A give-away: Anna Maria Horner voile

Yes, I'm double-taking the title of this post myself...after having mentioned Anna Maria's wonderful voiles in pretty much every other blog post since I first laid my eyes on them...well, I don't just have some for myself, I have some for you too!

Last week I had a surprise email from Rachel, of Ray-Stitch goodness, asking me if I'd like to give away some of her lovely fabric on my blog. Such a difficult decision to make...it took several seconds (but that was only because my brain temporarily short-circuited at the loveliness of the idea).

Rachel has very kindly sent me two whole metres of this wonderful Forest Hills voile to give away. It's such a lovely amount of fabric. With two metres, a hat, skirt and dress can be made for a small child; or a beautiful sundress can be created for yourself; or the makings of a quilt are there to be added to. Or it can just be hung in a window and admired...because I haven't yet said what I think of this voile.

Since it arrived on Saturday morning and I unwrapped it, I've been trying to think of ways to describe it to you, because it's not like any fabric that I've ever felt before. I've read so many times about this voile feeling like butter, but I hadn't been able to comprehend quite what a wonderful analogy this is before feeling it for myself. It does indeed feel just like butter. It also has the feel of silk, but without that slightly dry, sticky sensation on your finger tips (or is it just me that gets that?). When you hold it, it trickles through your fingers like water. It has so much slippery movement and sheen to it, but is completely matt in appearance. It's heavy and knows its own mind, while still being feather-light and slightly sheer. It is a complete dream of a fabric that I'm finding is too lovely to pin down with words.

Perhaps Rachel had anticipated how difficult I might find it to part with this fabric...because she very kindly offered to send a couple of metres for me too. Is there no end to this girl's goodness? I am planning to make a sun dress and I'll show it to you as soon as  it's finished...but it could be a week or two, as I'll be making a muslin for this as I love the fabric too much to dive straight in.

But wait, wait! There's more! There is currently 20% off everything at Ray-Stitch (including voiles). Simply enter SUMMER10 at the checkout (all caps, no spaces) and the discount will be yours.

Ray-Stitch is based in the UK (hurrah!) and has a huge range of stock from sewing patterns to fabric; knitting patterns to wool; haberdashery to linings; thread to scissors; to sewing kits to do with children. But what I really love about it, is the ethos with which it's run (you can read about it here), because it's always nice to feel like you're buying things from nice people.

If you don't know quite where to begin (for there is lots to look at) then I'd recommend heading straight for the voiles (obviously). As well as all the usual, lovely designer fabric ranges, Ray Stitch also stocks so many organic lines and I'm loving the colours of these organic cottons and the idea of these organic jersey fabrics, which would be so lovely for childrenswear. They also carry the much-talked about Colette patterns, and there are also some amazing books too.

Oh and you might want to sign up to the Ray-Stitch newsletter, so that you hear about discounty goodness like this first hand.

To enter the give away, just leave a comment on this post and you will be included in the draw. The winner will be picked by a random number picker at some point mid-week and I'm happy to post anywhere in the world. Remember to leave me a way of contacting you or to check back here yourself, as Blogger doesn't always show me your email address.

It's such a treat to do a give-away with something that I love so wholeheartedly, because as with present-giving, when it's something that you really want to keep for yourself, you know that it's a goody (so thank you so much for letting me be the giver, Rachel).

Wishing you luck,
Florence x