…A Little More Recap

I am literally on my way out the door this morning… If you want to follow along, you can do that on INSTAGRAM as I hope to over gram this adventure from beginning to end.

 But for now I just have a few Market shots to share, mostly because I promised that I would.

I was completely in love with the outfits that MODA made for their booth displays… and of course that chair fabric. 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course I am completely obsessed with all things Jen...

 

 

 

 

And it was so lovely to meet a few of our newest designers and hang out with the ones that were new to MODA but that I already knew and loved….

 

 

 

That Chelsi is a crack up!

 

Oh and of course my newest obsession…. Erin's new paint by numbers collection…

 

… totally in love with that combo of her paint-by-numbers print and my little daisy print. Love. Love. Love. Btw… we will be kitting something very similar…. :-).

And I'm off now… hoping to post from parts unknown….

Love ya guys!

 

Recaps and Answers and New Stuff Oh My...

So this is how it goes around here...

We prep for Market.

We make ourselves a bit nuts in the process [read all about that from my darling husband Eric in a previous post :-)]. We don't sleep. We eat nonsense. We wonder if there is any way that it is all going to get done. But it does get done. Usually. More or less. Well… the lawn might be brown and the and my hair most definitely needs a bit of color, but more or less is about right. I guess it all depends on what the less is...

We go to Market and always enjoy being with our industry friends and colleagues, talking to customers and presenting our newest products. Always. We usually have much more fun than we expect.  

Thank goodness that most of live by the rule of what happens at Market, stays at Market  LOL.

 

If you have more questions about this photo, I will have to refer you to the previously mentioned Market Rule...

How could we not have fun when we have some very important people at MODA channelling Kevin Bacon in both dress and dance from Footloose? Oh yeah….if nothing else, MODA knows how to throw a party and have fun. Serious fun. Unfortunately no photos on that one… but trust me! He's a keeper that Josh Dunn.

So we get home from Market. We make grand plans. Always. Without fail. And then the post-Market coma hits. Seriously. It should be categorized as an actual condition, so many of us experience the exact same thing. We should call it PMC.

For some, it just lasts a few days or maybe a week. For others, we find ourselves losing several weeks before we can drag ourselves back to regularly scheduled programming…. like blogging and cleaning up the studio and showering :-).

I'm afraid that I fall in the later category. Its like one of those therapy moments when they tell you that you need the same amount of time to recover that you experienced the original trauma. Well if that was the case, I would still be deep in PMC. Hey… maybe I should cut myself a bit of a break?

Now don't get me wrong, I have to start back to work the moment I get back from Market. There is no escaping that. There are orders to process, Market commitments to work out, quilt shows to organize, etc. There is usually a flurry of activity but only the things that absolutely HAVE TO GET DONE, DO GET DONE. You don't even really want any more info about that.

And now we skip to the present. Its a few weeks after Market. I really should have already done a Market Re-Cap. I should have finished that bag pattern I promised you guys. I should have started working on a few new projects that I promised I would have done soon. I should have shaved my legs…. too much information??

So here is the question… do I just start fresh today and pretend that I have already done all of those things? Or do I try to go back and do things that I really should have done about 2 weeks ago….

Given that I would really like to share a few things with you, I am deciding to go back in time and pretend that this is just a few days after Market! Just go with me on this one...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Hello everyone! We are back from Market and so excited to share some photos with you! We just had a MODA Designer space this time around so our space is small but as usual, we somehow managed to squeeze all of our nonsense into said space….

… first off I apologize if the color is a bit weird. the convention center lighting gods were not working in my favor this time around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the INSTAGRAM contest to name the new bag trio we finished up at the very last minute [literally at Market in the hotel room on Lisa Bongean's JUKI]… we have chosen to use the name Feedsacks which was first suggested by @cathyquiltingonmainstreet from Instragram. So if you are Cathy… thank you so much and email me for some goodies...

 

I am actively trying to get that pattern to print before we go on a legendary family vacation coming up and I will keep you posted on my progress… now that I have officially and out loud said that I had woken up from my PMC, I guess I don't have any excuse to not finish it!

And then there are so many questions that I never ever get to answer on Instagram so I am hoping to answer a few here:

1. The design wall in my studio that I show is made from two mounted vertical wooden bars [designed in a scallop] with 2 horizontal rods across [the kind for hanging clothes in a closet]. Then I measured across and attached cotton batting [3 layers I believe] across the top bar, pinned it into place around the rod and stretched it to fit under the bottom rod and pinned that into place. I will show more photos of it soon but thought I would at least answer the basic construction.

2. Most of the goodies that you guys see and ask where I have gotten it… pretty much you can bet that I got it at HomeGoods [which is the home-store version of TJMaxx]. We have several in our area and I stock them semi-regularly.

3. I am all good on editors and sewers right now. But thank you so very much for your willingness and interest in helping me out. 

4. Most of bowls are from Anthropologie. I am completely addicted and I am so very glad to know that so many of you share my sickness!

5. Yes, we are releasing a line of Fig Tree colors of wool with Weeks Dye Works. We are crazy excited to share more with you as soon as we finalize everything later on this summer. 

6. We are also doing some fun things with thread so stay tuned for more info on that.

7. We unfortunately do not have any more spots in any of the BOMs and we do not plan on running the same program more than once. We purchase a limited amount of fabric, create as many spots as we can and then usually the fabric becomes unavailable so even if we wanted to do it again, we couldn't. We are so sorry that we can't accommodate more of you guys. It already takes us a few days to package and send out each of the programs because there are SO MANY of you who have signed up! We love doing them and will continue so no worries. Hopefully you can get in on the next one.

8. My newest CRAFTSY class is all about angles and I really, really do think that anyone can learn to work with angles by taking that class. Really. I don't usually feel so confident to claim that something I am doing will end in a particular result for my students…but I really do feel that confident about this. Really.

9. I think that Farmhouse might be most favorite collection in a long time. I think I went a little crazy when I placed my order with MODA. Just in case :-)

10. I going to try really hard to blog more. I know that Instagram is kind of addictive and crazy easy, but I am going to try to regularly blog with more content here. Keep me accountable and feel free to bug me if you don't see me here! Really!!

 

That's it for now… and we have a few fun oldies but goodies that we have found on the shelves as we have prepped for upcoming fabrics. They are on the shop homepage.

Click HERE if you would like to take a look.

 

Updates and pictures coming next week on both the YULETIDE BOM and the MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM.

And a bit more about Market on Monday… something about someone else besides me this time LOL!

Oh… and we still have MARKET SWAG to give out!! Geesh… I guess I will have to blog a couple times next week!

 

Market Prep: Fig Tree in Real Life

Good morning MODA friends!  

[this is Mr. Fig here taking over for a bit… or for as long as I have before "the designer" figures out what is happening. She is pretty quick that one so not sure if you will see me again after today].

Normally one of these Market prep blog posts would start off with pretty pictures of the upcoming collection… like this.

In this case FARMHOUSE….

 

... it ships in August/September 2015

Or pretty shots of the new upcoming patterns… like this...

  

 

... all patterns will be done in the next 10 days or so!

It would be all about the pretty around here.

Well, that's all very nice to show you guys all the pretty stuff but have you ever wondered what its really like around here the weeks leading up to Market… ITS NOT PRETTY PEOPLE. IT'S JUST NOT PRETTY!

Over the Market years, us husbands have come up with some "REAL" titles for ourselves in those "pre-market" weeks…. Market widows, Market orphans, Test Crash Dummies and we have some more colorful titles too but I might not get to go to Market again if "the designer" saw I had written them here. So we will just stick to these. But anyone…. Nick? Bruce? Michael? Help me out guys, you know exactly what I am talking about! And Pete…. what is your excuse for not dragging your sorry butt to Market yet? That's just not right dude . We need to keep the brotherhood strong!

But I digress… this is supposed to be about "the designer". Right, sorry.

So I think that its safe to say that they're just not quite in their right minds, those lovely MODA designers in the weeks leading up to the all mighty MARKET. They say they'll be fine. They say that they will do it differently next time. That " next time" it will be more relaxed and they will be ready earlier. Yah, right. Its in that market DNA…. it has done at the last minute and it has to be nuts. Otherwise, you wouldn't think you were prepping for Market.

So as the faithful partner and husband of "the designer", these are the signs that I generally look for to know that my life is about to change drastically for the next few weeks...

More boxes show up on our front door step than normal. Like way more. And they all have that tell tale white and blue tape all over it. Yah, you know which tape it is and you know you are.. you who send all those boxes!

 

"The Designer" becomes just a little bit too possessive about the new contents of those boxes...

 

Let's just say that I have come to love the couch on those lovely weeks leading up to Market.

Fairly quickly after that, no one has any clean laundry. Especially the socks. Usually she is all over those socks but not anymore. People around here have to go sock less. For weeks. True story. The horror.

Soon after, we start hearing rumblings of something called "the Market diet". You might think that its "the designer" wanting to eat healthy so she can feel good at Market. Uh, huh. You would be wrong. It might start off as that but it quickly degenerates into something much, much different….

You would think that she might need more than that for weeks….but pretty much no. This is all she needs. Oh, this and her fabric and thread. That's ALL she needs, do you get what I'm saying? Again, me with the couch.

 

 

And she had become a bit obsessed with her newest pair of red polka dot glasses. I mean how long can all of us search for that pair on any given day of the week? I keep promising to buy her one of those "old lady chains" if she can't pull it together [please no offense to anyone who wears one of those chains for their reading glasses, I am pretty sure "the designer" will be wearing one soon. Maybe someone could make her a PRETTY one and send it to her?].

 

And then with that bed all to herself, you would think that she would actually use it. Not so much.

My market experience leads me to believe that she does not leave that studio at all. Again I blame you people with those boxes and that blue and white tape. Seriously?

Its kind of a mess up there in that studio. And yet she seems to be obsessed with being there. As if her job depended on it or something. Oh wait, maybe it does…. 

And even though this is her full tine personal obsession… sorry, I mean full time job that is putting my children through private school... I on the other hand have to actually leave the business behind most mornings to save the world [not really. I work in city government but it feels nicer to say I'm saving the world. And let's face it, if I want praise in these pre-Market months, I better figure out how to give it to myself. So as far as we're all concerned right now, I leave each day to save the world. Thank you.]

… don't you think it looks like I'm going to save the world? Just saying.

So did I mention that 3 market orphans… I mean children… live here with me and "the designer". They have needs. Or so they tell me in their texts. But mornings do get a little tricky when I am the only one transporting fabric, feeding the children a nutritious breakfast [hey, the side of the frozen waffle box says its nutritious]  and making sure they all get out the door to school on time in the morning.

 

Apparently the market orphans do tend to get a bit cranky if they are fed nothing but frozen waffles for a week at a time. Who knew?

So given the insanity of the pre-market schedule around here, its not like we get out much, except to, you know, save the world. So the gym is kind of out of the question. So we use what we have alot of around here. Yes, those boxes again. And bolts. Lots and lots of bolts. You have to use what you have.

  

 Bench pressing bolts of BELLA IVORY with a munchkin balanced on the top is not only a good work out but a bit more entertaining than the gym anyway. So I can't complain. We like to call it "FEATS OF FABRIC BRAVERY". Maybe I can come up with some new ones?

And since we kind of do everything around here as a family, orphans and all, the brothers couldn't be outdone when they noticed that we were mocking "the designer" just a bit.

Although the middle child couldn't quite use the same bolts since we'd broken all of the other ones...

 So I am quite sure that Nick [Mr. Primitive Gatherings himself] could bench not only these bolts but all of my children… I mean market orphans.., at the same time but really could he have a cuter helper sitting on top? I think not. Okay maybe a koala would be cuter. 

So that's pretty much what its like around here during the weeks leading up to Market. And yet we do it twice a year. Religiously. For at least 15 years if not more. 

They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Just saying. We are nothing if not a bit crazy around here at Fig Tree.

Thanks for coming along with me on this "takeover". 

No children, bolts or animals were injured during the filming of this blog takeover. "The designer "is fine. Although I thought I heard something about another last minute project. Goodness, really? That 's what we need to be doing right now? Because surely there is nothing we need to do more than make a new purse to match the new collection?  

I guess I should go look for her just in case she needs a new supply of diet coke. I love "my designer". I love MODA too. They are our family. White and blue tape and all.

Love,  Eric

So I hear that there might be a few other slightly cranky children or neglected domesticated animals over at Pat's, Anne's, Amy's and Nick's.... I mean Lisa's. Follow along all week to see all of our lovely designers "IRL".... in real life :-).

MODA LOVE BLOG TOUR: FIG TREE DAY

 

... we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest collection, Somerset, in late September. We can't wait!

 

WELCOME TO FIG DAY ON THE MODA LOVE BLOG TOUR!

 

If this is your first time visiting here, welcome! My name is Joanna Figueroa and I have been designing fabric for MODA for over a decade now [wow that makes me feel a bit old!] and patterns for my company Fig Tree & Co and Fig Tree Quilts [over 200 patterns at this point... yikes!] for more years than I want to admit to :-). I also write books, travel to teach and teach online at Craftsy!

If this is your first time joining us for one of these fun tours, you are in for a treat! For each QUILT MARKET [Houston each October and various Spring locations in May] the designers who attend Market get together and create a special project for our SCHOOLHOUSE event [an educational event for store owners at Market] that we then share with you the following season in a blog tour. It is a wonderful way to see what everyone has been up to and what the new fabrics are. If you haven't been following along yet, you might really want to [and not just because there will be wonderful GIVEAWAYS on each and every stop on the tour]. HERE is the link to all of the designers on each day. Today I am joining the fun ladies from Basic Grey and Pat Sloan.

As always, the amazing brainchild behind these themes, ideas and projects is the amazing MODA LISSA. She knows way too many "interesting" things about all of us designers after all these years of working together so we just do whatever she tells us :-). We love her so much. MODA LOVE!!!

QUESTIONS

Question: When did you fall in love with quilting/textiles?

Answer: The year that I was married, we moved to a new town and I had a bit of extra time on my hands while I was working on my Masters degree. It was that year that I found and bought my first vintage quilt at a yard sale & signed up for a quilt class at our local "mall". I have no idea what made me do it in that particular moment other than I finally had a bit of time but I was hooked from the very first moment! I had admired textiles for a long time before that but that was definitely "the moment" of my conversion!

Question: When I teach workshops, I love...

Answer: it when people use my patterns in totally and completely new ways and with different fabric choices. It makes me feel like I "did my job" if I can see the cross over between my designs and completely different styles!

Question: What is your favorite MODA precut?

Answer: Most definitely a jelly roll. The jelly roll has inspired me to do so many new and different things that I don't think I would have ever tried had it not been for that little roll!

Question: What fuels you to create?

Answer: Its an addiction. I really can't help it. Seriously. People ask me all the time if I ever run out of ideas and I kind of laugh. I always have WAY MORE IDEAS THAN I HAVE TIME TO MAKE THEM. EVER.

VIDEO

Speaking of great ideas, here is a special little VIDEO from Market with some tips that I wanted to share with you about piecing strip sets and cutting angles! I know these are some basic tips but they have proven very, very useful to me over the years! Thanks Josh!

PATTERN

This time around, we all worked with one simple pattern that did such a great job of showcasing each and every newly debuted collection. HERE is the pattern if you want to try your hand at your own version. You can literally do it in one aftermoon, it's that straightforward!

 

... our Somerset version and my friend Cynthia's Somerset version with a red floral border.

We made our version from our upcoming SOMERSET fabric and backed it in our favorite butter yellow snuggle [see above]. Yum! I know this is going to be one of those quilts that the kids fight over simply because of the backing [we sell it on our site if you are in search of some].

As for the rest of us here at Fig Tree, well we got a little carried away...

... From the top left: Fig Tree greens and reds for a Christmas version, Honeysweet, Mirabelle, all Seafoam prints from several lines including Mirabelle, Fresh Cottons, Buttercup and others. Each one feels so very different!

But then we thought about MODA LOVE and about spreading it. So I challenged my monthly sewing group to choose some of their favorite Fig Tree collections and make one of their own. We had so much fun! MODA LOVE those ladies so much!! Thank you Laurie, Cheryl, Diana, Cynthia, Maggie, Mary, Anne, Patty and Joanie!

... Fig Tree Fresh Cottons, a mix of lighter Fig Tree prints, Kate Spain's Honey Honey and a mix of Fig Tree jewel tones.

We had so much fun each choosing a different Fig Tree fabric collection or themed grouping for each quilt and sewing up a storm. Since all the ladies "took" all of the latest collections that we had Layer Cakes for, I decided to make one from my all time favorite Kate Spain grouping, Honey Honey.  Serious MODA LOVE with these quilts!!

Some more about what we've been up to...

MODA LOVE: MY FAMILY

We took some time off this year to do some travelling with the family [get ready for a post about our most recent trip to Mexico soon]. As the kids get older it is getting more and more real that we won't have them here with us forever and want to enjoy them while we have them. Some of our trips have inspired new fabrics and products for me at the same time. I am nothing if not a crazy multi-tasker!

 

... Hawaii

 

... the British countryside

... Mexico

 

MODA LOVE: MINI QUILTS

We have been totally and completely bitten by the MINI bug! We just added 2 more patterns this summer and are working on several more for Market!

And the latest two...

 Oh my goodness, these are so much fun to make in between larger projects!

 

MODA LOVE: AURIFIL

Working with Aurifil this year has been more fun than we could have imagined and we are eagerly awaiting our new AURIKIT fabric/thread kit coming this month. To see the really exciting things that are happening with that kit, click HERE.

 

MODA LOVE: Somerset Patterns

Our newest pattern releases to accompany SOMERSET are some of all time favorite quilt patterns ever!

 

Navajo Stars [possibly one of my all time favorites]...

 ... hint, hint.... we are making this into a Halloween kit in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Homestead in the Fresh version.

 

Sweet Sixteen in the aqua version.

 

and possibly the most perfect quilt to be making in the upcoming months, TWIRL. All made with 1 Jelly Roll!

MODA LOVE: What's Coming Next!!

Even though we love all of the goodies that we have shown you, it is hard not to look forward to what is coming too. We are debuting a new line in Houston this October and it is called Aloha Girl. Gee I wonder why!? There are some new colors and some new goodies in it. Stay tuned for more on that as Market approaches...

GIVEAWAY

So for all those of you you who have managed to read that whole long thing...  to enter the GIVEAWAY, comment and tell me how many times I mentioned MODA LOVE and what Fig Tree pattern is next on your TO DO LIST or WISH LIST!

SALE

Throughout the TOUR, we are having a crazy PATTERN SALE. 20% off all patterns !!!  Just enter the code MODALOVE during checkout! Shop HERE!

Thanks so much for playing along!

Market: Spring Pittsburgh '14

As you might remember from last time around, and the time before that and the time before that..... that it usually takes me about a week to dig myself out, brush myself off and rejoin the world after Market! LOL!

Well... it seems that this time was no different. You might have already seen all the Market shots you could possibly handle... but here go mine. Up today is an overload of pictures of our Market booth. Hope you are ready!

No words. Just pics.  Hope you enjoy the Fig Tree :-)

 

... my shoes never last long :-).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Market Recap... for real

Of course Market was a lovely adventure as always. Eric and I both hate it and love it every single time. Since we do it two times a year and we have been doing this for more than ten years... well, we've done a lot of them and still always love it and hate it?!

It is a crazy amount of work but it is the best time to see friends and colleagues, to showcase our new products and to generally participate in this wonderful industry of ours. Regardless of how much we might whine and complain, we wouldn't have it any other way.

This time around due to a completely crazy schedule over here in Fig Tree land and a huge retail show the weekend before Market, we opted to showcase our goodies in the MODA DESIGNER SHOWCASE area instead of having our own booth. It was an amazing blessing to have so much of the work done for us and to still be able to participate with a mini booth space. Thank you in the biggest possible way MODA... we love you!

 

So this time we were showing off our newest patterns from our upcoming Spring collection, Mirabelle. Most of these patterns have also been done in our current collection Honeysweet [available in stores now] or other color combos [like the Christmas Carousel option] just so that you can see how versatile the projects are. We will start showing you pattern showcases next.

 

So for our little corner of the Market universe...

... our space

 

 

... the new Star Struck pattern made out of Mirabelle.

 

... Hugs and Carousel

 

... a few new specialty products that I will write more about soon. Who could resist Fig Tree colored nail polish? I mean, really.

 

... Spools Quartet. This is an awesomely simple jelly roll pattern.

 

... Everyday Zips. See this fun little tutorial that I did with Kimberly for these HERE. These will be up in our shop anyday now. Almost back from the printer...

 

... Carousel on back wall, Canned Pears on right, Al Fresco on the rack.

 

See that fun patchwork "F" in the right top corner? That is from a great Schoolhouse event that the MODA designers did. More on that in the spring blog hop. See HERE for the Schoolhouse itself.

And even though I had my phone-  and was learning how to use it on INSTAGRAM [follow me if use INSTAGRAM... although I am still trying to figure it all out] and had my nice camera - and managed to take a few booth shots with it and walk a few aisles with it one morning- I somehow completely ommitted to take any pictures of me, of Eric, or of the dozens of you who came and took pictures of me.

Yes, I feel a bit silly but I don't think I took a single photo of my friends in my booth. I know I took some of Kate in hers and did a little bit of photo bombing in Vanessa's [you really should take a look at this one] but that's all. I guess I will have to focus on that in Pittsburgh! Maybe some of you who took them could send me some? Anyone... Sherri? Angela? Jen? Kate? Karen? Alison? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?  :-)

 

Talk to you soon.

 

Market Recap... AT LAST

... Well not quite. In an effort to enjoy Halloween with the munchkins, chronicle a bit of the fall loveliness around me and generally trying to clean up my studio and sewing room, I have completely fallen behind in showing you what is up, what is new and what was at Market!

So tomorrow I will show you a bit more about our booth at Market and our new stuff but today I thought I would just show a tiny bit of eye candy from the show itself. As I am sure you already know from following along on show recaps, it is really hard for the designers to get out of their booth to see much of the show. Close to impossible hard. One morning before all the hustle and bustle, I took a quick stroll just to take in all of the color. Here is a tiny bit of what I saw.

The photos are from [in no particular order]: Art Gallery, Riley Blake, Jen Kinsgwell, Anna Griffin, Kate Spain, Tula Pink,  Birch Fabrics, MODA and more [sorry if I missed someone].

Even though it was a very brief walk, the colors inspired me and made me happy.

 

 

 

 

Happy Eye Candy.

 

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.

 

Showcase #1: Lollipops

 

 

 

 Some of our newest projects that went on to Market for us this year.

 

So I promised some sneak peeks this weekend just so we could all pretend that we are at Market sending you debuts and new pattern showcases. I know its not the same but what's a girl to do!

Wow, I could get used to this "market from the couch with a diet coke" approach!  So come and pretend a bit with me!  Instead of a booth to share, we'll show off some of our brand new goodies...

 

Each time I share a new pattern release, I  tell you that I have a favorite and even though I am not supposed to [its kind of like having a favorite amongst your children, I mean come on!]. There is usually something about one of the quilts that really just sings to me personally a bit more than the others. This time around however, I don't have a favorite or really, I have 6 or 7 favorites and I can't seem to pick one to be more favorite than the others.

So to make it easier on my poor little psyche, I will just tell you that each one is my favorite for that day. And then I will tell you the same thing the next day. Deal? Deal.

 

Introducing my newest favorite quilt.... LOLLIPOPS.

The pattern has 2 completely different versions of the same block, one with larger and thinner pieces and one with fatter and wider ones. The results are both stunning and yet completely different even though the blocks and the quilts are created and put together in exactly the same way. I love that about a pattern!

Not to mention the fact that there are no sewing templates or rulers or anything in this method, just straight sewing. You gotta love how these blocks come together!

 

CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS VERSIONS

 

 ... The AVALON version of the larger CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS pattern. We topstitched this version of the block onto the background and machine appliqued the center circles. This lovely quilt was pieced by my dear friend Valerie Marsh. She did a wonderful job as always.

 

... there is something about the soft grey background that makes these simple, graphic blocks really sing! I love the color combo. For the background, you could either use the grey with dot print from our AVALON grouping or one of your favorite grey/tan solids. Either way, the results are fab.

 

... this version of the quilt is currently hanging at the MODA booth in HOUSTON. Have you seen it? If you have, send pictures!

 

... perfect for the summer or Americana or patriotic or... gosh, I can think of lots of ways to make this quilt again.

 

 ... this is the same quilt, same layout done out of our TAPESTRY collection [our fall line due out in stores any minute, literally, now]. Whereas the first one is Americana, this one is definitely warm and harvest and yet still modern and graphic all at the same time. I love this version a lot. Maybe its my favorite :-). I am really looking forward to this one returning so that I can enjoy it this fall. It is currently on its way to HOUSTON FESTIVAL, so you should be able to see it in person if you are going.

 

 ... this one is also topstitched straight onto the background, but the center circles are appliqued. This TAPESTRY version of the quilt was pieced by the amazing Sherri McConnell, words do not describe this girl's skill with fabric and a deadline! Love her!

 

... Diana decided to crosshatch the centers on this one to give us something a bit different and I love the result. 

 

 

... surprises me every time, how different a pattern can look simply by changing the colors of the backgrounds or other small changes!

 

LITTLE LOLLIES VERSIONS

Since we can never leave well enough alone, we thought it would be fun to give you another alternative in the pattern, a different size and width of "fan blade" that ends up making a completely different block.

 

 

... our AVALON sample of this LITTLE LOLLIES version. This just makes me think Spring and Fresh and Americana and, well it makes me think of lollipops at the beach in Avalon. Go figure. Its my favorite!

 

Below is our latest version of this same quilt, our HALLOWEEN POPS version which we made up just in time for our retail show a few weeks ago.

Wow, did this little sucker move like crazy! Who knew people would love this one so much! Personally, we were just so "wowed" by the pairing of some of our favorite MODA blacks and our "Fig Tree" toned oranges that we couldn't resist a little seasonal pairing for this time of year.

 

 ... start collecting some wonderful blacks and oranges right now when they are abundant and get started on this quilt for next year!

 

... the oranges and blacks paired with a little grey for the sashing and some creams for the backgrounds and you are good to go. This one was so much fun to put together and we did it all in the studio! Have I chosen a favorite yet, because in case I haven't, this one is my favorite!

 

... these blocks were machine appliqued with YLI silk thread instead of topstitched like the previous samples This creates a slightly different feel that mimics hand applique with a lot less work! Both methods have really good results and make these blocks so fun to finish. It just depends on what you prefer. 

 

We are currently working on yet another version of this quilt so stay tuned for that one too! Did someone say Christmas?

 

PATTERN INFO

NAME: LOLLIPOPS-- both CARNIVAL LOLLIPOPS [larger blocks] and LITTLE LOLLIES [smaller, squat blocks]

SIZE: CARNIVAL is app. 81" x 81"/ LITTLE LOLLIES is app. 61" x 77"

FABRIC: As noted above, we used both our upcoming AVALON collections as well as our almost due to release TAPESTRY collection in the above samples. We also made a harvest/halloween version out of oranges, blacks and creams from a variety of MODA collections including TAPESTRY, LITTLE BLACK DRESS, MODA ESSENTIAL DOTS, GIVE THANKS and MODA BELLA SOLIDS.

MORE INFO:  For pattern info click HERE. For a few kits left for the TAPESTRY version, go to our SHOP page.