::feed your soul::

Hey there! How are you? We are super crazy end of the school year, 3 year old is out of school, a million things going on busy but .....I had to share this: I recently came across this site online that has free art prints that you can download and print for FREE! There are lots of super cool ones, that I plan to print on card stock and hang on our wire clothespin thing we have in our house for pictures. Might have to knock off a few preschool pictures, shhh!

Check it out here: Feed Your Soul: The Free Art Project

olympic education

As we are about to say farewell to the 2010 Winter Olympics, I have to admit that I watched the games almost, if not every night. I haven't missed much because I really love the Winter Olympics and I think my enthusiasm has caught on around here. My boys are now using sleds as snowboards and begging us to take them to the local ski mountain. Shawn White has become somewhat of an idol to them over the past few weeks. I tried to think who I worshipped like that when I was their age. I never came up with anyone actually, but I was never into sports like they are at this age. But mostly I love the feel of nations coming together, the thrill of all the sports and hearing the stories behind the athletes and their amazing journeys of success and even defeat. I wanted to share this site because we came upon it and have all learned quite a bit. It is on NBC and gives short videos behind the science of the Olympic sports. It was cool to see how the kids were putting it all together in their heads as they learned that snowboarding is all about math and physics. I think the school points were boosted a bit! Watch it with your kids, I learned a ton too! NBC Learn

design & target

Lately I am sure everyone has seen the plethora of designers that are making their way into your local Target. First when I saw Orla Kiely, I was really quite excited because one of her bags has been on my want list for a few years. (still on that list) But then yesterday I saw a new commercial for Liberty of London. They are one of the oldest fabric designers from London and make beautiful and very soft and very pricey fabrics for sewers and home goods. But wait, what is this? They are coming to Target too? I couldn't believe it! I am not above shopping for them there either, because quite honestly that is more in my price bracket than $25 yard for fabric. They come out March 14th but in the meantime, head over to this site and you can download some of these gorgeous prints for your desktop as well as have a sneak peek at what will be in stores. What do you think about all these designers moving to the big boxes? Is this a sign of these economic times or do you think it is nice that normal pocket books can get in on some great style?

2 quilts done for 2 happy boys

Last summer I went on my amazing sewing getaway with my dear friend Lillian. Where I made the tops of 2 quilts for my boys. I am happy to say that today they are finally done and on their beds keeping them warm at night. The funny thing about these quilts is that it was supposed to be just one for my oldest Aidan, but when I walked in the door from my trip that summer my younger son quickly asked me: " what did you make for me?" I instantly pulled out the 2 quilt pieces and said "this one is yours!". I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had only made his brother one this trip. So I made the back of Aidan's quilt into the front of Gray's and now had lots more work to finish them both!

And then came a move, my back troubles and back surgery and recovery and those quilts sat and sat and sat in a box for the past 6 months or so. I decided to send them off to The Back Porch Quilters after I have heard Dana over at Old Red Barn Co. speak so highly of Rhonda's work.

I sent them off at the end of December and happily received them last week all done and so beautiful!! Her work is flawless and at .01 per square inch it is affordable too. It was so worth it to have these quilts done for me this time with all we have had going on. I needed to feel like something was getting done. Since I still can't sit at my machine for too long, the thought of quilting these big quilts was impossible! Grayson's is a double and Aidan's is a generous twin.

It feels good to see your hard work complete. I had a nice time by the fire over the snowy weekend sewing the bindings on too. It was relaxing and so warm under those quilts all weekend. Perfect!

lovely fabrics and a giveaway too!

(Playground Palette)

Recently I bought a little bit of Anna Maria Horner's new line called Little Folks. It is made out of voile which is just so lovely and light weight. Kind of like the lawn cotton from Liberty of London. When you are lying around healing from back surgery, it can be very dangerous not to buy a ton of fabric while surfing the web! There is not much else to do! But I was good and just got 3 fat quarters thinking I would make a scarf. Has not happened yet, but it will!

I ordered from Harts Fabric and was very pleased with their prices, customer service and fast shipping. Today they are having a giveaway on their blog for a free yard from the Little Folks line! So go check it out here and sign up to win!

As for me, I am s.l.o.w.l.y healing from surgery and getting better each day. I am dying to be able to sew again and have stashed a million new project ideas in my head! The body knows what it is doing but sometimes the mind gets impatient waiting! See you soon. Hope you have a great day!

embroidery

Recently I got an email from a sweet woman named Tasha who invited me to join a flickr group for embroidery. I wrote her back to say, that I didn't know how to embroider and had never really tried, so I didn't think I would be a good person for a hand stitched theme. Ever since I have been sewing, I have always said: I don't sew by hand. Truth is, I never really tried. When I put the binding on my first quilt, it felt so wonderful! Well anyway, Tasha was sweet enough to take my response as a chance to open me up to embroidery. She has the cutest little shop over at etsy that sells embroidery patterns. She sent me a pattern for a cute little dress along with some pointers and directions to get started. I like a good challenge and agreed to give it a go!And you know what? I really liked sewing by hand! It was relaxing and rewarding and a nice change from being on my machine. Now, I included my example below and I know it is full of mistakes: like stitch length for one! But remember I am a beginner but now I want to give her other patterns a try to make this cute dress series for my little girl's room!

So thank you Tasha for introducing me to a new hobby and your wonderful shop and blog. If you would like to check it out you can follow the links below. Here's to trying something new!

A Little Sweetness: find lots of sweet patterns and more
Tasha's Blog : for more embroidery inspiration

heather ross quilt

My Heather Ross mini quilt is all done, even bound! I love how it turned out and had this idea floating in my head for some time and happy to see it completed. Too many unfinished sewing ideas are swimming around up there! I decided to just quilt it randomly all over and like how it contrasts with all the straight lines. This quilt is for a swap that I am involved with and will be sent off to my partner. I wasn't sure how I would like to do a swap, but it was pretty fun! Just hope she likes it. You can check out some of the other quilts over here, or if you are feeling adventurous you can sign up for the next quilt swap. We also added a little something extra and I made this pin cushion in my favorite flower print from Heather Ross and one of my key fobs to go along too! Hope you are having a good day!

swap group Etsy treasury

swap group Etsy treasury
Originally uploaded by janssendesigns

Look who made it into an etsy Treasury! It's Oscar with some fun creations from other etsy sellers and fabric swappers! Yay for Oscar!

work in progress

I am working on this little mini quilt for my very first swap. I am part of this really fun online group of crafty, fabric loving souls that love to swap fabric. It has been pretty fun to get some of the lines that are long out of print and be able to trade for fabric I have to spare. Everyone is so nice , but warning...it certainly feeds my fabric addiction! If you are interested in joining just folow the link

So one of the ladies came up with the idea to do a mini (20"x20") quilt swap with the theme being Heather Ross fabrics. Since she is one of my favorite designers, I signed up. I knew what I wanted to do pretty right off the bat. I am still finishing up and not sure if my partner will see this, but sneak peaks are fun too! Should be done soon and on it's way to her home. Then she will also make one for me, yay! I love surprises, how often do we get them really??

quilt show

Yesterday I made it over to the Quilt Show with my good friend Heather. It was so amazing to see the quilts that were there. You could hardly believe that some of them were made by human hands. I loved to think about each woman that created them and the process from the first dreams of what her quilt would be to the final finished product. All the mental hours alone are astounding. The talent in that building was just awesome. We enjoyed seeing the art quilts full of bold designs and ingenious use of color. The traditional quilts I can picture being handed down for generations to come. Each one holding its' own story. I was really inspired. Heather and I talked about how one day when we are old ladies, still walking around the show. Could we ever dream of having one of our own works there? I think she could, she is really talented already!

Also we visited a great vendor from Thimble Pleasures and picked up some yummy half yard cuts from the Katie Jump Rope line and one from Anna Maria Horner. Certainly an added bonus to the day's activities!

Hope your weekend is full of creativity and inspiration too! And remember to join my giveaway which ends tomorrow night!

let's do a giveaway

Let's do a giveaway, what do you say? Want to? It has been a year since I started this blog. At first it was an idea for the etsy business Olliekate that I run with my friend Rebecca. But I strayed from just etsy stuff and it became a family blog, a sewing blog, a creative outlet and connection to the online world of other women just like myself who are trying to mother and lead their lives the best they know how. I have truly enjoyed posting here and exploring my life through these pages as well. I love the comments I receive and always check back with people who have taken the time to reach out through the blog world. So thank you for making me comfortable, for stopping by and saying hello. I am always inspired!

As a big thanks I want to do a year anniversary giveaway. Since I love fabric so very much, I thought it would be a great thing to share with you. And if you don't sew, well you may just be inspired to start with this great design. It is the birdseed fabric by Alexander Henry. Comes in these great colors, very vibrant and fun. I will be giving away a fat quarter (18"x22") of each color to the lucky winner.

Leave me a comment be sure your contact info is there too and I will randomly pick a winner. You can leave any kind of comment but I would love to hear about what you like to sew or what you would use these birdies for. We can inspire each other that way.

I will leave the giveaway open until Sunday night at 9:00 pm. August 9th, and announce the winner on Monday morning. Thanks for stopping by!

The giveaway is closed and I will announce the winner on Monday morning, thanks!!

home again

Hello! We are home from our week at the beach with the best of friends. Six kids, four adults, lots of laughter and sun, sun sun! It was fabulous and left me with feeling thankful for friendships that fill us up and time to enjoy the kids and each other. We arrived home last night and awoke to 2 phone calls on our house which is for sale. We had 2 showings today which is a great remedy to get those bags unpacked and the house picked up! House still for sale but it is clean!
On the sewing front, I had a lovely email from The Fabric Shopper who asked to include my Far Far Away dress on her blog. She covers all things fabric, so of course I love her blog! Check it out!
My friend Heather over at Brown Robin reminded me that we have both been blogging now for 1 year. I have really enjoyed the community of people I have met through blogging and online. I am always inspired by such talent and kind spirits to share our love of life, parenting, sewing, creating or whatever may bring us together! So it is high time for a giveaway! I will be posting about it this week so check back and enter to win :)
Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

ahh, beautiful quilts

1. finished quilt, 2. patchwork for Ian's room, 3. Muddy Waters, 4. Carrie's B-day Quilt, 5. dqs6 from cathy gaubert, mushroom girls, 6. pillows, 7. Block Party - Quilted, 8. Half Square Triangle Quilt, 9. Stripes in frames lap quilt, 10. Boy Baby Quilt, 11. Stacked scrap quilt for a baby boy, 12. Front of quilt after stippling, 13. Far Far Away Squared, 14. Far Far Away quilt, 15. pillow in progress, 16. IMG_FFAdone0001

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

We have been super busy around here and not much time for blogging or sewing for that matter. But here is some eye candy of beautiful quilts posted over on flickr. I love all the color and design. Inspiring... Now that I got the 2 quilt tops for the boys done, I have to motivate to finish them. I love that I have found a new sewing hobby and reason to admire fabric even more.
We spent this past weekend on the lake with friends. Lots of boating, swimming, fishing, some water fall action and my 2 boys jumped off a 20 foot rock into the lake (NOT my idea and I was petrified but boy did they love it) Sorry Mom, this is true!
Got them all to bed at 7:00 tonight, the water can really wear you out!
Hope your weekend was fun and the week kicks off to a good start. My dad is getting a new knee in the morning so I will be keeping him in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow. Off to bed to rest up from all the excitement.

week 3 quilt along progress

strips sewn,pressed and ready to be cut into blocks

all of my blocks (36) cut, hopefully square!

and ready for week 4

I am still plugging along on the Old Red Barn Co. quilt along.It has been a learning process. I first started sewing when I was 17 in my high school home ec. class. Well, that has been a long time ago and have been sewing more on than off since then. There are lots of things I already know, but I am always looking to learn more about sewing. New techniques, new challenges because there is so much out there to learn.This quilt along is like that.
Here is what I have learned so far from the quilt along:
*Apparently measuring is very important, very important!
*Somehow a straight piece of fabric can have a curve in it when you sew the strips all together.
*This can be fixed.
*The ladies over on the quilt along flickr page rock. They will help you out a lot.
*Inviting a friend over for a "play date" can also mean: Please come look at this and tell me what you think!
*I love the fabric I chose.
*I can't wait to see the finished product
* I am nervous about the whole quilting part!
*I need to relax a bit about it!

*I am having fun doing something new and different
*Deadlines are a good thing for me, I am right on track
*Oh yeah, I am having fun too!

laying out the blocks to see what it will look like (sorry for the bad lighting, it was late!)

So if you were thinking of trying this out, I would recommend it. Even if you are late starting, it doesn't matter because all of the directions are on the site so you can go at your own pace if you choose or just catch up. It is very beginner quilter friendly.

quilt along with me

Thanks to my quilting hero, Heather over at Brown Robin, I have signed up for a quilt along sponsored by Old Red Barn Co. The way it works is that over the next 6 weeks, she will walk you through a quilt and the process. This will be my first "real" quilt, and I have been wanting to tackle this for quite some time. Heather will be my go to for advice and oh yeah, a walking foot. I figure if I put it out here on the blog, I have to stick with it, right? So I have picked my fabrics, what do you think? This was harder than it should have been for me to decide. Blues, an obvious choice for this lover of all things blue and some greens, turquoise and greys. Lots of Amy Butler, which always seems to happen to me when I have to pick lots of fabric, love her! So I will be posting as my quilt progresses. And if anyone wants to join along, hop over to the site and join in. All the directions are there. It should be fun!

And I forgot to mention, that Dana at the Old Red Barn Co. site is having awesome giveaways each week of the quilt along, leading up to a brand new machine! This week it is a Rowenta iron. Is it so lame that I would love to win a new iron? Mine stinks. And there is also a flickr group where you can see pictures of the works in action from everyone as the quilts progress, and get lots of inspiration too.

Remember tomorrow is the start of our Olliekate Giveaway. Come back and check out what I will have up for grabs. hint: something for your sofa, maybe???

Have a great day!

olliekate

Lisa from Sweetbeets featured us on her cool blog, ModEco Kids! She uses her blog to talk about her stationery business as well as other handmade and eco friendly gifts for babies and children. Have a look around for lots of fun ideas and companies you can feel good about supporting!

How fun to see our red poppy shirt showcased. Thanks Lisa!

next week:giveaway time

Next week we will be participating in a giveaway sponsored by Sew Mama Sew (one of my favorite places to get fabric, and a great sewing blog too!)

They are hosting a Giveaway on May 27th. There will be lots and lots of blogs with fun items to win all over the web, including us! Not sure what I will put up for grabs. Something fun from Olliekate for sure, so stop back by and enter to win. You will be able to click here on that day to see the other participants or get some more info. as well!

Happy Wednesday....

s.i.m.p.l.e

Sarah Jane posted about this fun print the other day and I wanted to share it over here too. Why? Because I think it is cool, retro and such a great reminder for us every day. Keep it real, keep it simple.
And because you can download it here for free from their site. Maybe a little daily reminder is helpful for all of us on these busy days of mothering and doing all we try to do.

growing up

Since I don't have any great Olliekate creations to share right now...
I am just loving the simplicity of this growth chart. It is hand embroidered. I found it on the site Tiny Sprouts. Plus that little girl is just precious!

how to...

Today I came across this great post on The Long Thread with The Top 100 Tutorials of 2008. I was pretty excited to see such a great list of projects from other online crafters. I love using tutorials because a) you can see lots of photos of finished projects and b)someone has usually worked out all the kinks. I am always googling for tutorials when I have new things I want to try and sew or crafts to make. I have made a few things and posted here that have been from tutorials. Like this skirt, this darling little tutu and my favorite twirly skirt. Having so many all in one place is a bonus!

Link to the Long Thread blog to see more. Happy creating!

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