*GASP!*

She had seen them in the wild, the first time in North America! She texted me immediately of their location. I felt incredibly alert and knew it was time to go hunting. Not long after, there it was, among the heavy dense magazine rack at Chapters/Indigo… Love Patchwork and Quilting Issue #70! *Gasp* I had received my advanced copy in January but this?! I excitedly picked up one for you (and your friend!)! Luckily my mom lives in a different province, so we had a fighting chance (my apologies to any Albertans out there).

You read that right. I picked one up for you (and a friend)! I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY on Instagram starting this Saturday March 16th. I wanted you to be be the first to know about it! It’s the same rules as always, you must follow me @lysaflower on Instagram and tag a friend to play… BUT you will both receive a copy! I’ll also be emailing you both one of my patterns! And it doesn’t have to be the same pattern! International entries are welcome. The winner(s) will be announced Monday, March 18th on Instagram.

I’m sure you can imagine I was stunned when I was asked to do this feature. My favourite part was being asked about my quilt-y heros. It’s an amazing community isn’t it?! We’re all in this together. I’m always floored and greatly honoured when my patterns are sewn, especially when they’re sewn for someone they love. Thank you for that! Having said that, I’d like to share with you some photos of projects people have done: @chelsealanefields’s boombox pillow (she won first place at her local fair for it!). @bespokeoutlaw made both the bag and the cassette thread catcher. @needleplusthread’s extra rad boombox. @iadorepattern’s cassette LOVE block for a quilt bee baby quilt. @reecemontgomery who combined my cassette tape with @sewsweetness Polaris bag pattern. @sterlingsewn’s B-side for her daughter’s quilt! AND @simplesewendipity’s 28 (yes 28!) cassette tape boarder of her boombox quilt!

As a tradition… RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR PLAYLIST: I love You by Said the Whale. It’s a lyric video so we can sing along together!

Keep on #sewinglikeamothertrucker!

Makers and Shakers

I LOVE learning. I love challenges and I love how the world opens up as it happens. Our first creative assignment in Make it in Design's Winter School was...

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING TO BRING YOU THIS VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Holy Smokes! I opened my UPPERCASE newsletter last weekend and saw my "Say Anything" quilt featured!!! AND my "Hardcore Mixed Cassette Tape" quilt AND as an added bonus there was a link to my "Control Freak" quilt too!!! Eep! 

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING.

 ... to create your own font using lino cuts! Yes, please, again! I headed over to Opus Art Supplies to pick up some more lino and wouldn't you know it, they had ALL the neon ink colours. You know they had to come home with me right?

As I was working on this project the Women's March on Washington (and all over the world) was happening. Did you go? Did you make a pussy hat? Didn't you feel so proud. A sea of Makers and Shakers!

"The Future IS Female"

The first time I saw that slogan was on a T-shirt in Modcloth's online shop. After I posted the slogan in my font on Instagram someone told me you can buy the same shirts (for cheaper) over at Otherwild AND 20% of their proceeds go to Planned Parenthood. Gotta love that!

This Much Fun Can NOT Be Legal.

Wow! January. It's like I blinked and it's over. Now we're half way through February! How does that happen? I guess time flies when your having fun! Which I had during Make it in Design's Winter school first week (which started in early January). 

We were given two briefs and two creative exercises over this four week course. Our first brief was to create a pattern around these key words: Boho Glam 70's Rock. Yes please!!! Happily I found more than enough inspiration and realized I had oodles of content for three mood-boards. The first board was about shapes. The second was about the subject matter, in this case crochet patterns. The third board was all about colour. And as you can see I love ALL the colour!

I created myself a Boho playlist and settled into drawing. Interestingly enough I didn't even use these detailed drawings. Once I started blocking shapes in I knew they'd just become colouring pages. You never know sometimes. Anyways I was super thrilled with my design and I plan on creating a whole collection around it shortly!