There's more to life than the birds and the bees!

HA! Made you look! Sooooo.... this past weekend I was having a conversation with my new fabrics (yes, we talk) and it was brought to my attention that in the big Flora & Fauna reveal post, I went on and on about the super cool bees and the gorgeous hummingbirds, and of course, the ever so versatile double border daisies, but I made virtually no mention of some of the other -- just as cool -- designs in the collection. Some feelings were hurt and it was not my intention at all. So, since I'm an equal opportunity fabric lover, I wanted to make it right.

A very important component of Flora & Fauna is this series of Dandelion prints, which, as a matter of fact were the building blocks for the collection, since they were the first drawings I made. We loved them so much that we decided to offer them in a spectrum of colors that can work all the way from nursery layette to women's wear.

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Then, as I was doing my research for the winged creatures I wanted to feature in my new collection, I came across the Luna Moth and was completely inspired by it. I loved its interesting shape and vivid color and had such a fun time drawing it and adding my little mod-ish touches to the drawings. I consider my Luna Moth the most "sophisticated" and "grown up" of all my designs and cannot wait to see it in purses, women's tops, flirty skirts and the like.

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Then there's the Blossoms. Oh, where do I even begin? These adorable little bunches of flowers were plucked right out of my Hummingbird print and turned out so fun and whimsical that we decided to make them in just about every color combination we could dream up. Just check out my blog background! I am using these everywhere... you'll see!

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So, now that you all probably think I've lost my mind (talking to fabric & all) let me just add that I feel so mushy inside just seeing how my family and friends have come together to help make the Flora & Fauna debut our best yet. Seriously, folks, just look at these amazing pieces...

Kristen made the sweetest Frida dress, using fabrics from my Turquoise and Raspberry palettes, and shipped it to me in a flash. Hop on over to her blog where she has promised to give away some fabric if you leave a comment...

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Then theres, Val, my little sewing bee friend. She is such a hard worker, she actually makes me look lazy, if you can believe it. She made this Sydney hoodie out of my mustard palette...

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Then she made this Ava Halter set from my turquoise palette...

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And even surprised me with a mini-version of Ava. Yes, folks, mini-me will be traveling with us to Quilt Market next week. I simply cannot wait to show her off!!!

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Heather made a whole new slew of jingle cloth balls. I cannot even pick a favorite! They are all so precious!!!

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And my mom has been super hard at work down in Florida on some items that apparently are so amazing she can't even show me a sneak peek. Seriously! I've begged but she wants me to see everything in person... 2 more days! She flies in this Thursday evening. The suspense is KILLING ME!!!

Oh, but don't you even think for one moment that I've been sitting on my butt while I let all these nice ladies do all my work. I've pretty much become one with my sewing machine & serger these past few days.

I made a Kyoko...

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And an Isabel. Oh, remember the Double Border Daisies? Well, they also come as all-over daisies just in case you love the design but don't need it as a border. :)

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And a Julia, which Sydney was more than happy to test drive for me...

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or should I say "test twirl"?

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And... drum roll please... I went out of my comfort zone (AGAIN) and made a men's tie for Jon to wear to Quilt Market. Nope, I didn't make it up. I used this tutorial and even though it required more hand-stitching than I'm comfortable with (especially while being so pressed for time) I think it went together without a hitch and turned out FANTASTIC! What do you think?

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So, I know you're all wondering who won the contest. I promise to announce the winners this week. My goal is to get these little bundles of goodness out to the lucky winners BEFORE we leave so you all can be the first to have them in hand. When I announce the winners I'll also tell you some important Quilt Market info, like where my booth is located and when my schoolhouse session for Brewer is (yes, freaking out here... more on that soon!)
Introducing ... Flora & Fauna

It's finally here and I'm so friggin' excited about this new collection of mine that I squeal every time I see it!

A couple of months ago I did an interview with True Up in which I shared a bit of a background story on my concept of Flora & Fauna. I said (and I quote) "for this collection I had to go completely out of my comfort zone. I deviated from the structured, linear feel that I am so accustomed to and went with a more free-flowing, organic set of designs. This was my way of proving to myself that I could do something completely different while still staying true to my style."

So here it is, in it's full glory. It was a labor of love... I hope you like it!!

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I just LOVE how the four color stories play so harmoniously together just like elements in nature!

I'm sure you all want to see some sewn items, don't you? Of course, I had to do pillows first! I always do pillows first.

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Check out the back of my pillows! I used the selvedges as the edges of my envelope backing. Heehee. Oh, I crack myself up so!

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I tweeted the other day when I was making these sweet little hexes. Oh, GOSH, I love these bees so much it hurts!!!

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My dear friend, Valerie, sewed up this Nina pattern for me in record speed. Doesn't Sydney look so "Mod" and "cosmopolitan" in her Flora & Fauna ensemble? This sweet little 2-piece set will be on display at my booth at Quilt Market and after the show, it will become a store display at Sew Much More.

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OH, and I almost forgot! The collection comes with a bonus "double border" design. I am so in love with these! Oh, the possibilities... skirts, dresses, curtains, quilts, pillows. I cannot wait to see what you all make with them. The Double Border Daisies come in all 4 colorways.

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So, what do you think of Flora & Fauna? I am so excited that I want to share the wealth. I have a small stack of fat quarters sitting here in my studio just begging for a new loving home. Leave me a comment and I'll pick 2 winners to take these home. It'll be a small assortment of prints, but OH so sweet! Let me know if you have a favorite print or a favorite colorway. Tell me how the collection inspires you, or anything at all. I just want to hear what you think! :)
Biding my time...

If you follow me on Twitter you know that I've been tap, tap, tapping my fingers, twiddling my thumbs and biding my time all this week waiting for the sample yardage of my brand new fabric collection to arrive at my doorstep. Just found out it won't be here today either, so to keep myself from going absolutely nuts, I decided to blog. I figured you wouldn't mind a few sneak peeks...

One of my sweet pattern testers, Anna Garner, from Sweet Dreams Designs, has been sending me test shots of some of my new sewing patterns this week. I love working with Anna because she is fast, thorough and honest (all great qualities to have in a pattern tester, believe me!) Oh, and she just happens to work with some of the best model/photographer teams in the industry, so I always look forward to receiving her photo galleries.

Here's a couple she sent me of my ISABEL pattern. These two photos are courtesy of April of Once in Every Life Photography, www.onceineverylifephotography.com. How cute are these girls? I also love how these photos show that the pattern is perfect for warmer climates, worn on its own, and for cooler climates, layered over stuff (her idea, not mine!) :)

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And here is a little sneak of the testing she did for my AVA pattern. This photo is courtesy of Heidi Baird of Elite Event Images, emmasaxton@gmail.com. I just adore it!

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These and many more will be making it into the booklet pages of my new patterns, debuting this Fall. Stay tuned!

OK, all this talk of fabric has left me wanting to show you a little sneak peek, so here it is:

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This is my largest collection yet... 44 total designs divided into 4 glorious color stories boasting all sorts of winged creatures, colorful flowers and yes, dots, dots, dots! As soon as my fabric gets here and I have the time to shoot it in all it's glory I will do a full reveal, so please keep checking!!
SEW MUCH MORE

I met Valerie Haberer, owner of SEW MUCH MORE, what used to be only a Baby Lock dealership in my hometown a couple of years ago when I went in looking to purchase a Baby Lock Imagine. She took excellent care of me and we've remained friends ever since. She has seen me develop into the fabric & sewing pattern designer that I am today and has always been extremely supportive and excited about my endeavors.

She recently embarked on an adventure of her own and has turned her Baby Lock store into a hip & cool fabric shop, offering the latest & greatest in designer fabrics and indie sewing patterns in the industry.

This past Thursday, September 10, Valerie hosted an OPEN HOUSE to celebrate her new endeavor and it was such a fun event. Below is a picture of some of the attendees (a couple had to leave early due to prior engagements so I did not capture the full group)

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Valerie and her assistant, Karen, looked so adorable in their matching Mezzanine skirts...

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I just had to get in on the fun and give these sweet ladies a big hug...

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After a short talk, we revealed the winners of the sewing contest. The decision was so tough because there were so many wonderful entries. I was truly blown away by the local talent... not that I didn't think there was any (haha), but just that they all came forward to showcase their skills and make beautiful creations with my fabric *sniff, sniff*

Janet Walker won in the Women's Wear category for her beautiful Clover Dot Cami



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Pam Pittman won in the Bags, Purses & Totes category with her gorgeous Flora purse

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Cathie Haab won in the Children's Wear category with her adorable 2-piece Mezzanine baby outfit

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Carolyn Bryant won in the Home Decor category with this amazingly fussy-cut Andalucia Table Runner you see up at the top.

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Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who entered the contest... everything was breathtakingly beautiful!



A million thanks to Valerie for her support and friendship. And thank you all for attending. I had a truly wonderful night! I even walked away with one of the contest entries... a great scarf made with my Mod Blooms cord. Thanks, Kathy! I love it!!

What's in a Name?

I'm still blown away by all the responses we received after I asked for sewing pattern name suggestions. Boy, I should've thought about this long ago! Thank you all for all your ideas! Choosing names was soooo hard for us... there were literally thousands to go through. We grabbed some popcorn & drinks and got cozy in the studio. Jon read the names aloud and I wrote down those we really loved. There were tons of names on that list but we needed to narrow it down some more. At the end we came up with about a dozen must-haves, so you may see your name suggestion pop up here in the near future... you never know!

The 3 winners for this contest were:

SewMentalMama said...
What a great idea for a contest, but I don't know how you are
going to choose between all the great neames suggested. There are four
I would like:

1. Clara or Carla
2. Lucy
3. Nina
4. Emily

nheimberg said...
How about Abigail or Abby. Ruth is a nice classic name also. Natasha is a good one too. :)

Dottie said...
Wow, I think my list could go on and on..how about:
1. Ella
2. Cambrie
3. Stella

I know lots of you suggested these names, but we had to go with the first person who did. Winners, please email your mailing address to info@modkidboutique.com.

In addition to these 3 awesome names, we have a few others we just cannot do without. And I don't know about you, but I'm a visual person so when I heard a name, I immediately envisioned a "look". Like for example, when I heard the name BETTY, I imagined a super cute, retro apron set... like maybe a mother/daughter matching pattern? Then when I heard MARGOT, I thought of an elegant winter coat. PENELOPE could be the elegant party gown to match the coat. And the name MATILDA conjured up all kinds of playful, retro A-line dresses. And then there was LUCY and MAYA and CLAUDIA... oh, so many lovely names! Ahhh... I definitely have my work cut out for me! I better get to designing some Ninas, Abigails, Stellas, Bettys, etc., etc.

Speaking of names, I'd like to introduce you to the 3 lovely young ladies that have occupied most of my time these past few weeks. May I present AVA, ISABEL and JULIA, all due out in October and available for pre-order at Quilt Market (in conjunction with a couple others I'm working on!)

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And, of course, you can't have a MODKID Sewing Pattern without the notorious "potty girls" so here they are...

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I may be a bit quiet around here while I prepare for the Fall International Quilt Market, coming up in just 4 short weeks. This will be a big one for me because I will be debuting a new fabric collection with Michael Miller Fabrics (more on that soon!) plus a whole new range of sewing patterns.

In the meantime I will be appearing at Sew Much More this Thursday, September 10 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. If you are local to the Central Illinois area, don't miss Sew Much More's OPEN HOUSE. There will be food, drinks and door prizes galore! I will give a short talk around 6:30 then judge a sewing competition. It should be loads of fun so come on out!

SEW MUCH MORE
1520 E. College Ave. Suite O
Normal, IL, 61761
Phone: 309-452-7659
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