I am not at Quilt Market right now!

Just to note that I am not at Quilt Market right now  -- even though it started today. First Spring Market I have missed in many years! Market, at least for me, is not giving me the access to customers it once use to. Sad, but things change -- it's okay -- I miss it but it's okay! I will probably attend when it is local in Portland. And we just noticed Quilt Market is in SLC Spring 2016. We will probably go though probably not exhibit again.
To find out what I did instead of Quilt Market   ---- stay tuned!

The next new pattern - Beat the Heat! oven mitts!

Still not sure why so many people make oven mitts --- probably to have them in the great foody fabrics that are available. I'm lovin' the foody fabric! Check out the olive fabric below. Awesome!

Out of all my oven mitts, this has to be the easiest one to make and second in line for the handiest one (Pot Pinchers P156 takes first place in handiest!). But Beat the Heat is quite the perfect oven mitt. And I have designed quite a few oven mitts [just counted -- fifteen others!]  Makes up really fast  -- though I find putting the trim around the opening a little more involved but the rest literally goes by in a heart beat.

Traditional Paper Pattern OR Epattern!

New Spring Patterns - Paper or Epattern!

We finally have our Spring 2015 patterns ready for the world to see!! Yeah! It's always a lot of work getting to this point and always a little nerve-racking -- always asking myself, " are they actually, finally, really  -- ready?. Took so long to get them done! 

So the first one to show is called, "The Really, Really Big Bag". It is really a huge bag, that holds everything from A to Z. I personally love it! When I have a lot of stuff, like a purse, a camera, a laptop, a coat, etc. -- I use this bag to collect everything in one spot and carrying it altogether. It really works great.........

A traditional paper pattern OR now available as an Epattern!

There are longer straps to carrying the bag on your shoulder OR shorter handles to carrying by hand.
There is a zipper pocket on the inside to carry things like your wallet that you might want more secure. And there is a scrunchy type band to help keep everything inside.  

Rather easy to make. You could make it in an evening. You could leave out the zipper pocket and it would go faster but the zipper pocket is awesome, so you wouldn't want to leave it out!! 

One of the reason they take so long to get written, I have online video overviews and/or tutorials that accompany the pattern. Lot more work on our part but much better for you.

And the Biggest News of all, it is available as a traditional paper pattern OR as an Epattern you can download from the website. Jacob is the site master and has a dozen Epatterns (I think a dozen so far) ready to go.

One of my favorite quotes I have on the wall in my office. So well said!

Diva Babies by Charlene

Today, we are posting a pic of some Diva Baby Bibs made by Charlene. I like the use of fabrics, especially the animal prints. The fussy cut on the blue bib is an excellent idea and of course, the pink fabric choices are simply sweet!

Good job Charlene!

Other Than Sewing!

Until we are ready to start posting pics of our new releases (coming soon), I thought you might see that I actually do have another life besides Vanilla House. Not much of one, but I do! We built a new house recently and I decided to make the hearth pad for a new wood stove in the guest room. So this pic is a mosaic of small stones. I learned a lot but I think it turned out pretty nice. I used the small stones so I wouldn't have to cut anything with the tile cutter! LOL!

Took about a day!  My knees really hurt by the time I was done!

Basket liner fabric!

Another new project slated for this spring is fabric basket liners! These are the four fabrics I have chosen for the cover. I wanted four fabrics that 'kind of' go together or blend but each still having their own personality.

My favorite is the Playful Jacks fabric by Cotton & Steel.

More fabrics for more spring projects!

Try out these fabrics for some new oven mitts I am designing! I loovve food fabrics -- again, from Fabric Depot. But I can't decide what I like the best -- the bacon fabric or the olive fabric. 

Yum!

New projects this spring! -- Fabrics!

Starting my new spring designs. Just bought some fabrics at Fabric Depot! Such a great selection!
These solids are soooo beautiful! So I decided to do some projects in solids, which seems like an interesting approach  -- let's see how it goes! 

Don't you love these colors?!!! They look very good with the contrasting black background!
There will eventually be three projects: 1) cactus and jade -- with black, 2) ochre with tangerine -- with black, and 3)bluegrass and pomegranite -- with black. And check out the Kona Cotton color card:
www.fabricdepot.com/kona-cotton-color-card

Robert Kaufman Kona Cottons

Rectangle Dresses!

I have a couple of patterns that are rectangle dresses -- P155 Seams Sew Cute was the first, then P169 - P172, Poppy's, Pepper's, Lily's, and Grace's Easy Dresses. And finally, P185 Rectangle Dress for Girls. Now granted, sizing is not my best attribute when it comes to designing, so I do not do dresses so much anymore. But I did make some dresses for my granddaughters for this coming Christmas. I made  the designs up as I went, not using any of my patterns -- they're pretty cute.
 

This is the finished dress but notice the construction process below.

I call it 'flat construction" -- just sewing rectangles together.

This is what it would look like from the back side.

A pink version - just fold the flat arrangement in half, with RST, and sew the side seams!

Downloading with Chrome.

We have had a few customers, as of late, not able to down load some of our printables. If you are using Chrome for your browser, that may be the problem. We do not have a solution for it yet!! Working on it!!

Behind the scenes -- backyard view!

We love living in Oregon. My back yard is so peaceful and beautiful, even though I live in the middle of a suburb. Somehow, Oregon manages to make that suburb feeling go away -- each of us having our own bit of sanctuary. Even though it is green year around, summer green is intoxicating. 

Each house in the neighborhood is nestled by green!

 

 

 This view is over our back fence.

Out my studio window!

Okay, lousy picture! I took it out my upstairs studio window -- through the glass. I want you to know I work very hard -- but washing windows is not one of my frequent labors!! But look how lush it is! The fall colors are coming on and yum!

Hide Your Stuff!

Here's a few more pictures of our first epattern, Hide Your Stuff!

Uses one fabric!

Uses two fabrics!

Uses three fabrics!

Epatterns are here!

The time has come! We have finally gotten around to writing epatterns. We are getting more requests all the time and always knew the day would come. So we are finally starting. Yeah! We wanted to start with tons of downloads but in reality, it is not that easy! So we are going ahead and posting the first one and then we will go from there.

My epattern format is a little different than our paper versions. With epatterns, we can add color graphics, which really enhances each illustration. On our paper versions, that is not really practical. It will take some time to convert a paper version into an epattern version but I think it will be worth it!

Our first pattern is an epattern only and does not have a paper version. It is called "Hide Your Stuff ..... in the closet"! It is a clever little caddy you can hang in your closet and hide stuff like cash or jewelry. When you hang the bag amidst your clothes in the closet, the bag is almost undetectable. It is great for traveling and hiding stuff in hotel rooms! Makes a sweet gift, especially for friends who travel a lot!! Very easy to make, and in my opinion, very well written!!!!

The pattern will be available for download on our website www.VanillaHouseDesigns.com .

Red and green thing!

Okay, this red and green thing is not actually a Christmas item, but it would be a great gift for your favorite quilter!
 So this tool is mostly for quilters and though I am not a major quilter, I still love it. The whole Color Tool has three aspects to it. 1) numbered color swatches, 2) fabric preview windows, and 3) -- my favorite -- red and green value finders. Value finders help you determine contrast without the distraction of of color. They are amazing to work with to get your fabric colors to balance out in a project. Kind of have to use one to understand how they work -- so go get one  -- it will be worth it!

3-in-1 Color Tool by C&T Publishing (www.ctpub.com)