Holly Blog

My Favorite Things...163...More Holiday Windows

Continuing at Bergdorf's...

The shell details on the sides of the windows were just exquisite!

I've seen windows in some pretty impressive places...but nothing like this, ever.

More Soon...H2

My Favorite Things...162...Christmas in New York!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will be brief...Last night Paton, the girls & I walked to see the holiday shop windows...My favorite windows BY FAR, were at Bergdorf Goodman...

The entire moon was decoupaged with small bits of newspaper.  The craftsmanship of this series of vignettes was spectacular.  Each window looked like it took hundreds of hours of work to make all of the intricate "3-d collage" pieces, and seemingly days to actually install each piece into place.  I had to remember to not drool on the glass as I got close enough for some of these shots!

No details were spared...

This is just one of almost a dozen fabulous large and small windows at BG.  I took almost 200 pictures last night, and I hope to be back with more holiday magic as soon as time permits.

IMHO, Christmas is the most inspirational time to be in New York.  I highly recommend it.

Happy Holidays...H2

 

My Favorite Things...158...Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods!

For years I have been drooling over Susan Gowers delicious trims and notions booth at antique and quilt shows on the east coast.  What a pleasant surprise to see her at Fall Quilt Market in Houston.  Some of the antique buttons that I used in my blog banner were bought from Susan.

Here she is with Ric & Rac...

Susan graciously allowed me to capture many of the displays that she had in her booth. I took so many pictures of her beautiful things that it made better sense to put them all in a new flickr photo album!  You can see them by clicking on my right side bar titled Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods...

Meanwhile, if you are ever in Providence Rhode Island you can find her things at "REFIND" a store at 436 Wickenden Street.

Hope you find the photos of her displays as inspiring as I do, I just love things done by color palette, and I am endlessly fascinated with trims, buttons & ric rac.  Imagine the possibilities girls!

Back in two shakes...H2

PS on an inspiring and hopeful note, Gretchen one of our recent blog commenters has told me that there is an online petition forming in support of the Obama's adopting a rescue dog at the Best Friends Network.  See what they are up to and support homeless animals across the country...And if you haven't taken 5 minutes to email Oprah a suggestion...What's keeping you ???  X;º)

My Favorite Things...148...A Designer's Dozen

Our lucky 13th guest is none other than Penny Haren.  She's the one woman dynamo behind a new pieced applique' technique that has revolutionized the world of miniature block quilts. This is Penny's dolly dress, adorned in a zillion little applique'd strips...How did you do this Penny?

If you are interested in miniature block quilts, you must check out what Penny is up to on her website and her new blog.  If you are lucky enough to get a chance to watch one of her demonstrations, you'll be amazed with Penny's thought process. 

Penny is currently teaching at the AQS show in Des Moines, and she is booked to teach well into next year.  (Her schedule is also on her website.)

The "piece de resistance" will be ready very soon...so don't turn that dial!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...147...Little Red Riding Hood?

Without further ado...a slightly more modern version version of little red riding hood...

I actually did have a (typically for me!) obscure reference in my head when I was thinking this up...it was a wide eyed little girl named Madeline, in a book written by Ludwig Bemelmans.  Many of the original stories are set in Paris, which most of you know is a favorite place of mine.  The Eiffel Tower is on the original cover of the book published in 1939. 

My color choices were dictated a lot by what the others did for their block. Since there weren't that many people working in yellow, (but a lot worked in blue and pink) I felt like I wanted to balance out the overall composition that the 12 blocks would make as a group quilt, color-wise.

In terms of the silhouette of the outfit (I can use this term easily now, since I am a total PROJECT RUNWAY junkie!) That too was dictated a bit by what others were (not) doing...I tried not to replicate.

I made lots of little sketches after looking online for children's clothing from the 40's and 50's. Originally, I had planned on making the lower part of the red flower over dress a 3/4 length, but after I laid it out, it was a bit too heavy and bulky looking, so I shortened it and made it a peplum jacket look instead. 

Here are some hints for when you set out to make your own doll dress block:

1  Never under estimate the power of a good embellishment!  My outfit has these little details:

•a miniature string of tiny fresh water pearls

•dotted pink & red ribbon

•a Prym Dritz 1/2" diameter half dome fabric covered button

•tiny salmon colored ric rac sewed on to the edge of the fabric covered button to make a flower-like effect at the center of the ribbon belt.

2  You might also want to consider:

•beads (just think of the possibilities!)

•scrapbooking miniatures

•jewelry findings (like Anne Sutton's little scissors)

•the multitudes of buttons that have become available since buttons became highly sought after collectibles back in the 1980's...For a fun look at Tender Buttons one of my favorite stores in Manhattan, press here, and make sure to view the slide show of this quaint shop.

3  My motto is always "a woman has a right to change her mind!"  Don't edit yourself in the preliminary stages of a new project!  By this I mean, don't try to design your block's details "on the hoof"...(this is a tip from my days as an interior designer)...If you don't collect sewing notions and tidbits, then it's best to shop at stores that have a liberal return &/or exchange policy. I get way too over-stimulated in a store setting, and I don't want to be going back & forth a million times to complete a project.  I don't edit myself much when I shop. I get in, buy up anything that is in a reasonably good range, and get right out of the store, and right back into my studio.  Then I "make it work"!  I bought over 8 different types of red and pink ribbon (and anything I else I thought that might work) on my first shopping trip for this project.  All of this might seem extravagant, but there is a method to my madness...I only return things when I am going into town to do something else, and I have a rule that I don't get in the car to go anywhere for less than three tasks when I am in the country.  In Manhattan, it's a whole different story!

I hope that you are having as much fun with all of this as I am, and that you are inspired "to nourish your child within"...?  What better way than with a Dolly Dress block?

Coming up, the completed group quilt and some other goodies too. So stay tuned darlin's...

Back in two shakes...     x';º)   H2

My Favorite Things...146...Little Red Riding Hood

It figures that when it's my turn to show and tell, that my blog program will not allow me to upload any images!  I'll be back in touch just as soon as the technical glitches are fixed by typepad.

Has anyone else with a typepad blog had any issues in the last 18 hours?

':º)  curious, very curious!  H2

My Favorite Things...144...A Chip off the Old Block!

Isn't this a winning little outfit too?

Under the category "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", I bring you Darci Wright, mother to twin girls...Taylor and Camille.  She's the smart, sassy & uber-talented daughter of Penny Sturges aka the Quilts Illustrated "No Wimpy Bags" Lady...I love Darci's choice of fabrics (I'm crazy for red and yellow together) and sense of detail (the gingham jumper has an inverted pleat, that makes it dimensional)...

Thanks for joining us Darci!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...142...The Contessa of Cute!

Back in the day, when I had my little design studio in Manhattan, I was selected by the president of a large American gift company to hear an inspirational speech designed to rev up me and about 25 other product designers.  (So that we'd go back to our studios and whip up something good)...Two things that this man said stuck out in my mind...1  "think trailer park" (and the thought bubble over my head was "I'm in big trouble here") and 2  it's got to have the "awwwwww factor"...(as in that is soooooooo cuuuuuuuuuutttttttteeeeee!) (whew, I thought, "I love cute, I have a cute streak in me, I can do cute"!)

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs used my favorite cute little design called Elephant Toss as the pink dress fabric in this block.

Maybe that's why I love Anne's work so much, her work appeals to my cute streak...every little thing that she designs is so "stinkin' cute"!  From her pale pink on pink on pink design studio, to the coordinating dog beds that her tiny pups sleep on by her side, this woman and her little kingdom are "cute overload" (in the best way imaginable)...Not to mention her quilts and other designs...Even better, Anne's as adorable in real life as she is in her blog...

FYI, If you haven't seen Anne's blog, you must do the following:  crawl out from under the rock you've been hiding under, (LOL) dust your self off, and press here.  You are in for a treat!  ;º)

Take a bow, Anne!

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...140...The Empress of Applique'

My next guest is one of my favorite quilt show friends, Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup.  I just adore Barbara's applique'.  I wish that I had taken a picture of the back of her block (before I sent it on to be quilted), to show you her technique.  I have never seen such delicate, precise work. Her stitches were teensy, and oh-so-consistent. Her application of one fabric to another looks effortless...Sort of like Olga Korbut on the balance beam.  It's amazing to see so much ability in one person's work.

Here's a picture of Barbara's little frock.  It so reminds me of the "jumpers" I used to wear in grade school, there I go dating myself again...

Make sure to go and see Barbara's new blog, she is launching it to coincide with this event.
Also, you simply must see her gallery of projects on the QuiltSoup website, if you haven't already. I just know you'll get as big a kick out of Barbara's quilts as I do.  You will probably recognize some of her work that has been published in some top notch quilting magazines. 

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...139...Haulin' Overalls

Welcome back!  Our next designer is yet another talent from Arizona...Her name is Jere'e McDade and she's a friend of my buddy Brenda's and is the designer behind the "Quilted Quickie's" pattern line.  Jere'e is  a bundle of joy and laughter...her work exudes this, don't you think?

Is it just me or does this remind you of an extra special version of those OshKosh B'Gosh Overalls that kids used to wear "back in the day".  I am probably dating myself here, but I always loved that look on toddlers and young kids.

Make sure to hop on over to Jere'es blog and her Quilted Quickies website too...we both share a LOVE OF POLKA DOTS, and her website couldn't be cuter.

Stay in the cute zone...

Back in two shakes...H2