I sent this little freebie to the Fabric VIP Group! To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!
I sent this little freebie to the Fabric VIP Group! To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!
This is a quick lesson on machine quilting for BEGINNERS. Never machine quilted before? No problem! This is meant to help you get over the fear of machine quilting your own quilts! Taken from my Live videos. PDF available to my VIP group.
Did you know I send this pdf and free ones every week to my Fabric VIP group? To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free tutorials!
Today I showed how to put together a new quilt I am making for my son Charlie in my LIVE video series. The pdf for this quilt was sent to my Fabric VIP Group today. To join my VIP group for free, go here: http://eepurl.com/dN2RcY. I regularly RESEND files so be sure to sign up so that you are getting all my free quilt tutorials!
I will show the finished quilt once it’s done! For now, here’s the instructions for you to make it yourself!
I used Riley Blake’s Confetti Cottons for this project. If you want the exact colors I used, here it is:
Hi guys! The last month I have been making a Strawberry and Leaf Quilt. Guess what? It’s done! Well, almost. I’m going to machine quilt it and bind it this weekend. Here’s my Live Video on putting it together. I’ve also linked the blocks as well below!
Want to get PDFs for all my projects? You have to become one of my Fabric VIPS! It’s free and you can join here:JOIN VIP.
This video on putting it together was done during my Fabric Live Video (Live video times below).
Hi everyone! Today I’m excited to announce that a new quilting conference will be happening in March! I’ll be teaching a my perfect hexagon quilt! I hope you get to join me! The entire conference is only $75 PLUS if you use my DISCOUNT CODE CARINAGARDNER you will get $20 OFF!
Read below to find out more! Hope to see you there!
XOXO- Carina
Today we are excited to announce that tickets sales for Mod Bee are now open!
Mod Bee is 3 day, online conference full of interactive quilting classes taught by some of the internet’s favorite quilters.
This year Mod Bee will be held March 14th, 15th, and 16th (With classes running every 2 hours from 9am-7pm)
When you register for Mod Bee you receive:
*Access to a private Facebook group where 6 classes will be taught each day during the conference (Making that a total 18 classes!)
*12 PDF Patterns sent to you via email prior to the conference beginning so that you can be prepared to sew along with the classes of your choice
*Automatic entry to win daily prizes during the conference
*Continued access to the videos that will remain posted throughout the remainder of the year.
*Ticket price for this 3 day event is $75
The Mod Bee is a modern twist on an old fashioned quilting bee…a chance to gather together quilters from across the country into one location to learn, visit, be inspired and enjoy the love of quilting. And, we hope you will join us.
The team of teachers gathered together this year include:
Bev from Flamingo Toes
Amanda from A Crafty Fox
Mathew Boudreaux from Mister Domestic
Kate from See Kate Sew
Cindy Cloward from Riley Blake Designs
Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Company
Lindsay from Lindsay Sews
Melissa from The Polka Dot Chair
Amy from Ameroonie Designs
liZ from Simple Simon and Company
Becky from Patchwork PosseCarina Gardner
Caroline from Sew Can She
Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts
It is going to be three days worth of quilting awesomeness that you can take part in without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home!
Register HERE
I’m excited to post my February Block of the Month! Hooray! It looks awesome in it’s own quilt or with the blocks I’ve paired here! It is SOOOO simple. That’s probably why I love it so much! I love a block that makes a quick quilt!
Download all the quilt instructions from my shop for here:
I’m so excited to share with you how to make a paper pieced skull with my friend Alicia with my newest fabric collection Eek Boo Shriek! I have a video below (or you can visit my youtube channel) on how to make this! I haven’t done a lot of paper piecing and it was a treat to have Alicia show me how she does it! Stay tuned at the end for bloopers!
I’m thrilled, chilled, and hauntingly happy to announce my newest eBook Eek Boo Shriek™ is now available in PDF forma in my shop! It should be available on Amazon in the future but for now, enjoy 60% off the release in the next week!
This book features my recent fabric collection for Riley Blake Designs™ also named Eek Boo Shriek! You are going to love the 8 quilt blocks, stand quilts, triangle quilt, table runners, and mini quilt instructions in this book!
I LOVE all the projects in this book and I wanted to make sure and make it available for those of you who want to make in September and decorate in October! I know my house is going to get a spooky makeover in the coming months!
You can grab this fabulous book (normally $9.99) in my shop here.
(Psst, for this release I decided to also put Sweetly Stitched Quilts on sales so be sure to check that out as well!)
I’m thrilled to announce the Eek Boo Shriek Blog Tour going on this week! Drop by each of these blogs to see all the fabulous things they are doing with my latest fabric line! What’s more is that on FRIDAY, you should drop back here for fun new announcement!
My new fabric line has started shipping, and I’ve gotten requests for the downloadable instructions (with illustrations) for the new 18 inch doll panel. So here it is!
I also decided to make a video of this one because I wanted to walk you through how I make this panel. I hope you enjoy! Make sure and subscribe to my youtube channel for more great sewing projects!
I think I managed to forget to do a post on Block of the Month for February so I’m doing double duty today!
I’m a bit late, but March block of the month is finally up! We had some technically difficulties over the last few days with the website so I’m so happy everything seems to be resolved with our hosting company.
March’s video is a bit long but hopefully helps all of you beginners put together this video. If you can’t tell, I had fun making it (wink, wink). The downloads are all available in the shop for free (as per usual). I use Posy Garden fabric (with minky on the back for Felicity), but you can make it in any fabric you want. Felicity and I also tested a portion of the inside of this quilt with Primrose Garden (I’ll make sure to post a pic soon on Facebook).
I’m so excited to introduce the 2017 Block of the Month Quilt! I’ve posted the introduction to this year’s block of the month below along with the January video! As always, you will be able to access everything on my 2017 BLOCK OF THE MONTH PAGE. That page is updated monthly with all the videos and download links you need! Check out the quilt we will be making!
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS
This is a scrappy quilt and you can make it from scraps OR purchase a fat quarter pack to cut your blocks. You can start with me in January or anywhere along the way. I am using my line Posy Garden for Riley Blake in this quilt. Download all the cutting and fabric requirements here:
https://carinagardner.com/store/?model_number=2017bomjanuary
INSTAGRAM
Want to become part of my instagram (@carinagardner) community? Sew with me every month and hashtag #carinagardner the photo of your monthly block so I can see what you are making!
January 2017 BLOCK VIDEO
I posted on instagram the other day a picture of Felicity watching my cut out fabric for my 2017 Block of the Month. It reminded me that I wanted to put together a list of the SIX FREE FABRIC PROJECTS you might have missed.
Yesterday I was thrilled (aka nervous!) to be on American Patchwork & Quilting Radio with Pat Sloan. I didn’t get to hear the episode until late last night, but if you are the least bit interested in what I have to say about Barbie doll sewing, Posy Garden, how I got into fabric, and my glamper, go check it out here:
Today is the start of our wonderful BlogHop with Riley Blake Designs for my new collection Posy Garden! I can’t wait for you to see all the amazing goodness that is about to be unveiled over the next two weeks! It’s going to be awesome!
Along with that! My new (and first!) eBook called Simply Modern Patchwork Quiltsgoes on presale today! Eeek! I’m so excited! It will release on August 15th in the Kindle Store on Amazon. I’ll add links here as soon as the presale goes live! I know we are doing a HEFTY discount for the presale so keep your eyes open for it!
***NOTE: It’s on PRESALE NOW! Go to Amazon to purchase it here. The presale price is $4.99. which is 50% off the regular price of $9.99 through AUGUST 15th when it becomes available! That’s less than 50 cents per pattern! Make sure and grab it during the presale period!
There are also four contributing pattern designers to the book including Amy Webb, Amanda Neiderhauser, Christine Cook, and Angie Tackett! These ladies did a fabulous job and I can’t wait for you to see what they have done!
As for the Bloghop, here is the list you are going to want to visit everyday! Come back to this post to link over to these ladies blogs!
I’ll also be reposting their projects over the next two weeks on instagram if you want to follow over there.
I’m so excited to see all their amazing projects! It’s going to keep myself from sewing all week!
Carina
Psst! If you are in Utah, make sure to come visit me at Elaine’s Quilt shop this weekend on August 6th! I’m teaching a free class in the morning and the Clean Star Quilt in the afternoon. My glamper will also be there to tour all day!
I’m still decompressing a bit from market. In fact, when we finished and pulled the entire double booth down, I looked through my photos on my phone and realized that I had been so busy, I hardly took ANY pictures. WHHHAAAT? Whoops.
In the end, you’ll have to visit the hastag #carinaglamps on instagram to see all the going ons that happened in my booth over the course of the three glorious days at Quilt Market 2016 in Salt Lake City.
First off, a story. My glamper was suppose to go in before all the pipe and drape went up in the convention center.
Ya. They forgot about me. When I called the Tuesday before set up, they realized their mistake. So I pulled it in at 8am Wednesday before everyone else came to set up (important since we didn’t want to drive over anyone else and their booths). One of the dock workers pulled it into the Salt Palace for me since exhibitors were technically not allowed in yet. All good.
A bit later, a DIFFERENT dock worker came and asked me if I wanted the door facing out. I’m not sure what the expression on my face was, but I can tell you I was extremely puzzled and confused. I think I mumbled a, “Um, yes? I mean, I want people to actually go INTO it.” Apparently, they had pulled the glamper in BACKWARDS with the door facing the inside of the booth (as in, no one would be able to actually get into it). I believe I heard the dock worker mumble something along the lines of, “I told those idiots that.” as he ran in to the scene of the crime.
Needless to say, they fixed it. I’m not sure how well my booth would have gone over if no one was able to actually go into it to see all the pretty Posy Garden fabric (heehee!).
Because I didn’t leave my booth much, I only have highlights for you. Maybe the biggest highlight (for me) was that the booth won the Creativity Award. I was SO honored! I hadn’t thought about booth awards and I felt grateful to get one. (Photos below: Left—Creativity Booth Award; Right: Baby Coco visits the glamper)
(Photo below: Left—I spent a lot of time on the chalkboards for this booth; Right—First day of the show.)
Most of my double booth was taken up by the glamper (which is about 10′ Wide and 17′ in Length), but we also had a fun section of MiniLou at the front and a section in the back for patterns and block of the month. And that darling sign above (the white one with my logo on it) was made by my sister who has a darling etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SKWoodDesigns. She also made the MiniLou one below. (Photos below: Left—this was taken by @emmalinebags; Right—MiniLou).
I wish I could take credit for all the wonderful sewing in the glamper, but I can’t. I had some fabulous sewers put together many of the projects in the booth. A big thank you to @stitchingrevival Christine Cook, @quiltstorymeg Megan, @mystitchstory Angie Tackett, @amylouwhosews Amy Webb, @farmwifejournal Cherilyn Dunn, @diaryofaquilter Amy Smart 20.2, @jedicraftgirl Amanda Neiderhauser and @happylittlecottage1 Debbie Homick. They made wonderful minis for the glamper.
(Photos below: Left—Amy Smart shows off her mini; Right—Flying Geese Pillow and Garden Patch Quilt I made using my Posy Garden fabric).
(Photos below: Amanda Niederhauser and her mini; Christine Cook and her mini).
Last but not least, my mom came into town and helped with my kids, sewing, and cleaning to get me ready for market. She sewed all the curtains, cushions, and gulp, the piping for all the pillows. Did I mention I HATE doing the piping. Ya, she saved me!
(Photos below: Left—Minilou was all the rage at market!; Right—My mom and me at the Chinese bash we threw after market.—That’s my I-am-happy-it-is-all-over-with smile-wink, wink.).
It was so fun to catch up with new and old friends. The photos below include Heather Spurlock who works at Elaine’s Quilt Shop (BTW the glamper will be there with classes in August! Stay tuned!) and Deanna Hartvigsen who used to be with Mormon Handicraft but has since retired. Deanna is a dear friend and recently has gone through several rounds of chemotherapy. I couldn’t have been more glad to see her!
The photo to the left is of MOST of the Riley Blake designers. A few of the designers were missing in this shot.
The other photo is of Josh and I dressed up for the Riley Blake 80’s party. Anybody want to guess at Josh’s movie reference?
Any that’s the wrap up! It’s always such a treat to be part of the Riley Blake team and I can’t wait for Posy Garden to hit a store near you! Hopefully, I’ll have the swatch book up for it soon!
Tomorrow is the kick off of Quilt Market. Earlier this week, Felicity and I were part of the runway show at Riley Blake’s Retail Fabric Extravaganza. I also did a drop for Riley Blake’s awesome Fabric is Fun 60 days of giveaways that has been going on.
On Wednesday my team and I installed the glamper into the Salt Palace and finished setting up the booth. (We are in Booth #2031 BTW! Come by if you are here). Today I have a Schoolhouse and I’ll be selling MiniLou at Sample Spree.
It’s been a tough few weeks finishing up our mid year launch of products for MiniLou and finishing everything I needed done before Quilt Market. There’s a lot more that goes into Quilt Market than just the sewing (although that takes up a lot of the time!). Organizing other quilters to make projects, ordering catalogs, designing new business cards, ordering flooring/lighting/walls, and getting babysitting are just a few of the things that were on my to-do list.
Speaking of babysitting, my mom was in for the save. She showed up last Saturday and has helped me sew, watch kids, cook, and clean this whole week. Such a blessing! That kind of help is priceless and I owe you one, Mom!
Quilt Market Summary will be up sometime soon!
XOXO-Carina
(Photo above is my Perfect Hexagon Quilt Sewing Pattern in my Posy Garden fabric line available in quilt stores July 2016. Photo to the left was made by Megan Jimenez of @quiltstorymeg)
Looking back, I’m not sure I even did a blogpost on the Audrey Sewing Collection that premiered in the shop last month. It’s my first knit collection and includes 4 patterns for Misses and 4 patterns for Girls/Teens. The whole collection makes me pretty happy…easy-to-sew, easy-to-wear clothing.
So here’s my first hack with the collection. First of all, I’m a big fan of a summer dress or tunic (hence those lengths throughout the collection). Second, I’m a huge fan of a Maxi! For those of you who have already bought the sewing patterns, you can see that making a maxi seemed out of the question. There are already SO many pieces for you to tape together to make your pattern.
So here’s your hack. Simply add 28 inches of length to the front and back tunic pieces at the bottom. I’d also purchase an extra yard of fabric. Easy right? I don’t get all crazy about straight lines, ect. You just need the length. Longer is always better since you can hem it down.
The fabric you see pictured is Riley Blake’s new ikat knit in navy. I’ve made the short versions of this pattern before but never the maxi and it took me about an hour and a half to make. I used the Misses Style 3 Pattern and used a gold zipper I got from my local craft store.
We took these pictures near one of my favorite restaurants in Las Vegas (we were there for a toy show for my kids company MiniLou) called Eat. It’s a brunch place and the eggs benedict on the weekends is to die for. Or the cinnamon biscuits. Or the egg truffle sandwich. Or the…well, you get the picture.
You can check out the video where I show you how to put together the Style 3 zipper (It’s easier than it looks!) although I did manage to break 4 stretch needles on the zipper because I wasn’t careful about where I was going.
I like using a stretch interfacing when making this. It holds the zipper and fabric together nicely.
And that’s it! I plan on making this with several of the other Riley Blake knits. Comfortable summer clothing, here I come!
We started working on this collection in December. I’ve never been so ambitious before and tried to release 8 sewing patterns at once! But it was an idea that came from loving and wanting to produce a knit collection that was simple to sew and beautiful to wear. Easy enough of a concept….quite a bit more difficult to execute.
And I couldn’t have done it alone! My pattern production assistant worked tirelessly on this collection and made edit after edit as I pinned, cut, and tried to find the SIMPLIEST way to put these patterns together. I hope you love the results!
This is the first time I have released MISSES and TEEN sizing! You’ll notice that as my family changes in age, I find myself wanting to make what my own kids are wearing.
So here’s the run down on these patterns.
There are 3 styles of knit patterns. ALL are easy to make but Style 1 is the easiest and Style 3 the hardest. As you can guess, Style 2 is right in between the other two.
Style 1 is short in front and longer in the back. Style 2 is an A-line with a gusset in the back. Style 3 features a zipper in a yoke on the front. Each of these variations changes the look and styling of the patterns.
There are two lengths on each of the tunic patterns. There is a “blouse/tunic” version (shorter) and a “dress” version (longer). Here’s the deal: they are both LONG. These tunics are meant to be worn with leggings and if you are anything like me, I won’t wear leggings unless they cover my bottom! In the picture above, Felicity (white) is wearing the TUNIC length Style 3, Siri (yellow) is wearing the DRESS length Style 1, and I (stripes) am wearing the TUNIC length Style 2.
The sleeves are INTERCHANGABLE. There is a 3/4 length sleeve on Style 1, an elbow length sleeve on Style 2, and a cap sleeve on Style 3.
The patterns come in TWO sizes: Misses AND Girl/Teen. The Misses size include 4,6,8,10, and 12. The Girls sizes include 6,8,10,12,14. If you are a size 2 in Misses, you can easily move down to the 14 in Girls/Teen.
Did I mention the final two patterns are a Miss and Girl/Teen legging? Yep! SOOO simple to sew together since there is a single seam. We love using the Riley Blake knits for these!
I know some of you are probably afraid to work with knits, but it is a lot simpler than you would think! I have a few pointers for those of you getting started and made a couple of videos to make the process so much easier! Check them out below.
Here are a couple of “important” things that I always do when I start to work with knits:
Change my needle to a STRETCH needle. These can be bought for ALL brands of sewing machine and is meant for knits. This will make your sewing go SO much smoother!
Use the thread that matches the fabric content. So if I have a 60% Polyester and a 40% Cotton fabric, I use a Polyester thread. The only time I do not follow this rule is when I have a cotton based fabric with a small percentage of stretch (like a 5% spandex like a Riley Blake knit). Then I will use a polyester thread because it has more give then a cotton thread.
Surprisingly, you do NOT have to serge knits. It looks nicer and will last longer, but you shouldn’t fret just because you don’t have a serger. You should take a chance on knits with just your regular sewing machine!
(Here are the two videos: Getting Started with Knits and a Tutorial on Style 3!)
Make sure and take advantage of the 20% sale going on right now on PDF patterns in the shop in honor of the new collection! Put in code AUDREYNEW20. The sale should last through February 2016. it includes ALL PDF patterns including Kid cottons and quilt patterns!
I’d love to hear what you are doing with knits! Join my Facebook page to tell me or my Private Sewing Group on Facebook! As always, I love getting feedback on the patterns and projects I am working on.
Finally, there is a good chance we will have handmade Style 1 in Misses S, M, L available for sale in a couple of weeks. We will have a very limited few since these are being made inhouse. Keep your eyes out for these!
It’s my first ever Block of the Month! I’m excited to start this year off with a bang! The sampler quilt we are making is called Home Sweet Home and includes darling houses, a tulip, heart, and more!
Every month a new video will be posted on the 15th with a new tutorial. Be sure to also visit the store to download the free pdf of the block measurements that day as well. Our first video posts today so go check it out here: https://carinagardner.com/2016bom/.
You should also check out all the awesome things we are doing on instagram with this quilt! Follow me at @carinagardner to check it out!
Hope you make this quilt with me! I can’t wait to see what you do with it!
Finally finished the pattern, the video, and I’m giving away the Anything Goes Quilt PDF Pattern I made on instagram this weekend (be sure to check this out!). This quilt is so versatile! I use the Magic 8 technique to get a lot of triangles cut and sewn all at once. I named it the Anything Goes pattern because it really can make so many different kinds of quilts—flying geese, hour glass, pinwheels, chevrons, and more!
Hope you have a chance to try it out! You can purchase the pattern for it (and see some great options!) here.
I’m so excited for today! I’ve been planning this launch for a few weeks now! The team and I have some cool things planned. What kind of cool things you ask? Well, since you asked…
First off, we are now releasing PDF Patterns! Yes, that’s right. This is the official launch of you being able to purchase my patterns in PDF format. You can still also purchase most of my patterns in their physical form (from our website or from your local quilt shop). Not all of my physical patterns have been converted to PDF. You will see us release all of them in the coming weeks along with new ones.
This is awesome on so many levels for you and me! Since I started MiniLou, we simply have not had the space to house the number of patterns I was carrying for CGInc. So NOW because we can release pdf patterns, you will see MORE kids clothing, kids projects, beginner projects, and for the first time ever QUILTS!
The timing is right for this launch because not only am I kicking off the PDF Patterns, I am excited to be releasing my newest fabric collection for Riley Blake Designs called Apricot and Persimmon. The colors in this line are so autumn-y and yummy. (I should have the full digi book for this collection out sometime next week).
So what are we doing for this launch? I’ll admit, most of the action will be happening on my instagram feed (@carinagardner). Here’s what’s happening:
We are randomly giving away sewing pattern gift certificates on instagram and facebook all weekend!
We are teaming up with Michelle Jensen (my machine quilter) and MiniLou (my kids toy company) to do a DROP on instagram (hints and where it will be can be found on instagram @carinagardner and @miniloukids). This drop will include one of you WINNING a Persimmon Nine Patch Quilt. Yes! The actual quilt!
I have consolidated all of our FREE fabric projects into the shop so you can grab them and go!
I have two new videos that feature the Persimmon Nine Patch Quilt and the Patchwork Plus Quilt (See below!)! The best part is that I will be doing ALOT more videos featuring difficult parts of the patterns or helpful sewing hints.
For this launch I am releasing three brand new PDF Sewing Patterns that have never been released as a physical pattern—Persimmon Nine Patch Quilt, the Patchwork Plus Quilt, and the Apricot MiniQuilt.
Be sure to join us on instagram and facebook for the festivities! Check out the videos below!
The Wiltshire Daisy™ Around the World Quilt has been my Sunday sewing for quite a few weeks now. This is one of those quilts that it didn’t seem to matter how I photographed it, it still looked better in person than through the lens of my camera.
And I am SUPER excited to share with you a really great contest that I’m teaming up with Emily Taylor and Riley Blake for you to do!
First of all, everyone WINS because each of us has a free quilt tutorial for you to download. Mine is the Wiltshire Daisy Around the World Quilt and Block (scroll down to the bottom of the post). Riley Blake’s Tulip Chain Quilt and Emily’s Florabella Fancy Quilt are so adorable! To make it easy for you guys, for a short period of time, you can just go to the PatternJam site (click here) and download all three patterns at once.
Second, we are throwing an amazing contest so that you can win the FABRIC TO MAKE YOUR QUILT AND $100 VISA GIFT CARD. I know, right?
Here’s what you get to do:
Go to PatternJam.com and customize the Floribella Fancy Quilt, Around the World Quilt, and/or Tulip Chain Quilt using the Emily’s Florabella, my Wiltshire Daisy, and/or Riley Blake’s Solids. It’s seriously so fun to do! There you will see instructions for making the quilt using the Pattern Jam software and you can pin it to the contest Pinterest board. The most pins wins the contest so make sure and spread the word and get people to pin your quilt!
Here are a few steps to help you if you want to enter:
1. Be a part of the Pinterest Board—http://love.patternjam.com/design-contest/
2. Go to PatternJam.com and register: https://patternjam.com/ by clicking on GET STARTED NOW.
3. Click on DESIGNER PATTERNS> Choose Either Around the World, Tulip Chain, or Fancy Florabella.
4. Once you have chosen a quilt, then choose FABRICS and choose either the Riley Blake Solids, Wiltshire Daisy, or Florabella fabric (or a mix of them).
5. Once you have designed a quilt, save it to your library. Click on MY ACCOUNT and you can see your library and PIN it from there.
6. Join the contest board here.
If you just want to download my Wiltshire Daisy Around the World Quilt, you can do that below:
The Pinterest Contest goes until April 24th! So go and make some fabulous quilts!
Carina
It has only taken me a month to finally post about my newest collection Wiltshire Daisy for Riley Blake. I’ve already seen so many amazing projects and even have a couple of my own to share soon. If you haven’t seen the collection, I’m posting my digi magazine of it here for you to enjoy. It may take a minute to load on your computer so if you see a blank space below, give it a second:).
I debut my second 18″ doll panel in this collection. It includes a blouse, capris, headband, and handbag. There are photo instructions on the Riley Blake blog here if you want to see them (the capris are done a little differently then my instructions, but are still so very cute!). AND I have illustrated instructions now available here.
Thank you for purchasing the Primrose Garden 18 inch doll panel! While there are instructions on the panel itself, I find that illustrations always help me see how to put something together. Sooooo, I’ve put together some illustrations that coordinate with these doll panels for you! Feel free to download and use as you put together these dresses!
If you are looking for this panel, please check with your local quilt shop first. There are also several online retailers carrying this line
Here it is! The Glamper Recap of our day at My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah on March 22nd, 2014. Here I am sitting in front of the shop with the owner Kris Thurgood. Her darling shop is three stories tall with classes, a full on hang out room (The Attic), kiddie area, and of course, shopping.
We parked the glamper outside with guests Deena Rutter, Emily Taylor, and Samantha Walker. Riley Blake sent the fabulous mom and daughter duo Jina and Alexis Barney.
I was grateful for the sunshine (you’ll notice we are all squinting in the photos!). When we arrived it was pretty chilly, but by 11am it was perfect. I lucked out for an outside event in Utah in March!
Shoppers were entered into a raffle by getting their paper stamped by every designer at the event. Prizes included fabric donated by Riley Blake and large goodie bags made up of stuff from my designs at Carta Bella Paper Co, Deseret Book, and Riley Blake.
(photo below) You could sit a while in the shade of the glamper and do a make and take. (Thanks for posing for me ladies!)
(photo below-right) Designer Deena Rutter shows her patterns and beautiful fabric. Did you know that Deena also designs for me over at Carta Bella? I adore working with her! (photo below-left) My Bella Stash Bag pattern hangs out next to some fabulous football mums.
(photo above and below) Emily Taylor’s fabric and sewing patterns are so lovely!
(photo below) Designers Samantha Walker and Deena Rutter hang out with customers. Sam’s family recently bought an RV so we all hung out over the weekend (Sam also designs for me at Carta Bella). Hoping for more of that! (And yes, my family stayed in the glamper before and after the event).
(photo-above) My biggest misstep for the event was ordering WAY too many cookies. Thank you to everyone who was willing to have more than one:). I took plenty home and donated several to neighbors.
(photo below) My fabulous assistant Susan made the trek up to help me set up and take many of the photos you see here in this post.
(photo-below) I don’t have a lot of photos inside the shop, but here are a couple I couldn’t resist posting. The one to the left was the Riley Blake tree from a Quilt Market booth they did in Salt Lake. It is above My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe children’s play area and the perfect accessory to this gated happy place. The second is the awesome trio of chairs hanging from the ceiling in The Attic. There were so many other cool displays! I highly recommend taking a trip and checking it out!
(photo below) I can’t tell you how hard it was to find a shot where all of us were looking up with our eyes open! (from left to right) Samantha Walker, Kris Thurgood, Jina Barney, Carina Gardner, Deena Rutter, Emily Taylor, and Kim Christopherson.
(photo above) Kim (Kimberbell Designs), myself, and Kris in front of the glamper. I was thrilled to hang out at their shop and meet so many of you! Probably the most amazing moment was when three ladies from my hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee showed up! It was so incredibly delightful! Thank you Judy, Susie, and Barbara for coming to see me! It made my day!
Our next stop is in three weeks at Quiltique in Las Vegas, Nevada (April 19th from 11am-2pm). It will be just me, my family, and the glamper for that stop. Those of you in town, I would love to see you!
48 hours in New Mexico and West Texas isn’t a lot of time to do much, but I made time to eat a lot of Mexican food and take pictures of the livestock (haha, see below). I flew into Lubbock, TX and drove to Portales, New Mexico—a charming little town that houses Eastern New Mexico University. There I was greeted by the host of Creative Living’s Sheryl Borden, who is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. (photo above: It was too hard to pass up taking a photo of a pink bug. Slug Bug!)
Sheryl and I taped three segments for her PBS show Creative Living. I believe the segments should air at your local PBS station (check your local listings) sometime in the third and fourth quarter of the year (more on this when I find out air dates). I’ll also post our segments on my youtube channel when I get my hands on the videos. (photo below: Sheryl and myself on her set).
Obviously some super important explaining happening above. ^^^
I always love to see behind the scenes of something like this and two members of Sheryl’s crew was nice enough to snap photos for me with my camera. The set has a full kitchen and living room area.
Serious control room. ^^^
The foodie in my was pretty happy on this trip. There is something so fun about discovering places I have never eaten before. A couple of places to mention: I loved the carne asada tacos at Taqueria Jalisco. I also stopped by the Taco Village and loved their beef tacos (near the airport—a plus!).
I’m on my way home now and it should be a busy weekend including the Yard Sale at The Cottage! Be sure and check it out for some amazing deals. I also get to attend the wedding of a college girlfriend and maybe even stop in at our neighborhoods big band dance. I’m looking forward to getting home!
And although it has only been 48 hours, I’m excited to go home and snuggle my Charlie-boy and girls.
November is zipping by and I’m considering putting up my Christmas stuff this coming week. I know, I know. It’s a little early but I like to enjoy the season as long as I can! I’m also considering cutting out a bunch of these for all my nieces and nephews for Thanksgiving and letting Siri and Flissa pass them out.
If you have been watching my instagram feed then you know I have been working on my glamper all week. The polka dots were their own special kind of purgatory but the final result was worth it. I’ll take photos today and post the finished outside in the next couple of days. (Note I say finished outside...).
Today I am sewing curtains and cleaning windows on the glamper. That will have to count as my exercise (hee hee!) because I’m also trying to finish out my February collection for Carta Bella a little later today. Did I mention I finished my next fabric line this morning? It’s been a productive day.
While I am thinking of it, I wanted to make sure and give you a “things-you-should-check-out” list. It’s short and sweet:).
* Thankful Leaves Free Download—It’s a fun way to remember to be thankful! This year, I’m cutting out the leaves in advance and taking it to Thanksgiving dinner so we can fill it out as a family.
* Christmas Advent Calendar—This is one Christmas goody that I would recommend getting a head start on. Our Advent calendar comes out the same day as our Elf-on-the-Shelf does. This year I’m considering writing a note to each of my kids in some of the envelopes telling them some of my favorite things they did this year. Then we’ll staple them into their smash books. Journaling and advent calendar in one…done and done!
How cute is her little niece modeling this skirt? Something about an itty bitty darling wearing those fun fabrics makes me smile. I can’t help it.
I love this pattern because it cuts like a quilt. Yes, that’s right. I’ve never done a pattern quite like this before but it is meant to be simple, sweet, and quick to sew up.
And have you seen how cute the double band of elastic is on the back of this skirt (see photos below). Probably my favorite part.
As for me, you can check out my crafty doings for Halloween over at my instagram feed.
Today we are preparing the warehouse for tomorrow’s big sale. And I mean BIG! You won’t want to miss it! More info coming to you via social media tomorrow!
At the moment, I am writing from the Denver Airport. I got on an early morning flight to come home from Quilt Market this morning (for a few pics of this, visit my instagram feed: carinagardner). I taught a schoolhouse, talked to distributors, and reconnected with others in the industry. It was the perfect in-and-out trip.
I also introduced two new sewing patterns that are now available in my shop and hopefully in a quilt shop near you with in the next couple of weeks!
First is my Toodaloo Back Pack. This is part of our Beginner Sewing Series and is sooo easy to put together! I specifically designed it so that there where no hard closures so that you can do this project with your tween or teenager. It’s also darling in boy fabric (see the back of the Toodaloo cover below).
I also came out with a new 18 inch doll pattern. I ADORE this pattern! It’s called the Little Sweet Lola Outfit and comes with a pattern for the blouse, ruffle shorts, drawstring pants, and ruffle pants.
Now that I’m headed home, Susan and I are working on getting together the schedule for the spring Glamper Tour. I also plan on painting the outside before the weather turns on me. Fingers crossed I can get it done!
As for today, I’m going home to snuggle my baby and girls. They had the croup last week and there were a few tears when I left on Thursday. Josh has been holding down the fort, which has been no easy job with all those sick kiddos.
I’m still decompressing a bit from market. In fact, when we finished and pulled the entire double booth down, I looked through my photos on my phone and realized that I had been so busy, I hardly took ANY pictures. WHHHAAAT? Whoops.
Speaking of babysitting, my mom was in for the save. She showed up last Saturday and has helped me sew, watch kids, cook, and clean this whole week. Such a blessing! That kind of help is priceless and I owe you one, Mom!
Trick or treat!
