Pristine Junk

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Bev. would do almost anything I ask of her in her job at JCD (some restrictions apply).  But, she doesn’t really sew enough that she is set-up to test a pattern.  She had been waiting and collecting things for quite some time, though to make herself a Junk Bag once the edits were done and the pattern was finished.

 At some point, we decided  I should make it for her, so she brought me a wonderful stash of linens, hankies, & embroidered pieces to chose from.  It was hard to decide!  I kept asking myself – “what would Bev do?”.  She has a very unique gift of being able to “edit” and her discerning eye has saved me many times.  Only Bev. can be Bev. – too much pressure!

 She loves soft, romantic, clean, crisp, vintage-inspired pieces in the way that I do, so it was a joy to make her bag, even if it was hard to have her “eye”.    She loved it in the end.. I love the brooch an the silk flower on the vintage tag.

There were a few things in her fabric basket that I didn’t want to send back when I was finished.  But,as she said, “now you kow what I’ve got tucked away”.  She brings her Junk Bag to work each week, but what I can’t get over is how pristine and pretty her bag looks!  I think it’s another of her special super powers!

Sweet Quilting Retreat

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Last weekend at Picket Fence’s annual quilt retreat, I met wonderful, talented women.  This is Terri and her sister Marsha who was visiting from Missouri.  They both made Junk Bags, but with a crazy quilter spin to the pattern using wonderful, interesting embellishments.  I love seeing how they used their imaginations – crazy quilters find the most ingenious ways to use so many different elements in their quilts and projects.

Donna, Lisa’s daughter, who is in the education field, worked on finishing up the Mother’s Love quilt with the ruched borders.  Donna is also a knitter and crocheter and does wonderful work. 

Barbara, who I didn’t get a photo of, was working on two Cute as a Button Baby Jackets for gifts.   Baby girl  Lilly, has  a  L on the  pocket.  She fussy-cut the letter from my Sweetest Gifts fabric.  Both jackets are lined in cotton flannel.

Three glorious days in the quiet country sewing with friends and getting projects finished, what a wonderful treat!  Thank you Lisa for putting together a lovely experience!

PS: I promise I didn’t pay these gals to work on my patterns at this retreat, but what a wonderful  thing to get to see!  I learn so much watching others create and it helps me as a designer to see what the patterns and fabrics can become!

Fabric Swatches!

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

My fabric swatches came!  We have been working with Benartex Fabrics to design this wonderful line and up ’til now, it’s been on paper.  This week, the girls and I got to see the prints on fabric for the first time!

We squealed, we oohed and we ahhed.  There were fabrics everywhere!  It just looks so beautiful!  It has been such a pleasure working with Benartex on this project!  I just  could not be any happier with the colors, the detail and how quickly this has all happened.               

We each have our favorites already!  Look at all the choices!  This purple and green argyle fabric is darling.  I can’t wait to get yardage of thes fabrics and start sewing models for Spring Quilt Market!

I am working on a free downloadble quilt pattern to use with the new line.  Seeing the fabrics all together like this makes the combination of colors/prints  for the design easier.  This alphabet fabric comes in two color ways, one more suited for boys, the other for girls.  It also has numbers and punctuation symbols!  I can’t wait to personalize a quilt with a name.

I had the opportunity last weekend to join my friend, Lisa of Picket Fence Quilts (here in Wichita) at her annual quilt retreat.  I got the fabric swatch samples earlier in the week, so I took them with me and had a chance to make a couple of small projects.

The pattern I used was Little Scraps from This & That.  It was agonizing trying to sort through my odd shapped swatches and then CHOSE the combination to use.  I wanted to use them all!  The project was fun and I added some lavender inside to make the notebook holder freshen my purse.  I made one for Steph and Bev.

Faux Crochet Granny Square fabric!  I have displayed this baby afghan Tamara Gonzales, my sister made and carried it to market after market – finally it made it’s way into my fabric line.  Tamara really did a wonderful job on the stitches and her work really looks lovely in cotton cloth.  Check out Tamara’s blog with Leisure Arts, Tamara’s Take  for all kinds of crochet ideas.

All I can say is that I am so excited, so grateful, so pleased!