I read every comment and made a big list. What fun! There were some titles that were mentioned over and over and over again. They have an asterisk next to them. Hopefully I’ll remember what the asterisk means in a week.

YA for Young Adult fiction. I have not done nearly enough reading with Caitlin and Leil and you all provided so many great titles. Many mentions of the Harry Potter series. I read the first book out loud to Caitlin when she was in 1st Grade. Greg heard the story by default. When the final page was turned we all got in the car and went to Borders to purchase book two. Thus began our family’s love affair with the magical world of Harry Potter. Ten years later all 4 of us have read all 7 books. We also have them on tape or CD and have enjoyed many a long car trip listening to the stories again and again and again. Your comments sparked some very joyful and quirky family memories that made me remember how satisfying sharing a book with your children can be.  Thank you.

A clear winner was the Stieg Larsson series. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has been sitting on my nightstand for two weeks. After day one of the comments I started and was pulled in quickly. I’m excited just knowing there are two more to follow so I can extend the experience!

My list is rather long but I’m feeling excited with such strong recommendations. Water for Elephants, The Help, and The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society are all there. I listen to a lot of books on tape when I’m sewing so I also appreciated the comments about the quality of the audio version. The Secret Life of Bees and Snow Flower & The Secret Fan were two books where I thought the audio versions were amazing.

The Time Traveler’s Wife was mentioned lots. I read that book several years ago after doing a very similar blog post. Still one of my all time favorite books. I haven’t seen the movie and it sounds like I’m not missing anything.

Oh yeah, the winners of the thread:

joh

Amber

Katherine

Slack

Happy Reading! xo Kathy

ps new laminated cottons from Jennifer Paganelli, I’m in love with this shade of pink and feeling a strong desire to immediately cover something in my house with it. Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew made a fabulous table cloth with her Nicey Jane laminated cotton, very pretty!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Westminster Fabrics recently announced these fabulous new thread sets. There are 4 different collections. Each set contains 9 spools of 100% cotton Egyptian thread in colors handpicked by Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett. The set comes in the cute box.

The picture above shows Soul Blossoms by Amy Butler. The colors coordinate with her upcoming collection due in August. The set includes Bluestone, Bright Pear, Carmine, Cinnamon, Cerise Pink, Honeydew, Fern, Grass, and Sea Glass. Truly exquisite and unique hues.

Amy’s second set of colors is called Love. Again, a perfect match to the beautiful and rich colors in her Love fabric collection. This set contains: Cool Water, Tea Leaf, Spearmint, Fresh Lime, Periwinkle, Midnight, Wine, Rosebud, and Melon.

Each spool of thread contains 200 yards of 50 weight Mercerized Giza Cotton. It also states ‘Extra Long Fiber’ on the label.

The above photo is the Stones collection by Kaffe Fasset. The colors include Blue Ridge, Heather, Light Pink, Olivenite, Green Linen, Cream, Forest Green, Aqua and Dark Silver. I’m mentioning these names because they really describe the EXACT color of the thread. They’re also just inspiring to read!

Circus is the other collection by Kaffe. It includes: Deep Violet, Amber, Cinnamon, Lavender Blue, Spark Gold, Brick Rust, Charteuse, Tangerine and Red Rose.

The thread is being released in sets. My understanding is that individual spools will also be available for order in the near future. I’m carrying the 9-spool sets in the shop. I’m still thinking about whether or not to stock the individual spools. I personally buy my thread at my local fabric shop because I like to match directly with the fabric I’m using, like pull the thread out of the spool and lay it across the cloth in natural light kind of matching. I’ve never purchased thread online. I do think it will be very fun to have these sets on hand for small quilting projects and accessory topstitching where just the right color will really make the fabrics pop.

Westminster generously provided two sets for giveaway, Pink Chalk Fabrics is offering the other two. That makes 4 sets up for grabs, one of each collection! edited to add: all of these lovely photos were provided by the manufacturer.

To enter the drawing: leave a comment telling me the best fiction book you’ve read this year. I’m getting ready for a little getaway and I need a good read to take along! I’ll leave the comments open until next Thursday, July 22nd. Good luck. Winners Announced here.

My favorite book is Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, I loved everything about these short stories. Lahiri’s ability to create such a crystal clear image of place and character made me feel as though I was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room watching the story unfold. And compelling stories they are. Rich with emotion, personal growth, and family relationships. Some joyful, some sad. All very moving.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I first discovered Kathy York’s art quilts in an issue of Quilting Arts magazine. Whenever I see one of her new works I immediately recognize the artist and then I smile. Her work is happy, fun, bold and colorful in addition to being flawlessly executed.

Urban Landscapes is her first fabric collection for Clothworks. Happy, fun, bold, colorful … her signature style comes through on these quilting cottons! The colors and visual texture look like hand dyed cloth. She’s developed several free sewing patterns that really showcase the creative possibilities.

7/16/10 There’s been several requests for the fabric requirements to make the skirt:

Top Tier (orange/pink flower bricks in the pattern image above):  1/4 yard for all sizes

Middle Tier (red plaid): Size Small – 1/2 yard, Sizes Medium or Large – 5/8 yard

Bottom Tier (Red/Orange/Pink 9-Dot) – 1/2 for all sizes

1 package 1/2″ elastic

Initially, I assumed both of these patterns were going to be available on the Clothworks website. Only the quilt pattern is accessible as a download. The skirt pattern is a design that can be copied and distributed by retailers. Pink Chalk Fabrics is including a copy of the skirt pattern with every order of Urban Landscapes. The quilt pattern can be downloaded now.

It’s hot, hot, hot here in the Northwest. No one’s complaining because summer took so long to arrive! Stay cool and enjoy your weekend, xo Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Thank you to everyone for playing along with the latest book giveaway. I now have enough inspiration to blog for a decade! You guys are awesome!

Now for the two lucky winners:

# 113 – Stacy: I always love seeing the projects you are working on, value the pattern reviews, and have been wondering how the business has changed since moving to your new location. Thanks for the chance to win!

# 131 – June of Planet June: Ooh, these books both look great – I have loads of smallish fabric pieces stashed and I’m always looking for ideas for what to do with them. As for your blog, I love seeing your behind-the-scenes-of-your-business posts. I want to see more photos of your new space!

Both of these winners’ ideas reflect a good segment of the comments.

I do plan to write more about my business. It’s weird sometimes because there’s so many people selling fabric online I’ve become a little paranoid about talking about how I run my business. I also sometimes feel like I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing so it seems a bit presumptuous to be doling out advice! I think there’s a lot that I would like to discuss so thank you for the input on that topic.

I’m dying to get back to my roots of writing in detail about my sewing projects!

Stay tuned. We have lots to talk about!

***

There are now two 12 year olds in our house. Simba was born in 1998 along with Leil. I caught this one picture of him sitting next to her while we sang happy birthday and she blew out the candles. Makes me smile.

Have a fabulous week my friends, xo Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Castle Peeps arrived in the shop last week. This is a new fabric collection by Lizzy House. So many fabulous details to make you smile. Lizzy has designed the Villagers Rejoice quilt pattern to showcase the collection. It’s available as a PDF for free download here.

Ashley Williamson of Film in the Fridge (photo courtesy of Ashley) designed this pattern using the new Tufted Tweets collection from Laurie Wisbrun (this fabric came and went much too quickly, the manufacturer will be shipping more at the end of July). The pattern is available on the Robert Kaufman website for download. Be sure to check out all their free patterns, some very good stuff!

Happy weekend sewing!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Small Stash Sewing: 24 Projects Using Designer Fat Quarters is a new book by Melissa Averinos. Many of you are familiar with Melissa’s work through Sugar Snap, her first fabric collection for Free Spirit that came out last year, and her blog Yummy Goods.

Small Stash Sewing is a gem of a book. The projects are fresh and fun and they use those fabulous 18″ x 22″ squares of goodness that fill a good chunk of my fabric shelves. Melissa did a fantastic job of applying her signature artistic style to a a set of practical sewing projects.

These simple silhouette shape softies are totally fabulous. The intricacy of the designs are absolutely stunning. The young model seems to think so too. To heck with making them for the kids, I need these in my room!

Several of the projects take a very clever twist on common accessories. I LOVE the added detail of the gathered fabric strip overlaying the top of this belt. It’s that kind of detail that elevates the belt from ordinary to spectacular.

Look closely because these shoe laces are not just strips of fabric. They’re all official with an inventive technique for adding a traditional hard plastic tip to the ends. As a reader I feel a bit giddy when I take away a new and useful tip like this. It also convinced me that I absolutely need a pair of Pink Converse All Stars!

Keep reading for a review of another new book and how to win both …

***

Sewing Bits & Pieces: 35 Projects Using Fabric is a new book by Sandi Henderson. This new title uses another item we all have in our sewing rooms: scraps! Sandi’s eye for design and putting together just the right details translate into a book filled with inventive ideas for using those ubiquitous odds and ends we can’t seem to part with.

My favorite project in the book is the one featured on the cover. Each piece of the re-fashion is perfect in scale and composition. It sparked my creative juices and reminded me that the simple act of covering buttons with really cool fabric could spice up an old cardigan. I had lots of those moments while reading this book, it’s packed with inspiring ideas!

The Dahlia Pincushion is lovely. Sandi uses wool felt in several of the projects. I have a pretty good stash of wool felt myself and these projects reminded me of all the wonderful ways it can be used.

Fabulous organic shapes and texture elevate scraps to a new status.

LOVE the crust made from Cherries with a bit of steam rising from the pie. Too cute.

Sandi’s designs are certain to put a smile on your face and inspire thinking about how to put your stash of bits and pieces to creative work. The small nature of the book’s projects make them perfect for weekend sewing or a night of crafting with friends.

***

Wiley Publishing has generously given me both these books for a giveaway.

To enter the drawing please leave a comment telling me what you’d like to see me write about here on the blog. You can ask a question or spin a whole long term plan if you’d like I’ll draw the winners Monday morning. Winners announced.

Happy Weekend Sewing!
xo Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Finish up one quilting bee and start another. I like new beginnings.

I signed on to another virtual quilting bee several months ago not recording the begin dates or other specifics of participating. Fortuitously enough, as soon as I sent out the blocks from my original bee I received the first set of fabrics from the new group.

Katie Jump Rope meets triangles. Love the fabric, love the theme. Make note to self to take more care in the design stage. I had several ideas and ultimately decided on Flying Geese in a Dutchman’s Puzzle layout. Finished block size 12.5 inches. I made 2″ x 4″ Flying Geese. Hmmm, no the math does not work on that one.

I realized the math didn’t work when I looked at this:

and knew it wasn’t a 12″ block.

One of the things I LOVE about making quilts is that you’re never without options. Those little tiny pieces can become new things when they decide they don’t want to be what you first thought they should. I took stock of what I had. Added. Re-arranged. Did it again. And came up with this:

And I’m absolutely loving this block. Waaaayyyy more than the original idea. I like the color play. I like how I didn’t have enough Orange or Brown fabrics. I learn something new with every project. Even when I think I know what I’m doing I get surprised. A little gift of ‘hey, that’s pretty cool and by the way you don’t know everything smarty pants’ pops out and dances across the table. Good, clean fun I tell you.

These are the lovely gals participating in the Busy Bees (along with their Flickr icons since I did a little cut and paste):
Angela – Tweedledeedesigns – cuttopieces

Kate – One Flew Over – One Flew Over

Amber – One ShaBby ChiCk – one shabby chick

Tacha – hanies – hanies quilts

Brioni – flossyblossy – flossyblossy

Malka – stitchindye – stichindye

Megan – {philistine made} 100% Philistine Made

Lucinda – lucyellen06 – september bird

Penny – sewtakeahike – sewtakeahike

Cherri – cherry house quilts – Cherry House Quilts

Katy -imagingermonkey – imagingermonkey

Jo -sparklygreenknickers – sparkly green knickers

I’m looking forward to lots more surprises!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

happy holiday weekend sewing! xo Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I finished up my final three blocks for the Virtual Quilting Bee.  I’m quite embarrassed at how long it took me to finally complete my end of the bargain (and a little shocked when I realized just how long it had been!) Our ever gracious hostess Mama Urchin sent a reminder e-mail several weeks ago, the kick in the pants I needed. And, of course, I totally enjoyed the process and it took less than an afternoon from start to finish. Why did I wait over a year to wrap this up?

Sarah provided the brown chambray and linen colored cotton. She requested that we not add any color to the block. Texture only. This was a real challenge for me. I started with one idea that went nowhere. My friend Margret always recommends to cut it up when that happens which is what I did. The result of this process was nine 4″ blocks. Each a bit different. I like the final result. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt.

Eren requested a scrappy, vintage style block sending us the yellow, green and leaf prints. I pulled the darker blue vintage cotton from my stash based on color. After sewing the block I realized the design on that print contains a small, gray/navy mirrored leaf. I love how it thematically works into the fabric Eren sent. A little quilter’s treat. The block design is called the Spinner (I didn’t use the instructions in that link, I had some templates from another project but the assembly is the same).

And last but not least (and probably my favorite of the three) is a color block for Grace. Each person in the group took a color. Every orange I had came off the shelf. I cut 16 3.5″ squares. Scraps were sewn to the corners, flipped up and edges squared. I had fun playing with the color pairs and the square rotation. Ultimately I placed them all in the same direction which seemed to work best for this single block.

I’m putting these in an envelope right now. Finishing feels really good!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale