marie-madeline studio

Saying it with Red.White.Blue.

Happy July!  Ever since we were little, Independence Day has always been fun.  Mom's always been a red, white, and blue fan (that's an understatement), and has always taught us the importance of never, EVER letting July 4th roll around without proper clothing to go with the day.

See?  Now we have this thing about us (we tease Mom and call it a 'complex') -- we just can't let Independence Day roll by without wearing red, white, and blue.  It just isn't happening.

We spent some time this morning looking at all the fabulous July 4th party ideas on Pinterest.  Here are some of our favorites to put some firecrackers in the day...

We are definitely trying these Sugar Cookie Bars out.

This bunting is pretty enough to use all year round.

Boots.  What else can we say?

Popsicles are a must. (And red, white, and blue makes them tastier.)

Tablesettings that make us happy.

And, we can't forget the fancy wear.

Happy, happy Independence Day!

xoxo Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, & Abiah

Color Wheels

I finished my quilt!  I was jabbering about picking my fabrics here.  (Which I am sooo happy with!)  I didn't do any quilting to speak of last summer, because I just think of it as mainly a winter sport.  It's the perfect excuse to be bundled up underneath a big quilt, right? 

Oh, and that big fluff of white fur in the left hand corner of this above picture is a dog's tail.  Those three dogs of ours are always curious as to what we're up to, and they were probably even more curious as to why Abiah and I were out on a windy, cold day taking pictures of a blanket.  

I decided to hand quilt all the wheels with coordinating pearl cotton.  There are 16 wheels total, 2 of each color scheme.  So I used 8 different pearl cotton threads.  This was the first time I've ever used pearl cotton for hand quilting.  At first it seemed a bit more difficult to start/stop them, but once I got used to it, I loved it.  It's a great way to add extra color to your quilt!

I used one of my favorite Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi print on the back, a Denyse Schmidt leaf print for in-between the wheels on the front, and this Dowry fabric for the binding (that print makes a great binding, by the way).

I'm thrilled with the finished product, and it's now happily keeping me warm at night -- an absolute necessity along with my down comforter, two fuzzy blankets, and a sheet.  See, I finished the quilt just in time for the cold weather to get here!

In other good news, Nanny's here!  She flew in this weekend, so we have all week to play! 

xoxox Achaia

Celebrating Jennifer!!!

We are DELIGHTED to get to join in Jenny's 12 Days Celebrating Jennifer Paganelli!!!

 

 

If you haven't been able to tell, Jennifer is one of our very favorite designers EVER.  Her work represents so much beauty, love, vibrancy, and the joys of life.   

When we look back through pictures of the things we've made it's amazing how many feature Jennifer's fabrics.  They always seem right for the occasion.  And their versatility!  Amazing. 

But, we think that what draws us most to Jennifer's designs (fabric!  patterns!  books!  stationary!  anything she does!) is Jennifer herself.  Ever since we began chatting with her through emails and comments, we were struck with how very genuine she is.  Jennifer has such a heart for helping other people.  Anytime we've needed help and asked for it (and even when we didn't even ask!), Jennifer has always been there with a helping hand and encouraging words. 

When three of us had the joyous pleasure of finally meeting her last year, we weren't disappointed.... she's exactly the same in person.  And then once again, we knew why her fabrics represented all the beauty and goods things in life.  Because that's Jennifer herself.

We love you Jennifer! 

xoxo Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, & Abiah

By the way, Jenny's 12 Days Celebrating Jennifer isn't over yet!  And, be sure to go back and read all the good ones from earlier!!

December 09 Sew Pretty Dresses
December 10 Sweeter Than Cupcakes
December 11 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 12 Hickity Pickity  Handmade Dress Haven
December 13 Tabbo Designs 100 Billion Stars
December 14 Heavenlelgh Blessings Boutique
December 15 Scientific Seamstress
December 16 Sweet Baby Jamie
December 17 Hold It Right There
December 18 Sew Fun By Monique
December 19 Small Town Girls Clothier Marie Madeline Studio
December 20 Granny B's Clothesline Lilac Lane by Melissa Stramel

The Grass is Greener...

I love green. This skirt that you saw last spring, was one of my favorites. Until some of the zipper teeth melted, and I could no longer get it on. *sad face* We soon fixed that, however, by using this solid green pique, and making a new one. Hooray! I must confess that I'm not exactly a speedy seamstress...but this skirt took no time at all to whip up. That calls for a double hooray. 

Oh, and it IS beginning to look (and feel) more like spring around here. Yesterday, I went outside in a short sleeved tee. Ahhh...no huge jacket to lug around.

I hope you're enjoying warmer weather, too, wherever you are!

xoxoxo~Abiah

a pile of color

Quilts.  Quilts.  Quilts have been on the brain lately (and on the floor). 

I (Achaia) was diving through my fabric stacks the other day and came up for breath with a plan and a tall pile of lovelies in an array of colors.  I haven't made a quilt for several years now, and, in my defense, I have not hand quilted one in simply ages.  And, this go round I decided on following a pattern instead of our often scrappy quilts.  I picked up the pattern from friend Alexia at Market in October and am loving it so far. 

It's tempting to pick a particular fabric collection for a quilt top, but I've found that I absolutely love the two quilts that I've made more with a color scheme versus one specific collection.  If you've read this blog for a long time you've seen one of them here.  And, would you know that I've shown a glimpse of the other one on our blog and I didn't even remember it! 

So, this one is going to be what you might term my signature colors --- deep, rich, and saturated.  I am loving the idea of each 'wheel' being in one color family.  I had so much fun putting my scraps in piles by color and cutting all the pieces this weekend. 

Now I'm on a crusade to get Mom and all the other girls making quilt tops, picking fabric with colors in mind instead of an entire line.  I definitely have some of them on the band wagon, so it will be exciting to see what they come up with!  We'll be sure to share them along and along.

xoxo Achaia

1 skirt | 3 days | Day 1 ~ J.Crew in Honduras

Skirt - Made by me | Tee - Gap | Flats - TJMaxx

My best friend (Ashley!), along with two other bloggers is hosting a 1 skirt - 3 days event, where you wear the same skirt for three days in a row, and try your hand at styling it different ways.  I chose this bright green skirt that I made a few months ago.  The fabric is denim so it holds it's shape very well, but the poppy color is a great unexpected part.  Especially since I've lately been having a great love for all things green!

I was inspired to make up an outfit that was a good combination of brights.  The combinations in J.Crew always inspire me --- they seamlessly weave happy colors together for great outfits (take a look at this combo!  I love it!).  Oh, and the flats remind me of something that would have come home from a Honduras mission trip when I was a child.

Happy Friday to you all!  In a few hours I plan to sit on the couch, watch some good movies, eat yummy pizza, and maybe stitch a little.  Hugs! xox Achaia

Tropical Feast.

all above images via Pinterest

Sometimes we love to just look at pictures that don't necessarily have anything to do with fabric or sewing, but just beauty and color.  It's a great thrill to find inspiration in so many different places!  We're loving tropical colors right now, and Calypso is THE perfect vibrant collection!  (Psst... you can even see what Abs did with it in our last post!).  Oh, and yes... it's 20% off through the 2nd of March!  Enjoy! xoxox

A pop of color....

 
... to start the day off right!

Happy Friday, everyone!  xxx the Long ladies

cloud, cream, petal, sand...

 
 
 
 

 
We've found this color palette slipping into our closets more and more this spring.  There's something about a whole lot of neutrals all jumbled up that makes for a perfect combination every time.  Kind of like denim with a crisp white t-shirt.  Apphia and Abiah - our resident "plain janes" - could wear these colors every day.  And throwing in some pink adds just enough color.  We kind of consider this soft petal pink a neutral, too.  What is your favorite color palette for this season?

XO, the Long ladies