Easter and Estampados

First of all, I want to thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful comments regarding our big announcement. Your support and encouragement means a TON to us. It's going to be tough for a while but we're up to the challenge. :)

This morning, while Jon attended his fantasy baseball draft, I took the girls to an Easter Egg Hunt at Sydney's school.



The kids got their sugar fix... and I got my photo fix...





They did a little hula-hooping afterward. I opted out. (hey, someone had to hold the camera!)









And when we got home, I saw a little package at my front door. It was way too small to be fabric and I wasn't expecting any packages from anyone, or so I thought. Well, guess what? I had totally forgotten about this adorable little book, Estampados Padroes, published by a company in Barcelona, Spain. It features almost 500 pages of repeated patterns, including a couple by yours truly.



I came into contact with the editor, Macarena, almost two years ago. Yes, I know what you're thinking... every time I received an email from her my hands would swing to my hips and I'd sing, "Eh, Macarena!" :) Just to give you some perspective, I submitted these designs to them before Andalucia (the fabric) came out, so that's how long it's been in production! I am so thrilled to finally have it in my hands. It is gorgeous!!



Page 38 features a 2-page spread of Flora in the Petal palette and on page 375 you'll see a colorway of Flowery Stripe that never made it into fabric!



Sydney has already declared this her book (because, as she explained, it is Sydney-sized), so I may need to pick up another copy for myself. Let me know if you see this book for sale anywhere. In addition to my designs, I see so many familiar names... the fabulous Tula Pink is featured several times (and I see she beat me to blogging about it). And there are some adorable designs by Carol Eldridge and many, many others! Inspiration galore. :)

HAPPY EASTER, everyone!!

SEW MUCH MORE

I met Valerie Haberer, owner of SEW MUCH MORE, what used to be only a Baby Lock dealership in my hometown a couple of years ago when I went in looking to purchase a Baby Lock Imagine. She took excellent care of me and we've remained friends ever since. She has seen me develop into the fabric & sewing pattern designer that I am today and has always been extremely supportive and excited about my endeavors.

She recently embarked on an adventure of her own and has turned her Baby Lock store into a hip & cool fabric shop, offering the latest & greatest in designer fabrics and indie sewing patterns in the industry.

This past Thursday, September 10, Valerie hosted an OPEN HOUSE to celebrate her new endeavor and it was such a fun event. Below is a picture of some of the attendees (a couple had to leave early due to prior engagements so I did not capture the full group)



Valerie and her assistant, Karen, looked so adorable in their matching Mezzanine skirts...



I just had to get in on the fun and give these sweet ladies a big hug...



After a short talk, we revealed the winners of the sewing contest. The decision was so tough because there were so many wonderful entries. I was truly blown away by the local talent... not that I didn't think there was any (haha), but just that they all came forward to showcase their skills and make beautiful creations with my fabric *sniff, sniff*

Janet Walker won in the Women's Wear category for her beautiful Clover Dot Cami

Pam Pittman won in the Bags, Purses & Totes category with her gorgeous Flora purse

Cathie Haab won in the Children's Wear category with her adorable 2-piece Mezzanine baby outfit

Carolyn Bryant won in the Home Decor category with this amazingly fussy-cut Andalucia Table Runner you see up at the top.

Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who entered the contest... everything was breathtakingly beautiful!

A million thanks to Valerie for her support and friendship. And thank you all for attending. I had a truly wonderful night! I even walked away with one of the contest entries... a great scarf made with my Mod Blooms cord. Thanks, Kathy! I love it!!

Get Your Own!

haha... I didn't mean that title to sound mean. ;) I just get so many compliments every time I go out with one of my mom's purses that I thought I'd share my source with you so you can get one too. See? Isn't that nice?!

My mom has been at it again and this time she has loaded up her Etsy store with all kinds of new goodies... all made with Michael Miller fabrics.

(click on each photo to be taken to the Etsy listing)

First up is her most popular purse design, this time made with my ModBlooms baby wale corduroy...



She also played around with Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom fabrics and made a couple of gorgeous purses...





Another version of her most popular design, this time with Michael Miller's Dandy Damask...



A large tote made with corduroy and my Andalucia Mod Dots ribbon...



And finally this sweet little tote, made with lots of Mezzanine, that would be great to take along as a craft purse for those who love to knit or embroider. I also thought this would be perfect as a sleepover bag for a little girl... with plenty of pockets to store her toiletries, toys and treasures!



OH, and she even re-listed her most popular design yet... HERE!

All of the purses shown above are READY MADE and ready to ship. So, go ahead... get your own! :)

Oh, and if you've been wondering what's going on with The Name Game, we're still working on it. This week we've been a little busy but I promise to choose the winners soon. Contest isn't closed yet, so if you still have suggestions... go ahead and leave them under the Name Game post.

Eye Candy

I am always filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation when I send sewing pattern files to print. Part of me is relieved that the weeks and weeks of hard work and sleepless nights has finally come to fruition and looking forward to seeing the printed pieces, and part of me can't help but worry that something could go terribly wrong. Luckily my print vendor understands my fear and has agreed to a rigorous proofing procedure. This might add extra days to the process but in my book it is something I cannot do without. I am extremely happy to report that my first 4 patterns are so far error-free and I intend to keep this streak going! :)

OK, so, since my next 2 patterns, the Sophie 3-Way Pants and the Sydney Euro Hoodie, finally went off to the printer this morning, how about some eye candy for you guys? These are the gorgeous photos I received from my pattern testers this week. I just couldn't keep them to myself!

First off, Meli of Jam Clothing Co. tested the Sydney Euro Hoodie, View B with short sleeves and pointed hood. Isn't her daughter Ava absolutely adorable? I am a sucker for great photography so these pictures just grabbed me!





Meli also sewed up a tunic version of Sydney (with long sleeves and pointed hood) using my ModBlooms corduroy and paired it up with the Sophie 3-Way Pants (View B). AHHHH... love these!





Next, Anna Garner, of Sweet Dreams Designs, tested both the Sydney and Sophie patterns. She used a professional modeling/photography service for her pictures, and it shows! Check out this adorable little girl, Tamar, in her Sydney Hoodie Dress (View B with a rounded hood).





Her little twin sister, Yael, looks like she's having a blast in her hoodie! Photos of Tamar and Yael appear courtesy of Teresa Maureen Photography in Austin, TX.



The Sweetest Thing Photography supplied these amazing photos of the Sophie 3-Way Pants, also sewn up by Anna of Sweet Dreams Designs. I just love these!!





And last, but certainly NOT least, are these super fun photos from Mandy Graham of AbbyChase Designs. You may recognize these sweet little girls from the inside pages of my Kyoko pattern. Yep, I asked Mandy if she'd want to do this again and was so glad she said yes because I just adore these girls' funky poses... so much attitude!



Mandy tested all 3 views of the Sophie 3-Way Pants in 3 different sizes!!!





Hope you all enjoyed the fashion show and a million thanks again to all my pattern testers for all your hard work and amazing photos!!! For those of you waiting on these patterns, they are scheduled to be delivered on July 15th, so we will box & ship the following week. Retailers can place their pre-orders on our website right now (log in to the WHOLESALE page with your password to see the new patterns).

Here's a sneak peek of the pattern covers:

More show & tell... and a great GIVEAWAY!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments about my new corduroy. I am giddy beyond words! It's been a great few days... certainly can't complain! I finished and sent off artwork for my next line of fabrics last week. I completed both of my new patterns, the Sophie 3-way Pants and the Sydney Euro Hoodie, and sent them off to my testers. I managed a great photoshoot on Saturday morning and then spent the remainder of the weekend lounging on the couch. I must've needed the rest because I think I slept like 20 hours this weekend! (that's unheard of around here, by the way)

I spent the first part of my week visiting local quilt shops to show Mezzanine and the new corduroy, then received the great news that Mezzanine is SOLD OUT and going into the 2nd printing! WOOHOO! Thanks to all who pre-ordered! I'm floored by the support. :)

So, since I'm feeling great right about now I think it is time for a fun giveaway! But first I'm gonna make you sit through a sampling of this weekend's photoshoot... mwahahaha!

First is Sydney modeling a new ensemble that showcases ModBlooms Earth in 21-wale corduroy paired up with Tiny Dots in quilting-weight cotton. This ensemble is made up of the Sydney Hoodie (View B with short solid skirt) and the Sophie 3-Way Pants (View B).





Then here she is in the Sydney Hoodie Dress (View B with full stripwork skirt) done up in Mezzanine fabrics. I truly adore these photos of her! I MUST get these blown up & framed for my studio:





OK, thanks for being so patient through my little show & tell. Now on to the GIVEAWAY! I will pick 2 winners from the comments left on this post.

1. Winner #1 will receive a 6-piece fat quarter set of my new Mezzanine line for Michael Miller Fabrics.
2. Winner #2 will receive a 6-piece fat quarter set of my Andalucia line for Michael Miller Fabrics, and to sweeten the deal I will throw in some ModBlooms Corduroy! :)

Disclaimer: these photos are for illustration purposes only. Prize packages will be assembled after winners are chosen!

So, I thought long and hard about what kind of contest I could have for this giveaway. Something sewing-related? Been there, done that! A fun rhyme? Jona already stole that idea! A joke? A recipe? Definitely been done! ;) So, since I couldn't come up with anything clever and I was just DYING to get this up today, I thought I'd just make it super easy on you and let you just leave any ol' comment. Say anything! Feel free to say something funny or clever just for the heck of it. I could use the laugh! Oh, and if you feel so inclined you can tell me how much you love my fabric or patterns... haha... it won't get you any extra points since I'll be choosing a winner with the help of the trusty ol' randomizer, but it'll sure make me smile! ;)

So go on... comment away! I'll choose the winners one week from today (Tuesday, June 30th, 2009).

P.S. Don't forget to leave some sort of contact info in case you win... or just make your name a clickable link so I can find ya!

**THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED at 448 comments!
Thank you all for your wonderful comments.
I will announce the winners tomorrow.**

Babywale!

Nooooo, not baby whale (although isn't this baby Beluga whale from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago adorable?)



I'm actually excited about a bolt of luscious, scrumptious, incredibly soft ModBlooms Earth in 21-wale corduroy that arrived at my doorstep last week:



Let's take closer look...



Gorgeous, isn't it? Wish you could feel the velvety softness. I immediately had to cut into it and make a version of the Sophie 3-Way Pants in it. These pictures will appear in the pattern instruction booklets, since I took very detailed pics of every step of construction as I was making these.



I love pairing up corduroy with other fabrics, like quilting cottons for example. The contrast in textures is so interesting! Check out how cool it looks with the Kiwi Tiny Dots!



Oh, and for all of you who have been emailing me about the Sophie 3-Way Pants pattern, I'm happy to report that it is off to the testers as I write this, which means it is near completion. As soon as I get those notes from my dear testers, I will put it into editing mode and send to print.



OK, so since this post has such a random feel to it already, I'll tell you about our weekend. I thought it was such a coincidence that when I Googled "baby whale" for the image on top of this post, the first photo I found was of that adorable baby beluga from the Shedd Aquarium because we just spent an entire day there on Saturday! Yup! We met up with my cousin Olga and her hubby Jorge, who were here all the way from Puerto Rico to attend the Neocon conference in Chicago. It was a lovely day (a little cool for June, but we were indoors most of the day so it didn't matter.)

We saw a 4-D movie called "Planet Earth"...



Hung out and gossiped about family (of course!)



Played in "underwater caves"...



Posed for photos outside the Beluga exhibit...



I was mesmerized by the beautiful jellyfish...



and all those creepy spiky things that live at the bottom of the ocean...



But what really got my attention were these amazing octopus-wrapped Art Deco lamps we spotted in the lobby. Jeez, how can I get one of these for my studio?!?



Have I ever mentioned my obsession with octopi? One of these days I'll have to scan in some of the dozens & dozens of octopus drawings I've done that I hope will someday find a home in some kind of printed medium, whether it is textiles or paper...

Alrighty... stay tuned for a wickedly cool giveaway I'm putting together! Coming up soon!!! :)