A peek at out Country Living Booth

Reno Update: Sewer

Can you see the branch that is stuck in the ground? That silly little branch took out our sewer line. 

 

The big a$$ root ball did its share of damage to the sewer as well. 

After 23 days of limited flushing and other outgoing plumbing we got a entirely new sewer line.

Yah! No more showering at the neighbors house!!

This is the most disgusting place ever!!

Irving is closing her up! Such hard work.

Look at how big those chunks of tree are.

I thought they looked like building blocks for a baby giant.

Book Tour Stop #2

Meet & Greet with Author Kelly McCants

This Thursday, Sept 15, 5-7PM

Sew To Speak 

Columbus, Ohio

From the Sew To Speak blog:

While in town for Columbus' annual Country Living Fair, author Kelly McCants has set aside some time to visit with us at the shoppe. She'll be bringing samples from her beautiful new book, Sewing with Oilcloth, as well as sharing projects, tips and tricks on working with oilcloth, laminates and chalk cloth! In the meantime take a look at this super cute video she made introducing her book and stop by Kelly's blog, ModernJune to learn a little more about her.

***PLUS: We will be GIVING AWAY some very sweet oilcloth bundles in her honor!***

Sew To Speak, Columbus, Ohio! 

Ohio here I come!! I am so very excited to be visiting this great fabric shoppe on Thursday!!! It'll be an honor to meet everyone there. I hope to fit in a little shopping as well, I'll be sure to take gobs of photos!

County Living Fair, Ohio 2011

Only one week until we arrive at the Ohio County Living in the pretty Ohio Village in Columbus, Ohio! I am so excited, I can't wait! This show is a m a z i n g! Save up all your mad money and get ready for some darn fine shopping!

Modern June Booth #102

September 16-17-18, 2011
Watch a video from the 2010 Country Living Fair!
Country Living Fair TICKETS On Sale Now!
Programming & Schedule of Guests

This year Modern June will be a little boutique, we'll have two tents filled with my regular  oilcloth goodies, Sewing with Oilcloth books, over 40 bolts of oilcloth along with other great crafters from Richmond and Columbus. I'll be joining forces with my boyfriends from Feathernesters. Marc and Tony will be bringing a ton of small furniture, vintage goodies, cool retro signage and other hand crafted goodies.

I'll also have lots of little gnome couples and bird bowls from Tasha McKelvey. The Country Living Editors just love them so we are honored to bring them while Tasha's running around Europe next week.

 

My Columbus friend, Trish Preston from Two Pea's in a Pod, will be there cutting oilcloth. She's also going to bring a bunch of her Sprout patterns as well. I am so thankful for her and her friends, it'll be so nice to have extra helping hands on Friday and Saturday.

"An Oilcloth Fiesta for Every Season"

At noon on Saturday, September 17th I'll be doing a demo on the Main Stage. I'll use the projects from my book Sewing with Oilcloth to decorate the stage for a party and then I'll show you which prints I like best for each season.

Book Signing!

Immediately following the presentation, I'll be signing books that The Hall at 1:00. Please feel free to bring your copy of Sewing with Oilcloth or pick one up at the show. I can't wait to meet you all.

The great news is that we get to do all of this again in Atlanta at the County Living Fair - South! So all you southern girls save the date and I'll see you at Stone Mountain.

Sewing with Oilcloth Blog Tour Week 2!!!

Photo Credit: Dana Made It

Have you heard, we're having a blog tour for Sewing with Oilcloth? Don't worry if you have won a copy yet, there's still plenty of chances to win yet to come!

Now grab a cup of tea and click around to see what wonderful things people are saying about Sewing with Oilcloth! I'm just giddy with excitement and I can't thank the wonderful people for their kindness and time.

WEEK ONE!

 Monday, August 29: Wiley Craft

Tuesday, August 30: Crafty Pod (rescheduled for September 12th)
Wednesday, August 31: Oilcloth Addict and Sew Mama, Sew (rescheduled for September 13)
Thursday, September 1: MADE
Friday, September 2: Craft


WEEK TWO!
Monday, September 5: True Up and Craft Gossip
Tuesday, September 6: Oilcloth International
Wednesday, September 7: Average Jane Craft
Thursday, September 8: Prudent Baby
Friday, September 9: Craft Sanity


WEEK THREE!
Monday, September 12: Crafty Pod
Tuesday, September 13: Sew Mama, Sew 
Wednesday, September 14: Apron Memories
Thursday, September 15:  Craft Buds

Sewing with Oilcloth Blog Tour Day 2!!

Welcome to the Second Stop of the Sewing with Oilcloth Blog Tour. We've had to switch things up a bit, due to some rough books. While the gracious Sister Diane from CraftyPod awaits her copy of Sewing with Oilcloth, I'll share some photos from my book release party and give away a copy of the book to one of you lovely readers!

Please check out the Crafty Pod on September 12th for her review and giveaway!

The fine fellas at Feathernesters hosted a lovely book release party for me on Sunday. Despite Hurricane Irene's best efforts, we were still able to have the party as planned. It was very nice to flee my home and Irene's going away gift. Honestly, she really didn't need to drop that tree on our home.

One of our little models was able to make it to the party, I had her signing books too! Too cute!!

Marc and Tony have a lovely assortment of cupcakes; Lemon, Strawberry and Chocolate! As the chalk cloth tags from the book say, they were sinfully yummy and delicious!

Nicole and Brad stopped by with flowers from there sweet shop Nicola Flora! How sweet was that.

I want to thank all of you that came out to wish me well! For those of you that were unable to make it because of storm recovery, I'll be sure to invite you to the next Richmond signing.

So let's talk giveaway! I would love to send one lucky winner a copy of the book and 2 yards of oilcloth! Please leave me a love note and I'll pick a winner tomorrow night.

Swing by Oilcloth Addict tomorrow for another chance to win!

Monday, August 29: Wiley Craft

Tuesday, August 30: Crafty Pod (rescheduled for September 12th)
Wednesday, August 31: Oilcloth Addict and Sew Mama, Sew (rescheduled for September 13)
Thursday, September 1: MADE
Friday, September 2: Craft

Monday, September 5: True Up and Craft Gossip
Tuesday, September 6: Oilcloth International
Wednesday, September 7: Average Jane Craft
Thursday, September 8: Prudent Baby
Friday, September 9: Craft Sanity

Monday, September 12: Crafty Pod
Tuesday, September 13: Sew Mama, Sew

Book Release Party!!

The time has finally come!! A time to celebrate the release of my pretty little sewing book, Sewing with Oilcloth.

When: Sunday, August 28, 3:00 PM

Where: Feathernesters 6118 Lakeside Ave.
Richmond, VA 23228

I would like to thank you all for your support by having little party at Feathernesters. Marc and Tony will be serving fancy cupcakes and punch, so please come to see all the projects from the book. There will be books for sale in case you haven't pre-ordered your copy.

I am just so tickled about this, please come and help me celebrate.

Advance Copy Arrives!!

Let me tell you about my day. I got an message from Meghan, the photographer for Sewing with Oilcloth saying that she got a copy of our book, totally exciting!!! Her kids are squealing with glee because they are there on the pages of a book. Tee hee!!! I love that. So I knew that the books were in Richmond!

So, I spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for Mr. UPS. I swept the porch, I watered all the plants, and I paced the sidewalks. Finally, around 2:30 I heard his big truck pull around the corner. I could have died when he stopped off at a neighbors first. Not today? Then he waves to me and gets back in the truck. Definitely not today!!! But he moves up two whole spaces and gives me my boxes. Really? You just had to move the truck 15 feet? Are you messing with me or what?

Mr UPS is thinking, "What could be so important that you have to take my photo?" He was happier for me (with me) once he knew what was inside the boxes!! Yay!!!

 I am surprised I didn't cut myself I was shacking as I opened up the box!!!

 OMG!!!

 

I made it for you, I hope you like it!!! 

 I didn't get just one book, I got a bunch of them!!!

 The back was a surprise! Last time I saw the back cover it didn't have a photo. I love it!

 Look Mom, it's my name!!!

The wonderful people at Wiley helped make these pretty illustrations and finessed my words so you can make all my projects with ease. They rock!!

Meghan McSweeney took some really lovely photos for you! Aren't they lovely?

The book trailer

I am proud to share my little book trailer with you all. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy a peek at just a few of the projects Sewing with Oilcloth has to offer. The trailer was great fun to make, a real family project. I really hope you all enjoy it!!

The book comes out later this month. If you haven't bought your copy yet, head on over to your favorite bookseller today. Pre-orders are due to ship in just 2 weeks!!!

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Barnes & Noble

Indie Bound

Wiley

Junisms

Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday  (and the occasional Friday) my little home studio fills up with two lovely ladies, I call them my Junies. Nicole been coming in and working for about 2 years and Kathie just hit the one year mark last month.  As you can imagine we have gotten to know each other pretty well as we work away in a 8' x 10' room.

Today we really cracked ourselves up, all we needed was little whoppie pie action (Happy B-day Nicole) to send us off into fits of giggles. Since we are oh so funny and on a serious sugar rush, we wasted a bit of time and made up this list of Junisms!

My eyes are bleeding.
It's my first day.
Would you ask Joannes for that?
This me focusing.
Who stole my tape?
Hi, I am new here.
Dot. Dot. Dot.
Duh, this is NOT my first day! (eye roll)
I am going to the shed.
Are you kidding me?
Guess where this is going...
Really?
Scarred. For. Life.
What are you smoking?
Junies Cluck Cluck is staring at me! 
ABORT, ABORT!
Daaarling...
Vail of silence.
No chat zone.

We are sure that we have many more Junisms to share so come on back and check the list!

Have some chocolate today!!!

Behind the scenes: Book Trailer

I've been making a stop motion animation book trailer for my upcoming book Sewing with Oilcloth for the last two weeks. Boy, that was a labor of love! About 6 weeks ago the good people at WileyCraft.com asked me if I knew how to do such a project, I said no but I would happily figure out how to. It was one of those, "How hard can it be?' moments. Rrrringht! Well guess what, it's hard!

Thankfully, I had a lot of help. My son and I watched a ton of brick movie videos and then we figured out how to use iMovie. (Love the iMovie) My husband was supportive as well, he took the kids and ran the streets on day 4 so I didn't blow my top with people around. My daughter and I spent hours snapping pictures and editing them. It's been a real McCants family production!

 Over a hundred little cut outs helped me spell out the message!

The stars of the show? I realized early on that I needed something to tie it all together. Yummy Goods had cute owls and a unicorn to help tell her story, Oliver + S had sweet paper doll, and 123 Sew has that adorable mouse. So oilcloth to the rescue, I created sweet little dancing cherries!!

The trailer should be live later today!!! I'll keep you posted. : )

Save the Dates: Sewing with Oilcloth Book Tour

My little Sewing with Oilcloth blog tour is starting to come together!!! I am so happy to share a few dates with you, we'll be adding in dates soon. If you know somewhere I should come please let me know, I'll do my best!!!

August:
Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 3:00-5:00 Book Release Party and Signing at Feathernesters in Richmond, VA

Details coming soon!!!

September:
Thursday, September 15 - 5 to 7 - "Meet&Greet with Crafty Author Kelly McCants!" at Sew to Speak in Columbus, Ohio
Saturday, September 17 - 11:00 Country Living Fair Columbus, OhioPresentation on the Main Stage.
Saturday, September 17 - 12:00 Country Living Fair Ohio, Book Signing at Town Hall.
Daily craft demos at our Modern June booth!!!

October:
Saturday October 22nd -- Country Living Fair Atlanta, presentation Time is TBA
Saturday October 22nd -- CLF ATL, book signing Time is TBA
Daily demos at our Modern June booth!!!
October 27-30 Quilt Market, Book Signings Times TBA

National Night Out

You gotta love living in Bellevue and root beer floats!!! 

Thanks to all that helped make it another great National Night Out.

Great new oilcloth...

 My oh my, we are loving our latest oilcloth print, Aqua Rosegale. We've enjoyed adding into our latest round of oilcloth party pennants and I cut out some pretty pillows to take to the Country Living Fair in Ohio. 

See all our prints on our flickr page. 

Over at my Oilcloth Addict blog I a little Q & A segment. Here's my favorite Q & A post ever....

I found this question in my inbox today and I think that it's the best question ever. I do have some ideas on what to do with oilcloth, twenty ideas in fact!!

Q: What can you do with oilcloth?

A: I have an entire book coming out about a month that will answer that for you. Sewing with Oilcloth is a pretty little book filled with 20 patterns with lovely pictures by Meghan McSweeney Photography. There is an entire chapter filled with tips, tools and trims that will make sewing with oilcloth fun and easy! The other 3 chapters have projects for you, for your home and for your little ones. There are projects of oilcloth, laminated cotton and chalk cloth.

In the meantime please check out my Oilcloth Addict Blog for tutorials, basic tips, and loads of great ideas from the crafty community and my fellow oilcloth addicts! 

Many thanks and happy sewing,
Kelly

Country Living Fair

Photo Credit: Modern June

I am happy to announce that Modern June will be coming to the Ohio Country Living Fair, September 16-17-18.  This fair is A M A Z I N G!!  We didn't think we could go to the Ohio show this year, but there was a change and plans and we'll be there with all our Modern June goodies, 40 bolts of Oilcloth, and a big stack of Sewing with Oilcloth books. 

That's not all... (annoying announcer voice) I'll also be giving a little chat at the CLF at high noon on Saturday, September 17th, followed by a book signing. But wait, there's more... (again with the voice)  I'll be doing a demo in our booth, I'll show you all how to make a fun project from Sewing with Oilcloth. More on all of that soon! 

Want to see more photos from last year? Check out these great flickr photo albums filled with CLF photos from my friends  Tasha McKelvey Pottery and  The Boastful Baker. I've got a a bunch too, but theirs are better. (Gotta get a better camera!)

For those of you that reside south of the Mason-Dixon Line we'll be at the  Country Living Fair South as well, where we will do all this fun stuff all over again. That show is at Stone Mountain/Atlanta GA in October.

Country Living Fairs Show Info

Photo Credit: County Living Magazine

September 16-18, 2011 – Ohio Village, Columbus, Ohio (ticket info)
October 21-23, 2011 – Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia (ticket info)
Save the dates and your dollars for some great shopping!!!

Meet our new Junie...

 

 Isn't she just the cutest thing ever? I got her from Sew There NH on Etsy. We've named her Junie Cluck Cluck and she's our new mascot. Kathie (Junie shipping clerk of love) want's Faye of Sew There to make babies to go with her and yellow gingham eggs. She's even got names for the baby chicks, Click and Clack.

If I had the time...

 

... I would go to my locally owned fabric shop (Quilting Adventures) and buy up a bunch of felt wool

 and some lovely embroidery floss

Photo Credit: Molly via The Purl Bee

so I could make some of these  Molly Sketch Book: Felt Flower Charms

Photo Credit: Molly via The Purl Bee

and some of these Molly's Sketchbook: Citrus Coasters.