Scrap Lab Super Friends



Today is the day that the Fall 2011 issue of Quilts and More (a Better Homes & Gardens publication) goes on news stands and, although I am a huge fan of all of their publications, I am especially excited about this one because it features a very special section titled, SCRAP LAB.

A few months back, I received an exciting email from Jill Mead, the Editor of Quilts and More, explaining the whole Scrap Lab concept to me. In essence, their design team, which is comprised of none other than the fabulous duo of Joanna Figueroa and Camille Roskelley, choose a fabric collection and design small projects, from a prescribed quantity of fabric, that would be great for gifts or to keep for yourself. Well, my heart skipped a beat when I read that they had chosen Sanctuary for the next Scrap Bag challenge and wanted little ol' me to play along! What? Two of my most favorite ladies in the industry? Sewing? With *my* fabric? and it's all going to be published? In a national magazine? I'm IN!!

Fast forward 8 months and here it is now... in pages 12-21 of the Fall 2011 issue of Quilts and More:

Joanna designed an adorable pillow. Camille made a set of modern placemats. And I designed a pair of lightweight stripwork scarves... one for you and one for your bff! Yes, if you click on that link, you'll be able to download the scarf directions, which is a web exclusive. The other two projects are printed in the magazine, so you'll have to run out and get a copy. Trust me, you won't be disappointed... it is chock full of good reads and awesome projects!

And the best part... the exact Scrap Lab Kit that all three of us used for the projects in this magazine is available NOW in limited quantities from our web store. It is only $15.00 and that price includes shipping!! (domestic orders only, please).







The Scrap Lab Kit includes: •1/2 yard of Dahlia Lama Seafoam •Fat Quarter Glass Tiles Seafoam •Fat Quarter Zen Garden Gray •Fat Quarter Solid White. All packaged up nicely in a cute MODKID bag. By the way, I must mention that I had to pull some major strings to get a nearly full bolt of the Zen Garden Gray fabric (lowest fat quarter on that picture), since it is now completely out-of-print and even MMF is out of it! Again... limited quantities of this kit available, so get yours TODAY!

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.

Show me your Sanctuary

Now that my 5th fabric collection (wow, I actually had to turn around and count them!) for Michael Miller Fabrics, titled Sanctuary, is in stores worldwide, I am starting to see projects popping up left and right in my Flickr pool. If I haven't told you before, the most rewarding part of being a fabric designer is seeing what all you creative minds out there do with my fabric. I could sit at the computer all day and browse through your photos but then I wouldn't get any more fabric designed and that would defeat the purpose. ;)

But anyhow, I wanted to invite all you out there to post your photos in my Sanctuary Flickr Group. From time to time, I pick a few of my favorites and post them here on the blog. Here are my current favorites:

This breathtaking Frida dress by Bailey Girls:



This adorable top by Melanie at Above All Fabric:



This amazing quilt by Red Pepper Quilts:



Here's a full view (love the symmetry!)



This super cool and funky pillow by imalisawork. I just adore the fussy-cutting on this!



This super cute bag by Valerie at Sew Much More:



And let's not forget the KNITS!

Check out this knit version of Kyoko made by the über-talented Jenny at Sew Pretty Dresses:



So let's see those beauties! If you have a project that you've recently completed using my Sanctuary wovens or knits, I invite you to share them with us in my Sanctuary Flickr Pool!

I'm still here!
and I come bearing gifts....



Nope, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. I've just been totally buried in work, which is a lot better than being totally buried in snow! I was just telling my friend this morning that during the Winter months I basically become a hermit. I hate to drive in the snow and I hate what the frigid temps do to my skin and my mood, so I opt to stay in the warmth and safety of my home... for months! Cabin fever? Sure. Winter blues? Of course! But the upside is that I GET TONS OF WORK DONE! :)

Case in point, in the past few weeks, I've:

• Turned in a new fabric collection to Michael Miller that I am completely, totally in love with and am counting the days (or months) till I can share with you all!
• Completed about 75% of the book and can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's dim but I can see it!
• Conducted a phone interview for a national publication... more details to come!
• Accepted and designed a cool project for another national publication... (you guessed it) details to come!
• Turned in my paperwork for Spring International Quilt Market and Schoolhouse
• Turned in my paperwork (and payment *gulp!*) for the SURTEX licensing show in New York. Big Apple... here I come!!!
• Planned out MODKID 2011 sewing pattern production.
• Got very little sleep due to all of the above.

Oh, and since I didn't think my plate was full enough, I prepared a sweet tutorial for this easy patchwork pillow that I call French Window (although Jon thought it looked more like Tic Tac Toe... to each his own!)



It uses my newest fabric collection, Sanctuary, now in stores worldwide, and like I stated above, it goes together like a breeze. Not to mention that it's fun to look at during those dreary, cold Winter months... a nice little reminder of warmer, more colorful days to come! :)

Here's what you'll need:

• (1) One 24" pillowform. We used one the nice folks from Fairfield sent over to the studio.
• (9) Nine 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares of assorted Sanctuary fabrics. We used: Building Blocks in Seafoam and Sherbert, Orchid Feng Shui in Ocean and Berry, Dahlia Lama in Seafoam and Espresso, Zen Garden in Pear and Sherbert and Glass Tiles in Aqua.
• (6) Six 1 1/4" wide x 6 1/2" high strips of solid white fabric
• (2) Two 20" wide x 1 1/4" high strips of solid white fabric
• (2) Two 20" high x 2 1/2" wide strips of solid white fabric
• (2) Two 24" wide x 2 1/2" high strips of solid white fabric
• For the pillow backing: (2) two 15" wide x 24" high pieces of fabric. We used Aromatherapy Sherbert.

Here's how you put the patchwork-y front together:
NOTE: ALL SEAM ALLOWANCES ARE 1/4"









And voila! You have a beautiful patchwork pillow front that looks like a french window (or a tic tac toe board!).



We did the back of the pillow envelope style, which is so easy and fun because you don't have to install any zippers or buttons and you don't have to hand stitch anything shut. The pillow just slips in and out of the envelope back for easy washing. LOVE IT!



Here's how we make our envelope backs:





On our sample pillow we sandwiched some lovely espresso brown piping in between the front and back of the pillow before sewing it together. It gives it a very professional finish, I think.

And that's it!

FINAL NOTE: I make all my pillow covers so the finished size is slightly smaller than the size of the pillow insert. I think it makes for a nicer fit, not too loose or saggy. ;)



Hope you enjoyed this little tute. Feel free to share it with your friends! And... stay warm out there!!

{the view outside my window}

I'm in the mood for... gift-giving!!!

Sanctuary is hitting the stores this week so I have prepared a few goodies for you all in celebration of its arrival. Here's a bad iPhone pic of me standing next to a freshly delivered stack of Sanctuary at my local über cool designer fabric store, Sew Much More. It was such great timing... I got there literally 5 minutes before the UPS man showed up with these!



But, first, believe it or not, we had THREE NO SHOWS, on the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks contest, so, as they say, you snooze, you loose! We've selected 3 new winners and this time we have a way to contact them... you learn something new every day, right?! So, congratulations to the new winners... I guess it was meant to be, ladies!

#20 TaniLove said...

Ok I've probably entered every drawing you've had in the last year and nothing. I love the block and the fabrics, it would be so fun to win since I'm getting ready to embark on trying to make a quilt for my chickies, I'm not so optimistic but I know they will like it no matter what, for a while anyway ;) Would be so nice to learn some techniques and get started with that fabulous fabric!

#202 Quilter Kathy said...

OMG...a new magazine and new fabrics?!? I would think I'd died and gone to heaven! Surely that is what heaven will be! Love the block and expecially love the envelope enclosure on your pillows!

#284 elena said...

Beautiful pillow. Love Flora collection and this color is energizing, great!!!
Would love to win a copy and of course a fabric lot by you :D

TaniLove will receive the magazine AND fabric bundle. The two other winners will receive a copy of the magazine. Please contact us at info@modkidboutique.com with your mailing address and if not... I'm tracking you down! haha

Sooo... back to the Sanctuary freebies. Valerie Haberer, owner of Sew Much More, had come up with this fabulous idea of doing fabric bolt tags with the designer's logo (or that of the actual fabric collection) so her customers could easily identify them, so I brought her these cool Sanctuary tags to put on her bolts (again... bad iPhone pic).



I also brought her some generic Patty Young Designs tags to put onto all her other PY bolts since I didn't have a lot of time to make these up for every collection... plus at the time I didn't know what all she had still in stock, etc. But aren't these fun?!



So... I thought since these were so well-received, I'd share the wealth with all my lovely shop owners out there since you are all so sweet and supportive. I've laid these tags 10-up on a 8.5" x 11" sheet with crop marks, so they are ready to print & cut. I printed mine onto card stock so they would be more durable and cut them out using an X-Acto knife and self-healing mat, but you can easily cut these out with scissors.

For a high-res PDF download click HERE for the Sanctuary tags and HERE for the Patty Young tags. Or...click on the thumbnails below to go directly to the Flickr image in JPG format.





Here's an idea for online shops: print these out onto label sheets, cut them out and use them as stickers to place on fabric packages before you ship them out to your customers.... ding, ding, ding... GENIUS! (and cute!) ;)

I haven't forgotten about all my lovely fans out there.. I wanted to share some great gift-giving ideas for the Holidays, and one of my favorite things to make... PILLOWS!! These pillows were among the most photographed items in my booth this past Quilt Market, so I'll walk you through how to make these quick & easy gifts for your family & friends.



First off, the Dahlia Lama pillows. These are BIG and striking but oh, so easy to make. The Dahlia Lama print has a 24" repeat so we decided to use a 24" pillow form to showcase the full design. Find the repeat on the fabric and mark a perfect 24" square using a water-soluble fabric marker. The flower bunch should be perfectly centered within the square. You can use the tiles on the background as a guide for keeping your lines straight. Cut this square out with your rotary cutter & ruler.



Make the envelope closure by cutting two pieces of fabric at 24" tall by 15" wide. We used Zen Garden for the backing. Hem these back pieces or leave the selvedge edge exposed as we did then layer these onto the front square right sides together, overlapping the back pieces in the middle. We added a strip of bias tape to the edge to give it a touch of flair, but you can do this with piping or just leave it off entirely. Stitch all around. Clip your corners, turn and VOILA!



Here is is in the warm colorway...LOVE IT!





Now, how about this sweet patchwork pillow?



For this 18" pillow form we cut 16 squares of fabric at 6" x 6" each. If you want to make yours just like ours here is the breakdown by fabric design, clockwise from the top left corner:

Geo Bloom Seafoam: two 6" squares
Orchid Feng Shui Ocean: two 6" squares
Orchid Feng Shui Seafoam: two 6" squares
Building Blocks Seafoam: two 6" squares
Glass Tiles Aqua: two 6" squares
Temple Tiles Ocean: two 6" squares
Temple Tiles Seafoam: two 6" squares
Zen Garden Pear: two 6" squares

Sew these right sides together in rows using a 1/4" seam allowance. We inserted piping in between the horizontal rows before stitching them together.

For the envelope closing we cut two pieces of Orchid Feng Shui Ocean at 18" high by 12" wide and sewed them like we did the above pillows. We also inserted piping on the edges for an extra touch of flair.



Last, but not least, this sweet pillow in yummy candy colors was made using my Hummingbird Patch template from my Pillow Trio sewing pattern. Check it out!



HUGE THANKS to the great folks at FAIRFIELD for contributing all these wonderful pillowforms for our Quilt Market display and to Emily and Emalee for sewing up these beauties. :)

I have many more tutorials coming your way on the blog, so please stay tuned. But before I leave, I also wanted to let you all know that I started a Sanctuary Flickr Group so you all can share your awesome creations with each other. Confession: this was a gift from me to me because I *LOVE* seeing what you all make with my fabric. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!