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

swanzzz {good night // hello, ollie!}

The moment I saw the sleepy tones in Bonnie's new organic line (Hello, Ollie), I knew exactly what to make.  (And, judging by the last stop of the tour, it turns out I wasn't exactly alone!)

You see, around the time Bonnie first asked us to participate, I'd been exploring a snoozy #yawnquilt theme, which made its way into this pillow for my zzz-inspiring friend, Alison:

And of course, those sleepy swans in her line had just the perfect potential to become ZZZ's all their own.

And with that, a bevy of swanzzz was born.

Of course ever since making this little naptime quilt I've been dreaming up another muted version of this design...

I've had to set it aside for various reasons, and likewise have been a bit delayed getting the paper piecing pattern released (apologies to those who've asked!) But let's just say that by the time the swans migrate (...south, and then back north again, that is), I'll be posting the pattern with a few layout options (think bevy // swimming in a line) to my little shop.  (For those who are patient enough to stick around, anyway!)

And for now, I'm so glad you've stopped by, and hope you'll follow along with the other stops of the Hello, Ollie tour for more gorgeous inspiration!

ode to the earth! {free pattern hack!}

I've had this idea up my sleeve ever since stumbling upon the Kona Wondrous Woods color story.  Naturally, Earth Day (this past Friday) seemed like as good a time as any to roll out these (very) tall trees!

I mean, come on. Those greens!  All the heart eyes.  (I bought my FQ bundle here from Hawthorne Threads).

You see, the blocks in my Ode to the Trees pattern include small (7") and tall (10") versions...

But thanks to ledger-sized paper and the poster print option, there's a quick way to hack the pattern templates to yield not-so-small (10.5") and very tall (15") trees.

Here's how!

STEP ONE:  Pull up the print menu from the digital version (or your scan of the printed pattern).  Note that I've switched "All" to the respective pattern page (23) under Pages to Print, and selected "Actual size" under the Size Options section.

STEP TWO:  Next, click the "Poster" print tab (sometimes this is called "Tile" print, so just find the option on your printer that allows you to change the scale).

STEP THREE:  Click the "Page Setup" button.  Your Paper Size likely defaults to US Letter or A4, as depicted below.

STEP FOUR:  Switch from your letter-sized default to Tabloid or Ledger (11" x 17"):

STEP FIVE:  Under the "Poster" tab, change Tile Scale from 100% to 150%.

ALL DONE!  Notice that your formerly small 7" trees have grown into not-so-small 10.5" trees that print one-per-page on ledger/tabloid paper!  And guess what... you can do this to pretty much any pattern you want!  Neat, huh? :o)
 

TALL TO VERY TALL:  To apply the same transformation to the tall tree templates, walk through the steps above but just change the Pages to Print to the tall tree page of your digital file (those are on page 24 of the digital pattern):

...Voilà!  Very tall trees.  With very little effort!

And for those of you who aren't able to print on 11" x 17" paper, fear not!  You too can have yuuuuuuge trees!  Simply skip over STEPS THREE + FOUR above, and poster print at 150% on whatever paper your printer prefers.  I wanted to share the ledger option because it just so happens to wind up with the two tree templates splitting perfectly apart, each on its own separate page.  (Full disclaimer:  anything smaller than ledger will require taping, but a little tape never hurt anyone, right?)

I can't wait to sew this entire Wondrous Woods bundle into a wonderfully wild grove.  I'll post a more complete tutorial once I do (spoiler alert :: it involves 1.5" strips to streamline the cutting process for the branches!)  

And in the meantime, I hope you'll take advantage of my Earth Day flash sale!  That's right!  For the next 24ish hours, save 22% off ALL patterns (land, sea and air!) when you enter code ODETOTHEEARTH at checkout in the new shop! Code expires 4/25/16 at midnight EST!

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)

a change of seasons {cultivate blog tour}

When sweet Bonnie Christine asked me to participate in the blog tour for her current collection, "Cultivate," how could I say no?  (If you're not new to the house, you might recall the "Birds and the (Honey) Bees" quilt I stitched up last year for another one of her lines, "Sweet as Honey.")

And as an added incentive, right now Art Gallery's hosting the "Cultivate in Fall" Challenge.  The prompt?  Create a fun, unique project inspired by the idea of change.

Hmph.

I paired eight prints from Bonnie's collection with similarly-hued Liberty tana lawns to construct the leaf.

Initially, my mind went to this place of reaping all that summer has to offer.  But then I had a conversation with someone at work about my in-laws' upcoming move.  You see, a few months ago, my husband's parents put the wheels in motion to move south to spend some time with my sister-in-law and her family.  My colleague acknowledged how bittersweet it must be.  (We've all pretty much lived in the same city since childhood.)  Then she paused a moment, adding, "A change of seasons."

The soft hand of Art Gallery is quite the match for my favorite tana lawns ;o)

That simple phrase, used to sum up such a momentous occasion in our lives,  struck a chord.  And from that little seed of observation grew this medallion:  a turning leaf, signaling change on a dial of the seasons.

I just love how the vibrant colors of Cultivate melt beautifully into one another as the leaf changes from green to yellow to orange to brown, with the point appropriately fixed halfway between summer (II) and fall (III).

I spring II summer III fall IV winter

The starting point of something to keep Gigi and Poppy company as they sip morning coffee on their new deck.  And a small effort to honor a lifetime of memories stretching across all seasons:  Easter egg hunts for the golden egg; summer nights on the screened-in porch; trail riding at the turn of autumn; and of course, the holidays.  Most of which will soon join the ranks of "Remember when..."s, with uncharted adventures waiting in the wings as we all adjust to the pivot.

A change of seasons indeed.

Of course at 38" round this certainly isn't suitable for keeping anyone cozy just yet.  But soon enough it will be throw-sized and tucked away in the truck before it starts rolling south.

And in the interim, follow along with the rest of the tour for loads more inspiration.  Up next is Caroline of Sew Caroline, followed by many many talented makers.  So go ahead, check out the full line up :: the fun is just getting started ;o)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sarah

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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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