Clothworks

Some of the Clothworks folks have already flown the coop, but I’ll be heading out tomorrow to Quilt Market. To give you all a taste of another side of this industry, I’ll be posting pictures to a new site I created at this addres: http://clothworks..tumblr.com/. It’s called Tumblr and it makes it really easy to post photos from Instagram–if you want to follow us there, too, our username is: clothworks_inspires.

I mentioned a new shoulder bag in this post and I finally have it in my hot little hands thanks to my Mom. She really is dynamite. I love the way it turned out. My Mom is a very thorough and precise sewer and I am always so impressed by what she makes. She used a new little fix to make the zipper have a clean end which is not shown here–I’ll try and post about that soon. And, I don’t know what pattern she uses–I think it is one she has developed over the years and has written down in a Word doc. I have it somewhere, too, I believe, so if anyone is interested, I’ll try to get it in a publishable format. Just email susie(at)clothworks.com

Fabric featured: Lily and Peony by Skipping Stones Studio

{ 0 comments }

I have seen a bunch of stuff on blogs lately about what folks do with scraps. This topic is close to my heart because I am a die-hard scrapper. And of late, I have started using them as tags in my creations–or my alterations. Here is a dress made from a Wikstenmade pattern and a pair of pants that I altered featuring beautiful little scraps that are almost too small to quilt with. The fabric is Everyday Organic Solids. I may spend some time making a stamp to make a custom tag and then I could stamp any fabric to make it a tag! Cool!

What do you with yours? Send us photos and we’ll feature you here!

{ 0 comments }

(Click on the image to see a larger version)

There are so many cool blocks in this quilt. Sampler quilts are the coolest! Cassie over at Elegantitus (our lovely block of the month participant) was just waxing about Sampler Quilts and how they teach you new techniques, give you good ideas and are just a cool way to explore new blocks. I second that emotion and this Shop Hop quilt is inspiring me to do some more complex piecing.

At first I thought my favorite was the Gold Finch in the center, but that just got my eye moving around the quilt and seeing all the other beautiful blocks. Great work Western Washington stores. We have such a talented and creative quilting community here. I really love it!

And, this is a good time to mention Barb Tourtillotte, a wonderful local designer who designed the two main theme fabrics. One is covered with Washington native birds which strikes a special chord with me because I studied landscape architecture and urban ecology. Those birds are gorgeous and I am picturing folks learning about our native wildlife while sewing and then lounging around with their quilts. The other fabric is covered in snow dipped tree branches heavy with cones and berries. Now, I am not sure which tree that is because I don’t know of a tree that makes red berries AND has cones. At first I thought the cones were Red Alder (Alnus rubra) cones (one of the few deciduous conifers in our area which would account for the lack of leaves/needles) but that variety doesn’t make berries. And, the larger bracts along with the way they are separated and flaring ourtward on the cones is much more reminiscent of some kind of pine. Now the berries remind me most of those of the Hawthorne tree (Crataegus monogyna) which are abundant in the Northwest. It seems that every street has at least one and the most common wears a beautiful red berry all winter–that accounts for the snow on the berries!! My conclusion is that this is a creative interpretation of two beautiful trees–a winning combination reminiscent of the flora and fauna of the Northwest. I’ve got a little swatch of each of those and I think I’ll be making a few Christmas ornaments based on some of those blocks. Beautiful work, Barb.

Thanks for bearing with me everyone–I love plant and bird identification and these fabric have merged two of my favorite things: Nature and Quilting!

{ 0 comments }

S…l…o…w…l…y catching up on our block of the month stuff. And, I’m just gonna say this now and I hope I don’t regret it. May is happening IN May!! But, I have, for the first time gotten all of the blocks together for one big (shabang!) blog post instead of letting them trickle in. Really, that has just required some self discipline because I actually finished mine last week, then my Mom’s came in over the weekend and then Cassie’s appear on Elegantitus yesterday (or over the weekend). The minute I get one, I just want to post it, but I waited to do them together. So here they are! And, this one is called the “Stacked Whatever Block” that we found thanks to the Sometimes Crafter. She makes great stuff and has a longarm quilting business in Portland, OR.

And, just as a teaser, here is a link to the next block we are doing courtesy of Modify Tradition.

Featured fabrics: Robin, by Erin Ries; Adrienne by Skipping Stones Studio; AND, too many to name, but Shades by Kinkame, Sapphire by Skipping Stones Studio and Floral Folio by Cary Phillips

{ 0 comments }

The This or That Giveaway for this month has ended! Thank you to all who commented & liked us here on facebook! We received 32 responses to the contest. A winner was selected at random and I’d like to congratulate Tambra Vandal!

Tambra, please email your ship-to address to stephanie@clothworks.com & we’ll send you your fat quarters grand prize! Thank you again, all & stay posted for the next This or That Giveaway!!

{ 0 comments }

Do you remember this post? I said I was going to make a Stash and Dash bag from the Amy Butler pattern to take with me to Kansas City for Quilt Market. Well, I got it done! And for some reason, though I have made exactly 9 of these bags, I always seem to screw something up. So, please excuse that the WRONG side of the fabric is the outside of the bag on one of the panels and please excuse that on one side the pleat is correct and on one side it inside out! Oh well, just like in school pictures, put the side you like best forward–I’ll just clutch the bag with the good side facing out!

I have one more installment relating to this post–My Mom did make a lovely bag using Lily and Peony and it has a hot red zipper, but I can’t have it until she shows her sewing group, so I won’t post about that until…next week, I think. Stay tuned!

Featured fabrics: Shades by Kinkame; Josephine by Skipping Stones Studio; Toy Poodle by Kinkame and of course, vintage orange piping.

{ 0 comments }

Just got this photo from Julie Creus over at La Todera. She’s been making these beautiful flowers with Shades by Kinkame for a long time and now she has designed her own collection due out in the fall called Photochrome Petals. Beautiful, bright and bold stuff is coming out of her shop!

{ 1 comment }