The New Look of Contempo

Modern Fabrics, Manhattan Style

That's what you'll find from Contempo Studio.

Just what is Contempo Studio?
Tucked away between the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of New York is a place where fabric magic happens.
It's inspired by the runways, the trendy street kiosks of SoHo, by the colors and lights and music of the city.

We are thrilled to be sharing this new design house with you! Contempo Studio is debuting with a splash: three new modern collections, available in quilt shops this fall. Meet the first collection, Dwellings, below and then come back all week as the fabric lines debut in tutorials from some of our talented blogging friends. We think you'll like what you see!

First up: Dwellings
Edgy geometrics, two stripes and simple florals in three colorways.

Colorway #1 - Guesthouse
Inspired by welcoming guest rooms you'd love to move into: Cool teals (like this door photo, used for inspiration), mochas, and creams--a spa-like colorway to wrap you in relaxation

(You'll see these fabrics used in Clover & Violet's tutorial on Monday!)

And a sneak peek at the remaining two colorways:

Colorway #2 - Townhouse

Inspired by rich, contemporary colors reminiscent of menswear and mahogany-trimmed studies

Colorway #3 - Beachhouse
Inspired by modern beachwear colors: light teal mixed with coral, light green and sand

See the entire Dwellings line in all three colorways here.

We have four fantastic tutorials lined up for you this week, all using Contempo fabrics. Here's our blog hop schedule:
Monday: Jennie and Clara from Clover & Violet using Dwellings
Tuesday: Kate from See Kate Sew using Cachet
Wednesday: Benartex Blog Team, using Cosmpolitan
Thursday: Ebony from Love Bug Studios using Dwellings

We hope you'll join us!

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Pillowcase to Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Yesterday we showed our drawstring bag version of the train pillowcase design as part of American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase blog hop; today we're sharing how to make it.

Drawstring pillowcase, featuring Nancy Halvorsen's Ho-Ho-Ho Let It Snow collection

We used the basic pattern directions that you can find here (thank you, AP&Q and 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!) with just a few changes.

In addition to what you find listed in the directions, you'll need:

(1) 4" x 42" strip for the casing (ours is the green tonal you see below)

(2) 1" x 42" strips for the drawstring (we used solid gray)

We also used a 13" x 42" strip for the pillowcase sleeve; making it slightly wider means more of it shows beyond the casing.

Add the train pieces to the pillowcase as directed (you'll see we added ours at the bottom of the bag, rather than along the side).

Press the 4" x 42" casing strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Trim 2" off of one end and then press each short end in approximately 1/4" to create a finished edge. Lay out the 11" (or 13", your choice) x 42" sleeve strip and center the folded casing strip on top, raw edges matching. Center the casing strip so the sleeve strip extends at each end. Pin in place. 

We used the burrito method of assembly (find it here if you're not familiar with it--super easy!). So with the casing pinned to the sleeve, add and roll up the pillowcase, and then fold the opposite raw edge of the sleeve around and pin. 

Stitch along the raw edges and pull the pillowcase out of the tube. Press the casing and sleeve away from the main pillowcase. 

Topstitch the opposite long edge of the casing strip down. 

Join the short ends of the two 1" x 42" drawstring strips. Press the long strip in half lengthwise, then open and fold each long edge in to the center fold line and press. Fold again on the center crease and topstitch. 

Use a safety pin to feed the drawstring through the casing. Trim drawstring as desired and knot each end. 

Your drawstring pillowcase is complete! 

Note: If you decide to use this as just a pillowcase, remove the drawstring from it to avoid potential strangling from the drawstrings.

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All Aboard!

Hello! If this is your first time visiting our blog, welcome! If we're already old friends, thanks for stopping by! 

Today we're joining with American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge to show off our version of the Pinterest contest winning design. 

We used the festive, cheery prints from Nancy Halvorsen's Ho-Ho-Ho, Let It Snow collection to stitch this Candy Cane Train pillowcase.

The three middle train car appliques are open at the top, creating pockets for holiday treats (like candy canes!). This concept could also work to make a single pocket on a pillowcase for the tooth fairy to retrieve lost teeth and leave a surprise in return. 

We are proud to be sponsors of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge and think it's fantastic that the Challenge has passed the halfway point (508,000+ pillowcases donated...congratulations, sewers!!!!). 

We'll be sending this pillowcase and the others we showed last week to Quilts of Valor. 

If you haven't heard about the Challenge, the premise is simple: Sew a pillowcase and donate it to a local charity. It's that easy! Just make sure that you update the pillow counter on the website so that your pillowcase counts in the push for 1,000,000.

We also wanted to share a variation we made using this pillowcase design: a drawstring bag to use as gift wrapping! We'll be showing how we made this tomorrow, so stop back and visit again!

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Making Pillows Personal

We're back with three more pillowcases for American Patchwork & Quilting's 

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. (See the first two posts here and here.)

Pillowcases offer the perfect opportunity to choose fun novelty prints--you can really personalize a gift by using specific fabrics that relate to a hobby.

The tennis prints, for the aspiring backhand, are from Games People Play

Here's the entire collection--not just tennis, but also ping pong, pool, and darts:

Gymnastics and soccer prints for aspiring athletes are from All Stars

Here's the entire collection:

Come back on Monday when we'll show off our version of the One Million Pillowcase Challenge's Pinterest winning pillowcase!

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His, Hers, Ours?!?!

We're back with some more pillowcase love in conjunction with American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. (see the first post here).

We jokingly call these pillowcases "His, Hers, and Ours."All they need now is a monogram...

 The fabric? Tee Time from Kanvas. Realistic-looking golf balls, tees, and grass, with some argyle mixed in just for fun!

His

Hers

Ours?!

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Pillows that Pop!

Back in July we posted about American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge, which had recently crossed the halfway point. 500,000+ pillowcases made and donated; impressive, isn't it?!

Next Monday all of the sponsors for the Challenge (including us!) will be sharing their rendition of the winning pillowcase design from APQ's Pinterest contest. To lead up that post, we're going to show off pillowcases we've made using some fantastic novelty prints from various Kanvas collections. We'll be donating these pillows to a local organization when we're done sharing them. 

First up, Back to Cool School:

Crayon prints and rainbow stripes--these are really pillows that pop!

We chose these prints from the collection, but if you're looking for some back-to-school themed fabric, there are plenty more to choose from.

Some of our favorites, up close:

p.s. Since our last post about the Challenge one month ago, the pillowcase counter has jumped by 5,000! Keep those pillowcases coming!

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Hello, Jackie!

We spoke with Jackie Robinson of Animas Quilts back at Quilt Market in May. You've seen her newest collection, He Still Loves Me, and her quilt designs; now hear her in person!




Missed our previous posts on Jackie?
Click here to see He Still Loves Me and here to see her All Stars baseball quilt.

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