New Goodies

Yesterday, i was thinking i should probably get a blog post ready to let you know about some fun new stationery items that will be arriving in Michaels Craft Stores® any day now. I'm really excited to share that the items feature some of the prints from Central Park. Fun!

So i started to snap some photos when...ding...an email came in from facebook® alerting me to a new photo someone had posted on my page. When i clicked to have a peek, i was surprised and tickled to see that Jodie of Simply Kids Ocala had beaten me to it! She spotted the goodies at her Michaels store the other day. Thanks for letting me know, Jodie. So, without further ado..here's a sampling of what you might find:

Spiral notepads, magnetic list pads, chubby pens, cute epoxy clothespins, mini paper clipboards with notepads and rubber stamps. They can be found in the big tower baskets so you might have to dig around a bit, but no matter what you'll come up with a handful of bright color and the promise of an early spring!

Back From France

Did you think i meant me? I wish!

But if i close my eyes and squeeze them tightly shut, i can conjure a short slideshow tour of Paris on the back side of my eyelids. A panoramic view of the city from atop the Eiffel Tower comes into focus with its spoke-like streets radiating from the Arc de Triomphe at the hub of the Champs-Élysée. The winding Seine splits around the Ile de la Cité where the Cathedral of Notre Dame's flying buttresses anchor it to its small island. Then flashes of Titian, Monet's bright orange poppy field and Leonardo's great works come into view. Inhale and i can smell the sweet buttery aromas of fruity pastries and fresh-baked breads...

...but then...i open my eyes and *poof* i'm back in our little kitchen with this book in-hand:

covered in flour and trying to re-create the crusty, chewy baguette here at home. Le sighhh...

Meanwhile outside the dream bubble, my quilt and pillow just returned from France yesterday! As in the real France, and on a real airplane. I've been living vicariously through them since they left last November right after Quilt Market. But they brought back a souvenir of their trip that i'd like to share with you!

If you were at Quilt Market, you might remember seeing that quilt on the...cover!? (total surprise*faint*) hanging in my booth:

It's called "Great Lawn" and i loosely based the narrative design on the landscape of Central Park with its surrounding city skyline, tree-lined cobblestone paths, bricks and gardens. I pieced it and quilted it myself, which was probably why i missed it so much while it was away.

Some people had asked me if it was going to be a pattern and i'm so happy to say that it is now! You can find it in the Special Summer Issue of the amazing Quiltmania magazine, available online here. Also in that same issue (again, *faint*) is my "Bouquet" pillow from the Moda pillow talk:

You may have read about it here, and now you can make your own! To personalize it, you can put something unique to you under the peek-a-boo door (you don't have to put Hello Kitty under there). There are 11 other fun summer-themed sewing projects you might also enjoy in the issue. Quiltmania is such a treat to look through and the sewing instructions are very clearly written with lots of diagrams so it's perfect for a beginner or experienced sewist.

This is a first for me...having a quilt i designed in a magazine. I sure didn't expect it and up until yesterday when i finally held the issue in my hands, i had doubts that it was really going to happen. But here it is, and even so i still can't believe it! I'm thrilled and honored to be included in such a wonderful publication.

My friend Sherri will be sharing some fun news about her gorgeous "Carousel" quilt too:

It may have a little jet lag right now, but i'm sure you'll hear about it very soon!

P.S: Thought i'd also share with you another interesting and perhaps lesser-known stop on the tour of Paris (we have only been there once, but dream of returning someday). In the square in front of the Cathedral of Notre Dame is a brass compass star set into the ground. It's called "Point Zero" and as the French tour guide told us, it marks the alleged birthplace and official center of the city of Paris. She described it to us as "not only the heart of Paris, but the heart of all of France" because it is from this point that all distances of roads and highways are measured throughout the country and to other major cities in Europe. She added that some people think it's good luck to rub the star with your foot and make a wish. I would say lots of people think that, because it was shining as though someone had polished it that very day!

P.S.S: As a random act of quiltie-ness, Melanie over at Above All Fabric is helping me give away a charm pack of Flurry! Not sure when she'll pick a winner, so you may want to head over and leave a comment on her blog. I'll be sending the prize out to the winner :)

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!

stocking stuffer #10 (and Central Park giveaway!!)

Yipppeee for you, Sarah! Please zip me your mailing address so i can send this cute bundle of fun off to you!

So there are only two more days left for this giveaway. If you haven't entered yet...you still can! Just go back to this post and leave a comment.

And hey, just a reminder that the lovely Melanie at Above All Fabric is giving away a jelly roll of Central Park on her blog!! She wouldn't tell me when she'd be picking a winner so you'd better get over there to enter...QUICK! :)

stocking stuffer #9

Woohoo! Congrats, Katie B.! Please email me your mailing address and i'll get my little elf self to the P.O. tomorrow :)

Hey, this morning i heard that the fabulous Melanie over at Above All Fabric received her precuts for Central Park already!! So exciting that they're shipping a little early and just in time to get them under the tree! Plus, Melanie is such a sweetie and so generous that she's giving away a jelly roll of Central Park...so go on over and enter to win!

And if you haven't entered my stocking stuffer giveaway, there's still time. But hurry...there are only three more days left. To enter, please go back to this post and leave a comment. In the meantime, is your stocking ready to be stuffed? Or maybe you need to make a new one? Look at this adorable stocking Sherri made using Camille's pattern and 12 Days of Christmas. Too cute!

Central Park: An Inspiration Tour

So as i was saying yesterday, there is inspiration in the details...everywhere! Here are just a few of the motifs that caught my eye when i walked through Central Park last January — and the patterns i created from them. Let's take a little stroll, shall we?

The main entrance to Central Park is at Columbus Circle. It's called Merchant's Gate. There are many other ways to enter the park, but none so elaborate and dramatic as this one. There's a colossal fountain/statue called the Maine Monument that you pass by. It commemorates the sailors who died on the battleship Maine in 1898 off the coast of Cuba. Can you see all those trees just beyond the monument inside the park? Those are silver lindens that line the path and in the spring have flowers that smell like honeysuckle.

(I have to confess i didn't take that picture, but there were no leaves on the trees when i was there and it's just not the same without them!) I made a pattern to commemorate the trees. It's called, you guessed it, Linden. You'll know that one when you see it.

Let's keep walking.

Look down. Right underfoot, you'll walk across many sidewalks that look like this:

These became the pattern called, Cobblestone. This was a really tricky one to get to work as a repeat. It was almost like doing a puzzle trying to get every stone to fit just right. I can't imagine what the work crew went through when they made these beautiful sidewalks, but i certainly have a new appreciation for them!Here we are on Pine Bank Arch (which is really a pedestrian bridge). It overlooks one of the many bridle paths that meander throughout the park. I loved the shapes created by the spaces between the wrought iron on this balustrade:

I combined elements from this with a loose interpretation of the center shape from this (from another bridge):

And came up with this pattern called Carousel. Since 1871, there have been 4 carousels (including the one that's there now) built in Central Park — all in the same location.

Walking down the staircase leading to Bethesda Terrace take a look to the left. There is a different and equally amazing medallion for each step down. I loved the bold shapes and layers of this one:That became the pattern called Esplanade.

**Note: Some of you got a peek at this pattern earlier today, but i've had to go ahead and take it down for reasons that i'll explain later. Sorry! **

On this very same staircase...stop about a third of the way down and take a look to your right:

There's so much to look at in this one! Birds (one is carrying a fish in its mouth! see it?), ferns, seed pods, fruits, and a maze of leaves. I couldn't figure out what to focus on, so i decided instead to try to capture the energy of this and created the pattern North Meadow:

And last but not least, i'll leave you at the Zoo. Have fun!
But please don't feed the squirrels :)

Central Park: Back Story

I was born in New York City. My parents lived on the Upper West Side at the time. My Mom planted a tree in front of the brownstone we lived in, and actually just a few years ago, we went back together and saw that the tree was still there — so it's older than i am, but not by much! We moved out of the city before either my sister or i started school. After moving around for a few years we settled in a suburb of New York, close enough that we could easily take a train to the city and be in mid-town in a half-hour. One of my favorite places was the Museum of Natural History with its spectacular life-sized model of a Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life. The Museum is on Central Park West, and we'd often head over to the Park to play, or for a picnic lunch, or sometimes a visit to the Zoo. It was always such fun.

Much later, when i lived and worked in New York after college, Central Park became an oasis where i could escape from the non-stop hustle and bustle and enjoy some peace and quiet. Hard to believe it could be quiet there, but it is. I'd walk, and walk, and walk through the park every weekend and hardly take the same route twice — after all, there are 843 acres to explore!

Fast forward to last January: i was killing some time around Columbus Circle and decided to hop into the park for a brisk walk. It was cold and all the leaves were gone from the trees. The afternoon light was low and bright and gave a rich contrast to the shadows everywhere. As i walked along...
...i started to notice the beautiful motifs on the lamp posts, sidewalks, sculptures, statues, fountains and carved relief stonework. It amazed me to know that i had been in this same place a thousand times and probably walked by the very details i was finally noticing. Ding! Inspiration. Tomorrow i can't wait to show you some of the things i spotted and their transformation to prints on fabric (in a much warmer and brighter season)! To be continued...

The Giant Stack

This one goes out to all of you who like to eat dessert first, or read the last sentence of a new book before you read the first one, or unwrap your gifts before Christmas (if you're not one of those people, stop reading now). Otherwise...here's Central Park. The whole yummy pile:

I'll tell you more about the background and inspiration later...
Have a great weekend!

Central Park: Bird's-Eye View

If you were a bird flying south around now, you might look down
and see this:

Yup, you're right! It's the island of Manhattan. See that giant rectangular forest of green with enormous reservoir in the middle? That 843 acre oasis is Central Park. I snapped this photo on a recent trip to Chicago and thought it might be a fun way to give you a big picture (and i mean big) introduction to my new fabric collection.

Over the next week (or so), i'll share a bit of the background and inspiration for some of the prints, before actually showing you the whole, colorful, mouthwatering stack of fabric. I hope this will help to give a little insight about how the collection evolved, but really, i want it to emphasize that there is inspiration everywhere! I feel like i keep saying this, but it's only because i keep learning it. Over and over. It's even hiding in places you have gone to countless times — which is what happened with me and Central Park, unexpectedly and serendipitously, one chilly afternoon.

More on that tomorrow...

For now, a little trivia about the park:
• In 1857, the city of New York held a public contest for the design of the land. The design was supposed to evoke the great parks of Paris and London.
• Frederic Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's design was selected. It was called "the Greensward Plan" and featured an English style landscape with large meadows, several lakes, and hills — pretty ambitious considering the land was mostly pig farms, quarries and swamps at the time!
• About 4 million trees and shrubs were planted
• It was the first landscaped public park in the United States
• It took 20 years to complete

Oh! a question that has filled my emailbox more than any other is, "When will Central Park be available?" Well, it'll be shown at market in Houston next month and is scheduled to ship in January 2011. What a fun way to ring in the New Year, huh?! Oops, you haven't seen it yet. Don't worry, we'll start to change that. Tomorrow.