All sew alongs are more fun when a little giveaway is involved!
My lovely friend Joanna, who wrote the Christmas Fig book, is giving away a bundle of her fabric and set of patterns, so exciting!
Joanna and I have been friends a LONG time, I was a fan girl before I even meet her. She has been on my podcast many times (listen to the last one HERE). And I have been known to hoard Joanna's gorgeous Figtree fabric
I asked Joanna 3 questions... you are in for some fun!
You and I have a deep love for vintage quilts. Your blocks for Christmas Figs is based on your favorite vintage patterns. I'd love to know what is one of your favorite vintage quilts you own.
Vintage quilts are my jam... as the young kids would say these day LOL. Most of my designs are inspired directly or indirectly by vintage quilts and vintage quilt patterns. There is something timeless and nostalgic about them that speaks to me. My sampler quilts are all a giant mash up of my favorite vintage blocks and this Christmas Figs sampler is definitely that too. What I tried to do with this one is to alternate a more complicated vintage block with a block filled with small simple blocks.
That way we get all of our classic favorites in there that are simple to make, and we get to challenge ourselves with some more involved piecing. One of my favorite vintage quilts that comes out every Christmas is this classic red/white with circles. I have yet to figure out a simple way to recreate it but I will one of these days!
You have designed fabric for 18 years, how do you keep track of the designs you have created .. a photo of a journal, styles swatches.. some sort of behind the scenes secret Figtree organization?
I wish I was a more organized person in general but I have to admit that I'm not. I can identify every single print I have ever designed and what collection it belongs to. The problem is that I have now re used several of my favorite, especially the little tiny filler prints, in several collections and then it becomes quite a challenge to figure out where a piece belongs.
I do keep one bundle of each fabric collection I have ever designed more of a momento than a way of organizing. I do use file folders for EVERYTHING. I might have a file folder problem... and they have to be pretty. So pretty file folders are my organizational method I guess!
Someday I'd love to visit you and see all your amazing quilts in person. Your photos make everything so inviting. Do you have a piece in your studio or home you'd never part with?
Pat, you are welcome to come and visit me any time you are in the San Francisco Bay Area... we could do some serious damage at the local flea markets and antique shops I think. On second thought, maybe it would be better for my wallet if you didn't ever visit HAHA! I often have those "what would you save out of a burning building" conversations with people and other than the obvious things, like our family photo albums and a few things of my dad's, the only other thing I would drag out of the house with me are my vintage quilts. And not even because any of them are really worth that much [ I tend not to buy the intricate expensive ones] but because I love them so much and can't imagine creating a home without them.
Another thing I love and even though they would be a bit hard for me to take with me if I had to run out of the house, are my vintage benches. I have quite a collection of them and they are in every single room of my house. Small tiny stools all the way to large, long benches... all in different colors and styles. Love them a lot.
I also love my chickens... my collection of vintage ceramic chickens that is. I would certainly never part with those!
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What is your favorite Christmas Ornament?
When my husband and I were first dating and in our early years of marriage, I started a tradition of gifting him an ornament every year. When the kids were born, I started the same thing for each of them so that one day when they started their own tree, they would have a box of ornaments they remembered from their childhood. For now all of those collected ornaments still get placed on our tree every year. So I guess I have... 75 favorite ornaments [ 1 for all the years we have been married plus the years all 3 of my kids have been on this earth]... wow that is a lot of ornaments!
I guess that doesn't really answer your question, so I guess I don't have one favorite... too many cherished ones to choose from! However, I also have a large collection of mushroom ornaments and those are among my all time favorites.
Joanna is giving away a BUNDLE Of Christmas fabrics and a set of her patterns to one lucky quilter!!
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CLICK HERE to ENTER at Joanna's website by the 9/21/18!
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