makelifesweet

Big News...

We've been keeping a secret. And with most secrets, it has been kind of hard to keep.  But we are finally able to tell.  For some of you, this may be big news, if you are a quilter, probably not.  But it is big news to us.  Here goes.

We started Sweetwater about 12 years ago.  Back then, Sweetwater wasn't a fabric/pattern company (although my mom had her own company where she designed fabric and patterns).  Some of you will remember Sweetwater as a scrapbook company.  That's what we did- we designed and produced products for the scrapbooking industry.  Which is really different than the quilting industry.  I won't get into all the differences, but a major difference is that scrapbookers are always demanding new products.  New, new, new.  If it has been out for 2 weeks, it is now old.  Which, in turn, put a whole lot of pressure on us- and we came out with a new line every single month.  Yikes.  Those were some good days, but some crazy days.  Not that designing fabric doesn't come with crazy days, but it is whole different kind of pressure.

Anyway, in 2008, we were invited by Moda to submit a fabric line.  That line was called Authentic.  We were over the top thrilled when it was actually produced.

But we also knew we had a decision to make.  We knew we couldn't have a fabric and pattern company and a scrapbook company without one of them suffering.  That was a hard choice.  But it was Moda.  We have always wanted to design for Moda.  So that is what we chose, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But I was sad.  We had put everything we had into Sweetwater, the scrapbook company.  I was emotionally attached.  I remember when our very last line of paper was printed, I had tears.  I knew we would never design another paper collection.

But I got over it.  The first time I saw and touched the Authentic fabric, I was over it.  Mostly.  I still remembered the scrapbooking days with fondness.  And we still got the same question from scrapbook stores and customers- "Are you ever going to have another paper line".  No, no and no.  Not going back to that craziness.  

But then about a year ago we had an idea.  Wouldn't it be great if we could turn all these fabric collections we have into paper collections, without having the job of manufacturing, advertising, selling, etc., etc., etc. Ya, that would be great.  It would be great to design for a company that would take care of all that.  But it couldn't just be any company.  And I know what company I wanted to ask.  But I had to ask.  And believe me, it was pretty intimidating to ask.  After all, this company is huge in the scrapbooking industry, very respected and already had amazing products.  But it doesn't hurt to ask, right?  

So about 9 months ago, I finally got the guts to ask one of our favorite scrapbooking companies, Bazzill, if they might be interested in us designing a paper collection for them.  And guess what?  9 months later we have 2 collections coming out!  Just in time for CHA (the huge craft and hobby tradeshow).  We will show the products on our blog next week, but tomorrow (Saturday) Bazzill is having a huge product release party on their blog, where you can check out the collections.

You will have a chance to win prizes every hour.  But if you aren't the winner, come to our blog next week and we will have a contest of our own.  

So that is our big news.  We are over the moon excited.  And we want to thank Bazzill for giving us the opportunity to do this.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  

Now, on to more big news.  News you quilters might want to know about.  My most favorite ever, ever, ever fabric collection ( I know that I say that a lot, but this time I'm serious) is now just hitting stores.  If your local quilt store ordered Noteworthy, it should be there now (or any day now).   We actually have some pre-cuts and a limited amount of yardage in our store.  

You may want to check out fatquartershop.com, as they were so kind to feature us and Noteworthy in their blog.    

If you forgot what Noteworthy looked like, here is a reminder:

 

I'm posting those pictures not only as a reminder but because they make me happy.  It is snowing and cold here, so I need a reminder of summer.  Noteworthy reminds me of warmth.  And sun.  And everything I love.  Well, not quite everything I love.  I have one more thing to say about something I love in this marathon blog post.  

GO BRONCOS!

By the way, my sweet husband somehow managed to get us tickets to the game.  I'm so excited I already have butterflies in my stomach.  If you watch the game on TV (because I'm quite sure every quilter is a Bronco fan), you will notice that it is very cold.  Very, very cold.  Like around 10 degrees cold.  Doesn't matter.  I'll be loving every moment of it.  Unless, of course, they lose.  In which case I won't be able to blog next week because my heart will be broken.  I'm counting on blogging.  See you next week!

Such A Long Time

It sees like it has been such a long time since we have blogged.  It has been, really.  But we have a lot of excuses:

• First of all, we are still getting orders out from our 12 Days of Christmas.  If you haven't gotten something yet, please hold tight.  We are sending everything as quickly as we can.  And if there is something you want, but haven't ordered, we still have most everything in stock (or will have it back in stock).  I'm thankful we started this in early November- it gives everybody more time to get things done before Christmas!
• There was, of course, Thanksgiving.  We didn't do one ounce of work on Thanksgiving.  Not one. It was a nice break.
• The day after Thanksgiving we did a whole lot of work.  Work I never, ever want to do again.  We moved our office/ studio to a new location.  OH. MY. GOSH.  How we could possibly have that much stuff is beyond me.  I would have taken a picture but it was too embarrassing.  We are still not done moving/cleaning up, but at least we can do a majority of our work in the new place.  Except for a couple of computer problems- we're doing good.  
• We are on a deadline for submitting patterns for a new fabric collection.  Yep, new.  I haven't even mentioned this one.  We actually got sample yardage yesterday.  We will get around to photographing it soon.  I will tell you the whole collection (the theme, colors, etc,) could be a surprise to you.  The whole thing is even kind of a surprise to me.  Don't worry- we do LOVE it- just different for us.  I will tell you all about it later.
• We didn't forget about the Label Crew.  We are just late in telling you about it.  It will still go out on time, but we just got the sample done.  The December Label Crew project is a cute little bag:

Just a note on the Label Crew.  You know how I mentioned that we are experiencing a few computer problems since the move?   Well, it just so happens the biggest problem deals with the computer that has all our information for the Label Club.  For instance, we can't easily add new subscribers and make account changes.  Don't worry- the information is all secure.  We can't even connect this certain computer to the internet- so trust me, it is secure.  We are trying to get everything fixed- it is just taking longer than we thought.  So please bear with us!  

For more information on the Label Crew, please click here.

So that is what we have been doing.  But I have a couple of other things to tell you.

First, we did an interview (well, I did an interview) with Pat Sloan from American Patchwork and Quilting Radio at Quilt Market in Houston last month.  You can listen to the interview here.

Last thing for today, we wan't to have a contest since it has been so long.  Just tell us what was your favorite project from the 12 Days of Christmas, and you may be the winner of that project.  Here are a few of the choices:

Good Luck.  We will pick a winner in a few days!

Day #2

Today is another....snowman!  I promise, this isn't "12 Days of Snowmen", but it just so happens we have another snowman project today.  Today is a cute Mug Mat:

They are available in our store now.

Happy Election Day!  Hope everyone voted- I sure did.  But I would never, ever tell you who for.  It looks as if half of you would agree with me and half of you wouldn't- so I'll just keep that a secret!

See you tomorrow!

Finished, Almost and....

not even close.  We are leaving for Quilt Market in Houston early Thursday morning and I am talking about our quilts for Noteworthy.  We have 2 completely finished quilts, one almost done (just needs binding) and one not even close.  By the time our booth opens on Saturday, three will be done and the last one, well. it won't be done.  I'm 100 percent sure of that.  3 out of 4 isn't bad.

Anyway, I will show you all four.  If you have forgotten what Noteworthy even looks like, here is a quick reminder:

Now for the quilts.  Here is my favorite.  It is called "Find True Love"  (we named the quilts after phrases from our "bucket list" fabric in the above picture):

The second one is called "Fly A Kite":

The one that is almost done is called "Be Happy".  It is similair in style to this Mama Said Sew tablerunner, but it is super-sized:

And the final one is called "Plant A Garden".   The only thing I have to show you is a quilt block:

and the digital image:

I think it will be super cute when it is finished, but you may have to give us a couple of weeks.

Now for the fun part.  As in the past, we are offering kits for these 4 new quilts.  The only catch is you have to reserve yours now.  Now as in you have one week.  This worked really well last time with our Mama Said Sew quilts.  We need to place our order for Noteworthy fabric next week, and we will get enough for everyone who wants a kit.  You pay half now and half when we ship the kit.  We expect to get the fabric in January and we will ship them just as soon as we get it in.  To reserve your kit, just visit our store.

Now back to packing.  it will be nice to get to Houston.  We have been having winter here in Colorado. Snow and cold.  It's been so awful.  Well, truthfully, it has been awful for approximately 6 hours. Yesterday is was 80 degrees.

Speaking of packing, I have nothing to wear.  NOTHING.  Story of my life.  I could write a whole blog post on that, but it would take too long.

If you are going to Houston- see you there.  We actually have a make and take in our booth!  

Oh- almost forgot.  Leave a comment telling us your favorite new quilt and you could win all 4 patterns.  We will choose a winner when we get home.  Good Luck!

This is it.

For most people I know, fall is their favorite time of year.  And it looks like from your comments, most of our readers agree.  And although I love many things about Fall (mostly my Broncos), I love summer.  And it's really hard for me to say goodbye.  But I have one remaining item from this summer.  This is it:

A pumpkin.  One pumpkin.  There is a story that goes with this.  I think it is pretty funny so I will give you a short version of it.  

Back in the beginning of May, my husband and I were in Lowe's. That could be a story in itself because my husband doesn't go to Lowe's.  He doesn't go to any stores.  Ever.  Unless he is with me and I absolutely need something.  I can't remember what I needed that day, but my husband immediately found something that he fell in love with.  The garden seed display.  

He had big ideas.  Really big.  He chose about 26 different seed packets.  It included everything from sweet corn to cucumbers, radishes, green beans, lettuce, peas, watermelon, carrots, peppers and pumpkins.  And we had to have different varieties of each of these.  He was so excited about this gigantic garden we were going to have that I didn't even mention that I really didn't have time for another job. Which I knew I just got.  

Before I go any further with this story, an important part is to know that he is a farmer.  A farmer with a capital F.  Not just "I have a few acres" kind of farmer.  A huge farmer.  That is what he does for a living, and he has been doing it since he was about 4.  A backyard garden should be easy, right?

Wrong.  Everything that could go wrong with this garden did.  A few highlights:

• We have about 3000 bunnies.  That might be an exagerration, but not by much.  We knew this going in.  That is why we put up a bunny-proof fence.  Well the bunny fence was about as effective as air.  They ate everything just as it was coming up.  Didn't get a carrot, radish, pea or green bean all summer.  They got them all.
• The bunnies didn't seem to like the pumpkins, so we had hope.  Until a wind storm in early June wiped out all the pumpkins.  We then had to replant.  And again they got a very good meal.
• The most important part of the garden was the sweet corn.  My little boy loves sweet corn and that is the only crop he cared about.  The day we planted, I counted 216 corn seeds we put in the ground.  5 came up.  We couldn't figure out what happened, but some kind of animal kept eating the seeds.  Every morning, we could see little holes in the ground where they snatched them out.
• So at least we had 5 corn plants.  When we saw that the few ears were getting ready to pick, my little boy and I decided we would do it the next morning when my husband was there.  Well, our freindly raccoons decided the corn was ready, too.  By the next morning they had them all.  Except for one little ear left on a stalk.  My little boy grabbed it, cleaned it a little and ate it right there.  He didn't even want to cook it.  I think he was afraid a raccoon would come back and snatch it out of his hand.

A lot of other things happened, but those were the biggies.  So we are left with this one pumpkin.  The prize of the summer.  And I am thankful we have it.  My little boy thinks the garden was a huge success because of this one pumpkin.  

So my plan next year- keep my husband out of Lowe's.  Just kidding.  He will have big ideas again.  And we will try it again.  Goodbye summer.  Can't wait to see you again.

As for our contest last week, we have a winner:

Mary Ann who wrote:

EVERYTHING !!! I LOVE EVERYTHING about Fall !!!!! The colors, the weather, sweaters, wool plaid skirts, knee socks , the food !!! NO HUMIDITY !!! .... and I LOVE every single thing you gals come up with !

Congratulations, Mary Ann.  Just e-mail us and we will get the scraps to you.  

Hope you had a great weekend.  I did.  The Broncos won and everything is right in my world once again! 

The Week Of The Pit

This week is always the worst week of the year for me.  I have a pit in my stomach and it's not really explainable except for this:  The kids have to go back to school tomorrow.  I don't know why it causes me distress- it's not even my kid that has to go to school.  I think it's just the memory of never wanting to go back to school.  And because summer is almost over.  The thought of cold and snow makes my pit bigger.  This also made my pit bigger:

This was just last night at Hobby Lobby.  Christmas.  Isles and isles of Christmas.  Noooooooooo!  It is August, people.  Cash didn't seem to mind.  He would like to have Christmas every day.

I'll get over the pit.  I always do- it just takes a few weeks. Actually, something came by UPS today that helps.  New fabric.  Brand, spanking new.  Our next collection (after Mama Said Sew) is here.  I think it is my favorite collection we have done.  We are just unpacking and getting it ready to photograph.  We should have a sneek peek later this week! 

Junkies

That is what we are around here.  Olympic Junkies.  We all looooooooove the Olympics.  Which is why I haven't blogged yet this week.  I usually blog late at night when I am by myself and can concentrate.  The only thing I have been concentrating on this week is the TV.  Only the TV.  Not the internet.  Because I absolutely, positively don't want to know what happened in London until I get to watch it in prime time.  Which is why I get so mad when I accidentally find out the results.  The home page on my internet is MSN, and yesterday when I went to do something online, I happened to glance at the front page.  And it ruined my whole evening.  So I have officially sworn off the internet (except to write this blog) and and radio/TV program which will give results I don't want to know.  I'm also a news junkie, so this seems to be hard for me.  Good thing the Olympics only happens every few years.

Anyway, I might be better at blogging when the swimming events are over.  I'm so addicted to them. And Missy Franklin.  Love her.

Anyway, I had to blog today to let you know the fabric kits for the Jar Sewing Kits are in our store now. You can get them in black, red or gray.

Have a great day.  And go USA!

My Colorado

I have been debating this for a few days now.  Maybe I shouldn't write anything about it. It is the reason this blog has been sitting silent for so long.  After all, this blog is basically a business blog- to inform our customers about  new products, fabric, ideas, etc. Sometimes we throw in a little family post in from time to time.  But nothing heavy.  Nothing too thought provoking.  Just fun.

But it happened here.  Again.  Here as in Colorado.   I think the word Colorado has been mentioned on the news about a bazillion times since Friday.  I am sickened.  I am mad.  I am heartbroken for the victims. I feel just as every other American does.   But I refuse to let the actions of one define my state.  My home. That isn't Colorado.  It isn't my Colorado.    

Which got me thinking.  About all the things I love about this state.  Here are a few.

Whenever I till someone from a different state that I live in Colorado, they think this:

The mountains.  Um, not so much.  They are beautiful.  But I rarely visit the mountains.  I've been skiing.  Once.  In the 9th grade.  We live on the plains,  which look more like this:

Beautiful, huh?  Well, sometimes it's beautiful. Just not now- we are in a severe drought and everything is a nice shade of brown.  I do love Colorado corn fields:

And wheat fields in July:

Here are some other things I love about Colorado.  

Downtown Denver, or LoDo.  A fun place to be.

Colorado State University.  My whole family graduated from here.  Hopefully our kids will choose it too. Not to pressure anyone.

My beloved sports teams.  The Broncos, Nuggets and Rockies.  I almost left the Rockies off the list. They are unbearably awful this year.  A W F U L.   But I still love them.  And it's still fun to go to Coor's Field.

One of my most favorite places on earth to be.  The Colorado State Fair.  For the livestock shows- not the rides.  But this is the only picture I could find.

And the snow.

Just kidding.  I hate the snow.  But it was a pretty picture.  And it looked sort of refreshing after the 100th day of 105 degrees.  I am exaggerating about the 100 days.  But not by much.  It is seriously HOT here this summer.  

So those are just a few things I love about living here.  I just wanted to remind myself about all the good things.

I in no way am personally connected to any of the victims of last Friday.  I didn't know any of them or their families.  I just share the same state.  It does give me kind of a weird feeling knowing that one of the three movies my husband and I ever have seen together was at that theater.  And my son was born at the hospital President Obama visited on Sunday.  But other than that, I have no connection. And like everyone else, I pray for the victims and their families.  I want to know about and remember them.  Not the horrible act.

So now that I got that post out of the way, I can post about something a little more fun.  Even something about sewing.  We have our new Label Crew project for August finished.  I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

 

 

Our Weekend In Portland

It has been 2 weeks since we visited Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe in Portland for their SPRUNG event.  We've been so busy with everything else, I haven't gotten a chance to tell you a little about it.  

First off, I've never been to Portland before.  I haven't even been to Oregon before.  This is the first thing I noticed:

It rains there.  They have flowers blooming and green trees.  Lots of trees.  I'm just not used to flowers looking like this in April.  

Next, the store was even better than I had imagined.  Seriously, Hollyhill  is amazing.  If you ever visit Portland, do not miss it.   We also had a great time visiting their gift shop (just down the street) called Pickleweed Hill- isn't that the cutest name!

We had a great time Saturday at the event.  Here are some shots of the day:

This was actually a very relaxing trip for us.  In fact, we even had time for a movie.  Now you might not think that is such a big deal, but for me that never happens.  Not that I don't love movies- I just have two things that get in the way.  No time and my husband.  He hates movies.  All movies.  He just doesn't see the point of spending what little free time we have going to a movie.  He wants to be able to do things where you talk- to me, friends, whoever.    Okay, I get that.  So you think I would be able to at least rent a movie and watch it at home.  Wrong.  To him, renting that movie means commitment.  If we spent the $3.99 on it, we have to watch it no matter what.  And he just doesn't want to commit to that.  He may not like it, and he would have to keep watching.  Or he might fall asleep.  Or the news might come on.  And heaven forbid we miss the news.  

So, we got to go to a movie!  I really don't pay attention to what's coming out or what's popular because I won't get to see them anyway.  But my mom had heard about this.

I had no idea what it was about, so I was game.  OH MY GOSH!  Who thinks of these things?  About 30 minutes in, I was seriously considering leaving.  The whole idea of the story made me sick to my stomach.  My mom had heard it was kind of like the TV show Lost (which I loved).  Um, It's not like Lost.  But I didn't leave. Strangely enough, I actually kind of got into it.  I just had to get past the whole premise of the story.  Which I obviously did.  Because the first thing I did when I got to the airport to come home was to purchase the 2nd book in the series.  Now I'm hooked.  But seriously, who would think of this story?  

Anyway, we had a great time in Oregon, and we want to thank Jan and Brian at Hollyhill for the wonderful experience.  Even though I'm up all night, every night, reading that book.  

Just a quick reminder that our Random Acts of Kindness week will end on Tuesday.  If you don't know, any order at our Etsy shop will come with something free!

We have more new products to show you, and I planned to do that today.  But it is really hard to take pictures when the wind is blowing about 1000 mph, so I'll have to wait till next week.  Have a great weekend!

I knew that would happen.

Running out of those kits.  I knew we would.  Unfortunately, we don't have any more of that multi-colored canvas, and Moda is out of it, too.  But we do have some good news!  We have some of that canvas in grey! We don't have time to actually make a bag out of it, but we can cut some kits.  Here is the fabric that is in the grey kit:

The outside is the numbers, the red is the lining, and the grey floral is the ruffle.  I think this may be my favorite color combination- I'm a sucker for grey.  

We also ran out of the navy kit, but we found enough fabric for 2 more kits (maybe, they might be gone before I get this posted).  Find all the kits in our shop now.

On to something new.  Well, not completely new.  We have had this Easter basket for a couple of years, but now we made it in our Reunion fabric.

Both the yellow and green kits are available now in our shop.

Now for some really big news.  We had so much response from my mom's wood sign yesterday, that because we are absolutely, positively 100% crazy, we are going to sell them.  I'm not quite sure actually just typed that, but I did.  We are selling them.  For the next 7 days only.  We will take orders for 7 days and then make them.  Oh that's going to be a fun day.  But I'm definiately making one for myself.  Just keep in mind, when the 7 days are up (as in next Thursday), we won't be taking any more orders for these. They are definitely limited edition.  Also keep in mind if you order one, it will take a couple of weeks to receive it.  All the ordering details are here.   

Finally, I wasn't too happy with the photo I posted yesterday of our March Label Crew project.  So, as luck would have it, my niece was here today and was glad to model it.  It looks much better.  I should have Photoshoped in some green grass, but oh well.

Have a great Wednesday!