Bella Nonna Design Studio BLOG

Hello Spring

2009-04-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Spring

2009-04-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Spring is here!! My 15 year old niece from Walla Walla came and spent her WHOLE SPRING BREAK week with Auntie Jayme -- we had sooo much fun! She beads and is working with wire now and sells her stuff at the Walla Walla Farmer's Market on summer Saturdays. She also learned to ride a unicycle while she was here - a friend gave it to her. We watercolor painted, folded Bella Nonna patterns...worked hard, played hard and ate well :)

Breast Cancer Workshop Bra

2009-01-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of a bra completely covered in our silk Bella Nonna petals. These were carefully hand-stitched onto a purchased bra and was created by a breast cancer survivor in a "healing workshop". Hidden beneath one of the petal edges is an embroidered ladybug -- a symbol of good fortune.

Beading Class!

2009-01-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

I took a two-day beading class this weekend from the very talented Tina Koyama. It was fun to learn some new techniques. Here's a picture of my little brooch I created the second day. Learn more about this Seattle-based artist on her Site.

2009-01-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

I was recently commissioned to create a custom quilt with the guidelines of "she likes black & white & burnt orange & a curl-up-in-size would be good." I immediately thought of the Yuwa Japanese fabrics. This gorgeous black and white fabric was too lovely to cut up so I was inspired to create a whole-cloth quilt. I had so much fun quilting the fabric to enhance the shapes and design and just approached the quilting with an open mind. Each time I went back to the quilt I was inspired by another shape and working with black and whites with splashes of bright colors is always a fun adventure. Now I get to share my fun with you.

RED Buttons

2009-01-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hi all you wonderful people who sent RED buttons by USPS, Pony Express and Snail Mail to me for my Button Book which I will soon be submitting to a publisher! I am honored that you shared your valuable time, your precious buttons and your hard-earned cash to send them. It will be a delight to incorporate buttons from each of you into a project for the book.

2009-01-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the lovely Australian fabrics from M&S Textiles, the Down Under Wonder Quilt can be found in the latest issue of Quilt Magazine. Flip to page 90 for more details and a sneak intro to the Boondoggle Ruler used to make this quilt.

Found in McCall's Quilting Magazine (Feb 2009), angled patches, quick techniques and FiberART beads are the fun of this new quilt called Beach Combing. Finished Quilt Size: 55"x64". And now with the new FiberART Bead Kit you can easily create your own dimensional beads!