My immune system has finally decided to just give up the ghost and I have had a cold, followed directly by a bad chest, leading straight in to the mother of all ear infections. Which in turn led to me being on such strong antibiotics that it was a toss up between which was actually making me feel worse, the infection or the medication.

 

I've always been a bit of a hypochondriac ( a natural tendancy that was then backed up by a number of real medical issues) and it's nothing new for me to be suffering from some sort of illness, but I feel that this years batch has been worse than most. I know that it's because the stress I'm under is taking it's toll but I've got to the point where I really need to do something about it. I can't do anything about the external stresses in my life, but surely I can combat the stress with a healthier body?

 

 

I don't really know where to start though so if anyone has any recommendations for something that might boost my immune system and generally sort me out, I'd love to hear them.

But anyway, on to more important things.

I picked these fabrics up at the Festival of Quilts last month. The top two are japanese fabrics (both Kokka) and just fat quarters. I bought them from an international seller, but if you're in the UK you can probably get them from The Eternal Maker, who has a large selection of Kokka.

The third fabric is Liberty and is destined to become a skirt for me (it will! it will!). I got it from Fabrics Galore - my favourite seller at The Festival of Quilts (and to be honest, my main motivation for going every year) and one of my favourite bricks and mortar stores.

 

 

I got this print in both this blue and grey colourway and the orange and blue colourway shown in a previous post. I don't know who it's by but I bought it from M. Rosenberg and Son - a seller that often has some amazing prints if you look closely enough. Like Fabrics Galore, they're usually at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate too (don't know about the other Knitting and Stitching venues) and often have the most amazing wools, cashmeres and silks for super cheap prices. As well as this print I picked up a beautiful Italian grey linen from them for £7 p/m.

 

 

This is another Liberty  - I managed to find the half metre at the Sunflower Fabrics stand, but you can buy it from their online store too, along with some other gorgeous Liberty prints.

 

 

One of the things that I love about visiting these shows is that I get to see dress fabrics that I wouldn't normal buy online. I tend to pick up a lot of jerseys and pieces like this beautiful eyelet, which go straight in to the 'clothes making' pile. I got this for a few pounds a metre from M. Rosenberg again.

 

 

This fantastic brown spot is by Boden. It's such a signature print of theirs and just the right shade of brown. I picked it up at Fabrics Galore, along with a couple of other staple spotty prints.

 

 

And a collection of stripy cottons and ginghams, again all from Fabrics Galore.

 

 

If you ever find yourself near the Lavender Hill side of London, I really do recommend a visit to the shop. Equally, if you're in Harrogate in November then you really should visit their stand at the Knitting and Stitching show.

 

I've now closed the comments on the Craft Hope post and will be announcing the winner of the book tomorrow. Thank you for everyone that left a comment.