Motif Madness

I have two more Geranium Dresses (well, technically one is a top) to show you today! These two feature the "Motif Madness" print in vermillion and ivory from the Tsuru line designed by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cloud 9 fabrics (this post is part II in a series of posts I'm fondly calling the Tsuru + Geranium Project; see part I here).

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You may remember seeing Rashida's designs before on this blog, most notably the enormously popular "washi tape fabric" that gave the Washi Dress pattern its name. Rashida spent a few years in Japan when she was growing up, and her designs reflect a strong influence of Japanese culture and imagery. I thought it would be fun to incorporate paper cranes into the photos somehow to play off of the Japanese theme, and Rashida suggested the idea of creating an installation of cranes on the wall so they would look like they were flying overhead. Karen folded the cranes (no small task!), and I taped them up in my entryway. I really like the cool effect they add to the photos.

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I think that these two Geraniums just might be my favorites of the set. I love the large motifs in these two prints so much, and they photograph amazingly well (I love the name "Motif Madness" too!). It's hard to pick favorites with this line, though; from the moment I first saw the collection, it was true love. I love how mature the Tsuru designs are -- perfect for women's tops, dresses, and skirts -- yet they look just as amazing sewn up into children's clothing.

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I'm sure you've already noticed a new face in these photos: Clementine's friend Phoebe. I quickly realized that getting my belligerent three-year-old into and out of eight dresses before I needed to send them back to Cloud 9 for Quilt Market was going to require more bribery/mini-marshmallows than I had on hand, so I asked blogger friend-in-real-life Emily if Phoebe would help us model. Those adorable cheeks!! I die. What a cutie. Phoebe is the same age as (and also the same dress and shoe size as) Clementine, so it worked out perfectly. And they love being goofy together, as we've realized the few times we've gotten them together to play, which made the photos so easy to take.

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Array

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I hope you enjoyed these, because there are even more Tsuru Geranium Dresses to come!