help you celebrate my birthday. You can grab the latest copy of Make Modern (Issue 22) for $6 by using the code “MM22for6”. Offer is valid until 10 May. Click here to take advantage of it and save!

It’s no secret that I’m making changes in my life. My goal is to live a more present and balanced life while still working towards my creative and business goals. One of the changes I’ve made is to get back to using essential oils around the house. I wrote about why I use them, the impact they’ve had and what I hope to achieve with them in the coming month – you can read about it by clicking here. I’ve also partnered with Bree, of Starbrite Warrior, to host a Facebook Live event on Thursday May 10 at 9:30am AEST to talk about how you can use doTERRA oils and products in your life. You can register for the event by clicking here.

CLOSES 31 MAY! #100Days100Blocks2018 is less than 100 days away and this year I’d like to use the event to help those that are starting out in our creative industry. If you’re a small business owner, pattern designer, author, podcaster, blogger in the creative industries then this is the opportunity for you. I’m offering free daily sponsorship spots (sponsorship of this event is normally something you’d have to purchase) to help promote those that are helping our industry stay alive and grow by going into business. If you’ve got something you’d like to promote then register your interest by clicking here. If you have any questions about being involved in this event simply drop me an email and we can talk it through. I want to use this platform to help give you a voice and see our industry flourish.

A Note About the Elizabeth Hartman Sew-along: I have closed my Elizabeth Hartman event (you can find the final details and winners by clicking here) and Anne of Said With Love has kicked off her event. The good news is Anne’s using the same hashtag and honouring all the entries from my event in her’s so you can still win big. Click here to find out the details about the new Elizabeth Hartman event.

Looking for a quilt with impact? Then check out this tutorial from A Bright Corner. Click here to read more.

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Winter is here and this tutorial from Purl Soho for making a long pom-pom cowl is coming in handy. Click here to read more.

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Looking for a super quick and useful gift for someone? Check out this reversal table runner tutorial from School of Decorating. Click here to read more.

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I’m getting ready to travel and one of my tricks is to use a laundry bag as a case for my clean clothes so that when I get there I can just pop my dirty clothes in the laundry bag to bring them home (and save my dirty undies from falling out if someone has to look in my bag!). Love this laundry bag tutorial from eHow. Click here to read more.

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Monday’s mean it’s library book day for the Little Man. I love this library bag tutorial from Crazy Little Projects. Click here to read more.

In 2018 I’m going to be travelling around Australia teaching people how to fussy cut and I can’t wait. If you’d like to take a class with me I have the follow classes currently available:

• Fussy Cutting FUNdamentals @ Quilt NSW – Monday 14 May 10:00am to 3:00pm. Learn everything you need to know about how to fussy cut for patchwork and English Paper Piecing. We’ll cover Improvisational Fussy Cutting, Traditional Fussy Cutting and Fussy Cutting for Colour. I’ll talk about fabric selection (including how to work out exactly how much to buy), colour theory and where to find those unusual prints to make your work pop. To book click here. (Please note: this is the ONLY class I’ll be teaching in Sydney in 2018!)
• Fussy Cutting FUNdamentals @ Hobbysew Belconnen – Sunday 20 May 10:30am to 3:30pm. Learn everything you need to know about how to fussy cut for patchwork and English Paper Piecing. We’ll cover Improvisational Fussy Cutting, Traditional Fussy Cutting and Fussy Cutting for Colour. I’ll talk about fabric selection (including how to work out exactly how much to buy), colour theory and where to find those unusual prints to make your work pop. To book click here or call the store on (02) 6253 0011.
• Amazeballs Tote Bag @ Hobbysew Belconnen – Sunday 10 June 10:30am to 3:30pm. Using the Amazeballs Tote pattern from my book, Fussy Cutters Club, we’ll learn all about improvisational fussy cutting to make unique and one-of-a-kind projects. Participants will learn basic bag construction and techniques for adding fussy cutting to all their projects. To book click here or call the store on (02) 6253 0011.

Have you got an event, a charity drive, a pattern release, a class schedule or something else that you think my community would be interested in hearing about? Why not drop me a line and let me know – I’d love to share it with my readers. Click here to email me.

• The fabulous Lucy from Charm About You has released a new mini quilt pattern, Trenton Block. It’s an old school quilt block which I love and is perfect for hand stitching. You can purchase it on Etsy by clicking here.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commissions help me keep being able to provide you with great content for free. Thank you, in advance for your support!