Barb and Mary, the fun loving sisters of Me and My Sister Designs are here on the Jolly Jabber to chat about their latest and most dramatic collection for Moda Fabrics, Shades of Black! They stray from their usual bright and punchy collections to bring you their favorite prints in black, white and gray. Keep reading for a closer look at the collections, and be sure to stop by their blog!
It’s called “Shades of Black”.
Not to be confused with the series of books called Shades of Gray. We had this fabric named long before we heard about the books!
We took some of our favorite prints from past collections and gave them a color face-lift. In fact you may recognize some of them.
And there is a new free pattern on our website that I plan to make very soon with the grays! It’s difficult to find gray print fabrics, but I can do some one stop shopping in my own stash now!
Now to answer some Jabber questions! (I’m a faithful Jabber follower and love this part!)
Q: What TV show or movie does your collection best fit into?
A: I think that if this collection was a TV show or movie, it would have to be an old black and white something. Maybe something light and fun like old Andy Griffith re runs. Maybe Aunt Bee might like a quilt to match that dress done in “Shades of Black“?
Q: Tell me about your sewing machine(s). What kinds do you have and how many?
A: Mary and I are not really sewing machine collectors. Mary owns two different Janome’s and two different Singers, one of which is a Featherweight. She does her daily sewing and piecing on her newest Janome and her old Singer is her workhorse that sews through all things heavy and is her go to for hemming jeans.
I on the other hand have an older Pfaff. It’s an older model that goes forward and backwards. Not a computer chip in it. I also have my old Singer that my husband bought for me at the Base Exchange for $75 dollars. I haven’t used it in probably 20 years, but will never be able to part with it. My sewing machine needs are simple.
Q: What is your favorite part of the fabric industry?
A: I think I can answer that safely for both of us, the people! Mary and I really do love going to quilt market and seeing old friends. We also like the teaching and traveling that designing leads to. We have been to visit some fabulous places and met some great people!
Q: From what aspect of your life do you draw creativity?
A: That’s a difficult question and hard to answer. To be honest, most fabric groups start with a simple doodle. No deep and insightful poems or nature photos, just doodles!
Q: What is your favorite print in the collection?
A: I would have to say 221240 or this …
I loved it when we used it in Dilly Dally and still love it.
Mary says …22197 or this …
For some reason she calls it a Bollywood print??
Q: What is the most challenging part of the design process?
A: That’s easy! Narrowing down the prints! We get over a hundred fabric swatches from the mill to choose from with each collection. They are called “strike offs” and from these many small squares of fabric, we must eliminate over half to make the collection manageable. Many of our favorites end up in the “NO” pile.
Q: What are your favorite and least favorite colors and why?
A: Barb: This changes for me yearly. I used to love reds and dull greens. Now I am into turquoise and lime green. I have never met a color that I didn’t like!
Mary: Pink and Pink! I have always loved pink. When my daughters were small she made most of their clothes and they were always pink. To this day they both cringe at the color!
Thanks for joining us on the Jolly Jabber! Hope you had as much fun as we did and enjoy our newest collection … Shades of Black!
Please visit our blog and website today. We are having a give away! You could win this “Shades of Black” layer cake!
Thanks!
Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs
