Stop staring and start sewing!

I love the smell of fabric in the morning

I've been having some fun playing with Tina Givens' new fabrics.  I just adore these colors and the scale.  These prints are pretty big and I just love that.  The birds on the blue print are almost 7 inches long.  Fun!  Anyway I first made this little outfit from the ladybug print (the ladybugs are 1 inch across and a gorgeous blue color).  I think it's cute but it's not knocking my socks off.  You know how you start something and you get to the point where you realize you're either crazy about it or not?  I kind of had to force myself to finish it.  I like it but I'm not falling all over myself about it.

The coordinating fabrics are from Mary Engelbreit's new line and Dena Fishbein's Sun Drop line and I carry all of it in my store/playroom (sometimes I call it a "studio" to be fancy but honestly I have so much fun there it's more like a playroom to me).

Now this one I love. I love all the colors and patterns and this print (Cade's Treehouse in Azur Tea) is so whimsical (my kids think it looks like something from Dr. Seuss).  I'm really looking forward to trying the "Fairyland Coco" color, it's lavender but just as rich as this one.  Look at how big that flower is (this shirt is a 2T)!

I accidentally sewed the two main skirt fabrics together without the orange Bell Bottom print in there and debated whether to undo it all and start again (I had it top-stitched and everything). I'm glad I took it all out and re-did it because I love the way the spunky orange breaks up the daintiness of the other two prints.  Look at that bird's plumage!  Isn't it cute (and kind of wacky)?

These outfits are both listed on ebay. That's how I make my coffee money.  Well it used to be my coffee money but now it's my gas money.  And coffee if there's anything left.  Dang.

I'm expecting the UPS guy today (he'd better not disappoint me!) with some fabrics new from Tanya Whelan and Anna Maria. It makes me growl when I see it in other stores already (and that's not pretty).  But at least I'm getting exercise running back and forth from the window.

The happiest day of my parents life (snicker)

I get to pass out presents on my birthday (and I'm okay with that)!  Two lucky gals each get a lovely stack of Mary Engelbreit's Isn't Christmas Jolly? fat quarters.   Jessica, who left a comment on June 30th at 4:49 AM gets one.  (Obviously it's a case of the early bird getting the worm.  Email me Jessica!)  And Angel of Tada! Creations (nicest person, seriously cute stuff, and a baby on the way!) gets the other one.   Fun!

I'm expecting 23 bolts of fabric from Free Spirit any day now and the anticipation is killing me!   I received some of Tina Givens new line already and it's just gorgeous.  The funny thing is the colors are totally different that shown on the Free Spirit site (way prettier!).  This is not a rip on Free Spirit since their job is just to present a sample.  Sometimes the finished product is different than the original presentation.  Anyway here's the picture from their site:

Here's the picture I took.  This fabric is just gorgeous (I'm playing with it right now!):

Have a great day!  I'm going to see if I can find some birthday cake (forget the stupid candles, they'll just set off the smoke detectors anyway!).

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I forgot to mention my vertigo is all gone (whew!).  Turns out "it's not a tumah".  Thanks for the great advice and well wishes!

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!

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)!!