True Up Interview - Part 1

A short while ago I sent Kim Kight at True Up blog a little e-mail to let her know about my Hot Blossom collection, and she splendidly suggested doing an interview - thanks so much Kim! Today she posted "part 1" of the interview...stay tuned for more on Monday. Yes, this quiet introvert really does have a lot to say - ha! I was super flattered that she would even ask, and found it really fun to chat with someone in this new industry. It was a good exercise for me to push myself to open up and share a small piece of my life.
“True Up” means to make balanced, straight, square. In sewing, “true up” means making a piece of fabric true to grain with a well-placed cut or rip. True Up is a blog devoted to fabric, and Kim Kight is a definite fabric aficionado.

It's been great chatting with Kim, and it's so inspiring to see all of her fabulous work, fabric postings, interviews and information she pours into her blog. True Up just turned one year old a few days ago (Happy Birthday!) and Kim has soared to huge heights in such a short amount of time. What an inspiration!

Thanks for all the information and inspiration Kim! Here's wishing you a fab new year!

New Flickr Group - "Hot Blossom Creations"

Just a little heads-up! I went ahead and created a group on Flickr called Hot Blossom Creations. Flickr is free to join. It is a photo sharing & photo storing website, with a wonderful online community. The group I created is a public group, so anyone can join and upload their work. My hope is for you to upload your fab creations using Hot Blossom fabrics, for me and everyone to enjoy and be inspired by. Go ahead and join the group, and upload photos of your Hot Blossom projects whenever they are ready!

I Am A Mac Girl...

Boy it's been such a long time since I've posted anything! I've been hiding out without much to say lately. I'm currently drawing away, working on some ideas for another fabric collection - we'll see how they turn out and if they make the cut! This weekend I plan to sit in front of my computer (like most of my weekends) and create away.

This weekend is an especially exciting one to sit down and create because on Monday, Jake and I drove to Tigard, OR to finally purchase a new computer. It's been about 2 years of wishing to get one, as my old G4 Mac was so outdated that I couldn't use my new scanner I had bought because of the USB connections, nor could I download my music onto my iPhone. Not very helpful for an artist who draws and needs to get her designs into the computer! I had been taking digital pic's of my art and working with those!! Oh boy, my future is looking brighter!

So this weekend was very refreshing walking into the Mac store to buy our beauty - finally. A Mac Pro Quad-Core Intel Xeon. And to top it off we bought Adobe CS4, and I have been gushing to use it. It was taking about 5 minutes on my old computer just to open Photoshop, and when I was working on large pattern repeats, it would freeze and I would just cross my fingers that I wouldn't lose my work. My mind will definitely be at ease now! YAY!! So there it is, out in the open, I am a Mac girl (by night, and a PC girl at work by day). Guess that makes me bilingual? Ha ha!

Print & Pattern Blog Post!

Today is an extra-happy day! Why? A friend let me know she spotted me on the Print & Pattern Blog today. YAY! I have FOREVER loved Bowie Style and her Print & Pattern Blog. I friend told me about it a few years ago, and I was so excited to see a blog devoted to the world of pattern...especially at a time when pattern wasn't rocking the world as it is now. This amazing girl features such wonderful and inspiring treats on her blog every day, and I've been hooked for years. She is such an inspiration to me, as well as the many artists that she features.

I e-mailed Bowie Style this weekend to let her know that the Hot Blossom collection would be coming out soon...and sure didn't expect to be featured any time soon, if at all. So, thank you so much Bowie Style for your post! I super-appreciate your support of new artists! You have surely made my month!!

Hot Blossom Ad

So, one of me and Jake's favorite things to do is sit down at Barnes & Noble to peruse through magazines and books of interest, while sipping a yummy coffee treat. So this weekend, I sifted through sewing and quilting magazines and came across this in the Quilts & More magazine by Better Homes & Gardens - a Hot Blossom ad! I was so excited to see what the girls at Robert Kaufman were up to! They did a fab job with the layout & design. I thought I'd share my excitement with you! The fabric is coming out soon, and I am just so excited to see what people make out of it!!

Project Ideas Now Posted on My Website!

I was recently asked what sewing patterns I used in my photo's. So, I decided to work on getting those posted for you, so you too could sew some savvy stuff! Check out the Project Ideas page on my website now, as I have all the garments that the girls are wearing posted.

Most of the patterns are from Simplicity, and one (my FAVE) is from McCalls. This way you can pick them up when you're out and about (and even get them on sale like I did). When I first got my fabrics I knew there wasn't enough time to work with someone to design original patterns, so I looked online and sifted through lots of books at the fabric store to find ones that were right up my alley.

The only things I don't have posted yet are the patterns I designed myself - the ruffle tote bag, long ruffle scarf, short ruffle neck scarf and a variety of fabric flowers. I'm still working on the instructions for those items, and hope to have them all together and ready in the next month or two for you to download. Stay tuned for those fun accessories!

Website & New Photo's LIVE!

Ok, so I've been working away, and FINALLY my new and improved website is live and waiting for you to visit it! I have uploaded a slideshow on the "fabrics" page of some of the new photos from the photo shoot. Also on the "fabrics" page, scroll down and you can view the fabric collection by color story. There's more fab photo's from the photo shoot posted on Flickr now too. Check them out and let me know what your fave's are! Here's a few of my faves...

Thanks Natalie for the fabulous photos! Such a great representation of my style. LOVE them!!

Photoshoot Complete!

After spending a few months sewing and preparing for the February photoshoot of my Hot Blossom fabric collection, it has finally come to completion! Thank you so much for all of your sewing help Cheryl, Karin, and Sandra!! None of this could have happened without you!

When down to the last 2 weeks, I have to say I definitely learned how to sew a few things. Ha! I've learned that it's pretty amazing what you can do when it's down to the wire and you push yourself. I sewed a dress, a tank top, a handbag and 2 scarves - I think I'm more scared of sewing than my skills are aware...although I did have to seam rip about 2 times per garment because I got super confused when trying to follow sewing directions. I learned a lot though, and it's pretty darn fulfilling to have a finished item! I may get hooked...

So I'm in the process of editing the photo's, and will have them up on my newly designed website shortly. I can't wait for you to see them! A special thanks to some great girl friends Lisa, Danielle and Allie who struck a pose for me in the Hot Blossom-ed clothes! You girls look fabulous!!! AND I can not thank enough Pat Cowan from Pacific Galleries for bringing some antique props for us to use, out of the kindness of your heart! (Anyone shopping antiques in Seattle, be sure to check out her fab stuff!!)

I have to say, I am so thankful for those of you around me pitching in to support my new little venture - even some of you without knowing me very well. It's so encouraging and so humbling. I super appreciate you. Thank you!!

Time to Create, Cut & Sew Away!

So here I am with all this luscious fabric, and so little time to do something fabulous with it! HA! Since day one, I couldn't wait to see them in garment form...but to be completely honest, I'm not a super-avid sewer - I'm an artist who enjoys drawing and drawing away! Where I'm at? I'm trying to learn and understand the foreign language of sewing. I've always been one to alter and transform garments that I buy vintage. I like jumping right in and being caught up in the creative process of my idea and being able to be hands on and just make something - "fast". Of course it's not perfectly fashioned on the inside and all professional, but it will last me long enough to get the fashionable wear out of it that I like! So developing my sewing skills is definitely a goal of mine. So for now, I'll stick to crafty projects with fabric, and leave the actual sewing up to my gracious and dear friends Cheryl and Karin who when they heard I was desiring to have garments sewn-up they jumped right in and volunteered. (Girls, you are such a blessing to me, and I want to thank you so incredibly much!)

So I spent some time finding sewing patterns that were fashionable and in line with my vision, then went and bought all the supplies and handed off the treats to my friends. And as we speak they are sewing away, creating lovely things. I've received a few of the garments back, and can't wait to show you!! I will definitely be wearing them this spring!

I have a photo shoot planned with friends of mine next month, so stay tuned! I will be adding those pic's to my soon-to-be-updated website. I hope my pictures will inspire you to start a new project or finish an old one, and to be able to get a little glimpse of my creative vision. So, during the weekend I decided to create fabric flowers. Here's a fun pic of them for you! I love mixing patterns and textures together, and those buttons turned out fun! I for sure plan on having project patterns for these flowers that you can download...so once again...stay tuned!

Hot Blossom Arrives at My Doorstep!

A few months ago a big box of my yummy fabrics showed up at my doorstep! I was super excited, so I opened the box and pulled the fabrics out. Here's a fun pic of them all stacked up, fresh from the box! This was my first time seeing these prints in fabric yardage, so the next thing I did was break them up into colorways so I could start playing with print & color combinations.

But first, I think the coolest thing for me was seeing my name on the selvedge of the fabric - it made me realize that this is really happening. I've been designing artwork for clothing for many years now, so I've seen my artwork on fabric before. However, when you're working for a company with a brand, you need to be able to create a variety of styles to best represent them. What's so fun for me this time is that it's so fulfilling to see my own style and what I love being printed on fabric - and to have the ability to take that fabric and make fun things out of it!

So, here are the fun colorways! These fabrics come in 3 different ones: Spring - aqua, green & brown combo, Sunset -hot pink, orange & black combo, and Fiesta - aqua, orange & brown combo.

These colorways are fun to see because they are a collaboration between Robert Kaufman Fabrics and I. It's a great experience because we're bringing together my color eye from the fashion industry along with their incredible eye with the quilting, sewing, crafting industry - and smooshing them together to come up with something that's a great combination. Since my background is in fashion, I really wanted to create a collection that people would want to wear. Which is why brown and black are such grounding colors in the collections. My hope is that you'll be able to make something cute out of these fabrics, then throw an outfit together, and feel unique but mainstream. Once they come out, and you start playing with them, please show me what you make!! And even better yet, what you're wearing!