Something New : :

This morning, after a busy, beautiful, fun, exhausting long weekend, our regular routine returns. The weather's warm and cloudy and I do love Spring mornings like this, when it's so quiet and dim. After a few long days where much-needed yard work replaced any chance of sewing time, and since I'm still waiting on the backing and binding fabrics to arrive so I can finish up my new Diamond Crisscross quilt, this morning feels like the perfect time to begin something new. A few years ago, around this very same time, I put together a bundle of soft grays, blues, corals, yellows, and aquas called Sweet Summer Dreams. These fabrics became the quilt I made to share my very first quilt-as-you-go tutorial and is one of my most favorite color combinations and quilts to date.



This morning I can't get these same colors out of my head. Pretty little piles left on my desk from the kids crafting are inspiring me to start pulling fabrics in this color palette once again!



Plus, for once everything's all nice and organized! That never lasts too long in this room!



I'll be back to share what I come up with soon!

Happy quilt planning & sewing to you! ♥ Maureen

A Little Inspiration : :

I am completely in love with my newest pillow purchase, I have to share it! I have such a weakness for the Anthropologie House & Home section, it's a pull only comparable to my love for fabric! I think it looks pretty next to my Indie quilt, which I'm preparing to have long-arm quilted soon! I'm excited to have finally decided that our bedroom is going to be the "Indie Room". Indie is at the tops of my favorite fabric collection list, so I'm certain it will make a beautiful bedroom!



The color and pattern of my new little bowls and plates have me inspired to put together a new bundle of fabrics today! Aren't they pretty?!





These West Elm Modernist Mugs inspired one of my most favorite bundles ever, the Sweet Summer Dream Blogger Bundle I put together for Pink Castle Fabrics!



Which turned into my favorite quilt to date, My Improv & LilyBelle Quilt As You Go!



Which I had said was a quilt for me, but I actually gave it to my amazing Mom, who is completely thrilled with it!

So, today I'm thinking it's time to revisit the favorite-dish-inspired-fabric-bundle once again! And, I'm wondering and would love to know -- what inspires you?

♥,  Maureen

Sweet Dreaming : :

I have good news! We should be HOME OWNERS on Friday!! So, I thought today I would share some of the inspiration I've been gathering for my little girls' room. Her room is first on my mind, even before my sewing room, because it really is the only room that needs some major love. It's currently a den/office space, with masculine dark painted walls and a library themed wallpaper. It's also a rather small space, so we're going to have to be creative with storage. It's going to take some time for these dreamy plans and projects to be realized -- but it's so fun to imagine it all! Want to see?

First, I fell in love with this Enchanted Forest Mural a couple of years ago and it's first on our list of major wants! Thank goodness it's still available. I still need to measure the wall we have in mind for this to go on, and make sure it will fit properly, without us having to trim away half of it, etc... If it simply won't work for any reason, then I'm considering a Mama-made mural??? I know she's love that more, but just the idea of it sort of stresses me out. Not because I don't love to paint, I do! But because it's Thanksgiving, then two December birthdays, then Christmas...time is not my friend this time of year and my patience is officially shot!

Isn't it pretty....

via Anthropologie

My daughter really wants a little hide-out, since her brothers will have one, and I think one of these canopy style play tents would be really sweet. This one is from the Land of Nod. I'm not sure if the floral will be right, and I like this solid, smoky purple fabric one, as well. Of course, I would LOVE to make one, too?!

via Land of Nod

The overall color scheme we have in mind are peachy coral pinks, buttery yellow, and smoky purples, pinks, blues, whites, & grays. She has a little Blabla collection and these Colette the Cat dolls are the perfect colors.

via Blabla

How cool is this Unicorn by Désaccord?! And, those hanging fabric stars!

via Désaccord

I've also pinned a bunch of smart and simple storage ideas and lots of other inspirational images here and here. This post was like a commercial today, but that's just because I haven't actually bought or made anything yet. Of course, my most grand plans will be ALL the MAKING!! I would love for you to share any pins, links, ideas you might have, too??

I can't wait to share how our first home comes together -- I hope you want to see!!  ♥ Maureen

A Question -- UPDATE : :

Happy Monday! If you follow me on Facebook, then you already know that I heard back from West Elm in regards to my "A Question" post from last week.  How wonderful is that?! From the comments that were left, it's obvious that as a community we all share a very similar opinion on being original, where it is acceptable to get inspiration from, and most importantly -- to always give proper credit!

I'm so happy such a wonderful conversation emerged!

photo from West Elm

From the moment I first saw the Kantha Chevron Pillow Covers come through my facebook feed, to the time I hit publish on that post, was less than 10 minutes. I didn't even think it through fully and I left out some important points initially --

It wasn't my intention to make the pillows, sell the pillows if I made them, or to create a tutorial, when I asked the question.

I was not asking about "copying" or showing an example of an individual artists work, asking if it was alright to "steal" their design.

I was asking as a maker, who so often sees something in a magazine or in a shop, and thinks, "I can make that."

When I asked the question, I used the word "inspired" because my goal would never be to see this pillow and to try my best to make one as similarly as I can. If I were to decide to make one, I would of course want to make it my own through color choice, fabric selection, dimension, construction, process. I would of course give credit to West Elm for being my inspiration!

My Blogger Bundle Inspired by West Elm Mugs

So, here's what a West Elm representative had to say about it...

"Hi Maureen! 

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. At west elm, we're happy to provide inspiration any way we can — whether it's the catalyst for a DIY project or desire to purchase our designs for yourself. We embrace the expression of personal style and to keep our own in-house team of designers inspired, we continually seek out designers and artists around the world as collaborators. You can see our current roster of collaborators here: Our Collaborators

In addition to designers and artists we have been partnering with Etsy for the past two years. We work to feature handmade Etsy products and artists in our monthly catalogs and host a number of events in our stores to celebrate local makers in our We <3 Handmade Art events. More on our partnership with Etsy: Shop . Collaborations . Etsy

We like to celebrate personal style on the west elm blog, Front & Main and you can see how some of our fans "make it yours" by taking inspiration from west elm designs and transforming them to meet their needs: Make It Yours

Thanks again for reaching out — if you decide to make a tutorial inspired by our pillow, we'd be happy to feature it on Front & Main!

Best -- AARON"

Are you surprised by their answer? Do you think that their response is rare? Are most companies this supportive of the handmade community? Or, can we truly believe now, what many of us assume -- that these large companies ARE just as inspired by what the handmade community is making?

Should I make the pillow with a tutorial now?! It would be fun, now that I have permission, and that sounds like a pretty good opportunity!

I could use up some of my fabric scraps! Or better yet, wouldn't Indie be the perfect fabric to make one in?!

Indie by Pat Bravo on Facebook

I had also mentioned to my friends Nicke and Jessica, that it would be fun to use this opportunity to do a challenge -- to have a bunch of us make a pillow, all inspired by the Kantha Chevron Pillow Covers, and then we can prove that even with the same image as inspiration, we will all make something different.That everything we make, no matter where the inspiration comes from, can be uniquely ours with our own creative flare! Of course, I would have to get the approval from West Elm before I did anything like this.

So, again today I'm asking one last time for your thoughts on this -- please share!! ♥ Maureen

Hello Whipstitch : :

If you happen to follow some of the other ladies in the group who traveled to Atlanta this past weekend, then it's likely that you've already seen what's happening inside the doors of Whipstitch. Still, I just have to share! This was my very first experience of visiting a brick & mortar, modern quilt shop -- very exciting stuff for me!!



In every area of Deborah's shop, there was something beautiful and inspiring happening! So much so, that I just had to change up my own studio space here at home. Big time, I'll save that for next week! For now, I'll share a little tour with you with hopes that the amazing spaces at Whipstitch might inspire you as well!

Just entering, to your right, a colorful display of Whipstitch Organic fabrics including Monsterz by Cloud 9. I had to have some!!



To your left, happy bolts of Ellen Lucket Baker's Quilt Blocks! So happy to bring a few of these home, as well!



Just after that, you have a cutting station with the most fabulously dressed, sweetest woman, ready to cut your fabrics. Seriously!



Here's another -- this picture of me taken by Amanda, with my wonderful Washi 241 tote by Rachel, and proof that I never stopped talking the entire weekend! I warned Amanda that I do that both when I'm nervous and then comfortable, so it's hopeless!!

Next up is the lounge area. Stylish...



comfy...



and super cute now that Ella, Nicke, and Jacey have decided to relax there! 



After that it was clear -- there just IS inspiring fabric and stitched up goodness everywhere you look!



This amazing Scrappy Sting Block Quilt...



This! I could describe it, but I think the picture says it all!!



Inspiration for my floss stash -- I would love to do something like this!



Another amazing HUGE quilt!



Of course I was thrilled to bring home a few Whipstitch souvenirs! In the form of mostly yardage, but a few fat quarters, too, we have -- several prints of Monsterz by Cloud 9, much needed Hello Pilgrim Stripes by Lizzy House, my favorite Stars in Shade Quilt Block print, and a Birch ModSquad print.



I'm sure this goes without saying, but as you can see, I brought home much, much more than fabric! 

Arajane * me * Amanda * Rachel * Jessica * Jacey * Nicke * Ella * Holly

Until we meet again sweet Whipstitch! ♥ Maureen

Inspiration Everywhere : :

This morning, I'm finally stepping back into my regular routine -- After a long, but fun, road trip from Pennsylvania to Georgia, a few days spent with some of my favorite sewing/bloggers, and then the long trip back up North.

The experience was such a learning one for me in so many ways, was so much fun, and still a bit surreal. Because I don't belong to a sewing group or guild, I wasn't sure what sewing with a group would be like. I honestly couldn't have imagined just how wonderful it would be to watch each of the sewing friends I was meeting work at their machines. As different as we all are, and as varied as our projects and fabric selections were, it was truly endless inspiration! In every corner of this space there was something that needed photographed! Want to see??

Jessica's X + Y Quilt top --



Jessica won the "Big Finish Award" in my eyes! I am SO impressed by this lady!!



Amanda's Granny Squares --



Holly's Triangles --



Nicke's Improv Chevrons --



Amanda's 1/2" solids project --





This post could have easily been all about Amanda! Her tiny, colorful squares had us all hovering!



I wasn't able to capture everyone's makings and several pictures didn't turn out, but as you can see lots of amazing and inspiring things were happening! I'll share on my own projects a different day this week, as well as on our trip to Whipstitch Fabrics -- my very first visit to a modern quilt shop!

I feel very blessed that I had a chance to meet in person so many wonderful people this past weekend and am so happy now that I'm back home!!  ♥ Maureen

Color Inspiration : :

Several weeks ago when I had my Handmade Giveaway and had asked what you would like to see more of here on my blog, one of the most popular responses I received was for me to share more of my thoughts on color choices and how I put fabrics together.



I've been thinking about this ever since. It's a challenge for me to explain exactly where inspiration comes from. The easiest answer would be to say "from EVERYWHERE" and that would absolutely be the truth, although not very helpful. So... I decided, the best way for me to share my thoughts and reasons for choosing colors would be to break it down to the individual bundle and/or project, in a new blog post dedicated to just that. Just as I was doing with my Color or Tuesday Inspiration posts.

Vintage Tea Time * Pompoms * Triangle Quilt * Pyrex Cup & Saucer * Fabrics
Houses Quilt * Black & White Quilt * Bedroom * Scandinavian Print
Blue Bowls * Print * Chevron Block * Catherineholm Platter

Today, I thought a great place to start would be my most recent stashed bundle that I had put together for The Intrepid Thread fabric shop.



It's a stack of golden yellows, spring greens, aqua blues, shades of gray, and black that was very much inspired by one of the things I love to collect -- Vintage Pyrex.







I love my collection and collecting things in general. The colors and prints in each of these special pieces inspires me in many ways, just as the mosaic above does -- bursting full of more kitchen collectables and quilt-y goodness! 

How about you? What's inspiring you these days? What colors are you loving together?

p.s. Be sure to stop back from my new fabric giveaway beginning tomorrow morning! Here's a peek!!

Tuesday Inspiration : :

First, I need to mention quickly that yesterday was my two year blog-iversary! Woot!! I cannot believe that I forgot! I spent this entire month thinking about it, planning for it, and then the business of this past weekend erased it all from my mind. This happened last year, too! LOL So, hows about we celebrate on Friday with a super gorgeous Daisy Janie Tilly giveaway? And shhhh, don't tell my husband that forgetting anniversaries is perfectly acceptable around here. Our 10 year is just 3 months away and I already have my presents picked out! :)

Citrus + Melon

citrus color palette * posie gets cozy quilt * owl measuring cups * yellow lamp * yellow bed frame

* orange nightstand * fabric baskets * courthouse steps quilt * coral headboard *

yellow yarns * aqua lamp * yellow chevron pillow * marianne burr quilt

Last night I was looking at my new fabric stashings, trying to find a way to link them together, other than the fact that they're all so very pretty. Immediately I thought of citrus and melon!

This turquoise and yellow bundle is from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. Randi had offered these in one of her Tuesday fat 8th giveaways (today's Tuesday people, go enter!) and I completely fell in love, had to have them! Such a great bundle!!



These, I imagine, have lots of you running out to the nearest Joann. Aunt Edna by Denyse Schmidt! I wasn't planning on buying them, but once I saw them in person, well I just couldn't resist. They were 30% off, but I was a bit surprised at the price increase. I only brought home 1/4 yd cuts since I already have a project in mind.



I made a crown with these pretty melon hues yesterday, too!



And finally, my Riley Blake Chevron Cottons. I'm all about chevron anything and everything right now, how about you? These will be for a pin cushion project I'll be doing as part of the RBD 2012 Pin Cushion Club in May.



How about you? What color combinations are you loving these days? Oh! And my two year sew-iversary is in March, which I really want to celebrate, someone please remind me! :)