No comments

Quilt like the Gypsy Wind!

  By , , , , , ,

The colors of the fabrics used in this quilt – turquoise, lime green and purple – are my favorite colors. So I was “in heaven” while designing and sewing “Gypsy Wind” for the book “Patchwork Comforters, Throws and Quilts” published by House of White Birches.  The fabrics are Marie Osmond’s “Gypsy Breeze” collection by Quilting Treasures.  

41 colorful and exciting quilts are shown in this book along with patterns and instructions.  It is a book quilt lovers will cherish.

And if you love these fabrics as much as I do, please check out my earlier post where I met Marie Osmond at the International Quilt Market with another quilt I designed using these fabrics for Quilting Treasures’ booth.

I wish you a day filled with your favorite colors.

Phyllis

No comments

“It’s A Dog’s Life” art featured on products

  By , , , ,

I’m featuring my art from “It’s a Dog’s Life” fabrics on products in my new Zazzle store, with delightful and vibrantly colored dogs in their daily routines.  I just opened the store so that my art can be easily found on products.  I am beginning with the art from my “It’s a Dog’s Life” fabric collection and have an extensive collection of products geared toward quilters with Quilt Lover Dog.

I am featuring Quilt Lover Dog, Beach Dog, Angel Dog, Gardener Dog, and Chef Dog currently with more dogs and categories to be added daily.  The Quilt Lover Dog has an expanded product line that quilt lovers as well as quilt guilds will love.

Products include aprons, stationery, tote bags, cards and notes, and much more.  The notebook above has matching pages to hold notes on your quilts as well as guild notes or use as a scrapbook for your photos. All products can be customized to add your name, guild name and anything else you want on your product.

Please check back for more products and happy quilting!

Phyllis

3 Comments

Sew a reversible apron!

  By , , , ,

Trendy and flirty aprons are so much fun to wear and are so easy to sew.  I designed and sewed this reversible apron that was featured in the June issue of Quilter’s World. This one is unique in that it is reversible so it gives two distinct looks with one apron.  And for an extra detail, the bodice is quilted.

I chose my favorite colors when creating these aprons, purple and green (with a touch of turquoise) for one side and turquoise and purple for the 2nd side.  The fabric is from Quilting Treasures.  The pattern is the same for each apron side, however, I created 2 different looks by changing the bottom edges.  One edge is a straight border design while the other apron has a bottom edge with ziz zag design.

I hope you enjoy the hot weather by staying inside and sewing.  Aprons are easy to sew and a great way to show off your sewing skills!

Phyllis

1 Comment

Cooler Chicago for the (CHA) Craft & Hobby Show

  By , , ,

I was in Chicago last week to attend the Craft and Hobby Show, the trade show for anything related to crafts (a consumer show followed the trade show). It was exciting to see the show floor filled with people who also seemed excited as well.

While there, my friend Brenda Pinnick and I took some time off to catch the El and go into Chicago to visit the museum at the Art Institute of Chicago. Its a fabulous museum and had expanded with a new modern wing that has been open a year.

The weather was fabulous, much cooler and less humid than here at home so Brenda and I spend some time walking through the city as well.  Chicago is so clean and beautiful and there were flowers everywhere along the streets. Large planters divided the street on Michigan Avenue as we walked toward the museum.  And there were plenty of sidewalk cafes with vibrant flowers.

Huge planters also lined the street.  I just happen to be in front of this one.

I am a huge fan of Art Nouveau and in Chicago, you don’t need to go to a museum to see a lot of this style as its prevalent throughout the City on buildings and other items of interest.

These 2 pictures shows some of the art nouveau designs on buildings.

And here is the famous Chicago Theater landmark on State Street, probably the most photographed  building in Chicago. 

One final shot – the Chicago River.  Didn’t I tell you Chicago was beautiful!

We enjoyed our day and it rejuvenating to have a break.  The next day, it was back to the CHA show  for meetings and to walk the show as well as visit with friends.

Here’s to a beautiful day for everyone!

Phyllis

4 Comments

Hot’lanta – trip to the Atlanta Gift Market

  By , , ,

It was a hot time in Atlanta as crowds arrived to attend the Atlanta Gift Market.  Mix in some humidity and it was sweltering, but it didn’t dampen our spirits while at the show.  I wish I knew how many miles I walked while there.  My poor feet wished I had not covered as much ground.

After days filled with meetings, it was fun to meet up with friends.  A highlight of my trip was a party held at the studio of Paula Joerling and Tom Haney.  Both Paula and Tom are so talented and have the most fabulous studio walking distance from market. Please check out their delightful blogs.

Tom is a master of creating kinetic sculpture art.  Here are 2 photos (which doesn’t do them justice since you can’t see the kinetic aspects.  Tom’s studio was filled with these wonderful pieces as well as tons of components.

Here’s a group photo of some of us in the studio – Elizabeth Tipton, Tom Haney, Robin Davis, Paula Joerling, Chad Barrett, me in front, Chad’s sister, and Janet Wecker Frisch.

While walking market, I saw one of the products that I designed, a garden flag for Evergreen Enterprises, Chick Power. More products will be out soon based on Chick Power.

Meanwhile, back to more gathering of friends.  A bunch of us met at the Westin to get together and basically talk and talk along with a few hugs. Pictured are Jane Maday, Terri Conrad, Martha Collins, Joyce Shelton, myself, Sue Zipkin and seated in front, BJ Lantz, and Carol Eldridge.

And, I was walking by the C.R. Gibson showroom while Jim Shore was there for a personal appearance and signing.

I have finally recouperated and am in the middle of getting work out.  Just in time to attend the CHA show in Chicago next week.  I’m looking forward to seeing several of you there!

Stay cool and out of the heat!

No comments

Craft for Health

  By ,

Crafting – its not only a fun, recreational hobby, it can also help with health issues.  To me, crafting is a stress-buster.  But it also helps with a medical problem that I have with Restless Leg Syndrome.  A wonderful blog, Craft for Health, tells how crafting has helped with various illnesses as well as stressful situations.  The posts are heart warming, informative, helpful and cover such a variety of situations.

Craft for Health just celebrated their 1st year anniversary and reposted the blog post that I wrote.  I love sharing it with you and if you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome, you may receive relief by picking up a paintbrush, a glue gun or a needle and craft away in the wee hours when you can’t sleep.

Have a great day and stay cool (its a really hot day here)!

Phyllis

5 Comments

Spring flowers – purple flowers!

  By

I really enjoy this time of the year for multiple reasons, and one of them is because of all the flowers that are blooming.  I am having a treat this year because of some flowers blooming in my yard that haven’t been there before.

This flower is really filling in a natural area.  I don’t know where it came from – birds probably dropped seeds.  Its too pretty to be a wild flower.  The blooms are 7 to 8 inches tall.  Whatever the reason, I love looking out at them from my deck and kitchen window.

This wild violet is also scattered through the same area.  They are so pretty and delicate but don’t make the splash from the distance that the first flower does.  Purple is one of my top favorite colors for flowers.

I’m hoping you are having a week of pretty blooms!

Phyllis

No comments

Upgrade for Create Product Mockups template collection

  By , , ,

I’m happy to announce that I have completed an upgrade to my collection of product templates Create Product Mockups – for a total of 105 product templates.

Create Product Mockups is an aid for licensing artists to use to show how their art will look on products in the most popular categories.  The files are in both Photoshop and Illustrator format and are easy to use.

The 105 templates cover a wide range of products in the following categories: Bedding and Bath, Kitchen Textiles, Stationery, Tabletop, Partyware, Apparel, Baby and Kids, Garden, Home Accents as well as Basic Shapes for multitudes of uses.

The upgrade is free and has been sent to those of you who have previously purchased Create Product Mockups. As I create new templates, I will continue to provide free upgrades.

2 Comments

Award winning quilt eye candy

  By ,

I want to show you this fabulous quilt from Leona Harden and her original pattern.  It won Best of Show Wall in The Smoky Mountain Quilters of Knoxville TN quilt show last month.

I just love this quilt and all the detail that Leona put in it. Its easy to see why it won.

Leona is an amazing quilter.  She has only been quilting for 3 years and started off winning quilting competitions right away.  She learns everything about quilting from the internet and made 50 quilts in her first 2 years of quilting.

In addition, Leona recently started a blog so you can view her original quilts and her quilt studio.  When Leona decided to take up quilting, she went faster than zero to 60.

Thanks Leona for sharing your award-quilt and your amazing talent.

And here’s to beautiful spring days to each of you (and a beautiful fall to those of you down under).

Phyllis

1 Comment

Christmas in January – with Mary Engelbreit

  By , , , , ,

Its always fun to meet someone who you really admire.  At the Atlanta Gift Market last month, I had the good fortune to meet Mary Engelbreit in the showroom of Katherine’s Collections.  Mary was there for a personal appearance.  I have always been a fan of Mary’s as well as appreciate her as a trail-blazer for art licensing.

The past couple of months have been the most hectic of all.  Preparing for two major trade show events in January required hours and hours of work.  Attending the shows, Atlanta Gift Market and CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) were almost like vacations because while they were technically work, I could lay down my paint brush and ignore my computer for a few days.  Plus, its always such fun to meet up with friends.

The day before the CHA show in Anaheim, Brenda Pinnick and I went to Laguna Beach for some much deserved R&R.  We shopped and had a great lunch while watching the Laguna Beach surf (which was very high due to the recent rains).


 

 

Although the shows are over, work continues with work from the shows as well as the work that was still in progress before the shows.

And, I am happy to say that I just finished a new fabric collection and am really excited about it.

I hope you are all staying warm in all this cold and snowy weather.

Phyllis