OUT TO SEA Embroidery PDF Patterns

Well hello! Here we go. New embroidery patterns that you've been seeing sneak peeks of.Yay! I really, really love these.

Last year's patterns were an unexpected hit. I knew people were starting to fall back in love with hand stitching...but I had no idea how much! It's been so fun to talk with you and see your projects!  I love that hand embroidery gives such a personal touch to any project. It becomes personal, your own, and an art piece all on it's own! Because so many of you own Sarah Jane prints in your own homes....I am starting to create more of that feel in embroidery pieces. Something you can stitch to make a real statement...but that is easy and inexpensive, and will last forever. A real personal touch!

When I was a little girl, and maybe I've said this before? I dunno. But I had a crewel embroidered nursery rhyme wall hanging in my room. I always wanted to touch it. It was a "1-2 buckle my shoe" design, and I would stroke the threads as I walked by when I was in my mother's arms. It stood out to me so much, because it was art I could touch, and handle. And my mom's best friend made it as a baby gift, which made me feel connected to her. Handmade pieces connect people. They tell a story. And they can bring to life design, color, and texture.  For me, it connected me to so many things. It's why  I love it so much!

So...here we go! Let's get introduced!

These designs are lifted right from the OUT TO SEA fabric and they might look all fancy, but they are really not that hard. I wanted to keep them simple this time, and so all 4 can be completed at any skill level. I promise!

BE STILL

The only design that is inspired by, but not lifted exactly is the BE STILL piece. My favorite! This one was fun to make a really easy running stitch turn into the distant horizon of the sea. So sweet.

Remember this piece? I thought it would make the sweetest embroidery design. And it's nice to have something that isn't just for the kids:)

IF I HAD A SHIP

No, maybe this is my favorite. I LOVE this ship design. IF I HAD A SHIP, I'D SAIL THE SEVEN SEAS. It's inspired by a poem that I couldn't get out my head when I was designing the fabric collection. Do you know it?

I grew up listening to a Judy Dench recording of this poem. So when you read it, get all British and speak in a low, dramatic voice;)

The Island, by A.A. Milne If I had a ship, I'd sail my ship I'd sail my ship Through Eastern seas; Down to a beach where the slow waves thunder - The green curls over and the white falls under - Boom! Boom! Boom! On the sun-bright sand. Then I'd leave my ship and I'd land, And climb the steep white sand, And climb to the trees The six dark trees, The coco-nut trees on the cliff's green crown - Hands and knees To the coco-nut trees, Face to the cliff as the stones patter down, Up, up, up, staggering, stumbling, Round the corner where the rock is crumbling, Round this shoulder, Over this boulder, Up to the top where the six trees stand....

And there I would rest, and lie, My chin in my hands, and gaze At the dazzle of the sand below, And the green waves curling slow And the grey-blue distant haze Where the sea goes up to the sky....

And I'd say to myself as I looked so lazily down at the sea: "There's nobody else in the world, and the world was made for me."

It really makes such a wonderful wall hanging. (There will be a tutorial for this in August by the way!)

So, that's where the inspiration came from for this. And a lot of the OUT TO SEA fabric. So much imagination in those children's heads. They can go anywhere.

PIRATE KIDS

Then of course, pirates and mermaids!

DEEP BLUE SEA

Addie is my mermaid. She comes from a long line of Mermaids. Me, my mom, my grandmother....like literally. Mermaids. Water Babies. We love the ocean.

So there you go. Lots of stitching to do! But not too much. Just enough I think!

These will be ready with IRON-ON transfers in a month. Sorry :( not just yet! But the PDF'S are ready to go! I know a lot of people like to have both on hand, just in case. But this way, you can start stitching and be ready for when the fabric comes out later this summer!

Don't forget about the SARAH JANE EMBROIDERY FLICKR group which I have sorely neglected. Sorry. No more! Let's get stitching! The Fabric flickr group rocks. Lets do the same for the stitching one!

Happy Stitching!!

All Embroidery Patterns Available HERE.

Quilt Market 2012 Part 2: The Whole Story

How about a good story today. Yes?

This is the tale of how the OUT TO SEA fabric line came to life at the International Quilt Market in Kansas City, Missouri 2012.

Once upon a time...

(which is how all good stories start!)

I had a dream of a nautical collection for children that was whimsical, classic, fresh, full of children and stories, and seaside daydreams, and I just couldn't get it out of my head.

It had to have all the right parts, and nothing less. Boy fabrics, and girl fabrics...seamlessly coordinating, but still maintaining very distinct color feelings.

I needed to tell the story of children playing pirates, and dreaming of mermaids...and find just the right palette that parents would find beautiful too.

There had to be maps for voyages.

Characters to play the parts.

I needed prints for little tiny projects.

And prints for great big large projects.

I dreamed of making nautical very feminine...

But not letting go of the masculine "ARRRR...." that we all love so much.

I wanted it to be sweet enough for the baby-est of projects

But sophisticated for the ladies to use too.

{Image from here}

It needed to spark new ideas for quilting...

But be JUST the right size to make a statement for apparel as well!

I needed the Navy blue to really shine and not get overpowered by the traditional heavy reds...so I let it coordinate with just the right pinks, blues, greys and oranges to make it a modern and fresh take on a nautical theme.

And it all had to coordinate in just the right way!

 * * * * * * *

But I needed to set the stage.

I wanted people to SEE all the possibilities I saw, and have had for the past 14 months!

I told my husband that I dreamed of a Cape Cod Cottage beach house on the coast...with a children's room full of bunks, porthole windows...and weathered wood walls.

(ahem...in pretend life...not real life, or he would have fainted on the spot:)

I roughed out a (rough!) sketch

Showed him a couple pictures on Pinterest...

And next thing I knew, he was tearing down our (very old, falling over and needing to be replaced) fence.

Little did I know that our backyard could come all the way to market with us, and totally set the stage.

It's the real deal! Leaves still attached and all!

Kenneth built the booth in our (very short) garage...

We packed everything in our minivan and uhaul trailer....

and drove 2 days straight to Kansas City!

But when we got there, we realized that we had built the booth for the wrong corner (I missed the memo that there had been a switch...I have made really silly mistakes in the past, and this is at the top of my list now!) so Kenneth would have to re-wire all the lighting, and rebuild 1/2 of the booth which basically put us about 8 hours behind. Take that with 90+ degree heat and humidity inside the building and two very long 14 hour days setting it up, and we were spent!

But of course, we still had loads of fun. It helps being married to your best friend and construction manager:) http://youtu.be/SEk0RN5bitI

Proof that he forgave me after about 14 minutes of discovering that bad news is in the video. He's a champ.

Thank goodness for both of us being really quick on our feet thinkers. And for a local Home Depot!

{image from here}

I still managed to dash upstairs to all the anxious attendants just antsy to see all the debuts at market. With sawdust in my hair I dashed up to present at Schoolhouse (where you attend classes presented by companies and people showing at market) and then dashed back down to get all in order for the 3 day show.

But the show was a success. At the start of the second day, I turned around to see a committee of people with a big fat ribbon...and I was speechless!

Quilt Market is an amazing show, full of incredible talent. And so when they awarded me with the Creativity Award, I literally burst into tears. It was well deserved after our hiccup and creative problem solving to get it up in time!

But the REAL thanks goes to all the friends who helped me sew up all the projects you see in the booth! I will be sharing LOTS more on that later, but this story....while it started as a very clear idea...sprung into a beautiful project that was so successful because of all the people involved! I can't thank my family and sewers enough!

I'll be sharing more on this later...but each project in the booth was designed for a BLOG TOUR once the fabric is launched August 5th. I'll be featuring each project here (and more!) with links to the respective sewer who will have a Free Tutorial and/or pattern available for you to make your own! Stay tuned in July for that.

So that is the story of how OUT TO SEA fabric by Sarah Jane was created and managed to sailed the across highway 80 to Quilt Market and and back again.

It was an amazing journey, and I plan on doing it again....and again....and again! Ken loves to build sets, and I love to design fabric, so I think we're in this for the long haul.

My next adventure now is to see what you all make with this!! I can't wait to share in all your projects too!

And because all good stories need to end with something funny and sweet, I'll send you off with this darling Narwhal.

(Tutorial coming with him too....can't wait for July!)

The End.

(Oh...I nearly forgot....did you spy embroidery designs? I did. Want to make them? I'll be posting them next week so you can get started! Yay for new embroidery designs!)

(And one last thing...You can see many of these images on my Pinterest Board here. Enjoy!!)

Quilt Market Part 1: Behind the Scenes

http://youtu.be/SEk0RN5bitI Ok. I'm back!

So...Quilt Market. Out to Sea Fabric. Michael Miller awesomeness. I'm ready to share all.

But not all at once!

Here's a little video we put together of set up.

It was so, so awesome to tackle this project of putting up a booth with my best friend and partner in crime.

We had a lot of challenges getting the booth up (more on that later!) but after winning the Creativity Award, I think it was all worth it!

Enjoy!

Introducing: OUT TO SEA

OK! Are you ready? Here we go! Introducing OUT TO SEA.....my latest collection with Michael Miller Fabrics.

AHOY THERE colorway collection web

deep sea jewel collection web

morning coral collection web

Out to Sea has been on my mind for oh....maybe a year and a half now. I finally put it all together into 3 colorways, each telling a great story.

Golly! Where to start. I never know where to start...especially knowing this is your first introduction. Say hello!

Let's start with pictures, shall we?

Untitled-27

footstool webjpg

So, do you have a minute? There is so much I want to tell you and show you...and I have a feeling that I won't be able to do it justice all in one post.

But I'll try!

So....when I was designing this collection, I paid a lot of attention to the classic elements of Maritime Fancies....but also to how children imagine and play.

This map print is a good example of that...perfect for running fingers through the ship paths (the above picture is embroidered by the way....the real fabric has printed dashed lines:) So this collection really has a good mix of larger scale fabrics, and small....which is my way of encouraging lots and lots of variations in project making.

Every child dreams of adventures on the sea...and this collection is my offering to the whimsy of maritime travel.

Untitled-29

map and stripes

anchors away

deep sea jewel draped web

morning coral bolts web

Untitled-23

out to sea navy dress web

addie figgy dress small

What I love about this fabric, is that it's considered quilting grade fabric, but the weave is a new quality called Cotton Couture, and is much, much softer and lighter than the traditional quilting grade. But....it's not 100% apparel grade either! I've been sewing bedding and quilts all week, and it's amazing to home dec, quilt and apparel with. My, my, my. I'm in love.

sneak peak 1

So wow! Here it all is!

As you are reading this, I'm standing in front of my Quilt Market booth with a high waisted skirt in the navy anchor fabric, and a sea flower peter pan collar. I adore that this collection is suitable enough for the older folk like me:)

map crop web

I am running out of time, as my fingers are itching to finish up projects and get to Quilt Market! Can I show you more later? There is so much to play with, and I wish I had time for all my ideas!

So, wish me luck at Quilt Market!! I'll be thinking of all of you back home seeing this for the first time! It's always such a weird feeling to hit "Publish" on a post like this....hoping that a year's worth of color and design that has been stewing in my head is something you can get to know and love too!

More to share soon! I want to dive in deep with you all and show you how much fun I've been having with this fabric.

Love and hugs!!

xoxo sarah jane

And PS: because I know you will ask, this fabric will be in stores come Aug 1. Scheduling fabric releases is a very huge process, and there is so much time involved. But I'm going to be sharing tours of ideas (more on this later) to help you get ideas for what you can do with this collection so you are ready when it is available!

Coming soon

It's here! It's finally here. Spring Quilt Market. We're packing and painting, sewing and stitching....and we're heading out in a pink and navy ship (I wish!) on Monday. Ouch. Monday? Lots to do until then...but I'm really looking forward to telling you all about this collection. To be fair to all the stores who are privy to first peeks, I'm going to be sharing it ALL with you the week of market...next week.

And I'm like doing the potty dance in excitement...ready to spill the beans.

(photo courtesy of April Rosenthal)

This time last year, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into! I was ready to launch Children at Play, and being so super excited about it, we just dove into the Quilt Market scene head first, ready to see how the fabric world would take on. And we were so excited. Kenneth and I both love working on projects together, and with his set building love, and my love for designing spaces, we might be having just as much...if not more fun than last year!

It's really crazy what so many people put into making a booth at market. It's rather addictive for Kenneth and I, and maybe it's because we just love being able to tell a story behind the designs. Making a space that feels like home, and inspires childhood fancies. But oh the hours invested:) Going to bed at midnight feels like an early nighter. Yikes!

But our spirits are good...and our kids are so amazing, and have loved being part of "Mommy's fabric." I live for their excitement! And they really are my best taste-testers. I try out my ideas on them, and see how they take! Perfect little guinea pigs.

Gosh I love what I do.

It's a quest to find all the right thrifted pieces to reuse, and make new again for the show. It's so fun! Maybe cause it's like designing a space where you are forced to do it fast, and inexpensively....but with a very strong theme around it. That sounds like an awesome HGTV show...maybe I'll pitch a trailer.

So much of telling a fabric story is setting the feel, and this booth has honestly been so fun to put together. Late nights and all!

And with having fabric 2 weeks to put on a show, it's of course necessary to get help...and I can't wait to show you what I've created with the help of so many super-amazing talented people!

So, this is your LAST TEASER!

Next time I'm on here, you're going to be seeing the REAL thing. I can't even wait to show!! I feel a little like Willie Wonka, waiting to open the door to what's been in my head the past few months. I really hope you like it. It's going to be so much fun to see what you all create!

So, I'm coming back with lots to share...and I need some time to gather it all up and tell a very wonderful story.

Are you as excited as I am?

See you next week!

xo

sarah

Party Party!

Once again, I'm amazed at the projects you continue to come up with from Children at Play Fabric! I love seeing them over at the FLICKR group, and we talk a lot about them on my Facebook page, but sometimes I just need to share here on the blog. These pics are from the Amy Atlas Blog which  featured these designs by Ruby May Designs.

I am starting to think about my own toddler's birthday coming soon, and this inspired me! And to think that the fabric is my own making...just goes to show how creative you all are and give me so many ideas. I just love it!  You all inspire me so much!

Ruby put this party together so sweetly. It's the perfect mix of sweet but not too much!

I love how she used this panel On Parade fabric for the backdrop. I'm a big fan of panel prints,  and I can't seem to get tired of them! So many uses!

Anyways, here's some eye candy for your weekend, and maybe will inspire you with spring in the air!

Such a darling celebration Ruby May! Head on over to the FLICKR group to see more.

(Soon there will be another fabric collection to add to the mix! I'm hooked:)

Happy Friday! I've got LOTS planned to show you next week. Hee Hee:)

xo

sarah

Free applique pattern, studio improvements & hello!

Well, this blogging once a week thing is proving to be much better with my new schedule as of late. As I've been required to dig a little deeper into projects (which is always really hard to do in short spurts of free time) I find myself consolidating all over the place. The house is getting rearranged, my studio space and craft room is getting a make over, and I'm even rearranging our big hall closet. Spring is in the air I guess (eek! I love this time of year!) and I'm getting more aware of how to get more organized and how to make for more focused art time.

Although I still intend to endorse this quote from A. A. Milne.

"One of the advantages of being disorderly, is that one is constantly making new discoveries."

Amen to that.

One of the projects I've been up to is writing up this template and pattern for the Michael Miller Blog this weekend. So fun! Mostly it was an excuse for me to FINALLY write up this pattern for a quilt I designed for Quilt Market a bajillion months ago (ok, 9 months ago). Quilt Market was such a buzz, and I needed so much help to put a booth together in one week (I'm still trying to block those days and nights out  of my memory!) and Amy Smart quilted this up for me. She is amazing, as you know. All I did was draw up a pattern (scribbled, really) and she made it happen. I've been asked for the template ever since, and I finally got around to it!

So hop on over to the Michael Miller Blog and check it out!

The downloadable Template is HERE and the instructions are on the blog HERE.

I've been getting back into sewing a bit more too. Something about spring coming. I haven't really been sewing anything since market, but mostly because me sewing machine keeps breaking down, and my sewing room has been a perpetual mess.

Bleh. Time for a makeover! Can't wait to get started. So many ideas!

Me and my sister in law's have been working on this quilt for my newest nephew, and I'm about ready to have it quilted up. It turned out so well. His parents are both scientists, so the rocket theme was perfect!

Oh! And speaking of spaces, I finally got a couch in the studio! Finally a place for the kids to crash and hang out, and for me to snuggle up and sketch. It's made our space so much more cozy. But now I have to figure out what to put on the walls! Ideas?

And to finish with something I've sketched/doodled, I've resurrected a very, very old piece. This was one of the original pieces in my shop that I pulled up from forever ago it seems.  Addie just started ballet again, and dance has been on my mind. It's always a bit weird to go through really old files, and see how much I've changed in 4 years. Anyways, this was done 4 years ago, but it's fun to bring back.

Have a super-duper week. And don't forget to swing by the Michael Miller blog!

xo

sarah

warm & oh so snuggly.

Hello! I'm back home, barely unpacked, and SO ready for 2012. This is going to be a GREAT year, yes? I'm feeling it.

But before I dive into 2012, I wanted to post some things that made me smile this year for Christmas.

Click picture for link

So many of you have sent me pictures, or posted to the FLICKR group your luscious Christmas gifts you've slaved away on. And I wanted to share some here, but had to wait till after Christmas...(I didn't want to spoil any surprises!). This is my first experience with seeing my work under other people's Christmas Trees....well, YOUR work! Your creativity with my fabric. And I was just so humbled to be be a small part of those moments. I know this must be normal for some people. But it's not for me. I feel like in some way that I get to travel to each one of you and give you a hug...in some e-hug sort of way. I hope to never get over that actually. It really does delight me to think of little children all over the world being connected somehow. I think a lot about those things.

OK. But really. So many of you went to awesome lengths. Like ABOVE: 6 pairs of Pajamas for 6 kids on Christmas Eve. These things tickle me!

And hello? That quilt? Another Christmas gift I would have died to get myself.

Click picture for link

But this one is my fav. These Oliver & S pajamas  pattern made it to the Polar Express...the North Pole and back...ahem....which makes me warm all over.

Can you get over the look on that little boy? Pure joy.

Click picture for link

I hope your Christmas was just that. Pure Magic. Joy. Delight and warm all over.

And I did I ever show you this nightgown made for Addie? It's from an old McCall's pattern from the 1970's. She wears it every night.

{Did you know Children at Play had flannels? Yep.}

So. I'm back....getting back...in gear. I completely unplugged for 2 weeks, and wow. It felt good. I even went a few days there not really knowing where phone was. I kinda liked it. A lot. Trick is re-learning how to get on a schedule again:)

Happy New Year everyone!!

Cheers,

sarah