Oh pleeeease!

Chelsea was really excited when she saw my new fabric line arrive. She LOVES the UPS man AND she's feeling kind of cool about fabric named after her. I mean after all, doesn't Chelsea Manor sound a bit important and a little regal?

But when I tied her new ABC bow from my Chelsea Manor fabric on her neck all she could say was "oh pleeeeease"!

After Nancy and I carried all these bolts up to the studio, and tore open a few of them, I knew I was in love with the fabric and Chelsea knew she was in trouble.

We took out the embroidered bunny blocks and tomorrow Nancy and I will start cutting fabric and sewing together my new quilt. Chelsea Manor and Rabbits Prefer Redwork are coming to life! I just can't wait to share this fabric with you!

Nancy and I kept looking at the fabric and looking at Chelsea and who knows what we'll make next?

Does she look a little worried? TEE HEE!

If I can tear myself away from this fabric I'll be back with another post soon! Maybe we'll have a giveaway before too long!

Right about now Bitsy is really glad her name isn't Chelsea.

Hugs,

Creating a Quilt

I'm so excited because I'm waiting for this man in the brown truck...

...to deliver a package from New York. It looks just like this and I've been tracking it for several days. It arrives here on Wednesday as long as it doesn't snow in Arizona!

I'll give you a little hint as to what's inside the box...it's red, cream and brown, it has some bunnies on it and it means I'll be able to sew up a storm! It's the advance yardage of my "Chelsea Manor" fabric from Henry Glass Fabrics! Finally I'll be able to finish up my next pattern called "Rabbits Prefer Embroidery!

As I wait for my fabric to arrive, I've put together a little presentation to show you how this all began...how "Rabbits Prefer Embroidery" and Chelsea Manor got their start...

Here's what to do; turn up your sound (it has music), set your computer to full screen for best viewing, and click on play. I've made a little slide show for you! When it finishes playing just hit the escape tab on your keyboard and you can "x" out. You'll see the quilt I'll be sewing together this week! A new pattern coming very soon from Bunny Hill Designs!

You can make a smile box creation too! Just click on this link to get started! http://www.smilebox.com/

Hugs all!

"Angel Houses"

And the sky was filled with angels, each one on a star, and you could feel the magic in the air...

It's here! Finally! "Angel Houses" from Bunny Hill Designs and Henry Glass Fabrics is shipping to quilt shops this month. The time between designing a fabric and shipping to stores seems like forever, and when I actually see bolts of fabric it's so exciting!

Each of my fabric lines start with little sketches of ideas. I never know where these will lead. As I'm working on a line I keep drawing and drawing, and jotting down ideas as I go. I never worry about how it looks at this point, they don't have to be perfect sketches. I just want my ideas on paper so I can remember! And to think that these sketches may eventually become fabric amazes me! Read about my inspiration for this line on The Fat Quarter Shop's blog! Better yet she has the fabric in stock here!

And don't you just love free patterns? Well, you'll find this quilt...

...and this little heart ornament on my web site. Just click on this link and you'll be there!

Hope you have a little angel in your life! It's so much fun to make these little hearts!

Hugs,

Anne

Things to Come at Chelsea Manor

Chelsea Manor was inspired by my love of embroidery. You didn't know I had a love of embroidery? Well if you look back over the Bunny Hill block of the months you're sure to find a touch of embroidery on every quilt. It's been a part of my life for many years and part of the handwork that I love.

The idea for Chelsea Manor was born when I decided to do a redwork version of "Rabbits Prefer Chocolate", called "Rabbits Prefer Embroidery". I reduced my drawings, made changes, added new ones and as I saw the little blocks come to life I knew I wanted my own redwork fabric! I approached my fabric company, Henry Glass Fabrics, and they said yes!

I don't know how much you can see from the little swatches above, so here's a closeup of the main print. I own a vintage calligraphy book from the mid 1800's and the rabbits are filled with the alphabet from this book! Pretty fancy rabbits don't you think? There's a brown version too! And of course little prints and stripes to co-ordinate!

If you'd like to try my redwork bunny quilt, the pattern will be released as soon as the fabric is ready. Here's a little preview of what to expect. I'll keep you posted as I have lots of other redwork projects coming to go with this fabric line! There's even a suprise free pattern that will be up on my web site early next year. I think you'll love it!

If your local quilt shop is coming to market they can order Chelsea Manor now. If not please ask them to check with their local Henry Glass representative after market is over. 2009 is looking like it might be a very fun year!

Chelsea is a very happy little dog right about now. I just told her the name of my new fabric line. Hope she doesn't get a big head!

It's Raining, No It's Pouring!

Can anyone tell me if a Chihuahua that weighs 5 lbs. can get blown away by winds of 60 to 75 miles per hour? Seems to me that could happen! How about a dog that weighs about 9 lbs? How about a lady that weighs...ha!...nevermind...I think I'll be fine. In case you haven't heard we are having a HUGE storm here in Northern California. I'm sure all of you living in snow country are thinking we don't know what a storm is, but 8 to 10 inches of rain in 3 days is a LOT of rain! Soggy, muddy, wet, slippery, gloomy forecast. A good time to stay inside I say!

So while it pours, I'm starting new things. Today I started working on a new fabric line for spring market. It will take me several weeks to pull it together, but the process is so much fun! I have a special pencil I like to draw with. It makes very fine lines (3mm.) and I can get great detail with it. So out came the sketch book, the erasers, my special pencils and then soon will follow the Bristol Board and paints. And with a lot of luck, a few good pencil lines and some help from the art staff at Henry Glass, I will have gone from this...

...To this with another fabric line! This print is from "Flowers For Emma", the companion fabric line to "Miss Emma's Garden"!

If we don't get blown away by the wind, I'll post again soon! Soggy hugs from Northern California (:

Miss Emma Came for Christmas!

December 24th and yards of my newest fabric line, Miss Emma's Garden, arrived at my door! Enough fabric for me to make quits, pillows, table runners, placemats, pillowcases, sheets (well maybe not sheets, but you get the idea). It's so much fun to get lots of fabric after skimping for so long! Fabric companies ship a limited amount to work with in advance. The remainder of the fabric arrives by boat months later, goes through customs, into the warehouse and out to the stores! Yes, "Miss Emma's Garden" is shipping to stores!

To add to my excitement, I opened this present from my assistant Nireko and I couldn't believe my eyes! She took two of the prints from my collection and made a sewing box for me. A sewing box like no other sewing box. First she designs the box (she actually makes the box herself), then she meticulously covers it with fabric and adds a bit of padding on top. Everything fits together perfectly. The inside of the box has a tray that comes out so you can keep larger things underneath. Oh my, I love this box! Thank you Nireko from the bottom of my heart. (:

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday! Another long weekend is coming up! Hope you have a chance to sew a bit, shop the internet sales and do some more sewing. I plan on sewing for sure! My fingers can't wait to sew. I'm been going through withdrawl!

Hugs,

Anne

Creating

From this little pencil sketch...

to this fabric!

Not many designers know what they're doing when asked to submit a fabric line. A few lines down the road we may act like we do, but the truth is it's a bit scary. It's like being in the middle of the ocean and not being able to see the shore...you don't know what's ahead and wonder why you ever left your safe space on land.

I just heard that my fabric is in the warehouse, being cut and put onto bolts and it will ship to the stores this week! A perfect time to share with you how it was created at the very start. Like many things in life you just have to jump right in and do your best. That's what I did. Pushed the insecurities down and jumped in! Yes, there were some "what if they don't like it?" that my husband and friends had to listen to. I think those will always be there.

Henry Glass had asked for a baby fabric and since I love lambs it was easy to start! I drew pencil sketches of all the lamb scenes you see in the fabric. Then I added the little things you see mixed in...hearts, heart bouquets, butterflies, birds, and anything else my heart desired. It was so much fun!

Of course you have to have co-ordinates like stripes, checks, prints, and dots so those were next. Then came the color. I got out my water colors and painted! I attached color chips, sample fabrics in the colors I wanted and sent my package off to New York! They took my drawings, put them into the computer, cut, pasted and colored and sent back my first fabric line on paper for me to see. Me! Me to say yes, no, hello? It was just too cool!

I'm feeling so much more experienced now. Can you imagine after just one line? (: Now I have more fabric in the works for spring market. My goal for this year is to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to play with fabric. I'll never give up the drawing part. It's what feeds my heart. But I have to admit it would be fun to put my lamb in Photoshop and see how she looks wearing pink little dots!