I'll tell you a story

Once upon a time, deep in the forest, there sprouted a Tiny Toadstool. He wasn't your average toadstool because he had a secret. One day Tiny Toadstool was feeling lonely, so he told his secret to Little Blue Butterfly...

Little Blue Butterfly was so excited, she fluttered away to show Wise Watchful Owl.

Wise Watchful Owl could not believe his eyes, even though he had perfect (corrected) vision. "Whoo knew?!" said W.W. Owl, and he flew off to spread the news.

The owl came upon his sage old friend, the Strong and Steady Tree Stump. "Toadstool has shared his secret! Isn't it wonderful?", said W.W. Owl.

In celebration, the new forest friends each revealed something special about themselves. Strong and Steady Tree Stump said, "I can hold pins!", to which W.W. Owl said, "I can hold scissors!", and of course, Tiny Toadstool said, "I hold a tape measure!". Little Blue Butterfly fluttered her wings in applause.

And they all lived happily ever after, best of friends.

That little fairy tale was my way of introducing you to one of my new sewing patterns I've been promising to tell you about, the Woodland Sewing Set. As you can see by now, the pattern has instructions to make a tree stump pincushion, an owl scissor holder and a toadstool tape measure. The projects can be made from wool blend craft felt or by using felted wool from sweaters.

As I reveal them, you'll see that each of my Make New or Make Do™ sewing patterns is designed in a way so that projects can be made from new fabrics or by repurposing items on hand. Because repurposing is such an important movement in crafting and sewing, I felt strongly that this should be my focus and starting point for my pattern line. Much like the projects in my book, Sewing Green, my goal is to offer projects that are easy to make with new fabrics, recycled materials, or by using a favorite fabric from your stash.

As the physical printed patterns make their way out into the world, I will keep you posted regarding the shops that will be carrying them. (Ooh, and hopefully have a whole page dedicated to that on my website, wouldn't that be nice?) If you're interested in purchasing the PDF version of The Woodland Sewing Set, it is now available in my etsy shop!

P.S. If you are a retailer interested in carrying my patterns, please email me at info(at)betzwhite(dot)com and I will send you wholesale information!

where do I begin?

How can I sum up the 3 crazy, fun, exciting days of my first Quilt Market? I decided to borrow Patty Young's photo below to help organize my thoughts.

photo via Patty Young

Patty Young, center front, is the designing dynamo behind Modkid Boutique. Without Patty's friendly advice, I never would've gotten my pattern line together for market! After all of our email communication before the show, I felt like we already knew each other yet we had never met before last week. Patty's a pro at promoting her fabric line with Michael Miller and her spunky ModKid sewing patterns. Her booth exhibit even won an award!

To the left is sweet Lizzy House. I met Lizzy last year at Squam and we have been twitter buddies ever since! She's also a wealth of information, insight and possesses a natural willingness to help others. This photo was taken at the Cake Party Lizzy threw on Saturday for her mom, Cherri House. The party was to celebrate Cherri's new book, City Quilts. (and I got a signed copy! Woot!)

The tall gal in back is a new acquaintance, Jana Nielsen of Izzy & Ivy. I loved meeting Jana, seeing her beautiful booth and sewing pattern line. Jana, like nearly everyone I met is warm, friendly and super fun. I really appreciated getting her perspective on the sewing pattern biz. Thanks, Jana!

I was also lucky enough to attend the book release party that the publisher Wiley put on for Anna Maria Horner, Sandi Henderson and the unicorn-lovin' Melissa Averinos. Lovely ladies, lovely books, and what a swell publisher!

Last but not least in the photo on the right, that's me! Looking a little tired and buzzed out on cake, but thrilled to be with a fabulous supportive group. (many of whom are not shown here but are greatly appreciated none-the-less!)

Ok, so enough about the social butterflying, what about my pattern line pitch? Honestly, I didn't realize how challenging it would be to get my work in front of the right people. Exhibitor or not, people are on the move at this show! Buyers are so busy working the show floor that it was a trick catching them at their booths. Turns out the social scene really was the best way to make connections! Many times it boiled down to "who ya know" and I am grateful for all of the introductions that resulted. And the good news is that the people whose attention I could catch gave me a warm reception and positive feedback. What more could I ask for?

The next few weeks for me will be all about follow-up with Distributors and Buyers, putting the finishing touches on the patterns in the pipeline and prototyping all of the new ideas popping into my head!

If you'd like to see some great photos and read some quilt market recaps, there are excellent ones to be found at True Up, Modern Organics, and Sew Fabulous Quilt Shop, for starters.

I'll be back soon with photos of my new patterns. But for now I need to take the weekend off to catch up on household blah-blah but mostly major kid snuggling! Mwah!

chickens come first

Well, I'm back...more or less. I have to admit, I had a tough re-entry for no other reason than pure exhaustion. Quilt Market was busy and fun and all around enjoyable! I still need a few days to process my experience before I blog it, though, so please bear with me. In the meantime, I bring you chickens!

Yes, you heard me, I said chickens. While in Minneapolis for the show, I was lucky enough to stay at my brother's house for a few days. It worked out nicely to have a comfortable, familiar landing pad after the crazy go-go-go days of market. He and his wife have the sweetest little chicken coop in their backyard and I had been dying to see it in person.

Isn't it adorable? It looks just like a mini version of their garage. For a few mornings I was in charge of feeding them and collecting any eggs. Currently they only have 2 hens but have had up to 6 at one time.

Fresh beautiful eggs! It's like magic, really. I'm looking forward to the day when we might live somewhere that is suitable for keeping chickens.

I'll be back later this week with more news and photos from the show!

a win sure

One day when our oldest son was a toddler, he proclaimed that he wanted a "win sure". We scratched our heads, "Did he say wincher?". "Wind shirt?" As adorable as that insistent little voice was, we were frustrated. "Honey, you want a what???"

I WANNA GO ON A WIN SURE!

Sooner or later, we figured out that he wanted to go on an adventure. Ohhhhh, an adventure! Yes! Of course! Let's go on one right away! Oh life with toddlers, babies, children of any age... isn't that an adventure in itself?


Well, I'm going on a *win sure* this week, although it's not of the toddler variety. For the first time I will be attending the International Quilt Market, being held this year in Minneapolis. Two times a year fabric companies, quilt shops, distributors, fabric and pattern designers, etc. attend this trade show to buy and sell all things fabric-y and good in the sewing world. I want to be a part of that goodness!

Tomorrow I am heading out, bags packed full of my new, soon to be released, sewing patterns! My longtime and loyal readers have heard me talk about this before, so you know that it's been a-comin'. (I think the first time I mentioned this dream was almost a year ago. Wow. What have I been doing?)

My sewing pattern line is called Make New or Make Do™. Each pattern is designed in a way so that it can be made with new fabric or by repurposing a second hand garment. (Think along the lines of Sewing Green.) I will be making my patterns available for wholesale to retailers and distributors, which I am very excited about! (By the way, if you are a shop owner, please email me and I will follow up with you after the show!)

I'm sure right about now you're thinking of scrolling down for a sneak peek...but I am not quite ready for the full reveal. (if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen a little snip of something....) In fact, upon my departure, I will be putting my etsy shop *on vacation* while I am away. When I get back in a few days, I will re-open the shop and list the new patterns for your ordering pleasure. So stay tuned for that.

I've got business cards, promotional flyers, and sewn samples of my styles to show off. My bags are packed, my iPod is synced, and I'm rarin' to go. Wish me luck on my new "win sure"!

P.S. I just want to say a special huge giant thank you to my dear hubby who has been working tirelessly with me on this crazy "win sure" of mine. Without his help I never would have pulled this together. Thank you, Honey!!!!!

Summer Duet

My Nirvana buddy Laura Nelkin has the most exciting project to share with you! This gorgeous Summer Duet top, combining two of her loves: crochet and sewing!

I had the pleasure of meeting Laura, of Nelkin Designs, last June at Squam and have been so fortunate to have stayed in touch. Last month she emailed me all in a tither over her latest design. She asked to buy some of my Flutter print fabric as the perfect accompaniment to the yarn she was using for the Summer Duet top. A match made in heaven!

Take a moment to visit Laura's blog for the free pattern if you are interested in making your own. Doesn't it look cool and breezy? (And it's such a kick for me to see things made out of my very own fabric!) Thanks, Laura for sharing your beautiful idea with us!

:: birdsong ::

I've designed a fresh new print for you...

birdsong :: celery

birdsong :: clementine

birdsong :: blue sky

All 3 colorways of birdsong are printed on a blend of hemp and 100% organic cotton canvas. Yardage and fat quarters are available in my shop.

Like birdies?
Flutter print on organic sateen
Zippered Bird Pouch pdf
Bird print design in work
Birdhouse workshop

bird in the house

I hope you all had the most wonderful weekend, I sure did! I had the pleasure of teaching a special Felted Birdhouse workshop on Saturday at the Columbia Firehouse restaurant (via Fibre Space) in Alexandria, Virginia.

It was a gorgeous day and I shared it with a group of wonderful enthusiastic women. There were moms and daughters and girlfriends, we drank mimosas and bloody marys, we brunched, we chatted and we created a big felty mess beautiful birdhouses!

I am always overcome by the range of styles and creativity that comes out of a group of relaxed, happy crafters with nothing but materials, a little inspiration and an open day ahead of them. (Ok, the fabulous food and bevies helped, but that was solely to keep our strength up.)

Just look at these adorable birds and birdhouses! I offered the pattern, materials, basic instruction and techniques. The rest was pure inspiration...

Check out this pink and green over-the-top girlified creation! Lilly Pulitzer would be proud!

I believe this colorful bungalow is for rent (can you see the blue sign?) but not for long. That little birdie seems ready to move in.

Special thanks to Danielle of Fibre Space, for coordinating the event, to my friend Heather for assisting, and to everyone that shared their day with me! I had a blast and I hope your little birdhouses bring you much happiness.

For those of you interested in learning how to make your own birdhouse, I plan to offer the instructions by way of a pattern or online workshop in the near future! So stayed tuned for that. Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there...enjoy what's left of it!

Best Day Ever

Wedding Day, May 6, 1995, at Amicalola State Park

Fifteen years ago I married my sweetheart! Time sure flies when you are having a good time, doesn't it?

Loopy

I'd like to report that I survived my live radio interview. I actually had a really good time! I knew I would, I just get all wound up beforehand thinking about it. If you missed it Sunday and would still like to give it a listen, the episode is archived at the FaveCrafts Blogtalk Radio site.
Back when I first started blogging (4 years ago this month!) the blog Whip Up was one of my daily stops for inspiration. Kathreen Ricketson, the brilliant woman behind the blog, has just released a beautiful new book: Whip Up Mini- Quilts published by Chronicle! Needless to say I was excited to receive my comp copy in the mail this week.

Pinned to one of my inspiration boards in my studio is my project contribution to the book: Loopy, found on page 62 in the project chapter called "Playful". :)

Loopy is a blast to make, because it uses one of my favorite appliqué techniques, called reverse appliqué. For this particular squiggly look, I layered felt on top of a piece linen then machine stitched in a random loopy pattern. After the whole quilt top was covered, I carefully trimmed away the felt in between the stitch lines. It may sound tedious, but it's fun to see the pattern reveal itself as you trim the top layer of felt away.

Aside from the chapter of Playful quilts, there are project chapters entitled Romantic, Modern Folk, Modern Elegance, Geometric, Punk Pop & Politics, and Memories & Storytelling. Kathreen did a wonderful job bringing so many styles and attitudes together in one collection. Best of all for me, a non-quilter, there's a solid techniques section with illustrations at the beginning of the book. Bonus points: paper patterns in the front and a spirally bound hardcover that lies flat. Ooh, and for double-dog bonus points, be sure to check out the online exclusive: two free mini quilt patterns and a project excerpt from the book!

I cant wait to have the time really sit down to read and digest every word and photo in this book. Meanwhile, here are some reviews you might like to read from around the web:
Fat Quarterly
Meet Me At Mikes

Thanks to Kathreen for inviting me to contribute to this special book, it's a beauty!