Pat and Me (and a giveaway for you!)

Two posts in one day! I know, crazy! Just wanted to remind you to tune in to Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Radio show today at 4PM EST for my chat with Pat!

To add to the fun, i'll be giving away a Fat Eighth bundle of Central Park!All you need to do is leave a comment on Pat's blog and she'll draw a winner this Friday. That's all there is to it!

Color-Full Day Ahead

Rise and Shine! So much going on today...

By the time you read this, i'll already have hopped the train to NYC for a color seminar given by the IFDA at the NYIGF. I go every year to keep on top of all the new trends in color and materials that we'll see in the home furnishings and accessories markets for 2012. I'm really excited because Crystal Gentilello, Editor-in-Chief of Rue Magazine, will be speaking. If you haven't checked out Rue, you might want to. It's packed with quite a color-splash of fresh, stylish and creative ideas for decorating your home.

I'm also kind of afraid because Doty Horn from Benjamin Moore paints will be speaking too, and every time i hear her, i just want to race to the paint store and get the tarps and rollers out! You see, i suffer from a rampant form of color-ADD. You can ask Pete. Or maybe you have it too? There was a stretch where each time Pete went away for a business trip, i'd re-paint our dining room. Or kitchen. Or living room. It hasn't happened for a few months though, because i finally settled on some colors i really love (at least for now). I love the names too. Our living room has three walls that are Big Bend Beige and one that is Mt. Rushmore Rock:

My studio workspace is Palladian Blue (also Benjamin Moore):

And our dining room is Ginger Ale (Glidden):

Let's see if they stay these colors after today!

The second part of today's happenings is that the wonderfully talented Karrie Lyn of Freckled Whimsy has designed a beautiful quilt using Central Park that is being featured on the Moda Bake Shop! Look at this beauty:

It's called "Geese in the Park" and you can download the all-original (and free!) recipe on the Moda Bake Shop. Karrie sent this little blurb about her inspiration for the design:

"This quilt was inspired from the fabric, Central Park, or in a more general sense, the outdoors. Where I'm from, in the fall, we have geese everywhere – and I mean everywhere! When I saw this line, I knew I had to make a quilt with it. One day I was walking to my car, trying to avoid these said geese, and I had an idea! I started making flying geese blocks and just playing around with them and this quilt is what came out of that. I truly love the line of fabric and I think the flying geese block was perfect to go with it. Thanks, Kate, for such beautiful fabric. I truly enjoyed working with it!"

Karrie, thank YOU for bringing your talents, time and efforts to this unique and beautiful project! I love it! Also, Leah at Burgundy Buttons has done it again and packaged this up as a kit—just for you. Here's a picture of the box:

And here's the little 4" x 4" fabric quilt label i designed--that will also be included in the box:

Finally, the grand-finale of the day is that the inimitable Pat Sloan has invited me to chat with her on her fabulous (and LIVE) Creative Talk Radio show!! Pinch me, pinch me (and then toss some water on me after i pass out, ok?)!!

I just adore Pat and am a frequent listener of her show, so it's an honor to have the chance to share some time with her! If you're around, come listen in or join the live chat (Pat will tell you how). The fun begins today, yes TODAY, Jan, 31st at 4pm EST. Oh and there's a giveaway that you won't want to miss out on! More details to come...(after i regain consciousness, that is. I mean did i mention this show is LIVE? aka: not pre-recorded, aka: unedited aka: potentially blooper-full) Should be fun!

Snow Woes

This post goes out to all of you who live in warm places where this never happens. Where you never have to wake up in the morning (like we did yesterday) and look out your window to see this:

or have to dig your way to your front door because you can't open it from the inside...

...which also means that you've just spent 2 hours digging your way down the driveway from your back door because it's the only way to get to the front door...

...it's also the only way to get your car out of the garage to go anywhere once the streets are cleared. Especially to the grocery store when you realize you didn't get ____ (fill in the blank) the night before because you certainly didn't believe the weather people could be accurate when they predicted that much snow for the third time in a row!

And though the U.S. postal service boasts: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds", your post-person never does show up (even after you un-buried your mailbox)...

And finally, you have no place to put the snow anymore so you've managed to build a mini-Everest that you'd have to scale to get into your own back yard just to re-fill the bird feeder...

...and since you don't own any carabiners or crampons, you resort to standing in your bathtub and tossing birdseed out the window...

But then you stop in your snow-matted boots—right there in the tub—because wait a minute, take a closer look...it's so incredibly beautiful. The light, the soft curves, the long shadows, crisp air and muffled quiet...

and the thought that somewhere under all this snow...is Spring.

XOXO

Someone is happy today! Happy Quilting Melissa Corry, that is! Her talents are gracing the Moda Bake Shop today with her adorable quilt design called "Hugs and Kisses from the Park". It is such a fun idea and just in time for Valentine's Day! Melissa sent this little blurb to share the inspiration for her design:

"Growing up, we visited Grandma and Grandpa each summer and the trip was always filled with lots of laughs and more importantly, lots of love. Our favorite thing to do was to play at the park across the street with Grandma and Grandpa. When I saw your collection of Central Park I knew I wanted to design something inspired by my grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa would always sign letters to me with XOXO. My mother explained that it meant hugs and kisses. I always cherished those little X's (kisses) and O's (hugs) from my grandparents. And that is how Hugs and Kisses was inspired."

Isn't that so sweet? It's always a joy to learn about the sources for inspiration.

Melissa used only one Central Park jelly roll (plus white sashing) to make two quilts. I love they way she separated them by color which gives the same design two different looks:

and here are the backs:

Melissa actually appliqued the words "hugs and kisses" on the back! So cute!

The pattern is available for (free!) download from the Moda Bake Shop. And as i mentioned yesterday, the fabulous Leah at Burgundy Buttons has put together these kits so you can make both quilts. She even has the backing available if you'd like to make them look just like the photos!

And here's the little 4"x 4" fabric quilt label i designed that will be included in the box:

Be sure to go visit Melissa and let her know how much you love her design!

And Melissa, thank you so much for sharing your talents with us and for all the time and care you put into this great project.

xoxo to you, too!

Thanks, Leah!

It's such a pleasure to be writing this post and sharing this with you because i just love when a collaborative effort comes to fruition.

A little over a month ago, Leah at Burgundy Buttons contacted me to let me know that two very talented ladies had created quilt designs using Central Park. She even sent me pictures and both quilts are so creative and fun! They're also very different from one another which is something i'm always amazed to see. I mean it's the same fabric, and yet it's like fingerprints and snowflakes...no two are ever the same.

Leah also let me know that both of these quilts are scheduled to be featured on the Moda Bake Shop and that she would be making kits of each and offerring them for sale on her website! I don't know if you've seen any of the kits she puts together, but she packages them in small bakery boxes that are just so cute they make you want to eat the fabric contained inside (well, you know what i mean).

On top of all this good news, Leah asked me if i'd be interested in designing some custom fabric quilt labels to be included in each kit. Of course i would (and did)!! It was my privilege. I had never done that before but really enjoyed trying to echo the spirit and design of both quilts into a coordinating little label. So you'll get one of these in the kit as well.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Leah for all her efforts in coordinating this to come together in such a thoughtful way! It was such a pleasure to be a (teenie) part of it.

The first of these two talented designers and their quilts will be featured on the Moda Bake Shop tomorrow. I'll be featuring them here, too, and will give you all sorts of linkies! See you then.

Strike Up the Band!

Hot Lunch

Handmade ravioli and homemade tomato sauce on fresh plates. Savoring it all and so thankful.

(i can't promise when, but i'll eventually stop it about the plates. eventually.) Oh and if anyone would like a tutorial on how to make ravioli, just let me know. Pete will be very happy if i have to make them again ;)

ps: don't forget to swing by lissa and rachel's house for another course in the Progressive Dinner party

Last Year's Calendar...

Every year, i get a new calendar for my desk. I like them to be fairly small, but easy to reference at a glance. If they happen to be beautiful and inspiring, well, i love them even more. When i spotted this flip-open calendar by Cavallini & Co. at my local Borders bookstore,
i had to have it.

The prints are hand-colored from the 18th and 19th centuries and had a wonderful Audubon-esque feeling about them. For 12 months, i have adored each of the images. But then December came, and i just didn't have the heart to toss these beauties into the recycle bin..so i held onto it. Then yesterday...ding! An idea...
So, i tore all the pages off the sprial binding:

got out my ruler, xacto knife, some card stock paper, and a few different shades of red/pink/maroon construction paper:

and cut out the bird image(s) with my pinking shears. On this one i used my xacto to make a single slit on the front edge of the nest:

Then cut out some hearts in all different colors, shapes and sizes—

glued the bird image to the card stock paper, put a dab of glue on the back of the heart cut-outs and inserted them into the slit on the front to make them look like they're in the nest:and voila! Valentines.Some birds didn't have nests so i had to get a little creative..Next year...Already seeing lots of potential for that elephant's trunk!

Yum!

Hope you're hungry because there are sure to be some delicious treats coming out of the kitchen this week! No R.S.V.Ps necessary, just bring your fab(ric) appetite! 15 of your favorite Moda Bake Shop chefs have been included in a beautiful new book from Stash Books called
"Fresh Fabric Treats".
You can pre-heat your oven and pre-order it here or here.

And...complimentary of the chefs, each will be giving away a copy of the new book and a fabulous Moda pre-cut! Also, for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle, fat eighth bundle, jelly roll, layer cake, and a charm pack (a $200 value!), be sure to comment on every chef's Progressive Dinner post starting tomorrow, January 20th. Winners for each of the individual drawings will be announced at the end of the Progressive Dinner.

Here's what's on the menu, and don't forget to save room for dessert!

January 19

Stash Books

Moda Bake Shop

January 20

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts

Roslyn Mirrington of Bloom

Vanessa Christenson of V and Co.

January 21

John Adams of Quilt Dad

Monica Solorio-Snow of The Happy Zombie

January 22

Kimberly Walus of Bitty Bits and Pieces

Melissa Mortenson of The Polkadot Chair

January 23

Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

Vickie Eapen of Spun Sugar Quilts

January 24

Rachel Griffith of P.S. I Quilt

Lissa Alexander of Moda Lissa

January 25

Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts

Sweetwater

January 26

Angela Yosten

Jenny Garland

New News!

New plates have arrived at Crate and Barrel! YAY! I can't even tell you how excited i am about these. The first set is called Delilah — shown here with the solid "Max" Dinnerware collection:

photo courtesy of Crate and Barrel

Notice anything familiar? *wink, wink* "Canto" is one of my favorite prints from my fabric collection Fandango and so it was such a thrill to see how the amazing creative team at Crate and Barrel interpreted it on these 6 colorful plates. They used a wax resist with the glazes that gives the plates a really wonderful and irresistible texture.

The second set of plates is called Triana and you might see something a little familiar here, too!

This design was derived from the pattern Esplanade from my fabric collection Central Park. How fun would it be to make some coordinating napkins or placemats to go with these!? You may remember that this stone medallion was my original inspiration for the motif:

(if you're ever in New York City, you can spot this in Central Park on the left side of the left staircase heading down to Bethesda Fountain)

Here's one of the in-store displays:

I'm always inspired by the merchandising at Crate and Barrel and love how they've used the natural and neutral colors of the chairs, tablecloth, napkins and wood placemats to accentuate the colorful dinnerware. The wavy rim of the soup bowl is such a nice touch. There's still a contemporary style to the overall look, but a soft, welcoming informality too. Don't you just want to pull up a chair?

Both sets of plates are available in stores and online now!

We're back!

Well-rested, invigorated, renewed, refreshed, inspired and revitalized! I have to be honest, it wasn't easy to pry ourselves away from this:

and this:and this:

and come home to this:and this:We had to trade in our beach hats:

for snow hats:

But we're happy to be home again and have bundled all the warmth of those bright sunny days into our memories and will keep them just a daydream away...