Picking Daisies' Holiday Hours

Our New Line of Tablecloths

Picking Daisies' Ready-Made Tablecloths

We have just introduced a line of ready-made Picking Daisies Tablecloths  - the idea of which formed when we found some fabulous lightweight canvas fabrics in prints we absolutely loved.

We were even more delighted after we washed and dried our first sample tablecloth - OMG!  It looks beautiful right out of the dryer.  We have that sample in the shop to show you.

And then we had a really fun photo shoot with an amazing photographer: Henry Bruington.

Click on the fabric name below each image to see a detailed fabric swatch, as well as sizing and pricing.

Symphony in Brown

Grove in Black

Dot in Grey

Pop Drops in Green

Jasmine in Taupe

Symphony in White

All gorgeous, aren't they?

Photo credit:  Henry Bruington  (Check out his website here!)

Sewing Machines at Picking Daisies

Stop by for a "test drive" - these machine are really terrific and we are excited to show them off!

It's a Holiday Open House

Easy Peasy Wall Art Revisited

Creating Easy Fabric Wall Art

One of our more popular blog posts was a DIY Tutorial from 2011: EASY PEASY WALL ART.  We shared and demonstrated how to attach fabric to an old or used canvas, as shown below.

This past week we shared our crafting knowledge, skills and tools with two young roommates furnishing their first college apartment.

Their fabric choice: "In Crowd" by Alexander Henry.  Quite "hip", isn't it!

Using a canvas they purchased for $3, they got right to work with the staple gun and scissors.

 Stretch, smooth, staple, stretch, smooth, staple, cut and repeat....

Picking Daisies was quite a center of activity and creation that day...

And Voila!  Easy Peasy!  Here they are, showing off their finished product, though there was some attempt to upstage the faces on the fabric.

It's at home in their apartment now - just look at this stylish hallway!

Merchant and Mills

Meet my new obsession...

I want to buy everything they sell, do everything they do, and be everything they are.

But in the interest of sanity, for now I will just focus on their patterns.  I've purchased two (so far!) and both have been a dream to sew.  I had never sewn using a "card pattern" before, and now that I have, it will be hard to go back to traditional paper patterns.

Plus!... it arrived all the way from England rolled in a tube, which seemed so special.

The first dress I made is their "Factory Dress", shown below.  My finished dress is on the left and their model is showing off their version on the right.  I made mine using the fabric pictured:  Robert Kaufman's Yarn-Dyed Essex that we sell here at Picking Daisies.  It is a linen and cotton blend.  I love the visual texture, weight and drape of this fabric, and am thinking about making this dress again using one of the other colors we carry.  And it will also be fun to make one in one of the cotton prints we have.

The second dress I made is their "Shirt Dress", shown below.  Again it was a delight to sew.  I completed the entire dress in about 5 hours yesterday.  The only "whoops" is that the wonderful fabric I chose (from Art Gallery's Indian Summer line) makes it look a bit like a nightdress.  I seem to have a bad habit of choosing fabrics that I love, like this one, rather than choosing the best fabric for the item I'm sewing.  I guess that is just a handicap of owning a fabric store - I get do easily sidetracked by our wonderful array of fabric.

Therefore, I am going to make it again right away. (only 5 hours, right?) This time I will use one of Kaffe Fassett's woven shot cottons, Roman Stripe in Blood Orange pictured above, bottom right.

In the next few weeks, they are releasing a pattern for some drawstring trousers, and you can bet I'll be ordering that pattern right away.

I love this motto of theirs, because it is exactly how we like to work at Picking Daisies.

If you can spare a couple of minutes, enjoy this video about their business.  It's marvelous, and you will see why I am so obsessed!

Watch Video Here

And finally, check out their website: www.merchantandmills.com

An Original Glamour Girl

You will LOVE this heartwarming story!
....first told to me by my dear neighbor Claudia who is this woman's niece.

Claudia's aunt, Lorene Carnes, now 92, was attending art school in the 1940's with dreams of becoming a fashion illustrator.  And look at her today, looking absolutely gorgeous.... quite the fashion plate!

Photo care of Statesman Journal

Sadly, she had to leave school before graduating because war broke out and she needed to work in the shipping yards.  And after that, "life" took over.

For seven decades, her portfolio of drawings has been packed away and stored, until just last year when a family friend who works at Robert Kaufman Fabric happened to see the recently unpacked drawings during a visit.

Photos care of Statesman Journal

This friend took the drawings back with her to Robert Kaufman Fabric where the designs that Lorene Carnes drew 70+ years ago were made into a fabric line.

Presenting "Glamour Girls"

Designed by Lorene Carnes for Robert Kaufman Fabric

Photo care of Statesman Journal

Isn't this just the best thing ever!!!

We have Glamour Girls available at Picking Daisies as fabric by the yard or cotton napkins. 

Come in to the store, or see in in our web store here. 

Glamour Girls Fashion Plates

Glamour Girls Millinery

The photos and story are from The Statesman Journal and you can read the complete article and see more pictures here.  And believe me, you will want to see more pictures!

Picking Daisies - A Modern Quilt Shop

Quilts, Fabric, Napkins and Custom Table Linens

We started out as "the napkin store", but due to our beautifully curated selection of fabric, we naturally were searched out by quilters looking for fresh and unique modern quilt fabric.

These days, along side our lovely cotton napkins, you will find some wonderful modern quilts adorning our walls (and cupboards).  

Our quilts are available for sale and range from $250 to $450.  Please email us if you'd like more information.

This gorgeous modern quilt behind our counter will be entered in the Midstate Fair by our quilter Karen Petersen.

A couple more modern quilts by Karen...

And below is a fabulous twister quilt by Val Lund of Remember Quilts.

 

Have you been to Picking Daisies lately to see our growing collection of modern quilt fabric?

 From napkins to quilts..... with lots of goodness in between!

Celebrate Earth Day - Cloth Napkin Sale

It's Our Annual Cloth Napkin Sale to Celebrate Earth Day

Our annual sale begins Friday, April 12 and goes through Tuesday, April 23rd.

You will save 20% off all of our regularly priced dinner napkins. ...YAY ...

Come see us in our store, Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 5:30pm.

Or shop online here

(don't forget to use promo code: earthday)

Liberty Lifestyle Fabrics - Stile Collection

Liberty of London's latest Lifestyle Fabric Collection

Stile Liberty

In 1875, Arthur Liberty opened his shop Liberty of London on Regent Street, based in the West End shopping district of Central London and began selling the first of the soon to be famous Liberty silks. 

By the 1890's Liberty Art Fabrics were a byword for the best of "Avant Garde" textile design.

Today Liberty of London is best known for their floral prints and their lovely, lightweight, semi-sheer 100% cotton (expensive) Tana Lawn fabric.  Their classic prints never go out of style and their new prints are always fashion-forward and interesting. 

In early 2012, Liberty of London jumped into the quilting market and recently launched their second collection of Liberty Lifestyle quilt-weight, and affordably priced, 100% cotton.

The Stile Collection which has been inspired by the Art Nouveau movement and also more specifically by the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 

Stile - Colorway A

This line of fabric is absolutely gorgeous, both in design and quality.  In the photo below are all the fabrics after washing and drying - we can't get over our beautiful they look and feel after laundering.

At Picking Daisies, we are excited to be carrying the Stile Collection in Colorway A (seen above) --plus-- we have napkins too!  See them all online here.


Photos of Liberty of London shop via the Liberty of London website.

Marcia Derse Fibers

A New Fabric Line at Picking Daisies

We are so excited to now be carrying fabrics from fabric designer and artist Marcia Derse.  Her designs are so rich and sophisticated, very different from anything we've carried before.

I was going to give you a brief description of her process, but then I realized you need to just read it for yourself:  Marcia Derse's Artist's Statement

Just look at this amazing quilt made from her fabrics:

BRIX pattern by the creative team at Blue Underground

(you can see more quilts made from Marcia's fabrics on her website here)

At Picking Daisies, we are carrying a selection of fabrics from her two most recent collections.

Basketweave

Petites

Not only for quilting, these fabrics make the most fabulous napkins!

Napkins from Marcia Derse Fabrics