Pattern Revolution does Pop Rox

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Plaid Portico

I came upon Pattern Revolution by way of Carla Crim of The Scientific Seamstress, and so glad I did. A superb site dedicated to “Encouraging and Educating the Modern Sewist” this site has the BEST photos, many courtesy of Suzanne Winter Photography. It is a site contributed to by a whole collective of women, so the projects and patterns are many and varied in both skill level and type. Focused on electronic pdf patterns, one can find patterns for baby, girls, boys, women, toys, bags and accessories, PLUS sewing tutorials and inspiration, fun sew alongs, and a featured designer series. Oh and did I mention, TONS of prizes and giveaways!

It’s well done and accessible to any sewist. And its cool-at least I think so. Take a look at just the cutest ruffle dress and vintage romper done in Pop Rox. And off course I will show you a sneak peek at other cool things you can find over there at Pattern Revolution!

Ruffle Dress by Suzanne Winter, Pattern Revolution

Ruffle Dress by Suzanne Winter,Pattern Revolution

Vintage Romper by Suzanne Winter, Pattern Revolution

Long Beach Board Shorts Sew Along at Pattern Revolution

The Bay dress and top by Brownie Goose, (stitched by Crystal)

Runway Deconstructed on patternrevolution.com

Free Baby Bumble Bag Tutorial from patternrevolution.com

Learn to adapt and alter patterns, on pattern revolution.com

The Essential Sewing Reference Tool by Carla Crim

http://patternrevolution.com/pattern-reviews/2014/4/22/the-bay-dress-and-top-by-brownie-goose (stitched by Crystal)

Patchwork Posse

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Continuing our Pop Rox round-up and spotlight on some amazing creative people who have played with Pop Rox, today we look at Patchwork Posse. I met Becky several years ago at The Creative Connection Event where she was a panelist and participant. I have loved collaborating with her and see her creative business grow. Not only will you find a plethora of great tutorials and patterns for quilts, bags, dolls and stuffed animals on her site Patchwork Posse, she also has a lot of fun things going on like quilt block round robins, and lots of free stuff!

AND if you’re a plushie lover like Becky, you must check out her site PlushiePatterns.com where she collects and publishes plushie patterns. I think what really differentiates what you will find on Patchwork Posse is the sheer diversity and originality of the projects and tutorials, AND it’s so prolific. It is literally chock full of anything you would want to do or need to know. If you are looking for fresh ideas for small projects this is the place. It’s one stop shopping–for quilting patterns, tips and tutorials AND sewing projects as well as appliqué and embroidery. It’s kind of a magic place to visit if you own a sewing machine.

So, take a gander at project tutorials using Pop Rox on Patchwork Posse, plus of course I chose a number of other great projects and articles to show you so you can get a really good idea of the many flavors of Patchwork Posse. Have a wander over there!

Quilt as You Go Binder Tutorial by Patchwork Posse

Quilt as You Go Table Runner by Patchwork Posse

Fabric Weaving tutorial by Patchwork Posse

15+ Fox Plushies by PlushiePatterns.com

Hexagon Quilt Patterns and free tutorials by Patchwork Posse

50+ Fabric Bins and Baskets by Patchwork Posse

Using Color in Your Quilts on PatchworkPosse.com

Mitered Quilt Block Tutorial by Patchwork Posse

Voices in Cloth 2014: Part One.

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Well, I have been waiting to begin the coverage of the Voices in Cloth 2014 exhibition, and I can’t wait any little longer. So we will intersperse coverage of the show with continuing coverage of the Pop Rox project round-up. The Voices in Cloth 2014 Exhibition, put on by the East Bay Heritage Quilters was at the Craneway Pavilion on the Richmond waterfront near the end of March for 2 days only. A dramatic space, a bustling crowd and great local vendors added to the exhibition buzz.

There were some trends in this group of curated quilts, mostly from local northern California quilters. There were a lot of silks, linens and other than standard quilting cotton used. There were hand-dyed fabric and batiks, and quite a bit of Asian influence. There were interesting combinations of traditional fabrics in modern quiet designs and modern fabrics in more traditional quilt designs. And many art quilts. And lots of color!

As usual, you are subject to the whim of my curatorial eye. I just take pictures of the quilts I really like. Now I am going to show you my top ten favorite quilts from the show (in no particular order) I have 60 more quilts to go so this will be a several part series. Here are the first few and my favs, all for different reasons:

Silk Arithmetic by Stacey Sharman

Scattered Rings by Jane Herlihy

Plaid One by Eleanor Dugan. Quilted by Dani Lawler.

Quilt in Forever and a Day by Amy Adair. Inspired by Gypsy Kisses by Kathy Doughty.

3 Fans by Sally Pooler

Explosion 3 by Barb Strick

Inclinations by Ellen Wong

My Traveling Quilt by Leah Brown. Quilted by Kathy Ritter.

Not Entirely My Fault by Rebecca Rohrkaste. Quilt pattern by Kathy Doughty.

Springtime Harmony by Cynthia Sanders, quilted by Sue Fox

Sassafras Lane Designs

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Last project in the Pop Rox round-up for this week is the Churndash Court quilt, a new pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs. I LOVE the modern clean lines. Actually you will find that in all the Sassafras Lane quilt designs. They are clean and fresh, but with enough detail and complexity to make them rich and interesting and true to the quilting tradition but with a modern look. And they offer their patterns as pdf OR paper pattern right from their website. They also offer great free tutorials on things like installing zippers, foundation paper-piecing and installing grommets, AND they design bags as well as quilts. They will be showing off Churndash Court and other new quilt ensigns at Quilt Market in Pittsburgh this year.

Let’s take a look at Churndash Court in Pop Rox as well as some of their other cool patterns! P.S. I like their photography settings…

Churndash Court quilt pattern by Sassafras Lane Designs

Euclid Avenue quilt by Sassafras Lane Designs

The Shelby Satchel by Sassafras Lane Designs

Lexington lane quilt by Sassafras Lane Designs

Cooper Carry-all by Sassafras Lane Designs

Welcome to the Mouse House

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Next up on our Pop Rox round-up is Welcome to the Mouse House who made the Pop Rox dress, a version of the Caroline Party Dress. The. cutest. dress. ever. I am a huge fan of Hayley of Welcome to the Mouse House. And her website/blog is cool–its a mix of interior design, decoration, sewing, craft and cooking–all kinds of DIY.

There are home projects and redecorating–think light, clean, airy and original. There are tutorials on sewing, embroidery, home decor, wall art, hair accessories, and craft projects. Yes, and of course I will show you some pictures of a few ones I think are pretty cool to give you a taste.

The pattern for The Pop Rox dress, a version of the Caroline Party dress can be found in the Etsy shop Mouse House Creations, along with some other yummy yummy patterns.

But first let’s see the Pop Rox Dress. AND let me say here that an unexpected joy about designing fabric is connecting with so many great crafters, quilters, bloggers and creative business people. It opens my world and is such a gift.

Pop Rox dress by Welcome to the Mouse House

Pop Rox Dress by Welcome to The Mouse House

Pop Rox Dress by Welcome to the Mouse House

Welcome to the Mouse House

United Colors of Love by Welcome to the Mouse House

Rainbows and Kitty Cats Birthday Party by Welcome to the Mouse House

The Norah Dress and Tunic by Welcome to the Mouse House

The Apron Dress Tutorial by Welcome to the Mouse House

Puppet Theater Cabinet by Welcome to the Mouse House

The 30 Minute Easter Skirt by Welcome to the Mouse House

The 30 Minute Easter Skirt tutorial by Welcome to the Mouse House

Swoon Sewing Patterns

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Next up on the Pop Rox round-up is Swoon Sewing Patterns who made the gorgeous Coraline clutches. Swoon has super high quality patterns for mostly bags and lots of bags they have! The best part is that you can buy the patterns right off their site and have the option of a downloadable pdf OR a paper pattern. Yes, and there are also freebies and tutorials, particularly on the blog.

First we’ll show you the gorgeous Pop Rox clutches, then I have to show you more of their bag patterns. Their style is “simple and clean”. I like that. And if you don’t think you are up to sewing, but you like their bags, check out the Etsy store DiedelBug Handmade. You can also find they patterns on YouCanMakeThis.com, Swoon Patterns Etsy shop, Craftsy, and Go To patterns & Co.

And tune in for special fund-raising sale notices on their Facebook page they will be doing to help fund a new small specialty sewing shop. The commercial space has already been leased!

Coraline Clutch by Swoon Sewing Patterns

I also like that they show their patterns made up with lots of different kinds of fabrics. So many great bags–some I haven’t seen anything like it before. Love the Betty Bowler Bag! Take a look.

Betty Bowler bag by Swoon Sewing Patterns

Dorothy Day Tripper bag by Swoon Sewing Patterns

India Hobo Bag by Swoon Sewing Patterns

Levi Utility Bag by Swoon Sewing Patterns

Sew Can She

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Plaid Portico

The first project in the Pop Rox project round-up comes from Caroline of Sew Can She. Sew Can She has free tutorials DAILY! I don’t know how she does it but Sew Can She is a refreshing blog with tons of info and things to do and participate in. Highly recommend a follow on this one!

Caroline kicked off Patchwork Posse’s Around The Block 2014 Round Robin with a Pop Rox Quilt Block tutorial:

Pop Rox Quilt Block tutorial by Sew Can She

But you have to take a look at some of the other cool project tutorials at Sew Can She. Here are some of my favorites:

Bunny Treat Bags by Sew Can She

2 sided zip cases by Sew Can She

Pattern Weights tutorial by Sew Can She

Mittens for Little Elves by Sew Can She

AND Caroline has a book coming out in the fall, Just for You with C&T (more on that later this year) and in conjunction with that she is throwing a retreat in October…in Key West! So if you like sewing retreats, check out sew:beach.

That is today’s Pop Rox round-up!

Time for a Pop Rox project round-up

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Plaid Portico

Well, I am back again! I think its time for a Pop Rox project round-up to see who all the people are who have been making projects and see what all they have come up with – and hear a little bit more about their creative businesses.

I’ll be posting these all week and then I will be sharing photos of my favorite quilts at the Voices of Cloth 2014 exhibition of the East Bay Heritage Quilters. Big event around here!

First though, we did another photo shoot when I received my bolts. The previous one was just a yard wrapped around other bolts. (!!). So here’s another look at the line (indulge me if you will):

Pop Rox by Carol Van Zandt for Andover Fabrics Inc.

And, one thing that is not always evident is that the main pattern goes selvedge to selvage. Double trouble! Here, I’ll show you:

Pop Rox by Carol Van Zandt for Andover Fabrics Inc.

So before we go on our journey this week looking at all the cool projects people have sewn, let’s look at some of the quilt patterns that are available. First off is the free pdf pattern download you can get through Andover Fabrics HERE. Then after that take a look at the Latte Lattice and Candy Lattice quilt pattern and Modern Gem which you can get through Vanilla Latte Quilts HERE.