December 23, 2011

Furry Wishes

Wishing you an abundance of love and joy throughout the holiday season — and a very happy, healthy New Year too!
With love from,
kate, pete, franny and lou

December 19, 2011

Just In Time For (Next) Christmas

With a little less than a week until Christmas, i'm about knee-deep in gift wrap and tissue paper...and there is hardly a day where i don't find packing tape stuck to my shoe or sleeve (or worse). The other day i was on line at the post office and the woman in front of me was kind enough to point out that i was dragging a trail of red curly ribbon around my ankle. After removing it, i looked up to thank her and saw that the front of her coat was covered in glitter! Ah, the signs of good cheer are hard to miss...and there certainly has been a lot of it around here lately. I hope the same for you, no matter how you celebrate the season.

If you didn't get around to making everything you'd hoped to this year (like me), i definitely had you in mind when i designed my next Christmas fabric collection for Moda! It's called "Joy" and will be touring around with the Moda sales reps in the beginning of January. Among an assortment of festive patterns, the collection also includes a fabric panel that has all the pre-designed pieces to make
two cute stockings!
I sewed them together in no time, and this photo shows only one of many options for embellishment.  But please refrain from throwing candy canes at me when i tell you that this collection won't be available for sale until June 2012. The good news is that will give you plenty of time to get a *big* head start on next year's projects.

So please excuse me...i'm heading back to the post office in a couple minutes, but this time, i'm going to do a head-to-toe "ribbon check" first.

December 13, 2011

Good Omen


I'm going to take it as a good omen that a bright yellow balloon landed in our tree today.
There was no note attached, which i admit was a little disappointing.

So i am going to attach this note to 12 balloons...
and send them off to the stocking stuffer winners!
And i just want to say thanks to everyone for sharing your sweet, funny, touching and heart-warming holiday-ish memories. I can't tell you how happy it made me to join you in remembering fun details from the past, but also in the idea of making new traditions. It's this kind of exchange that is really the best gift of the season. Thank you for making it so merry.
xo,
kate

December 9, 2011

Furry Friday

have a super weekend!
xo,
kate
ps: don't forget to enter for a chance to win a surprise stocking stuffer!
to do so, please leave a comment on the previous post. for everyone who has already entered, i have loved to read about your holiday memories and family traditions! thank you for sharing them.

December 7, 2011

Merry Moda Blog Hop!

Or it could also be called the "Moda Jingleblog Hop"? Nah, that might turn into "Jingleblop" which just doesn't have the festive ring to it that Head Elf Lissa was probably hoping for when she came up with this sweet idea. Hmm, how about "Moda Claus Is Coming to Town"? Anyway, no matter what you're calling it, i hope you're having fun visiting everyone and collecting all the block patterns and yummy recipes that have been shared. The blocks would make a really cute sampler quilt (i can say that now that i actually know what one is), or pick a few and make a wall hanging, table runner, pot holders, pillows...the list goes on.

The block i designed for you is called Parfait and you can download it here along with a recipe that was given to me many years ago from a very dear friend. She called the recipe The Perfect Cupcake and it definitely lives up to its name — especially if you pile on the ganache frosting. But if you do that, you might want to change the name to The Disappearing Cupcake. Hope you enjoy them both! Here is what the quilt block looks like in
some prints from Terrain.
sorry for the poor-quality after-midnight-up-too-late photo
I would like to thank Super Elf Lisa Christensen of Three Kids Designs for her help in writing up my block design instructions. As much as i try to take this step, she always makes it look so much easier than i can imagine — and in fewer steps, too! I would also like to thank you for making my world so much happier and brighter by sharing your amazing handmade creations with me. It is a joy and blessing that lasts all year long.

And since not many opportunities come along where you can segue into a chat about parfaits, i just have to share this with you now. I was on Etsy recently and came across a shop called SouZou Creations. You have to see it to believe it! I am dying over some of their jewelry. Sofia gave me permission to show off this adorable parfait ring:
how cute is that?
And these strawberry jam filled cookie earrings:
love!
Ok, moving right along...

Around here, we're starting to have a merry little Christmas. It started with this merry little tree that we put up last weekend.
It has filled our living room with the sweet smell of pine, and brightened the evenings with its soft twinkling lights. I probably don't even need to tell you how happy Franny and Lou were that we brought a tree into our home...just for them of course. And then once we started decorating it, they were so excited to have a whole tree covered in new cat toys! One of my favorites happens to be one of their favorites too: the fuzzy puffball snowman head.
I should have guessed.
But luckily, we were smart enough to put our very special ornaments close to the top and out of paws'-reach. This is one of our most treasured. It was hand-painted by our dear friend Melissa. Not sure if you can see it, but there is a clothesline circling the ball and on one side are Santa's coat, pants and mittens...
art is ©Melissa McNamara
...and on the other side are his socks and undies!
Speaking of Santa...when my sister and i were kids, my Mom and Dad...er...i mean Santa really got creative with the whole stocking tradition. They would find zany things that looked like they might be from other countries — like a book written in Japanese, or tiny ceramic painted clogs from Denmark, or candy from Germany — and my sister and i delighted in imagining how Santa must surely have picked these things up and tossed them into his giant sack as he travelled the globe in his sleigh. It was a magical adventure to sort through the trinket-ie treasures and a memory i will keep forever.

**Update: My Dad just emailed me to say, "What about how Santa would knock over the firescreen and then leave his footprints in fireplace ashes all over the rug?" I guess that must have been his favorite part! See? Memories for everyone. Thanks for reminding me about that, Dad. Love you.**

So in honor of this tradition, i'd like to give away some fun surprise stocking stuffers! I don't think you'll want to miss out on this...cough, cough Good Fortune...cough Terrain. Please just leave a comment below and I'll pick a few winners over the weekend. (Some of you were so quick and left comments before i revised this part! So if you renamed the blog hop, or told me your favorite holiday tradition, don't worry...you'll still be entered in the giveaway!) 

Please remember to visit these designers who are also posting today:
And if you've missed anyone along the way, you can go back this post for a complete list of designers to visit. Thank you for stopping by!
xo,
kate

December 5, 2011

Hoppy Holidays

It's time for another Moda Blog Hop! This one is a little different because it has no name. I read the designers' blog posts for today and got a laugh that no one really knows what to call it. But in the spirit of the season, it's about giving, sharing and just having a little plain ol' fun at this time of year. Each designer will have a recipe and quilt block design to give you, so pop in at these blogs over the next few days to download (or win) some extra holiday cheer!

December 5th

December 6th

December 7th:

December 8th
Me! :)

December 9th

November 28, 2011

Cyberiffic Sales

If you happen to be cyber Monday shopping, this fun Twelve Days dishtowel is now available at Crate and Barrel (in stores, too). Today only, save 15% on your purchase by using promotion code SAVE15 
at checkout.

Also, if you're looking for holiday greeting cards to send, have a peek at my collection on Cardstore.com. I added a bunch of new designs for you to personalize including these: 
Or maybe you're way ahead of everything (unlike me) and are already looking to wrap your gifts. The Gift Wrap Company has made some beautiful quality wrapping paper with a few designs you might recognize. This one is called Flurry of Lace:
Amazon.com sold out already, but i found that it is still available online at Broadway Paper. This design is also available as a take-out container (perfect for cookie gifts) at The Container Store.

This one is called Joy Cardinal:
It's also available online at Amazon.com and Broadway Paper. There is a large gift bag and smaller vogue bag with this design as well.

And this one is called Valencia:
It can also be found on Amazon.com, and is available as a gift bag on Broadway Paper.

Broadway Paper is offering free shipping on orders over $50 until December 9th. Use promo code hohoho at checkout.

For larger quantity orders of these designs and others, please visit the Kate Spain Collection offered by The Gift Wrap Company online.

Happy Shopping!

November 25, 2011

Oh Thank Cuteness

If you celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, i hope you enjoyed sharing some time with family, friends and loved ones. Around here, there was lots of baking, stirring, simmering, chopping, chatting, cooking, eating...and remembering. I find it hard not to feel the gentle pull of memory as this particular meal is prepared with such love and care, as it always has been. It's rarely the food i remember from year-to-year, but rather the people who brought the food and gathered with good spirits to laugh, to catch up, and to give solemn thanks for all that we are so fortunate to have in our lives. Health. Happiness. Friendship. Love. And there is always an extra place set in our hearts for those we have lost, as there was this year for Pete's Dad. We missed him dearly. He would have loved Pete's apple pie.

There were some new additions to our table this year — er, i mean "on" the table. If you read my blog, you already know that every Friday is a celebration of our two adored kittens, Franny and Lou. So when Scott, Melissa and Jake of Generation Q invited bloggers to join in and give thanks for the "cute" in our lives, how could i possibly turn that down!?

I am so thankful to my friend Molly who gave us these two:
They have made our lives better by reminding us to snuggle more,
to stretch ourselves in new directions,
to smile as often as possible,
 to be curious and look at things upside-down when necessary,
to play a little every day,
to find joy in the simple things,
and to stand on someone's shoulders while they're brushing their teeth to get a new perspective!
I'm thankful for Pete in infinite ways, and so deeply happy to share our love and life (and love of life) together.

To me, Thanksgiving is a state of mind and the sentiments of this holiday can be brought into focus no matter what day it is, or meal you're eating, or country you live in. So why not pause to add a little side dish of thanks to each of your days. I'm very thankful for all of you. Keep creating beautiful things with your hands and hearts.
xo,
kate
PS: if you'd like to share some of the cuteness in your life, please linkup over at Jake's post.

November 24, 2011

thankful for YOU

"Gratitude is the open door to abundance."
~this morning's yogi tea bag

May your day be filled with both.

With love from,
kate, pete, franny and lou


November 18, 2011

Furry Friday And A Couple Other Things

It's been a little quiet on here lately and when that happens it can only mean one thing; it's deadline time in my studio...dum de dum dum. And i've been battling a terrible cold — not the best combo for trying to be productive. Luckily, this mug sample arrived in time for bottomless cups of hot tea and soup.
This is a pattern that fell out of my holiday fabric line Flurry, but fell right into the hands of the lovely people at Crate and Barrel. They did such a beautiful job rendering the pattern on to the gently arcing surface of the porcelain, and even extended the print onto the handle. One of the things i have the hardest time with (for any pattern or collection of designs) is coming up with a name, so it's a fun surprise to find out what the team at Crate finally decides on. Someday i would love to be a fly on the wall when they're in the board room discussing it! This one is called "Norwegian Chalet Latte Mug". Chalet Latte just rolls off your tongue like a little tune. So if you would like to have one for yourself or are looking for a nice gift to warm the winter months ahead, this mug is available online and in stores now.

Another something i almost forgot to share with you is that i finally sewed the binding onto my zig-zag quilt! Since so many of you suggested a scrappy binding to pull all the colors from the zigs and zags, that's just what i did. I used 5" x 2 1/2" strips of a few of the prints (heavier on the orange to balance the colors) and it made all the difference. So glad i listened to you. Thank you!
Btw, i have so much respect (awe/amazement//admiration) for those of you who hand sew your bindings on. I thought i would try it for this quilt, but got maybe 10 stitches in and called it quits. Back to the machine for me. How do you do it?!

Finally, some fur. These two continue to find new napping spots around here:
FYI: they had to climb up the ironing board to get all the way up there! I wonder whose idea that was?
Have a great weekend.
xo,
kate

November 16, 2011

Winners, Finally

Thanks to everyone for joining in the fortune fun! I loved reading all of them, wise or supersilly. Congratulations to all the winners! Please email me your mailing address so i can send some
Good Fortune your way :)

November 4, 2011

Fortune-ately Furry Friday


 A couple weeks before Quilt Market, i received a giant, filled-to-the-top, sixty pound box of Good Fortune scraps from Moda. I only used an itty bit of it to make the quilt i showed at market, but have all of this left over:
Want some?? If so, just leave a wise or silly fortune below. I'll pick a bunch of winners some time next week. Good luck!

And here's a little fur...
Have a great weekend!
xo,
kate
PS: There's a terrain giveaway going on over at the Fat Quarterly blog ;)

November 3, 2011

A Flurry of Ornaments

I'm thrilled to announce that a flurry of beautiful ornaments are now available at Crate and Barrel! The creative team at Crate has outdone themselves yet again by selecting just the right application for the design assortments we collaborated on. I'm always amazed by the time and care involved in getting everything just right — which is why i am so happy and excited to finally be able to share these with you!

First up, these intricately carved wooden snowflakes come in sets of twenty-four and are packaged in a gift-ready holiday red plywood box. They're the perfect size to decorate everything from holiday centerpieces and wreaths to swags and mantel arrangements...

...or to add some snow-kissed winter wonder to your Christmas tree!
photo courtesy of Crate and Barrel
Next up, this set of delicate glass ball ornaments are made in the Czech Republic and are sold in sets of four. They're embellished with circular sprays of glittery pine and each is a little different to bring a lovely variety of style and elegance to your holiday decor.
Place them in a glass bowl to decorate an entryway or side table...
Photo courtesy of Crate and Barrel
...or mix them with other ornaments of different sizes and shapes with similar coloring to create a merry and festive look!
photo courtesy of Crate and Barrel
And finally, these adorable holiday glitter pals are dressed for the season with some sparkly flair! They come in a set of three — a reindeer, snowman and penguin — and are ready to hang with a loop of red satin ribbon.
I have to say it was so much giggly fun to see my artwork jump right off the page and into the 3rd dimension.

It's not too early to start decking the halls, is it? Don't know how much longer i can wait! How about you?

November 2, 2011

Home Again

Quilt Market was a whirlywind of fabric, friends and (too much) fun and i always leave with a wonderful feeling of knowing that we are creatively connected in our pursuits of happiness. Now wouldn't it be nice if this world were just a teenie bit smaller so we could visit with each other more often? Or better yet, maybe we should petition for our own state! Sewists and crafters welcome. Hey, the southwest is pretty and sprawling and we could take a little chunk from here and there and claim it for our own!
As usual, i didn't take enough photos at Market, so i'm going to sift through what i have and will post them once i finish digging out from my inbox. In the meantime, hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween! Franny went as a possessed feral cat. Spooky!