Behind the Seams – New Book!
April 17, 2008 in Books, QuiltingI thought you might be curious to see what behind the scenes on our most recent book photo shoot looked like…….In the book you see our finished product and a perfectly positioned project and props. But all around the focus of the photo is usually a fair amount of chaos. There are lights, camera, cords and usually an unusual (sometimes bizarre) assortment of props and backdrops that we audition for the photo. More times than not, there is a lot of trial and error for props. OK, let’s try this; look in the camera; and then move it a quarter inch to the left, and this goes on for hours! Our photo team is Tom (awesome photographer!), Carolyn (amazing book editor!), and Monica (dazzling book designer!) and Myself (main responsibility is being picky).
Our photo shoot was actually done in October of last year. It takes us 9 months for us to give birth to a book, from conception to delivery. I can’t wait for you to see the real thing. It’s called “COLORS from NATURE” and is being released (born!) on May 15. I’ll keep you posted and give you a sneak peak before the release. I think you’ll love it.
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Online Fabric Sale!
April 14, 2008 in Crafts, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, Quilting
Check it out – Order online and save 50% off of DM Baby & Everyday Quilting Fabrics through April 20. Take advantage for your fun spring projects. If you don’t have a project in mind – here’s one for ya!
Love Grows Lap Quilt
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Oldie But Goodie
March 31, 2008 in QuiltingWow! I love what this quilter did with one of my older patterns. This was one of my favorite quilt designs from back then. I remember it was a little ahead of it’s time – before the big “Celestial” theme was really hot. Remember all the Moons, stars and suns? Are we ready for more of that kind of art again? Let me know your opinion on that. You know whatever goes around, seems to come around again. Need I say, Bellbottoms!
Dear Debbie,
I purchased your pattern Moon Struck some time ago. Here is the finished top. I added a different pattern to the outside because it looked like shooting stars or maybe meteors. The top is for a group I am part of, Quilts from Caring Hands, in Corvallis Oregon. We make quilts for children in crisis that are distributed through several local agencies.
Your fabrics and patterns are my favorite. I have many of your books and enjoy reading them over and over, like a good novel. Thank you.
Vickie
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NEW Fabrics in store!
March 14, 2008 in Crafts, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, Quilting
I’m excited to say that piles of new fabric are arriving and in store for you at Jo-Ann Stores. There are wonderfully springy blues, greens and ivory in both cotton and flannels in “Love Letters” Collection. In fact we whipped up a quick quilt idea for Mother’s Day using these fabrics! (This quilt will be available on our web site on April 1)
For all you pet lovers, you’ll find fun turquoise, orange and browns in “Cat’s Meow” (kitties), and red, gold, and brown on Ivory in “Furry Friends.” (dogs). You can create great Nursery décor and baby friendly projects with two new Juvenile groups called “Kids Talk” (hot, fun colored animals) and “Bumbling Bees” has a great assortment of fresh, cheery greens, blues and pinks in sweet little bees and bugs. You’ll find some great number patterns in this collection too.
We also created a darling baby quilt design using these fabrics that you can download for FREE! I’m starting to see a smattering of some of our Summer Collections trickling in as well. I’ll keep you informed. I’m just so excited about these new fabrics and I’m thrilled with the quality of the color and printing. Hope you love ‘em too!
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BOM’s are rolling in!
January 22, 2008 in Quilting
I’ve been very excited to see photos of your Finished Works. Sometimes it’s kind of nice to have an appreciative audience to showcase your efforts off to when you finish a project – especially one that lasts a whole year. So, I’m pleased to showcase photos of our Block of the Month quilts that we’ve received so far. Going the extra step of photographing your quilt and sending it to me is also appreciated. We (my team) get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that so many of you keep up over the year. Our BOM quilt kits for 2008 flew out the door – so I’m thrilled that you’re ready to start again on a new quilt. Keep those photos coming in
!
ps. Don't worry, there's still time to create the The 2007 BOM Quilt. Find it here on our website.
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BOM's from around the world!
January 1, 2008 in QuiltingI recently received a few photos of finished quilts of our 2007 Block of the Month Project from quilting friends from around the world. Enjoy their work and accompanying messages:
I am Jane from MG, Brazil. I am so proud I have finished you 2008 BOM project that I couldn't help sending you the photograph; I still have to add the border, quilt it and bind it; but anyway, I already feel a great, blissful sense of accomplishment! For quite some time I have had several mini-Debbies around my home; but now I have a big-Debbie!!!
Thank you very much for this and other projects you provide in your site; I'm sure they are a blessing for many people around the world: not everyone lives in a country where patchwork and quilting materials are easily available. Here in Brazil, for instance, there is no patchwork book available in Portuguese. Hopefully, this will change soon; we are beginning to have more and more people interested in learning quilting, the first magazines are beginning to thrive and we already have some festivals around the year. AND, every quilter here knows and admires Debbie Mumm!
I am looking forward to sewing the next Debbie Mumm BOM; and I have also decided to sew the 2006 project, which I have downloaded, too. It's very kind of you to offer so many projects and so much interesting information in your site.
Hi Debbie,
Here is my BOM 2007 a very nice work this year.
I’m from Germany and I work this wall hanging.
Thank you for your nice idea. I´m very interested, what can I do and sew in 2008?
I wish you and your famaly a Merry Christmas and a happy new year and many good things from you to sew at home.
With the best greetings
Ulrike
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2007 Block of the Month Project...in Miniature!
December 2, 2007 in Quilting
Thank you Jaqueline of Porto Alegre-rs, Brasil for showing us the progress on your Miniature version of our 2007 Block of the Month Project. I see you are ready for the final December Block! Nice work and thank you for sharing.
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My Vacation Inspiration!
November 20, 2007 in Quilting
What an incredible opportunity I just had on my trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the Museum of International Folk Art, I saw a film called "Gee's Bend Quilts and Beyond." I imagine a lot of you are familiar with with this story - but this was my first real exposure to the story. The women of this community who had survived a life of poverty told stories of their lives and how quilting together was an outlet for them to bond in joy, support, song and expression. What came across so powerfully in the film and their interviews was that even though struggle and extreme poverty had been a dominant force in their lives - their community of support and strength got them through. 
The quilts they made were created exclusively of scraps from old clothing. The ladies delightful humor and gratitude came across as they shared their stories. Over and over they emphasized how important quilting had been to them and how crucial it was to surviving with their spirits intact. After the movie their was a panel discussion about the film. The panel included Jane Fonda (yes, the famous movie actress!), her daughter, Vanessa Vadim and Matt Arnett who filmed and edited the movie. Because the crew was comprised of only the later two, they achieved great intimacy and trust from the ladies and the rest of the community. After the film and the discussion from the panel, we viewed the exhibit of quilts. Jane Fonda was extremely articulate, humorous and interesting. (she brought her dog with her!) All of us that attended thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
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2006 BOM Drawing Winner Announcement
March 23, 2007 in QuiltingThank you to everyone who participated by making our 2006 Block of the Month Quilt project. And a big Thank You to the 84 people who sent us a photo of their quilt and entered our Drawing! Not everyone indicated where they live, but 25 of the entrants who did are part of our International Family of Quilters. The quilts were all wonderful - it was inspiring to see all the different color and fabric combinations.
We did the fun deed today - We put all your names in a basket and I drew the name of the lucky winner. Drum roll, please......."and the winner is Marisa from Brazil!!!! Congratulations Marisa! Marisa used a classic combination of Red, Green and Tan with lovely results. She let me know that she is currently working on our 2007 BOM Garden quilt and signed off her correspondence with "Kiss, Marisa." How charming! She will receive her prize of DM Goodies on her doorstep soon.
I wanted to share a few of the stories with you that some of our participants shared with me....
(Click on any images to enlarge)
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....Ruth miniaturized the design and made her quilt with 3 inch blocks. She put a ruler next to her quilt in the photo. Clever!
....While spending 42 days in the hospital (yikes!), Kim couldn't wait to get out (can you blame her!), buy her fabric and work on her quilt. She reached her goal and hopefully we provided a little distraction.
....This was the first quilt that Amy from Oklahoma ever made - Nice going! –->
....Several quilt clubs made the quilt as a group, including Jeri, June and Jacquie of the Tuesday night, "Stitch-n-Bitch" club. Their next project.....our 2007 BOM quilt, of course!
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....Three sisters, Jill, Pam and Polly (who live in different cities)
stayed "connected" to each other by all making the quilt. They each
made extra blocks and presented a quilt to their other sister, Dianne,
for her 50th birthday!
....Annette pieced her quilt entirely by HAND! Wow!
....Four different teenagers, ages 13 to 16, made our sampler quilt. I'm impressed! Laura (age 13) with her quilt –->
Thanks again for your participation and congratulations to all for your accomplishments! Can't wait to see what you're working on now.
Keep up the great work. Debbie
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Quilt Donation Suggestions?
February 7, 2007 in Quilting
On my 2006 20th Anniversary Cruise to Alaska, we had a Quilt block challenge on board. Participants brought blocks they had made out of my "Seasons" fabric line to enter. We had about 70 entries. And of course it was really hard to pick 12 winners from such a beautiful selection (we had a tie for 12th, so ended up with 13 winning blocks). The good news is that all the non-winning blocks were made into 8 crib size quilts for donation to Project Linus. Here are pictures of two of them. (Special thanks to Mary and Karleen for the sewing and quilting!) The 13 winning blocks are still available to be used in some productive way. Pat Tobin (our quilt cruise organizer) wrote me the other day to ask if I had any suggestions of what we should do with the blocks and if I had a preference of an organization that I would like to have the quilt donated to. So, I thought I'd ask you!
Do you know of a non-profit organization that would have a good use for a quilt similar in color and theme to the quilts pictured here? I'd love to hear your ideas. -Debbie
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Win Free stuff in our Drawing!
February 1, 2007 in Quilting
I want to say thank you and “nice job!” to all you who are sending us photos of your quilt tops that you made from our 2006 Sampler Block of the Month series. It’s really fun to see the different
colors and interpretations. I was also excited to read that one of our drawing entries let me know that this was her first quilt. And by the way, Margaret from Australia – “It looks great and congratulations on making your first quilt!” I realize I forgot to mention that we are having a drawing for a nice assortment of DM product. To qualify, you just need to send a photo of your completed quilt top from our 2006 Block of the Month Quilt. (Deadline for entries is March 15th.) Whether you were able to do the 2006 quilt or not, have no fear – we have a brand new 2007 block series started! Based 
on your votes, I designed a Garden quilt and this month is the “frog” block – check him out. You’re not behind yet – it’s only February. (But didn’t January go fast!?!) Debbie
