The name says it all! My fabric, my family and other fun things in my life!
There has been no time for work. I was foolish to think I could get any work done while here. And with places like this tempting me….can you blame me?
(That’s not photoshopped sky either)
I wouldn’t want to miss any of this!
Oh well – work will still be there next week. 🙂
Even though I’m not at home, I am not on vacation. I have a long “to-do” list and I’m kinda hoping that with family being able to help with the kids – I might even be somewhat productive during daylight hours! Orders are still being taken care of by my wonderful husband (Really – he is amazing!) so things will still be shipping while I’m away. 🙂
Okay so let me go over some fabric related stuff!
Mezzanine:
Thank you for all the pre-orders! I can see that you’re as anxious about this fabric as I am. I had to take it down for a few days while I made some changes on my website but now it is back up and available still for pre-order.
Anticipation is building and you’ve likely seen images popping up here and there of things that have been made with the beautiful fabric – but don’t worry, the yardage has not be released yet. You’re not missing it yet. *whew* After talking to Patty, it appears the fabric will ship the beginning of July instead of the end of June. 😥 If there was a way I could go to NJ and help the crew at Michael Miller get it out the door faster, I would. Anyway I have recently received several emails regarding the pre-orders…I thought I would post a reply here! 😛
For those that have pre-ordered….I plan to cut on the same day the fabric arrives, so your order will either be shipped out the same day or the next day (that just depends on what time the UPS man arrives at my house. Sometimes he doesn’t show up until 6 pm!) I know you’re anxious to get it and I’m anxious to get it sent!
And if you haven’t per-ordered it yet – there is still time. Use the code PATTY at check out to get free shipping on orders in the US.
Gosh – the website! That deserves a post of it’s own….so I will dedicate time to that in the future. Things are changing and you can see some of the changes in place already! Head over and see the new design. Above All Fabric There is so much to show you – so really I’ll just have to blog about it one day.
A few other lines I’m really excited about that will be arriving before long. (I think next week) From Free Spirit, we have Oh Boy! and Picnic Parade….but my blogging time for the day is up (must keep a decent schedule) so I’ll have to review those later. Hope you all have a great weekend!
PS. Even though I’m not technically on vacation, rest assured, I will be taking some time to enjoy the people and places around here. 😉
I’m on the road but I wanted to get this done tonight and not drag it out any longer….so let’s get to it….
Jody who said:
Where do I begin with the Christmas presents to make? Probably should start on those I didn’t finish for last year’s Christmas and the big one would be a family photo quilt for my Father. He is huge into geneology and I’ve really got to get the ideas and sewing machine going for him. I’d also like to make the kids coordinated outfits before they get to old to be completely embarrased by mom’s sewing.
You are the winner! And let me just say that I can totally relate! Thanks so much for playing everyone. 🙂 And I’d love to see pictures of everything you do make…so add ’em to my flickr group!
Honestly I had every intention of including all of this yesterday – but then I ran out of time. 🙂 So let’s pick up where we left off….
My friend Elena sewed this adorable Birdie Big Blocks pattern in the Just Dreamy fabric! (By the way, these photos are all hers -she has graciously allowed me to use them for my blog) After reading the pattern we made a couple minor changes that I’d like to share with you –
We opted to use 10 different fabrics in 1/2 yard cuts. This makes the background of each block and the binding all different. Also by using 1/2 yard cuts you start out with an 18 inch square instead of a 19 inch square. This didn’t affect the rest of the pattern – you just end up with a quilt that is a little bit smaller.
I loved it so much I had to make it available as a kit as well – You can buy it here. If you decide to make this pattern using other fabrics I really would love to see! Like I said – we used 10 fabrics in 1/2 yard cuts. The pattern is available here.
The really cool thing is that you end up with a bit of scrap fabric – and I just love what Elena did with that! She made a really cute baby quilt! She shrunk the birdie pattern down 50% and put it on a 9 inch block. Then just used basic strip-work for three rows. The forth row is the left over binding fabric. Super super cute – and her daughter is a cutie too – don’t you think? 🙂
Thanks, Elena for letting me share this! (And if anyone else has a project you’d like to share with my readers, please feel free to email me.)
In Pittsburgh I had set appointments with my regular companies weeks in advance. My first appointment was at 10 am on Friday morning. I was late. Thankfully I wasn’t too late – so my Timeless Treasures rep was still able to meet with me. 🙂
Timeless Treasures has an adorable line out called Apple. It is filled with goodness….yummy yummy retro goodness. Cute little owls, yummy apples, trees, swirls, flowers and leaves.
The fabric is cute enough on it’s own – but then they had it displayed using the most adorable pattern, Birdie Big Blocks. Instantly I knew that I had to get this quilt pattern! And I knew I needed to make it available as a kit for you! I think it can work with so many fabrics out there! And of course, it’s available as yardage in my store as well. 🙂
I also thought this would be adorable in the new Just Dreamy fabric….and boy was I right! I will share that with you tomorrow – now I need to go spend some quality time with my family – Hope your weekend is going great!
Do you remember the Christmas Patchwork Quilt I made? A picture to jog your memory?
My friend, Carly, wrote up this pattern for her Etsy shop. It uses one layer cake (pre-cut 10 inch squares) and one charm pack (pre-cut 5 inch squares). It is a GREAT quilt for beginners! The top goes together quickly since you’re using pre-cut fabric.
So guess what?!?!? Carly is letting me sell her patterns in my store. And I’ve made this exact quilt available as a kit! So you can make one too! Even better? This particular kit includes the backing! You can find it here. 🙂
Speaking of Christmas….we are about HALF WAY through this year! WOW! So even though it’s nice and warm outside – it’s not too early to start your Christmas sewing! Did you join in the Advent Calendar Sew Along? I guess I did since I have the button on my blog….but I haven’t made anything yet. In fact, we have never even used an Advent Calendar in my house. Oh well. If you’re looking for Holiday fabrics for the sew along…or for any project, I have added a few new things to the Seasonal Fabric section of my website.
Okay so you’ve stuck with me this long….why not have a little give away?!?!? I would love to send ONE person the kit and pattern for this super fun Christmas Quilt. Just leave me a comment telling me what are some of the gifts you would like to make for the holidays this year. I like to leave these up for about a week but we’ll be leaving town next week. So I’m guessing that I’ll need to wrap this up after the weekend. So comment away! And if you don’t win…well you know where to find them! 🙂
Olive Manna Fabric!
Olive Manna is the company of Designer Natalie Jost. She maintains her websites, Olive Manna and Natalie Jost as well as a couple Etsy stores and a twitter background website – and she is a Mom too! Whew!
And we are now offering you the chance to have her wonderful designs printed onto fabric!
I’ve set up a section on my website just for Natalie’s designs! You can go here to see what’s available. More designs will be added along the way. And if there is a design you’re dying to get your hands on, let Natalie or me know! These will be custom printed just for you! How cool is that?!?!?
There are more changes coming on my website too. I can’t wait to share them with you. All in due time, my friends, all in due time!
My mother cursed me. She is the queen of all practical gifts….and I fear she has passed this trait onto me. So when I have to get a gift for a little one, I just cannot buy something that I know is impractical. The most practical of all gifts for little ones is a hooded towel. They are the best!
And I know they are the best because I get requests all the time to make them. Friends I have gifted hooded towels come back to me asking to make more. Previous customers email to see if I would make another one. Family members request them too. They last for years, they actually cover the baby up, the absorb way better than the typical baby towel…and well I’m not trying to sell you one, so I shouldn’t go on and on….but I’d say if you don’t have a GOOD hooded towel for your children, find one! So today, I am making hooded towels galore 🙂 Here are a few with the every popular 2D Zoo (now back in stock).
PS. My friend has a pattern for sale if you would like to make one yourself. And her pattern comes with a cute bag too! You know I love bags 🙂 Visit her store here.
Last fall when I attended Quilt Market for the first time, I went to get a better understanding of the industry to which I belonged. Of course, I placed orders with companies, but I knew I wasn’t looking to expand at that point. Our house was almost finished and I didn’t know how much room I could realistically occupy in the new home.
This year, I made appointments with all the usual reps, but I also went looking for a couple new companies. And I found a few great ones! I’m anxious to share them with you when they arrive! Just Dreamy arrived over week ago. (I know it’s taken me a while to blog about this. I have to confess that I have really been enjoying my children during the day. I’m trying not to sit at the computer all day – which has made for many many late nights…and at 3 a.m. when I have time to blog, I choose to sleep instead!)
Just Dreamy is produced by Riley Blake. (They have several fun lines coming out! I hope I get to order them as well…it’ll all depend on how well this line does!) A good friend of mine said “Hey, that is scrapbook paper.” So with a little research I found out that this was first produced on paper by My Minds Eye. Well, now it’s on fabric too! I would love for you to take a look at their website and let me know what you think about the other lines that will be coming out!
This is not the last time you will see Just Dreamy on my blog…so please do check back in every now and again to see something fabulous and fun that was made from this fabric. In the meantime, you can find all the prints of this fun fabric in my store.
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Fabric Family and Fun 