Recently in Quilting Category
I recently read an article ablout Amy Butler's new Studio on Quilters Buzz (best seen in Mozilla Firefox) and it really got me excited. How awesome would it be to have a studio as sweet as Amy's! Greek Revival sounds so romantic. I don't know about all of you, but not only am I bouncing around my office, popping my head out any time I hear someone near and screaming "Amy's new patterns are coming out at the end of THIS MONTH and... that includes her Lotus Dress! I am so making that". I continue to bounce as they slowly walk away, with their hands up in the air, making soothing noises before they turn and run. 
One can only imagine the ideas a new studio such as Amy's would inspire. My own new space has already helped me to create many new ideas. And while I do not have time to work on them, I have a notebook full. It is infinitly easier, creatively speaking, to see all of my yarn and most (Man, do I have alot) of my fabric out, so when an idea pops in, I can see it in color or sometimes just looking at prints or colors together creates ideas. I already feel as if the Muses have moved in with a nice comfy recliner, chilled beverage and the latest Martha Stewart Living, tossing ideas at me as they flip pages and I am not nearly 1/2 done moving into the room or decorating. My sewing machine is downstairs in the dining room till further table purchases. But I want to share what I have so far, to inspire you and also in hope of gaining ideas for my room from yours. Send me your pictures or post them in our Sew & Tell Gallery.
You know you spend most of your time there and would love to show it off and I have no scruples when it comes to stealing sewing room design ideas( and I refuse to feel ashamed. I am well past shame!) Pretty is pretty, so let me see 'em. I will post more pictures as it comes along and maybe, just maybe you will be able to see a little of yourself in my room and be able to tell your friend, "Hey, that blog chick from Fabric.com totally stole my sewing room idea!"
Sincerely,
Tara
P.s. If you are jonesing for some pre-pattern release Amy fabric purchasing look here, or if you need a Retro & Mod fix but not exculsively Amy, check out our great section here!
One of my duties is to stay on top of the trends and up to date on the latest fabric lines and it is a my favorite responsibility. While performing the usually hunting techniques last week, I discovered a very happy finding! The host of One of my favorite blogs and children's clothing designer, Sandi Henderson of Portabellopixie, has announced her first cotton print fabric line produced with Michael Miller Fabrics, Ginger Blossom. You really need to check out this new cotton line; it is fresh, bright, happy and everything you want a quilt, skirt, dress or top to be. Here is just a little bit of what Sandi says on her blog about her new line: "I am a huge lover of textiles-I have literally every genre presiding happily in my stash. Retro, vintage, modern, shabby chic. I enjoy it all, and eventually I found a style that was all me-a little bit of everything. Eclectic and Happy". You can read more here. I am so excited about the great shapes and hues that Sandi has so artfully combined in some wonderful prints. This is definitely the look I envisioned for my new sewing room. I can't wait for December!
P.S. Be sure to check out Sandi's whole blog. She has some really great photos!
Sew News is offering a free purse pattern that I think is the cutest! This is perfect for the stock of fun new cotton prints we have in stock. Dick & Jane, Look & Learn & Fresh Air by Moda.
Sew News also features an offer for a free McCall's Pattern. Don't miss out on the free embroidery pattern by Heather Bailey!
Quilt Magazine offers over a dozen free web patterns, including small projects like pillowcases, fabric stash blocks and quilt patterns. See the small projects here.
McCall's Quilting is also offering lots of free quilting patterns such as: Golden Quilts, Holiday, Patriotic and Blocks. Check them out here.
Fall is my favorite time of the year, cool weather, and the wind blowing the leaves, football on television. Well, that's what fall is supposed to be like. Here in the south we are in a drought and the temperature is still in the high eighties. I am sitting here looking out the windows of my office (Yes, ladies. I have not just one window but four! Lucky me) wondering if there will be any change of seasons this year. Halloween being only 3 weeks away makes me long for the smells and colors that I associate with fall. As a merchandising assistant here at Fabric.com I help with picking out the projects that we place on the website for sale. This is the best part of the job as I get to see all the newest collections and the projects that are offered for our customers. What was delivered to the warehouse this past week is just what I needed. "Bon Appetit" by South Sea's Imports, includes the colors and prints of late summer, 
sunflowers and apples, golds, browns and oranges. The quilting project is a table runner 63 inches long. This will grace any tabletop or counter top for the fall. I can close my eyes and see Gramma Long placing homemade pumpkin and apple pies on these rich vibrant colors. Another project that would gracefully decorate any room for the fall is Tuscan Vistas. This is a wall hanging with colors to remind you a Tuscan valley, you can see grape vines heavy with fruit waiting for the picking. Both of these projects can be finished in a weekend and look great on your wall or table or that if a family member or friend. Happy Quilting
Kathy
Note: THEY ARE NOW IN STOCK!!!We, at Fabric.com, know how excited you are to start this projects. They are not yet in our store but we will be sure to let you know as soon as they are. We will update this blog post with all the neccesary links. be sure to check back or watch you feeders. Meanwhile be sure to check out these projects on their manufacturers pages: Bon Appetit and Tuscan Vista (pdf file)
This past weekend, I went to a chili cook off in my neighborhood and had a blast. There I was mingling and chatting, when I noticed something strange. As I went silent to ponder my observation, I heard a snippet of conversation to my right: "Must be in the water, that is why I am sticking to soda. I certainly don't want to catch baby! I only just had my youngest." That was it! I realized what the strangeness was which I had noticed but could not quite put my finger on. Everywhere I looked, someone was pregnant, holding a baby or desperately chasing a youngster down the alley between houses. "Wow!" I thought as I gazed at the glass of water in my hand, "I hope they are wrong about that part at least." To confirm my suspicions, I turned to my friend and asked her opinion of the water/baby virus situation. As she was gazing over neighbors' heads to keep an eye on her young son, she did not give me her full attention. "I don't know", she shrugged, "I did hear that they might kick you out if you don't have a baby in two years, though". She then laughed and I breathed a sigh of relief. While my residence in my new neighborhood is safe, my brain is not. I love babies and want to have one or two someday, right now I am more distracted by all the fabulous items I can make for baby, even though I am not yet ready. I often browse our Sew & Tell gallery to see what is new, but since my baby encounter this weekend I have noticed how many cute baby goods our customers have created. Here are some of my favorites.
This crib set made from Funky Monkey by Moda. It includes bumpers, bottom pad and a little pillow. All are perfect matched. I love how fun Funky Monkey is and it is really just perfect for a crib set. I give it 5 stars!
These booties, made by one of our customers, are made of felt and embellished with the sweetest details. I love the subtle pink with the mint green and the tiny rosettes. I can just imagine how cute they look with little feet in them!
Last but not least, This quilt is made of blocks that each house a different item from baby's first year. The items are not cut up to make the actual quilt but are sewn on top of the block. It looks similar to an applique. I just think it is a clever idea and super cute to boot. Get it? To boot...baby booties! nevermind. Keep up the good work!
Tara Miller
The choices are endless and no two pieces of the same fabric are the exact same. They make wonderful quilts and wall hangings sure to catch anyones eye. Remember this is going to be your quilt, and the choices are wholly up to you and it needs to be pleasing to you not necessarily to anyone else. Decide if you want the quilt or wall hanging to blend with a room's décor or do you want it to stand out and be seen. For most of us the hardest part of beginning a project is picking out the fabrics to achieve you vision. Never be afraid to ask the help or opinion of the staff that work in the shops or to call customer service, as they are there to help and assist you. Larger chain stores that have a fabric department are less likely to have knowledgeable people working in that specific department but true quilting shops do have the personnel to assist you and are more than willing to help share their knowledge with you. If you still are having trouble one sure way to find something that works for you is to find a collection that you like. (Check out the Just Arrived section of the web site). With a collection you usually find not only a focus fabric, but also coordinates and blenders that all are in the same color hue so that they look great together. As your skill increases so will you ability to make color choices for your projects. Kathy
How to pick out your own fabrics? This can be a challenge for most of us as there are so many choices. My favorite fabrics are batiks. Check out our site for a wide variety of Batiks.
Side note from Tara: Check out our quilting assortments here and here, put together with Kathy's own hands.
Quilting is my game, and Kathy is my name. I am Merchandising Assistant for Kristl here at Fabric.com. We all know that Fabric.com is a fabric warehouse where a quilter of any age or stash size would pay them to work here. In fact, my husband tells everyone that I would have paid Stephen to let me work here. I had been a customer on the website for a number of years and came to their twice yearly warehouse sales when I got the opportunity to work here. I walked around in a daze for days because of the sheer size of the warehouse. Rows and rows of shelves and tubes filled with fabric that I could put my hands on pick up or just run my fingers across. Hal, in Customer Service, laughs and says that I am one of their best customer as I average bringing home one order a week since I started working here.
What have I been doing with all that fabric you ask? Well, I've been taking classes at a local quilt shop. I am a firm believer that no matter your skill level you should take the time to go to a class or two when they are available to you. Classes educate us in the techniques necessary to create our quilts. We learn new techniques; or refine a technique that has been a difficult to flesh out on your own. Always remember you are never to old to learn something new and classes are a great resource for us all.
