Threads Threads Threads....

A few Cosmo thread numbers might help:

475 - the most delicious dark grey

474 - the most delicious light grey

502 - think candy

504 - think this kinda candy:

241A - okay I love this raspberry red and I know I use it all the time - can't you see why?

374 - a light peacock

375 - a darker peacock

630A - very light green

117 - summer grass green

632 - oh! it must be autumn and the grass is a little greener

Then, I realised life is so much sweeter with a little variegation. So I added in some Cosmo Seasons Threads:

8008 - a whole bunch of candy

8055 - a flock of peacocks

8021 - lying in the summer grass with a glass of white wine and a picnic.

Sneak peek of one of the mini blocks in Block One (where there is now a whole bunch of candy):

You will need lots of these...

Leanne Beasley xxx

Stitching Day...

Love love love a day where there's lots of stitching!

Moved out from my studio (too many other distractions in there!) into the living room. A day on the couch catching up on 'girl t.v.' and working on Block 4 of 'Mrs. Beasley's Sampler'.

'Mrs. Beasley's Sampler' is the next BOTM quilt in Vignette magazine. Block 1 will be appearing in Vignette Issue 10 due out in March.

Here's a sneak peek of when I was working on Block 1:

 

In the next few days I will post photos of the exact fabrics and threads that I have used right here on the blog incase you need to get purchasing. I have had a lot of fun using 10 different colors of Cosmo stranded embroidery cottons and three divine Cosmo Seasons varigated threads!

Hope you can join the next adventure in Vignette!

Now back to the couch...

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Orange...

There's a little shelf in my studio that gets regularly rearranged; it's my inspiration each week. This week I wanted to not only be inspired but challenged. What colour do I find the most challenging? Orange:

Don't get me wrong; I love love love orange I just never know how to use it. So this week I had a play:

I took my direction from Natalie Lymers' divine (about to be released) new range of Fabric - Folk Tale and a few things that always inspire me like threads:

and fresh flowers.:

Always taking my direction from the garden I noticed that Mother Nature always adds a hint of green with orange and sometimes a little yellow so I just had to as well:

Hope you are inspired to be inspired out of your comfort zone!

Leanne Beasley xxx

Mrs. Sausage Dog...

If you have been reading your copy of Issue 9 of Vignette magazine you will have met Mrs. Sausage Dog, a Jodie Carleton of Ric Rac design:

Mrs. Sausage Dog is a real character and another completely irresistable pattern from Jodie:

Just like Jodie herself Mrs. Sausage Dog has a charming sense of humor and makes you smile just being around her:

The instructions to make your very own Mrs. Sausage dog are clear and easy to understand and a breeze to follow with Jodie's great diagrams.

If you have never attempted a 3D project before this could be your first!!

If you would like to meet Jodie at a retreat or take a class with her have a peek at her blog. She will be in Melbourne and Sydney at Urban Stitches this year with Rosalie Quinlan of Rosalie Quinlan Designs, Melly of Melly and Me and Simone Gooding of May Blossom.

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Live With a Creative Heart...

Every New Year I am one of those make-a-resolutions-list-type-of-girls. I must admit I am very goal oriented and like to make lists and work through them. I also like to have a quote or a mantra to motivate me through the year.

I wear so many hats (figuratively speaking) that sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the day to running of the business side of what I do (which I am equally as passionate about) that I can get sidetracked from what I love most so this is my 2013 mantra:

Live with a creative heart.

Lots of you out there are loving my postcards that we send out to the stores with orders and in turn end up in your mailbox or when you visit your local store. The next postcard in the series has my latest mantra on it combined with a section of the Issue 10 cover of Vignette.

It is my wish that you can always live with a creative heart!

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Facebook Just Took Me Over...

Hi everyone! I have been absent here for a (long) time. No excuses just that that other wonderful more instant social media known as Facebook took me over! Actually I love blogging as it's kind of like a journal and allows me to add in lots of photos, which of course is my great passion alongside stitching, patchwork, cooking, gardening, writing, etc.

I hope that you have been enjoying Issue 9 of Vignette magazine:

I am always amazed each time an issue of Vignette comes out and our sales grow. Thanks to all of you out there who have been enjoying the magazine and obviously referring your friends and customers world wide.

Thanks also to so many of you working very hard on the 'Vignette in Stitches Quilt' and sending me inspiring emails and photos of what you are up to. There is nothing that encourages me more than your comments and emails. It's always a thrill when I hear from you out there!

Until next time (which will not be as long as last time!),

Leanne Beasley xxx

Sunday Sunshine...

I always wake up happy on a Sunday. It's my favourite day. Look at my kitchen table this morning, I mean really, how could you see this much sunshine and not be happy!?!

Maybe your Sunday sees you having some sewing time (I hope so for you). It seems plenty of you out there are making or going to make the 'Sweet Scraps Table Runner' featured in the latest issue of Vignette; maybe that's what you're up to today:

I had a ball stitching up this long skinny runner using the scraps from my 'Vignette In Stitches' Quilt:

Some Spring blossom on the runner completes the picture:

Anyway, enough chatting for now, hope you are enjoying Issue 8 of Vignette as much as I loved putting it all together for you!

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Vignette Issue 8...

Hi girls! Welcome back to my little page here in the wonderful world of the internet! I hope you have received your copy of Vignette 8. My wish is that you are loving it as much as I enjoyed creating it for you:

Today I thought I'd show you just a few photos that happened on the way to a front cover:
There are literally hundreds of shots snapped before "It's a wrap" and I can sit down and select just one photo for the front. This one almost made it:

Hope you are having a sweet weekend,

Leanne Beasley xxx

Friday In The Studio...

Lots of photography today in the studio for the Issue 11 cover of Vignette magazine (that will be for June/Winter 2013). It seems lots of people have asked me in the last few days just how to pronounce Vignette. It's easy: Say 'Vin-yet'. It's a delicious French word that means many things, including: "a small engaging scene, view or picture":

I love making little vignettes around my studio to inspire me daily. Then of course I love to play with my camera and snap a few shots:

Started feeling decidedly 'Marie Antoinette' after playing around with a new pincushion project using fun photo frames from Typo (great stationary etc. store!):

Inspired by Marie Antoinette and her love of bling and pretty I had a pretty good time in the studio today:

Also inspired by this divine range of fabric called 'Gypsy Girl' by Lily Ashbury for Moda. Really, how could you see this fabric and not be inspired!?!

Have a great long weekend girls (if you are in Melbourne like me).I will be spending my long weekend in lockdown in the studio putting the finishing touches on Vignette Issue 9 - due out December. Happy!

Leanne Beasley xxx

 

Experience Hawaii !!!

Come and join me on another wonderful overseas adventure of a lifetime:

This adventure will see me joined by one of Australia's most popular Designers, Gail Pan of Gail Pan Designs. I am very excited to have Gail along for this trip and we have had an amazing amount of fun planning for you along with Annette Dal Sasso of Hawthorn Travel.

We would love you to be a part of this experience where you will find out just how much Hawaii really is Paradise. Land of sunshine, palm trees, frangipani leis, great shopping, cocktails and of course a rich and interesting quilting history, Hawaii will not disappoint.

Enjoy seven nights at the Sheraton Waikiki in an Ocean View room where luxury and relaxation will envelop you.

To see the full itinerary, along with information on how to join us, click on the blog button on the right hand side. The itinerary is in a PDF format so you can download it or print it out. Places are very limited so if you would like to register please enquire early to avoid disappointment.

We would love to take you on this adventure,

Leanne Beasley xxx