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

Some Happy Sewing : :

Yesterday was possibly the worst sewing day I have ever had to date. Nothing was going my way, and it only got worse as the day went on! I kept having to step away and when I would return, the silly mistakes and frustration would just continue. Blah! So, let's forget about that for now and focus on some happy sewing news, k?

I finished two more Simple Color Tote baskets for my rainbow of fabric scraps. These make me happy!!



I was so excited to receive so many comments when I first shared these, thank you! Fun and practical sewing is my absolute favorite, so these are nothing but a pleasure to make! If today's sewing road is just as bumpy, I plan to just stop and make more of these!

They are hanging and waiting to be filled, but I'm saving the fabric scrap sorting for the kids! Hopefully I convince at least one of them that it will be a fun game...he he



This new aqua tote is my very favorite! A little aqua over-load perhaps, with my chair and that door as a backdrop?!



And, this just happens to be the mug I'm drinking my coffee in today. Clearly I enjoy this color! This mug and the rest of the set, inspired my last Blogger Bundle for Pink Castle Fabrics, Sweet Summer Dreams. Today, Brenda listed my newest selection of fabrics - my "For the Boys Blogger Bundle". This new bundle is inspired by the room I hope to create for my boys in our new house, with colors that I also know my husband likes. With all the "girly sewing" I do and see, I thought it would be a nice change to put together a collection of fabrics the boys in my life would appreciate. I hope to use it to create something for them....for once!
(Oh, and all PCF pre-cut bundles are 20% with code : PRECUT20 this week only!)



In other news, I have a Three Little Birds pillow project in the newest issue of Simply Handmade Magazine's Sewing issue for Fall 2012. This is one of my all time favorite pillow designs!



I still remember the day I received my Summerlove bundle. It is such a gorgeous collection! I wanted to use it right away, but only a little because I loved it so much! This pillow is the design that emerged. I've made six of them now, and just listed this one in my shop!



And finally, be sure to take a peek at this weekend's Fabric Giveaway offering from Cotton Blossom Farms! A gorgeous bundle that will certainly make for some happy sewing!!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A Pillow {and A Break} : :

I finished my first Indie Pillow inspired by those West Elm Kantha Pillow late last week! It was so, so fun to make!! I had planned to share it, along with a final post on our 'A Question' discussion this morning. I had finally gotten the chance to spend a few hours last Thursday morning, reading through each comment, following the wonderful links you all left, and writing up a final thought.

Then, decided through lots of thinking, chatting, and listening since Thursday, throughout this past weekend, and still this morning, that I need a break!

I mentioned last week quickly that I wasn't feeling that well. I had gone to Hershey Medical Center last Tuesday to see my doctor and since, honestly I've been having a really tough time with how that all went. Added to that, in just a few weeks the kids will be heading back to school. My daughter who has been my side-kick from the very beginning of this sewing, blogging adventure, will be joining my boys. And it's all hitting me really, really hard. It has always been the plan for me to attempt to make my sewing and hopefully this blog a full-time gig for myself this Fall. I am SO excited about that next chapter! But for now, I just need to take a step back. Enjoy this time with the kids, get more rest, slow down. I know I've mentioned doing this a few times here, and then I convince myself that if I just stay positive and motivated, that if I just keep going, then one day I'll wake up and I'll feel all better. Well, sadly that's not working!







That is not at all easy for me to share. Of course I'm a little scared and nervous about stepping away, too. I'm sure you bloggers know what I mean?! I know I'll keep sewing. I'm certain I'll keep buying fabric! I do still plan to put together a tutorial for this pillow. I'm sure I'll still pop up on facebook and here to check in throughout the next 4-5 weeks. I also have a new fabric giveaway scheduled each weekend, along with a few others as part of some special blogging events. Please don't forget about me!!

Thank you all for your understanding! THANK YOU to everybody who is kind to me, this blog, and my sewing! I'll miss you!!

x & ♥, 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

A Question : :

I just stumbled upon these gorgeous pillows on West Elm, pinned them, and right away thought, "Oh, those would be so fun and simple to make!"

photo from West Elm

This happens to me ALL the time! How about you?

The thing is, I'm not sure if this is alright.

I few years back I was on the receiving end of a mean-spirited and ridiculous attack from some local women (this wasn't online and wasn't something sewn -- I don't think I even owned a computer yet and definitely didn't use my sewing machine yet), who thought I had created something based on a product they had seen that looked similar. They were completely wrong, but it was awful, and hurtful, and sad!

It changed me forever. In a lot of ways.

Artistically, it made me question where my inspiration for my own projects can come from. Where is it ok to pull inspiration from?

As an artist and maker and blogger, my goal is to inspire! I hope that those of you who have found me, see what I make, and it inspires you! To make something or to even try to make what I've made, yourself.

I hope it makes you happy, like it makes me! I hope it makes me you feel all the kinds of wonderful I feel, when I give something that is made with my own two hands to someone, who might love that thing. It's amazing! And that's the reason for ALL of this for me.

For companies, I realize it's different. But is it ok for us as makers, to see a product and then make it ourselves, rather than purchase it? Is it ok for us as bloggers, to then create a tutorial for how to make it? etc...

I know this happens ALL the time. And so, I thought I'd quickly throw this out there and finally ask these questions...

I'd love to know your thoughts on this -- please share!! ♥ Maureen 

edited to add -- I am not planning to make this pillow. This is just an example of what makes me think, "I could make that!" Here's another good example -- and this has been recreated a zillion times on blogs and flickr -- The Orimono Flower Pillow on Anthropologie