Hawthorne Threads Blog

Holiday Gift Idea, a Simple Handbag with Subtle Elegance

 

If you've not yet stumbled upon sisters Kim and Kris of the DIY Dish, I highly recommend checking out their crafty site. We were introduced to them through Patricia of Art Gallery fabrics, whose fabric was featured in their recent live tutorial for making a basic bag. While the bag only requires two yards of fabric, and the thoroughly straight forward video runs at just under 15 minutes, there is nothing basic at how this bag turns out. The (suprisingly simple) pleating detail, the tied handles, and contrasting fabrics really add nice touches to a quick and easy handbag. The girls made it look so easy, I just had to try it out myself!

 

The fabric featured in the tutorial is from the Dreaming in French collection, which lends a nice sophisticated look to the design. For more of an everyday bag in line with colors I find myself wearing often, I used Calla Lily from Art Gallery's Modern Affair line, paired with Moonbeam from their Nature Elements blender collection. Since I always sew better in the company of friends, and wine, I invited my friend Julie to whip one up with me. She similarly selected prints from the Modern Affair and Blender collections, but went with a warmer color palette.

To give the bag a little more substance, we chose a home decor weight fabric from Vicki Payne's For Your Home Collection. While we're both really pleased with the added body to the bag, the layers of pleating got quite a bit thicker than we had anticipated! I found myself mentally crossing my fingers as I inched along the pleats. But, all turned out well in the end and we each finished the visit with a completed bag without breaking the sewing needle.

If you are looking for a simple handmade gift that even the most novice of sewers can tackle, I highly reommend giving this bag a whirl. The ladies in your life will love it.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving with food, family and friends!

Rummaging Through Remnants and a Rummage Sale, of Sorts

We have quite the towering pile of remnants here. While that certainly comes in handy when school crafting projects arise for our kids, we have more than enough for our two and their friends. Okay, lets be honest.  We could probably feather their school in fabric scraps, much like this one my kindergarten son and I made for a collaborative wall mural turkey .

A few dozen feather cut outs, construction paper, and some packaging tape, and we have ourselves a pretty feather that would make any turkey proud. I say that, of course, without an ounce of mommy bias.

 

So, please help our towering mountain of remnants shrink to a more manageable sized mole hill. Our Scrap Packs are now on sale for $9.50 each. They consist of 2 yards by weight of fabric remnants, ranging in size from just under a 1/2 yd to an 1/8 yd so you get quite a nice sampling of the designer fabrics found in our shop. We separate them into three palettes of cool, fresh, and warm colors. The bundles are really terrific for scrappy quilts, patchwork clothing, home decor, and of course all of your crafting projects. Enjoy!

Cloud 9 Organic Fabric Coming Soon to Hawthorne Threads!

 

We are so excited about Cloud 9 Fabrics newest collection Nature Walk, previewed this fall at Quilt Market. The designs are from co-founder Michelle Engel Bencsko, one of just a handful of women pioneering a trend toward organic cottons in the world of quilting, apparel, and home decor textiles. Recognizing the need for eco-friendly designs in a thriving industry, Michelle and her partner Gina Pantastico offer collections that are 100% certified organic by the GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). I encourage you to read more about the conscious efforts of Cloud 9 fabrics here.

 

On to the collection! This little grouping features fresh, modern prints with a dash of some paper cut botanicals that would make Henri Matisse proud.

Here are some pillows done up with a bit of the selvege for detail, courtesy of Cloud 9

Finally, as Nature's Walk will be their premier price sensitive collection, the line will be a little easier on your pocket at $11.99/yd. Now featured in our Coming Soon section, you may sign up to receive notification as soon as Nature's Walk hits our doorstep. Looking forward to it!

The Four "C's" of Parisville, a Gem of a Collection from Tula Pink

As many might remember from a previous post, I'm rather fond of Parisville, the newest collection from Tula Pink. C'est vrais, J'aime cette collection beaucoup. In fact, I love anything that offers an opportunity to speak French. I can't say that Charlie shares my particular enthusiasm, but he's putting up with my "frenglish" for now. Please allow me to explore the reasons this collection is such a gem.

The Four "C's" of Parisville

1. Chic. Could a collection celebrating the over-the-top elegance of Marie Antionette not have this quality?
2. Colorful. If you connect the dots on the selvege, so to speak, you'll see there are in fact 35 beautifully saturated colors. The misty moisty lilac, the pungent pomegranate, and the mint green give the collection life with such a bubbly effervescence, you can almost hear the champagne flowing and the dessert trays being ushered in. 
3. Cheerful. You can't help the smile that crawls across your face. The fabrics just radiate unabashed cheerfulness.
4. Clever. It's not often we come across a collection with such cheek. Tula Pink cleverly captures the intrigue of the infamous Queen of France with bold color and design, but also with the hidden details found within. I find it rather like the Highlights Magazine my toddlers get in the mail, where you have to find the hidden pictures within the scene. Perhaps that's part of the appeal as well - the collection speaks to both little and big girls alike.

I'll leave you with some shots of her booth at Quilt Market. Tres chic indeed!

For a better look at those quilts in the back, take a peek at the quilter behind the masked faces, and her behind the scenes making of these twin beauties.

Be sure to check out Tula's post as well about putting together such a fab booth!

Market Sneak Peek, Sanctuary by Patty Young

Patty Young debuted her newest collection, Sanctuary, at Houston's Quilt Market last week. The collection features clean lines and colors, in two refreshing color palettes.

 
Here is a peek of the turquoise blue, lime green, and gray colorway

 
  A close up of the warm chocolate brown, orange sherbet, and raspberry colorway

 

Here is Patty's fun booth at Quilt Market (borrowed from her blog as I somehow neglected to get a full shot?!)

The collection will consist of 27 designs printed on premium cotton shirting fabric. As the fabric is quite supple with a great drape, and slightly lighter weight than regular medium weight quilting cotton, the collection will be particularly great for clothing, but durable and soft enough for home decor pieces.

 

 

Charlie and I always look forward to seeing Patty at Market, and can't wait for Sanctuary to arrive, due out late December.

Please feel free to sign up in our Coming Soon section if you'd like to know as soon as this collection hits our doorstep.Lots more scenes from the show on the way!