Friday, November 21, 2014

Winners Announced


Thanks to everyone who visited my blog and participated in the tour. If you create my block, I would love to see a photo. I randomly selected three winners from the list of comments. Each will receive a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, volume 10.


Congratulations to Dawn, Anita, and Quilter Kathy. I will send you each an email to ask for your addresses.



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

100 Blocks Blog Tour


Exciting news! I have a block included in Quiltmakers 100 Blooks, volume 10. Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks should now be available at newsstands. Welcome to my portion of the 100 Blocks blog tour. 


My block, named Best Friends Forever is number 949. The block is paper pieced and includes half square triangles. BFF is made from the blue color combination of my fabric line, Grace, as well as RJR Fabric’s Supreme Solids.


Here is Best Friends Forever in pink and aqua.


And here is an example of one way the blocks might be arranged to make a really cute quilt.


Quiltmaker is currently hosting this tour on their Quilty Pleasures Blog. The tour will continue through November 21st.  Throughout the week they are featuring designers and having daily giveaways including two fat quarter bundles of Grace.

Now for the really exciting news, Quiltmaker has generously donated one copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks for me to give away and I have two additional copies to add to that. Just leave a comment here, on my blog and at the end of the week, I will randomly select three winners.

Good luck, and enjoy the rest of the tour.

- Mary

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Velda Newman Show

I've always admired Velda Newman's painterly and colorful, nature inspired quilts. So when I found out her work is on display at The City Quilter's gallery in NYC, I parted with train fare and made my way down to the city. As I imagined, her work is awesome in person but what I didn't expect to see was how large the scale of some of her pieces are.


Zinnia, shown above measures 81" x 210". It is magnificent, really something to behold. Ms. Newman starts with her own hand dyed fabrics and continues to develop her creations by incorporating pastels, paint, ink and resist.
Zinnia, Detail
If you are in the area, check out the show, it runs through October 18th. Of course, The City Quilter, with its gorgeous collection of fabrics, books, trims, and other goodies is reason enough to make the trip...
Zinnia, Detail


Monday, September 1, 2014

Summer Travel


Summer is a great time to rejuvenate, to be outdoors and to look for inspiration among the bright colors and patterns that surround us.

That’s exactly what I did this summer with an eagerly anticipated trip to France.

It can be very motivational to visit a new place.  One appreciates things that are often overlooked if they are part of your every day environment.

I am always looking for inspiration and ideas for new fabric designs and there was no shortage of these in France.

This tiny shop was tucked into a passageway in the medieval center of Annecy.  Just imagine if your favorite fabric store was in a stone fortress built hundreds of years ago!



Not everyone likes fun patterns and colors. Not too many quilters in this shop:



Shown below, is the picturesque town of Honfleur. 

Closer inspection reveals a color combination in the making.



And check out these café chairs for a delightful burst of color.


I will leave you with a few of my travel photos. I hope you had an inspirational summer too.
The View from Notre Dame

Annecy at Night
Flower Shop in Paris
Annecy
Mont Saint-Michel





Friday, May 2, 2014

Winners Announced


Thanks to everyone who visited my blog and participated in the tour. If you use my block in a project I would love to see a photo of what you create. 

I randomly selected three winners from the list of comments I received. Each will receive a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, vol. 9.


Congratulations to:


Paula Robinson, Kathy H and TheStylishHome.





Monday, April 28, 2014

I'm included in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Volume 9!

I am thrilled that my block is included in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, volume 9! Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks will be available at newsstands by May 6th. Welcome to my portion of the 100 Blocks blog tour.    


I used Cold Spring Dreams in the yellow and violet color combination to create my block named Watch Your Step, number 884:

Here it is in pink and blue.

One of the fun things about this block is that by rotating it in various directions you can achieve different quilt patterns. Here is an example of one way the blocks could be arranged to form a quilt.

Quiltmaker is running the blog tour on their Quilty Pleasures Blog starting today, April 28th through May 2nd. Throughout the week they will be featuring designers and having daily giveaways including two fat quarter bundles of Cold Spring Dreams.


Now for the exciting news: Quiltmaker has generously donated one copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks for me to give away. Just leave a comment here, on my blog and at the end of the week, I will randomly select a winner.

Good luck, and enjoy the rest of the tour.

Mary


Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Orchid Show: Key West Contemporary


Once again, The Orchid Show is underway at The New York Botanical Garden but just for another week, through April 21st. This year, the theme is Key West Contemporary, “a living design inspiration taking its cues from a modernist Key West estate garden”.  In case you are unable to get to the show, here are some photos.




Sunday, April 6, 2014

Star Squared Quilt

Corey Yoder has designed a new quilt featuring Grace. Her quilt pattern, named Star Squared, was quilted by Angela Walters and is featured in the March/April 2014 issue of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting. The quilt is available as a kit and the pattern is offered as a free download on the Fons and Porter website. To see more photos of the quilt and Angela’s amazing quilting visit Corey’s blog, www.littlemissshabby.com.

Photo from LittleMissShabby.com


Friday, March 7, 2014

Wearing Grace


These are my muses, Grace Evelyn and Emma Grace. The girls inspired Grace, my most recent line of fabrics, so I thought it only fitting to make them each a garment using fabrics from the collection.

For both looks I selected fabrics from the Caribbean color group. I paired the hearts with a small tossed floral for Grace’s dress. For Emma’s blouse, I used the larger floral for the yoke and the butterfly motif for the main part of the top.

Both styles are the Ice Cream Dress pattern, designed by Liesl Gibson of oliver + s. The instructions were easy to follow, clever really, and we were all pleased with the results!




Sunday, February 23, 2014

Folk Couture



One of my favorite museums in New York City is the American Folk Art Museum. The current exhibit is Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art. It is a wonderful show, comprised of garments inspired by the museum’s permanent collection of folk art, including quilts, textiles, paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures.  Thirteen fashion designers were asked to create a garment that would capture the essence of a folk art piece. On display is the finished garment alongside the inspirational folk art. Of course I had my favorites.

Among them was a dress by threeASFOUR, a group of three fashion designers, Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil. threeASFOUR were drawn to the six sided star in the Friendship Star Quilt made by Elizabeth Hooton Savery and others in 1844. The dress is made from layers of laser cut patent leather with cut outs in the shape of three religious symbols; the Jewish, Islamic and Christian stars.


Fabio Costa’s ensemble, Agnus Dame was inspired by two art pieces; Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious woodcarving of a bleeding heart surrounded by arrows, as well as Tree of Life Whitework Quilt, both folk artists are unknown.

Koos van den Akker made his garment from a colorful fabric, which he made by incorporating five different artworks. The gown is embellished with a layer of transparent sequins, which makes the whole piece shimmer.

Yeohlee Teng used four wood carved animals for this unique dress. Teng photographed the sculptures then printed the images onto Kraft paper.  The Kraft paper was sewn together in a circular manner to create the form of the dress.

If you are going to be in NYC, you might want to head over to Lincoln Square and check out the show. It runs through April 23, 2014 and the admission is free, however they recommend a donation.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Fabric Valentines



Valentine’s Day is almost here and this year I’m excited because one of the fabrics in my new line features hearts. It’s the perfect fabric for making Valentine's Day projects. I usually create quilted valentines for the occasion.  As you may recall, last year I blogged about the valentine I was making and created a tutorial on how to do so. You can check out last year's post here and download the free tutorial by clicking the button on my side bar, lower right.



Don’t have time to make a quilted valentine? Try using up some of your fabric scraps to create valentines such as these. I used my sewing machine's blanket-stitch to attach 2” squares of fabric to card stock. They are super simple and quick to whip up.

Happy Valentine’s Day

xoxo

Mary

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Grace's Flower Garden


The talented Corey Yoder of Little Miss Shabby has designed a lovely new quilt. It's called  Grace’s Flower Garden, and it was made for RJR fabrics featuring Grace. The pattern is available as a free download in the Free Patterns section of the RJR website. The finished quilt measures 72" x 90" and looks like a lot of fun to make.








Corey’s followers may have seen this quilt as a work in progress at her blog, www.littlemissshabby.com. Here is the quilt top, before she added the borders.






Thursday, January 23, 2014

Penelope Purse and Mae Messenger Bag

I was so excited when I found out that Jennie & Clara of Clover and Violet had created two new bags using my Grace collection! I saw both bags at RJR’s Fall Quilt Market booth and they are as nice in person as in the photos.


Shown above, is the Penelope purse. It's really cute. Here is how Jennie and Clara describe it, “This small purse features a subtle pieced chevron design with a pretty pleat and a zipper top to keep all your belonging secure. The inside also features a zipper pocket and a small slip pocket, to help keep things organized. Sized for every day use, this purse sits higher on the shoulder and is lightweight. If you're hesitant about sewing the top zipper, the pattern features an alternate closure option.”

The exciting news is that RJR Fabrics is offering the Penelope purse with Grace fabrics as a kit! So be sure to ask for the kit at your local quilt and fabric store, they can order it from RJR Fabrics. The Penelope purse pattern is also available in paper version as well as a digital download on the Clover and Violet Shop.


Shown below is the Mae messenger bag.



Jennie and Clara's description, “This messenger style bag features a large flap to keep your belongings covered yet accessible.  It is sized to fit a laptop or 3-ring binder, and is perfect for carrying around supplies for a class or two.  It has a zipper pocket under the flap and two large slip pockets inside the bag.  It also features a closure option, should the flap not be secure enough for your use.”


Happy Sewing!!!




Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Congratulations


Congratulations to Carol Nelms, MaryRuth Jones and Lisa Allen-Kennard, who were randomly selected to win the Grace Pixie Strip contest. Carol, MaryRuth and Lisa, I would love to see what you create with the fabrics. 

For those of you who didn’t win, you have another chance. When my Facebook Fan Page reaches 500 Likes, RJR is giving away three more Grace Pixie Strips. So keep sharing Facebook posts and liking my Fan Page and you might be one of the next lucky winners!

Thanks to everyone for visiting.

Mary

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Pixie Strip Giveaway


RJR Fabrics has “GRACEiously” made 3 Grace Pixie Strips up for grabs. All you have to do is Like my Facebook Fan Page and comment #rjrgrace

Thanks RJR Fabrics and thanks to all for liking my page!