Quilt Ideas from Little Quilts using their newest line Tanyard Creek

Here are some new quilt ideas using..."Tanyard Creek", the new line of fabric by Little Quilts.

"Hospitality" is a 26" x 26" quilt using the Tanyard Creek fabricline. The pattern is from a "Reflections of the South" collection designedby Little Quilts for Henry Glass & Co. The simple pineapple applique, along-time symbol of hospitality in the south, is perfect for this charmingwall hanging to welcome friends. It would make a perfect house warming gift!


This quilt was made by Little Quilts staff member Linda Rice usingthe Tanyard Creek fabric line. She used the Josephine's Sampler pattern byLori Smith (From My Heart To Your Hands). Patterns and all fabrics for thisquilt are available at Little Quilts.

We love the old antique reproduction look of the new "Tanyard Creek"line of fabric from Little Quilts. The line also includes several newshirtings. The entire line is available from Little Quilts along withbundles and fat quarters.

For more information about Little Quilts and Quilt ideas go to http://www.littlequilts.com/

Cross Country Christmas Quilt Designer Blog Hop

Wonderful HG Designer Linda Lum Debono blogs for us....Sorry, I've haven't been around lately. I have had the nasty flu and I've been out of commission for a week now. Today, I have some awesome news to announce. I will be participating in the "Cross Country Christmas Quilt Designer Blog Hop" with 11 other wonderful designers (including HG designer Heather Mulder Peterson) across the US. All of the main festivities officially start Nov. 9 and end on Nov. 20.

To get the excitement going before everything officially begins, there will be a guess the designer from the baby photo contest starting Wednesday, November 4. Each blog will have a baby pic of a designer. You will have until Nov. 7 to guess. So, on Wednesday, hop from blog to blog to guess.

Also, at the end of the 12 days of blogging, a grand prize winner will be drawn randomly from all of the commenters. You must comment on ALL 12 sites to be eligible for the grand prize [value: $360 - wow!] Each day, we will all have a post about a special theme but you will all have to check out the wonderful surprise that the featured designer of the day will have on her site for you!These fabulous designers will be in for all of the fun. Check them out!

Nov. 9th. Gudrun from GE Designs:

Nov. 10th. Sandy from Pieces from my Heart :

Nov. 11th. Terry from Atkinson Designs :
Nov. 12th. Pat from Pat Sloan & Co.:
Nov. 13th. Heather from Anka's Treasures : http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/
Nov. 14th. Pam from Pam Kitty Morning :
Nov. 15th. Kari from New Leaf Stitches :
Nov. 16th. Terri from Whimsicals :
Nov. 17th. Sherri from This 'N' That
Nov. 18th. Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.
Nov. 19th. Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage.
Nov. 20th. Linda from Linda Lum DeBono: http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com

I hope that you will join us for all of the fun! xo, L

For more info from Linda's website/blog http://lindalumdebono.blogspot.com/2009/11/12-days-of-christmas-blogging-bliss.html

Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup Blogs for HG!

Simply Sweet by Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup

Simply Sweet made it’s debut at Fall Quilt Market in Houston. I love this collection! We designed the sweetest floral stripes, a companion floral lattice, and a delicate little vine print.

We combined a funky oval print and our signature dots, stripes and checks to round out the collection. We were so inspired that we all ready have about 6 new quilts planned for this collection.

The first one we made is called Ladybug Hug and the pattern ships November 1st.

Simply Sweet ships in January 2010. I’m telling you that I can hardly wait!

For more information on Barbara Jones and to see her personal website and new design ideas go to http://quiltsoup.com/

Linda Lum DeBono Blogs for HG!

On The Shelves Now!
Busy, busy, little bee. So much work, yet so little time. Who said that I'd have so much free time since Little A would be at school all day now? FYI, not true!

I can't believe that summer is nearly over and that fall is upon us. The kids are back at school and we are adjusting to the new schedule. I've been so busy these past few weeks with school, birthdays, activities and deadlines. How do we get some more time in the day?


The new season also means that Quilt Market is around the corner and that my fabric line, Inspiration, for Henry Glass Fabrics, should start hitting the quilt shop shelves any minute now. I'm excited about this line because the colors are upbeat and the message is good. Let me know what you think and of course, if you make something from the line, send a photo! I'd love to see!



Next month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many, if not all of us, have been touched by someone's story in her fight against breast cancer. I've designed a few projects for you to make as gifts for your loved ones in support of breast cancer awareness. There will be a lap quilt or two and a tote bag. Here's a sneak peak of the first design, Twinkle. I'm just tweaking the patterns right now. Drop by early next week for the patterns and to share your stories.


Super exciting news! You'll see Inspiration in a design for American Patchwork and Quilting this winter. The design will accompany my profile in their February 2010 issue! So awesome!


I think that my work of late has had a sense of "purpose" beyond making a beautiful quilt. I'm just about finished a knitting design for a prayer wrap. I'm giddy with excitement because it came out so beautifully. Be patient! You'll get to have a peak in time. xo, L

For more information on Linda Lum DeBono go to:

http://www.lindalumdebono.com/
http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com/

HG Designer Nina Favata Blogs for US!

The Healing Power of Creating
How does an artist working on children’s hospital murals find her way to a wonderful fabric company designing for the quilt market? All I know is anything is possible in life, including dreams coming true. During the course of creating the Zany Animal murals, the hospital staff would stop by often and say how much they’d love to see these images on children’s fabrics. It occurred to me that I would too. Being an FIT grad who started her career in fashion, this idea
was never far from my thoughts. Combining two passions was a dream-designing textiles and creating images for sick children!

The newest collection of Zany Barnyard Animals was borne of a mural I painted at Saint Justine’s Children’s Hospital in Montreal in their Physiotherapy Clinic where children suffering from cancer and other traumatic illness were treated.It was all just waiting to unfold. Karen at Henry Glass was my muse as she encouraged me to write a simple story using the animal characters that would be printed on fabric and sold as a cut and sew baby book. In no time, it seemed, the book was written, pages designed, as if it was just waiting to appear!

My hope is that everything I create for HG people will touch the heart of the person using it, even tickle the sales people! That can’t hurt can it?!

I am thrilled to be a part of the talented group of HG designers. I look forward to bringing more to you in the coming months an wish you all a wonderful August.
-Nina

PS My husband and I are bona fide city people who’ve just moved to Country Living in the Adirondacks. My next gig is creating a group of Zany Forest Animal friends for HG. With so much to refer to right out my studio window, it’s going to be a pleasure!

For more information about Nina please go to http://www.ninafavata.com/
For more about her organization Healing Art Environments go to http://www.healingartenvironments.com/

HG Designer Michelle Engel Bencsko Blogs for US!

I'm so pleased to finally show off some sewing projects using my 2nd and latest fabric collection, Shade Garden for Henry Glass, which will be available this fall. Each of these pillows is made with 5 prints from the two available colorways: Bluebell and Coralbell. I'm so pleased with how well Bluebell fits in with my "real" shade garden and Coralbell punctuates all the pretty reds and pinks from my shade lovin' annuals.

These pillows were very spontaneous- I didn't measure a darn thing... which, in retrospect, would probably have made the project go a lot smoother and faster! I just cut strips and sewed. Then I backed it with some batting and another piece of cotton, "stitched in the ditch", as they say and sewed it to some solid linen for a back with a simple envelope closure. This is a great project for longish scrappy pieces and can just as easily be on horizontally.

I hear the quilt that Cate Tallman-Evans designed in the works and that just makes me plain old giddy- she's done a spectacular job with both of my collections now and I am always excited to see what people do with my work. I am also working with my quilter friend who made my last quilt using my Dogwood collection and she's going to quilt up my own roughly sketched Shade Garden quilt design for my Fall bedroom.

So, I've had a pretty exciting summer! I've been busy designing new print collections: My 3rd for Henry Glass - which I'm super excited about- and my 2nd for my own business, an organic cotton fabric company, Cloud9 Fabrics. I've also been penning a book which will include lots of lovely examples of my work for the various companies for whom I design - more details of which I'll formally share in the near future (I hope!). I've also signed a contract to do some stationery items (again, all very hush-hush at the moment!). And in case you're wondering how much more I could possibly do, I've managed to squeeze in a little family R&R, too!

More recently, I had the pleasure of being asked by Mark Lipinski to join him on his new QNNtv.com show, Quilt Out Loud! thanks to the gracious recommendation by Herny Glass' own Linda Lum DeBono. The segment was about being a textile designer. I was joined by Gail Kessler, designer and marketing director for Andover Fabrics and we fielded questions about how we work and the influence of trends, markets and business. Gail being very entrenched in the market and community, and me, sort of a fledgling newbie! It was a fabulous experience and I did learn a lot myself, not having come from a quilting background. I think it must appear funny to some that I can design, but not quilt... but I'M LEARNING! Slowly but surely, I WILL get my quilting wings one day!

Tune in to the show! Should be released this October, and I believe it's a two part segment. It promises to be a great one.

So, summer's coming to a close, the book needs attention and I'm also preparing for the Houston Quilt Market, so I better scoot. This, I type, as I watch my husband and boys drive away down to the beach for the day! Will have to squeeze in at least one more leisure activity before time is up.

See ya for now! And look for me at the Houston Quilt Market!!

HG Designer Kim Diehl Blogs for US!

Where is the summer going? It seems like only yesterday I was brushing the snow off of my newly sprouting garden, and all of a sudden, my flowers are bursting with color and its ninety degrees!

Even with all of my dead-heading and weeding, a new book in the works, and preparing artwork for a new fabric line for Henry Glass called “Along the Fence”, I’ve managed to find a little time to play. July is the month that I traditionally reserve for vacation with my family, and we spent several beautiful days on the Oregon coast earlier this month. Enjoying the sunsets, smelling the sea air, and trying not to be tackled by your children while wiggling your toes in the surf is extremely therapeutic, and I highly recommend a trip to this beautiful part of the country if you’re ever able. As you can see by the picture, I was only semi-successful in the “not being tackled” plan.
After returning home, I was invited to be the guest of honor at a quilting social hosted by a local quilt guild here in Idaho called “Behind the Scenes”. What better way to spend a summer morning than sharing the company of fellow quilters and looking at vintage quilts hanging in the sunshine? The nicest surprise, though, was seeing a hand-quilted version of my Country Haven quilt hanging alongside the antique quilts that were on display.

Members of this guild worked together to piece, appliqué, and hand-quilt this project made entirely from my Country Haven line of fabrics, and for every hour of time spent on its construction, each member received a ticket for a chance to win it in a drawing. I was given the honor of scooping up the winning ticket, and one lucky member went home very happy!

A second and equally nice surprise was seeing the “thank you” quilt made up in my Country Haven collection that was stitched by guild members and gifted to the hostess of the social – there is simply not a nicer, more generous group of people than quilters, and I feel so fortunate to spend so much of my time in their company.

Here’s hoping that even in the midst of this busy time of year, you find a few moments to make a quilt of your own and spend a little time in the company of good friends.

Kim ~

For more information on the designer check out her website: http://www.kimdiehl.com/