Daisy Janie

Quilt Market Schoolhouse | when & where.

If you'd like to learn more about organic fabric &  you'll be at Quilt Market, come to the schoolhouse I'm presenting on the topic!

Friday, October 28th
Room 372D, 5:30-6:00pm

The Whole 9 Yards with Daisy Janie’s Organic Fabrics
From planted seed to packaged bolt, Daisy Janie's fabric are 100% GOTS-certified organic. Find out what this means and why we've selected this level of certification!

30 minutes is not a lot of time to cover the breadth and depth of this subject! For that reason, I will touch on a few key areas: what is organic fabric, what is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and why I have selected this stanard for the production of Daisy Janie's fabrics.

Hope to see you there!

Flying outta here in 4  hours....see you on the flipside!

xo
Jan

Quilt Market postcard invite!

Ready or not, in just 4 hours, the crate containing all of Daisy Janie's Quilt Market goodies will leave Reading, PA and begin its journey to Houston, TX. The last week has been a whirlwind b/c (1) it's not always possible to work really far in advance for some things and (2) the best ideas come at the last minute, when you're under extreme pressure (right?). Nonetheless, the piles are staged, the lists have been triple checked and the Bill of Lading has been marked Houston or bust!

If you're a member of the trade and will be attending the show, please stop by the Daisy Janie's Booth - #660 - and see what Tilly has to offer!

Also - I am presenting a Schoolhouse on Friday. I will post more about this tomorrow! Can't wait!

sewn | liverpool tunic.

I sewed a piece of clothing.
A pretty big one at that.
From a pattern.
And it actually came together!

I am still looking at it, and it's still together after 3 days! Just has to get me through Quilt Market! There are a few spots that could be better, but overall, I'm extremely proud of how it turned out. Kind of amazed what can happen when I take my time and let someone else lead.

This is the Liverpool tunic, a pattern from Amy Butler. Sewn from Mumsy in Dusk from the Tilly collection.

seeing | the season for shameless munching.

Deja vu from last year, except this squirrel didn't even wait until we carved them! He/She was going to town! After a good belly filling, it drunkenly crawled away with half-glazed eyes (probably to tweet or FB its peeps about the all you can eat buffet at the DiCintios' house).

These pics were taken through our doggy-snotted front door from about 15 ft. Can't believe how clearly they came out!

I get to.

[my headband to embolden me when needed - which is always.]

“If you stopped yourself every time you said, ‘I have to...’
and changed it to ‘I get to...’
it might change your entire experience.”
- Deputy Kyle Pagerly

Some of you might remember that we lost a good friend this past summer. Kyle Pagerly was a 28-year-old Sheriff's Deputy who worked with a K-9; Kyle and his wife were expecting their first child. He was killed in the line of duty when a suspect they were after took cover in full camouflage and then open-fired with an AK47. There have been many tear-filled moments around here since June 29th, and lots of laughs, too, as we think about Pags and the memories we have of him. He lived his life with honor and integrity every single day, traits apparent from the moment we first met him.

Kyle's quote above exemplifies his attitude about living life: most everything we do is a choice. We decide; we opt; we select. Do you have to do something or do you get to do something? Think about it. Whichever way you judge something, it will inherently affect your attitude about it and how you engage yourself in it. More than that, freedoms and opportunities surround us b/c we are so fortunate in so many facets of our lives. Sometimes they are glorious and exciting; sometimes they are mundane and boring. Neither is less of a freedom than the other. And our attitudes about them can change our experiences entirely; not just for us, but for those around us as well.

This video is from a CBS News Assignment America story that aired yesterday about a good samaritan in our city, Reading PA, who also exemplifies how our attitudes and the choices we make can be a positive force for others, even if it starts with ice cream. My dear, childhood friend Beth was interviewed as well as Kyle's wife in this story.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lastly...
When Kyle passed away, he was in the process of putting together a 5K run that would raise money for the Sheriff's Dept. Honor Guard that honors fallen officers. He had arranged for a 21-gun salute at the 5K, to underscore the importance of these officers. A shining example of how Kyle was always thinking of others and ways that he could do something to serve them.

What a bit of cruel irony that Pags became one of those fallen officers himself...

A few sheriffs, Kyle's wife and my husband got together to pick-up where Kyle left off and to see that his wishes for this run were fulfilled. It is now called the Kyle Pagerly 5K Run, and the 21-gun salute will go off tomorrow morning at 9am. We will have a heavy moment of silence prior to that as we remember Kyle and all that he represented. It will be a beautiful day, I"m sure - Kyle will be missed, but his spirit will be there without a doubt!

Now back to the sewing that I get to do....

come sit for a spell.

If you stop by the Daisy Janie booth at Quilt Market (#660), I will pat this little bench cushion and say, "Here, have a seat, whydontcha? Sit for a spell and chat." * This pretty cushion was made by Mary of Mary on Lake Pulaski. She took the materials I sent her and had it made and mailed back to me before I even returned from dropping off her materials at the post office! I can't say enough about the quality of Mary's work: it's perfectly sized to fit the foam, the piping is ace, and she added a sneaky full-length, double-pull zipper along the back!

Mary is a very talented seamstress who is always creating and stitching something pretty - see the authentic Dirndl outfit she made her daughter. Her quilts show quite a range, too! Go visit her blog to see more.

Last year's prep for Quilt Market was much more hurried and flustered and anxiety-ridden for me. Without prior QM experience or exposure and not many people to ask, I really had no idea what to expect. I had a few peers and friends who offered information, but they were busy, too, and sometimes you just have to figure sh*t out on your own. That's what I've always done. I go it alone, do my research and jump! Preparing for Quilt Market this year, however, I reached out. Many people offered to help with sewing, and I grabbed their hands and said, "YES!" I am still sewing quite a bit myself, but I don't feel quite so stressed about my booth this time around. Now if you were to ask me how I feel about the 30-minute Schoolhouse I am presenting -  you might get an entirely different answer about my anxiety level! Illing and thrilling!

*Of course, I have no idea how much weight the bench will hold, so it could be a treat that turns into a bad trick! (Note to self: test bench before inviting swell friends to plop!)

flippin' that texture over, rover.

You asked for it. You got it! The frontside of the backside. Texture beauty abounds! I love these images b/c they capture exactly what I envisioned for this project. A color gradation of zig-zags!

However, it went allll drearily downhill after this. See, my math wasn't quite right so the little teensy squares in each upper corner are now barely visible - gobbled up by seam allowances; the final size of each block mutated along the edges; the blocks didn't match-up perfectly once all sewn together; and my topstitching was horrendous!!

I can overlook all of the shortcomings but the topstitching. It drives me batty if my stitches aren't straight / even. I stitched and ripped 6 times. 5 times on the same section; 1 time on the entire piece. In between each one, I fooled with needles, bobbin tension, upper thread tension, feed dog pressure, stitch length, backing the fabric / not backing the fabric, gloves, needle positions - you freaking name it. Every result was awful! I ended up doing Frankenstein zig-zag stitches along the 7 diagonals. No likey. No likey. Nonetheless, I will display this pillow proudly in my booth at Quilt Market (#660) and at my Schoolhouse presentation (5:30pm, Room 372D), and nary a word will be spoken about the terrible, no good, very bad day of topstitching. Just don't get too close unless you're in the Halloween spirit!!

more block piecing texture-o-rama.

Here are a couple few bunch more of the delectable texture pics I mentioned in my last post. My faves are the one above and the last one, where all the pieces are sewn together. I always turn my finished blocks upside down to make sure all of the seams are pressed the same way. Sun streaming in the window helps illuminate any errors immediately!

As this project developed, I continued to set the finished blocks on my cutting mat - making sure I had the correct number of blocks for each of the 2 alternating designs. I had some woefully bad math on this! At one point, I thought I'd cut 8 strips too few. When all blocks were pieced, I ended up with 8 blocks too many. There goes my Math Girl title, but it looks like I'll have enough for a little side project!

sucker for a texture pattern.

When sewing multiples of the same item, the inevitable texture patterns that emerge really light my fire. It's always good timing, too, because I am often feeling the monotony of repetition and am desperately looking for a distraction (c'mon email, give me a bing-bong!) right about the time when these patterns come into their own.

They represent a big push to keep going, to see what sublime texture might be waiting around the corner after trudging through the next phase of repetition.

In this case, that next phase brought about a squeal-worthy texture, which I'll share tomorrow!

Have a great day!
xo
Jan

dresden plate pillow front.

image (c) Maureen Cracknell.

How about that photo capture for an ethereal stained glass effect? Bowls me over. It looks like it's just floating in mid-air!

Maureen at Maureen Cracknell Handmade whipped out this Dresden plate pillow top from Daisy Janie's Tilly fabrics - emphasis on whipped! She's talented and faaaast! I get so much inspiration from following along in her daily sewing adventures!

If you stop by the Daisy Janie booth at Quilt Market, you'll see this lovely pillow there along with a few other pretties Maureen is making!

image (c) Maureen Cracknell.

image (c) Maureen Cracknell.