Feature Artist - Denyse Schmidt

I want these...

This woman is awesome. I bought a fat quarter on my honeymoon back in 2006 and from there was fascinated by her fabric designs and later her quilts.

The Fabric

Her fabric can be best described as very vintage, but with a little modern twist. She uses patterns that would have been popular in the 30's and 40's but in lime green, gray, or bright orange. So far she has introduced three lines...

Flea Market Fancy

Let me just say I loved this line. I loved it so much I almost cried when my last piece of the cute brown print at the very bottom of the picture was cut and I cut part of the pattern backwards. Note to sell, don't cut out patterns after midnight. Bad. Very bad.

Katie Jump Rope

I'm so in love with the color palettes she chose for this. The orange flower is my favorite and (shameless plug here) was used in this dress:

(go ahead, click on it!)


County Fair

This is her first decorator weight fabric. Ok, I'm going to come out and say it...not really my favorite. The patterns are the same as before, but the colors are more subdued and washed out.

Denyse, bring out your next line!

She came out with a book - Denyse Schmidt Quilts - a few years ago and I'm embarrassed to say I just bought it, though I've thumbed through it at bookstores many a time...

Her quilt patterns are wonderful. Again, very vintage, but not formal. The color pairings and almost haphazardness of the patterns make it very different. I think quilting has been a little stuffy for awhile until some modern ideas like her and Amy Butler have come around.

Craftstravaganza Part I

2008's Poster

I made it in!

Here's the low-down...

Saturday, May 2 2009,

9am to 5pm

Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Fine Arts Building

The vendors...

Craft Tote

Two dear friends of mine have begun a new tradition this past year. We have formed a craft night or Stitch N Bitch! This involves some crafty project of sorts, a movie - usually a horror flick - and a bottle of wine or two. As presents for the girls I came up with these perfect sized craft bags.

The Japanese fabric is perfect with little vintage sewing machines. It has a nice heavy weight to it and with a removable insert in the bottom, it holds up nicely. I made sure it would be large enough to hold a embroidery floss case.

Little Pincushion

I had to show off this awesome pincushion my friend made me for X-mas!!

Things to make: The Home

Wool blanket from Purl Bee

Living Creatively
Place mats with chopstick holders
Wall organizer
Sew, Mama, Sew!
Patchwork kitchen mat
Fabric art Quilted hot pads
Better Homes and Gardens
Fabric covered lampshade
Martha Stewart
Nip and Stitch Pillows
Leaf Print Linens
Purl Bee
Knitted Coasters
Lined Curtains
Wool blanket

New Goods

I had some time to whip up a few things this weekend. I'm getting into making bibs and burb cloth sets such as this one.


I love this Amy Butler print. It's called Pressed Flowers, but to me it looks like Moroccan tiles. I also tried out some of the decorative stitches on my machine. This one is a fun egg shaped satin stitch.

Photo Collage - Sewing Mchines

I have yet to name my machine. I think she might need a name. Yes, she is a woman of course. Any suggestions?

Applique

I've always thought applique was pretty cool. I've tried it out with dishtowels, a pinafore, and a few little Onesies.




There are two ways to do applique - Hand embroider or by machine. The vintage yellow flower above was done by machine, all my other goods were done by hand. Both work just as well, it's more a matter of preference and could be determined by the style or what the item is made of.



Good example of how to do applique. If you want to sew by hand, just use a straight stitch. The edge of the fabric will naturally fray a little unless you do a zig zag stitch. I personally think the fraying adds a little character!

New to the Shop

Some newly added goodies!!

Graphic Arts of the 60's

Before Illustrator, Photoshop, and well the computer graphic images were all done by hand. Duh you know that! The style of the 50's and 60's have recently been more of an interest to me. I love the geometric shapes and the overlapping vivid colors.

Images by Paul Rand

The Sewing Room

With the introduction of a new member into the sewing tools - a new serger - my sewing corner has now become way too small! After some creative brainstorming and a little pleading with the husband, I now officially have the front sunroom as my sewing room! It took most of a day to re-organize and set things up. It actually doesn't look very different from before to the untrained eye, but I made some big changes.

The shelves are a great way to store the more need at hand items. If you can't build out, build up. Scissors, pins, and embroidery patterns are a couple of bigger necessities.
This metal shelf does double duty as a plant stand and holds all my fabric ( for now ) , patterns, and other goods.

The shelves are a great way to store the more need at hand items. If you can't build out, build up. Scissors, pins, and embroidery patterns are a couple of bigger necessities.
This metal shelf does double duty as a plant stand and holds all my fabric ( for now ) , patterns, and other goods.

I have found the best way to store sewing notions is with a hanging shoe rack. Clear is best so it's easy to see what's in the pockets. If it doesn't fit well over the door - like mine - half a dozen or so of those 3M removable sticky things work well.

I now have room on this table to cut out patterns and sew. This eliminates me using the dining room table and spreading my things to all four corners of the house.