Weekend Wrapup: Zig Zagging

Not much sewing this weekend - time with family weekend :).  Lots of activities: tide-pool, beach, gardening, games, play-play-play, and just having fun.

One thing that I did manage to work on before the busy weekend was getting the #1 of the Zig-Zag quilt sandwiched and basted.  Now it is ready for some quilting - and no I haven't decided how I'm going to quilt it yet :P.  It's a huge quilt so I'm thinking free-motion?

Here's a peak of the Zig Zag quilt ready to be sandwiched:



Sandwiched and ready for basting - check out the many...many...many safety pins. I get a little paranoid the layers getting shifted, so I usually use A LOT of pins to keep all the layers in place. Better safe than sorry right? :)



Have a safe Memorial day everyone!

-Q

Fabric Love #15: Fabric Sale!

To celebrate this holiday weekend JAQS Fabrics on Etsy is having a SALE through Monday (5/30/11) evening.  Everything in the store is 10% OFF (coupon code JAQSFABRICLOVE10).

I've recently added new fabrics that I am absolutely loving this week.  Some of them are from Michael Miller and some from Free Spirit. 

Gorgeous florals :

Magnolia Branch from Michael Miller

Dolce - Marilyn from Free Spirit

 

Fun geometric shapes and stripes:

Stripe Ditty from Michael Miller

Bijoux from Free Spirit 

California Dreaming

Dynasty

As usual a big selection of:

Kona Solid from Robert Kaufman

this and much much more are all ON SALE at JAQS Fabrics :)

If you're a big fan of Kona Solids, visit again soon.  I hope to get some new colors in the solid's stash soon.  There's some very great colors that I want to use for some upcoming projects and I have plenty to share :).

Thanks again for visiting JAQS Studio!  Don't forget to visit JAQS Fabrics this holiday weekend for a 10% off ENTIRE PURCHASE sale!  (10% OFF coupon code: JAQSFABRICLOVE10 at JAQS Fabrics.).

-Q

Pretty Bricks Quilt Complete

This pretty little Pretty Bricks Quilt is now complete :). This quilt contains beautiful soft colors from a variety of designers and fabrics (see bottom of this post for a list of fabrics).



and sitting pretty waiting to be used and loved:


This quilt contains no shashing - instead it has a simple repeating pattern throughout the quilt top:


The quilt back is as simple as can be - a single sheet beautiful print from Henry Glass and Co. The contrast shows up each side of the quilt but at the same time each consist of beautiful florals for consistency:



For the binding I used a playful and colorful polka dot cotton print. I love how the aqua plays against the pink of the fabric and it picks up the aqua from some of the fabrics on the quilt top:


I do love this little girly quilt. It has a soft beauty about it.  It's simple design keep the focus on the beautiful fabrics.  

Quilt Information:

Pretty Bricks (1)
Front: 100% Cotton Prints and Solids. Fabrics include:
   -Kona Solid Cotton-Tarragon from Kona
   -Novo Blossom: Nude from Alexandr Henry
   -London Cats Vine - Pink   
   -Riley Collection  from Anna Griffin
   -In the Flight: Floating Butterflies from David Textiles
   -Magical Solid Melon   
   -In The Manor - Floral Pale - Sage from Kaye England
   -Prospect Park from Kitty Yoshida for Benartex
Batting: Warm & Natural 100% cotton
Backing: 100% Cotton Print (Summertime from Henry Glass and Co)

Completed Dimension:  Approximate 42" x 54"
Quilting Method: Straight Line Quilting
Binding: Machine Sew to Front and Hand Sew to Back (Brush Me Mine for Moda)

Pattern available soon.  I'm a little backed up with projects so I'm hoping to get this and other patterns out by this summer. **crossing fingers**

I am sharing this finished quilt at these lovely Linking Parties.

-Q

Fabric Love #15: Lovely Browns

If you've seen any of my quilts - you know I have browns. Usually as shashing, but this year I want to incorporate it more into prints. So in anticipation of more brown prints in upcoming quilt designs I am dedicating this week's Fabric Love to LOVELY BROWNS.

Here's some from my fabric collection that would be lovely to add to future projects:

The Blue Skies Ringlets (Brown) by Sharon Holland by Paintbrush Studio

A playful twist to traditional circles.  

This adds a nice modern twist to circular patterns.

Antique Treasures Olive Tree for Paintbrush Studio

I love the olive design on this fabric.  

The colors gives it the fabric a nice retro feel.

The Blue Skies Tall Grass by Sharon Holland for Paintbrush Studio

 I really enjoy the colors for this fabric. 

The touch of blue and green is gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these fabrics.  I have a few ideas in mind on what I'll make with these but nothing I could execute at this time - bah time constraints!  Don't you wish there were more hours in the day?  Seems like I am at maximum capacity for caffeine consumption these days :(.  

Have a great weekend everyone!

A reminder that these lovely fabrics featured on JAQS Studio's Fabric Love are available at JAQS Fabric @ Etsy.

-Q

Weekend Wrapup - Belated

Had quite a productive weekend - niece's birthday party (HAPPY BIG 5!), spend some fun times with the boys, and even spend some time in the sewing room.

Made a lot of progress on the Zig Zag quilt:

A preview of the Pretty Bricks quilt COMPLETED :)

...and of course a messy messy sewing table to boot:

...don't forget the chaos that was the nicely organized fabric closet. 

This closet tend to get pretty darn disorganized pretty often - with the onset on new projects, more quilts and fabric orders coming in.  Don't worry this looks pretty neat a few hours after this photo was taken - I can't stand it THIS messy :P.

Have a great week everyone - happy sewing!

-Q

Red Poppies Flower Tutorial and Napkins

One of my all time favorite flowers are Red Poppies. It was up to me there will be fresh cut poppies around the house at all time - unfortunately they don't make good cut flowers. So here's my compromise:



Fabric Red Poppies :). I had a bit of red fabric and some time on Friday to create something new for the home so I figure I'll make something I really enjoy but don't get to see that often.

These are sitting pretty in the little wooden crate. Originally designed to be part of a napkin topper for decoration:

Here's a quick tutorial of how to make these poppies (makes 6):

Materials:

• 6 strips of red fabric cut 4.5" x 14"
• 6 black fabrics scraps (~4" x 4" each) 
• 6 black fabric strips (1/3" x 6")
• 6 strips of green fabric cut 1.5" x 14"
• 6 bamboo sticks/skewers about 6" each
• hot glue gun
• scissor

Technique:

1. Prep the poppy stem: Wrap each stick with one of the green fabrics - leave about 1/2" exposed where the flower would be attached later on

2. Make the poppy center.  
• Place one of the black fabric scraps on a flat surface and place some stuffing in the middle (I used some cut up fabric scraps).  

• Scrunch up the fabric around the stuffing to make a ball and tie the 'ball' with a strip of the black fabric.  Cut off the excess fabric.

3. Attach the poppy center to the exposed end of the poppy stem with some hot glue

4. Prep the poppy petals.   Cut wavy lines on one of the long sides of each of the red fabric strips.  The cutting doesn't have to be precise to give it a more unique look for each poppy.

5. Attach the poppy petal to the stem.  
• Start with one of the the red fabric strip.  Hot glue a corner against the exposed poppy pen.  Make sure that the wavy end is facing upwards.

• Hot glue a small line against the long uncut end of the fabric strip - pinch and hot glue (if needed) against the poppy stem.  Continue this until the whole red fabric strip is against the step.  Make sure that the exposed stem area is completely covered by the poppy petal and the petal goes all around the stem.  Use a  little bit of hot glue to blue the start of the petal to the end so it forms a neatly enclosed poppy

And voila!  A beautiful poppy.  Make a few or make a bunch.  These are great alone or to use for decor.


Bunch them up for a nice bouquet:


Thanks for visiting and I'll be sharing this tutorial at these lovely LINKY PARTIES.

-Q

Fabric Love #14: Summertime

Almost summer but it's not too early for Summertime.  This is 3 fabrics from the Summertime collection by Barbara Jones for Henry Glass and Co:

Summertime - Red Floral

This beautiful red-coral background color with a beautiful floral.  This will add a nice pop of color in any project.

 

Summertime - Blue Floral

Same great floral design but this time against a cool and relaxed blue color.  I would love to see this in a smaller project or in a quilt against other light colors.

 

Summertime - Blue Geometric

This is the same light blue as the previous fabric, but instead of floral it features playful series of squares-within-squares.   I love the design...maybe not in a quilt?  Not sure.

I really like the subtle white design on each of these gorgeous colors. It reminds me of a whimsical summer day with a light breeze.  I'm planning to use at least one of these in a summer quilt and others for some summer napkins. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

As usual all of Fabric love fabrics are available at JAQS Fabrics on Etsy.

-Q

Amy's Bloggers’ Quilt Festival - Spring 2011

I am very excited to participate in Amy's Bloggers' Quilt Festival this year.  The line of participates and sponsors look fabulous.  This year I am submitting the Spring Wheels quilt I finished earlier this spring.

Spring Wheels by JAQS

I love this quilt for many reasons:

• The way it feels to the touch.  The free motion quilting gives the quilt a very cozy consistent feel all throughout.
• The process of making it.  It was my first time making pinwheels and I LOVE it.  This is definitely a technique I will use again.
• The colors reminds me of spring :)
• The different colored pinwheels.
• The backing - repeats the colored pinwheels and uses my spring favorite fabric.

 The quilt took me a while to finish but I am glad I did :).  Sorry for the repeat, but here are the photos from the original post to detail the quilt.

Reminds me of warm spring days with a slight breeze in the air:



This is the newest addition to the studio. I had a blast making it. I love all the different colors and how they all combined together to create different wheels:



The back repeats the spring wheels:



Don't you just love that pretty and playful Starling fabric? There's some in the front and the back of this quilt - adding a whimsical touch:



Binding is from the Peaceful Planet line from Studio E:



This is quilt #1 of 2 Spring Wheels.  For this one I decided to use a free form quilting style.  It adds a whimsical feel to the quilt and make each of the part of the quilt flow into the other.  I love how it adds a consistent texture to the whole quilt.  I'm working on quilt #2 now - it has more of a structured straight-line quilting style.  I can't wait to see how the two differs once it's quilted :).  I'll share #2 as soon as it's done.  For now I am enjoying looking at #1. 





Quilt Information:
Spring Wheels (#1)
Front: 100% Cotton Prints and Solids.  Showcase fabric: Starling by Alexander Henry
Batting: Warm & Natural 100% cotton
Backing: 100% Cotton Solid (Amy Butler & Kona Solids)
Completed Dimension: ~60" x 66"
Quilting Method: Free Style Meandering
Binding: Machine Sew to Front and Hand Sew to Back (Peaceful Planet by Studio E)

Thanks again Amy for hosting the Bloggers' Quilt Festival Spring 2011.

-Q

Fabric Giveaway Winner: For Mothers

I hope that you all had a delightful Mother's Day.  The lucky winner of this week's Fabric Giveaway is Nadila!  She is thankful that her kids are healthy and happy :).  Agreed Nadila, health and happiness are two very important things to be thankful for.  I'll get in contact you soon to get your info so I could arrange for your fabric to be mailed to you. 

Fabric Love's Fabric Giveaway

Tea House

La Strada

Thanks to all of you that participated, it was great reading all your comments and what you are thankful for Mother's Day.

-Q

Weekend Wrapup - Half Triangles and Outdoors

This weekend was full was half triangle fun - for the Zig Zag quilts.

That means a lot of cutting and sewing:

...and pressing:


I could totally see how making these half triangles can be quite addictive.  More progress to show SOON :).

This weekend was also full of beautiful weather. Remember the little nest in our little planter box?  Well all five of those eggs have hatched and now we get to watch these 5 little birds grow up:

How adorable are they? They are just 2 days old in this picture and already they look much bigger...though still teeny tiny.

This is the first year ever that I have had any orchids re-bloom :).  This is the one outside in our walkway - 4 stems of beautiful orchids!



Have a great and productive week!

-Q

Fabric Love #13 & Fabric Giveaway: For Mothers

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there.  I am a Mom to 2 great little boys - Asher (4) and Silas (2).  Today is one of those days where I am especially thankful for the little things (Mom's edition :P):

• the little unexpected hugs and "I Love You"
• raising kids - the ultimate from 'scratch' project ;)
• finding their little toys hidden in all the drawers and even the freezer - brings a smile to my face everytime
• their cute little toes, hands, smiles, burps, laughter, and even the whining is sometimes adorable too
• a test of my patience.  Since being a Mom I have learned (learning) to be more patient - don't let the little things get to me.
• treasure even the littlest of things
• seeing the world in their eyes
• a constant reminder of what life is really about

Happy Mothers Day :).

So on to this week's Fabric Love and Fabric Giveaway.  In the sentiment of Mother's day today I am featuring 2 great fabrics from Alexander Henry:

Tea House

This fabric always reminds me of feminine beauty.  I always imagine that these ladies - probably wonderful moms - meditating, exchanging stories and taking time away from their busy lives for themselves. 

La Strada

Chic, stylish, powerful woman :).  What every mom is!

Fabric Giveaway

In celebration of Mother's Day I am giving away 1 full yard of fabric - your choice of either the La Strada or Tea House or 1/2 yard of each.  Just be a follower and leave a quick comment of what you are thankful for on this Mother's day by Tuesday 9PM-PST. A random winner will be picked Tuesday night.

Thanks and have a great Mother's Day!

-Q