Riley Blake’s 80s Party

May 29, 2011 by carina 3 Comments

Crimped hair, jellys, and awful blue eye shadow…classic 80s. Here we are on our way to Riley Blake’s 80s party. My brother-in-law said that Josh looks like Glenn Gulia—the resemblance IS uncanny.

I haven’t posted for a while so here’s a few things going on:

+ I have been working hard on Art of Digital Design critiques. I hope to have them finished this coming week!

+ Art of Digital Design 2 will be up at JessicaSprague.com sometime this coming month. The class will start August 22nd. Plan on some serious designwork and a series of assignments that will help take your skills to a whole new level!

+ If you are a sewing superstar, check out my 3 fabric lines coming out June-July. Of course, we will have free quilt patterns and projects on the blog and newsletter.

+ Along with new fabric lines, comes sewing patterns! Expect 3 more patterns shipped to stores in July! I am SO excited about the new children’s clothing we are introducing! Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to get your hands on one of our current patterns & checked out the beautiful packaging and easy instructions.

Happy crafting!

Carina

Spring Quilt Market 2011

May 16, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

I was a happy girl at Quilt Market this weekend. Susan and Emily walked the show with me and we have a fabulous time! It was nice to have market in town (here in SLC). Here’s a sampling of my Friday (prepare yourself for a long and picture-heavy post!):

This was fun! My little bio at Northcott and a few of my patterns on display at The Pattern Peddler’s booth.

The absolutely delicious Riley Blake booth! And I feel silly because I completely forgot to take pictures of the Little Miss Suntop and Skirt model & the High Tea Soiree Dress model while I was hanging out. I’ll get photos of them when I pick them up.

(You know that Riley Blake is giving away this Beach Cruiser, right?)

Susan was cracking us all up with her enthusiasm! Here she is getting a Moda tattoo. Classic Susan!

And me forcing her to pose in a window frame.

Those gorgeous hats (above) are a new pattern by Amanda of the Quilted Fish. Seriously, adorable!

Here’s one of my new favorite people-Rebeckah Merkle. Here booth was fab and she was sweet too! She has a new line with Timeless Treasures.

This fabulous footwear belongs to Anna Marie Horner’s daughter. Anna Marie passed on some serious style to her daughter.

If you attended market, you might have joined in the All Dolled Up contest that was going on. This fabulous quilt was at one of those booths. And that flower…well, how could I NOT take a photograph of it? Of course, I have no idea what booth it was in.

Me with the extremely nice Joel Dewberry. The amazing frame and mini quilt are by Gigi’s Thimble.

Emily in total bliss as she picks up EQ7!

These lovely ladies (Megan of the Brassy Apple and Daria of the Boutique Cafe) are giving away one of my Ruffle Dress Patterns! Check out their podcast interview with me in a couple of weeks at the Boutique Cafe!

Finally, I had to show you a little goodness from the Seven Islands booth. I think Susan was drooling…literally.

That’s a pretty decent sampling of my two days at market. Hopefully, I’ll get some pics up soon of Josh and me in our 80’s gear for the Riley Blake party. If I haven’t scared you away yet, that post might do it.

Happy sewing!

Carina

I’m Not Having Fun At All!

May 13, 2011 by carina

A preview of what I did today at Quilt Market Spring 2011!

Much more to come, but for now I need to plop myself into bed! (If you are wondering we are at designer Amanda Herring’s booth-She is just as lovely as her designs!). Pictured here-Emily, Susan, Me, and Amanda.

Our Family Photoshoot

May 11, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

We did our extended family photoshoot on Saturday and they turned out beautiful. The lovely Heather Telford shot it for us—no easy task with so many kids. It was a beautiful day (thank goodness)! I can’t wait to see all the photos.

Tomorrow is the start of my Quilt Market fiesta! I promise lots of photos and commentary. Susan, Emily, and I will be walking the floor starting Friday (tomorrow is a drop off to Riley Blake, meetings, and dinner with my dear friend and fabric designer Ro Gregg.)

Will check back in soon!-Carina

Machine Quilting Show

May 9, 2011 by carina

On Saturday, I did a quick run down to the Southtowne Expo to visit the Machine Quilting Show. It was a busy day, but I’m so glad I had a chance to go. My friends Emily and Laura spotted my Love Next™ fabric in this darling quilt…it made my day!

I’m pretty excited about this coming week…it’s Quilt Market! While you won’t see me with a booth at this one, you will be able to catch me part of the day on Friday at the Riley Blake and Northcott booths. You’ll be able to check out my next three lines due out this summer at the Northcott booth. I’ll also be wandering the show. Feel free to stop me and say hello!

Easter Sunday-A Week Late

May 2, 2011 by carina

I’m finally getting around to posting photos from Easter. I’ve been making models of our first line of sewing patterns because the first samples I made are my girls’ favorite to wear (and therefore not suitable as models due to the daily wear and tear.)

Here they are sporting a couple of the sewing patterns with their Coquette™ church bags made from the ballet bag tutorial (photo above).

Flissa was being a stinker about taking photos, but Siri posed prettily. Mostly I just caught photos of them from behind as we walked to church.

I start work on our second set of patterns this week. They won’t be due out until July so they can be sampled up in Pinfeathers, Dress Up, and Baby Safari. I’m also hoping that I’ll get a chance to enjoy the sunshine and sit aimlessly outside a few afternoons this week. Fingers crossed!

XOXO-Carina

Sewing Pattern Packaging

April 29, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

I spent part of this week sewing up samples for Quilt Market. This Love Nest™ Ruffle Dress is made in Cindi Walker’s fabric from Riley Blake. I still have to put in the zipper and make the ruffle flower. I’m so happy with how it turned out! Those coral flowers are divine!

If you get a chance to go to Quilt Market, be sure and drop by the Riley Blake booth to check out my pattern samples! I’ll be walking the show on Friday morning, but should be hanging out at the Northcott and Riley Blake booths too. Hope you get a chance to say hello!

We’ve also updated our distributor list and online retailer list. I also know that you will be able to check out the patterns at The Pattern Peddler’s booth.

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This has been the first time since shipping out the patterns, I’ve had a chance to make more samples. I completely forget that a website is a really difficult way to check out this packaging and after experiencing it first-hand, decided I’d better take a couple of pics for you to see how fantastic the packaging it.

If you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on one of these gorgeous patterns yet, then you haven’t seen how functional the packaging is yet. The heavy-duty package is the best way to keep your cut-out pattern safe and ready for use the next time you sew. I’ve got my patterns all folded up and tucked into each of these ready-to-go the moment I start a new outfit.

More sewing for me this coming week… I’m looking forward to it!

Pinwheel Coquette Quilt by Emily Harris

April 25, 2011 by carina 5 Comments

This quilt was made by my good friend Emily Harris (the same that made that amazing chocolate bunny cake!). These gorgeous little pinwheels were made with a fat quarter bundle of Coquette™. Isn’t it wonderful? It makes me want to pull out the sewing machine right now and start working on a quilt!

Flissa’s Birthday Bash

April 24, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

My baby turned four yesterday! Because it was Easter weekend and spring break, we celebrated with an Easter egg hunt and pizza party in our backyard. My good friend Emily, offered to make this amazing bunny cake {see photo below} (“I want a BROWN bunny, mommy,” says Felicity) and sweet little strawberry cupcakes.

It was probably the easiest little party I’ve ever thrown since the kids painted one little project, ate cake, hunted eggs, but spent most of the time playing on our new Costco playset.

I was thankful for the good weather and being forced (gulp) to get a few things cleaned up in my backyard. This is our first year of having a real vegetable garden. I’ve planted veggies before in our plot in student housing a few years back, but this feels different since I actually have a garden bed and munchkins to help me plant and water our sprouts.

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The race for Easter eggs is on!

Hope you are having a sunny and bright holiday as well!

Hugs-Carina

Kathy Petersen’s Art Exhibit

April 17, 2011 by carina

Friday night, Josh and I attended Kathy Petersen’s art exhibit at the Phillips Gallery in downtown Salt Lake. I was a little hesitant to get out of the house after a neighborhood kid accidentally ran into me on his bike, which resulted in a black eye (the kid walked away without a bruise). Thankfully, it didn’t turn purple until Saturday so it just looked like I was squinting at the show (lol, pathetic, I know).

It was totally worth looking like a “squinter” because the show was beautiful. I am so in love with these two paintings. Josh, I’d recommend bookmarking this post for future birthdays, anniversaries…(you get the point).

When you are done drooling, head over to the Phillips Gallery display of all the paintings. Delicious!

And send me good karma so this eye will get back to normal (I still have the black stage, green and yellow stage, and…are there any other stages?).

Hugs! Carina

Sewing This Week

April 13, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

This week I’m sewing up some samples of my new sewing patterns. These samples will be shown off at the Riley Blake/Christensen Wholesale booth (one of our distributors) at Quilt Market (just a month away!).We have been updating our distributor list for our sewing patterns, which you can find on our wholesale page. If you are shop that prefers working through distributors, I hope you are able to take advantage of buying our sewing patterns from this wonderful list!

My samples will be made with the fabric shown above. Can’t you just see the Love Nest™ Ruffle Dress in that darling coral floral? Or the Little Miss Suntop and Skirt in the whimsical pink Hoo’s the the Forest print? These fabrics are from the fabulous Stitch Studios and Doohikey Designs. I’ll give you sneak peeks as I work on these this week!

If your local shop isn’t currently carrying the patterns, feel free to also check out our online listings. We are still in the process of adding to this list so check back often!

Speaking of Quilt Market, are you going? I’m looking forward to it being a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. If you are going, are you doing something fun? What’s your favorite part? This is only my second quilt market and I’m still new to all the fun. Tell me what you know!

XOXO-Carina

Sewing Pattern Winner

April 4, 2011 by carina

Thanks for your comments! I’ve been so excited to see the patterns up in shops online today! We still are getting our list together and I’ll let you know the moment it is ready on this site.

Okay, from random.org we have our winner of a sewing pattern! The winner is #9:

Jenbreeze says:

My daughter is thrilled that I’ve let my sewing stuff overtake our dining room. It would be fun to sew one your patterns with her! Thanks for the chance to win.

Congrats Jenbreeze! Send me an email at info@carinagardner.com and choose which pattern you’d like me to send.

Thank you to everyone else who participated!

ABC Class Starts Today!

April 4, 2011 by carina

Today we start our second session of my ABC Inspiration Class. It’s fun celebration of our everyday lives in the forum of a digital scrapbooking album. I’m pretty excited to see what this new class comes up with!

Today must be “ABC” day because I also have a set of ABC Templates up in my digital scrapbooking shop. It’s 25% off (as all my new products are on Monday). I mention the templates because I recommend seeing my original blog post on these templates, which has a couple of yummy photos of the book I made.

Today I’m shipping out more of my new sewing pattern line. You’ll be able to purchase this line from your favorite online retailers pretty soon. We are hoping to have the list up by the end of this week. You should also see them at your local quilt shop within the month. Hip Hip Hooray!

The Biggest Bubbles

April 2, 2011 by carina 3 Comments

One of our neighbors, Joe, brought over a monster bubble maker yesterday. Joe made it for a Science Olympiad at Weber State (where Joe works). It is completely shocking to see a bubble that big!

I’m not completely sure how Joe made these bubbles, but the “bubble maker” is made from two golf clubs (that Joe got from the thrift store) and string. Joe says the string needs to be sturdy but absorbent enough for the bubble mix.

All of the kids were delighted and I couldn’t blame them! I would have loved to have popped a bubble that big as a kid (who am I kidding, I would like to pop a bubble that big NOW!).

The kids lined up and tried to pop the bubbles a myriad of ways….jumping, karate chopping, squirting with water…well, you get the idea.

For me the whole activity was a sign that spring was finally here…although I don’t doubt that we have one more snow storm this spring. Either way, I’m excited that spring is on it’s way!

XOXO-Carina

Sewing Pattern Giveaway

March 29, 2011 by carina 51 Comments

This week we are shipping out the first round of patterns. I am hoping to have our online retailers up on the sewing pattern page for your shopping convenience.

So, for the fun of it, I’m doing a giveaway on this new line. For every 100 comments, we will giveaway a sewing pattern. Those that win can choose from 1 of the 4 patterns we currently have available. How sweet is that?

This giveaway ends on Monday, April 4, 2011. Go ahead! Comment away!

Happy Sewing! -Carina