SNOW, SNOW GO AWAY....

I am very tired of snow and ice! I'm thinking of flying south next winter...



My wild birds appreciate a snack on the covered patio.

DO DOGS GO TO HEAVEN?

GINA'S LATEST PAINTING...PRETTY!

Gina's new painting! For sale at her Etsy shop, ginamstudio.

INTERVIEW WITH ULTRA TALENTED SUZY SPENCE!

With a stash like this:

and a beautiful studio like this:

Suzy Spence, our featured guest and one of our favorite customers, makes fabulous items for her Etsy shop like this:

and this:

We interviewed Suzy so you could get to know this talented and very nice lady!

Suzy, we love your designs and everything in your Etsy shop, GeorgiaPeachez! Would you tell us a little about you and your background?

I am a self-employed RDMS (registered diagnostic medical sonographer) some of the time and a crafter all of the time! I was born and raised in the south but have lived in New Jersey and Ohio. I am married with two daughters and live in Hampton, VA next to the ocean.

When did you first discover your artistic talent and when did you start to sew?

My parents always encouraged me to be creative and as a little kid I was always making something. I received my first sewing machine from Santa when I was 8yo. My mom told me that if I learned to sew she would buy me all the fabric I wanted and she kept her promise!

What are the inspirations for your designs?

I have coveted vintage fabrics and sewing items for a long time. Currently I am getting my biggest jolt from vintage upholstery fabrics, especially mid century designs. On the other hand I am really inspired by the explosion of creativity/design in current "quilt" fabrics. I am not a quilter but put me in a quilt shop anywhere and I am a happy shopper.

What caused you to open an Etsy shop and what advice, if any, do you have for other Etsians?

I have been selling my creations on eBay since 1998 with great success. Opening an Etsy shop seemed a logical next step. Etsy is a much friendlier online market place. Anyone starting up on Etsy or anywhere online for the first time needs to expect that it will take time to develop a following. Also, blogging has been great for my exposure and traffic to my shop.

Do you sell your items on other venuse?

I still sell on eBay occasionally. I've done a trunk show and some craft shows, but eBay and now Etsy have been my biggest success.

Please tell us one unique thing about you that would surprise us!

When I was in my late twenties, before kids, I trained and entered a body building contest!

You can find Suzy on her website: www.georgiapeachez.com which has links for her shops, twitter, blog, etc. THANKS SUZIE!

BLOG GIVEAWAY! FREE FABRIC! FREE PATTERN! DRAWING ON 2/8/10!

First, 44th Street Fabric thanks everyone who entered our last giveaway and CONGRATULATIONS to TORI at TAELOR MADE CLOTHING! She is the winner of our last giveaway and has won 1 yard each of 3 Story Time fabrics from Moda! Tori, if you blogged about our giveaway, you win another yard of fabric from our shop, your choice! Please email me with your mailing address and I'll send your prize!

Here are the rules of our Giveaway: it's kind of like "Find Waldo" but you will be looking for a photo of our owner, Jason, in one of the listings in our Etsy shop (http://44thstreetfabric.etsy.com) for the items shown above. We call our contest "Find Jaso".

FIRST: Go to our Etsy store (just click on the link). SECOND: Look for the fabrics, pattern and charm squares shown above. So there are 4 listings Jaso's picture could be hiding in and they will be on the first couple of pages in the shop listings so you won't have to look through the entire shop (unless you just love looking at fabric). THIRD: Leave a comment on this blog entry and tell me what fabric listing you found Jason's picture in. Easy-peasy and you will be entered to win! Comments will not be shown on the blog until after the contest but you will be entered. Winner will be announced on Monday, February 8, 2010! Be sure to leave your email address on the entry so that I can notify you if you win!

What is the prize for this giveaway? A charm square pack, a charm quilt sailboat pattern and two yards of coordinating fabric from the new Nautical & Nice fabric line designed by Sandy Gervais for Moda! You can make a baby quilt and wall hanging and have enough for the backing and binding too! If you blog about our giveaway and you are the winner, you will receive the adorable fabric panel that goes with this line! It's a cute sailboat panel and will make a darling quilt! Just put the blog link in your comment and if you win, you get the panel. If you tweet or facebook about our giveaway, you get an extra entry for each! If you link our blog to yours, you receive 2 extra entries. The winner is chosen at random by random.com. Let me know if you have any questions and GOOD LUCK!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLA! I'm so glad you were rescued from the horrible puppy mill you were trapped in for years! XOXOXO


Too Super Cool For His Ticket - Funny blooper videos are here

Lola's birthday wish is that more of her animal friends get adopted from shelters!

SUMMER SONG FABRIC SNEAK PEEK!

Summer Song fabric from Riley Blake Designs will be in the shop this spring! Our customers tell me that they love getting a taste of fabric "coming attractions" so I had to show you the Summer Song fabric line. I personally love Summer Song fabric and can't wait to get my hands on it! Riley Blake is working on pre-cuts and we will carry those in the shop also!

Be sure to enter our blog giveaway for 3 yards of FREE Storytime 54" fabric from Moda!

MAKING A BITTY DOG PIN CUSHION!

I've been looking at this Bitty Dog Pincushion Pattern since the day it arrived at the 44th Street Fabric shop and finally decided that I have to make one for my sewing room. It's so cute! Bunny Hill Designs patterns are so eay to make--the only difficulty for me is that some of the pieces are tiny. I've been using my surgical clamps that I got from a booth at the Houston Quilt Show one year to turn the little pieces. They are amazingly useful around the house! I can't get a good pic of my "work in progress" because it's so darn dark in here but will put up my finished project for you to see. It's really fun to see my little dog take shape! I might make some for gifts for my sewing and quilting friends!

FOUND! UFO'S I THOUGHT I'D LOST IN THE MOVE!

What's so great about these unfinished items and why aren't they even ironed? Because I thought they were gone forever--lost in a move but as you can see they are found! WOOT! I couldn't wait to take some photos and celebrate!

These projects aren't finished because they are from my "homespun plaid" period. I think that was the early 90's? At any rate, I do love the applique quilt and will finish it some way. It's also a cautionary tale--store the background fabric with your applique blocks! I think mine got used up in other projects....sigh....

There are 16 blocks in the applique quilt--all done by hand. I think I was going to do 20 blocks but am going to use the 16 and just finish it up. Maybe with a red and black plaid border? Red sashing? No sashing? Happy for opinions! So WOOT! It's home!

BLOG GIVEAWAY! FREE FABRIC! DRAWING ON 1/25/10!

First, thanks to everyone who entered and CONGRATULATIONS TO SUE CAHILL! She is the winner of our last giveaway and has won 1/2 YARDS each of 4 Feathered Friends fabrics! Sue, if you blogged about our giveaway, we will double your winnings! Just send me an email with the link to your blog!

Here are the rules of our Gieaway: it's kind of like "Find Waldo" but you will be looking for a photo of our CEO, Jason, in one of the Playtime (the fabric shown here) listings in our Etsy shop (http://44thstreetfabric.etsy.com/). We call our contest "Find Jaso"!

FIRST: Go to our Etsy store (just click on the link). SECOND: Look for the fabrics shown above--there are 3 of them and they will be on the first couple of pages--you won't have to look through the entire store unless you just love looking at our fabric! THIRD: Leave a comment on this blog entry and tell me what fabric listing you found Jason's picture in. Easy-peasy and you will be entered to win! Comments will not be shown on the blog until after the contest but you will be entered. Winner will be announced on Monday, January 25, 2010!

What is the prize for this giveaway? THREE (3) ONE YARD CUTS (TOTAL 3 YARDS) of the 54" PLAYTIME FABRIC shown above! That's right! Get 3 YARDS (1 yard each) of this awesome home dec fabric from Moda. If you blog about our giveaway, you will receive an EXTRA 1 YARD OF ANY FABRIC IN OUR SHOP--YOUR CHOICE! Just put the blog link in your comment and if you win, you get an extra yard of fabric. Let me know if you have questions and GOOD LUCK!

MESSAGE FROM CHARLIE AND LOLA, THE WONDER DOGS!

Charlie and Lola are my little wonder dogs! They love the sign they got for Christmas which shows their Wonder Dog status to the world. Both are rescues--Lola from a horrible puppy mill and Charlie from being tied up in someone's back yard (click on their pictures to read their stories). Charlie and Lola are loved by everyone who meets them. They are very grateful for their rescue!

I wanted to show you a list of some of the companies that do animal testing. I won't distress you with the details but things these companies do to helpless animals are very, very bad. Please take a look at this list and decide if you want to continue to buy products from these companies. Lola and Charlie could have both ended up at the pound and could have been picked up by these companies for research. We will never knowingly sell any fabric that has had dye testing on animals.

Now I'll get down off my soapbox and remind you to enter our Giveaway for FREE fabric! We will always have a giveaway going! Fun and prizes! As Charlie would say, "Woot" and I say thank you for letting me share somthing that weighs on my heart!

RURAL JARDIN BY FRENCH GENERAL FOR MODA

A little taste of Rural Jardin fabric by French General for Moda which is coming to 44th Street Fabric in March! This is just a tiny sample of the Rural Jardin fabric coming from this line. Those of you who loved Rouenneries will LOVE the Rural Jardin line too. The Rural Jardin colors are subtle and cool for Spring. AND, I just ordered a ton of the new Christmas line by French General that will be in the shop in June. Look for a sneak preview of that line soon!

Don't forget to enter our Blog Giveaway for FREE fabric! Next drawing is 11/11/2010! Cheery wave from 44th Street Fabric!

I can't wait to

RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS FABRIC SNEAK PREVIEW!

Rainy Days and Mondays fabric from Riley Blake Designs is our sneak preview fabric this week. We expect it to be in the shop late January or February. These are just a few of the fabrics we purchased from this line. Love these fabrics! All the colorways (also a yellow group and a green group) have a touch of gray in the figural fabric. Can't wait to get them!

GINA M STUDIO

We just wanted to share some of the things one of our favorite artists, Gina of Gina M Studio, is doing for 2010! I love, love, love her Dotty dishes! Her tree painting is so pretty with mica making it shine! We love her original art and now she is using it to make pendants. Her colors are just scrumptious. So if you want a little original art piece, you can get one of her pendants and wear it! I'll be wearing more than one but then I'm her lucky Mom and can raid her inventory! She has some new surprises for next year including fabric (I'm so happy about that!!!), more paintings, pottery, glass tile pendants and knowing Gina some things I haven't even imagined yet! You can keep up with Gina at her blog and her Etsy shop!