Knit + Purl

Knit + Purl ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

The Spoonflower designers were asked to... 'Create a knitting-inspired design just in time for the cozy holiday season'.

A handmade 'I love you' stitched from the heart!

I was so excited to squeeze this design in this week, it was such a fun design topic! 

Voting will open Thursday, December 10th, 2015. Please VOTE HERE!

Kitchen Power… Watercolor power tools for Spoonflower!

'kitchen power' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Let's face it, the only power tools being used in this house are in the kitchen!

Spoonflower's design prompt this week was to create a watercolor power tools design to be previewed at the fat quarter size (21" x 18"). Voting opens on Thursday, May 28, 2015.

Please Vote Here!

Cuckoo for Spoonflower!

Cuckoo for Spoonflower! ©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

The Spoonflower Design Challenge this week is featuring clocks or timepieces.
I did a bit of recycling on this one. I designed this cuckoo clock for my Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells e-class in the Spring of this year and thought it would be fun to use it for this assignment.

In order to make the illustration work better with a fabric pattern, I added a few other elements. Starting with a new clock tower with grand doors, a spattering of stars, a tipsy moon and a wandering bear just for fun. Last, a textured element to the 'wallpaper' behind the clocks. :)

Voting starts on Thursday, October 16th, 2014. Please Vote!

Ballet Bears for Spoonflower!

The theme for the Spoonflower design challenge this week was ballet!

Ballet Bears! ©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs. 

This was so fun to do. I knew I wanted to draw bears for this challenge because nothing is more perfect than fancy bears wearing tutus and pointe shoes.
I started the design by drawing bears in about 15 different sizes and dance positions, then narrowed them down to the two seen above. Next, sketched dance outfits and accessories like tiaras, crowns and magic wands and assembled them in photoshop. I placed the characters into my ribbon-like design to complete the repeat pattern! :)
Voting starts on Thursday, October 2nd, 2014. Please Vote!

Retro Tables + Chairs for Spoonflower!

This week Spoonflower asked their faithful designers to create a design that features tables and chairs.

Retro Tables + Chairs! ©2014 Patty Rybolt Design. All Rights Reserved.

For this prompt I didn't even have to think…I am just drawn to mid-century modern chairs.

I researched photo's of chairs from that era and sketched about 25 different styles before narrowing the field to the final five. The color palette was chosen next... olive, smokey blue and white. When designing fabric, I like the color story to be as important as the images. The olive color really reminds me of a sofa and the appliances my parents had when I was a kid, and the blue was chosen to bring this retro design into today. The white allows you to see the unique shapes of the chairs and to unify their look. If I had put patterns on all of the chairs, it would have looked too busy.
The next step was to arrange the elements into a pleasing pattern and add a pop of color with the tulip flowers in a vase. Finally the dot pattern was added to give some texture to the piece.

Voting starts on Thursday, September 25rd, 2014. Please Vote!

Marching Band for Spoonflower!

Marching Band for Spoonflower! ©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved. 

The design contest this week at Spoonflower… celebrating marching bands!

I started this design as I normally would, with research on the internet and Pinterest. The most interesting bits that I found were vintage ads for band uniform catalogues. I took note of the details on the vintage uniforms and decided to incorporate them into my design. I wanted to use certain instruments associated with a marching band and drew them and my marchers in my usual loose fashion on my iPad.

Next, I opened the Adobe Ideas file in Photoshop and chose my color palette. Most of the band images online were using the same theme of red and black uniforms, so I chose a palette that was a little different. The blue and yellow worked well together and the green was a natural for the background.

©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs.
All Rights Reserved.

I wanted the colors of the marchers to reflect a real marching band, so diversity was important. I built the characters in Photoshop and then placed each one in proper marching position on a new 4.5x10.5" file, the idea is to set up for a 1/2 brick layout. I added my green in the background and a dot texture for interest. Finally adding the notes to help with the overall pattern design!

Preview on the 1/2 brick pattern is a quarter yards (21" x 18"). Voting starts on Thursday, September 11th, 2014. Please Vote!

'Wellies and Umbrellies' for Spoonflower!

April showers bring May flowers! This week's challenge was to design a fabric to celebrate the trusty rubber boot!

'Wellies and Umbrellies'   ©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs.

This concept came easy to me this week. I live in beautiful south Florida and am surrounded by amazing birds year round. I am constantly photographing, drawing and watching birds. (I took the photo's below).

Two sandhill cranes - backyard 

 

An egret with rosette
spoonbills - local pond

Flamingo - Palm Beach Zoo

Ibis - pond

rainy season rainbow - backyard

Egret - backyard photo

 The weather is gorgeous right now but in rainy season the only creatures happy to be in the rain are the birds. 

I decided to incorporate the boots and birds with rain and some fun umbrellas. I was excited to use some of my sketches from my iPad's Adobe Ideas App. I drew some wellies, umbrellas, rain, clouds, flowers and accessories for my characters like the bathing cap, glasses, and hats to give them personality. 

When the drawings were done I imported them Photoshop on my main computer and assembled them with color and pattern in layers, almost like a collage. When my characters were complete I made a repeat of the rain and clouds and added my characters!

Previews will be sized as a fat quarter (21" x 18"). Voting starts Thursday, March 27th, 2014 and continues until Thursday, April 4th, 2014. Please vote!

Great Barrier Reef

The challenge of the week was designed to honor Australia Day on January 26th. Designers were asked to produce a pattern based on the hundreds of species of animals, plants, and coral that make the reef their home.

Our family was traveling this weekend, so I approached this assignment a little differently. While waiting at airports and during any downtime, I pulled out my iPad. Almost all of this project was done with my finger and sometimes a stylus on my iPad using the Adobe Ideas App, this app allowed me to draw and edit my drawings in a multi layer program and then send them to my home computer where I applied the color and arranged the images when I got home. 

I wanted to keep the color choices simple because the drawings had a reasonable amount of detail. (The turtle is my favorite!)

'The Reef'
©2014 Patty Rybolt Designs

Previews: fat quarter fabric size (21" x 18"). Voting starts later today and goes through early Thursday, January 30th 2014. Please Vote!!

'My Garden Sketchbook' in the Top 10!

Very excited about the news this morning that my latest fabric has made the top 10 this week at Spoonflower.com! It is currently available in 10 different fabrics, (quilting cottons, home decor fabrics, silks and organics),wallpaper, wall decals and now gift wrap in both satin and matt finishes! Thanks to everyone who voted!

My Garden Sketchbook
©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

Fat Quarter Bundles of the top 10 contest themed designs are available at Spoonflower.com for $60. Each quarter yard of fabric is printed on Kona® cotton, then bundled and wrapped in a lovely ribbon!

Garden Fat Quarter Bundles available for this week only!

My Garden Sketchbook!

This week, Spoonflower designers were asked to design fabric dedicated to gardening tools (21" x 18"). Deadlines for entering were Tuesday, April 9th, 2013. Voting begins Thursday, April 11th, and goes through Thursday morning, April 18th, 2013. 

I thought I would celebrate this Spring assignment with sketches from my journal where geraniums bloom, garden tools look used and gorgeous vegetables can grow without ever having to put my paintbrush down!

'My Garden Sketchbook'
©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

Asparagus Garden Stripe
©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

 Accompanying 'My Garden Sketchbook', are two other fabrics in the Collection so far.

Garden Sketchbook "Mini"
©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

In keeping with the garden theme, my final entry for today... the Harvest! Our growing season is just about wrapped up here in South Florida as we head into the 'Wet' season... my final tomatoes were harvested today from my very small patio garden! They were served at dinner with great pride.

'Bountiful Harvest'
©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs
featured on my fabric in Linen/Cotton
Olive Branches (lt. lime, lt. aqua & white)

l'art des poulet! = Painted Eggs!

The assignment of the week... Painted Eggs

Spoonflower asked their faithful following of designers to create a fabric design built around the concept of painted eggs.  My take on this assignment centered around the theme of the season... Spring, Easter + new life. For whatever reason, French hens (and chicks) painting eggs on canvas while wearing beret's and French t's just seemed like the right way to go!!

Unlike most of their contests, the preview of this design is 8" x 8" rather than a fat quarter. The deadline for submission was March 19th, 2013. Vote on this at Spoonflower.com from Thursday, March 21 through Thursday morning, March 28th, 2013!

l'art des poulet!
(robin's egg blue)

 ©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

Free Range Plaid
(new grass, robin's egg blue + pale lilac)

Free Range
(robin's egg blue + pale lilac)

'Ordinary Girl' Power makes Top 10!!

 I'm very excited to have made the top 10 this week with my fabric design for 'Girl Power'! The illustrations of girls around the world doing what any 'Ordinary Girl' can do! Thanks Spoonflower!

Spoonflower posted this picture on Facebook and Flicker when they announced the top 10!

Bundles... The top 10 fabric of the week is sold in bundles at a discounted price!

'Ordinary Girl' Power!

This week's entry... 

In honor of International Women's Day Spoonflower ran a contest with the theme of Girl Power. You were to Create fabrics appealing to kids celebrating the strength, power, and potential of girls.  (Fat quarter size 21" x 18"). Deadline was Tuesday, March 5, 2013.

My take on this International theme was to highlight what any 'Ordinary Girl' is capable of doing. The greatest power our girls have is their ability to change the world! 'Ordinary Girls' can do extraordinary things! Girl Power!!

"Every girl has the power to...  protect endangered species, save our seas, go to school, drink clean water, demand clean air ...have world peace! 

©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

Just in time for Valentines Day... Love Notes...

'Love Notes for Love Birds' is my latest fabric design.

Spoonflower contest theme of the week is 'Love Letters'. 
Designers created a fabric design celebrating Valentine's Day. Previews sized at a quarter yard (21" x 18"). The deadline for entry was Tuesday, February 5, 2013. Voting starts on Thursday, February 7th and goes through Thursday, February 14th!

New Year... New fabric designs! This week Toile!!

More fabric to start the new year! Spoonflower asked designers to come up with a murder-mystery themed toile de Jouy. Previews sized as quarter yard(21" x 18"). Deadline for entry was Tuesday, January 15, 2013. Toile de Jouy is a type of design popularized in the 18th century that typically depicts a complex scene, often pastoral, arranged into a repeating pattern. Classical toiles are usually two colors, with white or off-white as the background color and the pattern printed in black, dark blue, or red.

My concept for these illustrations center around cats doing what cats do. These Bad Kitty's are not very good at covering their tracks, they even appear to be proud of what they've done! Voting starts today January 17th and goes through Wednesday, January 23, 2013!!

©2013 Patty Rybolt Designs

Tea Time Sweets!

This week... Sweets! This weeks fabric design depicts sweets (candy, cookies, etc.) using small scale repeating motifs that are non-directional (or scattered)... What could be sweeter than tea time? ...Butter cookies, cookies filled with jam, biscuits and macaroons... Yum!