Another (mostly) sunny week in Wiltshire... and a new bouncing baby for the royals! Awww so cute :) And apparently set to kickstart a boom in the baby products industry... get knitting those baby booties crafters!
I've been working on my latest 'Dashing Dogs' fabric (more on that in a minute), first though i must share the latest Free Spirit Designs press feature!
Free Spirit Designs In The Press!
Lovely as it is to have my creations featured online from time to time, nothing beats the thrill of seeing them in 'real life' print.
This week its the turn of my nesting birds lavender pillows
which are featured in the most recent edition of Period Ideas magazine - yay!
which are featured in the most recent edition of Period Ideas magazine - yay!
Here's a pic :)
'Hug A Pug' Fabric
After that little bit of excitement, here's the latest of my 'Dashing Dogs' fabrics. Its pug dogs in the limelight this time, there is something so endearing about them i think and i love the 'hug a pug' slogan often seen on t-shirts etc so thought i'd adopt it for the inspiration for this design.
Here are some of the components (hand drawn then uploaded to digital form)...
Here are some of the components (hand drawn then uploaded to digital form)...
...and here's the finished pattern. I have to confess to wrestling for a while with how to fit it all together but i'm pleased with how it turned out in the end. This represents a 10x10 inch swatch. I look forward to hearing what you think!
Here's some other colour options (as always there are some differences in colour representation between how they appear on a monitor and when they're printed on fabric) - the green of the dogs in this one is not so bright and 'limey' on fabric...
...and with this one the background colour is more yellow rather than orange as it appears here.
You can view the whole 'Dashing Dogs' collection so far over at my Spoonflower store. If you would like to be notified when they become available for sale just let me know!
Handmade Monday
Before i hand you over to the capable hands of Wendy over at Handmade Harbour (home of the fabulous Handmade Monday linky party), i know you're all keen to hear what i made with this little selection of home grown lovelies!
Thank you to Ginx Craft for your fantastic suggestions of a salad and summer pudding - i did indeed make a lovely cold chicken salad with the lettuce, spring onion, thyme flowers and the courgettes sliced and sautéed with some tasty home grown garlic - delicious! (we're getting two or three courgettes a day now so eating this dish a LOT! :))
Much as i love a summer pudding, wheat is not my friend so the bread component isn't really feasible. However, i have found another delicious accompaniment to summer fruit - frozen strawberry yoghurt - and this is how i make it!
Frozen strawberries, yoghurt and home made strawberry jam - blitzed in the blender, 20 mins in the ice-cream maker and it done! Sooooo delicious with some freshly picked berries - yum!
Thanks for visiting today :) See you next time! x
Another lovely newsey post, but most importantly a BIG well done on being published - very exciting. I love the pug pattern - my niece loves pugs and pink, so I will point her in your direction. Hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeletethank you very much Jill! I always enjoy your newsy posts too :)
Deletethat would be fab! thank you! x
A huge congratulations on your appearance in the press. Your summer strawberry yoghurt looks yummy, yummy, yummy (oh and so does the salad ;)) Your pug design is also lovely. I like the circle of flowers. xx
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deletehehe! is it delicious :) definitely one of my summer favs.
thank you! x
Hello Natalie, Firstly thanks so much for becoming my first followers on Etsy. I really need to spend more time on following, treasuries, etc. I may possibly be your first customer for the pug fabric. I love pugs and I love this fabric. Wonderful design. Congrats on being featured in the Period Ideas Magazine. Your salad look sooo healthy and sooo good. Have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteAli x
oh you're welcome Ali! Its lovely to see you over there :)
DeleteAww thank you :) I'm really glad you like it!
thank you! hehe :) it does look healthy doesn't it... not sure the chocolate i polished off afterwards was though! :) x
Congratulations on your lovely pillows being featured in a magazine, you must be really proud of yourself.Whilst I'm normally a cat person, i do really like your doggy prints too.
ReplyDeletethank you very much Lucy!
Deleteaww thank you :) i'll take that as a compliment! x
Congratulations on being featured in a magazine! I love the notion of Hug a Pug, brilliant!
ReplyDeletethank you very much Natalie!
Deletehehe :) me too! x
How exciting to have your lavender pillows featured. I am quite curious if being featured leads to a surge of orders? Your meal looks very tasty, and incredibly healthy!
ReplyDeletethank you! I think it can... it doesn't necessarily though... i'll let you know what happens this time!
Deletethank you! :)
You are going forward in leaps and bounds. Lovely to see your pillows in print. I am loving your doggie fabric, clever lady.
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deleteyay! I'm really glad you like it :) x
Excellent news on the magazine feature - well done! Pug lovers will adore your fabric - I love that you are developing lots of doggy-type products.
ReplyDeletethanks Wendy!
Deletei hope so :) i'm really enjoying doing the doggy things and people seem to like pet related makes so i'm hoping they'll get a positive response! :)
I bet you were thrilled to bits to see your pillows in the magazine. I know I would be !!!
ReplyDeleteAs always yet another brilliant design. Your frozen yoghurt looks yummy !! xx
hehe :) yes its a great feeling!
Deletethank you! x
Congratulation on getting your product featured - so great! You better keep your sewing machine oiled well, as I think you will be busy with orders! Well done.
ReplyDeletethank you very much!
Deletehehe :) i hope so! x
Congratulations on being featured. Thanks for the frozen yogurt recipe. Just what we need in this never ending heat.
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deletethat's true :) i hope you get a chance to give it a try, its yummy! x
Well done on your publication! It's so nice to be noticed?
ReplyDeleteHow does this really happen? I mean, how do you make it into a magazine? Did they contact you about your products or did someone just spotted you online, liked your items and they published the stuff about you? I've always wondered about this.
Isnt it curious how one social/historial event affects the hand made market? One baby is born.... - get your knitting needles / crochet hooks / quilts crafters.... Olympics is on - everybody is making unionjacks and bunting...etc
thank you Martha!
Deletethis feature came about through a site called press loft - it is a resource for journalists to find images for their publications and sellers can list items on there - its expensive to have an account but i'm taking advantage of a free trial at the moment :) other than that you can approach magazines and the like directly but i don't have too much experience with this!
i know, its weird isn't it! x