FABRIC SALE!

I'm taking a little vacation from my shop - still staying home but just staying out of the studio time to spend some time with the family :).  Because this could be a little inconvenient for JAQS shoppers because all orders will be processed this weekend, I am offering a 15% off coupon (JAQS15OFF) for ALL items on ALL the JAQS shops through Friday Sep 30th:

15% OFF EVERYTHING!

JAQS Fabrics   |   JAQS Fabrics @ Etsy   |   JAQS Studio @ Etsy

coupon code JAQS15OFF

I'm not banning myself from email so give me a message if you want to request a custom listing :).   All orders will be mailed out first thing Monday morning.  Have a great and productive week everyone!!!

Oodles of Bundles

I had a little bit of a bundle mania the last few days after seeing my fabric closet nearly empty of bundles.

So I got to making a ton of new napkins:

Cloth napkin fan like me?  Come grab some for yourself at JAQS Studio.

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and bundling up coordinating fabrics:

Available here and here.

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and even had a chance to put together more FAT Stash bundles:

Available HERE.  (FATS only $1.25)

Had a blast cutting and sewing and now my fabric bundle closet is all stocked :) - doesn't it feel great to be PRODUCTIVE! :) 

I know I know this is all about my shops - but I can't help it.  I love how these bundles turned out and this is a great way to share my work.  Quilting could resume now ;).

When Life Gives You Scraps...

Make a QUILT! :)  I've been adding more and more napkins to JAQS Studio, so that means more and more scraps in the Studio to work with.  I think I have more than enough to make a whole quilt - yikes!  So I decided to sort through a few to start on my next scrappy quilt project. 



More pictures to come :) - gotta go back to more scrap sorting.

Have a great and productive week!

Napkin Set Giveaway at Sweet Greens

If you have ever visited my home or seen my online Etsy shop, you would know I am a fabric napkin user.  I switched from paper to fabric over 2 years ago and I am HOOKED. Making them from quality cotton prints makes the napkins super easy to wash (quick wash and dry in the machine), inexpensive (compared to heavier fabrics) and lightweight & slim so I could slip in a my pocket or lunch bag. I love them because I could use them over and over again (read: LESS WASTE, SAVE MONEY and of course better for the environment and all that good stuff :)). With 2 young kids, we are always dealing with messes that are sticky, gooey and dealing with paper napkins that rip, tears and sticks on their faces is NOT good.

Need I say more? :) OK just one more perk of using cloth napkins: BEAUTIFUL prints. If you are a fabric-addict like me or just love pretty things, you would appreciate the array of fabrics out there:

Cloth Napkins @ JAQS Studio

That is why I am so excited when Jennie from Sweet Greens contacted my shop as a feature on her blog.  Jennie has great posts on how to stay green, organic - even on a budget - music to my ears!  Hop on over to Jennie's blog, leave a comment for a chance to win a set of FOUR napkins - it will be enough to get you hooked on fabric too ;)

Thanks Jennie!  Great blog and I can't wait to read more of your green tips :)

Fabric Love #22: Urban Zoologie

I have 2 young boys - 2.5 and 4.5 years old - and finding boy fabrics is not an easy task.  Fabrics are usually either too boring, too blue or just too...ordinary.  But lucky Anne Kelle has designed the cutest little boy fabrics I have seen in quite a while.

From Anne Kelle's Urban Zoologie for Robert Kaufman

That Navy Blue dinosaur print is definitely going to a new blanket for my younger son - I owe that little cutie a toddler quilt since he's outgrown his little baby one.  I can't wait to start working on the new blanket!

I haven't decided on what to do with the other 2 fabrics yet, but I'm sure I'll get inspired soon :)  Got lots to do and lots to think about so I'll leave now with a glimpse of some other fabrics I just for the shop.

JAQS Fabrics | JAQS Fabrics @ Etsy

Have a great weekend everyone :)!

Boxed Zoo Orange Pinning

Starting to pin up Boxed Zoo #2 today.  I don't know which color I like more this orange dot one or the green dot one.  I have to have a side by side after I finish this one.  This orange dot fabric works really well with the current autumn feel - and you know how much I love autumn ;). 



The weekend is almost here :) YIPPEE! This week is flying by and the weekend is just around the corner.

How Do You Cut?

How many cutting tools do you have in your sewing room?  I think at any given point I have about a dozen.  Usually about half of them are missing - brought into another room and not returned, buried underneath a project or mysteriously just missing.  Here are the must-have cutting tools that I could round up today:

(1) Clauss cutting sheers   (2) Plastic handled generic scissors   (3 & 4) Rotary cutters   (5) Threat clippers   (6) Small curved craft scissors   (7) Seam ripper

I have these cutting tools spread around my sewing room at all times - each serves a purpose all of them are use almost daily. 

First I like to introduce you to my heavy duty 8" Hot Forged Clauss Dress Maker sears.  That are pretty heavy and super sharp.  Best of all - it cuts through everything like butter.  I keep it around my cutting table and my #1 use of this is for trimming quilts.  It cuts through the quilt top, batting and quilt cotton like ... butter ;)

To contrast the Clauss scissors, meet my generic plastic handled scissors.  Doesn't cost much and I think I have 3-5 of these around the house.  The primary purpose of having these around is that I don't have to rely on my 'good' scissors to cut through stuff like paper, cardboard or plastic.  Super handy, pretty sharp for a while and inexpensive.

Every quilters best friend.  I have 3 of these - I'm missing my tiny one :).  Love these, they make cutting straight lines (with a straight edge) accurate and quick.  If you are doing more detailed cutting then a smaller rotary cutter would be helpful - if you ever see my small one in the background of a picture or if you visit my sewing room and stumble across it, PLEASE let me know ;).

Thread clippers are awesome to have next the sewing machine.  I remember when I was little my mom would always have a string tied to hers - on the other side of the string?  The sewing machine of course.  After sewing for years now, I can see why she did that.  I use this ALL the time.  I prefer using this over the auto-thread cutter on my sewing machine and awesome to have around to cut any loose threads.

These little craft scissors are my go-to thread trimmers for finished projects.  I usually leave these by my sofa and do detailed thread trimmings while watching television at night.  The narrow tipped ends are perfect for reaching those hard to reach areas.

Last but definitely not least - I have my seam ripper.  Sits next to my sewing machine and comes in handy when you have those OOPS moments :)

What cutting tools do you have around your sewing room?  What are you must-haves?  Do you loose yours as often as I loose mine??? 

Have a great and productive week everyone! :)

Boxed Zoo - Green COMPLETE

Remember this quilt that's been in the works for over month?  Well I am happy to say that it is finally complete :)

I am super happy about how this turned out. The original pattern has a small border around the edge - which I completely forgot to sew on :(. But I think the quilt turned out wonderfully without a border, don't you?

The back of the quilt uses the prints from the front in a strip of squares down the middle of the quilt back.

I love the way the striped binding goes with the zoo print as well as the polka fabric. The striped binding also added a nice contrast to the dots as well:

My favorite thing about this quilt is the way the prints go so nicely together. I was a little worried with the dots...and then the dots with the stripes ;). I started to think "What am I doing?? Stripes with dots???" However, I am glad I stuck with it because the results turn out much better than I imagined :)

Here are some details about the quilt and my Etsy shop if you are in the market for a kind quilt :)

Quilt Information:

Boxed Zoo - Green
Front: 100% Cotton Prints (featured fabric: 2-D zoo from Alexander Henry)
Batting: Warm & Natural 100% cotton
Backing: 100% Cotton Print and solid
Completed Dimension: 64" x 88"
Quilting Method: Free-Style
Binding: Machine Stitched for extra durability

Where to buy? JAQS Studio @ Etsy 

I will be sharing this quilt at these great Linking Parties.

Fabric Love #22

Hello Heirloom :)  I am in awe of the beautiful line of fabrics by Joel Dewberry from Free Spirit.  Take a look for yourself:

The deep rich purples and lavenders:

 

And delicious citrus colors of oranges and yellows:

I see myself using these for large pillows or a fabulous quilt back.  The prints are nice and big and the colors are rich and bold:)  As usual all of Fabric Love fabrics can be found at:

JAQS Fabric / JAQS Fabrics @ Etsy

Have a great weekend everyone!