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Monday, March 31, 2014

Behind the Scenes: Lazy Daisy Print


Happy Monday! As I mentioned last week, I wanted to take some time to share a little more about the prints in Dreamin' Vintage before it hits shops in April! Today I want to chat about what went into making the focal print of the collection, Lazy Daisy.


The entire collection is inspired by vintage bedsheets from the 50s and 60s, and this print is no different.  As soon as I started working on this collection, I knew there had to be a daisy print.  There are literally hundreds of different daisy sheet prints out there.  A quick Etsy search brings up quite a few!  The daisy sheets in my stash are some of my favorites, I just can't seem to resist their charm.  Simple and sweet!

Another theme seen in vintage sheets is the separation of warm and cool colors.  Warm colors are red (pink), orange and yellow.  Cool colors are green, blue, and purple.  I love playing with the contrast of warm and cool colors, and that's where the color inspiration came in for this collection.  The Tickled Pink colorway is primarily warm colors and the Merry Berry colorway is primarily cool colors. They can easily be mixed, and together deliver a full rainbow of colors!


The actual story behind how this print came to be is a bit funny.  Knowing my skill level of drawing realistic things, I knew I was going to need to get creative when it came to creating this print.  I decided to take advantage of a function in Illustrator that allows you to turn a photograph into a graphic that can then be recolored, resized and manipulated.  I started searching through my photos, but wasn't finding a whole lot that would work for this print.

So, I grabbed my camera and went on a field trip.  I headed to a local garden store and took about a million photos of flowers.  I got a lot of good shots, but still needed some daises.  Then I remembered a vacant lot near a Home Depot in town.  Lucky me, the landscaping was overrun with daises.  I was able to get everything I needed, all while being watched by the hoards of shoppers.  I'm sure they thought I was nuts!


In the end, it was 100% worth it. The print came out better than I could have imagined when I started.  And honestly, it makes for a pretty good story if you ask me! Can you spot the flowers from the photos above in the final prints? :)



Lazy Daisy in Plum.



Lazy Daisy in Raspberry.


I can't wait to stitch up projects using these prints! I know for sure I'd like a vintage style dress made out of the cool print! Maybe Christine Haynes' Emery Dress Pattern?


If you're a shop interested in carrying Dreamin' Vintage, it can be ordered through Art Gallery Fabrics.  Find your sales rep here, or call toll-free (888) 420-5399.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Favorites

Favorites
1. bird-and-the-honey-bees-no-hats, 2. Roundabout - full quilt, 3. value zig zag, 4. A Winter Herringbone Quilt, 5. New Pattern - Churndash Court, 6. March 2014 - Pantone Challenge Entry, 7. Selvage Whirlwind Quilt Top, 8. Mr. Jones., 9. Irish Chain quilt top

Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

Happy Friday!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Dreamin' Vintage Advanced Yardage

Happy Monday! I am happy to say that the release of Dreamin' Vintage is right around the corner! It feels like it's been such a long wait, and I think this crazy winter has been to blame.  I am so ready for Spring! Thankfully, Dreamin' Vintage is happy, colorful, and bright, the perfect cure.

As we wait just a little bit longer for Dreamin' Vintage to be available in stores (next month!), I'll be taking the time to share projects, coordinates, and take you behind the scenes for a number of prints.  For now, how about a few pretty photos?

For more on my general inspiration for this line, see this post.

Ten designs in two colorways for a total of twenty prints!

Tickled Pink colorway.

Merry Berry colorway.

My advanced yardage comes on rolls, but it will arrive at shops on bolts!


If you're local, we are having a launch party to celebrate the arrival of Dreamin' Vintage at The Sewcial Lounge! Join us for a fun evening, May 7th from 6-8pm! There will be treats and prizes! You can find the event on Facebook here if you'd like to RSVP (not required to attend!). Hope to see you there, it's always a good time!

It will be here before we know it! Make sure to ask your favorite shops to carry it! :)


If you're a shop interested in carrying Dreamin' Vintage, it can be ordered through Art Gallery Fabrics.  Find your sales rep here, or call toll-free (888) 420-5399.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Favorites

Favorites by Jeni Baker
Favorites, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
1. Snake trail baby quilt is finito!, 2. "Plumes of Orchid" mini quilt, 3. Dear Tula, 4. Radiant Orchid - Finished, 5. Takes quite a few pins to hang it up on my design wall, but man, it's worth it., 6. DSCF0022, 7. Botanics wool felt appliqué, Carolyn Friedlander pattern (center panel)., 8. Radiant Triangles, 9. Dancing Daisies

Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Weekly Snapshot

Tulips by Jeni Baker
Tulips, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Let's try this weekly snapshot thing again! It's been a while since my last one, but I do like the idea, so here we go! I'm going to blame it on this winter we've had.  It's just been never ending. I'm looking forward to welcoming Spring as soon as possible. Until then, I've been splurging on fresh flowers.  I figure it's pretty cheap therapy!

Sewing Room Redux by Jeni Baker
Sewing Room Redux, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Lots has been going on in the last month or so.  We decided not to try to move, after having zero luck finding another place.  So instead, we made some major changes to my sewing room to accommodate a desk for Michael's computer. I'll take nice photos soon and share!

Orla Kiely Purse by Jeni Baker
Orla Kiely Purse, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I'm usually a handmade purse type of girl, but this Orla Kiely bag was just too perfect to pass up!

Late Night Sewing by Jeni Baker
Late Night Sewing, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Sewing away, still loving my Singer Featherweight.  I've been using it almost exclusively for my piecing for a year now almost!

Runaround Bag by Jeni Baker
Runaround Bag, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I finally made Anna's Runaround Bag a few weeks ago!  I remember when the pattern first came out (2010!), I wanted to make it so badly! For whatever reason I didn't get around to making it until now, and it's awesome! I love the way it turned out!

Finished Cowl by Jeni Baker
Finished Cowl, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I also finished another hand knit a few weeks ago.  Just a simple squishy cowl using some super bulky Madelinetosh ASAP yarn.  I needed something similar to my Gaptastic cowl to wear that wouldn't get so dirty.  I've been wearing this cowl tons!

New Projects by Jeni Baker
New Projects, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Working on a few smaller projects and trying really hard to finally use some of my craft books.  I'm terrible about buying books and never making anything from them, so I'm trying to change that!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! by Jeni Baker
Happy St. Patrick's Day!, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
George says Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Favorites

Favorites by Jeni Baker
Favorites, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
1. AMH Herringbone on our bed, 2. IMG_1487, 3. Scrappy X Quilt, 4. Plus Quilt, 5. grey white quilt wip, 6. A lot more closeups on my blog, 7. Waltz of the Flowers quilt, 8. My Riley Blake Challenge Quilt, 9. Modern Butterfly

Every week I go through my favorite photos on Flickr, and choose nine sewing/quilting related projects to showcase here. These photos and projects are not my own, you can find the original images and creators by clicking the coordinating links! If for any reason you do not want your project featured here, please email me and I'll remove it!

Happy Friday!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Shining Stars Sampler Quilt Pattern

Happy Thursday! I have one last pattern to chat with you about today! It's the Shining Stars Sampler Quilt Pattern!

Shining Stars Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Shining Stars Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
This pattern is another that has been long overdue! You might remember last spring, I had a block of the month club by the same name over at Pink Castle Fabrics.  Upon completion of the club in August, I had every intention of releasing the full pattern.  But, it was a very busy time of year, so it just didn't happen.  Now it's here!

This quilt is a lot of fun to make! There are six different star blocks to make, in two different sizes, so that by the end you have twelve blocks! There are loads of different techniques used, including flying geese, half-square triangles, quarter square triangles and more. To me this makes it a great learning project!

The cover quilt features my Color Me Retro collection, a few Art Gallery Fabrics blenders, and Sandstone Pure Element.  It takes very little print fabric, so it's great if you don't have a huge stash to pull from, or want to work from scraps!

The blocks are all sashed out at the end to the same size.  A bit of turning and rearranging and they seem to float on the quilt background!

Shining Stars Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Shining Stars Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I have been eyeing Melissa Averinos' quilting work ever since she got her longarm.  I knew I had to have her quilt something for me, and when I finished this quilt top, I knew this was the quilt! All that solid space would be perfect for her work.

She did her signature "Melissa Freestyle" pattern, which is just so awesome! It's fluid and crazy, and just cool to look at.  I think it fits really well with the stars! I love the way the star blocks are done in straight lines, it makes them pop out against the other quilting.

Melissa took a bunch of beautiful photos of the quilting, you can see them on her blog!

For the backing and binding I used more green, this time the Green Apple Oval Element. Another favorite. Perhaps I need to start stretching myself and choose another color for bindings! I attached this binding by machine as well.

You can find the PDF version of this pattern in my shop, and the paper copy here! If you're a shop that would like to carry any of these patterns, send me an email or use the form under the Wholesale tab!

Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Florette Quilt Pattern

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Happy Wednesday! Today I'm here to continue to chat about my new quilt patterns! Hopefully I won't be quite as chatty today, I was really rambling yesterday! It seems I've missed blogging! Anyways, today I'm sharing with you Florette.

This pattern has to be one of my longest works in progress.  The idea for this quilt all started with a pillow that I made to show my Color Me Retro collection at Fall Quilt Market in 2012.  I wanted to mimic the flowers in my Kitchenette prints so I made this little pillow.  I loved how it turned out, so when I got home I started tweaking the dimensions to play up the flower look even more and the idea for this quilt was born.

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I started it pretty quickly after I received my advanced yardage that December, but I had a hard time finding time to work on it.  I worked on it a little here and there in between other deadlines. According to my Instagram, I basted it 7 months ago! It wasn't until this past January that I unbasted it and sent it away to be quilted!

The pattern includes two different block options, one is for 15" blocks and one is for 12" blocks. within each block size there are five quilt size options: Baby, Throw, Twin, Full/Queen, and King.  So in total you have 10 different quilts in this pattern! The cover quilt was sewn up with Color Me Retro and Pure Elements in Lemonade and Snow.  It uses 15" blocks and is the Twin size.

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I had every intention of quilting this quilt myself. I basted it and was all ready to quilt it, and then it sat around for 5 months. This year I realized I really didn't have the time to do it myself.  This is the second quilt that I ended up sending over to Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.  Since it is a relatively large quilt compared to my usual throw quilts it was really nice to have this one longarm quilted.  I choose the Splash pattern which is these funky, flowy flowers.  Melissa did a beautiful job!

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I actually pieced the back of this quilt, I used six different cuts of Color Me Retro! I finished this quilt up again with machine binding, this time using my very favorite solid for binding, Lemonade Pure Element.  Seriously, this is easily the 4th or 5th quilt I've bound in this color. It's just perfect!

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
For the 12" blocks, I decided to stitch up a baby size quilt using my Nordika collection. Since 12" is such a standard quilt block size, I knew I wanted to include this size in the pattern in addition to the 15" blocks.  More is more, right? I actually have a bit of a funny story about this quilt.  I pieced together all the blocks last spring only to realize I had done my math wrong and the proportions were off.  So I had all these blocks that were basically useless in terms of this project.  I took them apart and stuck them away figuring I'd eventually find a use for them.  Well, this past winter, I did! They ended up in my Nordika Polar Vortex Quilt Tutorial I shared last month!  It was nice to be able to salvage all that work!

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
This one I quilted myself. I did a simple twist on my regular doodle loops, I made them a bit more meandering.  So a doodle loop meander I suppose! In addition to Nordika I used Pure Elements in Snow and Honey. 

Florette Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Florette Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
This pattern was truly a labor of love, and I'm glad I finally got it published! It's a great way to show off your favorite fabrics!

You can find the PDF version of this pattern in my shop, and the paper copy here! If you're a shop that would like to carry any of these patterns, send me an email or use the form under the Wholesale tab!

Happy Quilting!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Triangularity Quilt Pattern

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Happy Tuesday! This week I'm going to take the time to talk a bit more about each of my new quilt patterns! We're going to start things off today with Triangularity.

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I really love the look of triangle quilts.  There is something about them that really appeals to me.  I first started thinking about putting together an equilateral triangle quilt pattern as I was developing a class for Sewing Summit last fall.  While these quilts are beautiful and easy to piece, the math involved for figuring them out is not particularly straightforward.  Between what size triangle to choose, to how big it will end up being and how many triangles you can cut from a single strip.  It's a little funky!

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Knowing that the math part was a bit of a challenge, I knew this would make for a great pattern!  So, here we are! Triangularity includes 5 quilt sizes: Baby, Throw, Twin, Full/Queen and King. In addition to that, I walk you through the math involved to create any size quilt you'd like, with whatever size triangle you'd like! It's not hard, you just need to pay close attention to the calculations and go slowly.  Completely doable! Also included in the pattern are instructions for cutting triangles with a standard acrylic ruler.  I don't buy a lot of specialty rulers, so this is how I cut mine! There is also a template included if you'd prefer to use that or do some fussy cutting!

Fabric Stack by Jeni Baker
Fabric Stack, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
Now, onto the cover quilt! I used Luxe in Bloom by Sarah Watson for Art Gallery Fabrics as a starting point.  Since I didn't have enough of it for the entire quilt I added in some other fabrics too.  There are some Oval Elements and prints from Coquette in there. 

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I have finally admitted that I cannot do everything and have started sending out a few quilts to be longarm quilted.  It was a huge weight off my shoulders to relinquish a bit of the work.  I sent this one to Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting and I love the result.  I choose this really fun Square Dance pattern, I wanted to stick with a geometric quilting pattern to play up the triangles and balance out all of the floral prints. She used a pretty light gray thread which blends really nicely with the top and back. 

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
For the back I used yardage of one of my very favorite prints, Fashion Scent from Coquette by Art Gallery Studio.  I've been saving this cutting for something special and this quilt was a perfect match for it.  It's so perfectly vintage and modern feeling at the same time. Good thing I still have a yard or two left!  I bound it using Mystic Grey Pure Element solid.  I attach all my bindings by machine to both sides. The process can be found in my binding tutorial.

Triangularity Quilt Pattern by Jeni Baker
Triangularity Quilt Pattern, a photo by Jeni Baker on Flickr.
I am so happy with this pattern and I think you're going to love it! It's great for intermediate quilters  and even beginners with a few quilts under their belts!

You can find the PDF version of this pattern in my shop, and the paper copy here! If you're a shop that would like to carry any of these patterns, send me an email or use the form under the Wholesale tab!

Happy Quilting!