A New Purse for Me!

 I started thinking about this purse when Anna Maria Horner released her Loulouthi line and I saw her fabulous pillow she embellished with hand quilting using the Summer Totem print. (I tried to find it in my favs on flickr, but it was too slow and I became impatient!) I was thinking it would be fun to use that print as a flap on a purse and hand quilt/embroider some details on it. I did that on the flap, sides and then just did a running stitch through the squares on the front and back. I am not a good hand quilter, and this was my first attempt at embroidery, but I love the results despite the imperfections. It is my own design using 4.5" squares, 4.5" sides. It will hold quite a bit for my summer travels. I decided against using a closure on the flap as I don't really like pulling the flap off each time. It's long enough to where things aren't going to fall out. I used the grapefruit color of the Summer Totem as I love the hint of pink and the colors Anna Maria chose to go with that light pink. I knew this would be a summer purse, so I focused on pulling out the lighter colors. I'm so glad to get this UFO off my list! :)

Ready to Ship!

Every once in a great while~ well, this is only the 2nd time in 3 years~ I make a bumper that is ready to ship. When I first got the Loulouthi fabric I was wowed by the Summer Totem & Clippings prints and so I was excited to pull fabrics for a patchwork bumper to coordinate with those prints. I used prints from Jennifer Paganelli, Tula Pink, Josephine Kimberling, Khristian Howell, Amy Butler, Annette Tatum & Robert Kaufman. I've been working on this since Loulouthi came out~ was it last summer?? Anyway, I'm excited to put it in my shop, so if you want instant gratification rather than wait the 8 weeks it usually takes, head on over to my shop!

Simple Summer Totem Beauty

Summer Totem from Anna Maria Horner's Loulouthi line is one of my fav patterns! It is such a gorgeous, stand alone print. I'm not sure I could cut it up, but having random bits of this pattern COULD be awesome if I could do it! I'm working on a crib set for Jaclyn and she wanted a simple blanket with this print in the strudel colorway with cream minky on the back. I have to say my room looks awesome with this on the bed. :) I may make one for myself in the tart colorway (cream background). I'm still working on my hand stitched purse in grapefruit. Its slow going as I've been sewing so much so I can go on vacation in a week! Gotta get busy!

Stitches in Progress

I'm enjoying stitching around the motifs in Summer Totem in grapefruit. I was inspired by Anna Maria's blog where she showed how she did the same for a pillow. I've always loved quilting around a flower in a print. I sometimes feel like I'm scribbling over someone's artwork when I do free motion all over. Its just a very time consuming process that I only do for myself. In the shop I like to keep it simple or no one's order would ever get done! :) This piece will eventually be a flap for a purse for me. I'm doing the front and back pieces in color coordinated patchwork and fussy cut some of the Summer Totem for the sides. They will all be hand quilted whilst I watch tv with my family. It will be a beautiful purse when its done!

Loulouthi

Super excited to get in Anna Maria's newest line, Loulouthi. I saw an interview with her on DIY Dish and so now I know how to pronounce this collection. The 'thi' is pronounced 'ti'. Ha! I think I'll just name it Loulou. :) As usual, her new fabric line doesn't disappoint~ full of color and pattern and delicious colors. I had fun creating coordinates for them~ many match with her other lines, Innocent Crush, Garden Party and Drawing Room. Love that! The 'fun blue' is really a different blue, but Amy Butlers Temple Doors in deep water and Laurel Dots in periwinkle are a great match. The Summer Totem and Clippings are really large prints with lots of color. I'm not sure if my first instinct is to cut them up to show off the different motifs or just frame a large portion. I love that the fabric designs are works of art themselves. I have the best job!! For more fabric combos using Loulou, see my flickr page.