I have a thing for craft fairs, flea markets, antique stores…those sorts of places. Love them, and I love the satisfaction of discovering something creative, crafty, old or new. So when Renegade Craft Fair was holding its holiday market last weekend, I was there.
I was so excited to attend on Sunday because Paul of Sweet Paul Magazine was on-hand to craft wooden bead trivets with attendees. I am obsessed with Sweet Paul. Have you ever tried any of his recipes? Every single one of them looks divine. I also love his crafts and had so much fun making my own wooden trivet.
If you follow any of Paul’s social media channels, you may have noticed he’s been posting a lot about dyeing wooden beads for different crafts and décor. I mentioned to him that I really liked all of his ideas and he suggested dying the trivet. His idea was to fill a shallow pan with dye and lay the trivet in the pan so you dip half of the beads in color. I love that idea. I also really like the natural wood look so I’m trying to decide if I want to keep it au naturel or go with a color.
After I finished crafting, I headed to the Martha Stewart American Made exhibit. They had a few different craft stations but it was the screen printing that really caught my eye. I feel awful that I didn’t get the guy’s name or his company, but he was printing tote bags for attendees that were so cute.
You had the option of getting the print in yellow or blue. I went with the blue.
The holiday market was packed with really cool products and a lot of talented artists. There were so many vendors that I liked and I tried to grab a few images of some that really stuck out to me.
The team at Two Arms has some great prints that I am majorly coveting. My friend from London, who is in town visiting me, tagged along to the fair and she got a New York print to take back to London with her. She got the one I have my eye on and I think I might have to get it at some point.
Since my mom entered retirement last year, she has taken up embroidery and she has me interested in doing the same, if only I had more time. I spotted these fun embroidered cards, which are a much better version of the cards I tried to make last year, and I also saw these little embroidered animal kits that I adore. I was trying to think of a little kid that I could get one for, but now I wish I would have just gotten one for myself!
And last but not least, I spied these hand towels that gave me a good laugh.
Thanks Renegade Craft Fair for a great event!
Here at Brooklyn Quilting Co. I get a number of requests for baby quilts, and for a while I’ve been thinking about a new design to switch things up a bit. I wanted something modern, bold and graphic looking, yet simple. I also wanted something that really speaks to my design aesthetic. This is what I came up with.
It’s inspired by my favorite quilt, Inman Park. I had the idea a few months ago to take the design from Inman Park and blow it up to make it one baby-sized quilt. From the start I thought it would look good with solids to keep that simple design that I was aiming for.
I also went with a solid colored back for this quilt. I did think about using a print for the back, and really considered a print for the binding, but in the end I stuck with my initial instinct and kept it simple.
I’m not, however, married to keeping the Signature Series solids only. It could work really well to use a print on the back and coordinating solids on the front. Maybe eventually I will even try using different prints throughout the quilt, but for now I really love the modern look of the solids.
As I was finishing this quilt up, I realized it could also work well as a wall hanging. Now I’m not really one who goes for quilt wall hangings – it’s just not my thing – but this might be an exception. It’s a perfect size and could be fun for a baby nursery.
What do you think of my new Signature Series baby quilt? I have a million color combinations that I am itching to add to the collection. Time to get sewing!
I can’t tell you how unfitting that title is for today. There are no garden parties happening in New York right now. It is cold and windy! It’s also marathon day and I’m planning to bundle up and go cheer on the runners soon. The New York City Marathon goes by my neighborhood and it is so fun to watch. Good luck to everyone running!
Moving on to quilting…I finished the Garden Party quilt and managed to snap a few pictures of it earlier this week.
This quilt has a lot going on. There’s a lot of color and a lot of pattern, and I realize it might not be for everyone’s taste, but I really like the mix of patterns. It’s bold and bright and has a lot of personality.
The overall color also leans toward a yellowy/green color, which is something I don’t work with much. Always good to try something new, I say!
What I really want to talk about is the back. I don’t have a set design in the way I do my quilt backs. Sometimes I do one solid color, sometimes I do large pieces blocked together, recently I did more of a color blocking look – it’s always different. But in the case of this quilt, I would almost describe it as double-sided. I think the back is about as interesting as the front.
The back was determined by what fabric I had available and, without really planning it, the back became a design of its own. I love that it turned out that way.
Sometimes the best quilt designs happen when you least expect them.