jcaroline's blog

I made something!

Lately, I've been filling my time with business and parenting and not enough time sewing and creating.  So this Saturday, I devoted my afternoon to sewing and made this:

I used Patty Young's Kyoko Pattern and Michelle Engel Bencsko's Shade Garden fabric.  Four hours from start to finish, which I consider a good afternoon project.  On the fabric, I used Snail Trail on Light Blue for the bodice and skirt, Teal Fiddleheads for the skirt, and Violets on Green for the bias trim and obo sash.

Above right is our family drawn in chalk.  I'm the huge person in blue and Henry is the tiny little thing next to me.  I'm not sure why I'm the biggest in the family-- I guess it's my large presence!

I hadn't sewn up one of Patty's patterns yet and I loved it.  Easy to follow and I love the shape of this top.  (It can also be sewn as a dress and with long sleeves.)  It is very loose fitting, so if the child falls between sizes, I would go with the smaller one.  I also lined and interfaced the bodice.  (I've told you- I was raised by a woman who interfacing everything!)  The pattern did not tell me to interface it and you shouldn't do it-- I turned the bodice into a light coat.  I lined it since the bodice fabric is fairly light in color.  But if you use a darker fabric, I don't think a lining is necessary.

I am going to make up some matching pants, but that will have to wait for another Saturday.  By the way, the Flax and Olive Oasis Canvas look great with these fabrics.  And yes, I know I need to drop the hem on last year's jeans.  They are right now somewhere between jeans and capris.

And because a child's project always gives me an excuse for more pictures of the girl:

So, if you've taken a break from creativity, I highly recommend getting back into it.  It sounds a little odd, but I think I need to "schedule" creative time so I make sure to get some in every week or so.

Summer Soiree & Messy Hands

Who says summer is over?  It was 88 degrees today in Houston, so I think summer is still in full force.  Besides, I'm not going to let a little issue like timing stand in the way of Paula Prass's latest fabric, Summer Soiree.  Bright pinks, turquoises, golden yellows in a variety of floral and graphics.

We also just received Messy Hands from Michael Miller, a darling new juvenile print.  My favorite of that group is the Megatropolis, shown below.

It's My Birthday...

so I'll post pictures of whatever I please.  Which would be my kiddos...

Typical of child #2, Henry has not been photographed nearly as much as child #1, so I did my best this weekend to shoot a few of the little man.

This is the little man being dressed in some very girlie attire by Olivia.  She puts those shoes on her feet wrong as well.  (And yes, she still uses her binky.  Shhh!!!)

My mornings go so much better when the two of them are in crib jail.  As long as they don't touch each other in any way.

And to further celebrate my birthday, I think I will leave early.

Organic Canvas is here- Oasis from Marcus

We just got in Marcus Fabric's organic canvas, called Oasis.  It is a light canvas (I would say approximately 5 oz.   Definitely lighter than a 7 oz. canvas.)  woven of Certified Organic cotton and using eco-friendly dyes. 

Certified Organic canvas has been grown in a field that has been chemical and pesticide-free for the previous three years.  The Eco-friendly dyes are free of toxins and are disposed of properly.  The dying process minimizes energy and resources and also requires safety for the workers and fair wages.

We're currently carrying this fabric in eleven colors.

Shade Garden is Here!

Michelle Engel Bencsko's Shade Garden Fabric is here!  This is Michelle's second collection for Henry Glass Fabrics.  You may remember her first group, Dogwood Blossoms.  The small scale and soothing colorways of Shade Garden make it perfect for children's clothes and bedding. 

Michelle is fairly new to the licensed design of fabric, but she's been doing her own for quite some time at Cicada Studio.  She is yet another independent designer who has designed, produced and distributed her own fabric.  She sells her digitally printed designs in her Etsy shop.  Her prints are linen/cotten blends in beautiful graphics that would translate great into throw pillows or handbags.

But don't think she has stopped there!  She and Gina Pantastico recently launched Cloud9 Fabrics, a fabric company focused on organic cotton prints.  And their first fabric collection just came in!  Michelle designed My Happy Garden and she and Gina joined forces to have it mass produced on organic cotton and printed with organic, solvent-free dyes which are OEKO-TEX certified.  Look for it to be out and about (and here) soon!

In the meantime, soak up some of the prolific designer's goodness with Shade Garden.

I'm on the cover of Glamour!

Don't I look awesome?  I can't believe they made me look that good!!  Here, let's get a closeup...

 

Oh, you didn't think I was the blonde, did you?  No, no.  JCaroline Home is featured in the Glamour giveaway section this month and that little orange button on the front tells you all that.  Okay, not really.  But Page 46 does...

 

And there is nothing that says you can't enter too!  The contest starts September 8, so I'll post a link for you then!

Updated:  The link is up.  Enter the Glamour Giveaway here!

New Bamboo Felt

We just got in new XoticFelt, which is 50% bamboo and 50% rayon.  It is the new "sustainable" felt, but quite frankly, I don't know why wool felt isn't sustainable.  The sheep isn't killed, just sheared, right?  Anyway, the nice thing about this felt is it is super soft.  Not itchy at all.  We sell it by the yard and fat quarter. 

So what is that conglomeration of stuff you see in the picture?  Well, it's a felt pillow project that if I ever finish, you'll get to see.  It's from the cover of Anne Kyyro Quinn's Felt Furnishings.  The book is full of home dec projects using felt.   I sent her some felt and she wrote a book.  Well, not exactly in that order...

She did it in one color and I thought, "Hey!  If one color is good, five must be even better!"  Isn't that how must design disasters start?  Anyway, I will take a pic if I finish, but give me a few weeks.  My little helpers at home haven't given me much time.