Bari J.

Work Play

Weekend synopsis:

When there wasn't some of this...

Or some of this...

or this...

There was some of this...

And I loved this...

And I know I promised you some of this...

I don't normally gush this much...

I know. That's a lie. I gush all the time, but this time I just have to!

I so wish that I had been at the Portland Quilt market last week. Judging from the photos I've seen on Flickr, there was much to be seen and stunned by. I'm a-boo-hooin' about my serious lack of judgement in not just flitting up there for at least a day.

I've been browsing around at the blogs of peeps that were there for photos... check out new FreeSpirit Designer, Melissa Averino's (her Sugar Snap line is to be released in August) Yummy Goods for some great pics for instance...

Can't decide which line I like the best, but I have to say that I am just blown away by "Drawing Room" by one of my favorites, Anna Maria Horner. Honest to goodness, that woman just can't be stopped!

You must go check out the Drawing Room Flickr group, if you haven't already. Oh, and I just got an email that there will be some of the new fabric available on her website at 9am EST Monday. I think I may just get up at the crack of dawn out here in California to get some of Anna Maria's incredible home fashion weight, Drawing Room collection!

Super Tuesday, The Biggest Mess Ever, & A Must-Have Tool... All of which have anything to do with one another.

Super Tuesday:

I feel obliged to say get your rears out there and vote if you are in a Super Tuesday state of the U.S.! I did my civic duty right after kid duty (morning drop off). I left with a big smile on my face, and am wearing my, "I Voted" sticker proudly. For some reason, this election seems really exciting to me... more than in the past.

The Biggest Mess Ever:

That done, I got myself right to work and made this mess... with-in about 30 minutes.

There is another picture of what is on the floor that I was too embarrassed to show you. So, I'll let you imagine.

A Must-Have Tool:

As I was sewing up the creation that was made in this hurricane, I was delighted to use my new Purple Thang (yes, that's really what it's called). I lost the other one so I bought a new one. And when I bought it I said, "I just know I'm going to find that Purple Thang when I get home.". And guess what? I did. Now I have two Purple Thangs which makes me happy because there is one ready and available for backup when I drop the first one behind the desk again.

As a good citizen, I also feel obliged to tell you that Purple Thang is the most wonderful tool ever. It has prevented me from sewing straight through my finger on many occasions. Purple is a most perfect tool for these collage type sewing projects where I have a million little scrappies sticking up all over the place and the free-motion quilting foot does not make a good barrier. Trust me, I know... thank goodness it was only the plastic that came down on my finger becaue that sucker hurt!

You can get a Purple Thang here... I have no affiliation with this website... just sharing. It seems to be a good resource for all sorts of goodies.

Out with the old, in with the new!

I am just chopping at the bit to get out the Spring line here on all of January 4, so I'm selling off my "old" yardage. Check my etsy store frequently for updates... Today I've listed these...

Spring Has Sprung...

  Well, not really. But that's what I'm working on. Just got back from a textile show where I placed my order for Spring's fabrics. Without letting the cat totally out of the bag here's a little tiny hint of two of the colorways. I can't even tell you how excited I am.

P.S. I also found Fall/Winter 08/09 fabrics...I'm gonna be really secretive about that... la la la.

 

Congratulations, Quilter's Inn!

My favorite fabric store has just been published. I not only love Quilter's Inn for it's fabulous array of products, but also because it's where I started my journey with Bari J. The wonderful women there helped me find fabrics, fix up patterns, and taught me techniques. They promoted and supported me for these three wonderful years!!! Thank you and congratulations! XO,

~bari

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Still scrappin'...

More "Scraplique"

I'm 'a havin' fun in the studio tonight. The husband is at a poker game, so there's no one to answer to and somehow or another I have quiet kids. It's a good thing too, because I actually have a lot of work... fun work, but work none-the-less. This is part of a handbag I was messing with tonight. I hope you can see the layering in the photo. It actually has a lot of depth in person. I started with a floral print & began cutting flowers out of another print and layering one on top of the other. There is also a lot of bunged up thread bits... I'm thinking of throwing in a word or two (maybe from a selvage?) somewhere secretly to see if anyone notices. There are also two vintage brooches hanging out in this little garden. I hope to have a lot of pieces similar to this one for a show I am doing in September. Stockpiling now for Fall and Winter. Loads of fun, but my husband has started to call my studio "The Cave". And he asks when the "bear" (ha ha, never heard that one before) is coming out.

Thank you, Cindy!

Just finished up a little photo shoot with my beautiful model friend, Cindy... These are some of my favorites. Yup, the woman even has pretty feet!

 

Quiet Evening

Tonight I was able to work on some things that have been haunting me as I fall asleep at night... that's what the pad of paper next to my bed is for. Except that when I read it in the morning the "creative genius" that I have in the middle of the night is not nearly as genius. Usually it's just ramblings and often my writing is completely indiscernible. This is one of the non-sequiturs that has come up over and over again. It's what I do instead of counting sheep.

Bags, stuff, and a cool new find to add to the "Who do you love?" List

A deep breath...A whole slew of handbags went marching out the door late this afternoon. I had meant to have them out by 9am, but, stupid me, I stayed up until 2am last night. This means that the girl who never oversleeps (at least not in my life with children unless I am super sick) overslept. I didn't wake up until my 9 year old jumped on the bed at 10am scaring me half to death. 10am! I don't think I've slept that late in 11 years, since my Anna was born.

This episode had me off kilter for the rest of the day, flying around in my nightgown getting things done. But that group is gone (I bid them a fond farewell, tears and all.) and on to the next group which is due next week. Can't complain. It's all good. BTW, if you just have to have one of these handbags, you'll need to check in with Elizabeth at Daphne's Cottage. She holds claim to them. I don't know if you'll be able to pry them from her, but you can try.

That said, I'm sick of talking about me and want to mention an artist I "bumped into" on the web. Shannon from Miss Fickle Media wrote a comment on this blog. So of course I linked over to her Etsy shop and I must tell you I was blown away. I love what she does and put in an order right away. And honestly, I'm sort of a browser on Etsy. So this is saying something. I ordered one of these with a "B" of course. And another that I can't remember because I had a really hard time choosing. The one below I really like too though!

In other super fun news... you may remember the post I wrote about "needing" espadrilles. I did end up buying an unimpressive pair later that week. However, to my great surprise the owner of espadrillesetc.com whom I mentioned in the post came across what I wrote. She is actually from San Francisco... such a small world. AND, she offered to send me a pair of espadrilles as a gift. Really, I can't get over the kindness I have found with the network of women on the internet. It made me think of this post from Anna Maria Horner about kindness which brought me to really unexpected tears.  I haven't told you how much I love Anna Maria's work. I know most of you know of her, but if not, I hope you will get to know her work. Also, you HAVE to look at the photos of her home on Flickr. OH MY GOODNESS. You'll just die when you see the colors. IN-CRED-IBLE! Anyways, I am trying to get to a great big THANK YOU to Laura from espadrillesetc.com. Gracias.

That's enough gushing for now, I suppose. Except it is late and my internal clock is way off so I could probably go on for hours.  Nothing a dose of benedryl can't cure, I suppose.

Handbags, Handbags everywhere!

Holy Moly! I just picked up a slew of handbags & am now quite overwhelmed. I'll be posting some of them on my website in the coming week. The rest, sadly, are sold. I hate saying goodbye. Here are just a few.

 

Back To Work

I think I might be happiest when I am working...

Chirp.

Friday Night Prints

Maybe this will be a regular feature on this blog. The prints, I mean. Hmmm. Thinking about it.

This first print came from a line drawing I did and some other stuff I threw in. I love cameos, and will soon be doing an applique for a handbag.  The second one is copyright free art that I altered. I so need to learn to do another kind of print beside this staggered thing I'm doing. At least the second one is a two-way. I have dragged out a ton of books and have been pouring over them. Something is a-brewin', I think. Who knows?

Applique Day

Sunday Evenings

Sunday evenings when the kids are winding down and going to bed I usually end up coming in here and playing around for an hour or so. Recently, I've been goofing around with Photoshop. I'm loving making various patterns. I have what I think is the very first version of Photoshop which really stinks, though. I know there are much more sophisticated ways of doing this, but here's my pattern attempt for tonight. Not to be huffy and puffy, but I might decide to do something with this image someday, so please don't use it without my permission. Thanks so much. Now I'm off to be tortured watching the Sopranos with my husband who needs some company.

Saturday Sewing

Since my studio was so neat and clean, I had to mess it up. I was actually painting a wall in the kitchen when it occured do me that a teacup applique would be very cute. Of course this thought would not have left my head if I didn't get in here and act upon it... I'm so compulsive. Then after I was finished creating a little cut-out, I thought, "now, where am I going to put this?" I quickly scanned the room to find something that would make a good canvas, and when I couldn't find one, I made a dash up to my closet where I found this skirt that was just screaming to be cut up. Isn't that fabric delicious? I just got it yesterday... which only added to the necessity to sew today. I wore this cutie out to dinner tonight already. BTW, when I did the whole "look what I made!" thing to my husband (which is a regular occurence around here), I got a "Oh honey, you're so cute." I of course took this as a demeaning comment and insisted on an explanation to which he responded, "Aren't skirts supposed to have a slit? I think you took out the slit." Aaargh! I guess I should just be glad he didn't ask me about that wall in the kitchen.