Spiders, Australia, Paisley, and Fabric

So, about those sewing posts. Uh, I think my sewing machine may be mad at me for neglecting it lately. I added a new craft to try (needle tatting!), and haven't been sewing much, besides an oven mitt (which will get a post eventually). I wanted to finish the accessories for my sewing machine, so I could photograph them. I worked on the last thing to do on Friday, and decided I didn't want to seam rip the bias tape anymore, and set the project aside. The bobbin wasn't working properly, and I didn't feel like trying to mess with it at the time. I may try to figure it out today. Meanwhile, I have a new fabric design to show off!

This week's Fabric of the Week contest theme at Spoonflower is Australia fauna, perfect for Australia Day, which was yesterday. I went my usual route by choosing a lesser known subject for my design. I chose to use the Pink Flower Spider as inspiration and knew I wanted to include flowers and leaves in the design since the spider hides on those objects while waiting for prey. But, I had no idea how the design would look, or what sort of style to do it in. Then I thought of the leaf shapes as paisley, and had my design figured out. Here is my entry, Pink Flower Spider Paisley:

Pink Flower Spider Paisley, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see fabric page.

The paisley is made up of very stylized flower shapes, leaves, dots, and Pink Flower Spiders. At first, I was just going to use a pink, yellow, green, and a background color for the design, but then chose to include a tangerine color. I'm glad I did include it, and love how the design turned out overall. It's bright, fun, pretty, and has spiders. I'm even thinking of doing coordinate prints for this design.

You can vote for your favorite Australia animal themed fabrics here until Wednesday. There are lots of fantastic entries, using both well known and lesser known animals as inspiration.


*Past Contest Results*
- Year of the Snake: Sea of Swirly Snakes 28/130

Year of the Snake (Fabric)

2013 is the Chinese Year of the Snake, and this week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week Contest called for designs inspired by snakes. I originally wasn't going to enter this contest since snakes scare me a little. Then I did a bit of research on various snake breeds, and found the yellow-lipped and blue-lipped sea kraits. They look like something straight out of a Tim Burton film, and the yellow-lipped sea kraits reminded me of sandworms from Beetlejuice. These graphic sea snakes were the perfect inspiration for a fun design with some pop. Below is my entry, Sea of Swirly Snakes.

Sea of Swirly Snakes, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click on image to see repeat in yardage.

I created stylized versions of the sea kraits, and placed them on a teal background so that the blue-lipped sea kraits would almost blend in and the yellow-lipped sea kraits would give a graphic pop. The end result is a print that is fun and works well as a fabric. I think it would make fantastic clothing that people would possibly find pretty and terrifying. For some strange reason, that thought makes me happy.

You can vote for your favorite designs for Year of the Snake here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. There are not as many entries as there have been in previous weeks, but there is still a wide variety of styles in the contest.

*Past Contest Result*
-Snowflakes: Space Age Snowflakes 241/320

New Year, New Designs!

Happy New Year! I won't be making any resolutions, since I already fail at seemingly easy tasks (ahem, Twitter, and as of recently, blogging). I do however want to try to blog every week. I think I can make that happen. I've been wanting to do that for a while, but got sidetracked. First with moving, and recently with the holidays and being sick. Instead of blogging, I've been playing games. And I haven't done much of that lately, either. New goal: one blog post equals video game time. No playing until it's published. That way I can update my blog and have fun. Win win.

I did promise some sewing posts, which will still happen. I actually finished a new project yesterday, so will include it in the post, or give it its own. I still need to finish one sewing project up, and photograph them all

I have been designing, though not as much lately. Here is a recent fabric design, perfect for an after holidays sweet tooth:

Sugar Rush Dotted, shown at swatch 8"x8" view. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

I entered Sugar Rush Dotted into the Sweets Contest on Spoonflower. It placed 26th out of 207 entries. This design makes me happy looking at it. I have plans to do some coordinating prints using the candy pieces. I have also done a Halloween version, and will do a Christmas version for next year. Here is the Halloween version:

Halloween Sugar Rush, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see fabric page.

The current Spoonflower Fabric of the Week Contest called for designs with a snowflake theme. I went a bit stylized and futuristic with my design:

Space Age Snowflakes, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see fabric page.

I was making homemade Christmas cards when I came up with the idea of creating larger snowflakes out of smaller ones. But then I found my inspiration for this design when looking at images of 1960s space age fashions. One dress had a lace/mesh overlay that looked like stars. I liked the idea, and decided to create simple and stylized snowflakes for the design, changing the colors for the larger snowflake shapes. The design has a sort of shimmer to it, with the colors used.

Voting for the Snowflakes contest is longer than normal, and ends tomorrow, Wednesday. You can vote for your favorite snowflake inspired fabric designs here until then.

I'm going to stay warm, finish up on a sewing project, photograph projects, and play some video games today. I will try to have another post up before Sunday, when I will have a post for a new contest entry.

*Past Contest Entry*
-Nasher/Matisse: Squiggle Stripe 132/303

Fabric Recap: Creepy Crawlies to Flights of Fancy

I've been working on some new fabric designs lately, with some recent contest entries. I'm working on some more new fabric designs, and some sewing projects that need to be finished and photographed. I'll do a fabric recap in this post, and will post a sewing project this weekend. Onto the fabric designs!


My entry for the "Creepy Crawlies" Spoonflower Fabric of the Week Contest was "Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron":

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron placed 31st out of 224 entries. Both it and the Leather (brown) colorways are available for sale.

My next entry was also a new kit. For the "2013 Tea Towel Calendar" contest, I entered "Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar":

Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click to see its fabric page.

This was my first calendar design. I wanted something bright, fun, and modern. I also wanted to keep it geometric and not cutesy. Geometric Citrus 2013 Calendar placed 177th out of 186 entries. Eh.

I created several different arrow themed designs for the "Arrows" Fabric of the Week Contest before settling on my entry. "Bias Arrows" was my entry for that contest:

Bias Arrows, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

This design got me started on a bit of a diagonal design kick. These arrows are rotated on the true bias, and the arrow head colors form a zigzag pattern. I think this design would be great to use both on the straight grain and bias. "Bias Arrows" placed 149th out of 221 entries.

The other arrow designs I created are "Geo Arrows" and "Arrow Grid", both shown below. I may do some variations on these designs, and upload them later.

Geo Arrows, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Arrow Grid, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

For the "Flights of Fancy" Fabric of the Week Contest, I went with a whimsical (ahem, whimsicle) entry that was a bit odd. The contest called for fabrics with a bird or flight theme. I chose to go with a flight theme for a few designs. I couldn't get my first idea for the contest to look right, so I went with my second idea. My entry was "Peculiar Fancy Flights":

Peculiar Fancy Flights, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Various accessories have taken flight to the next party in unconventional methods. A top hat air balloon, mask with pretty wings, blimp carrying a monocle, and wings attached to a handbag float and fly against a sky background. This contest required a limited palette of the colors shown. "Peculiar Fancy Flights" placed 216th out of 323 entries.

I also created a brown colorway of this design, shown below:

Peculiar Steamy Fancy Flights, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

I really like how this colorway looks. It fits perfectly with the accessories and modes of transport.

I have another contest entry ready to go, but will wait to post it until the contest. I am working on several coordinating prints for it too. I will work on a sewing post for this weekend. Maybe I'll be able to catch up before decorating for the holidays. And yes, there will be posts for the decorations too. Hmm, I need to get out my Cookie Advent Calendar.

Squiggle Stripe Design

I meant to write more blog posts for recent designs and projects, but was so busy with life (moving and work) that I forgot. Oops. This post will be on my current Spoonflower entry, and the next post will be a catch up of new designs. I plan on finally photographing a few sewing projects this week and will have posts for at least one later this week.

The current Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest is something right up my alley. Spoonflower partnered with The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University to hold a limited palette contest for fabric designs that would fit in a Matisse painting. The contest theme is for an upcoming exhibit at The Nasher Museum, and the Top Ten designs will be featured at an event there.

Matisse happens to be one of my favorite artists, so this contest was a must for me. I like both his earlier paintings with the bold use of color and design and his later paper cutouts that still have the bold designs. I drew inspiration from both his early and later works for my entry, Squiggle Stripe:

Squiggle Stripe, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

I've been on a bit of a diagonal kick lately, which is good considering there are diagonal elements in several Matisse works. Creating shapes and lines that weren't perfect was a bit hard for me, but was also fun. Getting the repeat right was much easier after messing with several other diagonal repeats, even if this one wasn't a typical diagonal.

While the contest brief led to the impression of the designs working well for home decor purposes, I think my design would also be great for a summer outfit. I am imagining a full skirt or even a dress made from this fabric. A fashion scarf would also look great with this fabric.

You can vote for your favorite entries for the Matisse/Nasher contest at Spoonflower here. The contest ends Wednesday. There are lots of fantastic entries in a wide variety of styles, so be sure to check out the contest.

*Up next: a catch up post with new designs and recent contest entries.*

Pretty Creepy Crawlies?

Halloween is the time for costumes, candy, decorations, spooky movies, and things that go bump in the night. Oh, and those sometimes terrifying things that crawl and slither. Creepy crawlies find their way into spooky decor, food, costumes, attractions, films, and even fabric. The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for Creepy Crawlies themed fabrics, just in time for Halloween. I went a slightly pretty route, and created a pattern inspired by scrollwork designs found in wrought iron. My entry for the Creepy Crawlies contest is Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Iron, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

I hand drew stylized versions of spiders, scorpions, snakes, beetles, worms, and centipedes in a scrollwork style. Hearts, squiggly lines, and spirals fill in the print. I outlined the design with a black marker, then scanned it into my computer where the repeat was slightly corrected. This black and grey version was done with the contest in mind, and for a slightly creepy feel. I think it would be wonderful as a flocked fabric, or even just a flocked design on paper. I also think it would make a fun print for a frilly dress costume.

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies is also available in a brown and tan colorway, shown below:

Scrollwork Creepy Crawlies Leather, shown at test swatch 8"x8" view. Click image to see pattern in yardage.

The brown colorway was created as a not so creepy alternative to the black colorway. It also has an aged feel, which would also make this colorway great for costumes. I actually had steampunk fashions in mind for this colorway too, as I had recently looked at mechanical versions of animals (some of which are included in this print).

You can vote for your favorite creepy crawlies fabrics here until Wednesday evening. In addition to designs perfect for Halloween, there are also plenty of cute and pretty non-holiday designs in the contest. There are also a fair number that have candy and creepies in the design. (The most popular candy included is of course, candy corn). You may have to put aside some fears for voting, but some of the designs may win you over. Or, may just scare you even more.

I still need to photograph my cupcake zombie sewn up and its sweets. Photoshoot! (And then I'll have some sweets!) Remember to check out the creepy crawly fabrics at Spoonflower, and check back for the cupcake zombie project post.

*Past Contest Result*
-Zombie Plush Toy: Cupcake Zombie! 17/88

AHHH! Attack of the Cupcake Zombie!

I have been busy lately, and slacked off on blog posts. I do have my jacket sewing project completed, but need to photograph it and then can do a blog post for it. In the meantime, I have a new cut and sew kit in a contest and for sale. The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for a Zombie Plush Toy cut and sew kit. I personally am not a fan of zombies or gore, but like to make cut and sew kits. For this contest, I decided to go to the dark side and create a kawaii style cupcake zombie. (While I love lots of Japanese things, I can only handle so much kawaii stuff before I go crazy). Here is my entry, Cupcake Zombie!:

Cupcake Zombie!, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to go to fabric page.

The contest guidelines called for the pattern to fit on a fat quarter of fabric sized 21"x18". My fun kit includes the pieces, instructions, and list of needed supplies to make this slightly crazy looking cupcake zombie. Also included in the kit are three flat zombie cupcakes that can be used as appliques or turned into patches.

The cupcake zombie eats sweets instead of brains. As such, any candy should be hidden from this cute and clumsy zombie. It had a horrible accident with a lollipop stick and lost an eye. Luckily, it found a peppermint. Though it can't see with the peppermint, it appears more normal. Its frosting is a great way to store candy under further use. (The candy gets sewn to the frosting wherever desired).

You can vote for your favorite Zombie Plush Toy kits here until Wednesday. There are a lot of traditionally gory zombies, but there are also cute gore free kits in the contest. There are also a wide variety of zombie types and some humorous entries.

I do have the cupcake base sewn up, but need to find felt pieces for the lollipop sticks. Once I find the felt, the candy pieces will be sewn up and attached to the cupcake's frosting. Then I'll post pictures probably in a new blog post. (Oh, and take pictures of my finished jacket for a future post). Until then, vote for your favorite zombie cut and sew kits and watch some spooky films!

*Past Contest Results*
-Typewriter: Keys & Ribbons Plaid 112/169
-Earth Science: Sun & Storm Stripes 130/160

Typewriter Fabric

I remember thinking I was so cool typing papers and stuff for elementary school on my mom's old typewriter. (We didn't have a computer yet, so a typewriter to me was beyond awesome). I didn't care if it didn't have a screen like a computer. I loved the sounds the keys made, and especially the sound made hitting the return key. Needless to say, I was really excited to see that Spoonflower chose typewriters as the theme for one of their Fabric of the Week contests. Even better was that the fabric designs had to be in black and white. I may have went a little crazy, as I ended up with several designs to choose from for the contest. Here is my entry for the current Fabric of the Week contest, Keys & Ribbons Plaid:

Keys & Ribbons Plaid, test swatch 8"x8" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Keys & Ribbons Plaid is made up of circular typewriter keys on vertical lines with letters, numbers, and symbols from vintage and modern machines. Used and unused typewriter ribbons are woven into the vertical lines. This print wasn't my first idea for the theme, but ended up being the one I liked the best for the contest.

Geometric Letter Keys was actually my first idea for the theme, and is probably my favorite.

Geometric Letter Keys Large, shown at fat quarter 21"x18" view. Click image to see it in yardage.

This print has the circular typewriter keys on a mod inspired pattern. It's different and fun, but isn't as obviously typewriter inspired as the plaid print. You can view the rest of my typewriter themed prints here. I'm sure I'll be adding more, eventually. (I do have more designs, but do not have them uploaded yet).

Voting for the Typewriters Black and White contest ends Wednesday. You can vote for your favorite fabrics here until then. There are lots of fantastic entries to see in this week's contest. Seeing all the typewriter fabrics just makes me want a vintage typewriter even more.

I'm currently working on a fabric design involving some creepy critters. I also have my sewing project (jacket) to finish. Holidays and storms kind of interrupted my sewing time. I have a new cut and sew kit that I will be ordering soon, along with lots of swatches. There will be several fun and spooky designs posted soon!

*Past Contest Results*
-Zig-zag Cheater Quilt: Sleepytime zzz Cheater Quilt 209/216

Mod School Supplies

It's back to school time for students of all ages, or will be very soon. I was a strange kid, and always liked getting new school supplies each year. There's something about sharpening new sets of pencils and picking out a fun binder. Oh, and arranging items by color. To celebrate school starting again, Spoonflower's current Fabric of the Week contest is for school supplies themed fabrics. My entry is Mod School Supplies:

Mod School Supplies, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Rulers, pencils, markers, marker caps, erasers, and construction paper make up this fun school supplies themed print. I used primary and secondary colors for the print to keep it bright and a tool for learning colors. The black and white keeps it from being too bright. The design was inspired by Mondrian art and uses actual sized rulers (with correct markings), pencils, and erasers. The markers and marker caps are approximate dimensions, as I didn't have any basic markers to use as a guide. This large scaled repeat would be especially great for art smocks, but would also work for backpacks and art supply/portfolio cases.

The last day of voting for this contest is Wednesday. You can check out the rest of the fabulous school supplies themed fabrics and vote for your favorites here. Many of them would make fantastic pencil cases or backpacks, and there are even a few kits amongst the entries.

I have another cross stitch pattern and project to post, and am also working on a sewing project. The cross stitch pattern and project will be posted soon. The sewing project (a jacket) will be posted once it is finished and photographed.

*Past Contest Result*
- Camping: Neverending S'mores 87/162

S'more Fabric

I couldn't resist that pun, as this post will be about fabric with a s'mores inspired print. Nom nom nom! (S'mores print fabric is probably not safe for eating, but would be fine for your waistline). This week's Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is camping themed fabrics. At first, I wanted to enter a fabric with several camping elements and stars. I did create that print (and will have it in this post), but decided to go with an essential camping treat: s'mores. Eating s'mores around a campfire is an awesome ending to a fun-filled day of exploring nature. Here is my Camping contest entry, Neverending S'mores:

Neverending S'mores, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see detail and repeat in yardage.

I used s'mores components to make a fun checkerboard type print. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars repeat in their proper order. I think this print would work wonderfully for a camping themed quilt, as well as crafts and even clothing. Though I think a s'mores fabric skirt would just make me want an actual s'more to eat.

I still like the first camping print I created, but thought s'mores would be better for the contest. Here is the other camping inspired print, Under the Stars:

Under the Stars, fat quarter 21"x18" view shown. Click image to see repeat in yardage.

Crescent moons, campfires, tents, trees, and lots of stars make up this print on a night sky background. One of my favorite parts of camping is sitting by the fire at night, under the stars, eating s'mores and telling spooky stories.

You can vote for you favorite camping themed fabrics here at Spoonflower until Wednesday. There are lots of great fabrics perfect for the camping enthusiast, as well as several more s'mores inspired fabrics in the contest.

*Past Contest Result*
-Craft Party: Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit 91/107

Craft Party!

The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is for cut and sew kits that fit on a fat quarter of fabric and would be perfect to make at a craft party. I wanted to create a kit that would have projects for multiple people and be something that could easily be hand sewn. My entry is the Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit, shown below.

Rainbow Rings Craft Party Kit, shown at fat quarter 21" x 18". Click image to go to fabric page.

This fun and colorful craft party kit includes pieces and instructions to make 16-24 rings on a fat quarter, depending on the fabric width. Party goers can mix and match shapes and patterns and layer them to create unique rings. They can also add beads, sequins, buttons, and other craft supplies to dress up their rings.The finished size of the ring bands is a maximum of 77.4 mm, or a US ring size 16. If wanted, one could even make bracelets using the ring bands by not folding them in half.

Voting for this contest ends Wednesday. You can vote for your favorite craft party kits here until then. There are a variety of fantastic kits in this contest, with soft toys, accessories, and more.

*Past Contest Result*
-Aviation: Runway Lights at Night 93/202

Runway Lights at Night

Aviation is the theme for the current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower. I went in a very different direction (as usual), but created a print inspired by one of my favorite things: lights. For this contest, I researched airport runway lights and their colors and placement. Here is my contest entry, Runway Lights at Night:

Runway Lights at Night, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The light placements and quantity are not exact, as I wanted the repeat to fit on a fat quarter of fabric. The taxiway lighting placements are stylized for the print, and are not true to how they are on runways. (I was going to do a taxiway placement similar to actual ones, but realized how large the repeat was going to be if I went that direction). The "lights" are not circles; they are star shapes based on how real lights photograph. (I did use circles in a different color to mimic the lighter part of the lights).

Detail of a section of the print.

 I like how the final print turned out, especially in yardage with the "lights" zoomed out. You can vote for your favorite Aviation themed fabrics here until Wednesday. There are many fantastic takes on the theme, with something for pilots as well as kids.

*Past Contest Results*
- Olympics Contest: Modern Labyrinth 58/127

It's Olympics (Fabric) Time!

I love watching the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. I look forward to the Games every two years, for the opening ceremony, the athletes' inspirational stories, and the idea of the Olympics. This week, Spoonflower chose to make the Olympics the theme of their Fabric of the Week contest.

My first idea was to do a sort of retro looking print using a stripe resembling a heartbeat line. Stars and circles were added to the stripe print, but I just didn't feel it for the contest. You can view that print here.

For my final contest entry, I went with a maze-like design. I used two basic blocks with lines and rectangles, and rotated them to create the print. Originally, I was going to have the background be a single color, but thought the checkerboard design was more dynamic. It also makes the print seem a bit smaller and adds optical illusion. Here is my entry, "Modern Labyrinth".

Modern Labyrinth, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

The design represents the twists, turns, and dead ends one meets before they reach their goal. I used colors similar to those of the Olympic rings and the checkerboard background to give it a sporty feel. But I think it is also appealing to non-athletes. I think it would be great for duffel bags, backpacks, tote bags, and similar items.

Voting for this contest ends Wednesday, and you can vote for your favorite fabrics here. This contest has a smaller number of entries than the past few contests, but there are still a lot of great fabrics that capture the Olympic spirit. Be sure to vote for your favorites, perhaps while watching the Olympics.

*Past Contest Results*
*Paper Collage Cakes: I Want Sprinkles Plaid Large 118/143
*Mid-Century Cocktail Dress: Click Clang Crash! Purple 127/367

Games and Cocktail Dresses

Mid-Century (as in 20th century) fashions and textile prints covered a range of different styles and colors, reflective of the times. Those fashions and prints have become very popular again, for their timeless and still modern styles. This week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest was for prints fit for a Mid-Century cocktail dress. The contest prints will also have a possible use: fabric for a vintage cocktail dress pattern for a production of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. I am not big on floral patterns, so I decided to go a different route for my entry.

I knew I wanted to do either an abstract or geometric pattern, but wasn't sure what to exactly do. I instantly thought of classic board games, some of which I loved to play (and still play). My entry, Click Clang Crash! Purple, was inspired by Kerplunk!, but works for many games that involve sticks, discs, or marbles.

Click Clang Crash! Purple, swatch 8" x 8" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

This print is also in another colorway. Each colorway has the print on two different backgrounds. The other colorway is a bit softer, but still has some bright colors.

Click Clang Crash! Dark Grey, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

I decided to do a couple more prints inspired by games. One is a larger print made up of circles and forms a sort of woven look pattern. I used the circle shapes from Parcheesi as inspiration for Game Circles.

Game Circles Purple, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Circles Dark Grey, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Dots uses Connect Four as an inspiration. I used more than two colors for the print, to give more interest. There is one "winner" in the repeat, hidden amongst the dots.

Game Dots Salmon, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Game Dots Silver, fat quarter 21" x 18" view shown. Click image to see print in yardage.

Voting for the Mid-Century Cocktail Dress Print contest ends tomorrow, Wednesday, evening. You can vote for your favorite entries here until then. Be sure to check out all the fantastic entries in this week's contest.

Retro Kitchen to Pomegranates

I have done several new prints (and a couple collections) since the rainbow hat pattern. I have the hat completed, but one of the colors didn't print correctly (it does now under the new color profile), so I am holding off on a post for it until I can do a new version of it. I may end up making a doll size version as a test. Here are my recent contest entries and their results.

* Retro Rainbow Hat: 35/42

* Range Cubes: 78/281

Fat quarter, 21" x 18" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

This contest was for fabrics with a kitchen theme, in a retro style, and in a restricted color palette. Range Cubes is made up of stylized range coils and knobs, making a fun retro design. I really like how this print turned out, and think it would be perfect for potholders, oven mitts, aprons, and the like.

* Garden of Magic: 146/500

Fat quarter, 21" x 18" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

This print was for the Hand Drawn contest, which drew a huge number of entries. Garden of Magic was inspired by one of my favorite childhood books, The Secret Garden. I drew flowers described as being in the garden, and colored them with oil pastels. I drew the pattern with a half drop, so minimal digital work was done (I did have to touch up the repeat a bit after scanning, but I did not digitally create the repeat).

* Parallelogram Trapezoid Stripe: 164/375

Fat quarter, 21" x 18" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

Parallelogram Trapezoid Stripe was for the Geometric contest, which had a restricted color palette. I like the optical illusion this print creates. I also have it in other colors, but they are not available for purchase yet.

* Extinct Animal Crackers: 91/226

Fat quarter, 21" x 18" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

This print is part of a collection that will receive its own post soon. Extinct Animal Crackers was for the Extinct Animals contest. This wasn't my first choice for the contest, but switched to this print to add some fun to the sad contest. I digitally drew several extinct animals in cookie form, and topped some cookies with icing and sprinkles. More details will be in the post for this collection.

* Starry Starry Stripes Grey: 108/328

Swatch 8" x 8" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

Starry Starry Stripes Grey was for the Stars and Stripes contest theme. I also did this print in a red, white, and blue colorway, but decided to enter this greyscale version for the contest since I knew there would be a lot of red, white, and blue designs. I like how this print has an almost dainty feel in yardage. It's simple, but extremely useable.

* Hot Air Pomegranates: 148/290

Fat quarter, 21" x 18" view shown. Click on image to see print in yardage.

I went in a whimsical direction for the Pomegranates contest. I was looking at a sketch of a pomegranate and thought how much it looked like a hot air balloon. I decided to use the idea for this print, and love how it turned out.

All these fabric prints are available for purchase by clicking on their image (though not all their colorways are available for sale, if they have other colorways). The Retro Rainbow Hat is not available for sale yet, as I still have to fix it.

Cake, Paper, Scissors!

I've been working on a couple collections and getting designs adjusted for Spoonflower's new color profile, and took an unexpected break from writing posts. The collections are done, though one is on the back burner until I can adjust the colors. The other collection will get its own post in a few days, and a design recap will be posted also. Now, it's time for cake.

This week's Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is the theme of paper collage cakes. Designers had to create prints featuring cakes in some form, entirely out of paper. The entries cover a wide range of different cake varieties, but unsurprisingly, a large number are of cupcakes. The contest will definitely tempt your sweet tooth.

I decided to go a simple but fun route for my entry. I was partly inspired by several Cake Wrecks, but wanted to create a usable print. I created a windowpane plaid made up of rotated sheet cakes covered with sprinkles. I used paper in several colors, scrapbook scissors, glue, and a hole punch to create this print. Here is my entry, I Want Sprinkles Plaid Large.

I Want Sprinkles Plaid Large. Click image to see it in yardage. Fat quarter, 21"x18" view shown.

This version is a larger scale, both for the contest view and for projects needing a larger scale such as tote bags. I think it would also make a fun apron for a baker or cake decorator (a non Wrecky one, of course).

I have another version in a smaller scale, perfect for clothing. I think the smaller scale would make a fun straight or pencil skirt. I like how the plaid becomes the focus, and the sprinkles add a bit of fun to offset the pattern.

Click image to see I Want Sprinkles Plaid Small in yardage. Image is of swatch view, 8"x8".

Both fabrics are available for sale. I may make some more coordinating prints out of paper later if the inspiration strikes.

Voting for the Paper Collage Cakes contest ends Wednesday evening. You can vote here for your favorite entries.

Retro Rainbow Hat and more!

This week's Spoonflower Fabric of the Week contest called for Hat Patterns that fit on one yard of fabric. I am not much of a hat wearer, besides cloche hats, and even then I typically only wear them in the fall and winter. I wanted to design something for summer, and something I would possibly wear. Unfortunately, I had to get my computer fixed last fall, and lost saved files and bookmarks of hat resources. Luckily, I found an awesome vintage hat pattern.

Click image to go to the fabric page.

My entry is Retro Rainbow Hat. This vintage pattern is made so that the hat can accommodate a ponytail. I thought that detail would be perfect for summer. I had to modify the pattern a bit and fix some errors before I added my designs to the pattern pieces. The crown of the hat has faux stitching in faded rainbow colors on a light tan background. The brim is made up of "petals" that have faded rainbow arcs on them that follow the shape of the pattern pieces. The lining pieces are solid colors of the rainbow colors used for the design. I guessed at the sizes needed for the bias cording, and gave them rainbow stripes on a tan background. Since there was extra space, I also included pattern pieces to make two keychain fobs. I am currently waiting for the fabric to arrive so I can make it! More details on the hat will come in the project post.

You can vote for this week's Spoonflower contest here. There are not many entries this week, but they are still great and cover a variety of styles. Voting for this contest ends Wednesday.

I'm on a slight retro kick, and it started with this entry, "Retro Sewing Stripe" for the Sewing Celebration contest. It finished 47th out of 111 entries.

Click image to go to fabric page.

It's in a much softer colorway than I'm used to doing, but it works well for this design. The fun stripe is made up of zigzag stitches, pins, straight stitches, buttons, needles, and bobbins.

The Book Love fabric contest was one of my favorites because I love books. I haven't been reading as much as I would like lately, but nothing compares to a good book. "Ode to the Keeper of the Books" was my entry, and placed 99th out of 143 entries.

Click image to go to fabric page.

The print is made up of elements representing three major genres (horror, adventure, fantasy) over an open book. In the background are the words "horror adventure fantasy" repeated in a transparent brown. The whole print uses transparent colors at certain areas, and adds to the idea of imagining book scenes. It was fun to do, even though it took quite a while to create. I still have to get a proof of this to see how it will print. (I have no idea at this point!)

For the Bag Pattern contest I entered "Creativity Tote", which finished 44th out of 76 entries. The kit prints on one yard of fabric.

Click image to go to fabric page.

"Creativity Tote" is an art tote bag that can grow with a child. It has pockets to hold items such as crayon boxes, scissors, pencils, markers, glue, glitter, paints, and whatever else needed to create works of art. The right side is designed to have elastic to hold coloring books, construction paper, coloring pads, and art paper pads up to 9" x 12". The tote has a flap with hook and loop tape closure that allows the tote to expand. I also included a name tag on the back of the tote for the child's information. The white shapes print pieces are made so that the child can draw on the pattern pieces to create images from the shapes. I haven't made this kit available for sale yet.

I have some patterns done for upcoming contests already (!), but I will wait to show them until it's time for their contest. Please check out the Hat Pattern contest at Spoonflower, and vote for your favorites.

Winter Wrap Up

This post will be a summary of some projects and designs from this past winter. It's officially spring; when did THAT happen? (I know it was yesterday, but where did the time go)? Well, I will try my best to get back to regular posting. Starting with this post.

1. Cookie Advent Calendar found here at Spoonflower.

I designed this Advent Calendar for the Spoonflower Advent Calendar contest. The yard sized kit includes cookies, oven mitt (not pictured), cookie sheet, and instructions. I used hook and loop tape to attach the cookies to the cookie sheet. I also put a piece of board inside the cookie sheet (left the top open then sewed it shut) to add some stability to it. The idea is that the oven mitt (I will add pictures of it to this post later; I thought I had a good picture of it) holds the cookies until they are needed for the countdown. I did make a few changes after getting my fabric and making it. The "7" heart cookie wasn't the right red I used and I changed the "1" and "13" to black since the white didn't show up well against the yellow. "Cookie Advent Calendar" finished 9th, and was my second time making the Top Ten.

2. Road Trip Collection. Complete collection can be found here at Spoonflower.

Printed swatches of the current collection

My "Road Trip Coordinates Sampler" placed 170/200 in the Coordinates Contest at Spoonflower. There were a lot of great collections! I'm really happy with how the designs printed. I do have another stripe that I will add to the collection, but it will but solid colors. I'm really happy with Film Strip Stripe. It actually lines up with 35mm film, frames and perforations! (Well, the film I compared it to wasn't Kodak, so the perforations didn't line up at a certain point, but I'm sure it would line up exactly with other film). I still have ideas for two more prints, but haven't started them yet. They will eventually be added to the collection.

3. Contest results!
* Evergreens- Retro Evergreens 108/149
* Coordinates- Road Trip Coordinate Sampler 170/200
* Cityscape- St. Louis Skyline Border Print 57/180
* Art Deco- Deco Geometric Teal Medium 136/275
* Jellyfish- Dangerous Beauty 69/226
* Bicycle- Simple Bicycles Green 65/199

I am working on two contest entries right now. One is a kit, and will have new coordinating prints. The other is a print being done is a style I haven't done before. So far, so good. I will have an easy project in an upcoming post.

Collection Sampler: Road Trip!

Wow, I've been away for a long time! I will do a post on a couple of my past contest entries, complete with pictures of a finished project I designed. (The project post is a bit late, since it was Christmas related, but it's fun and it's never too early to think about later this year. Right? I still can't believe it's 2012). But first, is my current contest entry, and a new collection.

My new collection Road Trip was inspired by a trip on a section of Route 66. It includes things you would see or bring on a trip, such as neon lights, luggage, sunglasses, and film (not anymore though). I plan on adding a few more prints to the collection. Until then, here is the collection so far.

Click on the image to see it in detail.

This is my contest entry for the current Fabric of the Week Contest: Coordinates at Spoonflower. You can vote for the contest here until Wednesday evening when voting ends. The Coordinates Contest was for a one yard image that included four coordinating fabrics. One of the fabrics had to be a stripe and one fabric had to be a dot of some sort. It's really interesting to see all the mini collections and the wide variety of subjects, color themes, and pattern choices.

My coordinate sampler includes Film Strip Stripe: Small, which is half the scale of my Film Strip Stripe found here. The Film Strip Stripe is a vertical stripe print made up of strips of film negatives and are the exact size as actual negatives. Once I get my samples, I can test actual film negatives against the fabric to see if the perforations match up.

Film Strip Stripe: Small. Click image to see it in repeat.

The large scale print for the sampler is Sunglasses Outline. It is a 4-way print made up of various types of sunglasses. The shades all are about 4" wide. The outlines of the sunglasses are in varying thicknesses. I also have a half scale version of this print, better suited for smaller craft and sewing projects. Sunglasses Outline Half scale can be found here. Sunglasses Outline is my favorite print of the collection. I think it would make an awesome circle skirt or summer dress.

Sunglasses Outline. Click image to see it in repeat.

Pink Luggage Ditsy is the small scale print for the sampler. It is a ditsy print, which is typically a smaller 4-way/scatter print. Luggage in retro shapes are scattered in various colors on the print. The same print is also available in a blue colorway, Blue Luggage Ditsy, which is available here.

Pink Luggage Ditsy. Click on image to see it in repeat.

Last is my dot print for the sampler, Neon Dots: Night. The dots are similar to how circles are done in neon form. The colors pop against the black background, and look very bright, but are actually the same colors used throughout the collection. I also have a dot version on a white background, Neon Dots: Day, which can be found here. For the Day version, I made the white neon grey in color. It's neat to see how muted the colors look on the white background, even though the colors (excluding grey) are the same as on the Night version.

Neon Dots: Night. Click on image to see it in repeat.

You can see the entire collection here, but I will be adding more prints eventually. My next post will be a sort of Winter/Holiday wrap up, complete with two contest entries and project photos. Until then, please vote for the current Spoonflower fabric contest, and check out the talented designers there.