More Back-to-School Goodies!

We are honored to be featured in two current industry publications with some more back-to-school goodies. Whether you're starting kindergarten or going off to college, we have something fun, hip and chic for you to carry your "goodies" in! :)

First off, we designed these adorable Lunch Totes that look like mini briefcases, for the Spring 2013 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited. This issue is in stores NOW, so run out and get your copy. Our Lunch Tote pattern is located in pages 26-30.

We made our totes with Textured Basics on the outside and lined them with our Lush laminated cottons, so they would be water resistant and easy to wipe clean.

Here's what the magazine cover looks like, so you can easily find it at the store! :)

Secondly, the latest installment of SCRAP LAB, in the Fall/Winter issue of Quilts and More, features this super fun laptop bag designed by our very own Emalee Grambo of MODKID Studio! Fellow designers, Carrie Nelson and Rachel Griffith, also designed some fun bags for this Bag Extravaganza issue, so be sure to check them out too!

For this challenge, we all used a selection of fabrics from the Road15 collection by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics. Here is the magazine cover... lots of awesome Fall/Halloween projects in this one. :)

Used with permission from Quilts and More® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

One Million Pillowcase Challenge

Have you heard about the One Million Pillowcase Challenge from our friends at American Patchwork & Quilting? Last year we participated in this challenge and, with the help of some very talented and generous women in our community, we were able to donate 57 pillowcases to local chairties.

This time, when APQ asked if we would be interested in participating on the Pillowcase Pinterest Challenge, we didn't hesitate before saying yes, yes, yes. After all it's such a great cause!

The winning pillowcase was this darling Train design (the link will take you to a PDF you can download if you'd like to make your own) and we knew exactly what fabric we would use to make ours. The blue colorway of my new line, Just My Type, for Michael Miller Fabrics, is perfect for this design! Check it out!!

If this Train pillowcase is not your cup of tea, there are 35 other designs in the APQ site that you can download for FREE.

We had such a great time sewing up this sweet pillowcase and knowing that it will go to a great cause! Our pillowcase will go to:

The Child Advocacy Center
200 W. Front St.,  Suite 500 B
 Bloomington, IL  61701 

If you'd like to participate and donate your pillowcase to charity, here is a list of ideas on where to donate.

Two wonderful features for MODKID = two awesome projects for YOU!

This month we have the utmost pleasure to be featured in two prominent magazines, Australian Homespun and American Patchwork and Quilting. Yes, that is my name in the front cover of Australian Homespun... SQUEAL!



And since both magazines requested we provide their readers with a full fabric kit for making their project, that means that you can now make these awesome projects without having to search the world over for fabrics and notions.

Lets start with this adorable LILY SKIRT featured in Australian Homespun (Kit available here).



It's twirly, ruffly and oh, so sweet! And it even comes with a removable bow so she can also wear it on her hat, purse, backpack or headband. Instructions for this sweet skirt appear on pages 35 - 39 of Vol. 13 No. 10 in Australian Homespun, right after a wonderful bio on myself and history of MODKID. It's really a great read!



You can purchase a full kit with all the fabrics (from Lush) and notions needed to complete this skirt (up to a size 10) here. You can purchase a digital version of the magazine on Zinio or subscribe to it on Amazon. For a physical copy of the magazine check out the following distributors:
In the US: Erica's
In the UK: The Cotton Patch and Manor House Magazines
In New Zealand: Needlecraft
In Singapore:  Car Kit PTE

Now, on to this wonderfully soft knit quilt, called OVER UNDER QUILT, featured in the December 2012 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting (Magazine available in stores NOW! Kit available here.)

 

When the editors at APQ emailed me to ask if we would design a quilt featuring our new Heaven & Helsinki knits, I was so excited because, as some of you now, I LOVE working with knits and have made it a personal goal of mine to educate the world about how easy it is to sew with them (not scary at all!). And, I've also been preaching the virtues of knits for quilting because of our own experience with it. My girls both sleep with knit quilts in their beds... they are so soft and cuddly and feel so comfy against your skin.

Emalee designed this super easy-to-sew basket weave pattern, which APQ titled OVER UNDER, and we are offering a kit of all the fabrics you need to make the quilt top and pieced backing. All you'll need to add is the batting! Magazines are sold separately in news stands across the country. I found my copy at my local Barnes & Noble.



Images used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2012 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that MODKID is now offering worldwide shipping on our website. Up until now, we only shipped internationally for wholesale orders, but now we will ship anywhere and everywhere!

One Million Pillowcase Challenge
57 closer to the goal!



I was honored when the team at American Patchwork and Quilting asked me to help promote this amazing event called the One Million Pillowcase Challenge. In case you have never heard of this, APQ is tring to reach their goal of sewing 1 million pillowcases and donating them to charities around the country. I was so touched by this program that I decided that MODKID should become a participating shop... and so we did! Next thing you know we had people coming out of the woodwork to help us help APQ reach their goal.

We had a sew-in last Friday with some local sewing and quilting enthusiasts and check out what we made...



Everyone brought their machines, set up camp at MODKID and sewed up some beauties, using patterns readily available here and fabric donated by us.



Even my girls pitched in...



All in all, we finished 18 pillowcases that day, including a couple sent in by my mom.



If you'd like to see some of these up close and read about what fabrics and patterns we used, click here, here and here.

But that's not all! My former intern, Jessica, organized a sewing group at Illinois State University's Apparel Merchandising and Design Association, and they were able to make 39 more pillowcases! Just look at all these young girls sewing their hearts out at the ISU Sewing Lab! It's so great seeing a whole community come together for a wonderful cause like this one.







Yesterday, Emalee and I collected all the pillowcases, divided them into 3 groups and delivered them to the following charities:

The Crisis Nursery

Children's Home & Aid

1119 E. Taylor, Bloomington, IL 61701 

***

The Clare House

Center for Battered Women
703 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, IL

***

The Child Advocacy Center 

200 W. Front St.,  Suite 500 B
Bloomington, IL  61701

We got to tour their facilities and hear their stories, and just felt so lucky to be able to help out like this. I would like to thank each an every one of you who helped us with this cause... Terri, Pat, Jen, Beth, Carissa, Vicky, Maria (a.k.a "Mami"), Sophie, Sydney, Erin, Emalee, Jessica and all of the AMDA students! Also, a big thanks to APQ for organizing this wonderful event!

Would you like to make your own pillowcase at home? Leave us a comment and on Monday, Sept. 24th we'll randomly draw a winner who will receive enough fabric to make two pillowcases plus a full-color print out of the pattern of your choice from the APQ site. You can keep one and donate the other, or donate both... it's up to you. You can find a charity in your hometown or send the pillowcase(s) back to us and we'll take them to one of the charities above. Please, don't forget to leave a way for us to contact you if you win. GOOD LUCK!!