lav' bedtime bugs {wonderful things fabric blog tour}

Yep, you read that right!

Today is all about wonderful things, like lavender, fabric, and bedtime bugs(!)  (You know, the good kind.)

You see, our fearless little F lives for the outdoors, but is terrified of bugs.  In a funny sort of way.  I mean, this two-year old will pick up worms on our hikes, yet other times she'll see the teeeeeniest speck on the move and will sound the alarm:

"BUG!!! Da bug out dere! Get 'im! Noooo! Buggy!"

At some point, my husband told her not to worry, that mommy eats the bugs.  (Say WHAT?!)  Which means that for a while, her reaction to any six-legged friend (foe?) ended with the query, "Mommy eat it?", eyes full of wonder and head tilted to the side, as if I'd really come to the rescue.

...How wonderful? :)  But rather than resorting to that just yet, I'm hoping some colorful, paper-pieced critters will help her warm up to the real ones.  First up?  Da ANTS!  Inspired, yet again, by our charismatic little Picasso....

By F, age 2

Originally I'd wanted to make a whole bug quilt with these flashy picnic-crashers crawling every which way (and I still might)....

But to ease into things, I decided to stitch up a single pair of six-sided, six-legged friends using Bonnie's new Wonderful Things fabric.  (Don't even get me started on Aquarelle Study in Tint... allllll the heart eyes for that one, Bonnie.)

Add into the mix a hint of lavender and flax and—just like that—we've got some warmable little heat packs to help make bedtime a little less, shall we say, hectic?  (The struggle is real!! Are we the only ones?! I don't know about you, but with three girls under five, bedtime at our house has a pretty rowdy vibe at the moment... S.O.S.!)

So... relaxation-inducing bedtime bugs?  A wonderful thing indeed.

Because who wouldn't welcome these fanciful floral friends next to their pillow at night? The only bugs you want anywhere near your bed, amiright?! ;)  Next up in the pattern design queue, maybe some ladybugs, leafhoppers or crickets to join the Bedtime Bug crew—what do you think?  (P.S. Follow along on Instagram to see who'll wind up tucked in next!)

And tell me, any aromatherapy aficionados out there?  I've been chatting with my self-proclaimed semi-crunchy cousin about this too:  Chill Pill and Cheer Up Buttercup are at the top of her list.  What's on yours?  This newbie would love it if you'd share your favorite nighttime (or anytime!) blends in the comments :)

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to follow along with the tour over the next several weeks to soak in all sorts of wonderful things made from Wonderful Things, starting with Haley tomorrow!

x

Sarah

feather ring

Based on the actual size of the five feathers in the pattern, this layout would finish ~25-30" square. 

Up until recently, I considered myself the reigning queen of no-repeats.  If you asked me, I'd have told you it's very hard for me to make the same thing twice.  Ergo, no repeats, right?  Then, unsolicited and out of the blue, a good friend told me I'm "the master of multiple versions."

...

...Say what?!  She totally didn't mean it in a bad way, just a general observation about my work.  So then I started to think back on my valise of (evidently) many versions.

There's Liberty and Justice For All + Karma à la Clematis ...

Catching Dreams by Sunrise + Painted Dreamcatcher:

...and Dip Dye Dreamcatcher:

Painted Leaf No. 1 + Painted Leaf No. 2:

...and Cultivated Leaf:

...and Green Leaf (No. 4?):

Alllllllright.  Touché, my friend.  :o)  So, in an effort to keep things from getting overly repetitive over here, I'm going to start rethinking my original concepts and turning them into something, well,  something you've haven't *exactly* seen before.  ;o)

Ode's name alone is rich with potential.  (Ode to oh so many things!)  I've got a lot in store for Ode, more on that to come.  Painted Dreamcatcher, on the other hand, had me stumped.  Not a whole lot of room for pattern-hacking when the pattern is (mostly) one oversized, foundation paper pieced block.  So then I started studying the individual feathers blocks, which are broken out in the pattern file.   Suddenly, it seemed they might have *just* enough give to link together into a ring...

And with that, Painted Dreamcatcher made way for Feather Ring.

With ~25-30" blocks, this layout would finish at full/queen.  
I love how it's reminiscent of Denyse Schmidt's "single girl" design but brings its own ethereal vibe.

...Or rings? (Such is the blessing (curse?) of free photo collage software!)

So, what you do think?  Do you prefer singular, or plural?  And who knows!  Maybe I'll set out to make the latter and wind up with just the one.  After all, don't want to be too predictable over here.  ;o)

catching liberty {#dreamcatcherquilt}

Do you ever get an idea so stuck in your head that you can't stop thinking about it, until the time finally comes to get started, and then it feels like a *...meh*—until the very end, when it all somehow comes together even better than you'd imagined it could to begin with?

No? ...Just me?

Welp, I'm there.  With the roygbiv liberty #dreamcatcherquilt.  And if it weren't just a bunch of floating feathers right now I would totally be tempted to stop while I'm ahead.

But, seeing as a dreamcatcher without a hoop would be as effective as a fishing net without the, well, net, that's not exactly a winning option.  So instead, I'm scrutinizing my initial selection for the hoop :: this whimsical Alice in Wonderland-inspired Liberty lawn...

On the one hand, yes, it's a bit busy.  (If you've been here before, you've likely picked up on my tendency to stick to monochromatic everything.)  But when it comes to wild dreams that need some catching... I mean, come on.  So I have to say, multi-coloration aside, I'm inclined to go with my gut on this one.  Not to mention one big upside of bias tape appliqué :: getting to see a little preview before having to commit :o)

Dare I ask for thoughts?

;o)

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BQF: painted leaf quilt no. 1 {roygbiv}

As some of you may recall, last December my Canadian #igminiswap partner (and an ethereal painted leaf in @freepeople's IG feed) inspired this lofty leaf design...

which I am now humbly entering in this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival :: ROYGBIV category.

There's something rather dreamy about this leaf, if you ask me.  ;o)  Of course it doesn't hurt that it's pieced entirely of liberty of london tana lawn "scraps" (a favorite substrate in this house) paired with some of my favorite (let's be honest—they're basically all my favorite) low volume fabrics.

But it also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first thing I got to sew (Succulent Path aside) after a summer filled with morning sickness and a fall full of work (because how else would I replenish my liberty stash? ;P)

In fact, I'm so smitten, lately I've been thinking a bed-sized version is in order for our bohemian-rustic-chic master (the photo above was taken on our macrame curtains, and the one below on our brick bedroom floor).

And now that my mind is made up, the only question is... just how big should that big leaf be?  As some of you may recall, this one turned out to be 20" square, and the final pattern (the #auctionforeleni version, pictured below) finishes at 17".

While I'm mulling that over, I hope you'll take a look at all the other beautiful entries, and thank you so much for stopping by!

P.S.  This mini design is available on my new "patterns, etc." page if anyone's interested!  And I've included alternate "centers" (in place of the tiny sundial) in case teeny tiny curved piecing isn't exactly your thing ;o)

Sarah

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folksy fish {new patterns!}

For those of you who keep up with me on IG, these fish aren't exactly news.  Over the past several weeks (or has it been months?) I've been piecing together an arsenal of scandinavian-inspired fish.

It all started with a bit of oakshott and some scraps from my friend Heather of Crimson Tate's new fabric line, Succulents.

 

And then I ventured into Doe territory (somewhat prophetic, given that it was right around the time I decided my next Succulent Path would be a mash up of the two lines).

On to my itty bitty scrap packs of Karen Lewis Textiles...

And of course I couldn't resist digging into my Liberty lawns...

Neons...

Or the teensy bit of Anna Maria Horner in my stash (I know, blasphemy)...

Or capping them off with a cheeky bit of cotton + steel (you know, the catfish).

Now the only question is, when do I stop? ;o)  Certainly not just yet.  Not now that I've recently come into a charm pack of Gardenvale courtesy of my friend Amanda of Material Girl Quilts (she's closing up shop to focus on patterns, so grab her inventory while you can!)

As for these little fishies, if you'd care to sew a school of your own, you can get the patterns in my craftsy or etsy shops (the eight designs to date are available in two sets :: angular and linear in my Folksy Fish pattern).

angular series {nos. 1-4}

linear series {nos. 5-8}

And tell me, what other creatures should join this crew, fish or otherwise?  I've been sketching a few tribal-inspired designs, along with a few curve-free fellows.  Let me know if you can think of anything else you'd like to see in this sea!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah

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