Cut Out + Keep Craft Room Interview

Happy Tuesday! I wanted to pop in quickly and let you know about an interview I did with Cut Out + Keep about my craft room. You can find the interview here: Cut Out + Keep: Jeni's Craft Room

You can find the full tour of my sewing room here: 2019 Sewing Room Tour

Chambray and Denim Flying Geese Quilt

Happy Thursday! I'm excited to share a new quilt finish with you all today! This was the first big quilt that I started and finished this year.


One of my goals for 2019 was to make a quilt from my stash of denim and chambray fabrics. I wasn't sure exactly what kind of quilt I wanted to make, but decided early in the year that I'd make the quilt for Michael. I made him a quilt a few years ago (The Sports Fan Quilt), but it's too small for him to sleep under. So I knew this quilt needed to be plenty big and I also wanted it to have wool batting for extra warmth.

I've collected a pretty sizeable stash of these fabrics over the years, mostly from Robert Kaufman's House of Denim, and a few random thrifted pieces too. I originally thought these would all be used for garments, so most of the fabrics I had a yard and a half or more. I was able to make the entire quilt top, backing, and binding from my stash.


I decided to make this quilt for Michael about two weeks before his birthday, so I wanted to choose a pretty simple design. Some of these fabrics are also pretty stretchy and there are a lot of variety of weights and textures, so a simple design would also be easier to execute. I sketched up a few different ideas and landed on flying geese blocks.


The blocks finish at 5"x10" and I made 119 blocks for a quilt that finished 70"x85". All of my fabrics were prewashed (since they were going to be clothes originally!).


I thought I would try to finish the entire quilt and have it ready to give Michael on his birthday, but quickly realized I didn't want to quilt this myself. All the different fabrics were a bit difficult to work with and it was big! Plus, I didn't have any wool batting on hand and I was set on using that. So, I gave him a preview of the finished top instead.

I sent it off to Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting for the quilting. Michael chose a simple stipple for the quilting design and I think it fits the quilt really well. Also, I couldn't believe how flat and square the quilt came back. It would have been a mess of puckers if I had tried to quilt it!


The backing and binding is more of the same fabrics. This quilt took a huge chunk of my denim stash which is great! I love how the texture and weight turned out with these fabrics paired with wool batting. It's soft, fluffy, warm, cozy. And most importantly Michael loves it and has slept under it every night since I finished it last month. That's a win in my book!

Happy Quilting!

Earth Day Bag Pattern Sale!

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, I'm having a sale on all my bag patterns! Use code "EARTHDAY" at checkout for 25% off in my shop today and tomorrow. Sale ends at Midnight EST on Tuesday, April 23rd. Click Here to Shop.

Note: The Bag Making Bundle is not included in the sale.

One of the ways I try to reduce the amount of disposable plastic and paper in my life is to use reusable bags when shopping and to make handmade gift bags. You'll find quick links to each of my bag patterns below, and my favorite things about each!


The Workshop Tote Pattern - These are nice and big, perfect for carrying groceries. They fit so much that I have to be careful not to overfill them with heavy stuff!


Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern - My go-to reusable gift bags, project bags, and travel bags. I use them to keep my suitcase organized when I travel!


The Elemental Tote Pattern - Never made a bag before? This pattern is for you. Three tote bags that will teach you different things!


Triplizip Zipper Pouch Pattern - If you're new to zippers, no worries! You'll get the hang of it after making the three different pouches in this pattern. Great for gifts!


Sew Portable Travel Set - This set is meant for carrying a vintage sewing machine, but the tote is a great standalone bag too. Super sturdy, great for carrying heavy objects!

Shop Bag Patterns Here

Have a Great Day!

Mini Sewing Tool Organizers

Happy Wednesday! Today I have some super cute little projects to share!


I've loved making and gifting sewing organizers made with the #10 Sewing Caddy Pattern* by Sew Can She. I've made four and they're really satisfying to make. Caroline recently revamped the pattern and included a new mini size! Of course I had to make some, the size is so cute. It uses a #2.5 size can. The cans I bought had 28 oz of whole tomatoes in them!


I made two because why make one when you can make two? This one I gave to my friend Jacey. I wanted to use a precious fabric on both of the organizers, so for this one I used a print from Habitat* by Jay McCaroll for the main fabric. I mixed in a solid and prints from Doe* by Carolyn Friedlander and Nordika* to finish it off.


These were fun colors to work with, pretty different for me!


And here is the organizer I made for myself! For the focal print I used this beautiful print from the first Liberty Lifestyle* collection. I paired it with this awesome plaid from Daisy Chain* by Annabel Wrigley, a star print from Stella* by Lotta Jansdotter, and a print from Nordika* for the lining.


This is my favorite way to pull fabrics for a project. Start with a really colorful focal print and pull blenders directly from it.


See my other organizers made from this pattern: Halloween + Constellations organizers, Patchwork + Sheep organizers, Lore organizer.

Find the pattern here: #10 Caddy Pattern* by Sew Can She.

Happy Sewing!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

Love Flying Geese Book

Happy Thursday! Today I have a new book to share with you! It's called Love Flying Geese and it's a compilation of flying geese projects from Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine, published by C&T Publishing.


Photo © 2013 Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

You'll find 27 projects in the book featuring flying geese blocks, including one of mine! Gaggle of Geese is a simple throw quilt featuring two sizes of flying geese. It's fat quarter friendly and comes together quickly! You may recognize this quilt from my Geese in Flight pattern, which has additional sizes of the same design.


Photo © 2013 Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

It was first featured in Issue 3 of Love Patchwork & Quilting, on the cover. I still remember finding out it would be on the cover, such a fun memory!


I used the Urban Mod collection by Art Gallery Fabrics for this quilt, along with their Pure Solid in Snow.


Photo © 2013 Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

As I'm sure you can guess that I quilted this one myself. Free-motion quilting is not my strong suit, but I can quilt a pretty decent doodle-loop!


You can find my project on page 33 in the book!


You'll find instructions for a little matching mini quilt too!


Also included in the book is my technique focus on flying geese. You'll find detailed instructions for both the traditional method of making flying geese and also the four-at-a-time method. Plus math formulas for making any size geese!


There are some really great projects featured in this book, a few I'd like to make too! Be sure to check out the rest of the book tour to see the other projects included:

Tuesday 3/26: C&T Publishing at ctpub.com/blog
Wednesday 3/27: Karen Lewis at karenlewistextiles.blogspot.com
Thursday 3/28: Nicole Calver at snipssnippets.ca
Friday 3/29: Amanda Castor at materialgirlquilts.com
Sunday 3/31: Jenn Nevitt at mommysew.com
Monday 4/1: Moira de Carvalho at quiltdesignduo.com
Tuesday 4/2: Peta Peace at shequiltsalot.com
Wednesday 4/3: Julie Rutter at blackisleyarns.co.uk
Thursday 4/4: Jeni Baker at incolororder.com (you are here!)
Friday 4/5: Minki Kim at minkikim.com

Find Love Flying Geese at your local book store, ctpub.com or amazon.com.

Happy Quilting!

March Monthly Report

Happy April! It's time for March's monthly report. See past reports here.


I am so excited that it's finally looking like Spring. We had a snow storm right at the beginning of the month, but it was 65 degrees this past Saturday. That's more like it! My Mom and I planted a bunch of bulbs last Fall and it's been fun watching them pop up.

This past month I finished up a long term quilt top and sent it off to be quilted and also finished a quilt I made for Michael! Hopefully I can get some photos of it this weekend and share it soon. I also made a few smaller projects, but nothing crazy! I really want to start a new vintage sheet quilt, especially after stacking up all the ones I've made over the years.


My scrap project this month was a quick cover for a new heating pad. We got another extra long one (they're the best, this one is from Target), and the covers they come with are pretty gross. I had a bunch of long scraps from cutting away the backing of my Nani Iro Brushed Cotton Vast Quilt that I didn't know what to do with. A little piecing and a few snaps later resulted in a much better (and softer) cover!


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in March:

March Fabric
Used up: 14.75 yards
Brought in: 3 yards
Net: -11.75 yards
Year to date: -11.25 yards

March Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 395 yards
Net: +395 yards
Year to date: +196 yards

Yay, I'm finally negative on fabric! I only bought three yards of fabric this month, the strawberries you see in the photo above. I couldn't resist! They're from Trixie by Heather Ross. The bulk of what I used up was fabric for Michael's quilt. I did bring in some yarn this month, a skein gifted to me by my friend Jacey!


Current view over my sewing machine!


I had some good luck thrifting this month, finding this Rifle Paper Co. recipe tin was pretty exciting! I love tins, but don't really have recipe cards so I'll probably use it in the sewing room for something else.


George bunny says Hi! He's always trying to push his face through the fence to get extra pets, which of course he gets! :)

Have a Great Month!