A fabric haul & my first bib collection

I got a free pass to go fabric shopping the other day, all on my own. It was my toddler's childcare day and my husband had the day off and offered to mind the baby. Shopping for fabric without kids hanging off me, such a rare treat! So I headed down to my local Spotlight (for those outside Australia, it's a big fabric and craft store similar to JoAnn's in the US). Now, I normally find the fabric collection at Spotlight very disappointing. They have a great range of big bold bright patterned fabrics, but a pretty poor selection of mini and micro prints (which I prefer as the smaller prints work better with patchwork). Plus no Moda, Riley Blake, Michael Miller, or Lecien in the quilting section! So I normally purchase most of my fabric on Etsy.

This time, it was different. Perhaps it was the fact that I could look at the fabrics properly, instead of trying to pacify a bored toddler or rock a screaming baby at the same time. Or perhaps they had got some new stock in. But to my great surprise I found some real gems! I am especially delighted with those two blue floral fabrics - just gorgeous. I have a real soft spot for girl items with blue florals - whoever decided blue is for boys only? My little girl has several blue outfits and she rocks them. :)

I had to put the quilt on hold for a couple of days as I have been designing my first bib collection for the Etsy shop. I spent ages trying to select fabrics and getting the strap/bibfront colour combinations right, sewing up and discarding prototypes. I have been superfussy as, being my first, this collection really represents my style and I wanted to get it just right. I will post pictures of each bib when they are in the shop in the next day or so, but here is a quick preview. They are backed with minky, lots of fluffy goodness.

I  decided to name each bib because they are like children to me... So for instance, the first bib in the picture is called 'Yellow Jasmine', on account of the yellow climber in the fabric and the vines in the straps. I was a bit stumped with the second one though, the one with the big red flowers. So I asked my husband for a suggestion, and the best he could come up with was 'Wheely Red Bib' (yes, he has an unusual sense of humour, but he makes me laugh). Thankfully a friend suggested 'Scarlet Bloom' and saved the poor bib from a terrible name (even though it now sounds a little like the lovechild of two famous Hollywood actors).

Just need some good daylight now to take photos of each bib, and then they are going in the shop! Each bib style will be strictly 'limited edition', as I only have a certain amount of each fabric. In fact some of these fabrics are discontinued so I cannot get anymore even if I wanted to. But as I 'retire' old lines I will be introducing new styles to replace them, so there should always be plenty of styles to choose from. In fact I am already halfway through designing my second collection, which will feature snaps, patchwork, and also bibs for boys.

Back soon with the shop opening announcement hopefully!