Birds of a Feather Flock Together!

...Feather Inspiration... 

1. Pink Feather Ornament from One King's Lane 2. Feather Fan Dinner Napkin from Coral and Tusk 3. Feather Garland from Paper Source

I love feathers. 

I love them in bright colors for craft projects, hand drawn or painted, dipped in gold, on actual birds and especially, ON FABRIC! I'm so excited about Mark Hordyszynski's new line for Michael Miller Fabrics called, Birds of a Feather!

As soon as the fabric arrived, I made Little O a dress and took some photos while we practiced our yoga moves... in boots :) Love that girl!

Pattern used for dress- The Wednesday Dress by Cali Faye

Last week I chatted with Mark about his new collection, Birds of a Feather, and here's what he had to say about each pattern:

Tweet - "Birds have always been popular throughout the years, with trends specifying (sometimes without specificity) which particular bird is singled out - the owl, swans, and flamingos are always good - so I chose to do a very generic bird. Inspired by the no-nonsense form of Scandinavia design, Marimekko and the Modern Quilt Guild, simple shapes suggest more detailed parts such as a tear drop shape for wings, or sticks for feet, or a triangle for the beak or crest, or tail feathers."

Scwambled Eggs- "I think of alien space pods from sci-fi B movies from the 50's." 

Twig- "is a fractured stripe."

 

 Quill - "I had been experimenting with combining the almost rigidly drawn outline in the shape of a feather with the very loose, again very simple and almost suggestive, stroke of a marker of paint brush."

*Instructions for the standard size pillow case will be available for free on Mark's blog: www.madhatterofmaui.blogspot.com

*The machine embroidery can be downloaded (for a small fee) at the digitizer's website: www.theneedleworkfactory.com. 

  

 *for information about the bucket hat, pictured above, contact Mark through his blog.

Nest - "a cute little no-nothing print with limitless possibilities. again, simple is good."

Mark made an adorable reversible bucket hat for a newborn using Tweet in Aqua (pictured below)

For some really great feather DIY projects, check out Scrap Hacker. And for a tutorial that mixes paper feathers and glitter (pictured below), visit Hand Crafted Parties. 

For all of you feather fans out there, comment to win a bundle of Mark's new collection!

 

Happy sewing!
xo, kait

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED!

Congratulations to our winners--

mynanamaree said...

"Adorable fabrics ~ my granddaughter would absolutely love something made with them. ♥ Thanks a bunch for the chance to win!"

and

marymcnultydesign said...
"I just love this fabric. Cant wait to make something with it."

Celebrating the Chevron

Michael Miller's new line of chevrons is shipping to stores now! We have been very busy in the studio creating new projects that celebrate all things chevron!

We also have a beautiful new catalog (styled by Trenna Travis) which features stunning photographs full of inspiration. There are so many fun ways to use a chevron and I'll share a few of them in this post.

You can create the cute little bow tie photographed below using this pattern from Fuddie Duddies.

Trenna used the Mini Chic Chevron in Gray above but the Chevy Chevron in Boy (pictured below) would work as well!

I love the idea of using all different chevrons for groomsmen and the ring bearer (or as Kathy's grandson calls them, "Ring Bears") at a wedding! 

Trenna also envisioned the chevrons as home decoration (pictured below) in this sleek citron and gray room. The chair cover is Chevy Chevron in Citron.

I actually recovered my first chair this year and it was so easy! I probably overdid it with the staples but no one can tell and I was having a blast with my electric staple gun :) If you're interested, I found a simple tutorial over at the DIY Dreamer (they even show you how to replace the foam cushion!)

If you don't have a super fun electric staple gun, but you do have a sewing machine and a pillow form, you can make a chevron pillow like the one in the Uptown Urban room pictured below. In Chevy Chevron (color Tobacco) the room is chic and sophisticated.

I usually make all of my pillow covers with a pocket in the back but the look above is worthy of a zipper closure. I found a lovely tutorial over at Sew Mama Sew.

And, for all of you quilters out there-- Emily Herrick designed an amazing Chevron quilt. It's modern and I think it's pretty special (definitely different than anything we've featured in the past!). You can find the free pattern over on the Michael Miller Website- just click on this link or on the quilt image below.

 

 

Emily used Chevy Chevron in Spa (Can you believe that it's only one chevron colorway? Awesome.) She also used our super, soft Cotton Couture as the base and binding.

If you have the chance, head over to Emily's blog and check out her Quilt Market Recap. She has some really great photos! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo, kait

Quilt Market Round-up!

We had a great time in Texas- the weather was warm (we were even able to dine outside at night!) and our booth was bustling...

Setup started off a little bit slow since one of our crates was MIA... but, as soon as it showed up, we got busy!

 This market, our theme was Blue & White- The walls were covered with Toujours Bleu et Blanc and the booth was filled with all things blue and white: quilts, China, a cat bed (fit for royalty) and, of course, the MMF team!

Fabrics shown in photo above: Pagoda Garden, Kota, Fish Net, Cheryl

Kathy and Rob Appell are wearing Blue & White Porcelain.

 The quilt behind them (and pictured below) was designed by Emily Herrick and the free pattern is available here.

**Notice the lovely Fancy Feast Cat sitting in style under a bed designed and created by Marinda Stewart (Kitty fabric coming soon :)

..... 

 The Indo Ikat collection made a big splash at market

 

For the quilt pattern above, designed by Heidi Pridemore, click here. The Figgy's dress pattern can be found here. 

Rob, on his way to the MMF schoolhouses- he's wearing Romi.

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We glammed it up this season with our new collection, Glitz!

The glitz dress patterns used in our booth are from Cali Faye (Mint) and Lily Bird Studio (Confection)

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Three of our licensed designers also debuted their new designs...

Sara Jane's collection, Wee Wander, was very popular- especially since her newborn made an appearance in the tee-pee! So cute!

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Tamara Kate debuted Helen's Garden and Quiet Time- Love that quilt in the background!

Tamara is wearing Enchanted and her sister is wearing Pirouette.

 Don't forget to swing by Tamara's blog, Kayajoy.

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 The Swirly Girl's released a new Clubhouse line, Daydream. They had the quilt design displayed in their booth- It's pictured below in Jewel. This would be the perfect quilt for a Block of the Month!

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Happy sewing and I can't wait to see what everyone creates using all of our new fabrics!

And, a special thanks to Emily Herrick, Rob Appell, Becky, Ed and Deb for all of their help and hard work this market!

xo

Kait

Quilt Market Mahem!!

It's that time again-- Fall Quilt Market in Houston, Texas!

*photo courtesy of Pepper Cory

We are in full swing over at Michael Miller Fabrics... Packing our crates and trying to wrap up last minute EVERYTHING!

And, it wouldn't be Quilt Market prep time without a major printer malfunction. 

The red light is a sight we hate to see :( 

 But, when everyone pitches in, the chaos of getting ready for quilt market can be fun!

 Here are some more photos from around the office. I thought you'd all enjoy getting a glimpse into a day in the life of the staff of the MMF New York office!

Nellie and Julia "helping" the sample department...

 Jennie- working with an oh-so-luscious pile of Cotton Couture

Alison- a very organized mess :)

Robin- There's always time to pump iron... errrrr, fabric!

Anna- hiding behind the headers... please, please no more labels!!

Kait- Gettin' cozy with the Cozy

.......

 and, now a sneak peek of some of our fabrics that will debut at Quilt Market...

See you all next week!

xo,

kait

all that glitters is gold... Glitz & Glam!

With winter and the holidays approaching, my mind is stuck on metallic. I'm ready to do some holiday party planning, shopping and maybe even some redecorating- and I want it to be all sparkle, glitter and gold...

The fall/winter season also happens to be my favorite time in New York City. It really comes alive.. and, lucky for me, it sparkles!

Manhattan Glitters Eye Poetry Photography

Using glittery NYC as my inspiration, I found some really great "wish list" party items from around the web- Would it be gaudy and over the top to wear it all at the same time? :)

 1. Kate Spade charm heels  2. The most beautiful ring EVER from Nora Kogan (xoxoxox)  3. Twinkling at Twilight Dress by Modcloth   4. Golden Garden Dress by Modcloth  5. Crystal Wildflowers Necklace by J.Crew  6. (The appropriately named) Champagne Kisses by China Glaze

In my search for the perfect party dress and accessories, I found a glitzy weekend bag from Anthropologie. I think I could make a similar version if I had the perfect metallic fabric (I have something in mind, so stay tuned Michael Miller fans!)

 How cool is the unexpected pop of shimmer on the side panels?! I love the mix of a neutral stripe, canvas straps and bling!

Striped and Sequined Weekender

And, another glitzy bag (1) from Anthropologie-- perfect for a party or a wedding. If you'd prefer to make it yourself, I found a sequined clutch tutorial here and tassel tutorial here. Michael Miller's Clementine Cotton Couture (2) would add a surprising pop of color!

After I hit up my go-to sites, Anthropologie, J.Crew and Modcloth, I couldn't pass up a quick look over at ABC Carpet & Home. If you're ever in NYC, you should definitely stop by- It's pure eye candy and you can't help but be inspired.

ABC Home is right on trend with these metallic polka dot glasses --

Glassware led to barware which led to votives which led to vases and, finally, led to DIY gold mason jars and a very sparkly tabletop-- You know how it goes when you're surfing the web...

The mason jar DIY is from a blog called lovely little Details.

And the amazing sparkly tabletop and sparkle votive DIY comes from Hey Look via Glitter Guide.

And now, I'm off to try out some tutorials and dream about all things shiny...

 Stay tuned- Michael Miller is planning to release some fancy new fabric in the very near future and I'm going to share it here first... We'll also have a surprise guest blogger!

xo, kait

Midnite Gems

Michael Miller's new line, Midnite Gems, crosses effortlessly from home decoration into apparel. Heidi Pridemore designed a simple, modern quilt with lots of bright white. She also used a combo that we've seen a lot of lately-- navy and berry!

 1. color block party romper 2. DIY chevron nails 3. Trina Kelly stripe jewelry organizer 4. J.Crew look for girls

*Styled and photographed by Trenna Travis

*quilt design by Heidi Pridemore

The free quilt pattern (pictured above) can be found here.

The navy/berry combo would be fantastic for apparel as well but we thought that we needed to represent some of the other beautiful color combos from the group- like teal and navy.

Trenna Travis styled the photograph below and designed the simple, elegant shirt dress. I found a similar pattern that would work well with this collection. Just click on the image (or here) and you'll be linked to the pattern below.

Next on our list of fabrics that need to be garments? Julie. But we can't decide between teal and jewel! 

Stay tuned to find out what we create!

Happy sewing~

xo, kait