May…be…

I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. We are past the 6 month mark for the shop, we’re into market and show season and the weather is turning particularly chilly.

Housekeeping….

The shop is no longer open on Saturdays. There is a sign on the door at the shop, I’ve changed the details, here and on Facebook and I’ve made several status updates announcing as such.

We are at the Wyong Quilt Show this weekend – come along and say hi.

In the latest copy of Patchwork & Stitching Magazine my Punk Princess quilt is published. I have 5 kits left of it for sale and will have them with me tomorrow at the show. $85 for the fabrics just to make the quilt top and the binding or $120 if you want backing as well. You’ll also need 2m of Vliesofix which is sold separately.

 

I’m also about to release the pattern for In Flight. It will be available as a pattern, will be taught as a class from the end of June and also comes as a tailored kit.

The tailored kits are where I work with you to create a kit to your liking, we liaise via email with photos and colour swatches to create a unique quilt for you. I can only do a limited number of these as they take more time to compile so if you are interested please send me an email frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com

There’s lots of other things happening over the next few weeks. I’ll have to keep you updated after the weekend.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Marni 🙂

Competition Time

We’ve been hovering around the 240 likes mark on Facebook for a little while, so I was thinking it might be time for some fun. We are also fast approaching our last Saturday trading day.

So on Saturday the 28th at 9pm AEST I will be hosting…

QUILT QUIZ

I will post 10 questions – one question per image in an album. The details of the competition will be listed in the album description.

The first person to email me frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com with all 10 correct answers after the signal is given on the night will win a $25 gift voucher.

 

So make sure you are all around on Saturday night with your quilting caps on.

 

Good luck and see you then!

 

Marni

 

 

 

Rain

I can hear some of you thinking that this post will be a whinge about the rain… well I hate to disappoint but it will be nothing of the sort… see I LIKE rain…  except when I have washing to do or have to catch public transport.

I love the smell, the sound and the look of it. I love the way it makes me want to curl up with a hot chocolate and a good book under my favourite quilt. How it makes my cat snuggly. How it makes the fog and mist hang around the tree tops at the end of the street behind my house and how I always feel like I get a good nights sleep when I can hear it falling outside.

I also like BIG storms – with lots of lightning and thunder. I love the energy of a storm and I always feel like this recharges me and that my creative impulses are renewed and revitalised….

You might have realised that I am a bit weird.

No worries….

The rain today seemed to bring out a lot of customers. In fact it felt like the busiest day since we opened. That was fantastic! But was it the rain? What made you all come out today on such a miserable, soggy day? You all had to traispe inside from your cars, dashing across the sodden grass to get to the door. I was pleased to see you all regardless of the weather and I thank you for making today a good day. 🙂

Onto other things…still rain related….

Rainy weather is the perfect weather to get some sewing done. And the rain today was a perfect start to my sewing to do list….

– commissioned lap quilt for customer (needs border, quilting and binding)

– lap quilt for magazine project (which will then be my winter quilt) needs quilting and binding

– finish binding on a playmat, table runner and one single bed quilt (playmat and table runner will go up for sale)

– double bed quilt top (finish piecing, then quilt and bind) then will be up for sale

– quilt top for magazine project (quilting and binding)

– girls lap quilt – fairy themed (border, quilting and binding)

– 2 x single bed UFO quilt tops (currently sitting in box in blocks and borders…. but when done will be up for sale)

– single bed made from fat quarters (finish appliqués, quilt and bind)

– start on competition quilt

– 1x boys, and 1 x girls single bed quilts for Darling Harbour (possible kits)

 

If I can get a lot of these things out of the way this week I will be a happy woman and can sort out the other odd things I need to get done. I’m starting to get very, very, VERY excited for Darling Harbour. I have sooooo many ideas and things that I want to showcase but I need to sit down and nut it all out properly. I have some surprises and some interesting things planned, so you’ll need to mark it down in your diary to come and see me.

Anyways, its still raining so I’m off to get into bed with my book and a hot water bottle.

Night,

 

Marni

 

 

April Catchup…

So we’re into April and I’ve got just a bit of housekeeping.

After a chocolate overloaded long weekend we are back at the shop and there’s a new look around HQ. Make sure you pop in and have a look.

Custom orders are still open – I’m making quilts, jewellery and will take on any quilting jobs you may need doing before the cold weather sets in.

Upcoming events –

May 5 & 6 – Wyong Quilt Show

May 12 & 13 – HCM Pop Up Market at Hornsby Westfield

May 19 – HCM Terrigal

I’m working on a competition quilt. Not going to reveal anything just yet but it is my very first attempt at entering a competition so I’m a little nervous. 🙁

May and June are going to be very busy with markets and shows – make sure you mark the dates down for everything thats coming up.

 

Night,

Marni

Just enough time….

…to squeeze in one last post before we adjust the clocks and it’s April.

I’m off to the Caroline Bay Quilters show tomorrow. Not quite sure what to expect as I don’t normally go to things like this, but I had some customers in today that loved what they saw and I know a couple of the ladies in the group…. Kind of excited but it’s a balanced with practicality because I’m in the middle of beading. So as much as I would love a long visit it will be a short one so I can get on with some editing. 🙂

When I got home from the shop this afternoon I decided to give myself a couple of hours off… so I went to lie down and read a book… anyhow nearly 3 hours later I woke up – had a feeling that I really needed that sleep. I feel much better now.

Tomorrow starts the next batch of photo a day challenge. I think I will participate this time. So will see how I go. I will be loading them to FB (not sure if I will do the FF page or my personal page yet) but I might ‘collect’ them all here on the blog under it’s own tab.

So am off to do some work tonight to make up for my nap….

 

Marni

 

Contemplation…

I’m sitting here all dressed up for dinner tonight.

It’s dad’s birthday today. We are having a family dinner up at Terrigal, some restaurant that my sister likes. I’m not one for going out to dinner much, more a homebody with my bottle of wine and chinese takeaway.

And so I find myself sitting here contemplating a few things, trawling Facebook catching up on what happened today and checking the last of my emails for tonight…

This week at the shop has been an interesting one – not only have I had my second and third quilting jobs come in but we’ve reinforced our promise for that good customer service. I hope my customers are having fun when they come in to see me. You seem to be coming back to see me so I must be doing something right. 🙂

I’ve been making plans for May and June – these 2 months are going to be HECTIC with a capital H. In May the first 3 weekends are booked out with markets, and June is Darling Harbour. Dad and I are planning some surprises for DH, I won’t reveal anything yet – you have to come and see me as it’s better that way.

I have had lots of enquiries about kits for a couple of my older projects (photos below) – I am in the middle of sourcing fabrics to make up these kits so stay tuned.

 

Anyways – I’d better go and finish getting ready for dinner.

 

Marni

 

Inspiration

A lot of people ask me where I get my inspiration from.

Most of the time something will just pop into my head as if sucked out of the ether. Sometimes I have to work for it, and sometimes I will spot something that will trigger off a thought and the inspiration surfaces somewhere along the way.

This afternoon as dad and I were driving home from the shop (in the most circuitous manner) I spotted a cluster of trees. Now even though it was lovely and sunny and clear blue skies, these trees felt a bit spooky. I think mainly because they had leaves higher up and so the more exposed gnarly trunks were spooky because of their lack of foliage.

So I whipped out my poor battered camera (which lives eternally in my handbag) and snapped a couple of shots.

 

I’ve been looking for a good set of spooky trees for an art quilt for a while. I think that these guys could be what I want but I will have to test them out with my sketches and see if they fit.

Over the last few days I have been slowly going through the things in my craft room at home. It has been a real eye opener to all the things I had  forgotten. Its good though because there are lots of UFOs that I can finish and put up for sale. I have also discovered many of my beading projects from the last few years – I will get them all sorted and loaded onto my jewellery FB page. Some of these will be for sale too if any one is interested. I’ll reveal the page details when I have it all sorted. 🙂 Plenty of things suitable for gifts and perfect timing as Mother’s Day isn’t far off.

A customer brought her quilt in today for me to quilt. So I am busy with another on the machine at the moment. I like seeing what people are making. That’s inspiring in its way too. I especially love other people’s take on colours and patterns. I’ll put some photos up soon of these customer quilts. I’ll make a new page in the tabs for them.

Oh… just some housekeeping – we will be closed for the Easter long weekend. And Anzac Day as well.

It’s funny but I’ve been really looking forward to winter this year. I have ordered some hand-dyed yarn to knit myself a scarf. The lovely Belinda at Fairythread is doing a custom dye on some cotton for me in my favourite halloween colours. I’m still in the process of making my vintage halloween lap quilt for this chilly season.

I’m off now to do some more writing for my beading magazine.

Marni

Randomness…

Random.

I love the word. I love what it means, and I love how we use it in everyday language.

I like to think that my life is a mix of random and planned acts. That I have some semblance of control but that I am also at the mercy of whim and fate, destiny and luck.

I have a few friends who bounce through life happy to go along for the ride. They have plans for their lives – but they are vague notions for the future. Personally, I think that was okay 5-7 years ago but as we are all heading towards our late 20s and the big 3-0 maybe some plans would be a good idea.

I plan. A lot. I write frantic lists of things to do everyday because I am always forgetting things. Even if it’s a little thing like my phone or my camera charger. I’m good on big things but it’s the little things that make life easier that I forget on a regular basis. I am getting better at remembering mainly because I am more organised and much more disciplined than I was as a teenager.

Hence why I plan quilts, but also allow the randomness to play its part.

I don’t like to force a design. For me that means following someone’s rules (fabric choice or patterns), but at the same time I like to be guided by something (fabric choice or pattern). My custom quilts are that wire balancing act between me as a designer and what the customer wants.

When you come in to talk to me about a custom quilt there are a few things I need to know –

a) colour – much easier if you have a sample of what you want rather than try to describe it to me

b) size – this means I can work backwards from the finished quilt size and tailor my design into the measurements.

c) the no’s – this is anything you don’t want in the quilt – be it a particular colour or shape, something that may have certain bad memories, that kind of thing

d) budget – there is no point in me designing a specific quilt for you if you can’t afford it.

e) timeframe – this gives me a deadline, whether it be the birth of a baby, a change in season or the arrival of a long lost friend from overseas. I need to know dates. I have to juggle the design time, sourcing materials, cutting, piecing, quilting, basting etc and make sure it is possible. If you can give me 6-8 weeks that is preferable. I add two weeks to the birth of a baby as they have a bad habit of arriving early so 10 weeks prior to the due date (unless its a small quilt less than lap quilt size then the normal time is fine). 🙂

If you are interested in purchasing a custom made quilt I am opening up the ordering time from now until mid-April. I wish to have all orders finished by the first week in May with anything ordered by the end of March finished by the end of May. No custom orders will be taken and done in the months of May and June – unless they aren’t needed until the end of August onwards.

Each order is different – there are no standard prices as it does depend on the fabrics chosen.

Roughly prices for the quilt tops, backing wadding, thread and my time are:

Cot quilts – $100 – $150

Play mats – $150 – $200

Lap quilts – $200 – $280

Single – $250 -$300

Double – $300 -$400

No Queen or King size made at this stage.

 

Quilting –

Cot $35

Playmat $65

Lap $85

Single $105

Double $135

Queen $165

 

If you supply some of the fabric this will lessen the cost – but all fabric must be washed, ironed and 100%cotton.

I know this sounds like a lot of rules to make something but believe me it makes the whole process run more smoothly. And more enjoyable for us both. 🙂

For any custom orders please ring (02) 4325 2638, email frankensteinsfabrics@hotmail.com or come and visit me in store.

Night.

 

Marni

 

 

Year of the Challenge

I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and following many people on Facebook who have been participating in challenges of various kinds.

There is the photo a day for a month, weekly themed blog posts and postal challenges run by bloggers from all over the world.

This challenge movement is fascinating to watch. The volume of participants, the interpretations of the themes and the consistency that people accomplish.

Most of us wouldn’t stick out something that went for a month – for example exercise. I for one am readily willing to admit I cannot stick to exercise or diets. I hate the rules of both. They feel restrictive and claustrophobic. But for some reason these ‘creative’ challenges are appealing to the masses and we all follow suit – and stick to it.

The photograph a day is an interesting one – people get a list of the month’s themes and each day take a photo of that theme and upload it to Facebook or Tumblr or wherever they are displaying their images. I am fascinated by the concept of the photo challenge as it appeals to the instantaneous nature of the world we love in. Everything is quick, we want it now and we tell everyone about it as soon as it happens via our choice of social media. Watching a couple of FB friends in this challenge I am struck by the differences in their interpretations of the daily themes. All at various stages in their lives, all creative women in their own right.

Today’s theme was red. A dramatic, strong, rich colour. I waited to see what these ladies took photos of. A stunning array of red glass, the last flowers on a bottlebrush.

I think if this photo challenge continues I will take it up next month. I find photography a very truthful medium. Capturing things you don’t see with your eyes or your heart.

But in the meantime I think I will set a challenge myself. I was thinking of things that would give a set – like numbers 1-10 or the alphabet. I wanted it to be creative – so was thinking of a challenge where we had to make things. Something small that had the numbers in it – like a necklace with one really amazing focal bead, and matching pair of earrings for two etc… A small quilt with four pieces. A bag with three pockets.

I need to nut it out a bit more but if anyone would like to join me just send me an email.

I’m off to be early tonight (first night this week!) as I am off to the show in the morning. I have a 2 hour train ride from Gosford to Rosehill and need to get up early…. 🙁 not exactly a morning person….

Marni