The Quilted Fish

Daisy Days Blog Tour

 

Hello! I'm so glad you stopped by to see the lovely Daisy Days fabric and what I decided to do with this adorable fabric.  First off, let me say how delightful I think Keera Jobs is!  I met Keera this March in Australia when I was down there for Cotton Carnivale. It is always fun to meet designers that are kind and warm, and Keera is definitely both of those.  I believe that comes through in her designs which are so sweet and playful.

When I got my fabric for the tour, I thought hard about what I wanted to make.  Our family loves to travel and I have twin 11 year old daughters and I thought it would be really fun to make them their own little travel sets.  

I had a great time thinking about all of the little things they might need or want.

They love to put things in pouches, and then put pouches in pouches, then in backpacks.....you get the idea!

I made all of the pouches with Annie's Soft and Stable and it was fantastic to work with.  I love how much body the pouches have. I quilted the clutch type pouch to highlight the adorable floral designs in the fabric.  I know my girls will love to use these as little purses when we go out to dinner and on little outings.  This probably means I will end up carrying them, but who cares when they are this cute!

I love little details, I think that they are what sets handmade apart.

I'm sure that this fabric would be perfect for so many of your sewing projects, and hope it finds its way to your sewing table soon!!

xo,

Amanda

 

Bittersweet Blog Hop

It's always fun to play with friends and with their fabrics and to be included in their blog hops, but it is a particular pleasure to be a part of Sue Daley's Bittersweet fabric blog hop!  There are so many great fabrics in this collection, and I love the way that Sue plays with them in little bits and pieces.  I wanted to replicate something similar in my project. 

Here is my Bollywood Bag pattern, made in Bittersweet, and embellished with yo-yo's.  I will never tire of yo-yo's....

I'm a lucky lady to have twins, and that means that lots of things come in twos around here.  We call it double the trouble and twice the price.  But it is oh-so-fun, too!

It meant playing with two different color ways for the bags.  

I will be teaching this bag at the Creative Harvest Festival next month.  Maybe you can join me??

For a complete list of the blog tour, please visit SueDaleyDesigns.com and be sure to ask your LQS to carry Bittersweet by Sue Daley for Riley Blake Designs.

Happy sewing!!

 

Desert Bloom Blog Tour

It's time to celebrate the arrival of a new fabric line!  I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with so many great people on a fun blog tour designed to bring you an up close and personal look at my new fabric line, Desert Bloom.

There are so many amazing bloggers on this blog tour and I hope they had a ton of fun sewing with my new fabrics.

If you want to follow along via instagram, follow me @AmandaHerringDesigns for look at what everyone is up to.  We will link you to their instagrams as well, so you will have some lovely new people to follow.

We kick off tomorrow, and here is the schedule:

 

June 6th

Riley Blake Designs 

Heidi Staples at Fabric Mutt 

 

June 7th

Kari Steiger at That's Sew Kari

Carrie Burnett at Berri Bee Designs

 

June 8th

Andy Knowlton at A Bright Corner

Allison Dutton at Allison Sews

 

June 9th

Brenna Turner at Life After Laundry

Vicki Ruebel at Orchid Owl Quilts

 

June 10th

Jessica Stewart at Snickerdoodle Stew

Carol Swift at Just Let me Quilt

 

June 13th

Sedef Imer at Down Grapevine Lane

Karen Pratt at Cream Craft Goods

 

June 14th

Yvonne Fuchs at Quilting Jetgirl

Marissa Fischer at Rae Gun Ramblings

 

June 15th

Amy Chappell at Ameroonie Designs

Jenny Rodriguez at All Things Belle

 

June 16th

Sue Daley at Sue Daley Designs

Caroline Press at Trillium Design

 

June 17th

Melissa Corry at Happy Quilting Melissa

Liz and Elizabeth at Simple Simon

 

June 18th

Brooke Sellmann at Silly Mama Quilts

Sally Keller at Sally's Angel Works

 

Thanks for following along!

xo

Amanda

 

La Vie Boheme

Hello there! So glad you are stopping by today on the Riley Blake Quilt Market Blog Tour! Just in case you don't know me, my name is Amanda Herring and I have designed for Riley Blake for 5+ years under the name The Quilted Fish.  You can see my fabric collections here. I am excited to share a bit about my quilt market experience as well as the new patterns and fabric that we debuted there.  

Quilt market was in Minneapolis this year and I LOVE Minneapolis!  What a fun city!  I had such a great time seeing old friends and making new ones, trying new restaurants, and hanging out in my jammies with the best roommates ever.  

This time I had a space inside of the Riley Blake booth to display my goodies.  It was fun to be so near so many amazing designers and friends.  Here is a little pic of my corner or quilt market.

My space was all about my new fabric line La Vie Boheme which is in stores now.  I love this collection.  My inspiration for this collection was Romanian Gypsies and the whole bohemian aesthetic.  I have had a ton of fun sewing with it, and I know you will, too.  It features six sparkle cottons which I am so in love with.

I made a little emagazine for this line. You can look at that here:

Here are some of the fun new patterns that I debuted as well:

All of the patterns are available here.

Be sure to check out these other stops on the blog tour:

5/15 - Where Women Cook5/18 - Becky Marie Designs8/18 - Pattern Anthology5/19 - Carina Gardner5/21 - Lori Holt5/21 - Tasha Noel5/22 - Lori Whitlock5/22 - Cinderberry Stitches5/23 - Eleanor Dugan5/26 - Simple Simon5/26 - The Quilted Fish5/28 - Melly & Me5/28 - Elea Lutz5/29 - Zoe Pearn5/29 - Doohikey Designs5/30 -Samantha Walker
5/30 – Kelly Panacci

 So, sewing friends, there you have it.  My little market recap.  So what's next???

xo

Amanda

Around the World Blog Tour

I am so excited to be participating in the Around the World Blog Tour, started by Jen Kingwell.  I was invited by Amber of Gigi's Thimble, who was asked by Amy Smart (Diary of a Quilter).  What an honor to be included with such lovely women.  I admire all three of them so very much.

I met Amber when we were both asked to teach at a local retreat.  I instantly her (which isn't hard because she is adorable).  And I love her new book,  Vintage Vibe. It is filled with the most wonderful projects.   It is people like Amber that make me proud to be a part of the quilting community.  

So as part of this tour I get to tell you a little about my life right now...

First off... I am going to tell you what I am working on right now.  I am completely entrenched in my fabric design process.  My deadline is just two weeks away and I have four prints to finish!  And by finish I mean start.  I do this to myself far to often.  I do have three prints finished, though, which means I am making progress.  I wish that I could share a picture with you, but, as I am sure you know, I can't.  Instead, I will show you a little about what I do in this process.  

Usually I start from some kind of doodle.  Often these doodles are on an old envelope or scrap of paper.  Sometimes getting my sketchbook feels like a huge commitment and makes me feel like I have to come up with something great.  Random scraps can mean a lot less pressure for me.

When I have a doodle that I like, I make trace it all in Illustrator, change things, mix in some other things, and...

Voila! Okay, so there was a lot of work in the inbetween steps that you don't see here, but you can see the leaf before and the leaf finished.  

The other thing I am in the middle of right now is planning and booking space for the 2015 Find Your Lula retreat.  We are looking at some major changes and I am super excited and nervous!  I will hopefully have some awesome news on January 1st (or shortly after) about what we are doing differently.  I have a meeting to explore this place on Wednesday morning.  I hope it is a perfect fit!

The next thing I am going to tell you about is why I do/create the things I do...

Originally, I started quilting as a way to help bring myself out of major depression.  I had 1 year old twins that I loved dearly, but that had also sucked the life out of me.  I had completely lost any identity.  So I started by making other peoples patterns.  Eventually I realized that all of the schooling (interior design, fashion design, art...) had taught me the skills I needed to start creating my own patterns.  

Now, 6 years later, I do it for a completely different reason.  I do it for other people.  I have a deep desire to help other people find and embrace their own personal creativity.  So whether that is through one of my sewing patterns, or fabrics or ultimately through my Find Your Lula retreat, I am happy.  

So there is a little about me and my creative life!  How about we hear from some other wonderfully creative women??

First I am going to tag my friend Melissa Mortenson!

Melissa writes the blog Polka Dot Chair, has written a crazy cool book...

AND has her first line of fabric out with my favorite fabric company, Riley Blake Designs!

 I have had the opportunity to get to know Melissa a little bit over the last few months and I totally adore her!  I am sure you will love her, too!  Head over to see her post next Monday!

Hugs and Fishes, 

Amanda

 

Find Your Lula blog...come visit us!

The whole Find Your Lula team has started a new blog about all things Lula!  If you are interested in learning more about being creative including tips on photography, illustrator, time management, business skills, life skills, cooking skills and sooooo much more, come over and visit us HERE.

The Little Spark Blog Tour!!

I am super excited today to be playing along in Carrie Bloomston's blog tour!  She has a new, lovely book out called The Little Spark - 30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity.  I have not finished it yet, but have been reading it AND I was fortunate enough to have Carrie speak at my last Find Your Lula retreat.  She shared little bits of her book and really helped our guests find their spark.  

 

 

When I met Carrie, it was like there was a little spark.  It was as if I had met a soul sister, championing the same work that I feel so passionately about...helping others find and refine their creativity.  This book captures the essence of what Carrie is like. Kind, fun, exciting and super creative..... you will LOVE it!!

 

Just watch this book trailer to get a feel for how amazing Carrie and her book are. 

 

 

Here is a little more about the book:

 

The Little Spark–30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity (Stash Books 2014) is an interactive roadmap to help you step into the sparkly life of creativity and passion you are waiting for–whether you dream of sewing, baking, dancing or painting. It offers activities and inspiration to help you uncover the creativity you were born with and helps you remove some of your obstacles (doubt, fear, perfectionism, lack of time, etc.). After reading The Little Spark you will feel inspired, energized and ready to play!

 

 

I know that you would love to win a copy, right???  Head on over here to leave a comment for a chance to win, or you can just go buy yourself a copy here.  This book also makes a wonderful gift for the aspiring creative person in your life!  

 

I hope you will pick a copy up for yourself and a friend.  I am sure that you won't regret it!!

 

Hugs and Fishes,

 

Amanda

 

 

 

 

Petite Maison + Cottage Garden = LOVE

Are you ready for cute overload?  

I am dying!  Amber, my good friend and pattern writer for The Quilted Fish, made my Petite Maison pattern out of my new fabric, Cottage Garden.  I just love the way it turned out.

She paid so much attention to every detail, even crocheting little items like flowers.

And she made tiny little stockings to hang on the mantle (squeel!!!).

She made a Chirstmas tree, tree skirt and gifts!!

Every detail on this little house is to die for.  

 

If you want to make one for yourself, the Petite Maison Pattern is on sale through Monday!  Here is a LINK.

Oh, and the whole thing folds down and stores flat in a bag!!!  How cute!!

Disclaimer:  This pattern is for intermediate to advanced sewists.  It is not a quick and easy project.  If you want to make this for a Christmas gift, I would start now!!

Hugs and Fishes,

Amanda

La Vie Boheme

Imagine yourself in a gypsy wagon....

Hand held out for madame Zujenia Keet to tell your fortune...

As you sit on her colorful poufs, smoke wafting around you, she tells you your fortune. You will be very happy, she says.  You will have many many yards of fabric, she says.

This is what I do when I design a line of fabric.  I immerse myself in whatever world I am currently inspired by.  My newest line of fabric, now preselling and in stores in May, was inspired by Romanian Gypsys.  My parents are living in Romania right now and I was wanting to find some connection with them there.  I had a lot of fun researching their culture and looking at their clothing.  

Here is a little sneak peak at La Vie Boheme, my next fabric line...

One of the things I am really excited about with this line is the gold.  Just like the gypsys, I like the gold!  There is gold shimmer in this line and it is going to be gorgeous! Here is a close up of one of the pieces with gold shimmer.

The gold color in this print will be shimmery and shiny.  So lovely!

I have to share a close up of one more pic.  This is one of my favorite pieces.

I love the skulls!! I hope you do, too. 

There you have it.  A little preview of what is to come.  I can't wait!

Hugs and Fishes,

Amanda

Riley Blake Blog Hop!

Hello!

I am excited to be kicking off the Riley Blake blog tour!  First off, let me take a minute to introduce myself a little.  My name is Amanda Herring and I design under the name The Quilted Fish.  I have designed 11 fabric lines for Riley Blake Designs!!!  You can see all of my lines here. I love creating and designing and helping other people to do the same.  I love to take naps, eat pizza (only gluten free, though, and it really isn’t the same), and travel the world. Now that you know me a little more (or have had a refresher), let's get on to the exciting stuff!  FABRIC!

My latest line of fabric for Riley Blake Designs is called The Cottage Garden.  It is inspired by my own little cottage where I work and play.  

You can see more about my cottage in the current issue of Where Women Create.  .

The cottage is an amazingly inspiring place for me.  We have done a lot of work to it, but there is still so much more to do!  I look forward to the day when it is bursting each spring with huge peony bushes.  That is what the main print of this line is all about. 

This is my favorite line I have designed so far.  I really love the color combination and the mix of whimsical and sophisticated.  I think it works well for so many things.  In fact, I am planning on doing my twin 8 year old girls room in this line.  

And look at this lovely little outfit made from the amazing knits in this line.  This is a new Quilted Fish pattern called Perfectly Paired that will be available next week.  It was designed by our designer Amber Odekirk.  The pattern includes instructions for both the girl and the doll outfits.

 

I love seeing my fabric in the wild.  Here are some projects that are made from the fabrics, but not by me!

This quilt was made by Kimberly Bourne of Main Street Market Designs

And look at the close up of those little flowers...

And you can see it here in the Riley Blake Designs booth at fall quilt market...

 

And another shot from the booth....

 

 

You probably noticed this quilt in the booth quilts

It is made by my dear friend Tiffany of Tiny Seamstress Designs.

And how about one last one...

Here are my good friends Sally Keller, wearing a dress made from The Cottage Garden and Cindy Cloward, owner of Riley Blake Designs.  I love these ladies!

I would love to see what you make from this line.  If you make something, pin it to Pinterest and email me the link at thequiltedfish@gmail.com.  We are having a pin contest and if you pin something between now and December (and you let us know!) you could win $200 worth of fabric and patterns!  Wahoo!

Happy sewing and have a great time on the blog hop!

Hugs and Fishes,

Amanda