Block of the Month Sign Ups are Here!

Hello My Fig Tree Loving Friends-

Its that time of the year where we present our new BLOCK OF THE MONTH programs for 2018. This year we are doing 2 new ones and a redo of this year's RED & CREAM due to popular request... because who doesn't love a good red & cream quilt to add to their collection!

For those of you die hard Fig Tree fans, you know the drill... sign up as soon as you can while they are still available. For those of you new around here, here is some info about our BOM[Block-of-the-Month] programs:

• We run a few each year. Most of them are 12 month long, a few [like the Red & Cream] are 10 month. Each month you get a package of fabrics and directions for the blocks you need to make that month. If you keep up, by the end of the year, you will have an amazing sampler that you will be very, very happy with! 
• Why do a BOM you might ask? Most people do it for one of 3 reasons.. 1- Its fun to follow along with your Quilty friends via social media and work on the program together. We do a lot of posting on Instagram and now have a special Facebook group for everyone in one of the BOM programs. 2- Its a great way to make a more complicated quilt, a little bit at a time and it keeps you on pace all year, basically a way to be motivated to finish one month before the next one arrives and 3- You don't have to purchase all of the fabrics up front and get to do it a little bit at at time.
• Our programs are one of a kind and are usually not redone, unless we have a huge wait list for the original.

So here are some photos to wet your appetite... and all the info you might need is in the shop under each program.  

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER FOR 2018: AUTUMN SPLENDOR

 

WOOL BOM FOR 2018: FARMHOUSE ON CREAM

 

 

 

RED & CREAM SAMPLER 2018: REPEAT OF THIS YEAR'S WITH A WHOLE NEW ASSORTMENT OF YUMMY CREAMS AND REDS

 

If you want to shop, HERE is the link to our shop page.

Happy BOM's everyone!

 

Crossroads Quilt Along

Hello Friends!

I am so proud and happy to be a part of this project with Kimberly and the entire FQS gang! Working with Kimberly is always a pleasure and working on this particular project has so much additional meaning for me. First, getting to design the quilt itself… inspired by a beautiful vintage sampler that Kimberly uncovered… was a wonderful process for me. Working from vintage quilts as inspiration is my favorite way of designing any project!

Watch this fun video about the quilt HERE !!

 

Second, knowing that all of our work is going to benefit the March of Dimes is such a wonderful motivator for me… and hopefully for you as well… and makes the designing and now the piecing of this quilt so much more meaningful to me.

 

My daughter was born full term, as were both of my boys, but at 6 weeks of age she suddenly came down with life threatening meningitis. We lived in the NICU for the following 31 days, never going home, to be with her as she literally fought for her tiny little life. Although she was not a premie, we were surrounded by dozens of preemies and witnessed first hand the depth, length and difficulty of the struggle of those tiny, tiny little babies and their families. I will never forget some of them and when Kimberly first talked to me about the opportunity to work on something that would benefit the March of Dimes, I jumped at it!

I hope you have already joined us or if not, that you will now!!

Kimberly has a fabulous kit for the entire quilt  [including backing] from STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED or of course you can work alongside of us from your own fabrics as well, donating each month for the blocks as they are downloaded.

More info on all of the details from the Fat Quarter Shop HERE and HERE too!

A fun interview with Kimberly and I about the project on the MODA Blog HERE...

To get started, download your first block now!

 

Thanks everyone and I really hope you are joining us!

 

Joanna

Paris…Taking It All In

One of the things I notice most when I am in Paris are the details...

 

 

 

 

I love the cobblestones, the lanterns, the ironwork, the designs on the buildings. Maybe its because I am actually slowing down enough to see them or because this city just has a magical amount of details and character… or a combination of both.

Either way, it always seems like my life slows down a bit when I am here. Whether or not there is the lovely craziness of family around me and I am negotiating a million things at once or I am completely alone and doing nothing but absorbing what is in front of me.

 

 

 

Aside from the buildings, there is of course the food. And the color. And did I mention the food? And whether or not we were eating it, we were certainly taking it in with all of our senses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the rare case that we weren't gazing around us, eating or window shopping, we were sitting and relaxing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

See you tomorrow.

A Day in Montmarte

Happy Summer friends!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the less hurried pace that summer brings to many of us! We are home from our epic family vacation and are slowly…. very slowly… getting back into the swing of a schedule around here!

In the process I am really trying to organize my Europe photos somehow before sharing them with you but since there are literally hundreds and hundreds of them… well, you know how it is… it's all taking a while longer than I was hoping.

Plus there is that pesky jet lag thing that is putting me in bed by 8:00 pm most nights… its kind of a comedy show around here at the moment!

So in effort to at least get started, I am going to start working through a day at a time… or maybe even half a day LOL!  For today, our visit to Montmarte, the artist district of Paris, was filled with a plethora of time sitting and watching artists paint, as well as some really good food and not only people watching but building watching too.

For me there is nowhere else that I can think of where awnings and simple cane chairs end up feeling so charming and nostalgic and so…. well so, Paris.

 

 

 

Ben, my oldest, was fascinated in the process of painting and could have watched the local painters for hours.

 

 

The rest of us were just a bit more interested in the French Onion Soup and Chicken with herbs that was coming any minute...

 

 

But the corners and nooks and crannies of that district were just as yummy as the lunch!

 

 

 

 

And of course as soon as lunch was done, the sillies came out.

 

… in everyone!

More… oh so much more… this weekend!

Talk to you soon!

 

A Little Trip... Part III

Up today.... the actual thatched roof cottages that the Cotswolds are known for. These are all homes of current families! Can you imagine living in a little dream cottage like this? Hopefully this won't offend anyone who actually lives in one... but all I can think of is a Hobbit coming out the front door! I love them. The roofs are made entirely of straw and many of them have a netting on them at this point to keep them from disintegrating.Apparently from what I heard from one home owner, it takes an ubelievable amount of work and upkeep to keep them!

But then again... who wouldn't want to live in one of these? I mean seriously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to reality.

Up tomorrow... the gardens!

A Little Trip... Part II

 

So as much as I love the doors... I love all the rest of it too. The gates. The views. The gorgeous  golden Cotswalds stone that makes all of the villages glow.... literally. The hollyhocks. Those hollyhocks are absolutely everywhere and I have promised myself to plant them in my garden next year. They just define English cottage garden to me!

Here are just a few photos of the villages that we explored... okay maybe more than a few. But a few of my favorites anyway.

With names likes Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Norton, Moreton-on-the-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower and Upper Slaughter, Winchcombe, Broadway, Blockley, you kind of want to visit and explore each and every one. Which we kind of did. Again. Since I have done this several times before. It never gets old. Seriously.

 

Up tomorrow: the thatched roof cottages themselves. To die for.

Just Around

Today I am working like crazy to get these last patterns finished but thought I would share a tiny bit of what was around me as I worked....

I love fall. Just. Love. It.

... my favorite color combo right now.

 

... Love this wreath courtesy of TARGET.

 

... my favorite tree outside the studio window.

 

... a little deco on the dining room table.

 

... because I do, after all, still live in California LOL!

 

... the carpet that is my backyard right now.

Okay, back to work.

 

 

A Little Updo

I'm sure that I'm not the only for whom this is true but sometimes in my most overwhelming times and deadlines, I really, really need to do something else for a break. It makes everything else go faster, easier and better, it seems. So last weekend I decided I was finally going to give my very old and outdated hutch a little updo. The top of the hutch was oak and the original bottom was something I gave to a friend since I wanted something bigger with more presence and storage space.  This bottom was a white piece that I had found at the flea market this summer. It had been sitting in my dining room since then, taking up space!

A little dark grey chalk paint for most of the hutch and some creamy white for the interior and we were done. 

I can't even tell you how happy the end result is making me.

If I'm not doing what I am supposed to be at any given time... well, you might just find me with a cup of tea at my dining room admiring my "new" hutch.

 

I know, I know, I am easily pleased.

 

 

... my favorite chicken collection.

 

... my favorite new Weck Jars. Now if I just had the time to can something that would be even better!

 

 

... love that little touch of light green these days. Doesn't it look wonderful with the orange and bright yellow?

 

 

 

If there is a random little project that you have been wanting to do but haven't had the time... well, go for it. I think it will make you feel so accomplished! 

 

Orange Soda

Had some wonderful old-fashioned orange soda & lollipops this weekend... well, the kids had them. I took pictures of them instead.

The colors were irresistable. Don't you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you had a good weekend.

Oh Deer!

In the absence of having enough energy to show you all something I'm working on right now, I thought I would share a few photos of an upcoming MODA line that is making me happy today.

OH DEER by MoMo is coming to a store near you in mid-August. Isn't it just yummy? 

Come to think of it... maybe, just maybe, this fabric might inspire me to make something. Just maybe.

 

Makes me think of the ice cream truck. Who, by the way, was just here this afternoon. To be honest, he comes every day in the summer. In fact I think I will admit publicly that he stops in front of our house, leaves his jingle on and waits to see if we might come out. True confessions.

We are, if nothing else, creatures of habit who love ice cream :-).