Letters & Numbers

Seeew...I heart hand-written letters. As a 7th grader, I can remember passing notes in the hall...to my then...."crush." We would fold up the note in multiple triangle folds in some kind of weird oragami and include phrases such as "2 Good 2 Be = 4 Gotten." Relax. It was perfectly innocent. I wasn't giving up a throne or anything. I wore an acid washed denim jacket (this was the 80's when Tiffany reigned supreme in malls nationwide), jelly bracelets and put my collar up. Today I would probably embellish that jacket with my "bedazzler." Later on, I would learn to cherish the many weekly hand written letters from my grandma when I moved to Orlando in my 20's. She would always include one of her luscious recipes and I treasure them to this day. After she passed away last month, I pulled the letters out and re-read every one. It made me feel a thousand times better. She had seeew much to say.

There is something about the written word on paper. Forget email. You can't pull up an old email and feel as powerful a connection as you can with the hand written word. Within those etchings that grace a page, there is history, passion, connection and...yes, sometimes a scandal. A scandal much like the...oh I don't know....the greatest romance of the 20th century? 

"I've read that you've kept a collection of letters." 

  

I am very much looking forward to Madonna's W./E. Can you imagine being in love with someone who gives up the throne for you? Talk about PRESSURE! The public can be extremely fickle when it comes to the spotlight. We put people, places and things on pedestals and when any one of them do not meet our expectations, we begin to tear down. Build up...to tear down with rumors and negativity without knowing the facts. 

But here's a fact for you...consider "Boughs of Holly" my bi-weekly love letter...to you. And just know that the reason it takes me seeew long is because I am using this! 

And here is another fact. Whether it is a traditional print such as the new "Etchings" collection by 3 Sisters or a retro print such as "Hometown" by Sweetwater....let's be clear....letters, numbers, and the color grey (in a varitey of color combinations) are "in."  Don't believe me? 

I love grey. It's one of those neutral colors that can be combined with a variety of other colors. Pictured above is our "Market Tote" bag sample using the twill fabrics from the "Hometown" collection that my mom selected. In case you didn't know, last year the gals from Sweetwater asked their blog readers to submit their hometown for the trio's "secret project" (which we now know was Hometown). The end result was fabric (both cotton and twill) with 1000 cities...making up their blog reader's hometown! I see two of mine...Portland and Orlando! Can you see yours? The collection has colors with names like Stop Sign Red, Sky Blue and Bicycle Yellow. 

Here's a project (below) that the "Mothership" is putting together using these four fabrics. I love the blue and grey combination. The project is from Sweetwater's "Simple Home" book which is available now and has plenty of projects to make every room in your house feel like a home with handmade items! It's a sensuous book and be watching for an upcoming special announcement when I have some of the projects back and photographed. 

Of course, it's not only blue that can go with grey. Here's a peak at my famous 1/2yd bouquets filled with the Stop Sign Red and Bicycle Yellow. Love.

What's that in the background? Ohhhhhhh....do you want to see it? Remember how I said "House" patterns were in earlier? 

It's called "The Neighborhood" and it uses one (1) Moda Layer Cake. We of course used "Hometown" and we have kits available by clicking here which include everything you need to make the project as shown. At just 43"x48", the project makes a sensuous wall hanging or delightful throw. Our quilter Monica did a fantastic job with the quilting as always. I can see this being done in quite a few styles...Christmas comes to mind. But what do I know...I'm just the stock boy. 

What about this? Do you like? 

It's called "Lighthouse" and guess what...it uses a Jelly Roll! Talk about a nice simple pattern that anyone could make! It's always good to have "simple" when you want to make something with immediate satisfaction. We have kits available by clicking here.

Next up.... "Intersection" which also uses a Moda Layer Cake. Did you know that the layer cakes have 42 pre-cut 10" squares? Keep in mind that prints are sometimes doubled up if the collection does not have 42 prints in it. Just a little knowledge from yours truly...to you. I personally love the "Intersection" quilt out of all of them. It's a versatile pattern and like "The Neighborhood" it can translate well to quite a few other styles! And that's what makes a great pattern. 

Do you like Oil Cloth? Oil Cloth can be used to make bags, aprons, chair cushions and placemats. The possibilities are endless. We have a variety of Oil Cloth throughout the Shoppe so be sure to ask our gals the next time you are in. Or...ask me. I'll give you a tour. I love these two prints from Cosmo Cricket's "Circa 1934."  Remember...numbers and letters are in! 

Here are the cottons. Love these prints!

If you visit the Shoppe, you'll find Sweetwater and our other retro styled fabric over in Thoroughly Modern Holly. This  section of our Shoppe is located outside of the main Shoppe and down the hall of our building. It is open from 12pm-5pm, Tues. through Friday and on Saturday from 10am-5pm. During Special Events, it is open 10am-5pm each day of the event. You can also find all of the items discussed today on our website.

Here's to some creative inspiration! ~ Brian

Comments

[Launa]

I'll be watching the game. Must confess I'm not a big Madonna Ciccone fan either, but I LOVE online shopping at Hollyhill and reading Brian's blog about all the new gorgeous fabric, etc. as it arrives.

[Terri Staats]

Brian? STOCK BOY?? I don't think so!
Great post! I'm loving everything Sweetwater these days. The projects look great and I can't wait to get up for more fabric. See you soon ~ Terri

[Mary]

PS - How do we 'like' you on Facebook? I don't see a 'like' button.

[Mary]

Is the pattern for Neighborhood available separately? Too cute!!!

[Brian]

Nancy...hello! Thank you for your wonderful comment! I don't know why you haven't seen our blog before...where ya been? Ha ha ha ha ha. We are glad you enjoyed the post and have found a new fan. Be sure to stop by often! And p.s. thank you for sharing your own memories! ~ Jan & Brian

[Nancy]

OH!!! I forgot to tell you that though I had never heard of W.E. ... I can't wait to see it. What a beautiful story it is going to be. Thank you!

[Nancy]

I absolutely loved this entire post. Truly, everything about it! I was especially touched by the fact that you still have your grandmothers letters. I have a recipe box filled with hand written recipes by both my grandma's hand and my mom's hand...each and every one cherished because they wrote them down for me. I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was just 26 with two toddling daughters back in 1976, but when I read the recipes, it's like she is here with me as memories of her kitchen and me in a 'way to big' apron helping her make her Chili Sauce that she love so much and made a ton of every year. Ah...memories. I had also saved every single letter my hubby wrote to me from Vietnam in 68'/69' along with a few 'reel to reel' tapes we used and boy did we think we had gone high tech with those, LOL. But they were all lost to mold when we unknowingly store them under the mobile home we lived in the first year he was out of the Marines. But still, thank you for bringing to mind such cherished thoughts with this post. And oh my gosh, the quilts, both 'Intersection' and 'Neighborhood' and the fabric collections you used in them...beyond gorgeous! I've been looking at them over and over again, getting that 'I've gotta have this' tab stuck firmly in my head, along with one huge question...Why oh why have I never seen your blog before??? I know you can't answer that but still, I can't help but wonder. Well, you in my fav's now so I'll be back. Thanks again, for a delightful read and lots of eye candy to enjoy on a cold, snowy day in Northern Utah. Big Hugs...