Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hey ladies!!

How's your holiday going? A Monday off work always comes in handy right?

Well, I wish I'd knew what that looks like! Holidays don't apply to me when it comes to designing my next collections, choosing the colors, drawing, creating new patterns, writing, making samples, and getting done everything that's on the everlasting to-do list tattooed in my head! 

But oh well, I'm so passionate about what I do (and designing has to be my favorite stage!), that I almost don't mind skipping the holiday this time...

I wanted to thank you all for your lovely comments on my booth at Market, besides creating something appealing and inspiring for the shops, I really have YOU gals in mind too when I think about the whole display... So it fills me with joy to know that you actually like it! 

But hey! The booth is not everything. This time around we decided to step it up a notch and go for the showroom! 

Now imagine this: you have a 10x10 feet white cubicle ready to be filled up with whatever you want and however you want it, with the challenge that it MUST make your fabrics look absolutely stunning. Sounds like quite a task, right? 

After days and days of thinking and raw-sketching (well, reaaaally raw I must confess), this is what we came up with, hope you like it!

Voila! How do you like it so far? The entire showroom was like a tribute to my Paradise collection... the whole concept of it was to make a mirror image using the opposite colorways (those quilts are twins!), and I personally think we executed pretty well... What do you think?

This is the "Sunrise" colorway...

Aaaand, the Sunset...

And last but not least, this is me looking picture-ready trying to match the prettiness of the showroom!

What do you think? Your feedback to me is sooo important!

Oh and by the way, Paradise will be available in August (just in case you were wondering when you could put your super crafty hands on that fabric!) so be sure to check out your local quilt shop!

A bunch of exciting projects are coming up, so be prepared to see some interesting stuff going on here at Art Gallery...

Back to work now!

Love,

Pat.

Hey everyone!

I'm just back from the beautiful (and surprisingly warm!) city of Minneapolis, where, as you probably all know, the Spring Quilt Market was held. 

All of you that were there will mostly agree that this was one of the Minneapolis shows with the most attendance, right? It was CRAAAAZY! From dawn til dusk setting up the booth, making sure there were enough catalogs and brochures (those just seemed to vanish into thin air!), shaking hands, walking around, talking and talking about my fabrics, patterns, kits, introducing my new collections, and on top of that, looking pretty for the pictures! 

So, despite the seriously sore feet (note to self: run out of band- aids. Need to get more) and the lack of sleep, I totally managed to have the most fun in this show, and I hope you had the best time too!

But since I know you couldn't all be there, I took a ridiculous amount of pictures for you girls to see what you missed... so, without further adieu, I'm proud to present the Spring 2010 Art Gallery Booth!

What do you think? I presented my Naturella, Filigree and Sugar collections in every way possible: pillows, quilts, cute little girl dresses, clothing, handbags, framed fabric,  even slippers!

I was thinking about how to describe this pillow until the lovely girls from Quilt Magazine beat me to it and named it "The Cabbage Pillow"! (now that I look at it... it really does look like a cabbage!

A little peek on my new blender... because everyone loves dots... OVAL ELEMENTS!

But it wasn't all about the fabric; of course I had to include my new line of mini sewing and quilting patterns, along with the regular-size ones, which also got new great additions like the Paris bag and the Monaco! 

It was all very pretty, but was it market-show-crazyness resistant? You bet!

Here's the Art Gallery crew in the middle of the action: 

My son Alex was in the zone!!

And how can I forget my thread palette for Signature? Angie took awesome shots of the spools:

And this was my happy  I-love-my-booth-I-love-my-work-team face:

How do you like it so far? And this is only part one... I still have the showroom pics! (I did warn you I took an immense quantity of pictures)

So stay tuned, more Quilt Market Spring 2010 coverage coming soon!

Love,

Pat.

To SCHOOLHOUSE, I mean!

I'm really glad to officially invite all you shop owners to my TWO Schoolhouse sessions at this Spring Market! Take notes:

• The first one is sponsored by BREWER, it's called "Merchandising and design trends from my recent trip to Paris", sounds exciting, right? I will be talking (15 minutes) about how to convey a powerful message with simple changes on your displays, what is beneath new styles and colors, fabrics, and threads... It will be an awesome Power Point presentation with lots of pictures to see!!! Go check it out at Room 212 A from 2:45 to 3:00 pm!

• For the second one, I have to basically use teletransportation to be at Room 212 B by 3:05 to 3:35 which is when "Design your world with fabrics" begins. For 30 minutes, I'll be talking about how my new way of quilting and unique prints will attract young costumers while keeping your base motivated... 

Interested? Well I decided to make it even a little bit more interesting, by doing AMAZING GIVEAWAYS! so now you're warned, are you gonna miss it??

I'm so excited about seeing all of you there so please make sure you make some room in your probably super busy schedules to see me!...

I know you can't wait (neither can I!), so to make the wait seem a bit shorter, I'm showing you a little preview of my new handbag pattern, MONACO.

And this is only one of many!

I repeat: Are you gonna miss it??? Hope not!

Meet you there!

Love, 

Pat.

Hey everyone!

If you had some time to watch TV this week, you might have bumped into the new IPAD commercial... (yeah I know, you want one. Who doesn't??) I watched it and just sighed at its goooorgeous imagery, the music, the colors, could it be more perfect?... the way only Apple knows how to do it!

Well if you haven't, I highly suggest you watch it! 

Here it is: 

http://www.apple.com/ipad/gallery/#ad

Just beautiful, huh?

In case you were wondering, no, I'm not being payed by Apple to say this, and no, I don't have any shares in Apple or anything like it! 

Have you noticed anything in particular on the ad??... Something, perhaps like... in minute 0:07 and 0:08?? Something that left you hypnotized, fascinated, mesmerized, or say just... SPELLBOUND? 

You got that right!! 

The MIDNIGHT BUBBLES fabric from my Spellbound collection is the latest star in the new IPAD commercial! I feel like a proud mommy seeing her "baby" jump to fame on the tv screen! 

Everything started tis morning, when my very athletic assistant Angie was running on the treadmill at the gym, while watching some tv (the usual stuff)... when the Ipad commercial started... and all of a sudden, BAM! She almost fell off the treadmill when she noticed my Spellbound fabric making a special guest appearance! 

She went running back to her house and called, making the announcement like a newsboy shouting the headlines: YOUR FABRIC IS IN THE NEW IPAD COMMERCIAL! YES, I-P-A-D!! 

Well thank god she didn't fell of the treadmill, but I was certainly sooo close to falling off my chair when I heard the news! I didn't even take a sip of my coffee (and trust me, I NEED my coffee!) and sprinted to the computer to see the commercial... and yes, I saw the fabric indeed! I needed to see it to believe it, it's really one the biggest honors I've ever received!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... well let me tell you, an Apple tv commercial is worth a million! I'm really sooo sooo happy and thankful for the recognition, and I just wanted to share it with the world!! 

Back to work now! (okay... I'll just watch it one more time and I promise I get back to work!)

Love,

Pat.

You may be thinking... because I have a great company, because I feel fulfilled with my job; or maybe because I have a good standard of living.

No, absolutely not. The best reason to be happy is because:

I LOVE BEING A MOM AND I HAVE THE BEST SON A MOTHER COULD EVER ASK. Period.

Let me tell you that his card made me cry of happiness! He gave me a beautiful blouse and a flower...

He was always the sun who woke me up, the little one that with just coming into this world and without telling me one word, told me to be a better person for him. I loved to teach him everything that I have learned from my parents and more along the way... I nurtured him, feed his soul and brain love, love and more love. And what do I have in return? Lots of love back for me and my husband; I see an honest man, so dedicated and truthful to his ideals of love and peace like he always says. He taught me to be strong when at 9 years old told me "everything is going to OK mom, I'm going to come out of this", when he saw my eyes so red of crying because he had cancer in one kidney... That is exactly what I dreamed of him!

This is so funny because this post looks like a post about my son, and it is! I am swollen with pride for being his mom. He always gave me SO MUCH that I wanted to give him a little back. I am supposed to do a post about my mother... I couldn't celebrate with her because she's in Argentina. But this post is about her too, because I could not have been a good mom without my mom. She is THE BEST MOM A PERSON COULD ASK FOR...

Alex with my mom at her 82nd birthday

I want to share with you (thank you for being always with me) how happy I am for having such a good son and wish all of you the same happiness for Mother's Day. Having children is to be blessed to a level that only moms can imagine. How was your day yesterday? Did you have a good time with them? Let me know how you celebrated!

I feel that my dreams are totally fulfilled... and my mission accomplished.

Love,

Pat

Have an appetite for new patterns?

Well I hope you do because I have a real banquet for the sewing-hungry!

Quilting and sewing are my life's true passions (probably yours too!). But let's face it; it can be quite hard sometimes when you just begin! I think about myself when I was a teenager going crazy looking at the patterns, trying to follow step by step, a needle here, some thread there, the piping, the lining, the stitching, the interfacing... ("what the heck does BASTING mean??")

So as you can see, I can totally relate to all of you that are just stepping into this marvelous world of sewing, and to those who, between the job, the kids, the house and many others, just don't have the time for complicated, puzzle-looking instructions for complex projects. Soooo... to all of you that are looking for an "express" way to make beautiful things, I bring you my MINI-QUILT and MINI- SEWING PATTERNS!!

These are simpler, easier-to-make projects but with the same clear, detailed instructions as the original patterns, that'll have you becoming a sewing expert in no time! 

Let me introduce you to my first MINI-SEWING PATTERN... ladies and gentlemen... here's THE MAUI BAG!

When I first made this bag, I knew it HAD to become a pattern. It really captures that warm spring-summery feeling we all love; so girly and sophisticated, yet so useful and oh-so simple to make!

It's spacious enough to carry to the beach with all the necessary gear; towel, magazine, sunglasses, sunblock, even a fresh snack... Or you can take it with you to run the daily-basis errands around town, I'm sure you will turn some heads!

Does it look intimidating to make? Sure not! It's just as simple as it is beautiful! And in case you find it a little challenging, the accordion- folded pattern will explain everything step by step with clear-as-water graphics and instructions so you can strut your stuff with your new Maui bag all summer long!

And now give it up for my  MINI- QUILT PATTERN: THE CHIC THROW. 

This is not your typical throw; the innovative design with the twisted knots and the quilted (yes, quilted!) squares, make this throw one truly cutting-edge accessory. 

Add on  these lively, contrasting yet harmonious fabrics to the mix and make a throw that not only keeps your feet warm but keeps your house super stylish!

What better way to bring some color and originality into your home? It also sounds like a good way to introduce yourself to quilting...it has some quilting technique into it but it's not one of those big scary ones! So why don't you give it a try? I have no doubt you will amaze yourself (and loved ones!) when you discover the gorgeous results!

I'm super excited and proud of these patterns, I hope you have the most fun with them!

I'll be launching these at Market, so they will available at your local store & online around June... can't wait! 

So don't be shy and drop me a line telling me what you think... do they look tempting? 

More MINI-PATTERNS coming soon... so stay tuned!

Love,

Pat.