August 2009 Archives

Hello Fabric.com customers and bloggers! My name is Jenni and I joined the Fabric.com team in March as a temp and am now their in-house photographer and imager. I graduated in 2008 from the Art Institute of Atlanta with my graphic design degree and am a creative junkie.  I love photography, painting, drawing, crafts, cooking (not baking).... Pretty much anything that allows for creative intervention.

So as one would expect, not long after I joined the merchandising department, I pretty much became obsessed with fabric. Some of the fabric that comes through here literally takes my breath away.

Fabric is truly the perfect creative medium... I mean what can't you do with fabric?? My interest to become a sewer was a natural progression.  I got a sewing machine that used to be my grandmothers fixed (I'm sure everyone in here would be able to tell you the model except for me).  I started sewing with Jennifer from customer service during my lunch breaks. Not only is Jenn sweet, patient, perfect, beautiful, smart and kind, (can you tell I love her) but she also is an advanced sewer and pattern maker.

In the beginning, I'm not going to lie; sewing a straight line was more than awkward.  My lead foot and anxiousness definitely got me acquainted with the "thread ripper-outer" However, now I am starting to get the swing of it. I have started to make cover-ups with hoods (I love hoods!) and am looking forward to re-doing the pillows on my couch and bed (they are in need of a makeover). I've been looking at different home decorating sites to get ideas. I mean who wants to pay for the labor attached to an item when you can make things EXACTLY how you want at home. Throughout all the hobbies I've had in my life, and believe me the list is never ending, sewing truly is the perfect one.  I think I am so attracted to it because it has a true place in everyday living unlike a painting on a canvas for example.

Sewing is the Perfect Hobby for me because....

#1 I love cute and original clothes

#2 I love to decorate and spruce up my apartment

#3 I love to give meaningful and insightful gifts to my friends and family

#4 I am very petite so altering is always good

#5 I hate spending a lot of money!

 Here is one of the projects Jennie and Jennifer have been working on:

To be continued...

jlre

P.S. Jenni and Jennifer will be back next month with their ongoing sewing adventures.

Quilters always love new collections! So here's a heads up alert!

Coming soon:

Angel Among Us by Jim Shore

Rock N Roll from Avlyn Fabrics

Aspen from Aylyn Fabrics

Alway & Forever from P7B Textiles -Another great "redwork" collection from Alex Anderson

Whimsy from Michael Miller Fabrics

Little House from Free Spirit Fabrics

Moda Gobble Gobble by Sandy Gervais - We already have the precuts in the store

On Line Now:

Moda Goodnight Monkey

The Wizard of Oz- Wicked Witch's Castle

I Love Lucy- Hollywood At Last

Pumpkin Spice from Thimbleberries

Mezzanine by Patty Young for Michael Miller Fabrics

Luna by Maywood Studio

If you want to now if something is coming, let me know. I will put on my magic trenchcoat and sneak over to Purchasing to see what they have ordered.

Happy sewing!

The Fabric Maverick

In putting together the email announcing the new Fabric.com exclusive free Hot Patterns downloads (available August 12 through November 12) we asked Jeremy from Hot Patterns to give us a brief history of how the company came to be. The document he provided us was much longer than would fit in our email, but I couldn't bring myself to edit it down. His take on the events leading up to the develpment of one of Fabric.com's favorite pattern lines provided fun and witty insight. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  (Click the link below to read the whole story).

Whew! Orlando in July. Even this southern lady can melt a bit in the withering Florida heat and humidity. Luckily, I was staying right across the street from the absolutely tremendous Orange County Convention Center. A quick walk and I was in the A/C breathing the creativity filled air of the Craft and Hobby Association's Summer show. I'll hit the highlights, but I'm not giving away everything we'll be bringing you. I want you to have a few surprises when they hit the web site.

We will be creating a fabulous needle arts category starting in September. I met with my wonderful Rowan Rep, Carol, before I went to Orlando. She guided me through a maze of beautiful yarns in a myriad of colors and luxurious fibers. Those fabulous fibers will be arriving on the web site in mid September. At the show, I spoke with the nice people at Clover. They make the smoothest bamboo knitting needles that are a joy to hold. They have a new kind of needles called ''Velvet.'' They are even smoother and have very precise point for the Power Knitter. We already carry many of their needle felting products, and we will have more to come!

On the yarn side of the things at the show, I also met with Lion Brand Yarns. They have some wonderful basics that we will carry. They also carry Vanna White's yarns. She is an avid crocheter, but these yarns can also be used for knitting, of course. Pisgah yarns will bring us the Peaches and Cream brand of 100% cotton yarn. It is still made in the USA, and it comes in more colors and variegations than I imagined. My sister loves this yarn for knitting her Miniature Schnauzer's sweaters. They will also supply us with 100% Mercerized Pearl Cotton. It's most classically used for crochet.

I saw a booth filled with funky buttons, and I knew you would love them. Blumenthal/Lansing has button collections that include very modern motifs in fantastic color combinations! Some are opaque and some have a little clear area to feature whatever is beneath. These buttons have lots of applications outside of making a garment fabulous. They also have a terrific collection of ceramic buttons. I can see them on a beautiful sweater or jacket. This booth had a Make and Take mini class. I made a cute button pendant. They promise kits for the pendants in the future.

One of the most popular Make and Take classes at the show was at the Plaid Booth. They have simplified screen printing, and made it so cool! They have created about 30 different reusable stencils in some fabulous motifs! There's a chandelier, a skull with a crown, yoga motifs and more. They have a screen printing paint, and a ''medium'' that allows you to use foil or glitter on the designs. And it's all washable! You can just squeegee on one color, or get in there and hand paint, glitter and foil within the stencil. I see a lot of possibilities and a Craft Day for our staff in the future so we can show you more!

The show was full of all kinds of crafting possibilities including a great deal of scrap booking suppliers. Those booths were full of inspiration and eye candy. I did a couple of Make and Takes at those booths as well even though I do not scrap. I do wear jewelry, and those mini classes were a lot of fun. There are so many tools and mediums out there. Some of them have a fabric angle. I am going to have a lot of fun trying to figure them out and bring them to you!