Are you a CAT lover or a DOG lover?

I must admit, I lean more towards the CAT lover, and only because we now have 2 cats--a regal, seal point Siamese, and a scruffy, mostly toothless, blind in one eye, slightly psychotic black Tabby we took in as a stray. Quite a difference between those two! Oh, and I forgot to mention, we now have an orange Tabby as our "outside" cat. I know she lives around here somewhere, but I wonder if her owners have moved as she spends almost 24 hours a day in our yard. After several weeks of her hanging around, bolting in our house whenever we opened the door, and heading straight for our "real" cats' food dishes, we've taken to feeding her as well. So, I guess we really have 3 cats . . . plus 1 dutch bunny, 1 Russian hamster, and 3 goldfish. Yikes--sometimes I feel like I'm on a farm!

Well, all that to say that whether you are a cat OR dog lover, this week you win either way, as all of our cat AND dog fabric is on sale! Here are some samples (click on the pics to go straight to the listings):

 

 

To see ALL of the fabric on sale, click here.

And while you're at it, why not answer our Facebook Poll on whether you're a Cat or Dog Lover . . . or Neither! Click here to answer!

Happy July 4th Saving!

As we Americans celebrate our country's birth this weekend, we at FabricLovers.com would like to invite you to a private sale going on at our website! Use coupon code JULY4 to save an additional 20% off your order of $25 or more (includes Sale and Clearance items!)--but hurry because this code expires at midnight on July 4th!

Have a fantastic weekend celebrating our country and those who fought, and still do fight, for our freedom!

Artisan Batiks and new Fat Quarter Bundles!

Time for more eye candy! I absolutely adore these new batiks that just arrived. They are from the Artisan Batiks: Rivoli collection by Robert Kaufman.

 

And how about this custom Peaceful Batik Fat Quarter Bundle featuring the above Batiks. I'm in absolute LOVE!

Now to switch gears a little bit, you might remember a short while back when we received the organic Pick a Bunch line by Nancy Mims. We had been waiting on one more organic solid to show up, which finally did. So we now have our custom Pick a Bunch Organic Fat Quarter Bundle!

And last, but not least, how about this colorful Authentic African Fat Quarter Bundle?

What are YOUR favorites?

Winterberry Lane Winner

We have our winner of the Winterberry Lane fabric--it's JoyceS. Congratulations to Joyce, and thanks to everyone who entered!

Some New Fabric

Happy Father's Day weekend! Any special plans to celebrate the dads in your life? I think we will be taking a family hike tomorrow. Love getting out in the fresh air and getting some good exercise.

We've had some more fabric show up including some super-cute Halloween prints, elegant music prints, and a fun fish print. Check 'em out!

FREE Halloween Candy Bag project on our site!

Quilt kit for sale!

Enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to enter our contest before Monday morning for some FREE fabric!

New Fabric & Giveaway!

Here's a sneak peak at some of the new we've got in store. Stay tuned through the whole post, as there's a fabric giveaway at the end!

 Some fun new Ghastlies fabric by Alexander Henry--can you imagine having dinner with this group? lol

 

 

And this cute snowman themed Winterberry Lane collection by Red Rooster

 

 

 

Ok, now for the Giveaway: We will be giving one lucky blog reader a bundle of the Winterberry Lane fabrics which includes one panel and 1/2 yard cuts of the other 4 fabrics shown above. There are 3 ways to enter the contest. 

1. Leave a comment below--be sure to include your contact info!
2. Become a fan of our Facebook page here (if already a fan, put a post on our Facebook page saying you've entered the contest) then come back here and leave a comment.
3. Tweet about our contest, then come back here and leave a comment.

Do all three, and you'll be entered three times--just be sure to leave 3 separate comments; if you only leave one comment saying you've done all three, you're only entered once!  This contest ends Monday, June 20 at 9 am PT. Good luck!

And the Winner is . . .

After plugging in our contest numbers at Random.org, we have a winner for the Victoriana Quilt Designs membership, and it's Nancy D! Congratulations to Nancy, and thanks to everyone who entered. Wish I could give you ALL free memberships. :-) 

Join the Party!

Everyone loves a party, and what's better than a FABRIC party?! Come help celebrate Victoriana Quilt Designs' 10 year anniversary by sewing along with them on a specially-designed quilt top! There are 18 different parts to the design, and each part comes with complete directions and prizes! Check out this link for more info on the party:  http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com/VictorianaQuilters/BlockoftheMonth/VQDFabricParty.htm

One lucky FabricLovers Blog reader will win a year's membership to the site as well! Membership allows you access to FREE quilt patterns; online classes, workshops, and a members only area full of useful information; and the ability to purchase past designs for a nominal fee. Check out the full membership benefits here: http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com/VictorianaQuilters/Membership/Membership.htm
 
To be entered in the Membership Giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment below with your name and email so we can contact you if you win. This contest will be open until June 10; we'll pick the winner via random.org on June 11.

Good luck and happy sewing! :-)

Customer Interview

Today we have a treat as I am interviewing Andrea, a FabricLovers.com customer, who uses our fabrics to bind books! I just found out about her Etsy store, and I've fallen in love. lol  Stay tuned after the interview, as there is a special for our Blog readers!

Tell us a little about yourself and family
I live in northeast Ohio on a beautifully peaceful 550 acre lake 50 miles east of Cleveland with my husband and 11 year old boxer dog. Between my husband and I we have 4 kids and 6 amazingly beautiful grandkids.

Who in your life influenced your love of making things? How?   

 My mother has definitely been the inspiration in my life in so many ways. She has always created--whether it was painting, sewing, crafting, or picking up a power tool. Thanks to her I never felt there was anything I couldn't do, or at least attempt. I mean, I'm not saving lives here, what could happen if something went wrong?

How did you get interested in binding books?

I was in an international group that swapped art, and we decided to try book binding. I set out to learn about it by watching youtube videos and reading lots of books on the subject. After my first book was finished I was hooked.

What is your favorite part of the design process? 

I get excited over unusual or funky fabric, then choosing the perfect papers and binding methods. I have friends that call fabric my drug, and I suppose there is some truth in that! Sewing or the actual binding is very meditative to me. I always have music playing and really get lost in the process. I believe what gives my books soul is the fact I am a book nerd at heart--I love their feel in my hands and the places they can take me. That love is transferred to my books. 

Spine of book

What advice would you give to someone looking to sell their own items?

Don't be afraid. I have a couple of dear friends that a year ago encouraged me to quit giving my books away--that I should sell them, so I set up shop on Etsy. It was slow going at first (and still is at times!). Get business cards and postcards--I hand them out to anyone even remotely interested! Try vending at art/craft shows. Get yourself out there, set up a Facebook business page and a twitter account; both have helped me a ton. Never get discouraged, and seek out your best cheerleaders for encouragement when you get that give-it-up feeling.

Where can readers go to check out more of your art?

My Etsy shop is at http://www.etsy.com/shop/bluehighways, I do welcome custom orders which probably accounts for a third of my business. My Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/bluehighwaysbooks. Lastly my blog http://andrea-attheshores.blogspot.com/ a little bit of all my follies there.

As pretty inside as outside!

And finally, tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I've always wanted to get my pilot's license, and several years ago, I started taking lessons in Georgia but ended up moving to Ohio, so that got put on hold...one day I'll finish and soar with the birds! 

As a special for all of the blog readers, check out Andrea's Etsy shop, place an order, and use code FabricLovers during checkout to get 10% off! Thanks Andrea for this special discount, and for letting us interview you! I know I've got a Christmas present or two that will be taken care of in your Etsy shop. :-)

Another beautiful spine

 

Authentic African Fabric Coming Soon!

I love the bright colors and bold designs in African fabric! They have such an earthy, honest, happy appeal to them.

Well, traveling to the shop right now are our first bolts of Authentic African fabric, and I'm really excited for a couple of reasons. These fabrics will be perfect for use in quilts, clothing, and crafts. They are 100% cotton and are made in Mali, West Africa which is known for it's fabric design--each item is guaranteed authentic! The price point is very affordable (especially considering today's cotton prices), as they will be priced at $8.49 per yard.

And I've saved the best for last--these items are Fair Trade which means you are not only getting some great prints for yourself, but you are MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the lives of these African people!  The man in the picture above is our supplier. Until recently, he used to live in Mali, and it's his village that benefits from your purchase.

So here's a sneak peak of some of the delightful designs that are headed our way:

 

 

 

What ideas are running through your head on projects to use these for?