ETNO Flying Geese Table Runner

Hi! How was your Christmas Holiday super looong weekend? I hope you have had lots of happy family gatherings with your loved ones. Christmas is always so full of a magical spirit, don't you think? Our celebration was so good! We were 6 at the table and my mother was the queen! My husband, son, my sister and me felt this holiday very special for having her, at her 87 years of age, strong and so happy! 

I was working lots these days spent at home... I didn't go to work last Friday, so this holiday felt almost as a vacation! Since I had more time to sew, my priority was to finish the runner made with the new flying geese method I shared with you on a previous post here. 

My new ETNO collection ships to stores late January and I think this table runner can be the first sample for you to see my fabrics in action!

I had the top ready sewn days ago, so the only thing was to decide how to quilt it. The order of the day at my sewing room was to relax and have fun with straight line quilting! 

First I thought about straight vertical quilting, but looking at the triangles I had the impulse to do straight lines in angle that will replicate the geese. I love how it came out! Working with my Bernina walking foot and the marking it has, I went for 1/2" seams.

There was a moment that I was so excited to see how it was looking that I did a small section in the center of the runner reducing the spacing to 1/4" apart that I'm showing on the pic below. 

Oh... the magic of quilting... These are the moments that I enjoy the most!!

Because I'm only working with strike offs (the first sample the mill sends me to correct the final production) I'm using all the scraps left from the top cutting; so I decided to put them to good use on the back, combining them with stripes of the AGF "Square Elements" in Lemon and my beloved "Wanderlust" in Luna from the INDIE collection I've designed some time ago. Scrappy scrappy!

On the binding, I've combined a creamy grey with small sections of teal from the AGF "Pure Elements" line of solids. I love the pop and modern effect of these kind of combinations!

Hope you liked it! I'm crazy in love with this runner, and can't wait until my new ETNO line gets shipped to stores late January so you can put your hands on it! What's going to be the order of the day at your sewing room?

Thanks for stopping by today! Xo, Pat

50 Things You Don't Know About Me

*As I am trying to update this new blog of mine, I'm bringing over a content I wrote previously on the Art Gallery Fabrics' blog. This post was written on December 30th, 2011. I think this post is interesting because it will give you bit of information about me. Hope you enjoy it! and I promise more new post later on. 

xoxo  

Pat

Today I'm joining the 50's club and I have a strange mix of feelings. I don't know what to think: if I am already old, if I'm still young --this thing they say that "these days 50's are the old 40's". You may have experienced it already.

Going over my life in my mind as a film rolls at the movies, I could see how many things I went through and how happy and grateful I am about everything I've achieved!

For this occasion thought that a blog post had to have something different about me. Told myself: "Pat, you better come out with something special to share"!

Hope you like it.

1. I was born in Argentina, this same day 50 years ago
2. I still feel like 25
3. My parents divorced 26 years ago. I never saw my father again, so I don't know if he's still alive 
4. My mother taught me how important is to love your family and your sewing machine. As I grew up I realized how right she was. She is 84 and lives with me as well as my only sister, the best one a person can have
5. My father taught me how important is to love dogs. He also taught me to hunt. These days I love dogs but I hate hunting
6. I moved to the US 22 years ago
7. Never knew what a quilt was until I came to live here
8. My original hair color is dark blond and now white hair is rampant, so I use extra light brown to color it
9. I met my husband Walter when we were both 20 and we fell in love immediately
10. Since then we are together for the good and the bad
11. Always thought that I could not have found a better husband than him
12. We got married at 23
13. I still drool over him :-0
14. My only son Alex is the best son a mother can have
15. I suffer from Endometriosis
16. So I had to have four years of treatments before I became pregnant 
17. I lost one pregnancy before and another one after my son Alex
18. He came to this world through C-section, because I didn't dilate more than 3 cm
19. He had Wilms tumor when he was 9. After a year of chemotherapy the cancer disappeared
20. I think I was born with a special gene in my body. The "sewing" gene. I sew since I can remember
21. Also love to cook since I can remember. My first cooking book was a present from my mom for my 7th birthday
22. My first year married I cooked 365 different meals for Walter. Bad thing. He gained 45 pounds
23. I lived in 3 countries during a same year
24. I am 5'4" tall and weight 138 pounds
25. OK... I confess: I am a procrastinator! This thing of "Don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today" doesn't go with me. I prefer to wait till tomorrow
26. My family call me the handywoman of the house. I can paint walls as well as installing an entire tile floor on the kitchen or bathroom
27. Many years ago I learned that for the chinese people roosters symbolize harmony in the family. I love them. That's why I began collecting many in all sizes and materials 
28. Because I'm so fortunate in life, every day I wake up thinking how much good I can make to the people around me
29. HATE to exercise. I'm a couch potato at heart 
30. LOVE to read. I can lay down an entire day reading and having Dulce de Leche Häagen-Dazs 
31. I am a perfume compulsive buyer. Never use the same fragrance everyday. For me, it's a mood thing
32. My favorite color is... of course... PINK!!
33. And my favorite flower a peony
34. I am a history junkie. Favorite readings: royal biographies. More than 300 books on the subject are sitting on shelves at my house
35. Still can't speak and write 100% perfect english; people say I do it very good. I don't know why but I feel embarrassed by that. I would love to speak more slang
36. All my life I was an admirer of Coco Chanel, but if I have to confess, the designer that inspired me the most was and still is Kenzo. He changed my vision of fashion and printed fabrics forever...
37. I could never get up early. It's a great effort to do it. It seems that my body clock did not come well set from the factory. My ideal day would begin if I wake up at 12 noon. At night I feel is the best time of the day. That's why I design complete collections at night. My senses awaken and the best of me comes alive --or this is what I think, 'cause everybody is sleeping and can't see it :)
38. The first time I made a quilt 20 years ago I didn't have an absolute idea of what I was doing. Hell no! Everything I know today I learned myself. Trial and error were my friends
39. Should I introduce you other friends I have: quilting books!. I learned so much from them
40. I LOVE quilting, but never thought that would be that much and that I would become so obsessive about perfect piecing 
41. I came to this industry hand painting fabric panels during my period of landscape quilter. Because I couldn't find specific colors in stores I decided to paint my own. All my quilting friends told me they would love to buy them at quilt shows. The first panel I sold at a quilt show in Dallas was "a moment I'd never forget". Selling panels to award-winner quilter David Tailor made me feel like I was in heaven
42. Years ago, never thought that I was gonna design fabrics. Now I can't imagine my life without designing
43. Neither that I was gonna work with my husband as my partner
44. I have cried after working a lot of time on a collection and didn't come out the way I wanted
45. I have pulled out the hair of my head too. Well... almost
46. Is there a color freak? That's me! Thanks Pantone :)
47. When I start designing, a color palette always comes first. That triggers a mood and... the name of the collection draws in my mind very vividly 
48. For me, drawing was a long journey of personal evolution. Designing fabrics walk the same path
49. One of the best designers and master of color for me is Kaffe Fassett. The first time I met Kaffe I couldn't believe my eyes! He came to my booth to shake my hand and congratulate me on my designs; I was sooo excited but he didn't realize that my knees were shaking too... 
50. I LOVE to be connected with you in here. Many people say that a blog shouldn't be written only to expect comments. I don't think so. Every time I write a post I wait with excitement to read yours!

All my love, 

Pat

Aurifil Block of the Month with Rock 'n Romance

Hello everyone! I just can't believe that it's December and the very last Aurifil Rock 'n Romance quilt block has been sewn.

Here are the last four blocks of the year!

If you missed it, here is the 1st group of blocks and the 2nd group. All 12 blocks are just amazing! Thank you 2013 Auriful Design team for your gifted sewing talents and making wonderful blocks with Rock 'n Romance. I cannot wait to see the finished quilt! For a sneak peek of the quilt, go to the AURIbuzz blog to see that layout, by Pat Sloan.

You can also stop by the AURIbuzz blog to to read the lovely interview Pat Sloan did about me :)

Also, you have until Monday to enter my Rapture fat quarter bundle giveaway. Good luck!

Happy sewing and have a great weekend :)

Aurifil Block of the Month with Rock 'n Romance

Hey everyone!

I'm am so honored and excited that my fabric line, Rock 'n Romance, is being used for the 2013 Aurifil Design Team! Twelve lovely designers are creating awesome blocks. Each month there will be a new quilt block by one of the designers. I already shared with you the first four designers in a previous blog post. Now here are designers five through eight!

Designers 5-8 are:

Jackie Kunkel
Jill Finley
Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson
Wenche Wolff Hatling

Each block is unique and they are all so great! There are four designers left. I can't wait until December to see all of the blocks!

Happy sewing!

Love,

Quilt Market Recap and Giveaway!

Hello lovelies!

I'm so thrilled to be back from Spring Quilt Market and be able to share with you these juicy pictures of my booth, "Carnaby Street!" It was truly a wonderful experience and I had a blast seeing everyone again and meeting great new people.

When it came time to design my booth, I thought, wouldn't it be great if I could share the fun and groovy moments from my video with all of you? And that's when it hit me! Why not bring the elements of the video to life and be able to transport you into the 1960s? I took the geometric black and white wall and used it as a main focal point. I even created a collage of photos that initially inspired me to design this collection. So, welcome to my Carnaby Street!

For the booth, I wanted tons and tons of products! I made series of Carnaby bags, ranging from my patterns, the Barcelona Bag to the Essential Tote. I made a bunch of groovy pillows with giant florals and, one of my favorites, the PEACE pillow.

My all-time favorite project that I've made for Carnaby Street is the Union Jack cover made from some of the prints of the collection! With a simple top and a backing fabric, you can create your very own couch cover to add that touch of color and design you need to any room!

And here I am with all the AGF designers: Bonnie Christine, Leah Duncan, Bari J., Jeni Baker, and Angela Walters! I love these ladies so much and they were a complete blast to hang with during Market!

I am so thrilled, overjoyed, and truly blessed to have won FIRST PLACE SINGLE BOOTH! I tried not to cry in the pictures, so this is the best one of me, not in tears. Even today, I still can't believe it!

Since I love sharing all my experiences with you, it's no surprise that I have a special video for all of you! Come with me to Portland, OR and experience the groovy times I had in this Spring Quilt Market in the video below.

NOW TIME FOR a GIVEAWAY!
What bag pattern did I mention in the video? Leave the name of the bag pattern on this blog post. Two lucky people will win the pattern AND the Carnaby Street fabric necessary to make the bag!

Giveaway ends 06/10/2013 at 11:59pm.

THE CONTEST IS OVER.

 

And the winner is...

Thank you! Thank you! I enjoyed reading ALL 464 comments you all made about my Carnaby St. fabric line. You all warm my so much heart!

And now, for the four lucky winners of a Carnaby St. fat quarter bundle in the color of their choice.

Congratulations winners! Look for an email, for FB note, from me for you to claim your prize!

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend :)

xoxo, Pat

Aurifil Block of the Month with Rock 'n Romance

Hey everyone! I'm am so honored and excited that my fabric line, Rock 'n Romance, is being used for the 2013 Aurifil Design Team! Twelve lovely designers are creating awesome blocks. Each month there will be a new quilt block by one of the designers. Here are the first four of the year.

The 1st four designers are:

Jeni Baker

Erin Russek
Marie-Claude Picon-Iperti
Katy Jones

The blocks are all so great! I'm so inspired that I'm already sketching out my design for December. I can't wait to see more!

Happy sewing!
Love, Pat

How to wear pure elements

Probably most of you are already familiar with my solids, Pure Elements. I come up with new colors with every new collection I launch, so you always have that exact tone you're looking for.

Maybe some of you are wondering "How does Pat choose what color to pick?", I mean, there are soooo many! Well, I'm constantly keeping up to date with fashion runways, editorials and campaigns and there's always "those" colors that just stick in my head. And of course, I'd love to share some of those images with you so you can also see that you can make beautiful, bold fashion statements by only using one color! The right color, that is ;)

These are some Pure Elements colors I've come up with lately... what do you think? getting any creative ideas to renew your wardrobe?

This is APRICOT CREPE, a soft creamy tone of orange that is sooo light for spring and summer!

And because I never get tired of blues, here's MIRAGE BLUE, which looks great paired up with white, so flowy and summery!

 A great neutral: SANDSTONE is that gorgeous safari pastel tone that is so in right now. 

MOONSTONE is a super dark shade of gray for the ones that don't wanna wear black and still wanna look chic. 

I know this color SPICEBERRY can be quite intimidating because of its intensity, and it's quite rare... but isn't it marvelous? Do you dare to wear it?

MYSTIC GREY is a soft, light tone that should be in everyone's "basic stack". 
I've been seeing navy blue all over the place lately, so modern and so elegant; this is NOCTURNAL. 

So how are you linking these new colors?? Think of other ways to apply them to your wardrobe or home??

Love, Pat

Houston Quilt Market 2012

I came back from Quilt Market very excited! It's so inspiring to see how far this industry is going and how engaged all of us are in bringing the next generations to join the "sewing revival"... I happened to have a blast! The people from Art Gallery made this awesome video showing the company headquarters and all the AGF designers' booths! Check it out, you can see me saying hello as well as showing my booth too. Hope you like it and share it :) 

I want to thank to all the friends who stopped by to say hi and thank you for making each Quilt Market much nicer for me liking my new products! Your love means everything to me!

XO, Pat