Bari J.

Bari J. + Suzy-Homemaker = Kid Pattern Yumminess!

About a year ago I mentioned to my friend Suzy of Suzy-Homemaker if she'd like to do a project with me. I adore Suzy. She's not only an incredible designer, she's also one of the best friends a girl could ask for.

It's been a long time coming... please welcome Suzy as the first licensed pattern designer for Bari J.! I love what she's done with the first two girls clothing patterns. Both are available this June. Retailers, please contact me for ordering information at Bari at BariJonline dot com.

 

Also coming in June... two bag patterns by yours truly...

All of the fabrics featured are from my LillyBelle line for Art Gallery Fabrics.

 

Good heavens, I think I just gave birth to an 15 pound baby!

(A fabric line reveal!)

For whatever reason, this line was incredibly difficult to bring to life. It was in my head, but I couldn't get it out. I kept telling Pat, "I'm stuck. I'm stuck.". And then suddenly, I was unstuck... and out she came! It was like giving birth, no kidding. And, dang the kid had a big head.

Giggle.

Here is just a little sneak peek ... She's inspired by my latest obsession, Downton Abbey. I have my sister-in-law, Mary (my brother's wife... we have a couple Marys), to thank for getting me hooked. Thank you, Mary! 

 

Making projects look professional... pillow details and a zipper how-to.

Today was the start of pillow making for my quilt market booth. If there's anything I've come to really understand in the past few years, it's the details that really count in making projects look professional. For pillows in particular there are a couple details that I think make things really have polish.

On this pillow, you'll note several things. First, the corners are rounded. After I cut, I always take a bowl from the kitchen and draw rounded lines at the corners. This way, I don't have those dog-eared corners where there's no fluff.

Second, I always cut my fabric an inch shorter than the pillow size. If I have a 24" pillow, I cut at 23". When I pop the pillow form in the cover, it really fills it up nice and fluffy. Love that.

Another thing that I'm really loving these days in the way of detail is adding things like piping and ruffles... and fringe. And pom poms. Here, there's piping outlining the mid-section of this pillow. I think adding a detail like this gives added punch and definition. For the ruffle I used a solid from Art Gallery Pure Elements to frame the pillow very nicely. The Pure Elements colors are uber-rich. If you are interested in an easy way to do piping, I love using Nancy's Zieman's Wrap and Fuse piping which made by Clover. It makes piping super easy. It is cording covered with fusible web, so you simply cut your fabric, wrap it around and fuse it together, saving you a sewing step... and pins. I adore it. Also, it comes in several sizes. 

I additionally think that a pillow should be fluffy. I always use fusible fleece as interfacing to give it some added oompf. 

One last thing... it's easy to make a pillow back where you overlap two pieces, insert the pillow between and use ribbon or trim to tie it, but I think a zipper makes it have a professional polish you really can't get with the overlapping method. A couple years ago, I learned an extra easy way to do this... here's how...

1. Divide the width of your pillow in two, and add 1 1/4" to the width to get the measurement for the piece you should cut. So, if your front is cut at 23" X 23", your back will be cut at 24 1/4" x 23". Cut the piece in half so you have two pieces measuring 12 1/8" x 23".
2. Place the two pieces right sides together, and BASTE a 5/8" seam allowance along the raw edge of the 23" side.
3. Press your seam open.
4. Place a zipper the length of the seam on the wrong side of the fabric so it is centered on the seam and pin it in place. The pins should go in horizontally. Do not trim the zipper at the top. The bit of fabric on the zipper above the pull should be aligned with the top of the seam. Trim the bottom to the length of the fabric if it is longer than your pillow.
5. Turn the panel over so your zipper is underneath. With your zipper foot on, feel for where the zipper teeth are, and top stitch the length of the zipper about a scant 1/4 from the zipper teeth, removing the pins from underneath as you go along. Do the same on the other side of the zipper teeth.
6. Open your basted stitches, and voila! Your zipper can now go up and down... but remember, if you cut the zipper, don't open it all the way or you won't get it back together. You can now sew your pillow as ususal, but do so with the zipper partly open so you can turn it when you are done. Also, again if you cut the zipper, be very careful as you get to the teeth at the bottom. I lengthen the stitch there so it will go over and test by turning manually that I won't be hitting the teeth. Also, I then go back and forth over that area several times to reinforce it.

I hope that helps, and if you want, on the next pillow I'll videotape as I go along... I have at least two more to go before market!

Details on the fabric here: The maing fabrics are LillyBelle, of course... the center is Lily Bouquet and the sides are Flower Pop. The piping is Art Gallery's lace elements, and like I said before, the ruffle is an Art Gallery Pure Elements.

i love zippers, why you must buy this pattern, and please don't sew your fingers.

Sometimes we suffer for our art. But we probably shouldn't sew our fingers for it. However, that's exactly what I did in the making of this pattern. I should say before I start that the actual injury didn't turn out nearly as bad as it looked and is healing well. It just hurt like hell at the time.

Earlier this week, I was installing a very simple zipper for this new pattern. However, I made the hole for the zipper just a tiny bit too short. The metal part of the zipper was in the way. So... I decided to cheat. I made the stitch slightly longer and was going to push past the metal part. Which is something you shouldn't do. I should have made the hole slightly bigger and avoided the metal. And if I really didn't want to do that I could have made the stitch slightly longer and manually turned the needle past the metal. And if I really HAD to use the petal to sew through, I could have used a "Purple Thang" to push the fabric through instead of my hands.

But no. Never you mind that I knew all the various ways to cheat without sewing my hand, I went ahead and did it anyways. 

The noise of the machine hitting my finger was ... unusual. I didn't know what had happened for a second. Except that there was searing pain for some reason. I must have looked away. And then I looked down. The needle had broken. It was in my finger nail and I could see a tiny bit of it sticking out the other fleshy side of my finger. 

Blurg. 

Very quickly, I pulled the needle out. This happened in a matter of seconds after the collision. 

And then, my brain apparently started to digest what just happened. I wandered into the bathroom to wash my hand (hub came in after me), when suddenly I thought I was going to vomit. My head started spinning, I started sweating, the blood rushed out of my face and blammo. I passed out. 

Talk about a drama queen. Jeezy pa-leesy! I'm telling you. While the nail is cracked, what this injury looks like is that I had a tiny shot in my nail. It feels at the most, bruised. But in my defense, I swear, there was really a tip of a sewing machine needle in my nail. 

All this said. I believe this may have happened for a reason. You see, the good news its, you will benefit greatly for my suffering. I now know that if the zipper is 7" I should write the pattern to say the hole should be 7 1/4" which will put the metal pieces out of the way of any cantankorous needles. Go ahead. Thank me for saving your fingers.

The other good news: I totally adore this bag. (Warning: Here comes the sales pitch sounding stuff... but really I'm just excited! Ok. I also believe that this pattern better darn well sell to make the finger sewing episode worth it. You know what I'm sayin'.)

I think it feels part sporty and part sweet. It has pockets out the ying yang for convenience and ruffles for the girly me. The vertical zipper pocket is a great spot for my phone. Plus, inside there are two other pockets: A divided patch pocket and another (horizontal) zippered pocket. This kind of zipper, while it looks complicated is shockingly easy to install. I would say, even easier than a little zipper pouch. Really. I'm not kidding. I've been a fan of zippers for a long time, but I've fallen in love with this installation, and I'm putting them everywhere. Love love.

The other feature I'm crazy over is the strap. It actually can be used as both a hand strap, and be worn longer to go cross body or over the shoulder. You'll see in the photo at the top the strap is doubled. Below is the long strap. I think the hardware makes it look super professional too. And it's all hardware and zippers that you can get at the big box store... you know the one. 

Below you can see how the strap hooks onto itself to make a shorter handle.

For the magnet, I did something extra special. I have long had a battle with magnetic closures because after much use on fabric they wear and eventually tear your bag. Here I've created a reinforcement that adds detail and a punch of color. I've noticed this on some of my store bought bags, and I love the feature.

Here are the details:

The fabric, of course, is from my LillyBelle line from Art Gallery... Henna and Garden Rocket on the front and the strap is flower pop. The lining is a staple from Art Gallery Floral Elements group.

This pattern and LillyBelle will be available in early June.

Your Local Quilt Shop (Referral Rewards) + New Pattern of the Month Program

I have several people tell me, "I've been looking for your patterns, but my local quilt store doesn't carry them.". I know that there are many online stores that carry them (including my own). But sometimes people just want to take a good look inside the pattern booklet before they buy. This makes sense to me.

So I had a thought. Maybe my friends can pass the good word about "Keeping it Real Sewing Patterns by Bari J." on for me... and I can give them free stuff for doing it. 

So here's the dealio... If you'd like Bari J. patterns in your LQS, send me an email at bari at barijonline dot com with the name of the shop and your address (so I can mail you your rewards). I'll email you a PDF brochure that you can print out and bring on over there. If the shop orders, I'll send you two free patterns for every ten they buy. You can pick from any patterns in my line including the PDFs. 

What do you think? Let's get Bari J. patterns in shops around the world! You in? I'd love your wisdom and thoughts on this too... is this a good incentive? Do you have any other ideas? I'd love to hear.

On another note... I've decided to offer 20% off a pattern every month. This month's pattern is the la Boulangerie Apron pattern.

It features a free-motion quilted edge (find out how easy it is here!), deep pockets and an adorable styled waist band.

Just use code "febpattern" to receive the discount at check out. The offer is good until Feb 28, 2012.

Introducing... LillyBelle!

My first line with Art Gallery Fabrics will be released soon... for now I'm so excited to tell you a little about it and share a bit of the world of LillyBelle with you! Please watch the video below. Also, please join Pat Bravo and me for a live twitter chat tomorrow at 1PM EST ... details here.

 

First Bari J. how-to video... Fabric Collage How-to plus a free collage pattern at Gen Q!

I can't tell you the number of times I've been asked for a how-to video on fabric collage. This technique, which I use for many of my sewing patterns and in Inspired to Sew, is among my favorites. It involves free motion quilting raw edged fabric motifs to create a lovely shabby design. Here are a couple extra helpful hints: A question I get asked a lot is "do you turn your edges under?". The answer is no. Another question I get is "should I glue the motifs down?". The answer to this is also no. First off, it tends to gunk up the needle. Second, when you use glue or iron on materials such as fusible web the collage doesn't get the frayed edge and scrunchy look we are going for. Enjoy the video and let me know if you have any questions!

 

For a brand new, FREE, project that uses fabric collage head to today's post on Gen Q. I've created a zipper wristlet pattern that will get you started. For other fun projects, please see my book, Inspired to Sew, as well as my sewing patterns which you can find here. Kitchen Art is among my most popular patterns.

I've just posted the Beachside Holiday PDF sewing pattern! It's right in time for the weather to get cooler... you'll be wanting to take a beachside holiday very soon.

To kick off this pattern, I'm giving away two PDF copies.

Comment anytime today or tomorrow before 8PM PST and you can win.

Available on my website OR  patternspot.com AND will soon be at fatquartershop.com as well! 

The winners have been picked. Comments are now closed. Please see the next post.

Last night on Twitter Oprah wrote "Intention defines outcome. Don't believe me? Look at your own life.". She says this a lot. But last night, after a somewhat emotional weekend, it got me looking at my own life more than usual. 

What are my intentions? Overall, I intend to be a good person, to contribute to the lives of my kids, family and others in a positive way, to live a happy and meaningful life. But does what I say and do match my larger intentions? What are the intentions of all of the little actions I take and do they match up with my overall intention?

When I was in acting school, we'd dissect a script this way. We'd look at each and every word and ask what the intention of the character was in saying what they were saying. For the truth is, with each word we say, with every action, there is an intended outcome.

For instance, what is my intention in writing about intention?

For myself, I intend to become clearer on what my intentions are. But what do I want you to think, say or feel? I want you to know that my intentions are good. I want to be upfront about my intentions and make them clear to everyone who reads what I write over the internet, whether it be here or on social media. And I want you to know what my intentions are for my business as well.

So in black and white...

My intentions in my business:

1. To create pretty, unique, fun and useful products for the sewing, gift, home and paper (etc) industries.

2. To offer inspiration about creating and sewing and motivate people to create.

3. To make a living doing what I love... and send my kids to college with money made doing what I love.

My intentions on my blog and social media (twitter et al):

1. To let you know about new products at Bari J.

2. To build brand awareness.

3. To let you in on tidbits of my personal life and behind the scenes at Bari J.

4. To build connections and friendships.

5. To be social.

6. To generate business for Bari J. in order to make a living doing what I love.

 

Ah. There it is. That feels good. Thanks, Oprah.

Lastly, I want to say, I intend to think about what my intentions are with each action and each word.

I intend to be intentional.

I told ya' I'd get it done! For your stitching pleasure, the PDF pattern for "Sister Friend" embroidery is now available in my shop!

How long have I been threatening to put embroidery floss on my website? 

Good news for all who have been asking about it... I finally pulled my head outa' you know where and did it!

Cosmo Multiwork will be here tomorrow in my nine favorite colors!

I gotta tell you, this stuff is the bomb. As you can see, it comes on a spool. And it's 2 strands already... no separating! It's the highest quality floss from Japan and sews like butter... butter, I tell you. (Think I'm excited about it?)

You can order them individually for $4.50 each or get 9 for the price of 8 at $36 when you order the all of them together. Make sure you choose the packaged version at the bottom of the page for the discounted price. 

In other news, I thought of a really sweet idea today that I'm not sure I can execute, but I'm gonna try like heck. Can't tell yet... but it will be for all of us who love embroidery. I'll let you know when I pull it off.

Happy Stitching!

 
It's a hard bit to swallow, being reviewed is. Truth told? I don't have exactly the thickest skin ever so I'd been putting off reading reviews of my book, Inspired to Sew. You know, when you send your baby out into the world, the last thing you want to see is her criticized. 

Admittedly, I'd glanced to make sure nothing totally evil had been said, but today I got brave and ventured over to Amazon to take a deeper look. And turns out I was worried over nothing. Isn't that always the way it is? Nine reviewers said really really nice things and there are even a couple great editorial reviews. 

At any rate, I'm not saying all this to get you all to say "aren't you wonderful" blah blah... But just to say that it's so nice to see my work be appreciated. I'm honored beyond words that you like what I do. To all who have purchased Inspired to Sew and to the sweet people who left reviews of it... Thank you. You make my days.

 

I've been asked over and over for pdf sewing patterns. I've debated, I've hemmed, I've hawed, but I've finally made the leap into the "wave of the future" with a few downloadables! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think.  So... how about I do a little PDF pattern giveaway? Comment here, letting me know what you think of PDF patterns... Do you use them? Do you prefer them over paper? What do you like about them? What would you like to see from me?

Tomorrow at 5PM(ish) I'll pick a random winner to receive one of the two pdf patterns below for free. Pleeeeaaase don't forget to leave me your email address so I can send it to you, k?

There are two PDF patterns available and you can check them out on my website (scroll to bottom for pdf's) and at PatternSpot.com.

New, and not available on paper:

A long time favorite:

And the winner is, #12, Mary Grace! 

Comments are now closed

I'm so excited to be able to finally tell you this. I have a really fun new product coming out. I am working with Melanie Royals of Royal Design Studio on a new venture... stencils. The kind you paint on your walls. Melanie is expert extraordinaire in this field. I've loved her work for a long while and I'm so thrilled to be working with her.

The Bari J. Collection is coming soon! Here's a little tiny taste of what's in store:

copyright Bari J. 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I'm exhausted. I shouldn't be writing this because I should go to sleep, but I felt compelled to tell you that I'm exhausted. I've finally got my patterns about ready to go to print (thank heavens), I've been sewing like a mad woman and everyone in my house is ticked off at me for ignoring them. And that includes the dogs.

People in this house are not used to me throwing frozen lasagna at them and saying "see ya". And heavens to Betsy, they've had leftovers too. People are not happy with me. They're socks don't match, their clothes are not clean and more than once a teenager has called from school to say, "Hey, my lunch account is not full." That's life in this household right now. That's life in this household the month before quilt market.

Ah well, whatever and whatever. I have my patterns almost ready, I've ordered postcards (above), the booth is being built (thanks to one INCREDIBLE Super Husband who has more fabulous ideas than you can imagine), and samples are being made. Oh, and I ordered "I'm Inspired to Sew" pins for 100 lucky people. I'll pass them out at my book signing (Saturday the 14th at quilt market, C&T booth) and then the rest will get given away at my booth. And "oh" again! I have a surprise, non-fabric related product that will most likely debut in my booth. It's pretty stinking cool, if I say so myself. 

Maybe someday I'll send my kids to college with $ from this business and they'll thank me for not matching their socks.

More art for your kitchen... My fourth Spring pattern release is a sweet little apron. It has two rounded pockets and features a double skirt with a collaged border plus a heart shaped waistband. Instructions for free motion quilting and fabric collage are included.

Based on the original Millie Fleur from my handbag line, this new sewing pattern is updated a bit. Now it's fully reversible. It's also easy to sew with a drawstring closure. This pattern will be available early May. Featured here in my Paris Apartment fabric line from Lecien.

Edit (7:20PM): My sister just pointed out that it was the day of my grandma Millie's birthday. This bag is named for her. I knew it was her birthday when I wrote a check this morning, but it didn't occur to me until my sister said something on about it on Facebook. Oddly, I felt driven to post this today. I finished the sample late last night and spent the day photographing. Happy birthday, Grandma. You must be watching down from above.

It even has a pretty back side with a sweet pleated pocket:

And you get two bags for one with it's reverse side.

After a somewhat painful emergency root canal and a itchy all-over allergic reaction to the ensuing anti-biotics (I'll spare you the gross details), I needed this to arrive today. The large floral is the second strike off for this particular Paris Apartment print. And the orange is the exact shade of happy I was looking for. The whole line is now off to production in Japan.

 

My mommy is in town for a visit. And she found the unfinished version of this pillow which I made in July for a class sample. It's a project in Inspired to Sew and this one is an UFO I'd entirely forgotten about. Mom wanted it and that was just the excuse I needed to divert my attention from what I was doing and make it into a pillow for her. Glad it's finished and has a new owner.

I did manage to finished up two of the Slice Fabrique projects and sent them off to Utah for photographs before I got distracted. Of course I took a few of my own before they left.

And in other news, my studio appears in the newest edition of Studios magazine with the one an only Ty Pennington on the cover!

And look! We're BFF's in the table of contents... Yup. That's my studio pictured right beneath his. 

Ty Pennington. Bari J. Ackerman. BFFs. 

I'll be getting a few copies in stock soon if anyone wants one. 

 

 

A ways back I posted about a project I was working on for Making Memories Slice Fabrique Digital Cutting Machine... custom applique designs that can be cut out automatically. I don't know if maybe you remember?

Well, I'm so excited about it now, I could pee! Yesterday I received a sample digital card with my very own designs on it. You guys, it is SO flipping cool. I love this thing. It is so easy. You just iron fusible web on your fabric back, set it on the Slice cutting board and press a button. So totally addicting.

I've been dying to show you. My card, like my upcoming fabric line is called, Paris Apartment, and the designs will coordinate. I'll be designing quilts and projects to go with both that will debut at Quilt Market. This is a small sneak peek a just a few of the projects. There are 18 layered designs on the card altogether.

Above is the chandelier design (yes, there's a chair too!). It can be cut to assemble to an amazing finished size of 17 1/2". This one will go on a 24" pillow. It took me less than an hour to cut all the pieces (there are 22 in all). I machine appliqued them on and did little French knots for the drippy crystals. It's made from the Lecien Flower Sugar line.

This cake stand design is 5.2" wide. I'm making this piece into a tea towel. I used my light box to trace the words "let them eat cake" on it and then I used a backstitch with Cosmo Multi-work Embroidery Floss to embroider it. The fabric is Paris Apartment and a touch of Flower Sugar.

Below is the cameo design. I'll be doing a bit of embroidery around it then leaving it in the hoop to display. I've again mixed Paris Apartment and Flower Sugar. The cameo itself is a dark grey shot cotton.

Fun, right? Well, back to work... and making dinner and cleaning up this joint. I'm teaching tomorrow (see sidebar) and my mom is coming to visit for a week! I'm so looking forward to all our misbehavin! I'm taking her to my favorite tea room, Crown and Crumpet! I'll take pictures to share, no worries. 

 

 

 

In my real life, I've never been to Paris, let alone lived there. But like many Americans, it's something I dream of.

My upcoming fabric line from Lecien, Paris Apartment, is how I imagine I'd live my life there. 

The names of the prints (all translated to French) express rooms that would be in my apartment, designs you'd see in it and the people who would be with me. There's a sewing room for Anna (le salle du couture d'Anna), my 15 year old daughter...

and a salon (le salon d'Emily) for Emily who is 13.

I imagine Super Husband and I would enjoy relaxing in our lovely sun room (le salle du soleil) and I'd fill the place with chintz prints (le chintz moderne) and vintage linen (le linge d'epoque). And of course, it would be overflowing with flowers from our little garden (le jardin).

Of course, I'd love for you to visit me in Paris. I'll save a guest room just for you.

 

PS. These are fabric "strike-offs". They are the first prints that the mill in Japan does to show the fabric company and designer what it will look like and so color etc can be approved. What you are seeing here is the first I'm seeing on fabric. Some of these colors may not end up in the finished line. 

This line begins to show to distributors and stores in March and it sounds like they will end up in US stores in June.

 

 

Did you sew today? After the gym, errands and a large round of procrastination via Twitter, I ended up with an ounce of afternoon sewing time. I've been wanting to make a spider web quilt even though probably everyone else is totally done with them, so I started that quest. Now, however, I'm thinking of making just this little star portion into a zippy pouch because I don't really have time to finish it and I loathe UFOs sitting around. The Ladies in Waiting (projects I have fabric and ideas for already) own a large enough portion of this studio. So this may be as far as I ever get on a spiderweb quilt. I guess I just wanted to know how to do it, then once I knew, I didn't care anymore. I'm like that sometimes.

Were you inspired to sew today? What'd you make?

In other news...

My good friend Monica asked me to pick the winner for her Inspired to Sew Giveaway...

So here goes... 

Out of 193 (wow!) entries the winner is #19! Nancy, claim your copy of Inspired to Sew!

 

 

 

 
Excuses for sewing these little bags when I'm totally supposed to be focused on creating new sewing patterns:

1. I'm clearing scraps out of my studio to make room for more creative thought.

2. During the process of creating these bags I might just come up with that one incredible idea that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

3. My mom has requested a bag like this but with pockets for her knitting needles. So now I have to make at least one more.

4. It relaxes me. If I'm relaxed I'm more likely to come up with some fab sewing pattern designs.

5. I need more bags. No. Really. I need more bags.

6. I'm using up my supply of leather handles which is taking space in this studio.

7. They are starting to fill the website. Sort of.

8. Creativity breeds more creativity? 

9. I can't help myself.

10.  I can't help myself.

 

 

Have you ever wondered why one of your favorite bloggers was Inspired to Sew in the first place? What got them started? Who taught them to sew? Why do they love it so much? The Inspired to Sew blog tour will include answers to these questions and ...

each will Give Away a copy of Inspired to Sew as well!

Mark your calendars and remember to stop by for a chance to win. And be sure to tell us why YOU are inspired to sew!

January 31 Mary Abrue: Confessions of a Craft Addict

February 1, Jennifer Paganelli: Sis Boom!

February 2, Jona Giammalava: Stop Staring and Start Sewing

Feb 3, Rashida Coleman Hale: I Heart Linen

Feb 4, Sarah Fielke: The Last Piece

Feb 5, Jenny Doh: Crescendoh

Feb 6, Cara Wilson: Cara Quilts

Feb 7, Deborah Moebes: Whipstitch Fabrics

Feb 8, Monica Solorio-Snow: Happy Zombie

And... (edit) Susanne Woods will be giving away a stack of my Full Bloom fabric (which is no longer in print) at the end of the tour on the Stash Books Blog on February 9! 

Long ago in a land far far away I started sewing handbags. My initial idea was to create one of a kind pieces. But before I knew it the business expanded into offering design your own handbags, and really what were production handbags. I was using a local seamstress and then a sewing contractor. What I loved, sewing, had gone off to someone else to do.

Over the years I came to realize that what I really connected with was sharing my love of sewing. By creating sewing patterns, focusing on writing a sewing book and doing surface/textile design I was back to my true passion. I couldn't be happier. 

I made the decision to make this the focus of my business a year ago, but I missed my little one-off projects that were so special you can't really make them into a pattern. And I hadn't really changed my website to reflect my change in focus either. So this past week I finally made the switch. 

 

I changed my "about" page to reflect the change, I fluffed up my home page, and I took down all the "old" finished products and replaced them with new one of kind pieces. I'll be offering my sewing patterns, my book, some fabric, and one of a kind handmade goodies made just by me. I simply listed three items yesterday. One sold within 20 minutes which made me realize that my instinct is probably the right one.

Today I've started making simple fun little items to continue to list on the website. The unfinished piece at the top of this post will be listed soon. It features my some of my favorite techniques: collage, patchwork and a little bit of embroidery. 

I hope you'll keep watching for more of these little bits of happiness. And of course new sewing patterns, fabric and more are on the way as well. 

Happy sewing!

 

From the first stitch I ever took, I was hooked. I was hooked on fabric, on thread, on color, on pattern and especially on the act of creating something out of nothing. It truly brings me happiness unlike anything else. That's why the name of my book is Inspired to Sew. Every project came about from this unending love of creating something sewn. I hope that the projects in it will inspire you to sew as well. 

Because I'm hoping you are, I've put an "I'm Inspired to Sew" blog button in my sidebar... feel free to "steal" the code for your blog! And if you are interested in a signed copy, they are now available to pre-order on my website. I expect them to ship next week. Use code, iminspiredtosew, for 10% off, and be sure to choose USPS for the least expensive shipping cost.

If you are local, there will also be a book signing at Wooden Gate Quilts in Danville, CA on January 22. I'd love to meet you there! Please check their class schedule as well, I will be teaching the Tea Party Accessories from the book on January 20 from 6 to 9 PM. 

Additionally, be on the look out for an upcoming blog tour! 

 

 

 

A long time ago in a land far far away (in my mind at least) I was pondering who I'd like to have write the foreword to my book.

One person came to mind. Jenny Doh. 

 

I met Jenny some time soon after I started making handbags. We were introduced by a common friend. Lucky for me, she happened to be up in the San Francisco area, and stopped by for a visit. Jenny is the kind of person who you instantly like. 

Through the years Jenny has been incredibly supportive of my work. I was featured  many of the Stampington publications when she was the Editor in Chief there (several pictured below). And I have since been featured on her brain-child website, CrescenDoh. I will also appear in her upcoming book, Signature Styles. 

I'm generally surprised by the warm reception my work has received. I'm especially grateful that Jenny took an interest in it. And tickled that she "gets it". 

As with most of my work, I created the projects in "Inspired to Sew" with a desire to have items in my life that are unique, have a artistic feel and yet are fashion-forward. I knew that Jenny would not only understand what I was trying to do, but also be able to put into words a meaningful Foreword that hopefully will Inspire YOU to Sew as much as the book itself does. I believe she did just that.

Jenny, I can't thank you enough!

 

 

(Photo of Jenny Doh from CresenDoh)

Knowing how much my girls love the softness of Minkee or Cuddle (they are brand names for those fluffy, soft wonderous fabrics), I grabbed a couple kits full of fat quarters several months ago to make some blankets for them for Hannukah. Of course, I procrastinated so long that they got them the day after Hannukah ended, but you're not counting, right? Day nine works for me.  I don't *love* the colors and prints of these, but they are workable, I think. Next time I plan on finding some of the Moda brand as I hear they have great colors to work with.

I had it in my head that this was going to be relatively easy, that I'd just whip them up and be on to the next thing. And I would have been if I knew then what I know now about working with these fabrics. So I thought I'd let you in on what I learned along the way. Some of these hints came from friends on Twitter where I vented my frustration.

1. Apparently a serger would do a fantastic job with Cuddle/Minkee. But I don't own one, so I was stuck with the sewing machine. But if you have one, Mary from Confessions of a Craft Addict says use it. 

2. Next I heard it would have helped a lot if I fused a woven cotton interfacing such as form flex to the back of it according to Debra Lynn from Fat Quarter Shop. I use that on everything, so I have no idea why I didn't think of that myself. But it was too late for the first blanket, and I was too lazy on the second one. But my bet is that this works like a charm.

3. I was smart enough to use a ton of pins, which really helped. In fact, I used 5 for every 8" square. I highly recommend taking the time to do this.

4. A walking foot is a great help if you have one.

5. For long stretches of rows, I started in the middle and sewed to one end, then the middle to the other end. This helped avoid much of the stretching along the way.

6. As I sewed blocks together I did end up cutting any corners that stretched a bit to square them up.

7. I pinned seams before I started a row, but if, as I approached, a seam wasn't matching, I did do a little stretching and tugging in the appropriate direction to "make" it match.

8. You can see I did the two quilts differently. I started with the fun Log Cabin block on the quilt below and used a ton of little squares around it. However, I quickly found this was going to cause me lots of pain with seams not matching etc, so the next one, I cut all 8 1/2" squares. Much better.

9. I did not bind these as if they were quilts, I simply placed the back and front of the blanket right sides together and then sewed them together leaving an opening to turn as if it was a pillow.

10. I also did not quilt these. I put in over 100 pins in one and tried to quilt by stitching in the ditch and made an immediate mess of the thing and ended up pulling out stitches (not an easy feat with this fabric). So my plan is that if the girls are finding the edges are turning funny as they use them, I'll go back and yarn tie them.

That's all folks... I think in the end these turned out really great. And I would totally work with this fabric again even though half way through I swore I'd never ever ever do so. I guess it's like having a baby. You forget all about the pain once you have the fruits of your labor in your arms. Well, sort of.

 

This has been a whirlwind week. I did a radio interview plus a tutorial and a giveaway were posted today!

If you missed my interview on Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Radio you can download the podcast here.  My interview was the one on December 6, 2010.

Check out Sew4home for the how-to on this project and a bit of the conversation I had with Editor, Liz Johnson.

And for a giveaway of my latest four patterns and my "Holiday Traditions" story, visit Where Women Create... There you'll find a giveaway a day and holiday traditions from many designers for their Twelve days of Christmas! They are already on day 9! Run on over there and sign up!

 

 

I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Quilt Market, but I thought you might want to know what my next fun secret was. Here's the low down: Making Memories is launching a new product for fabric cutting at Quilt Market in Houston called Slice Fabrique. And I am creating Bari J. co-branded custom shapes for it! Slice Fabrique is a digital fabric cutter. i.e.: No more cutting by hand! And because the designs are stored on a special SD card, you’ll save loads of money (and space) versus the manual die cutters. My designs will be based on my fabric and sewing pattern designs! This is what the little portable machine looks like (I actually have a PINK one):

 

(photo courtesy of Making Memories)

If you'll be at market don't forget to visit Making Memories at booths 2236-2239.

And I will be in booth 1261! See you soon!

 

I've been spending tons of time getting ready for quilt market where I'll be showing my newest sewing patterns made up in my latest fabric line, Country Lane (printed by Windham Fabrics). I'll also be promoting my book, Inspired to Sew, which is due out in January. And while I'm really excited about all of that, I've been keeping a couple other things under wraps. One of those, I've just been freed to talk about, the other I received a contract for last week and I believe word will be out next week. It's all pretty cool.

The big exciting news is my next fabric line will be out this Spring printed by a new company! I'll be with Lecien, a Japanese company, and fabric home of Monica Solorio-Snow, Brenda Riddle and Sarah Fielke et al. I'll not be announcing the name of the line or any of the details at this time, or at market in Houston, but I can tell you that I went beyond anything I've done before and I'm immensely proud. It will be released this Spring at market in Salt Lake City.

I do want to make mention of my friends at Windham, who I like and respect very much. Windham is a wonderful company to work with. My most current line, Country Lane, recently arrived in stores. I love it, and I can't wait to show you what I made with it for this market.

I'm so excited about having my very first solo booth. So because I went and dragged you over here with promises of fortune... Here's a little sneaky peek of bits and pieces of booth #1261... See you in HOUSTON!

tiny bits of my sign and logo... on.... hmmm what is that it's sitting on?

Postcards sent to me by C&T to promote my book...

Izzy taking a little nap in a bag:

Brochures, and ... ooh, are those new business cards?

Dude, have some bags! 

 

my most favoritest sewing technique ... collage.

And all these bits and pieces? You guessed it. For another collage. Part of a crazy whacked out idea I had last night... Can't wait to see how that turns out.

 

 

The next stop on the Country Lane Garden Walk is at the home of Blue Nickel studios with Scott Hansen.

Scott designed a beautiful runner which he's offering as a free pattern AND he's having a little giveaway! I also answered some questions I'm sure you'll be dying to know the answer to; like who my teenage idol was. I know! You were going to ask me that too, right?

 

I. Am. So. Excited. About this quilt.

It has everything I love: embroidery, applique and collage... with instructions for all of it. You'll learn French knots, backstitch, stem stitch, free-motion quilting and freezer paper applique. And it features all the good things in life: petit fours, cake, flowers, cute shoes and presents... Really, what more could you ask for? 

 
 

 

 

 

The trim is the pre-made crochet that I love which will be available from Above All Fabric. 
      

 Pre-orders for retailers and distributors are available by emailing me at (Bari at BariJonline dot com.) TBD: Oct 20.

 

 
 There's an informal-ish Country Lane Blog Tour going on, and I'm answering all sorts of fun and interesting questions. 

Stop by the blog of my friend, Stephanie at Little Lady Patchwork where I tell you all about how I got started doing what I do. I blab quite a bit of the details over there! And you are going to love Stefanie! Her work is fabulous! 

And while you are surfing... you might (I'm just saying) want to get in on a giveaway of Country Lane over at Quilting/Sewing Mecca, Fat Quarter Shop! 

I'll be announcing stops at the blogs of several other friends in the coming days! Keep your eyes peeled!

 

PS Pictures included are of the upcoming sewing pattern projects mentioned in the previous post... 'cause I have this rule about no posts without pictures. I wouldn't want to bore you. ;) 

The flower at the top is a bonus for the Flower Market Tote. 
 

As you know, handbags are my specialty. I love 'em, can't have enough of them and can't make enough of them. These two are amped up versions of bags that have been in my handbag line for many moons. They have special touches like rounded edges, crochet trim, added pockets, and tailored pin tucks. Bags for sewing patterns are so much more fun to make than finished bags. 

With finished bags you have to worry about whether you will be able to find someone who will sew a bag with rounded cuts or someone who will add special trim. And if you do find someone, you worry about how much it will cost to get them to do it the way you want it done. After-all, sewing contractors and manufacturers want to do it fast and on an assembly line. 

But with sewing patterns, the sky's pretty much the limit because the "end product" is being created with tender loving care by home sewers like you! What could be better for a designer than that? 

The bag below, which was the "Emily Tote" in my original line is now the Flower Market Tote. It's been given a curvy opening at the top and a long rounded top double pocket with pre-made crochet trim on it's front. The trim I used is made by Moda and is available through stores which will be listed on the pattern ... I may end up carrying it as well. I love the stuff! 

This bag, which was the "Lara Hobo" in my original line is now the "Notting Hill Hobo". It has added pin tucks to give it tailored look, and it comes in two styles (patchwork or solid fabric) and two sizes. There are instructions for free motion quilting a pretty motif onto your bag as well. 

 

Both bags are available for wholesale pre-order through me (email me at Bari at Barijonline Dot com), and they will be available through distributors soon as well.
 

  

I'm so excited about this quilt I just can't keep it to myself any more. This pattern, 1 of at least 4 that will be released in October is my very first quilt pattern for sale. It's a traditional zigzag quilt with a modern twist. In what would be the neutral rows, I've incorporated striped fabrics which are reversing directions, and then (because more is more and I couldn't help myself) I added giant rick rack to add a some flair. I hope you like it as much as I do. More to come very soon!

 

 

Here she is! Hot off the computer of Stash Books creative designer, Kristy Zacharias. Kristy took images from a project in the book as well as from my fabrics to create this gorgeous cover with vintage spools that were photographed here in my studio. I could not be more pleased with it! I'm also very excited to announce that Inspired to Sew is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

 
 

I thought the Gracie Girl Doll Shoe Pincushion seemed a little lonely all by itself. So I added a Gracie Girl Needle Book to bring a little bit more sewing joy to the package. ie., you'll be getting a two-fer with this one!  I loved making the prototypes for this project. The little French knots that fill the pinafore were my favorite part. It's a great project to work on sitting out in that lounge chair this summer, and they make great gifts for the sewers in your life. The instructions include how-to for the hand stitching so it's not something you have to be an expert at. This pattern-pair plus the Lill Street Messenger are due to arrive here for shipping at the end of this month. Keep your eyes peeled.

 

 

I've never been able to get enough of the whole bird theme. I think it's because of all the little creatures, they really are just the sweetest ... as a design element, I mean. Not for instance, the ... ahem ... pigeons... who have invited themselves to a party on my roof. (Sorry PETA, don't come after me.) 

You can see that my bird obsession runs a little wild in my fabric designs. I just received a small bundle of Art Journal the other day and started sewing up a messenger bag...It was funny how the birds lined up so perfectly with my pattern piece on the right side of the bag, wasn't it? It was like I designed the fabric to fit the bag. I don't have that kind of foresight, but I really was pleased none the less.

 

There was also a bird in my Full Bloom fabric line, and yes, I did just contribute to a book called "Little Birds". When picking items for my OpenSky Shop the bird theme obsession has gone unchecked. You saw the print in one of my previous posts. But there's also decor eggs in a nest, a ceramic bowl, and I especially like this vase with the bird sitting on it's side. I'm thinking right next to the stove for kitchen utensils. But I also see pussy willows or cherry blossom stems in it. And the blue works with my new(ish) curtains and canisters. 

 

I've got to wondering... how long have I been using the whole bird theme? So I rifled through some old files. And I have to laugh. 

Some of you may know that one of my first handbag designs involved a little birdy...

 

But I even found it in some collage art and jewelry I created almost 10 years ago...

 
 

 

What I'm showing you here? The tip of the iceberg. 

And it's not over people. Although I can assure you my third fabric line contains no birds, I will make no promises. I like 'em, and until I'm sick of them, well, they're here to stay. 

Tweet.

 
 

 Before I get started... Keep your eyes open for a fabric and sewing pattern giveaway in the morning over at the Where Women Create blog!

It's been quite a long week. It feels like I've been doing a million different things, and I have. I finished a free download for a quilt for Art Journal which is now being technically edited, I finished my quilt for our master bedroom (OK, fine. it needs quilting and binding but whatever), and my sewing patterns came in and began to ship which was super exciting. I also have been working on my OpenSky Shop quite a bit... you can see the new button to the right and I made a pretty banner. The flowers in the button and banner were fabric rejects. They didn't quite go with the rest of the line. But I'm making good use of them anyways.

OpenSky has been getting some great suppliers, and I'm super loving the stuff I have in my shop. Especially the bird themed items. I love this print below... it's not to scale here... I photoshopped it into the photo of my settee, but you get the idea. You can probably tell, I like the colors a lot... the pillows below are in Full Bloom. I think they look nice with the print.

 

(And I repeat: the print is NOT to scale and has been photoshopped in)
 

Below is the quilt I've been working on for the past year and finally put the outer borders on today. Love it. It's for our master bedroom and it's made of Anna Maria prints. The first border is a combination of velvets that were samples I had laying around. I love the combo. And the outer border is a shot cotton.

 

 

 

 

Well, that's all folks. I'm one pooped pup. Going to go sit in front of the TV and stuff patterns into bags. 

PS... I'll give you one hint what this is all about. It has something to do with that upcoming giveaway I mentioned. 

 
 
 
 

I totally fell in love with these mailing labels and packaging tape and cannot wait to get my hands on some. I think they are the perfect expression of what my business is all about... the details. If you have an online business or you are a crafty sort, I think you're going to like them too. Now available in my OpenSky shop! 

  

Packaging Tape

  
Mailing Labels 
 

Exciting news! C&T's "Little Birds" has been released for pre-order. I'm very proud to be part of this design collective book compiled by Susanne Woods. Little Birds contains a wonderful array of projects from many designers, and truly, I think you are going to love it. Here's a sneak peek...

 

   

I told you this would happen. Since I bought my ruffler, I have had a small addiction. I have to put ruffles on everything. And though I usually send most of my shop sewing out to a seamstress, I decided to do these pillows myself. Because I like the sound the ruffler makes, and I like how fast it goes. I like that what used to take 1/2 an hour now takes 5 minutes. I am powerful. I can make ruffles without getting ruffled! 

So get 'em while they last. There's not a lot of them in the shop, but right now there are a few 14" pillows with super-yummy oversized ruffles. 

 

... it is there for you. The problem is you have to ask. And, for me at least, that is not the easiest of tasks.

I'm an "I'll do it myself" kind of person... Usually afraid to ask for help for fear of looking weak. For fear of having to say that I "need" help. 

I did not ask for very much help over the past six years in the creation of this business. I've held it together, struggling, for the large part, to do it all myself. Unfortunately, I'm not good at all of it. Nor is all of it something I'd want to do. I, for instance, hate selling. I also vehemently hate anything to do with numbers. 

That said, when I started on the journey of creating sewing patterns, I knew deep down that whether I liked it or not, I did not know exactly what I needed to do to get it done. And I desperately needed it to be done right. So begrudgingly, and probably only because I absolutely had to, I gave in and asked for some much needed help. And no one, much to my surprise, judged me for asking. They were happy that I finally did. 

Oddly, what I thought was going to be the feeling that I had somehow failed myself and failed others by simply asking for help, did not happen. What did come was relief. And the joy of knowing that there are people who will stand by me no matter what. And that even people I don't even know well are willing to share their expertise to help me along. 

That was what I was thinking about this afternoon when my package of sewing pattern proofs arrived from the printer. I was thinking about just how silly that all is. And that from here on... when I need help, I'll ask.

 

 

 
 
 

A month ago, I said I was determined to get my sewing patterns to market. And I set a goal to have them ready for pre-sale by February 9. It's February 11... about time, huh?  

I'm proud to introduce my four debut sewing patterns, Izzy Pin Cushion and Toy, Kitchen Art Accessories, The State Street Tote, and the Green Living Market Bag. Each one has a little something extra in the directions. The Izzy Pincushion has directions for the blanket stitch for applique and a nifty rolled rose in felt, the Kitchen Art Accessories have directions for fabric collage using free-motion quilting plus embroidery stitch directions for the leaf of the pear pot holder, the State Street Tote features either a magnetic closure or my signature spring closure (which will be available wholesale), and the Green Living Market bag features instructions for French seams and a really neat way to do a double sided cuff.

All of the patterns are now available for wholesale only pre-order. Approximate shipping is March 15, 2010. If you are a store owner and would like to carry my patterns please contact me and I'll send you an account number and password for my wholesale shopping page on my website. I'll need your state resale number to set up your account. They will also be available through several distributors. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Back when I was a theatre student, I would have sort of considered this like winning one of those pretty statues. My work right here in Romantic Homes Magazine! I mean, come on! Whaaat??!! ((Insert acceptance speech here!))

All kidding aside. I'm just really thrilled. I love the cover of this issue. And it makes me way happy to be in The Color Issue. You may have noticed... I like color. 

Romantic Home's Editorial director, Jacqueline deMontravel, both edited and photographed this article. A great big thank you to you, Jacqueline! I'm silly giddy about it! 

 

(This is the March issue, but it's already on newstands.There are full instructions and a diagram to make my Garden Tea Party quilt with collage edges in a table runner size. Hurry and go get it... my mom and sisters may buy them all up and there will be none left for anyone!)
  
 

 Today my mission was to find props for book photos. So I headed out to one of my favorite antique shops, Blue Door in Livermore, and proceeded to spend the better part of the morning there. That place is packed with stuff so you have to go around and around to see it all. But here are the goodies I got...

 

Of course, I managed to squeak in a couple of goodies that weren't for The Book (you can guess as to which ones).

But I did resist these things which were kinda' irresistible...

This pile of vintage ribbon had my name all over it:

 

And these totally made me think of Miss Joanna:

 

Now I'm going to clean up this mess of a studio so I can get some work done. And the side effect of that may be to give you a virtual tour using the Flip Cam... Stay tuned.
 
 
 

And that's how I like it. Most of the time. But sometimes I have so many balls in the air, that I can't catch my breath and celebrate things like reaching goals and even small victories along the way. I forget how far I've come and continually ask myself, "Ok, you did that... what's next?" without stopping to smell the roses for a minute. I'm always running for the next thing without acknowledging the first. 

And even as I say this anxiety over what I "should" be doing right now is nagging at me. 

But for a minute I'm going to celebrate by taking the time to blog and share.

What have I been doing? 

I got a couple of sewing patterns out to testers, spoke to distributors and printers and I finalized my third line of fabrics with Windham last week. I'm really proud of this bunch. I think it's my most cohesive work so far and it's audience is broad. It falls in the contemporary category, but if you like country and vintage this might be your thing too. It will be introduced in May at Spring Quilt Market and in stores in the Fall. So weird to even talk about it being that Art Journal is not yet in stores. 

 I also managed to get enough aprons cut and sent to the seamstress so that my sister can take them with her to some of her Southern Living at Home shows. 

 

Today I launched a new little product, or really an old product made new... key fobs in French Velvet. They feel super luxurious. Love them. 

 

The biggy that I've been avoiding thinking about is photos being taken for my book... at my house... on Monday. We planned the shots last month, and now I'm getting props together and making sure this place looks photo worthy. I'll be sure to have photos of the C&T publishing photographers at work to share with you. 

Alrighty. I'll be getting back to work now...

cue Circus music.

My first attempt at creating my own videos, this is a look at how the spring closures work on my handbags. They are available on the Alison Wristlets and Frannie bags. Both are available here.

 

 
  Just listed in the Bari J. Store!