Maribel, Annabel Wrigley of Little Pincushion Studio’s debut collection for Windham Fabrics, was inspired by some of her strongest childhood memories of weekends and holidays spent with her family at a house in the country. It evokes the feeling of being surrounded by fabric, flowers and beautiful English vintage florals. Her coordinating Aurifil Thread Collection is a selection of bold and bright colors, perfect for piecing, showcasing and creating little works of art!
We love learning more about our designers and were thrilled to chat with Annabel about her craft, the business of teaching, and her brand new collections.
[click on the image above to view the collection lookbook]
THREAD COLLECTION DETAILS
Maribel
100% Aurifil Cotton, 50wt
Large – 1422yds each, 12 colors, Large Spools
2784 – 5006 – 5005 – 5015 – 1104 – 2870 – 2225 – 2423 – 2530 – 2630 – 2600
For purchasing, please contact your local Aurifil Dealer.
THE INTERVIEW
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how the Little Pincushion Studio came to be?
I started sewing around 16 years ago when my son was born. I really suddenly had this urge to learn to sew and make things for him. I started making baby hats and then before long began to make them to sell. This was the start of my very small children’s label. Over a couple of years, the baby hat line expanded to include baby quilts, bags, bibs and some children’s clothing items. When our family moved to the States, I took some time off to raise the kiddos and stared sewing strictly for fun. It wasn’t until my daughter was around 6 and started showing interest in my sewing that I began throwing around the idea of teaching her how to sew. Before long I was teaching her and a few of her friends… Little Pincushion grew from there. I have been teaching now for more than 7 years and teach approximately 70 children per week.
What is your favorite thing about teaching sewing to kids?
It has to be watching the progression of absolute beginners to confident and creative seamstresses! It happens without them ever really realizing. It is a great thing to watch! Kids also have a fearlessness when it comes to color and print, It’s quite inspirational.
What first inspired the mobile studio that you opened up last year and how do you find it to be different than operating your regular studio?
It had always been a dream of mine, originally for use as a home studio space but then I thought it could be a great way to share sewing with kids who live further away. I use it mainly for birthday parties and sometimes for little beginner sewing classes with groups of friends. It has been such fun!
How did you end up connecting with Windham Fabrics to develop your first fabric collection and what has been your favorite part of the process?
I had been dreaming of creating a fabric collection for such a long time! After I was introduced to Mickey Kruger, I started to realize that this could actually be a possibility. When I was working on ideas for the collection, I always kept going back to the idea of florals. Floral prints seemed to surround me as I was growing up and creating a collection with both nostalgia and a modern twist was really important to me!
What is your favorite thing about Aurifil threads? Do you have a go-to color or thread weight?
I absolutely love all of the colors in my thread box, my favorite is the Teal 1148 in 50wt. It is perfect for piecing and appliqué and honestly sews like a dream.
What is your favorite project made with fabrics and threads from Maribel?
I think my favorite is my quilt “bush walk” I did all of the appliqué and straight line quilting with Aurifil thread. Also the little wall flags are a definite favorite!
THE GIVEAWAY
To enter-to-win, simply click here to head to the Rafflecopter entry page, or simply click on the image above. You do not have to complete all the options to be entered but the more options you choose, the more entries you have! Entries will be accepted from now through 11:59pm Eastern Time on Friday, May 6! Winner will be randomly selected and announced on Saturday, May 7th. Good luck!
UPDATE (5/7): This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Lacey Burns!!
LEARN MORE ABOUT ANNABEL
Website — Facebook — Pinterest — Instagram — Twitter
Annabel is an Aussie mum, author and designer living in rural Virginia. She owns Little Pincushion Studio, a sweet little space where she teaches many little sewing pixies everything they need to know to go forth and conquer the world of sewing and creating. When she is not teaching, she is busy coming up with a million and one projects for her “We Love to Sew” series of books published by C & T publishing.
[text adapted from Little Pincushion Studio, all images courtesy of Annabel Wrigley & Windham Fabrics]