Spring 2010 Quilt Market...finally

So this post is only about 3 weeks overdue but I finally uploaded my quilt market pictures to my computer. I didn't take a ton of photos but I got a few of some of my favorites.

Enjoy!

The wonderful Seven Islands/Kokka/Echino:

Indygo Junction:

The wonderful Amy Butler:

A new organic fabric company - Birch:

Favorite Things:

A great new pattern company called - Make Your Day Designs:

New from Mallory Hill!

Linen Zips!

Sorry for the not so pretty picture, I got excited about these new little guys and just took a quick snap on my iphone because my camera was downstairs and I was being lazy. I had so much fun stitching these fellas together, I tried a couple different versions but these simple zips were my favorite. I am going to be at the summer Bazaar Bizarre in Cleveland on July 3rd (Stop by if you are in town!) so I will be zipping up a bundle of these for the show and then any leftovers will go into my Etsy store for you!

Obsession Confession - Sunflowers

I have become obsessed with sunflowers lately. I logged onto Google this morning and saw that you can change the background of your Google home page - I don't know if this is new or not but it's new to me! (Check the bottom left corner of google to set your background) So I set my background to a crazy fun field of sunflowers.

I have always loved sunflowers and I've always wanted to visit a sunflower field, I've never seen one in person so now I am on the hunt for one in Ohio, preferably central or northeastern Ohio. Then, of course, I spent way too much time looking around online at photos of sunflowers and sunflower fields. Here is a little sunny inspiration for you today:

(This was taken in Ohio!) via flickr user janruss

I also found this image:

via Thai Blogs

And riding an elephant through this field of sunflowers is now on my bucket list.

Strange Purses #5

Another edition of strange purses to feed your need for crazy and unique fashion accessories. This is another purse design that although it is a little strange I kinda like it. I don't know if I would be the type of person to walk around with a skull around my wrist but these are a bit edgy and the colors and textures are great. These are from accessory designer Natalia Brilli. Check out her website for some of her other fantastic designs.

Click Here for strange purses #1, #2, #3 & #4

Back from my travels

I am back from my crazy travels and back to the blog! I haven't had a chance to upload my photos from Quilt Market yet but I will have them up soon. If you are starving for a little Quilt Market goodness, head over to True Up to see some of Kim's fantastic photos and reviews of some of the exciting new collections from market. She has tons of posts on a wide variety of booths so be sure to check out each and every lovely one.

I just found out that the summer Bazaar Bizarre show has a few openings so I might be hopping up to Cleveland for that show on July 3rd if I can get my act together and start sewing (a lot!) over the next few weeks. I will keep you updated on my progress along the way.

I will be back soon with market pictures and other updates. And since I've never done a picture-less post, here are the two new books I picked up at market, signed by the lovely authors themselves!

Fabric organization and storage

I have a lot of fabric, having worked in the fabric industry for a little over 3 years now and having my mom constantly feed my obsession (thanks mom!) I seem to have acquired quite a bit and a great variety as well. I keep "my favorites" organized by color and out on open shelves in my room so I can constantly see it:

(notice my awesome vintage Singer Featherweight and my out of control magazine collection - well, about half of my magazine collection I guess)

This helps inspire me for new projects and lets me easily scan my fabric when the urge to sew hits me. I am often an impulsive sewer, when the mood hits me there is no stopping me and it's best if I have everything I need within reach at a moment's notice.

After organizing my fabrics on the shelves in my room I had lots of fabrics left over and I needed to have them organized so I could easily access them. I settled on good old plastic storage bins, you can't go wrong there. I have the rest of my fabric separated into - solids, warms (red, orange, yellow, etc), cools (blue, green, turquoise, etc) and neutrals (black, white, tan).

I even made some pretty labels with Amy Butler scrap book paper too!

Just the other day I needed a few solid colors to finish a project and I was so excited to open up my closet door and see my lovely bin of solids sitting there waiting for me. It made the whole project more enjoyable because I didn't have to dig through my entire stash to find one or two pieces of fabric. A great success!

Quilt Market Packing, Minneapolis here I come!

I don't leave for 5 more days but I have already started planning my quilt market outfits and trying to pack in my head. I've pulled lots of clothes out and started making outfits that will work for the show. I am far from a fashionista so the advanced planning is very necessary so I don't show up with a pair of jeans a few shirts and then realize that I didn't bring any underwear or shoes (totally possible). I will be in Minneapolis for 8 days with lots of running around but hopefully that will also include lots of yummy food and adult beverages as quilt market usually does. I don't have to travel a lot for my job so I still enjoy going to trade shows, I am also a bit of a nerd and I love packing and traveling for any reason so I usually start early (for example, I've already started looking for hiking shoes and mentally tagging different clothes for my trip to Costa Rica this fall, only 6 months in advance - no biggie).

I can't wait to see old friends and all the new booth displays and fill myself up with new inspiration. And then fill my suitcase with any book, fat quarter and vintage button I can get my hands on!

Roman Shades (hopefully)

I had a request from a friend of mine the other day to make her some roman shades for her nursery. I'm pretty excited because I have never tried them before but I love the look of them and if they are as easy as everyone says they are then I will be on a mission to get roman shades in every window I see. I found a tutorial on HGTV.com and it sounds pretty easy - but sometimes these step by step instructions are a little deceiving. I hope to go buy supplies this week and get working on my new project. The baby's due around Memorial Day so hopefully I can get myself working soon!

Here is a little roman shade inspiration for you (and me) today:

via spacesandiego

via Remodelista

via Apartment Therapy

via decorpad

via decorpad

Collections on display - Fat Quarters

I am what many people may consider a "keeper." I keep most things that come into my house, I am bad at getting rid of things and I have a tendency to start collections all the time. During my craft room organization I started to realize just how many collections I have. I have my collections displayed throughout my house and I love to see how others display their various collections. So I think this will become a reoccurring topic over the next few months as I show some of my collections with you and find some other displays that I find fun. I love to collect so this could end up being a bit dangerous as I might find some new items that I need to start gathering.

To start us off here are a few photos that you may have seen before but it is one of my favorite collections. My Fat Quarters!

Strange Purses #4

These are some strange purses but I think they are very cool. I love when designers use unexpected items for purse handles, I think it is often a very overlooked part of the purse. Both of these purses come from empire33.

The artist used a Civil War sword handle to make this purse - amazing!

This purse has a Japanese Katana sword handle as its handle - fantastic!

Tutorial Tuesday!

This week on tutorial Tuesday I bring you to a site that has a huge list of free patterns. One of my favorite fabric designers and more recently one of my favorite designers of just about everything else (bedding, towels, desktop accessories, rugs, the list could go on and on). Amy Butler's website has tons of free patterns for quilts, small sewing projects and paper crafts too. And after a peek at her new button it looks like there are a few new ones on their way too. Here are a few examples of the free patterns you can find but there are many more than I have listed so take a jump over to Amy's site and check them out.

Great estate sale find

I am so excited about my recent find at an estate sale I stopped at over the weekend. I have always wanted a shelf like this, I always see them in people's house, antique shops and envy the owners greatly. But, now I finally have one of my own. I haven't decided exactly where I want to place this shelf or what I am going to store inside but I am excited to figure all these things out. The top is my favorite part, all the intricate detail is beautiful.

For now it sits in my dining room waiting for the light bulb to go off in my head when I think of the perfect spot/purpose for my wonderful new shelf. To be perfectly honest I have dreams of this in my studio to hold all of my fat quarters and other fun sewing notions but I think it is just too pretty to be hidden upstairs where nobody will ever see it. I will have to find a better spot for it, possibly in the dining room...we will see.

I had to add this picture since my cat snuck in the background.

I have officially converted!

It's official! Today I came home to a brand new Mac Book laptop computer waiting for me. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I have been playing with it for a few hours now getting everything all set up and it is fantastic. I have a Mac at my job so I have learned to love Mac's over the past year and I finally have one of my own!!!!

But, this comes with one big condition. I must use my computer to build my blog and my business. I need to start writing more and work on a few book ideas that I have. I can't wait to get started!

Garden days

I can still barely believe that the weather is finally warm enough to start working in my garden. I spent a few hours outside today and am so excited to see my ferns are starting to sprout up and even my hostas are starting to peek through. My husband and I are planning a big backyard makeover this summer with a patio extension and hopefully a new built in fire pit and maybe even a water feature too. I can't wait!

Impulse Buying!

I always get excited when Target gets ready to release a new designer collection. Unfortunately, I usually go to the store look at all the cool stuff and somehow convince myself that I don't "need" any of the items. And then without a doubt a few months go by, I see the products all over blogs and in magazines and I decide that, in fact, I do need those items. But by that time the product is long gone and can't be found in any store in town. This happened with the Orla Kiely collection and I was pretty bummed.

So, when I first heard about the Liberty of London collection at Target I made sure to note the date of release and promise myself that I would buy some of my favorite items. So the release came along a few weeks ago and I followed through on my promise to myself and got some goodies!

I got a set of journals, a candle, two storage boxes and a tunic!

Win your own copy of Martha's new book!

If your a sewer then you know the name Singer as a very trusted brand of some of the best sewing machines on the market. They have an awesome contest going on, they are giving away a copy of Martha Stewart's new book Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts every day the entire month of April. And you, my lucky reader, can enter to win your very own copy! The rules couldn't be easier just become a fan of Singer Sewing Company on facebook or sign up to follow them on Twitter and you will automatically be entered to win. Visit their website to find out more!