Tula Pink

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!

Living in the country is great because there are all of these random things all over the place. It’s like nothing is regulated here. The other day I was driving for no particular reason, lost as usual (I dunno, to me a fence and a bail of hay is just not a landmark), I happened upon a little gem. It was one of the best junk barns I have ever seen! I bought a set of dishes, all various shades of white. There were 122 dishes in all for 60 bucks!I have plenty of dishes but that is not the point. The point is the bargain.

So anywhoo now I have all of these dishes and nothing to do with them. So I am gonna paint ‘em! super fun. I sort of want to paint grotesquely fluffy kittens on them doing bad kitty things. That might be a little much so for now I am open to ideas. If I work anything out on them I will be sure to let y’all know.

I just got back from Quilt Market, like two mintues ago (then my BFF showed up for a visit and here I am a few days later, sorry!) and I wanted to share a few things that I think are both brilliant and hillarious. This first one may need some clarification. First, I collect foreign products that use english in odd ways. I have this little pink pencil case from Korea that has a poem about “gold plated friendship” and “hot shafts of wheat,” innapropriate translations are the funniest thing ever! So when my new friend Angela gave me these little swatches of Japanese import fabrics I just about peed my fancy little pants. If you can’t read it from the picture it says: “Mom’s Cake! Harmony of wheat and chocolate. Table with love.” It sounds like some exotic yet poetic love affair between two baking products from opposites sides of the tracks brought together by the gentle hum of an egg beater. I picture this scene unfolding much in the manner of Fried Green Tomatoes or the Secret Life of Bees minus the epic drama and heartfelt moral tradgedy. I love it. The second treasure I disovered were some very lovely yet sort of disturbing, but in a good way, vintage buttons. Now, I don’t ever buy buttons but I fell in love as sometimes happens. The pugs and the poodles just seemed like something I should have. The horse head is sort of Godfather-ish which I really liked but the real gem is the other one. Is that precious little old fashioned charmer chasing an oversized bat? Yes, indeed she is… naturally.  I also got these nursery rhyme buttons, for the sake of cuteness. Everyone around me is having babies so I am all about finding baby stuff at the moment. I guess I am just at that age where all my friends are getting knocked up. I have a baby quilt to do list a mile long which is fine by me. Baby quilts are little so they go really fast. Good thing I designed a baby-ish fabric line, right? It’s like my 7th sense is some kind of baby detector.

So Here’s the deal. I get five to ten emails a week asking me where people can find those owls from Full Moon Forest. They are pretty much just gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. I have some left but I’m saving them for my grandkids or maybe to sell on ebay when they become antiques. Think of this collection as a Full Moon Forest II using everything I have learned in between then and now. I always hear people say ” If I knew then…” well I do so I did. I loved that first fabric line and it sort of came and went in a flash. I never felt like it had the chance it deserved. By the time people started to see it and ask for it it was all snatched up. So Hushabye is an homage to my humble beginnings. I hope y’all like it. By the way… 

Hushabye is due in stores in August!