Stop staring and start sewing!

Tinkering and tweaking

I'm working on a couple of pattern ideas and so far I've got one that I'm really happy with.  This one goes together in very little time, has few pieces and doesn't require a lot of fabric (the underneath layer is mostly cheap cotton, just the bottom part peeking out is the fancy stuff).  Very beginner friendly I think.

This is my first proto-type.  The back is squared (you can get a peek in the mirror) and it requires no buttons or zippers (and everyone said "Yippy!").



Then I tried a scalloped edge (which I love!). I decided to try the blue Flirt fabric because the bolt hadn't even been unwrapped and it looked lonely. I'm so glad I gave it a chance because I adore it and I love the way it looks against the White Nosegay print.  That striped bias is from Tanya Whelan's Barefoot Roses collection and this is why I love striped fabric.  It makes the nicest trim when you cut it on the bias.



Then I had to make one with ruffles and I think it turned out really sweet.  But of course you would be hard pressed to make something non-sweet with this fabric.



What do you think? One simple pattern with a bunch of options for finishing it?

Oh and I ran across this pattern (Simplicity 3740), which I thought was out of print, (I used it for this teapot outfit too) at Walmart and Joann only the number has been changed to Simplicity 2913 (it's one of their So Easy patterns). I don't know why they do that (I'm curious if anyone knows) but it drives me nuts because you think it's out of print and it's not but if you're looking for it under the old number you're out of luck. Anyway, they've also come out with a very similar version of it under the number Simplicity 4203 (a slight change on the skirt but otherwise the exact same pattern). It's a regular priced pattern which is nice because you can get it for 1.99 when they're on sale.  Just an update in case anyone was looking for that particular pattern (I think it's a great, versatile pattern to have).

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!  I'm going to share a super cute (grown up!) skirt I made with a pattern I bought from an independent designer at Quilt Market as soon as I take some pictures.  She has brilliant stuff (right now I'm working on a dress she designed ) so be sure to put on socks before you read my next post (so you can have them knocked off!).

Putting ideas to fabric

Drum roll please!  The winner of the Trash Ties and 2 yds of Freshcut fabric is Marie!!  Yippy Marie (can you believe it??)!  C'mon down! 

Oh and 102 comments??!!  A new world record (for me anyway)!

I've finally had a few days to unwind and play with a new skirt pattern that I got at quilt market.  I wanted to try it out before recommending it.  I wore it all day yesterday and I can't wait to make more.  I ordered a whole bunch and they should be in my store within a few days (hopefully I'll have some pictures to share by then too).

I've had a sketch for a dress bodice sitting here that I finally got to work with and I'm really happy with the results (so far).   What do you think?  Guess which one Joey said was a "God-awful fabric combination". 



I've got another pattern idea floating in my head that I'm going to tinker with today.

We've been busy tiling our master bathroom floor and I definitely feel a shower curtain/window valance vibe coming on.  But for now I'm just happy to have my toilet back where it belongs.

TGIF and all that

Okey dokey, the winner of the cute little Michael Miller charm pack is Emily who left her comment at 5:24 pm.  Woohoo Emily!  Email me!

Here are the rest of my pictures from Quilt Market.  The place was just oozing with creativity and originality.  Check out this amazing dress.  It must be from a Shakespeare play (tragedy, I'm guessing).  The detail and drama of it just captured my attention.  Wow.



And here is the super fun button designed by Traci (cute site!) for Myrinda (great Euro fabrics!).  Myrinda was generously handing this out to other store owners (and designers!  Check out Joel Dewberry on her blog!) and also had a t-shirt with this design on it.  It was hilarious and brilliant (and original!).




I met Tina Given's (while wearing a shirt made from her fabric!) and she was so sweet and her new line is so beautiful I can't wait to get it in my store. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures but if you check out the Quilt Market 2008 photostream on flickr I know you'll see some of her amazing booth.

Anyway, do you want to know what today's give-away is?  Well last year around this time I had the pleasure of working with the Bailey's while they were working hard to get their amazing, original (Heather thought these up), patented hair accessory ready for launching.  Working with them were some of their friends who had access to all the materials, manufacturers, contacts, etc.  Curiously a few months after the friends moved away they launched this website.  Hmmmmm......with friends like these...?  You know the rest.

So in honor of true originality (and decency) today's give away is this cute set of TRASH TIES and 2 YARDS of Freshcut fabric (the winner can pick from my store!).  You can have 2 cuts of 1 yard each or even 4 cuts 1/2 yard each.  How fun is that??!!  Just leave a nice comment and be sure to get yourself some fun and amazing Trash Ties (if you don't win these)!!

Did you know they make blankets out of that stuff?!

Alrighty, the winner of yesterdays goodie is Sue Cahill who left a comment on May 21 at 11:04.  Email me Sue!!

Here are some more pictures of the designer's beautiful booths from Quilt Market.  I'm amazed at the work that goes into making everything so pretty especially considering that all these people have to fly in and figure a way to have these big displays without having to carry all these things onto the planes.  Talk about creative!

Here is Anna Maria Horner's booth. I was so glad to get to meet her and talk about her fabric. She's a very warm, bubbly person and I think it really shows in her designs. Her booths won 1st prize and it's easy to understand why!



Here is Amy Butler doing her thing. She is so fresh and beautiful looking and I was surprised at how tall she really is. I'm sad to say I didn't go up and talk to her because I really didn't have anything to say (I thought of something good on the flight home though!). I didn't want to just stand there gawking (I did that to Mary Engelbreit once but I think she's used to it). Anyway, her booth was very lovely and serene.



Here's another view of Tanya Whelan's pretty booth. Apparently she had to give part of her displays away because she couldn't haul them on the plane (one was a bed!). I can't tell you how many times I passed this booth and I'm sure Tanya was starting to get a little scared of me.  But it was so dreamy to look at!



Here's my little give-away for today and it's a nice one! This little charm pack from the fabulous people at the Michael Miller company. Kathy Miller gave a fantastic presentation on spotting upcoming trends and it was really interesting and eye opening (and Kathy is super nice). Anyway, just leave a comment! You can simply say "Hi, again!" if you are running out of witty things to say.





Check back tomorrow! I think you'll really like what I have planned!

More Quilt Market 2008 fun!

The winner of yesterday's fabric bundles is Carolyn J who left a nice comment at 7:46 pm on 5/20 but no email address.  Email me Carolyn!!

One of the highlights of Quilt Market was getting to meet Sandi Henderson of Ginger Blossom/Portabello Pixie fame in real life.  I've known Sandi for a couple of years in the ebay boutique community and it's been fun to watch her become a VIP in the fabric design community.  I've been carrying her Ginger Blossom line in my store and it's very popular.  Now she is releasing another line with Michael Miller called Farmer's Market and it's so beautiful I'm sure it will be a hot one too.  She's also selling a darling line of patterns for little girls and I'm sure those were a hit too.  Sandi was so sweet (and has a gorgeous peaches and cream complexion) and I wish I had been able to spend more time chatting with her but she was quite the rock star so I don't think she had much time to just sit and chat.

Here are some pictures from her darling double booth.  It was hard not to spend a lot of time there because it was so pretty it just pulled everyone in.





Here is Sandi.  She (and her husband) worked their buns off for Quilt Market and the results were just gorgeous!



Pillows, bags and dresses!  Oh my!



Here is Sandi chatting with Patty of Modkid Boutique.  She's got a line of fabric coming out (with Michael Miller also) in the fall.  I can't wait!!  She was incredibly fun and sweet too!



And here is a sample set from Heather Bailey's Pop Garden and Bijoux lines. This fabric was so much fun to play with and I had 3 full boxes to pick through. Ack! I'm still surprised I was actually able to make a decision. This one is listed on ebay too!





Here's today's give-away. This cute little package was given out by the nice people at Blank Textiles who gave a riveting presentation on how fabric is made (from cotton bale to bolt).

Just leave a comment! Have a great day!!

More pictures and stuff

Yesterday's winner is AMY who left a comment at 6:42 AM (bright and early!) but no email address. Amy, email me!! You're going to love this!

Okay, I know I didn't post enough pictures yesterday (I was seriously still groggy from the trip and flight so I couldn't manage much) but I'll be better today.

I flew up Wednesday with Heather and her mom Linda and between the great company and the Dramamine it was a great flight (and I'm not too crazy about flying). We were tired when we got there but Isaac's sister Maureen had a fun day planned so off we went with her and Isaac's mom, Elinor Peace Bailey (hey, she's got a picture of us all there), and Eleanor's assistant Beth. Super fun group! We hit Bolt first and the cute stores there on Alberta (this was a scary neighborhood when I was growing up there so it's great to see it turned into a fun, hip place). Then we headed over to Mississippi Ave (again a formerly not-so-great neighborhood turned into a hot spot) for an amazing lunch at Gravy and some fun shopping. Here's a picture I took at this fun store called Flutter where I snagged some cute yo-yos (the up and down kind, not the fabric kind), pretty lace, and lilac soap.

Then we headed over to this amazing hole-in-the-wall chocolate shop off of Burnside where I had a rich and yummy mocha. I couldn't even finish it but the next morning I added the gloppy, yummy stuff at the bottom of the cup (which was still in my rental car) to my fresh coffee and man, that was good. You can see the cute little gal that helped us in the mirror on the upper right.

On Thursday after all the Schoolhouse classes (where I got all the freebies I'm sharing) I went over to the Pearl District for a fun gathering of bloggers and designers at a great restaurant called Oba (haha, I accidently typed it in as "Ova" first. Not sure how a restaurant with that name would fly!). The party was hosted by Kathy Miller of Michael Miller and Caroline of J Caroline Creative (lots of great pictures here!) fame. I was rubbing shoulders with some seriously fun fabric and magazine types and couldn't believe I was hanging with all these people whom I have greatly admired from a distance. A HUGE Thank You to Sandi for getting me on the invite list!! Wow!

Here are my poorly lit photos (I shall call them "artsy").

Here is Elinor's assistant Beth, Heather, and Charlotte Barnard the deputy editor of Country Living magazine (!!!).

This is Caroline, Charlotte, Paula Prass, and myself. This is my "Just smile and act like you belong and everything will be fine" face. Still pinching myself.

Here is Heather's display over at the Westminster corner (the best corner in the place really). I'm selling the sample dresses on ebay because Heather is letting me (if somebody buys them and chops them up into little pieces I don't want to hear about it!).

Here's some eye candy to tide you over until tomorrow. It's Tanya Whelan's gorgeous booth with her new fabric. Gaga!

Aaannnnndddd....here's today's give-away. Two cute fat eighth packs from the nice people at Benartex. Just leave a comment. More tomorrow!

Where do I begin??

What a fun, crazy, whirlwind of a weekend that was!  My body is tired but my brain is energized.  It was so much fun to be around people who love fabric as much as I do.  For the first time in my life I could talk and talk about fabric without watching my listener's eyes begin to glaze over.

On Thursday I had my first celebrity encounter when I was heading back into the building after lunch at Burgerville.  I saw this gal walking up the steps with this adorable tunic made from Jennifer Paganelli's fabric and ran over to tell her how cute her top was.  I got up to her and realized it was Jennifer Paganelli herself!!!!!  Ack!!!!  She was loaded down with bags full of goodies so I got to help her carry some and had her all to myself for about 5 minutes.  She is the nicest, warmest person and it was fun to sit in on her presentation and listen to all the great ideas she had for using fabric.  Some even require no sewing and were just beautiful. 

Here she is at her display in the Westminster section (I was ready to set up a cot and just live in that corner of the exhibit hall, the blankets were obviously provided for that reason).  Cute!

She was so nice she let me pick 2 goodies from her bag for helping her out (all the not-so-helpful people just got one) and I'm going to share one.  I'm not even going to show you the one I'm keeping for myself because I don't want any whining.  Just leave a comment and I will pick a name Tuesday night.  You don't even have to say something clever (but that would be fun too!) because I will use that random number generator thing.  Here's what I'm parting with:

Two luscious fat quarters of Bell Bottom fabric in River and Grey colors. 

The fabric manufacturers were handing out free goodies right and left and I'll be handing them out to you all week long!  I have a real biggie planned for Friday!

Oh and I just got another delivery from Free Spirit (I've turned into Pavlov's dog.  I start to drool everytime the doorbell rings!).  I now have 2 more Bell Bottom Georgie Bouquet prints (in the Navy and Fuchsia).  Go check them out!  Fun!

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Ed. Revision

I'm going to make a slight change and draw the winning name Tuesday morning so that I can get another post and another fun drawing up (and lots of pictures!).  So if you miss this one you can definitely try for the next one!  Thanks!  Jona

Off to Market!

Thank you all so much for the nice comments about my hair!  I have fresh polish on my nails and just made my last trip to the post office (at 12:10 am!).  I've been sewing samples like crazy for Quilt Market and it's really been fun but tiring.  I finally got to play with Heather's new line (which is debuting this weekend) and I can't wait to share the pictures.  But it's all top secret and hush-hush for now.

I also made it a little crazier by sewing some things to sell for quick cash and I'm thankful that I'm going with enough money for all the coffee I can drink and all the Burgerville burgers I can eat.  Joey took me shopping for a few more things and I found the nicest jeans at J. Jills.  I honestly started tearing up in the dressing room when I tried these jeans on.  They are so comfortable and flattering and I felt like my life's quest for great jeans was finally achieved.  I was a little (a lot) shocked by the price but the gal at the counter said she's been wearing hers for 4 years and loved them and Joey was willing to pay so what the hay!

I got some sweet things for Mother's Day and I wanted to share this adorable house Olivia made for me.  She got the pattern online but I'll have to ask her where.

I love this flower garden.

I'm off to finish packing and get maybe 3 hours of sleep.  I can't wait to see all the new stuff at Quilt Market and I hope to get lots of pictures!!  Oh and the weather is supposed to be beautiful!  Yip yip!

Getting spruced up for Market

Well I went and got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday by a professional.  I'm normally a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to my hair and I may be in trouble now because I really like the professional highlights better (go figure) and it cost a flippin' fortune.  I'm leaving for Quilt Market (my first!!!) on Wednesday and I'd like to look halfway put together.  I even stopped chewing my nails.  This is what 110.00 hair looks like (and 2.48 nail polish, thank God for Walmart).   Don't judge me, I'm feeling guilty enough as it is.

I realized the other day that if I'm going as a business owner I should have business cards.  Yeah, I know I'm a little slow but I'm glad Kinkos is not.  So I'm picking 100 of these up tonight.  I don't really have a business logo yet so I just used my blog banner (and it was easy to email to Kinkos).  Nothing but the basics on the back of it.

 

Other side.  Just stating the obvious.

I found these at the grocery store the other day for 1/2 price (5 bucks for both bunches).  I think these flowers look happy together and they're lasting a long time too.  Aren't they cute?  Kind of a Vincent Van Gogh meets Mary Engelbreit vibe. 

I had this skirt that sat on etsy for months so I took the front apart, added an apron (of course) and made a matching top and bandana and stuck it on ebay.  Voila'!  A bid! 

I like the eclectic mix of fabrics.

So now that I'm broke (but have stunning hair!) I'm sewing like crazy and am going to be selling a bunch of cute and priced to sell outfits in my own personal "Send Jona to Quilt Camp" sale.  That will be in the next couple days.  I'm so excited about going and I'm really looking forward to meeting everybody.  There are people I've known (via computer) for years and I'm finally getting to meet them in person (I hope they love my hair). 

Oh, and I'm getting to meet some other bloggers and creative types (sometimes one and the same!) at this fun little soiree that Heather (or "The Heather" as my kids call her!) is going to do something at tomorrow.  I don't know what she's going to do but I'm pretty darn sure it will be beautiful and  amazing.  Fun!  Have a beautiful weekend!

And be sure to check back when I have my little outfits for sale (because I still need to get a pedicure and those aren't cheap either).

Hola! Buenos Dias!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  I took 4 years of Spanish and that is pretty much the extent of my ability to converse in Español.  Oh no, I have to find the code for the little squiggle over the "n" which is pronounced "en-yay" (I remember that much!).  Got it!  See?   "ñ"!

I've been super swamped trying to get everything finished so I'm ready for Quilt Market next week.  I'm so excited and I can't wait to try Stumptown coffee which I hear is amazing.  I'm also planning on eating seafood because it's closer to the source.  I've never been comfortable eating seafood in Arizona, it worries me.

I've had a chance to play with Jennifer Paganelli's Bell Bottom fabric and I love it.  It's so great because it coordinates with her Basics line so the possibilities are endless.  I made another one of those darn apron skirts.  I apologize for being a one trick pony here but I'm trying to make a little fun money for Portland and these sell.

Isn't it cute?

Here's the whole outfit.

Here's another Flirt outfit (oh man, I'm loving this fabric!).  For some (unknown to me) reason the Flirt fabric weighs less than the other ones and it's super soft.  I'm not familiar with the whole manufacturing ins and outs but there's something different about it.

I added a little covered button so the pants would have some pink in them too.  Easy Peasy and cutesie tootsie.

Here's something fun Olivia's working on (I think it's an apron).  I like the way the pink ice cream is dripping.

And Junior Man got some new shoes which he is loathe to remove.  He'd wear these and his Elmo shirt (and nothing else!) all day everyday if we'd let him and he throws a fit when we try to take them off.  I kind of know how he feels since I'm wearing this shirt again.  Oh and he managed to give the cat a bath and acquire a large scratch on his tummy at the same time today.  Gotta love that instant kharma.

Saltwater sandals are the best sandals in the history of the planet and I'm glad my friend Tiffany carries them in her store (I even have some white ones in my size.  But I had to buy them at a grown up store.).

And then this is just cute.  She's obviously keeping a close eye on that little basket of chicks (this isn't the scratching, bath-taking cat.  That one is her brother).

I'm planning on doing some fun sewing for myself but it might have to wait until I get back from Portland.  The pathetic thing is I may have to wear store bought clothes (gasp) to Quilt Market because I'm so busy sewing other things.  But I have had some fun sewing samples of the Oliver and S. patterns (blatant link to my etsy store there) for Liesl and I'm getting really good at them.  They are really clever patterns and I'm loving her fabric choices (Liberty of London, oh my gosh!).  Okay, back to the factory.