I HEART Patterns by Annie + #SewPINK + {GIVEAWAY}

October 14, 2019October 14, 201921 Comments

Hey hey!! I’m the next stop on the #SewPINK blog tour. And honestly, when Annie Unrein asked me to be a part of this #SewPink Initiative, I didn’t hesitate. I said yes because the fact is that I super love Annie and I’d happily do anything for her. And because Annie is one of those people who lets you in, you connect with her instantly, there is no stopping our friendship.

As many of you know, beyond hanging out at Crimson Tate the fabric store, I design fabric for Windham Fabrics. And from the very first collection, Annie volunteered her talents and time to make objects from my designs.

From By Annie’s Catch-All Caddy in Succulents fabric:

To the MJ Tote in Literary fabric:

And now The Out and About Bag made from my latest collection coming in January 2020, Pencil Club:

Here’s a look at the stack of fabric.

I’m so honored to know Annie, and that she makes such wonderful things from my fabrics is a bonus. When she asked me to be a part of her tour, I said yes without really giving it much consideration. But as I sat to reflect on the expectation of this commitment and the amazingness that is Annie Unrein, I was stunned. I am in awe of her commitment to bring awareness to simple acts that can help save people’s lives. And who is doing that in and for our community? And who is doing that for themselves?

Here’s what I know. We are a community of encouragers, creatives, doers, inspiration seekers, sewers, and more. And a lot of that doing and seeking and encouraging often doesn’t leave room or time for the doing of basic needs like taking care of ourselves. When was the last time you went to the doctor? Am I talking to only myself right now? At the core of what ByAnnie Patterns is charging us with is a simple act. Basic awareness of our own bodies, taking the time to have regular check-ups, and a call to recognizing our own worth. How beautiful.

I’m reminded of the beautiful song written by musician India Arie that gets to the core of who we are and encapsulates our worth. Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ism8dBjxKvc

I am light, I am light

[Verse 1]
I am not the things my family did
I am not the voices in my head
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside
I am light, I am light (x2)

[Verse 2]
I’m not the mistakes that I have made
Or any of the things that caused me pain
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind
I am light, I am light (x2)

[Verse 3]
I am not the color of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not my age
I am not my race
My soul inside is all light, all light
Oh light, all light

[Verse 4]
I am divinity defined
I am the God on the inside
I am a star, a piece of it all
I am light

Annie’s call is definitely simple.

Keep your wits about you. Recognize your worth. And, get yourself to the doctor, especially if you haven’t been in a while. It’s important. If you need resource and information on understanding how breast cancer effects us, there are great resources on finding screening programs here:

Now onto what I created! I wanted to make something loving and of course I wanted to use my new fabric collection coming early next year, Pencil Club.

Using the sweet Heart Block Tutorial I created, I set my intention to make a pillow using Pencil Club and using ByAnnie’s Soft and Stable for the interfacing. You can find that tutorial here.

Here are my fabric choices including pencils, erasers, and pencil shavings plus a few Artisan [shot] cottons by Windham fabrics.

I cut a host of squares for the heart and for the back ground, and made four half square triangles. I followed the tutorial as written but changed how I squared the HST. I pulled out my Bloc-Loc 2.5″ HST ruler which made it a snap.

I laid out the blocks on my lightweight interfacing, but this time, I laid them out on point which meant I ended up using 57 background squares, 17 heart squares, and four HST to create the top.

Once it was sewn together, I loosely trimmed away the rugged edge. I trimmed just enough so that I could trim again once quilted. I pinned the top to a piece of Soft and Stable, ByAnnie’s foam interfacing, so that I could quilt it.

Once quilted, I sewed a back using an envelope closure method and VOILA — a cute lil’ pillow was born!

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Thanks for following along. It was a lot of information today.

We’d like to give away a selection of our patterns to our ByAnnie readers! Three lucky winners will receive a few patterns, templates, and fabrics from Crimson Tate. How can you win?!

Pledge to take care of yourself.

That’s it. Oh, wait. I guess you have to give us your information in order for a drawing to happen. Three ways to enter.

Leave a comment here that says “I LOVE ANNIE” or something similar.
Find and follow both Crimson Tate and Heather Givans on Instagram, leaving a comment on both #SewPINK posts. Again, emoting your appreciation for Annie Unrein or someone in your life that helps you step back and take stock and take time for yourself will get you two chances to win.
Sign-up for Crimson Tate email newsletter. You’ll find the link to do so here.

We will draw at the end of October and alert the troops to the winner. Thank you for following along and thank you for being in this awesome community.

Valori Wells’s Murmur for FreeSpirit is Bright and Beautiful {plus three giveaways}

May 23, 2019May 28, 201952 Comments

“Amongst the early morning dew and the rays of sunshine emerge the sounds of summer. The delicate wings of the hummingbird whispering to me – Hello! Good Morning! My heart fills with love and happiness as my garden comes to life with their energy and grace fluttering among the sunflowers. Murmur was inspired by these magnificent creatures and the wonder and delight they bring.” -Valori Wells

My earliest memory of meeting Valori Wells was at the Kansas City Quilt Market in 2011 when I ran into Val walking to the convention center and my friend Lindsay Lefevere said, “Hey!? I know you!?” Lindsay is a big fan, obvy, and in that moment, a friendship was born. With each subsequent quilt market, I have admired Val’s bold choice of color and design. As a fellow printmaker, I love peeking in on her process, inspirations, and layered approach to fabric design. Murmur, this vibrant hummingbird inspired collection, sways me into loving her even more.

When my buddies at FreeSpirit asked me to hop on the Murmur blog tour, I happily accepted. I mean, Grandma Mac (Lois) would not have liked it if I passed up a chance to make something from a fabric collection that celebrates the star of most bird feeders in North America.

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Twenty-four delightfully beachy-colored fabrics are found in Murmur. I paired Val’s work with twelve electric FreeSpirit solids, which truly are my favorite to use plus I added good old Arctic white. I mean, if it’s gonna be beachy, we gotta cool it off with North Pole sashing, y’all. Because FreeSpirit solids coordinate so seamlessly with many of my favorite designers like Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt, and Tula Pink, I can’t stop using them. I’m in love!! The hand is incredibly soft and is the same weight as other FreeSpirit fabrics, which makes me very happy. Nothing is compromised in the making of these babies. If you haven’t used them, I would encourage you to give it a try.

Through a series of trial and error, I came up with a design that incorporated stripes, a ginormous 60-degree ruler that I use in my Succulent Garden quilt pattern, and for fun, I wanted an overall emphasis on vertical design. Here is my process.

First, marvel at Murmur.

Next, coordinate the soft and luxe FreeSpirit solids.

Now, look at them all together, tilting head left then right, squint at some point.

I then separated all of the fabrics into two piles that had equal value and scale and chopped them into .75″ – 3.5″ strips.

Through the magic of the internet, I made a quilt. 😉 I’m not gonna lie, I went through a couple of versions and layouts and landed on what I think is a light and airy design that compliments the brightness of Val’s fabrics.

My quilt obviously celebrates city-dwelling hummingbirds or perhaps the country hummingbirds on vacation in the big city? Across the street from Crimson Tate, the fabric store I hang out at, there is a massive construction project. On the day that I took photos of my Murmur quilt, they were full out digging up utilities in the street. There was no angle that wouldn’t have caught their workings, so I embraced it and kept it in my frame. Now you get to enjoy it, too. I’m happy to report the construction is no longer spilling into the street but rather more contained within the parcel of land that is being developed.

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I love the way the FreeSpirit Mesa (orange) vibrates against the oranges of Murmur. Some might suggest they love the way oranges and yellows of the construction site pairs nicely with Murmur, too.

Big thanks to the people of FreeSpirit fabrics who invited me along for the ride. I love this quilt and plan on using it all summer. #bestsummerever

NOTE: GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER. Now for the nitty gritty. I’ve got THREE things to giveaway! Are you ready? I’ve got a fat quarter bundle of Murmur. I’ve got the entire lot of Murmur as long slim quarters measuring approximately 9″ x 44″, and I’ve got the leftover strips of of both Murmur and FreeSpirit coordinating solids that are already cut into long pieces ready to be sewn. There are probably enough strips to make a lap-size quilt. Thank you to the nice folks at FreeSpirit fabrics for the Murmur and to the lovely Crimson Tate for the FreeSpirit solids. Here are three ways to win!!

Give Crimson Tate on Instagram a follow, like, and comment on the Murmur post telling if you’re a city-dwelling humming bird or a country-dwelling hummingbird. WINNER IS:
Comment on this very blog post with your favorite song to hum. Or if you don’t like humming, tell us the one song that makes you happy. WINNER IS:
Added bonus. Give Heather Givans (that’s me!) on Instagram a follow and see what’s up. I recently started an Instagram documenting the stuffs I’m working on and what other people are making with my fabrics and designs! Big news coming down the pike July 1 and I don’t want you to miss it! In order to be entered, please follow my instagram, like the Murmur quilt post, and tell me what your favorite bird is, it’ll give you a third chance to enter. Be very specific as to the type of bird you love. There may or may not be bonus prizes being awarded for most creative stories about birds told. If you don’t like birds, you’re ineligible to win. Just kidding! Tell me what critters you do like. WINNER IS:

All the bird lovers will enjoy this bird-friendly melody. It’s hilarious. You’re gonna love it.

https://youtu.be/OkHC0XYAKAc

~~Check back here on Tuesday, May 28 to see who won!~~ If you want to know what we’re up to at Crimson Tate, join our email list! We don’t send many emails (I’m the one that writes them which means it doesn’t happen very often), so you don’t have to worry about your inbox being jammed with emails all the time. I do send out awesome news and what is new to the store from time to time and to let you know when we’re celebrating or having a sale. I’d love for you to join in on the fun! Sign up here.

Thanks for reading all the way through. You’re a keeper. I appreciate your time and thank you dearly for being in my creative circle. Have a great holiday weekend.

xoxo,

Heather

Summer Reading Block

April 11, 2019April 10, 20192 Comments

I was thrilled when Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson decided to do another Splendid Sampler book and even more thrilled when they invited me to join the list of designers. In fact, I can remember years ago Sarah Lawson from Sew Sweetness telling me “If Pat Sloan ever asks you to do something, you should because she is a great gal.” And I took Sarah’s advice and jumped right in.

Summer Reading Block

My block is titled Summer Reading. I can imagine no better vacation than one that involves reading for hours on end. I created a quick little block that looks like a messy stack of books. You know that I designed an entire collection of fabric based on books and reading, right? Check out my fabrics here.

Fun news and hot tip. Each book with back ground finishes at the same width. You can make books individually and then decide how you want them to stack on top of each other, creating a new order depending on fabric choice or your need to organize.

I was inspired to put a little block dedicated to books in the Splendid Sampler based on my Personal Library Quilt. I like to imagine everyone’s Splendid Sampler Quilts with cute little bookshelves of their own, sort of like a Free Little Library for your quilt.

Here’s a lil’ photo montage of the interior and exterior of my home plus a free little library in an adjoining neighborhood. My home has always featured books as a major decorating motif. So. Many. Books. I hope you find time this summer to grab a book and spend time learning, dreaming, and enjoying reading. Oh and of course, sewing, too.

Happy Sewing! And thank you again Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson for inviting me along for the ride. I cannot wait to see these sweet little blocks in everyone’s quilts.

Adventures in Paper Piecing & Design by Sarah Elizabeth Sharp

January 7, 2019January 7, 201922 Comments

It’s my day on the Adventures in Paper Piecing & Design Book Tour!!! Hoootie hoo.

I have been friends with Sarah since Crimson Tate fabric store opened in Downtown Indianapolis. That’s nearly 8 years. She lives in my city! I’m super lucky to get to confer and exchange opinions about all things quilting IRL with her, which I covet. She and our friend Amanda Castor of Material Girl Quilts are my quilting emergency phone calls and texts when I don’t know WHAT TO DO!!! They are the most lovely, creative crew I could ever dream to have. And to boot, Sarah is a plant lover JUST LIKE ME!!

Sarah often lends her creative prowess ALL the time when it’s time for one of my new collections of fabric for Windham Fabrics to go live. She is a creative force, for sure and I am in awe and love her to pieces.

Plant Lady by Sarah Sharp; Quilting by Marion McClellan

When she was working on the beautiful quilts for her book Adventures in Paper Piecing & Design, she asked me if I would be willing to help make blocks for the Plant Lady Quilt. I began with the Bamboo shoots block. Look! My block made the cover of her book!!! Let me zoom in so you can see. 😉

I was, as we all often are, in the midsts of a time crunch and was only able to make that one block. But when thumbing through the designs, I super admired the electric echinacea block in the series and mentioned to Sarah that I’d be interested in making that block; my dream would be to make just that one flower as big as my queen size bed.

And bam. A dream was born and set into motion. With Sarah’s help, we blew up the electric echinacea block more than 1000 times to create a quilt block that went from 4.5″ x 9″ to 48″ x 96″.

First steps, tape this beast together!

Next steps are to begin tracing the oversized shapes to use as a cutting guide. What I love about this book is that Sarah includes ways in which to riff within your design. Brilliant! So within each of these large pieces, I can create more texture and design, if I choose. Adventures in Paper Piecing & Design is like having Sarah talk you through the process of design. If you want to start slow or if you want to go deep, Sarah has logically, intelligently, and creatively laid out a roadmap for you to use to help you achieve your goal. She is a wonder.

I’m still in the process of tracing and haven’t started sewing yet but obs, I’ve chosen my fabrics. It’s a blend of my Night Hike collection for Windham Fabrics, JOT Basics for the background, a slug of Artisan Solids and one sneaky Alison Glass fabric because it fits so perfectly with my collection.

I’m excited to begin and hope you will follow the progress of this quilt. Because I’ve decided to make it as a personal project, I didn’t impose a crazy deadline for myself. I want to enjoy the process and go deeply when I can. Thanks for following along. I’m excited for it to take shape.

As seen in my workspace at home, my world is FULL of plants.

For a chance to win a copy of Sarah’s book and a fat quarter bundle similar to the fabrics I’ve chosen for my quilt, follow me @crimsontate (@heathergivans) and @nohatsquilts, and leave a comment below telling me about your favorite plants. I’m a big time lover of orchid cactuses and all kinds of varieties of jade. Over on Instagram, tag as many friends as you’d like for additional chances to win and let’s continue the conversation there, too! This giveaway is open internationally until January 28, a big old Monday morning. #adventuresbooktour

#adventuresbooktour
Adventures in Paper Piecing & Design
January 7 – 26, 2019

Monday January 7 – Plant Lady
Heather Givans (@crimsontate | crimsontate.com)
Featured Quilter: Marion McClellan (@myquiltdiet)

Tuesday January 8 – Graffiti FPP
Sarah Sharp (@nohatsquilts | nohatsinthehouse.com)

Wednesday January 9 – Design Prompt No. 1 – Learning by the Letter
Giuseppe Ribaudo (aka Giucy Giuce) (@giucy_giuce)

Thursday January 10 – Snooze
Amanda Castor (@materialgirlquilts | materialgirlquilts.com)
Featured Quilter: Karlee Porter (@karleeporterdesign)

Friday January 11 – Design Prompt No. 2 – Traditional with a Twist
Katy Cameron (@the_littlest_thistle | the-littlest-thistle.com)

Saturday January 12 – Prickly Path
Anneliese Johnson (@eyecandyquilts | eyecandyquilts.com)
Featured Quilter: Angela Walters (@angelafmq)
Featured Fabric Designer: Alison Glass (@alisonglass)

Monday January 14 – Design Prompt No. 3 – Objects
Alison Robins (@littleislandquilting)

Tuesday January 15 – Voodoo Feathers
Jennifer Sampou (@jennifersampou | jennifersampou.com)

Wednesday January 16 – Design Prompt No. 4 – Creatures
Anne Sullivan (@playcrafts | play-crafts.com)

Thursday January 17 – Folksy Friends
Sarah Sharp (@nohatsquilts | nohatsinthehouse.com)
Featured Quilter: Kathleen Riggins (@kathleenquilts)

Friday January 18 – Design Prompt No. 5 – Think Outside the (Square) Block
Cath Hall (@wombatquilts | wombatquilts.com)

Saturday January 19 – Fireflies
Sarah Lauzon (@cera.bee | sarahjlauzon.com)
Featured Quilter: Rachael Dorr (@rachaeldorr)

Sunday January 20 – Sunday Book Review!
Sarah Ashford (@sarahashfordstudio)

Tuesday January 22 – Design Prompt No. 6 – Repeat Designs
Allison Dutton (@allisonsews | allison-sews.blogspot.com)

Wednesday January 23 – Jungleview
Merran Fryer (@123bluejumper)

Thursday January 24 – Design Prompt No. 7 – Single Foundation Paper Piecing
Jamie Swanson (@jamiemswansonquilts)

Friday January 25 – Double Diamond Wedding Ring
Elisabeth Hardy (@elisabew | elisabewquilts.com)
Featured Quilter: Andrea Munro (@practicaldazzle)

Saturday January 26 – Recap and Photography
Sarah Sharp (@nohatsquilts | nohatsinthehouse.com)
Eric Lubrick (@ericlubrick | ericlubrick.com)

2019 Crimson Tate VIP – Better than Ever

November 7, 2018November 7, 2018Leave a comment

Announcements, announcements, annouu-ouu-ouncements! Start your sewing machines, kidlets, because we are getting serious about having fun.

We’d like to invite you to become a Crimson Tate VIP. Not that you weren’t already VIP in our hearts, but now we just want to make it Facebook official, or whatever, with real live perks, hugs, tote bags, and whatnots. So how does one become an official, bona fide, legit CT VIP, you ask? It’s easy! Just say “Me, me, me! I wanna be VIP!” the next time you’re at the register, or register online by following a few simple steps on our website. Whether you are an in-towner or an online lover, everyone will enjoy the benefits of being Crimson Tate VIP.

But wait! Don’t you want to know the PERKS? Let’s talk perks!

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When you’re a first time Crimson Tate VIP, you’ll receive:

Announcements about events, promotions and sales a day in advance, as applicable.
Exclusive invitations to monthly events (shopping, presentations, demonstrations, cocktail hours) for VIP members only.
Special pricing on select items during sales and events (in store only).
$20 credited to your account each time your collective purchases total $250* inside the store. Note: this is only applied to regular priced merchandise, not on discounted items, gift cards, membership dues, or online orders. Double note: this feature is not yet available to online shoppers, but don’t fret; we are going to send online shoppers oodles of exclusive online coupons available for use monthly on our website. Read more about VIP TO-GO perks below!
A Limited Edition Enamel Pin each year you renew your membership – the annual pin will not be made available again!
Other fun swag throughout the year
A Members Only Tote Bag to show the world that you love Crimson Tate and Crimson Tate loves you! It’s also the perfect way to display your newly minted CT enamel pin collection!

VIP TO GO!!

How does Crimson Tate VIP TO GO work?

With your $35 membership to our annual VIP club, you’ll receive some awesome perks. First and foremost, with your first purchase, we will reward you with the coveted Crimson Tate tote bag, sure to create feelings of joy in your neighborhood. I mean, you need to let the world know you’re important to us. Let that big old purple bag SHINE!

You will also receive 2019’s enamel pin, exclusive to VIP members.

We will send you extras in your online orders from time to time. From a cute inspirational pencil to exclusive stickers, or extra fabric JUST BECAUSE!

What to expect?

Each month, you’ll receive a coupon for www.crimsontate.com that is exclusive to CT VIP members. It may be links to secret products on our website, it may be the opportunity to be the FIRST to purchase a particular fabric or pattern. Some coupons will include discounts for specific products or genres of products. For example, one month may include a coupon code for 25% off all bundles.

What if you run out of the product that is named as a special?

That would be such a bummer! We will make every effort to recreate the product that is on sale, but realistically speaking, most coupons that are for quantity limited products will be while supplies last. You are VIP so we’ll come up with a way to make it up to you but you may want to move fast if your heart is all a flutter for a specifically special deal.

Concerning the Tote Bag + Shipping

So, when you purchase your VIP Membership online you’ll be assessed a shipping charge so that we can send your tote and pin to you straight away! We encourage you to make it count and throw some fabrics or other items into the order to even so the package is filled with all kinds of Crimson Tate goodness. Of course, there’s always the option to pickup in store and come on down as a brand spankin’ new VIP, strutting about the store in all your VIPness. We wanted to alert you that you’ve got options, but didn’t want it to be a surprise at the check out.

Cool! My guild is going to split a VIP TO GO membership so that we can all share the perks. Is that ok?

Please do not share with your buddies or family or sewing guilds, groups, or ANYONE. We are a small operation and this is the most time efficient way we can offer specials to our favorite online customers (YOU!). If a code is used by someone who has not purchased a Crimson Tate TO GO membership, their order will be terminated. Booooo. We don’t want to be jerks about this, but it isn’t within our ability to offer these deals internet wide. They are special and only for you! So when using the coupon code, it should reflect the VIP purchaser email address, street address, and name. It cannot be shipped elsewhere. Thanks for sticking to this. We want this to be fun not legalistic.

Hold the phone! I’m already a VIP. Do I get to play this VIP TO GO game?

Friend! You betcha! Here’s the deal, however, VIP TO GO coupons can only be used online at crimsontate.com. We cannot accept the coupons over the phone or in the store. You can shop at crimsontate.com and choose in-store pick up; that is perfectly acceptable. And to all of the ONLINE VIP members, you can also take advantage of in-store only deals when you travel to Crimson Tate and shop in the store. Yayyyyy. Fun fun fun.

Big Ol’ Three Yards Bolt Sale!

August 10, 2018August 16, 20182 Comments

We’re busting at the seams, you guys! In this case, that’s a good thing! The adventuring into our annual end of summer sale has inspired us to host a when-you-accumulate-THREE-YARDS-FROM-THE-BOLT discount! Take 30% off when you purchase three yards. Buy six half-yards, equalling three yards, and your basket will be eligible. Buy seven yards of one fabric, the whole purchase will be eligible. Awwww yeah!! Time to gather the most beautiful fabrics in mass quantity. From Amy Butler, Cotton + Steel, Heather Givans (teeehee that’s me!), Tula Pink, Heather Ross, Free Spirit solids and more! We’re putting the bulk of our fabric by the yard in this mammoth sale. Be sure to read the Q+A below for all of the rules and rituals of this event. Use code BOLTBUDDY and enjoy! Sale ends 11:59 PM EST August 20, 2018, in store and online.

Dear Crimson Tate,

I wanna buy it all. Is all of the yardage in the store on sale? I mean, I’m about to go crazy and purchase it all!!!

Dear I WANT IT ALL,

Well I mean, there are 100s of bolts eligible for this sale! So, I’m gonna list both the inclusions and the exemptions! The brand new arrivals Summer 2018 are exempt from the sale. Don’t be sad; there are way more bolts included IN the SALE than NOT.

THESE COLLECTIONS BY THE YARD ARE ON SALE!!!!!

Summer 2018 New Arrivals that are exempt

African Wax Block Prints, Alexander Henry Holiday, Alison Glass Sun Print 2018, Alison Glass Remix, Anna Graham Forage, Carolyn Friedlander Polk, Cori Dantini Merry & Bright, Cotton + Steel Basics, Cotton + Steel Frost, Elizabeth Grubaugh A Winter’s Tail, Heather Givans Night Hike, Heather Givans Jot, Heather Ross Sugarplum, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Kelly Ventura Botany, Rifle Paper English Garden, Sarah Watts Front Yard

Dear Crimson Tate,

What kind of cuts are we talking about here? Can I order 1/8th yards of 24 different fabrics? That’ll equal three yards! You cool with that?

Dear Scrap-a-licous,

We get you. We understand you. During this sale, we require 1/2 yard cuts minimum and enough cuts of fabric that will total three yards. If you want to buy three yards of one fabric, you’ll meet the requirement. Bam! Yaayayayyyyy. You do you, just make it a 1/2 yard minimum.

Dear Crimson Tate,

What else is on sale? Can this be applied to clearance fabrics?

Dear Seeker of More Discounts,

We are not able to offer 30% off fabrics already on clearance during this sale.

As always, you can shop online and choose store pick up if you’d like to shop from home. Just give us 24 hours to package your order. We will shoot you an email to let you know when it’s ready.

Crimson Tate VIP TO GO! {Announcements, announcements, announcements}

June 28, 2018June 29, 20183 Comments

VIP_LOGO

We are super excited to announce Crimson Tate’s online VIP TO GO program! Many of you have been anxiously awaiting this moment and finally, it’s here!

How does Crimson Tate VIP TO GO work?

With your $35 membership to our annual VIP club, you’ll receive the following perks. First and foremost, with your first purchase, we will reward you with the coveted Crimson Tate tote bag, sure to create feelings of joy in your neighborhood. I mean, you need to let the world know you’re important to us. Let that big old purple bag SHINE!

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 5.24.40 PM

You will also receive 2018’s enamel pin, exclusive to VIP members.

We will send you extras in your online orders from time to time. From a cute inspirational pencil to exclusive stickers, or extra fabric JUST BECAUSE!

What to expect?

But guys, it’s already JULY. Should I really sign-up now?

With the inaugural membership, you’ll receive six coupons that can be used through the end of September, at your leisure. So the next time you need a bundle, you can dig that coupon out of your email and use it at crimsontate.com. You’ll receive at least one coupon monthly from July – December. Membership expires December 31, 2018.

What if you run out of the product that is named as a special?

Cool! My guild is going to split a VIP TO GO membership so that we can all share the perks. Is that ok?

Hold the phone! I’m already a VIP. Do I get to play this VIP TO GO game?

Row by Row 2018 {Cottage Home Rondo} – Crimson Tate’s Row!

June 20, 2018June 20, 20181 Comment

Yaayyyyy!!! Row by Row season is upon us! It’s time to get to rowing, kids. Let me introduce you to Crimson Tate’s 2018 row, Cottage Home Rondo.

I’m so lucky to be surrounded by musical talent here at Crimson Tate. David, right-handed right hand man, is graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Our own Amy Wallarab, Crimson Tate’s cat whisperer, IS TOO!!! She actually has a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from the University of Memphis and a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from IU Jacobs School of Music. Ohhhhhh the talent that surrounds me!! So when I found out that this year’s theme is MUSIC, I was like YESSSSSS!!!

Our row, Cottage Home Rondo, is inspired by a little jazz ditty Amy wrote.

The piece of music is a spirited, upbeat jingle that is just plain happy. It is the punctuation of these notes that inspired our row.

Transition and blend of color corresponds with the measures of this music. The pattern of the half square triangles are translated from the jazz composition, representing the sequences of the music visually. We’re getting geeky about the quilty musicality of this one! It’s a delightfully abstract row that involves our beautiful Liberty of London fabrics as well as an exclusive fabric of Amy’s musical composition. How fantastic!! We use FreeSpirit solids around here, too, in case you’re wondering.

Want a color copy of our pattern and kit? Get on in here! We’re located Downtown Indianapolis along the Cultural Trail on Mass Ave. The Row By Row Experience starts June 21! Want to reserve your kit online before you make the trek in? Head to our website and pre-order your goods. We’ll have them waiting for you at the register.

Don’t think you’ll make it to Indiana anytime soon but are smitten? Pre-order your Row by Row kit NOW! We’ll ship your kit on November 1, 2018. Ta-dahhhh! Please kindly place a separate order for items that are available now. We will need to keep pre-orders separate from inventory currently available. Thanks for that!

We can’t wait to see you this summer whether it be online or in-store. Loads of fun and inspiration are happening around here. Big thank you to Amy Wallarab who took her creative energies to write a special piece of music JUST FOR THIS occasion. #talented #inawe #majorlythankful

Succulent Garden Quilt Meets Amy Butler’s Night Music Fabric

April 10, 2018April 10, 20183 Comments

Remember that first collection of fabric I designed called Succulents for Windham Fabrics? And I wrote the Succulent Garden quilt pattern to showcase large scaled fabrics found in my designs? The Succulent Garden quilt is my GO-TO for a fast but beautiful portfolio showing off quilt fabrics I’d rather not cut too small because they’re just so stinking beautiful. You know what I mean? So when the alluring Amy Butler asked me if I wanted to build a project with her latest collection, I knew exactly what quilt I wanted to make and how I was going to do it.

Amy Butler Night Music fat quarter bundle as seen at Crimson Tate.

Where to begin? First and foremost you need to know that I believe sweet baby Amy Butler to be a genius. I tell the story all the time about how I saw her fabric in a little store somewhere around 2008ish and it changed my life. Her sense of color, her sophisticated design, her use of larger scaled fabrics: ahhhh. I’m a mega devotee.

Let’s look at Night Music, Amy Butler’s newest collection for FreeSpirit Fabrics. It’s filled with twenty-four beautiful fabrics here broken into three color stories: midnight, stone, and fauna.

This is what Amy has to say about the collection:

A little bit of mythology and a lot of magic inspires my Night Music collection. Folklore from the Gond tribe in central India says that during the day the natural world is busy taking care of the needs of everyone and that at night the luminous spirits from the forest come alive. They believe that all of life is magical and integrated and all aspects of the natural world are inseparable. This idea is both mysterious and charming and connects us to the seen and the unseen bringing about a positive feeling in being a part of the natural world.

Bringing about a positive feeling in being a part of the natural world? Yes. I’d say you achieved that, Amy Butler. The purples and turquoises of this collection are irresistible. I chose half yards of my favorite fifteen and combined them with half yards of lux FreeSpirit solids that coordinate without missing a beat. The Succulent Garden quilt pattern has lots of block variations where the majority of the blocks have a variety of band widths, so that you can showcase border prints and prints of various scales. In this version of Succulent Garden, I repeated one block, the Pencil Cactus block, over and over and I’m so happy with the way it turned out.

I’ve dreamed of approaching this quilt like this for some time and Amy Butler fabric seemed like the perfect opportunity. Here’s a list of the fabrics I used:

I used Amy’s 108″ cotton sateen from FreeSpirit for the back fabric and whoa whoa whoa is it ever soft.

I shipped off the quilt top to our buddies at Quilting By the Stitch here in Indianapolis and Dan worked his magic. I tried to get a photo before we passed it along for quilting, but the weather in Indiana has been CRAZY!!! Like today, April 9, I woke up to a layer of snow covering everything. Ugh. Why Indiana, WHY? Don’t let this photo fool you. It was COLD this day.

And post quilting, the weather was still crazy!!

I created this pattern as a nod to those tiny baby hexagons found in a grandmother’s flower garden quilt. I love that quilt design but I needed a way to showcase the vibrancy of more modern fabrics.

If you’re interested in the pattern, you can find it as both a paper version or as a PDF download. We even have an awesome acrylic template that makes cutting this duder out even faster. I promise you, once you’ve made one of these Succulent Garden quilts, you’re going to want to do it again.

A big thank you to Ms. Butler for letting me play in her world, the most ornate and beautifully decorated world. This queen sized quilt is going to live at my house, just like the last Amy Butler quilt I made from Soul Mate. Remember that one? I’ll repost the photo so you can see it.

*Footnote Quilt pattern using Amy Butler Soul Mate and FreeSpirit Solids fabric.

xoxo and hearts and rainbows!

Heather

#AurifilErUp – It’s a Color Explosion in Here

March 11, 2018Leave a comment

What an awesome time we had at QuiltCon 2018 in Pasadena, California. The weather was mild, the food was incredible (big ups to Sushi Enya), I discovered boba tea (so delicious) but the quilts were the best of all. AMAZING. We were overloaded in inspiration and friendship and are so proud and lucky to be a part of the operation.

We brought a little bit of QuiltCon home with us and want to share it with you in Downtown Indianapolis and on the interwebs. This is like being a full time Crimson Tate VIP. Let the games begin!! Here’s how to Design Your Own Aurifil Thread Box!! Choose 12 Aurifil 50 weight 1422 yard spools and we’ll give you $54 off your purchase. What!?! Yes. And you’ll receive our exclusive and awesome Aurifil box to house your beautifully curated selections.

But wait, there’s more. For a limited time, orders will receive the cutest drawstring bags we gave away at QuiltCon in Pasadena.

How do you play? Head to crimsontate.com -> notions -> Aurifil Thread and load your cart with 12 Aurifil spools that fit snuggly into the designer box. Use code #AURIFILERUP at checkout and get a big fatty discount. Don’t forget the hashtag! It’s part of the code. Get out those swatches and let’s coordinate some thread. We can fit a fair amount of things in that parcel, so don’t forget to check out all the new bundles, Liberty of London pre-cuts, clearance items, and other awesome goods found at crimsontate.com. There’s a lot of happiness happening right now in that one little spot.

Coming into the store? Bring this coupon for funzies!