Modern baby book and giveaway!

So, I just ripped open the box containing my copy of modern Baby–Easy, Fresh, and Fun Quilt Designs. And it looks so pretty. It is my first ever quilt project in a book. Woot! Who doesn't want to be in a book, right? Right.

modern baby is a lovely, curated book with fun quilts for babies designed by modern quilters/ bloggers such as Shea Henderson (of Empty Bobbin) and Carolyn Friedlander among so many others.

The book is available now at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, ShopMartingale.com, and your LOCAL SHOP!!!

I based The Birdhouse Quilt on a painting I created for a series of greeting cards for Wishfulls.com over here. (You gotta love Kinko's huge printers for scaling up artwork to create quilt patterns.) This design is sweet and cheerful. The quilt is easy to create, because the entire image is created with fusible appliqué, so it is really like making a big collage. 

Here is my contribution...The Birdhouse Quilt

My original painting turned into a greeting card for Wishfulls.com

You can win an eBook copy of modern baby of your very own! Just leave a comment making a delightful baby noise before May 6th. Check out all the other tour stops to increase your odds of winning. You have 14 chances to win!

April 18, Thursday       Jenny, StitchThis! http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
April 19, Friday            Shea Henderson, http://emptybobbinsewing.com
April 22, Monday          Jake Finch, http://generationqmagazine.com/
April 23, Tuesday        Audrie Bidwell, http://blueisbleu.blogspot.com/
April 24, Wed              Carolyn Friedlander, http://carolynfriedlander.com/blog/
April 25, Thursday       Melissa Corry, http://happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com/
April 26, Friday            Jen Eskridge, http://reannalilydesigns.com/blog/
April 29, Monday          Sarah Flynn, http://fairyfacedesigns.blogspot.com/
April 30, Tuesday        Dana Bolyard, http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/
May 1, Wednesday     Amy Smart, http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/
May 2, Thursday         Carrie Bloomston, http://suchitysuch.blogspot.com/
May 3, Fri                    Victoria Findlay Wolfe, http://www.bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/
May 6, Monday            Lindsey Rhodes, http://lrstitched.com/
May 7, Tuesday           Pippa Eccles Armbrester, http://www.pippapatchwork.com/blog/

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. 
Winner is Deborah!

Day 15 :: Karen LePage

Well. Today is the last day of the blog party. It has been fun to share so many designers with you. I could get all mushy as I'm wont to do, but I'll save it. I will say that I am full of joy and gratitude and I am quite excited to have a break from blogging so much. :)

So, you know those friends that you meet and then right away they remind you of someone else you love, so you bond much faster with your new friend because you feel like you already know them? That is what happened with Karen LePage of One Girl Circus. When we met last year at Quilt Market she reminded so much of one of my favoritest, oldest friends, craft mama, Cyndi Coon. Karen is hi-lar-i-ous!!! So damn funny and she will say everything. I LOVE people like that. She is absolutely true to herself. Anyway, we stayed in touch and I remembered she created custom dresses for people. I knew I wanted her to design something for me with my new fabric, COLLAGE. I told her I like Anthro-style for Market, usually. I told her I like to fly my freak flag and am cool with looking like an artist, but still want to be feminine. And I sent some pictures and we shared a few things on Pinterest. We came to this and she picked the fabric and got to work. When it arrived, I was astonished. My daughter called it a "princess dress" and my son looked at me wearing it and said, "oooh, pretty, mom." I would not normally wear a white dress with birds on it and that is what makes it so amazing. It is a total winner.

 

I am not the most fashion-y person, and don't have heaps of cash for much shopping, but I do have a wee help in that department in the form of this rad art chick at Anthropologie. I go there if I need something for an event. So the Anthro staff took one look at this dress and swooned. Seriously. Even the customers thought I was trying on something from the store! I would have styled this dress in a more vintage way, but my art chick set me straight: when something is sweet & pretty, as this dress is, it needs to be balanced out by something rough and dirty and rock&roll. Apparently this is normal fashion wisdom, but I am not an Anthro clerk or much of a Vogue reader so I didn't get that style memo. Am so happy she did, because she styled this dress in a way that made it sing: denim jacket, beaded belt, leather platforms. I named it the Rock & Roll Princess dress and I adore it. Karen is some kinda talented. Contact her if you need a custom dress made. She will hook you up. Go read more on her blog here and enter to win a stack of COLLAGE for yourself by leaving a comment on her blog.

And take a look at the menswear she made with Scatter in Bauhaus Red. I am in love with that shirt!

Day 14 :: Rachael Gander

Hola! Como estas? Day 14 of the SocialMediaFreakOut for my new fabric line, COLLAGE, brings us to the über plugged-in Rachael Gander of Imagine Gnats. Rachael is a sassy & stylie sewinista who sews like a bat out of hell. Seriously? How do people sew so much stuff?!

I am in awe of every project people have whipped up with COLLAGE. I know I said this in an earlier post about the new fabric line here, but it is an amazing experience for me to see what so many talented people create with my designs. I feel wild joy as I see each new creation. When images started coming in, I had this thought: "My whole life I have been the artist–even my brand is about enabling the inner-artist for others. But, this is different. In designing fabric, I have become...the PAINT."

Rachael is crazy talented. She has designed several patterns and I especially love the roly-poly pinafore (click here to buy the pattern). I was so excited she was willing to join the party. She used COLLAGE in a very collage-y way to make this fabtacular roly-poly romper! Click here to go to read all about it on her blog and make sure to leave a comment to win a stack of fabric for yourself.

She even made a little branding piece for our wee collaboration!

Day 13 :: Sam Hunter!

Day 13 of the COLLAGE blog party...how are you holding up? Exhausted? Fatigued? Elated? Well, go drink some electrolytes and let's party on! Only two days left people. Today we check in with wonderful Sam Hunter of Hunter's Design Studio. I met Sam at the Long Beach quilt festival in 2011. We bonded immediately over our art school trauma ;) and we have stayed in touch. Since then, Sam began her own pattern company and she has made quite a splash. I especially love her alphabet CD, Blanket Statement–if you haven't seen it go look here. She gives you a complete (paper-pieced) alphabet in this pattern. Very cool.

Anyway, I was thrilled when she volunteered to sew with COLLAGE. Look at the adorable bag she made! This is Sam's new pattern called the Chunky Wee Bag (an easy messenger bag in three sizes). Go buy your pattern here. My daughter snagged it the second it arrived from Sam and I know I will never get to use it. Go check out Sam's blog here and leave a comment to win a Layer Cake of COLLAGE!

Check out the tiny, precious tissue holder Sam made to go with the bag!

Day 12 :: Jenny Kelly

Well, you know I met many of the friends I have featured during this blog party via social media. But I met Jenny Kelly at the mothership of all social media–BlogHer 2011, San Diego. 3,000 blogging women descended on the waterfront to soak up info about the blogosphere. There were crafty women, and mom-bloggers, & business bloggers. Large companies sent spies to investigate what we were up to. It was all very fun. I blogged it here.

One day we broke into tiny groups called birds of a feather meet-ups. I chose the Modern Martha meet-up. Yes, it was exactly as it sounds: modern Martha Stewarts. There were very few of us–maybe 15 in all. And I remember that we didn't really talk about anything modern or Martha-ish. But I met Jenny. As it turns out, she lives really close by and now our kids play. Small, small world. Instead of handing out business cards, she handed out strips of bias cut fabric with her info stamped on it to wear as a bracelet. Very memorable idea.

Anyway, you know what I love? I love when people fly their freak flags–not in attention seeking way, but in a being-true-to-myself-kinda way. I think that it is important to express our inner urges when appropriate. It sort of reinforces our inner nature. And it shows how comfortable we are with what is inside. It keeps us connected to our creativity. Jenny is in touch with her freak flag and I really love that about her.

These skirts are kooky and badass and whimsical and fab-u-lous!! She used the Molly Skirt pattern  from Shwin Designs. Go read more on her blog here and leave a comment there to win a stack of COLLAGE for yourself! Thank you, Jenny! You rock.

This patchwork is insanely cool!

Day 11 :: Anna Graham from Noodlehead!

Day 11 of the COLLAGE party. I just love the number eleven. Today brings us the incredible Anna Graham of Noodlehead! I couldn't be more excited that she is joining us. I'm sure you have hung out on her cool blog before and bought her patterns. She's blog-famous. We just met. She said something nice about my fabric or something and I said, "hey, you want some?" And she said yes. So here we are. Go check out her absolutely fabulous new tote pattern here. It is seriously droolworthy! I love it and will certainly make one of my own when her pattern comes out. (Leave a comment on her site to enter the COLLAGE giveaway.) Thank you, Anna.

Day 10 :: Shea Henderson

The COLLAGE party is rolling along at quite a clip. I can hardly catch my breath between the swells of love & joy being shared. The designers have posted gorgeous pictures and words about their experience of sewing with my new fabric line for Windham Fabrics, COLLAGE. I am blown away, not just by what they have created, but by the kindness they have shared. We are knee-deep in connection and community here. I am in awe and full of gratitude. Today brings us to Shea...

Shea Henderson is quite special to me. She is my dear friend. I picture us as little girls on a rainy day: we'd both be wearing yellow raincoats. (Or rather, whatever color Shea had, I would want that one and be sad if I didn't have it.) We'd have on rain boots and we'd wander around outside in puddles exploring the universe of the front yard. We would be lost in our journey–utterly absorbed, in the moment, and enjoying each other's company. We would feel safe together. We would be ourselves with each other. That is exactly how I feel about Shea. Here are some basic facts about her:

Shea's rad Card Table Playhouse

• President and cofounder of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild
• Mama to wee ones
• Smart and savvy owner of Empty Bobbin Sewing
• Treasure trove of facts, details, and information relating to the industry
• Wickedly good at organizing/planning/strategy
• Gorgeous human being/heart of gold/full of integrity
• Astonishingly generous/excellent listener
• She naturally does all the things well, that I avoid/ignore because I don't want to/know how to do them.

She and I connected and proceeded to share this path–to figure it out together–but in the process we have shared so much more. Our businesses are almost identical. They contain the same moving parts and pieces. The work required of us is the same. BUT,  I can tell you with great certainty that she gets there with a great deal more grace, organization, and planning than I do. For my part, I get there with a great deal more emotion and touchyfeelyness. Let's just say that my process is more organic. If Shea weren't my dear friend, compatriot, and partner in crime, I'd call her one of my mentors.

Go look at the gorgeous stuff she shared here. Leave a comment on her blog here to get a lovely stack of 10" squares of COLLAGE for your sewing pleasure!

Oops, I forgot to say how amazing her patterns are!?! Her finger is on the pulse of the modern sewist. And her branding! She me at hello....

Look what she did with the text in COLLAGE. Blessings&love!

Day 9 :: Angela Walters!

Angela Walters needs no introduction from me because if there is such a thing as a quilting rock star, she is it. You have probably taken her quilting classes on Craftsy already, or maybe you have seen her numerous quilts in shows and in the modern quiltosphere. She truly possesses a gift.

I have this motto in my business: Celebrate your inner artist™. It is my branding. It is what I believe. It is what I am trying to do here. So when I have the chance to work with fabric companies, quilters, photographers, graphic designers, sewinistas, or anyone at all in my business, I use the same motto. I think I have told you that I am in recovery from being in control. So, I apply that to my relationships with all of the talented people I work with as well. I don't tell them what to do, how to make things, how to quilt, how to design, how to do anything. I just give them the basic goal and then trust in their abilities and let them celebrate their inner artist, do their thang, and see where we end up. I don't think I have ever been disappointed. Angela's quilts are no exception.

She is very intuitive in her process and she has a great control of her medium and artistry. She really honors the quilts she creates because she meditates on each piece and comes up with a special and unique solution. So far, she has quilted SIX quilts for me and each is more beautiful than the next. Each time my quilts come back from her studio, my jaw drops. Go read all about them on her blog HERE. Thank you, Angela.

The Nest Quilt by SUCH Designs. Quilted by Angela Walters.

Text Me, Maybe by SUCH Designs. Quilted by Angela Walters

Her quilting on the Watercolor Quilt is mindblowing. Imagine doodling all over a piece of art with Sharpie. That is basically what she does: she riffs on the design created in the quilt and responds to it in thread. See the whole quilt in the previous post...

Detail of The Watercolor Quilt by SUCH Designs. Quilted by Angela Walters.

Detail of The Watercolor Quilt by SUCH Designs. Quilted by Angela Walters.

Day 8 :: Sally Keller

In the midst of getting stuff ready for any deadline, it can sometimes be a mild panic/freak-out/rush. Sally might attest to that. Wonderful Laura Jaquinto (my new BFF) over at Windham Fabrics has held my hand through the whole process of developing my first fabric line. She has begun to intuit my urges and instincts, rather like observing a wild animal in its habitat. She knew I was freezing-up (due to being overwhelmed) when it came time to produce all the quilts and samples with my fabric, so she rounded up Sally Keller to help test a mostly-written pattern for me: the Watercolor Quilt. This quilt depicts a huge watercolor tray laid out on newspaper and in the upper right corner is a sheet of paper containing a child's watercolor painting and signature (the art is all raw edge appliqué but the tray and background and paper are all pieced).

Allow me to insert (un-modestly) here:  I LOVE THIS QUILT. I am proud of it and excited to share it. Every time I show it to someone they either tell me they have chills, or they cry. You know you are up to something good when people get chills or cry. :) It is a special quilt and each one will be different because you can use the flowers and bugs I provided or better yet, in the pattern I describe how you can interpret your own child's artwork in exactly the same manner as mine, so you can preserve their art in a quilt. What sewing parent or grand-parent wouldn't want to do that, right? My inspiration for the artwork in the Watercolor Quilt was one of my son's kindergarten drawings...

See the bug and flowers?

Here is the original watercolor Quilt I made last fall...

Here is Sally's gorgeous version of the Watercolor Quilt in COLLAGE!

Sally did an incredible job and then made something equally fab from her own daughter's princess drawing. She used my instructions to celebrate her inner artist! (Nothing makes me happier than being an inner-artist enabler.) Go read more about it on her blog HERE and enter to win a giveaway of 10" squares of COLLAGE! Thank you, Sally.

Sally's incredible quilt made from her daughter's artwork using COLLAGE!

Day 7 :: Ramona Burke

Oh, Ramona...Ramona, Ramona, Ramona. How much do you love that name? I met the whip-smart Yale grad and old-school, homeschoolin' mom at Long Beach with the aforementioned LAMQG posse and loved her right away. She is an awesome force. Firstly, if she could be a prairie woman or raise her kids in the woods with no media (but still electricity for her many sewing machines...and Instagram) and just bows & arrows, and fur pelts, and crayons wittled from branches–filled with hand-dyed wax, she would. I, and most of the hippie-bourgeoisie mamas I know, would also like to do that and parent like that, but few of us would exchange our organic carrot ginger juice, Downton Abbey, and Nordstom for the chance. I do believe Ramona would.

She quilts with the gusto, speed, and energy that I consume....hmmmm... Chocolate? She MUST sew all night. She must sew while her kids are patiently sitting at her feet reading volumes of poetry and stories of yore. Quilts just fall off of her. What might take her a few hours would certainly take me months. She is crazy prolific.

Read more about Ramona's Cathedral Window quilt here

I should add that Ramona's intelligence comes out in her modern quilts. Check out her award-winning Cathedral Window.  It is a conceptual piece and very interesting besides being so beautiful–like a bitmapped, pixelated version of something traditional. It emits light not like a Cathedral Window (as the name of this traditional pattern suggests), but more like an old Lite-Brite or maybe Tetris? And when you see it in person you find that is weeping, hairy, and shaggy. She left the threads uncut so there are thousands of tiny hairs coming off of this thing. It is deconstructionism. It is a relic of the old and new–very wabi sabi and very cool.


Anyway, amidst her busy life of newborns and kids, she agreed to whip up somethin' in COLLAGE. She used the new Roller Skate dress pattern from fab Oliver + S here. And she made up these super-cool boy shorts. LOVE!

Garments by Ramona Burke. Photography by Jill McNamara.

Go to her blog here and leave a comment to win a stack of COLLAGE fabric to play with!