Any Croceht or Knitting Fans Around??

I am so, so excited to introduce you to Kristi Simpson, owner and creative genius behind RAKJ Patterns.  Kristi specializes in knitting and crochet patterns, not to mention she has the cutest baby pictures around!  Here it is from her Bio:

I am madly in love with my hubby--he's the ultimate best friend. Together we have 5 children (15, 14, 12, and 3 year old twins)....We homeschool and do things our own crazy way!
As far as crochet and knitting goes...I'm addicted! I love to create things and share what I make; and yarn....you can never ever never have too much...my husband thinks other wise but my stash continues to grow..ha
But seriously, I love to make photography props and personal items alike. The final product just dazzels me in pictures...I say "I made THAT?" And I'm hoping that others will have the same reaction when YOU make your own item from my patterns!

So, without further ado, here are some of Kristi's gorgeous patterns from the shop:


See what I mean about those cute babies?  I love it!
Anyhow, a huge welcome to Kristi and and even bigger THANK YOU from me! I am so honored and excited to have Kristi here!

Looking for An Easy Quilt Pattern??

I am so, so thrilled to introduce you to Jude from Little Louise Designs.  I have nothing but admiration and appreciation for this gal.  Here’s why:

All Those Patterns is brand new at this stage of the game.  I know it will grow and be wonderful, but at this point, I have a lovely website and that’s about it.  I sent out emails to several of my favorite designers and Jude emailed back, got her account set up, got her patterns all ready to go…. within a few days.  Now that what I call a “Go Getter!”  I admire that so very much and I can’t say what it means to me personally!  Thank you Jude!

And if that’s not enough, Jude is also an incredibly talented quilting pattern designer.  She is the resident expert on the easy quilt pattern, as well as the precut quilt pattern. Now, on to the actual patterns, which is what you probably all wanted to see anyhow, rather than listening to me gush about a fabulous lady who took a chance on my site…  Here are a few that I happen to adore.

 Beautiful!!  And many of her patterns come from precuts, which makes for a simple quilt with great results.  She has lots more you can find HERE.  Enjoy!

Designer Feature: Centsational Girl

I'm sure many of you have come across Kate's fun blog, Centsational Girl.  I check 3 blogs every day and this is one of them.  I love this gal and her creative spunk.  She does the DIY thing, but it never looks DIY!  Her creations are always beautiful, classy, and they will save you money! 

She just posted all about sweater pillows and I thought it was perfect with Fall and Winter coming up.  Best part, she made these from sweaters found at Goodwill!!  This gal is seriously amazing!  Way to go Kate!

via Centsational Girl

So, if you haven't already, go check Kate's blog out.  I KNOW you will be inspired!! 

Have a great weekend!!

Designer Spotlight: Tula Pink

I really wanted to introduce you to the designer Tula Pink. I always have to read this girls blog posts because she is pretty much hilarious. Her sense of humor is right up my alley!

And her talent is amazing. Seriously, check out these shoes she is selling.





AND... her fabric designs are even more up my alley. She is one talented cat. Funny thing... I looked and looked and I can't tell you her real name! She must value her anonymity. That, or I am really blind. Or... maybe her name is Tula Pink. I don't know. Anyone have an answer here?

Her latest collections is plume. Check this stuff out!



I love this stuff!! She has several other fabric lines as well.

My next favorite is Full Moon Forest. Lovely!



Here's some info from her Bio:

I graduated from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, with one degree in Graphic Design and one in Illustration. It was fun but I was tired of being broke so I decided to get a job. I worked briefly as an Exhibit designer for Museums in L.A. and when that became too quiet I relocated to the music industry. After about 6 years of that my ears began to bleed so I left California and went in search of a new home. The plan was to move as far east as I could get without renting a boat and work my way back west until I found a place I liked.

I now live in a small mid-western town where my closest neighbor is roughly four miles away. I have a cat that I never see and a lawn that requires more attention than the cat.

My main function in life is fabric design. I live for it. Through all of the moving and mind changing one thing was constant; fabric and sewing. I designed my first collection in my living room, after work and on weekends. The day I left my job in L.A. I sent it into Moda Fabrics and by the time I got to Albuquerque it was in production. A few years and several collections have passed since then.

Today I work with Free Spirit Fabrics designing not just for quilting but for a whole lifestyle of DIY-ers with a passion for saying things like “Hey. look what I made” or “don’t sit on that, it’s still wet”.

Seeing my name on that selvage was the only thing that had been missing from my professional life. So here I sit, an exiled rock princess on a throne of bolts and bobbins. This space is where I tell my story and share whatever there is to share about my world.

See what I mean about hilarious!? So, now you know a bit about this fantastic designer.

Designer Spotlight: Jody Taylor

Riley Blake Designs: Nantucket Summer

Over at the Riley Blake blog, they did a spotlight on one of their fabulous new designers, Jody Taylor.

I thought I would pass along the wonderful intro they did for her.

June is turning out to be a month full of new arrivals for designer Jody Taylor.

In addition to the launch of her debut fabric line with Riley Blake Designs, Jody and her husband Jon are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first baby. Both are due any time now!

Jody has spent most of the past ten years working as a product designer in the scrapbooking industry. Her true soft spot, however, lies in creating home décor projects, and textiles have always played an important part in that. Three years ago, she married into a quilting family and her eyes were opened to the array of contemporary fabrics popping up in the marketplace. Visiting quilt shops soon became an addictive habit. Before she knew it, she was joining in on quilting projects and had caught the bug! At the encouragement of her mother- and sister-in-law, she decided to put together some ideas for a fabric collection of her own.

Riley Blake Designs... Is that not the cutest bonnet ever?!

Nantucket Summer is her second collection, but her first with Riley Blake Designs. It was inspired by a desire to capture the bright, happy colors of summer. Jody says it’s a perfect fit for quilts, apparel, and of course, home décor. In fact, she’s using it for her baby’s nursery, which she couldn’t be more excited about!

Whether creating fabrics or patterns, Jody says her goal is to offer simple, eye-catching designs that a quilter can use to make her house feel like home—the place where hip meets homespun.

Welcome, Jody!!

You can see more right HERE.

Up and Coming: Weekends by Erin McMorris

It's time for another fabric line that I love. What can I say? I love a lot of fabric lines. But this one has a special place in my heart. Why? Because of the adorable fabric with bicycles on it, of course!

This fabric line is called Weekends and I can see why. It just makes me feel a little more carefree and relaxed. The designer is Erin McMorris and this line was created for Free Spirit.

All of these wonderful images were found at the Free Spirit website. On the site, this is what they wrote about Weekends:

"Weekends is a fresh new collection of designs inspired by sunny relaxing days, with time to garden, bike or picnic in the park. Combining hand-drawn flowers with precise patterns and dots create designs that are summery and modern. The palettes, with butter yellow, tomato red, lavender and leaf green will take you from dawn to dusk. Enjoy your Weekends!"

I love this stuff! What would you do with this amazing line?

Feature Fabric: Gypsy Garden

More fabric to love! I spotted this fabric at the Windham Site. It as called Gypsy Garden and I don't think there could be a better name. I love the authentic, primitive feel to the fabrics. I can't help but imagine summer dresses and aprons! I would love to grab up some of this!

The designers name is Genevieve Gail and what a talented designer.

What would you do with 5 yards of this stuff?

Designer Spotlight: Jenean Morrison

I love finding new designers in the fabric industry, and Jenean Morrison is a new favorite. She does lots of surface design work, but what we are really interested in is her fabric.

She designs for Free Spirit and has designed 3 lines for them, so far. Here is the one that caught my eye. California Dreamin' was released last August and is tough to find. If anyone knows where to score some of this, let me know, please!

Can't wait to see what is next from this talented designer.





I especially love the picture with all the fabrics bundled together. I can really see where these could go! Best of luck to Jenean!

Designer Spotlight: Valori Wells

Valori Wells "Nest"

I'm excited to introduce you to Valori Wells. Of course, you may already know her work. She has designed for Free Spirit for several years. But maybe you don't know about her new line, Nest.

I stumbled across her BLOG and fell in love with this new fabric line. It is sold through FreeSpirit and is just beautiful! Her blog has several free patterns available and has updates on her designs.

Here are some pictures for you to ooh and ahh over.

Free Pattern for this quilt! Click HERE.

Yards and Yards Mix-Up

Well, what do you think? I, for one, will be watching what Valori Wells comes up with next. Very best of luck to her! Thanks for the amazing fabrics.

Up and Coming: Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow

Today in my hunting, I came across this collection by Joel Dewberry. There are 3 Colorways in this collection, but I have a huge problem. Which one do I like most? They are all so nice. I think I'm leaning toward option 1. I am really loving the orange/aqua thing lately. What about you?

Joel Dewberry Sunny Days

Joel Dewberry Cool Stream

Joel Dewberry First Bloom

And did you notice? Joel Dewberry was used in my very first post. Yep. Those great little birds are his.

Designer Spotlight: Josephine Kimberling

Another reason I love this industry.... the people! Seriously, some of the most talented, yet down to earth people I have ever known are in the fabric industry. Maybe it's because we are all artists at heart and it's fun to see others who share that love.

So with that, I am happy to introduce you to Josephine Kimberling. I love her new line Glam Garden, and requested press information about it. Josephine was kind enough to email me back herself and send the info I needed. What's not to love about that?!

Josephine Kimberling

I love her statement from her website:

"Art and creativity have been a consistent thread throughout my life – from daydreaming about make-believe adventures as a child, to writing poetry, and experimenting with new creative mediums. I’ve always needed to express myself creatively – to get my voice out through my hands. I distinctly remember being five years old and talking about what I was going to be “when I grew up” and deep inside knowing being an artist was the calling of my heart.

I started shopping vintage at an early age. I was drawn to the offbeat stylings from the ‘60s-‘70s – the unique colors mixed with such magnificent patterns. Everything I came home with had a pattern on it, or came in some bright color! (And at like $2-$4 a piece, how could a girl resist?) I was definitely drawn to the one of a kind and enjoyed expressing myself creatively through fashion.

Growing up in the sunshine of laid back California, I moved to the urban northwest in the late 1990s to attend the Art Institute of Seattle, where I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design & Illustration. This eventually led me to a job as a textile designer for Nordstrom shortly thereafter. It was here that my artistic passions for fashion and pattern came together and flourished.

Creating surface pattern is my true passion. I enjoy mixing patterns together for unique combinations that fit a certain mood or personal style. I enjoy the detail involved in creating an intricate paisley, and how different color combinations can truly transform a look. I seek to create patterns that utilize current trends but with my own distinctive touch. I love peering over the horizon, fixing my mind on the next thing. I love discovering or creating a new color story or pattern direction. It’s what keeps my mind fresh, keeps my heart beating a mile a minute, and propels me forward.

I’m drawn to my own perspective of beauty – a beautiful flower, sunset or frozen tree in nature, a genuine smile or heartfelt talk with a good friend, to things more forward like viewing runway shots from fashion week or being inspired by the color stories and amount of turbulent creativity that exists in that world.

I combine my love of modern style and eclectic prettiness into my signature style creation of prints. Having worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years, I have created hundreds of patterns for Nordstrom’s BP clothing line as well as designed my own prints for sale worldwide through a well-known art representative in London. Along with my work in the fashion industry, I have designed stationery and gift-wrap products for one of the most well-known card manufacturers in the world – Hallmark.

I currently live in beautiful Seattle, Washington with my husband Jake – who is not only wonderful but also my best friend and so supportive of me and my creative ambitions."

And now for some Glam Garden eye candy!!

I can't wait to get my hands on this wonderful fabric! I can just see aprons or skirts or hair bows or maybe even some fancy covered boxes like I made HERE! On Josephine's website she has a list of websites that carry this fabric. You can find her list right HERE.

Best of luck to Josephine. I can't wait to see where this designer goes next!!