Spinning Blooms Mini

I've just finished putting together some tips and techniques for this FREE Spinning Blooms Mini Quilt pattern now available over on my MAKE page!  It uses many of the exact shapes from the Folk Flower Quilt in a new compact arrangement.  And we are all stocked on Mod Corsage in the shop if you fancy a look at this color way or another.

A little something for your weekend, in case you can steal some patching time! :)

I'm rooting for you xoxo, AM

Folk Flower Quilt!

Hello there! This year I am so happy to be participating in Creativebug's BOM series along with Heather Jones & Carolyn Friedlander.  Every month we are taking turns sharing a block design that you can learn from our video classes at their site.  (They have a few different options for joining/viewing but both REALLY reasonable).

Anyhoo, bc I am such a Creativebug fan & supporter, I worked with them through Craft South to create a monthly quilt kit program that corresponds with the block of the month.  For May I created the Folk Flower block, and I used the block design to create a big stinking quilt as you see above.  And we now have the kits ready to go in the Craft South online shop!  This is one of my favorite quilts ever, if I do say so myself, and I am excited to see other variations!  

I have written more notes about going from learning the machine applique block (way easier than you might think, I promise) to creating the quilt.  SO hop over to the Craft South blog for that info, if you please.

xoxo, Anna Maria

Mod Corsage- Notes on a Collection

High (hi!) time to share this newest bit of fabric work with you kind people!  Introducing Mod Corsage- a 24-piece quilting cotton collection that headed out to stores worldwide about a month ago.  Here's the official inspiration statement that I drafted for the collection:

One of my favorite personal projects is a patchwork design called Mod Corsage where I've drawn inspiration from vintage Broderie Perse applique but put a modern, straight-line spin on the bouquet building. An exciting part of creating these somewhat improvisational, patchwork bouquets is sourcing the best fabrics for the floral, stem/leaf and background elements of the design. As a designer who never tires of floral themes, it occurred to me that these three, simple categories were a perfect direction to base an entire fabric collection. Mod Corsage offers bright, illustrative bouquet scenes with vintage flair as well as softer, more traditional floral renderings for balance. There are quirky, modern geometrics with high and low drama, and plenty of floral component pops here and there to build bouquets across all patchwork traditions. And, of course, so many of the fabrics are gorgeous stand-alone pieces perfect for fashion, accessory and home projects. Mod Corsage is everything I love about patchwork, flowers and color all rolled into one collection!

Memory

In some ways this collection feels like one that I have been meaning to make every time I sit down to design fabric.  That feeling happens once about every 5 or 6 collections... and I think it has something to do with purely expressing what I find beautiful.  And what makes my hands want to draw.  This is also a collection of process FIRSTS for me.  The above print, Memory, is the first time I have ever digitally altered a photograph to create a print.  Here is the bouquet photo shot taken a few years ago on my phone that started this print.  Though this print probably would have gone much faster had I drawn it, I am really digging the different feel that it has.

Observations

Another process first is this hand-drawn print, that was simply created by sitting on the front porch of my house and making a drawn bouquet out of everything that I saw blooming around mid-June of last year.  And I turned in more a drawing, and not a very perfected digital file, as I normally do, with flattened color.  I was interested in testing out the subtle print boundaries of the mill and how the screens would come out as they tried to match the roughness of graphite.  I love this one.  It feels so close to my sketchbook, that I have a tenderness towards it.  If one can have a tenderness towards a piece of fabric.  Here's a pretty usage.

Impression

And the remaining process first, is this watercolor print.  Again leaving the nuances of color as they existed in the original painting, and therefore leaving a bit to chance.  This one has such wonderful fussy cutting opportunities, as well as whole piece interest.

Leaving

Likely the most groovy of all of the prints both in form and color is this guy.  Really fun for fussy cutting too, or a mod dash of off beat color for garments.

Passage

Oh this is the fussiest of all the fussy cutting opportunities in the whole collection, but again great for full garments, bag and home decor uses.  Really large scale repeat, but section by section, has elements of ribbon like stripes on grain & bias, and triangular solid and woven bits too.  I've already used this one a whole lot for bias stems in applique.

Peonies

This has such a happy small-to-mid scale rich floral appeal, and I am itching to make Miss Mary Anna some sweet summer dresses or shorts out of all of these. 

Centered

This print was created with one thing in mind and that was to provide the pretty center to any sort of flower one might want to build in patchwork, whether fussy, applique, improv.... but the space of color that I left between the "centers" makes for a feminine but modern field of pretty.  It popped up in my Instagram stream a bunch as I was working on my patchwork projects for Quilt Market a few weeks ago.  After working with it so much it started to feel like eyeballs.  Lolz.

Stamped

A sweet, simple, iconic floral, that we all know may get used more than anything.  An ironic truth to designing fabrics that I have finally and happily come to terms with.  There is still a trick to getting them just right though, the really simple fabrics, I am happy with the way this one turned out.  So much so that I had decals made for the floor of my quilt market booth!  A sad moment to peel up and discard after the show was over!

Thaaank you for making it this far with me.  To the end of this blog post and the 10 years I've been designing fabrics! Back soon w some pretty patchwork!

xoxo, hoping life is happy where you are, Anna Maria

In Classic Form

In classic form, the time of year that has me going in several different directions, mentally and physically, is also the time of year that I almost bonk into where I am headed due to being entirely distracted -transfixed- by the gorgeous thing that happens to Tennessee between October and November. It is that transition that seems to represent the humanness of nature. It burns and burns all summer, full force, exhausts itself, reflects softly on what it has managed, before settling in for a nap....finally being okay with letting things lie a little dull for the sake of a rest.  I could benefit by taking such a suggestion.
We enjoyed such a good time at Quilt Market last month, never less work than the time before though we continually assure ourselves that THIS time we have it down to a science, and the set-up will go SO much faster.  No, not really.  But it doesn't matter. Most of what I enjoy about the whole production is getting the opportunity to speak with shop owners one on one and in the Schoolhouse groups about what I was thinking when I dreamed up this or that.  The chance to clarify my efforts as a designer, and to help them with ideas about how best to use and present my fabrics once they have them in their shops is very gratifying.  It might simply be those lovely nodding heads as I talk that feels a bit more gratifying that the typing noise that I hear now....
It is no secret that I have been over here on the blog less, a lot like the rest of the world and the rest of the world's blogs, maybe.  I am able to get out so many small bits of my day to day words and images on Instagram that my sharing bucket gets filled up in smaller doses, rather than this more comprehensive dose.  And I will admit that the addition of building Craft South, literally and figuratively, over these past months (and more to come) has placed some limits on my time compared to early in this year.  The Spring had us planning it all, the Summer had us doing the pop-up version month after month, and now we are almost to where we will be launching the online Craft South shop in just a few weeks.  We hope for the actual physical shop to be open late March or early April.  In addition to choosing all the inventory and ordering there is so much planning going on behind the scenes that involves all of the workshops/events we will host, space design, branding and packaging goodies, product development and so forth.  In general I have about 8 massive lists.  I think what I am loving so much about this process, despite the load of work, is that a whole lot of it is completely outside of myself and my own brand, and that it is requiring something new of me.  I am acting as a curator of other goods, and it is very gratifying as a lover of so many types of crafting and making.  I love it.  But yes, it is yet another job title.
So.  That's the short story.  In other news I have new fabrics.  A new free quilt pattern.  I am getting deep into work on my 2015 fall fabric designs for.  I am knitting cables.  I am trying to decode Mary Anna's babbles on a daily basis and wishing I had the amount of clarity in understanding them as she seems to have in her delivery.  I am waiting everyday at the bus stop for Roman, and inhaling the smile he has for me as though it were oxygen.  I am cutting Nicolas's very long hair today at his request.  I have caught Joseph who just turned 15 telling Mary Anna how much he loves her when he thinks no one is listening.  I am floored by the amazingness of this coloring book self-published by my Juliana.  I laugh every time someone thinks that my 13yr old Isabela is my college graduate daughter.  I am thankful that Eleni loves taking care of Mary Anna in the afternoons as much as both Mary Anna and I love her wanting to.  And there were some rocks being thrown at my studio window over and over again the other day when the kids were playing out in the setting sun.  As I looked down to shout at them to stop I found my boyishly charming husband standing there instead with a giant grin on his face.  I cranked the window to say something sweet, but as soon as I could hear him singing "In Your Eyes" it was so ridiculously goofy that I just shook my head at him and rolled my eyes.  Returning to my chair with a small jump I my heart and entirely smitten that he is willing to be that stupid for me still.
And so much more. xoxo Hoping you are well, Anna

Mod Girls

Too many pretty things happened during my teaching days at Sew Down Nashville to let them just sit on my camera phone. I had the lovely opportunity to spend time with a very enthusiastic group of 80 or so patchworkers (20 at a time) two weekends ago. The Modern Quilt Guild does such a great job at putting together these events, so much so, that they make it seem easy, which I know it is not. Kicking off the weekend here in Nashville by welcoming everyone to the house and studio was a teensy overwhelming, but so worth our efforts. We kinda fell off the planet in the week or two leading up to the event as evidenced by the (in)frequency of my posts here, but the preparations were smooth and exciting.  Thank you so much to all of you who came, and also for patronizing our at-home pop-up shop!  Or petting my dogs, or holding my baby, or listening to my father-in-law play bluegrass, or eating crab cakes, or ignoring dusty light fixtures, or any other thing you might have done while here.  Thank you.  We loved it.
As for class.  I taught a class based on a block that I named Mod Corsage.  I was first inspired to create this make-it-up-as-you-go block while researching the history of broderie perse quilting.  (Here is what google images spits at you if you ask.)  I love needle-turn applique.  Not everyone does.  And like most things that we enjoy that are time consuming, there isn't always the chance to have much time to give to it.  So Mod Corsage was built out of my desire to create a pictorial block (or quilt) of a bouquet of sorts, but to take what might seem like short cuts to getting an image happening.  What I really enjoyed was that the practicalities of the patchwork process is what in the end offered just as much interest to the piece.  In other words, it is not just about fabric choice, but also about how many seams were taken to build the bouquet, and where you chose to change out the background fabrics a bit.  Staring with a simple structure that can continue to be reacted to and embellished with further applique was also very enjoyable for me.
Like most classes that I teach, even I don't quite grasp everything that is going to be taught until I open my mouth and begin sharing my path to creating the inspiration piece.  What I learned in teaching this class was that what we were really doing was defining the flower.  In other words, how many ways could we build, applique, patch or seam a flower.  The answer is every way.  There are no limits. My favorite.
I presented two basic ways of paying homage to the broderie perse tradition.  One was almost entirely about appliqueing bits of various florals together.  And despite a few specific tricks that can make this appear more time intensive than it is, a considerable amount of time on these blocks happens after the composition comes together (in other words hand sewing all those dang flowers in place).  The second method was more like my example up there (first photo) which was more structured and straight edge, and well yes, "modern", I suppose.  And for the most part, this approach has you spending a  bit more time on the front end, trying to allow for some spontaneity, but also a sequence of assembly.  Either of these two styles can be daunting at first.  But I can honestly say that everyone did something beautiful in class.  And it seemed most did something that they were not necessarily anticipating, which as their teaching is thrilling.
I have more pretty student work photos over here on FB.  I am so happy to say also, that the class was such a success, that I will be teaching Mod Corsage again at Quilt Con next year.  Yay.  I should mention too, that at Sew Down we only had 3 hours for class, and at Quilt Con we will have 6 hours.  I think that everyone that joined me for this would agree that 6 hours will be very helpful to getting a little further along in the process.
Okay.  Hope you're inspired!  xoxo, Anna

Sewing with Sunshine

And by Sunshine I of course mean the little Miss. The sun beaming through the windows on us and this project was no additional trouble however. I lurve the April stack. It is kind of as pale and neutral as this studio is capable of, which feels nice and fresh.   (And because there are 6 solids included, the stack has 14 total fabrics still keeping it in the 30-40$ range. Yay!)  It was high time I actually sat down at the sewing machine and enjoyed one of these Monthly Gatherings myself. Which is good timing for the new couch cover I have on one of the family room sofas. Everything in that room was in need of a good refreshing. Pillows and paint are my very favorite refreshers, probs yours too.  I am not sure if this pillow will stay on this sofa, or go on the cream one, but I do know that I will make another pillow from all the scraps left from this one.

For the flying geese I used the no-waste method of making four flying geese at once, which I describe in this Mother Goose free quilt pattern, but googling that italic phrase up there will take you to several spots where a formula is described for getting the specific size that you want for your geese.  This pillow is 24x24 and I wanted each goose to be 3x6, so I needed a total of 32 geese arranged 4x8.  Whoa, too many numbers.  My process of choosing the color arrangement was a little random and a little planned. By that I mean that I only started with one parameter of sorts, and that was- all of the paler, less bold toned fabrics in the April stack would be the geese (center larger triangle) and the rest would be the background (smaller side triangles).  Then once they were all made, I deliberately arranged them only for balance of color and interest, but no real pattern or reason to it.  The single parameter that I started with sorta helps to provide a unifying element that you aren't consciously aware of, but it's there.  So I am essentially playing mind games with you, snort.

Do you think maybe with all that lingo that I am getting ready for my patchwork class at Sew Down next week?!  Me too.  I also am undertaking the light and enjoyable privilege of hosting about 90 Sew Downers (Uppers?) here at the house.  No biggie.  I also have a surprise for them, I think.  I hope.  It rhymes with Sew Down.

Smooches. AM & Sunshine

Craft South

Things have a way of sneaking up on you. Mary Anna practically hyperventilates from laughter she loves playing peek-a-boo so much. It is almost impossible not to do the same yourself when you have a good round with her. She was 9 months on Friday. March came like a lion just as they say. Ice. Harsh cold. Roman suffered for several days through a regimen of breathing treatments around the clock due to an asthma-like episode. Scary stuff. Jeff and I took turns sharing a bed with him. I was never more than the sound of his breath away for about a week. He is very good now. And we are prepared if there should be a next time. I of course am hoping there is not- at the very least that I can understand possible triggers like allergies and what not. Phew. I have been stitching. My new cross stitch patterns and kits that I have likely not mentioned here are getting close to being ready! You are going to love these. They are little. Six colors. Beautiful and enjoyable. Eight of them! I am already knitting away on my nephew Eli's birthday sweater. I chose a simple v-neck vest, and I'm adding a contrast trim. It's gonna be cool. Cause he's turning 9 and it has to be.  We are about to knock down the wall between our kitchen and family room.  I have been wanting to do this for years and decided that being otherwise busy with everything else was the perfect time to do it, naturally.

Ok, really.  Craft South.  This is what I am here to talk about mostly, though you know by now you never get a straight story.  Look over here.  We have been working on this for months and I can't believe we are ready to go.  I am over the moon with excitement and feeling so lucky and honored to have such wonderful designers & friends to help me share lots of good crafty experiences this summer.  I can think of no better way to begin this journey than sharing it with these ladies.  And just like the posted story says, I am on the hunt for a permanent home for Craft South to live.  As in a building.  One with floors and walls.  Electricity would be nice too.  And my people.  My working studio will move there, and my personal studio will remain at home.  We aren't exactly sure where "there" is but we are hard at work on it.  My hopes and dreams for Craft South aren't so much about a new business as they are about creating a home for all of the work that I do already.  But in a place where any one can walk in, anytime, for any reason, and share what they are working on, learn something, knit, sew, stitch, talk, buy beautiful materials for all of it and be an important part of a community of crafters.  Here in Nashville.   I love my home.  I love this city. And after years of sharing through that screen there that you are looking at, I am giddy about offering a tangible experience for myself and others.  Say a prayer for me.  It's a big step, but I am somehow just not stressed like I have been with other decisions.  I have theories on that.

For now I just want to say thank you so much for your support in whatever form it has taken over the past many years.  Life changes in the most amazing ways, and some days I feel like I am simply watching it with excitement.  Today is one of those days.

Please let me know if you have any questions about Craft South, the workshops, or anything.  Please read all the info provided in the pdfs at the website.  Classes will not be on sale until Monday of next week, right over here, but the schedules are offered now so you have some thinking time.

more soon friends, xoxoAnna Maria

Building Blocks

Howdydoo.

I have so enjoyed your encouragement on my last post.  Seriously.  It is an immense joy for me to be able to have this knitting thing that is entirely creative and fun but where there are no expectations to perform in anyway and so far is not attached to what I do for work.  It will most likely (snort) stay that way, though one never knows of course.  Sometimes really beautiful things can happen when you aren't trying, I suppose.  Anyway, I love when you play along.  Thank you for the fun.

I wanted to let you know a couple other things. 

*I have a post over at Janome today that walks through my feelings and inspirations when using solid fabrics in my quilts.  I hope you find it inspiring and informative.  I'll be posting there every month this year, and will be sure to let you know when I do!  Here's the link directly to the article: Quilting Decibels

*We have solidified the Monthly Gathering Stacks as a subscription option in addition to just offering them for sale.  Here is a link to a downloadable PDF that explains the process if you're interested.  We will be posting the February stack next Wednesday (2/5), so I wanted to let you know how it will work in plenty of time.

*It's weird how much I have been using FB lately.  Are you liking me over there?  If nothing else, it is really the perfect place to share images of what other folks are using my fabrics for.  I am really so inspired by that.  Lucky me.  But for reals, the simplicity of FB makes quickly sharing this or that from all over the place pretty ideal for a certain category of notes and happenings.  You know this already don't you? I am slow.  Oh for instance, did you see this amazing quilt by Kathy Doughty?  Gahh.

*We have had 3 birthdays here over the last week.  Juliana is now 22 (gasp).  Nicolas is now 16 (what?).  Eleni is now 10 (wahhhh).  I am now old (true). 

*We are also freezing.

*Pierrette and I have been working on a summer long series of one-day workshops, kids workshops, weekend workshops, and a pop-up shop (and other things that rhyme with op).  Four months in a row!  It's crazy.  We are nuts.  It's gonna be awesome.  I seriously am losing sleep over the excitement and I can't wait to share the schedule with you.  Right now it looks like beginning of March is when we'll begin taking signups.  I will keep you posted.

Okay.  The baby is squawking.  Bye! xoxoAM

(above is an improv block that I call Mod Corsage.... I am teaching this block/process at SewDown Nashville (which is full) but hope to also teach this little beauty at one of my summer workshops too!)

True Dat

Over the past few months anything that I sew or quilt that includes my True Colors fabrics jumps right up to the top of my personal favorites list. Like of all time personal favorites. True Colors has proven to be my little dream come true fabric haul. I can barely plan anything that doesn't include a bit or a lot of it. Which is just exactly what I hoped for when designing it. Anyhoo. Here is the quilt that I have been asked about a whole lot. Color Dive. The Color Dive Quilt was inspired by my True Colors collection and is my newest video class on CreativeBug. I am also working on a PDF version of the pattern that we should have listed in the shop for sale soon, and I'll be sure to letchya know about that.  When it's published, we'll have some kits ready for you too.  We're like that.

Here's the preview for the Color Dive class:



The quilt uses every print in my Dowry collection + every print in my True Colors collection + a handful of solids. In case you'd like a chance to land an extra little pile of fabrics on your sewing table, you should follow along with the True Colors blog tour that is starting Monday at Sew4Home. There will be plenty of chances to win fabric + thread prizes and get loads of sewing inspiration along the way. Here's a scheduled list of the talented folks that are sharing their True Colors projects using my group (highlighted in pink) as well as Heather's, Joel's and Jenean's. Enjoy! xoxoAnnaMaria

1/20 Sew4Home
1/21 Stitchery Dickory Dock
1/22 I'm A Ginger Monkey
1/23 The Sewing Loft
1/24 Ellison Lane
1/27 Diary of a Quilter
1/28 Material Obsession
1/29 Craftsanity
1/30 Stitched in Color
1/31 Craft Buds
2/1 Jay Bird Quilts

And here's a little video of us color people talking about such:

About that Quilt

When I designed this quilt I had tradition on my mind.  I also was set on making a quilt pattern that felt a little like a snowflake-y/fair isle-y/navaho-y piece.  You know.  But wanted it to feel modern at the same time.  After a whole bunch of tinkering, sewing, patching, drawing, mathing and swearing, I arrived a block design that I loved, and one that was not insane to expect of someone else.  The Flight Map Quilt.  And like much of designing patchwork proves to be, it was quite a bit of complication to arrive at simplicity.  Layering on to all of that, the pattern only uses one single block, but employs strategic color changes to arrive at the medallion style you see above.  8 solids + 12 watercolor like prints.  I would not label this as a beginner quilt, though I would say that it is largely composed of beginner to intermediate piecing skills.  And I REALLY believe it to appear way more complicated than it seems.  Really, really.  I also wanna show you some variations with different color layouts for some inspiration......




I made the above crib sized quilt from some of the the Hand Drawn Garden collection.  Each of the 6 blocks is exactly the same and the arrangement of them creates the fun little arrows of magenta and coral.  The arrangement also only allows the cream solid to complete a whole diamond in one place which is not exactly center which I think is pretty unique.  The Volumes print cut in a stripey manner gives the print-y prints a nice kick. 




Naturally it seemed the next thing to try was to not only make a version where every block is the same, but also one where the blocks are entirely symmetrical.  Oh how I love this version.  Really so very traditional in one way but a close inspection of the single block feels so quirky and fresh when you see the fabrics up close.  The floating cross elements and the more subdued flying geese rows feels so calming and lovely.  I just adore it.  This one is made from eight different Dowry prints (releasing in November!) and just one solid.  And no, I did not make all three myself!  The original was made together with my pal and stellar quilter, Brittney, the crib size all by me, and the latest above entirely by Brittney.  I cannot let you people think that a lady with a 3month old is doing this much patchwork.  It just wouldn't be right.  But anyway.  I wish I were.

Have a good weekend.  S'pose to be 78 at the very hottest tomorrow and I have already decided that will make it the best day of my life.
xoxoAM