I've become a Dot Com

There has been alot going on at Tied with a Ribbon HQ over the past few weeks.  I have been doing alot of behind the scenes work.  Firstly in case you have not noticed my blog address has changed now to a .com.  You can now find me at

www.tiedwitharibbon.com

I will still be posting here at my blog I have just changed its name so I have less addresses as such.  It is re-directing all the traffic to come here no matter which address you use but you can update it in your favourites and readers.

I have also been working on new pattern cover photos for all of my Felt Kits.  I recently had a photo shoot with Sheena Cooke Photography.  It was a great day - I was so amazed at how creative she was and could just capture the right photo. I had a couple of models to put together some great Editorial style shots and I can't wait to share the end results with you.  Although I have been working on my own photography skills sometimes it is best to get an expert.  I will be revealing the photos over the next few weeks so stay tuned.  Here is one of the photos I took of my Delicious Doughnuts.

On the topic of Cameras - my Ephiphanie Camera Bag arrived and to say it was worth the wait is an understatement - I absolutely just love it.  It is a bit larger than I expected but I can put my purse and phone and use it as my Handbag when I want to take it out.

Here's a sneak peak at a Christmas Stitcherie I have been working on.  While I might be alone on this I am a firm believer that it is never too early for Christmas so I have started on this new design which will be available soon. 

 

I have been using Cosmo Threads to stitch the design and if you have not heard of them before they are well worth tracking down.  I was introduced to them a while ago and love the Egyptian Cotton they are made from - they are beautiful to work with and have such a gorgeous lustre about them that make the little extra you pay for these well worth it.

Although none of the stores I rang locally stock them there are several places online you can buy these from.  I got mine from Cookies and Cream Craft.  Sandy has been so helpful with getting the Cosmo threads to me I was after.  Her shop has lots of beautiful things to have a look at.



Stitching for a new baby

My oldest and dearest childhood friend recently shared the news that they are expecting a special new arrival. Baby number 2.  Well this means of course that such news needs to be celebrated with some special stitching.  This beautiful baby block is from the Melly and Me range and was so delightful to stitch.  I loved the pre-printed panel and the instructions were very clear and easy to work through.  I love hand sewing - I find it relaxing and such a great way to spend time in the evening. 

This is the finished block and it is so sweet - it even has a rattle inside.  So whether baby is a boy or girl I hope this little treasure will be played with and loved.

Easter eggs were on the agenda this week (apologies for the shocking photo quality - but is was late at night and the lighting very bad - but more on that later).  I am getting ready for the build up to Easter and Perth Upmarket is only 5 short weeks away.

I am in the midst of getting a tutorial together to make these Easter Eggs.  The photos are done and the pattern made, just waiting on some supplies and over the next week or so will upload the Easter Egg Tutorial to this blog.  I will also have some kits to go with the Tutorial available (in a limited quantity) to make three Easter Eggs.  These will be available shortly in my Etsy Shop and also available on the day of Perth Upmarket.  If however you prefer to buy them ready made you can from here.

Now, I know what things I can do well - but I am even more aware of the things that I can't or just seem to try at but always come up short.  Well I have made a list (you know how I love lists!)  of the things that I need to work on and improve at so I have decided MAKE more time for these things.  Top of the list at the moment is taking bettter photos.  I have just a simple digital camera but at the end of the day my photos just let me down so I have invested in this new baby.

Isn't it lovely.  Now once I figure out how to use it my photos should start to get much, much better.  I have had some help with some photography tips (thanks Dad and Justine!) and by next post my photos should just blow you away (hah - good in theory).  So off to read a big manual and report back next week with some progress. 

Sunday Stitching

What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.  Every few months there is a group of girls who gather to craft.  It was my turn to host this time and there were many different projects on the go.  There was knitting

There was some fabrics that were being turned into cushions

And a couple of the girls were stitching Tied with a Ribbon Felt Kits.

These are Bouncing Bunnies

And this is the start of Gingerbread Men

And I was making a sewing machine cover for my mum.  However with all the hosting duties and excitement of the day I forgot to take a picture of it.  So I will go to my mum's today and do this so I can show you all next week. 

Even though there was lots of chatting and plenty of cups of coffee everyone finished what they came to complete - surprising !!!

One beanie

One bunny.

Some Progress and a Birthday Quilt

This week I have spent some time putting together some Christmas ideas!! Now before you say it is only April and Christmas is still forever away, I have had some people ask what things I will be bringing out for Christmas. So as I like to be organised and Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year it has been fun playing with ideas with a festive feel. I will show you more as my plans and creations come to life.

Also on the sewing table this week have been some Mr and Mrs Monsters that have needed sewing and stuffing. What started as a pile of these :

Are now looking like this waiting to be stuffed!

A quilt that I have been working on for well over a year now is this Chelsea Bloom Lap Quilt. Usually I am a little quicker at putting together quilts but this one is special. My friend moved to America about 18months ago and I wanted to make her a quilt to remind her that I am always thinking of her even if she was far away. So I started putting all the blocks together and she received the first pieces of them last year on her birthday. Each month on her birthday number I posted some more blocks until they were all sent. If you have ever lived away from family and friends then I know you will understand the joy at receiving parcels in the post from afar. At Christmas she returned home for a visit and brought me back all the blocks to put together. And while this has taken a little longer to sew together I know she understands that it has been a busy year.

So here is a peak for you Katrina at what will soon be your finished quilt. I hope you like it.

Never too young!

Besides running Tied with a Ribbon my day job is as a Home Economics Teacher. One of the classes I teach is Textiles. This has become one of my favourite subjects as I love teaching the skills to make and create things and seeing how their ideas form into material artworks. My two girls also enjoy sewing - and whilst on a simpler level than the older students I teach they have become very good at using equipment such as scissors, pins and needles and thread to stitch their own creations.

Recently I took my 7 year old daughter to a "Mummy and Me" Class at one of my favourite shops Hot Possum. On the day we constructed a quilt top and the picture is of the finished quilt that has just been hung above her bed. She did most of the machine sewing herself and sewed together all the blocks in the order as instructed. I helped a little and of course did the rotary cutting and ironing. She knew from the get go she wanted a quilt to hang in her room. I did the quilting with just simple lines as I wanted to have her work be the focus and we sewed all the leftover scraps together to make the binding.

Special Orders

I have been kept busy this week with many special custom orders. I love making items for people with specific uses or colours or to suit a particular need. This A4 size notebook was for a customer who needed it to fit her work folder and so my regular sized Notebook Keeper got up sized to fit. I like working all the measurements and recalculating to create a new product all together and I hope that its new owner becomes the envy of the Boardroom.

All the little bunnies have found new homes and I have been sewing and writing instructions for a couple of patterns I hope to release soon. Here is a sneak peak at one of the projects.



As I am new Blogging I have been reading all about "Blog Etiquette" and would love to know if anyone has some useful posts or sites they have visited that would help me to grow and develop this little blog of mine.

Sew the time has come! For a while now I have wanted to have my own special piece of something I have created. Yes I am a mum to two beautiful girls, and a wife. I work partime in the career I went to university to study and take much pride in my home. My family and friends play a huge part in my life - so with all of this to keep me busy how could I want more. Well my love of sewing and stiching has driven a desire to create a new path in life to travel down. What started out as making gifts for friends and family has turned into my new business venture - Tied with a Ribbon. I have been busy creating items such as Notebook Keepers, Aprons, Needlebooks, Book Bags, Softies and Cushions covers to name a few. I will soon have some of these available to buy aswell as patterns and kits to purchase on Etsy. So in the coming months I look forward to the challenges of setting up my own little business and all that it brings as it develops. My two girls have been my best customers so far often playing shops in my sewing room and being very honest in which items they like the most. After having read blogs for a while now I can't believe I have my own.