Issue No. 5 of the Newsletter—Spraguefest and Tutorials

October 23, 2011 by carina 3 Comments

Wheww! Here it is! Our fifth issue of the newsletter. This thing just gets bigger and bigger! This one is 39 pages long with a huge section on Spraguefest, an introduction to Susan, a quilt pattern, a coupon code for Designer Workshop, and tutorials galore!

Be sure and check out the calendar at the end…it’s a sneak peek into the “big stuff” coming up the next few months here in the studio.

Here’s you link to Newsletter Issue No. 5:

https://carinagardner.com/newsletter/carina-gardner-newsletter-issue-no-5/

Enjoy!

Carina

More To Come…

October 18, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

It’s been so busy since I got back from Vegas that I haven’t posted anything (well, much of anything) about Spraguefest. In fact, there was so much to show and write about that we decided to just add it to our newsletter.

In fact, we’ve got a lot of great stuff coming out in this quarter’s newsletter including an introduction to the fabulous Susan (many references, but never a formal introduction). How about a new quilt pattern? Simple and modern…you know me! Keep your eyes out for the 5th issue of our newsletter coming in a couple of days! Never seen our newsletter? You can check them out (and sign up for) them here.

So what’s been keeping me so busy? I just finished Art of Digital Design 2, which was critique-heavy. Everyone did a great job and it is sad to see that class end:(. The other thing I have been working on has kept my sewing machine a-humin’. If you attend Quilt Market, keep an eye out for my goodies in the Riley Blake booth. So what is it you say (the suspense is killing me!)? Four brand-new patterns! They won’t arrive until January, but I’ll give you lots of sneak peeks and Riley Blake will be showing off these new patterns in Dainty Blossoms™ at Quilt Market in Houston.

Lots of good things coming…get ready!

Carina

Quick In and Out

October 2, 2011 by carina 3 Comments

Stopping in rather quickly so you get my take on the display I had at Mormon Handicraft Quilting Shop on Saturday night.

-I literally ran around my house 20 minutes before grabbing everything in sight (including the wreath on the door) for the display.
– It took three trips from car to store to haul in all my stuff in.
-I realized I was missing the stand with all my clothing.
– I frantically called Josh
– Who saved the day.
– I was sweating.
– Not from forgetting the stand but because of all the trips from the car into the shop.
– I hope I didn’t stink.
– But everyone was so polite that I doubt they would have told me if I did.
– I’ve never seen so many women in the shop at one time before (See photo below!).
– I had a blast chatting it up with everyone.
-Everyone was in love with the wreath and those darn easy-to-make flags (no there isn’t a tutorial on it, but grab the pattern from the Love Nest™ Flag Quilt if you want!).

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-You are getting a sneak peak here of the doll pattern coming out in January (think mermaids!)
-No, they aren’t coming out before then and
-Yes, the pattern includes removable clothing (should you make the doll rather than the mermaid version).
– I got more oohs and ahhs over the lamp than anything else (And it’s just gathering and hot glue!)
-DeAnna (above left) has convinced me that a trunk show is in order (Maybe January?)
-Elise and Jessica (also above right) were awfully nice to let me take this picture of them.
– I’m not sure if I’ve ever shown my sketches of my designs before they hit fabric (See the paisley from Coquette™ below).
-So there it is:).

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– And last and very unrelated (but important for those of you who like free fabric), there is a giveaway of Pinfeathers fabric over at the Craft Girls Workshop Facebook page. All you have to do is add your comment to the post! Check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafty-Girls-Workshop/174744046778

Mormon Handicraft

October 1, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

The last couple of days I’ve been running around getting ready for Spraguefest and the launch of my new line of sewing patterns. My friends Susan and Ashley spent a couple of nights helping me package up these fat quarters and coupons for the Spraguefest grab bags. Stacks of eye candy!

Speaking of eye candy, I’m going to be hanging out tonight at the Fort Union Mormon Handicraft Quilt Shop for their semi-annual event with lots of samples from my sewing patterns and sneak peeks at my new ones! I’ll be talking about fabric and generally hanging out! Come by if you are in the Salt Lake area from about 5:30pm to 8pm. Mormon Handicraft is located in the Deseret Book at 1110 FORT UNION BLVD, MIDVALE, UT 84047-1804. I’m told that it is a crazy event with lots of giveaways, sales, and general fun for the ladies.

Hope to see you!

XOXO-Carina

Flannel and Oilcloth

September 7, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

I went to check my strike-offs yesterday at Riley Blake for Dainty Blossoms™ and found out some exciting news! Not only will cottons be available for the line, but oilcloth and flannels! The oilcloth and flannels will be in the large floral (the left-hand corner fabric in the digital magazine) and all the dots. I was practically jumping for joy!

In other news, my little Flissa started preschool this week. With Siri in school and Flissa in morning preschool, it’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to work during the day. It’s pretty exciting as I’ve been hoping to get rid of my late-night design binges! heehee! Fliss has been SO ready to go to school (with big sister out of house and the entire neighborhood in kindergarten, there is only me to entertain her—not the coolest prospect).

So I’m going to happily (and hopefully) finish our new sewing pattern line this coming month (look for all the sneak peeks in the October newsletter) and finish teaching the Art of Digital Design 2 (It’s been a blast!).

We’re also finishing up the final touches of our new workshop this winter! Be sure and check it out! We’ve been so excited about the interest and would love to see you there for this design marathon! Bring your husband along to ski while you hang out with the girls!

Please note that this workshop has a cap of 20 students. Make sure and reserve your spot to attend this event.

XOXO-Carina

Carina Gardner Quarterly Newsletter (Issue No. 4)

August 18, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

FINALLY! We’ve finished our fourth issue of our newsletter! Better late than never, right?

I think this is our best issue so far. First of all, there are a LOT of photos. And tutorials. And photos. And an announcement (which links to ANOTHER digital magazine). And did I mention photos?

It’s seriously delicious!

Susan has already posted a bit on getting ready for this crazy photoshoot (see it here). I can tell you right now that we had so many amazing photos that I’m not going to be able to resist posting them.

But first, click on the newsletter to the left here and take a peek at all the fun we were up to in the studio.

https://carinagardner.com/newsletter/carina-gardner-newsletter-issue-no-4/

More photos to come!

Pinfeathers Birdie Lace Up Tutorial

August 16, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

Get ready for a whole lot of fabric fabulous-ness! It’s been a lot of midnight sew-a-thons around here to show off this fabulous fabric. Susan and I have been hard at work! Here’s the first tutorial from the studio!

This is a really cute skill-building toy for preschoolers as little fingers will work on gaining their fine motor skills by lacing the strings through the holes! It also makes a darling decorative display item in the home or is a great project for a child’s birthday party.

Materials

Carina’s Partridge Bird Pattern-Free Download
1/3 yard heavyweight fast2fuse, thin piece of cardboard, or heavyweight Wonder Under.
1 fat quarter for a single-sided bird or 2 fat quarters (for an alternate fabric) for a double sided bird
Colorful shoelace or cording 1/8′ to 1/4″ diameter. Length will be vary depending on the size of your bird.
Fabric glue
Paper punch

Instructions

1. Your first step is to download the PDF of the partridge from Carina’s Partridge Bird Pattern. At this point you can decide how large you want your lace up project to be. The smaller the child the larger you may want to make the bird so that they will have something substantial to hold in their hand and lace up!

2. Adjust the percent for the size you need and print your bird.

3. If you are using the Fast2Fuse, you will fuse your fabric onto the Fast2Fuse according to the manufacturer’s instructions on the Fast2Fuse packaging.

4. Trace the bird patterns onto the fused fabric and cut them out.

5. Use a good hole punch to punch the holes for the lacing.

6. Knot one end of the the shoelace and lace it through the first hole pulling it to the knot.

Alternate method

You can also make a Pinfeather’s Birdie Lace Up using a very thin piece of cardboard. Tracing the bird onto the cardboard, you cut out the bird’s shape. Then trace the bird pattern onto the fabric. Use spray fabric glue to glue the fabric to the thin cardboard bird. Use a hole punch to punch holes. Finally finish the project with step #6.

Carina Gardner Sewing Pattern Giveaway at the Boutique Cafe

July 12, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

At Quilt Market this last May I had the opportunity to visit with Daria at the Boutique Café. She has the interview up and a giveaway of one my sewing patterns. You’ll notice I make a big announcement about where my fabric is going at the end of the interview (did you catch it?). We will officially announce and show you some yummy samples of the new fabric line in our next newsletter.

Speaking of sewing patterns, I’m in the middle of finishing up two more patterns! I hope to have them finished up by the end of the month (waiting on my Pinfeathers, Dress Up, and Baby Safari to arrive to finish them up!). I can’t wait to show you! So back to the sewing machine for me!

June Salt Lake City Shop Hop

June 17, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

If you are in the Salt Lake area, you should check out the Wasatch Front Shop Hop going on this weekend. Fourteen shops (listed below) are participating and it’s a total blast! I had a chance to drop by Mormon Handicraft over by Fort Union Blvd. on Wednesday to check out their display of my sewing patterns. Thought I’d take a moment to share some quick photos I took!

It makes me so happy!:)

All the shops participating have their shops decorated with the theme “The Greatest Quilt I Ever Read.” Here are the shops participating the Wasatch Front Shop Hop:

American Quilting (Orem), Mormon Handicraft (Midvale), Sew Sweet (Tooele), Broadbents (Lehi), Pin Needles (West Jordan), Stitching Corner (Orem), Corn Wagon Quilt Co. (Springville), Piper’s Quilts and Comforts (Salt Lake City), Thimbles and Threads (Draper), Elaine’s Quilt Block (Cottonwood Heights), Quilter’s Haven (Bountiful), Village Dry Goods (Brigham City), Quilts Etc. (Sandy), and Whimsy Cottage (Holladay).

I believe the shop hop runs from June 15th-18th. Hope you get a chance to drop by one of these wonderful shops!

XOXO-Carina

Spring Quilt Market 2011

May 16, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

I was a happy girl at Quilt Market this weekend. Susan and Emily walked the show with me and we have a fabulous time! It was nice to have market in town (here in SLC). Here’s a sampling of my Friday (prepare yourself for a long and picture-heavy post!):

This was fun! My little bio at Northcott and a few of my patterns on display at The Pattern Peddler’s booth.

The absolutely delicious Riley Blake booth! And I feel silly because I completely forgot to take pictures of the Little Miss Suntop and Skirt model & the High Tea Soiree Dress model while I was hanging out. I’ll get photos of them when I pick them up.

(You know that Riley Blake is giving away this Beach Cruiser, right?)

Susan was cracking us all up with her enthusiasm! Here she is getting a Moda tattoo. Classic Susan!

And me forcing her to pose in a window frame.

Those gorgeous hats (above) are a new pattern by Amanda of the Quilted Fish. Seriously, adorable!

Here’s one of my new favorite people-Rebeckah Merkle. Here booth was fab and she was sweet too! She has a new line with Timeless Treasures.

This fabulous footwear belongs to Anna Marie Horner’s daughter. Anna Marie passed on some serious style to her daughter.

If you attended market, you might have joined in the All Dolled Up contest that was going on. This fabulous quilt was at one of those booths. And that flower…well, how could I NOT take a photograph of it? Of course, I have no idea what booth it was in.

Me with the extremely nice Joel Dewberry. The amazing frame and mini quilt are by Gigi’s Thimble.

Emily in total bliss as she picks up EQ7!

These lovely ladies (Megan of the Brassy Apple and Daria of the Boutique Cafe) are giving away one of my Ruffle Dress Patterns! Check out their podcast interview with me in a couple of weeks at the Boutique Cafe!

Finally, I had to show you a little goodness from the Seven Islands booth. I think Susan was drooling…literally.

That’s a pretty decent sampling of my two days at market. Hopefully, I’ll get some pics up soon of Josh and me in our 80’s gear for the Riley Blake party. If I haven’t scared you away yet, that post might do it.

Happy sewing!

Carina

Easter Sunday-A Week Late

May 2, 2011 by carina

I’m finally getting around to posting photos from Easter. I’ve been making models of our first line of sewing patterns because the first samples I made are my girls’ favorite to wear (and therefore not suitable as models due to the daily wear and tear.)

Here they are sporting a couple of the sewing patterns with their Coquette™ church bags made from the ballet bag tutorial (photo above).

Flissa was being a stinker about taking photos, but Siri posed prettily. Mostly I just caught photos of them from behind as we walked to church.

I start work on our second set of patterns this week. They won’t be due out until July so they can be sampled up in Pinfeathers, Dress Up, and Baby Safari. I’m also hoping that I’ll get a chance to enjoy the sunshine and sit aimlessly outside a few afternoons this week. Fingers crossed!

XOXO-Carina

Sewing Pattern Packaging

April 29, 2011 by carina 1 Comment

I spent part of this week sewing up samples for Quilt Market. This Love Nest™ Ruffle Dress is made in Cindi Walker’s fabric from Riley Blake. I still have to put in the zipper and make the ruffle flower. I’m so happy with how it turned out! Those coral flowers are divine!

If you get a chance to go to Quilt Market, be sure and drop by the Riley Blake booth to check out my pattern samples! I’ll be walking the show on Friday morning, but should be hanging out at the Northcott and Riley Blake booths too. Hope you get a chance to say hello!

We’ve also updated our distributor list and online retailer list. I also know that you will be able to check out the patterns at The Pattern Peddler’s booth.

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This has been the first time since shipping out the patterns, I’ve had a chance to make more samples. I completely forget that a website is a really difficult way to check out this packaging and after experiencing it first-hand, decided I’d better take a couple of pics for you to see how fantastic the packaging it.

If you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on one of these gorgeous patterns yet, then you haven’t seen how functional the packaging is yet. The heavy-duty package is the best way to keep your cut-out pattern safe and ready for use the next time you sew. I’ve got my patterns all folded up and tucked into each of these ready-to-go the moment I start a new outfit.

More sewing for me this coming week… I’m looking forward to it!

Sewing This Week

April 13, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

This week I’m sewing up some samples of my new sewing patterns. These samples will be shown off at the Riley Blake/Christensen Wholesale booth (one of our distributors) at Quilt Market (just a month away!).We have been updating our distributor list for our sewing patterns, which you can find on our wholesale page. If you are shop that prefers working through distributors, I hope you are able to take advantage of buying our sewing patterns from this wonderful list!

My samples will be made with the fabric shown above. Can’t you just see the Love Nest™ Ruffle Dress in that darling coral floral? Or the Little Miss Suntop and Skirt in the whimsical pink Hoo’s the the Forest print? These fabrics are from the fabulous Stitch Studios and Doohikey Designs. I’ll give you sneak peeks as I work on these this week!

If your local shop isn’t currently carrying the patterns, feel free to also check out our online listings. We are still in the process of adding to this list so check back often!

Speaking of Quilt Market, are you going? I’m looking forward to it being a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. If you are going, are you doing something fun? What’s your favorite part? This is only my second quilt market and I’m still new to all the fun. Tell me what you know!

XOXO-Carina

Sewing Pattern Winner

April 4, 2011 by carina

Thanks for your comments! I’ve been so excited to see the patterns up in shops online today! We still are getting our list together and I’ll let you know the moment it is ready on this site.

Okay, from random.org we have our winner of a sewing pattern! The winner is #9:

Jenbreeze says:

My daughter is thrilled that I’ve let my sewing stuff overtake our dining room. It would be fun to sew one your patterns with her! Thanks for the chance to win.

Congrats Jenbreeze! Send me an email at info@carinagardner.com and choose which pattern you’d like me to send.

Thank you to everyone else who participated!