At last I am ready for market and have a few minutes to breath. Although my studio looks like a bomb went off and is calling me to clean I am avoiding it and blogging instead. It doesn't matter what good intentions I have to keep my studio clean while I am getting ready for market I never can. It really annoys my mom... she always offers to come help me clean. Honestly, you really can't have anyone clean your studio. I have hard enough time remembering where I put things.
Wish... my new collection. That has just arrived in the Stitchin' Post..... YEAH!!!
First, I want to tell you how the collection came about....The beginning of fabric collections come to me at odd times and from random places, Wish started with a tree. I live in such a beautiful part of the county full of trees, I have always had a passion for them. As the idea stewed around in my brian I started thinking about the life of trees, their roots that ground them, the leaves or needles, that come back every year, the bark that protects them, the strength of a tree in a storm. All of this combined with the thoughts of my friends and family and their roots, love, dreams, strength, and wishes. I decided that it would be beautiful to create a tree in which the branches are words.... this idea became, "what about wishes...." then, "what about my friends and families wishes". I sent out letters to my close friends and family asking them to send me a wish that they had... write it on a piece of paper that then I would incorporate into my Wishing Tree. I wanted the wishes to come from all ages, the youngest wish came from my son, he was 2 at the time and the oldest was a friend in their 70's. It was so amazing to get the wishes in the mail and see what the people I love wished for.
As I was drawing the tree I thought about putting it into the computer and typing the wishes but having them hand written was more personal and organic. It was truly a drawing of love and hope....
There are three colorways.... This is Patience...
This is Strength...
This is Courage....
From the Wishing Tree the other designs seemed to just happen. Not sure why or from where. A lot of times it is when I was working on the tree that I would think of something that would just be perfect. But then one of the ideas came when I was working out in the gym. Go figure, you can't fight creativity and inspiration.
This print is called Treasure....it is the beautiful and delicate cherry blossoms. There was a quote that I found and wrote in my sketch book (don't know who wrote it but it was not me but I do love it)...
"Petals falling to the ground represent the fragile life we live. How brief our existence is. Out inevitable downward spiral as we come to the end of our life but also shows that once upon a time things were beautiful and still are despite the years gone by."
Patience
Strength
Courage
Autumn was inspired by leaves....their bright green in the spring and brilliant colors of fall. How the seasons are so short yet full of beauty.
Patience
Strength
Courage
Gladys was oddly enough inspired by a beautiful cork lamp shade. I loved the design that came through the light, it bits and pieces.... I had done a sketch before I had started the collection of the lamp shade and one night when I was going through the sketch book I came across it. For some reason it just seemed perfect for the Wish collection.
Patience
Strength
Courage
Everlasting is reminiscent of the rings in a tree.... connected yet tell a story of each year.
Patience
Strength
Courage
The last print is Andy.... Andy was inspired when I was in the gym. I was working out with one of my girlfriends and she had this cool top on with this design the started with a center grew out and yet connected back to the original design. It is kind of hard to explain but there was something about the center and the connection that I went home and started drawing. Andy is what I came up with.... the motifs are elements of the other designs but find their own structure and then connect again.
Patience
Strength
Courage
These are all cottons and then I translated some of the designs into Cotton Voile and Jersey Knit...
I Loved the way the Andy print turned out but felt it was too big for voile and knit so I tweaked the size and the colors a bit...
Patience... in Voile and Knit
Strength in Knit
Strength in Voile
Courage in Voile and Knit...
The Everlasting print is also in Knit and Treasure is in Voile. Of course I had to make lots of things out of this fabric....new patterns, old patterns created with new fabric and a wonderful photo shoot with some beautiful friends.....and that I will share tomorrow....
I will say good day with a sneak peak...
XO
Valori
