new EU VAT laws...

You have probably read on other blogposts and places on the internet about new regulations regarding VAT on selling PDF patterns and other e-documents.

I am a little bit concerned about this and finding it tricky to get my head around what I need to do. 

It isn't quite as disastrous as we all first thought as there are various options out there to deal with it. However all of them are going to take some sorting out and so from Jan 1st my PDF patterns will no longer be able to be purchased.

This is very disappointing to me, especially with my Giant Hexie pattern that has proved to be extremely popular.

So basically if you have been wanting to buy it, as an instant PDF download, you will have just 3 days left as I will be temporarily removing it for purchase on Jan 1st until I have sorted out which route I will go down.

Go here to my Etsy shop if you would like to purchase my Giant Hexie Quilt Pattern, Sweetheart Quilt Pattern, or my Peg Bag Pattern.

x

The last workshop of 2014...

Yesterday was the last workshop of the year and what better way to finish than to have a couple of visitors from California with us!

Kelly, who I met at Fat Quarterly Retreat in the summer, came up for the day from London with her daughter Leith. It was so lovely to see Kelly again and such a pleasure to have them both join us.

I do love doing workshops. I love the fact that everyone brings something different to the table. I have never had 2 people design the same thing and every single design is truly unique and wonderful.

I love passing on the love and enthusiasm for screen printing and seeing the nerves dissipate as the day goes on and seeing the excitement increase.

And I love sitting around chatting over lunch with a group of lovely creative crafty people.

It may be the last workshop for this year, but I can't wait to start up again next year. I have some exciting venues around the UK in the spring that I can't wait to travel to. And of course there will be plenty more workshops here at my home in Leeds. If you fancy joining me for one do drop me a line!

a little history...

 I first started to design my own fabrics so I could use them in my work, to make it more identifiable as mine. 

[Jo @frankieandray]

My business was taking off and I was beginning to sell my work to shops and galleries. I was using some beautiful fabrics but I felt they were recognised as the work of the fabric designer rather than as me.

[Caroline @nightingalequilts]]

I also felt that by designing my own fabrics it gave my products a cohesive feel to my whole collection of work.

[Gretchen @simplygeometric]

It wasn't long after I started designing and printing my own fabrics that I started to get enquiries from people wanting to buy my fabrics to use in their own projects. This was a complete shocker to me as this wasn't initially why I started designing. People wanted my fabrics? Weird!

[Victoria Holder @sewgoclimbing]

And then this side of my business grew and grew...and grew...and grew! 

[Adrianne @adrianneonthewindyside]

It has become the thing I love most about designing fabric...seeing the amazing work that all of you do with it. It gives me the biggest buzz of all to see such beautiful work with my fabric.

[Donna @themodernmaker]

The fact that you wanted to buy it in the first place, spending your fabric budget on my fabric when there are so many Must Have collections about, and then making truly remarkable things, honestly it blows me away.

[Rebecca @greenandbell]

It is funny how things turn out, where our journey goes. I am not one for planning. I work fairly organically moving on from one thing and seeing how it develops and I certainly didn't envisage this!

[Adrianne @adrianneonthewindyside]

Thank you each and every one of you for buying and using my fabric in such interesting and original ways. Whether it is a little addition to other fabrics you are using or a full on Karen Lewis Textiles product, it makes me very happy! I will keep designing if you keep making and I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

If you want to see more makes out there check out the hashtag #karenlewistextiles on Instagram and also go back to check the old hashtag #blueberryparkmakes

Winners...

Thank you all for your kind support of my new direction and thank you for entering the giveaway...

and the winners are...

Cassie...

Kelsey...

and Camille Mendel!

Congrats!

Please email me your shipping address and I will have your winnings sent asap!

Quilting...and a giveaway...

One of the reasons for the change of name with my business is due to my actual name being in print.

If you have followed me from Blueberry Park you will be well aware of my book, Screen Printing at Home, that came out in the summer and also seen various projects that I have been commissioned for in Love patchwork & Quilting magazine.

Seeing my name in print more and more and seeing Blueberry Park less and less was the start of sewing the seed for me for the need to change.

It is time to hold my head up and embrace being me rather than hiding behind a label.

I have been loving all the commissions I have been lucky enough to score for LP&Q and this latest one, made with Cotton and Steel fabrics, alongside my own, was such a joy to make.

It came home yesterday and I was so pleased to see it!

When it came home 3 copies of Issue 15 that it is in accompanied it and what better way to start my new blog than to offer you a giveaway!

I will post these 3, accompanied by some of my fabrics that I used to make the quilt...and maybe a selection of others...because I have probably run out of most of the ones in the quilt!

I will ship anywhere in the world, all I ask is that you are a follower of my new blog. Just leave a comment, any comment, to enter and I will draw 3 lucky winners on Saturday.

Good luck and thanks for being here!

xxx

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for stopping by!

Blueberry Park was the start of my creative journey. It was a time when I first ventured into the handmade community and when I ran a business sourcing all beautiful handmade pieces from talented UK makers.

Things moved on over the years that followed. I started to do more of my own crafting and soon realised that this was the direction I wanted to go in.

In order to make my products more me I went on a screen printing course in order to learn to print my own fabrics. 

And the rest as they say is history! 

I took to screen printing immediately and without sounding over dramatic, it has become an integral part of my life. A life that led to me creating identifiable fabrics and products and a life that led to being signed up to write a book on screen printing, Screen Printing at Home, all of which led to my name, Karen Lewis, becoming a brand rather than Blueberry Park.

That is the reason for the much needed name change and that is the reason for this new and exciting chapter in my life.

I hope that you will join me on this new and exciting chapter and all the wonderful things that Karen Lewis Textiles will bring.

xox