I think one of my illustrated characters must have whispered into Julianna’s ear, “I want to be real,” because, I left Julianna sculpting fish, and when I returned to the project area, she was holding Baby Bot’s big sister in the palm of her hand.

Above are the drawings from the Visitors page in the Baby Bot baby book we created for C.R. Gibson. Once Jules created BabyBot’s big sister 3D, she decided to keep on going, because you can’t bring a gal into the world without some friends.

Photos above from top clockwise: (1) Julianna starts sculpting head-first. (2) Jules painting Baby Bot. (3) One of Baby Bot’s buddies tucked into a box across from his 2D-self. (4) Bot Buddies® sunning on a paper plate to make sure they are completely dry before packing them up for their first trade show.

Above, Bot Buddies® are all packed and ready to fly to Atlanta where they are hoping to meet some new friends and enjoy some southern cyber-cuisine.

For those of you who will be in Atlanta for the big gift show, come see us. We will be at AmericasMart, Building 2, West Wing, in the License and Design Showroom, #774. And for those of you who will not be there, we’ll be sure to report back so you will be in the know for gift-giving 2012.

As we prepared for Atlanta last week, you could have literally put a sign on the studio door, “Gone Fishin.’” The MicroFish pattern, (which is one of our favorite designs from the Bot Buddies® fabric collection) was just begging to show up on a variety of product categories. We pulled out our Sculpey box again. All three girls spent some of their home-for-the-holidays time producing fish bodies. Some fish were too fat, some were too flat, (we even had to throw a few back into the sea) … but 10 little fishes were just right to fill our Fishmas Tree.

Above is our inspiration, the Bot Buddies® Big Border panel, which you can buy here.

The Food Network was playing on the television in the background while we worked, which was an odd juxtoposition, because periodically, a tasty fish dish would be featured, and we felt a little uneasy, because, well, our new fish creations were smiling at us … we had bonded.

Photos above from top clockwise: (1) After years of Sculpey play, Margaret makes fish for market. (2) Julianna pulled out the box of CelVinyls (which used to be our medium of choice before Photoshop entered our lives) and starts mixing pots of paint the old-fashioned way.
(3) Jules painting a base-coat on a fine fat fish. (4) A closeup of one of our smiling fishbots.
(5) After painting the fish, we hung them in the trees to dry … if birds could swim and fish could fly …

Just to imagine these busy MicroFish with yet another medium, here they are, below, in thread. We made these mockups to help buyers to visualize these little guys in a powder room at the beach or in a child’s bath upstairs at home. And you can make these, too! (They would be a great “thank you for inviting me to your beach house gift.”) We’ll post the how-to when we return from Atlanta.

And, while all this sculpting and sewing was going on, Margaret had the duty of cutting, and cutting … and cutting our newly received Bot Buddies® flannels for a variety of needs. We now have fat-quarter sets for Atlanta, as well as yardage to go to the members of the East Bay Modern Quilt Guild to cut and sew some fun projects. And although we provided Margaret with a fancy new rotary cutter, Margaret plans on not cutting anything for at least a month.

Every now and then when I look through our boxes of photos, something becomes quite apparent … I am clearly a matching-outfit-lovin’ kind of mom. In fact, every single Christmas Eve since I can remember, our girls were allowed to open just one present each …

Girls: “This one?”
Mom: “No, not that one … THIS one.”
Girls: “Mom, we know what that is … matching pajamas.”

(Some people might say that I was displaying my inner control-freak to art direct the outfits which would be worn for the upcoming Christmas morning videos, and, well … some people might be a tiny bit correct.)

So this is my letter to my children … “Girls, you have been very good sports all these years … especially Ellen, who, being 10 years older than the littlest Hecklette, put up with matching a lot longer than she probably would have liked. Thank you for allowing me to mix ‘n match you year after year. And, finally, now that my little toddlers are 5’9” and taller, I promise to refrain from forced matching on Christmas Eve … NOT! Surprise!! Merry Christmas Eve pajamas … again! Love, Mom.”

I just couldn’t resist. We had just received samples of our no-kidding-super-soft Jumpin’ Monkeys flannel, and they just begged to be made into matching jammies. Our dear friend, Nancy Keirns, put on her elf cap, and whipped these out as though she lived in the North Pole, and they were waiting under the tree on Christmas Eve. “Okay,” I said, “everyone can open just one present!” I think the collective thought was “You‘re kidding, right mom?” But, alas, I was not, and I proudly presented everyone with … yep, matching-paper-wrapped boxes. Even our goddaughters, who have been matching with us all these years, were troopers and allowed me to take the picture (above) of our big girls in their new matching monkey jammies.

Then, on Christmas morning, like always, all three girls were picture perfect! (You will be glad to know that I did use some restraint and did not make matching pajamas for Ellen’s husband … this year, anyway!) The tail that is interrupting the photo below belongs to our dog, Neville, who was dying to be in the photo, but I wouldn’t let him … because, of course, he did not have on matching jammies … although, hmm, my creative juices are flowing … I see some puppy pajamas in your future Nevs.

Are any of you matching-outfit-lovin’ moms like me? (please say yes) … if so, we would love for you to send a picture of your favorite matching moments to us here and we can post them to our flickr site and all feel content with the order of the world.

And, as winter weather continues, if you are needing some warm pajamas, which are incredibly soft, and fast and easy to make … you can buy Jumpin’ Monkeys flannels here. Nancy used a Butterick pattern, but I couldn’t find a link, so here is a pattern which seems very similar … she made each pair in about an hour, but, of course, she is a magic elf!

When the doors opened to the International Quilt Market in Houston, one of the first booths one beheld was that of Newcastle Fabrics. There, our Jumpin’ Monkeys collection was ready to jump onto flannel jammies and blankies and the sweet Emma collection looked as fresh as a pink-and-green bouquet.

On the walls were all the pieces made just days ago by our Austin elves, showing off the DIY possibilities. We were delighted to see our work and our friends at Newcastle. Here we are (photo below) with Dan Weidmuller, chief of everything at Newcastle.

Jumpin’ Monkeys is a new flannel group scheduled to be in the stores in November. Before market, we received a few small pieces of strike-off material to check for color. We decided to try to make a few monkey projects, one of which would be flannel jammies, but we only had enough fabric to make one blue leg and one brown leg, which is the original reason that the pants bottoms (below) became “two-toned.” BUT, after all was said and sewn, we decided these play pants were downright adorable. I guess you could say small strike-offs are the mother of invention!

I also love the matching appliqué monkey that Nancy added to the onesie. This is so easy and packs a great “wow, you did that” factor.

Here is something else that happens when sewing with tiny bits of soft flannel strike-offs: a toddler ragland jacket that is monkey-blue-stripe on the front and monkey-green-stripe on the back. It’s like wearing the whole collection in one tiny jacket!

We can’t leave Jumpin’ Monkeys without showing you the fastest quick quilt you ever did see (made by Deborah Elliott) … all you have to do is follow the outlines of the animals on the panel and it looks like you slaved for weeks piecing and appliquéing this soft quilt. Even the striped border is part of the one yard of fabric that you will buy to make the quilt top! (You may want to add some edging as we did with the palm leaves fabric (see second photo below), but it’s cute even without it. It might depend on what time the baby shower is tomorrow!)

And, if you have questions about anything fun and new at Newcastle, here is the go-to-gal for the answers, Cheryl Jukich. She is new to the Newcastle team and she is just adorable and full of energy … even when we saw her after many hours of trade show standing!

While Jumpin’ Monkeys was hoppin’ off the wall, the Emma collection was displayed nearby and it was shining in its own preppy cute way. Since we already introduced you to lots of Emma in an earlier post, we’ll just share some pictures of her cute self on display at the show. Photo left: Ellen in front of the quilt she made with the Emma strike-offs. (And her very first quilt ever!) Photo right: Cathy and Ellen in front of the sassy Emma dress made by Nancy Keirns. The great thing about Emma is that it can be made into a baby bumper or a tween jumper. It’s for little bitty girls, or their mamas.

While we love to visit with the companies that make our fabric, we double-love to visit with shop owners who sell our fabric! Here we are below with a fellow mother-daughter team, Judy Fenton and Megan Wilson who run Millcreek Sewing & Fabric in Erie, Pennsylvania. While they were gathering samples in balmy Houston, Texas, I believe several inches of snow fell on their shop in Pennsylvania. A nice early reminder of the importance of a warm, snuggly quilt!

Although, we don’t have any weather close to a white winter here in Austin, we definitely caught the quilting bug while we were in Houston. I hope our little adventure in the aisles of Quilt Market have you all quiltified, too. We’ll keep you posted as we learn of the stores that will have Emma and Jumpin’ Monkeys in hand. Enjoy your November, and have fun quilting, whether you are wearing flip-flops or snow boots!

We are just back from Quilt Market in Houston … and it was so much fun. There were so many quilts that I bet if you laid them end to end they would stretch across Texas and beyond!

For us, a market is often the culmination of months of collaborative work, and it is satisfying to see it all come together. Lots of faces are beaming … and bleary. Two of our favorite faces to see were those of sister team, Joanie and Melanie of Tailormade By Design. They were responsible for four quilts made with our fabrics, as well as many quilts for several different companies .. all of which need their quilts ready on exactly the same first-day-of-Quilt-Market! And, every year they make that tough deadline and arrive in Houston with big smiles. We are amazed and in awe. Here we are with them at Blue Hill Fabrics.

Our favorite surprise was the Bot Buddies™ quilt … we had not seen the final cottons, and we were delighted with the colors and the delightful quilt pattern that Joanie and Melanie had designed with them. We created the cottons to be easy for nursery decor, and indeed the super sisters created a quilt to set the theme for a bright and cheery nursery or toddler room. They even created these sweet fat-quarter charm packs (below left) to get a new mama started. Photo below right is a close-up of the darling Bot Buddies quilt, ready for snuggling.

I believe these cottons have just arrived at the warehouse, so as soon as they are in the stores, we will add some links to the blog so you can go bot-shopping. There is a softer than soft flannel group, too. Be sure to send us your Bot Buddies™ projects so we can share them in our up-coming Flickr groups.

Another of our baby collections was also starring at Blue Hill. Zoophabet® is all about personalizing with an alphabet of cute critters. And it comes in both cotton and soft flannel. The group was displayed with lots of one-of-a-kind DIY ideas: personalized pillows, quilts, bags and blocks. The photo below is Cathy visiting with Elaine Sexton, of QUILT Magazine about all the DIY possibilities with alphabets and bots.

Below are more photos from our busy visit in the Blue Hill booth: From upper left clockwise:
1. Zoophabet® display including personalized blocks, bag and pillows made by Deborah Elliott and soft flannel jammies made by Nancy Keirns 2. Ellen and Cathy with Roger Roby of Blue Hill Fabrics 3. Close-up of the quick quilt made by the Tailormade sisters created with the Zoophabet® Pink Panel. This quilt panel is so easy that a mom can make the quilt top during a naptime (unless your baby naps like my middle gal did … which was not at all … maybe a morning while babies are attending Mother’s Day Out is a better quilt-making venue.) 4. Cathy with quilt designer, Robin Jackson, brainstorming about some creative projects she can make with the Zoophabet® collection.

Well, all this talk of fabric and sewing and quilts is making my fingers itch … I‘m off to make some quilt blocks. Of course, first, I will have to learn how … which is next on my empty-nestin’ list of things to do!

Emma is feeling trip proud about her journey to Houston for the International Quilt Market. The Emma collection will be blooming in preppy pinks and greens perfect for DIY projects for girls of all ages. We hope you will visit her at the Newcastle Fabrics booth. Here is our market-bound gal modeling her new Emma dress and ruffled pants, accessorized with her Emma coin clutch … just in case she needs to buy some tasty TexMex.

The minute we received our production yardage, we asked our studio elves to whip up some Emma fun. See more Emma eye candy below.

Here’s an Emma patch quilt hanging in the rose garden. The dot patterns created for this collection make great frames for the appliqué animals toss patterns.

And here’s a favorite around our house o’ girls: A twirly skirt! If you are a girl, I bet you are remembering your own twirly skirt right this minute. So off we go to Houston … twirling all the way. Hope to see you there!’

Z is for the Zoophabet® fabric collection headed to Houston for the International Quilt Market, this weekend with Blue Hill Fabrics. The great thing about Zoophabet® is that you can make personalized, one-of-a-kind gifts for the cute new baby in your life, and your baby shower present will be THE most special, personal, meaningful, amazing present at the party and you will be the BPGW (Best Present-Giver Winner) … not that a baby shower should be a competition … I’m just sayin’.

When our first samples arrived, I tried a swatch, wrapped in a quick bib-like treatment, on our in-house model, Neville. (below) I’m thinking about having a special jacket made for him with an appliquéed “N is for Neville.” I just know he’s going to love it! (Speaking of Nevs, don’t you think the zebra’s expression above sort of looks like Neville’s soulful expression below?

The Zoophabet® collection is printed on velvety soft flannel, as well as a cotton group that is perfect for personalized nursery decor, accessories and gifts. Below are the first strike-offs we received. Even the selvages turned out cute … hm … what can we make with those selvages? Selvage slippers?

Since we received our flannels first, we started our Zoophabet-making extravaganza with some flannel jammies. These would be perfect for your little ones to scramble-into, before jumping into bed, snuggling under a Zoophabet® ABC quilt, and listening to you read Dr. Seuss’ ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! At the end of the story, you can say, “B is for bedtime and S is for Sleepy … you are getting very, veeeery sleepy … ”

When we received our cotton samples, we couldn’t wait to get started because we included two patterns (in two colorways) with the full alphabet. Our magic studio elves dove into a 2-week personalized-project frenzy. Here are a few DIY projects so you can get your creative juices flowing. The first one shown here is the Zoophabet® Quick Quilt … and it really is quick. With just a dash on your sewing machine down the sides of the alphabet squares, it looks like you spent days piecing it. Then, you can buy an extra yard and create coordinating accessories that spell out your special baby’s name or initials on all kinds of cute baby stuff … a pillow, a lampshade, a diaper stacker and, and, and …

And, here are some Zoophabet® pinks: The top photo is a “K is for Katy” Carry All and I’m pretty sure the bottom photos illustrate a “C is for Cathy” Pillow. Hope these ideas get you started on some fun projects … and, be sure to share your creations with us … we will be adding a new Flickr button to the blog after Quilt Market. Sweet dreaming of more personalized one-of-a-kind wonders.

Baby Bot and all his friends will be showing off their softer sides in Houston next week for the International Quilt Market with Blue Hill Fabrics. The Bot Buddies collection will be featured on the softest flannel you ever did touch, as well as cottons that are perfect for decorating the nursery or the playroom. The colorways can be all-boy, as well as a fun look for girl-bots, too. Here is a peek at the flannels. (We won’t see the final cottons until next week at Quilt Market … and, we’ll be sure to share some cotton nursery ideas with you after the show.)

We have discovered two new elves here in Austin to help us take our 2-dimensional fabrics to 3-dimensional creations. Thank you Nancy and Deborah! Here are a few samples made from Bot Buddies flannels just to give you a taste of the possibilities. We only had a few bits and pieces of strike-off material … (which are the fabrics that we check to make sure the colors are just right) … but as soon as we can get our hands on whole yards of fabric, we will be posting some fun DIY projects and give-aways to get you started.

And, here’s something fun … Bot Buddy Toss jammies. Nancy is in the midst of adding some great embroidered touches, but I’m just sending it out unfinished ‘cause it’s already so darn cute. (P.S. I am also re-learning to embroider … part of my new empty-nesting phase … I’ll let you know how that goes!)

If you are already catching the itch to stitch, here are some sneak peeks of some of the patterns in just one of the colorways … these designs come in reds and yellows, too. Have fun dreaming up some great bot projects. And, as soon as we know where you can find all these super soft flannels, we’ll let you know. We are dying to see your flannel fashion!

Here’s another quick and fun little project for all of the tiny scraps of Emma quilting cotton that will be left over after you finish the pinwheel quilt.  Don’t they look a little bit like coated almonds, or maybe Easter m&ms?  I’m a candy hound, so anything that even resembles candy is on my yes list.  The Lily Blossom print in particular was really useful in this project because each flower’s interior is different and makes a different button.

Quick caveat: if you ever plan on making more than about ten covered buttons, I would recommend getting the kind that pop in by means of a little rubber cylinder.  You can find them here.  Unfortunately, my first ten buttons were made with the press-the-fabric-into-the-metal-teeth-that-bite-your-thumbs style.  But of course, if you experience those first and then upgrade to the pop-in kind, you will be extra pleased – like I was!

Now, if only I could wash these things in laundry detergent that smelled like chocolate…or marshmallows…or sugar…

In only a few more weeks, Emma yardage by Newcastle is scheduled to arrive at independent quilt shops!  Here’s a perky pinwheel quilt made from some early strike-offs for inspiration.  The hand-quilting was so much fun, and a great way to be semi-productive while catching up on the Lying Game…

And below, here is the quilt in its entirety.  It’s pretty large (70″ x 90″), but being approximately 70″ myself, I like to be able to do the under-toe flip, which this puppy can definitely accommodate.  If you’d like to download a free template for the 18″ pinwheel squares, then this is for you.