Carina Gardner Aurifil Thread

August 20, 2014 by carina 1 Comment

I’m thrilled to announce that you will be able to find a selection of Aurifil Threads from me in quilt shops soon! This is is sort of a “sneak peek” into my Aurifil collection. The collection won’t be available for a little while yet (I’ll keep you posted on this on my Facebook feed). The colors I have chosen are ones that I use time and time again. I always use matching threads to create a finishing touch on my little girl clothing, 18 inch doll clothing, and other sewing projects.

(For quilt shops, I have listed on our wholesale page distributors who will be carrying this product.)

You’ll notice that I have chosen several variations of blue, red, and green. I find that these are my go to colors and the shades help me choose the exact color I need for a project (Photo to the left is the Red 2265 from my collection sewn on the hem of the doll panel for my Primrose Garden fabric collection). A great matching thread really takes a project to a new level! I love it when the sewing lines on a hem line disappear.

I also chosen my favorite two shades of gray, a medium brown, and a yellow. These are colors that tend to show up in my fabric lines often and I find myself reaching for them a lot.

Other than Primrose Garden, which will arrive at your local quilt shop this October, this collection coordinates beautifully will past lines with Riley Blake including Little Ark, Paris and Co, SongBird, Remember, and Dainty Blossoms.

The twelve threads in this set are 50 weight on large spools. I love this weight on both my Bernina and Baby Lock machines for sewing garments and quilts.

(Photo below: Doll panel examples from Primrose Garden with spools that coordinate).

If you are an Aurifil fan, I think you already know why I love this company and their products. If you haven’t used Aurifil before, I suggest you pick up a spool soon. The colors are so vibrant and easy to work with so many fabrics (not just mine).

Happy Sewing!
Carina

Little Ark Quilt by Sassafras Lane Designs

June 25, 2014 by carina 1 Comment

Just checking in to let you know about the Churndash Court Quilt, created by the talented ladies at Sassafras Lane Designs. They featured my most recent line Little Ark in it. I loved how it turned out. I know you can get the pattern in paper or pdf format back clicking on the links above.

I have been loving this Little Ark line so much. I’m wishing I had a little more time to devote to it this summer. Charlie could use a few more things in this line:).

Tomorrow I am headed to my hometown in Tennessee for a friend’s wedding. Taking my Felicity girl with me to give her some one-on-one time. She (and I) are both excited to hang out. Trying to make the most of every age my children are in. It feels like it is all going soo fast. And I suspect it never slows down.

Here’s to a good ole Southern wedding,
Carina

Glamper Recap on Quiltique

May 5, 2014 by carina

I’m a bit behind since I need to recap the last two glamper stops. This has been taking up a lot of my time recently. Feel free to “like” that page because I am going to have A LOT more on that later along with a number of giveaways and beautiful images come time to launch.

So here’s my photo recap of our Glamper Stop at Quiltique.

First off, Little Ark is in shops! (Yaaay!) Quiltique had these darling bundles available for sell. I also spotted some Evening Blooms pre-cuts in their shop. If you are in the Las Vegas area, Quiltique is a must-visit shop. I love the glass windows into the classroom and all the quilts hung above the shop. There were some darling displays and of course, an abundance of fabric.

(photo below) Quiltique is a family-owned business. We happily all posed in front of the glamper in the Las Vegas heat!

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The number one question I get from people who come to see the glamper is, “So do you use it?” The answer is always, “YES! Open a cupboard, and you’ll see all the food still in it from the last trip!” At this stop, this was even more true since I had to get up bright and early to clean the glamper. My family had been living in it for spring break as we traveled down to Nevada from SLC.

(photo below) Since it was Quiltique’s birthday weekend, I was excited to meet Me and My Sisters Designs (Moda Fabrics) who happen to be teaching in the shop the same day!

(photo below) This little cutie is one of my college roommate’s daughters who dropped by to see me!

I had an amazing time at Quiltique and loved seeing their shop! Thank you to all of you who dropped by to see Lucy and me!

XOXO—Carina

Glamper Tour—Stop at Pine Needles Quilt Shop at Gardner Village

April 29, 2014 by carina

This Saturday Lucy and I are headed to Pine Needles Quilt Shop at Gardner Village in West Jordan. First off, the quilt shop is AMAZING, and I love going in and grabbing this and that. Sandy Workman’s embroidery patterns alone are worth going in for!

Second, they are having a special sale just for the glamper tour! All Riley Blake pre-cuts will be 30% off! How’s that for fabulous.

Third, if you have never visited Gardner Village, this is an excuse to! I was first introduced to Gardner Village early in my marriage at a family gathering at Archibald’s Restaurant. Josh’s family is related to these Gardner’s so it is always fun for my kids to look at the photos hanging over the booths.

Best yet, you’ll get to meet a lot of fabulous Riley Blake designers at this event. Amanda Herring, Deena Rutter, Chelsea Anderson, Sandy Workman, and Emily Taylor will be there with samples from their new lines. RB Creative Director Jina Barney and Alexis Barney will be there with make and takes. We’ll have a raffle every 30 minutes. And the sale. And Lucy. And treats. Enuff said!

Here’s the info for this Glamper Stop

Pine Needles Quilt Shop
http://www.pineneedlesonline.com
Gardner Village
1100 West 7800 South, #29S
West Jordan, UT 84088
May 3, 2014
11am-2pm
30% Sale on Riley Blake Pre-cuts

I hope to see you there!

Carina

Glamper Tour Recap: My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe

March 24, 2014 by carina 2 Comments

Here it is! The Glamper Recap of our day at My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe in Logan, Utah on March 22nd, 2014. Here I am sitting in front of the shop with the owner Kris Thurgood. Her darling shop is three stories tall with classes, a full on hang out room (The Attic), kiddie area, and of course, shopping.

We parked the glamper outside with guests Deena Rutter, Emily Taylor, and Samantha Walker. Riley Blake sent the fabulous mom and daughter duo Jina and Alexis Barney.

I was grateful for the sunshine (you’ll notice we are all squinting in the photos!). When we arrived it was pretty chilly, but by 11am it was perfect. I lucked out for an outside event in Utah in March!

Here’s a peek at our day there:

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Shoppers were entered into a raffle by getting their paper stamped by every designer at the event. Prizes included fabric donated by Riley Blake and large goodie bags made up of stuff from my designs at Carta Bella Paper Co, Deseret Book, and Riley Blake.

(photo below) You could sit a while in the shade of the glamper and do a make and take. (Thanks for posing for me ladies!)

(photo below-right) Designer Deena Rutter shows her patterns and beautiful fabric. Did you know that Deena also designs for me over at Carta Bella? I adore working with her! (photo below-left) My Bella Stash Bag pattern hangs out next to some fabulous football mums.

(photo above and below) Emily Taylor’s fabric and sewing patterns are so lovely!

(photo below) Designers Samantha Walker and Deena Rutter hang out with customers. Sam’s family recently bought an RV so we all hung out over the weekend (Sam also designs for me at Carta Bella). Hoping for more of that! (And yes, my family stayed in the glamper before and after the event).

(photo above-left) Jina Barney is the Creative Director at Riley Blake and her daughter Alexis is her right-hand gal. It’s always a fun day when Riley Blake comes to party! (photos above-right) Kit shows off my Little Playdate Outfit in my Evening Blooms fabric. (photo below-left) Some Carina Gardner patterns hang out next to the daughter-doll duo of Love Next Ruffle Dress and Little Love Nest Ruffle Dress. (photo-below-right) Jolene of Sew Red Glasses and I hung out and determined color value with her cool glasses. A perfect quilting tool! Check her out at http://sewredglasses.com/.

(photo-above) My biggest misstep for the event was ordering WAY too many cookies. Thank you to everyone who was willing to have more than one:). I took plenty home and donated several to neighbors.

(photo below) My fabulous assistant Susan made the trek up to help me set up and take many of the photos you see here in this post.

(photo-below) I don’t have a lot of photos inside the shop, but here are a couple I couldn’t resist posting. The one to the left was the Riley Blake tree from a Quilt Market booth they did in Salt Lake. It is above My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe children’s play area and the perfect accessory to this gated happy place. The second is the awesome trio of chairs hanging from the ceiling in The Attic. There were so many other cool displays! I highly recommend taking a trip and checking it out!

(photo below) I can’t tell you how hard it was to find a shot where all of us were looking up with our eyes open! (from left to right) Samantha Walker, Kris Thurgood, Jina Barney, Carina Gardner, Deena Rutter, Emily Taylor, and Kim Christopherson.

(photo above) Kim (Kimberbell Designs), myself, and Kris in front of the glamper. I was thrilled to hang out at their shop and meet so many of you! Probably the most amazing moment was when three ladies from my hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee showed up! It was so incredibly delightful! Thank you Judy, Susie, and Barbara for coming to see me! It made my day!

Our next stop is in three weeks at Quiltique in Las Vegas, Nevada (April 19th from 11am-2pm). It will be just me, my family, and the glamper for that stop. Those of you in town, I would love to see you!

Happy Glamping and Sewing!

Carina

48 Hours in Texas and New Mexico

February 20, 2014 by carina 2 Comments

48 hours in New Mexico and West Texas isn’t a lot of time to do much, but I made time to eat a lot of Mexican food and take pictures of the livestock (haha, see below). I flew into Lubbock, TX and drove to Portales, New Mexico—a charming little town that houses Eastern New Mexico University. There I was greeted by the host of Creative Living’s Sheryl Borden, who is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. (photo above: It was too hard to pass up taking a photo of a pink bug. Slug Bug!)

Sheryl and I taped three segments for her PBS show Creative Living. I believe the segments should air at your local PBS station (check your local listings) sometime in the third and fourth quarter of the year (more on this when I find out air dates). I’ll also post our segments on my youtube channel when I get my hands on the videos. (photo below: Sheryl and myself on her set).

Obviously some super important explaining happening above. ^^^

I always love to see behind the scenes of something like this and two members of Sheryl’s crew was nice enough to snap photos for me with my camera. The set has a full kitchen and living room area.

Serious control room. ^^^

The foodie in my was pretty happy on this trip. There is something so fun about discovering places I have never eaten before. A couple of places to mention: I loved the carne asada tacos at Taqueria Jalisco. I also stopped by the Taco Village and loved their beef tacos (near the airport—a plus!).

I’m on my way home now and it should be a busy weekend including the Yard Sale at The Cottage! Be sure and check it out for some amazing deals. I also get to attend the wedding of a college girlfriend and maybe even stop in at our neighborhoods big band dance. I’m looking forward to getting home!

And although it has only been 48 hours, I’m excited to go home and snuggle my Charlie-boy and girls.

Carina

This and That

November 12, 2013 by carina

November is zipping by and I’m considering putting up my Christmas stuff this coming week. I know, I know. It’s a little early but I like to enjoy the season as long as I can! I’m also considering cutting out a bunch of these for all my nieces and nephews for Thanksgiving and letting Siri and Flissa pass them out.

If you have been watching my instagram feed then you know I have been working on my glamper all week. The polka dots were their own special kind of purgatory but the final result was worth it. I’ll take photos today and post the finished outside in the next couple of days. (Note I say finished outside...).

Today I am sewing curtains and cleaning windows on the glamper. That will have to count as my exercise (hee hee!) because I’m also trying to finish out my February collection for Carta Bella a little later today. Did I mention I finished my next fabric line this morning? It’s been a productive day.

While I am thinking of it, I wanted to make sure and give you a “things-you-should-check-out” list. It’s short and sweet:).

* The Rini Doll on the Pleasant Home—Jodi sewed up this darling doll and is giving away a pattern!

* Thankful Leaves Free Download—It’s a fun way to remember to be thankful! This year, I’m cutting out the leaves in advance and taking it to Thanksgiving dinner so we can fill it out as a family.

* Christmas Advent Calendar—This is one Christmas goody that I would recommend getting a head start on. Our Advent calendar comes out the same day as our Elf-on-the-Shelf does. This year I’m considering writing a note to each of my kids in some of the envelopes telling them some of my favorite things they did this year. Then we’ll staple them into their smash books. Journaling and advent calendar in one…done and done!

Off to sew some curtains!

Carina

Kimono Skirt Cuteness

October 31, 2013 by carina

Happy Halloween! I have a bit of eye candy for you today! Andrea from Knitty Bitties put together my Kimono Skirt pattern in my Evening Blooms and Songbird fabrics.

How cute is her little niece modeling this skirt? Something about an itty bitty darling wearing those fun fabrics makes me smile. I can’t help it.

I love this pattern because it cuts like a quilt. Yes, that’s right. I’ve never done a pattern quite like this before but it is meant to be simple, sweet, and quick to sew up.

And have you seen how cute the double band of elastic is on the back of this skirt (see photos below). Probably my favorite part.

Go over and check out her post on it here.

As for me, you can check out my crafty doings for Halloween over at my instagram feed.

Today we are preparing the warehouse for tomorrow’s big sale. And I mean BIG! You won’t want to miss it! More info coming to you via social media tomorrow!

Trick or treat!

Carina

Introducing the Toodaloo Back Pack and Little Sweet Lola Outfit

October 27, 2013 by carina

At the moment, I am writing from the Denver Airport. I got on an early morning flight to come home from Quilt Market this morning (for a few pics of this, visit my instagram feed: carinagardner). I taught a schoolhouse, talked to distributors, and reconnected with others in the industry. It was the perfect in-and-out trip.

I also introduced two new sewing patterns that are now available in my shop and hopefully in a quilt shop near you with in the next couple of weeks!

First is my Toodaloo Back Pack. This is part of our Beginner Sewing Series and is sooo easy to put together! I specifically designed it so that there where no hard closures so that you can do this project with your tween or teenager. It’s also darling in boy fabric (see the back of the Toodaloo cover below).

I also came out with a new 18 inch doll pattern. I ADORE this pattern! It’s called the Little Sweet Lola Outfit and comes with a pattern for the blouse, ruffle shorts, drawstring pants, and ruffle pants.

Now that I’m headed home, Susan and I are working on getting together the schedule for the spring Glamper Tour. I also plan on painting the outside before the weather turns on me. Fingers crossed I can get it done!

As for today, I’m going home to snuggle my baby and girls. They had the croup last week and there were a few tears when I left on Thursday. Josh has been holding down the fort, which has been no easy job with all those sick kiddos.

Happy to be headed home,

Carina

Episode 8: How to Use Sewable Interfacing with your Silhouette Machine

October 15, 2013 by carina 1 Comment

With all the new fabric files hitting my Silhouette Shop, I thought it would be helpful for you to see how I sew with the Sewable Interfacing. I show you a couple of my tricks for sewing with the stuff and how I set up my mat. Enjoy! -Carina

Pleasant Home and the Bella Stash Bag

September 29, 2013 by carina

If you are looking for some fabulous inspiration, head on over to the Pleasant Home. With Halloween right around the corner, she fabric pieced my Bella Stash Bag Pattern in these darling orange and black fabrics. Isn’t it so cute?

I love that this pattern (one of our Beginner Series patterns), really is so easy that you can make any number of variations of it.

I have another Beginner Series sewing pattern coming out for fall quilt market. Hopefully, I’ll be giving you a sneak peek at the end of this week.

Happy fall!

Carina

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Organize

September 26, 2013 by carina 2 Comments

Heaven knows that there are a few (or more…) drawers in my house that could use some organizing. The (scary) one above is the one I tackled this week. I have been finishing up my fall pattern release, which of course, means that I spent the week sewing. After throwing my hands up more than once, I finally decided it was time to move some of that piping around to see what was in the bottom-most depths of that drawer. My simple solution (because, you know, I have deadlines this week!) included labels (from address labels from my warehouse) and gallon-sized ziplock bags. Simple and effective, right?

Sad when you realize the number of packages of Velcro, bias tape, and elastic (oh my!) you have. I just kept buying more to avoid this drawer. Pathetic, I know.

On the upside, I have some cool news for you at the beginning of next week, I am extending my dishware line for Deseret Book for next fall and hellllooo! So This is Christmas has arrived at my house! Oh ya, and I’ll be announcing the new patterns soon.

Getting (a tiny bit) more organized,

Carina

Fabric Fest with Riley Blake Designs 2013

September 16, 2013 by carina 1 Comment

It’s taken me a few days to recover from Fabric Fest with Riley Blake Designs in Vegas. As always, RB put on a classy event. They fed, fed, and fed us some more. There were some fabulous classes, but mostly it was nice to reconnect with other designers, shop owners, and people I love.

The photos to the right and below are from the dinner and fashion show on Tuesday evening. I spent the few days before Fabric Fest quickly getting these outfits together. I loved how they turned out!

(shown in the photos from left to right are Evening Blooms fabric line, Tulip Park Pinafore, Bella Stash Bag, Playdate Outfit, Little Playdate Outfit, Love Nest Ruffle Dress, and the Little Love Nest Ruffle Dress).

I drove down to the event with designers Samantha Walker and Lori Whitlock (also at Carta Bella and Echo Park with me). Every time I get together with these girls I am more amazed at all they do. (Photo below from right to left: Shari Butler of Doohikey Designs, Samantha Walker, myself, and Lori Whitlock).

This was my first time meeting Sue Daley. Other than being a bubbly and positive personality (with a darling Australian accent), I was loving that she was wearing all of my fabric during the entire fest!!!! Look how darling she is in Evening Blooms (photos below)! Even the darling piping on the dress to the left is pink Dainty Blossoms. I took Sue’s paper piecing class and learned so much. I am a total fan!

That messy table of tchotchkes is my little booth in the vendor hall. We sold out of most of the samples the very first night.

I took the Halloween Advent Set to show people (FYI, did you know that the Lunch Love Notes and the Halloween Advent Classes are only $3 each until Halloween? Get them while they are hot!).

Me pretending to be Vanna White with my latest line Evening Blooms.

And how could I not adore all of these lovely ladies? (Kris and Kim of the DIY Dish, Kimberbell Designs, and My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shop, Lori Holt, Shari Butler of Doohikey Designs, Melissa Mortenson of the Polka Dot Chair, Lindsay Wilkes of the Cottage Mama, and Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter)

Ask if I finished ANYTHING at the conference. Oh, ya. I was 0 for 5. I came home and finished Melissa’s Retro travel bag (and hand-bound the inside bias strips) just in time to see everyone this coming weekend at Sewing Summit. September is turning into my official sewing month! Especially with sewing patterns due out by October 1st. Eek!

Heavens knows I have a few fun surprises for you in the coming weeks! For more pictures on fabric fest, check out my instagram feed at http://instagram.com/carinagardner.

Sew happy,

Carina

Fabric Fest Around the Corner

September 6, 2013 by carina

Fabric fest begins on Monday evening, and I’m heading to Las Vegas with Lori Whitlock and Samantha Walker! I’m so excited to hang out with the Riley Blake crew and learn some new techniques! This last week I’ve spent sewing some lovely samples for the fashion show on Tuesday night (photo above is of the Tulip Park Pinafore and Bella Stash Bag Sewing Patterns). I love these two patterns because they are part of our “Beginner” sewing series and sew up fast! I also made a Playdate Outfit and coordinating 18 inch doll Little Playdate set along with a Love Nest Ruffle Dress and coordinating 18 inch doll outfit. I can’t wait to photograph them at the show for you. (All of the samples are made in my Evening Blooms fabric line).

Oh, and I needed to pass this little bit of information along:

There is a art/fabric/sample sale portion of the event that is open to the public on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 from 4pm-9pm at

South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa
9777 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89183

Hope you have a chance to come check it out! I’ll have a little table with patterns, samples, wallpaper samples, and scrapbooking goodies that I’d love for you to check out!

Vegas bound,

Carina

Weekend with College Roommates

August 9, 2013 by carina 1 Comment

Last weekend I got together with my 12 college roommates from freshman and sophomore year at BYU. It was the first time we had all gotten together since we lived at the Elms 14 years ago. It was an amazing experience seeing what everyone was doing and reminiscing on the old days. It made me miss college. Well, the social part anyway.

I brought up supplies to scrapbook and sew for the fun of it. I didn’t actually think we would have time to craft. So I was completely amazed when everyone started in on the fabric, and we made a crazy mess of the cabin.

The group sewed up the Little Love Next Ruffle Dress, and we made up a funny little pincushion. I took up 2 garbage bags of scrap fabric and was so happy to see them used for the pincushions. Love seeing a little Paris and Co mixed with some Songbird.

The best part was (after everyone went home) seeing everyone’s texts of their little girls holding their dolls in the new outfits. Sooo cute!

Still trying to figure out how Brittany was able to do the splits. Go Brit!

We also shopped (couldn’t be helped) and went to Olympus Park for a ride down the Alpine Slide and one of the zip lines. I might have screamed like a little girl on the zipline (shhh!)

We also had a surprise baby shower for Amanda (having her first baby!). There may have been some squabbling on the correct way to swaddle a baby (the Burrito vs. the Binky-holding-in method). Thankfully, we had a real baby to perform all the swaddling tests on. (photo below is the Onesie Advice Diecut book).

I don’t have any photos of this (except on instagram), but we also knocked on our old apartments at the Elms and Chipman Hall (almost brought tears to my eyes!) and bombarded the current residents (who let us in to take photos). We ate at the Brick Oven, I drove a four wheeler for the first time, laughed our heads off in a Rhino-Jeep-Thingy (and almost fell out when we went over bumps), and tried to go running (super fail).

It was so amazing to reconnect with all these wonderful lovely women. Feeling so blessed to know them!

Hope you are having a lovely end-of-summer too!

Carina