Peeps help me design

Yesterday my husband bought me my favorite Easter treat!  PEEPS!  Two packages of yellow chicks.  I consumed one box right away, I just couldn’t help myself.  I’m trying to have control with the other package, make myself eat only one at a time, ok two at a time, but at least sit down at my desk and eat them slowly.  It’s really tough!  I love these little things, and I only get them once a year!  The thing no one knows is that Peeps actually help me design!  They’re my comfort candy.  And I’ve been doing a LOT of designing.  It’s a good thing the stores are filled with Peeps!

You haven’t heard from me in a while, and it’s because just when I was going to tell you how I stay organized, Moda called and moved my deadlines up by several months.  What’s a girl to do?  You jump in with both feet and let everything go that you can.  My husband cooks dinners, feeds our pets, grocery shops, and runs errands when my life gets like this.  He wonders if he’ll ever see me emerging from what he calls my “bat cave” (yes he thinks he’s funny).

When I started designing fabric, it changed the way I create a quilt.  Now instead of working with a bundle of fabric,  Moda emails me high-resolution swatches of each print in my line.  I place the digital swatches into a full-size drawing of my quilt, working in layers so I can change and move fabrics around.  It’s a bit like working on a giant jigsaw puzzle!

All of my design images for my next fabric line, along with yardage information are due to Moda by early March.  They have a catalog to create!  So instead of working with the actual fabrics, I’m calculating yardage digitally.  I’ve learned a process that works well for my applique quilts.  Here’s an example of how Cottontail Cottage looked on my monitor as I was finishing up the digital quilt.  You can see all the fabric swatches I’m working with on the right-hand side of the monitor.  When I select one swatch, I tell my software to pick ALL the similar swatches in the quilt. Then I lay them out on a separate artboard and start to calculate yardage.

I’m still waiting on sample fabrics to arrive from Moda so we can actually make the quilts.  We’ll move fast once the new fabric is here!  The applique templates are cut and ready to go.  We’ll cut fabrics, prep the applique and make the samples.  I have some wonderful ladies to help me, and they are very used to working like crazy.  The fun will be in seeing it all come together!

And FYI we’ve started a sale of the week over the next month.  Every Sunday we’ll add a new item at 25% off that week.  Our first item on sale is our Hip & Hop mini quilt kit!

I’ve still had a few glitches with my new blog design.  I’d like to know if you’ve even missed the “link” section I normally have at the top of my blog? And one of my favorite blog followers (Deanna this is you) gets an error code every time she tries to post a comment.  If anyone else is getting this can you email me through this blog and let me know?  We’ve been working on it but so far can’t figure it out.  I have some giveaways coming up so I want to make sure everyone can comment.

Tell me what you’ve been doing since my last post.  Has everyone been working on new projects?  Any applique?  Embroidery?  I’d love for you to share.  Now that I’m almost done with my Moda deadlines, I should be able to get back to some regular blog posting!  I still plan on doing several posts about how I organize my quilting life.  I think some of my tips will help you organize your own projects, so I’ll come back to them. I’ve missed you!

Hugs,

Anne