E-Reader Project

 Carole Youngren is my guest blogger today, sharing her story on creating the E-reader sewing project from my Poppy Hop taupe fabrics. Carole is part of my fabric family from The Linden Tree who have helped create beautiful projects for my Premiere Collection with Modern Yardage. It turned out so amazing!  She has a wonderful eye for style as well as superb sewing skills. Enjoy reading about her process.



An Unexpected Design for Cindy’s Fabrics
by Carole Youngren

The sew4home website is one I read regularly to find ideas for sewing classes and projects. Around Valentine’s Day the website showed an eye-catching e-reader case. I was immediately attracted because it featured a metal zipper and interesting hardware. I liked the look of the chunky hardware on the sleek case. Originally I made the case in other fabrics, for my daughter who is a sophomore in college.

Cindy came into the Linden Tree about that time and we talked about interesting projects for her fabrics. While the skirts, table linens and shower curtain projects were easy to visualize in the fabric, Melissa, Cindy and I couldn’t immediately figure out what to make from the taupe/tan colorway. So I started playing around with folds of the fabric to see what combinations would look good together.

I originally thought of a skirt from the Dance pattern, except I was already going to make a skirt in the blue. I didn’t have enough fabric for a blouse. I started thinking of a purse. I pulled out some purse patterns from independent designers, but none of them seemed quite right. So I kept playing with the fabric.

Once I folded the Dash and Link fabrics into rectangles, I could see the shape of the e-reader case I had just made for my daughter. I picked up a spool of the tan webbing for the handle and was delighted to see that the colors matched nicely. I knew the black plastic hardware would pull the whole design together. Black and tan is such a classy combination! The bag is lined with the Dance pattern. That worked out well too, since the light background of Dance pattern makes it easier to see things inside.

The case is a more graphic design than the skirts, table linens and shower curtain and that made it fun to sew. Watching the project emerge was, I think, a successful lesson in creativity.

Project links:  To buy my fabric for your next project click Modern Yardage
                        To learn more about The Linden Tree click here.

Mother Daughter Poppy Hop Skirts

How adorable did these skirts turn out?  My friend and sewist extraordinare, Carole Youngren at the Linden Tree made these Mother/Daughter skirts using my Poppy Hop fabric from Modern Yardage for the brochure photo shoot. How fun to have Cara and daughter Ingrid model the skirts! Oh, I can't forget Ingrid's doll in her matching ensemble. Cara helps at The Linden Tree and also sells men's stylish pocket scarves she sews. The point of making Mother/Daughter skirts was to show off that the fabric is available in three different sizes or scales of print, so you could chose a medium print for the Mom and small print for the daughter. The same is true for all the coordinating prints at Modern Yardage.

Carole did a wonderful job sewing all these pieces.  Here are a few photos up close so you can see more detail in the skirts.  Ingrid's skirt is from Oliver & S Hula Hoop skirt pattern.  The outside print is the Poppy Passion blue in small scale with the reverse made in Blossom small scale.  There is a flip on the front and the back of the skirt which can be worn in reverse. It has an elastic waist band.

The doll dress is adapted from Joan Hind's book, Sew Today's Fashions for 18-inch Dolls.  It is made with the same prints as the daughter skirt with the addition of the Dash print used for the bottom ruffle.  I love the piping made from the blossom print between the two prints.  Again, the small scale is great for a doll.

The skirt Cara wore is adapted from Hot Patterns Plain and Simple A-line Skirt.  The waist band is from the Poppy Hop blue color way, Dash print, medium scale. Carole came up with the fun idea of attaching a denim pocket on the back.  So I bought a pair of washed denim pair of girls shorts and she carefully removed the pocket and added it to the skirt.  Love it!  What a fun creative way to customize your skirt.  The bottom is face hemmed in the dash print and the inside is lined.

I encourage you to send me pics of your skirt made out of my Poppy Hop fabric, available at Modern Yardage.  Share your creative combinations and designs with us!

Here's a look at the Poppy Hop Blue Collection.  Passion is in the front, followed by Dance, Blossom, Links, and Dash. You can get an idea of the three different scales from the photo and how these mix and match in many combinations.

My gratitude to Carole for sharing her talent and creativity in making these skirts.  Thank you, too, Cara and Ingrid for bringing them to life.

Countdown to Launch

What has been months in preparing is finally only a couple days away.

On Friday, March 15th, my very first fabric collection, Poppy Hop, will launch with the brand new textile company, Modern Yardage.  It has been a dream of mine and I couldn't have done it without the help of my Fabric Family at the Linden Tree.  Melissa has helped me understand fabric collections through the wonderful designer fabric she carries in her shop. They would offer their opinions on coordinates and colors leading up to the final files. I ran down there when my first strike offs were sent and get everyone's opinion in the shop at the time.  She and Carole have taken my first fabric and sewn it into wonderful projects for my first brochure.  

Last week it was time for the photo shoot of all the wonderful items.  My photographer friend and neighbor, Jana, came over to set up lights in my living room.  Melissa brought over her dog Jackson and his stylish new dog bed made from my Poppy Hop Passion, Links and Dash.  This photo is one of the many taken, but he was licking his chops because I was coaxing him with cheese.  He is adorable and you can meet him if you stop in at The Linden Tree. Heres' their link: The Linden Tree.   Other items we took pictures of were pillows, placemat, napkin, shower curtain and tech bag.  

The next day I met Cara and her daughter Ingrid to photograph them wearing their Mother/daughter skirts.  This shows off my design in two different scales.  I'll write more on these wonderful skirts that Carole made including the matching doll dress for Ingrid's doll.  Ingrid's skirt is also reversible, with that hint of orange flip showing.  They were both so wonderful to photograph!  

There is nothing as exciting as seeing my designs printed onto fabric and made into such a variety of items.  I can't wait to have more items from the fabric. I encourage you to purchase my fabric from Modern Yardage and send me photos of what you make so I can share your inspiration with others.   

A special thanks to Jay, April and Erin at Modern Yardage for their support and for having my collection be their very first launch!

My Studio Pics While Hibernating

January is my time to hibernate in the studio, wear warm fuzzy slippers and clean, purge and organize. I have to have a clean organized work space before I am comfortable to work on projects. That's just how I'm wired.  So I'm sharing my work space pics with you and a little bit about my favorite objects in my home studio.

The first picture above shows how I organize my card inventory.  The pull out drawers from the Container Store fit within an Ikea table.  On the wall is my Stone Arch Bridge Festival of the Arts poster I drew for the event in 2011. I love how my new rug matches the colors and sweeping arches in the print.

 I roll my chair over to the computer side of my studio where there are filing cabinets with 2 horizontal wooden doors creating a table top and flat file.  The table holds my computer, fax, scanner and printer.  The shelf on the wall holds extra framed prints that I rotate during the year when I need a change of scenery.  Oh, and more card storage...

Rolling back to the drawing side of my studio is where I sketch. I had this table during my college years at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The side table is from Ikea (great having an Ikea in Minneapolis). The floral print was done by my long time friend, artist, college roommate, Randi, who passed away unexpectedly. I never get tired of looking at her watercolor and it reminds me of what is important in life and how short life can be.

The studio is painted yellow and is bathed in sunshine so it's a happy place to be. The shelves hold art books, favorite magazines, shipping supplies for my Etsy orders and notebooks for Surtex portfolios.  I made a foam core bulletin board and covered it in fabric and placed it on an easel for self critiques. There are radish illustrations and a section from my new poppy fabric pinned up right now. I have lots of my fabric stored in the white boxes. The toy chest holds framed prints between art shows.  My chair holds one of my Ginkgo fabric pillows created.  You'll be seeing more of these soon in Poppy versions.

My son Taylor let me have one of his Garrison Keillor stencil collage paintings for my shelf.  There are pages from Keillor's book glued in the background.  Next to it is bittersweet I grow in the alley and hope to draw into a design this year.

I was deep into mosaic for a time and this was my personal inspirational creation. It started with an actual fortune cookie fortune that is under glass in the middle that reads."You are headed in the right direction.  Trust your instincts."  Other parts say, "Do what you love" and "Believe in yourself."  The coaster next to it was designed by friend Linda  with an inspirational message by Thoreau.  The African Violet plant is from my sister Cathy that blooms with purple flowers.

These two Raku pots were what I made at a class in Grand Marais with my friend Marlene. We had so much fun at the North House Folk School class!  

 On my shelf next to my framed thistle print is a souvenir Kusmi Tea tin from my trip to Paris.  I was so fortunate to chaperone my son's high school trip to Paris and Barcelona and soak up so much art and culture.

 This antique Art Deco cologne bottle with its squared look has always been a favorite of mine. The Frank Lloyd Wright design frame holds a picture of me with my husband Mitch and son Taylor.  Mitch is a graphic designer and Taylor is an artist as well so we have a pretty creative household.

I spend so much time in my studio, it has to be comfortable, functional, and beautiful. I hope it inspires you to think about your own creative space and how you can make it your own personal haven.

Swedish Institute Inspiration

I like to chose a museum to visit on my birthday and this year I chose the Swedish Institute near downtown Minneapolis.  It began as a Swedish family's castle-like mansion that later became the Institute and this year opened the very modern Cultural Center attached by a hallway to it.  We weren't offered a 'swedish discount' for being a Lindgren but went anyway. It was very busy with holiday visitors checking out the Nordic Christmas exhibit and lace making exhibit.  I took pictures of images, patterns and colors for inspiration.  

main dining room

Ceiling pattern

The Salon

Detail of corner

Lace making

women had this on their lap to hold their lace work

 fireplace detail

tile on one of the many fireplaces

Norwegian Christmas setting

cookie ornaments

paper cut ornaments

paper cut border at base of the Christmas tree

Iceland table setting

Grandma's Christmas Candy

Grandma's original recipe

My Grandma Rieniets was a great cook and baker.  At Christmas time, we all looked forward to her Crispie Chunkie candy made with Rice Crispies, Corn Flakes, peanuts and held together with a chewy glaze. I don't know why but we could never get enough of it, but it was addictive.  She wrote the recipe down and her tradition has been passed down to my generation.  I made two batches and ate most of it myself!  My Mom had it waiting at our family Christmas get together this week.

For Christmas I decided to make her beloved recipe into a special gift for my Mom and sisters.  I took her handwritten recipe and scanned it into the computer.  Then I made it into a digital file and sent it to Spoonflower, a digital fabric printer, and had it printed onto cotton fabric.  The results were amazing!  To see her handwriting on the fabric, enlarged to fit a 12 x20" towel, with all its character, was just what I hoped for.  There wasn't a lot of border left around the recipe since Grandma wrote right to the edges, so I added a top piece of fabric.  I wrapped them up and took them to Iowa for Christmas.

Her recipe printed on fabric

My Mom with her tea towel

My sister Cathy with her gift

My sister Connie holding her gift

Mom and my sisters opened their presents up at the same time and it took a second to figure out what it was.  "That's Grandma's handwriting!  How did you get Grandma's handwriting on fabric?"  They were really excited to have this personal gift of a cherished memory of Christmas preserved.  

Show Time!

My booth at No Coast Craft-o-Rama.

It was a busy month of shows this year with No Coast Craft-o-Rama, Bloomington Theatre & Art Center, Master Framers, and Women's Art Festival.  More than once, I'd run out of a certain card or print not knowing what would be popular this year.  The Twin Cities landmarks were very popular including Minnehaha Falls and the St. Paul Conservatory because people got engaged there or married there, shared a first date or family picnic.  It's always fun to hear people's personal connections with my art subject matter.  The same is true with my flowers or vegetables. The strawberry cards reminded people of picking them at their Grandma's garden or the blueberry card reminded them of hunting for wild ones and we'd share where we had success by our cabin. I found that the Cardinal is a very popular bird and I really enjoyed the little boy who picked out my fox print to hang in his bedroom.  My baby snow owl art and cards sold out quickly.

My fabric fat quarters were equally popular with customers. I cannot believe how many quilters there are!  Many people bought them for their quilter friends who said they can never have too big of a 'stash' and admire unique designer patterns.

I get asked how I create my art and have a booklet to show them how I draw everything by hand in pencil first and then scan it into the computer and redraw all the lines into solid flat color shapes in layers that resemble a silk screen print.  It makes more sense to see the actual pencil drawings and digital stages of the process.

I always take notes at the shows of what people like or want to see next year.  One guy wants to see two more cardinal illustrations to make a grouping.  Many people buy multiple cards to group and frame and some want to see much larger prints in the future. It's always humbling to hear how they love my style and have my work framed in their home, or hear from bungalow home owners that they want to add some of my pieces to fit the architecture yet it looks modern to fit today's style. My mission is accomplished!

So thank you to all who came out to my shows this month.  I enjoyed getting to meet you and see how you respond to my art. Now it will be fun to get back to creating new art for next year's show.