This Creative Bliss

I'm in Craftseller Magazine (Nadine's Social Media 101)

2012-02-21T11:23:00.003-08:00

My other half went out today and bought me a copy of craftseller magazine number 8 because I have been featured in the extra booklet on selling tips.

I was approached by the author, Sarah Moolla, to write about how I use social media for selling my arts and crafts and I actually wrote a really long text but only a short paragraph was used in the magazine. I think it would be a waste to not share the rest of the text so I am including it here. Let me know what you think about this, what your experience with using social media is and whether you can give some advice.

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Nadine's Social Media 101

I am a fairly new seller on Etsy, I only opened my Quilt shop in May (http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine), followed by the Papercrafts shop in the summer (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftedBlissByNadine) and then recently the Art Shop in October (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss) and I have to say it has been a steep learning curve. I imagined Etsy to be the miracle solution to all my woes. When opening my first shop on Etsy I was still naïve enough to think I just need to show what I got and someone will come and get it. Months later I have to admit I have to spend a lot of time and energy on marketing and I had to realise very quickly I won’t sell anything unless I figure out how to be seen.

That is the biggest problem on Etsy, you can’t depend on buyers to find you, you have to go out and find your buyers.

In order to promote my shops I am very active on every social media platform you can think of:

* I have a Facebook page (great for really communicating with ‘Fans’ and showing them what is going on in your creative life. Should not only be used for promotion or it will be considered spam.)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/This-Creative-Bliss/204707436234824

* I tweet (good for giving an insight into your personal life and showing followers you are more than an artist. The odd recipe or craft unrelated infos work well on twitter. I tend to have regular rants on the state of the nation. Feel free to ignore those.)

http://twitter.com/#!/nadinesaupeart

* I blog. Most blog followers are fellow artists and crafters and use blogs for inspiration and socialising. I also host regular giveaways on my blogs to attract more followers and show what I have to offer. Blogs are also great for showing followers how I do things and what I am working on. Techniques and idea generation work well on blogs, and showing works in progress always goes down well. I have had buyers ask me whether they could buy certain quilts I showed on my blog but not in the shop yet.

http://thiscreativebliss.blogspot.com/

* I have a flickr account, to manage my (creative) photos online (great to show customers and fans lots more images and lots of things that aren’t even for sale in the shops. I do not use flickr for personal pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38199584@N06/

* I stumble websites on stumbleupon, a discovery engine and bookmarking tool (to get more views and to get my items seen, you never know, maybe someone who’d never even heard of Etsy might find it that way)

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/NadiSa/

* and recently I have also started to use Tumblr, a micro- blogging tool (but one should not only spam people with promotion, Tumblr only works if you use it for a lot more than your own items. I have recently been featured on the “Modern Day Quilts” Tumblr blog and received a lot of attention that way)

http://creativeblissbynadine.tumblr.com/

* and I am addicted to Pinterest, a visual bookmarking site (similar to Tumblr but growing in popularity and very easy to use)

http://pinterest.com/nadinesaupeart/

Pinterest is great for exposure and if you have collected interesting images and you have managed to attract a lot of followers, your items will be seen. If you’re lucky they are pinned and repinned and therefore seen by other people who are interested in arts and crafts. If you are lucky something can go viral and get a lot of attention.

The same goes for Stumbleupon. As an Etsy seller I keep a close eye on Google Analytics, how many views I get and what key words are used to find my items in the shops. If I “stumble” one of my items I can get a sudden surge of views and my google analytics graph shows a huge spike for maybe an hour or so. Unfortunately, those views do not translate into sales. People who use Stumbleupon are not in a shopping mood, they are procrastinating and trying to find interesting websites to explore and bookmark.

As you can see, I have tried all of the social platforms in different ways to attract not only customers but also fellow artists and crafters. Other artists, quilters and crafters usually follow for inspiration and to socialise and form a community of likeminded people, which is the most interesting aspect of social media. Using it properly can result in a network of likeminded people who can help and inspire you.

What has surprised me the most in my time on Etsy is the importance of the Etsy community itself. It tends to be forgotten that Etsy sellers are also buyers and that the community feeds itself. My ‘circles’, a networking tool on Etsy, have grown dramatically through making treasuries (curated and themed lists of items) and developing a certain taste and style which other members of the community share. That way a seller can be seen even if their items are not and their shop is not featured. But making a treasury and featuring other sellers often means they return the favour and then my items get featured and seen by many others. As you can see, on Etsy and most online market places it is all about being seen. Not participating in the social aspect of the community can easily mean a shop disappears among thousands of other shops that sell similar items.

Etsy Circles are really a way of seeing what other Etsy members like and by joining their circle you start following their ‘likes’. People in my Circle do not necessarily see my shop or my items.

However, when I ‘heart’ something on Etsy everybody in my circle can see it. If I like a treasury I am featured in and I heart that treasury others in my circle might see it and like it too and get drawn into my shop. And if they heart the treasury or an item from my shop everybody in their circle can see that and might like it too. This can create a viral effect, which could, eventually, lead to sales.

In my experience a good way, maybe the best way, of drawing attention to your shop is making a treasury that is featured on the Front Page of Etsy, be it the US Front Page or the UK Front Page or any of the international Front pages being seen by hundreds or thousands of people, but this rarely results in sales.

Being featured IN a Front Page treasury gets the shop a lot more attention and often can result in a sale or two. (You can see a list of my treasuries that made it to the Etsy Front Page, UK and US.)

All Social Media are a great marketing tool, an opportunity to have your work seen, and used for different purposes with various outcomes. But if used for the sole purpose of selling your products your followers will soon disappear. Social media, (like the term says) used mainly to help socialise with potential customers or other crafters rather than used as a marketing tool might just lead to a sale or two. After all, one of the main appeals of handmade items is the thought that they are made by one person in their own home by their own hands, so we should not forget that that person is part of the package we’re selling.

Thanks for reading and happy crafting

... and please be sociable and say hello!

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And just one more piece of experience/advice:

My greatest mistake ...
... was to change my blog url (in order to streamline and use the blog for all my arts and crafts), but by doing that I have lost about 100 followers and have not been able to lure them over to the new blog.

Shame. So feel free to spread the word, the more the merrier!

Thanks for reading and lots of love from York
Nadine

The Finished Windows Quilt

2012-02-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

finally it's time to show you some more than just a sneak peek. My Windows Quilt is finished and I absolutely adore it. I used the Quilt-as-you-go-Method again, and even though I am not 100% happy with the sashing and the corners of the binding, it did work out well in the end.

I used a lot of different fabrics in shades of orange, pinks and reds on the top with various fabrics in greys, whites and beiges. On the back I used greens and blues and a splash of yellow. I ended up using 16 blocks and each one measures 14" with the final quilt measuring 56" x 56".

It took me a long time to decide how to quilt it and I ended up with sort of half circles in different directions on each block. I didn't want it to look too uniform and made sure the lines are always irregular and skewed on each block. I am very happy with the quilting and I think I will use that pattern a lot more in the future. Unfortunately, I can't do any free-hand quilting on my machine, it just doesn't let me. So I am stuck with straight or wavy lines, which is fine with me to be honest. I prefer the look anyway.

Close-ups:

What do you think? Do you like it? This is a very different kind of look for me. Maybe it's too modern, too random? I really like it, if only I had a nice big modern house where a quilt like this would look amazing.

Let me know what you think.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

PS: Have already started the next project which is very complicated and fiddly, but if it works out it will be great. So bear with me.

Sam's LIEBSTER BLOG

2012-02-14T01:30:00.004-08:00

Hey everybody,

I am a winner, yay. I won Sam's Liebster Blog Award.

I have won this award before, but it is always so rewarding to win something and to know I don't just talk to myself, when I send my ramblings and creations out into the ether.

So now it time to spread the love and award 5 of my favorite blogs with the award. (I was actually surprised to find how many of the blogs I love and follow have more than 200 followers. I must go and bribe some more people into following me too :)

- Lisa from Shiners View ...
is incredibly creative and has a real knack for taking amazing photos of her quilts (jealousy, go away!!). Her designs are devine and she has a great eye for color. Her blog is a great source for inspiration or just relaxation and some eye candy (quilted eye candy that is).

- Tarabu from Tarabu Arts
is actually a Facebook find and for once I am really grateful for Facebook because Tarabu's blog is a constant source for inspiration. She shares very practical advice and an immense amount of craftiness with her followers and has a great sense of humor.

- Dorrie from Simply Cotton
is amazing at sharing step by step tutorials and work in progress and her photos of her quilts are to die for. I need to ask her what camera she uses of maybe I need to move in with her and away form the British greyishness that screws with my photos.

- Rhiannon from My Handcrafted Home
If you like making things, all sorts of things, and if you love DIY ideas for your house you have to check out her blog. It is full of practical and creative advice and if you are a messy crafter like myself, you can get some great tips of organising your stash too.

- Terri from Quilternity's Place:
If you like quilts and fabrics you have to see her blog, it is a feast for the eyes and makes me drool over my keyboard and crave a big fabric shopping spree. And there is more than fabric, she also shares lots of crafty ideas and interesting finds with her followers.

So for those I have awarded, here are the rules:

Liebster Conventions:
* Thank your award presenter on your blog: THANK YOU SAM!!!
* Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award
* Copy and paste the award to your blog
* Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have fewer then 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized
* Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

Go and share the love. What is better to do on Valentine's Day?

Lots of Love,
Nadine xx

A little sneak peek

2012-02-10T02:38:00.001-08:00

Hello everybody,

I promised you a little sneak peek at my latest quilting adventure, so here it is. The photos were taken on my phone this morning in very bad lighting as you can see, I can only take proper pictures on the weekend when I am actually at home during daylight hours, during the week I leave the house in the dark and return when it is dark, so you'll have to wait for some good crisp images. Sorry. But if the sun is out this weekend and I can take pictures I will soon tell you a little more about this quilt. For now I'll just tell you it has been made using the Quilt as you go method again and it is reversible with the green/blue blocks on the back.

Lots of love,
Nadine

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ugly wrinkles in my balls

2012-02-07T00:40:00.001-08:00

Look at these beauties, aren't they gorgeous? I have never felted before but when I saw this tutorial for making felt balls I had to try them.

http://pinterest.com/pin/204773114276857618/

I tried some last night and was really struggling. I always ended up having ugly wrinkles in my balls (ahem, that sounds so wrong :) Any advice you could give me?

How can I avoid those wrinkles or deal with them once they occur? I would hate to waste some good merino wool.

Lots of Love,
Nadine xx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Valentines SALE in the Art Shop

2012-02-01T04:40:00.000-08:00

Only 2 more weeks to V-Day, so I guess it's time for a Valentines SALE in the Art shop. Everything is 10% off and you still get the B2G1F Print deal so go and check it out. The sale is on until the 14th.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

Lots of LOVE,

Nadine xx

New Prints in the Art Shop

2012-01-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I hope you're having a lovely weekend. Enjoying the sun? I have so much to do I don't even know where to start, I really want to paint, but also have lots of quilting to do and I need to take photos of paintings, originals, to then list them in the art shop too (after I have figured out how to ship the large ones abroad, seems to cost a fortune, let me know if ou have any advice on that).

In the meantime I finally went and listed some more prints in the art shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss.

I really love these, they all have a story. This painting called "The Red Robe" is inspired by Margaret Atwood's "A Handmaid"s Tale". I think for those who have read the book, that is quite obvious.

The original is 24" x 24" and was exhibited at the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow as part of a charity exhibition in aid of Breastcancer Awareness.

This one is actually a pastel painting in the original and the funny thing is, I was contacted by an A-Level student asking me about pornographic art. He wanted to interview me to ask where I get my inpiration for the nude paintings from. A bit dodgy, ha?

The following painting is called "Waiting for the Sun". The original is an acrylic painting which was great fun to paint. Acrylics create such nice textures when they dry quickly. I am planning to paint lot more in Acrylics and smaller affordable originals too which can easily be shipped.

I hope you like the new prints. Would love to know what you think.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Nadine xx

How to quilt?

2012-01-21T05:14:00.001-08:00

Happy Saturday everyone,

I think this is my first "Work in Progress" post for this year. I have been so busy with work and lots of other things that I haven't done much quilting lately.

But I have been working on these blocks for a QAYG quilt. The top will be in pinks and oranges and the back in greens, blues and yellows. All the blocks are 14". I have managed to finally put all the block sandwhiches together and am now stuck. I can't decide how to quilt them before then sewing the sashing on and making the rows and the full quilt.

I keep going back and forth on how to quilt them. I can't do free motion quilting on my machine so it will have to be some sort of straight organic lines or zig zag or boxy lines. Argh. I just don't know. Any suggestions?

Would love your advice one this. I am just too indecisive myself.
Have a lovely weekend.
Nadine xx

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"Reflections on Colour" Exhibition

2012-01-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

just to let you know the exhibition is now open to the public. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hang the larger quilts as they did not hang straight and we were not allowed to do anything to the walls. I had planned to use small velcro pieces in the bottom corners and attach the other side with white tack to the walls to make sure the quilts hang flat, but it turns out the white tack leaves dark patches on the wall, wo we couldn't use it. How does on hang a really large quilt without it getting wavy and swaying every time someone walks past? I normally use them as bedquilts or lapquilts, I never hang them up so maybe I am doing it all wrong?

I managed to hang 2 smaller quilts and 7 paintings so that's not bad.

I took some photos of the show, including pictures of Carol's (http://www.fibredance.com/) and Sandra's (http://www.diverse-threads.co.uk/4825.html) artwork but they all turned out a bit blurry due to the bad lighting conditions and I just haven't got a chance to go back and take new pictures. Sorry.

Would be great if you could see the show, if you are in York you could easily take a quick trip to Grays Court. The food there is amazing. It is also a pretty posh hotel very close to the Minster.

So if you get a chance to see the show let me know what you thought of it.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

the quilts:

Some of my paintings, one of Sandra's and the large wallhanging is Carol's

Carol's and Sandra's Artwork:

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

I wish you all a happy and healthy and very creative new year.

I hope you survived the holidays without too much damage, I am still recovering from food and (a little bit of) booze (am not much of a drinker). I love Christmas but I also loathe the holidays and the stress involved and it makes me cringe every year to see the amount of money people spend of presents. This year especially it made me so mad to see how children received big expensive gifts and were not able to appreciate their value at all, they treated them without any respect, and especially without any respect for the time their parents had to work to afford to buy them such gifts. They were broken and dirty and thrown in the corner within a day or two. I can just shake my head in disapproval and think I would do things differently if I had children.

But as I don't have any I will have to let people spoil their kids into a life of material obsession and lack of respect for things and what it cost to produce and then buy them.

Sorry, rant over.

But on another note, I have just listed this original painting in the art shop. It's an acrylic painting on canvas paper sized 13" x 13". I am trying very hard to simplify and paint smaller and not necessarily on canvas anymore.

Close ups:

I hope you like it. It was a lot of fun to create and I am currently in a proper painting rush, especially with the upcoming exhibition at Grays Court.

And speaking of which, I better get back to work, I still have frames to fix and curtain poles to adjust for the quilts.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Nadine xx

Merry Christmas and a happy new Year!

2011-12-24T04:12:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone,
have a lovely holiday and enjoy a festive meal and lots of presents.
And a happy new year with lots of new creative pursuits and adventures.

Love, Nadine

"Reflections on Colour" Exhibition at Grays Court York

2011-12-21T00:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

I have some great news, I will have an exhibition with 2 friends and fellow textile artists at Grays Court in York from Saturday, 7 January to 2 February 2012. My very talented Graphic Designer boyfriend did the poster. I hope you can see that he managed to add proper watery colour reflections. How cool is that?

I am exhibiting both Quilts and Paintings, if I can figure out how to hang the quilts properly that is. We are not allowed to make new holes and they just redecorated so I am wondering how exactly it will work. I bought several thin curtain poles and clips to hang the quilts with, I was very reluctant to attach a sleeve for hanging as all of my quilts are reversible and I don't want to ruin the back. Let's see how it will turn out.

I am also exhibiting paintings and am actually painting new ones to go into the exhibition. I did a large oil painting yesterday, an abstract landscape colour study, because the title of our exhibition is "Reflections on Colour". See what we did there? I love that title, it can have so many meanings.

Grays Court is actually a great venue and has an excellent restaurant especially popular for afternoon tea. We have the whole house and will exhibit in a special exhibition room but also in the hallways and the staircase I think. So if you're in York come and pop in, it is a bit hidden and very atmospheric, just as everything else in York. Very close to the Minster actually.

So I'll keep you posted on that.

Very exciting. Oh, but so much to do.

Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone.

Love,
Nadine xxx

We have 3 winners!

2011-12-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody and thanks for entering the Giveaway,

it's great to meet you all and I hope to get to know you better over time. When I have some time I will check and see if you have blogs and follow back and I am looking forward to snoop around your crafts too :)

The giveaway is now closed and I have drawn 3 winners by random number generator and the numbers of the winning comments are:

which means Gill won the Merry Matryoshka (I have decided who gets which prize by the order they were listed in the original post)

which means Leah Baird from The Sleepy Dreamer won the Art Print

which means Pippa Parsons won the Paper Garland.

Congratulations to the winners!

Please send me an email with your address (nadinesaupe@googlemail.com) and I will send your prizes off either tomorrow or Monday at the latest and hopefully you should get them soon, maybe even before Christmas. Fingers crossed.

It's back to the sewing machine for me later today. I am currently working on a new quilt and I will share some work in progress pics with you very soon. I might actually need your help with some design questions, as usual I cannot make up my mind.

Best wishes from York and have a lovely day.
Nadine xxx

Blog Hop Party and GIVEAWAY

2011-12-07T03:07:00.000-08:00

*** The Giveaway is now CLOSED. Please do not comment anymore. The winners have been drawn and published. ***

Hurrah. what a great idea.

Welcome to the Blog Hop Party

and Sew, Mama, Sew's GIVEAWAY DAY.

I am combining the two big Giveaways and can't wait to meet all of you lovely people and discover new blogs. So please come and say hi. I am hoping you like my blog and will stay a while.

The Giveaway will last 10 December - 17 December. The winners will be drawn by random number generator so make sure you use all 3 of your chances to win.

I am giving away 3 items each one celebrating one of my Etsy shops and arty crafty pursuits.

1st Prize is a Merry Matryoshka from my Quilt Shop

2nd Prize is an Art Print from my Art Shop

3rd Prize is a Christmas Designer Paper Garland from my Papercrafts Shop

You have 3 chances to win and for every chance you have to leave a comment on this blog post:

1. First Comment:
Have a quick browse and tell me what you like best in my Etsy shops.

2. Second Comment (extra chance)
Tell me you are a follower of this blog (as you can see this blog is very new and is not getting much love at the moment.)

3. Third Comment (extra chance)
Tell me you are a Facebook fan (or have just "liked" my Facebook page).

If you leave all 3 comments you increase your chances of winning one of the 3 prizes.

So good luck everyone and now wheres the bubbly? Let's party.

Lots of Love,
Nadine

Happy St Andrews Day!

2011-11-30T02:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

and happy St Andrews day.

Let's celebrate all things Scottish and the lovely town of St Andrews today.

Here is a painting I painted a few years ago when I lived in St Andrews.

You can find a print of this painting here:

This Creative Bliss Shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/86015397/art-print-st-andrews-east-sands-print-of?ref=tre-1306482100-1

I have to admit, I miss Scotland, it is a beautiful country and definitely worth a visit.

And to reminisce a bit I also created an Etsy treasury with some items that celebrate Scotland.

not only from Scottish and UK shops but also American sellers (it won't get on the Front Page if it only contains items from British shops).

I hope you like it.

Happy St Andrews Day, go have some Haggis and a good Scotch Whiskey if you can.

Nadine xx

SALE on until Monday evening

2011-11-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

just to let you know the Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale is still on until Monday night (actually Tuesday morning here in the UK). So please have a look at

the Quilt Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine

and in the Art Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

where you can find these godies for example:

Prints of original paintings

magnets and wearable art

and drawings

and more.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-21T01:36:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody,

I am hosting a BLACK FRIDAY and CYBER MONDAY SALE with 10% Off EVERYTHING (21 - 28 Nov)

in the Quilt Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine

and the Art Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

Come and have a look.

And here are the new Plushies who are all waiting patiently for a new home:

I hope you like them.

Lots of Love,
Nadine xx

Another Front Page. yay.

2011-11-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

And another Treasury of mine made it to the Front Page, this time the UK Front Page all day today.

I absolutely adore this one. One of my favorites.

I hope you like it too.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

We have 3 Winners!

2011-11-20T12:58:00.001-08:00

Hello all,

I have now drawn the winners for the giveaway and the following people have won in this order. I think it would make most sense if the winners receive the items in the order they were posted in the blog.

which means Gill has won the "Intestines" print.

Dawn has won the "Up Up and Away Print"

and Kathy has won the mini-print of "St Andrews, East Sands"

Could you all please send me your addresses so I can post your prizes as soon as possible.

Congratulations to all the winners.

And to celebrate some more I'll be hosting a Black Friday Sale in the Quilt Shop all week starting tomorrow. So please come back and check out the new plushies I have added today. I'll show them to you in another blog post soon.

Please also follow this link to the new blog url and bookmark it and start following that one, I will from now on post on the new blog site.

http://thiscreativebliss.blogspot.com/

Lots of love and happy crafting.

Nadine xx

My Treasury on the US Front Page. yay.

2011-11-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hurrah, I made it to the American Front Page and only 2 days after opening the art shop.

This was only my third treasury in the art shop and I am so chuffed. I had lots of views and hearts because of it too.

I made another geeky treasury just to celebrate.

I hope you like them.

Lots of love,

Nadine

New Art Shop and a GIVEAWAY

2011-11-15T05:19:00.001-08:00

Hurrah, I finally made it and started listing items in the new

ART Shop "This Creative Bliss":

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

So far I only have listed some prints (A4ish sized and small A6 sized), magnets, mini paintings, doodles and some art jewelry. I haven't listed lots of prints yet and also have to figure out how to ship original paintings before I can list them.

But it's definitely a start.

So to celebrate I am hosting a GIVEAWAY ending next Sunday, 20 November, and we'll have

3 winners this time. yay.

You can win a print of "Intestines"

a print of "Up up and away"

and a mini- print of "St Andrews, East Sands" (ca. 4" x 3.5")

plus some additional small surprise prizes.

You have 3 chances to win and for every chance you have to comment on this blog post:

1. First Comment:
Tell me what you like best in the new ART SHOP.

2. Second Comment:
Tell me you are a follower of this blog (or have just become a follower.)

3. Third Comment:
Tell me you are a Facebook fan (or have just "liked" my Facebook page).

Let me know what you think of the shop and good luck everyone.
Please spread the word, join my circle on Etsy and be sociable.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

New Advent Calendar

2011-11-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I have really been struggling with my advent calendars. There just isn't enough time in the day to finish them and list them early enough so people can buy and receive them by December 1st.

I have finished one more advent calendar but will have to give up on the other 3 that I have been working on for a few months now. I will just have to finish them early next year in time for the holiday season. I also regret not having had any time to make other seasonal items in both the quilt shop and the crafts shop such as Christmas decorations, tree decor, paper garlands, cards, placemats etc. but next year I'll just have to start earlier with that.

So here is the advent calendar, reversible again with a funky wonky design in Kona cotton solids on the back.

What do you think? Do you like it? And what sorts of Christmas items in fabric, felt or paper would you want to see?

Lots of love,
Nadine

A Peek at the Craft Shop

2011-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hello all you lovely craftmonkeys,

I am sorry to disppoint but I have no finished new quilting projects to present, I am still working on 4 advent calendars but have given up on the idea I might finish them in time for 1 December. I am also working on a custom order quilt which has to take priority of course.

But for today I thought I might show you what I am selling in the paper crafts shop. I don't think I have blogged about it at all since opening.

So here you go, lots of papercrafty things:

Mini card sets

Butterfly stickers

Handmade cards of course

Paper Garlands

And the die cuts

And then some more.

I have to say it has become quite meditative to sit on the couch and punch for hours. I absolutely love it.

I hope you like these.
More updates on all my crafty pursuits are on the way.

Lots of love,
Nadine

Someone's gonna do a lot of eating ..

2011-11-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

I just finished a large custom order for 12 placemats. The hand binding alone took me almost 2 hours each, who'd have thought making placemats could take that long. I hope you like them.

Someone will do lots of entertaining, or possibly they have a very large family. I like the thought of a lot of people sitting around a table and using my placemats.

The backs (2 of each colour scheme)

I hope you like them.

Love, Nadine

Blushing twice

2011-10-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hello all you lovely blog readers,

I just realised I haven't actually shown you the latest Etsy additions. I have listed 2 quilts, both made with the gorgeous designer fabrics from the Blush collection by Basic Grey for Moda. I loved their papers and when I saw they released these as fabric I hunted it down, literally.

I made 2 quilts with it so far.

The Blush in Monaco Quilt

(with organic Monaluna fabrics from the Monaco line and lots of Kona solids on the back)

and the Blushing Poppies Quilt

(with Laura Gunn's Poppies on the back), which is actually a reversible quilt as you go project.

Both of these quilts were made entirely by hand and I love them to bits.

I hope you like them too.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

Last chance

2011-09-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

Last chance for the 20% off Quilt Sale, it ends today. So better get them while they're cheap.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine

Maybe this one:

or this one:

On the ETSY UK Front Page again

2011-09-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

My Treasury The Mermaid's Tears is on the Etsy UK Front Page today, all day. Hurrah.

http://www.etsy.com

If it takes you straight to the US Etsy you can change the country at the bottom of the page on the left hand side. and you can easily change it back to your country or any other country if you like. xx

Doodle stickers

2011-09-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

thanks to all of you who voted for my Treasury Lucifer's Thumbprint on Etsy. Unfortunately, I didn't win, but maybe next time.

I want to show you a quick sneak peek at something I have been working on lately. I am planning on opening an Etsy shop for paintings, prints and drawings (and stickers, accessories etc. made form those) and have done a lot of doodling lately.

This is an A4 sheet of stickers made from an original drawing which is ca. 14" x 14" in size. I have been playing with the actual stickers and made other artwork from them which is really exciting. I hope you like them.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

Finalist Treasury - please vote for me!

2011-09-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I made it to the final, so please go to the STATTEAM blog and vote for me. The poll is in the top left hand corner. The poll is only open today.

Thanks and have a wonderful Sunday.

Love, Nadine

Katy's Wisdom

2011-09-23T01:23:00.000-07:00

Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey posted a great blog entry on how recipients of quilts just do not appreciate the crafter's time and skill not to speak of the cost of the material that went into a quilt.

And right she is.

We live in a time when you get everything cheap, mass produced in China and we have lost the understanding of handmade value. Most people just don't "get" handmade. Sad but true.

I have given hand sewn doublesided quilts as gifts many times, never to see them again. They now live hidden in some closet and I spent up to £100 pounds in material and several months of my time handsewing the quilt. Just makes me sad.

and angry.

http://imagingermonkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/interesting-reading.html

EDIT:

Katy's post was a reaction to a post by the girls at Ink & Spindle about THE FORMULA on how to price handmade work. You can find that post here: http://inkandspindle.blogspot.com/2011/09/formula-how-to-price-your-wares.html

If I did the maths for let's say a large double sided hand sewn quilt like this one or this one 'the formula' would mean I'd have to ask loads for it.

Let's do the maths for the Sand and Sea Quilt:

Fabric: 2 Jelly Rolls, binding = £50
Wadding: = £30
electricity, sewing machine, thread, etc.: estimate =£20

= £100 materials

Time: well, I can't remember exactly but probably about:
2 hours cutting
2 hours design
15 hours hand piecing
2 hours basting
5 hours hand quilting
4 hours hand binding.

= ca. 30 hours at let's say £10 hour = £300

Cost (time + materials) = £400
Wholesale price (Cost x 2) = £800
Retail price (Wholesale x 2) = £1600

So according to the Formula I should ask £1600 for this doublesided hand sewn quilt. Sound right to you?

Is anyone willing to pay that? NO. Is anyone willing to pay half that? NO. Is anyone even paying LESS than a quarter of that (less than the COST as in time and materials)? Not yet. But maybe one day?

Baby Boy in Central Park

2011-09-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I have been really busy and am still behind in blogging the newest creations. So here is another new quilt, a baby boy quilt, which I absolutely adore.

The back is so soft and fluffy made with super cuddly blue fleece and on the top I used some Central Park fabric which I had been dying to cut into.

I used a simple design, you know I like those best because they bring out the lovely colors and fabrics better, and I used some Kona Charcoal for the first time ever and I love it. It creates an amazing contrast to the strong bright colors in the Central Park. And as per usual I quilted it in straight lines, outlines actually, I still can't do a meandering stitch on my machine and really need to get that sorted.

It is 42" x 42", so should be perfect as a baby quilt, right?

What do you think? Do you like it?

I listed it on Etsy but it was hard, I tell you. I would definitely keep this quilt if I had a baby.

Lots of love from York,
Nadine xx

Reversible Advent Calendar

2011-09-11T03:09:00.000-07:00

What do you do when Christmas is over? Exile your advent calendar to the back of the wardrobe to only get it back out one year later?

Well, not this one. When Christmas has come and gone you just turn it around and use the back as a decorative wallhanging. The hanging sleeve has been attached to the top rather than the back so both sides of the quilt can be displayed.

It's my first finished advent calendar and may I just say IT TOOK ME FOREVER, I can make a quilt faster than that, but the numbers and the pockets took forever to sew. I will make more advent calendars but need to figure ot how to make them faster or they won't be ready in time for xmas. I also just bought some more Christmas fabrics for children, so I better get back to it.

What do you think of this one? Do you like it? The blocks are a little wonky, especially on the lefthand side, and I made that clear in the Etsy listing too. Do you think that is ok?

Lots of love,
Nadine

On the Etsy Uk Front Page. yay!

2011-09-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

When waking up this morning I could not believe my luck, one of my treasuries made it to the Etsy Front Page, the UK version, which is great because that treasury is on ALL DAY, not like in the US where there is a new treasury on every hour.

I am so chuffed.

Hope you're having a great weekend.
Love, Nadine xx

Odd Owl O for baby Olivia's mum

2011-09-08T03:11:00.000-07:00

I went on a sewing marathon last night and completed Odd Owl O within one evening. That's a record. She was ordered by a customer who wants to give the Owl to her friend who lost her baby Olivia. That must be one of the most horrible things to happen to a person and my heart goes out to her.

It happened to a friend of mine too, her baby Betty died only a few weeks after birth, and it was the most devastating thing I have seen in my life.

All my love goes out to the mums who have lost a little one. I cannot even imagine the pain you have experienced.

Love, Nadine xx

HELP - I must be sick

2011-09-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I just realized today that I haven't bought any fabrics lately and only picked up some nice ones at the Festival of Quilts, but for once I am not actually craving any new fabrics.

Normally there is always some fabric that I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT, something that I just have to wait a little and save up for, but right now I want nothing. Is there something wrong with me? I must be ill (apart from the nasty cold I have at the moment).

I think I need some more Christmas fabrics to make more Christmas goodies for the shop, but I don't necessarily want any new fabrics.

So have you got any suggestions for me? Any new fabric lines that you totally adore and that I need to check out? Feel free to post links.

This is a lovely picture of a fabric bundle that I have added to my 'Eye Candy' Board on Pinterest.

This is a very strange feeling for me.

So please help me with some suggestions.

Love, Nadine xx

Birthday Celebration and a 35% SALE

2011-08-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Yep, I am getting old next week and you did see that right, I am celebrating with a 35% SALE in both shops, from today until the 31st of August, because let's face it, at some point I need to accept that I am now closer to 40 than 30 and I could use some of that lovely cake to ease the pain.

Being 35 can't be that much worse than 34, or can it?

Argh, where is that cake !!!

But I am sticking to it, there is a 35% SALE in both shops, because one percent for each year of my life doesn't seem all that much now, does it?

The discount will be deducted automatically at the checkout so go check it out, see what I did there, my brain still works even at almost 35. :)

You can shop for papercrafts here:

Paper Scissors Butterfly Kissers

and you find the quilts and plush toys and lots of other stuff here:

Quilted Bliss by Nadine

Now on to the othe rimportant bit, pressies, I wouldn't mind such a nice cake if you got one lying around. And now that I am getting old it's too late to watch ahem, *cough* , the figure anyway, right? Might as well tuck in.

Lots of love,

Nadine xx

PS: You can find that lovely cake here.

Creatures waiting for a new home

2011-08-24T04:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I have finally listed the last few creatures that have moved in with us recently and are patiently waiting for a new home.

If you click on the image it will take you straight to the Etsy shop.

I am pleased to introduce to you

Peculiar Penguin V

a lovely penguin plush toy without ribbons for a change for the more mature babies or toddlers.

Merry Matryoshka O

a Russion Doll plush toy again without the ribbons.

and Mad Monster T

and last but not least

Mad Monster I

plush toys for babies with lots of ribbons and 2 horns/ears to grab and hold.

I hope you like them. I am planning to experiment a bit more with monsters and different odd looking plush toys but as always the day is just not long enough to do everything I want to do.

Lots of Love,

Nadine xx

Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-08-23T03:45:00.000-07:00

... was absolutely amazing. After a bit of an odyssey to get there and a delay that made me lose 2 precious hours of quilt viewing and fabric shopping I made it to the NEC and it was all worth it. Amazing quilts and lovely people (so sorry I didn't actually take pictures of Katy and Mandy and all the other people I met, only took photos of the quilts :)

And here are my favorites:

The FoQ was very inspiring. i can't wait to make some more quilts. The day is just not long enough. Did you go to the FoQ? What did you think of it? What were your favorites?

Lots of love,

Nadine xx

We have a winner!

2011-08-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

I hope you had a great weekend. Ours was very busy and a bit stressful. We rented a car to visit my other half's family and attended a wedding. But as it was only the second time I drove a British car (as in steering wheel on the wrong side) and the rental place ignored our booking request for 'NO UPGRADE' which means we ended up with a BIIIIG car and I was really stressed and I was so nervous I would drive it into a tree or run over a cyclist (the roads around here are so tight that it can easily happen when you're not used to the dimensions of the car :).

Well, none of that happened. It was fine, my instincts wanted me to open the door a few times when I felt I needed to change gears and I hit the curb just once, but that was as bad as it got. Pheewww. So yes, we survived, and so did all the cyclists and the car, undamaged.

Which means I am able to draw a winner for the giveaway. Hurrah.

And here it is. Comment number 8 won, which means Kraftskorner !

Could you please send me your address so I can post your card as soon as possible.

Best wishes and drive safe

Nadine xx

GIVEAWAY open until Monday 08/08

2011-08-03T01:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all my craftmonkeys,

just to let you know the GIVEAWAY will be open until Monday the 8th and I will draw a winner on Monday evening.

So please go here

http://quiltedbliss.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-papercrafts-shop-and-giveaway.html

and leave me some comments to enter.

Good luck.

Love, Nadine

Playdate Baby Quilt - First Low End Quilt for Etsy

2011-07-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

I need your input today. I have just finished the first baby quilt which is not reversible (first time since I started quilting that I have finished a single sided quilt).

This quilt has a fleece backing in hot pink, which is lovely soft perfect for a baby.

The listing on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/78850987/playdate-baby-quilt-with-fleece-backing

This is also the first low end quilt for Etsy. It took me a little less time to make, only about 10 days, than the other quilts and as I haven't actually sold a quilt yet I am trying to produce something cheap that I can sell for less than the other quilts.

So my question is

- Did you ever buy a quilt?
- Or do you own a quilt that you didn't make yourself?
- Do you own a quilt that somebody paid money for?
- What kind of quilt and how much did you/they pay for it?

If you don't want to tell online that's fine of course I am just trying to see what other people actually sell quilts for and whether mine are just too expensive (or maybe they're just not good enough to sell.)

It is hard to see on Etsy who actually sells a lot of quilts and what people want and what they are willing to pay for it. Unless I watch other shops really closely to notice when something gets listed and when it sells I just can't see that kind of thing. And often people sell quilts to friends and family and it isn't really any indication of what the market demands.

I would really appreciate your input.

Lots of love,
Nadine xx

PS: Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY from the papercrafts shop. The winner will be drawn on Wednesday.

close up:

New Papercrafts shop and a GIVEAWAY

2011-07-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hello all you lovely people,

I have been busy and want to celebrate the opening of my second Etsy shop with you.

I just opened my papercrafts shop called

Paper Scissors Butterfly Kissers

where I show handmade cards, card sets, stickers, butterflies, paper garlands, etc. etc. and I am hosting a GIVEAWAY to find out what style of cards is most popular. In a way this is a market research exercise for me to find out what sorts of things I should continue making and what I should not bother with so your input is really important to me.

You can win a card of your choice and the winner will be selected at random on Wednesday, 3 July.

You get 3 chances to win, one chance per comment on the blog:

1. Go to the papercrafts shop here have a browse and then come back here to the blog and leave a comment telling me which card you like best.

2. Become a blog follower and leave another comment telling me you are a blog follower.

3. Become a Facebook Fan here and leave me another comment here on the blog telling me you have 'Liked' my Facebook page.

So you get one chance per comment 1 -3 you leave here on this blog post.

I hope you like the shop. I am working on so many things at the moment, quilts, plush toys, advent calendars and papercrafts, so please keep an eye on the blog and the Facebook page because I will keep you posted and might even need your advice and input once in a while.

Let me know what you think.

Lots of love and happy crafting,

Nadine xx

some examples of cards and close ups:

Coming soon...

2011-07-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

... as this summer is completely non-existent it's time to prepare for the colder weather. And who could be better prepared for that than this little fella, Peculiar Penguin V.

A little sneak peek at things to come. So wrap up warm.

Love, Nadine

PS: I will soon post about my new papercrafts shop on Etsy and host another giveaway to celebrate. So watch this space.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sweetwater Bridges & Bijoux Garden Quilt

2011-07-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

me again. Maybe you remember my Amy's Bridges and Fassett Bridges Quilt? Well, I liked that design so much I made another quilt with a similar pattern but a different design on the back. Meet the Sweetwater Bridges & Bijoux Garden Quilt. Very simple design, but I love it.

Fabric: Moda Sunkissed by Sweetwater (top), Heather Bailey Bijoux and some Amy Butler (back)

I quilted in (almost) straight lines, and man, that took me forever, and I did it on the machine. Took me almost as long as it took me to do the other one by hand. But I love the texture, it gives the quilt a very nice feel and drape. Unfortunately, I cannot do any free hand quilting on my machine, no meandering quilting pattern for me :( so I am stuck with straight lines and outline quilting, but I do like the effect and the look it gives the quilt. Very modern.

Close ups of the quilting:

I hope you like it. I am trying to decide whether to sell it on Etsy or not. I always find it hard to part with my quilts, not that it would definitely sell, I haven't sold a quilt yet, but it could, so I need to think about that carefully. Hm, decisions.

Love, Nadine xx

ARTWORK on the Brighter Smudges Blog

2011-07-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

check out my art blog if you're interested, http://nadinesaupearts.wordpress.com/ I have just posted over there but didn't want to leave you out of the loop of course.

The day is just not long enough, there is so much to do. Now back to work.

Love, Nadine xx

Family photo - a sneak peek

2011-07-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

What a horrible weekend, but perfect for some crafting. I managed to get the latest additions to the family together for a photoshoot, and look, they are behaving for a change.

And please note: they are sitting on the last quilt I finished this week. I will post about it soon.

Oh no, they're causing havoc again, I better go.

Love, N xx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Santa's coming - Christmas in July SALE!

2011-07-14T03:42:00.000-07:00

Ho ho ho, hello all my craftmonkeys,

Santa's coming ... soon ... and that is reason enough to celebrate Christmas in July with a little SALE in the shop.

Everything is 10% off in my Etsy shop, yes that includes the quilts and the Odd Owls and the cards too. The 10% will be taken off when you check out using the code

CHRISTMASINJULY2011

That also means that if you get a quilt and you want it personalized you get 10% off the whole thing (except shipping and vat).

So go stock up on Christmas pressies.

... but don't overdo it on the Lebkuchen, in this sort of weather your tummy won't thank you for it.

Lots of love,

Nadine

PS: The SALE will close on the 24th of July.

One for every occasion

2011-07-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all you lovely bloggers and blog readers,

I think I've mentioned it before but I finally went through all my handmade cards (yes, I do that too. I do it all. the only crafty hobby I don't do is pottery. just a matter of time methinks) anyway, I went through my cards and listed a bunch of them on Etsy. I will list a whole lot more because I really need to get back to papercrafting, I have a huge stash and should really use more of it.

So here is the first lot of my cards. You can find lots more images and close ups on the Etsy pages.

Please let me know what you think of them. I really hope I'll sell some, I can't possibly ever use all of my cards, most people have only one birthday per year and Christmas only happens once in 12 months too, unfortunately.

More cards are on the way. So which ones do you like best? I do hope you like them. :)

Love, Nadine xx

Lovely Blog Award

2011-07-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

the lovely Sunni and Melissa at 'Love Affair with my Brother' gave me the Lovely Blog Award, thanks ladies, I am very honoured. And I will now hand it over to 15 other bloggers.

But I also have to share 7 secrets. I am not good at sharing secrets, so sorry for this half ar*ed attempt, but here goes:

1. I used to be a bit of a (wannabe?) goth/punk in the 80s/90s. still am a bit, actually. I really want bright red hair (like I used to have it in my punky times. it is black now). bright red like in this trailer for Brave, the new Disney Pixar movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0VgPy6Uk

2. I am a real geek. I LOVE Science Fiction. I am totally into gadgets and computers. I listen to Science podcasts when I get the time. and I can have a good old rant about politics and pretty much anything.

3. BUT ... I hate Dr Who. can't stand it. despise it with all my heart. Sorry.

4. I am German, East German and grew up behind the Iron Curtain. (not really a secret, but maybe new to some of you.) I am really a bit of a socialist (not delusional enough for being a communist). yes, still. well, a bit of a cynic now too, even though that doesn't really make sense together. hah.

5. I hate ironing, I never NEVER iron clothes, but I do iron my quilts :)

6. I am originally an artist and paint/draw too (here are my painting websites: http://www.nadinesaupeart.tk/ and the currently slightly neglected art blog http://nadinesaupearts.wordpress.com/) and I am planning to sell paintings and prints on Etsy too, hopefully.

7. and last but not least: I have 3 tattoos.

There. maybe not really secrets but you definitely didn't know these thing sbaout me, so I hope that counts.

And here are the 15 brilliant blogs I want to hand the Lovely Blog Award over to.

Lucy and Norman (gorgeous quilts and now a cute baby too)
I'm a Ginger Monkey (katy always has a great Giveaway going)
How About Orange (great tutorials)
Simply Me (lovely website and great papercrafts)
The Quilting Edge (absolutely unique quilting style and great tutes too)
Paper. Scissors. Superheroes (amazing cardmaking)
Retro Mama (creativity explosion!)
Punksy (very cute)
Positively Splendid (so full of ideas)
Art and Sole (gorgeous scrapbooking)
Pez Güzel Seyler (just discovered this breathtaking art blog. just look at the amazing pics)
The Sketchy Easel (lovely art and other stuff too)
Frequent Frenzy (very skilled quilting)
Sew Justine, Sew (local quilter with an amazing range of craftiness)
Make do and Send (LOADS of different stuff, including quilting and art and tutes)

I hope all the award recipients will also blog about 7 secrets and hand the award over to 15 other bloggers. Let's mingle, you lovely people.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love, Nadine xx

Let's get drawing - New Coloured Pencil Roll

2011-07-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

I think I mentioned at some point that I am in creative overload, despite having been quite stressed out at work and feeling a bit under the weather too. But I have been making things non-stop and some are finished or about to be finished. Hurrah.

I wanted to make another coloured pencil roll with 20 coloured pencils so the one I have in the shop doesn't feel so lonely, and I have finally finished it. It looks great, very similar to the other pencil roll but obviously with different fabrics and a more colourful pink Amy Butler binding this time. You can find it on Etsy.

I think I want to make more of these but am not so sure about the coloured fabric strip on the outside. I was thinking I should just use a cute kids fabric instead. What do you think? Do you like it?

The outside:

Rolled up and fastened with buttons and elastic band

More coming soon, so stay tuned. Oh, and I have been given the Lovely Blog Award and will have to find some nice blogs to pass it on to, so watch this space. Your blog might just be one of them.

Love, Nadine xxx

We have a winner! or An Odd Owl finds a new Home

2011-07-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to all the new followers,

as promised I have drawn the winner of the Odd Owl Givewaway and the winner is commenter number 63, which is Tracy. Hurrah!

Tracy, could you please send me an email and tell me what letter you need and I'll get your Odd Owl ready for you asap. Could you also please email me your address so I can ship the Owl either tomorrow or Tuesday depending on how quickly I get the Owl ready.

Thanks for entering everyone and thanks for all the wonderful comments both on here and on Lily's Quilts. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them and am glad I am not alone in this. But that's what this blogging and facebooking is all about, connecting with other people and sharing our experiences, or having a little rant together.

On another note, I have been working frantically this weekend (I think I went through about 3 and a half bobbins) and I will soon have new things to show you. I am currently working on 5 projects and will soon have at least 2 of them finished. So watch this space.

And one last thing. I am thinking of listing my handmade cards on Etsy too. I have always made cards and have more than I could possibly use myself, and as much as I have a 'fabric habit' I also have a 'paper habit'. Seriously, sometimes I wonder how we fit all of this stash, cardmaking, scrapbooking, painting, drawing and quilting, in our tiny flat. Anyway, I am wondering whether I should list the cards in the Quilted Bliss shop or whether I should open a separate shop? I'd really like to keep things tidy and in one place but I read that some people have several shops and are more successful keeping things separate. What do you think? A separate shop or all-in-one?

That's it for today. The sewing machine is calling me.

Congrats again to Tracy and sorry to everybody else, but don't despair, I am sure there will be more giveaways in the future.

Have a lovely evening.

Nadine xx

Guest post on Lily's Quilts

2011-06-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

I finally wrote my guest post on Lily's Quilt. I had won a chance to share my ramblings on her blog when I entered her Fresh Sewing Day giveaway.

Go check out her blog, you won't regret it. Her quilts are amazing and she is happy to share her ideas for new quilt blocks with her followers. She also hosts regular Giveaways and Quilt Alongs. So make sure you don't miss out on those.

And of course please read my blog post "Nadine's Etsy 101" here: http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/2011/06/nadines-etsy-101-guest-blog-post.html

Lots of love,

Nadine xx

Giveaway - Win an Odd Owl!

2011-06-26T02:37:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! It's GIVEAWAY time.

You'll get a chance to win an Odd Owl with a letter of your choice. Just follow the instructions below for 3 chances to win. The Giveaway is open for a week and closes next Sunday, 3 July. The winner will be chosen by random number generator, so make sure you use all 3 of your chances to win.

And here is how it goes:

1. For your first chance to win go to the Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine have a browse and then come back here to the blog and leave a comment to this post telling me which of the Odd Owls you like best.

2. For your second chance become a blog follower and then leave a comment telling me you're a follower. (of course if you're already a follower just leave a comment telling me so.)

3. And for your third chance to win an Odd Owl go to the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Quilted-Bliss-by-Nadine/204707436234824)
and Like it (the button is a the top next to the page name). Then come back here and leave a comment telling me you're a 'fan' on Facebook.

Good luck everyone. And maybe very soon you'll give an Odd Owl a new home.

Now ...

Love, Nadine xx

Meet the Odd Owls A to E

2011-06-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

may I present to you the first 5 of my Odd Owl collection, personalized plush taggy toys for babies now available on Etsy. I absolutely adore them, all of them. Each one is unique and different. They are a bit creepy, a bit odd, but also cute and cuddly.

I used zigzag stitches everywhere to give the illusion of little feathers and to give them a sort of rugged look.

They are all stuffed with polyester filling and I have made sure they are safe for kids who PULL. I stitched all the seams three times and backstitched several times over the ribbons and I also used a zigzag stich on the seams to make sure the 3 layers are tight.

I have researched all the safety regulations for toys both for the UK and EU, but I also researched the CPSIA law for the US so I'll be able to sell to American buyers. It is classed as a low risk item because of the way it is made and the materials it contains, which means it is up to the maker to add the labels that contain all the information as stipulated by the law. Therefore, I have sewn a label into the bottom seam that complies with both legal regulations and that makes the toy trackable if a government agency ever picks it up. I hope that sorts all the legal requirements. I am having the toy tested by 2 very qualified babies, who can pull and grab all day long, so let's see whether the Odd Owls stand the test of time, the test of little baby hands rather.

Once I have finished the alphabet I am thinking of offering whole families of Odd Owls which will spell the baby's name. But there are only so many hours in a day and I will have to make those Odd Owls first.

I will also be moving on to Russian dolls, penguins, bunny rabbits and monsters. Can't wait.

I hope you like them.

Lots of love,

Nadine xxx

... and this was the first one I made:

Treasury Tuesday

2011-06-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

Here are the last few treasuries I've created and I absolutely love them. I would love to own every single on of these items. Absolutely gorgeous stuff. And Etsy is a treasure trove of quirky and unusual handmade arts and crafts. If you ever need to relax and wind down, browsing through Etsy treasuries is almost meditating.

So what do you think of these ones? Do you like them?

Jungle Fever

Will you play with me?

Thinking in boxes or be square

Lots of Love,

Nadine xx

BEACH CAMPING baby quilts for twins

2011-06-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

I hope you get to enjoy the sun on a glorious day such as this one. And while we're at it, speaking of sunshine ... and blue skies, birds, the sea, fishes, whales, submarines ... well, my latest 2 Etsy additions have the lot.

I made 2 very similar quilts using organic fabrics from Dan Stiles' Marine collection on the tops

and organic fabrics from Monaluna's Circa60 Beach Mod collection on the backs.

I was thinking I could offer these as twin quilts if somebody needs 2 similar quilts for 2 little boys for example and if they do buy BOTH quilts they can get free personalization on both quilts. what do you think? Great Idea or Meh?

The quilting was done in wavy lines:

Now, do they make you want to go swimming?

No? Camping maybe?

Well, I would love to go on one of those little submarines to explore. Wouldn't you?

Love, Nadine xx

Wedding Season needs a Wedding Quilt ...

2011-06-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

.. and if you are sick and tired of all the wedding talk or when it turns September and it's time to put the wedding stuff away, well then you can just turn it over and you have a completely different colourful Kaffe Fassett quilt.

quilting on the back:

All hand sewn (hand pieced, hand quilted and the binding was done by hand too), made before I got my sewing machine a few months ago.

This quilt is so different from most of my other quilts. I normally use strong colours and bright modern patterns. So going for just black and white was unusual, and I love it. I always say my colour scheme is black white and red (I love it especially when it comes to clothes), so about time I made a quilt in those colours. I made a black white and red quilt for the monkey this year too, but that is very different and much much darker than this one, as most of the fabrics are black or dark red.

On a regular double bed (UK). The quilt measures 68” x 68” (172cm x 172cm).

I went for contrast quilting this time and not just texture as usual. I wanted the quilting to stand out and ended up using white thread on the black/dark grey fabrics and black thread on the white and lighter patches.

It was an obvious choice to call this a Wedding Quilt, maybe it will even end up being given to someone as a wedding gift. That would be wonderful. At least I hope so and I just listed it on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/75993197/wedding-quilt-hand-sewn-reversible-2in1.

What do you think? Do you like it? Or do you prefer the rainbow colours of my other quilts?

Love, Nadine

Another taggie baby toy

2011-06-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have just finished another little taggie toy and absolutely love it. I really enjoy making these too.

What do you think? Would it sell?

Let me know what you think.

Love, Nadine

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Creepy Tim-Burtonesque Taggie Doll. Yay or nay?

2011-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I need your help with something today. I experimented a bit and made something new and really don't know what to think of it. All that talk about taggies and baby blankets and what sells on etsy and what doesn't made me think I need to come up with something different, something that I can make quicker and more reasonably priced, as quilts are obviously not the way to go.

So I made this.

Too creepy? Too Burtonesque? Or do you like it? Are you a mum or gran and do you think a baby would like it?

It's a plush taggie toy (something like an owl maybe? I think I could make all sorts of creepy animal thingies or Russian dolls maybe). It's about 12" tall with a monogram stitched to the belly.

I thought a baby might like the tactile nature of all the applique stitching and the taggies and having something personalized with monograms always seems to be popular on Etsy.

Maybe I could make one per letter of the alphabet?

I would love to hear/read what you think.
All comments welcome.

Love, Nadine

California Dreaming in French Baby Quilt

2011-06-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hurrah. I finished it! Another handsewn reversible quilt, this time it's a baby/toddler quilt and I quilted it A LOT which gives it a lovely texture and fluffiness (is that a word? if it isn't it should be :)

On the top I used fabric from the California Dreaming line and on the back I used Pat Bravo's Dreaming in French fabric in a differnt pattern.

It is 33" x 49" so it is not too big for a baby but also big enough for a toddler. Am actually quite pleased with the result. What do you think?

the back:

close up of the hand quilting:

I have just added it to the shop:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75496693/hand-sewn-reversible-2in1-baby-toddler

I have also added a PERSONALISATION feature in the shop. Am so proud of it. I will now offer personalisation when somebody buys a quilt from the shop (but it has to be purchased separately).

I tried three different stitch lengths, oh yes, forgot to mention it will be HAND APPLIQUE, and any name or word can be added to either side of the quilt.

What do you think? Which of the three versions do you like best? (A, M or Y)

Lots of love,

Nadine xx

Fresh Sewing Day

2011-06-02T01:10:00.000-07:00

What a great way to mingle, be sociable, meet other crafty people. I think I tend to just quilt away in my little flat and forget that there are so many lovely people living inside my laptop.

I have been working on lots of things last month. (yes, my plan to always finish one thing before I start the next is out the window)

I have finished this Quilt (reversible Quilt as you go)

.. and I opened my Etsy shop on May 15 http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine and decided to make more personalized baby quilts to sell in my shop. So I have started working on this handsewn reversible baby quilt:

... and I have been working on this quilt (again reversible, like all my quilts) and now I have just started quilting it.

... and I am also working on a really big reversible quilt with a maze in Far Far Away II fabrics on the top but I haven't got any photos of that one yet. So I guess you'll just have to come back later (;p)

SO WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON?

Lots of Love and thanks to Lynne for organizing this Fresh Sewing Day.

Nadine xxx

ETSY Treasuries I've been featured in May 2011

2011-06-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

After being on Etsy for 2 weeks now I have decided to try and keep track of the treasuries I've been featured in. I love looking at treasuries and exploring Etsy. 9 Million products are listed. That is unbelievable. So in order to keep track of the moments when other people thought my items are worth promoting I am keeping a folder of them on flickr and I will share them with you here and on my Facebook page.

Enjoy!

Between Sea, Sand and Sky by AdeloCreations

Made in England with Love by JaminaRose

Bluish-Grays and other dreamy colours by CUTandTEAR

Cute as a cupcake button by Catalina23

Vibrant quilts, a size for all, have a look, we have big and we have small!! by CandianQults

Evening Finds by RGsocks

Which of them is your favorite? I really can't decide, I like them all.

Lots of Love, Nadine xx

What babies want!

2011-05-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek at something I am currently working on. Being on Etsy a week (no sales yet :( ) and having a proper snoop around showed me that large handmade (and therefore expensive) items don't sell so well. So I am thinking I need to start making baby quilts, because that seems to be the the way to go when it comes to quilts.

So I am currently making this baby quilt, and it is a handmade reversible quilt again, hoping I will stand out a bit from the masses of quilters on Etsy.

So now the question is of course "What do babies want?" or maybe it should be "What do new mums want?".

Should it be lots of cute fabrics with animals and toys etc.?

What about colours, very colourful and bright or rather muted baby pinks and blues?

I am also thinking of offering personalisation, an extra feature where buyers can let me know what name or word they want me to add to the quilt and I can applique it on by hand in large letters. If I do that should the fabric used for the letters be the same fabric used in the quilt or fabrics that are slightly different so the letters stand out?

Should I also add buttons and ribbons and other decorative object or not?

Any advice? What would you want? Sorry, of course I know you are not a baby :), but maybe you are a new mum, or a mum to be or you have friends who have a baby. What would they want? Or maybe you know what works well with babies and toddlers? What would a toddler like?

I am also currently working on some other projects, I had quite an exciting idea and am trying to develop some patterns, but that will have to wait until one of the next posts.

Take care.
Love, Nadine

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We have a winner!

2011-05-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

thank you all so much for your lovely comments and all the well-wishes for the Etsy shop. I have had a lot of exposure over the last week and some items have almost 200 views which is really good for a new shop. I have received a few hearts, and the shop has been added to favorites by several etsyists, which shows that people like the items in my shop. I have also joined (or been added to) a few circles (... please add me if you are on Etsy, the more the merrier).

I am trying to learn more about Etsy by following the forum and I am trying to find out how to optimize the shop appearance. It's amazing what a lovely community it is and how everyone is trying to help a newbie like me. I will keep you all posted on developments and will of course also keep you updated on listed items and new projects. I am currently working on a few new quilts (some handmade, some on the machine) which will probably go on once I have finished them, so watch this space.

Now to our winner. Thank you all for entering the giveaway. It was great meeting you, or meeting you again.

And the winner is ...

no 4 = Betty.

Congratulations, Betty. I hope you will like the bag, my first successful handbag. Hurrah.
Could you please email me your address, so I'll get the bag in the post first thing tomorrow morning.

Keep an eye on the blog and the Facebook page because I intend to host giveaways on a regular basis. It's fun and I always meet new people.

Now, the fabric is calling.

Love, Nadine

ETSY shop opening and a Giveaway!

2011-05-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finally did it. I listed 17 items in my new Etsy shop today called Quilted Bliss by Nadine

http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuiltedBlissByNadine

and to celebrate the shop opening I am having giveaway here on the blog.

You can win this funky new tote

and the winner will be picked at random a week from now on Sunday 22 May. All you have to do is go to my Etsy shop and have a browse and then leave me a comment telling me what you like best.

I would also welcome any advice on selling quilts and other items on Etsy. I am new to this and could use your help.

Oh, and if you are new to my blog and become a follower you get an extra chance in the giveaway. Just leave me another comment and tell me you're now a follower.

I am so excited I think I need to sew something to calm me down.

Love, Nadine

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Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2011

2011-05-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am participating in Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival again. It was one of the first things I did after starting my blog last year and I thoroughly enjoyed the process, browsing through so many lovely blogs full of inspiration.

I am entering the quilt I just blogged about a few days ago, because it is quite significant to me. I have only started using a sewing machine in January this year, after receiving it as a Christmas present from my other half. Before that I only did everything by hand, piecing, quilting, binding. and I always make reversible 2 in 1 quilts often using the Quilt-as-you-go-Method. But on the sewing machine I just couldn't find out how to do that properly without something going wrong or looking a bit odd, especially on the back.

And this quilt, the Soul Blossoms & Stained Fassett Glass Quilt is the first quilt where I figured out how to do it properly. I was so chuffed when it finally worked out and I made a reversible QAYG quilt on the sewing machine and it looks really good. I think I will use this method a lot more in the future because making a quilt the 'normal' way just does not do my back any favours.

the sashing in Kona Ash

The back using Kaffe Fassett charms and Kona Snow for the sashing

I used red thread for the quilting on the back

I hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

Soul Blossoms & Stained Fassett Glass

2011-05-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

Finally, I took some pictures of this quilt, about time, it has been finished for a while now. I will have to take some outdoor pictures too to show the colours in a more realistic lighting. These pictures were taken indoors on the iPhone and are not very good unfortunately.

This is another Quilt-as-you-go-Quilt and reversible too of course, like all my quilts. It is a bed quilt but will have to measure it to tell you how big it is exactly.

I had a pile of Soul Blossoms strips that I had to cut off a layer cake to fit it into my fabric storage drawers and I decided to make something fairly simple with them.

I quilted the blocks in a spiral pattern and then attached them using thin strips of sashing. I think I will use the QAYG method for all my quilts from now on. I nearly broke my back again the other day basting the newest project I am working on and was cursing all the way through, very entertaining for my other half, mind you. He loves watching me crawl around the floor. I just wish I could teach him to baste so I won't have to do it anymore and throw my back out in the process.

the sashing in Kona Ash

Quilt sculpture over a chair (actually there is a massage chair underneath that, I can really recommend that for strained quilters backs)

The back using Kaffe Fassett charms and Kona Snow for the sashing

I used red thread for the quilting on the back

I hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

PS: I need some advice for my ETSY shop. How would you send a quilt like this in the post? Any idea how much the postage costs if it is sent abroad from the UK? With insurance and tracking or something like it? I really need to sort out the shipping before I can list anything on Etsy.

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Moo postcards have arrived

2011-05-05T02:32:00.000-07:00

Etsy- here I come. Well, almost. My Moo Postcards have now arrived and also the spoonflower labels and I am slowly getting closer to my Etsy shop opening. The to-do-list is shrinking, just a few more things to finish:

- sew new smaller labels to small quilts
- determine shipping prices for smaller items (there will be free UK shipping on quilts)
- add shop policies (the banner, avatar and shop announcements are already up)
- wrap everything nicely, add ribbons and pack parcels
- put labels on packages
- add business cards and postcards
- upload images and

... GET LISTING!

Not long now, hurrah.

Any advice you experienced Etsy-ists can give me would be appreciated.

Love, Nadine

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A quilt top in a day!

2011-05-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, I managed to try piecing a (fairly small, maybe single bed sized?) quilt in a day. Been meaning to test how long it would take me. It is a really simple design though, the Bridges design I used before. I couldn't do it that fast with a more detailed pattern.

But good to know it's doable, certainly a first for me.

How long does it take you to complete a quilt top?

Love, Nadine

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Almost finished!

2011-04-27T01:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for neglecting you so but I am not getting things done as fast as I want to. This latest quilt broke my back, literally. It took a long time and lots of blood sweat and tears, but I'm almost there. Just waiting for a new tack remover (old one died) and then I can take proper photos.

So here is a sneak peek, my first large quilt sewn on the machine.

Will post some proper pics in a few days.

Love, Nadine

And the back:

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Reversible Quilt as you go

2011-04-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have finally worked out a way to do a reversible quilt as you go quilt on the sewing machine without any ugly mishaps and problems. I am sure other quilters have done it before me and probably even better but here is how I did it.

All the blocks, both front and back, are the same size and ready to be assembled into strips. The quilting has been done in a sort of spiral pattern.

The sashing on the front is 1 1/4 " wide in Kona Ash and the sashing on the back (Kona Snow) needs to be bigger, so I cut it to 1 3/4 ".

I pinned the 3 layers together with the Ash on the front.

... and the Kona Snow on the back.

and here is the triple sandwhich pinned together.

now I sew along the edge with a proper seam allowance.

then I pin the other side of the Ash sashing on the top to the edge of the next block and sew along the edge again.

turning the two attached blocks over looks like this.

and this it what is looks like on the back.

now I fold over the Snow sashing on the back along the seam and iron it flat.

and then I fold it over again to cover the seam on the next block.

pin the 3 layers together to fix the sashing on the back in place.

and I sew closely to the edge to attach the back sashing firmly.

the I sew along the other edge to make sure it looks even.

et Voila. this is what the 2 QAYG blocks look when attached this way.

on the the top

and the back.

I hope this makes sense.

Love, Nadine

This took FOREVER

2011-04-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest finished project: 6 placemats made using the leftover strips from the Spring in the Garden quilt.

It's strange but finishing these took me forever, almost as long as a whole quilt. The handstitched binding is probably to blame and of course the quilting. But i love it, the textures are great and my straightish lines are pretty good considering I'm new to using a sewing machine.

I hope you like them.

Love, Nadine

The back:

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Spring in the Garden Quilt finished

2011-03-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

Woohooo, another quilt finished.

This is the third quilt I have finished in 2011 and I am starting to get used to working on a machine. It is faster, but not THAT MUCH faster than working by hand. Besides, these are all relatively small quilts.

But having the machine and working continuously has shown me very clearly once again how OCD I am. Not clinically or seriously in any way (I HOPE!), but bad enough that I feel the need to keep working on something until it is FINISHED.

I hate having things lying around that are unfinished, because I feel guilty, like I am cheating on them, if I even start dreaming of a new design and cutting into new fabrics. I will have to work on that. No more compulsive quilting. Oh, well, let's see how I do with that. I am certainly rubbish at giving up the compulsive snacking etc.

I really like this one. It's perfect as a baby quilt or a lap quilt and the colours really shine.

I am sorry for the poor quality pictures again. As soon as that spring sunshine arrives I'll take all my quilts outside and do a proper photo shoot so I can finally start listing them in my Etsy shop.

I hope you like this one.

Love, Nadine

Spring Quilt (the top):

Garden Quilt (the back)

PS: I just noticed in the pictures the one thing we should always try to avoid: CREASES! But no matter how I roll or fold my quilts I always end up with those nasty creases, (and this quilt has only been folded up for a handful of days). Any idea how to get rid of them?

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It's a HOOT!

2011-03-28T03:35:00.000-07:00

I have been experimenting a bit more with bag making and this latest one turned out quite well. I used It's a hoot and Crush fabrics and firm interlining.

I am still struggling a bit with the interlining actually.

I am still trying to find the right sort of interlining for bags like this one. The one I used just feels a bit too much like paper. I wanted to use something that is iron-on fusible and will stick to the fabric but it just doesn't feel right. If you have any suggestions I would really appreciate the advice.

Otherwise the bag is actually quite usable even despite some minor mistakes.

Let me know what you think.

Love, Nadine

I added two inner pockets, one open and one with a zipper

Another new creation

2011-03-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have developed quite a routine now for making these fabric storage boxes and I absolutely adore them. But I need to experiment with more techniques and shapes. Oh, so many things to make and so little time.

Love, Nadine

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We have a winner!

2011-03-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

... and it is commenter number 3 which means Bek from Dreamfactory. Congratulations, can't wait to see what you'll do with them.

Check out her blog it's absolutely gorgeous.

Bek, could you please send me an email with your address and I'll get the fabrics into the post tomorrow.

Have a lovely evening, everyone, and happy sewing.

Love, Nadine

Poppies in Japan Quilt

2011-03-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

I have just finished this quilt recently and think the beautiful Japanese fabrics I used on the back might be able to remind us of the country's gorgeous arts and crafts.

I am not very happy with the quilting and don't think it's good enough to put in my etsy shop which will hopefully open some time in April.

I used the quilt as you go method and had to learn the hard way that it works better when you use sashing on both sides and the quilting fits both designs on front and back. A lesson learned!

Hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

The back

Quilting detail on the back

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Giveaway !!!

2011-03-15T07:29:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for another blog giveaway.

I have been struggling to decide what to do with these gorgeous Patty Young Knits and decided that you lovely quilting folk might know better what can be done with knits.

For a chance to win all you need to do is become a follower and then leave a comment telling me you are a follower. Please also tell me what you would/will do with these lovely knit fabrics.

I think they are about 1.5 metres in total.

I will randomly select a winner on Sunday evening.

Love, Nadine

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My first bag

2011-03-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hurrah. I made a bag, a simple reversible one just to try and see how it turns out. Will have to try more and experiment a bit. Certainly should have made it bigger and the strap smaller. Will be better next time.

Love, Nadine

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Peek a Boo

2011-03-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

A little sneak peek at what I am working on ...

I'll keep you posted on my progress and I will also soon post about the other quilt I showed you a sneak peek of. Only need to tidy up, cut off some threads and sew on my label and then it's done.

Love, Nadine

A home for my cash

2011-03-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

I have completed my first wallet and am really proud of myself. It is by no means perfect and the interlining is a bit too stiff and cardboardlike for my taste but at least I know how to make one now and I can keep improving them. So watch this space.

Love, Nadine

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I need a bigger table!

2011-03-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on a reversible quilt-as-you-go project and have already learned a few things I will do better next time.

But I find it really hard working on the machine on a fairly small table. Even though the quilt I am working on is small (only about 45"x 45") it keeps falling off the table while I am sewing and it is really irritating. I guess a trip to IKEA is in order. Will have to get a rental car and that will be the first time I drive a British car. I was driving my old continental car for the last ten years in the UK Scary! I will warn you in advance so you can stay off the roads that day.

And can I ask you experienced sewists a few questions:

1. How often do you change the needle in the machine? I have been avoiding that.

2. Do you buy generic needles?

3. What sort of interlining should I buy if I want to make bags?

4. Do you handsew your binding or do you ever use the machine?

5. Do you use binding makers?

6. Do you use fusible web and if yes what kind?

I will post about the finished quilt soon and show you what I am not so happy with. Can only get better, right?

Love, Nadine

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.. and the (Liebster Blog) Award goes to

2011-02-28T03:33:00.000-08:00

... and the award goes to

Well, actually I haven't been able to watch the Academy Awards yet but will go check them out in a minute and I thought that it is the perfect time to hand over my Liebster Blog award to 3 deserving bloggers. I received mine from Jodi on Come Tarry with me and now have to chose 3 lovely blogs with less than 300 followers.

I had to think long and hard, because there are so many lovely blogs out there and it is not easy to pick three. So all of you lovely bloggers rest assured that I adore all of your blogs and would give each and every one of you a Liebster Award if I could

... and the Award for my first Liebster Blog goes to

April Two Eighty: I love this blog because Brooke has a great eye for design and blogs about many different things, from her personal life, her everyday adventures, her frequent hair color experiments, to interior design and of course quilting. And what AMAZING QUILTING. She has a great sense of color and her fabric stash is to die for. So please go and check out her blog.

... and the Award for my second Liebster Blog goes to

Sew Justine Sew!: Justine is a fellow UK blogger and we share a love of all things quilty and fabrics and all the things in between. I love the way Justine writes about her life and love of quilting and always enjoy reading her posts. So go check out her blog and share the love.

... and the Award for my third Liebster Blog goes to

The Quilting Edge: You'll be amazed by Marianne's very unique style and her eye for colour and design. Her quilts are one of a kind and she is great at sharing her wisdom with her followers too. Her skill at quilting-as-you-go is absolutely enviable. Go have a look and you'll never look back.

Ok, this was hard. But it's done. Congratulations to the winners.

So for those of you who have received a Liebster Award here are the rules:
1) If you are tagged, then create a post on your blog and add the Liebster blog pic.
2) Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3) Choose 3 of your favorite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have been tagged.

The aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, that means blogs with less than 300 Followers!

First machine quilt. Hurrah!

2011-02-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

I've finished my first machine made quilt a while ago and was waiting for some sunlight to take photos of it. well, think again, no sun in these parts for the next few months. Think I need to start taking them outside to take the pics. So for now the iphone and photoshop mobile will have to do.

The back in zodiac fabrics

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Slight Improvement

2011-02-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

My first little project using some fabric from my Seamstar hamper and it turned out quite well. I am still getting used to sewing on the machine and zippers are a bit tricky but I am getting there.

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Fabric Bliss

2011-02-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

I have splashed out on 2 fabric lines this month. (Yes Monkey, I kept my promise. but we only said this month, not THE NEXT MONTH :)

Tina Givens' new line Haven's Edge has already arrived and is absolutely gorgeous.

... and Patty Young's Sanctuary should arrive today or Monday, and as always Patty has managed to create something stunningly beautiful and contemporary.

But I need all your help. Here is my dilemma. I have these wonderful fabrics, whole collections sometimes and I absolutely adore them, but I keep looking at them, drooling over them, caressing them, but I never have the courage to use them. I keep working my way through old scraps or leftovers from previous quilts and never actually get to the big beautiful fabric lines.
I think it's because I am afraid I might ruin them and the quilt or gift I make will disappoint me and then I won't have any of the fabric left. And especially now while I am working on my Etsy shop, I don't want to ruin any of my fabric.

So what should I do? What should I use these fabrics for?

Maybe I should rearrange my fabrics and sort them by colour as many quilters seem to do these days? Maybe that way I would actually start using them more? At the moment I keep all the collections together, Tufted Tweets in one drawer, Flora and Fauna in another etc.

Let me know what you think, all your advice is greatly appreciated.

Love, Nadine

Liebster Award

2011-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:00

OOOH, Jodi from Come Tarry with me gave me a Liebster Award today. How exciting. Thank you Jodi. I feel honored.

I will do my homework properly and have a nice browse through all my favorite blogs to then hand on my award to 3 deserving bloggers.

Will post about my decision when I have made it. Soon. And no, I will not be bribed by offerings of fabrics or other goodies. (Even thoough that will be a hard test of my willpower :)

xx
Love, Nadine

Christmas again? Already. Yay.

2011-02-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

Look what beauty has just arrived. Oh I am sooooo lucky, this bumper pack truly feels like Christmas again.

This box is packed full with lovely goodies from seamstar.co.uk

including some of the amazing designer fabrics Courtney offers in the shop. It's absolutely beautiful.

It also contains a collection if Anna Maria Horner Voiles and ribbons, zippers and a cute tin of sewing pins.

Now I have a few more questions for the experienced sewist:

- When using ribbons how do you avoid the ends unraveling?

- What can I do with these adorable voiles? I shouldn't use them for quilting, should I? They're too precious for that.

Love, Nadine

Futile Attempts

2011-01-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is the problem. I am still trying to get used to my sewing machine. Man, they are complicated. And all the ironing I have to do now, never had to when sewing by hand. But I am getting there.

Tried making a purse yesterday and failed. Tried again today and it looks much better.

Here is the failed attempt (I'll show you the semi-successful one another day)

Now a few questions for you experienced sewists.

- Do I have to backstitch all the time? Or how do I make sure the seam doesn't come apart? I want to try some strip piecing and am worried the seams won't hold when I cut the blocks.

- Am thinking of getting a walking foot. Can I use it for piecing and normal sewing too or do I have to change feet all the time?

Will have more questions when they occur to me. Any advice is welcome.

Love, Nadine

Progress

2011-01-28T04:30:00.000-08:00

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What's next?

2011-01-24T04:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't really done much sewing lately, and it feels very strange. I have been playing with my new sewing machine and have reorganised the studio.

Now it's time to get some sewing done. I want to try a small baby quilt completely sewn on the machine to see how much faster it is. The fabrics I have chosen are some pinks and blues on one side and zodiac fabric with oranges, beiges and browns on the other. Let's see how it goes.

Love, Nadine

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Last Finished Project

2011-01-10T01:40:00.000-08:00

Hurrah. This is my last finished project of 2010 I started it in December and worked on it over Christmas and finished binding it on New Years Eve.

It's another Quilt-as-you-go-Quilt using Amy Butler on one side and Far Far Away on the other (I can honestly not decide which one is the quilt top).

And this might also be my last completely handmade project as I am now the proud owner of a brand spanking new sewing machine. Yay.

Hope you like this one.

Love, Nadine

close up:

The back (?):

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monkey's Christmas Present

2010-12-28T03:43:00.000-08:00

Finally, I can show you what I made for the Monkey. I wanted to make a quilt using fabrics with pin-ups on them but as I couldn't find any I liked I had to design my own and had them printed on spoonflower.com.

I used images of Bettie Page, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and more and had swatches printed to use as centre pieces in the quilt blocks. I also used fabrics that show doodles I did by hand and then played with on spoonflower. This is the result with a black white and red colourstory which has a certain significance to us.

The back is made in a similar design but using Kaffe Fassett fabrics in jewel colours instead.

(Very sorry for the bad quality pictures, I took them on the iPhone and they didn't turn out very well. The colours on the back are more purple, turquoise and black rather than red as in the photos. My digital camera isn't much better than the iPhone actually, especially in bad lighting conditions. Shame you can't see what we see.)

I hope you like it.

Love. Nadine

What I'm working on

2010-12-23T05:42:00.000-08:00

I have been really slow lately and haven't been able to do much quilting. But now my flight home have been cancelled and I am staying in England with Monkey's family over the holidays I might as well do something productive.

This is another reversible quilt-as-you-go project with Amy Butler on one side and Far Far Away 1 on the other. I am experimenting a bit again anc will try to see if I can do it without having to use sashing. Let's see if it works.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and a relaxing holiday, oh and not to forget: may you have lots of beautiful fabric in your stockings :)

Merry Christmas!

Love, Nadine

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Leonie's Pencil Roll

2010-12-02T05:39:00.000-08:00

Hurrah. Another Christmas pressie finished. This one if for Monkey's niece Leonie and I think she will really love it. She paints and draws all the time and to my shame I have to admit she's shown me off a few times. Her artwork is very creative and a lot less confined compared to mine. Maybe I am showing my age there.

I saw a similar pencil case on Oh Fransson! and thought I should try it. It is very straight forward and one doesn't need a pattern for it. I am very happy with the result and think it turned out quite nicely for a first try.

I am thinking of making more of these and maybe selling them in my etsy shop once I have one. I could also personalize them if customers wish it. Hopefully in the new year, well, that's the plan anyway.

I hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

Wordless Wednesday - sneak peek

2010-11-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Things to come. hurrah.

:) xxx

No such thing as too many stockings

2010-11-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

Another pair of Christmas stockings. This time I used red velvet for the lining. Feels great.

I have no idea who will get these but I am sure I can find a lucky recipient. Most people will receice handmade gifts this year and one can never have too many stockings.

More to come.

Love, Nadine

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blush in the Fields

2010-11-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

The latest quilt took me less than a month to make and I am really happy with it. It's another quilt-as-you-go-quilt and I am really getting into the flat neat quilted effect it creates.

The back

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2010

2010-10-29T00:59:00.000-07:00

Amy's Bridges

And the back: Fassett Bridges

I can't believe it's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival already, time flies.

This Quilt is one of my favorites at the moment, because it happened by accident rather than good planning, just like the best of my quilts usually happen by accident actually.

It is a handmade reversible quilt and the top is called Amy's Bridges and the back is called Fassett Bridges. I still don't own a machine and am still trying to decide whether I should buy one or not.

Making this quilt was an accident because I had some strips of fabric I had no room for and needed to use them up in a quick and simple quilt. I had bought a number of storage drawers for my fabric stash, reorganizing the sewing room completely but realized my fabric was too big for the drawers. It was so neatly folded I didn't want to refold it so I decided to cut strips off and use them instead.

YES, I do feel guilty for cutting into my beautiful fabric just because it didn't FIT. Maybe that shows my obsessive nature. But the result makes up for the little transgression.

same design on the back:

I cut into my whole stash of Amy Butler fabrics and had a really hard time deciding what to do with them. I even asked my blog followers for advice and ended up with a very simple design I call the 'Bridges' pattern. It looks a bit like a stacked coin design and may well have some other name for all I know.

I used strips of Kaffe Fassett fabrics that I also had to cut off in order to fit the fabrics into the storage drawers and used them on the back. (I think I have several quilt snow made with fabrics I had to cut when I reorganized the sewing room.) I used the same pattern on the front and back of the quilts in order to make sure the quilting doesn't look too out of place on the back. Didn't work as well as I hoped, oh well.

I decided to use straight line quilting, my favorite.

The problem with having two sided quilts and hand quilting them, hand sewing everything in fact, is that the quilting on the back never looks absolutely right.

Maybe I am too much of a perfectionist and the appeal of handmade items are those quirky imperfections (???)

Would love to hear your thoughts on that, quilters and friends.

I just don't know how to deal with that once I decide to sell some quilts. Will have to give it a proper think.

close ups:

close ups, quilting on the back

Hope you like it.

Love, Nadine

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This Creative Bliss

I'm in Craftseller Magazine (Nadine's Social Media 101)

The Finished Windows Quilt

Sam's LIEBSTER BLOG

A little sneak peek

Ugly wrinkles in my balls

Valentines SALE in the Art Shop

Only 2 more weeks to V-Day, so I guess it's time for a Valentines SALE in the Art shop. Everything is 10% off and you still get the B2G1F Print deal so go and check it out. The sale is on until the 14th.http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

New Prints in the Art Shop

How to quilt?

"Reflections on Colour" Exhibition

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a happy new Year!

"Reflections on Colour" Exhibition at Grays Court York

We have 3 winners!

Blog Hop Party and GIVEAWAY

Happy St Andrews Day!

SALE on until Monday evening

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

Another Front Page. yay.

We have 3 Winners!

My Treasury on the US Front Page. yay.

New Art Shop and a GIVEAWAY

New Advent Calendar

A Peek at the Craft Shop

Someone's gonna do a lot of eating ..

Blushing twice

Last chance

On the ETSY UK Front Page again

Doodle stickers

Finalist Treasury - please vote for me!

Katy's Wisdom

Baby Boy in Central Park

Reversible Advent Calendar

On the Etsy Uk Front Page. yay!

Odd Owl O for baby Olivia's mum

HELP - I must be sick

Birthday Celebration and a 35% SALE

Creatures waiting for a new home

Festival of Quilts 2011

We have a winner!

GIVEAWAY open until Monday 08/08

Playdate Baby Quilt - First Low End Quilt for Etsy

New Papercrafts shop and a GIVEAWAY

Coming soon...

Sweetwater Bridges & Bijoux Garden Quilt

ARTWORK on the Brighter Smudges Blog

Family photo - a sneak peek

Santa's coming - Christmas in July SALE!

One for every occasion

Lovely Blog Award

Let's get drawing - New Coloured Pencil Roll

We have a winner! or *An Odd Owl finds a new Home*

Guest post on Lily's Quilts

Giveaway - Win an Odd Owl!

Meet the Odd Owls A to E

Treasury Tuesday

BEACH CAMPING baby quilts for twins

Wedding Season needs a Wedding Quilt ...

Another taggie baby toy

Creepy Tim-Burtonesque Taggie Doll. Yay or nay?

California Dreaming in French Baby Quilt

Fresh Sewing Day

ETSY Treasuries I've been featured in May 2011

What babies want!

We have a winner!

ETSY shop opening and a Giveaway!

Bloggers Quilt Festival Spring 2011

Soul Blossoms & Stained Fassett Glass

Moo postcards have arrived

A quilt top in a day!

Almost finished!

Reversible Quilt as you go

This took FOREVER

Spring in the Garden Quilt finished

It's a HOOT!

Another new creation

We have a winner!

Poppies in Japan Quilt

Giveaway !!!

Only 2 more weeks to V-Day, so I guess it's time for a Valentines SALE in the Art shop. Everything is 10% off and you still get the B2G1F Print deal so go and check it out. The sale is on until the 14th.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThisCreativeBliss

We have a winner! or An Odd Owl finds a new Home