MS episode 138:: Mia Whittemore

art138 mia whittemore

My guest today is Mia Whittemore who is the winner of the Uppercase Magazine contest to find the next Windham fabric designer. Mia entered the contest thinking it would be a good experience but she didn’t imagine winning a prize that would land her artwork on fabrics. Mia and I talk about her background in art and how she is flexing her skills in the classroom as an art teacher. Mia hadn’t always thought of her art as a daily practice until she challenged herself to just get creative after her nine to five job. Watercolors entered the picture and as they say she hasn’t looked back. She says it was the thing that changed the way she felt about herself as an artist and eventually gave her the courage to enter the Uppercase Magazine and Windham Fabrics contest. Mia’s artwork is whimsical, colorful, and so vibrant. I so enjoyed chatting with Mia and learning more about her process, her love of all of the colors, and how winning the contest is changing things for her. I have also worked with her first fabric line, Flourish, and it is gorgeous. I am so excited to see what Mia has in her future.

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Windham Fabrics Back to School Blog Hop

backToSchool-03

Hi everyone and welcome to Modern Sewciety and our stop on the Back to School Blog Hop. I really tried to overthink this assignment but when it came down to what I wanted to do I thought about my kids. What is something I could make that would be used a lot and needed for that matter. I happen to be lucky enough to have two beautiful girls with a head full of beautiful hair. So hair bows seemed like the perfect project. Easy and useful.

windham back to school hop - bows

My kids wear uniforms and are limited to certain colors for their bows. I love the new fabric line by Another Point of View called “Uncorked” which looks like cork with a beautiful shimmery gold metallic. It is the perfect glammed up basic for your fabric collection. thumb_IMG_6676_1024

As most of you know we just went through hurricane Irma. Time was limited on this project because for a week we were anticipating this storm and trying to get ready. Goodness I am so glad that it is over. We are all okay and had minimal damage which is a miracle. I haven’t stopped thanking the trees in our yard for being so good to us.

I happen to be terrible at keeping on track with projects when life gets hectic. So this project is super simple and we happened to wait until nighttime to take pictures. Thank goodness I have my SlimLine LED table lamp from Daylight Lighting. So the lighting could be better but, hey, we got them done and my kids love them so so much. I mean bows with flecks of metallic gold seems like a win for us.

windham bows

1. I grabbed a fat quarter and ripped 2″ strips of fabric.

2. I cut the long strip in half to make two smaller strips.

3. Fold the strip in half to mark your center

4. Turn strip to wrong side and fold raw edges in toward center crease. You want to overlap those raw edges a little.

5. Pinch your middle together to cinch the center

6. Sew several passes to secure the middle.

Below:: I then took a scrap of fabric and hid the stitches with a little knot. You could use ribbon or lace here. The possibilities are endless. My girls are already planning out their next batch. I ripped my fabric to save time and make them easier for the kids to help me make them but you could easily make the edges crisp and neat.

bow with fabric

We had some extra clips around the house which was so handy. Yea for hoarding craft supplies I guess. We just snuggled one side of the clip under the back of the bow on the knot. It worked perfectly. You could also use some hot glue here to secure it. We didn’t have time and this worked just fine for what we needed.

bows in fabric with clip

My daughter loves the bows and she has already started pulling more fat quarters to make more. I often get asked for projects to make with kids and this is the perfect project. I think this would even be fun to make as gifts for friend’s birthdays as well. It is something that she can make herself and be proud of.
bow 3

Do you want to win a bundle of “Uncorked” by Another Point of View with WIndham Fabrics?

Be sure to follow Modern Sewciety and comment on this post for a chance to win a Fat Quarter bundle of the line!

The giveaway will be open from now until 8PM PST on Friday, September 22, 2017. The winner for this bundle will be picked at random and we will announce the name HERE on Monday, September 25, 2017.

The winner is Nicki S. I am emailing you now:) 

This giveaway is open to everyone, USA and International.

If you’re a “no reply” or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment!

Happy hopping!

Check out the other hoppers as well for more Back to School Projects.

9/11/17 Debby Kratovil – http://www.debbykratovilquilts.blogspot.com

9/12/17 Sue Marsh – http://wpcreek.blogspot.com/

9/13/17 Stephanie Kendron – http://www.modernsewciety.com

9/14/17 Chris Dodsley – http://madebychrissied.blogspot.com/

9/15/17 Brooke Sellmann – http://www.sillymamaquilts.com/

9/18/17 Shannon Christensen –http://www.shannonsstudio.com/

9/19/17 – Wendy Sheppard – https://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/

NOTE:: the pink cutting mat shown in my pictures is from Havel's Sewing. 

You can use the code MODERNSEWCIETY7 to get $7 off of a $25 order

The Stych – My Weekly Newsletter

The Stych

I thought I would do something different with my weekly newsletter this week. I love sharing my newsletter picks each week – it is my sunshine to my subscribers. So welcome if you are new here and welcome if you are coming over from your weekly email.

This week has been full of wishy washy for me. I have this gut feeling that I am going in the right direction but where I am going is fuzzy. These are the things I know lately and get ready because they are random so hang with me:

  1. I know the book is something that I have to do and I have imposed a deadline on myself to have the proposal ready to send out by Sept. 1. I have asked several close colleagues to look it over before I officially send it out. I have worked on one project for that this week but I think it could have been more.
  2. I know the podcast is something I feel compelled to do. I think it is a gift I really enjoy sending out into the world. I actually wish it was easier to make money with it. That will happen – I feel it. I am not letting go of what I feel in my heart on this.
  3. I know this community is filled with some of the coolest people on the planet. They make the world a better place with their creativity and kindness. It is humbling.
  4. I have the best listeners a girl could ever ask for. I have gotten some of the sweetest comments, messages, and emails this week that made me smile. My heart filled up with happiness. I am truly blessed.

We all have seasons in life and I am in a listening season. I am okay with that and I think being quiet and listening is an important part of the creative process. I wonder how much easier this quiet time was before so many distractions like technology. If only my grandma was around to have a chat with on the screened porch.

One distraction that is welcome around my house is talking about the Total Solar Eclipse. My husband took the day off and the kids were home so we could all watch it. We were in 88% totality and it was really cool. I think my husband and I were the most excited about it, lol. On a completely different note, we visited with friends from England that were in town and now my kids and I are all chatty in our British accents. So, as you can imagine, we are just a crazy crowd this week.

NOTE:: There are affiliate links in this post. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you

On to the links:: (I had to include some eclipse stuff but I promise only this one time!)

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Curious Dream Blog Hop – Girl & Boy Baby Bear Paw Quilts

curious dream blog hop

Hey everyone! It is my stop on the Curious Dream blog hop! Angela from Cut to Pieces has a new fabric line with Windham Fabrics called Curious Dream and it is so cute. I was asked to mix Curious Dream with another Windham fabric line and I love  a challenge. I picked Iza Pearl’s Blush and Blooms fabric line and I think it was such a great pairing.

boy and girl bear paw quilts

I have had so many friends having babies in the month of December and I needed some quilts to send as gifts. I decided to break up the lines into two quilts – one girl quilt and one boy quilt. I decided to go with a large block design that is super fast and easy to make. I think it took me a day, with many breaks in between, to make both of these tops. I will share my measurements at the end of the post.

boy bear paw quilt

I think sometimes it is hard to find fabrics that work for boys and I think both of these lines had some great options.

boy bear paw quilt detail

One of my favorite prints is the green I used in the middle of the boy version. I just have a soft spot in my heart for greens and this one is just so vibrant. My husband really loved this top and I think we are going to gift it to his friend that just had a baby boy.

girl bear paw quilt detail

I decided to use the blues and turquoise prints for the middle focus on the girl version with a cross of pink. I really think this turned out so cute and mixing in those greys really gives it some softness.

girl bear paw quilt

You might have noticed that the girl version is a little different from the boy version. I was testing out the pattern when I was piecing the boy top and had to improvise to make it work. I usually don’t have problems on measurements when I draft something in EQ7 but these was a slight difference in a couple of pieces. I love the improv look of the boy version and the crisp cleanness of the girl version.

Here are the cutting instructions for the quilt. It is super easy to assemble. Your blocks may vary so if you need to improv like me it is okay. I think it gives it a really modern look.

* 5 various grey fabrics 6 1/4 X 6 1/4 (four for the corners)

* grey fabric 5 X 5 (for the middle)

* 8 various dark and light fabrics 6 5/8 X 6 5/8

– subcut diagonally to make 16 triangles

(those will make the HST units. I trimmed them to 6 1/4)

* middle cross (pink or green here) 17 5/8 X 5

* Various colors (the middle of the bear paw) 12 1/4 X 12 1/4

I hope you make a baby bear paw quilt too! Let me know if you do.

You can go see more from the Curious Dream Blog Hop by visiting these amazing bloggers

Monday, December 12th – Heidi Staples – Fabric Mutt  http://fabricmutt.blogspot.com.au/

Tuesday , December 13th – Kelly Bowser –Kelly Sews  http://www.kelbysews.com

Wednesday, December 14th – Brooke Sellmann- Silly Mama Quilts http://www.sillymamaquilts.com

Thursday, December 15th – Wendy Sheppard -Ivory Spring  http://www.ivoryspring.wordpress.com

Friday, December 16th – Becca Bryan – Bryan House Quilts  http://www.bryanhousequilts.com

Saturday, December 17th –  Chris Dodsley- Made by ChrissieD  http://madebychrissied.blogspot.com

Sunday December 18th – Aurifil – http://auribuzz.wordpress.com

Monday, December 19th-  Jennie-  Clover & Violet http://www.cloverandviolet.com

Tuesday, December 20th – Stephanie Kendron – Modern Sewciety  http://www.modernsewciety.com/

Wednesday, December 21st – Joanne from  The Fat Quarter Gypsy – http://www.thefatquartergypsy.com

Luna Sol Blog Hop

Luna Sol blog hop

Watch out for shooting bunnies, stars, and space flowers!!!! Luna Sol has arrived bringing a colorful spectrum of burning sunrises and calming sunsets. This is such a fun collection.

But I wanna back it up a little for a minute so stay with me…

When I attended Quilt Market in 2014 I was at a Robert Kaufman party and was approached by a quirky young lady who said I can NOT believe I am meeting you. I was like OH MY GOSH why? She mentioned she loved the podcast and I felt like we were besties. She even said she talked back to me when she listened. (I get this a lot and I love it – people I can hear ya and I answer:) It was Felice. We have chatted a lot since then and I have so enjoyed seeing Felice chase her inner spirit animal with her FIRST fabric collection with Windham Fabrics.

Luna Sol fabric line

On to the fun part… the fabric!!! I love fabric. I love love love to pet it, look at it, think about what I am going to make with it, talk to it (don’t act like you don’t do that!), and well just enjoy every single thread of it. It is normal I know. You all get it because you love fabric too.

Felice really picked some space odyssey colors that work so well together. I love the colors in the collection because I don’t think they are the typical colors you would put together but they work so so well. They are all super vibrant and rich. The orange is just perfect. The pink isn’t super pink but just right. And that purple is just on point. They do remind me of the perfect sunrise and sunset colors.

Night Bunnies Quilt

When Felice asked me to make something for the look book and market booth I was so excited. I love seeing my friends in this industry succeed. She really wanted to make this dream come true and she did. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for her either but she didn’t let anything stop her.

I knew I wanted to make something that spoke to me like the fabric spoke to me. I love the theme of shooting stars and bunnies with the ditzy flowers. I settled with a star pattern that is super easy to make. You will be able to get the free pattern here soon. I did put like colors together in rows to play on the sunrise/sunset theme. I really love this quilt. Like super love everything about it – Felice reaching her dream goal of designing for Windham, the whimsical space bunnies, the colors, the star pattern, and the nod to beginnings and endings like the sunrise and sunset.

My children always love the quilts I make. They enjoy watching the process of each quilt come to life. They love checking out the fabrics when they arrive. It always amazes them to see it on the long arm being quilted. BUT this collection was one they just adored from the minute they saw it. They fell so in love with everything about it. They made me reassure them I would be getting it back after Spring market. We received it back last week and they were so happy. They just were so excited to have it back and they looked at all of the blocks again remembering the different things in the fabric design. They have cuddled it ever since.

This is a must have collection in my opinion.

If you want to check out the other projects please visit the following blogs:)

Sept. 19 – Fabric Mutt
Sept. 20th – Bryan House Quilts
Sept. 21st – Stars & Sunshine
Sept. 22nd – ME!
Sept. 23rd – Sew Scatterbrained