MODKIDBOUTIQUE

2009-12-23T00:39:00.003-06:00

It's a Christmas miracle!

The MODKID "Potty Girls" have sprung to life, donned their holiday best and are here to wish you a holiday season filled with dreams, creativity and inspiration.

Thank you for your great support in 2009!

May you and your loved ones have health, happiness and prosperity in 2010.

Your friends at MODKID

2009-12-12T22:30:00.003-06:00

Well, hello there!

So nice of you to pay us a visit. Please, please, come in. It's so cold outside.

Let me take your coats. It's really so nice to have you here in our home. What did you say about our tree? That you expected me to have one of those matchy-matchy Martha Stewart-like trees? Nope, not me. This is a big-ole eclectic tree with all sorts of ornaments we've collected through the years... anything goes, really.

We have our glittery ornaments, of course!

And some fun "smores" themed ornaments that the girls just adore (and me too)!

I truly treasure the handmade ones my kiddos have made for me. This is one of my favorites! Those snowmen are actually Sophie's fingerprints on the glass ball! Makes me smile every time. :)

And this is one Sydney made for me in pre-school:

And of course, our tree wouldn't be complete without some of our favorite characters:

OH, OK! You noticed that my gifts are matchy-matchy. I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with this wrapping paper I found at Hobby Lobby and just went crazy with it. The ribbons are from there too. I *heart* that store!

What, this? I just covered a large stretched canvas with some of my Fire Jester print from Andalucia. It coordinated so well with the wrapping paper... uh, there I go being all matchy-matchy again. Oh well.

Well, let's not stand in the entryway all day. Come on in and make yourself comfy by the fire. You can sit wherever you'd like.

Yeah, sure, you can sit closer to the fire if you're still a bit chilly. That's what it's there for. Oh, those are some gorgeous stockings my sweet Tia Olga made for my girls last year.

These? My girls love snowmen so I've decided to start a little whimsical collection for them. Yeah, I know, not much of a collection so far but you gotta start somewhere. By the time the girls are 18 we might need a whole room for these guys!

Awww... leaving so soon? Well it was so nice of you to stop by! Please come back anytime! And stay warm out there...

Here, let me get the door for you.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2009-12-09T10:22:00.006-06:00

Giveaway Winners and 2010 Pattern Reveal!

WOW, what a week! First I want to thank each & every one of you for the well wishes, comments, emails and tweets regarding the procedure I had done last week. Your jokes, poems and funny stories had me smiling from ear to ear... THANK YOU! I must say that I'm floored at how many of you out there have experienced similar situations. I guess it's not the kind of thing everyone wants to talk openly about, but hey, it's life. I feel I need to clarify that I did not have a hysterectomy (VH), although I can see how some of you could have assumed that. I had a HydroThermal Ablation (HTA) also known as Endometrial Ablation. If you're not familiar with the procedure, you can click the links above to learn about it. I'm so thankful for modern medicine allowing options for women with my symptoms. Twenty years ago, there was really only one solution and I would've been bedridden for weeks. Time will only tell if this was the right choice. Who knows, I may have to go for the VH eventually, but for now, I'm feeling great... knock on wood.

OK, now on to the fun stuff! 260 of you commented on the pillow giveaway and and here are the lucky winners:

Hummingbird Patch Pillow:
SoBella Creations

Ragged Blossoms Pillow:
Debbie in South Carolina

Busy Bee Hive Pillow:
Amy Priddy :||: Priddy Creation s

CONGRATULATIONS to each and every one of you! Please email me at info@modkidboutique.com to claim your prize. And thank you again to all who visited and commented!

We've been super busy here at the studio these past few weeks cranking out the next line of MODKID Sewing Patterns, due out in mid-January, 2010. Here's a preview:

A closer look and description of each:

HUMMINGBIRD QUILT, Item# MKSP011HQ
This dainty rag-style quilt packs a lot of punch yet it’s easy to make. Any beginner sewist can tackle this project in one afternoon. Our pattern comes with full size appliqué templates and detailed step-by-step instructions for constructing this beautiful hummingbird scene. Our 8-page full-color booklet comes loaded with inspiration photos and even includes a Quilting Glossary on the inside back page.

PILLOW TRIO, Item# MKSP012PT
This Pillow Trio pattern has something for every level of sewing expertise. A beginner sewist can start with our Ragged Blossoms pillow, which is a simple, easy-to-sew raw-edge appliqué project. Then move on to the Hummingbird Patch pillow which requires more cutting and piecing and finally tackle the more challenging Busy Bee Hive pillow. Our 12-page, full-color instruction booklet comes loaded with inspiration photos and even includes a Sewing Glossary on the inside back page.

MODKID DRESS BAGS, Item# MKSP013GB
Now that you’ve outfitted your girl and her dollies in the highest of MODKID fashion, it’s time to give her a truly boutique-style set of garment bags to store and carry her new matching wardrobes. These sweet dress bags are perfect for sleep-overs, traveling and those much-needed trips to grandma’s house! Includes full-size pattern pieces and detailed instructions for constructing two sizes of garment bags.

MINI-AVA, Item# MKSP014MA
A sweet two-piece set for your 18” or 15” doll with heirloom details galore. The halter-style top features a pintucked bodice and a pleated underskirt with a peek-a-boo overskirt panel. The drop-waist skirt features a series of pleats near the bottom edge and elasticized waist. When worn together Mini-Ava looks like a gorgeous multi-layer sundress with cascading pleats.

MINI-FRIDA, Item# MKSP015MF
Loosely inspired by a Mexican housedress, Mini-Frida is a feminine, comfy and fun 4-piece set for your 18” or 15” dolly. Pattern includes the tunic, dress, pants and headscarf. For a “Just Like Me” look, check out our child-size Frida pattern (sold separately). Fabrics used in this booklet are from Patty Young’s, Flora & Fauna fabric collection.

MINI-KYOKO, Item# MKSP016MK
Chic and sophisticated with an Asian-flair, Mini-Kyoko is a fun 4-piece set for your 18” or 15” dolly. Pattern includes the criss-cross shirt & dress, obi/sash and flare pants as seen on the front cover. For a “Just Like Me” look, check out our child-size Kyoko pattern (sold separately). Fabrics used in this booklet are from Patty Young’s Flora & Fauna fabric collection.

*********

All 6 patterns are currently with the testers and I've already been receiving lots of great feedback and gorgeous photos that I cannot wait to share! We are right on schedule for our January release. Jon is putting the finishing touches on our pre-order screens and e-newsletter so, once again, if you'd like to be added to our mailing list shoot Jon an email at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com

2009-12-04T09:53:00.004-06:00

Eight!
(if you're looking for the giveaway post, click here)

My sweet little girl turned eight yesterday.

Dear Sophie,

It seems like just yesterday we brought you home, so tiny and frail, not quite six pounds, but with a bright tuft of red hair atop your head. We knew we had trouble on our hands! ;)

It's been an utter pleasure seeing you grow to such heights (literally... you'll be passing me in no time!) It's a good thing you got your daddy's genes in that department. And I've so enjoyed seeing your personality blossom from rambunctious toddler into a reserved young lady with great values and dreams.

Given the recent events in my own life I promise to cherish every day with you and your sister even more than before. I truly cannot wait to see what the future brings for you!

You are creative, thoughtful, generous, loving and kind.

May all your dreams come true, my sweet girl!

mama

2009-12-02T17:49:00.003-06:00

Pillow Talk

I had surgery this morning. It was a relatively short procedure but its results are drastic and permanent. So as not to weird out any male readership I might have out there, I won't go into much detail. I'll just say that I've been having, uhm... "female problems" for several years, well pretty much ever since my last labor & delivery. These "problems" left me with severe iron deficiency and the anemia brought on a whole slew of new problems. Those of you who've been long time readers of my blog may recall this incident last year.

Well, I tried some temporary solutions that did not fix my problem but just left me with less than desirable side effects. I had had enough, so I did it. After this, I won't be able to bear children anymore, but don't feel sorry for me. I am totally at peace with this. Jon and I had decided, even before getting married 10 years ago, that we wanted 2 children. That was always the plan and we were both so happy that we felt the same way. See, we both came from small families (Jon has one brother, I have one sister) so we are used to, and comfortable with, the dynamics of a small family. This just feels right, like it was meant to be, you know?

So now it's done and I am recuperating. In preparation for today, I went out a couple days ago and bought myself a nice synthetic down pillow (nothing against the real stuff, I'm just deathly allergic to it). And I've surrounded myself with all my favorite "comfort items": my laptop, my iPhone, TV remote, 7-Up & crackers (just in case), pain meds (of course!), pictures of my kids (to make me smile) and even a vase full of fresh daisies to brighten up the room. I know it sounds weird that I would find comfort in my computer & cell phone, but I do... I would go absolutely batty without them.

So now I just sit.
And wait.
And heal. (kinda nice not doing anything for a change)

Another thing that always makes me feel better is to give gifts... especially when I know the recipient will totally and utterly love it! I know that anyone who reads my blog must love fabric. And pretty things. And pretty things made with fabric. And how about pretty things made with fabric by ME? Ahhh, I see I got your attention! ;)

So, let me tell you about these 3 pillows. I made these for my Quilt Market debut of Flora & Fauna and they were a huge hit. So much so, that our Australian distributor, Mac's Crafts, took them home with him, along with my Hummingbird Quilt and a few outfits, to display in his booth at the Australian Quilt Market. In the meantime, while my beloved pillows were Down Under, I decided to develop a sewing pattern for these but since I didn't have the originals in hand to photograph for the instruction booklet, I had to make them all again. I didn't mind, it was a labor of love.

Well, the pattern is done and off to the testers and then I got my pillows back from Australia and I did a double take... I have 2 of each now! haha! So, how would you like to win one of these? I'll give away the original pillows... the ones that traveled Down Under without me... lucky ducks!

Up for grabs we have Hummingbird Patch:

And Ragged Blossoms:

And Busy Bee Hive:

I will draw 3 winners, 1 for each pillow, one week from today. And since it is Gift Giving time, I won't be totally offended if you re-gift these. ;) Just leave me a comment below this post to enter. If you've experienced anything similar to what I did today, I'd love to hear of your experience. If not, you can tell me a funny story or a joke or a sweet poem to make me smile. Or just pop your head in and let me know you're here. :)

If you don't win, you can still grab the pattern, available in January 2010, along with 5 other brand new MODKID patterns. I'm super excited about this release... wait till you see all the fun stuff we have in store for you! I'll do a full reveal in a few days...

Retailers: this pattern along with the other 5, will be up for pre-order in about a week or so. Contact Jon at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com if you'd like to be added to our mailing list.

2009-11-29T16:19:00.005-06:00

Dells' Angels
(title runner-ups for this blog post: What the Dell? and Where the Dell have we been?)

When it came time to plan Sophie's 8th Birthday celebration, I once again turned to my tweeps. They've always had great suggestions for me in the past and this time they did not disappoint. Sophie told me she just wanted to do something special with the family. My tweeps brought lots of suggestions to the table, but what won in Sophie's eyes was a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Wisconsin Dells. She spent some time surfing through their website, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over all their amenities... so off we went!

As soon as we entered the lobby, the Christmas spirit was in the air. It was so beautiful there! Sydney kept saying it looked like the North Pole.

The girls quickly found their favorite spot and chilled out with their dollies while daddy checked us in.

They squealed with delight when they saw their sleeping quarters. It was a little log cabin built inside our room complete with bunk beds, a flat-screen TV and a gaming system!

They had so much fun! There was even a third bed in there, so on our first night they invited me over for a slumber party. :) Fun, fun, girly fun!

The next morning, after breakfast, the girls were treated to a mani & pedi at the lodge's kid spa, called Scoops.

It was pampering to the max! All of their products were ice cream flavor scented...

They got sparkles on their fingernails and got to pick out their own princess tiara to keep...

The pedicure station looked like an ice cream sundae...

And all of their memorabilia was also ice cream themed...

All this talk of ice cream got them craving the real deal, so we headed directly to the lodge's ice cream parlor (which by the way, had a Starbucks too, so mama was happy!)

There was tons of swimming and playing in their incredibly HUGE indoor water park...

On Thanksgiving day, the girls put on their Holiday dresses and we made an attempt at shooting our Christmas card. Not sure if we succeeded, but it was still fun...

Sophie even shot a picture of us that is not half bad (those are very far & few between):

On Black Friday we did a little shopping and then headed to Chicago where we met Jon's family for a b-day dinner at Greek Islands. Sophie picked this restaurant because they serve grilled octopus... yup, that's my girl! Here she is eating her favorite dish:

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday! This week I was thankful for having this special time to relax with my sweet family and for not having to cook & clean (I'm sure they were thankful for that too!) :)

2009-11-22T15:31:00.006-06:00

Daaaad! Mom's playing with my dolls again!

I admit it: I've been getting in touch with my inner child lately. These mini-MODKID outfits have been so much fun to play with, but I can't take credit for them. You guys may remember Valerie Haberer, who threw that awesome Open House & sewing contest at her store, Sew Much More, back in September. Well, Val ended up sewing some samples for my Quilt Market booth and surprised me with a miniature version of my Ava pattern, which we immediately dubbed mini-me. We took her to Market (to sorta feel out the crowd) and the squeals of delight could be heard all through the convention floor!

So here is the deal: MODKID IS GROWING! No, I am NOT pregnant. But I have birthed 10 sewing patterns and 2 fabric collections in the past 9 months without as much as a day of maternity leave. Soooo, in order to grow the company while still keeping my sanity, Jon and I decided to hire our first ever licensed designer. Val brings many years of experience to the table, plus she is probably the only person I've met that rivals my creative OCD. She is creative, focused, meticulous and a perfectionist in every sense of the word.

Let's learn a little bit about Valerie:

"I've been sewing for as long as I can remember. I began making doll clothes out of Kleenex when I was a kid for that leggy fashion doll so popular! I started making dolly clothes for my youngest daughter over 12 years ago. And, even now, every time she comes home from college, I try to make dolly a new dress. Because dollies look sweet in just about everything, making clothes for them is creative and always puts a smile on my face! And, making matching dolly clothes from the Modkid patterns is way too much fun! Hopefully, you'll agree!"

We are so excited to add Val to our creative team. Just you wait, in addition to the mini-MODKID patterns she is also working on a few other super cool surprises to add to the MODKID line-up. I can't wait for you to see our January 2010 sewing pattern release!

And now that I'm talking about changes to the company, I should also mention another big change. You guys all know how much Jon (here he is modeling the bee tie I made for him) has helped me out pretty much since I started this crazy endeavor of mine. Not only is he an amazing source of moral support but he has also been there to help out with whatever I need, whether it's website updates, booth building, studio remodeling, heavy lifting, you name it!

But now that our company is growing exponentially, Jon has completely taken over our fulfillment department. He makes sure all orders go out in a timely manner and keeps our website up to date. This allows me more time to create and manage creative partners, which lately has become a full-time job. So, if any of you retail customers ever have a question regarding your order, need a list of distributors or would like your website link to be added to our textiles or patterns page, you can contact Jon directly at jjyoung@modkidboutique.com.

So, that's it for MODKID news right now. Stay tuned for the full pattern reveal coming soon! I'm also preparing a super fun giveaway before the Holidays, so please keep checking the blog.

Happy Turkey Day!!

2009-11-12T09:04:00.006-06:00

And sometimes I keep my promises...

I bet you thought I was gonna keep that Halloween post up until Christmas, eh? Well, I fooled you. I've plunged back into full work mode after a few days of r&r following the madness of Quilt Market. Full work mode around here pretty much means very little sleep and infrequent blogging, tweeting or talking. I work late into the night, am crabby every morning until I have my caffeine infusion then I work, work, work till the kiddos come home... and then I work some more. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

But what prompted that silly title up there is all these post-market little flip cam videos of me that keep popping up here & there. I always cringe when these come up because, 1. I hate the way I sound on tape and 2. I never know what kind of crazy things I said or promised on video because it's usually all a blur for me.

Case in point, last Spring Market, Ms. Sandi did a quick little flip cam interview of me in which I apparently promised I would do a pattern or a tutorial or something on that lollipop quilt I had hanging up on my booth. Well, as you all probably know, that never happened. Between designing a new fabric line, a whole new slew of patterns, doing a little remodeling, and taking care of household duties it just got pushed aside. And to be perfectly honest, the pattern needed some major tweaking. I did those pinwheel shapes in a hurry and fudged with them until they were right (on fabric, not on paper) but I never really sat down to polish up the pattern and make it sew up right... so that's that.

So, as you can imagine, when this new flip cam video showed up on Boutique Cafe (shot by the lovely Bari J.) I watched with trepidation to see what kind of crazy things I promised this time. Well, I was so pleasantly surprised when I realized I am actually following through on all these promises!!! Yay me!

Check it out... I mentioned doing a pattern for the Hummingbird Quilt (DONE) and a pattern for a Pillow Trio (DONE) and even a pattern for the Mini-Ava (DONE, and more on that later!) All of these patterns and more are part of my January 2010 release. Most are on the way to the testers this week and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

So, see... sometimes I do keep my promises! ;)

Oh, I have so many new things to share with you! We've added a couple of new members to the MODKID team and I will be doing proper introductions here in the next couple of weeks. We've also added a whole new slew of pattern testers that are eager, willing and able (haha). Things are shaping up great for 2010!

And since I'm here now and don't know when I'll get another break to blog again, I thought I'd share some awesome findings from my MODKID Flickr Pool.

I spotted this adorable Nina set yesterday and the sewist, who happens to live in Malaysia, even blogged about it!

Loving these Frida and Sydney sets from Creative Works By Ann:

I seriously gasped when I saw this breathtaking version of my Kyoko pattern by NanaKidBoutique in Abu Dhabi! Add a ruffle here & there and... VOILA!

Mary Abreu of Flourishes posted this fun, colorful version of the Sydney Hooded Tunic modeled by the sweet Miss L.

And last, but certainly not least, check out this super fun Kyoko made by Melanie of Above All Fabric. LOVE IT!! Check out the pattern review she posted on her blog on this Kyoko and on her Sophie 3-Way Pants.

And there are tons and tons more where these came from. Check them out! And please post your own if you want to share with us. :)

2009-10-31T16:16:00.004-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Sophie had a very specific request. She not only wanted to be a WITCH but she came to me with a design in hand and said (her words) "No ruffles. No sparkles. No frills!" She explained that she didn't want any pretty details or fancy fabrics... that she just wanted a plain ol' witch.

I headed out to our local fabric store to find the plainest black jersey I could find and resisted my urges to embellish. After all, this was her Halloween costume and I had to respect her wishes. She was really happy with the outcome... and so am I! :)

These are from the Halloween party at her school yesterday...

And the costume parade. Happy Sophie = Success!

When I approached Sydney about her Halloween costume, it was a totally different story. She said she wanted to be Tinkerbell. The rest of the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Do you want ruffles?"
Sydney: "YES!"
Me: "Do you want sparkles?"
Sydney: "YESSS!"
Me: "Do you want frills?"
Sydney: "Uhm. What are frills?"
Me: "Well, ya know, like lots of extra special things to make the costume extra pretty..."
Sydney: "YESSSSSSS!"

So here's what I came up with: (excuse the dead flowers... although right now they kinda fit the Haunted House mood! haha)

Sydney is thrilled with her costume! (SUCCESS x 2!)

And before you ask, nope, I didn't make the wings (although I have made some before). These are old wings I bought at Gymbo several years back.

Sparkly fairy shoes from Target...

Now off to get ready for trick-or-treating. I'll probably post more pics tomorrow. But I'll definitely be blog-surfing to see what you all are doing! Feel free to post a link in the comments section if you have something extra special you'd like to share! I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Addendum...
Feeling a tad lazy and sugar-logged on this Sunday afternoon so rather than writing a whole new blog post, I'll just add the trick-or-treating pics down here...

LOVE this one!

After a couple of houses, I lost my precious natural light so this is the only good one I got of the actual trick-or-treating action...

Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-29T15:40:00.005-05:00

Yup. It's definitely Autumn.

My favorite season of the year and it completely snuck up on me. I chaperoned a field trip for Sydney's pre-school class this morning to a local family-owned pumpkin farm. We all had a great time, despite the frustrating start of my day. If you follow me on Twitter you know that my SUV's keyless entry system decided to fail on me at the last minute and the car pretty much went on shut down mode. The alarm started blaring and all doors locked up. No matter what button I pushed, they would not open up. Finally it occurred to me to check the back/trunk door and it opened for me but that meant that I had to crawl through the back of the car while the alarm blared away in the parking lot of Sydney's school just to get to the ignition... good times!

After the field trip was over, I decided to drive straight to Jon's work to see if he could figure out what was the deal with this darn car but of course the car was at its best behavior in front of Jon. ARGH! Made me even more angry! Those of you who have ever worked in the corporate world will sympathize with me when I say that it was just like when your computer starts acting up and you call tech support but it acts perfectly fine when they show up. They always look at you like you're either dumb or crazy and mutter something under their breath like "user error"... blech!

But I digress, the field trip was such a wonderful experience for the kids. They got to watch a movie and munch on some popcorn...

We took a hay ride and saw a corn maze and a pumpkin field...

It cracks me up that every time I point the camera at Sydney she strikes a pose (I have her well trained, eh?!)

But actually my favorite pictures of her were the more candid ones...

They saw farm animals...

Played on the hay stacks...

And in the soy bean mounds...

Took a [very wind-blown] class picture...

And even got to take a pumpkin home... hmmm... which one should I choose?!

OK. This one!

Next up will be Halloween pictures. YIPPEE!! This year, after a very frustrating and unsuccessful trip to our local costume store where all we found was a bunch of poorly-made over-priced CRAP, I decided to make their costumes from scratch. Both girls had very specific and detailed requests (hmmm, I wonder who they get that from?) Sophie will be going as a witch and Sydney will be Tinkerbell. I didn't have time to make myself anything new so I'll just grab an old costume from the closet. Check back in a couple of days for pics!

What are you and/or your kids dressing up as this year?

2009-10-21T15:26:00.005-05:00

When the cat's away...

... the mice (and their grandma) will play! Check out these adorable Halloween crafts my mom made with the kids while Jon and I were down in Houston for Quilt Market!

SPIDER PUMPKIN

Materials:
1 medium-size pumpkin
1 can of gloss black spray paint
1 package of pipe cleaners (extra fuzzy black pipe cleaners found at Hobby Lobby)
2 large googly eyes (also found at Hobby Lobby)
Small piece of red cardboard, felt or fabric for mouth

Spray your pumpkin black and let it dry overnight. Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to poke 4 little holes on each side of the pumpkin near the bottom. Insert one end of a pipe cleaner in each hole and shape the "legs," as seen in the picture. Dab a little glue on the back of each googly eye and place on the pumpkin. Cut out a funny mouth shape and glue to the pumpkin. Let eyes and mouth dry overnight.

WITCHY PUMPKIN

Materials:
1 medium-size pumpkin
1 can of gloss green spray paint
Black yarn
1 mini witch hat (found at Hobby Lobby in the craft department)
2 large googly eyes (also found at Hobby Lobby)
Black sharpie marker or black tempera paint
Pumpkin carving knife

Spray your pumpkin green and let it dry overnight. Dab a line of glue on top of the pumpkin and lay the black yarn over the pumpkin's top. Shape and trim "hair" around face. Place mini-witch's hat over hair and glue in place. Dab a little glue on the back of each googly eye and place on the pumpkin. Using a pumpkin carving knife, carve out a funny mouth shape and fill in the negative space with a black marker or paint. Let eyes, hair and hat dry overnight.

And my personal favorite...

GHOST TRIO

Materials:
3 latex balloons
3 plastic cups
1 package white cheesecloth
White glue
Water
6 large googly eyes (found at Hobby Lobby)

Blow up your 3 balloons in different sizes. Place each balloon on top of a plastic cup for added height. Layer the cheesecloth over the balloons and trim to size at the bottom. You'll need at least 6 layers of cheesecloth for each ghost. Prepare a mixture of half white glue and half water in a large bowl (it should look like skim milk). Dip each layer of cheesecloth in the glue mixture, squeeze out excess liquid and drape over your balloon, shaping as needed. Repeat for each layer of cheesecloth. Alternate sides, as seen in the picture, so that the corners of the cheesecloth cover the bottom of the ghost. After all ghosts are draped, dab a little white glue to the back of your googly eyes and place on the face. Let ghosts dry overnight. The balloon will peel off easily the next day and the cheesecloth will be stiff enough for your ghosts to stand on their own!

For an added spooky effect, use clear fishing wire to hang the ghosts from light fixtures around the house. :)

ENJOY! And... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(pssst... in case you're interested, my mom just listed some Flora & Fauna goodies in her Etsy shop!)

2009-10-19T11:21:00.003-05:00

We're Up!

Our website has been updated with all the new Flora & Fauna information and graphics...

And we've also loaded up our 4 newest sewing patterns in the Patterns page:

I strongly encourage you to support your favorite independent online retailer and purchase your Ava, Isabel, Julia and Nina from them. There is a full list of retailers at the bottom of this page. Lots of them already have the new patterns in stock or will have them very, very soon... based on the looks of this:

(pssst... this is only a small fraction of what we boxed up this weekend!)

RETAILERS: you can now place wholesale orders for the new sewing patterns right on our website. If you prefer to purchase through a distributor, please email us at info@modkidboutique.com for a list of US and International distributors. If your store link is not at the bottom of this page, please email us and we'll get you up there right away!

Thank you all for your support!

(stay tuned for some fun Halloween crafts a la "grandma" coming up in a couple of days...)

2009-10-16T16:38:00.006-05:00

Market Report -
Fall International Quilt Market 2009
Houston, TX

We're baaaaack! We drove (actually, Jon drove) a total of 1,700 miles round trip, which translated into 17 hours there and 17 hours back in a rented cargo van filled to the brim with booth walls, furniture, patterns and sewn goodies. Those of you who follow me on Twitter, already know that I got a bit car sick on the way down, almost ended up with eight Mochas at a Starbucks in Texarkana, and miraculously got rid of my headache the minute I saw signs for downtown Houston. The following pictures illustrate what our next 5 days were like...

On Thursday, we set up the booth. It was a long, arduous day but we had lots of help from some dear, dear friends!

On Friday, I presented a Schoolhouse Session sponsored by one of our U.S. distributors, Brewer Sewing & Quilting. I was so nervous in the hours and minutes leading up to my speech that I almost threw up, but once I got up there and saw so many smiling, familiar faces in the audience all the tension just fluttered away and I felt like I was just talking to a group of friends. Thank you to all who attended!

I don't know what I was doing here, but it must've caused a few of you to break out the cameras... hahaha

More booth set-up followed on Friday, but by the end of the day we were ready to par-tay and what better place that the Fabric 2.0 Lite, sponsored by the ever so lively Caroline Devoy, of J. Caroline Creative fame.

I got to visit with some of my favorite girls... Here I am with Caroline:

Traci Butler, of Hip Fabric, who made me and Jon the awesome Flora & Fauna badge holders for the show...

Anna Garner, of Sweet Dreams Designs:

Melanie Thornton, of Above All Fabric:

Mary Abreu, of Flourishes and InTown Quilters

Jenean Morrison, of Free Spirit

Jill Mead of BH&G's Quilts And More:

(boy, I just realized what a lush I look like... I have a Mojito in every picture!)

And of course, the notorious Jay McCarroll:

Jay actually convinced Jon to go with him to Sample Spree... an event that I had sworn never to attend again, after I nearly suffocated to death the first time I went! So, believe it or not, I tagged along (mainly because I didn't want to be left behind without a ride!) Here is a "Jon's-eye-view" photo of Sample Spree:

Fighting the crowds was definitely worth it once I spotted my pals at Fat Quarter Shop and got to spend some QT with them:

The next day was the first day of Quilt Market. Here are a few shots of my booth... not too shabby, eh?

Adding to this here, because so many have asked, YES, there will be a pattern for this hummingbird quilt! YAY! The actual quilt is currently en route to Australia with our distributor, Mac's Crafts, but it shall return in mid-November (hopefully with lots of stories to tell!) Pattern should be available in January if all goes well. Thank you all!!

Standing in one spot for 9 hours isn't so bad when I get great visitors at my booth. Here I am with Kathy Miller:

Tira Schulteis of Brewer Sewing:

Kay Whitt, of Serendipity Studios, wore a skirt made from Flora & Fauna! She was so cute & tiny I could've just picked her up and put her up on display with the other mannequins!

Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics:

The Michael Miller Fabrics booth was soooo cool! They made it up like the most awesome and whimsical campground...

Complete with life-size gnomes...

This gnome was Patty-sized!

Cynthia, of Fabric Worm, was more than happy to spin the wheel to see what she won...

And the best part... Camp Michael Miller won the Creativity Award!!!

And as if that wasn't cool enough, my pal Sandi Henderson, won the Merchandising Award. WOOOHOO!

Here she is in her adorable dress she made from her new fabric collection, Meadowsweet:

Sunday night, Michael Miller Fabrics celebrated their 10-Year-Anniversary in style with a rocking party on the top floor of the Hilton hotel...

Michael & Kathy cutting the cake...

No detail was spared... not even the life-sized K&M bobbleheads...

We had an amazing time... well, some of us more than others.

And again, I got to spend some great QT with the Fat Quarter Shop team... I just adore these guys!

Here I am with our Australian distributor, John Clegg of Mac's Crafts...

And with an amazing art quilter, Rob Appell

And I want to end up with this photo of two of my favorite people... Jean & Tom Meacham. Jean is Kathy Miller's sister and these two are about the most hardworking, dedicated and selfless duo I have ever met. Tom helped us out so much that I ended up giving him Jon's famous bee tie as a thank you gift (he had been ogling it the whole time we were there!) We'll miss you!

OK, that's it, folks! Thanks for staying with me. Now on to prepare for the next one...

2009-10-05T21:35:00.003-05:00

Golden Birthday!

My baby is 5... FIVE!!! Well, not technically yet. Her actual birthday is in a couple of days but Jon and I will be in Houston then, so we celebrated her golden birthday at the American Girl Store in Chicago this past weekend. A great time was had by all!

This post will be short on words but big on pictures... my brain is mush right now from all the market prep, so I'm not feeling too chatty right now, but I wanted to get these up before we left. :)

Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet baby girl!!! I still can't believe how fast you've grown. I love you so much!

2009-10-03T20:12:00.003-05:00

Winners, dates, times and other important stuff...

We only have a couple of days to go before we pack up the vehicle and head South to Houston for the Fall International Quilt Market, so you can imagine the craziness around here. Oh, and I may have forgotten to mention that one of those two days will be spent in Chicago (here) celebrating Sydney's 5th birthday, since we will be in Houston on the day of her actual b-day... yah, insane!

Anyway... thank you all SO MUCH for the amazing comments regarding Flora & Fauna. I am blown away by the love! Wish I could reward each & every one of you, but alas we could only pick 2 winners and since that job was much more pressure than I could handle right now, I left it up to the trusty ol' randomizer. There were 445 comments when we closed the contest and the winners are...

**********************
#6
yahaira said...
I fell in love when you posted these on flickr! those bees!!! it's hard to pick a favorite colorway, but stone is definitely up there. I want to make scrappy quilts and little bags out of this line
10:10 AM

#429
princess*picasso said...
Patty, I think I am in love! Your new prints are absolutely gorgeous!!!!! You are amazing. Amie
11:25 AM
**********************

Congratulations, ladies! Please contact me at info@modkidboutique.com at your earliest convenience to claim your prize! :)

OK... now on to some important Quilt Market info...

**********************

FIND ME AT BOOTH # 925

**********************

You are cordially invited to attend a schoolhouse presentation by yours truly, sponsored by Brewer Quilting and Sewing Supplies...

**********************

SCHOOLHOUSE!!!
Topic: MODKID Patterns and Your Next-Gen Sewist
Description: Textile & pattern designer Patty Young will discuss how Modkid Sewing Patterns will increase fabric and pattern sales to the younger sewist. Take advantage of the rising popularity of the garment sewing and hand made movement.
Where: Room #382A
Date & Time: Friday, October 9, 10:40 a.m. - 11:10- a.m.

**********************

Hope to see you all there!!

And since I seem to be physically incapable of posting to my blog without some sort of visual, I leave you with a few more Flora & Fauna sneak peeks. These are some of the items my mom brought with her from Florida... more to show at Quilt Market!

ahhhhh....

mmm....

eeeee....

But what really made me squeal with delight as soon as she pulled it out of her suitcase was this amazing laptop bag that fits my 17" MacBook Pro like a glove and has pockets galore for all my cables & stuff!!!

And it is a perfect match to this adorable selvedge notebook that my friend Val made for me last week (I can't even put into words how happy this makes me!)...

heeeheee... I'm gonna be so matchy-matchy with Jon (and it wasn't even planned!) OH THOSE BEES! Ooops, I'd better hurry up and make something else with those dandelions & luna moths so they don't feel slighted again!

Signing off until Quilt Market! If you follow me on Twitter, you'd better believe I will be tweeting all the way there & back. :)

2009-09-29T14:28:00.004-05:00

There's more to life than the birds and the bees!

HA! Made you look! Sooooo.... this past weekend I was having a conversation with my new fabrics (yes, we talk) and it was brought to my attention that in the big Flora & Fauna reveal post, I went on and on about the super cool bees and the gorgeous hummingbirds, and of course, the ever so versatile double border daisies, but I made virtually no mention of some of the other -- just as cool -- designs in the collection. Some feelings were hurt and it was not my intention at all. So, since I'm an equal opportunity fabric lover, I wanted to make it right.

A very important component of Flora & Fauna is this series of Dandelion prints, which, as a matter of fact were the building blocks for the collection, since they were the first drawings I made. We loved them so much that we decided to offer them in a spectrum of colors that can work all the way from nursery layette to women's wear.

Then, as I was doing my research for the winged creatures I wanted to feature in my new collection, I came across the Luna Moth and was completely inspired by it. I loved its interesting shape and vivid color and had such a fun time drawing it and adding my little mod-ish touches to the drawings. I consider my Luna Moth the most "sophisticated" and "grown up" of all my designs and cannot wait to see it in purses, women's tops, flirty skirts and the like.

Then there's the Blossoms. Oh, where do I even begin? These adorable little bunches of flowers were plucked right out of my Hummingbird print and turned out so fun and whimsical that we decided to make them in just about every color combination we could dream up. Just check out my blog background! I am using these everywhere... you'll see!

So, now that you all probably think I've lost my mind (talking to fabric & all) let me just add that I feel so mushy inside just seeing how my family and friends have come together to help make the Flora & Fauna debut our best yet. Seriously, folks, just look at these amazing pieces...

Kristen made the sweetest Frida dress, using fabrics from my Turquoise and Raspberry palettes, and shipped it to me in a flash. Hop on over to her blog where she has promised to give away some fabric if you leave a comment...

Then theres, Val, my little sewing bee friend. She is such a hard worker, she actually makes me look lazy, if you can believe it. She made this Sydney hoodie out of my mustard palette...

Then she made this Ava Halter set from my turquoise palette...

And even surprised me with a mini-version of Ava. Yes, folks, mini-me will be traveling with us to Quilt Market next week. I simply cannot wait to show her off!!!

Heather made a whole new slew of jingle cloth balls. I cannot even pick a favorite! They are all so precious!!!

And my mom has been super hard at work down in Florida on some items that apparently are so amazing she can't even show me a sneak peek. Seriously! I've begged but she wants me to see everything in person... 2 more days! She flies in this Thursday evening. The suspense is KILLING ME!!!

Oh, but don't you even think for one moment that I've been sitting on my butt while I let all these nice ladies do all my work. I've pretty much become one with my sewing machine & serger these past few days.

I made a Kyoko...

And an Isabel. Oh, remember the Double Border Daisies? Well, they also come as all-over daisies just in case you love the design but don't need it as a border. :)

And a Julia, which Sydney was more than happy to test drive for me...

or should I say "test twirl"?

And... drum roll please... I went out of my comfort zone (AGAIN) and made a men's tie for Jon to wear to Quilt Market. Nope, I didn't make it up. I used this tutorial and even though it required more hand-stitching than I'm comfortable with (especially while being so pressed for time) I think it went together without a hitch and turned out FANTASTIC! What do you think?

So, I know you're all wondering who won the contest. I promise to announce the winners this week. My goal is to get these little bundles of goodness out to the lucky winners BEFORE we leave so you all can be the first to have them in hand. When I announce the winners I'll also tell you some important Quilt Market info, like where my booth is located and when my schoolhouse session for Brewer is (yes, freaking out here... more on that soon!)

2009-09-23T09:34:00.005-05:00

Introducing ... Flora & Fauna

It's finally here and I'm so friggin' excited about this new collection of mine that I squeal every time I see it!

A couple of months ago I did an interview with True Up in which I shared a bit of a background story on my concept of Flora & Fauna. I said (and I quote) "for this collection I had to go completely out of my comfort zone. I deviated from the structured, linear feel that I am so accustomed to and went with a more free-flowing, organic set of designs. This was my way of proving to myself that I could do something completely different while still staying true to my style."

So here it is, in it's full glory. It was a labor of love... I hope you like it!!

I just LOVE how the four color stories play so harmoniously together just like elements in nature!

I'm sure you all want to see some sewn items, don't you? Of course, I had to do pillows first! I always do pillows first.

Check out the back of my pillows! I used the selvedges as the edges of my envelope backing. Heehee. Oh, I crack myself up so!

I tweeted the other day when I was making these sweet little hexes. Oh, GOSH, I love these bees so much it hurts!!!

My dear friend, Valerie, sewed up this Nina pattern for me in record speed. Doesn't Sydney look so "Mod" and "cosmopolitan" in her Flora & Fauna ensemble? This sweet little 2-piece set will be on display at my booth at Quilt Market and after the show, it will become a store display at Sew Much More.

OH, and I almost forgot! The collection comes with a bonus "double border" design. I am so in love with these! Oh, the possibilities... skirts, dresses, curtains, quilts, pillows. I cannot wait to see what you all make with them. The Double Border Daisies come in all 4 colorways.

So, what do you think of Flora & Fauna? I am so excited that I want to share the wealth. I have a small stack of fat quarters sitting here in my studio just begging for a new loving home. Leave me a comment and I'll pick 2 winners to take these home. It'll be a small assortment of prints, but OH so sweet! Let me know if you have a favorite print or a favorite colorway. Tell me how the collection inspires you, or anything at all. I just want to hear what you think! :)

2009-09-16T11:12:00.002-05:00

Biding my time...

If you follow me on Twitter you know that I've been tap, tap, tapping my fingers, twiddling my thumbs and biding my time all this week waiting for the sample yardage of my brand new fabric collection to arrive at my doorstep. Just found out it won't be here today either, so to keep myself from going absolutely nuts, I decided to blog. I figured you wouldn't mind a few sneak peeks...

One of my sweet pattern testers, Anna Garner, from Sweet Dreams Designs, has been sending me test shots of some of my new sewing patterns this week. I love working with Anna because she is fast, thorough and honest (all great qualities to have in a pattern tester, believe me!) Oh, and she just happens to work with some of the best model/photographer teams in the industry, so I always look forward to receiving her photo galleries.

Here's a couple she sent me of my ISABEL pattern. These two photos are courtesy of April of Once in Every Life Photography, www.onceineverylifephotography.com. How cute are these girls? I also love how these photos show that the pattern is perfect for warmer climates, worn on its own, and for cooler climates, layered over stuff (her idea, not mine!) :)

And here is a little sneak of the testing she did for my AVA pattern. This photo is courtesy of Heidi Baird of Elite Event Images, emmasaxton@gmail.com. I just adore it!

These and many more will be making it into the booklet pages of my new patterns, debuting this Fall. Stay tuned!

OK, all this talk of fabric has left me wanting to show you a little sneak peek, so here it is:

This is my largest collection yet... 44 total designs divided into 4 glorious color stories boasting all sorts of winged creatures, colorful flowers and yes, dots, dots, dots! As soon as my fabric gets here and I have the time to shoot it in all it's glory I will do a full reveal, so please keep checking!!

2009-09-12T19:07:00.003-05:00

SEW MUCH MORE

I met Valerie Haberer, owner of SEW MUCH MORE, what used to be only a Baby Lock dealership in my hometown a couple of years ago when I went in looking to purchase a Baby Lock Imagine. She took excellent care of me and we've remained friends ever since. She has seen me develop into the fabric & sewing pattern designer that I am today and has always been extremely supportive and excited about my endeavors.

She recently embarked on an adventure of her own and has turned her Baby Lock store into a hip & cool fabric shop, offering the latest & greatest in designer fabrics and indie sewing patterns in the industry.

This past Thursday, September 10, Valerie hosted an OPEN HOUSE to celebrate her new endeavor and it was such a fun event. Below is a picture of some of the attendees (a couple had to leave early due to prior engagements so I did not capture the full group)

Valerie and her assistant, Karen, looked so adorable in their matching Mezzanine skirts...

I just had to get in on the fun and give these sweet ladies a big hug...

After a short talk, we revealed the winners of the sewing contest. The decision was so tough because there were so many wonderful entries. I was truly blown away by the local talent... not that I didn't think there was any (haha), but just that they all came forward to showcase their skills and make beautiful creations with my fabric *sniff, sniff*

Janet Walker won in the Women's Wear category for her beautiful Clover Dot Cami

Pam Pittman won in the Bags, Purses & Totes category with her gorgeous Flora purse

Cathie Haab won in the Children's Wear category with her adorable 2-piece Mezzanine baby outfit

Carolyn Bryant won in the Home Decor category with this amazingly fussy-cut Andalucia Table Runner you see up at the top.

Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who entered the contest... everything was breathtakingly beautiful!

A million thanks to Valerie for her support and friendship. And thank you all for attending. I had a truly wonderful night! I even walked away with one of the contest entries... a great scarf made with my Mod Blooms cord. Thanks, Kathy! I love it!!

2009-09-08T16:35:00.008-05:00

What's in a Name?

I'm still blown away by all the responses we received after I asked for sewing pattern name suggestions. Boy, I should've thought about this long ago! Thank you all for all your ideas! Choosing names was soooo hard for us... there were literally thousands to go through. We grabbed some popcorn & drinks and got cozy in the studio. Jon read the names aloud and I wrote down those we really loved. There were tons of names on that list but we needed to narrow it down some more. At the end we came up with about a dozen must-haves, so you may see your name suggestion pop up here in the near future... you never know!

The 3 winners for this contest were:

SewMentalMama said...

What a great idea for a contest, but I don't know how you are
going to choose between all the great neames suggested. There are four
I would like:

1. Clara or Carla
2. Lucy
3. Nina
4. Emily

nheimberg said...

How about Abigail or Abby. Ruth is a nice classic name also. Natasha is a good one too. :)

Dottie said...

Wow, I think my list could go on and on..how about:
1. Ella
2. Cambrie
3. Stella

I know lots of you suggested these names, but we had to go with the first person who did. Winners, please email your mailing address to info@modkidboutique.com.

In addition to these 3 awesome names, we have a few others we just cannot do without. And I don't know about you, but I'm a visual person so when I heard a name, I immediately envisioned a "look". Like for example, when I heard the name BETTY, I imagined a super cute, retro apron set... like maybe a mother/daughter matching pattern? Then when I heard MARGOT, I thought of an elegant winter coat. PENELOPE could be the elegant party gown to match the coat. And the name MATILDA conjured up all kinds of playful, retro A-line dresses. And then there was LUCY and MAYA and CLAUDIA... oh, so many lovely names! Ahhh... I definitely have my work cut out for me! I better get to designing some Ninas, Abigails, Stellas, Bettys, etc., etc.

Speaking of names, I'd like to introduce you to the 3 lovely young ladies that have occupied most of my time these past few weeks. May I present AVA, ISABEL and JULIA, all due out in October and available for pre-order at Quilt Market (in conjunction with a couple others I'm working on!)

And, of course, you can't have a MODKID Sewing Pattern without the notorious "potty girls" so here they are...

I may be a bit quiet around here while I prepare for the Fall International Quilt Market, coming up in just 4 short weeks. This will be a big one for me because I will be debuting a new fabric collection with Michael Miller Fabrics (more on that soon!) plus a whole new range of sewing patterns.

In the meantime I will be appearing at Sew Much More this Thursday, September 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. If you are local to the Central Illinois area, don't miss Sew Much More's OPEN HOUSE. There will be food, drinks and door prizes galore! I will give a short talk around 6:30 then judge a sewing competition. It should be loads of fun so come on out!

SEW MUCH MORE
1520 E. College Ave. Suite O
Normal, IL, 61761

Phone: 309-452-7659

2009-08-29T16:38:00.004-05:00

Get Your Own!

haha... I didn't mean that title to sound mean. ;) I just get so many compliments every time I go out with one of my mom's purses that I thought I'd share my source with you so you can get one too. See? Isn't that nice?!

My mom has been at it again and this time she has loaded up her Etsy store with all kinds of new goodies... all made with Michael Miller fabrics.

(click on each photo to be taken to the Etsy listing)

First up is her most popular purse design, this time made with my ModBlooms baby wale corduroy...

She also played around with Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom fabrics and made a couple of gorgeous purses...

Another version of her most popular design, this time with Michael Miller's Dandy Damask...

A large tote made with corduroy and my Andalucia Mod Dots ribbon...

And finally this sweet little tote, made with lots of Mezzanine, that would be great to take along as a craft purse for those who love to knit or embroider. I also thought this would be perfect as a sleepover bag for a little girl... with plenty of pockets to store her toiletries, toys and treasures!

OH, and she even re-listed her most popular design yet... HERE!

All of the purses shown above are READY MADE and ready to ship. So, go ahead... get your own! :)

Oh, and if you've been wondering what's going on with The Name Game, we're still working on it. This week we've been a little busy but I promise to choose the winners soon. Contest isn't closed yet, so if you still have suggestions... go ahead and leave them under the Name Game post.

2009-08-27T22:14:00.005-05:00

Behind the scenes...

... at the studio. This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of welcoming the ladies behind the amazing publication Where Women Create into my home and it was an experience I will never forget. Jo Packham, WWC editor, originally called me while I was vacationing in Florida last week and since I didn't recognize the number on my caller ID I almost didn't pick it up. But alas I did and, oh my gosh, I'm so glad I did because the schedule was t. i. g. h. t. and I probably would've been dropped if I hadn't picked up the phone when I did.

Less than a week later I had three wonderful women in my home and we had so much fun talking fabric, patterns, kids, art and life in general.

Below, photographer Dana Waldon shoots one of my Andalucia upholstered chairs and a couple of my Marieliz purses.

After the shoot, we relaxed for a bit in the living room before they headed back to Chicago to continue with their busy schedule. From left to right, photographer Dana Waldon, WWC editor Jo Packham and Jo's assistant Gina.

Where Women Create is a quarterly magazine that celebrates creative women and their inspiring workspaces. I am incredibly honored and flattered to have been chosen to be a part of it. My feature will either be in the February or May 2010 issue. I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I know! But in the meantime check out Where Women Create in stores like Barnes and Noble, Borders, Michael's & Hobby Lobby. Or you can subscribe on their website. You may even see a familiar face or two in this current issue. ;)

And while you're at it, you can become a fan of WWC on Facebook and also follow them on Twitter. YAY!

2009-08-22T10:51:00.004-05:00

Florida!

(WARNING: picture overload!)

Yes, we were gone for 9 days and like I said in my last post, we had something planned for each day. So here's a synopsis.

Day 1: Jungle Adventures
Sophie has had an obsession with alligators for as long as I remember so my mom wanted to take her to this funky little place. I guess it's more like a zoo than like a theme park. They don't have any rides, except for the one that takes you around this foul-smelling swamp on a pontoon boat to see where the gators dwell. Here's a view of a dilapidated Spanish fort we saw during the swamp ride:

Sophie & Jon smile for a picture during the swamp ride despite the foul sulfur smell emerging from the green waters...

They also have shows, the most popular of them being the one where a young *brave* girl gets IN THE WATER WITH THE ALLIGATORS and feeds them, practically shoving pieces of meat in their mouths. There is not enough money you could pay me to do this! Although I was more than willing to do this.

AH, and then there's the show where they tell you about the jungle critters and let you pet them. You already saw me get up close & personal with the Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula. She was so soft & gentle! Sydney petted her from afar...

Here are Sophie & Sydney with a rather large ball python (I was so proud of my brave girls!)

We also all got to hold a baby alligator but they wouldn't let us take our own pictures. If we wanted to record the moment we had to buy the pricey pictures they took with a far less awesome camera and far less experienced photographer (haha) so we opted against it.

All in all it was a great time... bit too hot, humid & smelly for my taste but just watching the girls' reactions was totally worth the sacrifice! ;)

DAY 2: The Beach
Can't go to Florida without visiting the beach at least once, can you? Here are some of my favorite shots from that day...

Day 3: Disney's Magic Kingdom

Again, we can't visit FL without at least one day with Mickey & friends. The girls had an absolute BLAST that day. They got to meet and chat with their favorite princesses, Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. Here they are with Belle:

Then they spent some quality time with Mickey & Minnie...

And even more quality time with grandma...

They explored the set after Pirates of The Caribbean ride...

And even did some modeling for one of my upcoming patterns, Isabel. Not sure if I can use these photos for the booklet, though. Her bangs were so sweaty! Did I mention it was crazy hot & humid in FL?!?

We even caught a glimpse of Cinderella's Castle at night on our way out...

It was so pretty the way it changes colors every few seconds...

Then decided at the last moment to stay a few minutes longer for the Parade of Lights...

We got home at midnight that night but the memories will be unforgettable!

Days 4, 5, 6 & 7: Port St. Lucie and South Beach

Jon & I left the kids with my parents and drove South for some grown up time with my sister and her husband. We had more fun than I could even describe and decided not to lug our big 'ole camera around so we could truly enjoy our time.

We had our waitress take this picture of us with my iPhone... not too shabby, eh? If you've ever had breakfast on Ocean Drive in South Beach, Miami, you are probably dying laughing at this typical picture. For those of you who have never been... they give you these GINORMOUS drinks, like the size of your head! Caty & Jason got the Mimosas, Jon got a Bloody Mary and I opted for the Sangria, which was delicious but I couldn't even finish it. Fun times!

We shopped, drank, ate like pigs and took in the sights, which really, in South Beach, it's enough to keep you entertained for 4 days!

Day 8: The Beach... again!

Yep, we had to squeeze in another trip to the beach before we left and this time we brought my sweet niece, Asja, with us. The girls had a blast!

Day 9 was travel back home day and it was a tough one. Our first flight was delayed, the we had a layover in Atlanta. That next flight was delayed too. It's funny how tiring it can be to just wait around in airports. Must be those uncomfortable seats. By the time we got home Sydney was sick to her tummy... she threw up on her bed almost immediately after coming home. As I was changing her bedding, she threw up on the couch. And as I was wiping down the leather on the couch she threw up on the stairs. I gave up on cleaning this time and just sat with her. She didn't want to talk or eat or sleep... just sit. So we did. For a while. She slept like a baby that night and woke up the next morning happy & hungry like nothing had happened. PHEW! I wish I was as resilient as my kids!

Anyway, thank you to anyone who sat through my Vacation Album. I know it was long and wordy. I am still going through all the names. Give me a little more time. I want to make sure I don't miss any... and the entries are still coming in. haha

Bye!

2009-08-19T21:31:00.004-05:00

We're Baaaack!

We've been in Florida for the past 9 days and it was both wonderful and exhausting! We had activities planned for each and every day... not kidding! It was a blast but I'm glad to be back.

Did you guys know this is my 300th post? Of course not! I didn't even know until a few minutes ago. Seriously THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the sewing pattern name suggestions. I am not kidding you when I say that I was expecting a couple dozen suggestions but coming home to 260+ comments was truly shocking... in a good way! :) It's gonna take me a few days to read through all of them and pick my favorite 2 or 3 names. Most of you left multiple names under your comment so I'm estimating having to go through a couple thousand girlie names. Boy, maybe I should get busy and make more patterns so I can use up more of them.

I'll announce the winners as soon as I can! I did want to point out something... I noticed that the names Ava, Isabel and Julia kept popping up here & there in the comments so I am afraid I wasn't too clear in mentioning that those are names I am already using (see 4th paragraph down on the Name Game post). Just didn't want anyone to think I used their name without due credit! ;)

OK... I'd better get to work. I'll leave you with a little sneak peek from our FL vacay...

This one I call BLISS.

And this one I call FACING FEAR.

More pics (correction: TONS more pics!) coming in the very near future... brace yourselves! ;)

In the meantime, please check out my interview on TRUE UP. I talk about my inspiration for each and every design in Mezzanine. I also give a little non-visual sneak of my next fabric line.

Also, Quilt Home is featuring yours truly in their most recent e-newsletter... I'm SO flattered. (pssst, scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter to see a 15% coupon that expires this Sunday valid for my fabric & patterns!)

And last, but certainly NOT least, Better Homes & Gardens' Fall issue of Quilts & More magazine has a 6-page spread on how to make the 3 pillows I designed for my Andalucia fabric debut last Fall. On the last page, they even show you how they took the same designs and made them out of Mezzanine!! If you can't find a copy of this mag at your local bookstore, you can buy one at Fat Quarter Shop.

Be back soon...

2009-08-09T09:38:00.006-05:00

The Name Game

WOW! Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments on my new studio. You guys are the BEST!!! We are heading out to Florida today for our annual vacay but I wanted to leave a little contest up on the blog. Just something fun for all to do while I'm away in the land of sand & sun for the next 9 days...

See, it seems I've run out of ideas for naming my sewing patterns. It's sorta like naming kids, except I only had to do that twice. And yes, I've actually brought out the "baby names" book a couple of times to help me out! The first 4 patterns came to me fairly easy. Lil' Chef was a no-brainer. Frida was named even before she was fully-drafted... really! Kyoko took a slight bit of Googling but once I saw it, that was it. Emma was just one of those pretty, feminine & delicate names that fit perfectly with a pretty, feminine & delicate dress.

Then came the Sophie and the Sydney... I'm sure by now I don't really need to explain where the inspiration came for those. (pssst... if you're new to my blog, those are my kiddos' names!)

For the Fall release I plan to have 4 - 6 new sewing patterns. I've already named Ava. The pattern is done and currently off to the testers. I've even shared some outtakes from the cover shoot. And I'll show you Isabel when we come back from vacation. I'm taking my Isabel sewn sample to FL to try to get some cool pics for the booklet. Then I have another one in the works that may or may not be called Julia. I'll share more details when I return.

So... that leaves me with needing 1 - 3 more names and I'm just running out of ideas and time. Here's where all you wonderful blog readers and creative types come in. Leave me a girlie-girl name suggestion in the comments below this post and if I choose your name you will receive a sweet little bundle of goodness. I don't know what it'll be yet (since this just occurred to me last night) but I promise it won't disappoint... and there will definitely be yummy fabric included! :)

Oh, and while you're leaving name suggestions, if you would like to give actual new sewing pattern suggestions -- anything that you'd like to see a pattern for? -- please, by all means speak up. After all, these are for YOU!

OK... we're off. I'll leave you with these two crazy girls...

Here's Sophie returning from day camp last Friday, toothless & painted.

CONFESSION: the tooth fairy completely forgot to leave money under the pillow that night. But the next morning I logged on to Twitter and found out she had a tough time the night before due to storms and was still working on collections (yes, the Tooth Fairy IS on Twitter) so as the kids were mesmerized reading her tweets, the tooth fairy snuck in and left the money. PHEW! Twitter saves the day again!

And here is Sydney, also returning from day camp a few weeks ago. A camp counselor had French-braided her hair and when we took the braids out it looked like Mermaid hair so I couldn't resisted a picture.

CONFESSION: I've never learned how to French braid but always wanted too. I've attempted it a few times and failed miserably!

Adios!

(P.S. Our Web Store will remain open while we are traveling but all orders will ship on the 19th or later. Thank you for your understanding!)