Friday, June 29, 2018

Looking for a July Challenger for Desire to Inspire! Are you ready to take it on?


It's July! That means Christmas fabrics are now shipping into your favorite quilt shop!!
Including this one, Holiday Wishes, designed by the Henry Glass designer who "loves" snow: Jan Shade Beach. This collection is the one with the super cute vintage red truck that has become an icon in much of the Christmas lore we see everywhere!  

Well this July, we are offering the Challenger this Holiday Wishes collection to sew something great in July. Are you ready to take it on? 
If you would like to be considered, here is the way this works:
Send an email to vanessa@jaftex.com with a couple pictures (or links) to projects you have made, and a little sweet-talking about how you really want to do this and why always helps! 

Then, we pick a winner, send you fabric, and you sew like crazy in July. By July 30, you need to send in great photos of your project(s) and your bio, to publish on this blog.  That's it. The projects are yours to keep (or giveaway) for Christmas fun. 

Who's in?




Thursday, June 28, 2018

Desire to Inspire - June Challenge Results are In!


Desire To Inspire - June edition featured "Sweater Weather" and Wendy Andreason from Arizona is the talented challenger! 


 



Meet Wendy Andreason, look at her beautiful projects and leave a comment for her below!  

Wendy: For me sewing has always been about family. As a child my family sewed. My mother and aunt worked together to sew dolls and doll clothes for me and my cousins. They also made stuffed rabbits, I remember picking out which eyes I wanted with which fur.  
Pillowcases and slippers
My sister made me Gunne Sax types of dresses and taught me to crochet. My other sister crocheted as well.  We all did cross stitch. I hand sewed clothes which I designed for my Breyer horses because we all know horses need more than just one outfit! I knitted with my cousin as a young adult. I left that by the wayside pretty quickly though as my dishrags were so loose a large piece of burned broccoli could easily slip through. 

Wendy has some talented models along with a wonderful quilt! 

As an undergrad I took small projects to work on in between lectures (ok, I admit, these were usually sewing badges on scout uniforms and buttons back on shirts) and soon several of us would sit in the halls on the floor working on various items for our families (my classmates were mostly newlyweds with no children so their crafty endeavors were actually much more creative and entertaining than mine) while we quizzed each other on stuff I was quick to forget after the exams were passed. Particularly MATH but biology and all the other "ology" classes were just quick memorization to pass a test and then flush the information to revert back to an comfortably ignorant state.  (The joke was on me, a lot of this stuff I was supposed to know for grad school! ACK!) Ahh, so nice to have a good education! 
These models are as cute as the quilt!


I am always sewing for my  family, and sometimes with them.  For me sewing is an expression of love and a lot of fun. It is how I nurture and take care of those around me. It is how I was raised. It is more fun and easier than cooking and turns out better every time! I have been married for 33 years and have four sons and still I can't cook! Well, I can. It just generally tastes like crap. I will stick with sewing! Thank you to all the restaurants that have kept us alive!  

Bedtime in Sweater Weather land!


I started quilting when my husband bought me a sewing machine for our anniversary about 14 years ago. I still sew on that machine today. 
I learned from books, blogs, and patterns. Thank you to all those generous designers!  I love paper piecing and intricate patterns. I like to challenge myself so some of my projects don't turn out like I intend, but my family doesn't seem to notice and are appreciative and supportive. My first quilting class was five years ago when we moved to Arizona. I love the heat and the sun!  I have a lot of wonderful friends, most of whom quilt. They have taught me so much! We have a lot of laughs while we sew and I am so happy to have these fantastic people in my life. 
 

My next sewing adventure I think will be clothes! I see a lot of neat things being done and I want to try! Flannel pajama bottoms here we come! (Boys beware! I will want you to wear this stuff!) 


My shout out goes to Henry Glass!
I have wanted Henry Glass flannel since the penguins came out and I was so excited to win this! The flannel washes up beautifully! No pills, nice and thick and bright! The prints are so fun I wanted to find patterns to show them off and make them stand out.  I have been wanting to try making slippers for years and this was the perfect opportunity! They are so cozy I will for sure be making another pair to wear while these are in the wash. The throws I quilted very lightly so they are extra snugly and the pillow cases are to die for! They will be so soft I can't wait for cool weather to use them! Henry Glass has always had my attention for the charitable  works they do, and their fantastic attitude. I feel like they look out for their customers and I try to support them with my business. Thank you for the opportunity to work with these fabrics, and thanks to the designer Shelly Comiskey! 


Patterns are by:

Elizabeth Hartman: New Wave
Sewcial Mama: The Perfect Slipper
Lyn Brown:  Phat Fats Fat Quarter Quilt 
The Cloth Parcel:  Make This: burrito pillowcase with one way fabric tutorial
 
 
Wendy Andreason
Arizona


Monday, June 25, 2018

Let's Get Quilting - Dogs and Suds 10 pc Bundle by Shelly Comiskey of Simply Shelly Designs



Dogs and Suds is a sweet whimsical collection showing the fun times with your pet...bath time! The lively color palette of yellow, blue and red is perfect for a fun project just for your loved one, furry or otherwise. This collection of 10 pcs. is a great prize for someone lucky this week, or find the collection at your local quilt shop!





Friday, June 8, 2018

Meet the June Challenger for Desire to Inspire: Wendy Andreason

Meet Wendy Andreason who has been selected for the Desire to Inspire Challenge for June. 


She will be sewing up "Sweater Weather" fabric, thinking of winter, in southeast Arizona, where days are typically reaching the 115 degrees (in the shade) marker! 

She will be challenged because she JUST now received her fabric, due to being on the west coast. But she says she has had time to figure out EXACTLY what she is going to do with it!

Be sure to visit us on the blog at the end of June to see what she has made with this super cute "Sweater Weather" collection by Shelly Comiskey. 



Wendy Andreason




Thursday, June 7, 2018

Let's Get Quilting - Autumn Album by Color Principle


Time to start sewing for fall?
Autumn Album is available now in your local quilt shop! Or you can enter into this week's contest, and come back EVERY DAY for another entry, up until next Wednesday at Midnight.