Link Love: Winter has come!

Winter is here! The days are sunny and crisp, but it’s definitely jumper wearing weather. I love the start of winter. (It’s the middle and the slow grind to the end of winter that I struggle with!) I love layering up and I love that my feet get so cold that when I get in a warm shower I have pins and needles when the water hits them. There’s something so satisfying about getting warm. I’ve got a big week planned this week. The #100Days100BlocksFinishalong started yesterday and I’m so excited about seeing people start to finish their quilts. I’m hurriedly trying to finish finalising some sponsor for it. It won’t be as big a prize pool as #100Days100Blocks2018 but there’s already a really awesome prize that I just know people are going to be clambering for. I’m hoping to have all the details sorted this week so I can get the information out there.

I’m also working on some new patterns, finalising some old patterns and getting some tutorials organised for the blog. I’d really lost my way when it came to making new stuff for the blog. I was so bogged down in book writing, sponsor commitments and sew-alongs that I lost touch with one of the things I really enjoyed about blogging; teaching others how to make things. I’ve got a long list of projects I’m going to tackle and I can’t wait to share them with you over the coming months.

I’m also gearing up for that most magical time of year; my birthday! It falls on a Monday this year so I’m thinking I might just use that as an excuse to share a little something special with you all. I figure it’s not a real birthday party if we’re not all getting gifts, right! But enough about all that, I have to get the Little Man ready for school and make sure Hubby gets out of the house on time to get to work. Wishing you a fabulous week filled with love, laughter and much fabric fondling!

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.

#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: Good news! Last week a lovely reader stepped forward and volunteered to take over the Elizabeth Hartman Sew-along for me. Yay! I’ll be working with them this week to get it all sorted and I’ll let you know next Monday how things are going with it. I really appreciate your patience with this and again, I apologise for any inconvenience it may have caused.

Looking for a great way to wrap gifts that’s good for the environment and totally reusable? Check out these fabric gift bags from DIY Tutorial Ideas. Click here to read more.

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Love this free quilt pattern tutorial by Mandy Monroe on the Timeless Treasure blog. Click here to read more.

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It might be winter but I’m still crushing on these summer colours. Check out this free quilt tutorial on Purl Soho. Click here to read more.

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I love a good fabric envelope and this tutorial from Spoonful of Sugar is perfection. Click here to read more.

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I love a distinctive zipper pouch and this pattern and tutorial from Thread Riding Hood is great. (I’ve made these before!) Click here to read more.

I love to share the cool things that I find during my week of surfing the internet window-shopping and splurging. Here’s my top 4 from this week:

A. I’m understanding: In a house that now has two kittens I’m starting to understand how that cat can be king! Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

B. I’m bahing: I love this little black sheep, like steel wool on legs. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

C. I’m mooning: I love a good celestial print and these moon phases are perfect for adding some personality to your projects. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

D. I’m shining: I don’t often share two prints from the one collection but I couldn’t go past these happy sun faces. Click here to purchase this on Etsy.

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!