Hello Novella....

College game day....the Oregon Ducks are playing at 4p.m. we are gathering to watch the game at my parents. Ross is out showing houses and the kids and I are in the studio....a great Saturday!

While the monsters are occupied I thought I would introduce you to Novella. My newest collection of fabric that I am truly in LOVE with. Novella has three color palettes with some pieces that cross over to other palettes.

The introduction will start with Driftwood.....Where Earth Meets Elegance...

This is Finnelopy....in aqua

in Curry...this print is cotton sateen. Cotton sateen is a heavier weight than quilting cotton but not as heavy as a traditional home decorator fabric.

Heart de flur.....charcoal

Heart de flur.....Gypsy

Peony.... Aquastone...this fabric is a yummy rayon. Like butter to sew with, I think it is my new favorite substrate.

Peony... Gold...this comes in the cotton sateen and rayon.

Peony... Gypsy

Rain...Aqua...this comes in cotton and rayon.

Rain...Gypsy

ZigZag.. aqua

Zigzag... Stone....this comes in the cotton sateen.

For the photo shoot of this color story I had a beautiful couple that is truly in love and I took them to a lake... Here are some of my FAVS from the shoot...

I have this vision of creating an canopy over a boat with a quilt....this is a start but my quilt was not big enough or my boat was too big. Someday I am going to get it to work.....

And now for some quilts...

This is a new Sewing Card called Finnelopy...

The Novella quilt is a free pattern... Download NovellaFreePattern-web

I created Annie several years ago...I felt it would make a great sewing card.

The Greenwich bag is so easy and versitale....fits all my needs - sketchbook, pens, camera, wallet, phone, and all those other random things the get in your purse.

My favroite picture of Lanie and Jordan...they were amazing!

I am being beckoned to play legos and barbies.....Have a great day!

XO

Valori

Wrenly's 12 days of Christmas....

Happy Friday!!!

A year ago I introduced Wrenly....my spring 2011 collection of fabric. She was a big hit and I thought that she would make great holiday fabric. This spring Wrenly arrived in Holiday fashion......I believe you can't have a great collection of Christmas fabric without great projects...

Since there are 12 Wrenly christmas prints I figured we needed to have the 12 days of Christmas....featuring Wrenly. Starting today....and continuing for the next 11 Friday's I will be sharing Christmas ideas, projects, decorating ideas, quilts (of course) and recipes! Along with that I will be collecting comments and giving away 12 bundles of the entire Wrenly's Christmas collection.....

Today I thought I would introduce you to the 12 patterns of Wrenly....

Wren - Pine

Wren - Snow

Ingrid - Pine

Ingrid - Snow

Wildfield - Pine

Wildfield - Cranberry

Rosette - Pine

Rosette - Snow

Rosette - Cranberry

BoHo Stripe - Pine

BoHo Stripe - Snow

BoHo Stripe - Cranberry

Now to show you a quilt that uses all 12 pieces. I do think they stand on their own quite well, of course depending on what you do with them. I just love how they all came together in this quilt - Christmas Rosalie...

Rosalie is a sewing card I introduced last spring.....with Cocoon on the cover. The pattern comes with both sizes of hexagons. The cover uses the bigger size and the Christmas quilt uses the smaller size. Both are beautiful!

Rosalie in Cocoon.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am off to get the cabin set up for our art retreat! YEAH!!!

XOXO

Valori

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2012....part 2

Hello.......

Here is the second instalment of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show photos......

It was only 8ish and town was full....

Even the Cowboys were out looking at quilts! How often do you see that?!

My friends little boy "Water Doctor" out for the day keeping the visitors well hydrated!

I always love the line outside the Sisters Bakery on Quilt Show day....all across the street.

Another look of Cascade Street.....

The first Annual Man Land Exhibit.....way cool to recognize our Men Quilters!

I will end with the Wizard of Oz....

What is truly amazing is that I started this blog in the morning and with all the interruptions I am sending it now..... I came upstairs to finish......hope nobody has noticed that I'm gone!!!

Have a great night!!!

XO

Valori

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2012....part 1

Happy Monday!!! I got my first canning lesson today with my step-mom. We made dill pickles! So domestic of me...in between the canning process I started working on my Spring 2013 collection of fabric. Makes my brain hurt to think that far ahead right now. I have spent so much time trying to keep myself in the now it is hard to think out that far.

The pickles are done, the lids popped (I guess that is good). Teague is still sleeping. It is peaceful so I thought I would share some Quilt Show photos from this year......

The day always begins with the Sisters Firemen hanging our Employee Challenge Quilts.

Mom and I out for our morning walk.....

I love the look down Cascade St, aka Highway 20, first thing in the morning. I think it was about 7:30ish.

I LOVE this quilt!

Rob Appell....sporting his Quilt Rescue t-shirt. He volunteers every year to help with Quilt Rescue. Very Cool!!!!

Still hanging.....

Rob hard at work fixing a quilt.....and we have barley made it 2 blocks.

I will have to end here...my little monster is calling! Keep your eyes out for part 2 and part 3....

XO

Valori

Simply Made Summer....the end of July!

Good Morning.....we are getting ready to head out for a little family vacation but I had to share a fun pattern for the perfect picnic.

Skye....I made this quilt out of voile, cotton and then I made it into a picnic blanket.

I love it out of the voile...it is so soft yet cool.....perfect for a summer evening.

Here is the pattern for you to download and share.....

Download Skye_web

Hope you have a great weekend!!!!

We are hitting the road!

XO

Valori

Picnic in the Park.....part 1....

Hello....

Today is my brother and I's birthday, Jason is 43 and I am 39.....yep same birthday! It is a great day.....on this beautiful July day I thought I would start my series of images from the Picnic in the Park, Quilt Show and Save it for Sunday events! Three awesome events.....

The Picnic in the Park is the last event of the week of Quilter's Affair classes.....it is followed by an outdoor lecture. This year our featured lecture is from the Folk Art Chicks....Gwen Marston, Sue Spargo, and Tonye Phillips......But I wil start with a few fun pics and our traditional showing of the Employee Challenge Quilts.  This year's theme was Pieceful Village or something similar to that.....

Aunt June, Mom and I.....can you tell we are all related! Except my dorky smile.....

Music from our talented kids from Sisters!

Three tired but happy teachers.....Alethea Ballard, Emily Cier and Scott Hanson.....all vergins to Quilter's Affair and Quilt Show......

Mom and Vivi.....

The diners.....

The Chicks getting ready for their lecture!

Quilt Holders for the event....Lawry and Mindi - mother and daughter, Lawry has worked for my mom since Mindi and I were 7, & Colleen Blackwood - teacher and family friend.

My hubby and Rob Appell - our surfer boy teacher and good friend!

Let the Employee Challenge begin.....this is mom's quilt - she had the grandkids draw houses and she used them for templates then the kids picked the fabrics they wanted their houses made out of....too cute! She is so clever!

Quilts from our amazingly talented staff at the Stitchin' Post!! They did such an amazing job.....

Next on Picnic in the Park.....part 2, The Folk Art CHICKS!!!!!

XO

Valori

Simply Made Summer from the Oregon Coast....

Hello all.....enjoying a little vacation from the hub bub at the beach with my family...It was wonderful weather the last two days and today is a little wet and cloudy. Typical Oregon Coast.....

We make an annual trip to the beach in between Rodeo and Quilt Show.....kind of a mental break for all of us. We are just missing my brother's family but they went to Hawaii instead. Yeah, don't feel bad for him at all!!!!

So, this week I wanted to share my Rosalie quilt.....it is a Hexagon quilt (my mom tells me that hexagons are really big right now). The best part o the sewing card is that there are two sizes with the same layout but just different size hexagons. You can make a queen or a throw.

This is the queen version using all of the Cocoon cottons..... I love the way it turned out.

I was out shooting some quilts for our summer postcard and I had to take Rosalie.....

Such a perfect spot to take photos.....it is SO Sisters.

To go with this beautiful quilt......a easy project for anyone - fabric gift box!

So easy to  make......

This will give you the instructions and one of the box templates....the download will have the full size template in two different sizes. Perfect hostess gift for the summer party. Download FabricGiftBoxes-web-1   Download FabricGiftBoxes-web-2

I like the inside of my box to be interesting also, so I printed on the inside.....you can stamp or put another piece of fabric on the inside.

Well off to hang with the family on this rainy beach day.....

XO

Valori

We Love Color......

Hello and Happy Monday!!! My weekend was full of planting in the garden and listening to my husband trying to get the little man to use the potty. Seven years of diapers is taking a toll on him. He is on a mission but I am not sure he is going to win! Teague is very stubborn.....and personally I don't think he is ready.

I am lucky enough to have been a part of the C&T Publishing Family since my mom's first book - Patchworthy Apparel....I was 7. Ha Ha....there are even some still out there. Since then I have created several books with my mom and even a few on my own.

Look at that baby.....might even be antique!

Last year I was asked to be a part of the We Love Color book by C&T and Kaufman fabrics. What an honor! I love to have an opportunity to make quilts that are not always for market or a pattern I have to do or with my fabric. Even better the quilt had to be out of solids....Kona Solids! Not a bad assignment!

And to be included with all of these amazing designers!!! WOW!

First, I have to say how much I love, love, love this book! There are quilts that I would love to make if only I had another day in the week without any responsibilities....don't we all want a day like that? Since the book is compiled of different designers the quilts are incredibly varried. To me that makes a great book. A book that you will pick up again and again to find inspriation from the quilt designs to the quilting and color choices.

The color inspiration for my quilt was a photograph of quilts and wool blankets all stacked on these awesome galvanized shelves. I think that it was in a book of mom's. I loved the way the colors moved in the photograph as well as the palette itself. Luckily I had all the Kona cottons to pick from, I mean honestly I don't see how you can't find a color that you need. You want to see a sneak peak at my quilt.....

It is one of these...can you pick it out?

I was asked what my favorite Kona color is......Azure - although I think that there are at least 4 other ones that I would consider a close second. When Olivia asks me my favorite color I always tell her, "all of them". Way too hard to pick...and my mood has a lot to with my favorite color of the day!

When you look at Azure what does it make you think of?  For me.....blue sky, the ocean on a white sandy beach...that is why it is one of my favorite colors it makes me happy!

Little did I realize the Kona has come up with 28 new colors....REALLY! Talk about options....

Meet Citrus! "Yes I am yellow but not just yellow but WOW yellow, kinda makes you pucker". Like when my son takes the lemon from my ice tea and sucks on it...

Now, the best part is that I am giving away a copy of We Love Color......yeah!! Leave me a comment and you will go into the basket. Just so you know how I do a give away....you leave a comment - make sure you email is available to me otherwise I have no way of getting a hold of you - I will assign it a number and then put pieces of paper with the number on it  in a basket and let one of the kids draw the number.  The drawing will be June 11th.

To find out when the other designers are blogging check out Kaufmans Blog....

Have a great day!!!!

XO

Valori