Monday, September 22, 2014

Happiness is Tilda so close to home

Lovely Tilda stuff near my house!
It has been a while since I did a blog post for Heaven is Handmaid. That’s because I have been caught up in doing a lot of work for QUILTsocial. And, working part-time in the evenings four days a week.
Amazingly, it has taken me a good deal of time to learn to do the whole work/life balancing act again. I am pacing myself though. For almost 15 years, I didn’t have a lot to balance outside of home –  the inside the home balancing act was quite enough.
I am slowly developing a routine, a template, a pattern -- if you will. It is much easier to work outside the house when everyone inside the house is capable of caring for themselves.
There’s big Tilda developments in York Region too. The whole Tilda range has become exclusively available at The Quilt Store.ca/Evelyn’s in Newmarket ON Canada. And, yes, they do mail order.
Last week, the products hit the shelves. I was in heaven. As you can imagine --  I have done a bit of shopping.
In addition, Tone Finnanger’s new Tilda book, Happiness is Handmade, is slated for distribution in English at the end of November. And yes, I have it on pre-order.
A word about Evelyn’s. It is my happy place. And, no, they did not pay to me to write this.
When I first started doing more artful handmade articles, I found lovely remnants there. This allowed me to use a host of beautiful fabrics, without having to buy vast amounts of it. I became adept at remnant bin diving, along with my friend and partner in all fabric crimes, the lovely and talented Sandra of Sandra Sews fame.
Over the course of my visits, returning to the shop has been a lot like coming home. On some really rough days, I allowed myself a little trip there and always found a warm welcome and people who were interested in what I was up to now.
Betty and Boo and the teacup lady in their temporary home
Earlier this summer, I happened to overhear the news that Tilda would soon be moving into to my happy place – making it even happier.
I offered up a loan of my Tilda projects to promote the line. I am determined it must be successful here in Canada, and I must be part of the campaign. 
Currently, Mabel my sewing girl doll, Betty and Boo the Kangaroos, and a teacup lady are part of the display. I have even offered to do a Tilda figure workshop. Thank goodness they knew me ahead of time at the store – otherwise, they might think I was just a bit, you know, obsessed.
Oh wait, I am.
Okay, my lovelies, go follow those links and see what I’m nattering  on about.
Now that fall is almost here, and the cottage season has almost come to a close, I hope to have more time to pay better attention to my creative life, and that includes Heaven Is Handmaid.