Spoonflower Design Challenge – calendar teatowel

I print my fabrics through Spoonflower, an amazing and unique service that allows designers to upload their digital designs and print short runs in a range of fabrics, gift wrap, and even wallpaper. Through their sister companies, Roostery and Sprout, designers can make their designs available as ready-to-sew patterns and homewares.

Spoonflower fosters a great community of creatives, and one of the ways that they do that is through their weekly design challenges. I have set myself the target of entering as many challenges this month as I can.

“Ring in the new year with a favorite Spoonflower design tradition: Tea Towel Calendars. Celebrate 2018 (the year of the dog!) with a tea towel calendar design for the new year ahead. Need a little design kick-start? Find a 2018 calendar template here!* Entries will be submitted at the Linen Cotton Canvas fat quarter size (27″ wide x 18” high, landscape orientation) but previewed during voting as a Spoonflower Special Edition Tea Towel (16″ wide x 24″ high, portrait orientation). Submissions close September 26, 2017 at 3 p.m. eastern daylight time. Voting begins September 28, 2017. See official rules.”
From the Spoonflower blog

I’ve been following the posts of the ​Island Bay Marine Education Centre for some time now, and I just love all the photographs that they share. One of their star creatures is the magnificent Fabio the octopus. 

I mean, seriously. Just LOOK at him. He’s amazing. You can visit Fabio and all his friends every Sunday from 10am to 3pm until 17 December 2017.  The Centre will re-open on Sunday 21st January 2018.

I had so much fun choosing and sketching portraits of Fabio. This is the final drawing – I love the movement that the tentacles give him – almost like a dramatic, Dracula-cape flourish. 

I combined Fabio with some elements from my Rockpool design range to create my colourable teatowel entry to the competition. The drawing’s the thing – I don’t mind at all where I place. It’s more a case of getting it done. 

Looking forward to seeing the other entries!