I’m feeling especially retrospective this new year. Changing seasons, holidays, new years, anything with even a hint of renewal gets my creative juices flowing and kicks my optimistic view of the future into high gear. I’m also turning 50 in 2012. Something I haven’t thought too much about until the calendar flipped and now it’s right there in front of me (September folks, so this nostalgia thing may get worse before it gets better, just warning you!)

As I peek through the 2011 archives I’m like ‘WOW’, we did all that!? Time to celebrate a bit by looking back. I have about a million ideas of what to highlight so I’ll just begin and share until one of us can’t take it anymore!

First up, downloadable patterns! Pink Chalk Fabrics first launched the Sew Now tagline in September of 2009. I thought the idea would really take off and boy, guess that was the biggest understatement ever!  I wrote personal notes to designers I respected and was so grateful they allowed me to sell their patterns in the shop. 10 talented designers said yes and we were in the game! We now have over 50 downloadable pattern designers represented in the shop.

Pink Chalk Fabrics Top Ten Bestselling Downloadable Patterns of 2011

#1 - Michelle Lizcano Metro Link Quilt

#2 - I Think Sew Kimono Shoes

#3 - Michelle Lizcano Nikki Tote

#4 - Elizabeth Hartman Perfect Zip Bags

#5 - Noodlehead Runaround Bag

#6 - Noodlehead 241 Tote

#7 - Sis Boom Jamie Dress

#8 - I Think Sew Charming Tote Bag

#9 - I Think Sew Zipper Pouch With Pleats

#10 - Sis Boom Meghan Peasant Dress + Top

# 11 - Chasing Cottons Curlicue Crush Quilt

Congratulations to these designers on a fabulous year of pattern making!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Diana made an Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote for her daughter Lexi. I absolutely LOVE the way she fussy cut the owl print and used such a small piece of a precious fabric in such a fabulous way.

I realize it’s been quiet here on the blog – I took all the days off I possibly could over the holidays to spend time sewing and hanging out with my family. The break combined with flipping over the calendar year has me feeling rejuvenated and full of creative ideas.

Carrie will be back on Friday with a new pattern review, I’m giving myself permission to skip this week’s giveaway. Like many of you, I’m prone to putting enormous mounds of expectation on myself. Sometimes something needs to give in order for balance to return.

One of my goals in 2012 is to give myself a break now and then! Focus on what’s important, appreciate and value the time I spend with the amazing people that surround me everyday at work and at home, and let the journey navigate itself on its own schedule. I’m kinda bossy that way and I’ve learned that’s not really needed, things play out how they’re going to play out regardless of my thoughts on the matter. Time to enjoy the ride!

Wishing everyone a joyful, prosperous and creatively inspired 2012. I love each of you and thank you for making my life rich in ways I never could have imagined when I first began writing in this little corner of the world. I feel the kindred, creative and kind spirits of everyone that visits. Thank you my friends! xoxo Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Having Christmas fall on a Sunday meant I was able to close the shop for a 4-day weekend. I’ve squeezed a lot of family time into that 96 hours. Today we’ve all stayed in, made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and spent the day doing nothing in particular. I’m organizing my sewing room, getting ready for all the big ideas swirling around in my head for 2012. I’m leaning toward re-sorting my dots by color into my stash. Ah, if life could always be so simple!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Last day (December 21) to vote for your favorite Handmade with Love Tutorial.  12/22/11: Winners Announced

Inspired by Handmade Ryan Gosling and Feminist Ryan Gosling.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

My friend Della Quimby is the owner of della Q, a wholesaler of exquisite silk knitting needle cases, bags and silk taffeta fabric. Her annual Sample + Studio Sale takes place this weekend in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. A very reliable source informed me there will be some amazing deals on silk taffeta yardage. See the della Q blog for details and directions. Good hunting!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Tonight’s dinner featured Ham (don’t forget to make soup with your ham bone) and Black Eyed Pea Salad. I like attracting all the luck I can get!

I started the annual mosaic making thinking the final result would be a bit thin. Looking at the photos reminded me that I’m much too tough on myself.

In fact, I’m tired just looking at it.

Important personal goals were met. Moving Pink Chalk Fabrics to commercial space and appearing on Quilting Arts TV were BIGGIES.

Giving back. Supporting young sewists, contributing to the book Craft Hope, and participating in a local La Leche League Baby Sling Making event. Each one makes me smile just thinking about it.

Sewing for enjoyment. Quilts, bee blocks, gifts, One Big UFO completed and pattern samples.

The mosaic is a good reminder that I’m driving the bus. There’s never enough time to do it all but there’s plenty of time to achieve what’s most important. One reason I love the New Year more than anything. A clean slate to fill with my dreams for the next 365 days.

Here’s what I’ve penciled in so far:

• publish two new sewing patterns
• develop a book proposal (this also requires tackling the fear of failure that lurks in the corner of my sewing room)
• sew clothes for myself
• give back more
• continue pursuing my Holy Grail: work + life = balance
• quilt those tops or pay someone to do it!

I’m certain that 2011 will be a very big year for me. I just feel it. Wishing you a BIG year too, however you define it. Thank you for being my friend. I’m excited to see what we do in this first year of a new decade (goodness, how liberating is that!)

xo my friends, Kathy

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I spent the day planning our Christmas Eve (Creamy Artichoke Dip and Linguine with Pancetta, Olive Oil, Chile, Clams and White Wine Sauce) and Christmas Day menus (Standing Rib Roast, Scalloped Potatoes and Green Beans), softening butter for the Christmas cookies (Macadamia Nut Chocolate Chip Refrigerator Cookies, Thumbprint Cookies and Mexican Wedding Cakes), picking up some last minute stocking stuffers, and visiting Esther’s Fabrics for thread and a bit of holiday sewing cheer.

The rituals of preparing for the holiday are my favorite moments. The kids now fully engaged in the experience too. All of us looking forward to spending a quiet day at home tomorrow eating cookies for breakfast, playing with our gifts and being thankful for the blessings in our lives.

Wishing you all a peaceful, blessed, and joyous holiday!

xoxo Kathy

Notes on the food:

- As I write this post I’m realizing how big a part food plays in our family Christmas tradition. We spend a lot of time talking about, planning, preparing, eating and enjoying our holiday meals together. Greg and I have been discussing the menu for New Year’s Eve for over two weeks now and again, it will just be the four of us.

- I’ve made all these recipes a LOT and they’re delicious.

- I use Julia’s method of making scalloped potatoes from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home (one of my all time favorite cookbooks). Yukon Gold potatoes, mashed garlic, butter and milk. My guests always swear there’s cheese in the recipe even though there isn’t. They are THE BEST scalloped potatoes ever and worth the price of the cookbook alone.

- I keep notes every year on the Standing Rib Roast. Last year’s entry says:  6.83 lbs. cooked 20 minutes plus 2 hours. Pulled at 127.5 degrees, rested 15 minutes. PERFECTLY Medium Rare. Best Roast ever! And yes, I use all caps and exclamation points when I write on paper too.

- The linguine recipe by Jamie Oliver mysteriously disappeared from the Food Network website. It’s been a favorite since 2006. Here it is:

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

Snow in the Northwest is just plain weird. It only snows a couple of times a year and it always seems to take everyone by surprise. A headline from the Sunday Seattle Times read: Get Out the Parka But Not The Snow Shovel.

The flakes started falling Monday morning. Our cute snow storm turned into a real storm as the afternoon wore on. And then the wind picked up. And then the power went out. Greg and I took a drive around this morning to see if there was power at the shop. No. Power anywhere on the island? Didn’t look like it. Safeway was running on generators and the gas stations had no power to run their pumps. Those locations are top priority so we knew we’d be waiting awhile for power to be restored. The challenge is guessing if ‘awhile’ is a few hours or a few days.

Greg bought a generator after our first frequent-power-outage-winter. It’s gas powered and plugs into a circuit in the garage that can run the hot water heater, furnace, refrigerator, kitchen lights and an outlet in the living room. One extension cord weaves up the stairs to the light on the gecko tank. The other cord goes into the kitchen where we take turns plugging different things into it. The coffee machine. The toaster. The radio. I thought the generator purchase was frivolous. Still eating crow on that one.

This evening the power popped back on while we sat around the island in the one room with lights. Noshing, reading and chatting. I appreciated the time to be unplugged even if it was just 24 hours. It will be business as usual tomorrow.

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I absolutely LOVE the way sewing fosters community, goodwill and personal achievement.

Here’s a sprinkling of interesting e-mails I received this month that remind me how sewing really does make the world go ’round:

• Victoria sent me an update on the Bumble Beans Quilt Gather project. Photos from the project’s recent distribution day say it all. Way to go girl!
• 100 Quilts for Christmas is an effort to encourage quilters to make baby and children’s quilts for donation during the holidays. More information here.
• I received a fabulous note from Tracy who is a Program Coordinator for the Girl Scouts – San Jacinto Council which services SE Texas. They’ve created a website to support their quilting and sewing program. It’s really an amazing resource that would be useful for any group doing similar activities related to teaching young women to sew. They recently made the Pink Chalk Studio Water Bottle Carrier project using Robert Kaufman’s 2009 GS Collection.
• And finally, a very interesting contest called The Jelly Roll ‘Dream’ Challenge. It’s an international competition to find quilt designs that make the best and most creative use of one Jelly Roll. 12 winners will have their quilt featured in a book to be published by David & Charles. The 3 top winners will be awarded with Janome sewing machines!

Have a fabulously creative weekend!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

I couldn’t move forward without at quick epilogue to the whine and cheese post. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was probably in a bit more of a funk than I even realized myself when I wrote it. After reading your supportive comments filled with so much humor I was literally bent over laughing out loud. You guys are too funny! Humor IS the magical elixir for PISSY.

I’ve been blogging for 4 years now and gone through several stages of emotional feeling about the whole thing. For the last 4 months I’ve been feeling extremely comfortable and happy about my writing here. I no longer pressure myself like I once did to be a super blogger. I allow myself to disappear as needed and not stress over the absence. The world will continue without Kathy Mack doing a blog post every day (yes, pretty ridiculous when you say it out loud).

I still have moments where I get a bit overwhelmed with having a part of my life being so public and out there.

All of that is balanced of course with the amazing connections and friendships that I’ve been able to form with so many that share my passion for sewing, quilting, and creating. All around the world no less. And sometimes just around the corner.

I wanted to share a couple of things I discovered in the last few days. It so represents why I love the world of blogs and the people that write them. A good reminder to ignore the noise and embrace the joy.

I’ve become friends with quite a few of my local customers. I met Linda at the last Indie Banditas Bazaar, she picked up an order last week and sent me pictures of what she’d made the next day! These are just so cute. You can see more of her work in her Etsy shop Today’s Baby.

Jan of Bemused posted some amazing photos of vintage quilts she stumbled upon at a Chicago Quilt Festival vendor’s booth. I’ve read Jan’s blog for years and she always surprises and delights me.

Sarah of Mostly Knitting wrote a post just for me and left me a link in the comments. At the end of the post is a YouTube video which introduced me to Tim Minchin. I’m in LOVE with this guy and his unique humor/performance art/talent. It lifted my spirits and expanded my universe a wee bit. Very cool. I’m always touched that people take the time to leave thoughtful comments and share something new.

Katie of Sew Katie Did posted a tutorial on making cushions with an invisible zipper. It inspired me to want to do some of that around my house too. They were also very pretty to look at!

All of these fabulous women are such great examples of loveliness and joy sprinkled around the online world.

Thank you to all of you that read this blog. I love you all for the beauty you share in the comments, post to your blogs, and carry around with you in your real lives. You make the world a brighter place. It makes me happy to know you. xo Kathy

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Now a plug for an amazing freelance web developer, Pippin Williamson. I had one outstanding feature I wanted to implement on my blog. Those cute little thumbnail pictures that now grace the excerpted posts that sit below the main post (Yippppeeeeee!!!!!). My new WordPress Headway theme made it a bit tricky and I gave up. I discovered Pippin from a comment he’d left on the Pro Blog Design blog. He seemed like he really knew what he was talking about so I contacted him to see if he could implement this feature for me. He was as smart as his comment and extremely professional and fast to boot. I highly recommend his services.

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I’m leaving the test posts up, the comments are too lovely to remove!

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale

pink chalk fabrics ~*~ new arrivals ~*~ free patterns ~*~ on sale