Holly Birdie by Woolin Rouge for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co

We all know I can't take a photograph to same my soul but I give it a try anyway. Hard to believe my nephew is a professional photographer and my kids take better pictures with their cell phones, but it's true.

Anyway, I did a remake of Holly Birdie. The original was done for the French Magazine Magic Patch. It was in Moda fabrics and I just loved it, however, by the time Bigfork Bay tried ordering the fabric we needed it was sold out. So Traci Suzanne Marvel and Jane Anderson picked out new fabric at the shop and I remade the set for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.  We all have that fabulous piece of Christmas or winter fabric that we fell in love with but never knew how to use. Now you can see how easy it is to use it for a table set for the Holidays!

The wool I used is from Weeks Dye Works. I just loved how it looks. Of course, if I was a decent photographer you could see the fabric better. The thread I used was, of course, Aurifil.  I used the Aurifil Lana Wool thread for the wool applique and the Aurifil 50 wt cotton for the quilting.  One of these days I'm going to use the Lana Wool to quilt it too. Humm. Maybe the next one.

The pattern is available for preorder right now at International Quilt Market. If you get to Market or Festival be sure to look up Bigfork Bay Cotton Company and say Hi to my peeps.

Woolin Rouge Designs, Snow in Love

One of the newest patterns from Woolin Rouge, to be presented at Quilt Market by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. will be Snow in Love.  This is a design taken from a drawing by Traci Suzanne Marvel.  The background is Maywood Studio Flannel and Batik Textile Batiks. 

I had so much fun to create these adorable snow people out of wool from Mary Flanagan. The thread, which is Aurifil Lana Wool Thread, is such a pleasure to work with.  It never shreds or tangles. Kits and Patterns will be available from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company very soon.

I am always so amazed when a design is finished that it is exactly like Traci and I had both envisioned. Traci and I both live in different states so designing could be a challenge for some but Traci and I both seem to make it work.

Don't you just love the expressions on these faces. They are truly Snow in Love.

Woolin Rouge Hippie Birdie Cover by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

It is finally ready for print!

Hippie Birdie will be ready for orders at International Quilt Market in Houston this month. This design means so much to me. I took a painting of Traci Suzanne Marvel, my business partner, and turned it into usable fiber art.

Traci jokes around saying she can't sew, and I say I can't draw, so together we make a whole idea. We really do make a great team because even though we joke about not sewing or drawing it  isn't too far from the truth. While I could draw something if I had to, I don't envision original ideas. And while Traci can sew, it isn't her passion like drawing and painting is. (If you think Traci's art is good, you should see her photography.) Fortunately, we each bring a lot to the table.

But our design team doesn't stop there. Lynn Stalowy, owner of Bigfork Bay Cotton Company gets to have her input too. No pattern would be complete without the graphic design of David Boggs. John Stalowy, owner with wife Lynn, does all the photography for the covers of the patterns. David Boggs designed the cover graphic design with ideas form Traci and Lynn, and everyone else in the office gets an opinion about liking the designs too.  I do a lot of the writing of our patterns but it is proofed several times and the overall design of the directions is the creation of Katie Bramante.  Katie writes all the other directions for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company.

 Traci Suzanne Marvel is the best Marketing Director I have ever seen. She puts all the designs from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company on the map.

There are so many other amazing people at Bigfork Bay Cotton Company involved in bringing you these designs. I am just so grateful to be a part of such an amazing company with so many wonderful people. I could have never lived my dream without all of them.  

I also want to thank Patricia and Walter Bravo at Art Gallery Fabric for the fabrics out of the Girly Girl line and Susan Sylvia at Ram in the Thicket for the beautiful colors of wool.