New Fabric - My Minds Eye Lovebirds

My Mind's Eye Lovebird Collection Just In!

Retro inspired prints in gorgeous limes, turquoises and cranberry. An all year around collection – lovely! We can see quirky purses and girls' dresses, along with quilts for boys or girls.

Available in Cranberry, Blue, & Green;




We also have a bundle of each colourway with a 10% saving. We will also definitely be putting these prints into some Hand Picked Tonal Bundles soon.

If you are looking for some fabric which is festive but doesn't scream Christmas then the Cranberry and Green colourways are perfect. Would look super as napkins on the Christmas dinner table.

Speaking of Christmas, our last few rolls of Christmas fabrics are now in, along with some Christmas fabric bundles. These are very limited and when they are gone - they are gone! As usual we have included a lovely ribbon freebie worth £6!

Fresh Fabric Giveaway £90's worth up for grabs!

Seamstar's October Competition is this Fresh Fabric Giveaway with your chance to win gorgeous fabrics by Saffron Craig. £90's worth up for grabs!

We have 3 bundles to win, each containing quarter meter pieces from different Saffron collections including Owl Fabric, Fields Range and Fantastic Fairies. Of course each bundle also contains a quarter meter piece from the new Bird Tree collection.

Each bundle contains 6 fabrics - so 1½ meters in total of fabric loveliness - each worth over £30!

Free to enter:

1. First chance to win - Leave a comment on our blog below answering this question –
What would you make from the Bird Tree Collection?

2. Second chance to win – If you follow our blog leave a second comment letting us know you are a follower. Please note you need to post two separate entries. If you post it all in one entry you only be entering one chance to win!

THREE lucky winners will be picked at random after Tuesday 9th November.

If you can't wait for the draw you can purchase fabrics from all of Saffrons collections in our shop now.

Good Luck!

T&Cs
The winner will be announced on this blog so please sign up to the blog (not compulsory but if you win this is where you find out – we won't track you down to claim your prize – we just don't have the time!).
Winners will be sent the prize free of charge after the draw has taken place.
Non-UK people can enter but free postage is only up to UK post value and you will have to make up the difference.
All prizes must be claimed within 30 calendar days.

An Interview with Saffron Craig on her new Bird Tree Collection

Recently arrived at Seamstar is the brand new collection from Saffron Craig.

Bird Tree is a truly wonderful collection, both in design and uses. Lovely purples alongside limes, greens and yellows. We can see this collection as a quirky skirt for an adult, a funky dress for a little one or unconventional curtains and cushions. It is also quite timeless in terms of seasons and we think it will work all year around.


For those not familiar with Saffron's past designs they include;

Surreal Elk landscapes....
Great Owl fabrics – this one has just been reissued and resized. The red and white lends itself to Christmas gifts.....
Wonderful Koala Softies. Again just released in a new colourway and gorgeous!

We caught up with Saffron to ask her about Bird Tree, design, sewing and life!

Where did your inspiration come from for your latest collection?

Saffron: The inspiration for the Bird Tree fabric range came to me one day when a flock of tiny yellow birds landed on a leafless tree. From where I was standing the birds appeared to be the leaves of the trees. To me it was one of those precious moments that nature shows me. I am lucky enough to have been able to recreate it onto a fabric and build a range around this truly inspiring moment.

This is the original colour way which we are expecting in a few weeks....

It shows the wonderful blue sky and a graphic drawing of the tree. It is surrounded by floating blossoms carried by the a warm summers breeze.

What is the best thing you have seen so far made from the Bird Tree fabrics?
Saffron: I have seen a lot of things made using the Bird Tree range, from skirts to quilts and cushions, even curtains. But one of my favourite is a little stool my husband painted and I upholstered for my daughter.

This range seems to have resonated with a lot of people because the colours are so different from what is available. Also the design is quite ageless and seems to fit with a lot of age groups.

What are you currently working on (both currently sewing and design work)?
Saffron: I have just finished three fabric ranges due to be released 2011. Today I have been sewing up some summer frocks from the Bird tree range, it's heating up down here in Australia! I also had to pull apart a quilt I started and will sew that up again. It needs more white as it is intended as a wedding gift. I also should receive the Bird Tree in blue this week so I will have to photograph that, upload it to the website and write about it.

You have to make a last minute present for a friend, what would you make (and preferably out of what fabric too)?
Saffron: I would probably make one of these dolls that are rather like a sculpture for a friend my own age. I've made them in the past and they're so much fun create.

Last week I made a girl's skirt to take to one of my daughter's friends birthday party, I thought it would be far more fun to make a skirt than go to the local toy store and buy something. I had it sewn in an hour.

Freya loved it and wore it for a week to preschool. I'm also known to make a quilt in a day if a baby is born. I love the energy of a new born baby and I know how precious they are, mothers just love wrapping them up in a snugly quilt.

Who is Saffron Craig and what is your design background?
Saffron: I am really a creative and happy person. I love nature and creating fabrics. I was born in Turo in the UK to hippie parents, who now live down the road. I grew up in Australia and graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with an honours degree in design. My background is mainly in fashion design. I had my own fashion label for years before focusing on designing fabrics.
I am married and have a beautiful daughter, who inspires me everyday. Oh, and I love to travel. I have a little game I play with myself that every day I have to go to somewhere I have never been before. It can be as simple as standing under a new tree and waiting for another moment of inspiration.

Great answers! A really big thank you to Saffron for taking time out to give us an interview!

The stunning Bird Tree Bundle is available at Seamstar now.

Blog readers (if you are reading this then that's you!) get 3 meters of ribbon worth over £2 for Free when buying the Bird Tree Bundle. Just mention 'blog ribbons' when checking out to claim yours.

New Organic Monaco Collection from Jennifer Moore (Monaluna)

Just In - Organic cottons from Jennifer Moore of Monaluna Studios.

Full Monaco collection now in stock!



Plus we have 6 full collection bundles at the special price

of £45.00 - first come first served! (normal price £52.50).

Australian Fabric Day!

I'm really pleased that lots of new fabrics have arrived from Oz......

Firstly Saffron Craig's entire new collection called Forest Elementals was delivered last week. It's a move away from the quirky owl and fairy characters of the last two collections. This time Saffron has created 'mythical scenes' with Elks, Birds and Flowers. Here are a couple of prints from the Purple/Magenta colourway (we also have the Aqua/Brown colourway):

Now I'm yet to make a quilt but have been inspired recently both by Lily's Quilts blog and having seen the quilt kit from Saffron Craig to make this Forest Elementals quilt.

I have put a couple of Elk Quilt bundles in the shop with PDF Pattern to make the gorgeous quilt above. Check them out here.

Also Fat Quarterly have a brilliant article on Quilting Blocks they have made using the collection (and thanks to Fat Quarterly for allowing me to use their pics). I think it is wonderful how you can give different people the same collection and they each come up with something totally different and gorgeous:

My favourite Quilting Block is this one (because they've even managed to sneak one of my favourite collections in - Wonderland by Momo);


AND I found some Snip Snip Sky in my fabric unit - When I saw it I couldn't believe it hadn't been sold as it was so popular and then I realised it was because it wasn't on the website - doh!!! I've just added the last 4 meters of Momo's Snip Snip onto the website.

It complements the Aqua/Brown colourway so I may make an attempt at my first Quilting Block myself.....

Also from Australia I've had a new delivery from sproutdesign to add more fabrics to our current collection. As always, these are gorgeous. Hand printed on heavier weight cotton so perfect for light upholstery or extra special project. Here are a couple of prints but you can check out everything we have in stock by following the sproutdesign link above:

That's all for now. I had hoped to be able to show some finished sewn items but alas no matter what time I stay up until there just is not enough hours in the day!