BLOG.FLYINGBULLDOGS.COM

Beachy Keen

2012-01-23T19:13:18Z

If you are looking for something soft to cover up those barnacles growing out of your wicker love seat, check out this store operated by one of our great customers, Beachside Style!!

Beachside Style sells nautical-, tropical-, and underwater-themed throw pillows for your decorative cushioning pleasure. She says, "To change stuffy decor, I find that pillows are a quick and easy way to update and freshen any area and bring new energy instantly!" I couldn't agree more.

Here is a pillow made using some of our fabric:

This was a VIP by Cranston print, of which we are now sold out.

Even though it is January, it is not too early to start thinking about your summer decorating opportunities. In fact, now is the perfect time, what with the hibernation instinct that kicks in when temperatures drop and the wind picks up. Take a look through the Beachside Style store, or check out some of our beachy threads, for those who prefer to DIY.

Happy Etsying, and remember ONLY 57 DAYS LEFT 'TILL SPRING!

xCassandra

Clover Little Thing!

2011-11-21T21:44:32Z

Our friend Elaine from Custom Sewing by Elaine sent us this photo of her latest creation using some of our fabric.

She used Cranston's "Irish Spirit" (of which we still have a few yards and fat quarters still in stock!). Elaine told me that she made this for a custom-made leprechaun costume! Perfect!

Well folks, I think it is time to jump back on the vest bandwagon. If you remember, my last post featured a vest and matching pant combo, made by customer, Kathy. This is enough for me to take a hint! Vests, it is!

If anyone else wants to share their vests (or anything, for that matter), I am always happy to share customer work!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xCassandra

Vestidos!

2011-10-26T19:32:20Z

Greetings Bulldogs!

Today I have the pleasure of sharing a creation by our great customer, Kathy!

She made a matching pant/vest combo using the super soft, tightly woven Kanji Print fabric by Kona Bay!*

Here is a closer-upper look at her clothes:

This looks like it drapes beautifully and I'm sure it will be super-comfy to wear!

Thanks so much, Kathy, for sending us images of how you've used our fabric! We love personal feedback from our customers, and we'd be happy to feature any of our customer's work on this blog! We'd love it if you featured us on your blog, too.

Happy Crafting.

xCassandra

You are soooo BOOTIEfulllll, to meeeee!

2011-09-08T19:59:46Z

Good afternoon, gentle readers!

Today I wanted to share with you one of our new products:

Officially Licensed College Logo Unisex Fleece Booties!!!!

I know that college team affiliation can be a VERY sensitive subject (I know, I grew up in North Carolina!), so I want to go ahead and DISCLAIM that I (and Flying Bulldogs, Inc.) have no particular affiliation with any particular college or team, and that the only reason I chose to feature the UNC bootie is that it has the first inventory number in my photo folder. So there's that.

We have 6 different teams up in our store far, but we have pallets more where those came from; we simply don't have enough shelf space to unpack them yet!! So, be looking for those soon.

Here's a list of all the University Booties that you can expect to see in our store in the next few months (to be sure, we'll have them all listed in time for the Holidays!!):

(UPDATE, 20Oct11: All booties are up!)

Auburn
Clemson
Georgia
Kentucky
Maine
Michigan
Minnesota
NC State
Nebraska
Ohio State
Penn State
South Carolina
Syracuse
Tennessee
UNC
Virginia Tech

Now, let me just tell you that these things are SOFT, and have little rubber grippies on the bottom so you won't slip on your floors, and they come up your calf, so you better believe they are SO WARM.

They come in sizes XS through L, so here is a helpful little sizing chart:

XS: Women's 6-7 US
S: Men's 6-7 US, Women's 8-9 US
M: Men's 8-9 US, Women's 10-11 US
L: Men's 10-11 US, Women's 12-13 US

Honestly, I can't wait to get myself a pair of them (and for it to be chilly enough to need them!). These little booties would have been great during my college days living in the mountains!!! Now, I just need to decide how many of my friends I want to offend when I choose which booties I want...

xCassandra

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2011-09-07T17:19:09Z

Hi all!

Today is the day we've all been waiting for!

I used a random number generator to select the winner of the Flying Bulldogs Labor Day Giveaway; it selects numbers from atmospheric noise and is more random than the algorithm on my TI-83 calculator! Amazing!

Drum roll please:

ddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

AND THE WINNER IS:

Kim C.!!!!

Kim, I will be sending you an email with your coupon code to our store!

Everyone else, there will be more Flying Bulldogs Giveaways in our future! Enter again, and tell your friends! And, follow this blog and like us on Facebook and check out my Pinterest.

And, in the mean time here is a link to most of our baby and kid fabric ON SALE!

Happy Wednesday!

xCassandra

GIVEAWAY!!!

2011-09-01T17:44:07Z

Hi, all!

I am so pleased to announce our first ever Flying Bulldogs Labor Day GIVEAWAY! Entries will be accepted from September 1st until Midnight on Labor Day, Monday, September 5th! We will announce the winner on Wednesday!

To enter the contest, browse this Quilting Treasures Catalog PDF, and vote on your favorite fabric in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

You can vote on as many fabrics as you'd like, but only your first vote will be counted in the contest.

You can, however, earn an EXTRA ENTRY into our contest by Sharing this post either on your Facebook wall or on your blog! Please just send us a FB Message or leave a copy of your link in the comments below to let us know you did this (otherwise, your second entry will not be counted, as we'll have no way of knowing!).

And even if you don't win the $15 gift certificate, EVERYONE IS A WINNER; your votes will determine which fabrics we decide to add to our stock, and you'll be able to purchase your favorite fabrics at our ALWAYS low, low prices!

Y'all rock!

xCassandra
flyingbulldogs.com

Weekday Update

2011-08-17T20:20:26Z

Greetings Bulldogs!

As the summer turns, we here at the offices of Flying Bulldogs are busting our bolts trying to bring you the best discount designer fabric this side of everywhere.

We've been getting in literal TONS of fabric from Free Spirit (and a handful from Kona Bay):

(click on photos for link to collection)

I've also received a photo from Etsy customer Sam S., from Nashville, TN.

She made this simply beautiful bulletin board using Studio E's Road to Marrakech "Archway" in Lime (I think it looks wonderful with her wall color, am I wrong?). And she says she is working on a covered book case right now, so she'll send a photo of that completed project when she's done! I can't wait!

I'm also happy to announce that we will again be vending IN PERSON at this year's beloved annual Tate Street Festival in Greensboro!

Flying Bulldogs booth at Tate Street Festival 2010

My good friends D. and G. organized Tate Street Festival 2010 and the first ever WalkerFEST held earlier this year, and I am so glad to participate in another of their well organized, fantastic, amazing Live Original Local community events! More information can be found at their website: liveoriginallocal.com.

Stay tuned for daily updates from Flying Bulldogs by 'liking' us on facebook (not 'licking,' please, we get enough of that at home).

Baby, baby, baby

2011-05-19T20:34:06Z

It is a tradition of Bossmama Cheryl to make a quilt for all the expected babies of our family friends. She usually doesn't take photos of the finished quilts, but after several years of nagging on my part, she has taken some photos with her cell phone of the most recent quilt for our friends the Harrisons!

My dad, Dug, of Shipping and Knobs, drew the polar bear, and Cheryl machine stitched the outline with a tiny zig-zag to act as the quilting.

I know you can't really see that quilting in this photo, so I went ahead and took the liberty of doing this,

which is from a photo of the back of the quilt.

The front of the quilt is made with one of my favorite fabrics that we sell, Brandon Mably's Ripple in Dusk. She used Casbah Dusk for the border and Casbah Rust for the backing.

The binding and yellow rectangle detail on the front are Marie Kelzer's Fiber Active in Gold.

I love that my parents work together AND collaborate on baby quilts together. That's special.

xCassandra
Flying Bulldogs Official Daughter

Potential Energy

2011-04-05T18:08:00Z

Greetings!

When people order really great combinations of fabrics, my mind goes aflutter trying to imagine what they could be making! So far, we've only had one customer send us a photograph of their work, but I would love to feature more!

This is what Jennifer from VA purchased:

{joel dewberry home decor fabric remnant pack*}

And this is what she made:

{funky and awesome knitting needle roll-up}

These are some recent sales that I'd love to see in their final forms:

{from jay mccarroll's "woodland wonderland" collection}

{running 8ths, jay mccarroll's petra, kaffe fasset's clover}

{tina given's plush peacocks}

{le rouvray's squidges and mini allover}

If you'd like to be featured on this here weblog, why don'tcha shoot us a little e-mail with your photographs.

I don't want to post our e-mail address here because I have a little problem with spammers. Seriously, look at this.

But you can find a link to our e-mail at the bottom of our homepage, www.flyingbulldogs.com.

Otherwise, I'll just keep daydreaming about what could have been.

*Remnant packs are a new thing! They go quickly (usually within 2 days of me posting!), and are only posted when I get to the end of enough bolts in the same collection. Each piece is less than a yard, so we offer a discount of 20%/yard. This is not fabric, but it is a remnant pack and it is currently listed:

{college sports grosgrain ribbon remnant pack}

Where in the World is Flying Bulldogs....

2011-03-24T15:50:00Z

For the past 6 months or so, I have been keeping track of where we send our fabric! I plotted my list, and made a map just for you. Isn't it cool?

The only US state we haven't sold fabric to is North Dakota, so if you have any friends or family who live there, would you please tell them to click here and buy something. The first North Dakodian (North Dakodite?) to order fabric from us will get a SPECIAL PRIZE in their package. Really!

Looks like you'll need to zoom out to see the whole thing; I guess this blog is particularly fond of Singapore.

I just tried doing a map of all the cities we've sold to in California; it is by far the greatest spread, but I did about half of the points before the map wouldn't plot them anymore. I broke it. That was a terrible waste of time. But I learned all about how many zip codes each city has...

On a completely unrelated note, I am working on a post that lists all the designers whose fabric we carry, with links to their personal websites, blogs, stores, the first thing that comes up when I type their name into Google, etc. I have really been enjoying this research, and hopefully you will too, once I have it up!

Also, the reason I haven't been posting on the blog a lot lately is that I'm really busy here! Which is great! Here's what I've been up to:

Assembling Jelly Rolls:

Assembling Fat Quarters:

Sorting through piles of random unlabeled fabric to create a CLEARANCE section:

Making sure you have Easter fabrics:

And, as always, cutting each and every fabric order:

Speaking of which...

heart-y and delicious.

2011-02-08T15:59:00Z

Well, let's face it. We all know Valentines Day is coming up, and for some it is a joyous occasion of gift-giving, fancy food, cute cards, and sweet, sweet lovin'.

For others, however, it is a day of eye-rolling, irony, loneliness, and existential philosophy. I apologize to those of you in the latter group, as this post is lacks the pessimism required to appeal to your sensibilities. However, you may enjoy this video, which you might have otherwise missed had you discontinued reading after this paragraph.

But, if you are a V-Day lover, and you are wracking your brain for gift ideas, you have truly come to the right place. Wrack no more(!), with these simple solutions to your Valentines gifting woes.

Maybe you can make a wooden box for your special someone, fill it with airplane bottles of wine, great drawing pens, or hard-boiled eggs, and top it with a lovely heart-ed knob.

Or, you know, it might be just the right look for your kitchen. Your sweet-one would probably love it if you went ahead and redid all the knobs as a Valentines surprise!

Suppose you don't like to craft, but your pardner does. Wrap their gift in a yard of fabric!

Try Kona Bay's Love is in the Air in two color-ways:

Or my absolute personal favorite, Jay McCarroll's Lovebirds:

Truly, you can't go wrong with the Beatles. EVER.

Your Sugar can't eat any sugar? Problem solved with this calorie-free treat, brought to you by the famous red-headed Bon-Bon maker herself :

And, if you are a traditionalist and would rather just get some flowers, or real candy and a bear (not-real, I hope), you could wrap it all up with this sweet heart-adorned cellophane wrap:

And there you have it.

Thank you, good unicorn!

2011-01-28T16:45:00Z

"Oh No! You seem to be lost. Let the Bonanza Unicorn take you home ."

A Celebration of Teal!

2011-01-27T19:07:00Z

It isn't a real holiday, as far as I know. You could say I made it up out of the blue!

hahahahahaha.

Check out this trend of combining teal with gold tones! Now we know!

PS - Click the photo to find out more about each fabric!

Only 54 days left 'till Spring!

2011-01-25T18:46:00Z

Ummm... Not that anyone here is counting or anything. No, not at all. Especially not while in the warehouse cutting fabric in a winter jacket with a scarf wrapped around my head!

To celebrate the anticipation of longer days and temperatures above 60 degrees, I wanted to share these little cuties I found in the back:

Garden Friends(!!!) from David Walker's Spring Fling Collection

I have cut pieces from this collection many times before, but it was not until today that I realized just how freaking CUTE these animals are. Those little faces. And egg-shaped heads.

Flying Squirrel! One of the things I love about art is when an artist can have maximum expression with a minimum of details. Nothing superfluous, but includes everything you need to know.

Just like this endearingly precocious little bird.

And this bubblegum pink happy, running (NAY, FROLICKING!) bunny, with a cactus for a tail.

Are your teeth starting to hurt from too much sweet? I have to admit mine are.

Here's a little something to fight the plaque:

Created and photograph sent via cellphone by my very own Bossmama, Cheryl. These prints are from Douglas Day's Rebel Collection, which is basically just an addendum to his Be A Man Collection, and which both set off the alarm in my head marked "Angry Feminist." But I just can't help loving the aesthetic of his illustrations, even if I can't love the message that in order for someone to Be a Man, they have to use tools, get in fights, own a mean dog, work on cars, drink beer, and never smile.

Speaking of beer, I do love this design. If only the bottle cap didn't say "Be a Man;" this fabric excludes me from liking it for myself because I am not one. Sad.

Okay, enough of that. I'll leave you with Scott Jarrard's non-gender-specific, absolutely wacky Boogie Monsters

collection!

"Could I make a stuffed animal out of an acrylic sweater?,"

2010-12-02T18:46:00Z

asked my friend L., via Text Message yesterday. "Or will the material just fall apart on me?"

As I squintingly started to TXT back with my tiny, tiny lettered buttons, I realized that my answer was going to be longer than the permitted 160 characters, so I wrote her back via Facebook message, and decided then and there that this subject must be featured on this blog. Because that's what blogs are for, right?

Dear L.,

Yes, but how easy that will be really depends on how loose or tight the knit is and how thick the yarn is.

The looser and thicker, the more likely it will fray when you cut it. Cut off a piece and manhandle it a little bit to see how bad it ravels*.

If it is pretty bad, you will have to sew (on a machine, with a zig-zag stitch) just inside the seam allowance before you cut the shapes out of the sweater.

Also, the fact that it is acrylic means that you may be able to melt the edges with a lighter, but I would definitely test on a scrap first; that doesn't always work well.

But these are kind of worst case scenarios. A lot of times knit fabrics are tight enough or use thin enough yarn that they really won't ravel (think: t-shirt). If the sweater is old or has been washed a lot, some acrylic fibers can kind of felt together similarly to wool, and they won't really ravel either.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can clarify anything or if you have any problems. I hope you take a picter of it!

-C

I also just had an idea about flat-lining the knit fabric to something woven, so that even if the edges did come undone, they wouldn't be allowed to fray past the stitching line. I'd be really interested in hearing other ideas that readers may have (you stitchers out there are clever, I know!).

I wish I had some photos of stuffed animals that my friend L. has made because they are GREAT. She has made monsters, and animals, and little embroidered pillows, but my favorite was a giant eel, encrusted with sequins and beads that she had sewn on by hand. A-mazing!

And I know that people don't really read blogs unless they have photos, so here is one! This is a stuffed ball that one of my summer camp students made out of felted wool (yes, we dyed and felted it ourselves!). I love, love the hand-stitching.

*Did you know ravel and unravel mean the same thing?

Home Decor Fabric Ideas

2010-11-24T16:15:00Z

I Stumbled Upon this great website the other day: J. Caroline Creative.

She sells lots of fabric accessories which may be of interest to our fabric customers, but what I really love are her tutorials and project ideas!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Fabric covered button knobs: She covers large buttons with fabric, then hot glues them to a concave knob. Instant update to an old piece of furniture!!

Chair re-upholstery: I am going to try this soon, but I think I'll start with some kitchen chair cushions, first! I'll be sure to post my efforts. Feel free to post yours in the comments!

Storage Basket: I think these are super cute, and would look great with a lot of the Home Decor fabric that we sell.

Pillowcase: This is a simple, well written pattern with diagrams; it would be a great project for the beginning seamster. We also do have ONE fat quarter left of the Heather Ross "Stripes." And we have lots and lots of yards of her "Seahorses" Fabric from the Mendocino Collection. We used to have a lot more, but she sells fast! This fabric is exceptionally soft and tightly woven (i.e. has a high thread-count), not to mention it is so very, very sweet.

I hope this helps folks get their cogs a-turnin' with some project ideas! As always, I'd love to see what you have been working on, or have you share links to any great blogs or tutorials that you stumble upon!

Things Organized Neatly

2010-11-23T20:42:00Z

Have you seen this blog?

It got me thinking about the ways we organize and the patterns we create here in the Office. I've started taking photos of collections of Things from around the Office, and the sometimes awkward way we stack, sort, store, and shelve.

Here is the first post of what I hope are many!

{stack}

{store}

{spray paint}

This Just In!

2010-11-08T22:25:00Z

Thanks to everyone who made the Shop Local Festival on State Street a success despite the Early November chill!

Now that I'm back in the office, I've had a busy day photographing, cutting, posting, and organizing fabric. I just got started posting our brand new Holiday and Batik fabrics, so here is a sneak peek for the readers:

I usually don't like Holiday fabric, but some of these are retro and kitschy in a really enDEERing way. Get it? Uh-huh.

All the ladies at the first quilt show we went to asked if we carried batiks. We didn't. But now we do! They are beautiful and have crisp clean lines, and vibrant and deep colors. I hope everyone else likes them as much as I do!

This week you can expect lots and lots of new items to be posted to Etsy, since we don't have any more craft shows coming up!

Thursday Update

2010-11-04T17:21:00Z

I have several updates, since I haven't posted in over a week! Here it goes:

1. We have TON of fabric on sale, including Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, Le Rouvray, and A Little Bit of History (1800s reproduction fabric). Some of the fabric is for as little as $2.02/yard. You seriously couldn't do better.

2. I've been busy all week preparing for the Shop Local Festival on State Street here in Greensboro. We have the usual fabric cuts, plus handmade items, assorted knobs, and gift wrap! Stop by and visit me (I'll be the one wearing a ridiculous amount of clothing with my hand cemented around a mug of coffee), and check out Greensboro's other awesome homegrown vendors. It is this Saturday, November 6 from 11a-5p. See you there! Also, please let us know of any other community events where you think we might fit in; we'd love to be at your next quilt show, craft fair, community celebration, etc., and we appreciate any heads-ups about what is going on around town!

3. We go through a ton of fabric bolts, and I'm getting tired of throwing the empty cardboard in the recycling bin. I think it is time for someone to come up with a great use for them, and to give them a longer life before being reprocessed! I think they'd be great for experimental building projects/insulation/art projects, etc. Do you have any ideas? Do you want them?

Here are some links to what other people have done with them: storing large quantities of fabric, making a message board, shipping antique sewing machines, building props for films/plays, and a cardboard city.

4. We are expecting a new shipment of fabric any day now!! I am really excited to see what we are getting in! I know it includes some Holiday prints, and some Batik fabric (the latter gets requested all the time, but we've never had a supplier before now)! I'll start taking photos as soon as we get it in, so stay tuned!

More Scarves

2010-10-27T19:54:00Z

I've been really enjoying making these scarves out of 2.5" x 43" Jelly Roll strips!

This one is exactly like the first, but with different fabrics (Brandon Mably's "Jazz" and "Casbah" each in Dusk, Martha Negley's "Oak Leaves," and Free Spirit's "Color Connectors"). This scarf is identical on the front and back, with frayed edges for a "shabby-chic" kind of look.

The third one was going to be the same, until my very talented friend, Maggie, suggested that I finish the outer seams. I did that, plus just used a solid piece of fabric for the back, instead of having tje pieced strips on both sides. Speaking of the pieced strips, the florals are Philip Jacobs,' "Grandiose" in Mist, and "Lilac Rose" in Taupe.

The striped fabric I used in this scarf made a huge difference! It is Kaffe Fassett's "Woven Two-Tone Stripe" in Green. This is not a printed fabric, like most quilting cottons; the stripes are actually woven in. Because there isn't that extra layer of printing ink on the surface of the fabric (which generally makes the fabric stiffer), it drapes beautifully and is SO soft.

It's reversible!

It's perfect for wearing while standing in front of a bunch of plants.

And, dear reader, if you feel so inclined, any comments/suggestions are welcomed and encouraged. I'd love to know what you think about anything we are making/selling/presenting, even if my only readers are people who I regularly talk to in real life.