Patchwork Prism Quiltalong 2

Did you read my first post about the Patchwork Prism Quiltalong?  I was just thinking about trying to make a quilt for the first time and along comes this great project.  So, here I am!  I have now chosen my fabrics!   After panicking about it for a few days, I pulled out some of the fat quarter sets I  have won in the last year.   Did you know I have won three blog giveaways in the last year! What great luck I have! Anyway, among the three sets, I had won an Anna Maria Horner fat quarter set and a Pat Bravo Art Gallery set. Those two had some great fabrics which moved me deeply.  I decided to add some Kaffe Fassett because his work makes me swoon.  I ordered a few more fat quarters to round it all out, and here you have my choices!

Next step, finding the time to cut the shapes! I got the poster board to make my templates so now I just have to do it!  Stay tuned for more!

Little Miss Mingle update 2

Have you heard about Little Miss Mingle? That is the children's clothing group my friends and I started.  Every other month, we are going to do a collection together, all built around a common fabric.  Collection 2 debuts this week! We have a Facebook page where you can get more information.  Here are some sneak peaks!

Can you see the commonality?  Hint, hint.

Patwork Prism Quiltalong

I have been thinking about trying a quilt and along comes a quilt-a-long to tempt me!  I think might try it!  Sweet Diesel is hosting a quilt-a-long and giveaway at the blog, sassiness. It looks like a fun quilt-a-long, although I have never done one! But I love Anna Maria Horner and I think I will give it a go!  I might try a smaller version, though, for a wall hanging.  A first quilt should be small, right? 

First off, you can go to that link above to see the information, but you can also find the free project on the Janome website, here.  I own two Janome machines, so this is right up my alley.  I also found this great video where Anna Maria Horner, herself, tells you about the project. The rest of the information and directions are in the download and the Sweet Diesel website.

So, here I go, into my stash, looking for ideas.  I have several projects to finish sewing for clients and preparations for my new project, Little Miss Mingle, but then I am going to start the planning and preparations for this quilt-a-long.

Oh, but the new Ottobre just arrived!  Ah, so much sewing, so little time!


Happy sewing to you!

kathy

Trying to be more organized

As with many creative people, sometimes my creativity overwhelms my work space.  That is a kind way of saying that sometimes we let our work space get messy!  Having recently won a contest at The Cottage Home blog that included some of these Fabric Organizers, I had some of the tools I needed to organize my space.  What I lacked was proper space in which to put them.  I really want to get some new shelves but until I can make the trip to Ikea, I decided to clean out my cupboards and find a way to make these work. I really needed to get my fabric away from my cats! They keep using it as a bed!

So, here is what I came up with.

 I was very lucky to find this built in craft area already in the house we bought 6 years ago.  I took the space over as my crafting and computer area.  I also have my mom's old sewing desk.  But I was not using the space well. There were bins and small shelves of fabric everywhere! So, I moved all fall and winter fabrics into bins in the garage, put all knits in one big bin and put the rest in the cupboard above my work area.

 Here is my work area. I share the space with our filing cabinet, which I really want to organize and move into the garage. I have my growing collection of Ottobres in a magazine holder and bins with current projects cut out and waiting to be sewn.  My kids helped me decorate, by the way.

And here is the cupboard above my work area! Thanks to Lindsay at The Cottage Home and another mama I did a trade with, I now have a lot of fabric organizers. I am not even using them all!  When I get some proper wooden shelves for the room, I will use the rest.  For now, these are the fabrics I anticipate working with in the next few months.

 The cupboard next door has the growing lace and elastic collection.

Thanks for looking. My space is not exciting nor will it ever be featured in a design magazine but it is very workable and usable and I am going to continue to make it more and more organized and efficient!

Little Miss Mingle

I am thrilled to join some sewing friends in a new business venture, Little Miss Mingle. My friends, who sew in their own boutiques, joined together recently to create Little Miss Mingle and put out a collection of offerings. Collection one was built around this gorgeous green Jennifer Paganelli fabric from her Pretty Please collection, for Free Spirit.

And here are some samples of what they did!

 Halter dress from Daffodil Fairy Custom Couture

 Dress from Pickled Sweet Boutique

 Boy's tie from Tree*Head

 Skirt from 3 Peaches Customs for Girls

And, now, we are going to debut collection to May 1st!  I am thrilled to be a part of it! Watch for more sneak peaks and be sure to click on May 1st to see what we offer!

Little Miss Mingle

Heartbreaking

This cute little girl used to wear everything I made for her but this one she doesn't like!  I love the Children at Play fabric so much and so does she, but she doesn't like the parade.  Sob.  I made the whole dress from Sarah Jane's lovely Children at Play fabric, except the bodice is Moda Sophie.  So, up for sale it goes.  Sigh.

Portrait of an artist

I grew an artist in my womb and now that she is out in the world, I still try to foster her creativity and help her thrive.  She loves to draw and was recently inspired by Project Runway Allstars to start designing her own clothing. Here is a recent design that she drew, something she wanted very much to have me sew for her.

Those are raspberries on the dress.  We spent a long time looking for fabric to match that, went to all three quilt shops in town, Joann Fabrics, looked on Etsy.  Finally, I found Moda Redwork Renaissance Cherries Porcelain at Sisters and Quilters on Etsy.   We were thrilled! Even though she envisioned raspberries, this cherry print fit the bill. Then, I remembed I had a copy of Portabellopixie Gracie pattern and I knew how to make her vision a reality! 

So, here it is!  Voila!  One tween vision come true.  She just turned nine and doesn't like little girl clothing anymore, so I am very happy to find something I could make for her that makes her happy.

Stationery card

Carrot Confetti Easter Card

Modern shower invitations and holiday cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.