Halloween is coming!

Spoonflower is a great place to shop for unique designs printed on fabric, wallpaper, and decals.  I've purchased fabric with designs created by women in Canada, Australia, and in the USA, Texas, California, and Wisconsin. 

Halloween is coming and I have 6 grandchildren.  For this upcoming Halloween season, I made six book bags from fabric designed by a lady in Canada and one mermaid dollie doll and five treat bags from fabrics designed by a lady in California.  Three of the book bags, two of the treat bags, and one Mermaid Dollie Doll are shown below.

The fabric for the book bags can be viewed in Bluevelvet's Spoonflower shop

Amy_G's designs "Skully Spider" and "Mermaid Dollie Doll" can be found on Spoonflower also.

Spoonflower -- check it out.

"Only the Cat Saw" Quilted!

 "ONLY THE CAT SAW"

Zigzag cheater quilt design by Deborah Astley, printed on
Spoonflower Kona cotton, and quilted by Gail Bush and her
crew at Quilts by Gail in Chickasha, OK.
 

My entry in Spoonflower's last cheater quilt contest, which featured zigzags, was "Only the Cat Saw."  My design used casual zigzags taken from my "Blue River Stalactites" design and from the colors used in my "Circus Sky" collection, both on Spoonflower.  I ordered one yard of "Only the Cat Saw" and one yard of "Blue River Stalactites" both printed on Spoonflower Kona cotton.

I decided that, even though in my little dream world in which I live half of the time where all things get completed and come out looking great, I would take these two yards of fabric to a quilt shop in downtown Chickasha, Oklahoma, and see if maybe the ladies there would do the quilt for me so I could give it to my youngest granddaughter.

Chickasha is a small city about 26 miles to the north of us.  It's home to a wonderful liberal arts university, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, from which our two children graduated.  The university is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In downtown Chickasha, in the old Petroleum building, (constructed in 1907 -- the year of Oklahoma's statehood) on the corner of Fourth Street and Chickasha Avenue, is a quilt shop on the second floor:  Quilts by Gail.   More about her shop can be found here.  More current information about Gail's shop along with a picture of "Only the Cat Saw" can be found on Facebook.

The quilt shop had a hushed silence because of all of the beautiful bolts of cloth lining the walls and filling the floor space.   Also covering the walls were completed quilts, quilts that took my breath away and made my mouth drop open so that I looked quite the fool.

I showed Gail, the owner of the shop, my two yards of fabric and asked if her shop would make a crib quilt for me.  I know nothing about quilts, just that they are beautiful works of art which are also useful, which adds another layer of beauty to them.  Gail explained that the backing for the quilt needs to be larger than the front piece.  I had brought her two equal pieces of cloth.  So we looked for a trim fabric for the quilt.  I chose a bluish gray random stripe pattern for the binding - I felt it went along with the zigzag theme of the quilt.  Then Gail got out three large binders of quilting patterns to thumb through.  We finally decided on a random quilt pattern with geometric shapes.  Gail said light gray thread would probably work the best with my design.   I chose a lightweight 80/20 batting.

I also told her about Spoonflower.  She had never heard of Spoonflower.  When I write a proper thank you note to her, I will include my card which has Spoonflower's web address printed on it.

Yesterday morning the phone call came.  The quilt was ready.  Oh, I was so excited.  The young  woman I had talked to the first time I visited approached me with a big smile and the quilt.  She had done the binding.  The quilt turned out wonderfully.

Here is what I learned about the quilting process:  quilting fabric gives it life.  There is a design on the fabric, but the quilting factor adds another dimension, and the fabric design is enhanced.

So, to all you quilters out there, my hat is off to you.  What talent.

The Mermaid and the Grumpy Old Moon

Sometimes when I'm photographing a finished project or fabric or wallpaper swatches, a story will start building as I click, click, click, focusing on the images.  That very thing happened this afternoon when I was photographing Ms. Mermaid Dollie Doll, a cut and sew fabric design by Amy_G on Spoonflower.

So, here's the story about the Mermaid and the Grumpy Old Moon.


Every month, when the moon was in his waning phase, he would grow sad and grumpy because soon he knew no one would notice him.  To human eyes, he disappeared from the night sky.  Really it was the Earth's fault, blocking him like that.  The humans noticed him shrinking smaller and smaller until he seemed to have disappeared.

To make  him feel better, Ms Mermaid Dollie Doll would wave to the moon and he would reach down and pick her up and place her in the night sky next to him and they would talk the night away.

Ms. Mermaid Dollie Doll would tell the moon about the latest news from the depths of the oceans. And the moon would tell Ms. Mermaid Dollie Doll about the odd things he had witnessed from the night sky and there were plenty.

After the visit was over, the moon would gently place Ms. Mermaid Dollie Doll back in the ocean and she would swim away.  And the moon would rise back into the night sky knowing that at least someone would remember him when he did his monthly disappearance.

What attracts me to designs on Spoonflower

People are funny, yes, we are!  Some of us want everything just so -- colors must match in a pleasing manner, things must line up correctly.  Some of us don't care.  We are attracted to a specific design for no other reason other than that we like that design or the colors used in the design.  The design does not have to coordinate with anything else.  We appreciate it for what it is: creativity, art, an expression of an individual.

On Spoonflower, though, there is another reason I like specific designs.  If there is a story that goes along with the design or if that particular design has a unique name, I am hooked.  I'm a lover of words and stories.  If a designer takes the time to pick a unique name for his or her design or if there is a story that goes with the design, you've got me.

Spoonflower is full of talented designers.  What I like best about Spoonflower, though, is that if one browses through the designs and takes the time to read the specifics of each design, then maybe click on the designer's name and read what the designer wants to share about himself or herself, that knowledge adds another dimension to the design.

Spoonflower is one of the easiest web sites to use that I've come across.  There is a wonderful blog that has instructions about how to prepare files for uploading.  Rarely have I had a problem with my shop.  When I do, I shoot an email to Spoonflower and receive help within 24 hours. 

Signing up is free.  How many on-line sites are free anymore?  A designer can upload an unlimited number of designs.  There is a size limitation to the file: 40 MB, but, hey, how big does a file really need to be.

And there are weekly contests. What I like about contests is the challenge.  

Also, a designer gets a designer's discount when purchasing one's own designs.  And, now, in addition to fabric, there is wonderful wallpaper and decals.

Spoonflower -- check it out.