Urban Circus - Giveaway!

First, thank you all so much for your very thoughtful and sweet notes on my last post. They were really wonderful companions and will be terribly missed. I'm still a pretty big weepy mess but each day will get a bit easier. All of the personal stories you shared, good thoughts and prayers you sent my way are really tremendously kind. Thank you.

Let's get to that giveaway now! As you all know, my second line with Robert Kaufman called Urban Circus is coming out soon. It will start shipping in August which is just around the corner! I can hardly believe it... I think it's a bright and cheery line and I see so many possibilities for cute projects! Quilts, pillows, pjs, bags, clothes for the kiddos, clothes for big people (I would love a skirt from the elephants...).

I whipped up a picnic quilt a few weeks ago that I just love. The quilt pattern is from Erin at House on the Hill Road and it has little pockets on the back of each corner so you can tuck a rock in each corner to keep your quilt from blowing away. It's hand tied and with the big 16x16 squares it came together in an evening. I just backed it with a simple bed sheet so I didn't have to mess with piecing the back.




Here's the details on the giveaway. Good luck!!
-I'd love to hear what projects you'd make with Urban Circus
-Two lucky winners will each get FQ packs with both Spring and Earth color ways
-I'll draw the winners this Sunday AM, 7/10

Urban Circus in Spring



Urban Circus in Earth



A quick update and another fabric giveaway! After you leave your comment here, make sure you go visit my pal Sam's blog, Mummysam. She's got a new line coming out with Robert Kaufman in the same time frame and you will LOVE her fabric!

Very sad news

I am heartbroken to have to share the news that Clara dog is no longer with me. I had to put her to sleep yesterday morning. Two days ago she got very sick, very quickly and the vets feared she had a brain tumor. I am thankful it happened so quickly though so she did not suffer.

I was so very fortunate to have had her with me for so many years. She was the sweetest, most gentle soul and I will miss her terribly. It brings me some comfort to know that she is with her Zoe cat who we lost 3 months ago. They just adored eachother. Go play together my sweet girls...

Doggie Tee (tee hee....)

This post is from Clara dog. Lodging an official complaint against my mom, Laurie. She says I have to wear this dippy t-shirt until I stop licking my elbows and creating the beginning of a hot spot. First a bath, then a haircut. And now this...Really?! The indignity of this entire episode is just a tad much for me...



p.s. Come back early next week for ANOTHER giveaway! Who wants FQs of the NEW Urban Circus fabrics!? Robert Kaufman will start shipping the line in August, so the lucky winners will be the first ones to get cuts! :)

Smile...It's a photoshoot!

One of the things about building a business, is the list of things that you need to get done seems to never get any shorter. And although I have some head shots (BORING) for my press kit and my website, I've needed to get some new shots of myself taken. Something a little sassy and fun that shows off my personality a bit.

Now, I should tell you that I HATE having my picture taken. I mean really detest to the core of my being having my picture taken. And it generally shows in my photos (when I can be coerced into having any taken...) I usually look slightly pained and annoyed. Which of course makes it hard to get a good photo of me. (My mom will be nodding her head vigorously when she reads this because she is always nagging asking me for a new picture...Sorry mom, couldn't resist...)

Enter Lisa Woods of Now and Then Photography. Photographer extraordinaire/miracle worker. I did a shoot with Lisa earlier this week here in Austin. We met up at 7am to beat the Austin heat and headed out for our morning shoot. I was excited but apprehensive... And the shoot was so incredibly fun! I mean really fun! Lisa put me at ease right away and we just had a great time going from location to location and chit chatting. Smile, snap, smile, snap, smile, snap. Laugh, snap. Before I knew it, the shoot was over. And it didn't hurt one tiny bit :)

Lisa sent me over a few of the shots, and I wanted to show them off! This woman is just simply brilliant with a camera. The angles, the light, and the color saturation is just outstanding. So if you are anywhere close to Austin and need photos, make sure you give Lisa a call. Check out Lisa's blog for examples of the beautiful baby, wedding and portrait work she's done.








I was positive that I was too heavy to sit on that suitcase and I was convinced I was going to break it... :)

And mom, when I get the rest of the pictures back from Ms. Lisa Woods, photographer extraordinaire, I promise I'll get you a few new pictures :)

Donkey Giveaway Winners

Hmmm... That title may be a tad misleading. The winner did not actually win a donkey. (Kate's sister will be happy to hear that I'm not actually trying to abscond with Dizzy the Donkey...) Look at how soft his nose looks by the way!

Sorry. I digress...I am very happy to announce that Wendy of Why Knot is the winner of 1/2 yard each of Donkeys and Wellies fabric AND the Wonky Donkey pattern designed by the wonderfully talented Kate Conklin. Congrats Wendy!!

Thanks to everyone for such great color ideas! I've noted all of your suggestions and I'll see what I can do on some new colors sometime soon. Thanks for making this giveaway so fun!




And this is the final reminder of the 15% off Urban Circus sale in my store. I'll be taking final orders through this Sunday AM 6/27. Once I pull the Urban Circus fabric listings down from the store those color stories (Sorbet and Grass) will be gone forever, so place your orders now if you'd like some of that fabric! I'll be shipping out orders in mid-July to those of you who placed orders during the sale.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Ridiculously Ridonkulously Cute - Donkeys and Boots Giveaway!

When Kate Conklin offered to design one of her modern quilt patterns featuring my Donkeys in Wellies fabrics, I of course jumped at the offer! Kate's patterns are wonderfully fun and the design that she created for my Donkeys and Wellies fabric is no exception.




The Wonky Donkey Quilt (tee hee Kate...love the name!) follows a "stack and slash" method and the quilt instructions makes creating this quilt look really easy and like quite a bit of fun! The quilt only needs 1 yard of my fabric (1/2 yard of Donkeys and 1/2 yard of Boots) and features lots of solids to show off the patterns. (Kate's pattern lists the solids she used in her sample quilt.) I think the quilt is just aborable and lovely. Well done Kate!!

And you will never believe this in a million years... Kate's sister has a donkey! Yes, a donkey! And his name is Fizzy. Could you die at how cute that is? And Kate took some great pictures of Fizzy modeling the quilt. Squeal!! Ridiculously Ridonkulously Cute!





Now to the free fabric!!

Kate and I are each hosting a giveaway. Two lucky winners will each receive Kate's Wonky Donkey pattern and a yard of my fabric (1/2 yard of Donkeys and 1/2 yard of Wellie Rain Boots). Kate and I will each draw a winner on June 24th.

So to enter for your chance to win here on my blog, just tell me about any other colors you might like to see Donkeys and Wellies in. Who knows what I might be able to cook up!

And make sure you head over to Kate's blog for your second chance to win. Best of luck!

p.s. I am running a bit low on Donkeys and Wellies fabric but have a WHOLE bunch on order. Although my etsy store says I have stock, it may take me 2-3 weeks to be able to ship any Donkeys or Boots fabric. (Except for the giveaway winners who I have been saving some yardage for!!) So, I’m super sorry for the delay but it will be worth the wait!! Spoonflower is printing the fabric as fast as they can and I'll ship orders out as fast as I can the fabric here!

Couldn't leave you without a few more Fizzy pictures and a reminder that the 15% off Urban Circus sale in my store ends on 6/27!

Urban Circus in my mailbox

Well, not actually in my mailbox, but Urban Circus via Fedex sounds much less fun...

So...how excited was I today to get my first cuts of Urban Circus?!? Another dork out moment. When I opened the box and spied that pretty little selvage with MY name on it, I just couldn't contain myself. My name? Really?!? I did a brief happy dance that surprised (ok mildly freaked out) the dog and then just sort of stared at them for a bit. It just seems totally surreal some days!

I'm so very happy with the way the colors turned out. Spring is such a sweet, sassy and preppy group. And Earth is just so bright and I think it just looks handsome and happy. I really hope you like them. They'll be in stores in August, so the wait is almost over. In the next few weeks, I'll host a giveaway and share some FQ packs so a few lucky folks will get to be the first to start sewing with them!! So make sure you stay tuned :)







And don't forget that time is running out for you to get Urban Circus in the original colors (Sherbet and Grass). They're all 15% off through Sunday 6/27, so if you haven't placed your order, time is running out!

Urban Circus - NEW colors sneak peek + 15% off sale

Hello bloggy friends. I'd like to officially introduce you to the two new color stories of Urban Circus . These are new color stories that will be available through Robert Kaufman and I'm so excited to see them start making their way into the world in August!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm still waiting on actual cuts of the fabric from Robert Kaufman, but here are some early scans I received during the production process. These were quick scans so they're pretty crooked and the colors aren't coming through very clearly but you will get the general idea! I should be receiving real fabric cuts by mid June and will post pics as soon as I get them. Friends meet Urban Circus in Earth (top picture) and in Spring (bottom picture)!

One of the real joys in getting my designs mass produced on big presses is the color saturation that's able to be achieved. Working with Robert Kaufman, they wanted two color stories that were clearly designed for boys AND for girls. So Spring and Earth were born. I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but I guess I will always have a soft spot for the Elephant pattern and I just love the way it turned out in both of these new color stories.

And in related news, there are only 7 days left to order the original color stories Sherbet and Grass from my Etsy store.





Here's a quick reminder of how this final sale will work.

All of the current Urban Circus patterns in both Sherbet and Grass are on sale in the store for 15% off. This FINAL sale will run until Sunday 6/27.

On Monday, 6/28 I will order the fabric from the printer. It should take a few weeks to print so by the 2nd of 3rd week of July I will be able to ship out the very last batch of Urban Circus in Sherbet and Grass. Don't miss out on your last chance to get these fabrics!

Have a wonderful Sunday!
--laurie

p.s. After much anticipation, the Unfurnished pattern for the Tufted Tweets fabrics that Ashley at Film in the Fridge designed is available for free download on the Robert Kaufman site!! I just love the pattern she created and am so excited to see all of the quilts you guys make! Don't forget to send me pictures! I added a link to the quilt pattern side bar of the blog so look over there :) -->

Big News for Urban Circus and Final Urban Circus Sale

While it hasn’t been top secret or anything, I’ve kept pretty mum about Urban Circus and the exciting news! Ready?!? Several of the Urban Circus designs have also been picked up by Robert Kaufman. Wahoo!!! And the best news is that they will start shipping to stores in August! Yes. August! There will be 2 color stories (which I can post here as soon as I get my sample cuts). And I have to say, I think you will LOVE them.

The two new color stories are really different from the color stories I’m currently selling in my store and will be really versatile. And there is a new coordinating geometric stripe to round out the collection.

So that means it’s time for me to retire the current Urban Circus patterns and color stories in my store. I will be placing 1 more (and only 1) final order for these fabrics from Spoonflower and then shipping it out at the same time to everyone who orders. So if you have been eyeing these colors or need to stock up for a project, this is the time to do it.






So here’s the plan:

I’ve placed all of the current Urban Circus patterns in both Sherbet and Grass on sale in the store for 15% off.

This FINAL sale will run until Sunday 6/27.

On Monday, 6/28 I will order the fabric from the printer. It should take a few weeks to print so by the 2nd of 3rd week of July I will be able to ship out the very last batch of Urban Circus in these colors.

Then starting in August you’ll be able to go to your LQS and get the NEW Urban Circus being distributed by Robert Kaufman!

Let the stash building begin!

AND… I should have some *brand new* fabric patterns to add to the store at some point in July. :)

Lovely Hexie Footstool

A few months ago I picked up this stool that was just screaming with possibility. The top opens on a hinge so you can store little bits and bobs inside. Not so pretty when I bought it, but I was just positive that it could become super cute some day. I also knew I wanted to use Tufted Tweets to cover it with, but wasn’t sure which fabric and which color. And then it went to live under a table in my studio and it just sort of stared at me for a while.



And then Sunday afternoon I had a hankering to do some sewing and started on hexies. Here’s my verdict… I really liked making the hexies. Very relaxing and I can definitely see the addiction. Such a pretty little pile!



But I really didn’t like hand-sewing the little guys together. I’m a sloppy and impatient hand sewer and my whipstitch just kept getting bigger and bigger as each little hexie was added on. By the time I was done, I have to admit I was pretty happy that my stool is tiny!! To those of you who have made entire quilts from hexies. All I can say is WOWZEEE. You are patient people.

So back to my stool… :) I had some of this super pretty blue high gloss paint (that just happens to match the blue in Tufted Tweets!) so threw 3 coats of it on the stool. Love high gloss paint! A quick trip to Home Depot yesterday for some new shiny hinges and ta-da. Meet my new foot stool!!





Nice stitching Ms. Wisbrun...You'll notice the whip stitching isn't exactly invisible...Oh well. I shall just say that it adds character!



My only sadness is that my kitty Zoe-cat isn’t here to enjoy it. She used to sleep on the ratty old one and keep me company in my office and just loved it. (I had to put my sweet girl to sleep in April. I was lucky enough to have her with me for 10 great years. I still miss her terribly. Sweet baby girl cat.) Sob...Sniff...

So in her honor, I think I shall name my stool the Zoe Stool. (Have never named my furniture before but in this case it seems appropriate, right? )



I still have some hexies left. I can just top stitch some of them onto a napkin or something right? I’d love to use them/make some more but need to find a way to use them without having to hand sew them. Do I need to put some interfacing behind them before I top stitch them on the napkin?

And I’ve gotten a few notes from ya’ll wondering when the Unfurnished quilt pattern that Ashley at Film in the Fridge designed for Tufted Tweets will be available on RK’s site. I’ve been told by RK it will be up very soon! As soon as I get word that it’s there I’ll make sure to let everyone know. Such a beauty that quilt is!!

Another Tufted Tweets Giveaway!

Peg and Becca, the two lovely ladies behind Sew Fresh Fabrics have just received their shipment of Tufted Tweets! I'm so excited to hear that the fabric is starting to arrive at stores!! This wonderful pair been huge supporters of mine and I hope you'll drop by their store and pay them a visit. They're graciously giving away three fat quarter 4-packs of Tufted Tweets (four designs in one colorway) on their blog on Friday, June 11 to three lucky winners.

Just head over to Sew Fresh Fabric's blog and leave a comment and let them know what fabulous project you want to tackle with the Tweets! :) Best of luck!



Today is one of those days that I *should* be cleaning my house. But I just don't feel like it. So I am decadently ignoring the pile of laundry and the dishes in the sink. And I think instead I will start a new project. I was inspired by this lovely photo of Tufted Tweets hexagons from Ashley at Film in the Fridge.I've never tried hexies and am frankly a little apprehensive. From what I hear, they are hugely addictive. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Tufted Tweets - Pin Cushion Winner

I'm so happy to have been able to host such a fun giveaway with Cindy from Around the Block Quilting. When she offered to make some of her adorable pincushions from Tufted Tweets selvage I was so excited to see how they would turn out. And she certainly didn't disappoint. The very lucky winner of the red Tufted Tweets pincushion is:

#46: Upstate Lisa

Congrats Lisa!!!

And if you didn't win, make sure you check Cindy's blog because she is giving away the purple pincushion today.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone!