Check out your favorite fabric shop... they're stocking Ruby Star Shining as we speak. Buy it up, it sells out fast! Shop owners: as usual, a gallery of images is at your disposal here.

 
Looking for project ideas for this fabric?  Fat Quarterly just finished the 12 Days of Ruby Star, which was bursting with wonderful projects made with this and my spring lines.

the amazing projects are as follows:  1. Kristy's round pincushion  2. Sarah's lapkins  3. Melissa's iphone case  4. Katy's piped pillows  5. Heather's patchwork scarf   6. Caitlin's log cabin napkins  7. Cindy's All-Star Stockings  7b. Lu's No-Sew Ker-istmas Ker-ackers  8. Michelle's body pillow cover  9. Wynn's handsewn organizer boxes  10. Amber's ipad case  10b. Sha's ipad case  11. Shruti's samosa wristlet  12. Lynne's colorblock pillow

Thanks Fat Quarterly!

Happy Christmas Eve!  In conjunction with Fat Quarterly's 12 Days of Ruby Star, I'm going to show you how to make a classic Melody Miller headscarf out of Ruby Star fabric.

First, download and print your template.  Be sure to print at full scale!  Now, cut along the diagonal line that best describes your head (pixie, melody size, or big hair!)

Fold your fabric in half and align the short end of the triangle with your fold.  Use a straight edge and rotary cutter to cut 1/4" outside the 2 long edges of the triangle.  (Sadly, the 8.5" x 11" paper template isn't big enough for my seam allowances. You have no idea how this disappoints me:)

The next part is the easiest ever. For heavier-weight fabrics from my fall lines, simply fold and iron all three edges back toward the wrong side of the fabric by 1/4". A little starch will give you nice crisp edges. Trim away any wonky points. Then do a nice wide zig-zag stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance around all three edges capturing the folded edge on the back.

Alternately, you can first zig-zag stitch or serge the three edges and then fold back by 1/4".  If you do this, you can stitch the folds down with a decorative stitch.  See... fancy!

Now all you have to do is attach a ribbon.  You'll need about 40" for this project. For some reason I seem to have a lot of sheer ribbon (probably because it's always in the dollar bin at Michael's), so that's what I like to use.  I would recommend avoiding slippery satin ribbons because it may come untied and awkward social situations will ensue.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Fold your ribbon in half and pinch a crease in the center. Line up this crease with the center of your scarf. Stitch the ribbon down along the longest edge of the triangle, as close to the edge of the fabric as you can get it. I like to stitch both long sides of the ribbon down to the fabric.

You can see the design of the fabric through the ribbon.  Isn't that pretty?

And... voila!  You have a classic Melody Miller headscarf! 

Okay, I'm gonna show you one more thing: how to make a reversible scarf with a pretty trim. It's easy-peasy. Cut out 2 fabrics using your template. If you have a pretty piece of trim, pin it to the long side of one of the triangles, about 1/2" away from the edge.

Sew the trim down. Put this triangle right-sides-together with the other, and sew all the way around with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Leave a 4" opening on one of the short sides.  Turn the scarf right side out, and press. Topstitch along all 3 sides with a 1/8" seam allowance, closing the 4" opening.  Attach ribbon to the opposite side from the trim according to the instructions above.

Now, let's talk about the most important part of this project: how to wear your scarf.  I have many years of experience under my belt, and I'm willing to share some of my best tips here.

1) Do your ears poke out? Mine do. Make sure the scarf sits on top of your ears. See? Problem solved.

2) Does pulling baby hairs out of the back of your neck not sound like a good time?  Pin your hair up quickly before you tie the scarf on.  Then you can tie it happily with all your hair out of the way.  Do you look extra-awesome now? Leave your hair pinned up!  Not so much? Let it back down.

3) Do you look like you're ready for a day of yard work?  Well, change your clothes, lady. Wear a cute outfit with your scarf... hello :D

4) Having weird face or hair shape issues? (We never said this was effortless).  Push the scarf back so the front of your hair will show.  Don't tie it too tight unless that flatters you, whereupon tie it tighter! Move your hair around until it has the right shape in combo with your scarf.  There, that's better. 

I hope to see lots of pics of people sporting their new scarves... Happy Holidays!

Ruby Star Shining is here, and I've been super busy sewing up samples for Quilt Market.  Here's a little peek:

Allison and I just received our book manuscript from the publisher last week, so we can do some final edits.  Wanna know what tickles us the most?? We have our own ISBN number!  Looks like Ruby Star Wrapping will make its appearance in fall 2012.

And, yes, the inevitable has happened: I'm now on Pinterest:)

P.S. Thanks to Elsie and Rachel for the awesome fabric-covered-suitcase tutorial. Also, thanks to Stephanie for sewing the awesome tea wallet and bib!

The free Bee Skirt pattern by Whipstitch is here: http://whipstitchfabrics.com/blog/ruby-star-spring-bee-skirt/

If you like this video, feel free to share it on your blog!  I would be honored:)

While we haven't exactly seen Ruby Star Spring in stores yet (it's coming, I promise!), I just turned in my artwork for Ruby Star Shining, my fall collection for Kokka.  This is a follow up to Ruby Star Rising from last year, and I'm really excited about it.

The flowers?  I'm totally going to upholster a vintage sofa in these.

So, for family vacation this year, we have headed out to the Oregon coast!  On our way, we were able to stay overnight in Portland, and we really packed a lot in to our 24 hours.

First thing Saturday morning, we tried local coffee with friends who used to live in Atlanta. AH-mazing.

Then, off to brunch with the Sweet Hot Yams!  Do you know how much I want to be a Yam too??

And finally, in the last moments before checking out of our hotel, we stopped by Bolt and Modern Domestic. Bolt was one of the first fabric shops on my radar several years ago when I first got interested in fabric. It was so much fun to visit in person!

You might notice I am wearing a BEE SKIRT!!  This, however, is not THE bee skirt that Deborah from Whipstitch is designing in order to rock our collective worlds. I had a tiny bit of fabric from Kokka, and was just dying to wear a little of it on my trip. The REAL Bee Skirt will be revealed in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

I grew up in an unkind household. This is not an ideal way to grow up; I don't recommend it. Unkind could mean a number of things here, but without going into sordid details, I'll say it wasn't just an absence of kindness, but an atmosphere of verbal and emotional abuse. These things were kept fairly well-hidden.  I did not learn that the world was a safe place.

Of all my memories and all my recollections, the moments that have stood out in sharpest contrast in my life were when people went out of their way to be kind to me.  There was one particularly difficult day in my early adulthood.  Of all my hard times, I think that day stands out as the hardest.  Knowing enough to put one foot in front of the other, I wandered through NYC, not sure what to do with myself or where to go. After walking aimlessly for several hours, I was surprised to run into a neighbor from Brooklyn, barely an acquaintance, sitting on a curb with his business partner.  They invited me to sit down. After a few minutes of small talk, a company car pulled up to the curb and my neighbor was whisked away, leaving me sitting there with a stranger.  For a few awkward moments, neither of us knew what to say, but then conversation came easily.  A few minutes turned into a few hours, and in a most unexpected turn of events, we spent the entire afternoon sitting in Bryant Park talking about light-hearted things like classic rock and airplanes. As the hours wore on, I felt normal, and appreciated, and human again. I got a brief reprieve from the difficulty I was facing, and learned that simple kindness can bridge the gap between feeling hopeless and knowing everything will be okay.

It's been 16 years since I left my original household, almost as many as I spent there. But making that place GO AWAY is harder than you'd think. I've carried it around with me and been haunted by it.  I think one of the biggest mistakes made by the people who raised me was the assumption that the little things didn't matter.  They took no credit for the mean and critical and hurtful words they flung around so carelessly, the words I've spent most of my life trying not to still hear. Those words formed my reality, my impression of myself. They thought their words didn't count.

Words are powerful, and once they're released into the world, you can't get them back. They go on and live a life of their own.

And here we are on the internet, with all of its eternal, undying words.  I know there are dark corners here, but it always surprises me to see hurtful words used against people in my own community. Offer your public opinion if you must, but remember: your words achieve a life of their own.  You never know the ways in which you will move someone, completely shift the trajectory of their life, for better or worse. Choose your words with care. 

The person I talked to in Bryant Park so many years ago?  I only know his first name. He will never know how helpful he was that day. He never even knew I was suffering.  But that's the thing: I've carried that kindness around with me for 10 years now. To have such an impact, by just being kind, is an unforgettable lesson.

One reason I love doing what I do is the abundance of kindness I've found in this little community. I dearly love the other designers who have reached out to me and included me in their world.  And the crafters and sewists and bloggers and just-plain-lovely-people with their warmth and encouragement and creativity... you all are exactly the people I want in my life!

As I've said before, we're all struggling here, and my deepest struggle and greatest desire is to HEAL my little wounds, and to give back to others some of the kindness that's been given to me. One way I'll do that: I'll choose my words carefully.