Playing with Oceania by Bec Williams (and a sneaky peek)

Why hello there!

It has been a lovely spring day today and it is amazing just how perky you feel when the sun is finally shining. I never put much stock in the weather affecting mood but this winter has been a long one with sickness (mainly mine!) and it is so great to feel a wee bit of a bounce back in my step.

Tonight I have the immense pleasure of talking about the Oceania Collection by the lovely Bec Williams. Bec is such a talented Australian designer and this collection, which retails exclusively through Hawthorne Style Co, is another incredible feather in her cap. This sweet collection features the most adorable underwater scenes filled with mermaids and manatees (I wont lie I am kind of excited the dolphin cliche was left out for a change). And the blenders! I am madly in love with this Rainbow in Oceania print and, of course, the stripes. I am a huge fan of a good stripe and these are so good, large enough to make a statement but still able to be used in smaller details.

If you have been following along with the Patchwork Pillow Sham Sew Along you would have seen me start this sham in my posts. I decided to save the final reveal for this post so I could show just how wonderfully the prints work for smaller 4″ squares. And the smaller manatee stripe made a fantastic feature across the centre of the sham too, especially with some lace trim added for fun.

And of course – no Piccolo playing with fabric post is complete without an apple pie cushion especially when I can fussy cut mermaids and manatees for it. I love how this range can be bright and fun or soft and sweet depending on how you mix your fabrics. And anytime I can make a button as cute as that I am one happy woman.

Now for the quilt! This post is a sneak peek at my next quilt pattern to be written – the Fussy Gussy. How perfect those little frames are to showcase special parts of the quilt and to add detail. There will be a lot more info coming on this design as I make my next lot of samples for it and, as an exciting addition, it will be available in ALL the sizes. I love this design for so many reasons – it can be scrappy, showcase some special fabrics you have been dying to use and of course be used equally for boys or girls. In fact my next make will be in a boys range that I am dying to play with.

For the back of the quilt I used the larger manatee border print and the pink stripe, such a sweet look on its own merits. I opted for white binding in the end but the decision was hard to make – the stripe would have looked equally lovely or any of the solid colours use throughout the top. White kept the lovely soft feel though and allowed for the pops of colour to really keep your eye.

Once again I headed to my local beach at Port Willunga to take photos – I never underestimate how lucky I am that this is less than a kilometre from my door. It was a lovely sunny day but so windy and I spent a fair portion of time chasing the quilt up the sand, and then for a brief second everything would be still and I could grab a photo.

At times I must admit I drew a few strange stares from people. I am confident it isn’t often you see a fully dressed woman lying on wet sand with her butt in the air trying to get different angles. In my opinion though – totally worth it!

To add interest I used blue, lilac and pink solids to border a few different squares. I really love the detail it adds and how it adds a pop of fun to the design and keeps you engaged as well.

I love the untamed nature of our beach in Winter – so wild with its rocks, cliffs and jetty ruins. Seems like the perfect place for a mermaid to hang out for the day to be honest and the fact it is the site of a shipwreck adds further romance to the tale.

Looking back at all the photos I took it seems clear the manatees were what caught my photographic eye – but who could resist those sweet faces!

Once home I put the quilt on Hannah’s bed for a couple of photos however a cot size on a double bed just couldn’t quite tell the story although I think you do get a lovely glimpse of the potential….

And so it is a wrap! How I loved playing with this range and taking its photo. There is something so great about knowing the person whose fabric you are creating with, it makes the process so much more special to me. And I have thoroughly loved Bec’s evolution as a designer too – she is creating some phenomenal stuff! Have a look at all her ranges for sale at Hawthorne Style Co here. I have a real soft spot for the  Oh Captain range – after all who doesn’t love a classic nautical range and those stars made me jump for joy!

I have so much to share in upcoming posts – my next quilt pattern Blustery Day is due to be released any moment, I have a Christmas stocking pattern in the works too as well as a pattern for my rag quilts and a free Table runner tutorial. Creative life is certainly never dull around here!

Sarah xxx