Laurie Wisbrun | Scarlet Fig

I llove llamas!!

2012-02-01T09:09:00.000-06:00

In my little corner of the world, February 1 is officially Llama Day. And what better way to celebrate Llama Day than to announce that the Llamas are officially available for sale in my shop! Yea!!! Let the Llama Llove begin!

The collection is made up of 3 patterns and the Pillow Panel. I stitched up a sample pillow panel and used yellow pom pom trim and simply can't stop giggling. I really do llove llamas! (And many thanks to my wonderful friend Martha, writer extraordinaire, who is a constant help with my naming! Llove ya llady!)

As always, if you need more yardage that what's listed in the store, message me and I can set up a listing for you.

Happy Llama Day everyone!!

--Llove Llaurie

Llook! Llamas! Pillow Panel

Llook! Llamas! Collection (3 patterns)

Oh! La Llama

Oh! La Llama close up

Flapdoodle Hats

Peruvian Blankets

Last day for Nesting Chairs

2012-01-31T05:00:00.001-06:00

Where has January gone?! I can hardly believe that today is the last day of the month. Eek!

Just a reminder that Nesting Chairs is officially being retired from my shop and today is the last day it will be available. I've got some small quantities in inventory and if you need more just let me know since I'll be placing one final order tonight.The whole collection (fabric and the pillow panels) are marked at 15% off so if you'd like some get them while you still can.

Blue and Orange pillow panel detail

Yellow and Grey pillow panel

A little mug rug I made

Zipper pouches

More Jack and Jenny | Baby Blocks

2012-01-30T10:01:00.000-06:00

I got so excited yesterday when I was cutting into Jack and Jenny and posting pictures that I blew off all the stuff I *should* have been working on last night and sewed instead. :) Sew much fun. I'm headed to a baby shower in the next few weeks and thought some cute baby blocks would be fun and easy. I used all 3 color stories of Jack and Jenny and I think they turned out really cute. I hope mama and the new baby love them too!

If you missed yesterday's post about Jack and Jenny, scroll down a bit and take a peek. It will start shipping to stores in Feb!!

Meet Jack and Jenny!

2012-01-29T16:14:00.000-06:00

Who missed having donkeys in wellies around?! I definitely did and I'm so excited to be able to share my newest fabric for Robert Kaufman. Meet Jack and Jenny! (Did you know a male donkey is called a Jack and a female donkey is called a Jenny?)

The collection is made up of 3 patterns and comes in 3 color palettes.

Look on the far left. Cute raindrops on the selvage!

Petal color palette

Water color palette

Grass color palette

The fabric will start shipping to quilt stores in February so ask your favorite online retailer or local quilt store if they're going to be carrying the line.

I'll also be doing a giveaway here soon, so stay tuned! I have a baby shower gift to make and think either a baby quilt or some stacked blocks would be really fun to sew.

Giveaway winner and a reminder about Nesting Chairs

2012-01-26T08:36:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much for all of your great comments on the Modern Whimsy + Bejeweled pattern giveaway! I had a great time reading all about your dream fabrics! So many lovely fabrics out there aren't there?

There are two lucky winners. But via random number generator, the winners were Victoria and Karen. Congrats!!

#43 Victoria
My dream fabric is 100% cotton, has polka dots, and is soft as a pup's ear!

#86 Karen
My dream fabrics are ones which, no matter which way you cut and slice them they still look fabulous, and you don't tire of using them. Thanks for the lovely giveaway!

I also wanted to show off a fun little needle case I made a few nights ago. I've been saving some selvage and thought this would be a sweet little project to use them on. And I was excited to find a perfect little piece with the bunnies from the Modern Whimsy selvage to put right on the front. I just heart those little bunnies!

And a quick reminder, only a few more days left until the final sale on Nesting Chairs is over. I'll be placing one last order for fabric and the end of the day this coming Tuesday, 1/31. So if you're hankering for the yellow/grey or orange/aqua color stories, get them before they're gone!! p.s. If you need more than what's listed in the store, just email me and I can set up a custom listing for you.

Modern Whimsy Giveway + a Bejeweled Pattern

2012-01-22T09:47:00.002-06:00

Who wants some Modern Whimsy? :) And to sweeten the giveaway, Amanda Murphy, a fellow designer with Robert Kaufman and a supremely talented pattern designer, has given me 2 copies of her pattern Bejeweled to giveaway too!

See how pretty Bejeweled is?! Amanda used Modern Whimsy for her sample and it is simply gorgeous.

Robert Kaufman cut some ten-squares of Modern Whimsy for Amanda and me so we are each hosting giveaways and giving away 10-square packs and including a copy of the Bejeweled pattern for the winners. These ten-squares include one piece of each print, so they won't be enough to complete the larger version of the quilt, but you will be well on your way!

I'll be drawing two winners on January 26, 2012 and Amanda's giveaway will wrap up the same day. So after you leave your comment here, hop over to visit Amanda for more chances to win.

To enter here, tell me something about your "dream fabric". It can be something that is currently on the market, or something you spied in the past, or something you've imagined. What is it about the fabric that makes it so dreamy for you? It is a specific motif or color? Or is it all about the scale? I'd love to hear all about it. Make sure you leave me a way to contact you.

And if you're a new visitor, I'd love it if you sign up to follow my blog!

Giveaway is closed

Final Sale on all Nesting Chairs fabric!

2012-01-09T12:29:00.000-06:00

Yep! You know what a Final Sale means!! I'm super excited to share the news that Robert Kaufman has decided to print Nesting Chairs! Yea!!

Four of the Nesting Chairs designs will be released by RK in April 2012 and shipping sometime this summer.
The new color stories are completely different from what the grey/yellow and aqua/orange I've had in the store, so if you're a fan of those color combos and want to add them to your stash, now is the time!

I'll ONLY have them available in my store through the end of January 2012 and they're 15% off in celebration of this Final Sale. If you need more yardage than what's listed in the store (or if the listings expire when I'm not looking), just lemme know and I can set up a custom listing for you. I'll be printing as needed to fill orders for the duration of the sale. :) When orders are placed I'll email you with a rough shipping estimate.

Here are the sale prices:
-Fat quarter: regularly $8.50 - now 15% off = $7.23
-Half yard: regularly $17.00 - now 15% off = $14.45
-One yard: regularly $34.00 - now 15% off = $28.90
-Pillow panels - now 15% off = $12.75

And a reminder of what the fabrics look like :)

Zippered pouches I made

My sewing machine cover

Nesting Chairs set in yellow and grey

Nesting Chairs pillow panel in blue and aqua

Nesting Chairs set in yellow and grey

Nesting Chairs pillow panel in blue and aqua

Detail of Nesting Chairs pillow panel in blue and aqua

Show and Tell!

2012-01-06T09:34:00.000-06:00

It's show and tell time! :) I took some much needed time away from my computer over the holidays and spent a few days crafting, sewing and organizing my studio. (I just re-read this post and I got very long winded! Sorry folks!)

First for the crafting! I was itching to make something using Modern Whimsy that would be a quick-ish project and would be something I could hang on the wall in my office. A month or so ago, I was prowling one of our vintage markets and I stumbled upon this old flour sack from Fant Milling (and it's from Texas!) so I snapped it up. My sweet friend Megan Van Sipe of the Lilac Saloon gave me the idea for the sequin and beading embellishment and with that I was off to the races. Thanks Megan! You creative thing you...

I am now officially in love with reverse applique too. Seemed like a great way to incorporate Modern Whimsy and give the project some great color. I also found some fabulous lemon yellow sequins and added them to a few words along with some green fabric pen so they would pop. Using fabric paint, I painted in the gladiola flowers and the leaves and added some little blue seed beads around the flower edges to give the flowers some more definition. They flowers had really faded over time but there was just enough detail left that I had something to work with. And for the bottom leaves I added some embroidery just to give it some more texture. So I got to play with a bunch of techniques which was really fun!

So after crafting, it was on to cleaning and working on my studio. For me, there is something so fabulous about getting organized. Since I work from home, there are 2 rooms that I spend a lion's share of my time in and I really work to keep them tidy so I don't feel too overwhelmed with clutter. The first space is my office (where my computer is) and then there's my sewing studio (where all the pretty stuff lives). For my office, I hung some shelves and cleaned off my desk. Love my shelves! Yea Ikea! I thought about adding some more cork tiles above my desk, but realized that I'm so short that I couldn't reach another row at the top to even pin anything. So the crowded pin board lives on. Ha! (Would have been nice if I had emptied the overflowing trash and recycle bins beneath my desk before I snapped this shot though!)

Since jumping off of the corporate hamster wheel and working on building my licensing business, I've been living by this mantra: Do not overestimate what you can accomplish in a single year...And do not underestimate what you can do in five. I'm still working, working, working to expand my designs into other categories but it never moves as quickly as I would like. So these are my words to live by and I moved this piece directly over my desk so it's close at hand. I worked with the very talented Grace Hester who created the beautiful typography for me. She has an Etsy store here and takes custom work if you're interested in having her make something special for you too.

And last, but certainly not least, is the studio. The wire racks that I use to organize my fabric were on sale at Lowe's so I snapped up another one. Ready and waiting for all the fabric that RK is releasing this coming year.

And I had some great wall space over my cutting table, so I painted a simple peg board green, added some pegs for my rulers, hung some Ikea (again yea Ikea!) white buckets for scissors and little rulers and added a few simple shelves. Used some of my washi tape to cover the edges of the shelves. (Oh, don't get me started on the beauty of Japanese masking/washi tape...I got mine here). And viola. I love, love, love how it turned out. (Project note: If you do this project, make sure you install some 2x2s behind the board so you have spacers which allow you to add hooks and stuff...Loads of holes in the wall back there, but that sucker isn't going anywhere!)

Finally, I found some large Ball Mason jars at the grocery and organized all my little scraps by color (see them at the top of the shelf there?) I saw that brilliant idea somewhere on Flickr (wish I could remember where so I could give credit to the idea but I'm coming up blank..). Whoever you are, thank you! Its a gorgeous way to sort scraps and is absolutely perfect for the projects I would love to try from the book Scrap Republic by Emily Cier.

Ta-da. And that's what I did over the holiday break!

New Spoonflower fabric for my Etsy store?

2012-01-03T15:24:00.001-06:00

Happy new year everyone!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday! My break was delightful. I imposed a 3 day ban on working on my computer and it was simply divine. So nice to get a break from being so digitally tethered. I am excited to see what 2012 holds. I think it's going to be a great year!!

Over the last few weeks, I've been working on a new Spoonflower collection that I hope to launch later this month. Color checks are complete and I have a few yards on order so I can get my pictures taken and get everything listed in the store. So excited for you to see them!! Swans. Geese. Chairs. Patterns. Very mod and very yummy! Can't wait!!

There's a 2nd collection that I've been tinkering with and wanted to see what you think. Since the donkeys are being printed by RK (and will be available later this year!), I wanted to introduce a new critter to the mix in my Etsy store. But first the story behind the design...

I live in an area that used to be sort of rural. Which means there are some lots in my neighborhood that used to be ranch land and are grandfathered into the zoning restrictions. There's a horse that I see nearly every day and across the street from my grocery store and the Home Depot, there's a plot of land that has 2 Llamas on it.

You should have heard me the first time I spied those Llamas! All alone in the car, I screamed "LOOK! Llamas!" And now, every single time I drive down that street, I gleefully shout 'LOOK! Llamas!" Don't care I'm alone or with company, I say hello to the llamas. They are ridiculously cute and make me happy every time I see them. So I was of course compelled to whip up a few patterns for my new llama friends. :) It takes a great deal of self control not to pull off the road and go introduce myself to the Llama's care takers however... Perhaps I should make a llama quilt and 'bribe' my way into their lives :)

Whatcha think??Should I go ahead and print up some Llama fabric (and the pillow panel on the bottom)? I can get them printed and listed within a month or so. Llamas anyone??

Sneak peek | Brrr!

2011-12-19T17:21:00.001-06:00

When I got my samples of Brrr! a few weeks ago, I simply could not wait to share them with you. It's an early look because the line won't start shipping until June 2012, but I am so excited to show you the wee little polar bears!! I hope you love them as much as I do.

The colors are really more 'winter-ey' instead of 'Christmas-ey'. Which is exactly how I had hoped they would turn out. I really love working with the entire team at Kaufman and the design team is absolutely no exception. They are simply amazing, especially around collaborating with me on color. And they really know how to size prints so they really come together just perfectly. I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful partnership with them. And I am just beside myself with excitement over how this collection turned out. There's a salmon color that's part of both the red and blue color stories which is so yummy I could eat it. I hope you will find lots and lots of projects to make with Brrr! For myself, I see some great lap quilts for snuggling under, a bathrobe and PJs (of course!)

Final Goodie Giveaway post. Yea!

2011-12-16T08:40:00.002-06:00

We made it! Boy... 12 days are really long when you are posting every day! Thanks so much for hanging in there with me. I had a great time and I hope you did too!

Let's start with the final goodie winner, shall we? Via random number, the winner is #14, KatieQ.
We have a very busy bird feeder in our yard, so I'm sure the partridge would feel right at home. I would love to have a pear tree and smell the sweet blossoms in the spring and taste the pears in the fall. Perhaps, the partridge will eat the pears and get so fat that I'd have to eat him on Christmas Eve. This comment definitely took a wrong turn.

There was a comment yesterday from SassyCathy who told me about a sweet little boy named Trey who was having trouble with the 12 days song.
At Sunday School on Sunday, he sang a new rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. Perfectly in tune and time - but just a bit confused on the words.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
4 crunched hens,
3 turtle ducks,
2 lords a leaping,
and a Poodledop in a pear tree.

Totally darling, isn't it? Poodledop. So sweet.Cathy, thank so much for sharing Trey's rendition. I'm also sending you a FQ pack of Modern Whimsy. :)

And then there's our version of the song. Less sweet but plenty of sassy :) Pretty challenging to sing in the tune of the song of course (I tried...and it wasn't pretty people...). But pretty darn funny. All of the new lines are based on some of my favorite comments from you guys over the course of the last 12 days. And without further ado...

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

1 David Cassidy of the Partridge Family hanging out in a pear tree

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

2 Golden Turtles with frosty wings

and David Cassidy of the Partridge Family hanging out in a pear tree

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

3 French hens, Marie-Therese, Louisette, and Clemence living it up in their urban coop

2 Golden Turtles with frosty wings

and David Cassidy of the Partridge Family hanging out in a pear tree

(etc, etc, etc…Skipping to the end!)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

12 drummers drumming and marching flash mob style down the street

11 pipers making piping for a pile of pillows

10 lords a leaping and performing Christmas numbers a la Glee style

9 ladies doing Byonce's Single Ladies dance

8 maids a milking and making artisan cheese and butter

7 swimming swans leashed together and pulling the aquatic version of a sled...a water sled!

6 geese-a-laying (and waiting for the golden egg)

f-iiive golden rings to sell and fund a fabric buying spree

4 birds calling our friends

3 French hens, Marie-Therese, Louisette, and Clemence living it up in their urban coop

2 Golden Turtles with frosty wings

and David Cassidy of the Partridge Family hanging out in a pear tree

I leave you with a shot from tree decorating. I do however look like I have a branch stabbing me in the eye while I'm trying to get the angel on the top...But, we all know that would mean that I likely wouldn't have that goofy grin on my face :) Happy ho-ho holidays everyone!! I'm so thankful for all of you!

p.s. I was a member of the David Cassidy fan club when I was a kid. Anyone else? :)

Day 12 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-15T08:46:00.001-06:00

Whew! We made it! Today's the last day of the Goodie Giveaway!

Via random number, the winner of the day 11 giveaway was #90, Gwen, Congrats!!
Are turtle doves a mix between that oh-so-delicious Turtles candy and Dove Chocolates?... If so, I'd eat 'em up!!! ;-) But if we're talking about turtle DOVES-- the bird kind--- I'd release them to join in with all the other doves that live here and feed on our bird feeder! I'm sure they'd fit right in! :-)

And while you guys comment in this final day of the giveaway, I'll be going back through all of the comments from all 12 days and will be putting together 'our'version of the song. It will feature some of my favorite comments from our 12 Giveaway days together. I think it could be pretty funny. Or totally dorky. Probably a good helping of both. :)

But while that's going on, here's the final piece of loot for the day 12 giveaway - a Modern Whimsy FQ pack in Meadow.

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with one partridge in a pear tree

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 12 winner and our song.

Day 11 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-14T08:34:00.003-06:00

I think yesterday's comments were my favorite so far. Who knew that the idea of French poultry could lead to such creative responses? You guys are so funny! Let's keep the creativity going today. Bring on the turtle doves! :)

Yesterday's winner was #65. Not only did the random number generator select that winning number, it was one of the comments from yesterday that led to an outloud giggle.

#65 - Lisnaweary Quilts
I think 3 French Hens would be very posh, I think they would need their own castle..they would probably have little parasols..little pillbox hats...little bows around their necks and they would chatter all day.

Today's goodies are a full FQ set of Tufted Tweets in all 3 color stories.

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with two turtle doves

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 11 winner and for the start of the Day 12 (last day!!) giveaway!!

Day 10 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-13T09:10:00.001-06:00

Well we're in the home stretch now! Only 3 more little piles of fabric on my shelf all bundled up and ready to go live with you.

The random number generator has selected # 96, honeyguide, as the winner of yesterday's goodies. Congrats! And I loved your kind comment :)

I would give them to someone who was lonely and needed the company.

Today's goodies are a FQ pack of Modern Whimsy in Park.

A reminder about the bunny selvage!

Dexter helping me when I was shooting pictures of my chair cover :)

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with three french hens

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 10 winner and for the start of the Day 11 giveaway!!

Day 9 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-12T08:45:00.001-06:00

Well its a grey and sort of gloomy Monday morning here in Austin, so let's get right to some goodies to kick off the week!

Courtesy of the random number generator, yesterday's winner was #79 - SewLindaAnn:
Let's see, 1 for each of my 4 BFF's and 1 for me.

Today's goodies are a FQ set of some of the fabric I self produce using Spoonflower. A FQ set of Nesting Chairs in Blue and Aqua and a coordinating pillow panel.

And for inspiration a few goodies I've made using the fabric.

Zipper pouch

My sewing machine cover

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with four calling birds

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 9 winner and for the start of the Day 10 giveaway!!

Day 8 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-11T09:45:00.001-06:00

Yea! Weekend! I've had a great one so far and hope you have too! Today's post will be a quick one though. Headed into the studio for a morning of designing patterns. Have coffee in hand and ideas in head :)

First, yesterday's winner via random number generator. Congrats to Tammy who left comment #25:

Geese and their eggs would be wonderful. So many things to make. Hallowed out egg ornaments for the tree. Lots of deviled eggs to eat! Can use the goose's down feathers for a comforter and it's meat for pate! Hope that end part isn't too gross to folks, but I love pate!

And now onto today's giveaway!

-A pair of Olive the Ostrich Pillow Panels

-Two half yard cuts of ANY of my Robert Kaufman fabric (winner's choice!)

Store note: All of the holiday pillow panels (in all 4 panels) have sold out. I did really love doing them so I'll create some new ones next year! :)

Here's one of the Olive panels that I stitched up with black piping.

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with five golden rings (I can't even type that without singing that portion of the song!)

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 8 winner and for the start of the Day 9 giveaway!!

Day 7 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-10T09:28:00.001-06:00

Loads of great comments yesterday. But, who knew so many of you had so many traumatic experiences with swans as children?! I tried to feed one in my 20s and was chased too. Gorgeous birds but best viewed from afar. :)

On to the winners from yesterday!

The winner of the FQ pack of Modern Whimsy is:

#54, Cherry Red Quilter

I think I would take them down to the local water system where there are currently ducks and grumpy geese. It would be fun to see swans there too and lots of kids go there to feed the birds so they would love it too - and baby swans - too cute!

And the 2 winners of the Amanda Murphy pattern, Bejeweled, are:

#116: Lesley

Ummmm, seven swans a swimming would have to be put in our community's pond, with little red ribbons tied safely around their necks for a photo opportunity...no swans would be endangered during the process...thanks for the great chance to win and fun with this question!

# 16: frozenMandMs

Oh, I really need those seven swans. We always have sooooo many geese in the pond behind our house. These geese leave lots of "presents" in our backyard. Swans protect their territory and chase the geese away. Bring on the swans!

Today's goodies are:

Urban Circus fabric! Half yard cuts (2 yards total) in the Earth color story

And for some inspiration, here's a picnic blanket I made last year when Urban Circus came out. Boy does that seem like it was a LONG time ago!

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with Six geese-a-laying.

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 7 winner and for the start of the Day 8 giveaway!!

Day 6 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-09T09:47:00.001-06:00

We are half way through the goodie giveaway! Thanks so much for playing along with me and I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

The winner of Pooches and Pickups from yesterday's giveaway is #57 - Lori.

I would have them go grocery shopping! It's my least favorite thing to do, and I haven't gone in two weeks. It needs to be done desperately!

And now onto today's goodies. Since we're half way through, today is a big one! There will be 3 winners!
Winner number one will receive a FQ pack of Modern Whimsy in Meadow

And the lovely Amanda Murphy, a fellow designer with Robert Kaufman and a talented pattern designer, has created a really beautiful pattern called Bejeweled. She used Modern Whimsy for her sample and it is simply gorgeous. Amanda has kindly provided me with a few copies to giveaway to you! So winners 2 and 3 will each receive a copy of Amanda's pattern, Bejeweled. Thanks Amanda!

I also wanted to show off my new chair cover. It's for the chair I use at my sewing machine and I just love the way it turned out. Its one of my favorite chairs in the house.

And I cannot believe that I haven't shown you the selvage from Modern Whimsy! It has my bunnies on it! Eeeeee!!! So cute, huh?! Cannot wait to come up with a bunny selvage project. And just wait until you guys feel the hand on this fabric. Its 100%organic and soooo soft and its a dream to sew with.

Well thanks for sticking with me through this long post!

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you :)
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with Seven swans-a-swimming.

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 6 winner and for the start of the Day 7 giveaway!!

Comments are closed

Day 5 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-08T09:03:00.001-06:00

Again, I love the way you guys take the 9 ladies and turn them into free labor! I'm behind on my household chores too so am right there with you. Totally behind on my cleaning around here too!

The winner from day 4's giveaway was MeganAnne - #49!
They would be the backup dancers to my impromtu, in-my-pajamas, wooden spoon as mic while cooking dinner singing performances I grace my husband with. I'm sure they'd totally class it up!

Today's winner will receive half yard cuts of Pooches and Pickups (winners's choice of color story).

And as inspiration, here are a few goodies I made with the fabric.

My market bag

My outdoor cushion (It looks a bit like a suitcase... totally wish I had a Pooches suitcase!)

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you :)
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be.
In your comment tell me what you'd do with eight maids a milking. And I challenge you to not put them to work cleaning your house. Tee hee!! :)

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 5 winner and for the start of the Day 6 giveaway!!

Day 4 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-07T08:14:00.002-06:00

Well, 10 Lords a Leapin did not disappoint. Totally hilarious comments. I love how many of you immediately tasked your lords with house or yard chores. Cheap labor :) Thank you so much for playing my silly game! I'm having loads of fun and hope you are too.

Congrats to number 88, Sara, who won yesterday's giveaway. I hope you love the pillow panels and the fabric Sara!!
I would have them leap through the door, over the counter and into my kitchen to help roll meatballs for Xmas eve dinner and then cut out sugar cookies to decorate for Santa!

And now onto the Goodies for today!
Day 4: Urban Circus fabric! Half yard cuts (2 yards total) in the Spring color story

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post.
Please make sure you I have a way to contact you :)
Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be :)
In your comment tell me what you'd do with nine ladies dancing...keep it clean people, keep it clean...

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 4 winner and for the start of the Day 5 giveaway!!

Day 3 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-06T08:17:00.001-06:00

Another fun day of reading your posts! I think this could be my favorite giveaway. Ever. The winner of the day 2 goodies (the FQ set of Tufted Tweets), the random number generator selected #72, Mab! I love her response too.

I'd really hope that they are the type of pipers that make and sew custom piping... I've got some pillows I'd like to do, but I don't want to fool with the piping. I'd assign at least 4 of them to that task. The other 7 of them could get the icing bags and do the piping work on a fabulous gingerbread house. If even one of the 11 tries to pull out an actual pipe, I'd full-body-slam them.... my 3 year old is finally taking a nap and ain't NOBODY waking her up!

And now onto the goodies for Day 3:
-A pair of Olive the Ostrich Pillow Panels
-Two half yard cuts of ANY of my Robert Kaufman fabric (winner's choice!)

I stitched up one of the panels and added black piping to finish it. Easy Peasy.

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post. Make sure you I have a way to contact you. Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be :)
In your comment tell me what you'd do with ten lords a leaping (he he, this one should be very entertaining!)

Store Announcement
I only have a handful of holiday pillow panels left and won't be printing anymore this year, so if you'd like any, they're on sale in my shop. Discounted from $15 each to $10 each! So get them before they're gone. I have the full set on my sofa and they look darling.

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 3 winner and for the start of the Day 4 giveaway!!

Entries closed

Day 2 of 12 Goodie Giveaway

2011-12-05T08:30:00.001-06:00

I had so much fun reading your 12 drummers drumming comments. And there were a whopping 155 of them!

Thanks for the giggles and a big congratulations to the lucky winner # 116 - Carbonated Creations who said:

Fabulous giveaway!!! If the drummers were cute I'd say take off their shirts. Otherwise I'd send them over to annoy some people I didn't like, lol. Loving everyone's answers so far.

Here's the loot for today!
Day 2: Tufted Tweets FQ pack in all 3 color stories (12 FQs)

To be registered to win, just leave a comment here on this post. Make sure you I have a way to contact you. Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes to wherever you might be :)
In your comment tell me what you'd do with eleven pipers piping

Good luck! And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 2 winner and for the start of the Day 3 giveaway!!

Entries closed :)

12 Days of Goodies Giveaway

2011-12-04T10:09:00.003-06:00

I am soooo excited about this giveaway. My tree went up last weekend and I'm in the holiday swing and ready to start spreading the holiday cheer. (Although... I'm still blogging from the bed and am trying to not spread germs along with the cheer. I still haven't kicked this plague like virus I have!! Mom: Pictures are from last weekend and just now getting them posted. So yes, I'm still resting in bed!)

For the next 12 days, I'll hold a daily giveaway. And here's a picture of all the stuff that will be leaving my studio and headed out to you! How's that for a big old pile of goodness!

For those of you with keen eyes, you'll spy: Modern Whimsy, Tufted Tweets, Urban Circus, Pooches and Pickups, Nesting Chairs and Olive the Ostrich holiday pillow panels.

Every morning I'll draw a winner from the previous day and post a picture of the next bundle of fabric that's up for grabs. So put a note on your calendar and remember to come back every day for the next 12 days and leave me a comment and you could end up with yummy some fabric treats. Tell your friends and spread the cheer. The more the merrier!

Here's the goodies for today's giveaway!

Day 1: Modern Whimsy FQ pack in Park color story (7 FQs)

Just leave a comment here in order to be registered to win. Make sure you I have a way to contact you.
And if you need inspiration for your comment, just tell me what you'd do with 12 drummers drumming. (I bet you can figure out the theme for the giveaway. Should be a hilarious post on the final day when I compile the list from all 12 days...)

So take a quick pause in your reading right now, and leave comment on this post in order to be signed up to win the Day 1 giveaway.

Now on to some show and tell! Through Flick and my blog I've met some wonderfully kind, talented and funny people. Alison over at Little Island Quilting and I have been emailing for a while and she has made some DIVINE quilts from my lines. Just spend a few minutes in her Flickr stream and you'll see what I mean. Take a look at this brand new gorgeous quilt she made from the Park color story of Modern Whimsy. The way she pieced the border and incorporated the solids along with the big cuts of Modern Whimsy is just lovey isn't it!? What a great quilt. Thanks so much for sharing it Alison! And thank your penguin for the help with the styling. :) (You'll have to read Alison's post...)

Good luck everyone. And see you tomorrow for the announcement of the Day 1 winner and for the start of the Day 2 giveaway!!

Update based on a question received: Entries from around the world welcome!! I'm happy to ship your prizes wherever you might be :)

Giveaway is closed.

Modern Whimsy shower wrap

2011-12-02T14:41:00.000-06:00

I have a mop of curly hair, which means some time standing under the blow dryer every day. And sometime last year I used some scrap fabric to sew up a little shower wrap for myself. And I'll admit that it's seen better days and looks more like a rag than a wrap.

So as soon as I got my cuts of Modern Whimsy, I knew I wanted to use the blue Rabbit Trellis and the pink Circles to make a pretty new wrap for myself. It was easy peasy and came together in an hour or so over the Thanksgiving weekend. One big panel of fabric and I just used some 1" elastic at the top to hold the whole thing up. Used the blue Circles to make some piping for the bottom and a little hanger for the door. Ta da!!

I can't wait for you guys to start getting your hands on some Modern Whimsy too!! So, I'm working on a new fun giveaway. And it's gonna be a big one! :) 12 days of goodies from all of my lines. I'm a bit under the weather (so blogging from bed today) so as soon as I'm back up and functioning again, I'll get the contest going. 12 days of goodies coming your way soon!!

30% off | Big sale on Aqua and Orange Nesting Chairs!

2011-11-27T19:39:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a really wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Mine was spectacular. So much to be thankful for and it was so great to spend time with my family and take a break and slow down a bit.

And thanks to everyone who had such great suggestions for sugar free options from my last post. Dinner was wonderful and not a bit of processed sugar to be found. :) I am, however, still stuffed to the gills and am going to have to eat air sandwiches for a week in order to get back on track. But boy was that a great dinner (and lunch, and dinner, and lunch...)

As a break from the kitchen today, I spent some time this afternoon organizing my studio. Discovered that I have too much inventory in stock of Nesting Chairs in Aqua and Orange though. So I decided to do a quick sale and see if we can clear the shelves a bit. So, the Aqua and Orange Nesting Chairs fabrics (from my inventory only) are on sale at 30% off. If you need more than what's listed in the store, just message me and I'll see what's still left. Happy shopping!!

Giveaway winner..and a sugar free dilemma

2011-11-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to announce the winner of the signed copy of Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts by Cathy Gaubert! Congratulations to Jo Ann, who left comment #28.
I am on pins and needles waiting to see this book. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!
I hope you love the book as much as I do Jo Ann!

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away!? I am really excited for the holiday this year. Completely not ready of course, but it always seems to come together anyway, doesn't it? :)

I'm thinking of trying to reduce sugar a bit though this year and was thinking of trying to bake a sugar free pie. Has anyone had any luck with baking/cooking and sugar substitutes not tasting all 'chemically'? I tried using Splenda last year in a cranberry relish and had to throw it out it was so icky. I wonder if it was because the relish isn't cooked and the Splenda needs to be cooked to not taste weird... But would like to give it another go and try the cranberry relish and perhaps a pie with something other than sugar. Wonder if Stevia is the way to go? Any reccos would be great. One of my guests has diabetes so would like to be able to make all of my sugar-y dishes without sugar...Suggestions anyone?

Giveaway!! Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts book

2011-11-09T08:43:00.001-06:00

I was going through Flickr right before I headed to Market and spied this adorable picture.

So, how surprised was I when her smiling face walked into the Robert Kaufman booth at Market a week ago? Sweet Cathy Gaubert, the author of Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts, and her wonderful editor and friend Amanda Carestio, came by the booth and introduced themselves. We just gabbed and gabbed and I really loved getting to meet them both!

Cathy had a copy of her brand new book with her and let me spend a few minutes oohing and ahhing over her copy. There are 24 fantastic projects and because they are all doll quilts. Which means with their small size they all seem really approachable and would come together pretty quickly. I can hardly wait to try a few out. There are some amazing pieces in here that really have my creative juices flowing. There's a Dresden Plate pattern that is calling my name. I plan to make it for one of the walls in my studio.

And I was just tickled to spy a bit of Tufted Tweets in one of the projects!

Take a peek at this sophisticated and stunning creation by Cathy.

And how much do you love this piece by Penny from Sew Take a Hike?

I really adore this book! And Cathy has graciously offered a signed copy of the book for me to giveaway to one of you. Just leave me a comment here and you'll be entered to win. Easy peasy! One entry per person please. I'll draw the winner after 8am CT this Sunday, November 13.

Fabric sighting | Sew to Swap Book

2011-11-05T15:56:00.000-05:00

I was on Amazon a few weeks ago and was perusing some of the fabulous new sewing books that have recently been released. Doesn't it seem like there's been a surge of great new titles showing up on the scene lately? I was really drawn to one called Sew to Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online and by Mail by Chrissie Grace.

Some day, when things slow down a smidge, I'd really like to be able to participate in some of the online swaps I see all over Flickr and in blog land. They look like so much fun. So this book looked like a great intro on how to organize a swap and into my cart it went. And I was reading more about the title, I spied two little pieces of Tufted Tweets on the cover. I placed my order and was excited to see if I could find any more little pieces of Tweets in any of the projects in the book.

Boy was I surprised and delighted to find that there is an entire swap and resulting quilt filled with Tufted Tweets. The quilt really just took my breath away! Lookie at how gorgeous this is! Each and every block is just fantastic!

And there are some absolutely beautiful illustrations by Ariel Eldridge that really add something special to the book. I just love how she's taken the process and the patterns and translated them into her beautiful hand drawn accompaniment to the projects.

If you're looking for guidance on setting up, or participating in, a swap I highly recommend this book. And even if you're not interested in swapping a thing, there are some really wonderful patterns and tutorials. Contributors for the book include 17 bloggers that each have a wonderful color and design sense so it's great to see how all those styles are brought together. Head on over to Chrissie's blog this month and follow along in her Blog hop for a bunch of extra tutorials and giveaways.

Congrats Chrissie and team. It's a really wonderful book! I can't wait to get started on some of the projects.

Quilt Market Houston 2011

2011-11-01T14:22:00.001-05:00

I'm back from Quilt Market in Houston! And I have to tell you, I had so much fun!!

Living in Austin, it was a quick 3 hour-ish drive to Houston. And as soon as I dropped my bags in the hotel, I headed off to the convention center to visit the team from Robert Kaufman and see Modern Whimsy. When I arrived at the booth, I was simply stunned. Stunned I tell you! It was my first time seeing Modern Whimsy really up close. (I of course had received my swatches during strike offs, but this was my first glimpse of full sized pieces of the fabric.)

And you guys know I have a penchant for dancing/bouncing about when I get excited... So I'm sure I was subconsciously bouncing a bit in the aisle when I walked up to the booth... :) The team from RK did such an amazingly beautiful job! Modern Whimsy was on display along with the talented and sweet Ann Kelle Designs as well as the fabulous new collections by Marie Perkins of Inkjet Designs and Print and Pattern.

I somehow didn't get a good shot of the 2nd color way with the kelly green, yellow and pink. Harrumph!

But...you can kinda -storta see it hanging from the edge of the table below the sign in the first picture above...

On Sunday, the Robert Kaufman team scheduled a meet and greet for me. I was really nervous at first, but the nerves quickly dissipated. So many wonderful people came by to say hello and introduce themselves. I got such a kick out of meeting folks who I've only gotten to know through my blog or through Flickr! It was the highlight of my trip. Unfortunately, we used everyone's camera BUT mine for the shots, so I don't have any of those to share. So if you happen to have been there and we snapped a pic together, send it my way! I'd love to post it here to share with everyone.

Modern Whimsy will start shipping this December, so I'll make sure to share news about it's release as I get it. And as soon as I receive my samples and have some FQs to start giving away, I'll start dancing about again and you'll be the first to know. :)

Come see me at Quilt Market this weekend!

2011-10-25T13:22:00.001-05:00

I'm beyond excited for Quilt Market this weekend. Literally bouncing from foot to foot! Modern Whimsy is going to be officially launching and I am ridiculously spazzy. And the fabulous team at Robert Kaufman has so kindly asked me to visit their booth for a meet and greet. (bounce, bounce, blush, blush...)

So if you're in Houston this weekend, please swing by and say hellooooo!!! :) Would love to get to meet you!

Max's Wonky Donkey Quilt

2011-10-23T21:55:00.003-05:00

A few months ago I got an email that absolutely just tickled me. I heard from Michelle, who was making her very first quilt. And the quilt was to be for her nephew, Max, who can be frequently be found cruising about wearing his wellies. Turns out they are pretty much the only shoes he'll wear. :)

So of course, my Donkeys and Wellies fabric and Kate Conklin's Wonky Donkey pattern fit the bill for Michelle and Max's quilt. I was touched when Michelle sent me a picture of Max's finished quilt. Isn't it darling!? Just perfect for a wellie-lovin' little boy! Have fun with your new quilt Max!

Also, a quick reminder that I will be retiring my Donkeys in Wellies and the Polar Bears fabric at the end of the month. They're 15% off through the 31st of October, so this is a great time to stock up on these colors before they're gone . (Here are more details on when Robert Kaufman will have the new colors/designs available...) If you need more yardage than what's listed in the store, just let me know and I can set up a custom listing for you. :)

UK edition of my book shipping!

2011-10-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

How excited am I to get to share the news that one of the editions of my first book, Designing and Printing Fabric has started shipping!! YEA!!!

The UK edition (soft cover), published by A&C Black is available.I've been watching Amazon UK like a hawk and late last week learned that it started shipping last week. So unbelievably excited!! You can find it here.

The US version, published by Chronicle Books, will be a hard cover edition and has a slightly different title (Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design). I've learned that the US edition won't be available until sometime this spring. The mysteries of book publishing, right? :) I'll keep you posted on the US edition and share any news I receive.

The book is broken into 6 sections:
Understanding Patterns
Sourcing Inspiration
Designing Patterns
Understanding Fabric, Inks & Dyes
Hand Printing
Digital Printing
Going Pro

The first 2 chapters are filled with information on the basics of pattern design, defining your color palette and inspiration for your designs. The 3rd chapter is filled with tutorials for creating digital pattern repeats.

Chapters 4 and 5 include guidance on a variety of methods for dyeing, stamping and screen printing fabrics. I was fortunate enough to get to collaborate with some immensely talented women who are experts on those topics, so you'll find tutorials and information from Malka Dubrawsky (Stitch in Dye), Jesse Braytenbach (Jezze Prints) and Lara Cameron and Tegan Rose (Ink and Spindle).

Chapter 6 covers digital printing in depth and walks you through the process of understanding how to set up your files and manage your colors.

The final chapter includes advice for going pro and features interviews with some truly amazing and talented leaders in fabric design. I was so humbled to be able to interview so many people who's designs are included in my own fabric stash and their fabric is a part of so many quilts and goodies I've sewn over the years.

I can't express how thankful I am to have been able to write this book and for all the help and support I received along the way. It's been a tremendous journey from sitting down to starting to write the book during the summer of 2010 and seeing an actual copy of the printed book this fall. Thank you all for your never ending encouragement and support!! It's meant the world to me. I can still hardly believe that I actually have an ISBN number that's recorded in the Library of Congress.

Angela Adams makes an appearance at my house

2011-10-10T17:18:00.002-05:00

I have literally had dreams about owning a hand tufted wool rug by Angela Adams. Her eye for pattern is just simply gorgeous and I've coveted her designs from afar for the longest time. (To say that I have a design crush on her would be a dramatic understatement...) But I haven't ever had a space that would do her rugs justice (nor have they been in my budget to date...)

So when I found out that she has a new line of candles available through Crash Candles, I was all a twitter and I just have to share my little treasure with you. I snapped up this little lovely (called Forrest) and it's happily living in my bedroom. It's soy, smells amazing and I finally have a tiny little Angela Adams design in my house!! To see more of Angela's candles for Crash, click here. And while you're there, make sure you check out the Lotta Jansdotter candles as well. I wouldn't be at all surprised if I asked Santa for a little box of Crash candles this year. :)

Bye Bye for now Donkeys and Bears - Final Sale on 2 more collections

2011-10-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

And by now, you know what a Final Sale means!! Robert Kaufman has picked up 2 more of my collections. Super duper mega excited!!

The Donkeys in Wellies and the Polar Bears will be released by RK in January 2012 and shipping sometime this coming Spring. The new color stories are really different from what I've had in the store and can't wait for you to see them once they start hitting the streets next year.

So if you need any of the Donkeys or Bears or want to stash away some of these color stories or have a project underway that needs donkeys or bears, stock up now... I'll have them available through the end of October ONLY and they're 15% off in celebration of this Final Sale. If you need more yardage than what's listed in the store (or if the listings expire when I'm not looking), just lemme know and I can set up a custom listing for you. I'll be printing as needed to fill orders for the rest of the month. :)

-Fat quarter: regularly $8.50 - now 15% off = $7.23
-Half yard: regularly $17.00 - now 15% off = $14.45
-One yard: regularly $34.00 - now 15% off = $28.90

One exception to the sale...The Donkey and Bears Holiday pillow panels WILL BE available for sale through the end of the December. Sorry, but the pillow panels are not included in the sale.

Duvet. Check!

2011-09-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

Yea! Brand new duvet has officially moved onto the bed. And I just love it!

Finished size is 90x90. Which felt simply gi-normous when I was putting it all together. It was pretty much comedy of errors watching me manhandle all that fabric through the machine. Serious kudos to those of you who can quilt such giant pieces!

Next up, I'm going to do a few quilted pillows for the chair in my room. You think I should use the left over pieces from the duvet cover and put them together in a way other than string piecing? Or should I use different fabrics all together? I don't want it to be too 'matchy matchy' so I'm leaning towards all different fabric but I just have so many great strips left I hate to just put them into the scrap bin. Oh, decisions decisions!

Here's the duvet :)

Exciting news - NEW journals from Urban Smart on Amazon.com!

2011-09-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

I did a little happy dance this morning in my kitchen!

When I exhibited at Surtex this last May, I was lucky enough to get to meet with one of the wonderful folks from Urban Smart. And they licensed 6 of my designs to include on these super cool journals!! The journals are printed on Rock Paper, which is an ultra environmentally friendly paper that's made utilizing lime stone. And the paper is both water and tear resistant. I'm a total journal junkie and when you write on this paper, your pen just glides along. I simply fell in love with them and have been so excited about having a few of my designs featured on these really great products.

Drum roll please....I'm super excited to get to tell you the Urban Smart journals are available for sale on Amazon, so go take a peek if you have a second.

View journal

Duvet cover - Almost done!

2011-09-20T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm slowly but surely continuing to make progress on the duvet cover. The top is pieced! I LOVE the way it's coming together and I can hardly wait to get it finished and on my bed. Even if my points don't quite match up (at all!), I still love, love it.

Next up is piecing together the two halves of the back fabric (more gorgeous DS fabric!) and mastering the 10 button closure. I'm hoping to get it wrapped up before end of week. But I keep getting delayed by cuteness like this! I love the way when Dexter decides that its time to groom Fiona that the best way to do that is simply to park on top of her. Dorks.

And although not specific to this duvet, entirely too cute not to share. And no, he's not supposed to be sleeping on that fabric but how could I move him?

Nor is she supposed to be hanging out up here!

Duvet cover progress!!

2011-09-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

Making great headway on the duvet cover and having so much fun sewing these blocks.
If I counted correctly, I think I only have 4 more to go!

Next up:
- Laying everything out (I really should figure out some sort of design wall...)
- Figuring out if I need/want any border sashing
- Piecing together the back
- Sewing everything together
- Doing happy dance!

New duvet cover in progress and a new pressing table

2011-08-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

I made the duvet cover I have on my bed when I was living in a postage stamp sized apartment in Brooklyn a few years ago. I called my little apartment there Carb Corner. :) It was 3rd floor walkup above a bagel shop and across the street from a bakery. Every night the bakery would bake bread for the next day, so walking home from the subway after a night out, all you could smell in the air was butter and fresh bread. And then I'd wake to the smell of fresh bagels in the morning. I think the only reason I didn't double my weight was all the walking! But I digress (and am now craving bread...)..Back to my duvet...I think it's really gorgeous and it's definitely one of my favorite projects.

My duvet with my beautiful Zoe cat who I miss so much... Sniff.

But I've been hankering for a change and have been collecting fabric for the last few months with big plans for a new duvet cover for my bed. It all started with the new collection of Denyse Schmidt fabrics for Joann Fabrics and I've been steadily adding to my pile of fabric with visions for my duvet. Last week I started digging through my collection of quilt books to figure out what pattern I wanted to make. Then I remembered an awesome string quilt from Elizabeth Hartman's book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork. It's a great book with some fantastic patterns and great tips.

As I was working on cutting strips the other night I realized that I needed a few more yellow and a few more red fabrics. (Well, maybe not 'needed' exactly ...) My friend Margaret, who owns Form and Fabric, just moved into a new space and even though her business is online only, she was nice enough to let me come drool over her fabric and pick up a few additions for my duvet. She's got a bunch of new stuff that I was dying to take home with me, but I was very controlled and managed to leave with only a few 1/2 yard cuts.

I'm making good headway on my blocks and have half of them complete. I've never done any foundation piecing and it made the process so easy. And my blocks are so tidy! I can hardly wait to see the whole thing come together. The green blocks are next. :)

One of the things that I quickly realized making a string quilt like this is that there was an awful lot of up and down to the ironing and cutting table. And then I remembered a little pressing table I spied somewhere on Flickr. So I traipsed off to Target and found this great little table for $15. I cut 4 pieces of batting and covered 1/2 the table with some of my Urban Circus fabric. A bit of folding and a staple gun later, voila a pressing and cutting table! I can even slide a tiny cutting mat under the fabric for storage. And the whole table can slide right under my sewing table when not in use. Love it!

So stay tuned for more duvet progress! What's on your sewing table this weekend??

NEW Holiday Pillow Panels in the store

2011-08-22T11:46:00.000-05:00

It's probably because it's still well over 100 degrees here in Austin and I feel as if I'm living on the surface of the sun, I've definitely got winter on the brain!

I love decorating around the house around the holidays and filling it with all my favorite festive goodies. So I printed up some pillow panels on upholstery weight twill using some of my holiday designs. Over the weekend I was able to spend some time sewing and stitched up 4 pillow covers. It was so nice to get some time away from the computer!! (And as an aside...I've fallen in love with using piping on my pillows. Sew easy!)

If you'd like to sew up your own pillows, all 4 new panels are listed in my store here and are ready to ship! The pillow panels each measure 18x18 so they're a great size. Using the piping, I was able to use an 18x18 insert in each cushion cover to make them nice and squishy. They would also make really cute and easy to sew gifts. Ohhh...don't you think the Santa Bear Dots would be really cute to make a garland from or to use as appliques on stockings or tea towels?

Giveaway winner!

2011-08-03T08:39:00.000-05:00

What fun giveaway that was! I really loved getting to read all of your comments about your first sewing projects. It's such fun to take a little stroll down memory lane with you. And who knew there were so many of you out there who took Home Ec!?

My first sewing project was sometime in middle school and it was some sort of blouse at the local fabric store and I detested the process. I remember my blouse was a wreck and I could not get the hang of button holes. The next project was a giant orange felt jack-o-lantern pumpkin that I made for Halloween sometime in early high school. I had that costume for years and years and years. I think it finally started to fall apart after 20 years and it must have been given away in one of my moves. I took a long, long break from sewing after that. It wasn't until I was in my 30's and had an icky breakup with a boyfriend that I started sewing again. My mom suggested that I start a project to get my mind off my broken heart and I made my first quilt in less than I week I think. I just cut and sewed and cried non-stop. Pretty sad sight I was. :) And at the end of the project I have what I like to call 'the break-up quilt'. It lived on my bed for many years and now it resides happily on my guest bed. I still totally love that quilt, which is sort of surprising since it could have turned into one of those things that has bad memories associated with it. But I think it's too pretty not to love! (I'll get some pics of it soon...)

And now on to the winner of the giveaway! The FQ pack + Pillow Panel goes to #24, Hannah. You can see all of her lovely projects on her Flickr stream here.

Hannah said: I think my first sewing project was making cheerleadering skirts for Halloween costumes when I was in 6th grade. I'm sure I had a lot of help from my mom, but I'm pretty certain that I did almost all of the actual sewing by myself. I just finished grad school, and until very recently, still had that skirt. Thanks to an elastic waist, it got lots of use by lots of people for lots of really random stuff over the years!

Hannah: Just email me and let me know which color story you'd like.

Nesting Chairs in Blue and Aqua

Nesting Chairs in Yellow and Grey

Belated Blogiversary Giveaway

2011-07-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

I accidentally missed my 3 year blogiversary! I cannot believe three years have gone by since this first post on July 9, 2008. And then there was the process of saying goodbye to Brooklyn and NYC and returning to Austin. What a wild and wonderful ride it's been!! You have all been such a huge part of helping me meet my goals, so in honor of my blogiversary, I'm giving away a FQ set of my Nesting Chairs fabrics + a Nesting Chairs DIY Pillow Panel. The winner can choose from either color story.

Here's the rules:
Just leave me a comment here and tell me about your very first sewing project.
When you leave your comment just make sure you include a way for me to contact you.
I'll draw the winner this coming Wed. morning 8/3/11 after 8am CT.

Thanks to all of you for your amazing encouragement, support and inspiration along the way. I can hardly wait to see what the next few years hold.
xoxo
--laurie

Nesting Chairs in Yellow and Grey

Nesting Chairs in Aqua and Orange

Imagine my surprise...

2011-07-29T08:00:00.020-05:00

I spend a lot of time on Flickr, don't you? I love seeing all of the beautiful and creative things that people make. Its a quick way to lift my spirits or to get some inspiration for a new project. Using Flickr, I've learned a bunch of new techniques, been astounded by people's creativity and and I've made some really sweet and talented friends.

And you know I love seeing all the the projects folks make with my fabrics. Enter these gorgeous creations from Reene at Nellie's Niceties. I went simply gaga over them when I spied them in her Flickr stream.

And unbeknownst to me, Reene had made the little bolster pillow for me (for me!) and it was in the mail to me all the while during all my gushing about the pair of pillows. When I opened my mailbox and found a long squishy thing neatly wrapped up with a UK postmark... well I'm sure you can imagine. Isn't it wonderful?! I simply love it. I've never seen anything quite like it and I'm really smitten.

Thanks so much Reene! It was unbelievably sweet and thoughtful of you to make this for me. I really, really love it!! I think it's the perfect addition to my sitting chair and looks just smashing with my little orange powder-coated steel tables.

My very own quillow!

2011-07-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

Maybe you remember my post from a few weeks ago where I showed off the quillow Nova at a cuppa and a catch up made using Pooches and Pickups?

Well, once I saw that little cutie I knew I absolutely had to have one of my very own. There's something just so charming and sweet about a lap quilt that neatly folds into its very own container. It reminds me of being a kid and going to slumber parties and staying up too late. So, I ~~asked~~ begged Nova if she'd make me one of my very own. And I was simply giddy when she agreed. Yay Nova!!

We did a little trade and I sent her a little bundle of goodies and some fabric from my stash for the quillow. It arrived this week and I love, love, love it Nova! The hand stitching, the handle from my selvage, and the little pocket... Oh... how I love my quillow.

Take a read through Nova's post where she's posted a link to her quillow tutorial and a video for how to re-fold the quillow. Confession: So very glad there's a video. I have never been able to re-fold a map and I was sure I would never be able to fold my qillow properly again!

And as soon as I ripped open the package and set the quillow down, Fiona cat has pretty much not removed herself from it. Fiona + chenille = love. And on that note, quillow + Laurie = love. Thanks so much sweet Nova!! xo

Olive Ostrich Wristie and Changing Mat | pattern by Sew Take a Hike

2011-07-22T09:06:00.002-05:00

You should have heard the little squeal of glee that escaped from me this morning. Penny at Sew Take a Hike sent over pictures of the project she created using my new Olive Ostrich fabric. And you new mommies out there (and any one needing a super cute shower gift!) are gonna love it. There's 2 pieces in the project. A little wristie. And then there's a changing mat that folds up to fit in the wristie. But when you unfold the mat, it's in the shape of a flower. Eeee!! So, so cute!

Wristie

Changing mat (folded so it fits in the wristie)

Changing mat (unfolded)

Penny's created a great tutorial to make the wristie and the changing mat here. It's so darling Penny! Thanks so for coming up with something so innovative and fun to show off Olive!

And if you want to make one just like Penny's and use the Olive Ostrich fabrics, I've set up a special listing in my Etsy store for a fabric pack of all the Olive fabrics you'll need.

Meet Olive Ostrich - NEW fabrics in my Store

2011-07-20T15:04:00.001-05:00

I've been so excited to introduce you to Olive the Ostrich! A few months ago, I was playing around with designs for two of my favorite things (birds and chairs!) and out came Olive. I think she's super sweet in all of her goofy goodness perched on her ottoman. I hope you like her too! There are 5 fabrics in the set and I've just listed them all in my Etsy store.

A few weeks ago I sent some fabric to the divinely talented Penny at Sew Take a Hike and she's finishing up a project that we can't wait for you to see! Before the end of the week, we'll be ready to show off the fantabulous creation she whipped up. So stay tuned!

Olive Ostrich - Set

Olive Ostrich - Blue

Olive Ostrich - Shell Pink

Millefiori Dots - Blue

Heart Flowers - Pink

Dashed Stripe

Modern Whimsy - FINAL Sale for 8 more days!

2011-07-12T17:48:00.002-05:00

The month of July is flying by! Only about a week left until Modern Whimsy is retired from my Etsy Store. It's on sale for 15% during this final sale. After 7/20/11 these patterns in these colors will no longer be available. Details on the sale and shipping are below the pics...

Hopefully you remember the totally GORGEOUS Modern Whimsy quilt Ashley at Film in the Fridge made for me last year? I still am totally in love with this amazing Postcards from the Park quilt. It gets lots and lots of love here.

Modern Whimsy in Citrus

Note: Green Rabbit Trellis no longer being produced

Modern Whimsy in Park

Note: Green Circles and Green Lamb Trellis no longer being produced

So here's the scoop on the fabric shipping:

--I have limited amounts of Modern Whimsy in stock and will try to fill orders from that batch of fabric. When you place an order, I'll email you and let you know when you order will ship. If you want more than what's listed in the store, just email me :)

--Then I will be placing 1 more (and only 1) final order on 7/21/11 for these fabrics from Spoonflower and then shipping all those out at the same time at the END of JULY/BEGINNING OF AUGUST). So if you have been eyeing any of Modern Whimsy fabrics or colors, or you need to stock up for a project, this is the time to do it.

--In Spring 2012, you'll be able to go to your LQS and get the NEW Modern Whimsy collection (in different patterns and colors) being distributed by Robert Kaufman!

Modern Whimsy - Big News and a SALE!

2011-06-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

I have some fun fabric news...A new collection with Robert Kaufman!!

And it might feel familiar to you :) Modern Whimsy will be releasing October 2011 and shipping to stores in Spring 2012. The new Modern Whimsy collection is based on a few of the Modern Whimsy designs I have in my Etsy store BUT there are a few brand new designs too.

And the color stories coming from Robert Kaufman are all new too. I really, really love the two Modern Whimsy color stories in my shop, but these new colors for Robert Kaufman are yummy enough to eat. Can't wait to be able to share them with you this fall.

But what this means today is that it’s time for me to retire the current Modern Whimsy patterns and color stories from my store. And that means they're on sale! I've dropped the prices on all the Modern Whimsy fabrics in my Etsy store by 15% for this final sale which starts today and ends on 7/20/11. Details on shipping after the pics...

Here's how the shipping for these sale fabrics will work:

--I have limited amounts of Modern Whimsy in stock and will fill the first group orders from that batch of fabric. When you place an order, I'll email you and let you know when you order will ship.

--Then I will be placing 1 more (and only 1) final order for these fabrics from Spoonflower and then shipping all those out at the same time at the END of JULY/BEGINNING OF AUGUST). So if you have been eyeing any of Modern Whimsy fabrics or colors, or you need to stock up for a project, this is the time to do it. This will be the last time you'll be able to get these color stories and most of these patterns. After 7/20 they'll be officially retired and won't be sold ever again.

Then starting in Spring 2012, you'll be able to go to your LQS and get the NEW Modern Whimsy collection being distributed by Robert Kaufman!

Let the stash building begin! And save 15% on Modern Whimsy :)

AND… I'll have some *brand new* fabric designs I'll be adding to the store in late July!!

Tufted Tweets making an appearance on Apartment Therapy

2011-06-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

I still get all geeked out when I see Tufted Tweets out there in the wild. :) My sweet friend Megan of Lilac Saloon emailed me last night with a link to a fantastic house tour she saw on Apartment Therapy. It features an adorable little apartment in CA and it's sprinkled with really great decorating touches. Tufted Tweets makes an appearance here and there which just tickles me. I especially love the hoops, the fabric covered cube, and the message board. Cute, eh? Go take a peek at the Apartment Therapy post and then all of the pictures in the tour. Thanks for sending this on Megan!! :)

All photos by Bethany Nauert

Stash building sale - Tufted Tweets at 20% OFF

2011-06-26T22:53:00.000-05:00

Heard through the grapevine that Form and Fabric is having a big moving sale and all their fabric is 20% off!

And among the delicious goodies in stock over there are full collections of Tufted Tweets. So if you're in need of some Tweets for your stash, this is a great time to stock up. The sale could be over quickly, so hop on over there and use coupon code MovingSale. And tell Margaret I sent you :)

Adding a little 'me' to your email

2011-06-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

Last summer, I met some really wonderful folks at Surtex 2010 (my first year!). Among them were the founders of a sassy new company called MeebleMail. Think about all the emails you send in a day. And what if you could make your email pretty? And what if you could personalize your pretty?

Over the last year the team at MeebleMail has been hard at work and they've just launched their site. And I'm really excited to announce that a few of my designs are now available as digital patterns for your email!
What's that you say? How's it work?

1. Browse through the stationery and find the design you like. In addition to the designs I have featured on MeebleMail click here to see my designs) there are some other supremely talented designers who have featured patterns. Pretty amazed to find my designs in the company of Tina Turk, Thomas Paul and Jack and Lulu. Blush.

2. Once you pick out your stationery, you can personalize it with your name or monogram. I really am enamored with my Seated Swans. :)

3. Load the stationery into your email client. It's currently compatible with most web mail clients...Although it doesn't yet work with Outlook, the team at MeebleMail is working on it and it will be compatible soon.

4. Start sending your chic new personalized emails.

And the best part is that it's only $4.99 per design/per year!

Another fabulous Pooches & Pickups Quilt AND another giveaway!

2011-06-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

The sweet and very talented Nettie over at a quilt is nice, agreed to take a turn at showing off her piecing and quilting prowess with some Pooches and Pickups! Nettie's quilts and projects just speak to me, so I was super excited when she agreed to lend me a hand.

The thing that I find so wonderful about all of the quilts and projects that my blog buddies have created is how incredibly different they each are. Nettie's new Pand P quilt has such a fun sophistication to it that really hits home for me. I just can't take my eyes off it. For me, the counter balance of the youthful dogs and trucks paired with the wonky strips of stripes and dots is just so great. Then she's paired that with a really gorgeous charcoal grey tweed from Robert Kaufman for sashing/roads. Even though the quilt is packed with primary colors it just has a sense of softness to it. I just love it, don't you?!? And...how cute are these adorable little toy trucks?

Zip on over to say hello to Nettie and leave a comment to win a FQ set of Pooches and Pickups. I just heart the story she shared about her own childhood pooch Scratches. :) She's drawing a winner this Sunday June 5 so off you go!

Don't you love surprises?

2011-06-01T13:13:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love going to the mailbox and finding an unexpected surprise hiding in there. It probably goes back to those days as a kid when you'd get a card or something from an aunt or family friend who lived out of town. It was always such a thrill! And today it's just such a delight to find something other than a bill or junk mail in the box. Well, I had one of those fun surprises this morning!

The super sweet and incredibly talented Nova of a cuppa and a catch up sent me the most darling little gift. If you remember, she made that fabulous quillow a few weeks ago? (She's posted the tutorial here...)

Well, she had some scraps left over and she sewed me up a really special little pin cushion. In her typical way, each part of the little truck is better than the last. Look at the little pooch in the back. What a perfect fit! And of course the selvage up top just makes me smile. She included a darling little hand made card too.

Thank you so much Nova. I just love, love, love it and it's gone to be parked in a special place on my sewing table. Vroom vroom indeed! So sweet of you!! xoxox

Pooches & Pickups pet bed and another giveaway!

2011-05-24T19:13:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to get an email this morning from Anna over at Noodlehead. I simply adore her blog and was so psyched when she agreed to do a project with Pooches and Pickups and host a giveaway for some fabric. I love, love surprises, so didn't ask much about what she was making. And I was just giddy this am to find this adorable creation (and an adorable pooch) on her blog today.

Lookie!!! How totally fabulous is this dog bed? It's for Anna's parent's pooch Cinder. What a pretty, pretty pooch. And the freezer paper stencil personalization. Genius. What a lucky woof!

images courtesy of Noodlehead

Hop over to Noodlehead, tell Anna hello and enter to win a full FQ set. But don't delay... The giveaway ends tomorrow, Wednesday, May 25th at 10pm (central time). Go on now!

Thanks Anna! I just love the dog bed and hope Cinder (and your parents) love it too. :)

Surtex Wrap Up

2011-05-22T20:12:00.000-05:00

I'm back!!! Surtex was really amazing. I'm so happy with how my booth came together and how everything looked. Made some really amazing contacts and am beyond excited about some of the opportunities on the horizon. It was fantastic to be back in NYC and to be back in my old stomping ground. I went up a few days before the show and was able to spend time visiting some of my favorite places (and favorite people!) which was a really wonderful way to kick off the show.

The first morning in the city I grabbed some coffee and breakfast and headed to Central Park to enjoy the glorious weather. In the typical wonderful way things just happen in NY, I stumbled upon a group of maybe 30 high-school aged kids practicing their choral singing and horns in advance of a concert at Carnegie Hall. Nothing like NY I tell you. From there I was able to spend some time at the Museum of Art and Design (my favorite museum in the city) and the Folk Art Museum. I do miss the museums so much!!

My friend Alison (who came to help me work the booth at Surtex) and I were able to catch a Broadway show one night before the show kicked off. We got great seats for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. A.Mazing. Simply phenomenal. A big, splashy, over-the-top, campy musical. And the costumes. Oh, the costumes! If you get a chance to see it, it's a must see. We really, really LOVED it.

The show itself was 3 days. Long days. But really, good days! I felt so much more confident this year and am really pleased with the opportunities I was able to explore and the contacts I was able to make. I've been working non-stop since I got home, working on my follow up with everyone. Loads more to do, but finished off everything (almost!) I had hoped to get accomplished this weekend.

Thanks again to everyone for your good wishes and for the positive vibes you were sending my way!! I'll keep you posted on any exciting news :)
xoxo

My whitebalance on my camera was set to the wrong setting (sigh...grumble...) so the colors are a bit wonky in the pics but you can at least get the idea! Oh, and you can see my new red hair :)

And those of you with eagle eyes will probably notice a few designs that haven't made it to fabric yet. Hoping that a few of them may make it to Spoonflower fabric (and then hopefully Robert Kaufman fabric!) at some point in the future. And the trays...Oh the trays!! They're just mockups that I had made for the show but you never know what the future could bring!

A quillow or a planket from a cuppa and a catch up

2011-05-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

What's that you say? Has Laurie finally gone off the deep end. What on earth is a quillow? Or a planket? The ingenious ~nova from a cuppa and a catch up has done it again. I've been following her work for quite some time and she's simply a creative genius. I sent her some Pooches and Pickups so I could see what sort of wonderful creation she'd whip up. And I am simply gobsmacked (yes... I've been itching to use that since everyone was bantering it about with all the royal wedding excitement).

Oh my goodness, right? Is that not the very most adorable thing? It's a quillow! Or a planket! I really, really, really need one of these. Don't you just want to snuggle up under that immediately? And I love how its been embroidered. So sweet...

~nova's planning on posting some process shots and perhaps even writing a tutorial for how to create one of your very own. And to get you started, she's hosting a giveaway for a FQ set of Pooches and Pickups. So skeedadle on over to her blog and leave a comment with what you'd make if you're the winner. She'll be drawing the winner this Saturday May 14 (Aussie time) so off you go! :)

Thanks so much Nova. I have the most gigantic crush on your quillow.
xoxo

Red Pepper Quilts Stacked Coins Quilt from Pooches and Pickups

2011-05-09T23:19:00.001-05:00

I'm just having so much fun seeing quilts from Pooches and Pickups starting to come to life. The uber-talented Rita at Red Pepper Quilts created this adorable stacked coins quilt. Oooooo... So pretty!! She's done a really wonderful job mixing the 6 prints in the collection with some really lovely coordinating Kona Cottons from Robert Kaufman. I think I'm especially fond of the single pop of black on the top right side. And the little strips of Pooches just make me smile.

Image from Red Pepper Quilts

Hurry over to Red Pepper Quilts where Rita is hosting a giveaway for a full FQ set of Pooches and Pickups. She'll be drawing the winner on Wed 5/11.

Rita, thank you so much for creating something so fantastic from my fabric. Its always so fun to see your creations and I just adore the quilt. It's simply precious!

Mad zipper skills | Nesting Chairs Pouches

2011-05-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across this great shot of these little sweet little zippered pouches by applecyder and was completely inspired to conquer my anxiety over sewing with zippers. Aren't they darling?!

In her post, applecyder shares links to a few tutorials she's used and the one from Kelby Sews really made the whole concept finally click together. It even shows how to make the tidy little tabs that cover up the zipper ends (aha!!!).

A friend of mine's daughter Hailey (Hi Hales!) uses the term 'mad skills'. Which just makes me giggle. But I have to say, when I sewed up these 2 little zipper pouches, I started feeling all 'mad skill-y'. Look at me sewing zippers! And they're not all munged up and my bag doesn't look like a 2 year old made it!

And for the 2nd project in a row, my seam ripper hasn't made an appearance. I think that's why I was feeling all sassy and mad skill-y when they were done...

I even happened to have a yellow and orange zipper in my stash which were a perfect match to my Nesting Chairs fabric. (The fabric is available in my store here.) The finished size is 7.5" x 8" and they're the perfect size to hold my laptop cables and all the miscellaneous purse goodies that are always floating around at the bottom of my bag. I used some mid-weight interfacing so they have some structure and are really light weight but aren't too bulky.

Next on the skills list: If anyone knows of any tutorials for how to use these little flexiframes clasps (from unhandbag) and be able to cover the hinges, would love it if you'd share :)

Pickup Parking Quilt

2011-05-06T08:38:00.002-05:00

Jacquie over at Tall Grass Prairie Studio has done it again. I love Jacquie's style and was super excited to see what she'd create with Pooches and Pickups. I sent her some FQs so she could play with them and show off what she's created. And she's got a full FQ set to giveaway to one of her readers! Head over there to register to win. BUT don't go until you read my gushing post over her quilt and what she's doing with it...

Meet Jacquie's Pickup Parking (from Pooches and Pickups) quilt. Gasp, right? Jacquie is not only a supremely talented lady, I'm just so deeply touched with how generous she is. She created this incredibly fun twin sized quilt that any litte boy would love. And she's donating the quilt to Basics in NYC which is a program that collects quilts for homeless families. It simply makes my heart sing to know Jacquie's quilt is going to a little boy who really needs something special.

Is that not simply one of the cutest things you've ever seen? I love everything about it. The parking spots, the license plate, the quilting!!!

So NOW you can scoot over to Tall Grass Prairie Studio to register to win a FQ set of Pooches and Pickups and read how the quilt came to be. It's such a sweet story.

Jacquie: Thank you so much for taking my fabric and turning it into such an amazing creation and truly kind gift. The quilt is so creative, fun and some little boy is just going to squeal with delight when he gets it. You're simply wonderful!

Pooches and Pickups...Perfectly Portable

2011-05-04T09:18:00.001-05:00

The moment I received my first cuttings from Pooches and Pickups, I knew I wanted to make one of these Perfectly Portable Cushions. The cushion pattern by Autum of Creative Little Daisy is simply darling and can be found here at Sew Mama Sew. (And don't you love the name? I've got a thing for alliteration and simply could not wait to type Perfectly Portable Pooches and Pickups Cushion. Tee hee....I adjusted the width of the cushion handle a bit so I could use a whole row of Pooches (cute!) and used a simple black piping for the edges since it was a nice compliment to the stripes in the Big Trucks print. The cushion itself is foam so it's super lightweight and I see a bunch of outdoor picnics and music events in its future.

And even I was able to follow the very clear instructions in Autum's tutorial. (I have some sort of brain block with patterns where I invariable end up sewing something right side out when it's supposed to be wrong side out or something. And then a few minutes of seam ripping with teeth gnashing ensues...) The instructions are super clear with great pictures and I really enjoyed making the cushion. And it has a dreaded zipper! And I sewed said zipper into the cushion. And it actually works! I'm hoping to make a matching Cushion once things settle down here a bit.

The Perfectly Portable Pooches and Pickups Cushion is headed to NY with me for Surtex in a week and a half (gulp!), so you'll likely see it reappear in my booth pics. :)

I've heard that Pooches & Pickups has started to arrive at stores so if you're a retailer who's carrying the line, let me know (you can leave a comment on this post) and I'll add your store name to a list I'm compiling to to post here on the blog.

Wish I had time for a quick nap...

2011-05-03T11:03:00.000-05:00

Sitting here in my studio/officethis morning and just wrapped up some work I needed to get done. But before I dive into the next thing on my list, I'm sitting here staring out the window enjoying the Texas sunshine. It's already been really hot here and we're experiencing an unusual cold front and it's a delightful 55 degrees here this morning. It's such a treat!

I'm resisting the urge to take a quick cat nap in the sunshine. :) Then realized I've never shown off my favorite floor pillows. At roughly 30"x30" they're a great size for lounging. I made them years ago from a Kaffe Fassett pattern and really love them. A lion's share of the fabrics are Kaffe's designs. Those blue/green and orange/green Ikat checkerboard are still among of my all time favorites and I'm down to the tiniest little scraps of that left. I should probably hunt some more down...

Well since I can't justify a nap and this work isn't going to do itself, I'm diving back in. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Pooches & Pickups - Burp Cloths

2011-05-02T08:00:00.012-05:00

I totally forgot to show these to you guys! As I'm sure you're aware, one of modern quilting's favorite gals, Ashley of Film in the Fridge, recently had her first baby. And he's seriously cute as a bug. Ashley has created some amazing quilts for me since we first met via our blogs a few years ago. And although my sewing skills are somewhat limited, I wanted to make her a little something. So I sewed up this set of burp cloths backed with chenile. I wish I had remembered to note the size but I'm pretty sure they're each roughly the size of a fat quarter or maybe a tad bigger. They were easy and fun to sew and I loved getting to send a little surprise to Ashley and Max.

Nearly ready for Surtex...and look at this adorable diaper bag!

2011-05-01T14:43:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the repost. Updating with watermarked diaper bag photos.

Surtex, the big surface and textile design licensing show in NYC starts in just over 2 weeks. And this year, there's no last minute scrambling! My boxes with my signs, samples and printed materials are all taped up and ready to be shipped this week. All that's left to do is to do some portfolio organizing and then it's off to New York for the show 5/15-5/17. I'm beyond excited!

Last year was my first time exhibiting and it was a great show. I made some wonderful contacts and my work was licensed by a few great manufacturers. And I'm really feeling great about showing again this year. Loads and loads of new designs to show and I'm really excited to meet with manufacturers again. Hoping to realize my dream of having my designs on home decor, tabletop goods (dishes!!), wallpaper and baby accessories. So keep your fingers crossed for me! I'll be posting if I can and will be loading pictures on my Facebook page.

Part of getting ready for the show this year included having a few samples made from my fabric to show off how my designs could look in sewn goods. So my pal Cressie over at Sew Envious Designs graciously created an AWESOME diaper bag for me. It's got a bazillion pockets and straps and the cutest little key fob from my selvage. I just adore it. She'll gladly sew you one up from any fabric you'd like. When you visit her, make sure you tell her I sent you :) Thanks so much Cressie!

Pooches & Pickups Playmat and a Giveaway at Sew Fantastic

2011-04-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

Terri over at Sew Fantastic created an absolutely adorable playmat from Pooches and Pickups and I couldn't wait to share it with you. When she received the fabric in the mail, her little girl Sophie claimed the fabric as her own and she and her momma worked together on this super sweet play mat. Don't you just adore the circles?! It brought such a smile to my face to hear that the fabric helped to create a special bonding time for Terri and 3-year old Sophie to work on a project together. Happy playing Sophie and many thanks to Terri for sharing your Pooches playmat!

AND....Terri is giving away a FQ set of Pooches and Pickups so zoom (sorry... couldn't resist) over there and register to win before 4/23.

Selvage Whale

2011-04-18T14:14:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that I haven't posted about this yet. Late last summer (wow time really files doesn't it!) I was perusing Etsy and stumbled across With Hugs N Stitches where I found this adorable little stuffed whale made from selvage. Urban Circus had just come out and I immediately knew I needed (yes needed!) one of the little whales from Tufted Tweets and Urban Circus selvage. So I contacted Akiko and shipped her some selvage and a few weeks later, this little guy came to live with me. He lives on my fabric shelves and makes me smile every day :) I may just have to get him a friend made from Pooches and Pickups selvage!

Pooches and Pickups Winner and a Market Bag

2011-04-16T19:10:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a tremendous response!! Thanks so much for all the great feedback and encouragement. I'm so thrilled to hear such excitement about the designs. The line holds a soft spot in my heart so I hope you guys really have fun sewing with this line. It sounds like there are some really cute quilts, stroller blankies, picnic blankets, appliqued tshirts and even a few PJ pants planned. And I really loved getting to read your great stories about your pooches (and kitties and chickens!). Thanks for sharing them with me.

I've just finished drawing the winners using the random number generator and 2 lucky ladies have FQ sets of Pooches and Pickups shipping out to them on Monday. Congrats to #59 - missbossypants and #139 euphoria. I hope you love the fabric and will share pictures of what you make in my Flickr Group!

The team at Robert Kaufman designed this adorable type treatment for Pooches & Pickups. So cute, huh?

I've been wanting to try out the Jane Market Bag pattern from Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy and I thought Pooches and Pickups would make a cute little bag to take to the farmer's market. I love the way it turned out. Alicia's pattern was super easy to follow and the bag came together in a snap. I think I may have to make a few more! If you have any other easy peasy patterns for home goods or accessories, I'd love to hear about them. I'm always on the hunt for cute and easy projects to work on :)

Pooches and Pickups - Finally revealed and a Giveaway!

2011-04-12T08:26:00.000-05:00

Let me start by apologizing. I didn't mean to torture you with the sneaky peekies! But at long last I can finally share my newest line for Robert Kaufman! Pooches and Pickups is headed out to the sales force today so if you have a store, call your rep and place your order. The fabric will start shipping to stores during April so start planning your sewing projects now. I'm also working on a few projects with the fabric that I'll be sharing over the next few weeks.
Pooches and Pickups is made up of 3 patterns: Big Trucks, Small Trucks and Pooches. It comes in two color stories: Spring (blue and green) and Summer (red and ochre).

A friend of mine came over a few weekend ago to help me snap some pictures of everything and we giggled and gabbed while drinking coffee and setting everything up. Boat loads (or should I say truck loads) of fun! I didn't even plan out that I was wearing my Pooches and Pickups PJ shorts for our photoshoot. And yes, I was still in my PJs for the photoshoot. And yes, that's an old boxspring on my wall...I just adore all the shapes and patterns it makes and turns out its a fabulous prop. :)

Now, for the disclaimer... Do as I say, not as I design. Huh you say? Lemme explain...I designed this fabric as a little tribute to my sweet Clara dog. (It's been a year since she passed away.) And that girl LOVED, LOVED, LOVED riding in my car. Ears flapping and drool flying. But I drive a station wagon (sassy huh?) which frankly didn't make for very cute fabric. So insert vintage pickup truck in place of wagon and I was off to the races. The design became exponentially cuter with the pooch in the back, so into the bed of the truck the pooches went. But it's pretty dangerous for pooches to ride in the back of truck, ya know? So you see my dilema. Do as I say and not as I design. Keep your pooches safe inside your cars or trucks. :)
Now for the free fabric! I'm giving away two FQ packs of Pooches and Pickups to two lucky winners. You know the drill...Leave a comment here on the blog and tell me what you'd like to make (or tell me about your pooch!). I'll use the random number generator to select 2 winners this coming Saturday evening, 4/16/11 at roughly 6pm CT. Good luck and I hope you love the fabric!

Nesting Chairs - Mug Rug

2011-04-10T11:58:00.000-05:00

I started this little project last weekend and woke up this AM itching to sew something. I wanted a little project I could start and finish quickly and was hoping to be able to use some of my Nesting Chairs fabrics and have the opportunity to use some fabric from my stash. I've been hoarding a few small pieces of grey and black handprinted fabric from Umbrella Prints and from Summersville. So this little mug rug mini quilt turned into the perfect project to be able to feature some of those fabrics without depleting my whole stash.

I wish I had remembered to leave more seam allowance for the big bird (so his head wasn't getting lopped off) but c'est la vie. This was also my first try at attaching a binding completely by machine and it was really a breeze on a small project. Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!

Urban Circus Quilt Pattern from Gen X Quilters

2011-04-07T14:38:00.000-05:00

Since the launch of Urban Circus I've seen some really adorable quilts come to life! And here's another one that was brought to my attention and I wanted to share it with you. The applique elephant in the middle is just precious, don't you think? And I love the echo quilting around the applique.

The pattern is available in Anne Marie's store, Gen X Quilters, so wander over there if you'd like to take a peek :)

Another Pooches & Pickups Sneaky Peaky!

2011-04-05T08:53:00.000-05:00

Pooches and Pickups is coming soon! Yipee!! Only a week until I can finally post pictures and show you what I've been so excited about. But in the mean time, here's 2 things to tide you over. Another sneaky peaky!! I've had this old vintage toy truck for a while and it's the perfect prop for shooting fat quarters of Pooches & Pickups, no?

And for a giggle, some hilarious pictures of running basset hounds (make sure you click through...these are great shots; courtesy of Dave Stoppera via Buzz Feed). Nope, no basset hounds in Pooches and Pickups, nor are my pooches running, but a friend of mine shared these pictures with me yesterday and it will be impossible for you not to laugh. :) I have always, always loved and wanted a Basset Hound. Now I want one even more. I personally love the ones where the skin around their eyes has pulled back and they look kinda psychotic but still amazingly cute. Have a great Tuesday!

Wow. What beautiful pillows!

2011-04-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

I know you guys have heard me say this before, but I really love to see what you create with my fabric!! I received a sweet note from Kate over at Needle and Spatula letting me know that her mom was buying her some of my Nesting Chairs fabric for Kate's birthday. (Thanks Kate's Mom!) So, I was really hoping Kate would share pictures of her pillows once she stitched them up. Imagine my delight to see these pictures pop up in my Flickr group.

I just LOVE the way Kate pieced these together, don't you? Each one is so different and they make a gorgeous trio. She's used my Nesting Chairs fabrics and the yellow boxes (yummy and they are a great pairing for the yellow in Nesting Chairs!) are from Patty Young's Sanctuary line. One my favorite parts of Kate's posts is that she made these for pillows couch she doesn't yet have. I did the exact same thing with pillows for my couch...I was so excited about a new couch I could just picture it and wanted it to be decked out in all sorts of pillow finery. So my couch pillows were sewn well in advance of my new couch too. :) [I'm also noticing in looking at the pics from that post that my cats are getting really fat! Oops...]

Kate's written 2 posts about her Nesting Chairs pillows - here and here so head on over there to read more about how she created her gorgeous pillows.

Giveaway winner

2011-03-21T08:34:00.000-05:00

It's been really fun to hear what you'd make with Nesting Chairs. And I'm so excited to hear how much you like the new designs. I randomly drew the winner this morning, and before end of day I'll ship out a FQ set + a pillow panel of Nesting Chairs in Aqua & Orange to #63, Nellie’s Niceties. She said:

"You know I love your fabrics :) If I was lucky enough to win this giveaway I'd make a pillow and a matching throw quilt or a fabulous bag I could take shopping with me :)

Congrats and I hope you'll send pictures of what you make!

I had a great weekend here in Austin. Had a photoshoot for Pooches and Pickups and am over the moon excited with how the shots turned out. My dear, dear friend Curlin helped me and we just giggled and gabbed the whole time we styled the shots. Only a few more weeks until I can show off the line and share the pictures with you!

And in sewing machine cover news, I finished off the cover last night and today I'll be attaching the grommets. (Didn't really want to hammer the grommets on the back porch in the middle of the night last night. Figured my neighbors wouldn't be too happy with all the banging...) Grommets will be attached today and I'll post pics tomorrow.

The other super exciting news to share is that I was featured on Print and Pattern last Thursday!!

I wanted to post the news as soon as I saw the post but I wanted to make sure the Nesting Chairs giveaway stayed front and center for you so I’ve been hopping from one foot to the other for the giveaway to be over so I could share my news!! :) Print & Pattern is one of my most favorite daily reads so was beyond thrilled to be featured. Bowie always finds the most beautifully patterned products and fabrics to share so it feels really, really amazing to be featured again. Soooo cool!

Have a wonderful week!

My Sewing Machine Cover AND a Nesting Chairs Giveaway!

2011-03-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you guys are all like this...

I have a list of things to-do that's a mile long. And absolutely nowhere on that list does it say 'go make something for your sewing room.' But this last weekend I set the ever present to-do list to the side and made myself a pretty sewing machine cover. I used my Nesting Chairs fabric and the matching Nesting Chairs pillow panel (for the big chair in the center). I pieced it together in strips with white sashing and quilted it in stripes and a concentric box. All that's left to do it make and attach the binding and add grommets with ties to keep the sides closed.

I'm thrilled with the way it's turned out so far. I love little projects like this so I can actually finish them. I think I worked for 3 hours or so on Saturday and it was a great diversion and really fun. (Insert sheepish grin here...Remember that duvet cover I started a while ago? It still sits unfinished. I've finished piecing the top but haven't quilted it/assembled the duvet pocket...I hope to get that finished soon...) So, I'm hoping my machine cover project may have inspired you to tackle a quick and fun project (that's not on your to-do list!).

I'm going to give away a FQ set of Nesting Chairs in Aqua/Orange + 1 Pillow Panel to one winner. Yahoo for giveaways, right?!?

Just leave me a comment here and tell me what project you might use your Nesting Chairs in. I'll randomly draw one winner this Monday 3/21/11 around 8am CT. Oh, and I'll get my sewing machine cover finished by then too :)

NEW line for Robert Kaufman - Pooches & Pickups

2011-03-10T08:55:00.005-06:00

I am so excited to announce my newest line for Robert Kaufman, Pooches & Pickups. I've been super quiet about it and I've just nearly been busting a gut in anticipation to share the news. The colors are simply delicious and the designs are really fun. I can't wait to share the whole line with you! It's great for little ones (and for big ones with a penchant for modern and whimsical fabric).

For those of you with fabric stores, make sure to add Pooches & Pickups to your list of goodies to carry. The Robert Kaufman sales team will get all the info in mid April so place your orders with them then. The line should be shipping to to stores in stores ~~sometime in May~~ Update: April!! so you guys can start sewing with it really soon!!

Once the line goes out to the sales force I can show you the whole collection(and a few little projects I've been working on with the fabric) but for now I only can share this little sneaky peeky with you. I'll be hosting a giveaway for some FQs in mid April, so make sure you keep checking back. Woof woof!!

Tufted Tweets making a tiny appearance on Design*Sponge

2011-03-07T20:16:00.007-06:00

Well how surprised was I to see one of my Tufted Tweets journal covers making an appearance on Design*Sponge today? (One of my all time favorite design blogs. Ever.) Grace and her team at D*S did a sneak peek of the glorious house of ridiculously talented designer Anne M. Cramer. (I would wear literally anything she's designed. How unbelievably sassy and fabulous are her clothes?) And there peering from a frame on her mantle is one of my little Avian Therapy journal covers. (Insert spazzy dance here...) It was such a fun thing to get to see today.

Photo from Design*Sponge by Adrienne Page

And in other news, I have some new journals in development. Collaborating again with the wonderful Mica of May Books, we're working on new journals featuring several of my newest designs. And I'm super excited that Nesting Chairs (and some of the coordinating patterns) will be among the chosen designs! The journals should be ready in the next month or sp, so I'll give you the heads up when they're available.

In the mean time, I have a a few journals from our last collaboration listed in my store so get them while they're still around if you're interested.

Meet my new Tufted Tweets Apron!

2011-02-13T09:20:00.004-06:00

I developed a serious crush on these cute little vintage inspired aprons by Julie. So I broke into my Tufted Tweets stash and shipped her some fabric. Lickety split she sewed this darling apron for me. It's beautifully finished and just so cute.

I'll be wearing it this afternoon (and feeling all sassy in the kitchen) when I get started on this evening's dinner. I'm not sure if Julie has any Tweets fabric in her stash, but if you ask her I'm sure she could track some down and make you your very own apron too. :)

Nesting Chairs - Available in the shop!

2011-02-05T15:22:00.007-06:00

At long last, my new Nesting Chairs collection is available in my shop. I'm so excited and I hope you love them.

You may recall my struggle with my colors on the yellow Stacked Chairs. (My yellow wasn't holding up the way I was comfortable with...) You guys were really wonderful and shared some very insightful suggestions for incorporating enough yellow to finish out the collection while solving my printing dilemma with the solid yellow background. I played with subtle backgrounds that 'spoke' to yellow and loads of different shades of grey. For the design, I wanted the beauty of the shapes of the chairs to be very simple and showcase their architectural quality and I just kept coming back to the yellow upholstery. And I'm so happy with the result. I like it even better than where I started. (It reminds me of a great yellow sofa my Grandmother had when I was little!)

OLD

NEW

The entire collection is available in two color stories: Yellow & Grey and Aqua & Orange.

I hope you'll pop over to the store for a bunch of detail shots!

The other item I've added is a new DIY Pillow Panel in orange/aqua and yellow/grey. I am soooo excited about these. You can make your own pillow cover using this printed panel. It's printed on Upholstery Weight Cotton Twill, and its ideal for a couch or bed cushion cover. I bet it could also be used for a super cute panel in a tote or diaper bag! The panel is 17.5" x 17.5” a features a swirly background with a Nesting Chair and Ottoman. Included with the panel are easy to follow instructions for sewing a pillow cover that will fit a 16" x 16" insert.

Happy shopping!!

Giveaway winner

2011-02-05T10:19:00.002-06:00

Happy Saturday everyone! It's time to announce the winner of the giveaway for the little Polar Bear Peek-a-Boo bin. I had a great time collaborating with Lesley at Smidgebox Designs and just as much fun reading all about your collaborations. Thanks so much for sharing!

The lucky winner is #31, Deserae! I hope you love the little bin and that you'll send Lesley and I a picture of where it ended up going to live.

I've been under the weather for the last few days and am finally starting to feel a bit more human today. I even think I have the energy to make some French Onion Soup (my favorite!) It's been cold with a bit of snow (which is very unusual) here in Austin so it's perfect soup weather. I posted the recipe a long time ago and it really is just divine.(If I can find it, I now substitute beef consomme for the broth because it just makes it more rich and gives it more depth...) Wish it was ready now! Yummmm....

Polar Bear Peek-a-Boo Bin | Giveaway!

2011-02-01T08:51:00.005-06:00

One of the most fantastic parts of having this blog, my Flickr group and my Etsy store has been all of the wonderful people from all over the world that I've been able to e-meet and get to know. What an amazing community out there and I'm so glad you keep writing and visiting.

One of the great people I've gotten to know, is Lesley Stenning over at Smidgebox Designs. Over the holidays we decided to collaborate and I asked Lesley if she would make me a few of her adorable peek-a-boo storage bins using my Polar Bear fabrics. I just adore Lesley's finishing technique and couldn't wait to see little polar bears peeking through. Well, of course I was hoping they would be really cute, but instead they are beyond adorable. Lesley made me 2 (which are already hard at work here at my house). Don't you love them?!?

And the surprise is that we have one of these cute fabric storage bins that Lesley and I are giving away! To enter to win, just leave a comment here on my blog and tell me about something fun you collaborated on (or would like to!). I'll randomly draw a winner after 8am CT on Saturday Feb. 5, 2011. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you!

Here's details on the little cutie that could be coming to live with you soon:

5" square, 5" high [12.5 cm]
rustic linen + cotton
interfaced for structure, but not stiff
This little storage bin would be equally at home in a child's room or your home office. Round up bits of this + that, anything from paperclips to post-it notes, hairbands and accessories!

Once you've registered to win, make sure you head over to Lesley's store and her blog to peruse her other lovely goodies.
smidgebox.etsy.com
smidgebox.blogspot.com

Good luck!

Friday Night Sewing

2011-01-29T10:35:00.008-06:00

At 9:30 last night I decided it was the perfect time to sew a new little quilt for the cats. Why I always decide to start projects when it's really far too late in the evening to do so is beyond me. But the result is a pretty darn cute cat quilt.

If you remember, I made a tree skirt during the holidays? And the cats loved it? Well, I haven't had the heart to take it away from them, so the tree skirt has been on the floor in my living room for the entire month. Very attractive, eh?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love those little Santa Donkeys, but I think it's time for them to go into storage so they can surprise me with their cuteness next year when I'm unpacking my holiday decorations.

So, back to last night. It took me 4 hours, but I sewed up this sweet little quilt for the kitties. I'm working on a duvet cover for my bed so I just used some of the left over squares. I finally mastered getting the walking foot on my machine and was able to quilt something for the first time with lines that didn't get all shifted around and weird on the back side of the quilt. Yeah me!

Dexter trying out the new quilt (after he muscled Fiona off of the quilt which would explain the slightly crazed twinkle in his eye)

Awoke this am (granted a tad late...) all filled with crafty energy so made a few little valentine's cards (family stop reading here!). :) I cut a few hearts out using my pinking shears, free motion stitched them to blank cards and hand stamped the word LOVE on them. Super fast and fun. (But apparently must go back and clip threads!) A really nice way to start off what I'm sure is going to be a lovely day.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

p.s. Color dilemma for the Nesting Chairs solved and I should have the fabric listed in the store within a week or so. I can't thank you guys enough for all the feedback and ideas. It was lots of fun to hear your thoughts and they were really a great help.

Color dilemma...help me decide?

2011-01-12T13:20:00.011-06:00

So...before I ever post pictures of new fabric I'm getting ready to launch in the Etsy store, I always go through a several rounds of design, ordering of swatches, washing of swatches and only THEN do I take the photos, post the pictures on my blog and declare the fabrics ready to sell.

I follow this process this because I'm very particular about my colors, and because digital printing can be tricky with getting the color you're looking for and in getting the colors to hold up the way you want them to.

And I got so excited about this new Nesting Chairs collection that I broke my usual process (bad designer) and did not wash my fabrics before I snapped pics and posted them in my sneak peek post. Well... I washed the fabrics last night and 4 of the 5 are divine. Colors holding well and just what I had hoped.

BUT, I'm just not happy with the way the yellow background is holding up in this chairs fabric.
(This is the pre-washing photo)

The large areas of uninterrupted yellow background are just not setting very well. (I've experienced this before with yellows and greens as well...) So what this means is that this design just isn't going to end up working out for digital printing in it's current incarnation. So, I'm going to have to reduce large fields of contiguous yellow in this design. Which makes me sad because I love it just like this... But that's nature of the beast.

I've been tinkering with the colors and wanted to get your thoughts because I am really torn. It's also an interesting view into how much color modifications can really change the feel of a design.

#1: I started by simply swapping the colors (light grey background, yellow chairs and dark grey upholstery.) Not loving this...

#2: So then I tried mixing up the colors and making some of the chairs yellow and some dark grey but keeping the light grey background. Better, but not perfect...

#3: So then I tried swapping the light and dark grey and really not loving this at all...

So I'm left with a dilemma. I can keep tinkering with lighter and darker shades of grey which would probably make some impact, but frankly, what I really want is the one with the yellow background that I started with! But since that's not an option, of these 3, I am probably leaning towards #2.

So I'm going to delegate the decision to you guys. :)

Do I go ahead and kill the yellow chairs design and just launch the collection with 4 patterns? Or do I replace the yellow chairs with #2 above? Or do I keep tinkering with different greys?

My gut tells me that none of them will have the feel that I'm after (because I want the yellow background!) and that I should just put that design on a back burner for now and go with the 4 in the collection instead of 5. Aaargh!!! What do you think? Your feedback would be MUCH appreciated!

p.s. Heather and Ashley: You ladies asked about other color stories for this collection. :) I am thinking of aqua and orange but am still tinkering... Feedback from all encouraged of course!
Of course, it would be a few weeks before I could get these tested and ready for sale. But what do you think?

New fabric designs - Nesting Chairs - Available in my Etsy store soon!

2011-01-10T15:24:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year!!

I hope 2011 has started off with a bang for all of you. My year is off to a really wonderful start and I'm just feeling so positive about everything! For whatever reason, I just know 2011 is going to be a banner year.

I've been diligently working on new designs to license both for fabric and for other categories (like bedding, tabletop and home decor etc...). I can't believe that Surtex (the big licensing trade show in NYC in May) is right around the corner. It will be my second year exhibiting and the show will be here before I know it! I've already begun some early work on my signage and booth materials and am working on loads of new designs to add to my portfolio.

And in fabric news, I just got back my first Spoonflower samples of some new fabric that I am going to have available only in my Etsy store very soon. I've been pining for new chairs and couches fabrics for the store, so I'm so excied to announce that have a new collection called Nesting Chairs. The palette is a lovely shade of goldenrod yellow and some warm and lovely greys. There are 5 patterns in the collection. I'm still working on names for each so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Just leave me a comment! :)

I'll be working to get the Nesting Chairs collection loaded into the store and for sale within the next week and will let you know as soon as they're available for sale. I just got so excited I wanted to share them with you!! I'd love to hear what you think.

Santa Donkeys final sale - Only three half yard sets left

2010-12-29T23:24:00.003-06:00

Clearing out the very last few pieces of the Santa Donkeys and Holiday Boots fabric! Priced to go from my shelves to your sewing table. :)

Regularly $34 for the 1/2 yard set, I only have THREE sets left and have marked them down to $20 each. Come and get them because once they're gone, they're gone!

Tufted Tweets Giveaway at Form & Fabric

2010-12-26T10:10:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! I've been thoroughly enjoying the time off and have had such a great little break. My house is filled with family and I have a belly full of delicious holiday treats. I think I may even spend a bit of time doing some sewing this afternoon.

I got a sweet note from my friend Margaret who recently opened up a fabulous online store called Form & Fabric. She has a great selection of hard to find fabrics, $2.99 shipping and does a monthly fabric giveaway. And guess what she's giving away this month? Loads of Tufted Tweets!

Photo by Now and Then Photography

Four fabulous Tufted Tweets bundles are up for grabs. Head on over to Form & Fabric to enter to win before 1/30/11. There will be four winners:
- One Grass bundle with four half yard cuts
- One Orchid bundle with four half yard cuts
- One Sorbet bundle with four half yard cuts
- One lucky person will win a complete set of all colorways!

Good luck!

Dear Santa: A snake was not on my list...

2010-12-14T18:07:00.008-06:00

Over the Thanksgiving break my sweet mom brought me an adorable little patio-sized kumquat tree. (A kumquat is a type of citrus fruit similar to a very small orange that's sour like a lemon). I've always wanted one, so was just giddy when she drove up to my house with it her car as a surprise. What a great holiday gift. Thanks mom!!

It's been chilly at night in Austin, so each day I've been diligently dragging the little kumquat tree (who is maybe 3 feet tall) in and out of the garage so it can have sun during the day and can stay out of the night's chill in the evening.

Last weekend, I grabbed the pot by the top rim and picked it up and eeeeeeeekkkkk there is a snake curled up under where the potted tree had been sitting. A very tiny snake, but still...it's a snake people. It was maybe 5pm and I was cold and didn't want to deal with it. But the snake looked cold (and I am a giant softie) so I went inside and got an old bath towel, tossed it on top of the snake and went inside to enjoy my evening. Didn't give the snake another thought.

The next morning, I went out to move the kumquat back to it's usual sunny spot, and figured the snake would be long gone. I mean, what kind of snake is going to just hang out under a bath towel all night? So I moved the towel and eeeeeeeekkkkk there is the snake. Hmmmm.... Now what?

OK. So this little snake is maybe only 12 inches long and no thicker than a pencil. It's still pretty cold so he's being really still thankfully. Mom (who has been great at catching all icky and scary creatures for my entire life) was in town again, so she grabbed some garden gloves, a box with a lid and just scooped the little snakey into the box. I then came out from behind the pillar on the porch (where I was bravely encouraging my mom) to check out the little guy. And to my surprise, guess what that little guy has on the end of his little tail? Holt cow. It's a baby rattle snake people. Yes, a rattle snake! eeeeeeekkkkk. A rattle snake!!

Yep, that's fluff from the bath towel by his eye in the shot below...

Mom (who is even a bigger softie than I am) knows where the Austin Wildlife Rescue Center is, so we put 1st the snake box into a 2nd box. (I mean I don't want it to pull off some sort of Houdini-like escape while in my car, right?) We drive to the rescue center and drop off the snake and a donation. Easy peasy and they were thrilled to welcome their newest boarder.

Now...On the drive home it starts to occur to me... Does that little snake have brothers and sisters? And where the heck are they?!? After much discussion and several days, we've determined that my yard (which is NOT in the boondocks or anything people) is likely not hiding a rattlesnake nest somewhere among it's leaves. Mom got the kumquat from a little garden center that IS in the middle of nowhere in the Texas hill country and the snake was probably just a stowaway. That's my hope anyway...

But good old Mom is coming back over this weekend to help me re-pot that little tree. I just want to be sure there aren't a bunch of scary little guys waiting for me amongst my kumquats. And if any of you out there know anything about snakes that you think I should know (i.e. my stow away theory seems very unlikely) I'd appreciate your thoughts!

So, don't be surprised if you see a snake appear in some future fabric design. You'll know just where he came from!

Urban Circus Winner

2010-12-10T09:12:00.003-06:00

Thanks to everyone for leaving comments for the giveaway. From Cabbage Patch dolls, to Etch a Sketch, to Hungry Hungry Hippos and the good old great outdoors, I had so much fun reading about your favorite childhood games and toys. I used to love to draw and paint and to roller skate. I was convinced I learned to skate faster than any little girl ever and wanted to contact the Guinness Book of records to see if there was a category for that very important accomplishment. Who knew that big green pom poms on a girl's skates could make her feel so special? :) Thanks again for sharing all your great stories!

Randomly selected, the winner of the fat quarters of Urban Circus is Jen B who said:
'My favorite "toy" was my bicycle! I would go everywhere with my bike, to school, visiting friends, through the woods, all sorts of adventures!'

TGIF! Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are. And make sure you set aside a little time to play :)

Urban Circus - Giveaway!

2010-12-07T17:57:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've done a giveaway hasn't it?! Well lets change that right now. How about a full set of FQs of Urban Circus?

I had so much fun designing these prints. I guess they come from that 'I-guess-I'll-always-be-a-little-kid-at-heart' place we all have lurking just beneath the surface. Just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite toy or game was as a kid. And have fun reminiscing!

I'll randomly select one winner this Friday Dec 10, 2010 around 8am CT.

Have a great week and can't wait to hear a little about your childhood!

Journals atre on ON SALE! Great stocking stuffers!

2010-12-05T22:26:00.004-06:00

What a great stocking stuffer these little journals would make! I carry one in my bag everywhere I go and it's just perfect for jotting quick notes (or sketches) they're super durable. They made with special canvas covers that are resilient and water-resistant and are filled with 100 blank pages of partially recycled paper.

And for a week only (through next Sunday 12/12), they're marked down from $12 to $10. They come in 8 different patterns with my designs, so now's a great time to stock up. These are only available in my store so when you're thinking about gifts this year, perhaps one of these would be perfect for someone on your list!

Need more quantity than what's listed in the store, just let me know and I'll check my inventory.

Let the holiday decorating begin!

2010-11-30T16:48:00.008-06:00

Can you believe that today is the last day of November? This year has completely flown by and I can hardly believe the year is coming to an end soon! It's been a wonderful, wonderful year and I plan to make the very most of every minute of the holiday season this year. Even though I live in Texas (where we're lucky to have 'fall-ish' weather with practically no winter) it really feels like the holiday season around here already!

The day after Thanksgiving, I put up the holiday tree and it looks really lovely. I grew up in a house where there was a menorah next to a tree every year and I've continued the tradition here in my home. :) The tree is looking lovely and I had hoped to put pictures up today but this post ended up being longer than I thought so I'll share more pics and some other cute holiday projects later this week.

I've been busy making holiday gifts and new stockings for the mantle. I had SOOOO much fun with these. Tufted Tweets everywhere in my holiday decor this year!!

As you know, I'm not the greatest free motion sewist (is that the right word?). But these little cuties were the perfect solve for that. And felt. Glorious felt. The most forgivingly wonderful fabric. I love that they look handmade and love all the crazy stitching. I was really inspired by 3 very talented ladies to make the little circles. And then it took off from there. Stockings. Ornaments. Garlands. Oh my!

The fabulous Lucie Summers (check out her Etsy store here) and her mom, made the world's most amazing quilt. Seriously jaw droppingly gorgeous, eh? Take the time to click through her photo stream. You'll be amazed...

And I have been lucky enough to strike up a friendship with the incredibly talented, sweet and funny Sam Cotterill of mummysam fame. Her new book, Fanciful Felties is divine. Beautifully written, super duper fun projects and really just an overall delight to read. I am thoroughly addicted and am working on a small softie village for the guest bedroom. And being the very talented gal that she is, she also has some gorgeous fabrics she's designed for sale in her etsy store.

For months I've had a huge crush on the fabric boxes that Lesley at Smidgebox makes. So super, duper cute! I'm hoping she'll be making me a few early next year!

And finally, the pattern for the stocking itself (free!) is from Amy Butler and can be found here. I of course added the little peek-a-boo circles to the front of the stocking. Her pattern is wonderful and it's fully lined which I love. My stockings are lined with green Birdies on a Wire which it turns out is a great holiday fabric!

I've also sewn up some holiday ornaments and a garland in this same style. I actually made TWO garlands. One for me and one for you! I'll be doing a giveaway in the next few days and someone will be able to hang a Tufted Tweets garland in their house very soon! The only rule will be no making fun of my free motion stitching 'skill'...I'll also share some details on how I made the little peek-a-boo windows (easy-peasy) in my next post. Have a wonderful night everyone and have fun with your holiday decorating!!

A blog post from my publisher about the book!

2010-11-16T21:09:00.005-06:00

How delighted was I to be pointed in the direction of a lovely and very sweet post by Rotovision about my upcoming book, The Complete Guide to Designing & Printing Fabric. They also included some sneak peeks of a few pages which they've kindly agreed to let me share here! In addition to the 'techie' tutorials for how to digitally set up repeats and all that good stuff, there's loads of information in the book about color, inspiration and tutorials for hand rendered designs too.

It just gives me chills to start to see everything coming together. I have to tell you that writing the book was one of the most challenging and fulfilling things I have been fortunate enough to do. All of the text is now officially complete after 5 months of really, really hard work. (Yahoo!!!) Now I'm working through the editing process and I'm getting to start to see some of the layouts from the art director. It's really amazing how many people are involved and how long the whole process takes. I can hardly believe it will be next fall before I get to hold a copy in my hands!

In addition to getting to interview some amazing designers and collaborate with some really talented people, another one of my favorite parts of the book was getting to work on all the photography. I completely and totally lucked out and was able to get the talented Ryann Ford to do my photography and Robin Finlay to do my styling. What an amazing duo they are! I only wish we had taken more 'behind the scenes' shots. This was from one of our shoots where Robin styled a fake bed to show off this gorgeous Bird in Paradise fabric from Umbrella Prints.

When you see the final shot, you would NEVER in a million years guess that the bed was actually a couch cushion. :) As we get closer to the publication date (next fall is still a long ways off!) I'll have more and more to share with you. Stay tuned!

Santa Donkey - Tree Skirt finished!

2010-11-15T14:33:00.003-06:00

First, thanks to everyone for making me giggle at myself and my previous tutorial for charred croutons. :)

Over the weekend I finished off my tree skirt! Am really happy with the way it turned out and its going to be so much better than the usual wadded up sheet that usually doubles as a skirt each year.

The only challenge is that every time I put it down on the ground to photograph it, the cats come over to 'help'. So just pretend there aren't kitties lying on it/under it and you'll get the idea. I'm beginning to wonder how these curious little creatures are going to do when the tree actually arrives. I'm beginning to fear for the safety of my ornaments...

In other holiday crafting news, I'm working on some fun holiday garland from Tufted Tweets and I'll post pics of that as soon as I get them done. Hoping to possibly get them finished this week. Maybe I'll even make 2 and do a giveaway!!

What fun holiday sewing projects are you working on?

Another reason I would prefer not to have salad for dinner

2010-11-10T19:05:00.002-06:00

So I figured I would have a nice quiet night at home and eat a healthy salad for dinner. Here's how my well laid plans literally went up in flames around me this evening...

1. Make salad. Healthy leafy greens. Me: "Gee, this will be a nice healthy dinner. I should do this more often! Hmmm. Fresh croutons...gee that sounds great. Where is that loaf of bread anyway?"
2. Cut croutons from loaf of bread
3. Place croutons in toaster oven under broiler
4. Completely forget about croutons
5. Wander out of kitchen to sort mail
6. Remember croutons
7. Run like a crazy person across house towards kitchen
8. Enter smoke filled kitchen
9. *X&^%*!
10. Grab potholders
11. Throw back door open
12. Remove charred/flaming/smoking used to be croutons from toaster oven and place them outside to continue to smolder
13. Realize that smoke detector is about to go off
14. Close door so cats do not run away forever when smoke detector starts
15. Race towards hall closet for broom (cannot reach smoke detector)
16. Smoke detector goes off
17. Smoke detector then sets off the house alarm
18. Push button on smoke detector to stop screeching sound (i.e. slam broom end into smoke detector)
19. Jump off chair and run to alarm pad to turn off alarm
20. Phone is ringing (alarm company) so run back to kitchen to get phone and tell them all is ok
21. Miss call from alarm company because phone not on charger. Where is phone?!?
22. *X&^%*!
23. Run upstairs and find cell phone instead (pass two terrified cats on the way)
24. Call alarm company
25. Alarm lady: "Hello Ms. Wisbrun, we have dispatched the fire department to your residence."
26. Me: "Ummmm.... You can cancel that call. I just burned some croutons."
27. Alarm lady: "Pardon? So you do not require the fire department?"
28. Me: "No ma'am. So sorry for the trouble. All is well here. Thank you for your help."
29. No longer hungry. Stupid salad.
30. Head to kitchen. Where is the gin and tonic instead? I'll just have that for dinner and enjoy the burned toast smell that has permeated every room in my house.

Hope you are having a wonderful, crouton-less evening where you are! :)

New fabric in the shop | Polar Bears!

2010-11-05T14:16:00.005-05:00

I am so super excited to announce that I have 4 new patterns in 2 color stories listed in my Etsy store. Wahooo!!! Say a big hello to the Polar Bears :)

I've been working on these polar bear designs since late summer and finally decided they're ready to make their big debut. Every time I look at them, they make me smile so I really hope you like them too.

In terms of the colors, I got so many emails when the 'Sherbet' color story for Urban Circus was retired and it's one of my all time favorite color combos. So I'm thrilled be able to bring it back. And there is a more gender neutral color combo of aqua and red called 'Ice' that I just adore.

Everything is available in the store and I have a few yards of each ready to ship now and can print additional quantity of whatever you need. Have a great weekend everyone!

Multi Bear Dots in Sherbet

Small Bear Dots in Ice

Flowers in Sherbet

Dashed Stripe in Ice

Progress - Santa Donkey Tree Skirt!

2010-10-27T15:02:00.004-05:00

So sorry for disappearing for a while! I was on a much needed vacation (to Santa Fe which was amazing!!) and have just returned and am diving back into my giant pile of projects.

I'm slowly but surely I'm making headway on the Santa Donkey tree skirt! I knew I wanted to do something with big pieces and white sashing so I could really show off some of my favorite holiday fabrics and be able to highlight my Santa Donkeys and Holiday Boots fabrics. I have to say, I'm really loving the simplicity of it all and it sewed together super duper quickly.

I'm very inexperienced with free motion quilting. In the past, I've either hired out that portion of my quilt projects or tried them myself (which translates as: most of my attempts to date with free motion quilting have not ended well...) But because I really, really wanted this tree skirt to turn out well and I am determined to finally get the hang of free motion quilting, I turned to the ever-so-talented blog community for help.

As always the tutorials from Elizabeth at Oh Fransson! saved me from myself. So that's how you make a quilt sandwich without giant creases, lumps and bumps! I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent on previous projects crawling around on the floor only to end up with a lumpy quilt sandwich. Which of course led to a hot mess of a back once I got started on my quilting. But not on this project!! The back is just as smooth as the front. :)

And then there was the actual pattern for the skirt. I found a fantastic tutorial for a square tree skirt from Crazy Mom Quilts and have modified it to fit my design. Her instructions for the hole in the middle are genius.

I hope to finish off the project this weekend so will post pics when I'm done. Hope everyone is doing well!

Kitty mind meld

2010-10-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have those days where your to-do list just never seems to shrink? I'm having one today. But I took a break a few minutes ago and looked over to see this. Kitty mind meld (oops, I just gave away the secret that I'm a bit of a Star Trek fan, didn't I?)

Just wanted to share the cuteness. Ok, back to work!

Urban Circus Giveaway winner + PJ pants

2010-10-16T15:31:00.005-05:00

Thanks to everyone who dropped by over the last week to leave a comment about how you have been (or would!) using Urban Circus! It's always so much fun to hear about all the creative ideas you have in store. And to those of you who shared new pictures of what you've been making with the fabric in my Flickr group, an extra special thank you. What gorgeous and inspiring creations!

And now to announce the winner of the giveaway. Chosen by random, the winner is #89 Jennie who said: I would love to make a quilt for my baby granddaughter's room and a wall hanging for her brother's room with this delightful colorful fabric.

Jennie: Fat quarters from the entire collection are headed your way. I really hope your grandkids love what you make with the fabric and that you have a great time sewing with it.

I also want to share a pair of PJ pants I made for myself from the pink Elephants fabric. But since I couldn't model them and photograph them at the same time, you'll have to imagine what they look like. Here they are in an artfully arranged pile. :) A kid at heart, I just couldn't resist a pair of adult PJ pants from the pink elephants. They have quickly become my favorites. Why should the kiddos be the only ones who get to wear animal prints?!

It's a beautiful day here in Austin so I'm headed out to enjoy the rest of my afternoon outside. I hope everyone has a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

Giveaway - Urban Circus FQ set

2010-10-09T09:47:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite parts of the day is checking my blog and my Flickr account for new comments and pictures. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to see what you guys are making with my fabric. The quilts, the bags, the clothes... SOOO cute! Lately I've noticed there haven't been as many pictures of creations made with Urban Circus though.

So I'm hoping that perhaps if I entice you with a giveaway, you'll post some more pictures!! Here's how the giveaway will work.

--Only one entry per person regardless of how many pics you post or comments you leave please. I want everyone to have a chance to win!

--The winner will receive a full FQ set of both color stories of Urban Circus. That's 8 FQS!!

--TO ENTER: Leave me a comment here (this will be your entry to win). Tell me either what you have made with Urban Circus (or any of my fabrics!) OR if you haven't made anything yet, tell me what you'd like to make! I will draw a winner after 9am CT on Saturday 10/16/10.

--Then if you have pictures to share, just head over to my Flick group and post your pics! I would really love to see what you've made!!

To get you in the mood, here are a few pictures of some recent creations from some very, very talented folks! (Thanks for sharing these!!)

Baby Kimono PJs
by dodgebutterfly.blogspot.com

Urban Circus Quilt
by xceler8one

Have a wonderful weekend!

Getting started on a holiday tree skirt

2010-10-03T11:03:00.006-05:00

I've been trying to figure out what to make for the house at the holidays that can be festooned with cute little Santa Donkeys and Holiday Boots. And then I remembered that I don't have a tree skirt. Every year I end up taking a bed sheet and 'draping' it around the base of the tree. Which pretty much always looks like I have a wadded up sheet under my tree. So this year, I think a tree skirt is in order!

I'm just getting started on the skirt and frankly not really clear (yet) on where I'm headed but I know I want to do some squares with Santa Donkeys in the center and some other squares with some Holiday Boot hexies. This Chartreuse Kona Cotton is a perfect match and it happens to be one of my all time favorite colors.

I'll post pics as my tree skirt progresses. And the Santa Donkey and Holiday Boots fabric is posted for sale in the store. And if you've started any projects with the Santa Donkeys, I'd love to see pictures so make sure you post them in my Flickr group.

Big news! Rhymes with hook...

2010-09-29T11:42:00.004-05:00

For the last few months, I have been keeping a big old secret. And I can finally share the news! :) I am writing a book on Designing and Printing Fabric and it will be published in Fall of next year - 2011. Rotovision is publishing the European edition and Chronicle Books is publishing the US edition.

The book is packed with information on the design process, step-by-step tutorials, interviews and loads of what I hope will be inspirational information and photos!

Here's the official description of the book from the publisher: "The Compete Guide to Designing and Printing Fabric is a practical and comprehensive handbook that walks readers through the entire fabric design and printing process. Packed with clear, easy to follow step-by-step tutorials, this book provides inspiration and advice on how to design patterns, and also explores a wide variety of different printing methods such as digital printing, screen-printing, stamping and stencilling. Interviews with established fabric designers also provide valuable information on setting up and developing a fabric collection, and useful advice on how to approach manufacturers. Textile design is a highly competitive industry and the Complete Guide to Designing and Printing Fabric is an indispensable reference for all fabric designers and crafters seeing to expand their knowledge and take their skills to the next level."

Writing the book (which I'm still deep in the midst of) has been the most amazing experience. I can't wait to share updates with you! It's going to be a long year before it finally comes out (next Oct 2011) but I will keep you posted on progress as I go. I've been dying to tell you all about it and now that the cat's out of the bag I can keep you up to speed. :)