Monday, April 4, 2011

Have a Heart!






































Several weeks ago I received a handful of emails from Denmark and they were all looking for the "Heart" fabric from the Paradise Garden line. What was happening in Denmark that was creating such a demand for a fabric from several seasons back? I finally learned that there is a talented young clothing designer, Celine Hallas, who was featuring the heart on her refreshing series of little girls dresses!

So, her fans were searching all sources to find the illusive fabric. You can see more of her wonderful work at her blog, Strawberry Flavor. You can have Google translate it into English. Not only is the clothing colorful and fun, but the photographs are stunning, as you can see!







































I get many requests for fabrics from past lines. Sometimes I have some in my collection to share, but not always. Even I run out of some designs, so if you see something you like on your vendors shelf today, it is best to buy it before it's too late... and buy lots of it!

But the lack of the "perfect" fabric never stops the creative sewer! It simply forces a new solution. After all, why do we love the old quilts so much? It is because the makers were doing with whatever they had on hand and the results were often odd, but fabulous!
























So I decided to play with the heart motif and my current line of fabric, Garden Divas. Each heart is placed on one of the Daisy Check fabrics, since checks are a classic design for children's clothing and suggests innocence and joy.

























I added an extra outline around each heart to add definition and sometimes a little contrast or drama, too.
























Each combination has it's own mood and attitude. But each group is quite feminine and could easily be used for any young girls's accessories... bedding, curtains, quilts, etc.

























I love red, yellow and pink together, so the red checks really speak to me. This combination is especially effective with the repeat of the dragonfly motif in both prints.


























Symetrical prints are well suited to the heart shape. I tried to fussy cut the print to echo the movement of the heart. The Lively Silhouette fabric had several design groupings to focus on and the Iris and Bleeding Hearts really fill that space nicely.

























The abundance of flowers and critters would also make fitting elements for your Easter decor... table runners, napkins and placematts, too. I hope these hearts have given you a few new ideas for using those "personality" prints.

My sewing machine was just tuned and cleaned and I'm ready to sew! So let's go!

10 comments:

LuLu said...

Howdy,
Boy, sure wish I could sew - these are so cute. Great designs and colors (as usual)!

BTW, I'm having my 100th blog post giveaway - if you know any Altered Book artists or Art Journalers please share with them!

Have a great week.

Peace,
Mary Lou 'LuLu'
www.lulu-too-beaucoup.blogspot.com

kateuk said...

Lovely designs.
You are absolutely right about fabric- when you see some good stuff, just buy it:doesn't matter how large your stash is, you may never see that design again and every piece of fabric eventually finds the other fabrics it needs to be made into something- it is always such fun finding the right fabrics for a project, matching up pieces that were purchased years apart that go together as if made to so so.

GerryART said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GerryART said...

Yikes! blogger is having it's way with me.

Every one of these 'hearts' are just toooo cute!
Makes me want to jump up and begin designing one of my own.
Thanks for the lift.
Hugs,
Gerry

Melissa P said...

Oh, my! Too much! All of it is just too much cuteness. The hearts on checks would be a great block to repeat for a girl's quilt. Ah, what to do with so many inspiring visual treats and so little time.

Rachaeldaisy said...

I heart these hearts!!! The heart shape emphasises those beautiful curves you have in your patterns

Anonymous said...

The hearts you have presented with current fabric are super..... great for shops to post and get the "young folks" sewing. Thanks

Dorthe K said...

The hearts are absolutely lovely!! And thanks for paying attention to Celine's Strawberry Flavor - I think she gets the very best out of your fabric:-)

Villa Ko said...

Lovely dresses that is :-)
Jette / Villa Ko / Denmark

Linda Teufel said...

Adorable.love new heart solutions