A Year of Happy Stitches

Well this week has flown by.  It's been a whirl of Block of the Month prep, pattern writing and sorting out and ordering supplies for The Spring Sampler, our latest club which is due to start in April.  Yet again we have been overwhelmed with the response to this new club and it is now fully subscribed, thank you..thank you..thank you!!

I've also been enjoying some secret stitching for another new club which is starting this summer called the Secret Squirrel Stitch Society.  It's going to be a quarterly Seasonally/Holiday inspired subscription club and within each parcel full of loveliness, you will receive:

• An exclusive kit, designed by me, to make a seasonally inspired mini quilt... this might include EPP, applique, embroidery, machine piecing, hand quilting.... lots of happy stitches! 

•  A second 'mini' kit, again designed by me & exclusive to Club members... for example, a felt decoration or a little embroidery design....think small and pretty!

• A 'little happy' extra..which will be a little something special, either chosen or designed by me, just for you!

Places each quarter will be limited, and you will be able to either purchase an individual box or there will also be a option to pre-order all 4 boxes should you wish.  Our intention is that the smallest of sneaky peeks may be shared on social media, but the contents of the quarterly parcels will be kept secret until released.  Rest assured, the pretty projects will be in keeping with my usual style!

We're currently sorting out all the finer details at the moment, but I can tell you that sign ups will open for the Summer box on the 1st April,make a note in your diary so that you do not miss out.  I will share more pricing information as soon as I have it all finalised.

EDITED 30TH MARCH:  In view of the Coronavirus situation, we feel it is the right thing to do, to hold back on the release of our new Secret Squirrel Quarterly Club.  We will be continuing to monitor the situation and will launch the club as soon as the time is right!

I am SO excited to share the projects for the first Summer box with you... I can not tell you how hard it is keeping the contents a secret..which is the total opposite of my 'in progress' pictures that I normally share.  What I will say is, that one of the projects is inspired by the White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent created by Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson.  We visited about 14 years ago when Jamie was just a baby, but their garden in all it's shade of white and silver has stayed with me.  One day I hope to have a white garden, but definitely when the football / rugby ball and puppy days are long gone!!

As a small business with new things starting all the time, we feel it's important to keep you in the loop.... so I would also like to tell you that this year, for the first time, we will be releasing a 12 Days of Christmas Box.  Advent Calendar style boxes have become increasingly popular in recent years and we have received many requests for one.  However, we wanted to do something that was in keeping with the Pretty Fabrics and Trims aesthetic.  So, I have designed a brand new Christmas themed wall hanging/mini quilt...think block of the month, but condensed instead into 12 daily packages.  In addition there will also be little extra's included, for example this may be one of my favourite notions or a little 'mini' kit for you to complete.   As with the Secret Squirrel Stitch Society, we're just finalising all the details, but pinky promise, I will share more information soon.

This week, I stitched February on my Phenology Wheel, a little project I started in January.  My plan is to record my favourite plants, animals, birds and the weather in stitches, each month.  At the end of the year, I'm going to make my embroidery into a mini quilt.

I had some extra Phenology Wheels printed on to my favourite linen/cotton and they have proven to be super popular, so again thank you so very much!  Mum and I are really excited to see yours progress throughout the year...so please do share!  The nice thing however with this is, that you can start at any time and just roll it through for 12 months.

In terms of the content, I am trying to remember to carry my mobile phone with me as much as possible, something I am dreadful at!  The plan being, that when I see something pretty when I'm out and about, then I can take a photo.  Plus I will also use images as reference points from old photographs, books, magazines etc.  I've been sketching my ideas in to my drawing pad, then once I'm happy, I draw to scale on a paper version of the wheel, we've included a blank sheet with the fabric so you can do this too, then finally, transferring the image on to the fabric ready for stitching.

So far, I have included in January, a beautiful Red Kite, once endangered, but now we are so lucky to see regularly flying above the house, snowdrops and lots and lots of rain!  For February, a winter aconite, flying geese and the first flurry of snow .. I wonder what will March will bring!

As if I didn't have enough works in progress, I also made a start on a Floral Alphabet I've designed.  Each letter represents a flower from a cottage garden or from the wild....

A is for Angelica.....

 B is for Bluebells. C is for.......

This will be available as new kit later this year...but again I will keep you posted.  I also have plans for individual letters / bunting / hearts etc ..but as always, my creative brain works at a much faster pace than my fingers can stitch!

Wishing you all a lovey weekend full of happy stitches!