Juicy Bits

125: sweet as strawberries and the king of super-heroes

I really do love halloween.  It makes me sad that I don't get the opportunity to dress up very often anymore.  I may need to throw a party again sometime soon.

But that's OK, I can live vicariously through my kids.  :)

So I did get the chance to sew again this year.  Next year Quilt Market is on Halloween, so I don't know how that's going to go.

Aurora requested Strawberry Shortcake.  But not your regular old Strawberry Shortcake.  She has a new look, you know.  A new movie came out on DVD recently.

I thought this was a great idea, very sweet and pretty simple too.  I took a t-shirt and sewed the skirt onto the bottom.  This lovely strawberry fabric came in handy.  Then came the accessories: a hat, a bag, tights, and even a jacket.  Sadly the strawberry buttons for the jacket didn't make it in time.

I have to say, the weather at Halloween here in the Northeast drives me crazy.  Some years it's freezing.  Like you need to wear a million layers and even a coat over your costume.  That's often a pain.  But then you have a party or something to go to indoors and you'll sweat to death.  I put the turtleneck under Aurora's this time and had the jacket, but even though it was raining it was like 65-70 degrees out so no need for the jacket.  Frustrating.  

I think this might be generally cute enough that she can just wear it as regular clothes.  If you love the little strawberry patches, you can get them at Fabrichound.

And yes, that is pink hair.  we sprayed it, which is a big mess, but perhaps less annoying than a wig.  She only colored it 2 of the 4 times she dressed up.

Now, Theo didn't get to decide.  I went with a generic super hero.  We were calling him "Super Theo!"  But, yes, it is an Elvis jumpsuit.  I just added the "T" on the belt and the back of the cape and lengthened the cape a little.  I had originally planned for a mask, but it never happened.  And I know the hairdo isn't exactly The King, but more of a cute greaser.  

I wish it was possible to get a clear action shot, as he was very excited he was "gonna fly".  The running/flying shots all look something like this:

But I did enjoy this jumping one.  Definitely an action hero.

What a cutie!

Hope you all had a great holiday.  We had a grand total of ONE trick-or-treater because of the rain.  Yikes that's a lot of left-over candy!

JT

124: quilt market round-up part 3: all the rest

Happy Halloween.  I know I'm very behind the game here, but I'll share the adorable halloween pix next, for now I have to wrap the loose ends of quilt market.

 Basically this is everyone I remembered to get photos of.  I don't know why, but I'm so paranoid that someone will be offended that I didn't mention them or post a photo of them.  I guess because I met plenty of new amazing talented artists and shop owners.  There is so much out there I could never hope to capture it all.  

So in the spirit of brevity (and so I can just get on with "regular" posts already) here they all are:

Echino/ Seven Islands - I think this is my favorite picture from market.

Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery fabrics being interviewed by Bari J.

 

Fig Tree Quilts

 

Lila Tueller

Pink Fig Patterns

Angela Yosten at Moda Bake Shop

Patty Young

Paula Prass

Michelle Engel Bencsko at Cloud 9

A gang at Serendipity Studio including designer Kay Whit, Caroline, Myrinda, and Traci.

Some Free Spirit quilts - Heather Bailey's (designed by Scott Hansen)

Jenean Morrison's new line.

Anna Maria Horner's new flannels (also designed/sewn by Scott)

Tanya Whelan

Brandon Mably with his and Kaffe Fasset's fabric.

Kati Cupcake

Melanie and Rosalie of Melly and Me

123: quilt market round-up part 2: windham

Back again with some more Quilt Market goodness for you.

Today it’s all about Windham.  I mean, if I don’t toot my own horn, who will?

So here’s the sad thing: I didn’t take a picture of the whole booth.  Totally snubbed the reproduction fabric lines, which Windham does so well.  Oops.  And that means you don’t see the overall theme of the one room schoolhouse that won us 2^nd prize.  But you can go see it on the Windham blog.

Here’s Laura accepting the ribbon.

 

But I did get photos of the designer’s stuff.

Here they are from left to right:

 Allison Jane Smith. 

 

Flutter is her 3^rd line with Windham.  She also has 4 books she’s published.  Wow.

 

The quilt was hard to photograph with the lighting.

 

Paige Stanley Miller

 

This sweet, timeless collection is called Juliet.  Pretty, right?

Bari J. Ackerman

 

You all know Full Bloom, right?  Well, this is her latest and greatest called Art Journal.  Her signature hand-painted look. 

 

And see that quilt?  That’s gonna make an awesome kit, right?

 

Me!  (Jessica Levitt)

 

Well, if you’re a regular reader, you already know what the collection looks like.  It was fun to see it all together like this.

 

I’ll try to do some posts with each project I made at a later date.

 

Genevieve Gail

 

She’s back with a beautiful new collection called, Gypsy Garden.  The colors are amazing, and I love the “weathered” finish to the designs.

And let's not forget Anna Griffin's amazing booth.  A beautiful, sophisticated Christmas line.

We each had to do a block from our collection for the blackboard.  You’ll notice there’s one from Rosemarie Lavin’s new Feelin Groovy.  Sadly she didn’t have a quilt there…

 

Here’s a closer look at mine:

 

And I’ll leave you with our resident “Fabric Pimp”, Mickey Krueger.

 

Next up is basically "everyone else" that I managed to get photos of.

 Ciao.

JT

122: quilt market round-up part 1: some of the stars

Well, I­’ve made it back from Quilt Market.  Of course it was a blast and totally got the creative juices flowing, but at the same time, I’m sort of tuned out to work right now.  Just can’t quite get back in to the swing of “regular” life, if you know what I mean?  Except I'm totally enjoying family time, these last few days.

 

Anyhow, I will give you all a “market report”, as I know that’s what you want.  That’s what I’m all about.  Giving ‘em what they want.

So today we’ll start with some of the stars of or fabric and sewing world.  You know, the household names.  

 

I took a ton of pictures, but not nearly as many as last time.  It turned out I didn’t have as much time to walk around as I did then.  In fact, I didn’t see everything!  How can that be?  So if I don’t have pictures of your booth it may be I never saw it or I forgot to take pictures.  Oops.

 So these are some of the bigger names.  Not all, mind you.  I mean, I didn't even know Jay McCarroll was there.  

These first ones are the lovely Amy Butler and her new collection Love.

 I got to meet her this time around.  So sweet and humble as everyone says.

 

Next up is Heather Bailey.  Oh boy, did her booth impress.  She won first place.  Obviously.  

Seriously, I just wanted to move right in.  

I love the new collection and I’m excited some is coming in oilcloth.  I’ll be buying some of that up, before it’s gone in 5 seconds.

 

 

And now we have Anna Maria Horner.  Yes, she pulled this off with a 5 month old baby.  Is she human?  I think not.

 

No really, she was super-sweet and her baby Roman, was just adorable.  This fabrics looks pretty, but wait til you feel it.  So luscious.

 

And even a shot of the infamous Allie and Juliana:

I’ll include Sandi Henderson’s booth here too since she won Best Merchandising.  Another gorgeous line I’ll have to add to my stash.  And patterns too!

 

I’ll include the other Michael Miller designers in another post.

Next up is a close look at the Windham booth (we won 2^nd place for multiple booth!) and my section in it.

JT

121: consider this

your official invite.  If you'll at Quilt Market, come meet me.  I mean it.  I'll be hanging at the Windham booths.

Life's crazy with all the prep, but I had a little fun today.  I actually got to drive out and visit the Windham offices and warehouse.  I guess I'm a total fabric geek, but it was thrilling for me.  Seeing all those bolts stacked up, and inside seeing all the different storyboards and swatches...

I can't wait to see stacks of my own fabric. 

JT

***Notes: 

The bag hanging on the chair is made from the Catalina Sling pattern by Pink Sand Beach Designs.

The Dress is the Gracie pattern from Sandi Henderson.

The larger bag is Black Forest by Melly & Me.

114: a closer look

Phew!  What a whirlwind I've been going through.  Yesterday my husband was saying how it seems like we're always in the midst of big "push" to get something done.  That's not exactly true, but it sure does feel like it lately.

Anyway, I've been quite busy designing, planning, sewing etc for Theo's birthday.  He's two today!  (well, yesterday by the time I get this post up).  I'll have lots of details of the whole construction-themed shindig soonish.  I'm playing catch-up with pictures right now.  

And in the midst of that we all picked up and flew to FL for 2 nights for my Grandmother's funeral.  It was actually really nice to see all my extended family (my dad is 1 of 8 kids!) but it was quite a bit of dragging the kids all over the place and we got back the night before the party...so now you know why I'm exhausted...

But I did promise you a closer look at Timber (for Windham Fabrics) and here it is in three colorways:

Prints clockwise from top left: Gingko in Sea Glass, Dogwood in River, Pear in Mist, Magnolia in River, Bamboo in Sea Glass, Apple in Mist, Willow in Mist, Maple in River

Prints clockwise from top left: Gingko in Malibu, Dogwood in Malibu, Pear in Sugar Plum, Magnolia in Sugar Plum, Bamboo in Sugar Plum, Apple in Sienna, Willow in River, Maple in Sugar Plum

Prints clockwise from top left: Gingko in Java, Dogwood in Sienna, Magnolia in Sweet Grass, Bamboo in Java, Maple in Sweet Grass, Gingko in Sienna, Maple in Java, Willow in Sweet Grass, Pear in Sienna

I must say, the thing I'm the most excited about is to see what you all make with your fabric.  Promise me you'll send me lots of pictures, k?

And I spoke a little too soon before, I don't think the fabric will be hitting the stores much before the new year.  But I already know of two places that have ordered the whole line.  One of my favorite quilt shops on Cape Cod, Tumbleweed Quilts, and a great online store (and awesome new friend), Fabritopia.  If you're a store owner and you're ordering the whole line, let me know and I'll post a big list or something so everyone can find you!

I can't thank you all enough for your kind words on my last post.  It seems everyone believed in me even before I did.  I wish I could email you all back personally, but it just ain't gonna happen right now.  But I'll be back on track soon...

JT

113: at last

Well gosh, it seems like eons have passed since I started working on these designs, but finally I get to show and tell.

So here she is.  My first fabric collection, Timber.

OK, it's not exactly ALL of her yet.  I'll try to get up a post with every print in the next few days (I hope).  For now you can enjoy that little title drawing and here is an electronic version of a free quilt pattern we'll be offering.  It has every print in it, so if you squint, you'll get to see it all.  :)

If you're a shop owner, the collection is ready for order from Windham Fabrics right now!  Woo hoo!  And if you're just a regular shopper like me....well, you'll still have to wait until late fall.  Sorry.

JT

109: no restraint

I can't help myself.  I remember being younger and being amazed how much fabric my Aunt could buy before using all her other stuff...but now I'm just the same.

Anyway, I was working on a project recently and wanted a little bit of a solid fabric to go with it, and I discovered I really don't have any.  Literally, I had like 6 different pieces of solid color cotton and considering how I have hundreds of prints...that was just a shame.

So when another blogger posted about Kona solids at Fabricshack.com for $3.99, I decided the time had come.  And I ordered a whole palette.  Apparently I kinda focused on blue.  I'll have to balance it more later.  

It's so fun to look at all the colors and to know when I go looking for something, I might actually have something usable in my stash.

Some of the colors were strange...which, of course, I expected.  I think my least favorite is "pistachio".  And I must say "denim" is not remotely denim colored (although it's a pretty enough blue).  The lovely people at Fabric Shack were kinda enough to label all the colors as I had requested.  Coal, teal blue, chartreuse, and squash are just yummy!

JT

107: here come the goodies

That's right....finally the giveaway post.

And here's the quilt in all it's glory.

Several people guessed what the pattern would be.  I saw it at this tutorial.  I didn't particularly follow the directions, but used the general idea.  It has no batting and is made from circles of recycled jeans with fabric inset.

Not MY jeans mind you...but someone's.  I didn't want to do very small squares because of time limitations, so I had to go to the thrift store and buy the biggest jeans I could find.  The sales people though I was crazy as I could literally fit in one leg of some of them.  But I didn't want to pull off pockets and such and have them have changes in color.

The instructions recommended zig-zagging the edges but I really wanted the frayed denim edges.  That means this quilt is by no means a study in perfect sewing.  I washed it again after I was finished sewing and had to go back and re-sew the edges that frayed a little too much.  I suspect the new owner may have to do that as well during it's lifetime.  

But I like the rough-around-the-edges look.  It feels like a great picnic blanket.  And I think it will get better with age.  Sorry I can't get it to your for possible 4th of July picnics.  :(

So, "how do I win such a beauty?", you ask.  Well, if you've never before commented on my site, you can't.  Sorry to new readers!  I'm not doing it that way to be elitist, but since it's a whole quilt I wanted it to be somebody who's not just passing through for a giveaway.  Hopefully whoever gets it will really love it and use it.

But don't fret if you are a lurker.  I have consolation prizes.  There are two sets that come with: handmade zippered pouch, three fun, bright fat quarters, six 8 1/2" squares of recycled denim, and a little flower I crocheted (I didn't attach them to the pouches but that certainly might be cute).  I will be givng one of these prizes randomly to someone who leaves a comment on this post and one to someone who has already left a comment on this previous post where I drew out all the lurkers.

My method for the grand prize selection is this: 

1. Randomly pick a number between 1 and 106 (the number of posts before this)

2. Randomly pick a number between 1 and the number of comments on that post (comments left after now won't count)

3. Check to see if that commenter also entered by leaving a comment on THIS post

4. Repeat as necessary to find a winner

So, you have to leave a comment here to win.  I won't be overly picky about what you say.  If you want to be fun, you can send me your favorite cookie recipe.  I'm particularly interested in finding a good shortbread-like sugar cookie recipe for big, thick cutouts.  I bought the most amazing ones for Easter with a slightly lemon frosting that I'm hoping to re-create.  I'll leave the contest open until Tuesday at midnight, just in case some of you are too occupied with the holiday.

AND....if you can be the first to tell me where I can buy PEACH colored raffia, I will make a special prize just for you.  It has to be peach, not coral, or orange, or terra cotta, which I already have.

**** UPDATE: I should have mentioned I'm looking for synthetic raffia!

So good luck to you all.

You should know I appreciate all my readers so much.  When I started this all a year ago I never knew how much fulfillment I would get from sharing with you and getting to know you too.  A whole year....wow.

JT

104: gotcha

Ha!  I knew I would draw out all you lurkers.  Yay!  And please don't think I have any problem with lurking.  I do it all the time.  Who has time to leave comments everywhere they go?  But if you don't say "hi" once in awhile, how will I know you're there?  And how can I check out YOUR blog?  (If you have one...not required, if course)

Anyhoo, I promise that all of you who spoke up, now officially have a shot at the quilt.  That is, if I get it done.  I'm trying, but really just haven't had much time.  We're going away camping for a few days, but hopefully when I get back I can really get cracking.  Do check back at the end of the month...

So, I did indeed go shopping a yarn store.  Boy was THAT overwhelming!  I really needed to have gone in there with much more of a plan.  I have grand ideas of trying a blanket, but wasn't even sure what material or weight of yarn I wanted.  I ended up just buying some stuff that "called" to me (or rather, that I couldn't stop petting) and hope to sort of audition some of them for the blanket.  

Without checking myself, I would have walked out of there with skeins in a dozen different shades of green. 

Speaking of which, do you know "skein" is pronounced.  I didn't.  Well, until Martha told me, that is.  I think it is seriously the only episode of her show I've ever seen.  Tivo somehow miraculously knew I would be interested in her "yarn" episode a week or so ago.  Um, yes.

The best part to me was when someone was show Martha her Amigurumi stuff and she had a super-cute cupcake with a face and Martha said, "So it doesn't make any sense, but it's cute?"  Too funny.

Well, the yarn store just happens to be next to one of my favorite quilt stores., Pennington Quilt Works.  I was terrible at resisting there too.

Here's some random fabrics I bought.

And here's a peek at fabrics I'm already gathering for Aurora's 5th birthday (in September).  I'm going with a peaches and cream theme.

JT

103: gearing up for a giveaway

This is a just a little peek at what's coming for my 1 year blogiversay in a few weeks.

Well, that's IF I get it done in time.  But I'm trying.  I never really thought I'd giveaway a whole quilt...but, yup, I am.

And I mentioned it before, but if you lurk and you think you're gonna want in, you'd better start leaving me love notes now.  I've devised a little plan on how to pick the winner, and only those who've previously commented on my blog have a shot.

Well, I'm sure I'll make some runner up prizes for those that just find me that post.  I think part of giveaways is supposed to be about getting new readers, but I really want to give the quilt to someone who actually reads my blog...not just someone passing through.  However, it will still be somewhat random, so I won't be playing favorites...

These colors make me all happy and sunshiny, even on a rainy day!

JT

101: Quilt Market part 5: shopping, quilts, and big news

This is the last installment in my Quilt Market adventures.  Just some little loose ends to cover.

I'll start with the "big" news.  I've signed with Windham Fabrics to produce my first line of fabric, Timber.  To me this news is just HUGE!  It was a long process to get it all together for Quilt Market and I'm so happy to be moving forward.  I had  tough time deciding which company to work with because really every single person I met with at market was super nice and I could imagine working with them.  But I went with Windham, and I couldn't be happier.  I wish I had more to show you on the topic, but it will be a while longer.  Bear with me...soon I promise...

Anway, the rest of the loose ends are about Quilt Market itself.  Like how I went vintage fabric shopping with Heather Bailey.  OK, OK, maybe not some much "with" as "near".  We just both happened to browsing on of the few booths actually selling fabric at the same time.  Some seriously cool vintage feed sacks and the like.  She was, of course, lovely as we rummaged through the piles together.

These 4 pieces/sacks are what I landed on.  I have plans to make a pillowcase dress for Aurora out of the bottom one.

Anyway, there were several quilt shows (and even a costume/fashion one) on display.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Spring in Japan - by Akiko Kawata

Grandmother's Quilt - A Cathedral Window - by Manon B. Gagliardi

The Kiss: An Homage to Kilmt - Mary Barry

Cinda's Circles - Karen Pharr

When Sun Departs - Laura Stauffer

Winter to Spring - Kathy York

Blue Ridge Springtime - Sandra Werlich

Sedona Dream - Janet Lasher

English Garden Romance - Tracy Anna Bader

Guys, thanx so much for all the well wishes about my Market endeavors and such.  I mean it!

JT

98: Quilt Market part 3: getting busy

I feel like this Quilt Market coverage is dragging on a bit.  But then again I've only been home a week.

Friday and Saturday were actually pretty busy for me.  I was peddling my fabric line wherever I went!  To share a bit about my experience doing that, since some people have already asked, it was well received.  I was VERY well prepared and met with plenty of companies, and I must say that everyone I spoke to was nothing but professional, courteous, and even encouraging.  Even if they weren't interested.  I know that's not the experience everyone has had, so I was grateful.

So, today I'm going to work on showing you more of the booths (in no particular order) that I actually got photos of:

Bari J., and her beautiful new Full Bloom line.

And Genvieve's Flower Bucket.

Lila Tuller won best new exhibitor for her booth.

The adorable Pink Fig Patterns.

Taylor Made Designs...love the robes.

A little section of the Moda Home stuff.

The soothing and elegant Sweetwater booth in the Moda section.

Serendipity patterns.  I couldn't resist the Wonderland trench coat (you can't really see it) and had to buy the pattern.  I'm sure you'll be seeing my version soon.  :)

This is Brandon Mably sewing in his and Kaffe Fasset's booth.

Well, that's it for tonight.  I'll be back with more later.  Hope you're having a great holiday weekend.

JT

97: Quilt Market part two: tweet tweet

Yes, there was a bit of tweeting going on a market.  And yes, I succumbed to peer pressure and signed up for Twitter when I got home.  Soon I'll figure out how to add a little button on my sidebar, but for now, I'm jessica_levitt if you want to follow me.

So, I realized that on my last post, I forgot to share my "most embarrassing moment at market" story.  Why do I tell you this, you ask?  I dunno.  Because I guess I feel I've got to be able to laugh at myself.  Anyway, it's not a huge big deal.  I'm walking over to the hotel for the fake Fabric 2.0 party (wearing the not-comfortable-but-cute shoes I wouldn't have worn had I known I was walking) when I realized my shirt was on inside out!  Now it was a mesh material that looks the same on both sides and has a sort of "deconstructed" look anyway, so since the tag was hidden under a cardigan I'm sure no one noticed.  (I excused myself to the bathroom right away to remedy the situation.)  But here I am meeting all these great designers face-to-face for the first time and I nearly did it with the stupid hanger ribbon thingys showing.  Brilliant.

OK, now I'll start showing you some of the actual booths.  I didn't get pix of them all (impossible) but I'm discovering I have a lot so it might take quite a few posts to get through this all.  :)

I'll start with Amy Butler since she's the biggest celebrity there.

I didn't actually meet her.  I could have, but then I just felt like she talks to hundreds of people and why does she need one more?  But I did buy her new software.  If nothing else I'll use the fabrics that are loaded in on EQ6.

Next up is the lovely Paula Prass.  I got the opportunity to speak with her on several occasions and she is as gracious and fabulous in person as you might imagine.

As you can see, her booth really "popped" because of all the bright colored fabric.

Next to her (the Michael Miller designers each had one of the 4 corners at the ends of their "section") was Patty Young.  And I even got my picture with her!

It was her birthday on friday so you can see a few balloons peeking out.

On the other end of Michael Miller was Laura Gunn's fabulous both.  Her gorgeous paintings translated so well into fabric and I cant wait to get my hands on some.  Plus, she was just as sweet as can be!

And rounding out the MM designers was a quick look at Pillow and Maxfield's Whimsy.

Alright, that's enough for tonight.  I'll be back with more later...

JT

96: Quilt Market part one: the day before

Hi all.

I'm back from my amazing trip to Quilt Market.  Now, if you really don't want to hear all about, I suggest you tune out for the next week or so, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to ramble on a bit.  When I'm the one sitting at home, I want to hear all the gritty details, so now I shall aim to provide that for you!

If you don't know what Market is (I do have some family/friends readers that aren't deep into the crafty world like the rest of us), here's the low-down:  It's a giant trade show of fabrics, patterns, notions, and other stuff for quilters and sewers.  It happens twice a year, once in Houston in October and once somewhere else in the spring.  You have to be in the industry to attend (it's not hard to get credentials) and most are shop owners or exhibitors.  This was the first time I attended, and it did not disappoint.

This is a shot of less than half the floor during set-up.  (If you look closely you'll see Patty Young striking a pose.)

I do think I'll have some good news regarding my fabric designs in a short while, but you're going to have to wait on that.  Sorry!  

Anyhoo...Market runs Fri, Sat, and Sun, but on Thursday they have something called Schoolhouses.  They're little product demos or fabric presentations.  I went to get an idea what they were and check out some new stuff.

I saw Amy Butler's (no pic of her b/c they really weren't flattering and that's just mean) in which she talked about her new line of Sweet Life bags, her new software, and patterns.  

I saw several other fabric designers showcasing their lines, including the whole Michael Miller gang, Kaffe Fasset,

Valori Wells, and more.

It was an informative and enjoyable afternoon.

Later that evening was a little gathering we were calling "Faux 2.0".  Similar to the previous shows'  Fabric 2.0 parties for designers and bloggers, except not so much a planned party as a gathering in a hotel lobby.

The Omni Hotel was gorgeous with its chandeliers etc, and I spent the whole night hob nobbing with designers and fun bloggers and shop owners.  Yes, indeed, I felt like I was running with the "cool crowd".  And I have to say, EVERYONE WAS SO NICE.  It seemed like I used that phrase a million times while I was there, but it was so true.  I showed my designs around and everyone was very encouraging.  Drinks were flowing and the laughing got louder as night progressed.  

Here's a look at who was there:

Joey and Jona from Fabritopia (who I believe organized the whole thing),

Patty Young (of Michael Miller), Myrinda (of Fabric Hound), Jenean Morrison (of Free Spirit),

Genevieve Gail and Bari J. (of Windham), 

Heather Bailey (Free Spirit) and Laura Gunn (her sister-in-law debuting for Michael Miller),

Paula Prass (Michael Miller) (and her daughter Jennifer Storey, not shown), the mysterious Jenny McClean (AKA Tula Pink for Moda) and Myrinda again.

Others included: Angela Yosten (Moda Home Mom) and Camille Roskelley (Thimble Blossoms), Scott Hansen (Blue Nickel Studios), Susanne Woods (C&T Publishing), Sandi Henderson (Michael Miller), Sarah Phillips (In Town Quilters), Mary Abreu (Confessions of Craft Addict), Mary Beth Eastman (True Up), and really more people that I feel bad I'm not listing but I didn't get business cards and it's getting so late and would take me forever to get all the names together.  But you've got the idea...

It was so great to put some faces to names and blog names.  And it was so fun to realize some people actually know me from my blog as well.  Who knew?

I refrained from drinking too much, but I did stay up quite late which, of course, I paid for later.  More details for the next few days to come...

JT

94: it would make a nice tablecloth

First off I have to say thank you to everyone who left kind comments on my last post.  I wish I had time to reply to you all individually, but as you know, it's pretty crazy right now.  But rest assured I read them all and I'll try not to sound too corny, but you guys are so great at encouragement.

Things are progressing well here.  I've been sewing for a few days straight and my necks a little stiff, but it's all good.

Anyway, I thought I'd pull up some old stuff for your enjoyment.  No, this isn't actually a tablecloth.  I'm not that insane.  I just photographed it on a table.

It hides the fact that it's not done.  This is one of those never ending projects.  It's been sitting half-quilted for years now. 

It's not that I don't like it.  I do.  It's planned to go on the bed in our guest room.  Problem is it's so darn big (queen size).  It was my first real attempt at free motion quilting and it's pretty bad.  Mostly I didn't pay attention to the tension so the back is terrible.  But I doubt I'll rip it out.  I'll probably finish it up (there's only like 8 squares left) and just try not to look at the back.  But I think that's why I've never finished it...because I know it will never live up to my unrealistically high standards.  :)

If you can't tell, it's almost entirely batiks.  The only exception is the light blue which is a fake batik print.  The pattern is from Noodle Soup.

JT

93: saying it out loud

OK, deep breath... 

Here I go.

I’ve designed a line of fabric.

 

There I said it.  Now you know.  Notice I said I did it, not “I’m trying to do it”.

Now, the trick is to sell my designs to a manufacturer.  So I’m off to Quilt Market in a few short weeks.

I’m being honest with you, even though it’s putting me on the line a bit.  It’s a real possibility that I’ll come back having heard a lot of “it’s just not what we’re looking for right now”.  I thought about waiting to tell you all until I have a contract in my hand, but I do believe that saying it “out loud” makes it more real. 

I believe in myself and I believe that my designs are good and are something lots of you would like to buy.  (Well, most of the time anyway).  So, even if I don’t get a contract, I will share them with you and hopefully I won’t feel like a failure.  I wish I could show you now, but I don’t think I’m supposed to.  :)

But, one thing this means is: I get to go to Market!  Yay!  I am so excited to meet some amazing people and be inspired by all the overwhelming creativity.

So, who else is going?  Seriously, I don’t know anyone who will be there.  Who will I hang out with?  Who can I say “Oh my God, did you see THAT?” to?  Don’t you want to be my new friend?

Whoever you might be (designer, fellow blogger, or occasional reader), if you’d like to get together and meet and hang out a little (admittedly I won’t have gobs of free time), just drop me a note.  If you’re not going, I promise to take lots of pictures and report back on all the details…it will be just like you were there!

 

And while I’m discussing career stuff (and I don't want to leave you without a picture), here’s a birthday crown I custom made and sold to a very nice mom who found my blog.  (If you’re new to my blog, check out the tutorial to make one yourself)  I get a lot of  “you should sell those” from family and friends…so, yay, I actually did!

 

JT

90: easter goodies

This was my easter creation for Aurora.  I guess you can ignore all my comments about not sewing clothes for the kids much.

I really love this dress, particularly because I could use lots of my favorites from my stash.

She had quite a few compliments on it, and it's funny because she's come to expect that.  She told me that people had better make a fuss about how pretty her dress is.

   

I created my own pattern for this dress.  The inspiration is this dress from Chasing Fireflies.  As you can see it's not really the same style, just shares the ruffled back.  By the way...I love the kids clothes at Chasing Fireflies, but they're SO expensive. 

I'm wondering if this is something others would like to buy a pattern for.  It's not the easiest dress ever.  The actual sewing level isn't that high, but it's time consuming making all those ruffles.  I already have some modifications in mind, but I wondered if it was too intimidating for anyone to want to buy.

You're my market research, so speak up if you're interested...

I didn't make an outfit for Theo, but of course, he looked darling.

Here's the whole happy family:

So, I'm wondering....didn't it used to be warm for Easter?  I have all these pictures of me outside in short sleeves and I know my dad would have made me suffer through the cold like I did to my kids, but I really don't remember that.  I should probably just make my kids do a photo shoot like 2 weeks after Easter on a nice day.

Oh, and I ordered these awesome bunny cookies from cakebox cookies and they really rocked.  I mean so delicious, and I'm really picky.  I wanted to test them out as a potential source for party favors and I will definitely order again.

JT

88: sweet ruffles

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.  And, Happy Spring to everyone in this hemisphere!

This is a little preview of the easter dress I made for Aurora.  It's my own pattern and you will see it in it's entirety very soon.   I have to process the tons of pictures I took today.

It doesn't have the high twirl-a-bility factor that her Xmas one did, but what it lacks in that department, I think it makes up for in poofy ruffles.  Tons of 'em.

It was fun using some of my favorite girly fabrics from my stash.  I think I only bought 1 yard of fabric for the main body of the dress...

Have a great day...

JT

87: do you spoon?

I actually think that spoonflower itself is becoming a verb: to spoonflower.  Much to my delight, I finally spoonflowered some fabric.  But, alas, it was just a boring color test. 

 

It does look kinds pretty though, doesn’t it?  Maybe I’ll make something out of it anyway…

 

Now, for those of you who don’t know what Spoonflower is, well, where have you been?  No, really, I think I have a few family and friends type readers who aren’t deep in the crafty world who might not have heard of it.  So, it’s this awesome company that takes whatever design or picture you want and prints them onto quilter’s cotton fabric.  Sweet, huh?  And it only costs $18/yard.  So now anyone can be a fabric designer.

 

Of course I’m wondering if this adds another level of complexity to quilting since I can now design a quilt and if I can’t find the exact right fabric…well, just get it printed.  Hmmm, I’m not really sure this is a good thing….

But it will be very exciting to see my own designs on fabric, and then make something with them.  The colors did indeed come out totally different, so I’m glad I took the time to do the test.

 

Oh, and those of you who have spoonflowered fabric before…what did you do with it when you got it?  Did you wash and press it?  It feels a little stiff and kinda icky to me right now, but I’m wondering if this goes away with washing.  I think I’m afraid to wash it because it feels like the color will just wash away (I know it won’t, but try telling that to my sometimes irrational brain).

JT