Incense & Peppermint

After designing my all black and pink line, St Remy de Provence, I was inspired to do an all pink and brown line of fabrics. Perfectly feminine fabrics that could be made into a quilt for women and girls of all ages. Fabrics that are sweet and timeless.

Filled with my signature toiles and florals, Incense & Peppermint is a fun little line. You can mix in other colors, I put in a small green border in the above quilt, to compliment the different shades of pinks, creams, and browns.

 

I hope you enjoy this line as much as I do!

Robyn Pandolph Design Studio Pop-Up Shop

Robyn Pandolph Design Studio Pop-Up Shop October 28th - October 31st Come join us for a one-time only Robyn Pandolph Design Studio Pop-Up Shop in Galveston, TX. We will be selling Robyn's fabrics, patterns, and favorite home goods for only 4 days at the Peanut Butter Warehouse in downtown Galveston.

Sale! Fabrics & Notions We're very excited to have 10 of Robyn's fabric lines all on sale. Ranging from Beach House (priced below wholesale at $2 a yard) to her newest line Incense & Peppermint (10% off). Quiltback fabrics will be on sale for $9.50 a yard. And all notions will be 10% off. 1 yard minimum cut for all sale fabric.

Hours & Location Four Days Only! Sunday, Oct. 28th - Noon till 8pm Monday, Oct. 29th - 10am till 6pm Tuesday, Oct. 30th - 10am till 6pm Wednesday, Oct. 31st - 10am till 6pm The Peanut Butter Warehouse is located on the corner of 20th & Harborside Drive in downtown Galveston. Paid street & private parking lot across the street.

Upcoming Retreats

Join Robyn

There will also be information on upcoming retreats with Robyn. Either learn how to applique on an Alaskan Cruise, hosted by Stitchin' Heaven Travel, or spend a weekend sewing at the beach in May 2013.

I Spy with My Little Eye

On last night's episode of Parenthood, I noticed something familiar.

The rocking chair cushion was made out of my fabric. How exciting is that! It's the toile from Desired Things.

This is one of my favorite prints from the line. I just love the little girl watering and picking flowers.

Yellow is one of my favorite colors for a nursery. Such a soft and happy, gender neutral color. The way they styled the nursery is just so simple and pretty. 

What a great surprise it was to see my fabric on one of my favorite shows! You can find the fabric HERE.

True Vintage Now Available

I have so many pieces of vintage fabric, from tiny remnants to long draperies, that I am running out of room for; hidden away in closets, armoires, and boxes. There is something special about a great piece of vintage fabric. Something so special that it can be hard to want to use it. What project will do this piece of fabric justice? I'm sure every fabric collector has had that thought go through his/her mind. 

That inspired me to create True Vintage. It's some of my favorite fabrics/motifs (including a French ticking inspired stripe) in colors that are from the textiles of the 1800s. There's no need to hoard them away for a unique or special project. 

It is currently available at RobynPandolph.com. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Look What I Found!

What did I find under some bolts of Beach House? 108" Quilt backing fabrics from Somerset Cottage, Sumptuous Living, and Bowood House! 12 new (well, old by who's counting?) full bolts to choose from for any pesky quilt-top that's been waiting for the perfect backing fabric. Check them out on the Quilt Backs Page!

New Arrivals!

If you love to needle-turn applique than these silk thread bundles will be perfect! Each bundle goes with the new fabric lines. Head over to the Notions section of the store to find bundles for Lansdowne Road, St Remy de Provence, Desired Things, Hope Cove, and Bowood House!

Fat Quarters & Applique Needles

Fat Quarter Bundles of Desired Things, Hope Cove, and Lansdowne Road are now available at RobynPandolph.com.

And, finally, my favorite applique needles are also available! Choose from the Darner #9s or Straw#10s. You'll never go back!

Home is....

Remember the quilt, "Home Is" and the saying I appliquéd on it, Home is where ever I'm with you? Well Singapore is home for now so I thought I would tell you about it and our lifestyle now that we are no longer in Galveston.

An afternoon storm.

The view from our window back toward Singapore.

Singapore is a Southeast Asia city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 85 miles north of the equator. So, yes, I am used to the climate. It is a bit more humid here, it rains everyday for a short time, but as I tell people who complain about Houston and the Gulf area being so humid, it is good for the skin.

Over 5 million people live here which amounts to roughly 19,000 people per square mile. The languages spoken here are English(it was an English colony until 1963) Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

The view looking down from our living room.

As you can imagine, most housing consists of apartment blocks. We live in one in the Jurong West neighborhood. Ours is on the 16th floor with floor to ceiling windows. This was a bit harrowing for me at first, I can't say that I am afraid of heights but the fear of falling from a great height has always been an issue for me. I remember as a child watching one of those old black and white Tarzan movies where Tarzan was battling with some tribesman on the edge of a cliff. I was so scared I pulled a loose tooth out while intensely trying not to fall off or keep Tarzan from falling off. Silly isn't it? More recently my daughter Hannah and her boyfriend Scott and I were watching Tower Heist (silly, also!) and I had to close my eyes and dry the palms of my hands while Ben Stiller and Matthew Broderick tried to get the car into a high-rise window. Hannah just laughs at me.

Anyway, you can see how this might make living here a bit nerve racking. I made the mistake off opening all the windows one day, which was easier than trying to close them. I had to hang out of the window to grab the handle. I think from now on I will just keep the AC on.

Shopping and eating is very easy here. There are malls and shops everywhere and food everywhere. I have fish almost everyday since I arrived. I love fresh fish and at least when you buy fish you know that that is what it is. You can never be sure about chicken, beef and pork. Some people don't like having their meal looking at them while they are eating it but I have no problem with it.

The menus are pictured above each stall.

A local shop.

The local food stalls are called hawkers. Under most of the apartment blocks there are stalls and stalls of hawkers. There are also drug stores, department stores, produce, bakeries, etc. You don't have to go far to find what you need and the people are very friendly.

Fish with chili sauce.

Seeing as how we are so close to Malaysia and Indonesia, we hope to do some weekend runs to visit some beautiful places. I have already picked out some that I want to got to, Sumba, for one looks stunning. The perfect place for a wedding (wink, wink, hint, hint,) or honeymoon. It is in Indonesia about 3 hours from Bali. Martin's birthday is coming up so I was thinking maybe somewhere close, like Bintan. They have a Banyan Tree Resort there that looks amazing. It, too, is in Indonesia but it is only a one hour ferry ride from Singapore.

                                                                         This is a resort in Sumba, Nihiwatu.

 I will let you know what we decide and where we go to visit. I feel blessed to be able to be in this part of the world and to see some amazing things, meet some of the most friendly people in the world and make new friends.

Isn't she precious?!

P.S.
This post was meant for last month but I have had a bit of a learning curve regarding adding photos to my blogs. I actually taught myself how to solve the problem so now I can blog more frequently and add all the pictures I want to. Sorry for the delay. We have actually already celebrated Martin's birthday so I will add a new blog soon with all the photos.

New Items

Look what's new! Now you can find all of my favorite notions in one place. Everything one needs to complete all those beautiful projects that keep piling up.

One thing that I never leave home (or the United States) without, Thread Heaven is great to have. It helps your thread not tangle or fray, two very important things for applique. 

I've fallen in love with this French brand, Sajou. They remade these classic 19th century, Eiffel Tower inspired scissors. They are small, light, and have a very sharp point, all things great for any type of handwork. I hope you stop by the Notions page to see all the new things we've added and are adding each week.

New Kit Available

When I was in Australia a few years ago, it seemed that English paper piecing was all the rage. Since I love handwork, I thought I'd give it a try. This make-up bag was inspired by both classic design and St. Remy de Provence. It uses tape measure for a nice snap closure and is tall enough to fit make-up brushes. I hope you have as much fun making as I did! Available at RobynPandolph.com.

A New Chapter

Hello from Singapore.

 A new chapter in my life has begun and I am looking forward to sharing bits of it with you. I have avoided blogging in the past because it seems to be a very intimate way of being part of your lives and for you to share in mine. I find this a bit unsettling but since closing the store I find I miss those moments of openness and sharing that happened when you stopped in for a visit or to shop. I think that was my favorite part of owning a store, certainly the business part of it was the least. I miss the styling of the store, too. I guess that is why I spend my time looking at blogs that relate to design. They are inspiring and allow me to dream.

My goal in spending time sharing what is going on with me is to be able to keep in touch and let you know the things I am going through, creatively and otherwise. Sometimes I will talk about quilting and fabric and sometimes I will talk about me and how my life is changing and allowing me to experience new adventures that will ultimately allow me to be more creative.

So, the blog is titled, "From the Studio", obviously my studio resides within me. It could be a physical place, my apartment in Singapore but soon we will be traveling to some other location and that becomes a bit confusing. I once thought that creativity only came within a certain environment. I now realize, over time, that as with most things, those of value are within us.

I am missing Jack terribly but he seems quite content back at home in Galveston with my daughter and her boyfriend.

You may wonder why I am in Singapore. Well, this is where work has taken Martin and I love him and want to be with him. I am sure you will hear lots about my lovely British partner, as if you haven't already. It is wonderful to be 50 something and in love as if I were a teenager. I hope everyone feels that kind of love and joy! 

( Martin, where he is most relaxed, on the narrow boat in England.)

I hope you will find the things I share with you inspiring and creative. I look forward to your comments and friendship along this journey.

A Little Extra

I am always up for suggestions when it comes to a good book or great music, etc. so I thought in return I would share some of my favorites, like the last good book that I have read, my playlist on my iPhone that I take on my run/walk around the lake, a movie that I have enjoyed recently, blogs I love, etc.

Books: Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Wilkerson

(What a great title. Sounds like something my mom would have said.)

This is an autobiography that I found quite familiar to my own experience apart from the fact that I am heterosexual and American, which I think is beside the point. I was adopted like she was and I think the author and I shared a lot of the same things because of that one fact. We are the same age so we dealt with a lot of the same issues of that era. Maybe I will write a book one day :)!

Playlist: Adele (of course!!)

both albums

Florence and the Machine

Ceremonials

I have to qualify the next few selections. Martin and I love watching the BBC. They have the best television and we love Luther. It is a great TV series and the main character, Luther, is played by Idris Elba. He actually won a Golden Globe award for this role recently. He is a stunningly beautiful man. The show is great and the music is fantastic. So the following are from the show.

Sia

Colour the Small One

The song "Breathe Me" is in the soundtrack for the show.

Beck

From the soundtrack "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime

Massive Attack

Heligo Land

The song " Paradise Circle" is on the Luther Soundtrack.

I am in one of those funky moods where I am trying to find out where I need to be and where I am heading. I like self introspection in order to grow, creatively and otherwise.

Last movie that I watched that I have fallen in love with.

HUGO

Phenomenal film with exquisite cinematography.

This is my first blog that I have completed without a tutorial from my daughter, Hannah. (Well, to be truthful I did have to call her and find out how to retrieve this blog. I thought I had lost it in cyberspace. Other than that, this is my first so I hope it only improves with time.
 I am going to have to review how to do the hyperlinks, sorry.)

Enjoy and I look forward to bringing you new adventures very soon.

Hope Cove

via

Back in the spring of 2009, while I was spending time in England, Martin and I went for a Sunday drive. We ended up in a little village on the southwest coast of Devon, Hope Cove. 

That little village, where the sky seemed the bluest, is what inspired my new spring line. 

This Dresden Plate quilt was made out of the small prints from Hope Cove.

While I was at Hope Cove, I kept thinking about how people use the ocean for work. Fishing boats lined the beach, in for a meal or the end of a shift.

The more I learn about antique toile, the more I realize that it is about the workings of the people--fishing, hunting, music. 

This piece, which I think is the main fabric of the line, glorifies the work of fishermen. I hope that you love it as much as I do. And don't forget to stop by and see all of the fabrics HERE. Oh, you can also see a cute little quilt my daughter made out of this line here. 

Home Is...

For those of you who enjoy more of a challenge with something like needle-turn applique, this is the quilt for you. It uses the entire line from St. Remy de Provence. 

The center block has a house with the number 2214 above it. This is the address of my design studio in Galveston. The pattern includes the numbers 0 - 9 so that you can personalize your own address or some one else's.

The words which are subtly included in the third border, top and bottom, are this quote :

"Home is where ever I'm with you." Kits are available here.

It seems somewhat ironic now after showing this quilt to you that I must share some other news. I have decided, after much deliberation, to close the Robyn Pandolph Design Studio. There are many reasons for this decision including the economy, our building being sold, etc. I have to admit, though, that there are two major reasons for this final decision. The first is that my focus has been distracted by the retail business and I feel that the whole of my creativity should be focused on what I do best and that is fabric design and quilt designs. The second reason is one of the heart. My partner in life and love has taken a new position in Singapore and my desire to be with him is much stronger that that of shopkeeper. The " Home is..." quilt was designed with him in mind when I added the quote..." Home is where ever I'm with you."

I will miss all of the friends I have made over this time. I hope to have open houses and retreats planned for the future so that we can all catch up and share our life's journeys with one another.

I will blog more to let you know what I am doing and when I will be in town or teaching. Till then please continue to shop for my fabrics, kits, patterns and treasures that I bring back from afar at www.robynpandolph.com. We will be updating the web site much more frequently now that store duties will be a thing of the past.

Our last day will be March 1, 2012 (next week) so please come in and take advantage of our great sale prices while we try to reduce inventory.

All Homeware and gift items will be 50% off.

All vintage and antique items will be 30% off.

Fabrics will still be 25% and 50% off with some exceptions. Minimum 1 yard cuts on sale fabric.

Christmas and selected items will be 75% off.

Thank you for your support and friendship!!

Robyn

Eva St Remy Kit

One of the things I love about the St Remy de Provence line is that each fabric holds its own as far as beauty, that even a simple quilt can take your breath away. My good friend Brenda made the Eva quilt in the St Remy line, and when I opened it up, I was amazed. 

We now have the kits available in the shop and on our online store. I've already had customers come in and say that the Eva St Remy only took them a day to sew up the quilt top. But, if you're looking for something with applique, stop by tomorrow for another great quilt kit out of the St Remy de Provence. 

Look What's New

Have you stopped by RobynPandolph.com lately? If you have, you probably noticed all the changes. Not only are we now selling Desired Things, Bowood House, and St Remy de Provence, but new inventory from the shop in Galveston is being added daily. 

There's new patterns available, like the Home Is . . . quilt shown above. If you stopped by my booth at Quilt Festival, then hopefully you saw the Eva quilt made out of the St Remy fabric and The True Love of Mine quilt made from Scarborough Fair. 

Another new feature is the Studio Books section. It's already 2 pages full of books that I love--lots of design, sewing, and travel. I hope you like all the new changes! Don't forget to check back soon for new kits, vintage pieces, soaps, candles, and all the great things I've picked out for the shop in Galveston!