Once again I have had a long absence from this blog. One of these days I will be a blogging fool though. Seriously. Joel has amazing things in store in the next few months, so keep watching. You will not want to miss his newest line coming out late spring. Just two words might peak the interest of so many people who contact us on a weekly basis for a particular print: "Antler Damask". I will let that teaser sit with you for the time being...

Until then, our friends over at www.creativebug.com have posted the workshop we created with them for our Farmer's Market Tote. Head on over to their site and check it out. You'll probably find a new internet addiction with all of their incredible workshops. 

Had I thought things through before now, I would have asked for this bag to be sent back before now so I could take it on vacation next week. Darn! It would be perfect for a carry-on bag for the plane. 

Joel's newest collection, "Botanique" arrived just in time to showcase at Quilt Market last month. We were unable to attend because we were just coming off of a 10-day vacation and family reunion in Florida. **Sigh** We had a wonderful time spending time with Joel's family and seeing some of our favorite places in Central Florida. 

 


But back to the fabric. Introducing "Botanique" was the original intent of this post. These beautiful prints will be available in January in both the "Fountain" and "Golden Hour" colorways. 

The tote bag features more of Joel's Bungalow prints, as well as some of his prints from the new True Colors line by Westminster Fabrics. These prints feature some of Joel's bestselling blender prints and will be available in November.

For now, to celebrate the return to our blogging world, we are giving away four fat quarter bundles from Bungalow. Two bundles each of the Bramble and Honeysuckle colorways will be given to four, lucky winners at the end of next week. That is if anyone happens to see that we've updated this site! Post a comment below to enter.

Joel and I were invited to be guest judges for a fashion show at Utah State University Monday night. Aside from the awkward three-hour-long introduction of Joel (really, when the announcer just kept going and going, Joel and I were getting a bit embarrassed), we had a blast acting like we knew what we were doing as judges. The event was put on by the faculty and students of the Family and Consumer Sciences Education Department, and each of the student designers was given the challenge to create an outfit from recyclable materials. Wow! We were so impressed with their level of creativity.

We were invited to sit on the judging panel by Lindsey Shirley, Utah State University FCS Teacher Educator, because she and her students love using Joel's fabrics in their creative projects, but also because she wanted judges who place family as a huge priority in their lives. And, seeing as how Joel and I are expecting our fifth child in about six months, we certainly fit that description!

Here we are pictured with Dr. Shirley and a couple of her students:

We were asked to choose a winner for each of the four seasons of the year, and one "Best of the Year" designer. I didn't think about getting photos of the winners until everyone was on their way out of the ballroom after the show, but I did manage to catch three quickly snapped photos of a few of the winners:

Our favorite for winter was the "Inspired by the Movies" dress, created out of movie posters and film tape.



I couldn't find the winners for the spring and summer seasons, so you won't get to see the creativity that went into designing an outfit with beach towels and stuffed animals, and the other with a cowboy boot bodice and button-up shirt skirt.

I personally had two favorites for fall, but the consensus among the judges was the "Goldmine" dress, made out of paper bags:



And finally, the dress that absolutely stunned me when it was displayed on the catwalk was this "Dollar Store Bride" created out of coffee filters, tulle, fabric and broken up CD's. I wish I had taken just a moment longer to get a better shot. This design won the overall "Best of the Year" award.



I was so hesitant to agree to do this event with Joel because I am not a fashion guru, but I'm so glad I went. It turned out to be one of our favorite date nights!