What I'm Working on Wednesday

New fabrics for my shop.

I especially love this pattern. It's one of that I created for my next commercial collection for Moda, but this one is obviously hand patterned and dyed and each hexagon is larger in scale than it will be in the commercial version.
I'm also working on new color ways for existing patterns like this one:

And new lengths for a few much loved patterns.

Due to a custom order, I recently ordered some blank yardage that 60" wide instead of the traditional 44" wide and am wondering if other folks would be interested in single yard pieces that are extra wide? Feel free to pipe in here and give me some feedback.
I  haven't forgotten about my monthly pattern and am making good progress on my Klee's Trees quilt. Hopefully I'll have the remaining 8 blocks done by week's end and will be ready to start writing the pattern as well quilting the top.
In the meantime, here's a progress shot to give you a hint of how it's coming together.

I know there are different schools of thought about whether you should post images of work in progress, especially when it has a commercial purpose, but I'm only human and I get excited about what I'm working on and I want to share that excitement.
I don't think that diminishes other people's interest in making the quilt when the pattern becomes available, do you?

What I'm Working on Wednesday: Leftover Edition

When I was a kid I hated leftovers. I called it "old" food and why would I want to eat that.
Now, I'm, hopefully, older and wiser and I realize that: a. said leftover is the remains of what probably was super tasty last night and b. oftentimes the flavor is enhanced by having sat in the refrigerator overnight.
I think the same is true for fabric. As I mentioned in this post, I've wrapped up the initial design process for my next collection. Getting to that point necessitated making quite a bit of fabric, much of which wasn't needed for the samples I sent in to Moda.
So, I'm using some of those leftovers to make this:

It's a modified version of a design I created for my book, Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration and crafted out of 5" square scraps of my hand dyes and a simple cream colored cotton.

It's simple and quick and very visually tasty.
Perfect for leftovers.

If I could give the world a coke...

Remember that commercial? The premise was that if we could all share a coke and smile together then the world would live in peace and harmony.
Well, I'm a little skeptical about that regarding coke, what with it being filled with sugar and just generally bad for you, but, based on the enthusiasm and number of comments you all left for the giveaway fabric, I think fabric might be the way to bring us all together.

So, on that note, i'm announcing the winner of the fat quarter bundle:

 Maureeneh said...

What wonderful Fabrics-I'd love to Win them

Yay!

Maureeneh, please email me at malka@stitchindye.com with your address and I'll get that bundle in the mail to you.

Wasn't thinking and writing about fabric fun?

Let's do some more.

Yesterday, I sent off the designs for my next fabric collection. I have been working and thinking and working and thinking about these fabrics for quite a while. I'm very happy with this group, but having finished, I'm also strangely feeling a little empty. Not that I don't have plenty of work that I've put on the back burner to finish this project, but I think you understand. it takes a day or so once you're done with something big to refocus on the next project.

All that aside though, I am very excited about these fabrics, both as designs and as jumping off points for other designs.

So, I'm sharing a few images I took yesterday. I would have loved to have taken more, but my deadline awaited.

What I'm Working on Wednesday

What am I working on this Wednesday?
Pretty much the same thing I was working on on Monday.
I did finish binding The Boyfriend Quilt and might have a chance to take some shots of it today, but I'm very much in the thick of things with these:

I'm constantly making and re-making lists of which patterns make the final cut and what color ways I still want to try. It's a good thing I have a deadline because my tendency is to wonder, " what if..." and I need to wrap up the group. I have told myself several times that not every pattern has to make it into this collection. I can always hold on to it and include it in another group down the road. That's the reasonable side of me. The other side? She's not so easily swayed by sensible arguments, but we're coming to the end here, so....
All this patterning and dyeing has yielded a few more bundles and a scrap pack for my store, so check that out if you have a minute.

Be back on Friday!

Patterning Ups and Downs

The other day I was having dinner with some friends and one of them suggested that we all name a highlight from the previous week. Though this may sound a bit awkward and forced, I think a lot about issues relating to gratitude and being present and possibly so do the folks I gravitate towards, so we thought this was a great idea.
We then took turns naming a single event that brightened our week. Several pointed to a particular work achievement and one or two mentioned something relating to relationships or friendship as their personal highlight.
I focused on creating. I'm hot and heavy at work on my next collection for Moda and I've struggled a bit with it. It seemed like lately that just as I'd I test a pattern I'd reject it for some reason. That is until last Thursday.
I can't pretend to say that I know what changed and I realize that that would probably be a good idea, but, in the course of one day, I went from having 3 "for sure" patterns to 7 definites and 2 probablies.
That was a very good day.

This shot of my design wall doesn't even represent all the possibilities, both accepted and rejected.

It makes me feel excited to have all the pattern possibilities because now I can play with the palette. That part I do have nailed down.

As for the patterns and/or color ways that don't make the final cut:

Look for these to be quilted, crafted into pillow covers, and added to my store.

What I'm Working on Wednesday

That title is kind of growing on me. Especially because I have a lot in the works lately.
I'm picking up my quilted Boyfriend Quilt from the long armer today, so look for finished photos of that possibly as soon as Friday and am furiously working on my next collection for Moda Fabrics.
It's that work, dyeing and designing new patterns that has led to these:

New a stitch in dye fabric bundles for sale in my shop.
And these:

Quarter pound scrap bundles are also available.
Both these items are on super limited quantity as right now I'm focused on my new collection, my 12 in 12 quilt project (12 quilt patterns in 12 months, yikes!), and my soon-to-be-released and totally awesome new website (folks, wait until you all see this...so cool).
But, I am excited to be working on new fabric patterns for the shop. It has been a long time since I introduced some new fabrics and new colorways of much beloved patterns.
So, if you're interested, go ahead and grab yourself a bundle or stay tuned to see what's new and next.

Abi's Ladder

I had so (that's so, not sew) many ideas for what I wanted to post about today.
First off, I added some new items and re-stocked a few in my store and thought to blog about that. Then I installed my famous hanging line seen here and here and here and in practically every quilt image I've taken over the past few years.
And finally, I helped my youngest hang the quilt that used to be her crib quilt in her new room, in our new house.
So (or is it sew?) many options.
Well, I decided that because I'm deeply sentimental at heart, I would talk about Abi's quilt.

I made the quilt before she was ever born and the gal just turned 16, so it ain't brand new. Add to that she used it. I mean really used it. It was her bed quilt for the first year of her life. Did I mention that she wore cloth diapers. Get the picture? It's been washed...a lot.
Yet, I think, it's still quite beautiful.
The pattern, I use that term very roughly, is an improvised Jacob's Ladder. And, for those of you who wonder about the wash fastness of hand dyed fabric, all the cottons in this quilt are my own hand dyes.

I think they've stood up very well.
I've always had a special place in my heart for this quilt, understandably so. I'm so(sew) happy my girl wants to have it up where she can see it, enjoy it, and maybe even tell her friends about it, though I suspect she might leave out the part about the cloth diapers necessitating multiple washings.

30-Day Challenge:: Hinting

New palette chosen. Selected designs weeded out from rejects. New collection just about ready to be sent off. I used my macro lens to give y'all a hint without hopefully revealing too much.

30-Day Challenge:: Abi's Baby Kimono

I was chatting with someone this morning about the role of handcrafted items in contemporary lives. As a sidebar: this was part of an official interview, not the stuff of everyday banter. Anyway, I was mentioning how valuable crafting for ourselves and those we love is, especially in our get-it-super-cheap-at-Target world. That's when I remembered a wee, little wrap shirt that I over-dyed a few weeks before my youngest was born over 14 years ago. I embellished this top with the intent that she wear it home from the hospital. And she did. And it was a bit too big, so she got to wear it a few more times. And then I made another one for the next door neighbor's baby who came along six weeks later. And that's how a stitch in dye was born.

And now it fits easily in the palm of her hands.

30-Day Challenge:: isn't the thread pretty?

Whenever I unwrap an arashi pole (what that is is the makings for a different post), I'm always wowed by how pretty the thread that's been immersed with the fabric is. It almost seems a shame to throw it away and I'm sure that many of you have suggestions for what to do with the thread rather than discard it. I always welcome and enjoy y'all's creativity, but unraveling this bird's nest of thread is way more work than I want to do. That, however, doesn't stop me from enjoying the color and, in this case, finding a way to take a one-handed picture of it.

On a slightly different note, thanks so much for all your lovely comments about my new fabric line. I wish I could tell you exactly where the fabric is available both in bricks and mortar stores and online, but I'm just the designer and don't honestly know. I do know that locally, Stitch Lab, Walker Hall, and Honey Bee Fabrics are carrying some of the collection. As for online, I know that the lovely Tammy at Marmalade fabrics is also planning on carrying the fabrics and that there are several Etsy vendors selling a stitch in color. Other than that, I would recommend a google search. I hope that helps.

30-Day Challenge: Work Space

Making it in a bit under the wire, but who's keeping track, right?
I've been spending a lot of time lately in this space as I'm working on another fabric collection. The ideas have come a little more slowly this time and I've rejected more than I've selected. All that is a little unusual for me, but maybe that's the way the 2012 version of me works. Tomorrow is always a mystery and you have to be willing to roll with the punches, even if you're the one throwing them.

a stitch in color :: twinkle mini quilt

I love follow through. I'm not always able to attain it, but when I am, boy howdy, does it make me happy.
So, following through on yesterday's promise, I present these images:

The completed top sans quilting

All done!

a stitch in color overdyed

It seems to be working.

I especially like the circles discharged and overdyed from the cheater cloth as the "stitching" that's printed on the fabric remains visible.

I've got another batch of these ready and am planning to assemble and quilt the mini quilt today. Good thing too as I'm leaving for market bright and early on Friday.
I hope to be back here tomorrow to show you the finished project.
In the meantime, check out this terrific piece the Darra Williamson, writer and editor extraordinaire, put together about me and a stitch in color. Thanks so much, Darra!

It's Not All Created Equal

Those of you who've had this experience can attest to the fact that not all commercial fabrics are created equal. By that I'm not referring to their hand or base fiber or even inherent beauty. I'm talking about whether they can be manipulated through surface design techniques, especially discharging or bleaching.
You all might be familiar with my quilts that focus on a singular shibori technique to create patterning. Quilts like this and this. Well, not every commercial fabric that I use works with this technique.
In short, this technique, itajime, uses clamped pieces of plexiglass to form a resist on the fabric's surface. Wherever the plexi comes in contact with the fabric, dye or bleach don't penetrate. This method works much of the time, but I have encountered commercial fabrics where the existing color didn't budge or, despite being cotton, the dye seemed to float off the surface. Considering how much I love this technique and I hoped that this resistance to surface manipulation would not be a characteristic of my new fabric, a stitch in color.
Well, you can all breathe a sigh of relief (assuming you were that worked up about it), I can vouch for the fact that discharging is definitely doable with these fabrics.

I haven't had a chance to over dye these, but usually discharging is more of an issue than over dyeing, so I'm confident all will be well.
My plan is to make a twinkle mini quilt like the one I linked to for Quilt Market this weekend. I'm going to need a few more clamps to expedite the process, but I don't think it's too lofty a goal.
I'll keep you posted.

Winner and More

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner:
Sheetal said...what a fun cozy and a great tutorial Malka! I think this is going to make a great hostess gift for my coffee loving friends...
Yay!
Sheetal, if you would please email me, I'll pass your info onto Tammy and we'll get your gift certificate to you faster than you can fry an egg on your dashboard here in Texas where it has been over 100 degrees almost everyday for 6 weeks. That's pretty darn fast.
As for the more, how about some new little lovelies for my store.

 

Here's wishing you a super-fabulous weekend!

Just the Pictures, Ma'am

Much as I'd like to write a long post and ask you all some of the questions that pop into my head while I'm moving through my day, I'm just going to have to be satisfied with pictures.
Except...I want to welcome a new sponsor to my blog, Saral Paper Corporation. They make some fabulous products including a transfer paper for transferring images on to fabric. Stay tuned because next Thursday, March 17, I'm going to be posting about a project, complete with tutorial, made using their transfer paper.
OK...now to the pictures.