Grand Revival Designs

Fat Quarter Shop!!

I just love how the Fat Quarter Shop does their graphics! And their pictures of all the fabrics they carry are so well done and accurate. They have the full Ava Rose collection up right now I'm excited to say. Stores are just starting to get it this week. Also, they have an interview with me on their blog but for anyone whose read my blog lately there's not too much new there. But go and check out the interview right before me with my friend Erin McMorris whose new collection Park Slope is causing such a buzz, if you have chance. I loved reading about her design process and inspiration. Usually, we're too busy laughing to talk about design so it was fun to read about it.

Have a wonderful, safe and very happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flickr Friends

I'm so inspired by the beautiful things people make with my fabric. Inspired and honored really. Just some of the pretties people have been nice enough to post on the Barefoot Roses Flickr group. Thank you so much for taking the time to post them!!! You can't imagine how happy it makes me to see them and how much I truly appreciate it...

Flirty Skirts

 

Been wanting to tell you about the Quilts and More summer issue featuring "Flirty Skirts". Almost the same as the ruffled skirts but I actually sized them up and down a couple of sizes to fit bigger and littler girls. I love that picture, that little cupcake on her tippy toes, sweetness. I almost forgot about the article it until I came upon this site last night. I love the idea that this girl in Finland might be making some Flirty Skirts for her little one.  Also, found this today which I also thought was cool. I don't know, seeing my stuff up on the Coats (parent company to Westminster, which is the parent company to Free Spirit, the company that manufactures my fabric) Spain site just seems exotic. And Sew Simple has an article on my "beach balls" made up in Barefoot Roses. They have a couple of super cute bag patterns in that issue as well. Back to work, finishing up patterns and working on French Hatbox strikeoffs, not easy with 3 kids at home. I can't wait for day camp to start....Happy summer all!!!

Summer Sewing

Just a little weekend sewing. I did decide to get a new machine, WHY DID I WAIT?!?! I know why, cause I'm cheap...but I am soooo happy with the new machine. No more is my thread breaking every two minutes for no apparent reason, maybe because the new thread holder thingy lies on it's side, it doesn't get caught under the spool anymore? Don't know, but I am happy as can be with my new gadget. I'm converting all Ava's outgrown jeans into skirts for summer, a totally satisfying thing for me. Save money and make something pretty, yippee. I think the little halter top I made for A came out really cute, maybe I'll put a pattern up in the next couple of weeks. Thanks all for the birthday love, I spent it sewing and watching DVD's, that's all I did all day, which couldn't have made me happier.

Wanted to answer a question I've been getting about the Ava Rose collection. I think it's supposed to start shipping in late June/early July to retailers (not 100% sure cause I just design it and the sales team at Free Spirit/Westminster handles the rest). But the best thing to do is call your local store and ask them if they've ordered it and when they're expecting it. I'll try to get a more definitive answer up in the side bar soon. And the new patterns will start to ship in about 3 weeks and I'll have a list of stores up when that happens. Sorry for more slow pokedness in answering these. Talk to ya soon....

Stuff I'm Thinkin About

I'm thinkin....

I really like that picture up there that I recently took of myself. My birthday is coming up on Friday and it dawned on me that it ain't gonna get any better from here on in so I might as well take some pictures.

I really don't like any of the pictures taken of me at Quilt Market and is it possible that the migrane I was having during the whole thing actually temporarily melted the bones in my face or did it just feel like it, and, apparently, look like it?

oatmeal and guitar make for a delicious breakfast, thanks honey.

on a related topic, seeing my girl sing an Oasis song while my husband plays guitar is a really nice sight to wake up to, thanks again honey.

maybe I take too many pictures of pillows, do I have a pillow addiction or a pillow picture addiction?

I am so bummed that my old sewing machine finally broke and I don't know if I should get a new one or have it fixed.

the bath I took whilst listening to Van Morrison and drinking a good German beer was possibly the nicest thing I've done for myself in 2 years.

that I might have to learn French before next summer.

that the perfect Memorial Day is sitting on the porch watching kids play in the sprinkler whilst drinking Kosher Coke (because it has sugar instead of corn syrup like it used to be when I was a kid), eating popcorn and smelling the sweet, sweet scent of jasmine in the air.

that I'm feelin very grateful and happy just about now.....

More Quilt Market!!

Well, there's just too much to recount from Quilt Market so I'm gonna try to give a very edited version as I still haven't quite caught up on sleep (can't wait for Saturday!!). Basically it was a lot of work but it was worth every minute of tiredness. Mostly because I got to see friends, childhood friends, and new friends who I love. But also because I got to meet so many people I "know" through blogs which is a weird but incredibly nice experience. It was so funny because there was a lot of worrying about being a stalker at market. People were afraid I would think they were stalking me, I was afraid people thought I was stalking them, it was really funny. I think when you kind of know someone through a blog, you know what they look like sort of, but they don't know you as a reader, it's a funny thing. Anyway, I was like, please, stalk me, I'd love the company as there were plenty of times I was just standing around in my pretty little box by myself.

I couldn't have done any of it without my mother and business partner Linda Whelan. I am so incredibly lucky to have this generous, loving and talented woman for my mother and I only hope I can be as supportive to my children in helping them achieve their goals. She's the adorable woman with the glasses on the bottom there. I also couldn't have done it with out my childhood friend and college roommate, Sonia. She saved me about 100 times during market, the girl can think on her toes. Despite her adorableness in that cowboy hat, she's not a cowgirl, she's an attorney, so if you get into trouble in Portland, let me know and I'll forward her info. And, there's the beautiful, gracious, insanely talented Jennifer Paganelli up there (her new collection, Bell Bottoms, is well GORGEOUS!! I finally got to see it in person and it just blew me away!!!), my idol and my great and true friend, it's weird to be friends with your idol but there it is. We got to spend a bunch of quality time together which was my favorite part of market, just seeing her makes me happy. I couldn't have gotten through my schoolhouse without her as she quite literally saved me when I lost the 4th page of my notes right in the middle of the thing she jumped right in, just having her there gave me the courage to actually go through with it. Also got to spend time with my great friend Erin McMorris (new collection is so, so pretty and happy, the yellows and pinks were makin me nuts), she cracks me up constantly, and I always relate to her and can't wait to talk to her to ask her if I'm being crazy about one thing or another. Verna Mosquera was so helpful to me, taking the time, and trust me the girl is busy, to give me the rundown on how exactly to have a booth at market (her new collection is coming in fall and is sure to be as beautiful her current collection). She's just a great and busy!! person.

Knew this was gonna get too long fast, boy can I go on or what? I think I'll have to break this thing into 3 parts so I'll finish up in the next post....

Quilt Market!!!

Hi all!!!!! I've been away for too long but Quilt Market sort of absorbed every bit of my being for the past few weeks. Sorry for so many repetitive pictures of the tradeshow booth but it was the first time I've done this and honestly I was pretty happy that all the sewing, planning, shipping, carrying! resulted in this booth. I'll have more to blab about my adventures at Market soon but wanted to put up the pics. Had to leave all the funiture in Portland because it just didn't pay to ship it back which made me a little sad but it went to a friend of a friend so it'll go to good use and at least I have the pictures. Be back soon....
 

Ava Rose

Ok, so here she is, well some of her anyway, my girl, Ava Rose. Not my actual girl but you know what I mean. There's more but the day went fast and I couldn't get pics of the red colorway which I'm really excited about. Just want to say some slightly corny, drippy, sentimental stuff about the inspiration for this collection.

This really was inspired one of the three loves and lights of my life. My baby who's no longer a baby, my third and probably last child, my precious, sweet, funny, happy, quirky, amazing girl child Ava Rose. I love my precious, smart, funny, quirky, talented and kind older boys just as much but, as a designer, I'm basically all girl. Luckily, they couldn't care less that I haven't named a fabric collection for them.

I named the collection for her because in a lot of ways she is my muse. At age seven she has actual style and opinions about the way things look and what she wants to wear that reflect her own mind and not popular kid culture. She chimes in often to give me actual ideas that I often use in creative projects. But what really inspired me for this collection is simply her age. She's seven, the age where she still loves me in the infinite sort of way children love their parents before they develop their independent personalities and start to see our flaws. So different from the baby way they love you because you simply are their whole world. They now know they're separate from you and now they see you as the person they want to be like when they grow up. An amazing privilege. She wants to be with me, to be my best girlfriend, to hang out, to paint our nails together and to draw with me and cuddle at night. I know, having two older children that this won't last forever, that though their love doesn't diminish, it does change and maybe, bit by bit, it becomes more realistic. This is a good and beautiful thing but of course a poignant thing for a mother as you watch the baby that was a part of you slowly become their own person.

So, I wanted to capture the innocence, loveliness, happiness, vibrancy of my girl, my sweet, sweet girl, at age seven. Every morning when I wake my kids up for school, I take a minute to just look at them, in all their sweetness as they sleep. Often, their sheets and pillow cases are half on, half off and usually the bedding is all white because I learned a long time ago that it's wonderful to just be able to bleach out the dirt of a blanket that's been dragged around the house for some game or another. But I long to see my girl slumbering peacefully in something really pretty. It's a silly thing I know, but wrapping a child in something beautiful just feels good, like a little bit of love manifest or something. Oh sooo corny, I totally know, but it's true for me. So this is collection that I will actually make bedding out of for her and though it reflects my own tastes more then hers, it is also a reflection of my love for my girl, Ava Rose at age seven.

OK, I'm grossing myself out a little with the sappiness, but hey, once in a while the occasion calls for it. So I nervously await your thoughts about the collection which, by the way, I also think will be fab for big girl aprons, bags, porch pillows, tablcloths, etc.

Sweet Funky Vintage

How cute are these girls?!!! Wow, that's a beautiful picture, the fact that those sweet little things are decked out in those beautiful outfits made with Barefoot Roses is nice too. Missy let me know about her fantastic webstores Sweet Funky Vintage, and I Want Fabric. Fabulous stuff! I'll also have to start checking out her blog, http://www.fabricofmylife.blogspot.com
   
Ava Rose has arrived, yeah!! Leaving me a full month to make samples, very nice. I'm gonna try to take some pics today to give a sneek peak, though I must admit to being a little nervous. I mean what if you don't like it? I love it but, you know, designerly insecurity I guess. I'll try to get over myself...

Design On My Mind

These lovely pictures are courtesy of I Love Surface Design. A great new blog which is already packed full of beautiful surface design, rooms, furniture, etc. I love these rooms, simple, unpretentious but with personal style. The one on the upper left reminds me of my kitchen in the apartment we lived in in Italy when we were first married.

Anyway, been indulging in design mags and blogs recently. Needed to take a visual break from my own design work. I've been working on a fall collection called Darla. Hopefully it'll be in before the deadline but lots going on right now so I'm just  crossing my fingers that everything will fall into place. Between taxes, getting everything ready for the Quilt Market booth, finishing the new patterns, finalizing Ava Rose, working on French Hatbox, and developing this new fabric line, and oh yeah,  attempting to be a decent wife and mother, well it's a bit busy. Not as bad as I'm makin it sound though, things have been fairly well spaced and only now am I starting to panic, but just a little. It's been mostly a happy kind of busy and has forced me to be organized in ways I rarely am. I'm a "one thing at a time" kind of girl, definitely not a natural multi-tasker. I guess I'm a little bit simple minded in this respect which is why I was the world's worst waitress through high school and college. I still have nightmares when I'm stressed in my life that I just got slammed with 10 tables and forgot to bring all of their drink orders.

I'll be getting my sample yardage this week and I can't wait to see it and start sewing market samples. I'll take lots of pictures to show. Talk to you soon....

Happy Easter!!!!!

Pretty But Not Quite

Thought I'd show you some of the colorways that won't be making it into the Ava Rose collection. I think they're all pretty but they didn't quite fit into the collection in the way I wanted. Still though, maybe I'll make a reject quilt with them.

Introducing the Ava Bag

Helloooooooooo!!!!! It's been a while. It did turn out to be the flu. All five us got a visit from the flu fairy despite going through a gallon of Purell in an effort to prevent the spread. It left me feeling a bit tired and devoid of creative energy for quite a while but maybe that's a good thing. After lots of taking it easy, the creative juices started flowing again and I came up with the Ava Bag pattern. I am really loving this bag. Really easy and totally reversible which I always love and with two different handle options. This pattern will be introduced at Spring Quilt Market to coincide with the Ava Rose fabric collection. Can't wait to make this bag with Ava Rose fabrics (though I am so lovin that 2nd version made with that killer Amy Butler print from the Lotus collection). My collection won't be ready till just a couple weeks before the show which means lots of last minute sewing.

Speaking of Quilt Market, I'm gonna be doing a schoolhouse for it which is a fifteen minute talk to store owners. My topic will be about the new wave of sewing, sort of the Project Runway generation of sewers, who started sewing as adults and really look for quickish projects, especially bags, kids clothes, aprons, etc. as well as all the wonderful home sewing and design businesses, often started by moms, on etsy and ebay.

If anyone has any ideas along these lines to pass along to store owners, examples of this trend, or your own personal story I'd love to see your comment. Also, anyone who has advice about public speaking please, please share it with me, I'll be eternally grateful as, though I did it last Quilt Market, it scares me to death and I want to try to be a bit calmer, less nervous and less geeky this time though less geeky is probably asking too much, I mean I can't really change my whole personality in two months!

French Hatbox

Oh boy, craziness around here. I made a last minute decision to introduce a collection that will be released in August in addition to Ava Rose which will be released in May. So that's what I've been workin on the last couple of weeks to get it in before the deadline.

I'm excited about this collection. It's just so totally unabashedly feminine and the idea of a French hatbox was just a perfectly beautiful fit for the name.

Hope you like the little preview. The artwork's still a bit rough but I think you get the idea.

I'm actually working right now on last minute changes and I've got a sick husband and one sick child (please, don't be the flu) only one so far, fingers crossed, so I've gotta run but just wanted to show you. I cannot wait to cover some hat boxes in this fabric!!!

Country Boy & the Broken Bed

That's Alvin, owner of Country Boy my favorite antique store, attempting to find rails that fit this totally sweet bed that I've had my eye on for a while. See, the bed didn't have it's original rails but Alvin had a bunch of others in the back room so I asked him to try some of them to see if I could get an actual bed that works (I've bought a couple of others that were so pretty that I thought I could live with the fact that they didn't actually work as beds and required propping up against the wall, but I'm getting more finicky and actually want my furniture to function now). Well, to make a long story short, first the poor guy trying to find the right rails broke a rail while trying to hammer it into place. No biggy, Alvin takes this totally in stride though I'm already feeling guilty, and then while trying a different rail (apparently one size fits all wasn't the norm at the turn of the last century when I think the bed was made) the guy actually breaks the bed fitting with the hammer. OK, now I'm really, really feeling bad. So, what genius thing did I do? Of course I bought the broken bed that will never actually function as a bed cause I felt so bad about the whole thing. Alvin tried to talk me out of it but I insisted, "It's ok, I'll make it work" say I, Tim Gunn style, not wanting to leave him with a bed I caused him to break.

With my broken bed in tow, I start to drive home feeling a little sick that I'm going to have to explain to my husband why he's going to have to lug this heavy, iron, broken bed into the garage with the rest of my broken junk. I know he won't give me a hard time about it but the guilt (I have some sort of guilt complex which I'm working on) is weighing on me when lo and behold I see a bed store, you know the kind of store where you buy an actual new bed that works, which I've never done by the way. Anyway, not to drag it out, I think I've got a solution. I bought new rails that just get bolted on to the bed. I think this is going to work, just have to get the right drill bit and the right kind of bolts (the man at the bed store was very encouraging and supportive of my plan). Then I'll sand off as much of the rust and loose paint as I can and spray it white with metal paint. Hopefully, I'll have a really pretty after pic to show in the next few days. I think it will all be worth it in the end, the bed was $125.00 and the rails $30.00 and the other stuff will probably be another $20.00, I really love the bed so I think if it works out it was a really good deal, fingers crossed.

In other news, I finished revising my first round of strikeoffs in just 2 days and I have to say I'm really, really happy with this collection. Didn't even have time to take pics cause I had to get em back to the mill but I'm feeling really kind of great because I already see about 70% of the collection I dreamed about.

I've been busy sewing up projects for a couple of magazine articles that are coming up and just busy in general with some other projects--that's my excuse for not yet giving away a pattern for the Flea Market Bag to one of the members of the Barefoot Roses Flickr group, like I promised to. To make up for it, I'm going to give away 5 tomorrow and will announce the winners on Flickr. Still time to join if you're interested in the giveaway but I'll be giving these, and other patterns as they come out, on a regular basis to members of the group.

That's it for now, wish me luck on the bed. It's for Ava and I keep dreaming of her sleeping all angel like in her new old bed, cuddled up in her new Ava Rose quilt and Ava Rose pillow cases, ohh I'm gettin giddy just thinkin about it!!

Aprons On My Mind

 


Thanks everyone for the moral support on the last post...It's really good to know I'm not the only one who's not perfect!! The day got much better from there and Benji was a real hit. Ok, the 70s era acting style was pretty bizarre, even the kids thought it was pretty bad, but that incredibly cute little dog still made me go all mushy inside and the kids felt the same way.

Still workin on Stella Apron. Put her aside for a long time because of other priorities but we're gettin there. Just workin out pocket styles and sizes, and I think the proportions on the half apron may yet change a bit. Maybe, just maybe it'll be done, printed and shipped out in a month or two but I can't honestly say for sure. Tomorrow I've got strikeoffs (that's the first version of the fabric that comes back from the mill) coming and that could mean a whole lot of craziness for a while. I get, well, really really focused when strikeoffs come, obsessing on each and every color. I drag these pieces of fabric from room to room to room comparing the color in different kinds of light. I get a bit nutty in other words and there'll be a lot of take out food for the next few days so I can just concentrate on getting it done. If things are lookin pretty good I'll try to post a little sneak peak. Talk to you soon, I hope!

Bad Mommy and the Lost Shoes

Those are the sneakers that got me so very frustrated this morning. You know, that kind of frustration that makes you have to close your eyes real tight and ball up your hands in order to prevent yourself from screaming. That's the state those innocent looking sneakers got me into today. Well, really just one of them. The one none of us could find no matter how many times we looked under furniture, in closets, behind doors, on the porch, in the car, etc. The one that resulted in the kids being 35 minutes late to school. I'm not sure why, but this got me just way too wound up. I was very annoyed with the child who's shoe it was and told him so. All the children had that, lets just be quiet cause mom looks a little intense right now, look on their face. Of course we found the silly shoe, everyone got to school, all was well. But I felt not so good about having started my kids day off in that kind of environment. It's just not worth it to get so upset about a lost shoe, or being late, or anything like that. I'll make it up to them tonight by stopping whatever I'm doing and giving them my full attention when they ask me one of their one hundred and thirty two questions of the day. I'll even go right over to the computer and look up the answer with them on Wikipedia since at least 70% of the time I don't know the answer to questions like, does your estate refer to all your things or just your land and house?, what is the legal status of Taiwan and why wouldn't the US support their declaring independence from China, I mean shouldn't we support that since we declared independence from England?, is the Lochness Monster real?(ok, I know the answer to that one), did we visit the real Jamestown cause I thought it was supposed to be an island but where we visited didn't look like an island to me? Then it'll be "family movie night". We're gonna watch Benji, eat popcorn and drink soda and all will be well. I hope you have a beautiful, un-frustrated weekend everyone!

Studio Fresh Start & Blondie

Getting a fresh start, cleaning up my spaces and mind to make room for new things and projects in the coming year. I cleaned up last night with the help of The Best of Blondie for motivation and danced around like a fool while I swept. Luckily my kids are not yet embarrassed when I do this and just join in.

HGTV.com Blog & New Free Spirit Designer

Caren Baginski, HGTV.com's decorating editor recently interviewed me and asked some really fun to answer questions. It's a great blog with interesting interviews and beautiful design ideas. Don't know how I missed it until recently but HGTV.com is a great resource. Neat blogs and a really great message board community for do-it-yourselfers, crafters, quilters and more. Also, they've got a Flickr group where you can post pics of your projects and home!

I was so excited to learn last night that fellow blogger and friend Melissa Averinos is the newest addition to Free Spirit. She's totally fabulous as is her blog so I can't wait to see her collection which will debut in August. I talked her ear off last night in my excitement! Look for lots of great things to come from this girl.

That's it for now, I've got 2 sick kids to tend to...

The Romantics (who me?) & New Year Gratefulness

I haven't actually seen the February issue of Romantic Homes yet. Didn't receive my issue in the mail for some reason but my mom was kind enough to scan it and email it to me. I knew the article was coming for a while now but I must admit to being incredibly excited to actually see it, I surprised myself last night when I found myself in quite a tizzy about it. I've contributed in small ways to Romantic Homes and other magazines over the years but this felt quite different and, I must say, really, really good. Two pages devoted to pics of my stuff and my take on romance? what? who me, romantic? Not the way I think of myself (I think of myself schlepping around in sweatpants and flip flops, and if I've been cooking, usually some kind of stain on my shirt). But I guess the way I think of other stuff, houses, textiles, objects, is sort of romantic, I guess... Also, kind of honored to find myself in the company of a whole bunch of other women I respect and am a fan of as entrepreneurs and designers who are also featured in the issue.  I've been a long time reader and fan of Romantic Homes for their incredible photography and fine tuned editorial point of view. I'm always inspired by it and so, of course, am grateful and humbled that they included me in this issue.

I have to say a big thank you to Andrea Singarella who helped me style the article, both the beautiful collage vignettes in the corners are her work. She has a real gift for such things and her on-line store, One Hundred Wishes, is just exquisite, I want every single thing in it, seriously, everything! She helped me with this thing just a couple of weeks before giving birth to her second child, what can I say but thank you sincerely Andrea.

I can't wait to show Alvin, owner of Country Boy my favorite antiques store, that his card made it into the article. I love his card (I have a weird thing for beautiful business cards) and always ask him for one when I'm there cause I keep losing it. When I was there last he reluctantly gave me his last one, only after I told him it maybe, possibly, might end up in an article, so I'm glad he might think it was worth it to give me his last one.

This was a really nice way to cap off an incredibly good year. My best year yet in terms of business and career. There is just so much to be grateful for this year, one of which is this blog which I am enjoying maybe too much! and for you lovely people who come to visit me here, thank you. There are many more things to be grateful for this year, I won't bore you with them all though. The things I'm most grateful for are the health and happiness of my children and the fact that my best friend and husband still loves me, thinks I'm funny and wants to hang out with me....yeah, life is good...

I'm wishing you all the best New Year ever and I hope that all the things you want and deserve to happen in your life actually do happen.

with lots of love,

Tanya

Christmas Basket

Christmas this year was one of the loveliest I can remember. Partly, I think, because I didn't focus on making everything look perfect and just tried to relax and enjoy every moment.

The tree was too dry, the tinsel was messy and clumpy, I never even got to decorate the front door with fresh roping and lights, and the freshly laundered and bleached slipcovers never made it out of the dryer. Oh and I did something I never thought I'd do, I actually bought one of those giant "bag o bows". I love to make beautiful packages (my mother is the queen of beautiful wrapping and this year made tags out of scans of my fabric which I thought was extremely sweet) but just didn't want to stay up all night wrapping this year. The kids don't give a hoot either way, obviously. It was more fun to sleep and be well rested for Christmas morning. Everyone was happy and loved being together, what more could I ask for.

My mother got Ava the sweetest vintage sewing basket filled with buttons, pin cushions, embroidery stuff...Ava loved it and I can't wait to see  her using it.

Also, saw a great movie with my husband, just the two of us which was so nice in itself, The Darjeeling Limited. It was so smart, funny and beautiful to look at like all Wes Anderson's films.

Hope your holiday was full of light and love.

Oh So Last Minute

I covered some books I bought for presents this morning with scraps of vintage and new fabrics. It was a nice non-rushy thing to do the day before Christmas Eve. I wished I had a little more time cause I was thinking it would be lovely to embroider the "To so and so, Love Tanya" and the date but not enough time. Also thought it would be nice to sew a pocket on the front, I'm not sure why I want to, but I do, but I can't, oh well. It would be nice to personalize any book this way but I'm really lovin this, this and this book this year. Too late to get from Amazon but still time to s get from the bookstore. Merry Christmas all!!!!!!

Noel, Noel

I don't know what it is with me and that silly bird. I just kinda love her though. Anyhoo, this is what I've been up to today. I love to make ornaments, the women in my family would get together before Christmas most years to make pretty, silly, sentimental ornaments. They are always the ones I love to take out of the box because they immediately make me remember one of those times. The Noel garland was fun to make. Just fabric stuck with craft spray adhesive to cardboard. I cut the letters out of felt and glued em on with just a little glue and glued on the tinsel.

Hey, thanks everyone for liking the ball pattern! Seems to have struck a chord from the traffic through here the past couple of days. I'd love to see your "Happy Balls" so please post em in the Flickr group if you have a chance. Want to say thanks to Craftzine, an amazing source of crafty inspiration, for posting a link to the ball pattern. And to Kristen, owner of Sew Mama Sew, for posting it as well. I just love Sew Mama Sew, yeah, partly because they carry my fabric and my pattern but also because they always have such a great eclectic selection of fabrics. You don't have to search through the not so good stuff there cause everything they carry is wonderful as is their blog. Happy ornament making all!