Our Own Pattern Design!

It's a first! Ever since Amy and I opened Yellow Bird Art we discussed designing our own patterns. Ten years ago I designed and made one of a kind handbags that I sold at art fairs and our NE Iowa Studio Tour. Then fate intervened and I couldn't design or spend time sewing. Well, I'm back! I love designing - thinking through the construction issues is my favorite part. Well, except maybe for picking fabrics, trims and buttons. And watching the drawing come into physical reality!

Yellow Bird Art is participating in a spring bus tour on May 1 and 2 called the Bag Lady Express. The tours will visit primarily Top 10 quilt shops in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is a terrific opportunity to visit some of the best quilt shops in the Midwest! I figured since it was a Bag Lady trip that I could design a new handbag for the tour participants.

The bag is about 19" at it's widest and about 16" H, not including the strap. There is a large exterior front pocket, and two roomy pockets inside. The front pocket and top band are secured with magnetic snaps. The handle, which I'm very pleased with, uses a slider so that you can shorten the strap to carry the bag like a handbag, or lengthen the strap to carry the bag from your shoulder, or across your chest so you can be hands-free. The front pocket features foundation pieced fabrics and is trimmed with beaded ribbon from India. The top band is Matka silk for some nice texture and the button is an awesome vintage button I found at my secret button source.

All the ladies who go on the trip will receive a FREE copy of this pattern. I would guess that shops will have kits to sell also. You'll be able to purchase the pattern from Yellow Bird Art after the bus tour is over. I know we have 41 excited participants signed up already, so if you've been hesitating, hurry and give us a call. You can go to http://yellowbirdart.com/ to get more details about the tour!

The Dog we Loved

And they break your heart...

Diego loved life. He was the most enthusiastic, optimistic and joyful dog I've ever lived with. He'd had a rough start in life - Amy and I found him living in filthy conditions at the Eccentric Dog Man's collection of dogs. We cajoled and begged until the Eccentric Dog Man said we could buy him for $75.00. Diego began living with Amy, but it became apparent after several months that the long hours Amy puts in at Yellow Bird Art and Diego's deep need for consistent affection and training wasn't working for either of them. So, he came home to live with me. Our shepherd mix, BD (beautiful dog, another rescue from the Eccentric Dog Man) immediately took on Diego as though she were his dog nanny. He was housebroken within a week because he watched the other three dogs. BD spent endless hours playing with Diego and working off all that incredible Jack Russel energy. She disciplined him when he went too far and he had the nip scars on the top of his head to show for it. The hours of silly dog play filled our home with joy.

Over the year and a half that Diego lived with us, we witnessed a wonderful dog emerging from whatever his past had been. He was the funniest dog I've ever met, and maybe one of the smartest. I only realized a couple of months ago that he had picked me as his human. He spent the night in his crate in our bedroom (he would zip into his crate when we called "time for bed"), and when George would get up in the morning he'd let Diego out of the crate and my sweet dog would leap onto the bed, wiggle under the covers and snuggle up close to my body for the next hour of sleep. He'd follow me all around the house, and when I was sitting he'd want to hop up onto my lap, or he'd lay on the floor with his nose pressed on top of my feet while I was on the computer. He just learned how to go up and down the steep stairs, and was so excited to zoom up the stairs in front of me and then position himself at my computer chair, waiting for me to catch up, all the while wagging his tail so fast that you couldn't see it, and his little butt wiggling back and forth on the floor.

Diego's faults were that he never gave up on chasing my two cats, and his determined love affair with vehicle tires. Yesterday about noon our young neighbors were heading out of the valley in their truck. They didn't see or hear Diego, they just heard a thump. I was working outside and I heard Diego's cry. As I was rushing towards their truck, Nate was running towards me as Hallie climbed down into the ditch. Diego was alive, and we put him of the front seat of my car, and I drove the quickest drive ever to Waukon. I could hear Diego's labored and gurgling breath all the way there. The vet quickly examined Diego, and put him in an oxygenated crate. X-rays showed no broken bones, so we were encouraged. George went to town and saw Diego twice - the vets said they were hopeful and were trying to get Diego calmed down enough to remove some of the fluids in his chest. Fifteen minutes before George got home, I got the phone call. Diego had just died from internal bleeding.

Something happened to me, being Diego's human, that hasn't been so deep and intense with all the other pets I've shared my life with. I think it was seeing this unsocialized dog come into his own, and to simply observe his incredible for enthusiasm for living. George and I spent the entire evening yesterday weeping and had a weeping night without much sleep. This morning we made a silent drive into Waukon to pick up Diego. He was in a big black plastic bag in a cardboard box. When we got out to the car I asked George to get Diego out of the box and bag. I wrapped him in his green blanket and held his body on the drive home. We both cried all the way home. Nate and Hallie met us and we walked out to the sand hill where we have buried the pets we've loved the past 25 years. George, Nate and Hallie dug the little grave deep. We placed him in his grave wrapped up in his green knit blanket and said a few words. He was a great little dog with a huge heart and we loved him deeply. We will miss him more than words can say.
- Angela

Sweet Diego

I've never met a dog who made me laugh so much. On the day I took this picture, he'd managed to grab a spool of wool thread and mangle it completely- he was so satisfied with his creation and so proud. We were cracking up (although not thrilled that he'd chosen a $7 spool of thread).
Diego was smart, joyful, funny, and a great snuggler. We miss him.
- Amy

Itchin' to get stitchin'

Hey- hi! Remember how I said I'd be back with photos? Here I am! With photos! Yay!

Ever since my friend Carmen showed me her Amy Butler Birdie Sling bag, I've been wanting to make one. really badly. Carmen's version is so cool- with a patchwork bag body and black velvet straps. I've been wandering around the shop for weeks coming up with different versions of my Birdie Sling. Here's what I think I've settled on (for today anyway):

This one will be for the shop, so I want to make another one that I can use Right Away (rather than borrowing it from the shop when I want to use it)! Kinda dorky to make 2 bags, but, a girl has needs. This girl needs a Birdie Sling in gray and metallic Lecien fabric to show off this spring!

Next up is my current favorite shop display. It's bright! fresh! fun! And it has Wee Wonderful's Big Footed Bunny and Space Man, and Melly N' Me's Binkie and Magoo Monkey, all sittin' on the top shelf. I'm pretty sure they party it up after the shop is closed and dark. That monkey looks like Trouble.

And, last, but most certainly not least- it's our longarm! Mom and I both wish we could have it painted bright yellow. That would be rockin'.

That's a table runner I'm finishing up tomorrow.

And that's it for today, kids! We're off to see Slumdog Millionaire. I'm excited, as we don't really get foreign movies at the theatres here in our rural area very often. And I'm gettin' popcorn. for sure.

Huh?

Have I really not updated this blog since December? Oh my- I'm so sorry. I really truly have been thinking about it alot- gotta update! gotta update! Here's what happens though kids... I sit down to write something, and I sit there and sit there, and I write a couple sentences, and then I go back and edit, and edit some more, until I've been sitting there for ages and have only produced one teensy little boring sentence! I've decided to Get Over It. So here we are. I'll try not to be too boring, or too whatever...

So today, I want to tell you some Big News. It's kinda under wraps (but not really)- we got a long arm here at the shop! It's an APQS Millennium! I love the idea of finishing a quilt top and being able to quilt it right away and get it hung up in the shop- all like... voila! a new sample! But, oh my. There is a learning curve. This is one big machine. I'm not very good at it yet. I really give a huge shout out to my long arm quilting friends who've rocked our quilts over the last 3 1/2 years. Seriously girls- Kay (Kay Capps-Cross of Spring Grove, MN), Bobbi (Hugs and Stitches Quilting in West Salem, WI) and Carol (Carol Copsey of LaCrosse, ,WI)- you are amazing! You've always made our quilts look fantastic, and I knew talent and skill went into it, but NOW, I really know what you do! I hope I can be a teensy bit as good as you are someday!

I'll post pictures of the long arm soon. In the meantime, hugs to you my friends!!! Now, go sew something. Or something!

Sue Spargo Workshop

We were excited to welcome Sue Spargo back for her third workshop at Yellow Bird Art, in October. We had a wonderful time making Sue's new Barrel Bag (the pattern isn't out yet, but look for it in the next month or two). The classroom was full of laughter and learning.

Deb and her Barrel Bag in progress.

Student work.
Carissa's bag.

The classroom.

Sue with her trunkshow.

Sue will be back next year, October 3 & 4. We'll be doing her Altered Textile Workshop. Students will applique some of the block ahead of time and then Sue will work with us to embellish with layers and teach about the use of ribbons, fabrics, velvets and wools to make each piece completely unique. The workshop is sure to be a great time and it's filling fast!

Quilts! Quilts! and MORE Quilts!

OH my goodness... do we ever have a ton of quilts! With 3+ years of making shop samples under our belts, we've accumulated quite a collection of quilts! Too many, in fact! That's why we're having a silent quilt auction this Sunday, 12/14/08. Bidding begins at 1pm and ends at 3pm. If you're interested in placing a bid on any of the quilts or quilt tops in the photos, give us a call at 563-538-4350 and describe the quilt (or quilts) you're interested in- we'll give you more information and let you know what the minimum bid is. We're also having a fun holiday open house at the same time- you just can't beat holiday cookies and hot cider on a cold day.

The Mary Engelbreit top, Friends are Flowers in the Garden of Life, is a top only- that means it still needs batting, backing, quilting and binding.

The black/red/cream christmas quilt is a top.

The red and blue quilt is a top.

This purple/lavender oriental print quilt is really gorgeous- I'll be sad to see it go bye-bye.

This quilt, Super Stars, is quilted McTavish style in the cream background. Oh man, is it ever cool.

This one is a top.

Another top.

Oh, Desert Stars- you are so pretty.

Coming up in the next post- 2008 Sue Spargo workshop pictures!

We love spring! And art quilts too!

We're back! Sorry about the long blog absence, dearies! We had the best of intentions for updating the blog more often, but, well... you know how that goes, right? May has been a time of reconnection in many areas as we say hello again to old friends: the sweet old rose outside my door that was saved from a friend's about-to-be-demolished-yard last summer is starting to come back with an abundance of burgundy leaves; the dear customer who's come back to town to enjoy another wonderful summer on the river; finding new life for old pattern favorites with gorgeous new fabrics. Stop in sometime and say hello!

This spring we were excited to display a selection of art quilts by our very talented friend, Carissa Brudos. Carissa finds time to create wonderful, textural art quilts, while working full time as an elementary school art teacher. Here are some of our favorites:



Carissa begins each piece with an original acrylic painting on canvas. She then cuts around the painted image and collages it onto the cotton background. The backgrounds are often layered with various fabrics and the entire piece is then heavily stitched.

She very generously suprised us with a gift of a Yellow Bird piece. It is SO gorgeous, and makes us happy every time we see it hanging in the shop!

Isn't she amazing? Thanks Carissa!

Cuteness We Can't Resist

We're all ga-ga over the new Kokka children's print fabrics. They're 100% cotton upholstery weight fabric and they are seriously too cute. Take a look at this little girl bear... she is so sweet.


And this gingham with little bears picnicking? Adorable!

This one is part of a line called Carmel Town, and it's so funny. The text says things like "A burning hot fried eggs is especially delicious".

We can't wait to make up a little childrens outfit or diaper bag with these. Doncha need some too? We'll have all these Kokka fabrics availabe for sale on our website SOON!

New fabrics... YUM!

We have amazing new japanese fabrics from Kokka in the shop. Amy can't keep her hands off them! We think she's in love.

Here's a sampling of the luciousness...
In the upper left corner is an upholstery weight cotton, then there's a lovely gauzy cotton print by designer Junko Onishi. The blue is linen and it's a gorgous panel by Nani Iro- it would make a great skirt or curtains. And then a cotton sateen print with a lush finish. Oh my!

Here's a close up of another upholstery weight cotton by Junko Onishi. There's a beautiful scattering of silver metallic on the red flower petals. It's delicious. really.

Amy whipped up Cindy Taylor Oates Slouchy Bag pattern in a fun upholstery weight Echino animal print.

In our next post we'll show you some of the Kokka children's novelty print fabrics.

Have a wonderful day!

WOW! We are thrilled with the results of our first ever Quilt Challenge Contest! Last fall we issued a Bird themed challenge to our customers with the goal of helping you to stretch creatively. Each participant was required to purchase a pack of 5 fabrics and had to use some of each fabric in a quilt of their own design. We sold around 40 fabric packs and received 9 completed entries.

Now, let me assure you that the photos don't do the quilts justice. It's been a joy having the quilts hang in the shop for the last month and 1/2.

Without further ado... here are the entries and winners:

"Oriental Beaded Bird" by Mary Borreson of Sparta, WI. Mary won the $150 Viewer's Choice Award.

"Tweet Retreat" by Robin Watson of LaCrosse, WI. Robin won the $150 Bird's Choice Award.

"Three Brown Birds" by Beth Landas of Decorah, IA. Beth won a $75 Viewer's Choice Award.

"Golden Paradise" by Elizabeth McMullen of Richland Center, WI. Elizabeth won a $75 Viewer's Choice Award.

"Feathers, Fowl and Friendships" by Joyce Davis of Desoto, WI.

"Hoot" by Juanita Johnson of Sherman, TX.

"Peggy Rummel" by Robin Harmon of New Albin, IA.

"Tip of the Rooster Tail for the Big Birthday Year" by Marcia Washuta of Boscobel, WI.

"Korean Chickens" by Marilyn Zezulka of New Albin, IA.

Thank you to all of our Challenge participants!