I arrived home last night from Quilt Market in Pittsburgh. Quite the whirlwind trip. I’ll be sharing pictures all week of the fabulous booths and wonderful people I had the opportunity to meet.
I also brought back a ton of incredible new patterns and fabric samples which I’ll be giving away. A single drawing next Monday. If you leave a comment on any post this week (leave one on each post for more chances to win) you’ll be eligible.
I made these samples out of silk dupioni for the Brewer Booth. I’m going to leave you with that while I go get caught up on all the work I didn’t do for 4 days!
Gather Up Pillow, free pattern coming soon to a blog near you:
And what would samples be without a Mail Sack:
Update 5/18/09:
I should have mentioned the pencil sharpener button in the original post. Isn’t that cool?! I saw it on a pencil roll that Holly posted to the Friends of Pink Chalk Studio Flickr Group. I googled for them online and found eBay seller Stelyn Arts that I purchased them from. Yes, they came from the UK, I REALLY needed those buttons. I highly recommend the seller.
To answer some of the questions in the comments on sewing with silk:
Sewing with silk is so easy and fun. I’ve used it a lot in the past but had to back off a bit for pattern writing. Not exactly something you’d want to feature on the cover of a pattern intended for sale in a quilt shop. When Brewer asked me to make some samples for market I was ecstatic. They wanted to highlight the availability of silk dupioni to their wholesale customers with samples from patterns they also distribute. They let me select colors and sent me the yardage.
I generally back the silk with interfacing if the seam is going to have any stress on it. For the pillow design I interfaced the center gathered column because it would have raveled beyond recognition when pulling the basting stitches. I then used a foundation piecing technique for the whole thing. I’ll talk more about that when I post the pattern.
I love how silk adds richness and texture to the patchwork project. I also mixed silk, wool, corduroy and quilting cotton on the patchwork pillow I made for my ASG challenge. I used silk taffeta on that project and backed the silk squares with interfacing before piecing.
I love the effect the silk has on the mailbag pattern–it elevates the design and makes the bag look completely new and different. I have used a Ramie/cotton blend with a silver sheen for the bottom 1/2 of the mailbag for a somewhat similar effect, but the silk bag you made looks dressier. Also, all of that rich, saturated color is so beautiful!
I adore that pillow!! I haven’t done much sewing with dupioni silk, but I think you’ve now inspired me to look at incorporating that into some of my projects.
I always come to your site when I need inspiration. This time it is for a silent auction. You did not disappoint with your gourgous silk creations.
I love dupioni but never thought to use it in a pencil roll- super cute. I Love all your projects!
Jan: Yes, I do plan to carry some of the silks, I think Fat Quarter packs are definitely in order!
i love the look of patchwork in silk–such a pleasant surprise since i always use cotton. and the interfacing tip will really help!
I love the way that you’ve matched the pencils to the fabric colours in the pencil roll. I’ve always wanted to try some silk dupion in a quilt – I definitely will now.
Oh my Kathy, that pillow is awesome. And thanks for the heads up on the Norway fabric. It is all so yummy!
I’m so super-jealous of anyone that got to go to Quilt Market, so now I’m jealous of you
Your samples look wonderful; you’re so creative!
Wow! Those samples are absolutely gorgeous …. I would never have thought that silk would be “easy” to sew with … but maybe I should give it a try this summer. I especially like that pillow!
Wow, what gorgeous colors. Total yummy lusciousness! Would love to work with some silk, thanks for the opportunity to win!
ahhh, so exciting!!
I love the mail sack in silk!
I never would have thought of using silk for the mail sack…I love it!
totally loving the silk dupioni in the color roll especially.
I think silk d is the most awesome fabric. that ruffled cushion, gorgeous!
I love the pencil roll. With a pencil sharpener?!!? How cool!!
I’m thinking that using those fabrics might just make me a little nervous!
I love the pencil roll.
I just love how the fabric behind each pencil matches! What a perfect way to keep things organized and interesting. Thanks for sharing with us.
Looks like an amazing show. What wonderful stuff.
I really love the pencil roll!
love the silk!
what great projects!
The bag! The pillow! A SILK PENCIL ROLL?!?!? Wow. They are just gorgeous!
I love the fabrics used on the notebook – the metallic look is great.
The silk gives your samples such a different look! I love the sharpener pencil – perfect finishing touch!
Wow, the silk is beautiful. The colors and the sheen really do add a richness that cotton can’t touch. Thanks for showing us some projects “outside of the box”. I need to get some of this to try my hand at it.
I have got to make a pencil roll. That is such a fabulous idea. Love the silk.
What beautiful samples! Your work is always impecable.
Wow! Silk can jazz up even something as utilitarian as a pencil pouch! I really like how sparkly everything is!
Oh I love the Dupioni silk – I bought 12 yards of it and made my own wedding dress with it many years ago – love love LOVE it!!!
The silks are incredible! Haven’t used it in a while, but I have a new perspective now! Thanks for sharing!
That colored pencil roll is awesome! My son would love one of those. Heck, *I’d* love one of those!
Love that pencil sharpener idea! I have got to make one of those colored pencil rolls one of these days…
Doris
auntiedart(at)yahoo(dot)com
All of these little treats are so inspiring. I’m always looking for an excuse to use that silk.
Great job on the pencil case too! Those sharpener buttons are the perfect finishing detail.
Gorgeous silk creations! Ilove that pencil case and that pencil sharpener button too!
Wow, wow and wow!
The Silk on that pillow is fabulous! Now I know what to do with a few pieces of silk I have.
OOOOOOOOH AHHHHHHHH, LOVE LOVE LOVE the silk!! I want some!! Everything turned out SO gorgeous!! The every day items look very fancy! LOVE IT! Keep up the nice work!
Oh I’m going nuts over the pencil case! All of this is so beautiful, but as an artist, I can just see myself toting that around! I absolutely love your blog!!! :0)
Magnificent, all of it!!! How I would love to get my little fabric-hungry hands on some of this! Thanks for being so generous!
Your pencil roll is adorable, as is the button. And I love the mail sack.
Guess I’m a little late on this but I love the gorgeous silk and what you did with it.
Beautiful work!! I love reading all about the market, it’s as if I kind of got to go
. Thanks for sharing … lots to look forward to.
Love all your silk items! I’ve never sewn with silk but you’ve given me the inspiration to do so.
Barbara
Love the silk on the mail sack, so beautiful. I’m kind of fabric shy when it comes to silk, I don’t know how to wash it and don’t know how well it holds up to wear and tear. I’ll have to look into it now that I’ve seen how pretty it is and how nice it looks on so many useful items. Thanks!
that little pencil sharpener is too cute! i have never seen that before.
I don’t even know how I missed seeing you Glad you had a good show . Love your samples!
I was going to ask if the pencil sharpeners really worked, too! That would be awesome! I love dupioni! So pretty!