For the Love of Shibori!

Last week I finished up my newest small batch gift set, Shibori LOVE!

I had pulled fabrics and carefully sourced coordinating supplies to begin making these weeks ago, just before I got sick again, so it feels extra good to have finished up this project!

Last week I shared a quick sale on my Instagram feed and this morning I added the few I have left to my Etsy Shop and I'm excited to share all the details here on the blog!





I have always loved the way Shibori looks, whether on clothing, home décor or accessories. The mix of white and indigo dye is always so beautiful!



To date, I've made two quilt tops using April Rhodes Observer fabrics for Art Gallery Fabrics. The main print, Indigo Window Crystal is a favorite of mine and has all the beauty of a hand dyed shibori textile without the work. Love that!



It was this print from Observer that inspired this gift set collection, and I was so thrilled to have found the perfect handcrafted sketchbook journal to include, with sixty blank pages perfect for writing and doodling with a beautiful Shibori dyed cover!







Along with each patchwork quilted bag and handcrafted sketchbook, I'm including a lovely indigo & white zipper pull, Fanned Tassel Charm that I picked up from my favorite store, Anthropolgie! These retail for $18 a piece but I was lucky to snag just enough during a recent sale for this Shibori Love collection!





Zipper colors include black, light blue and grey. Each bag is finished with a flat bottom making these perfect for cosmetics, craft projects and travel. These measure big, around 11"x12" and both sides are made of a similar patchwork pattern of flying geese and stripes. Some are lined with the Observer cotton canvas and others with AGF's heavy duty denim, making each bag sturdy and durable!



Follow this link to find them in my Etsy Shop -- Shibori Patchwork Gift Set

For those ordering today, I'll include one Fat Quarter cut of ANY of my Art Gallery Fabrics! Just add in the comment section of the order the name of the print you'd like to receive and I will be happy to include that as my gift to you for supporting my handmade work!

xo Maureen

Indigo Blue : :

These rainy days have inspired my next small batch collection, Indigo Blue!

I'm such a fan of Japanese Shibori dyeing, but haven't yet found the time to try it like I had hoped to over the Summer. Thankfully for folks like me, who love the look but don't have time to dye my own fabrics, April Rhodes created the Observer collection for Art Gallery Fabrics that is full of beautiful blue patterns!



I love the fresh color palette of calm to deep blues and this fabric pull inspired me to do a little reading up on Indigo.



Indigo is the color of wisdom and intuition. It represents an inner awareness of spirituality, gives an ability for planning the future, and brings about a love of rituals. Those who feel connected to indigo are faithful, idealistic, and intuitive. They are truthful by nature and have sincere personalities.

Learning these things about Indigo inspired me to seek out these Shibori Tie-Dye Journals to pair with the quilted zipper pouch bags I plan to make with these fabrics. How special it will be to include one of these beautiful handcrafted journals as part of each Indigo Blue gift set, perfect for fellow Indigo lovers' writing, sketching and doodling!





To complete this set, I sourced out the perfect Indigo cotton and mirrored glass Fanned Tassel Charm to add to the zippers on each bag!



My hope is to start working on these tonight or tomorrow to have ready for sale next week!



xo Maureen  

New Boho Quilted Bags!

Sometimes when I'm not sure what to sew, I'll pull from my scrap basket pieces to make a stack of 5-¼" squares and four x's as many 2-⅞" squares in contrasting prints to make four-at-a-time flying geese that measure a 2-½" x 4-½" rectangle once trimmed. A very useful size for patchwork with endless possibilities. Recently I used my most recent batch of flying geese, along with prints from Flower Child, Soulful and various recolored prints of mine from Art Gallery Fusions collections, to stitch up some quilted zipper pouch bags and I LOVE how they turned out!





These prints and colors together are so pretty and cheerful!



I use Hobbs Batting for everything I make now and these quilted bags were made with Heirloom Natural Cotton. Because I use quilt as you go when I make my bags, I always choose a 100% cotton or natural fiber batting that can handle a hot iron with steam, and Hobbs brand quickly became my new favorite this past year. I love to use batting to foundation piece the bag fronts and backs and finished these with a little additional wavy quilting.



How fun are these yellow zippers with coral pink faux suede zipper pulls!



Each of the bags I made are lined with my Swifty Flora Boho water color floral, for an interior just as pretty as the exterior!



I love makin' stuff, and these days there's a particular excitement for putting gift sets together that include a handmade bag, fancy bag charm and handcrafted journal that tucks perfectly inside each bag. I think this harmonious set would make such a lovely gift!

I already have plans for my next batch. More on that soon!

Thanks for visiting! xo, Maureen

Boho Gift Sets : :

I'm so excited to share this new batch of Boho Clutch Gift Sets!





Have you seen the brand new Splendid and Printemps Fusions for Art Gallery Fabrics? These ten-piece quilting cotton collections are new colorings of favorite prints by AGF designers, grouped together in conceptual themes that make these prints feel brand new! I love these Fusions collections and I think these two new ones are so beautiful together!



Before I knew what project I'd be making with these Fusions, I cut into this stack of prints and made a pile of flying geese units. You can never go wrong with flying geese, right?! It wasn't until the end of my geese-making session that I decided to make them into these colorful, boho bags and I love them so much, I'm even keeping one for myself and I never do that!



For the limited edition gift sets that I make, I source out special items to include that make them extra special. For these Boho Gift Sets I attached to a sturdy denim side loop a Tiered Tassel Decorative Charm from Anthropologie and inside each clutch is a Rattan Floral Covered Journal that goes so perfectly in both color and style. I love how each piece of this new batch of gift sets coordinate together!



The exterior of each clutch is made of the flying geese units and Quick Quilt As You Go in Splendid, Printemps, and my new Flower Child fabrics. The interior is made in my Garden Dreamer Canvas for extra added durability and sturdiness.



I made ten large bags in total, half with these happy yellow zippers and half with bright fuchsia zippers, that come with a pretty blue suede zipper pull. Each bag measures about 11"x12" with a 2" boxy bottom. They're the biggest zipper pouch bags that I've made yet and I've decided I prefer my bags big like this. I think these will actually fit all of my makeup, perfume, hairbrush, sun glasses, etc.. so it will be perfect to carry in my purse to keep those things organized.



Can you believe I bought these Anthro tassels before I planned to use these fabrics to make these bags? How perfectly everything came together made me giddy! And I'm all about tassels these days, how about you?





I hope these bags inspire you to sew something fun with these new AGF Fusions and my Flower Child fabrics! I've added the six Boho Gift Sets that I have left to my Etsy Shop, incase you're in need of a gift or feel like treating yourself to something handmade by me! :) I have some new scrap bundles in the shop that include some pieces of these pretty fabrics, as well!





Thanks so much for stopping by! xo Maureen