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All Things Home

designing fabric & papers for spoonflower

A few weeks ago, I shared that my second quilting fabric collection with FreeSpirit Fabrics wasn’t going to be produced.  (You can find that post HERE.)  Thanks for all of your encouragement on that, by the way!  The brief feeling of failure that comes with any news like that quickly shifted into excitement.  This means I can take my designs and what I’ve learned and translate them into the world of home decor fabrics and papers. I am in the very beginning stages of reworking my existing designs and putting some plans together for new collections and colorways.  Once the designs are ready, they will be for sale on Spoonflower. One of the challenges with designing fabrics (or anything, really), is finding a way to communicate the ideas and concepts that live in your head with other people.  That sounds like a no brainer, but it’s more challenging than you

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All Things Home

the Carlisle & the Hanover

Remember the Dash & Albert rug design competition that happened back in the summer of 2017?  Well, samples of the rugs were made, approved, and now they are finally for sale on the Dash & Albert website! If you remember, both of these designs were based on elements of an antique coverlet I bought a few years ago. The Hanover rug is the all-over coverlet pattern in a repeat, simplified to work for a rug… …and the Carlisle is an enlarged section of the border. They are named after two towns in Pennsylvania –  Hanover and Carlisle.  I found the coverlet in an antique shop in Carlisle and I often frequented antique stores in Hanover, so those names seemed fitting. Here is the Hanover in my office… That was just the sample and I now have a smaller version of it in our guest bathroom downstairs. And here is the

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Artistic Endeavors

the stool covers are back

Remember these cuties?  They were ticking stool covers made as reproductions of one I made out of antique ticking for an industrial stool and sold by Decor Steals a couple of years ago… Those simple ticking stool covers were a big deal for me, because it was the first product I designed that was reproduced.  Well, they’re ba-ack! We changed up the fabric to a different style of ticking and they are available in red & blue… They have fit well on just about every stool I’ve tried it on, but check your measurements to make sure. I love how they soften up a hard piece of furniture and add a custom farmhouse finishing touch. And the fabric has a great woven texture… They are on sale now HERE at Decor Steals, if you want to get your hands one (or more).  If you want to make some yourself, you can

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Artistic Endeavors

rugs & quilts & other things dreams are made of

As my business has grown and hit milestones over the years, I’ve learned that things seem to come in waves.  There will be a lull just before another swell.  Right now is a swell.   My first fabric line officially launched just a few weeks ago and in April we launched a new MMS Milk Paint color and I just got through the final approval stages of the two rugs I designed for Dash & Albert.  Never thought I would string a sentence together like that. So, let’s start with the rugs.  Here is the one I received a couple of weeks ago… It is still surreal seeing it in person.  Even when I look at the picture, I have to remind myself that it isn’t a mock-up!  This rug is beautiful.  It has a thick, soft pile that feels so comfy underfoot.  I think it works well with the pattern and

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Artistic Endeavors

no-sew custom dinner napkins & fabric launch

After years of design work, coordinating, learning, waiting, and creating, my fabric line is finally going to be available for sale (find a store HERE), so this week kicks off the official launch of Bunnies, Birds & Blooms by Free Spirit Fabrics. I have partnered with some talented creators and Instagrammers to show off the fabrics.  They are amazing quilters.  I am not.  They will be showing the super-fancy sewing projects.  I’m going to show the super simple, no-sew project for my non-sewing, non-quilting readers. As I was thinking about a good, no-sew project, I was also working on a table setting for a photo shoot and I realized I had sold the majority of my colorful cloth napkins when we moved. I had a moment of inspiration.  My fabrics would be perfect with my table setting and cloth napkins would be ridiculously simple to make.  That’s the project I

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Artistic Endeavors

the process of designing textiles

In case you missed the happy news, Free Spirit Fabrics, the maker of my fabric line, was bought out by Jaftex and saved! That means Bunnies, Birds & Blooms will be available for sale and I’m finishing up my second collection! Since I’m in the throes of color ways, I thought it would be a good time to share my design process and how much it’s grown from where I started. When I was first approached to design a fabric line, I was thrilled about even the thought of it.  I’ve loved textiles for a long time and this was a dream come true.  When I actually sat down to put design ideas on paper, I realized I had absolutely no clue what I was doing.  No clue.  The designs were there.  They were in my brain.  How do I put them in a format that can be shared with

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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