Fabric Crush #27 + Designer Interview

   Do you love fabric? and what about cats? I sure do, but I've always had the feeling that to create a successful mix of those two requires a lot of planning and talent. I'll show you my favorite cat fabric ever, and its designer. Say hi to Kathy Weller!

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...and say hi to the kitties!

Available at The Fat Quarter Shop

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A couple of months ago I had the chance to see this fabric line for the first time in Julia Bravo's Blog. It was love at first sight, so I contacted Kathy about an interview and she was nice enough to answer my crazy questions. 

*Crazy questions below this paragraph.* LOL

Reading through your blog, I couldn't help but notice that cats and dogs feature prominently in your work. Are you an animal lover? Do you have pets? Tell us the story of fido or fluffy!

Yes! My husband and I currently have one pug, Daisy. Here's a fun fact: I was a custom pet portrait artist for five years before entering the world of fabric design and product art!

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How was the process of designing your fabulous fabric line? Did you get it right right away? or Was it a long process of hit and miss until you got it right?

Certain portions of the Jive Cats collection are pretty much exactly as I first sketched them out in my sketchbook (except for the fact that the Jive Cats designs in my sketchbook are all in pencil.) Other elements required a little give and take. This was my first collection with Northcott, as well as my first fabric collection in general, so I had a lot to learn as far as fabric printing goes as well as repeats and such. I was fortunate to have had such a good teacher in Deborah, Northcott's Design Director.

I read that you don't sew, but I've seen in your blog that you seem to be full of ideas for those who do. Is there something in particular you'd like to see made out of your fabric line?

I think a little girls' (or big girls' for that matter!) skirt or dress would be so perfect!

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Where do you find inspiration? Do you go to the park and sit there to sip a cup of tea while you write down some of your awesome ideas or are you more of a Pinterest kind of girl?

You know, I do love the idea of Pinterest, but I'm not so successful at using it. I feel like there is some secret to Pinterest that I am not privy to. That said, one of my favorite things to do is to just go sketch at the library or a coffee shop. The white noise and anonymity factor really helps me to zone in and focus on my work.

What does a day in the life of Kathy Weller looks like? Do you have a routine or something quirky that you do everyday that you'd like to share? How do you like your coffee in the morning?

I do love coffee. But I feel I'd be leaving something out if I don't divulge my addiction to Starbucks green tea latte. It's great both hot or cold, but here's my big tip: get it unsweetened, and with an extra scoop of matcha powder. Perfect!

Is there anything you would like to say to the fabric loving community?

If you see me at Quilt Market, please say Hello! I would love to meet you! :D

Thank you so much Kathy for giving us the chance to know you.

What do you think? Isn't her fabric line just perfect?

I can't wait to make a couple of things from this fabric, I've been hoarding it for around 2 months. XD

Dolls: This is Amanda.

   Remember I told you I'd fix Sheila's pattern to make her easier to sew? Well I did, but I need to say that I'm not happy with those changes. This is Amanda and I'm not sure about her.

2nd prototype

   The changes I made, make it super easy to sew, but the resulting doll doesn't feel the same. Amanda is 2" taller and a little chubbier; I normally like chubby but in this case I like the original better. Sheila is much lighter and at 13.5" she is a good size for little girls. I changed the arms because I thought Sheila looked like she was contracting her biceps, but the new arms look like creepy fingers extending out of Amanda's body. I made her legs skinnier and longer but I think they don't match with her body. I also made her puffy ponytail bigger which doesn't work because now it feels flimsy, same with the bow. So, for the next prototype I need to rethink the whole doll so I don't make any other miserable mistake. I'll save this pattern though, in case the parts can be used at any other time.

   For this doll's skin I used Kona Taupe, I'm not sure I love that color for a darker skin tone though. I also have some Kona Earth that I want to try, we'll see. The face was drawn with Sharpie Stained markers, including the cheeks which I normally make from felt. When I use Kona Flesh for the skin, it's easy to see the face template through the fabric but in this fabric it was impossible, so I used blue carbon paper to transfer it. It was a big fail because when I soaked the fabric to make the lines disappear, the ink (which I hadn't set yet) bled a little and the areas already marked over with the pink marker couldn't be erased at all. That's why I made her lips red, to hide the lines a little. I'll probably get me a tracer light box to make this step easier.

   In the coming days I think I'll go back to the beginning and work from there. I'll have to alter the way the doll is put together to avoid all the fiddliness, but I think It'll be worth it. I can't wait to get the pattern all right so I can start using my wool felt. What do you think?

Dolls: I Want You To Meet Sheila!

   For over a month now I've been working on a pattern for a cute little doll. Last week I decided to try what I had so far and here it is, Sheila would be the first prototype! and I LOVE how she turned out.

   But as much as I love her, I need to say that she was a pain in the a*%$! to sew. For those of you who have made dolls or would understand the process, everything was fine until I had to put her together/sew the body. Her little torso and neck were too narrow to contain her long legs, arms and big feet. Let's say I had to hand-stitch some areas where the sewing machine just wouldn't go through.

   Yikes! That would be Sheila's underarm. At that point everything was too fiddly and as you can see, I couldn't make a blind stitch.

   I'm working on fixing all the little details that went wrong with Sheila. You know, because I might want to make many more dolls and I want to enjoy the process as well as render a high quality product. ;-)

Don't you think I'm cute?

   Again, I used Sharpie Stained fabric markers to draw her features. I really like those markers but they're to be treated with respect; if you don't make light quick strokes the ink will bleed... badly. Her skin fabric is Kona flesh, her hair and details are acrylic felt and the rest are regular quilting fabrics.

I gave her a curly ponytail which I love!

   One thing makes me sad. I really like Sheila, but I have to give up many of her distinctive quirks on behalf of her survival. We'll see how it turns out. See you later!

I Love My Dolly! :D

   I'm in looove!!! Remember when I told you that I'd make a doll from a Dolls & Daydreams pattern? Well, I made her, and she is gorgeous! Even if I say so myself. :D

Made using the Little Sister doll pattern by Dolls & Daydreams

   I LOVED the pattern, it was easy to work with, used very little materials and the results were great. I even learned a couple of new tricks, thanks to Sarah's great instructions.

   She was made using 100% cotton fabrics, acrylic felt and polyester fiberfill; her face was drawn using Sharpie Stained fabric markers. I used acrylic felt because I made her for myself but if I was to sell a handmade dolly, I'd definitely use wool felt. I might even give wool stuffing a go, what do you think?

   Here are 2 sneak peeks of the dolly I snapped a couple of days ago through Instagram.

Have a nice week!

My Month Through Instagram

   It's been a while since I showed you my life through Instagram, so I thought, why not?

1. Breakfast: Oatmeal pancakes!
2. Scrap basket after it was organized.
3. Super happy mail day.
4. Zipper wallet, second attempt.
5. Coin pouches.
6. Handmade heart applique.
7. Homemade pizza.
8. Curry chicken with white rice.
9. Shoulder bag, I really love that fabric.
10. Some of my creations ready to be sold.
11. Finished custom clutch.
12. With the family eating pizza.
13. The pizza I ate with my family.
14. One of my dream cars.
15. Fabric shopping.
16. A Singer Featherweight someone left at the repair store where I got my precious machine. :D
17. Rice flour pancakes with bananas and strawberry jam.
18. First thing sewn entirely using my precious vintage sewing machine.
19. Dinner: Steak with loaded mashed yam.
20. Another shoulder bag made from lovely fabrics.
21. Shrimp in a coconut-curry sauce with fried plantain.
22. Chocolate cupcake with meringue topping.
23. My retouched blue streaks.
24. Tacos!
25. Getting ready to list some items on Etsy.
26. I listed many items on my Etsy shop: 18.0.7
27. Baked potato with shrimp.
28. This one is unbelievable, someone left that cute ginger kitten at my window. I woke up to his cry and I obviously brought him into the house. I bathed him, fed him and treated his ear-mites. I'm not sure he will stay (I would find him a loving home in any case) but I'm trying to decide on a name. What do you think, Lucky or Chester?

Would you like to see these (and some others) happen in real time? Then follow me, my username is: yadiras_adventures

Musings of an Amateur Doll Maker

   You already know that I normally design and make bags, purses, clutches and all kinds of fabric receptacles, but I want you to know that I'm also an adventurous crafter who likes to try everything at least once. Over a year ago I went through a doll making phase; I even have evidence to prove it. I made 2 dolls of which I am SUPER proud, even if they were just for fun. Making dollies is so rewarding that I'm ready for another try! ;-)

   I'll write about my first doll making experience in a very tiny font, because I need to take the experience off my system but I don't like talking about bad things here.

I purchased a pattern from a doll designer and I changed some details . These were very simple, I added a collar as embellishment and at that time I didn't have the skills to transfer the face template so I made my own. I can't publish a picture of my doll in my own personal blog because since she is slightly different from the pattern I'd be going against the designer's policies.  Not to mention I still am disappointed with this designer's service. When I asked her how I should act about my doll, she never even answered my message. So you'll have to take my word that my dolly is really cute. :-D

   I was so much into dollies at the time that I even designed my own, I went through a trial and error process until I ended up with Lola, and it was love at first sight. My doll making heart was pleased, so I went back to my purses. <3

   I always wanted to tweak the pattern but I think she is pretty cute as is, so I'll just design another that has been in my sketches for several months. Would you like to see that?

   In the meantime my doll making heart keeps beating so I bought this gorgeous pattern by the awesome Sarah Hanson from Dolls and Daydreams and I'll be working on it in the upcoming days. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

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1st Blog Anniversary + A New (to me) Sewing Machine

   I'm the worst blogger. Can you believe that I forgot about my own 1st blogiversary. :S

   I actually blogged the day of the anniversary (last week) but I didn't remember it was a special day. So... the post before this one would be the 1st Blog Anniversary post, I just forgot to mention it. LOL Happy Birthday little blog! Better later than never, right?

   I might be celebrating it but I need to decide how I'm going to do it. I'll keep you posted.

   Ok, on to the actual post. :D

   I've been in need of a new sewing machine because my trusty Brother decided she wouldn't let me trust her anymore. She started acting up to the point where I needed to unpick all my top-stitches and do them all over a couple of times until they were acceptable. They would look awesome from the top thread/needle side and look AWFUL from the bobbin side. I tried everything, I changed needles, adjusted tension, bought expensive thread and nothing. I think it might be the bobbin case but since I can't wait for the piece to arrive I decided to get me another sewing machine to keep working on (and to be a back-up) until I figure out how to solve my Brother's problem. So I bought a Singer Simple, it had nice reviews and it was super cheap so I didn't give it much thought. I've been using it and I like it. :D

   But what I actually wanted was a machine that I could really trust, one for which parts were easy to find and to repair. So yesterday I went to the sewing machine twilight zone. :S

You can click the pictures to see them full size, they are from my Instagram.

   And I brought a little treasure for my sewing room. :D

   This is not a Singer, it's its Chinese cousin or so I think. I researched about it a little but didn't find anything that would help me calculate its age. On the top, where it should read "Singer Manufacturing Co." blah blah, it reads "Made in the People's Republic of China". I think it's a clone/replica of the Singer 15-90 the only difference being the position of the bobbin finger; in my machine it faces to the right (1 o'clock position) where it should normally face to the left (11 o'clock position) and of course the name and designs. On its front where it should say Singer it says Flying Dove and all of its decals/markings are Dove themed. Original Singer parts fit flawlessly in case anything ever breaks.

   It's in perfect working order and sews beautifully, also the pedal is new and the bobbin winder is not its original because the original was broken. I still need to clean it really well since it came from a repair shop and it's super dirty but otherwise I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. The lady at the repair shop told me that this machine would probably sew through anything and I'm almost sure with the right needle it would. So in conclusion, I now have 2 new machines one that is easy to work with and modern and one that sews beautifully and should last me a lifetime if serviced properly; I got both of them for less than what I got my Brother for. I'm sew happy now! ;)

Oh! I accept cabinet donations. LOL The machine works on any surface but is too strong for any plastic table. I noticed the hard way. After just a couple hours of sewing, I have a dented plastic table to prove it.