Wednesday, July 22, 2009

summertime and the livin' is easy...

Not such a great summer for ball games and beaches, but not so bad for old mill buildings without artificial air. If we dared, we could almost be smug about our superior "green-ness", but we are not so foolish.

On to new things...

New colors from the aboriginal fabric people in Australia...


Designed with traditional aboriginal symbols, not only are they

beautiful to look at, they are preserving a rich story

telling tradition of the aborigine people.

Below are a few of the symbols found in their designs:




On a lighter note. . . for all the Lil' Princess' in the world

. . . from Michael Miller:


Very cute! Think princess p.j's, princess pillowcases, pinafores...

...ok, you get it.



New Amy Butler pattern:



Lydia made this Amy Butler mini dress/smock for us using

a beautiful cotton lawn fabric (not Amy's). Very summery and

easy to make. She says the pattern has impeccable instructions

and was very easy to follow.



Books to inspire:


These are a few of our favorites.

All have creative and relatively easy projects to follow. . .

so now's the time to get started on your handmade holiday gifts!







More fabric
...

From one of the many fabulous designers at FreeSpirit -

Wildwood by Erin McMorris

We also have Erin's "Park Slope" collection.

Check out these Flickr photos to see some

of the amazing projects being made with her fabrics!



...and from Joel Dewberry - Deer Valley:




Also from FreeSpirit...

Jay McCarroll's (of Project Runway fame) Garden Friends

(Where's that wabbit?)

I love his bio on the FreeSpirit page:

Jay's Bio



For fans of Windham Fabric's "Paper Doll's"

our friend Lindell made the ultimate in adorable cuteness:




Lindell, once again, thank you so much for sharing with us!



Last but not least...

Diane made a tool belt for her son (a carpenter) using Alexander Henry's

"Heavy Equipment"


what can I say? (Diane!! ; )



Oh no! so many pictures, so few words...time to go.

See you in the store!

Mary













Wednesday, July 8, 2009

sweet little dress


As promised: the dress Lydia made using Bari Ackerman's (Windham)

"Full Bloom" fabric and Tina Givens' "zig zag girl" pattern.

Super cute. Definitely a "smockish" sort of dress.

Plenty of room for swirling and tumbling about.



Itata by Araucania


I have been patiently waiting for this yarn to come in.

Arauncania's new sock/fingering weight yarn has beautiful

hand-dyed colors and is made with a wonderful blend of

superwash wool, silk, and bamboo.



New Books: Debbie Bliss



Just in, two new books from Debbie Bliss.

Both have lots of useful tips as well as fabulous patterns

and inspiring photos.




Bye for now!

Mary


Monday, July 6, 2009

Hello Sun!



Well, it has become quite apparent lately that my grey cells

operate on solar power. So, now that things have brightened

up a bit and the synapses are synapsing...

time to share new things.



Japan
ese Fabrics

Heather Ross's latest collection

for Kokka is absolutely

gorgeous. This unique cotton

double gauze is incredibly soft

and breezy without being

transparent. Perfect for a

summer smock, dress or

very special baby's quilt.



Great new collection from Windham Fabrics:

Check out how fabulous this looks in a quilt and pillows:



New Tina Givens patterns:


Lydia is making the smock on the left using the Full Bloom fabrics.

It'll be up in the store soon, so come check it out!

We also have Tina's "Fairy Tip Toe" fabric collection

by " Free Spirit.


Helmet Liners

We've had a lot of requests lately for washable wool yarns.

Many of these requests were from people who are making helmut liners

for the troops. Ella Rae Superwash wool is perfect for this project

and it comes in the most fabulous colors.


Here are the links for more information and knitting

instructions for the liner:

Operation Helmut Liner

Helmet Knitting Instructions



No Sew Belts

(or headbands)


For those who want to make something, but insist they don't/can't sew,

the fabric gods invented Fabri-Tac.
I'm a huge fan. It's a permanent, quick drying adhesive

and works on most surfaces

(fabric, wood, leather, lace, suede, tile, felt, plaster, glass, trims, canvas, ribbons...)

Come in, we'll show you how to make a belt!


Noro


Lots of new "Silk Garden" colors in. We are loving this cute

summer sweater from the Noro Designer Mini Knits book.




Another fabulous creation by Lindell:


A very cute and practical casserole holder. Much better than putting

your potluck dish in a paper bag and letting it crash

around the back of your car (that would be me).

It's Kwik Sew pattern 1135.

Thanks for sharing Lindell!



Special Purchase Home Decorating Fabrics



As always, we have a great selection of home decorating remnants,

you'll never know what treasure you'll find.

At the moment we have some incredible silk pieces from Robert Allen.

Hurry, these won't last long!



Oh No! Here Comes the Rain AGAIN!!!


Mary