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1, 2, 3 Sew Flickr Round-Up

It’s so exciting to see what you are making from 1, 2, 3 Sew! Here’s the latest from the Flickr photo group. If you have the book, be sure to add your photos by joining the group here.

Ticking Stripe Hot Pad from Melanie of A Sewing Journal.

Change Your Mind Skirt from Nest Full of Eggs.

Kitty Softie (made with my Quilt Blocks Flying Geese fabric) from my former intern, Erin.

Polka Dot Pouch variation from Stitchuation.

Craft Caddy from Thar She Sews.

And my fabric is coming! I made this version of the Change Your Mind reversible skirt from the book for Quilt Market in the fall, but I’m getting cuts of all the fabric from Moda in a couple of days and can’t wait to make things from it. And I look forward to seeing what YOU make! The fabric will be hitting fabric shops in April. I know that it will be available from Fat Quarter Shop and locally in Atlanta and online from Whipstitch, but check back for a full list of stockists. Have I mentioned that all shops carrying the collection will receive a free month of advertising here? Contact me for details.

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Concentric Squares Pillow

I’ve been making some samples from 1, 2, 3 Sew for Intown Quilters to display for the upcoming Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop, which starts tomorrow and goes through the weekend.

Though I often visit Intown Quilters and Whipstitch, and I make the trek down to visit the friendly people at A Scarlet Thread for all my sewing machine needs, I didn’t even know there were this many quilt shops in the metro area! Anyway, I made this pillow from 1, 2, 3 Sew using Malka Dubrawsky’s new collection A Stitch in Color and Robert Kaufman’s Essex linen/cotton blend. I wish I had more time this weekend to visit all of these shops, but maybe I can squeeze in a few.

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Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design

Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for Laurie Wisbrun’s book, Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design from Chronicle Books. I know that many of you are interested in trying your hand at fabric design, or you may already be creating your own digital designs and now you’re ready to improve your skills and take it to the next level. This book covers digital designs, various printing and dyeing methods, as well as the practical aspects of turning fabric design into a business, with many resources to start you on your way.

First off, this beautiful book has a fabric textured hard cover, which gives it a nice feel. Laurie begins with some helpful information about patterns, color theory and fabric types, and includes clear photographs and easy-to-read descriptions. She talks about getting inspired from the world around you, creating mood boards and sourcing vintage designs, and how to create repeats manually and digitally. Then you get down to the nitty gritty with chapters covering hand printing and digital printing, with detailed tutorials and tips. For the hand printing chapter, Laurie calls in expert contributors to show some interesting techniques, including a brilliant tutorial from Jesse Braytenbach about how to use a frame and fabric to transform a plastic stencil into a mini-screenprinter. In the digital printing chapter, Laurie covers both Illustrator and Photoshop design methods, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions.

Throughout the book, she’s also included inspirational interviews with some of your favorite fabric designers including Julia Rothman, Heather Ross, and Joel Dewberry. Then there’s a chapter about going professional with tips on presenting your portfolio and even starting your own fabric company. She also includes advice about surface pattern trade shows and marketing. I’d say that Laurie covers it all here, whether you’re interested in experimenting with a new dyeing technique for a special project, or you want to design and print thousands of yards of fabric.

An important message that Laurie includes in the book is not to give up. Most designers have dealt with some rejection (me included). Remember that a rejection gives you time to re-group, pick yourself up again and be better than before. The fabric industry has been inundated with new designers in the past few years, but I know there are still many fantastic artists out there waiting to be discovered. It’s important to think of what you can bring to the market that represents your unique voice. I’ll be reflecting on that myself in the coming months.

Check out the rest of the blog tour. The previous posts have lots of great peeks into the book. Here’s the full schedule:

Monday, March 12 – A Creative Mint
Tuesday, March 13 – Lena Corwin and Handmade Charlotte
Wednesday, March 14 – Spoonflower and; Print and Pattern
Thursday, March 15 – Centsational Girl
Friday, March 16 – A Stitch in Dye

Monday, March 19 – The Long Thread
Tuesday, March 20 – Fat Quarterly
Wednesday, March 21 – papernstitch
Thursday, March 22 – Julia Rothman
Friday, March 23 – Simply Grove

And by the way, take a look at Laurie’s Llook! Llamas! limited release fabric collection. These are adorable! There’s also an interview with Laurie over on Spoonflower.

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Spring Carnival

Katy Jones of Monkey Do (and one of the editors of Fat Quarterly) has made the most spectacularly awesome quilt top using some of my Quilt Blocks collection. With only bits of fabric she had from quilt market, she has put together such an amazing design. I LOVE the falling pieces appliquéd at the bottom. I think one of the interesting things about this design is that these fabrics have a larger scale pattern that most quilters wouldn’t think of cutting into smaller pieces. I think what it does here is add randomness and abstraction to the design, giving it a very modern feel. She used the fabrics pictured below and added polka dots and some bright solids. This Spring Carnival, or ferris wheel design, works so well and you can see how it’s completely different depending on the fabrics you choose. I also love the version with Jenean Morrison’s fabrics. Katy is selling the acrylic templates that she used to simplify the process — what a great idea. And she’s also been working on this pillow with my flying geese fabric. Look at her amazing quilting here!

Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing things people made from my book 1, 2, 3 Sew, but it is possibly even more exciting to see people take their own creativity and use my fabric designs to bring their ideas to reality. I’m looking forward to getting the all the fabrics from the Quilt Blocks collection soon and I can’t wait to make some things — and even better, see what you make!

The Quilt Blocks collection for Moda should hit shops in the next month. If you own a quilt shop and you’ve ordered the fabric, please do let me know so I can add you to my links. I’ll also be offering a free month of advertising for all shops who carry the collection!