Room to grow

Confession time: I am not a widget kind-of person. Nor am I a domain name, permalink, nor flavicon kind-of person either, for that matter. In order to build the website, I am searching through old emails for my FTP,  Server IP, and Nameserver 1 and 2! GreenGeeks made it all seem so easy until they had my money. Now I have to find the courage to phone them and try again today. But on I go.

I can't help it, Anne Taintor graphics just make me smile!

Unfortunately, this weekend, I made a promise to build the website and get it hobbling around the internet. To build my own website and blog page and even to create a business profile for Facebook is taking all the guts I have. I have to keep pushing against my fears and fight the urge to keep procrastinating. I like the graphic below because it sums up so much of what life is about: do we stay doing what we have always done, or do we try something new that both scares and exhilarates us?

Here is the honest truth: I have no business trying to do any of these computer things. Regardless of that fact, here I am, trying. And I encourage any of you wondering about it to go ahead and do it -- whatever it is. You will learn something valuable about yourself.

I am not alone, however. I do have two patient little buddies who depend upon me. I mean, look at those two patient little faces! Are they not adorable?

These are my babies: Molly (l) and Bella (r).

This picture of my two babies shows you what I am up against every day. They are so lacking in affection right now, because of my fiddling with the computer, that they are actually touching each other. I ran to get the camera to document this historic event. Because I'll let you in on a secret: Bella is just not that kind of girl! 

One thing I did manage to do over the last couple of days was to clear space on my sewing table. I am ready to finally finish a quilt I had pieced about four years ago. It is the first real quilt I made on my own and it just makes me smile. Definitely the first time I tried to sew points that met each other where they are supposed to. (Another confession: I started a log-cabin quilt for my son about 25 years ago. I finished it about 8 years ago! It's alright. It was a start.)

Getting it ready to baste together for some hand-quilting.

This fabric, Strawberry Fields, designed by Joanna Figueroa at Fig Tree & Co. reminds me of warm summer picnics. My Grandmother's picnic spread included macaroni noodle salad, potato salad, deviled eggs sprinkled with paprika, a big ham shank, and strawberry shortcakes made with her secret buttermilk biscuit recipe.

Isn't it pretty? I wish I had more!

I decided I'm going to use a stipple pattern for the hand-quilting to mimic the meanderings of ants. I may even embroider a couple of little ants and lady bugs on it just for fun. Having my hands working with fabric is so soothing. Handwork really connects me to something vital and intimate about the creative process.

Looks like an ant joined the picnic, don't you think?

Have a beautiful day! 

Sandy xo

ps - Do let me know about your current projects. I'd really like to know what your quilting adventures are like.What challenges are you ready to face?

Baby, it's cold outside!

Just the other day, I thought to myself, "Hey, this winter hasn't really been so bad..." And then this week, everything changed and we are reminded once again that Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humour!

But hey, we're Canadians and we are tough! So let's get cocooning and have fun with fabric and lots of colour. So many great designs out there and ways to brighten our day. (And chase away cabin fever!)

Good to remember!

                                                                       
On my Facebook page you'll find albums full of fabrics. Here are a few examples of what you'll find there: Children's, Novelty, Solids, Heartfelt.

For Benartex by Kanvas designer, Greta Lynn, her collection "The Big Apple" includes this fun fabric called "Gridlock Black" $11/yd. 

"Girls Rock" collection from Benatex, this is "Peace Out" in Pink, $11/yd.

For Robert Kaufman fabrics, this fabric is from the collection, "Boys Toys" and is called "Cameras" in Grey/Multi, $11/yd.

From "8 Days a Week" collection by Ampersand Design Studio, this fun fabric is called "Polka Dot" in Blue, $11/yd.

"Kiss Me" from Michael Miller Fabrics. $11/yd

"Circles" in Red from the "Metro Living Collection" by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. $11/yd.

As I said in an earlier blog, will & bea design studio is all about great design, and fun, fresh fabrics. William Morris once opined that you should "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I would add one more thing, something as serious a man as Morris would not dream of including being the hard-working Victorian that he was, and that is to have something in your house that makes you smile or even laugh-out-loud happy.

I came across this article about a couple's Norwegian home and fell in love. It encapsulates everything delightful about having a family -- people who make you happy, glad to be alive, and eager to engage with the world outside. From Design Sponge, A Bright Norwegian Nest Sure To Put a Smile On Your Face.
 

Photograph by Benedicte Thomassen

Have a beautiful day! 
Sandy xo

How easily life gets away on us!

With all the new stresses on my computer, it decided it needed some TLC. Ha! A little TLC became a new hard-drive with all the labour involved in transferring files and a whole additional weekend spent in the shop. My poor old computer that had been delegated to playing music in my sewing room was suddenly thrust into the spotlight and asked to perform tasks it clearly balked at doing. It is now back on its shelf high above my sewing table happily spinning out tunes for me.

I have to say, though, that it was quite a thrill to have my business cards and magnets arrive! I chose the design from Vistaprint and, because they had a huge sale, on I bought magnets as well. The magnets have the business motto on it: Fresh modern fabrics & projects for people who love to sew! Believe me, they look great on a refrigerator door! You will receive one free with your first order!

I decided I needed to get my hands on fabric again and pulled out a quilt I had started before I moved to Perth, Ontario. The collection, by Jenn Ski, is called Mod Century. The old-fashioned way of making quilts with simple squares has always appealed to me and with the wildly abstract patterns, I thought something a little calming and cohesive was in order. This collection includes the textured solids I love, so I decided to make a bunch of Nine-Patch squares with alternating solids and pattern.

Jenn Ski's Mod-Century collection for Moda Fabrics

(By the way, I have yards of this fabric available for sale. Even enough for most bedroom curtains. Contact me at willandbeadesignstudio at gmail dot com if you would like some.)

The other thing is, finding fabrics that would appeal to boys older than 5 years old is not easy to do, as many of you probably know. So I think the bright colours and abstract shapes in this collection would make a great quilt for a teenager or grown man. There is nothing fussy about this fabric!

I started with charm packs because: A) I am terrible at cutting fabric, B) they include the full collection, C) there isn't a lot of mess and space needed for the fabric, and D) I get it all at one really great price! With that in mind, you can see how the traditional Nine Patch became a Twelve Patch with each 5 inch "charm" making 4 x 2 1/2" squares. I'll make a tutorial to show you how 2 of these charms will quickly become an 8 1/2" block.

Bye for now! And thanks for dropping-by!

Welcome to will & bea design studio!

The motto of will & bea design studio is: Fresh, modern fabric and projects for people who love to sew. And the crazy woman behind this business is me, Sandy Coutts Sutherland, and this fabric and design shop is my little piece of heaven! It's "under-construction" still, so I hope you will be patient while I learn all the ropes and jump through all the hoops of our social networks! The only way this business will be successful (and I really, really want to be successful!) is with your encouragement and participation. What do I mean by that? Let me know which fabric you really love that you'd like to see me stock. That is really important because although I know what I like, I don't know what you really want -- I'm just guessing and I've been wrong before! 

I named my business after two of my all-time favourite designers, artists, writers, and early environmentalists, William Morris and Beatrix Potter. I am taking great liberties with their names, and to be honest, I'm not sure they'd like it at all! However, since they were both modest, unassuming people, maybe they'd be pleased they are still remembered and revered. I'd like to think that, anyway. For more information about these remarkable people, please check out my Pinterest page for photos of them, their designs, and their legacies: www.pinterest.com/willandbeads/.

Quilting really caught my attention when I saw what was being produced by what are now called "modern" quilt-makers. I find this design movement so exciting! I will spread my attention around a little when it comes to fabric and design so don't be surprised to see lots of retro designs thrown in for good measure. Scrappy quilts are so exciting visually and so much fun to make, I wouldn't even consider over-looking the bright, fanciful fabrics that make them glow. If Rita Hodge at Red Pepper Quilts can mash all these design styles together and make drop-dead gorgeous quilts, I am not going to say it doesn't work!

 Inspiration: the ladies and their quilts from Gee's Bend, Alabama

Because this is a Canadian business, when you buy fabric from will & bea design studio, Canadian customers can expect the total cost you see to be the price you pay, with no further duties, exchange rates or other surprises! And, expect to receive the package in a few days and not wait weeks and weeks. I am going to assume you are like me, and when I want to sew -- well, to I want to sew! And if I need something special to complete a project, I am impatient to wait. You know what I mean -- I get those twitchy fingers aching for something to do. So I am going to try awfully hard to find fabrics that you are going to love!

 My kind of crazy!

While I get my act together here, if you see fabric you want to purchase simply email me at willandbeadesignstudio at gmail dot com and we can arrange shipping, and payment via e-transfer. Easy as can be!

I hope you will continue to drop-by will & bea design studio for drop-dead gorgeous, fun, surprising, cute, retro, and delightful fabric you will want to have! Because that is why I am doing this. Pretty wonderful, isn't it?