Hey friends! I’m not sure if you’ve heard but I’m teaching for a week out in Sisters, Oregon next month. The Quilter’s Affair runs from July 4th through the 8th. Oh and did I mention that it’s my birthday right smack in the middle of it all? So expect excitement, wisdom, and non stop super fun. I take my birthday very seriously and I plan on dragging everyone along for the ride. Go sign up already!

I also made a quilt specifically for the quilt show. It is the best quilt ever. I am so stinkin’ excited about showing off that I can barely stand it. It’s called Space Dust, just imagine the possibilities from the name alone!

Here is what I am teaching:

Tuesday- Spiked Punch (I may actually Spike the Punch just for effect)

Wednesday- The Fabric Salon (fabric dyeing workshop)

Thursday- Cartwheels (circles are not hard, say it with me!)

Friday- Modern Alphabet (My favorite quilt of all time)

It’s a natural vegetable dyed leather that has been laser etched with my own design! What?!? That’s awesome! It’s so stinkin’ cute I could die but I won’t ’cause then I wouldn’t be able to use it. I don’t think the afterlife let’s you bring junk with you just because it was made with lasers and is the coolest thing ever.

I used one of my original sketches from Parisville for the cover. They are made specifically to fit Moleskine sketchbooks which just happens to be the brand I use to sketch my little idea thumbnails. I just wish they made bigger ones! Sometimes my ideas don’t fit on a page that small.

The company that makes the leather covers is in Portland, Oregon. They are handmade, probably by  bunch of hippies which is super cute or maybe they’re cool indie designer types or crazy smart techie types? Idunno, since they don’t talk about themselves on their site I am left to wonder in a fog of speculation. I like it. Oops, sidetracked… They are called engrave and this is their linky-link.

Oh and your reward for reading all the way through this post is that I will be revealing my new fabric line pretty soon. Just thought I would throw that in there;)

As you may have heard, the laminates are cropping up in stores all over this fine planet of ours. It’s a beautiful thing. A lot of people are wondering what to do with them. I like making bags out of them.

I must have a drink on me at all times, coffee, water, soda, concealed beverages of a dubious nature, what ever it is, I require fluids, always. This can very often lead to spillage and other messy situations. This is why I like making bags out of the laminate. Easy clean up. A few people have recommended matching laminate bibs in an effort to look less like a homeless person. I ignore them. I’m good at that. Although… A laminate dress could keep me looking fresh and clean for longer periods of time. I will keep you updated on how all that works out.

Oh, and the bag is from Amy Butler’s new book, Style Stitches. So worth it.

This is pretty much just a gratuitous quilting post. My personal quilt ninja, Angela, has done it again. This is actually the back of a quilt that I am writing a pattern for. This was the test quilt. I can’t wait for Parisville to get here so I can make the real thing the way it was intended. Then I can show you the front! Yay! All of the colored fabrics are my bleached Plume and Neptune pieces. It’s weird but in in a good way. That mini dot is some random Japanese fabric I found at my mom’s shop (thanks mom! I promise I’ll pay for that someday, maybe but probably not).

Oh, and a shout out to Polly and Laurie (Of Minick and Simpson fame) for their luscious black plaid. It’s like butter to work with. Way to go Ladies! I never work with black, it’s not in my palette. I always set my fabrics on white because I only want you to see the fabrics and nothing else. I was feeling rebellious that day and since I work for myself I was the only person around to rebel against. Every time my brain told me to do something I did the opposite, hence the black. There was some scratching and biting but in the end I made up with myself. It was a very schizophrenic day in Pinkerville to say the least. I should have my own reality show.

It seems like only yesterday this whole giveaway started and now there is only one lonely little Jellyroll left. It seems sad somehow. Why don’t we lighten things up by showing Chelsea some love.  Everyone loves a winner!

Next week is the highly coveted Full Moon Forest Jellyroll. My maiden voyage into the wacky world of fabric design! You can still enter until June 3rd. Do that here.

I had a little surprise in the mail today. My stuff is in a book! Estampados Padroes is a fat little book full of pattern designers from all over the world. I have no idea what the title means but I can only assume that it’s something along the lines of  printed in these pages is some amazing stuff by really talented people that are kind and funny. Ten of my fabric designs are in there, can you believe it? I’m in print! Like on paper and everything. It’s even kind of glossy. The book is published by a print house in Barcelona called Maomao. They publish all kinds of books on design and fashion. I can’t seem to find it for sale yet here in the U.S. If anyone finds it post it in the comments so I can buy one for my mom and my dad and my aunt and maybe that guy that works at the gas station and anyone else I happen to pass on the street.

There is a bunch of other amazing stuff in here. I keep going back to the work by Carolyn Gavin, Guilherme Marconi and Steven Harrington. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already. There are a boatload of others but I have only had the book for an hour and it took at least 45 minutes to get over myself.

First off, I would like to point out the sunshine in the background of this photo. I haven’t seen it in a while so it seems important. This was pretty fun to make and I think it turned out cute so I am passing the info along to the rest of you. The best part is that it’s a free download. Who doesn’t like free? I made mine with Flutterby and used cream and grey for the background fabrics. It was fun. Go make it.

Download the pattern from Free Spirit’s website HERE.

This is what I do when I’m sick. In real life I sew everyday, it’s kind of my job. So when I’m sick and stuck in bed for what feels like years I get bored. When I can’t get to my machine I do what any sewaholic would do, I make miniature dresses followed, naturally, by the making of miniture hangers. If anyone has time to make me a miniature closet that would be great. I am running out of places to stick these things.

Anywhoo, I am feeling much better. Thanks for all of your comments and emails. I was down for a few weeks but somehow that managed to put me a few months behind in my work. How does that happen exactly? Just another mystery of the universe I guess, like turkey bacon or that place in the Redwoods where the ball rolls up the hill.

Hello fair friends of blogland. I hope you will excuse my absence, I have a doctors note (really I do). This is my first official day out of bed. That’s right I’ve got the Swine! flu that is.

I was having an awesome weekend, my BFF Erin flew up to the country to hang out. We did each others hair (see above) painted each others nails, went shopping and were engaging in general creative debauchery when all of the sudden I just didn’t feel so good. Boo. Being scared to death of doctors, I did what I always do; a couple swigs of DayQuil and on with my business. That will generally solve any ailment I have but this time it didn’t work. So, a trip to the clinic and $1000 worth of prescription drugs later I am laid up with the Swine flu, the regular flu and strep throat. That’s right kids, quarantine. I can see no one, I can’t leave my house and I have been sleeping 23 hours a day. Please excuse me if you haven’t had any response to your emails or your calls have gone unanswered. I will get back to you as soon as I can. Promise.

Last week was birthday week, rah rah rah! I turned 29 (for real) and my little sisters turned 3, although if you ask Jane she turned 5, we are not sure why exactly. That’s Jo and Jane up there eating watermelon slices the size of their heads, Jo is the blonde and Jane is the brunette (or if you ask her the “blue”nette). Anywhoo, we had a good time and ate a bunch of cake. Jo put me in time out at least 3 times. I am more of a family pony than a sister I think but I play my role well.

For my birthday I went to see Neko Case and was shocked by the lack of enthusiasm in the audience. I know that dancing is goofy and almost no one is very good at it but please. What is it about the yuppy hipster elite that they can’t manage more than a head bob at a concert? I shook my booty anyway and left feeling both exhilarated and a little sore but that’s what its all about right? Why would anyone spend $30 to stand around and stare? I could do that at home. Boo. My party had a great time at the show and burned at least 1000 calories each so I call my birthday a success!