Bari J.

I've been hiding something from you... wanna' know what?

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.

 

 

Garden Walk on Country Lane makes a stop at Blue Nickel

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?

The BIG reveal of my fourth Fall Sewing Pattern! Get Ready for a Soiree!

 

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.

 

Visits with Friends... Psst... there's a giveaway somewhere!

 
 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. 
 

New Fall Sewing Pattern Reveals Continued... Handbags!

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.
 

  

Fall Pattern Release Sneak Peek!

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!

 

Inspired to Sew by Bari J. {Book Cover Preview}

 

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.

 
 

Bonus Pattern

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.

 

 

Bird Brain

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.

 
 

Sewing Patterns, Decorating and Shopping

 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. 

 
 
 
 

Decorative Tape & Mailing Labels... right up our Crafty Alley!

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 
 

Little Birds book... sneak peek!

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...

 

   

Hello my name is Bari and I am addicted to Ruffles

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. 

 

When you ask for help...

... 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.

 

 

 
 
 

Introducing Bari J. Sewing Patterns

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!

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Romantic Homes

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!)
  
 

Loot

 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.
 
 
 

It's a Three Ring Circus...

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.

How do those handbags spring closures work anyways?

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.

 

Aprons Listed...

 
  Just listed in the Bari J. Store! 

 

 

I actually listed new bags... it's true!

Yes, it's for real. I have created and listed new bags on my website. There is only one of each bag. So get 'em while they're hot. 

I'll now be going into hiding and working on sewing patterns. Some day in the not so distant future there will be an array of sewing patterns and kits! I'm working on it. Promise.

Here are a few of the newbies.

 

Hurdles Cleared

I turned in the rough copy of my book on Monday. After which I sat on the sofa going, "What just happened? Did I just write a book?". Weird.

When I started this process all those months ago, I truly was not sure how I'd pull it off. So, it was uplifting to feel the shift of "I don't think I can do this" to "I most certainly can do this". A slowly building confidence in what I do know, what I have learned and what I can do came along with the process of creating each project for this book. And, with each project I learned something new. 

It's not over yet, but I think I enjoyed this experience very much.

color color color!

I now have actual strike-offs for Art Journal rather than the digital prints, and I can't wait to show you the difference! The COLOR! So much richer. Boy am I thrilled to see it! I'm especially in love with the blues.

 

 

Here's an example of the original prints so you can see the difference. Wow. Look at that brown compared to the strike-off brown above! Cool. 

Store owners: you can now see (and order) the whole line! Click here!

Well, back to book-deadline-land. Getting there! Pinch me. I'm having so much fun!

Flips, Tees & Me Getting Carried Away

So, when I heard Flip was letting you Design Your Own Flip Camera, I HAD TO HAVE ONE. I wanted one for a long time, but when I heard that, well, I FLIPPED! Then I find out, I can list my design on Cafe Press, so you can buy one too, and I was totally sold. And now you can get your own Bari J. designed Flip Cam here... LOL.

But then my little brain started whirling, and I thought "Oooh, what else can I design?". So, I went and designed some of these... for all of my favorite Fabric Junkies... and now, you can get one here.

I'm so excited. I can hardly stand it. What should I do next? I'm just itching to design... Book and fabric lines be damned  But I think I'll get back to work... on my book.

Unleashed!

FIN-A-LLY!!! I can speak. I can speak. Well, a little anyways. Enough to give you a line name and a tiny preview. Here it is (well, sorta'-kinda' a little bit), Art Journal, my new line for Windham Fabrics...which will be available for quilt shops to order in October (in stores late April 2010).

 

Ok, fine. Twist my arm. Here's a little tiny bit more, the front of a post card I'm sending out.

 

Murphy's Lawlessness

Murphy's law. I call it "Magical Thinking". And as a rule, I'm against magical thinking. What I mean by that is that I think that things don't just happen. I think that we make them happen. Just sayin'.

But over the past week, a series of unfortunate events (really just a couple) have caused me to look at that Magical Murphy's Law. {{{BTW, an aside and another reason not to like it... It's a negative law. So in the way of magical thinking, I think it's a bummer. If I'm going to think magically, it should be good things. Not: "if anything can go wrong it will.". Seriously, that's ugly.}}} But none-the-less here's how things went down:

1. I'd been rushing like a demon to meet a deadline, sewing and writing away when ... POOF! The circuit board on my sewing machine decides it's time to call it quits. 

I looked over my shoulder. Murphy, are you there? 

No. No. No. No magical thinking. At least not the negative sort. 

I called The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek, and happened to get the owner when he came to pick up the mail. He was just stopping in as he just had knee surgery. Anyways, I explained my situation, and he graciously lent me a machine until he can fix mine. 

The result of which is... this infinitesimally small peek (you are looking at about two inches of it) at this project... See that pretty Laura Gunn fabric?! To die for.

2. I lost the pen to my graphics tablet which is my life line to drawing. Of course, I really needed it right then. I had to think quick in order to save one of my favorite designs in fabric line number two from the cutting room floor... which is a cute story in and of itself and I'll tell you about that when I can show you the whole line in a finished form... which I think is really really soon. But I digress... Murph's law had me loosing a pen just when I needed it. Was I actually going to let him get to me again?

First of all, dear Murphy, I'd drawn my little hand off about a week ago, and found the perfect element I'd already drawn and finished to add to a pattern. (I'm sticking my tongue out and blowing razzes here.) Ha. I saved the "fabric pattern from having it's little head chopped off. 

(a peek at somethin' or another in the works, but it's not the one that almost got chopped.)

Then even though I knew it was a trick, I decided to use this so-called law in my favor. I figured this was the best way to find my old pen. I was already on the magical thinking tear so what the heck, I'll give in... I ordered a new pen that afternoon, and wouldn't you know... found the old one the next day. I'm keeping the new one as a back-up.

3. After Murphy had wrecked havoc twice in a week, I got a letter from my child at overnight camp that started "As I write this I am crying...". So of course this causes a flood of tears from me. (I don't know where my daughter gets her dramatic streak.) I wanted to rush right up there and get her. But. I think. And I realize that this note is written the first night of camp, she's tired, she's in new surroundings. And Murphy's law would tell me that by the time I got up there, she'd be having a grand old time and wondering what all the fuss is about. I'll wait a day. And I was right. Today's letter from her had a really happy tone. She's canoeing, hiking, and told me not to worry because she is drinking enough water and eating the food.

Ha. Magical thinking, Murphy's Law ... You've got nothin' on me.

PS... Just so you know, if that letter hadn't come today, I'd be in the car right now, feeling guilty that I left her there for an extra day. Murphy's law be damned.

Super "Secret" News Revealed!

I'll just say it. I've been holed up in here for months making projects for and writing a book. 

 

But it's not fair for me to just announce that with out telling the whole story. Because the world works in mysterious ways. And I think you may find it interesting and somewhat intriguing how this all came about. Make of it what you will. But for those of you who are thinking that you would like to do the same thing, I hope you will be inspired by this little tale.

Something surreal happened when I got back from Quilt Market last fall. I'd just signed a contract with Windham Fabrics to license my designs, when I get an email from the new Acquisitions Editor at C&T Publishing, Susanne Woods, requesting a book proposal. She had been reading my blog for a while and had just realized that I lived practically down the road.

My response to myself was, "Me? I can't write a book. Besides, I just got some really good news, when is the sky going to fall?". 

My outer response was more like, "Well, let's find out what this is all about." (Remember that whole stepping through doors that open thing I've talked about before?). Susanne and I met for lunch. Some of you may know C&T for their traditional quilting books, but alas the vision at C&T is changing a bit. Susanne explained that C&T is starting in a new direction with "a fresh modern aesthetic" (wait till you guys see what that is all about!), and she thought that I would fit in well with this vision. Hmmm. Who knew?

That was October. Fast forward a couple of months... (the months that I spent procrastinating until Super Husband got on me about it: "Why the heck haven't you turned in that proposal?", was about how it went). I wrote a proposal in December, turned it in in January and by March was looking at a contract (with my head spinning in circles).

And between that, finishing fabric line number two, putting on a bat mitzvah, a bunch of extraneous stuff you have to do to promote a fabric line, I have been consumed since. 

That's why the stack of fabrics from Moda (in a previous post), from Windham, and from Michael Miller (above). The bonus of writing a book is fabric that gets to go in the book comes to you in big boxes from generous companies... who I can't thank enough!

So, that's my story. Lot's more about this adventure to come. 

Celebration! A Give-Away For You.

 

I'm so over the moon today. Went to Quilter's Inn to visit Full Bloom in an actual store. Got a phone call from a store that says it's flying off the shelf. And came home to my very own 22 bolts of Full Bloom. You all have been so incredibly supportive, I can't thank you all enough!

So, let's do a little give-away of 2 stacks of fat quarters.

If you are in, just leave me a comment and tell me what you are thinking of making! I'll use the random number generator to pick two winners on July 24th. Happy sewing!

UPDATE (July 13): So many of you have entered, I've decided to add a third winner. One more fat quarter stack!

Emily Calls "Dibs!"

 

This is the Garden Tea Party Quilt shown in my sidebar. Before it gets shipped off to hither and to yon (apparently there is some taking turns going on), we decided to take some pics. 

This first photo was Emily's idea. She said, "Hey, let's take one of those Pottery Barn photos and I can be in it!". Sounded like a plan to me. Sweet thing called dibbies on this quilt upon the first stitch. That's a kid after my own heart.

Color and Goodies for Me.

I am definitely having a super exciting start to my Summer. I mean, what could be better (ok, close to better) than a trip to Pixar Studios? Oh, I don't know... maybe a box full of surprise fabric from Moda?

Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but I have a super-secret project I'm working on. That's why they sent it to me. Sheesh! I am a lucky ducky girl. 

 I couldn't be more giddy. Thank you Moda! You totally made my day. I've already started cutting into it. I can't help myself.

I've got other goodies laying around here too. Don't ask my why, but I love how these paint chips look all coordinated up in the cello bags. I've been getting ready to introduce my next fabric line (not just yet, but you know...). The printouts from my computer were kind of faded looking so, paint chips do the trick to let Windham know what color I want. But what do you think the peeps at home depot thought when I went in with a notebook and stood in the paint aisle for over an hour leaving with all of these? And no paint. 

The only problem with so many colors is... it's SO many colors. I couldn't make up my mind. 

At one point, I had my fabric printouts and cut up little pieces of paint chips all over the room. And glue stick in my hair. It's all part of the crazy process. And the good news is, I did finally decide. Color choices are on their way to Windham tomorrow. Yay-hoo! On to the next project. The super secret one.

(Photo disclaimer: my camera is in the shop, so I've been taking pics with my iPhone. Not terrible, but...)

Could I actually really still be talking about quilt market?

I promised more pictures from market, didn't I? This here is the name-dropping issue. 

And, since my friend Cindy says there are absolutely no pictures of me on my blog, and that is an issue for her, the first one is of me... and April Cornell. Yes, I have no shame, I dragged April Cornell over to the Windham booth going, "Look what I made!". No shame at all. 

Actually, April was really gracious and so kind. She even organized a Twitter-Meet-up. Which by the way is the coolest thing ever about Twitter. April tweeted "Twitter meet-up 10am Saturday, Moda booth." and a ton of us showed up. Seriously cool. And why I loooove tweeting and reported over Twitter the whole time I was at market.

Oh, and here's who I dragged April away from ... nervy, huh? Brandon Mably. Sorry, Brandon. 

Btw, I have no idea how I got into this picture. I meant to be taking a picture of them together, when someone said, "Hey, don't you want to be in the picture?". Uh. No. But. O.K.

Speaking of Brandon, I asked Kaffe Fassett if I could take his picture, and he said yes, but unfortunately he was so engrossed in his work, he didn't look up for the shot. Awww. He also was very gracious with my bumbling and bubbling. I was a little overjoyed to meet him. Eeeks. 

Here's a great shot! This is Myrinda from Fabric Hound and Kristen from Gocks Frocks with first Project Runway winner and fabric designer, Jay McCarroll.

Now, I know I mentioned something about showing you my own little spot...

This was the original quilt I presented when I showed the line to Windham. It's on it's way to France right now! I'll let you know when I hear more about this. Very exciting fun stuff.

And, here is a bit more... 

Well, that's all folks. Until next market. BTW, it looks like maybe, possibly, likely, I think my second line will debut there. More about that and some other unbelievable stuff later! 

Garden Tea Party ... Free Downloadable Quilt

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

 More quilt market pics to come, but in the meantime, enjoy this free downloadable quilt pattern. Made from the Bari J. Full Bloom line, it has a collaged border instead of traditional binding. The full line is available at many online shops and quilt stores around the world, but I know for sure it's already on pre-order from Jona at Fabritopia. It's due in stores within the month. Store owners can contact Windham for details on ordering wholesale.

Download Gardenteaparty_barij_final2

Pinch me!

If you'd have asked me five years ago what I would be doing today, I would never have answered, I'll be designing fabric. No way. I was a stay at home mom, and prior to that a graphic designer and copy writer. I didn't have much confidence in myself, let alone know what I was capable of doing. 

I couldn't possibly have guessed. But, life leads you in the most unexpected directions. Doors open and you walk through, or you don't is what I've always said. How different life would be today if I hadn't watched Alicia Paulson on HGTV that day about five years ago, and thought, "Gee, I think I'll make myself a handbag.". How different it would be today if I didn't go to the Country Living event last year and be told to speak what you want aloud. I would never have said that I wanted to design fabric aloud because I was afraid that people would think, "Oh, yeah, another one that wants to design fabric, yada, yada.".

So, today, when I got this Hancocks of Paducah catalog, I was pretty bowled over. "My fabric" is on the cover. Something I drew, something I created. And then to open it and be on a page next to my hero, Kaffe Fassett, oh, come on! You've got to be kidding me! 

If you ask me now what I'll be doing in five years, I'll tell you that I haven't the faintest idea. Who knows what doors will open, which ones I'll choose to walk through and which ones I'll just pass by.

Work week in photos

Did someone say "fabric-schmabric"? Wasn't me.

Yadayadayada... randomness to share

It's been a long two or three weeks. I've been in Las Vegas (an early celebration of my 40th birthday), Phoenix, and home. I've been doing a lot, but have not found much to say that is a cohesive thought. So you'll bare with my rambles I hope. 

I'm working on projects to take with me to quilt market including some kitchen items including the little tea cozy above, and hopefully soon I'll be working on a large scale quilt. I'm waiting on getting my hands on a large amount of fabric. I've got the pattern made. Directions are almost done too, and are for public consumption. I can tell you from first hand experience now that if you design a quilt on paper, it maybe helps to work with scale in mind. I found out that it's pretty hard to go back and arrange the measurements to fit a design. May be kinda sorta a good thing to do that first. I dunno'. You tell me.

Vegas was fun. I was with my sisters and my mom. I hadn't told you yet, but Lara is pregnant again (Vegas wasn't exactly her idea of a rocking good time at the moment, but we all survived, including those of us who are not pregnant... so...).

My mom got me hooked on the darn poker machines where a heck of a lot of cash was thrown down the darn toilet. We saw Jersey Boys... fabulous and a highlight of the trip. Another highlight was that incredible outlet mall in Vegas. We spent an entire day there, and other than that, we never left the Venetian, believe it or not. We ate, we spent, we left. Just what the Nevada visitor's bureau was hoping for.

And since this was the start of my kid's Spring Break, my brother in law flew out to San Francisco and DROVE back to Phoenix with Super Husband, super kids, and two insane labradors. I drove to Phoenix with my mom and sisters from LV.

Mostly a good time was had, and I got to see my friend Jona (Fabritopia) and two of her kids. There are pics on her blog.

Unfortunately, the day after we arrived in Phoenix, my mom caught a virus (probably from those NASTY poker machines). And then things turned kinda' ugly. Poor mom mixed her blood pressure meds with Sudafed (don't do this). Her blood pressure dropped like a rock, and she passed out COLD. I mean... COLD. I heard her head hit the floor from across the house. It was midnight and my dad was screaming his head off, "Call 911!". I went running willy nilly not knowing what was going on and couldn't find a charged phone in the place. My dad didn't think she was breathing (she was). When I did find a phone, thank goodness she had already come to, but she looked like something the cat dragged in (sorry, Mom) so we got the paramedics and they took her to the hospital. 

But you know what she says as we are waiting for the paramedics? "I can't go to the hospital. Look at my hair.". I love it.

She spent the rest of the time we were in Phoenix in the hospital. Pretty awful. But thank God not worse.

On Friday, we made the trek back to San Francisco in record time. Don't tell CHP, but we got back in 11.5 hours. We made TWO stops the whole way back. Unheard of for us. I will tell you we were a bit hungry by time we got back, but we were back.

Since then I've been mostly on a tear. I'm getting ready for quilt market, I've got a project I'm working on that I can't wait to tell you about but I do not have permission as yet to speak, I'm working on my next fabric line, there are bag orders looming, and good grief is there isn't paper work out the ying yang.

So that's that. Below: a couple some bags I've been working on, and I'm off. Back to the grind. 

These are for some Frannie Bags...

The one above is for a present... wanna' guess who it's for? Is it for you? 

I think I might be loving this fabric combo.

And, this one, I'm tempted to keep, but it's a special request from a customer. I made two, so we'll see...I'll probably put it on the website for sale. I can't say I don't have enough bags.

Strike-offs!!!!

Poor Super Husband. It's his birthday, and I can barely concentrate enough to look up and say hello.

I knew my strike-offs were coming today, and I couldn't wait, and then they arrived! We picked them up from the UPS store before heading to get some Indian food for lunch, which meant eating lunch with me was probably torture because that's all I could think or talk about.

I really am going to make some red velvet cupcakes for him, and in fact, I did make popovers this a.m. for breakfast (when in doubt, bake), but I am still marveling over this actual real fabric with my actual real name and logo on the selvedge. Holy moly. You can understand, right?

Give-away Time!

I just got my apron that was featured in "Apron*ology" from Stampington back. It was also featured in one of their original ads soliciting submissions. I'd forgotten all about it. So, I'm giving it away. Just leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win it. I'll randomly pick a winner on Friday, March 13 (since 13 is my favorite number) by using this website.

I swear, does anything make you happier than giving stuff away?

 

"Mom! Pull yourself together!"

I am a total freak. Just ask my 11 and "almost 13" year old girls. They'll tell you. I need to get a grip. 

Of course there are many reasons why they think this. But I think I may have added icing to their cake last week. 

They were with me when I visited my UPS box as we do a couple times a week. This time a package from Windham arrived. I dragged it back out to the car where the girls were patiently waiting for me to take them to their various activities.

I knew what was in the package. A couple copies of my color cards. I opened the box and pulled them out. And to the utter dismay of my very, very hip and cool pre-teen girls, I start crying. "Oh my gosh, girls! Look! It's real! Your mom did it! I did it! Oh my goodness. I can't believe it!" and on and on just like that.

Until I started laughing... And saying the same sorts of things. The girls are now frantically looking around to make sure no one can see them in the car with their mother, the freak, now crying and laughing because she got a box with some stuff in it that totally did not relate to them. Emily is crouched down low in the back seat.

Finally Anna yells, "Mom! Pull yourself together!". 

This sort of shocked me out of it. Pull myself together? I'm not apart. Don't you two get it? I did it! 

Well, no they didn't get it. Still don't get it. 

Or maybe they sort of get it, because about five minutes later, Anna pipes up again, "When I grow up, I'm not going to have to get a job for real because I'll take over the Bari J. empire.". 

I try to hide my new round of tears (uh, and laughter). The "almost 13" year old Anna responds with a sharp crossing of the arms and rolling of the eyes. "Thank goodness we're not sitting in that parking lot where everyone can see us.", I can hear them thinking.

I did pull myself together in time to drop them off, and before they got out of the car, they quickly looked around to see if anyone could see them, hugged me and said, "Love you."

"Love you too. And, btw, work hard because you're going to have to get a job 'for real' when you grow up." 

Of course, if the "Bari J. empire" is what Anna so graciously (and a little bit frighteningly) thinks it will be, I'd be happy to have her hang around.

But don't anyone breathe a word to her about that until she finishes college. 

Show and tell!

They're letting me talk... and show... I know, I know... I already gave out a lot earlier, but now they've completely uncorked me! This is pretty much the whole enchilada! Below is a virtual quilt (ie: I put it together on the computer as I don't actually have any of the fabric yet). It will be available as a free download when the fabric hits the stores May 15. Shop owners! You can order from Windham now. 

New belts page loaded

Well, finally! I've loaded all the belts in stock. Each is one of a kind... once it's gone, it's gone. $32.

Hooked.

Many of you know that although I've been sewing for a while, I only just started quilting. I guess I had been doing many quilting-like things for years, but I had never made finished a whole quilt. When I got started on the whole quilt thing a couple months ago I had no idea... no idea at all... how easily I would become obsessed with it. I can't stop. I'll work all day and piece quilts all night and weekend. I've now finished three quilts and I am on my fourth.

I'm really excited about this one. I'd had Anna Maria's gorgeous incredible fabulous fabrics sitting in stacks calling my name for months and I was loathe to cut them... they looked so great just there in the stacks and I didn't want to make any mistakes. But then the other day Miss Laurie stopped by with her fabulous quilt made out of many of the same fabrics and motivated my butt. 

This weekend after all was settled in house and work, I dove in... foot loose and pattern free. I hate to follow a pattern. Not that I can't follow a pattern, I can, but I don't like to. Rules stink.

I decided that I wanted to really mix up the colors and patterns so that whatever color we paint our master bedroom in, it will work. (Did I ever tell you that we've had test paint splotches on our wall in there for three years? We can't decide. And it's such a big undertaking and such a messy process... that's our excuse anyways.) 

The other thing I wanted to do with this quilt was test out all sorts of angles and different kinds of piecing so that I can learn a bunch as I go along. One of the things I learned right away was that I need to learn paper piecing. Which apparently would have helped this block a whole lot... If you don't know, with paper piecing you build in the seam allowance on things like these triangles in order to get a beautiful point. I think the color play works here so I decided to ignore the wibbly-wobbiliness (I'm being kind to myself) of my piecing and use it anyways.

Here's a bunch more of the unfinished quilt. It's about 1/3 of the way there. I can not wait until it's finished!

Taking the Cat Out of the Bag

Truly, was the cat ever in the bag? In March after the Country Living Women Entrepreneurs event, I told you that I was interested in designing a fabric line. I even asked you to hold me to it. I'd been thinking about it for a while, but until then I was too scared to say it out loud. 

But I've learned a lesson... saying it out loud is what makes it real.

Since then, I've been on a tear. Obsessively designing fabric. (LOL. First I had to figure out HOW to design fabric) After several rounds and versions and toss away lines, eventually, I came up with something I loved and knew I could present. For display purposes I had it printed up by Spoonflower (they rock), and off to market I went last week. Finished quilt and goodies in hand. Shaking and quivering in my boots. I presented to a lot of companies, and to my amazement, I ended up with a lot of interest.

A couple days later, and I now know that my designs will be available this spring at the Pittsburgh quilt market. I can hardly believe it. I have an actual real contract in my hands.

So, what do I take away from this part of the adventure? I am sure that the decision to say it aloud, to state what I wanted, that made me go for it in the way I have. Uh, somewhat relentlessly. There's probably some people who are a little sick of me. You know who you are. Sorry ya'll. (That's my new Houston-speak. I like it)

Next up on my list of to dos... paper. Hold me to it. Right after I get this fabric line out. 

Note: If you read this post earlier, you may notice I went back in and edited it. Sometimes it just doesn't seem like any of the wording in these blog posts are right. And I worry that things will be misconstrued. This post was super hard to write for whatever reason. I felt like the wording was too contrite, the story not completely told... which is bad, because I think that people reading this should know the details. It wasn't super easy to do, but it was all well worth it. So, you are now reading the edited version of the first post. I hope that whoever you are and whatever you are trying to do, that this post will inspire you to do it and know that there have been those who have inspired me as well. Thanks for understanding, and for your very kind support.

On Camera... Oh, Boy!

 

Let me tell you, there is nothing that makes me more nervous than having my picture taken. But, when the fabulous Deb Kennedy asked me at Farm Chicks to be part of her series on the giftandhomechannel.com,  I was more than happy to oblige... The video is now available to view  here, (I think you have to sign up to get to the video, but there's nothing to it and there's lots of cool info on the site). 

Of course, me being me, all I focused on was my weight and the way my voice sounds and my haircut... all I have to say is thank goodness for Weight Watchers... I've lost 20 lbs since then. Holy potatoes! Literally. Super Husband, being Super Husband, said, "It's not that bad, you just look really nervous. Uh... Yeah. Just a little. 

PS... A side note... The Farm Chicks now have a beautiful new blog that you have to visit!

How to wear bright colors when they're "off-season".

Tum dum... tee dee... What in the world do you wear with this in the Fall? I'm making new rules... are there rules anymore? No. no. no. no. There are no rules. If you are not in a completely cold climate where it's snowing and sleeting and something like this might get ruined, then I think it's perfectly acceptable to wear bright yellow, pink, green, blue and red all year. 

So I was forced to go shopping. 

And looky-loo what I found. I found an apple green jacket (fall fruit) at J.Jill... It's CORDUROY. And, if you ask me that is decidedly Fall-like. (Of course, in the Spring I'll tell you I think it's acceptable now too). Plus it was discounted from over $100 to $35. I'd actually been eying this for months and waiting patiently for it to be reduced... a game that paid off. They are having an awesome sale ... 25% off already reduced items. Wee hoo! I scored on a bunch of goodies...

Now, is there any way I could also wear this? And why is my daughter so embarrassed when I pick her up from school wearing it? I'm in the car... no one can even see me!

A Peek...

 

What I'm working on now is making various and sundry goodies to drag with me next week to the Houston quilt market out of the fabrics I had printed. This is the first of which is coming together. I'm also bringing with a bag, apron, pin cushions... and anything else I can throw in a bag.

I'm thinking this is going to be pretty exciting... even though I have no idea how this is going to work out. I have a couple of appointments though to hopefully license a line (and then maybe I'll have my own booth next year and actually be selling this stuff to YOU). I'm planning on doing a lot of shopping though for my Spring handbag line. Should be really fun meeting people too! 

If you are going to be there... let me know. I'd love to meet you!

Couldn't Wait to Share!

I just got word that they're on the way from Australia! A joint effort between Cathy Penton Design (charms) and Bari J. (art)! I'll let you know as soon as they arrive.

The Longest Short Week

I'll try not to go into the gory details... As you all with kids know, as soon as they go back to school they come home with all sorts of disgusting boogers. Literally. I don't know about you, but I think my immune system must be compromised because while they are just out for a day or so, when their little boogers infect me, I am down for the count. ie: I spent Sunday through Tuesday and even part of Wednesday on the couch.

Every once in a while I'd wander in here and decide I could take it. But dizziness bowled me over and back to the couch I went. I decided it was probably not worth cutting a finger off with a rotary blade.

And this was how half of the week evaporated before my eyes.

Then yesterday, Ms. iMac decided (or it may have been iMail) that it was not necessary for recipients to be able to actually view the attachments I was sending them. Hence, I spent the day, writing back and forth to various clients, "Can you see it now?". By about five pm I realized it must be the mail app, and went directly online to my server to send the pieces... and wowee... it worked. Aargh. If I only thought of that at 9am.

Another day... gone. Not sure where they go.

None the less, there was still one day left, I was sure I could get the entire list done today. There was hope yet.

Not so fast, Missy!

Today was a "Teacher Work Day". Excuse me, but how many of these do they need anyways?

Kids at home, a mattress delivery, a long back up of laundry, several other various and sundry people through the house, rush a slew of cuts up to a seamstress, and Blammo! Day gone.

What's the deal with that?

The deal is that certain people were forced to eat their choice of grilled cheese sandwiches or a corn dog for dinner or starve because I couldn't take it anymore. Suck it up, folks. I made some broccoli to go with it. What more do you want?

"Am I done whining yet?" Yes, fine. I did manage to get a little tiny bit up on the website (there are about 20 belts, a bijillion keyfobs and several more bags waiting their turn)...

Here are the two lovelies I managed to extract from their background and make shiny and pretty enough for all to see...

It's amazing how long this all takes. Is it ok to pay a 12 year old to take pictures, and spend hours upon hours photoshopping them? No? Hmmm...

Maybe I can teach Super Husband. I wonder if he'll go for that. I better wait until he's over the boogers. He seems to have just caught it. If you think I was whining, just wait. You'll probably be able to hear it from there. He's already asked for homemade chicken soup and announced he's going to bed at 8:30. Ugh. It's going to be a long night.

More art charms

More arty charmy previews...

Coming Soon!

For the holidays, I'll soon have Art Charms. They are a collaboration... art by Bari J, charms by Cathy Penton.
Here's a sneak preview of our double sided charms.

Therapy

As you might know from my previous post, my family has been in need of a little of this. Thank goodness it comes in many kinds... we could use all the therapeutic treatments we could find... My sister and I found some of it when I visited her this weekend in Arizona. One of which was getting some blond highlights in her hair by a super fantastic hair "therapist". I have to say, Lara looked amazing, as did our mom. She needed a little treatment too.

I am relatively scared of hair color and thank goodness, I unbelievably haven't but a few stray grays. Plus, I actually like my hair color (hmmm... now that's unusual. I said aloud that I liked my hair.) Which makes me think... why didn't I go get the alternative and much-needed nail therapy? I shall indulge later this week, me-thinks.

In addition to beautification therapy, we also spent time getting some of our most favorite therapy of all... retail therapy as it is commonly known.

Amazingly enough, we didn't indulge in food therapy because we figured that would have been therapy that eventually would have made us feel worse. Plus, of course, the thought of weighing in at WW and weighing more is enough to scare me straight any day... Good girls...

The retail therapy was as expected very, very satisfying.

Below... a goodie from that part of our adventure... at Paris Envy, a shop in Phoenix that carries my bags... and btw, is undeniably "Wow.". I'm not just sayin' so because my bags are there either, it really really is. And the prices are reasonable too which I'm finding unusual (someone remind me later to show you the little spread about it that was in the Arizona Republic a couple weeks ago... it looked incredible).

There is also Puppy Therapy ... Lara has much of this... Roxy, our girl, will not leave her side and barks at anyone who comes near Lara these days. Amazing how animals know when we are vulnerable, isn't it? I threatened to take this cute potato home with me... She's the most amazing rescue dog ever. We think she had been abandoned... who in the world could abandon this???

Then all said and done I came home tonight finding the squeezing of my little peeps and Super Husband quite therapeutic as well... Then, unexpectedly... an added bonus... my own personal form of therapy... my Very Own Fabric Therapy... it arrived while I was away. I did really cry too. Very, very good therapy.

My most favorite therapy of all however... My Family. Seeing my Lara, hugging her and knowing that everything will be alright. There really is something to be said about the connections that siblings have. The shared experiences, all the ups and downs. I'll never know anyone like I know my sisters and brother. They are undeniably the best friends I'll ever have.

We have our mother to thank for that. She has always said, "I always wanted four kids, because I wanted you all to always have each other." And we do (she said through happy sad, sad happy tears.). Thanks, Mom.

Awww... darn. That was a sort of emotional post. Off to hug the squeezy girls some more!
Thanks for listening... Hmmmm... blog therapy too! Good stuff!
XO,