Designer Focus - Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill Studio & Giveaway!

We are so excited to kick off a new feature on our blog - Designer Focus. Each month we will feature a different designer for products we carry at Shabby Fabrics. You will learn a little more about them, see their products, and enter a giveaway to win something really great!

Our first designer is none other than Meg Hawkey of Crabapple Hill Studio. We LOVE opening our orders from Meg and seeing what adorable new things she has imagined! Here is a little about the background of her company:

I've always loved making things - it didn't matter if it was with fabric and thread, yarn, paper & pencil, paint, flower & sugar, wood, weeds...you get the picture! When I was young I would make fancy mudpies with dandelion fluff meringue, and hand-drawn paper dolls with a huge collection of fashionable clothes. As I got older my focus turned to crocheting lace by the yard, creating endless pen & ink sketches, and embroidering my clothes.

After my son graduated, I started working at a quilt shop making kits and decorating. I also did artwork for their newsletter which was a primitive style printed on newsprint - really fun! That artwork turned into embroidery patterns designed for the store. A few years later I took the plunge in getting my business license and selling my own patterns. I named the business Crabapple Hill Studio after the big crabapple tree on the hill behind our house when we lived in Cashmere, Washington. I used to spend hours sitting in that tree daydreaming (daydreaming is still my favorite "place" in the world!), drawing, and hand sewing doll clothes. What better name for my own business where I'd be doing pretty much the same thing?



Meg's studio - Is this the cutest place you've ever seen or what?

Every day brings something new. It's so great meeting people who are making my patterns, adding their own touches, using them in their homes, and wrapping the quilts around their children and grandchildren. It's really quite humbling to think that someone, somewhere is making something from a drawing that came from my imagination - my heart - and making it into an heirloom. I have to thank every single one of you! It's been a joy, so much fun, a constant re-learning experience, and the scariest thing I've ever undertaken. Who would have ever thought that anybody would actually like my doodles??


Thank you from the bottom of my heart!    

xoxo Meg

Meg is known for her delightful embroidery projects, and has recently designed a fabric collection for Lecien called Whitewash. We have created a special section on our website for the month of September filled with Meg's patterns and fabrics. Take a look at some of our favorites!

 The Winter Wonderland Quilt features hand embroidery in red with a border of patchwork. 

We have Fabric Kits and Patterns available for this project!

The Vintage Postcard pattern includes instructions to create a vintage-inspired postcard pillow complete with hand-embroidered postmarks and stamps! Love this pattern?  Enter our giveaway below for a chance to win an autographed copy!

We've also put together kits for Heartfelt Wishes.  This heart-shaped pillow is a large 19" across - great for your bed or favorite chair - and features patchwork detailed with embroidery.

Need some assistance with embroidery stitches?  You can download two different embroidery stitch guides at Meg's website here.

Announcing the Embroidery Club!

Because we love embroidery (and we have a feeling you do, too!) we have created the Shabby Fabrics Embroidery Club!  This Club will begin in January 2012 and will include one embroidery kit per month for six months.  Three of the projects are from Crabapple Hill Studios!  Click here for more information or to sign up.

GIVEAWAY!

What is your favorite Crabapple Hill project?  What do you love about Meg's designs?  Comment below for your chance to win one of three Vintage Postcard patterns autographed by Meg!  Giveaway ends September 30th.