I placed an order with CLOTHO, a local printer in Vancouver! It didn’t seem that scary until I hit the confirm button. Why should I be scared? I’ve been dying to have my designs printed on to fabric for ages. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t afraid of anything CLOTHO might do. In fact, they were great!

Was it nerves about Mini Maker Faire? No, I don’t think so. First time jitters? Maybe. That, and realizing I probably should have ordered some test prints first!

When I held the freshly printed fabric in my hand, relief finally washed over me. It turned out even better than I imagined!

What am I going to do with all this fabric you ask? Let’s see, I’m covering four chair cushions…

making two types of garden aprons, one for holding tools and one for gathering the fruits of your labour…

… I’ve also made up some bandanas for either your brow, your hair or your outside garden table. Plus some Hot & Cold packs for after a long day of gardening- ahhh…

And, lastly some kneeling pads.

I also wanted to mention, while I was waiting for the CLOTHO fabric, I ordered these cotton twill labels from Mommie Made It on Etsy. I adore how they turned out!

As for the second scariest thing I ever had to do… well, that would be having to cut into the fabric. YIKES!

You know, there’s nothing quite like waking up and seeing one of your designs filling your computer screen. Especially ones that you didn’t put there. That happened to me three times this past March!

The first time was on March 4th on Make it in Design’s blog: Pattern Design Showcase Part 2- Module 3 (Sept 2015 Class)

Then on March 9th, I woke up to this:

And on the same day I saw this!

I was scrolling along and then BAM! Hey, that’s MINE!

As one friend phrased it, Print and Pattern, it’s like the holy grail of Surface design sites!

And when I wasn’t being taken by total surprise I was working on another Skillshare class. Honestly, I can’t get enough of this stuff!

I’m not really sure how to go about this or how to write about it…

I’m still a little in shock.

but I won..

Unbelievably, I won. I won a portfolio review with Elizabeth Olwen for this collection I designed in her latest Skillshare class!

We live in amazing times don’t we! YouTube, E courses! You can connect with people, instructors all over the world and learn anything. ANYTHING. It’s crazy. How did we do it before?

I’ve always loved learning, in fact I easily could become a professional student. My husband says I could have been a doctor if we added up all the time I’ve spent in school!

Last year when I was working on my first fabric collection, I checked out Elizabeth Olwen’s Pattern Design: Creating Inspiring Repeats. Lurked would probably be a better term. It was weird really, I’ve been buying fabric, looking at it, sewing with it forever but when faced with how to design a collection, I was like, huh? I loved Elizabeth’s class, it really filled in the gaps and answered the questions I had.

With The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design finishing at the end of 2015, I have to admit, I panicked a bit. I’m a girl that loves deadlines and schedules. Then early January rolled around and what popped into my inbox, but an invite to another Elizabeth Olwen class, Pattern Design II: A Creative Look at a Full Pattern Collection. Building a collection over two weeks? Hmm… I waffled, do I have time? Then I snapped myself out of it. Make time. Do it now, there will never be a perfect time.

It was a gorgeous class. The lessons were well recorded and well explained. Her information was clear and concise. Plus, uniquely she provided feed back and a Skype Q & A call. From what I understand not every class is hands on like this one. Score!

I posted my mood board from the class a few weeks back. Creating a mood board was a step I’d often brush past and one I don’t think I’ll ever skip again.

In brainstorming for the mood board I realized the story of my collections was this:

When I moved to the west coast my grandfather unexpectedly started sending me letters. Every time I received one I dropped everything and wrote him back. Being a sucker for stationary didn’t hurt, however this routine we created, it allowed me to meet my grandfather in a way I never had before. He was very romantic about the past, something we had in common. I long for my pen-pal, the ritual of putting everything on hold, slowing down, thinking of what to say, answering questions, putting pen to paper and simply writing a letter.

A far contrast to the internet, Youtube, E courses, etc (all things I love). I know I’m a conundrum.

P.S. Elizabeth was very sweet and remembered the project I did her Wildwood Collection back in 2014 (and calender) . She’s awesome like that!

This is a mood-board. Step one to designing a fabric collection. Stay posted for step two…

Considering six years ago all I did on the computer was check email (occasionally) I’m feeling a little tickled these days.

I’m happy to report every time I open Adobe Illustrator I’m not gripped with panic anymore. I realize I still have loads to learn and sometimes thinking about the mountain of stuff I don’t know, well, it can be hugely over whelming. Instead I’ve taken a new approach and it seems to be working. I just take one step at a time. Literately just one step at a time…

click this…

click this…

now how do I?…

Read, read, read, google.

Click, click, click.

Hey it worked!

It’s not as scary doing it this way. Slow, yes but I’m getting it and I trust I’ll get faster the more I do…

And feeling calm, not terrified helps. A lot!