Melly & me

Still Breathing

A quick hello just to prove that I am still in existence!!

I have been blown away by all the beautiful comments and emails about all of my exciting news - thank you so much for each and every one, they have meant so much.

Every moment now seems to be allocated to some form of work as I head towards getting ready for Houston and AQM.  I think the next few months will go in a complete blur of design, planning, pattern writing and nerves.  I apologise now if the blog posts are fewer and further apart, but believe me, all of that silence will mean more to show you later!

In the past week I have been working with "Where the Wind Blows" and enjoying every single second.  I have made a yummy quilt which will have to head to the quilters before I can show it off, but I do have one other fun new creation to show you - YAY!  

My new little family of Swans!!!!  These guys will hopefully be available in pattern form and ready to head to the stores later this week.  I think I have a bit of pattern writing ahead of me!

So until next post, may the floss be with you!  Melly.

Time to spill the beans.

Hands shaking, nervous tummy, feeling like I am about to serve my "design"  heart on a platter.  Eeeek! 

I promised  you that in my next post I would spill the beans on what has been keeping me so busy this year. When I thought about this post at the time, I was overwhelmingly excited, now I am feeling so nervous and almost don't know where to start!  

So in fairness, how about I start in the order that these opportunities came into place and will also be realised in release.

When I was in Houston last year, after many lovely offers and conversation, I decided to work with "Windham Fabrics" on my first fabric collection!  Eeeek, I know! I cannot tell you how exciting this was, and the process from then until now has been thrilling, a little scary, eye opening and full of anticipation.  So in October this year, at Quilt Market in Houston, I will be releasing my first US/international fabric collection, "Little Menagerie".   This collection is based on some of mine and your favorite Melly Softies with a number of fabulous co-ordinates.  There will be something for both the boys and girls in this collection which is so much fun! 

For now I have decided to share one color selection of these designs with you, and promise to reveal the full collection of color ways in the next month.

BUT wait, there's more!  

The second reveal is also to do with fabric - how lucky to have two reveals to do with one of my most favorite things in the whole world.

Creative Abundance, who are my wholesale pattern distributors here in Australia, decided to undertake their first voyage into the wonderful world of fabric.  This is super exciting to have a new company producing Aussie fabric collections!  Creative Abundance asked me to work on some designs for their pilot collection which will be marketed to the Australian and NZ market.  The release for this fabric collection will be at AQM in November.  This range is a collection of 15 wind swept prints which I have named "Where the Wind Blows".  This gorgeous collection is based on some of my most favorite things - which all just so happen to fly, float or ride on the wind. I have just now noticed that In support of this announcement the wind seems to be in full swing outside! Again here is a sample of some of my favorites from the collection and I will be sure to reveal it all in good time.      

Eeeek, nervous again after showing you all of that!  I do hope that you love both of these collections as much as I do!

But there is still one more reveal to go!  You may be wondering about all of those softie sneak peeks that I have been showing for the past 5 months.  Well there is another Melly & me book in the pipe line! Rosie and I have teamed up to create a new book full of softies, with the amazing publishers, "David & Charles" in the UK.

You may have to practice your patience for this one though. Although we have finished the design and manuscript, this book will not be hitting the shelves until mid 2011.  I am sure we will be able to reveal more of the contents as this date draws closer. 

Goodness, I have actually spilled the beans - eeeeeeeek!

Melly

Super excited.

At this exact moment in time I am so super excited!  There is soooooo much going on right now with my work and all of it is so much fun, so exciting, so eye candyish!  I am almost bursting at the seams!  I only wish that I could share each and every little detail with you right this second!  

But, you know what?  I think I may reveal a large chunk of the goings on in my next post!  I feel like this year I have been telling you all the time about how busy I am, and yet you must think I live in some fantasy land, as you are never seeing the results of all of this activity.  Well I promise I will reveal the 3 major things that have been keeping my busy in the first half of this year within days.  There is now a new big focus that is keeping me busy - but that one will have to wait a few more months.

I have had the best week back at work after the holidays this week and it has been right back into the thick of it (so lucky that I am obsessed by my work!).  Over the course of this week I have made this...
 

Which is making me so happy and is kind of exciting on so many levels!  Sorry for the tease yet again!

And then I have also finished my project for the "Immerse yourself in Stitching" retreat that Rosie, Leanne and I are hosting in September.  For those of you who don't want a peek then look away now! Not that I am giving much away.  

I am so pleased with how this has turned out and I hope those of you who are coming to share the weekend with us will love it just as much.

Eek, eeeek, eeeeeeek, so fun - I just wish you could all be a fly on my wall right now.

Melly

.....Sunset

Our last night in Fiji was so bitter sweet!  It was so sad to be thinking that we had to return home again after such an amazing time in paradise, but it was also so sweet as the night offered us the most stunning sunset out one side of our apartment and a glorious rainbow out the other - it was breathtaking! 

We had such a wonderful and refreshing time in our week away. I can honestly say that I have never had so much fun doing nothing! I was unlucky enough to be hit by a yucky tummy bug/cold thingy on the day they we left which kept me unwell the whole time there, but it has never been so fun being sick either (sounds crazy I know).

It was nice to just be able to relax and laze in the sun, reading, lazing, reading, lazing, swimming, lazing! Oh what a hard time it was! I do wish my tummy would have gotten better though, so that I might have been able to enjoy a few more of these..  

One of my favorite days in Fiji was spent on "South Sea Island". It was so lovely to spend a whole day on a little island somewhere in the middle of no-where.  

The beach on the island was covered in sun dried coral which was a little owie on the footsies, but oh so very pretty

On this day I was quite unwell, but I was in heaven!  I lay on a lounge chair under a beautiful little bure on the beach reading my book, the sky was perfect blue, the breeze was the perfect mixture of warmth and freshness - ah it truly was heaven. 

 

While I was lazing in the sun, Mr Floss and the Kiddies had a ball, making the most of the non-motorised sports that were on offer throughout the day. Here are the boys kayaking around the island.

One of the most anticipated activities for Master Floss was learning to go snorkeling, and after practice in the pool he did manage to have a little snorkel in the reef.  

And Miss Floss spent a lot of her time climbing trees, searching for coconuts and enjoying the free drinks!  

What a great week!  The only question I am left with is why didn't we book 2 weeks!  I would be back there in a heart beat.

Melly.