Showing posts with label michael miller fabrics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael miller fabrics. Show all posts
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!
Grand Bazaar is in da house!
Based on the amount of emails we've been receiving and posts like this one, I gather you all are itching to get sewing with Grand Bazaar, eh? Well, the great news is that your wait is over. News from the powers that be say that Grand Bazaar started to ship last week and continues on this week, so you should be seeing it pop up here & there any day now! WOOHOO!
We've been getting busy around the studio preparing for our next pattern release, which features Grand Bazaar heavily. Jon built me a nifty little photo studio at MODKID HQ... check it out:
Photo buffs out there: yes, I know the lights are not in the proper position. We are still working on getting everything situated right, but ain't it cool anyway?!
We have a 10' x 8' light wood floating floor that sits over the real wood floors for when I need to switch off the floor color. There's a seamless white backdrop hanging overhead for when I need a clean and modern look, but I don't know when I'll actually use it... I am absolutely madly in love with that marigold color on the walls! I take no credit for that since it was already painted that color when we moved in, but I am giddy with excitement over the gorgeousness of the photos with this sunny wall. Just look at these...
Everything looks good against that yellow wall. YIPPEE! And ooops.... I do believe I just gave you guys a little sneak peek of our Fall pattern release. But just wait... there's waaaay more where that came from! A full reveal is in the works (I just don't have it all photographed yet).
Soooo, to celebrate the arrival of my baby, Grand Bazaar, I will give away three ribbon samplers to three lucky readers. These ribbons coordinate perfectly with the fabrics and are so much fun to use!
Leave me a comment and tell me what you'll make with the fabric and the ribbons when you get them. I'll pick 3 winners for a ribbon sampler, like the ones shown below, a week from today. I love to hear from all you guys!!
Edited: if you're wondering where to get your Grand Bazaar mug like the one on the post I linked to above, just go to my Zazzle store. I have the whole collection here at the studio and can honestly say they are top notch quality! :)
Edited, again: uhmmm... please leave a way for us to contact you if you win! ;)
**THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED AND WINNERS ARE POSTED HERE.***
The Creative Connection Event
Have you heard about this thing? It's three whole days of creative, crafty goodness, or as they say on their website: a national conference and market celebrating creative women and entrepreneurs. I couldn't attend last year because it happened around the same time as my first manuscript was due for my book and unfortunately I just couldn't tear myself away. However, I was tickled pink when co-founder, Jo Packham, asked if I wanted to teach at this year's event! Of course I said yes... and now I want to tell you all about it...
I'll be teaching two classes (click on the name to be taken directly to the class page): Sun & Surf Tote At the start of this class I will hand you a kit that contains everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING, you need to complete this awesome tote... from the fabric, to the interfacing to all the notions, including buttons, grommets and even the thread! You will even get the original pattern, so you can take it home and make it again and again. You will walk away with a finished tote, just like the one pictured below, that is perfect for a trip to the beach, swim lessons or a day at the park. Hmmm...maybe it can even become your carry-on luggage for your return trip!
French Window Pillow Cover Just like with my other class, you will receive a signature MODKID bag containing everything you need to complete this adorable pillow cover, including all the fabrics, the printed tutorial, the binding, thread and even a cute MODKID woven tag! All fabrics are from my Sanctuary line for Michael Miller Fabrics.
Last week, all the materials started arriving from all the wonderful companies I'm working with. Check out this awesome stack of fabric bolts courtesy of Michael Miller Fabrics...
And how about these adorable decorative buttons from Dill Buttons of America, Inc. There are enough buttons here for everyone to have 1 and then some (whatever we don't use, I'll give away at the end of the class).
And last, but certainly not least, I received a box of goodies from my good friends at OLFA. There are circle cutters and rotary cutters galore. We'll get to play with these in class and at the end of the class, I'll draw names for a giveaway.
So, in case you missed it above click here to read more about the Sun & Surf Tote class and here for the French Window Pillow class. Register soon because these classes fill up fast and there's limited enrollment!
Oh, I will also be participating in a roundtable pitch slam session -- Pitch To Become A Designer for a Textile/Licensing Manufacturer. If you've ever wanted to become a licensed textile designer, here's your chance to pitch your collection to a group of experts! I will be sharing the roundtable with Heather Bailey and Suzy Ultman. After pitching their ideas, participants will be able to spend some time with artists that have been through the whole licensing process. The experts in this category are Kathy Miller and Lilla Rogers. Learn more about this Pitch Slam session here.
Hope to see you all there this September! Let me know if anyone has any questions. And if you're attending, let me know too... I'd love to get to know my students in advance!
xoxo
Quilt Market Report, Fall 2010
We're baaaaack! Quilt Market is always such fun for us. It's a ton of work but oh, so rewarding. I know you guys love the virtual tours and the behind-the-scene peeks, so come with me as I take you along for this rollercoaster ride...
Set-Up
This is what the booth spaces look like when they first open up the convention center doors two days prior to the show... ugly white curtains, unsightly metal poles and concrete floors!
We only get two days to transform the spaces so there's no time to waste. Luckily, we're always surrounded by the dynamic team of Michael Miller Fabrics so there's never a dull moment during set up. Video courtesy of Shawn Wallace from Michael Miller Fabrics.
After all's said & done, it's time for the finishing touches. Thank goodness Michael's a neat freak or MMF's famous white carpet would never stay crisp & clean...
Fabric 2.0
The night before Quilt Market begins, we always unwind at the Fabric 2.0 Party, usually hosted by the fabulous Caroline Devoy and this time also sponsored by Michael Miller Fabrics and Stash Books(read: great food and a full open bar!)
With the ever-so-talented Kate Spain, who is actually like a foot taller than me, but you wouldn't know it from this pic...
And of course, the Michael Miller team having the time of their lives...
First Day
The first day of Quilt Market is always so exciting. Seeing the booth all put together after weeks of planning and days of hard labor is quite a thrill...
This time we went with a "Spa" theme to honor my newest fabric collection, Sanctuary. The booth walls sported a limestone look and we decorated the space with lots of spa-ish items like plush white towels, vanilla candles, and hot stones...
We opted for a more natural-color palette than our previous booths and used natural materials for our furnishings, like wicker, wood and wool (the 3 W's ... ha!). We even had a real 'tree trunk table' made for us by a local woodworking artisan sitting atop a real flokati rug...
But of course, my favorite part of Market is the constant stream of visitors at my booth. I love, love, love chatting with old friends and meeting new people at the show!
With Mo Bedell, who gave me some samples of her new fabric (eeee! I *heart* fabric!) and Monica Solorio-Snow, who I *heart* for so, soooo many reasons...
Monica gave me this custom-made St.JoJo plushie to help us sell the house and came with a letter that brought tears to my eyes (literally!). I cannot even begin to describe how special this zombie is to me... xoxo!!
We always love seeing Lindsay and Charlie Prezzano from Hawthorne Threads. They run such a professional operation and are such great supporters of my fabric designs...
Even the guys got some face time...
Last, but not least, I got to meet the adorable Marie Villa, who I can see "eye-to-eye" (literally!) and spend some quality time with another one of my fave ladies, Melanie Thornton of Above All Fabrics.
I did get to walk around for a few minutes that day, and got to meet Ty Pennington of Extreme Home Makeovers...
And have a little chat with the lovely Tina Givens, whose gorgeous booth took in 2nd Place for the Double Booth Category.
Second Day — HALLOWEEN!
The second day of Market was Halloween Day, so since we couldn't be at home celebrating, we thought we'd bring a little bit of Halloween fun to Market...
The third day of Market is always a little slower, so we just end up taking it easy and shooting a few more booth pics before take down...
We didn't win any booth awards this time (the competition was fierce!) but we did get a super cool trophy from the fabulous Gina Halladay of Quilter's Buzz and her entourage, who called themselves the 4-H girls, haha. I'm sure there's a photo floating around on the internet of me graciously accepting my award from a Ken doll dressed in all pink. Uh-huh! Holler if you see it!
And then there was take down...
Like I said... never a dull moment! :)
So, that's all folks! Until next time...
Check out all the other Quilt Market reports in blogland. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Jona's and Mary's recaps. Happy Zombie did a super-thorough recap and she calls me a rock star so she gets my vote! haha!
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!
