New fabrics coming to the shop soon!

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Hello everyone on this grey September day.

It is noticeably cooler and the light is fading fast these days. Soon the leaves will turn yellow, then brown and finally fall. I must say, although I appreciate the coziness of the Fall season, ever since I started painting again I'm aware of how short the days are now. I don't know about you, but I can only paint in natural light.

We've made quite a bit of headway in our garden, but it's going to be a while yet, before it looks presentable. Leo, of course, likes it messy. It was fun to watch him play and jump on the small mounds of earth :) 

Anyway, on to shop news!

I've been patiently waiting for new fabrics to arrive and I'm hoping for a September/October delivery. Keeping my fingers crossed. Here's a sneak peek of what's coming:

From German manufacturer Acufactum

From US Designer Brenda Riddle

Summer Picnic from Melissa Mortensen

I'm also awaiting the arrival of a few select novelty fabrics. I don't usually carry novelties, but the theme of the fabric collection is all about "sewing and handmade", so I thought they would fit in perfectly.

In my paper section I have recently received these fun items from German company Krima & Isa

And finally the most exciting news! As long-time readers may know, I have been carrying the gorgeous nostalgic and retro style fabric collections by popular US Designer Tanya Whelan for as long as I can remember. After a hiatus for a few years Tanya is back! She's now an independent designer and will be re-releasing the all-time favorite "Barefoot Roses", re-named "Barefoot Roses Classics". Sewing enthusiasts in the US are lucky, as the fabrics will already be rolled out in November. For the rest of us we will need to be patient and wait until March 2022. So, if you've missed out the first time, here's your chance to grab some of that yummy rose print fabric with additional color aqua to choose from!

That's it from me. Thanks for reading along! Have a wonderful day and weekend ahead. By the way, I have opened a new instagram account (English) for the sole purpose of showcasing my journey in art. In case you're interested and want to take a peek. You'll find me @duni_studio_art

Garden Days

Hello lovelies,

I finally made it to one of my favorite show gardens! I have been visiting those in my area for years and it is something that I look forward to each summer. Unfortunately the thunderstorms of the past days destroyed many of the flowers, especially the roses, but I was able to capture a few that had been spared. Although this garden isn't that large, what I love about it are all the whimsical details - little fairies sitting among flowers, cute signs, tablescapes and garden decor, sculptures, the herb garden, rambling roses, a variety of plants and so much more! Everywhere you turn there is something interesting to discover, be it a little bird house or lovingly tended honeysuckle climbing up a frame. This is my third time visiting and each time there are exciting new things to see. And since I hadn't been out of the house for months on end I'm seeing it all with fresh eyes. I hope you enjoy my selection of photos below!

A little bit of this and that

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Hello friends!

oops, I did it again - that is, not blog for weeks on end. At this point I'm probably writing into the void, bar for the handful of exceptionally loyal readers who have stuck with me throughout the years. Know that I appreciate you so much 💕

So while my poor blog has been collecting dust, I have been busy dealing once again with new rules and regulations affecting my small business. In fact, in the past 3 - 4 years it seems like the powers that be have been targeting small businesses - especially online businesses. I finally had to loop in my tax consultant, because the whole process is quite complicated. As the new regulation goes into effect next month I've sadly had to "lower my sights" businesswise. It's kind of depressing actually, but I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. I love my shop, my products and of course my fabulous customers!

In a nutshell, this basically means that I will be shipping my goods primarily to the following countries:

GERMANY, USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA 

I may be able to ship my goods to:

ENGLAND (with reservations), LATIN AND SOUTH AMERICA, SELECT ASIAN COUNTRIES

I may be able to ship my goods to:

AUSTRIA, if you use one of those companies that provide delivery addresses in Germany close to the border and are able  to pick up the goods from there.

Finally, I won't be able to ship my goods to: EU countries outside Germany

The latter must seem especially confusing and not wanting to get into the nitty-gritty, trust that I have gone through all options available to me 😔

If your country isn't listed - contact me at my email and I will check if I can ship to you!

All of this comes at an unfortunate time, because my own website plus Etsy have propelled forward in the last pandemic year and I was actually hoping for a repeat this year. Now with having to cut important shipping destinations I will really need to up my game locally.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with I will also have to primarily source my goods locally too. Thankfully, I have been carrying popular acufactum fabrics for a while now and they are based right here in Germany. Below are some new fabrics that I have received recently. They are certified oekotex® cotton fabrics at 58" wide. 

Except for the fox one, all are available both at my website and at Etsy.

In other news...

This past Monday I received my second vaccination. So far I only have a sore arm and felt a bit tired the next day. I am so relieved. I have decided to keep wearing my mask while grocery shopping, though, out of courtesy for those that haven't had a shot yet. It is slow going in Germany, as there aren't enough vaccines available. sigh.

My beloved sewing machine of 12 years broke down a few weeks ago. Ugh.  I'm still deciding whether to get a new one or bring it to the repair shop, which is actually a bike repair shop, but the guy does sewing machines on the side. I will have to make a decision soon, as it is really weird not being able to sew!

Plus I'm still suffering slightly from "creative block". I'm putting it down to being cooped up at home for 14 months. I miss those garden days . I always found inspiration there. Speaking of garden, we have started picking up where we left off in our garden again, however it's a bigger project than we initially thought! So, no pictures as of yet. 

While browsing the internet I came upon this art site and suddenly I felt the urge to paint again. I haven't held a paint brush in probably over ten years...

Anyway one art site led to another and another and basically I'm now passionate about mixed media art. I know I'm very late to the game, but I am just happy it sparked my creativity again, even though it's completely different to sewing 🌈

I have been circling Dina Wakley's Mixed Media Art Journal for a while and finally bought it. I was intrigued by the various painting surfaces - watercolor, canvas, burlap and kraft paper - inside and wanted to try out some new techniques. I bought some basic art supplies (that was fun!) and also unearthed the swag bag I once received while attending the KreativMesse. I hadn't even opened some of those crafty things and now they will be put to good use!

Hopefully I can show you some stuff I've done with it in the near future. I know the burlap is tricky. We'll see what I come up with. 

Thank you for reading along. I hope you are all doing well. I know these past months have been so tough for many of us. Take care! Love ~

Crafting a little felt bunny & shop news

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Hi everybody,

what a turbulent start to the new year. On top of pandemic fatigue (yes, it's a thing).

We've been in a partial lockdown since January and by the end of February it will be one year that I've been sheltering at home with the occasional trips to the supermarket. Plus earlier this month we were hit by a massive snow storm - which, if you have been following my blog for some time - you will know is quite unusual. My area is known for rain, but not snow or subzero temperatures. We were completely snowed in for an entire week, and I'm just glad I had the foresight to stock up on food.

I remain hopeful that with more and more people getting vaccinated there will be a shift by the end of this year. Until then we will still need to remain cautious and follow the hygiene guidelines including wearing a mask.  

Needless to say the international trade fair that I used to go to every year won't be taking place this year. Instead there will be a digital version. I am curious how that will work out, and I truly hope it will be better than the zoom meeting I had the other day with about twenty other people - one guy obviously had his laptop on his coffee table, because we were looking at his knees the entire time haha. Don't do this.

Anyway, on to the purpose of this blog post. If you have been following me on instagram you will have noticed that I've barely posted anything crafty. Truth is that I've been feeling unmotivated and seem to have lost my creative mojo. I was really unhappy about it and tried to combat it by going through diy magazines, looking for inspiration online and I even bought a few sewing/crafting books to get me going. Thankfully one of these books reignited my creative spark! 

Making Marmalade (this is what the bunny is called) by illustrator Simone Gooding is a sewing book that uses wool felt and quilting fabrics. It looks simple enough, but don't be fooled - there is a lot of handstitching involved and some of the steps aren't explained - it is assumed that you have basic sewing knowledge. So if you have made dolls/animals before and especially doll clothes, this book is for you. For beginner sewists it is not.

The projects are divided into seasons. The main project revolves around Marmalade and corresponding seasonal outfits, plus an adorable baby bunny (see above). I appreciate that there are large photos of the finished projects as well as close up pics throughout the book. And Simone's illustrations, of course, are lovely. I just went ahead and made a few projects regardless of the current season, with a few changes here and there to suit my taste. Marmalade measures about 12 inches. You need a lot of patience sewing doll clothes this small.

Instead of glass eyes I simply stitched the eyes with black embroidery yarn. I used cream colored and white felt for the body and exchanged some felted items with my favorite fabrics. I especially love how the sweet pillow and quilted blanket turned out. You don't require a lot of fabric for these projects - all of the fabric I used here are from my remnant bin! One of the best things about this book - the patterns at the back of the book are all actual size!

Now that my creative flow is back I will be continue making outfits for bunny (I think there are two outfits left) and I also have spring/summer craft ideas lined up. Can't wait to share :)

Note: this is not a sponsored post or book review. 

In shop news...

As mentioned in my previous post I have been waiting for fabric deliveries longer than usual due to the pandemic. Thankfully this spring collection by acufactum is now on its way to me. Just looking at these fabrics makes me happy. The details are adorable. Honestly I can't wait for Spring!

Easter post card in soft pastel green from April Rose 

Well that's it from me. I hope this post brings a spot of cheer to your day! Stay safe and healthy and let's do our best to look out for each other.