Cutting and sticking!!

Sometimes it's good to get away from the sewing machine and indulge in some childhood fun!!
Sew..... This afternoon I have been
ripping out pix from the ridiculous pile of magazines I have accumulated to make mood boards for my autumn/winter workshops and kits.
I didn't realise but as I was cutting and sticking tons of lil old ideas were flooding through the brain! Thank gawd for the notes app on phone so I could jot everything down on record before having a senior moment and forgetting everything!!!!!
It's a good job I've been distracted cos I am starving! But......we are off to Jamie's Italian in Covent Garden tonight and I need the pro points so I can have a good munch!!!! Yum yum .
Suppose I better get ready to go out - it takes a flipping long time these days
Til next time
Loads of love and happy sewing xxxxc
Ps. I've got a lot of rubbish to throw away now !

Christmas gets earlier every year !

Over a fab lunch today with my friend and mentor Andrew Jenner (professional film maker you know!), we found ourselves discussing Christmas!
Ok, so we haven't even had a summer holiday and Easter has only just passed but.......
So here I am on a pretty sunny day in SW19 sketching for the Christmas Stocking Kits to be launched for Ruby Summer at the end of September when we will be officially launched as a real proper grown up business! Who knows you might just be in line for an extra special invitation to the fabbiest launch party of the year!
There is soo much to do but it is really exciting ......videos to make, photography, ensuring that the Ruby Summer website is awesome, writing articles for the press- yay!
This is such an exciting time in my life I can't wait to share it all with you later in the year.......
In the mean time I better feed the pesky kitties and carry on drawing!
Lots of love until next time xxxxxx

Vivienne Westwood at The Body Adorned

Last week I was lucky enough to be him indoors guest at the opening of the Body Adorned exhibition at the Horniman Museum. What a fab place!
It's a great exhibition in the most beautiful surroundings in Greenwich.I really loved the dress made from acrylic that was in the foyerand. The moving wall observing fashion in London was awesome too. Brilliantly filmed and installed by Electrosonic.
Vivienne Westwood opened the exhibition. She still looks fabulous and was wearing one of her own designs apparently inspired by woodland folk!
(and why not?!) She is such a talent, I love her work. As a seventeen year old I had loads of her clothes from Seditionaries on the Kings Road.
Anyway hope you like the pix.
Btw - the new beast arrived so I shall be playing tomorrow!
Hope the rest of your Easter is good for you xxxxxx

Oops I had a little purchasing "accident"!

Well just like shoes a girl can never have too many sewing machines! I couldn't resist this little beauty and my debit card jumped out of my purse and before I knew it the thing was ordered!
Can't wait for it to arrive so I can play!!!!
Talking of sewing machine purchases I wonder how my gorjuss Debs is getting on with her Juki?
Off to play with my other machines so its goodbye from me!
Happy days, J xxxx
Ps next week I will post my photos of Dame Vivienne taken at the Body Adorned exhibition!

Brum Brum !!!!!! Textiles ahoy!

Hey there!
Busy busy this week- brain (what brain?!) is on mojo overdrive and I've a squillion sewingy things to do!
So, or should that be sew....... I need to get organised and make notes.
Have been drawing a lot this week and may have accidentally bought some more fabric......well would you want to see homeless fabric on the shop shelves?! I am very charitable you know! Have taken a quick pic on the dashboard of the car outside the chandlers in Port Solent. Leading the glam life that I do I will be painting anti fouling on the hull of the boat today! If you think that is fun yesterday I jet washed barnacles off the hull!!!! Have you done anything majorly gorgeous this weekend?!
Also been looking for a decent stop over in Birmingham for the festival of quilts in August. It is the biggest show of its kind in Europe. Have been busy making appointments to hook up with some of the exhibitors. Should be a fantastic few days.
Are any of you going to be there?
There are going to be a thousand quilts alone on display!! There is so much talent in the big wide world. I'm so excited my camera is almost already packed!!!!!!
Well him indoors is off to Norway this week having just got back from LaLa Land. Wish I was going too! Any excuse to look for textiles in another country!
"he" has returned with anti fouling paint so must be time to leg it back to boat and get painting - Yeeha!
Lots of love
J xxxxxxxxx

Quilting for the London Olympics 2012

It's not at all unusual for groups of friends to get together to make a quilt for someone they know to comfort them or perhaps when they move away so it came as no big shock to discover that there is a big drive to make 500 quilts for the London Olympics!
The idea is to give a gift of a quilt to each competing nation. Every donated piece will be given a number. Each country will draw a number, tombola stylee, and the maker will be informed of the country their work has gone to.
Kaffe Fasset, designer extraordinaire, is the patron of the project.
A book is being published to include all the quilts given and is going to be on launched at Olympia this month.
If you or a group of friends think you might want to donate a quilt take a look at the following link - http://www.agiftofquilts.co.uk/1246.html.

This week I have been making samples for my workshops that will begin in the Autumn. I am so excited about this and will keep you updated as this venture continues!

In the meantime I am trying my hardest to source a couple of templates that are only available in America.......

Have a fabulously crafty week my lovelies!
Janie xxxxxxx

Grumpy old woman gets excited, shock news!

The older I get the more flipping miserable I get! It takes something pretty special to grab my interest these days. (am I alone in becoming a bit of a cynical grumpy sod?!)
It doesn't help that I am fighting off yet another virus. I should become a hypochondriac then at least I wouldn't actually have to feel so damned awful all the time!
Anyway like Ronnie Corbett sat in his oversized chair I am digressing!
Whilst laying in bed wishing I was out in the beautiful sunshine I have organised my calendar for the year re all the shows I want to attend and need to book up. So it's Malvern, Sandown and Birmingham all by August for some serious quilting and textile art exhibitions and fabric acquiring! I really wanted to find some exhibitions in the States so I could go a travelling with him indoors!
Anyway, I still haven't got to the point have I? I noticed that if you join the Quilters Guild of the UK you get discounts etc. In ticket prices. Being the daughter of an Accountant I had to take a peek. I don't think I will really save much money but boy I am joining it. They are involved in all things quilting and textile art including education, running a huge research library and housing a collection of over 600 quilts and pieces in their own museum in York. It is really worth spending a few minutes visiting their website and browsing the collections. Being into "old stuff" I was transfixed by the heritage collection. Have a look, I would love to know which collection you love the best. http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/collections/
The work that is involved is phenomenal. To think most of it has been hand sewn too! I guess there was no Eastenders to act as a distraction!
Anyway, as I am now coughing to death I shall take that as a message to put the ol' iPad away!
Until next time "Happy Crafting"
Loads of love
Janie xxxx