It's Bag Day at Fig Tree!

 

I know most of you are here today to see who won the SPELL IT WITH FABRIC BLOG HOP... so let's get that out of the way first before I start talking to you about bags!

For the winner of the fat 1/8 bundle...

On 2/22 at 1:47 pm, Meredith said:

Anything made with you utterly beautiful fabrics will be amazing! I credit Fig Tree with changing my fabric palette from dark country to your stunning, fresh designs. I would love to see a fig tree quilt, with a centre medallion of a tree, or a basket quilt. Thanks for the constant inspiration and the chance to win!

Thanks Meredith for the awesome comments!

 

For the winner of the charm pack and bundle of mini charms...

On 2/20 at 2:09 am Laura Lynch said:

 

Joanna, First, I really LOVE your website & visit often for inspiration. Your fabrics & patterns are some of my all time favorites. I'd love to see something with a "French Farm or French Farmhouse" theme. Perhaps an applique design with a view from a window looking out over a window box with flowers to the gentle rolling hills, quaint stone walls/fences, sheep, cypress trees, gardens, etc. A bike charming bicycle w/basket leaning against an old stone wall/fence. Two chairs with an umbrella in between looking over a low stone wall to rolling hills. Another idea is to do a line of houses/cottages. You could name them with unique names Rosewood Cottage. Another idea would be to do "signs". In Europe they have some beautiful shaped & scripted signs. It would be nice have a "customized" sign like 'Welcome to the Lynch Home' or some inspirational saying or greeting.

 

Laura sure has some awesome pattern ideas!

For the winners of the pattern idea contest.... well you will have to get back to me on that one or I will have to get back to you actually! Several of the ideas are actually patterns that we are already working on and there were so many other great ideas out there that I really want to have some time to go through them and see what I can do. It does surely sound like we will have to do some kind of a Fig Tree sampler in the near future!!

Oh... and I had to share one customer's work.... OMG- she really took her SPELL IT WITH FABRIC BLOG ALONG seriously!!

 

 

Susan, you're amazing!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR FOLLOWING ALONG AND PARTICIPATING. I always love to have you!!

Now that that is all taken care of, I wanted to share a few new BAG goodies with you. Our best selling ONE PIECE BAG is available today as a kit. With the exact fabrics as shown on the pattern!

 

 

 Click HERE for more info.

We also have a few EVERYDAY ZIPS kits in the classic grey and red combination...

 

And finally we have several of the HEXIES bag kits with the Honeysweet collection as seen on the cover of the pattern. One Honeycomb pack will make up to 5 HEXIE bags! Each kit contains a full Honeycomb pack, gusset fabric and inside snap [button is not included in the kit] as well as the pattern.

 

 

Click HERE for more info on any of the above.

And HERE is the link for all of our bag patterns. Special offer this weekend... buy any one of our printed bag patterns [kits and pdf patterns not included] and we will include another bag pattern in your order FOR FREE! Can't beat that.

Now I know that some people have been having a little bit of trouble figuring out how all those hexagons fit together to make the bag so as soon as I have my next fabric collection done [in the next 2 days], I will do a tutorial on the blog about how to put these little guys together. So be ready with your pattern and we will work through it together. Check back in with me before the end of the week... and then pester me if I haven't posted it yet :-)!

Fig Tree on the MODA BLOG HOP!

 

Welcome to Fig Tree everybody and Good Morning!

 

SO HERE IS THE SKINNY:

Today is Fig Tree day on the MODA Blog Hop, SIZE MATTERS. If you haven't been following along yet, click HERE for a list of all the designers who are particating [cool block downloads and giveways at each stop so its definitely worth your time to go and find out what everyone is up to], including all the lovely designers that have gone before us and those that are still to come].

In each designers post, you should be able to find a free downloadable pattern for their block in a variety of sizes. MODA will post a finishing pattern HERE [at the CUTTING TABLE] at the end of the hop so that you can create a wonderful sampler when you are done. Sounds like a whole lot of fun to me!

For those of you you who are new to our little corner of the fabric world, I'm Joanna and I am the go-to-gal behind Fig Tree & Company. I love everything about fabric and design and I can't imagine having any other job in the world! I have been working with MODA for about a decade now [oh my goodness, how can that be?], have created more fabric collections than I can count [see the side of the blog to take a peek at most of them], have created more patterns than should be legal [check out our store if you want to puruse the collection] and have written several books, WITH FABRIC & THREAD being the most recent. I also love to teach about fabric and quilting and this year I have had the honor of teaching in Norway, Spain as well as throughout the US. Just a few weeks ago, we launched my first Craftsy class so that a little bit of Fig Tree can be accessible to anyone interested! Click HERE for more info about that and for a special discount!

 

There are three of us a day and today I am sharing the day with the talented Malka and the amazing Camille so be sure to pop on over there to see what those lovely ladies have been up to and why SIZE MATTERS to them!

 

... our upcoming HONEYSWEET group.

 

SO HERE IS MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE FESTIVITIES:

Download the instructions to my block HERE.

I don't know what the official name for this block is but "X MARKS THE SPOT"  sounds like a pretty good interpretation to me.

When I first looked at the block [back in the Spring when we started creating all these goodies for Spring Market] and thought about what I was going to do with it, I immediately thought about one of the bigger sizes. I figured it would make the quilt faster and easier to construct and I would be able to showcase the fabric better. Because let's be honest sometimes bigger really is better, especially when it means that you can be done faster!  

So I made the 12" size. And then I joined 4 of them together to create a secondary block...

 

Then I thought it would be nice to try the next size down and I made the 6" size. And then I made 4 of those together as well, because I was on a roll...

Well, then I realized that lately I have been enjoying making miniature versions of some of my larger favorite blocks [like with our Honeysweet mini Threads pattern that uses HONEYSWEET mini charms, pictured below], so I made the tiny 3" version.

... Honeysweets "Threads" patttern. Made with MODA mini charms.

 

I decided I liked this 3" one the best and continued on to make 32 more 3" blocks and set it together to create this little table topper....

 

 

 

Keep on reading to see what fun thing we are going to do with this project! 

 

SO HERE IS WHAT IS NEW WITH ME & FIG TREE:

  ... our LIFESAVERS blocks, using a fabulously simple method for making these intricate looking blocks. Also in our CRAFTSY class!

 

We are busy getting ready for our brand new fall collection to hit store shelves any day now [due to ship to stores in September].

In case you haven't alreay figured it out, it is called HONEYSWEET and I really think it is so perfect for this time of the year, even though it is great for many other seasons and projects as well. It is full of raspberry reds, persimmon oranges, a variety of greens and aquas, on a base of ivory and peach, grounded with a taupey brown. Yum!

  ... Cherry Pie pattern.

 We have had so much fun with this line and even though I am now busy working with the next collection that we will be showing in Houston this fall [sneak peeks were shown on our facebook recently if you haven't had a chance to see] as well as designing the next one [way too early to show you anything from that one yet], I still haven't grown tired of HONEYSWEET, probably since it has those fabulous oranges and aquas that I am so in love with right now.

Speaking of oranges... we are working on a new kit that has oranges, greys and blacks in it and will be ready soon so be sure you check back for that as those Halloween flavored items seem to dissapear around here faster than we can make them! More info coming soon!

But back to SIZE. We have created some TINY things with this collection...

... our little HEXIES purse pattern made from the yummy HONEYCOMBS. 

And some rather GRAND things....

  ... our CLOVERS & JAM pattern made from just 1 jelly roll  and some background fabric to make a 71" x 71" quilt!

And I truly can't tell you that I have a favorite between the two of them! So I guess the moral of this story is that .... size doesn't really matter at all in the end!

 

GIVEAWAY

Of course we are doing a giveway- what would a blog hop be without one?! Hopefully you have actually read through the whole post to see what's new instead of just skipping to this part :-).

We are going to givewaway a couple things to a couple lucky winners:

1- A Honeysweet precut.Not sure what this will be yet- it all depends on what MODA can dig up and send on over!

2- The finished little quilt that we showed above made from our 3" blocks. We already have some stores that have entered that particular giveway at Market and now we are going to add in all of you to choose the final winner!

3- A bundle of our newest patterns.

To be entered, you need to LEAVE A COMMENT AND tell us what Fig Tree pattern in our store is your favorite [current favorite at least, since we all know how fickle we can be when it comes to our favorite patterns].

But just as importantly you need to come back next week and see who the winners are so you don't miss out. If we don't hear back from you for 2 days after we announce, we will redraw for that particular prize.

[international winners will need to pay for the additional shipping]

And since we have been wanting to have a sale lately and haven't had a chance, today is the day!  SO WE ARE HAVING A SALE TOO! 15% OFF all patterns in the store... patterns of any kind and any size and any format! Just this week though, so take a look around!

Have fun and we'll see you next week for the end of the hop and the winners!

 

Craftsy Class Goes LIve!

Have you ever wanted to take a class with me? Have you ever wondered exactly how I piece some of my quilts?  Have you ever wanted to see some of my quilting process up close and personal?

Don't those questions sound like a bad tv infomercial?? LOL! I feel like I should be offering you double the class if you order in the next 5 minutes :-)!!

Even if they do,  I guess the questions still hold true... you can now take a class with me regardless of where you are in the world or what time zone you live in!

As of this morning, I am officially teaching a class at CRAFTSY, the online crafting class platform! If you are not familiar with CRAFTSY, you should really come check it out. Its a fabulous place to take classes, to interact with other quilters and crafters and to be a part of a great online community as we work on some fabulous quilts together!

 

In my new class, Simple Fresh Quilts, we will be working on 4 projects:

SPOOLS

This is  a pattern that we originally debuted as one of our Fig Tree Club patterns and it was a bit hit then so we thought we might share it here with our new Craftsy friends. It is a great beginner quilt and a fun project to use up scraps or your favorite jelly roll!

 

WHEELS

 

This pattern is a variation on one of my all time favorite blocks, the Rolling Stone, and it is a CRAFTSY exclusive! I love the movement of this block and the way the quilt looks modern and traditional all at the same time. I am working on a solid version of this one that I will share as soon as I am done with it.

 

LIFESAVERS

 

This quilt, Lifesavers, is also one of our standard Fig Tree Threads patterns and it uses a couple charm packs to get you started. I love the methods we used in this quilt to turn a plain pinwheel into this wonderful little block. I think this block would look so great in baby fabrics as well... I guess I might have to see if there is a baby in my life who needs a new quilt!

 

LOLLIPOPS

This is a variation on our Lollipops pattern, also a stand alone pattern- one of my favorites of all time- in which you can make both the smaller Dresden plate and a larger one from the same basic set of directions. The thing I love most about this patttern is that it does not require you to cut out a single template [except for the circle I guess] for the whole thing! Our special method which starts off with a jelly roll or any combo of 2 1/2" strips uses a few traced lines to line up blades and that's it.  You won't believe how fun this method is until you try it!

 

As you can see, we have used our new line HONEYSWEET for all the samples shown in the class [HONEYSWEET will be available in stores next month] to show you how all the patterns will look in the newest collection. You could ofcourse use any fabric you choose. So many of these projects would look great in solids, reproductions or whimsical fabrics!

All the classes take you through, step-by-step, each quilt, from fabric selection to finishing choices and quilting options. You will see up close and personal each block being made and you will see me talk through design choices and tricks of the trade as I go. You can watch your classes as many times as you want, whenever you want and you can rewind and rewatch as many times as you need! Better still, you can ask me any questions you might have at any point in the class and I will answer via online. Its almost as good as having me there in person! I guess, since you can ask me questions in the middle of the night when you think of them... I guess it might even be better than having me there in person!

If you are interested in joining me, click on the link HERE for a special 25% discount on the price of the class! Hope to see you there!

In upcoming days, we will feature each project, talk about it some more and show you lots more pictures and variations but for now... it is the first day of school for the youngest Fig and that means a whole lot of "mommy" duties this afternoon.

 

Talk to you soon,  Joanna

A Girl, a Photo Shoot & a New Ad.

Photo shoots are a standard part of our business and we are usually prepared for how much time it will take to set up and style the products, get the right lighting, try different settings, shoot from as many different angles as possible, etc. Needless to say... it takes a lot of time and that's okay!

But as soon as you add a child into the mix... all bets are off LOL! My daughter has been a part of many of our shoots through the years- she started off being bribed by chocolate chips and being asked to count her toes to distract her to more recently [those are here cute little hands on the cover of our latest book] when she knows exactly what to do and has a lot more patience with the small changes we ask her to make.

A few weeks ago we had a fun opportunity to shoot a pic for an upcoming MODA AD so I thought I would share  a few of our "outtakes" from the shoot and the ad itself too...

... we started off very focused on what fabric we had.

 

... and exactly where it should go.

 

... then we started having fun with it.

 

... and worked on different angles and poses.

 

 

 

... then I got this request...

Ella: mom, I want one of me with my hair in my face.

Me: Why?

Ella: Because that is what Taylor Swift looks like on the cover of her new CD. 

Well okay then!

After a few trys, we both agreed that the look didn't quite work for us.

... then we just got punchy and everything made us laugh.

 

... finally, we just started posing for the camera and forgot all about those lovely hexagons!

And then once the lovely folks over at MODA, got their creative little paws on the pictures, this is what they come up with. The ad itself is going in a couple mags in September and October. It showcases our HONEYSWEET collection [due out in stores in September] and the beautiful new hexagon precuts known as HONEYCOMBS.

Let's just say that Ella is a little bit excited. She has already planned a trip to the fabric store with her friends where she will "casually" pick up a magazine and flip through it until she gets to the page.

Gotta love my little model.

Gotta love the new hexagon HONEYCOMBS.

Gotta love MODA. 

 

Kit Pre-Orders Now!

We are back from our teaching adventures in Spain and will have some fun photos to share from the trip soon! Today I wanted to make sure that everyone knows about our KIT PRE-ORDERS available now through THIS FRIDAY ONLY!

We are offering PRE-ORDERS on three kits that we will be offering from our HONEYSWEET collection due out in stores in Septemer, '13.

But you have to order by this Friday to be included in the kit count!

Given that it's a pre-order, you only pay a small portion of your kits now and the rest is charged to your card in monthly installments until it ships. ITS LIKE YOUR OWN PERSONAL FIG TREE LAYAWAY PLAN! This way you can get more than one kit if you are a die hard Fig Tree fan and only pay a portion each month!

What's not to love about that plan?

So, first up....

 

CLOVERS & JAM

 

Its a perfect way to start a quilt, really... you start with a jelly roll so the strips are all cut for you and add a soft ivory background and you are on your way to sewing in no time! Large graphic blocks are so simple to construct and you will be in awe of how quickly this one comes together!

Each 16" block really shows off the fabric and its fabulous graphic shape at the same time. This is one of those quilts that you might want to make over and over again!

Each kit contains all the fabric you see here from our HONEYSWEET collection to make the quilt top along with a pattern and the binding fabric.

 

 

Next up,

 

PAINTED LADIES

 

Perfect little blocks that are simple to make and have such a beautiful impact. Who doesn't love butterflies? Classy enough for the living room and charming enough for the little girl in your life.

These butterflies are simply constructed with squares and rectangles, no triangles whatsoever and can be done by any level of quilter! You will love each and every one of these little gals as you make them!

 

 

And last but not least, for those of you who missed the AVALON version of this lovely kit, here is the HONEYSWEET version of this best selling project...

 

CHERRY PIE

 

 

 

We all know that there is just something about cherries on a quilt.... well, something irresistible! Maybe its because it makes most of us feel like summer or because its such a nostalgic, retro feeling image, but if you put a cherry on it, it will definitely make you smile! These cherry blocks are simple and straightforward to piece with no templates or special methods and the result is just perfect! Happy cherry picking!

Each kit contains all the fabric you see here from our HONEYSWEET collection and a solid cream background to make the quilt top along with a pattern and the binding fabric.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For more info about the KIT PR-ORDERS, CLICK HERE.

Remember, these are only available for pre-order through this friday...

MARKET RECAP

The whirlwind known as Portland QUILT Market has finished up and we are home digging ourselves out... literally! You would not believe the mess we create around here as we prep for Market!

We have managed to unpack most of our stuff, sent out most of our orders and started to process distributor requests as we speak! We have also taken several long naps... just to be real LOL!

For those of you who have been following along, we hope you enjoyed the ride! For those of you who haven't had a chance to see the craziness that is market, you can take a look at our facebook posts or follow the Fat Quarter Shop gals as they post all kinds of fun stuff about market, schoolhouse and all the other goings-on!

As for us, here are a few shots of our booth. As usual, we didn't get out of our booth much so didn't get as much of a chance as we would have liked to visit with everyone else exhibiting. Hope you all had as great a market as we did!

We apologize for the sometimes ood lighting. You gotta love convention center lights!

.. special note: the carpet in the convention center was bright, bright royal blue. We just couldn't have that in the picture LOL!!

We had a lot of fun showcasing some photography again this time around [back left side of the photo].

 

...  making those FIG TREE letters just about did us in. Let's just say that it was a much bigger and more involved project than we ever anticipated. But I have do have to admit that we loved the result!

.. added in a couple painted ladders and we were good to go. True confessions: we may or may not have painted those suckers the night before market started in a friend's backyard. In the dark. I think if you look closely you will see that it was indeed in the dark! LOL!

... our LOVE YOU MORE quilt was a bit hit. Here it is in MODA BELLA SOLIDS, clover and snow with snuggles on the back. Pretty sure that this is the one everyone will be fighting over at home. That is as soon as it comes out of the box!

 

... thinking of making the LIFESAVERS runner into a baby quilt. It would be perfect 3 x 3 blocks and a couple borders!

... the ONE PIECE BAG was a huge hit! I can't even tell you how many times I opened the pattern to show store owners how simple it is to contruct. Really! We think you all need to whip one up for the summer. Perfect pool or beach bag. I will be using mine this weekend!

Hope you enjoyed the shots. We will have more pattern showcases coming up so you can get more detailed info about each pattern.

Also stay tuned for a fun pattern announcement tomorrow!!

Honeysweet Pattern Showcase: One Piece Bag

Okay... I have to rave about this bag a little bit... 

I don't know if you know but some of our most popular patterns over the years have been bags. We have an EASIEST BAGS EVER series with handbags, totebags and accessory bags in them and they are basic and are accessible to make and easy to construct so that people who are afraid of bags won't be intimidated.

This here back really should have been a part of that series due to its simplicity but its name was just turning out too long LOL!

It really is one rectangle with a handle loop sewn to it while it is still flat. It is then folded up and the 2 side gussets are pinned in and sewn. That's it! True story. 

We really think you might want to try it!

... its the perfect size, not too big and not too small.

... the handle can be made long or short depending on how you like to carry your bag.

 

... the hardware we used included a magnetic snap and bag "feet" so that it doesn't get dirty when you set it down. That's it!

 

... here's my own personal one with one of all time favorite prints from TAPESTRY.

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: The One Piece Bag

SIZE: The bag measures app. 12" x 17"  across the front not counting the depth or the handles.

FABRIC: The main fabric used is the large floral from our upcoming HONEYSWEET collection. The one I am holding is the aqua leaf print from TAPESTRY along with the orange from that same collection. We will also show some pictures of a version we have made out of MODA Dotties and a few others next week.

ETC.: Pattern will be available in both printed and pdf form by the end of today!!

Hope you are enjoying the "reveals". So far we have shown you CHERRY PIE, CLOVERS & JAM, HEXIES, PAINTED LADIES AND ONE PIECE BAG.

 

Honeysweet Pattern Showcase: Painted Ladies

When we first started working on these little blocks, we were "smitten" - does anyone even say that anymore??- with how fun they were to make and how quickly they came together.

We started with a table runner, that quickly became a bed runner and was eventually also made up as a quilt. A few of these blocks together would make a great wall hanging, table topper or a wonderful lap quilt for a little girl!

We decided to name the pattern PAINTED LADIES because here in our hometown of San Leandro we are home to thousands of migrating Monarch butterflies every year. They cover trees and bushes and fly in swarms in several of the parks and golf courses in our area. They return every year and apparently sometimes fly hundreds of miles to get here. Each year we pile the kids in the car to go and watch them. They are mesmerizing.

I know that technically Monarchs and Painted Ladies are not the same butterfly but the name was too lovely to pass up... and they do almost look exactly the same!

... this is the Honeysweet version with one of my favorite prints in the border.

 

... the full, flat HONEYSWEET version.

 

... a little butterfly detail.

 

... this is the table runner, turned bed runner created from a mix of AVALON and TAPESTRY fabrics. Love the combination!

 

 

... bed runner again draped over a chair.

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: Painted Ladies

SIZE: Comes in 2 sizes, 58" x 66" lap size and a 24" x 83" bed runner [which you can of course make a bit shorter for a table runner]. 

FABRIC: The two collections shown are HONEYSWEET for the first photos and a mix of AVALON and TAPESTRY for the runner. A Layer Cake was used for the lap size and 1/4 yds or fat quarters for the runner size. Charm packs can also be used for a more scrappy look.

ETC: Patterns will be available by the end of day today!

So far we have also debuted CHERRY PIE, CLOVERS & JAM and HEXIES. Just scroll the previous posts to see those brand new patterns.

 

Honeysweet Pattern Showcase #3

When we found out our new collection was having those brand new yummy little hexagon packs with it, we knew it had to be something cute and small and did I mention cute?

Introducing HEXIES, our new mini "thread" pattern made from the new MODA HONEYCOMB packs. Actually one pack can make up to 5 HEXIE bags! 

... on our samples, each piece both inside and outside is a different hexie and thus a different fabric. So much fun to play with.

 

... embellished with a simple snap and an outer button, each purse has its own little personality.

 

 

... they are a bit addicting to make. Kinda like eating potato chips.

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: Hexies

SIZE: The purses measure app. 3" x 5" across the top, when stuffed. The gusset on the side is about 1 1/2" deep.

FABRIC: These are all made with the new MODA hexagon pack called HONEYCOMBS from our debuting collection, HONEYSWEET. The template is included in the pattern so you can of course cut your own hexies!

ETC: The pattern is coming back from the printer any day now and they patterns will be available by the end of this week!

So far we have also shown you CHERRY PIE and CLOVERS & JAM. See here and here.

Let the Patterns Begin!

Hopefully you have already gotten a glimpse of our new CHERRY PIE pattern, here. I am in love with that one at the moment, although the others that I am about to start showing you are not far behind. 

In fact, this might be one of my all time favorite jelly roll patterns we have done. It is so simple and graphic and yet so much fun to make and it showcases the fabric perfectly!

Introducing CLOVERS & JAM [since Clovers and Jelly just didn't sound quite right LOL!]

... styled version of the HONEYSWEET version. Perfect for a quick fall project this upcoming September!

 

... detail of the block and the quilting.

 

... flat shot of the full quilt.

 

And since we always like to make up the new patterns in both the upcoming collection that we are debuting [HONEYSWEET in this case] and the current one, here is the AVALON version of the same quilt...

... tried some channel quilting this time around for a more modern, fresh look on this AVALON version. Love the result!

 

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: Clovers & Jam

SIZE: 71" x 71"

FABRIC: As mentioned above, the first shots are all of the HONEYSWEET version perfect for the fall, we think! The second version is made from our current AVALON collection out in stores now. 

ETC: The entire quilt can be made with one jelly roll, background and a border! You gotta love that!! The pattern will be available and up on our site by the end of the week [ or maybe sooner if all goes well] in both printed and pdf format! Yeah!!

Note: We will have a VERY few kits available of the AVALON version of this quilt in the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested!