Printable Lunch Notes from Skip to My Lou.
A-frame Tent from A Beautiful Mess.
Miss Lolly Dolly from Tea Wagon Tales.
Back-to-School Embroidery from Rebecca Ringquist for Etsy’s How-Tuesday.
Round-Up of Kids’ Crafts and Activities from Whip Up.
Hexie Quilted Placemats from Diane Gilliland for Spoonflower.
Felt Journal Cover from Wild Olive.
Back to School Craft Round-Up from Red Ted Art.
Brain-Boosting Smoothies from Babble.
Here’s what I’ve been doing this week on Instagram: making color corrections on strike-offs, blending everything in sight with our new Vitamix, getting the kids’ lunches packed during their first week of school, and finishing up some projects for 1, 2, 3 Quilt. Laura Malek and I are taking pictures, I’ve got some help sewing binding and getting everything finished. It has been such a long process this time around, so I am really looking forward to a break this fall!
Oh, and head over to True Up to see a bit more from my new collection for Kokka. You’ll notice in the Dresden above that I’ve already started cutting into my strike-offs (the scalloped design).
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen that I just got strike-offs of my new fabric collection with Kokka! Yes, Kokka! I’m so excited to be working with this company that I can’t even begin to tell you. Really. I love absolutely everything that Kokka makes and to see my designs printed on their beautiful linen/cotton blend is a thrill. I cannot wait to sew with these fabrics!
If you’re not familiar with Kokka, they are a Japanese company with a few really amazing American designers including Melody Miller and Heather Ross. Kokka has lots of adorable prints and produces beautiful, high quality fabric. I’m just giving you a peek today, but I’ll show you more soon! The collection is called Stamped, inspired by hand-printed fabric with a bit of a handmade feel. The collection will be shown at fall market and will be in shops in early 2013.
I’d also like to say that I’m incredibly grateful to Moda for giving me the opportunity to produce my debut fabric collection last year. And Quilt Blocks is in stores now, so go pick some up if you haven’t had a chance!
I’m so impressed with all the amazing things that Shelly Figueroa is doing these days. You may know her from the book she co-authored with Karen LePage, Sewing with Boys, or her pattern shop Figgy’s (shown in the images above). Now she has a couple of new projects in the works that sound really great.
Shelly is currently raising funds to expand her sewing studio near Portland to accommodate more kids. In our world of mass-produced items and consumer culture, I think teaching kids to make things is so important to help them understand the world and the meaning of everyday things that we take for granted. Shelly has a vision for her studio and hopes to raise money to buy supplies and machines, then offer an open day each month for people to drop in and sew for charity. Then she hopes to provide scholarships for kids who want to learn to sew, but can’t afford it. Watch her video to learn more. I have often thought about how sad it is that home-ec has gone and our high schools are spending time teaching kids skills that they’ll never use. I wish I’d learned sewing and woodworking instead of algebra and chemistry. Anyway, you can help her by donating here.
Shelly also has a new Craftsy class Kid’s Romper Revamp: Creative Pattern Adapting. This looks like a class packed with useful skills for those of us who want to learn to make clothes that really fit our kids.
Lunch Bag, $36 from Noei.
Geometric Hair Clips, $2.15 each from Alina & T.
Alphabet Stamps, $15.50 from prettyM.
Hand Painted Circus Lion Notebook, £6.00 GBP from ladysnail.
Zipper Pouch, $12 from Netamente.
Apple Wooden Buttons, 10 for $2.20 from Happiness Garden.
The Audrey Dress, $98 from Sewn Natural.
Wooden Pencil Box, £5.50 GBP from Bread and Jam.
Toddler Backpack, $45 from Weepereas.
