A Few Changes…

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Hello! It’s our guess that you have been busy sewing, quilting, crafting, making stuff, amongst many of the other things that take up a day (work? housework? homework?) :) Well, we are right there with you!

We have so much enjoyed the time that we have spent creating what has been “The DIY Dish”. It has been a real joy and a privilege. We are so grateful to everyone who has made it such a pleasure to create these online videos. Your emails, facebook messages, comments, etc. have always made our day — and made us so happy to be a part of this creative industry. Our experiences have created opportunities that we would have never dreamed of. And of course, the chance we have to work together as twin sisters — well, that has always been the icing on the cake.

So while we are not saying “good-bye” entirely, we did want you to know that what you know now as “The DIY Dish” will be changing. As you know, Kris has created My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shop which also brings great joy and satisfaction. It has been opened just over a year and she has so many fun ideas for its customers and future of the shop — both as a “local shop” as well as future plans for the online expansion of it.  Kim still plays a major role in YouCanMakeThis.com, and is expanding her line of Kimberbell Patterns in quilt shops across the country.

And together, we will still continue to create tutorials — but in a different avenue. We are working more with KSL’s Studio 5 and will always keep you posted on new tutorials we have done with them. We also have a new book to be released in stores this December. And will you be at the International Quilt Market? We will be there, too! Exciting things are happening and we feel fortunate to still be able to do a little bit of everything that we love.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support of The DIY Dish. We hope you’ll still be a part of this creative journey. We love hearing from you and seeing what you are making, too! So let’s keep in touch via our Facebook pages!

Find Kris at My Girlfriend’s Quilt Shoppe on Facebook.
Find Kim at Kimberbell Designs on Facebook.
Find us both still at The DIY Dish on Facebook.

In the meantime, here’s a “Ghoul-Friend” Gift project segment we did this last week on Studio 5! Four quick Halloween gifts you can make for all of your girlfriends ghoul-friends :)
And in case you wanted to add a cute lil’ gift tag to them, we’ve created these in a few different sizes for you!

You can download the gift tags here. 

And be sure to watch the video — it isn’t very long and is packed with 4 projects you can make today!!

“Sewn Hats” – A Must-Have Book for Making Hats!

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Kim here. And I’m excited to tell you about a new collaborative effort among some of my favorite people/designers in the industry…Sewn Hats! This collection of hat patterns and instructions is simply amazing. From young to old — boys, men, girls, and women — there is probably a hat (HATS!) that you’ll want to make! There are 35 hat patterns in all!

I’m honored to be a part of it with a Crazy-Patch Bucket Hat design (page 200!), but honestly, the woman who deserves all the credit in the world is the amazing Carla Hegeman Crim, aka The Scientific Seamstress. Carla and I have been friends for years and it all started from the beginnings of YouCanMakeThis.com. She not only brought all of these designers — 29 of them — together for Sewn Hats, but was also the technical editor AND illustrator of the book. And if you’ve ever created a pattern from Carla, you know how detail-oriented and thorough she is. Well, she’s gone above and beyond with Sewn Hats and I have no doubt you’ll enjoy having this book in your pattern collection. Designers such as Kaari Meng (French General), Joanna Figueroa (Fig Tree and Co.), Patty Young (ModKid Designs), Jennifer Paganelli (SisBoom), Betz White (BetzWhite.com) and so many more, are all a part of this collaboration.

Another cool thing? Wiley Publishing has made the patterns themselves available in PDF format. So what does that mean for you? When you purchase the soft-bound book, you’re also going to receive access to all of the patterns via download. (And you know how much I love downloadable patterns!) You can print them as often as you’d like, you don’t have to worry about tracing and cutting your only copy, and you will always have access to those patterns. Fantastic!

Would you like to win a copy of this book? Take a look at these photos and let me know which you’d like to make! A winner will be randomly chosen Friday, October 12, 2012.