Pretty New : :

Happy September 1st!

This week I enjoyed folding and photographing my newly stashed Lambkin collection by fellow AGF designer, Bonnie Christine. Bonnie has such a such a beautiful, sweet style that I really admire. Each print had me sighing and wishing my kiddos were small again. Lambkin is the first collection that would have been perfect to sew with for all three of my children when they were littles!



For Haila -- Pretty Twiggy, Keeping Watch Mist, and My Darlings in these soft peachy pinks would have matched her little girl room perfectly!



Jacob, my camping and forest loving boy would have loved Valley View Echo and Keeping Watch Dim! And for Kaiden, who loves birds and used to LOVE bugs and beetles just as much, Wind Observer and Little Entomologist!



These were also the days when for a little while I would knit just as much as I sewed and would have loved a little knitting bag in Lambkin Sir Wooly. It would have made the most perfect bag for carrying around my wool hat projects!



If you think these are as perfect and pretty as I do, you can find Lambkin newly available at Lady Belle Fabrics, Fat Quarter Shop and Fabric.com! I'm sure I'll have a Lambkin project or three to share soon, as well. I think I'll surprise my ten, thirteen, and fourteen year olds with pillowcases to remind them of those years when we still held hands when we crossed the street, and spent our days picking wildflower bouquets and looking under rocks. I'm sure they will tease me when they discover them on their beds, but I guarantee they'll use and love them!



This week I also added a Dahlia and Brown Eyed Susan to my collection of sunflower family pencil sketches. I can't begin to describe just how much I'm enjoying drawing like this again! There was a time when it was all I did, every chance I had. Those were the days before parenting, knitting, sewing, blogging and designing. I didn't realize how much I've missed it. It's become such a nice addition to my creative time and I'm really hoping to stick with it. Perhaps these will be available on future fabric designs or maybe in some other form. Either way, it feels worthwhile to give drawing some time again during my work days.



And since I have a preference for even numbers, I'll have to add at least one more to my collection. Any suggestions?



xo Maureen

Sketches & Strike Offs : :

Hi there! I hope Summer is treating you well. Today is our last official day of break and after taking a little time for myself once the Sewcial Bee Sampler wrapped, all of us Cracknells are very much ready for the return of a schedule. For me, that means having the time to sew more and to share more right here, which I'm very much looking forward to! August is certainly flying by. It's always such a busy month that I find myself at this computer quite a bit less, which is truly good. However, I miss my daily stop here and I feel like I've missed a lot of news-sharing this Summer. I do try to keep up daily with my Instagram, but it's just not the same. I could never give up blogging!

This ending of summer break, a lovely and cool day, has me ready for Fall. I'm so, so glad it's almost here. This morning I've been making plans for the weeks ahead, even writing those plans down in an effort to fit in everything I'd like to get done. One daily practice that I hope to embrace once again is drawing with pencil. For the past few years my fabric designing process has included mostly simple pen & ink line drawings and a few watercolor florals, and I'm excited to explore and experiment with how hand-drawn pencil sketches will translate to fabric design. I decided to begin with a simple study of my favorite August flowers beginning with the Sunflower and Zinnia..





I'm feeling a bit clumsy still and am hoping as I work may way through my favorite botanicals in the sunflower family I'll rediscover some finesse. Pencil has always been my favorite medium and it feels so good to be making time for this again. I hope you'll follow along on my Instagram, where I plan to share process videos often in my IG Stories!

In other news, my Fall collection Love Story strike offs arrived recently! This collection is so dear to my heart, I love it so much. I will absolutely share more of this range, it's story and my Love Story projects in the weeks ahead. It's a November release and I still have a Soulful blog tour planned for next month, so I don't want to jump too far ahead before I get deep into creating with Soulful. I hope you'll join me!



The return of school will always be bittersweet but there's no doubt that this time of year is a beautiful one for new beginnings. Happy to back!

xx Maureen

A Fresh Start : :

After a busy, long weekend, and a completely overloaded month preparing for my trip to Quilt Market, today feels a little unusual for me. Many of you may not know that a typical "work day" for me begins and ends with my Etsy shop -- responding to each of the custom order requests I receive, filling those orders, packaging, shipping, etc... Making my Birthday Crowns has been the better part of this sewing gig for me for the past couple of years now. All the fabric designing, pillow & quilt making, and blogging I share here is the counterbalance, and in many ways has been the brighter side of my work. I've made so many crowns that I'm officially feeling burnt out and ready for a break. Maybe for just a little while, possibly forever, I'm not certain just yet. Since urgently opening my Etsy tab immediately after seeing the kiddos off to school has been my norm for so long, today feels new and different. While I certainly hope to continue with my Etsy shop success, from here on I hope that will be from selling the things I really, really want to make -- pillows & quilts! I'm currently offering several of my quilts for sale and will continue to add many of the things I make to share here to my shop. It's all pretty exciting! So today, before deciding what to make next rather than having it already decided for me, I'm taking a little time to enjoy the excitement, relaxation, and spontaneity ahead of me!

I'm feeling very inspired after finally reading Big Magic! Have you read it?



I'm deliberating before deciding what to do with the last of my pretty Nightfall strike offs!





I'm planning a fun Friday Giveaway for my friend Amy's wonderful new book, Intentional Piecing!



I'm elated to have a working Oliso Pro Smart Iron once again!



I'm looking through old and new sketchbooks for inspiration to create my new fabric collection!



I'm committed to cutting into these beautiful patterned AGF denims!



I'm planning to be back soon with something new share!

Happy sewing!! ♡ Maureen

Floral Dance : :

For each fabric print, there's a story. For me that begins with a simple sketch. There are memories and emotions attached to each print, almost always involving my children since we do most of our non-sewing creating together. I recently shared on Instagram a little snapshot of a watercolor sketch I painted this past Summer that I had completely forgotten about. It was so nice to take a moment to reflect on such a special memory -- my kids and I painting together out on the deck after breakfast, and how my painted cluster of flowers became one of my most favorite Fleet & Flourish fabrics! Since I'm hoping to cut into my Wreathed Whiff print today to continue work on my HST whip, I thought I'd continue with sharing a little bit more about this print's story!



If you look back at the very first photo I shared on Instagram under my collection hashtag #FleetandFlourishFabrics, you'll find this photo. I took it this past Summer on an evening when Haila and I had picked flowers from the yard, scattered them onto the table outside, and sat and drew together until almost dark. That night we filled pages and pages with little flowers and leaves and we named this little sketch "Floral Dance".



Just a few extra leaves and flowers needed to be added to round it out, but it didn't change all that much from original sketch to printed fabric!



With the help of my friend and sponsor Julie, owner of The Intrepid Thread, we had my original sketch printed into coloring postcards to be included with any Fleet & Flourish fabric purchase from her shop!



While I haven't quite found the right words to accurately convey just how incredible and special it is now to reach for fabrics that I've designed when I sew, I know that those of you who have been so supportive and encouraging over the years understand what a dream this is for me. Adding this print to the very center of the quilt I'm working on now, feels is as if I just framed that special memory of Haila and I sketching together.



I'm hoping to add bunches more of our Floral Dance to this quilt as I continue to work on it throughout the rest of the week and this weekend. I'll be back soon with more!



♡ Maureen

AGF Stash -- Sketchbook : :

As an official Art Gallery Fabrics designer I'm excited to share with all of you a brand-new weekly ritual where I'll introduce the latest AGF collection I've added to my stash. There's nothing that sparks my creativity more than a fresh bundle of fabric! I hope you'll enjoy these posts and might feel inspired by the same fabrics that are inspiring me!



First up is Sketchbook, a lovely collection that looks as if the pages of designer Sharon Holland's own sketchbook beautifully came to life.  Including prints with swirling doodles and nature-study drawings, there's a hand-illustrated look and texture to this collection that I especially love.



Including indigo blues, rosey pink, and warm golden neutrals, the color palette is as unique as the prints themselves!









I'm really looking forward to turning these into a quilt! You can find these beautiful Sketchbook fabrics still available at Llama Fabrics, the Intrepid Thread, and the Fat Quarter Shop!

Happy stashing!! ♡ Maureen

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

With over 15 years of experience in ecommerce, The Intrepid Thread is a family owned business employing 5 amazingly creative quilters and sewists. Julie, the owner, is dedicated to offering quality quilting fabrics at competitive prices and takes special pride in knowing her customers receive unparalleled service!
  
SHOP  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK
 

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We hope you enjoy visiting The Intrepid Thread's sites!! 

For this week's Fabric Giveaway, Julie at The Intrepid Thread is offering a fat quarter bundle including ten beautiful prints from Sharon Holland's newest collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, Sketchbook!

You can find these lovely Sketchbook fabrics available right HERE in The Intrepid Thread Shop!!

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! We'd love to know what you'd stitch up with these fabrics? (one entry)
2. Follow The Intrepid Thread on Facebook, their blog, or sign up to receive their Newsletter. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry) 

3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow here, on Instagram, or on Facebook just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)

4. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Whether by instagram, tweet, facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, September 14th! The winner will be picked at random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment!

Thank you so much for stopping by to enter! This week's winner is Debbie, Congratulations!! I will be in touch shortly! ♡ Maureen

Bound : :

This week a beautiful bundle of Bound, April Rhodes' newest collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, arrived at my door! Without planning it April's gorgeous fabrics have certainly become a feature this week on my blog! Having just finished the Arizona Herringbone Quilt that I shared on Monday, made using April's debut Limited Edition Arizona collection for AGF, and today's sewing time has been dedicated to making new quilt plans for Bound!



With the Morning Palette colorway still neatly tied with a strand of wool yarn and my sketchbook before me, I first sketched out a quick and simple idea of improv squares and rectangles, inspired by the idea of random stamped blocks. I love this idea, but imagine my bricks of patchwork to be framed in very light neutrals. Since several of the prints are very light, low volumes, I'm thinking this idea might work best for a fabric collection more saturated with color.





My next idea is something still very geometric, still very inspired by this idea of stamped shapes, but this time I started sketching out random broken hexagon shapes. I loved it immediately!



After taking a closer look at my favorite Bound prints, I'm even more inspired to give this idea a try! I especially love this two-tone section of the Bound in Homebody stripe!



And, the beautiful colors of this Painting Celebration print will surely influence which solids I'll use!



I can't wait to begin! ♡ Maureen

Rapture Quilt Planning : :

Yesterday after finishing a few crown orders I continued work on the two quilts I've recently started, a "Diamond Zig Zig" using AGF's Minimalista and a "Follow the Arrow" quilt with my Blogger's choice bundle for the Fat Quarter Shop. I'm getting close to having finished quilt tops for the both of them, which means it's time to start planning out my next project! I just might love this part the most -- the planning, the sketching, and the beginning!



This time I'll be using Pat Bravo's newest fabric debut, Rapture. With supplies this beautiful I'm bound to end up with something wonderful! I love every single fabric in this collection, especially Pat's Wild Beauty print. These fresh colors with that little touch of black is excellent!



I'll add in this pretty stack of Art Gallery Pure Element Solids that coordinate with Rapture perfectly!



I recently received Pat's very own collection of Aurifil 50wt cotton thread kits that she's designed to match up with her fabric collection colors. Having such an amazing assortment to pull from is going to make for some very fun & colorful quilting!





I quickly sketched out the beginnings of my Rapture quilt earlier this week, a second Making Rows Quilt idea! I can't wait!!



How about you, are you planning to start any new quilting projects this weekend?

♥ Maureen  

You can find Rapture and Pure Elements solids currently available for sale in the following shops -- Pink Castle Fabrics, Fat Quarter Shop, The Intrepid Thread, and Stash Fabrics!

Handmade ♥ : :

Hello! Gosh, I'm so behind on photographing my things to share here! I have a quilt finish, some more Making Rows quilt panels, a new quilt pattern in the works, and lots of Birthday Crown & Fox pillow orders all waiting for me to share, but instead today I want to show off a few of the wonderful handmade things I've received or have collected for birthday/holiday gift giving recently!



First, there's this beautiful fabric organizer/portfolio gifted to me by my friend Heidi. It was a complete surprise when it arrived yesterday in the mail, I love it! This Fort Firefly fabric by Birch Fabrics is one collection I can't wait to stash. It's so pretty!





To have received something so special from my talented friend made my week! Thank you so much Heidi!!





This sweet, pieced Fox Zip Pouch is made by Small Town Thread. I ordered this one for my little girl Haila, who's ready to start sewing!



This summer she got to play around on my machine a little and has asked for a machine of her own for her birthday in December. Having this chance to pick out some sewing supplies with her in mind is about as awesome as it gets!



Sew Fantastic makes these super cute Crayon Wallets, along with an amazing & colorful variety of pouches and other handy wallets! The best place to shop Terri's things is here, on Instagram. I bought myself a wallet from her a month or so ago and it's one of my most favorite things ever!





These Crayon Wallets I'm saving for Christmas, they go so perfectly with the new sketchbooks I ordered from Stubby Pencil Studios!



This year, I'm making an extra effort to make & support handmade even more than in years past. I'm getting so close to reaching my goal of making each of my children, nieces, and nephews their own quilt to give at Christmas, and I'm hoping to have enough time to make at least one more for whoever I get in our family gift exchange. How about you, are you planning to give a little handmade this holiday season? I'd love more ideas, so feel free to share your shop link or one you happen to favorite! I have lots of people on my gift list!!

♥ Maureen