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Just a courteous ‘letting you know’ that the site may be down for a short while over the next couple of days… in readiness for our new-look shop. Happy days!

Offer open to UK customers. Ends Wednesday 21 December.

Fabrics piled high from Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Tanya Whelan and Erin McMorris. Super large pieces - perfect for patchwork, purses and other projects.

This little project is just so economical and easy to sew - you can get four metres of this stuff from one fat quarter! And with the right fabric - like this one - the bunting takes on a very festive feel.

To make, cut your fat quarter into 4inch strips. Mark every four inches all along the top edge of each strip, then (starting two inches in from the end), mark four inches along the bottom edge of each. Join the top and bottom marks with lines to make the triangles, then cut with pinking shears.

After that, iron the top edge of each triangle over a couple of millimetres. I used wool for the bunting ’string’, and hooked each triangle over it before sewing them on with zig zag stitch.

… and plenty more besides, including some luscious Kaffe shot cottons. They’ll be in the shop within the next few days.

We’ve been chugging along at our own happy pace here at S&P recently. The summer weather, lots going on family-wise and a craft fair to prepare for has meant that we have enjoyed taking things at a slower pace. We decided to make a few bits and pieces for this particular fair - just to show off our wares - including these recieving blankets featured in the Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts by Martha Stewart.

If you’d like to make one yourself, you don’t need to buy the book as two layers of fabric are all they are; a layer of Anna Maria Horner voile and a layer of Cloud 9 organic flannel for warmth. They’re light, so ideal for the summer weather, and also for packing as they take up so little space.  The voile works particularly well for those babies who like to rub the fabric between their fingers as it’s so slippery.

The blankets shown here are approximately 70cm x 113cm. To make them you will need to buy 3/4 of a metre of each fabric (three units of each fabric), cut both layers to the same size, and sew them right sides together using a 1cm seam. Then you turn the whole thing the right side out, press, and overstitch 5/8 of an inch all of the way around. Simples!

First of all - thanks so much for entering our giveaway! We had so many comments! We picked our winners today (last night was a wipe-out after a long day craft fair-ing), and we have in line for a prize: Mary from The Linen Tree wins the quilt pattern, Rebecca wins the Stash & Dash pattern, and Romney and Laura both win a pack of four FQs of Japanese fabric each. Congrats to you!

To give you a little extra incentive to treat yourself to some of these beautiful (and versatile) prints, we have taken 15% off the price - for one week only. Have a browse and see if there’s anything that tickles your fancy.

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