This quilt was made by my good friend Emily Harris (the same that made that amazing chocolate bunny cake!). These gorgeous little pinwheels were made with a fat quarter bundle of Coquette™. Isn’t it wonderful? It makes me want to pull out the sewing machine right now and start working on a quilt!
It’s taken me a little longer than I wanted it to, but here it is! Instructions for putting together the Coquette™ Quilt. It’s meant for the beginner to intermediate quilter. I love this quilt because it is very forgiving for us newbie quilters. None of the seams line up and all of the blocks are nice and big.
The final patchwork is very pretty and sweet without being pink. Not that there won’t be a lot of pink in the future….
I have to admit that this is the first big quilt I’ve made. I desperately have been wanting to make a queen-sized quilt for my own bed and have been waiting for Coquette™ to come along.
What a little flirt of a quilt! The two of us snuggle very happily now as I watch Glee or Project Runway (I’m so excited about tomorrow’s finale!)
Of course, you can mix and match fabrics (especially if you are having trouble finding Coquette™ at a local quilt shop near you). It’s a very easy patchwork with fairly large blocks.
Download the instructions for this quilt below. I hope you have as much fun with it as I did!
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Last week we had the photoshoot for Coquette™. I was so happy with the photographs (shot by friend Susan Haglund). You can see many of the photos in the first issue of our newsletter.
It took us two-weeks-of-crazy (that sounds like a country song) to get ready for this shoot. I don’t think I’ve sat down and sewn like that in, well, ever!
Now that the marathon sewing is over with, I’m settling back in although that doesn’t mean much since we are preparing for the digital move (hint, hint, you need to read the newsletter). Oh, and maybe a couple of classes.
You’ll see pictures from the shoot peppered across the site in the coming weeks.
Oh ya, and blooper reel to come.
If you saw my studio, you’d know exactly what I mean. There is fabric everywhere! This morning I had a meeting with photographer Susan Haglund as we mapped out the photoshoot this weekend. Lot’s of stuff a-cookin’. This is my quick stop into my blog to say, “hello!” and let you know about a couple of things.
1- First, it’s the beginning of October and I have one more paper pack (and brads and stamps and vinyl) of Haunted™ in my studio. It’s up for grabs, just leave a comment in this post, and I’ll announce the winner next Monday.
2-We’re hyping up in the studio for our brand-spankin’-new quarterly newsletter. This isn’t your typical newsletter…I promise it won’t disappoint! Our very first one will be coming out in a couple of weeks with lots of eye candy. I’ll be sure to announce new classes coming up, new designs, and show you what we have been up to in the studio. Be sure and sign up!
3-You’ll notice that there is a new navigation bar up top! That’s because we have simplified the website in the hopes that you can find anything your heart desires very quickly. Be sure and refresh you blog page to make sure you get the most up-to-date links.
4-I’m anxiously waiting for my Coquette quilt to come back this weekend…I’ll keep you posted!
Hugs-Carina
What IS a lumjum you might ask? Growing up with a Chinese mom meant that we had some pretty weird words for some of our favorite things. However, the most loved item that my mom made each of us was a lumjum, aka a cylinder body pillow.
Growing up, this was the lovie we all took on every vacation with us (skip the pillow, bring the lumjum). My siblings can attest. You didn’t leave home without your lumjum-it would mean a bad night of sleep.
Even today, I take my lumjum with me. When I don’t I have to have 5 pillows to take it’s place (ask Deena and Jen). Ya, more information than you wanted I’m sure.
Mine is a little extra long with super easy instructions. You use ever bit of fabric, and it is fun for movie night or a cuddle. You can tell we’ve had some serious sewing time during the last couple of days. Oh yes, all these projects are made with my brand new bolts of Coquette™. The project madness has just begun…
Also wanted to give a reminder that the giveaway for my debit fabric line ends on Friday (a couple of days away) so be sure to put in your comment in the Coquette™ Fat Quarter post soon!
Click on the image below for the downloadable instructions for this easy body pillow.
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photographs in this post by Susan Haglund
You can image how excited I was when Coquette™ came to my door today! It actually got dropped off at my old address and has been sitting there for 4 days! I’m so happy to have it at my house now, filling up my tiny studio. It’s amazing!
You can find Coquette™ by going to Northcott’s website and checking out were it is being sold (click on the sidebar for locations). If it’s not near you or you need an online resource, you can check out the Fat Quarter Shop or eQuilter.com.
I’m also giving you a chance to win it here! I have fat quarters (all 13 fabrics!) already cut and ready to be shipped! How’s that for fun! Coquette™ is 100% cotton and will happily be made into anything your heart desires!
What’s better than getting these juicy fabrics? How about a paper pack, epoxy brads, and acrylic stamps from my Haunted™ scrapbook line? I also have a pair of simulated diamond earrings from Diamond Earring.org (they sent me a pair too and they are very cute), and a Picture Keeper USB for you (have you tried one of these? It automatically downloads all your photos from your computer by just plugging it in!). I’m throwing all of it into a package and sending it to someone who leaves a comment on this thread. I’ll do a random drawing and announce the winner on Friday, September 24th. Be sure and comment for a chance at this!
Want to always learn about giveaways like this one? Be sure and sign up for my newsletter either in the post below or the side bar.
XOXO, Carina
I’m just getting around to posting my New Year’s Resolutions. Not that they aren’t the same as most of yours…get in shape, give more time to myself, my family, document our lives (I’m hosting a 365 at DHD)…yada, yada, yada. Mostly, I just wanted to post because I am so EXCITED for 2010. It’s going to be a fun year. I can feel it. And I hope it will be for you too.
Here’s what’s on the horizon for designwork this year:
* Two fabric lines will hit quilting shops this year. Coquette will arrive in quilting stores in June (call your quilt shops this month to ask if they will be stocking this beautiful line from Northcott!) and Love Nest will come out later in the year. All of the fabric samples are up for your viewing pleasure!
* A brand new Carina Gardner™ Shop will be opening up! We will be offering limited quantites and fat quarters of the new fabric line and will also eventually carry all kinds of goods from my designs in scrapbooking and fabric. The Shop is set to open in June 2010. I’ll have more information on it as it gets closer.
* I’m at a new digital shop! This has already happened but it is such an exciting venture for me as I get to participate in Jen Allyson’s newest venture! She’s a pleasure to know and a fabulous designer! I think you’ll see that Design House Digital will be the fastest growing digital shop in 2010. It already has had some astonding traffic! I’m just proud to be apart of such a wonderful group.
* I’m pleased to be teaching again. It’s been two years since I stopped teaching at the University of Minnesota. I never thought that teaching would happen to fast for me again. You can find my newest adventure with Jessica Sprague teaching a self paced course—Illustrator 101.
* Keep checking back for my Paper Lines with My Mind’s Eye. I’m sure we’ll have several in the works this year.
And while there might now be a bullet point on this one, if you know me, there will be plenty of other good things happening in 2010 on this blog. I’m already working on a great craft project for my daughter that I’m excited to share with you (give me a week to finish it up!)! And with all the fabric hitting my studio in May, you know we will be sewing like MAD around here!
Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend and may you be happy in 2010!
