Meet the Designer | Sarah Watson

Yet another amazing artist to join us! {It just keeps getting better, doesn't it??} And here's a sneak peek at her first collection with us (and our first Halloween-y collection to boot!) which will be available in late July.

More about Sarah:

Sarah was raised by two enthusiastic, open-minded parents who urged her to be inquisitive and creative at a young age. When it came time to go to college, her parents wholeheartedly supported her choice to go to art school (the Savannah College of Art and Design), and major in Fibers and Textile Design.

There, she fell in love with repeat pattern design, and the idea that her drawings could go on forever, on rolls of fabric. After graduation she went to work for a large children’s clothing brand where she gained incredible experience, but lost the creative encouragement that she had known earlier in life. After three years of corporate work, Sarah turned to freelance work. She took about 6 months off to settle down and develop her new portfolio of work. This lead to many offshoot endeavors, such as wedding calligraphy, children’s book illustration and packaging design.

Children's book illustration: Sweet Coco

As a child, one of Sarah's favorite things to do was to go outside, pick a flower or weed, and bring it inside to draw. She still loves to draw flora from life, it is one of her favorite subjects. She loves weathered wood, small plants in old bottles and traditional textiles.

Hand lettering

In her spare time, she and her husband camp and hike throughout Northeast Brazil, finding incredibly inspiring scenery and vegetation along the way. Sarah always has a small craft project going, and at the moment is really loving hand quilting and stitching.

Indian Summer fabric collection (from Art Gallery Fabrics)

She and her husband’s travels can be found on their personal blog, On the Move, and personal design inspirations and studio updates happen on her design blog, Sarah Watson Illustration. Sarah's calligraphy has been featured on Brooklyn Bride, and Sweet Coco can be found on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Sarah has two lines of fabric on the market right now, Luxe in Bloom, and Indian Summer.

Pre-Surtex Print Collections

Koi by Rashida Coleman-Hale

It's always fun to show off the sample yardage. Now, the hard part is waiting for it to arrive.

{It's coming in July, folks!}

 

Tutorial : Half n Half Pillow

 

In the Forest has such nice vibrant monochromatic accent prints we felt this project was a great way to highlight 2 sparkling fabrics at once. What's nice is that you can use fat quarters for these 16" pillows, too.

Get the tutorial download here.

 

Tsuru + Geranium

Have you caught the amazing series on Made by Rae this past week? Stop by her blog to see the fruits of her collaboration with Rashida Coleman-Hale and Karen LePage. Here's a sneak peek- but the rest of the images are totally worth the click! Inspired? You can find the Geranium Dress pattern here.

Indigo Cranes in the Geranium Dress and Indigo Old Lace on Elliot Part III

Motif Madness in variations of the Geranium Dress Part II

Indigo Feathers and great use of the border print Blossom Festival, both variations of the Geranium. Part IV

Cerulean Cranes with a bold border in Vermillion Old Lace Part I

In the Forest | Book Nook

We hope you enjoyed the Book Nook series! Our final closeup will be of the valance - a simple project with big impact.

Have a great holiday weekend!

 

Meet Our Newest Designer | Rae Hoekstra

Bright sewing pattern star, Rae Hoekstra, swings into surface design. Look for a sneak peek of her upcoming August release soon!

Rae Hoekstra has loved fabric ever since her mom taught her to sew as a small child. She began her sewing blog, Made By Rae, shortly after leaving her job as a high school physics teacher six years ago to stay home with her first child. Her website is now a popular spot for DIY and sewing tutorials and has a large and enthusiastic audience.

Look for a special collaborative project between Rae, Rashida Coleman-Hale and Karen LePage next week on Made By Rae!

You can buy the Washi Dress here.

Rae spends her work time blogging and designing sewing patterns for digital and print release. Her patterns include the Charlie Tunic, Flashback Tee, and Geranium Dress for children and the wildly popular Washi Dress for women. She also has an extensive collection of free online sewing tutorials and patterns on her blog.  

Rae hosts a number of popular online sew-alongs and events on her website, including the Spring Top Sewalong, KNITerviews (interviews with fellow bloggers about sewing with knit fabric), and Celebrate the BOY. She also hosts monthly sewing meetups and teaches the occasional sewing class in Ann Arbor.

You can buy the Geranium Dress here.

Her work has been featured in Cloth Magazine, Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine and on popular websites such as Sew Mama Sew, True Up, and Instructables. She has contributed sewing projects to the book One Yard Wonders and the online magazine Petite Purls. Rae lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband and two children.

Bonsai Bag

Charlie Tunic

Flashback Tee

In the Forest | Book Nook - Cozy Corner

A pile of pillows is all that's required. Milk and cookies is just icing on the cake!

This jumbo square (the green variety of foam) which measures 24" x 24" x 6" was a find at Joann's and with the discount coupon was a great bargain. It's light enough for a little guy to tug around - especially with the help of a handle on the side. Double sided in Moon & Sun with Midnight Sky around the edges and Branches as handles and piping, it just invites the kiddies to dive on it.

Catherine, who sewed all these wonderful items, said it was a struggle to get the cushion into the case, which is hand sewn on  (not removable)- but perhaps a nice long hidden zip the full width of a side would have made it much simpler- and certainly easier to clean should the need arise.

We topped it with a couple of pillows in Branches and Woolen Blanket. The ruffles add a touch of whimsy... even this little action hero dude can't deny they're fun.