Holly Blog

216...My Favorite Things...A FREE Quilt Pattern!

Hi again everyone,

Fall Quilt Market has come & gone, it all happened so quickly.  I got to see lots my favorite people...Beth Hayes from McCall's, the Fat Quarter Shop brigade (minus Kimberly, who was home awaiting her latest), and Gina & Melinda from Fresh Picked Fabrics, to name just a few.

By the end of the first day of market, it was obvious that I was fighting something, and spent the next 5 days in and out of bed.  So oops, no booth pictures.

Right before market, I found out that my Brownie Points Quilt (re-named Fast Flowers), and would be put on the Quilts & More website as a FREE DOWNLOAD. 

Ironically, when the Brownie Points Quilt was on it's way to us at FQM (from the photoshoot at Q & M), it "went missing"...Here's a picture of her...

I love this simple & straight forward quilt, and I am, still hoping she will show up, but she's been missing since October 21st...Come back soon, Brownie.  :@

For those of you who want a Quilt Kit to make the "lovely lady", we'll be having a special Brownie Points Blog-a-thon starting after Thanksgiving.  They'll be lots of fun & frivolity at this upcoming event. We'll have Brownie Points Quilt Kits for sale, FREE GIVEAWAYS from my private LakeHouse stash, some of my favorite "quilties" will join in the fun, and other surprises too.

I'll be back in soon to tell you all the details for the Brownie Points Quilt Blog-a-thon.

3:o)

H2

 

My Favorite Things...193...Oh Happy Day!

Day 8 of 16

Without a doubt, one of the most entertaining quilting bloggers is none other than Monica "the Happy Zombie" Solorio-Snow.  I've been asking her to join the party for a couple of years now.  So glad to have you with us finally dawl...

Rumor has it that Monica will be doing a project for one of her favorite magazines with the Dolly Dress Up Panels...

I'm sure that "HZ" as I like to call her, will have a lot to show and tell...Like what her graphic symbolizes...?

click here for the pagentry, the extravangaza, dahlink...

Do tell Miss Thing.

:O+

H2

My Favorite Things...175...A Hairy Tale With a Happy Ending!

It's been a bit of a crazy summer here on the east coast.  Lots of rain, wind & lighting storms that have upset the family critter's routine terribly, and me especially.  The humidity has been so bad that it makes me think that the wallpaper is going to unpaste itself and slither down the walls...

And yet I have a lot to be thankful for. 

Here's another quilt that I designed recently that is in the August 2009 McCall's Quilting...

I completely forgot to tell you all about this quilt, until now.  Paton and I have actually been through a bit of a rough patch with the dogs that we've been fostering.

I haven't told a lot of people about my animals lately, because when there is a lot of bad news over and over again, no one wants to hear it.  Heck, I don't want to have to re-live the story by telling it again.

But there has been some good news of late, so I thought I'd share it with you...

First, there's Hi Bit, who I like to think of as "Prozac with 4 paws".

A month ago, Hi Bit was really sick with liver failure.  We thought that he might not make it.  He and about 6 other animals from his pack, had been unknowingly fed aflatoxin-poisoned food at the kennel where he was staying after being rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri.  On top of that, Hi Bit's spinal column has fused discs in at least three places, so that he walks like a drunken sailor, and he has a wicked heart murmur, and he's not a young dog.

But today after a variety of antioxidants & Sam-E to help him regenerate his liver, and a homepathic remedy that has put some spring in his step and a twinkle in his eye, Hi Bit "is back".

Also, keeping our fingers crossed, Lady Bug the heart worm positive foster dog who I told you about this spring, is almost through her 8 week treatment, and she is ever-so-slowly coming out of her shell.
LB clearly experienced the most mental & emotional damage of any of the foster dogs that Paton and I have witnessed to date.

Here's a partial family picture, of Paton and the critters last week end.

That's "the Mrs.", Giulia--she who does as she pleases, Paton & Bitty, and Blueberry, the puppy.

More "Midsummer Days Tales" in a bit...

LOL

H2

My Favorite Things...174...Back in the Saddle Again

I remember writing a couple of essays when I was a kid at the beginning of a new school year that described what I did for my summer vacation. 

For the record, I haven't actually had an official summer vacation yet, but I have taken some time off for designing, and "re-charging my battery".  Here's a few photos of what I've been up to...

A little sneak peek of a quilt that I designed for American Patchwork & Quilting that uses our new Teatime Floral Two collection.  The fabric is due out in the stores in late September /early October.  It was made by Cheryl Winslow of Starshine Quilting.

I'll let you know what issue of APQ this quilt is in as soon as I get a confirmation on the exact publication date. 

Here's a tasty-design-tidbit from pictures that I took in Central Park while walking "the Mrs." aka Mrs Riley...

I spotted the most sensational lanterns hanging over the terrace at Tavern On the Green. From a distance, I could swear that the fabrics were Asian-inspired prints.

Up close the lanterns were actually made of decorator upholstery fabrics.

Aren't they fabulous?  They'd be pretty easy to re-create at home I think...

More later this week from the Big Apple.

It's great to be back...in the saddle again.

LOL  {:º)X  H2

My Favorite Things...165...Another Sneak Peek!

We have several delicious (if I do say so myself) quilts going out to magazines right about now...This one's going to Jill Meade over at Quilts & More...it is due out sometime this summer...(Will keep you posted.)

This one is a lap size...I hope that you will be pleasantly surprised when you see the article, as you can't quite make out the overall effect from this little snapshot, or can you?  The ric rac is  fabulous new color made especially to coordinate with our new Teatime Floral fabrics (and this quilt in particular) by my buddy Adam over at cheeptrims.com  Our "fabric mistress" Mrs. Winslow devised a great way to apply the ric rac without any muss or fuss!  (Hint: fusible thread, more later!)

I've got more pics to of another magazine quilt that has just been sent out, but I have to find them first...I've taken so many pictures lately that I am having a difficult time keeping them all straight...

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...132...Catching Up!

I have been whining about my camera (and it's lack of performance) for a while now.  Thanks to Gina and Penny, I think that I may be on the right track now with my new Canon G9.  It's got an anti-jiggle feature...which has been a problem for me since I started taking pictures with my Kodak Instamatic "back in the day". 

Just about the time my camera started giving me nothing but aggravation, I got a mystery package in my post box...I was baffled.  I opened it in the parking lot at the post office...Wee hoo! it was a Pam Kitty bag!  It's been a heck of a long time for me to keep this secret, so here it is...

Turns out PK is not only a "stunt sewer" for the industry's finest, she's also a wiz with electronic embroidery gadgets, ric rac and the picking out the cutest combinations of fabric EVER!  In the meantime, I know that I am a little late to the party, because Brenda, Elizabeth and Monica all have blogged about her fabulous bags already...(and each one is cuter than the next!)

Now that I have a camera again, let's play catch up.  It's like Pam knew exactly what I needed...

Here's TWCTB* bag again with some of our new Doll Dress Collection fabrics. This new collection was inspired by some antique doll dresses that I have collected over the years, and was designed to blend with the Cherry Baby collection that we introduced at Fall 2008 Quilt Market. I'm loving how that black and white bag looks with the new fabrics, don't you?

As a matter of fact, here's a little sneak peek at a quilt that I designed and my own stunt quilter Cheryl Winslow made for McCall's Quilting.  It's scheduled to be in the April 2009 issue, which will be on your newsstand in February.  BTW, for those of you who like circles as much as I do, Cheryl's long arm "signature" is her circle quilting.

The new swatches for the Doll Dresses Collection are live on the LHDG site, so swing by and take a peek.  The first wave of this fabric is due to hit the stores in October.  Some of my favorite designers are already toiling away with some of the sample yardage that we just got in from overseas, more on these projects as they become available.

Lots more to show and tell--yet another magazine quilt, a new doggie (lots of pics & a story to got with her that will will rip your heart out) and a special event here on HOLLYBLOG.

Back in two shakes...

;º)

H2

* "the world's cutest tote bag"

My Favorite Things...108...A Little Cutie Pie!

Drum roll please...
So here she is, my little muse for my favorite new quilt...none other than the Fat Quarter Shop's "little-girl-in-residence":  Emma Jolly.  Check out the little gingham-covered toy basket...it does my heart proud!

On that note...have a relaxing weekend.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...107...A Quilt for Emma

Once again...Some of you will remember the Sneak Peek of a darling baby quilt (yes, I will say so myself) that I mentioned right before Fall Quilt Market  on Holly Blog...if not, click here.

My friends with subscriptions are writing to say that they have just received the new McCall's Quilting April 2008 today, we have another quilt to share with you.

As most of you know by now, I don't get out much...(and oddly I don't have any magazine subscriptions either!*) So you guessed it:  I haven't seen it.

So here's my design sketch...Sorry gals, but I just couldn't help myself...

"Prairie Points again" (said with a very whiny voice!)  I am just smitten with this little sampler quilt. The kits are available from Fat Quarter Shop. I want an adult sized one for myself! I am on such a pink and pastel jag...and I don't know why!

Oh, and under the category "don't believe everything you read", let me make a special point of correcting the misinformation in the magazine:  our "always-quilting-ever-faithful-friend-of-LakeHouse" aka Kathleen Nitzsche is actually the gal who pieced the top and folded prairie points for us...(and in a huge hurry right before market, I might add.)  Our Cheryl did do the quilting...It was pretty much the most precious baby-bunny themed quilting I've ever seen.  Glad to put that in print here and now, so that credit is given where it is due. We've had issues like this before with other projects in magazines, and people really do get upset about it.

As long as we are on the subject, in case you've ever wondered...people who design quilt patterns and fabrics for a living MUST have people to help them out.  I don't know if you all have thought about the timing on these projects, but almost every editor I have ever had the pleasure of working with, "needed it yesterday". They are under more time constraints and pressure than I am...(and I am a total slave to this entire ball of wax:  blogging, fabric design, quilts, ya da, ya da, ya da...I really do I look forward to designing every morning...but I can't possibly make every quilt that we need to support the all of the fabric lines I design.

Meantime, my muse for the Emma quilt?  More on the little "pink-cheeked-doll-baby" who inspired me quilt coming soon...

Back in two shakes...H2

*But don't feel too sorry for me.  Manhattan has some of the best magazine stands and shops that you could ever imagine...I have been known to spend hours at a time picking out irresistible magazines from all over the globe.

My Favorite Things...105...Mary Engelbreit's Magazine

As some of you already know (thanks for the notes!)...Cherry Baby has been included in the "This We Like" column in the February/March 2008 issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine.

You may remember that I said a while back I didn't design anything with a cherry on it for for a really long time.  When I saw  cherries, I thought of Mary's work, and although she inspired us all, I just didn't want to "monkey see, monkey do".

So doing a whole collection that revolves around cherries is a big step for me...there has been "a lot of water under the bridge" in the last 20+ years as a designer.  Like Alex Anderson (six degrees of separation?), I too have fond memories of cherries from Door County Wisconsin.  Cherry pie was served with almost every meal we had at a restaurant or Fish Boil, and we also bought delicious pies at the roadside stands.  When I was still a little pup, my parents and older siblings helped pick cherries (on really tall ladders) during harvest time at the Ray's farm outside of Bailey's Harbor. Younger kids passed their time by playing in the barn on bales of hay with the cats and their kittens.  Those are some of the fondest memories an animal lover like me could have.

Do any of you have some vivid memories of cherries in your childhood?  Any delicious recipes you'd have to share?

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...104...A Quilt for a Little Girl...

Happy New Year Everyone!
The other day I was in the car listening to WNYC, They were talking about many of the customs to bring in the New Year, all over the world.  A lot were food-related, like in Spain they eat 12 grapes at midnight... what's that about?  Some were spirit-related, like opening all of the windows in your house to free the souls held captive in your home from the year before. And in New York, they were activity related...like the yahoos that drink themselves silly (while freezing their buns off & while having their pockets picked) in Time Square.

Paton and I, we took the "path of least resistance".  After a picnic in bed complete with some divine desserts from a favorite Japanese bakery, we cranked the mattress pad way, way up...That's when the real fun began as the kitties became heat seeking missiles under the comforter. We all started to watching a video ...and that's pretty much all I remember.

And no hang over this morning...so it's all good (more energy for other things!)

So here's a fun new project to 'whet your whistle' for the new year.  (I never tire of pink, and I'm crazy for my new Floating Petal fabric.)  It was commissioned by Jill Meade of Quilts & More magazine...

This sneak peak* is actually part of a room ensemble designed for a girl's room, compete with shams, dust ruffle and a really cute window treatment, if I do say so myself, it's a cutie pie!...A prize goes to the person who guesses the name on the pillow.

Today I'm making my second attempt this winter to fly away for a little R&R with some family and friends.  I'm crossing my fingers as I look out again at another gray and stormy, winter's day. 

Back in two shakes...H2

*Sara, I was just being "kute", peak as in high(light), get it? But thanks for asking!