Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Harbingers of Spring

Guess what's happening at our house?
Spring has come to stay!



And then there is this, which is an all together different situation that is NOT happening at our house but I kind of wish it were.


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

My First Repeat

I am taking a class on Skillshare.com called: Intro to Surface Pattern Design: Learn Adobe Illustrator | Create Patterns.
It is a terrific class and I am learning A LOT!
Here is my very first repeat. 

I think it turned out pretty cute for a first try!

I can see that I am going to be playing around with this A LOT.
And, if that is not enough, I am also enrolled in a couple of calligraphy classes, a class on creative self-portrait photography and a class on creating visual narratives.

If any of that sounds interesting to you (plus there are hundreds of other classes) you should give it try. 
Use the following link and you can try if free for a month!    
http://skl.sh/1FP4HA5    
You're welcome!!

Monday, March 16, 2015

Scissor-Frog aka Re-Purposing

Tired of rummaging around in a drawer or bag for your little scissors?
How about using a vintage floral frog as a scissor keeper!
And by scissor I mean: scissors - nippers - stiletto - seam ripper - needle case - purple thing.


Set it right out next to your sewing machine and it can double as art.
The perfect marriage of form and function.

Friday, March 13, 2015

The Nap Sack

Look what is brand new in the pattern shop!




The Nap Sack is a child sized sleeping bag made from polar fleece (or minky) and jelly roll strips.
Super easy! Super cute! And super gift-y!

I made these for my nieces and nephews for Christmas this past year. They loved them!
Not only do they insist on sleeping in them every night (tucked into the nap sack in bed under the covers...hello, ADORABLE) they also like to use them as jumping bags, hide and go seek spots, gymnastic mats, and mummy/ghost costumes. So the "nap" part of the Nap Sack...yeah totally optional!

This pattern will be available in print this spring, but for now you can find it in my Etsy shop as an instant download. LINK here.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Selvage

Here's an idea for ya...


...add a cute piece of selvage to your next quilt label.
Aren't those fish adorable?!

Monday, March 9, 2015

The Last Piece

We took our first family road trip in the autumn of 1999.
A road trip from California to Alaska.
We had $2000 and 4 weeks of vacation time and planned to see and do it all.
We wandered the ALCAN (Alaska-Canadian Highway) at a rather leisurely pace stopping anywhere and everywhere we felt like stopping. We toured caverns and National Parks and historical sites. We photographed sweeping vistas and landmarks and tourist-y kitch. We got out first glimpses of the Northern Lights, and of moose and of herds of caribou.
And I bought my first piece of fabric sold by the meter. (We Americans, of course, are not into the metric system. All of that logical incrementation is just too much for our brains to handle!)
It was a pretty little burgundy rose bud on a butter colored background and I used it to made my youngest daughter a Sunday dress with a pretty crochet collar. It was a favorite of hers and she wore it for years.


The scraps, of course, went straight into the scrap basket and became quilting supplies.
Over the years, little bits have gone into many, many quilts.
There have been multiple occasions when I thought that I had used all of that fabric up, but then a new piece would appear from somewhere. And each time, the new piece would be even smaller than the piece before...some little snippet stuck to the backside of a larger piece of fabric in the basket.

But this time...this time I am certain that this is THE LAST piece. The end of an era.
It was hardly even big enough to work into anything (about a 1" square), but I just could not let it go. So I stitched it onto the tip of a string block and it became part of the 2015 String-Along.


And the rest, as they say, is history.

As a side note, we came home from that trip with $80 in our pockets. Today, I don't even think we could buy the gas to get there and back (in a big ol' pick up truck with a camper on it) for $2000!

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Binding

It looks like I have a day or two of binding in my future.


This, of course, also means favorite old movies and lots of hot tea.
Yeah for me!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Quilt-as-you-go

I have been bitten by the Quilt-as-you-go bug.


 It appears to have a solid grip-on-my-life!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Orphans, Misfits and Strays

I have been amassing blocks that don't go to anything in particular.
For lack of anything better to do with them, I have been layering onto the backside of the studio door.


It is an eclectic little collection that I rather enjoy looking at!
What do you do with all of your random creations?

Sunday, March 1, 2015

March Mood Board

image via: clover rain

A clover rain color story for March. And St. Paddy's Day.
This mood board was designed using a template created in Photoshop.
That template is available as a free download, along with lots of other goodies,  for newsletter subscribers.
If you are interested you can subscribe here.