hand-printed fabrics

These fabrics were all hand-printed by lovely people around the world (but mostly, in Australia), as part of Leslie's third fabric swap. 

What a collection! I went through today and cut some of the fat quarters up into 5" charms, ready for an upcoming project that's going to require a very large stack of squares. (More on that later.) I loved how the leaf print from Melanie turned into so many complimentary squares when cut. (The white-on-cream is hard to photograph, but really gorgeous in person!)

The little grey Dutch Houses, made by Linda, would have lost their roofs if cut to 5", so I've kept them in long strips, ready for inspiration to strike.

In exchange, I sent these fat quarters of "Wild Geese" flying off around the globe -- a design inspired by a favourite Mary Oliver poem.

"the world offers itself to your imagination,

call to you like wild geese -- harsh and exciting"

That's exactly what sewing is -- a harsh world of sharp pins, blades, and needles, filled with bright colours and prints, and the excitingly limitless possibilities they promise.