WWC's 12 Days of Christmas

MODKID is thrilled to be participating in Where Women Create's 12 Days of Christmas for the third year in a row. Last year we donated a bunch of sewing goodies, but this year we decided to give away something that EVERYONE could enjoy, whether they sew or not... and what's better than one of our MEGAN purses, already sewn, packaged up and ready to ship?!





This is the exact purse featured in the cover of our MEGAN pattern, designed by my mom and sewn here in the studio by Emalee using Grand Bazaar fabrics and ribbons. To enter the giveaway go HERE and leave a comment on the WWC Blog to be entered to win this and several other prizes donated by the wonderful women featured these 12 days.



Best of luck, everyone! Stay tuned this week as we recap our busiest weekend of the season... including our December First Fridays event (you have to see these pictures!) and Sophie's Harry Potter Birthday Party (so much fun!!). See you soon!!

Like a time lapse movie...

This past weekend I slept like 40 hours total. Seriously, I wanted so badly to hang out and catch up with friends and family but I just kept falling asleep every moment I could... on the couch, on the bed, I even fell asleep on the floor while the kids played video games and I clutched a big fluffy pillow. I guess I was overdue for some R&R since for the last month or so I've averaged like 3 hours a night (or less on some nights!)

When I replay the sequence of events that happened in the past 2 weeks, it sorta feels like one of those time-lapse movies. Ya know what mean?

• May 10th - Jon, Emalee and I drove to Chicago then flew to Salt Lake City
• May 11th - First day of Quilt Market set-up





• May 12th - More booth set up
• Schoolhouse -- I met up with The Dancing Kyokos



Well, they didn't really dance but they did look amazing in their own versions of the Kyoko Misses', didn't they?! From left to right, Julie Herman (Jaybird Quilts), Kristin Link (Sew Mama Sew), me, Melanie Thornton (Above All Fabrics), Traci Butler (Hip Fabrics), Kelsea (Stash Quilts) and Mary Abreu (InTown Quilters). Not pictured, Emalee Grambo. I am forever thankful to all you lovely ladies for making my Kyoko Fashion Show a reality! It was by far the funnest schoolhouse session I've ever had. :)

• Sample Spree (yes, we actually did it!) Ahh, there's Emalee in her Kyoko!



• May 13th -- Day 1 of Quilt Market





• I was interviewed by Daria Muirhead of Boutique Café



• Then by Heidi Porth of Quilt Home



• Then by Pat Sloan of American Patchwork & Quilting (yes, 3 interviews in the same day! I guess everyone got wind that I was leaving early...)



I was also surprised by Kathy Miller & team with a big box of cupcakes (not all for me) to celebrate my birthday and also Christine's (we both had our 40th in May!). YUM!



• That evening we had our Michael Miller Fabrics sales meeting in which I had to recreate my Schoolhouse talk but without the aid of my Dancing Kyokos so it wasn't nearly as fun. After dinner, Jon flew across the country to NY to set up our Surtex booth the next day.

• May 14th - half day of Quilt Market for me because I flew to NYC that afternoon to exhibit at the Surtex licensing show for the following 3 days.

• The SHY Girls (Sweet Hot Yams) and other sweet friends surprised me for my birthday and brought me a Mocha Coconut (they even had them make it the way I like it -- on ice, not blended) and a Birthday Pop. Love my girls!!



Like I said before, I flew to NYC that afternoon and the rest of the story I will save for another post, but for now I'll leave you with a few more pics of my booth at Quilt Market. This time we went simple with a single booth and no hard walls, but still saturated with color and pattern. :)











A million thanks to my lovely assistant, Emalee, who sewed about 95% of the items you see in my booth and also to my sweet mom and dear friend Valerie who made some awesome purses and accessories to add the finishing touch to our display!

Bags, totes and purses... oh my!

I love purses so much I could easily be nicknamed The Bag Lady. But I'm sure I'm not alone so I wanted to pop in here today and share a few fun finds of cool bags made with my Sanctuary line.

First off, check out this great big tote made by my friend, Dana Rainwater at Bug A Boo Baby. I have known Dana for nearly two decades (oh my, how time flies!) and she never ceases to amaze me with her creativity. Dana currently owns her own business here in Bloomington, IL designing custom bags like this one and baby items galore!





Dana also designs these super stylish clutches...





Speaking of clutches, I ran across these photos in my Sanctuary Flickr group and couldn't help but share. I had to do a little digging but I finally found the Etsy store where Tickled Paisley sells these.





I also love this other find from my Flickr group, a gorgeous Dahlia Lama purse from Mama Roux.





Have you guys seen this Sanctuary version of our popular Stella purse pattern that my mom has for sale in her Etsy store? This is a one-of-a-kind creation, so if you don't grab it now, it'll be gone for sure! :)



My mom designed this pattern for me last year, based on a simple sketch I emailed her. How cool is that? She got it spot on! :)



If you're wondering what's kept me so quiet and distant for the past few days, well let's see if I can sum it up. I've been...

• Reviewing strike offs for my next fabric collection. I am so in love with this one! (and yes, I know I always say that but that's how it goes!) Rich, exotic, happy colors. So different and yet, so me. Can't wait to show you.
• Sending out tester packages for the next round of MODKID patterns... Girls, Tweens, Misses and Women's Plus. It's all there! No, no boy stuff yet, but I promise I will tackle that in a future release. I need more time.
• Finishing up the final chapters of my book for Wiley. Yes, I can't believe I said FINAL. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel... it's getting brighter and brighter (hope that doesn't mean I'm dying!)
• Preparing and finalizing artwork for 3 new licensed products that I am over the moon excited about. I can't spill the beans till it's all a done deal (I know! That kills me more than you know!) but all I can say is that my mom will LOVE the first two but my dad will SQUEAL when he sees the third! (well, that is, if my dad's way of showing excitement was by squealing. In reality he will probably just smile and say "WOW! That's great. Can I have one?"
• Working on a FREE tutorial for this quilt. Yes, I know I promised that tute like 5 months ago. I usually don't stall like that (well, you know) but as you see, I've been a little busy. I hope you guys still want it...

Now it's back to work for me. But, while I'm here (since I don't know when I'll get the chance to pop back in) I wanted to tell you guys about a fun game going on over at FatQuarterly. It's the fabric aficionados version of March Madness... called Modern Madness. I had to have Jon explain the whole brackets and predictions thing to me, haha. Instead of basketball teams, they have the top 64 fabric lines on a board (or do they call those brackets? I dunno!) All I know is that I am thrilled and honored to be included twice: Flora & Fauna and Sanctuary made the cut. WOOHOO!



Round 1 Region 1 is on right now, with Flora & Fauna in the running! So fans, please pop on over and vote for your adorable hummingbirds, bees and moths... oh and don't forget those sweet daisies, blossoms and dandelions. heeheee If you need a refresher, click.

Oh, Stella!

I've been itching to have my own purse pattern since I started MODKID. I am a bag freak – own several dozens of them — but there was just one problem: I'm not a bag maker. I had (note: past tense) never made a purse, mostly because my mom always made them for me, so why bother, right? So, naturally, I turned to the expert for this one. Many of you have purchased Marieliz Creations purse designs on Etsy and have been clamoring for a pattern from her. Well here it is!



My mom and I stayed up late one night chatting on the phone about purse designs ideas. And if you know me, you know I was talking a million miles an hour and jumping from one thing to the other. Our conversation went something like this:

ME: I want it to be a structured bag... ya know... the kind that stand on their own... not slouchy.
MOM: OK.
ME: And... I want it to have a cell phone pocket... on the outside... so I don't have to dig in my purse to find the phone every time it rings.
MOM: Uh-huh
ME: Oh, but I also want it to have some pockets on the inside... at least 2... so I can put my car keys and my chapstick and other things in them...
MOM: Yup.
ME: I also want it to have only 1 handle because when I wear purses with 2 handles, one of them always falls of the shoulder and it is so annoying...
MOM: OK, listen, sounds like you really know what you want, so why don't you just send me a drawing and some dimensions and I'll go from there...

So, I did. I sent her this...



And then I thought we should offer some more options so I also sent her this...



Mom went to work on this idea. There was silence for about a week and then she resurfaced with an awesome pattern that just made me tear up in excitement. AND... this sewn sample:



I couldn't believe how my drawing had come to life, not one detail overlooked! The handle, the pockets, the shape, the size... all was there, just right! I digitized all of her drawings in Illustrator and typeset her instructions in inDesign and then the inevitable... I was gonna have to sew up my very first purse. SCARY! I needed to (whether I wanted to or not) because I had to make the step-by-step mechanical drawings and how could I draw them if I didn't even know how the darn thing went together? So I did.

I made my very first purse (so friggin' proud!):



And the other side showing the patchwork design:



Then the true test came... my pattern testers. I sent the test pattern to Valerie Haberer, and she sent me this beauty back:



Then I sent it to Amy Priddy and I got this gorgeousness back:



What more could I ask for? Sooooo gorgeous! And just how I envisioned it, down to the very last detail! I went to work on finishing up the pattern edits based on my testers' awesome feedback, played around with a few cover shot options...



... and VOILA! May I present to you STELLA: Modern Handbag sewing pattern.



This, and all of our new patterns, are currently up for pre-order on the wholesale portion of our website only (new patterns are only viewable after you log in). Retailers, log in using your email and password to place your order. New patterns will be in stock the first week of May. Consumers, please check with your favorite retailer and see if they've ordered the new MODKID patterns. See the bottom of this page for a list of retailers that currently stock MODKID patterns.

Next up... Mini-Nina! :)

**UPDATE** Forgot to show a top view of the bags. They close up with a zipper. :) Thanks to Rebecca for reminding me in the comments section.

When the cat's away...

... the mice (and their grandma) will play! Check out these adorable Halloween crafts my mom made with the kids while Jon and I were down in Houston for Quilt Market!



SPIDER PUMPKIN

Materials:
1 medium-size pumpkin
1 can of gloss black spray paint
1 package of pipe cleaners (extra fuzzy black pipe cleaners found at Hobby Lobby)
2 large googly eyes (also found at Hobby Lobby)
Small piece of red cardboard, felt or fabric for mouth

Spray your pumpkin black and let it dry overnight. Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to poke 4 little holes on each side of the pumpkin near the bottom. Insert one end of a pipe cleaner in each hole and shape the "legs," as seen in the picture. Dab a little glue on the back of each googly eye and place on the pumpkin. Cut out a funny mouth shape and glue to the pumpkin. Let eyes and mouth dry overnight.



WITCHY PUMPKIN

Materials:
1 medium-size pumpkin
1 can of gloss green spray paint
Black yarn
1 mini witch hat (found at Hobby Lobby in the craft department)
2 large googly eyes (also found at Hobby Lobby)
Black sharpie marker or black tempera paint
Pumpkin carving knife

Spray your pumpkin green and let it dry overnight. Dab a line of glue on top of the pumpkin and lay the black yarn over the pumpkin's top. Shape and trim "hair" around face. Place mini-witch's hat over hair and glue in place. Dab a little glue on the back of each googly eye and place on the pumpkin. Using a pumpkin carving knife, carve out a funny mouth shape and fill in the negative space with a black marker or paint. Let eyes, hair and hat dry overnight.

And my personal favorite...



GHOST TRIO

Materials:
3 latex balloons
3 plastic cups
1 package white cheesecloth
White glue
Water
6 large googly eyes (found at Hobby Lobby)

Blow up your 3 balloons in different sizes. Place each balloon on top of a plastic cup for added height. Layer the cheesecloth over the balloons and trim to size at the bottom. You'll need at least 6 layers of cheesecloth for each ghost. Prepare a mixture of half white glue and half water in a large bowl (it should look like skim milk). Dip each layer of cheesecloth in the glue mixture, squeeze out excess liquid and drape over your balloon, shaping as needed. Repeat for each layer of cheesecloth. Alternate sides, as seen in the picture, so that the corners of the cheesecloth cover the bottom of the ghost. After all ghosts are draped, dab a little white glue to the back of your googly eyes and place on the face. Let ghosts dry overnight. The balloon will peel off easily the next day and the cheesecloth will be stiff enough for your ghosts to stand on their own!

For an added spooky effect, use clear fishing wire to hang the ghosts from light fixtures around the house. :)

ENJOY! And... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(pssst... in case you're interested, my mom just listed some Flora & Fauna goodies in her Etsy shop!)

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.