Herringbone Quilt and Fabric Giveaway

Being a mum of young boys with not much time to sew I recently started using a number of quilt-as-you go techniques when I was in need of a quick quilt. I must say one of my all time favourites is Maureen Cracknell's Herringbone quilt. You can find the brilliant tutorial here. This is  super quick project for a decent size quilt that uses long batting panels and 2.5 inch strips.

I am always making quilts for others and wanted something for me this time to sit with on the couch of an evening. I had a beautiful set of fat quarters from Tanya Whelan's Dolce collection on hand that was begging to be used.

Given the brightness and busyness of these fabrics I decided to bind with a simple black and white stripe which I think finished the quilt of beautifully.

My beautiful quilt made over the weekend now sits on my couch ready for me to snuggle under each night and I love it !!

To celebrate my quilt finish and thank the wonderful Maureen Cracknell for her great tutorial I'm teaming up with my sponsor the Fat Quarter Shop to give away FOURTEEN prints of fat quarter cuts of Maureen Cracknell's latest range "Wild and Free. " Isn't it just amazing !!!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1. To be in the draw simply leave a comment on this post (one entry). I'd love to know what you would make with this gorgeous bundle.

2. My followers get a second entry. If you follow me on Instagram just let me know by making a separate comment to record that entry (optional extra entry).

That's 2 possible entries. The draw will take place at 8pm (Australia - EDT) on Sunday 18 January 2015, and the winner picked at Random. The winner will be announced by edit to this blog post and will also be contacted by email.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE. If you are a no reply or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment !

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GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED

 

Thank you to everyone who entered the Giveaway !! Mr Random says the lucky winner is....

 

Comment #60

 

 

 

Congratulations Kathy !! Kathy has been contacted by email.

 

The Fat Quarter Shop, founded in 2003 by Kimberly Jolly,  brings you the best selection of Fat Quarter bundles but also yardage, pre-cuts, notions, patterns, books, BOMs and more.

SHOP * BLOG * FACEBOOK

 

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We hope you enjoy visiting the Fat Quarter Shop's sites!!

Till next time....happy sewing....

xx Jenny

6 Steps to create the perfect baby clothes quilt

I have had so much interest in my baby clothes quilts I thought I'd put together a brief guide on how to make one for yourself. This will show you how to make a baby clothes quilt with a squares design.

Step 1 - Cut your baby clothes in 6 1/2 inch squares and interface to stabilise

The first step is to get your baby clothes and lay them out to find the most interesting pieces. I use my 6 1/2 inch ruler and rotating cutting mat to find my favourite feature and cut out my square. I look for writing, embellishments, ruffles etc. anything that will create interest in the finished quilt. I then cut 6 1/2 inch squares from light weight fusible interfacing and per the manufacturers instructions fuse to the back of each square. This helps stabilise the fabric when you join them together. I choose light weight as I want my finished quilt to still feel soft and snuggly.

Step 2 - Layout your squares into rows in a pleasing design

I use my design wall or floor and layout my clothes into rows to balance out the colours in the quilt. Don't worry there are so many different fabrics and colours in the quilt it is meant to look scrappy I just make sure that all my pinks (for example) are not on one side or in one corner.

Step 3 - Sew your squares in rows with your sashing

 

For my quilts I chose a sashing width of 1 1/2 inches but chose whatever width you feel comfortable with. Be careful when sewing not to pull the fabrics to much and use lots of pins to avoid stretching and warping. 

 



Step 4 - Sew your rows together with your sashing to form the quilt top

 

Similar to the above be careful and take your time sewing on the sashing strips and pin, pin, pin. The interfacing does help stabilise the fabrics, especially those stretchy ones but as it is lightweight only they is still quite a bit of stretch.

Step 5 - Add your borders

For this quilt I used a boarder cut at 7 1/2 inches wide to frame the quilt. The customer had requested purple sashing so I needed a print to tie the pinks in the clothes and the purple sashing together.

Step 6 - Quilt as desired and add your binding to complete

Till next time.....happy sewing....

xxx Jenny

The Queen Bed Baby Clothes Quilt

 

It seems that once I started offering my customers quilts made with baby clothes I couldn't stop. They are such a special item and so full of memories for the parents and a real keepsake.

I must say I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love creating something so unique and special and talking to the mums about each item and the memories they have......BUT working with so many different types of fabrics can be a quilting nightmare. I do back each piece with iron on stabiliser but in order for the quilt to remain soft I choose a very lightweight one so there is still a lot of stretch you need to deal with when sewing. My trick - go slow...very slow...and pin your pieces....

I must admit putting all these little pieces of clothes together is fun and my favourite part of he quilting process is putting the binding on. There is a real sense of achievement at this stage.

To break up the busyness of the quilt I added two plain borders. A smaller border to frame the quilt and a larger one to soften the overall look of the quilt. The quilt is backed with a soft blue flannel and being Queen size is the biggest baby clothes quilt I've attempted and hopefully the last - they just are so time consuming.

 

Make sure you come back soon as I will be posting an easy step by step guide on how to make a baby clothes quilt in the coming weeks !!

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

Till next time....happy sewing....

xx Jenny

Reindeer Table Runner

As I was scrolling though instagram I noticed a post asking if anyone would like to participate in a Fat Quarterly designer challenge with fat eighths of Pine and 25th by Basic Grey for Moda. I quickly added my email with a resounding yes please !!

I'm happy to say I got my little bundle in the mail of fabrics and went about to design something Christmassy.

I came up with my Reindeer Table Runner. This makes the perfect statement for Christmas adding that festive flavour to any room of the house.

The little deer were raw edge appliqued using fusible web and machine blanket stitch. I also added some ric rac for that extra festive cheer! All the instructions are available in this months Fat Quarterly Magazine here. The Fat Quarterly magazine is a digital magazine with many cute but practical handmade patterns so why not take a look at what they have to offer.

I'm also pleased to tell you that the wonderful team at Fat Quarterly released this year their "Quilt Colour Workshop" book where they share the secrets of using color in your quilting. Learn a practcial approach to colour theory, from quilts and cushions, to wall hangings, table runners and bags. Very easy to follow and each lesson builds on the previous one.

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

 

Till next time....happy sewing....

 

xx Jenny

Sunday Stash - The Linen Cupboard

It's not everyday that an amazing and talented fabric designer and quilter lets you play with their fabrics so I was honoured to received the latest fabric from the beautiful Emma Jean Jansen called "The Linen Cupboard".

There are a total of 24 fabrics in the range from large florals to stripes and polka dots. The  range was inspired by Emma's love of vintage sheets from the 1960’s and 70’s. Colours and bright and vibrant and have a clear retro vibe.

Large bold and bright florals contrast with the smaller floral daisy prints.

And there is also these lovely softer florals made subtle with an all over one colour floral design.

There is also a basic spot and a vibrant stripe that works perfectly for borders and bindings.

These fabrics are now being cut up for a special quilt commission for Down Under Quilt magazine and I can't wait to show you some sneak peaks along the way.

To see the full range of The Linen Cupboard click here. These fabrics are available in December 2014.

It's Sunday so I'm linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash weekly linky party.

Till next time.....happy sewing....

xxx Jenny

I'm in a magazine - well actually two !!

I love designing and making quilts so a few months ago I approached some of my favourite Australian quilting magazines with a few of my designs and guess what - they said yes !!

My first magazine commission was my Churn Dash quilt published in Down Under Quilts last month. I have a previous post about this quilt here. I was completely overwhelmed when I received an advanced copy of the magazine to see my quilt featured on the very front page - I'm a Cover Girl !!

My second magazine commission was an Advent Calendar and Christmas bunting for Love Sewing Australia a fantastic new magazine which has lots of sewing and creative ideas including quilts.

This was something different for me a quilted wall hanging with little advent pockets to count your way down to Christmas.

My son has already made claim to this one when it comes back from the publishers. The quilt feature in the magazine's October edition that has just gone on sale today. Fabric was Solstice by Kate Spain, more details here.

At the end of the month I will be able to share my nautical inspired cot quilt which will be featured in Patchwork and Stitching Magazine and next month I have a single bed Christmas inspired red and white quilt to share.

 

Till next time....happy sewing....

 

xx Jenny

 



Friday Finish - teaching patchwork quilts

A new sewing centre opened up nearby and I approached them to teach some basic patchwork classes and was excited when they said yes.

I love the idea of spreading the quilting love and helping others make beautiful handmade items. My first class utilised my own pattern "Baby Love" available on in my etsy store here. Check out some proud quilters; one who had never used a sewing machine before this class.

 

I also teach a beginners patchwork class using 5 inch squares. The quilt uses 8 different fabrics with 10 squares cut from each fabric. I made a few sample designs from the shops fabric for them to display. Here are some pics of the samples I finished recently.

This one is a plus sign design. I show my students that something as simple as fabric placement can create many different quilt designs.

This is a diagonal design and pictured here is just the quilt top. I love the way the light came through this fabric when I took this picture.

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.

 

Till next time....happy sewing....

 

xx Jenny

Friday Finish - Hands of Time

You know those people that think quilting is for girls - usually they are our male friends that couldn't think of anything worse than having to put a quilt over them when they are cold...

Well I think I solved the problem with today's finish - the "Man Quilt."

My father in law has been very ill and I wanted to make him a quilt to put over him as he was no longer mobile. I wanted something with a classic and simple design that he would consider to be more like a blanket and then he would actually use it. You see my father in law is a very manly person always wearing his flannelette shirts, watching sport on TV and listening to talk back radio.

I couldn't resist a full fat quarter bundle of Eclectic Elements by Tim Holtz. I ended up using 23 of the 24 fat quarters for this quilt made primarily with 8" finished squares. Left over pieces were made into scrappy binding.

I backed this with a super soft midnight blue minky and ended up leaving out the batting as the quilt was rather heavy just with the minky. It was quilted by my trusted longarmer with a simple swirly design that came up beautifully and didn't distract from the business of the fabric.

The finished size was approximately 71" x 83" big enough to also fit his king single bed.

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday hosted today by Afton at QuiltingMod.

 

Till next time....happy sewing....

 

xx Jenny

Sunday Stash - Low Volume Fabric

I am absolutely in love with my low volume bundle I just received from the wonderful Vickie from Sugar Spun Quilt Designs that I just had to post today.

 

I order most of my fabric from the US and living in Australia I have learnt very quickly to make the most of the postage costs so always try to pack as much fabric in a satchel as possible.

I tasked Vickie to put together a package of low volume fat quarters for me and she did not disappoint - 38 all up. Included were fabrics from Riley Blake, Art Gallery, Moda, Robert Kaufman and more. All premium quality quilting weight cottons.

My favourites would have to be the Japanese Yuwa Live Life collection the text prints in this range are superb.

I have never worked with low volumes I have bolts of white in my studio so this will be a first for me and I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

Not sure what I will make with these yet but hoping I will do the fabric justice.

It's Sunday so I'm linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash weekly linky party.

Till next time.....happy sewing....

xxx Jenny

Friday Finish: Baby Love Quilt Set

Today I wanted to share with you my completed Baby Love quilt set. I bought some  Littlest by Art Gallery Fabrics a while back and was just waiting for inspiration. The fabric features large bunny rabbits and I wanted to make sure I chose a quilt design that would make them shine. The design suited them perfectly with the large panel top and bottom that allowed all the details of this cute fabric to show.

 

 

I also had some beautiful and soft grey shot cotton that matched up with the peach hues in this fabric creating a lovely soft feel to the quilt.

I had bought half yards so with the left over fabric decided to make a nursery set including two fabric wall canvases and some matching bunting.

 

The pattern would also suit other fabric ranges that have a large print included. I have some gorgeous Marine Too fabric by Dan Styles for Birch fabrics that I think would look perfect for a boy. Check out the prints here.

 

The set is currently available for sale on my website at www.jacksroom.com.au. If you would like to make this yourself my PDF pattern is available here.

 

I'm linking up with these fun places today Crazy Mum Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

 

Till next time....happy sewing....

 

xx Jenny