I've Moved

...but you guys didn't seem to move with me.
I have a brand new, beautiful website and I'm super excited about it, but I'm a wee bit lonely because I found out that all my wonderful followers here at blogger didn't have their feeds forwarded to my new site.
Anyway, I'm so glad to have the opportunity to welcome you all to my new space on the web.
All my patterns have been updated and are available there as downloadables and there are links to my shop and flickr and much, much more.
Even more importantly, I'm hosting a giveaway in my new space right now.
Mosey on over there, comment, and be entered to win a copy of this pattern:

My Klee's Trees pattern is ready to go and, along with the giveaway, I'm announcing a sew-along for this project starting the first week in June.
See, I told you, fun stuff.
So, click over to http://stitchindye.com/blog and, while you're there, subscribe to receive email updates from the blog. That way, we'll never be parted again.

Friday Finishes

I probably shouldn't have titled the post like that because it implies that this will be a weekly feature much like "What I'm Working on Wednesday".  And, though I think I could show something finished every Friday, I'm not so sure it would always merit being seen.
Also, in all honestly, what I'm showing today as a finished product...isn't. The top is finished. but there's still plenty to do.
Before I feature the top I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback regarding whether it's ok to show the work in progress. My gut says it should be. If the point of a blog is to re-create a journal that just happens to be on the web, then work-in-progress and not-quite-rights should appear there. If this was a paper and pen journal, and I have those too, it would be filled with quick notes and bits of inspiration as well as evidence that things had been tried and failed.
Anyway, back to the pseudo finish:

The top is done!
It's a smaller quilt than the Boyfriend Quilt, more baby or lap size. That means that I'll be quilting it myself this weekend and hopefully getting started on the directions. I'm hoping to have that ready for release by the end of April. And then, I was thinking about a sew-along. Anyone interested in that? I've already bought black fabric for my second version so I can play with a different effect in the background.

I don't think I'll be using the same colored strips either. I have a different plan for these leftovers.

I will be adding a few new items today to my store, all fabric, so, if you're interested in that, please stop by.

What I'm Working on Wednesday

I'm a little late in the day posting this morning (yes, I know it's only 8:00am CST, but I usually like to get this done earlier). Anyhoo, I'm late because I was busy crafting a new shop banner with updated pictures and...my new logo. Yay!
Soon, very soon, my entire site will be fresh and user friendly and just plain fabulous. New posts, new tutorials, new patterns and shop offerings, and a complete listing of workshops, lectures, and publications.
In the meantime, here's what I'm working on today:

My basic starting point for what I'm calling "leftover play" is the smaller rectangle in my Boyfriend Quilt pattern. I made a few rules such as if the rectangle was already the largest size needed I wouldn't cut it ant smaller and that the patches that were made up of smaller bits had to have equally sized components. Makes sense? I just find that when you're trying to improvise in any way, some parameters are useful. Also, I stuck to alternating warm and cool colors like I do in the larger pattern.

Ideally, I'd like to use up all the scraps I have leftover from the larger quilt as that would make me feel very virtuous. We'll see how that goes.

Sale, sale, sale!!

Hey, do I have your attention?
Would it have been better if I titled this post: Free Cookies!?
Probably.
Anyway, the new pattern, Boyfriend Quilt, is listed and ready and, on sale, this week and next for 10% off.
But, before I give you the discount code, I want to add that EVERYTHING in my store is, in honor of the new pattern release, on sale for 10% off.
Yep, everything.
Want to get in on all that goodness? Apply this code, STITCHINDYE2014, at the time of purchase, anytime between now and March 28, 2014 and you'll receive the discount.

So...what are you waiting for?

It's Almost Here!

I'm going to be away from this space the rest of this week, but I wanted to tell y'all about something exciting and wonderful and...new.
Next Monday, March 17 I'll be adding this to my shop:

It's a PDF pattern for my first in my 12 in 12 series, the Boyfriend Quilt.
I am super proud of how this project turned out and to celebrate next Monday I'm planning a little something here on the pattern release day.
So, stay tuned, come back, and have a terrific week!

Clearing the Shelf

About 8 months ago I moved from a 3000 square foot house to an 1800 square foot place. I love my new place, but the idea of culling my stuff down to fit half the space was pretty daunting at the time.
With the help of friends and family and various local charity thrift stores, I managed to do it. And I learned something about remaining pared down. I like not having an excess amount of stuff. I've even recently purchased a Kindle because, though I own many books and love to read and browse those books, I don't want to have lots of stuff, including books.
So, in the interest of the stuff-slimmer me, I've decided to empty this shelf:

Now, this shelf in no way constitutes all the quilts I have. It's just a starting point, but a very concrete one as it includes a couple quilts that were in my book, Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration, which, by the way, has a Kindle edition.
Some might ask how I can part with quilts that have been significant in my career and I would answer that I'm not really "enjoying" them. They just sit on this shelf and wouldn't it be great if someone else really "used" them. That could mean they hang them on a wall or gift them to a friend, but I want them to play a role in someone's life, not just gather dust.
So, I'm starting out with these two:

I've added them to my store, here and here.
All the details about size and construction are included in the listing description.
As for those of you who would rather make your own and want to save storage space for your fabric stash there's that Kindle edition I mentioned.

Last Shots

...of the Boyfriend Quilt before it becomes a PDF pattern and belongs to someone else.

To answer a few of your questions:
This is my pattern and not available somewhere else.
I will be including information about the exact fabric(with color names) that I used.
I will also be including Moda Bella Solid substitutes(I do work for them, so...makes sense to me).
I anticipate the pattern being available early to mid March.
I don't actually know what caused the Polar Vortex.

Ok, no one asked the last question, but my answer is as true as the previous 3. If you have other questions/concerns, please feel free to share them with me via email or in the comments.

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.

Mini Quilt Monday meets what I was supposed to blog about last Friday

How's that for a long, un-catchy title? Let's hope my epitaph is a little bit more of an attention grabber.
But, the truth is the truth. I was supposed to blog about new additions to the shop last Friday and instead I was, you know, eating bon-bons.
Ok, maybe not eating bon-bons, but it didn't happen, so I'm going to add(read shove) that into this post.
First though, a mini quilt:

or two:

or maybe even three:

All these are made with Moda Pre-cuts called Honeycombs. They are and I say this as a self-proclaimed expert on the value of sliced bread, the best invention since...well, you know.
I love them so much I plan on carrying them in my store(along with a pattern designed just for them) when they are released in January of 2014.
The one with the circle dyed in its center is one of these:

I patterned a few hexagons by clamping and over dyeing them like I do my Twinkle circles.
Serious excitement ensued when I un-clamped these babies, but, no mention of their relation to the greatness of sliced bread. That's reserved for the hexagons themselves.
I see lots of possibilities with these and that excitement is inspiring all sorts of new ideas with the other pre-cuts as well.
More on that in a future post.

As for what's new in my shop, well I've got a couple of new pieces of fabric patterned with new designs.

And plans to add a bunch of quilts over the next few days. So, if you have a chance, check it out.

The Breakfast Club

My post has only a very little to do with that wonderful 80's movie, The Breakfast Club, but I needed a title and the movie did actually start me down memory lane.
Confused yet? I am and I'm writing this.
It all began last night...sort of.
I've been working on a mini quilt to add to my store and over the weekend had finished the quilting and was ready to bind.
Last night being the last night of my daughter's summer vacation, she said she wanted to watch the Breakfast Club with me.
"We can stream it through Netflix, Mom, " she said. " It's a classic."
I remember being in High School when this movie came out and going to the theater to see it. No streaming then.
Next thing you know we're settling in on her bed, laptop perched on her lap, and preparing to enjoy this now classic movie.
In the interest of having something to post here today, I decided to use the time to finish the binding on the quilt and then it struck me, " Tomorrow is Monday. I used to have a weekly feature on my blog and even a related Flickr group called Mini Quilt Monday."
There you have it, my brief trip down memory lane, recounted here so I could post this:

I previously mentioned that in cleaning(read excavating) my studio, I found various bits of patchwork that I had set aside for one reason or another. The center portion of this mini quilt and another were mostly dyed to look like improvisationally pieced Double Wedding Ring blocks.
I added more improv strips, quilted it in concentric circles from the center out, and bound it while watching Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson, now 45 and 53, respectively, act out their teenage angst.

Pretty good times and good memories.

Don't let the pictures fool you...

... they have nothing to do with the text. This is not the first time I've posted about one topic and "illustrated" that post with unrelated pictures, so you all should be used to this. Sometimes I have a story to tell, but no pictures to accompany that story. As I hate to post without pictures, this is my solution.
Before I get into my topic, I want to caption the pictures by letting you know that they are of a new pillow featuring a new block design inspired by this photo.
OK. Here goes.

 As many of you know, I'm an avid runner. Well, yesterday, I ran what I would to date describe as the most amazing race of my running life. For the past few months I've been training for the Decker Challenge. This particular half marathon is considered one of the hardest around and that's primarily because of the hills that surround Decker Lake. I'm not going to lie to you, there have been a few times, especially in the last couple weeks, when I thought about skipping the event. I worried about whether or not I could deal with the hills and the infamous bad weather that has historically accompanied this race.

And, a couple weeks ago, it seemed that I had a ready-made excuse. I had gone to a "boot camp" style workout and woke up the following morning with a very sore left foot. I didn't run for a week after that. In fact, I didn't run again until the Tuesday before the race when for silly reasons I ended up running twice in the same day, both times about 5 miles. I then ran another 3 miles that Friday and made peace with the concept that what would be, would be.

I woke up yesterday morning and headed out to Decker Lake in my shorts and t-shirt, ready to brave the 40 degree temperature and light rain and, almost from the very start, knew this was going to be an amazing run. I don't know if it was my determination to be patient in the straightaways and not let my pace get out of control or my willingness to be present in the moment and just listen to the sound of all those feet hitting the pavement, but, what I thought would be drudgery turned into a string a magical moments. By mile 4, I knew I was on pace to set a new personal record and as each mile marker went by, I seemed to be running faster and stronger and feeling like I could conquer anything.
Those of you familiar with the course out at Decker Lake know that mile 10 features a long, steep hill which is made longer and steeper because it is so late in the race. I got to the hill at mile 10, ran up, and knew that I was about to finish the best race of my life.
I realize that my story is just about a run and that, in the scheme of things, it's not exactly monumental, but I do think there might be a bigger point here. Maybe that point is about not pre-judging a situation and bringing your whole self to an experience? Maybe it's also about how lucky we are to have a given experience and that we never really know whether the next thing we do may be truly magical?
Whatever the "point", whether I know it or not, I hope I bring these ideals along with me to the next race, the next project, the next moment.

Power to More Pillows

...or rather just pillow covers.

This time it's an improv version of the traditional pinwheels pattern, very similar to this mini quilt I made a few weeks back.
I had a few half-triangle squares leftover from that project and rather than find a completely different home for them, I opted to re-imagine the mini quilt as a pillow.

Add my go-to circular quilting and a little peak of selvedge from my a stitch in color fabrics and you've got one fun pillow top.

I love this typewriter fabric and have used it in several projects. It seems particularly appropriate here where the feel of this pillow is just a wee bit irreverent.
I added this little beauty to my shop yesterday, so I'm on track (so far) for regularly introducing new goodies to my store this month.

Cure For Writer's Block?

Pictures.

I had thought I'd post about how I'm determined to add new items to my shop as much as possible this month and to that end I've added this and this as well as created the pillow pictured.

I had thought I'd mention that this pillow was pieced improvisationally and loosely based on the traditional Drunkard's Path block.

I was hoping to touch on how much I like the circular quilting, especially for a top that features circles and how fun it is to bind a top that features lots of color with a simple, black and white, graphic print.I was going to say that if you check my store regularly this month, you'll see new items as well as some of the projects from my book and others.
I thought about saying all that, but I had a bout of writer's block, so....

a stitch in color preview project #7 or what to do with a jelly roll...

...other than eat it. And, actually I'm not talking about that kind of jelly roll, though just the thought is making me hungry. I mean the kind that Moda fabrics creates by packaging 2 1/2" x 44" lengths of entire fabric collections into a single spiraled fabric confection. I wanted to come up with a project that utilizes a jelly roll and doesn't require a lot of extra trimming.
I cogitated about this for a while and then ended up adapting my Strips and Bricks pattern to this purpose.

 The original pattern has the pieces measuring a bit wider, but I used the 2 1/2" widths with the same lengths as the original to create my strips and bricks. I also adapted the color scheme so that it was more like this version rather than the original.

Like both previous versions I  free motion quilted the top in straight lines about 1/4" apart and bound the edges so that the binding matched the outer edge of the quilt.
There you have it, a project that utilizes the tasty jelly roll. Unlike the edible version, certainly true when I'm eating one, this incarnation includes are a few leftover jelly roll bits.

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!

In which I am humbled by your kindness and start blabbing about other things

Wow! I have been blown away by the amazing show of support. You all have truly left me speechless.
Except, I want to tell a little parable that illustrates how appreciative I am of all your kind, generous, thoughtful...even Mr. Webster doesn't list enough adjectives to describe how terrific your response has been.  The parable which I think comes from the Talmud, but maybe not, is that every person should carry two pieces of paper in their pockets at all times. On one piece of paper you should write something like, " I am nothing but dust and ashes." And the other piece of paper should read something similar to," The world was created just for me." The parable goes on to instruct that when you're feeling arrogant and a little too self-obsessed you should pull out the first piece of paper and humble yourself a little. Conversely, when you're feeling low, you should pull out the second and remind yourself that you are special and unique and valuable.
For most of us that create, being humbled is just part of everyday life. Wondering if your newest project will work out or worrying that an idea is silly or trite or cliche keeps you humble. So, that first piece of paper is pretty well taken care of. What's hard to come by is the second piece of paper. Well, I want to thank you all for giving me that second piece of paper. 

As for the other things I'm planning on blabbing about, they are numerous and probably shouldn't go in one post, so I'll focus on the ones that are in the most immediate future.
Rachel, over at Stitched in Color, has asked me to be the judge for April's edition of Bloggers Pillow Party. Click on the links to learn all about the contest rules and prizes. What prizes? Fabric, people. What else would we want? Also, while you're there take a moment to browse around Rachel's space. You won't be sorry.

Also, I just finished this custom order:

It's a hand dyed whole cloth king-sized quilt, two whole cloth pillows and a wide striped pillow. Other than the sense of relief ans accomplishment that comes with finishing a large project like that, I have leftovers.

These leftovers are all quarter yards except for one quarter pound scrap bundle that contains a lot of the striped fabrics. They're all going in my shop this afternoon.

And last, but not least because I've got more to tell you about, but this is the last thing I'm going to mention in today's post, I'm going to be hosting a tutorial/giveaway next Wednesday, April 6.
Would you like to learn how to make this?

I'm calling it the Kaleidoscope Table Topper and it's crafted out of some amazing cottons available over at Marmalade fabrics. In fact, the lovely Tammy has even created a bundle which includes all the fabrics you'd need to make this very topper. Next Wednesday, I'll walk you through the process of making the table topper and Tammy will give away a bundle to one lucky winner. If, however, an eager beaver or two would like to get a jump start on purchasing their bundle then click here.

Totally unrelated postscript: I saw a stage production of West Side Story last Wednesday and am still humming the Live in America song. I like the island Manhattan...