Ok kids, since it seems that people like to see what they can’t have I will now commence with the premature posting of  far off fabrics. Think of it as a little glimpse of the future. I have always wanted to be psychic myself but lack the talent. I have a hard enough time seeing what’s going on while it’s happening.

Can anyone guess the theme? I know my wily wit and sleuth-like-clue-leaving  (I am sure there is a word that means all that) skills are unparallelled but I think I left you all with quite enough to guess where I am going with this. I plan to leave a little trail of bird crumbs that leads all the way to Quilt Market where all will be revealed in its entirety. We will see how that works out. I have heard that patience is a virtue, though it is not mine.

Diamonds are forever ladies. I don’t actually have any but I have seen some and they look like they’ve got a real will to survive. So this quilt pattern is now officially available for download. It’s really easy I promise.

Download Me!

This is supposed to be like the end of a DVD when you have seen what it’s all about and then they go back and show you how it’s all made. Well I don’t use much CGI or make any clay models but I am pretty good with a marker. I wouldn’t mind having a team of people researching the best possible way to make a wing out of abstract lines and shapes, not to mention the added bonus of having someone else go get my coffee. Alas, it is only me and a stack of nature books picked up here and there.

So these are the initial sketches and reference for Flutterby. From here were more sketches, then actual drawings, then scanning and formatting, some redrawing, digital renderings, a bit of color here a little pink there. Some very big decisions are made and off it goes. It’s all terribly glamorous. It’s like being a rock star only the apartment is smaller, I have to drive my own car and my mom is the only one that ever tries to take my picture. Otherwise… exactly the same.

I don’t know if y’all have seen this but it’s pretty fantastic. Of all the fabrics in all the world, Hancock’s of Paducah chose my little infestation of many legged and tiny winged friends to grace the cover of their massive catalog. I have it sitting on my coffee table and am greeted with my own glorious vanity every morning. I couldn’t think of anything better except maybe the cover of Selvedge under the headline “Most promising light weight cotton/quilting fabric designer of the 21st Century.” Hey, a girl can dream can’t she? Besides, too much too soon can give a girl a tummy ache. I should know, I just got back from the movies and I have a clump of Gummy Bears sitting like a brick in my mid region. But you don’t come here to read about my candy exploits, do you?

I have been crazy busy this week although I can’t exactly remember what it was that was so furiously occupying my time. Instead of some greater insight into the magical world of Tula Pink I present you with a little bit of eye candy. I took these pictures when I first designed Full Moon Forest about a year ago with the intention of using them in some great advertising campaign that was going to shake the quilting nation to it’s core. That did not happen. The collection came and went leaving me in a cloud of pastel dust. Now, as I work through the ideas for my fourth collection while wrapping up production on the third and pour over the fabric from Flutterby, I have stumbled across this forgotten photo that held so much promise. I incurred great injury taking these photos. It was summer in North Carolina and the bugs were determined to eat me alive. I was invading their natural habitat so I really can’t hold it against them. Maybe that is where Flutterby came from…hmmm. Off topic. There is no great point here just a lovely photo that I thought I would share.

Okay here it is. I have been waiting sooooo long to show you this. You know how I hate keeping secrets. It has been absolute agony but the time has finally come. These luscious little ditties are called Flutterby. This was so much fun to do my head almost exploded! The collection doesn’t ship to stores until march but my mom’s shop, The Quilt Shoppe (click on it, it’s a linky thing), will have it up for presale this week. She is a lovely lady and I think she deserves your patronage.

So this group is all about bugs, only the cute ones and definitely not anything gross or slimy. There are bees and ladybugs, dragonflies and butterflies not to mention the cutest little snail shaped paisleys you ever did see. Okay maybe snails are a little bit slimy but these are not I promise. I hope y’all like it because it would totally break my heart if you didn’t.

Sorry it’s been a while but I was busy receiving gifts in between shoving delicious little cookies in my eager little face. Now I feel ill so I thought this might distract me from all of that mirth. Since I have been a little wrapped up in myself and my baby twin sisters (a.k.a. the “Twinkies”) I thought I might take this time to post some of the drawings that went into the making of Full Moon Forest. I have been assured that this will be interesting to others. I am not so sure. Anywhoo, here they are. From drawing to  cotton there isn’t a whole lot that changes. I take the drawings, scan them and drop them into Illustrator where I redraw them digitally so I can play with the line weights, change out colors and adjust the sizing. That’s about it. So, enjoy the drawings maybe next time I will make them more colorful or jazz them up a bit, decoupage on them or something.

I never thought that seeing my work in a bathroom would be so uniquely gratifying. When a person sets out to make something with which they intend to adorn the world as they see fit this is usually not the fantasy shot. Yet, as I sit here wishing that this was the place I parked my toosh at various intervals throughout the day I wonder… could this be it? Is this the ultimate statement of thinking beyond the cotton? Is this the perfect post childhood marriage between Bambi and Thumper reincarnated as bathroom art? My vote is an astounding yes. I approve and will now set out on the hunt for a ceramic dear head of my very own.

So here it is, my very first fabric collection. I sent these drawings to Moda a little over a year ago and here they are in all of their cottony glory. I designed this collection when I was living in southern California. I suppose it emerged out of some primal desire to be outside in something other than the bumper to bumper traffic us south Cali’s call life. After much drawing and re-drawing this little piece of my very own paradise has bloomed out of an experiment and into a reality. I hope you all like it!