A very "Hoppy" Halloween to you all! Computer problems this morning almost kept this post from happening! What a shame that would have been. After last year's Halloween photo, I wanted to do something extra awesome this year! Right before I left for Houston, I found a pair of sparkly bat wings from Pet Smart and I knew that George would make a perfect bat!
He was so cooperative, he really didn't end up minding them too much! He's had lots of treats anyways, two carrots and a raspberry! The resulting photos are absolutely killing me, I'm already scheming other costumes for him!
How about some outtakes too? :)
This is probably his grumpiest look, haha!
Checking things out!
Hello there!
What are you looking at?
Stretch!
Wings are falling down a bit!
Okay, I'm ready to be done, take this off!
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Quilt Market
I'm hanging out in the Dallas airport waiting for my connecting flight to Houston. I'm well on my way to International Quilt Market! If you're attending, I hope you'll stop by my booth, #458, and say hello! I'll be showing my new collection, Dreamin' Vintage, as well as my sewing patterns!
Follow me on Instagram (@jenib320), Twitter, and Facebook to keep up with the adventure! See you on the flip side!
Have an awesome week!
Follow me on Instagram (@jenib320), Twitter, and Facebook to keep up with the adventure! See you on the flip side!
Have an awesome week!
Friday, October 18, 2013
Favorites
1. heart quilt front, 2. Bats In Flight, 3. numbers!, 4. A Tsuru Modern Sampler Quilt, 5. Good Morning Starshine, 6. Gaudy Kitty Quilt, 7. Phoenix Twin Quilt I, 8. From This Valley - blogged at talesofineptitude.blogspot.com, 9. City Sunset.
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Snippets
Happy Thursday! I've been having a hard time finding a spare moment to write here. Just about every day I intend to post and then I get lost in my sewing. Quilt Market is less than a week away and things have definitely been crazy here! I don't have tons to share at the moment, but how about a few snippets from the last few weeks?
Postcards for my new collection debuting next week, Dreamin' Vintage. Stop by my booth (#458) and say hi if you're going to be there!
How about a REAL sneak peek of my collection? I can't wait to tell you all about it after I get back! It's my very favorite of my collections so far, it's totally my dream collection. Dreamin' Vintage will ship in April!
Lots and lots of half-square triangles. So happy to have a full rainbow of colors to work with in this collection!
I've been working on quilting up the main quilt for my booth the last few days. I decided to try my and at some spirals. It's definitely getting easier as I practice more!
Today I took a break from quilting to work on a few garments! I'm making a Wiksten Tank and a Colorblock Skirt!
I found some time last week to hit up a local antique mall and I scored another black and white stripe Cathrineholm bowl! This one wasn't quite the deal of the last, but I figured they even themselves out!
Yesterday I was in the mood for banana bread so I baked up a loaf. I used this recipe from Joy the Baker's cookbook. I added some cinnammon and substituted peanuts for walnuts. It turned out pretty delicious!
George in a bag! Bahh!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: Once Upon a Time
Taste of: Banana bread
Sight of: Growing "finished" pile
Feel of: Warm bath
Good Things about Today:
- Skype and sew!
- Happy mail!
- Michael came home early!
- Making progress!
Postcards for my new collection debuting next week, Dreamin' Vintage. Stop by my booth (#458) and say hi if you're going to be there!
How about a REAL sneak peek of my collection? I can't wait to tell you all about it after I get back! It's my very favorite of my collections so far, it's totally my dream collection. Dreamin' Vintage will ship in April!
Lots and lots of half-square triangles. So happy to have a full rainbow of colors to work with in this collection!
I've been working on quilting up the main quilt for my booth the last few days. I decided to try my and at some spirals. It's definitely getting easier as I practice more!
Today I took a break from quilting to work on a few garments! I'm making a Wiksten Tank and a Colorblock Skirt!
I found some time last week to hit up a local antique mall and I scored another black and white stripe Cathrineholm bowl! This one wasn't quite the deal of the last, but I figured they even themselves out!
Yesterday I was in the mood for banana bread so I baked up a loaf. I used this recipe from Joy the Baker's cookbook. I added some cinnammon and substituted peanuts for walnuts. It turned out pretty delicious!
George in a bag! Bahh!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: Once Upon a Time
Taste of: Banana bread
Sight of: Growing "finished" pile
Feel of: Warm bath
Good Things about Today:
- Skype and sew!
- Happy mail!
- Michael came home early!
- Making progress!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Favorites
1. Ring Around the Briar Rosies - photo shoot, 2. Flower Path, 3. Mini QT for Marilyn, 4. My FINISHED City Sampled Quilt from @tulapink's awesome book City Sampler!, 5. Shantytown, 6. Pink-Grey-Quilt, 7. Liberty arcs mini, 8. My Fall quilt, 9. It's hip to be square
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Your Nordika Projects
I can't believe it's been nearly three months since Nordika launched! The past few months have absolutely flown by! I love seeing what everyone makes with my fabrics. I put a lot of thought into how prints could potentially be used, and I of course make a lot of things with them myself, but it's always amazing to see what other people do with them. Thank you for buying and sewing with my fabrics and for sharing your projects! It always makes me smile!
So, I wanted to share a few Nordika projects from Flickr. You can find more projects in the Nordika Flickr Group, on my Nordika Projects Pinterest Board and in the #nordika hashtag on Twittter and Instagram!
This quilt in progress by Jacey is blowing my mind! It's just so good. Jacey is using Natalie's Wonky Pinwheel Tutorial to make these blocks!
Maureen made the first quilt from Nordika before it was even released! She's awesome like that! You can read more about it on her blog, here. She'll be sharing the pattern on the Janome website soon!
These X plus blocks by Lesley are giving me a serious itch to whip some up myself. Thus far I've resisted these blocks but this is pushing over the edge for sure! She even put some Color Me Retro in there too! She's using this tutorial to make the blocks.
You know I can't resist a good plus quilt, and this one is no exception! Loving on this quilt in progress by Leanne. Keep an eye on her blog, she's planning to release a tutorial or pattern for this quilt!
How gorgeous is this quilt by Nela? We met at Sewing Summit and I'm so glad she emailed me photos of her quilt! It's awesome! She used the star surround quilt-along to make her quilt!
I want to jump across the pond and steal this bag!! It's patchwork-quilt-as-you-go amazing! Jenna used the backpack pattern in Lisa Lam's book, A Bag for All Reasons!
Love this basket by Svetlana, using my favorite print from Nordika! The mix of prints is awesome! She used Anna Graham's Divided Basket Pattern!
wonky log cabin potholders to swap; fabric is Nordika by Jeni Baker, a photo by flickrdeb50 on Flickr.
Who doesn't love a good log cabin! Debbie made these awesome quilted potholders for a swap! You can read more about her techniques for these potholders here.
I'd like this dress in my size! Tamara used the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress Pattern to make these sweet number! The tiny little flower buttons are just too cute!
Speaking of adorable girl's dresses! Not only is this dress (and the sweet girl wearing it!) ridiculously cute, these photos perfectly capture the spirit of Nordika! So whimsical and cute. Pixidance used the to make this!
The panel has been turned into all kinds of dresses! I love this one by Charise using Sewaholic's Cambie Dress Pattern!
One more! I can't resist all the little girl's dresses that have been made with Nordika! This one that Kristen made is too much! It was such a pleasure meeting her at Quilt Market this Spring, she is always making awesome garment! She used our mutual friend Shannon's new pattern to make this dress, the Sally Dress Pattern!
I could go on and on, there are just too many awesome Nordika projects floating around! Please continue to share, I'll never tire of seeing your projects! :)
Note: If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it, no worries!
So, I wanted to share a few Nordika projects from Flickr. You can find more projects in the Nordika Flickr Group, on my Nordika Projects Pinterest Board and in the #nordika hashtag on Twittter and Instagram!
This quilt in progress by Jacey is blowing my mind! It's just so good. Jacey is using Natalie's Wonky Pinwheel Tutorial to make these blocks!
Maureen made the first quilt from Nordika before it was even released! She's awesome like that! You can read more about it on her blog, here. She'll be sharing the pattern on the Janome website soon!
These X plus blocks by Lesley are giving me a serious itch to whip some up myself. Thus far I've resisted these blocks but this is pushing over the edge for sure! She even put some Color Me Retro in there too! She's using this tutorial to make the blocks.
You know I can't resist a good plus quilt, and this one is no exception! Loving on this quilt in progress by Leanne. Keep an eye on her blog, she's planning to release a tutorial or pattern for this quilt!
How gorgeous is this quilt by Nela? We met at Sewing Summit and I'm so glad she emailed me photos of her quilt! It's awesome! She used the star surround quilt-along to make her quilt!
I want to jump across the pond and steal this bag!! It's patchwork-quilt-as-you-go amazing! Jenna used the backpack pattern in Lisa Lam's book, A Bag for All Reasons!
Love this basket by Svetlana, using my favorite print from Nordika! The mix of prints is awesome! She used Anna Graham's Divided Basket Pattern!
wonky log cabin potholders to swap; fabric is Nordika by Jeni Baker, a photo by flickrdeb50 on Flickr.
I'd like this dress in my size! Tamara used the Oliver + S Jump Rope Dress Pattern to make these sweet number! The tiny little flower buttons are just too cute!
Speaking of adorable girl's dresses! Not only is this dress (and the sweet girl wearing it!) ridiculously cute, these photos perfectly capture the spirit of Nordika! So whimsical and cute. Pixidance used the to make this!
The panel has been turned into all kinds of dresses! I love this one by Charise using Sewaholic's Cambie Dress Pattern!
One more! I can't resist all the little girl's dresses that have been made with Nordika! This one that Kristen made is too much! It was such a pleasure meeting her at Quilt Market this Spring, she is always making awesome garment! She used our mutual friend Shannon's new pattern to make this dress, the Sally Dress Pattern!
I could go on and on, there are just too many awesome Nordika projects floating around! Please continue to share, I'll never tire of seeing your projects! :)
Note: If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it, no worries!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Nordika Sewing and Market Prep
Happy Weekend! I've been doing lots of sewing getting ready for Quilt Market. It's always hard working on things I can't share. But maybe just a little peek at what I'm working with...! I think I am finally getting a bit of my sewing mojo back, which is good, and just in time! This time around though, I'm trying not to overdo it! I'm mixing in a few just because projects, even if they are tiny, to break up all the things I have to sew. So far it's working!
I whipped up some lavender sachets with the Nordika panel to help keep moths away from my yarns and knitted things. Hope it helps, if not at least all the yarn smells nice!
I also sewed some new samples for the Zipper Pouch class I teach at The Sewcial Lounge from Nordika. The next session is November 6th! This class has been filling up quick, so sign up right away if you're interested! Pattern available here.
There is a great Nordika quilt, Zany Zigzags that was designed by the Art Gallery Fabrics team in the newest issue of Quilt-it... Today! You can find it on newsstands today, it's the November/December issue.
Fat Quarter Shop has a kit available for the quilt, here.
I have added a few new quilting books to my library lately. I couldn't wait any longer to add books from two of my favorite UK quilters: Quilt Improv by Lucie Summers and 25 Patchwork Quilt Blocks by Katy Jones. I'm looking forward to spending more time with both of these books once things calm down! Quilting Happiness was written by my friends Christina Lane and Diane Gillead. I am SO excited to start making and working from their book, it's really beautiful!
Some very special mail arrived last week, these beyond cute zipper pouches from a family friend! Thank you Maria, I love them so! They're too cute for words!
George bunny!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: George playing
Taste of: Diet Coke
Sight of: Leaves turning
Feel of: Cool morning
Good Things about Today:
- Halloween candy to be eaten!
- Ready to work on an exciting sewing project!
- Headed to The Sewcial Lounge for their sale! Stop by from 10am-4pm today!
- That probably means there is some fabric in my future!
I whipped up some lavender sachets with the Nordika panel to help keep moths away from my yarns and knitted things. Hope it helps, if not at least all the yarn smells nice!
I also sewed some new samples for the Zipper Pouch class I teach at The Sewcial Lounge from Nordika. The next session is November 6th! This class has been filling up quick, so sign up right away if you're interested! Pattern available here.
There is a great Nordika quilt, Zany Zigzags that was designed by the Art Gallery Fabrics team in the newest issue of Quilt-it... Today! You can find it on newsstands today, it's the November/December issue.
Fat Quarter Shop has a kit available for the quilt, here.
I have added a few new quilting books to my library lately. I couldn't wait any longer to add books from two of my favorite UK quilters: Quilt Improv by Lucie Summers and 25 Patchwork Quilt Blocks by Katy Jones. I'm looking forward to spending more time with both of these books once things calm down! Quilting Happiness was written by my friends Christina Lane and Diane Gillead. I am SO excited to start making and working from their book, it's really beautiful!
Some very special mail arrived last week, these beyond cute zipper pouches from a family friend! Thank you Maria, I love them so! They're too cute for words!
George bunny!
Today I love the..
Smell of: Waffles
Sound of: George playing
Taste of: Diet Coke
Sight of: Leaves turning
Feel of: Cool morning
Good Things about Today:
- Halloween candy to be eaten!
- Ready to work on an exciting sewing project!
- Headed to The Sewcial Lounge for their sale! Stop by from 10am-4pm today!
- That probably means there is some fabric in my future!
Friday, October 4, 2013
Favorites
1. Rainbow Rows, 2. al-1, 3. Rocky Mountain Puzzle, 4. Hand Piecing, 5. black and white in color, 6. Starlings Wallhanging, 7. Epic Far Far Away quilt, 8. Sun Prints Less is More, 9. These blocks are from my longest lasting WIP ever.
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Sewing Summit 2013
Happy Wednesday! Hope you're all having a good week! Fall has official struck here in Wisconsin, the leaves are turning, the air is crisp and I've already started sleeping under my heavy flannel quilt! I am super happy about it. Fall is my favorite season, and I'm going to soak up every minute.
Today I am finally going to chat about this year's Sewing Summit conference! I've been trying to get this post up for a good week and a half, but it's a little daunting! So many things I could talk about, it's hard to condense it all into a blog post. This is the third year that Sewing Summit has taken place, and the third time I've taught and attended. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad that I went again!
If you haven't heard of Sewing Summit, it's a modern sewing and blogging conference. There were classes ranging from quilting to garment sewing to technical blogging to fabric printing! A little something for everyone I think!
The conference didn't officially start until Thursday night, but I flew in Wednesday afternoon to have some fun around Salt Lake City and get adjusted to the climate difference. The elevation is about 4,200 ft in Salt Lake City compared to only around 800 in Madison. Between that and the difference in humidity, it takes getting used to!
On Thursday, the always sweet Amy Smart took a few of us around town on our own little shop hop, including an amazing yarn store, Blazing Needles! It was super fun, and we all managed to find a few goodies!
Those goodies included some crazy good waffles! We only managed to get there twice, but oh my goodness. The waffles. If you're ever in Salt Lake City you must stop at Bruges Waffles & Frites. They're so delicious and they have awesome frites too!
Wednesday night adventures at Bruges Waffles, and taking the light rail in the dark! Deedee, Pat, and I!
I spent most of the weekend with my buddy Deedee! We got into all kinds of trouble. And by trouble I mean eating way too much sugar, shopping at Anthropologie and buying all the yarn! Also, she had never been to Menchies! So of course we had to go!
The Thursday gang at Menchies! Amy, Colleen, Holly, Deedee, Me, and Amy!
My favorite thing about Sewing Summit is getting to see old friends and make new ones, the people are the reason I keep going back. That makes the actual classes, pure bonus! I took lots of fun classes this year, including Fabric Design with Pat Bravo, Paper-piecing with Christina Lane, Mini Dresdens with Jessie Lathroum, and Hand Printing Fabric with Miriam Tribe!
This year I taught two completely different classes. Different from each other and from what I've taught in years past. The first was HTML Basics for Bloggers on Friday. I think it went pretty well! I was nervous the whole time that it would be boring, since it is a pretty dry subject! Hopefully my rambling wasn't too bad! I could see "Aha!" moments happening at different points during the class, so I'm confident that at the very least everyone took away one thing they could implement on their blogs.
On Saturday I completely switched gears and taught an Equilateral Triangle Piecing class. I showed how to cut triangles without a special ruler and lots of people worked towards a throw sized quilt! It was a lot of fun, I'm excited to see the quilts pop up on Instagram and Flickr!
There is something so awesome about going out for dinner with people you don't get to see much in person, but see all the time on the Internet! We had a great relaxing dinner on Friday night at an Italian restaurant. It was so nice to get to know these ladies better and just enjoy their company. From left to right: Angela, Lindsey, Deedee, Me, Kaye, Elena, Amy, and Kata.
Sweet Kaye! Really enjoyed hanging out with Kaye, we didn't get to see enough of each other last time! We managed to take almost all the same classes on Saturday, we must have read each other's minds!
This is one of the best memories from this year's Sewing Summit. I got to room with one of my very first sewing friends, Christina! She actually got me started quilting and even quilted my first quilt. We've met a few times now, but never had a chance to spend much time together. Thank goodness that changed this time around! This goofy photo was taken in the dark, at 1 or 2 in the morning. We were laughing so hard at the bright flash. There's nothing like laughing until your sides hurt, tears streaming down your face with an old friend. That's what Sewing Summit is all about for me.
A big thank you to the Sewing Summit staff for putting together this event and for having me back! It was a great time!
Today I am finally going to chat about this year's Sewing Summit conference! I've been trying to get this post up for a good week and a half, but it's a little daunting! So many things I could talk about, it's hard to condense it all into a blog post. This is the third year that Sewing Summit has taken place, and the third time I've taught and attended. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad that I went again!
If you haven't heard of Sewing Summit, it's a modern sewing and blogging conference. There were classes ranging from quilting to garment sewing to technical blogging to fabric printing! A little something for everyone I think!
The conference didn't officially start until Thursday night, but I flew in Wednesday afternoon to have some fun around Salt Lake City and get adjusted to the climate difference. The elevation is about 4,200 ft in Salt Lake City compared to only around 800 in Madison. Between that and the difference in humidity, it takes getting used to!
On Thursday, the always sweet Amy Smart took a few of us around town on our own little shop hop, including an amazing yarn store, Blazing Needles! It was super fun, and we all managed to find a few goodies!
Those goodies included some crazy good waffles! We only managed to get there twice, but oh my goodness. The waffles. If you're ever in Salt Lake City you must stop at Bruges Waffles & Frites. They're so delicious and they have awesome frites too!
Wednesday night adventures at Bruges Waffles, and taking the light rail in the dark! Deedee, Pat, and I!
I spent most of the weekend with my buddy Deedee! We got into all kinds of trouble. And by trouble I mean eating way too much sugar, shopping at Anthropologie and buying all the yarn! Also, she had never been to Menchies! So of course we had to go!
The Thursday gang at Menchies! Amy, Colleen, Holly, Deedee, Me, and Amy!
My favorite thing about Sewing Summit is getting to see old friends and make new ones, the people are the reason I keep going back. That makes the actual classes, pure bonus! I took lots of fun classes this year, including Fabric Design with Pat Bravo, Paper-piecing with Christina Lane, Mini Dresdens with Jessie Lathroum, and Hand Printing Fabric with Miriam Tribe!
This year I taught two completely different classes. Different from each other and from what I've taught in years past. The first was HTML Basics for Bloggers on Friday. I think it went pretty well! I was nervous the whole time that it would be boring, since it is a pretty dry subject! Hopefully my rambling wasn't too bad! I could see "Aha!" moments happening at different points during the class, so I'm confident that at the very least everyone took away one thing they could implement on their blogs.
On Saturday I completely switched gears and taught an Equilateral Triangle Piecing class. I showed how to cut triangles without a special ruler and lots of people worked towards a throw sized quilt! It was a lot of fun, I'm excited to see the quilts pop up on Instagram and Flickr!
There is something so awesome about going out for dinner with people you don't get to see much in person, but see all the time on the Internet! We had a great relaxing dinner on Friday night at an Italian restaurant. It was so nice to get to know these ladies better and just enjoy their company. From left to right: Angela, Lindsey, Deedee, Me, Kaye, Elena, Amy, and Kata.
Sweet Kaye! Really enjoyed hanging out with Kaye, we didn't get to see enough of each other last time! We managed to take almost all the same classes on Saturday, we must have read each other's minds!
This is one of the best memories from this year's Sewing Summit. I got to room with one of my very first sewing friends, Christina! She actually got me started quilting and even quilted my first quilt. We've met a few times now, but never had a chance to spend much time together. Thank goodness that changed this time around! This goofy photo was taken in the dark, at 1 or 2 in the morning. We were laughing so hard at the bright flash. There's nothing like laughing until your sides hurt, tears streaming down your face with an old friend. That's what Sewing Summit is all about for me.
A big thank you to the Sewing Summit staff for putting together this event and for having me back! It was a great time!