Stop staring and start sewing!

I'm a dizzier blond than usual

Joey and I had a great (kidless!) time in Wisconsin and Chicago.  The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed some refreshing rain showers too.  It's over 110 here so we're already missing it.  I've had a hard time getting back in the groove though because I think I've got some inner ear problems so my equilibrium is totally off kilter.  I'm not sure if it was the pressurized air in the plane that set it off but I feel like I'm on a rocking boat all day.  It's gotten a little better but it's still weird.

Here are some pictures from the days we spent in Wisconsin on the Lauderdale Lakes with Joey's cousins (nicest people!).  We did absolutely nothing for 2 days.  I think I was 15 the last time that happened.  Actually now that I think about it, I did nothing while Joey fished (and he actually caught a couple!).  Look at this beautiful bird (heron?) taking off from the lake.  I was upset because I thought I missed getting a picture of it but then looked at my camera and wow! what a great shot (if'n I do say so)!

And this is how you know you're in Wisconsin.  Live bait.  Live.

I've done a little sewing today and made this fun little jumper using the Marieke pattern from Farbenmix. I've been trying to carry their patterns in my store but so far they haven't responded to my inquiries. Bummer.  But I am keeping my ears perked up waiting for the sound of that UPS truck because all those gorgeous new spring fabrics are starting to roll in.  Deep inhale...sigh.

And in an attempt to offset our sizzling June I'm having a cool December give-away. Two cute little fat quarter stacks of Mary Engelbreit's (I love her you know!) Isn't Christmas Jolly? fabrics. Each stack has 4 fat quarters (fq's, ahem) and then you can use the dotted "ribbon" for something crafty too. Oh the things you could make....stockings, ornaments, purses, slippers, doll clothes, you name it!  Fun!  Just leave a comment, yada, yada, yada, whatever, etc, etc, and so on.

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Ed. Revision
I thought I should clarify the give-away. I will give 1 fat quarter stack each to 2 separate and lucky people, not one person getting 2 stacks (that just wouldn't be right!). Sometimes I'm unclear and that gets me into trouble so I just thought I would be more specific and save having to apologize later.

Just stuff

Well I finally finished one of these dresses and I'm so happy with it.  I'm going to finish the other one as soon as inspiration hits me.  With my luck it will hit me this weekend when I'm in Chicago and about 2000 miles from my sewing machine.  Here's what I've got so far.  Sweet, simple, fun.  Pattern maybe?

I got some more Flirt fabric in the store this week and I'm so happy. I was kicking myself for not ordering it in the first place so I feel a little more complete now.  I really love these sherbet-y colors.

I've been wanting to mention the current issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion because I really think this magazine just keeps getting better and better (which shows you can improve on perfection apparently). This one is still on the magazine stands for another couple weeks and is well worth having.

Look! Anna Maria Horner! Isn't she cute? And I just ordered some of her new fabric which is so vibrant and fun. I'm thinking of covering a chair or something with it.

Look! Liesl Gibson's Oliver and S. patterns! Cute!

Look again!! They even have a cute picture of Sandi's little girl! She's releasing a line of beautiful patterns soon. Go see them!

And you super duper have to go look at Heather's blog because she's made a huge, much awaited announcement and is giving away some freebies!  And she re-decorated the place.  It's beautiful!  I've ordered a bunch of her new lines as well as tons of Tanya Whelan's Ave Rose (stunning!) line so I better get busy baking some cookies for that cutie-pie UPS guy!

I'm off to Chicago, that toddlin' town (not sure what that means) where my Hunny's been for work training all week.  4 kids-free days in 78 degree weather (it's over 110 here!).  Nice.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Scrappy Doo

I was so inspired by this fun tutorial I decided to put my scraps to good use and start some quilting.  I've never been too excited about quilting just because of all the measuring and cutting and angles and stuff.  But this I can do.  It just requires a 2.5 inch square in the middle surrounded by 1 inch strips.  You use a 1/4 seam allowance and keep going until you have 12 outer fabrics.  Then trim it down to 5.5 inches.  I'm doing it kind of loosie-goosie but the tutorial explains it properly.

Here's what I've got so far (and the piles I'm pulling from). 

My goal is to make one a day just to allow myself some fun sewing time. If I get one done every other day though, I'll be happy with myself.  I have just a scrap of that Amy Butler Temple Flowers print left so I'm glad to use it here in the middle so I can keep enjoying it.

They're kind of wobbly but I think that makes them cute.

I love the Flirt Tangerine Nosegay flower in the middle here.

A huge thank you to those of you who are buying fabric from our new store!  The Grand Opening sale is actually just a way to lure you in so we can work out the bugs on you and you won't complain because you're getting such great fabric at a great price!  Thanks!!  So far we've fixed the shipping, the missing fabrics, the mis-named fabrics and now we are working on the inventory lists. Fun stuff!  Oh and I'll have some hot off the press, new fabric in stock on Saturday, yip yip!

It's Alive! It's Alive!

FABRITOPIA.COM

We are finally up and running on the actual website. I will keep the etsy site going for awhile longer but the fabric is cheaper on the website and you can still use your Paypal to pay.

I'm having a big sale this week to make room for some more goodies (more Mary Engelbreit and some basics from Free Spirit!!) and to celebrate so if you type "frankenstein" in the coupon code box you can get in on the monster sale (7.00 a yard on all fabric)! The sale runs through Friday midnight.

The only thing (well probably not the only thing I'm sure) I haven't figured out is how to set an inventory amount so if you order a large piece of yardage I my just have to let you know I only have 3 yards of that one left or something like that. Oh and the patterns are marked down 60 cents just because I didn't want to take the time to mark down every individual item. Fun!

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Okay I changed it so you don't have to type anything in to the stupid, dumb, idiotic, moronic coupon code box (a wee bit frustrated here ya think?).  Everything is just marked down (each individual, teeny tiny, one by one, and on and on and on) so it reflects 7.00 a yard.  (Thanks Stephanie for the heads-up!)  Should be fun, right?

My new favorite skirt

Okay so here's my post on the new skirt pattern I was telling you about and I love love love it!  The designer is Kay Whitt and I met Kay and her husband Keith at Quilt Market.  They had such a pretty booth and I kept going back to it because her designs were just so dang cute (casual yet classy) and they are such nice folks.  Kay taught school for 9 years while sewing on the side until she finally said "I'm tired of you kids!  I'm going to go sew!"  Oh wait, that wasn't Kay.  That's what I say everyday.  Anyway I was kicking myself for not getting pictures of her booth but she was gracious enough to send me some to share.



Here's another view. They had this gorgeous floorcloth made from different designer fabrics and I felt guilty walking on it until I overheard her telling someone she had scotch-guarded it so it was fine. And I kept going back and it looked clean each time so there you have it! 



Here is Kay wearing her tunic dress (I'm working on one right now!). She's from Texas and after I got of the phone with her the other day I was walking around saying "ya'll cut that out!" to the kids. Those accents can be pretty contagious.



I snapped up a bunch of her patterns at market and couldn't wait to order them for my shop but I wanted to try one first. Here's mine.  This is the Tiffany skirt but I ordered 4 other skirt designs and 2 handbags as well.



In the instructions she recommends using a fabric you're not crazy about on your first go-round. So I used this seersucker I got at the thrift store last year and I think it turned out great. I ADORE the scallops and it was really a fun pattern.



I used an invisible zipper and it went in quick and easy using this tutorial (which I have printed and keep in a file near my sewing area). Nice. Here's an upclose look at the scallops.



And here's the whole thing.  It was so easy to make it fit perfectly because it essentially has 8 scalloped panels and when I was done sewing them together I just tried it on then made small alterations, tried it on again, etc. until it was perfect.  Then I made sure the facing was adjusted to fit the changes on the skirt and added that and voila'!



I will be making a lot of these for summer because skirts are perfect in the Arizona heat. Fun!