Author: Customer Service

Posted on by

Our Wonderful Trip to Uzbekistan

It has been almost six months since I closed my retail business on July 1 and announced my “semi” retirement. It is hard to figure out where all the time goes. But I have certainly kept busy traveling to visit family and having friends and family visit my home.

I had three different trips planned with Craftours and, because of the pandemic, all of those had been postponed and rescheduled. I was able to go on my first trip with them in October and what a trip that was!

When I told people I was going on my first overseas trip since before the pandemic, they would ask where I was going. When I said Uzbekistan most people immediately had a strange look on their faces and had such comments as “Why? Where is that?, Is that a country?, Is it safe?”

Well, I had never been but had done a lot of research and could hardly wait to see the mosaic designs that seemed to be everywhere. I was not disappointed and was simply overwhelmed by the experience. In my mind, Uzbekistan is a hidden gem and if you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

The first thing that struck was how clean it is. It has to be the cleanest country I have ever been in. The people are extremely friendly and so very proud of their country. And then the mosaic designs are everywhere you look, not just on ancient buildings……stair treads, walls, furniture, clothing, ceramics, and on and on. It was a wonderful trip with a great group of travelers. We planned a sewing project based on the mosaic designs we saw.

For the last 20 years I have been so busy planning seminars, traveling to teach, running a retail store and on-line business, designing fabrics, that I simply did not have time to plan what I call “a personal quilt”. I have definitely designed a lot of quilts during that time, but there were for kits to sell and frequently had some restrictions. Use certain fabric collections, not too many fabrics, no set-in seams, easy to sew, etc. While it was fun to design these quilts, there was not a lot of personal satisfaction, and I have been waiting for the opportunity to design something that I want. The trip to Uzbekistan gave me the inspiration to begin a quilt project that has been rattling around in my head for a long time. Inspired by the beautiful ceramics and the geometric designs, I have begun my quilt. It took me three weeks to finally get the design drafted. I am using colors that we saw throughout Uzbekistan, blues, teals, purples and golds. I will keep you posted on the progress as I begin hand piecing this quilt.

I have two more Craftours trips planned, coming up before you know it. We will be going to Ireland in May and Greece in June. Keep watching for the fall 2023 dates of another tour that is still in the works.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season

Jinny

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Quarantine Quilts Part V

For the past few weeks, we, the staff, have taken over Jinny’s blog on several occasions to let you see while the staff is keeping to home when we are not at the Studio.  Today we have for you our last installment, at least for a while, on Quarantine Quilts. 

JJ

 

 

Even though she is in the middle of moving to Ohio, before she left us at the Studio, JJ made sure to send us photos of her latest projects with the note, “Everyone is showing off more quilts than me so I look like a slacker!”  Just looking at her Moon Glow quilt,  finished and quilted, we think you will agree that this woman is no slacker.

 

 

JJ also sent a picture of this adorable quilt, also finished and quilted. Sewology is a BOM from a quilt shop in Utah and we are sure it is going to look wonderful in her new sewing room. 

Cathy

 

 

Just in time for Easter, Cathy finished this lovely Easter Cross by Martha D-Zines. The second photo shows how it started. The method is pinwheel twist using the Lil’ Twister tool.

 

 

Cathy also has been working on this simple but adorable pattern called Ebb Tide by Villa Rosa Design. The fabric is Home Sweet Gnome by Cotton & Steel (Sarah Watts). Her daughter happens to love gnomes and Cathy wanted a mindless and relaxing project.

Dana

 

 

In addition to the masks she has been making, Dana has been working on her Lemur quilt, an Elizabeth Hartman design.  There is a total of 20 lemurs and she has made her way through four!  She is using Jinny’s fabrics, a mix of palette, some collections and batiks.  She is also using C See’s Portable Design Mat because “it is totally perfect for small pieces!”

 

 

Dana is trying to keep a sense of normalcy even working from home and tries to dress up as much as she can for work…but with slippers.  For a “comfy” outfit to change into when work is done, she made this quarantine top some knit fabrics that she had with cats to enjoy the comfort of her home. The quilt behind her is the one her grandmother made for her, quilted entirely by hand.

 

 

And since she and her husband, Alen, are using this time to decorate their house.  Wanting to wallpaper a wall in our dining room, they ordered this peel and stick wallpaper from Spoonflower. Dana says “it is divine and super easy to work with – it even feels like fabric.”

Rebecca

 

 

Since the retail shop is closed to walk-in customers, Rebecca took home the Border Play sample she made and machine quilted it.  She loves the color combination!  Now she just has to bury threads and bind it, so it will be hanging up whenever we are ready to reopen.  She basted five other quilts including this Labyrinth, so there will be lots of quilting in the days and weeks ahead!  She has also made 60 masks for family, friends, neighbors, and hospital workers.

 

 

You’ve gotten a glimpse into what we are up to during this strange time. Now, we’d love to see what you’re doing. Share your pictures on our Facebook page.

Posted on by — 9 Comments

Quarantine Quilts Part IV

When we first had the idea of showing you on the blog what the staffers are working on at home, we had no idea that it would be enough for several posts.  Today, we continue on with our look into their sewing rooms.

Lura

 

 

Lura has been working on her lovely Rose Star quilt blocks for a while and now they are all done. She chose this gray-green background fabric of Jinny’s from her Coventry collection and is on the hunt for a little more to do the borders. She wonders if any Jinny Beyer fans can help?

 

 

In addition, she is another member of the staff to do the “Quarantine Quilt-along” by Gudrun Erla.  Lura’s “Elvira” was done in done in Charley Harper fabrics.

Elaine

 

 

Elaine finished the quilting on her husband Dan’s penguin quilt, made in commemoration of his trip to Antarctica last year. The design, “Penguin Party” is by Elizabeth Hartman.  How adorable is that!

Nancy

 

 

Nancy recently finished quilting this Feathered Star the night before it had to be photographed for a quilt show so the binding was only glued onto the back. This was quickly sewn down when the quarantine began.  Jinny’s Aruba fabric is the background and the deep red Delhi fabric is the perfect border.  The quilt was inspired by her favorite piece at the “Infinite Variety” quilt show in Manhattan in 2011.

 

 

This second quilt goes way back to the 2013 Quilters’ Quest. It was called “Potomac Charms” and the top was a sample for the Studio.  Working on the hand quilting this winter with a “big stitch” it reminded her of an Alpine sunset seen while hiking this past summer and the quilt was renamed “Mont Blanc Sunset.”

 

 

And finally, the step-outs for Nancy’s “No Tear Paper Piecing” class were getting a little ratty so she just sewed them all together.  The quilt is filled with Jinny’s fabric  and Palette #122 makes the perfect background.  She’s now working on a pieced border with 100+ flying geese.

We hope you’ve enjoyed looking into what the staff has been up to.  At the rate they are sewing away, we will be back with more soon.

Posted on by — 10 Comments

Quarantine Quilts Part II

We are back today with more quilts from staff members who are spending a lot of time at home.  We hope you enjoyed the quilts of Diane and Carole.  Next up is Elizabeth and Linda.

Elizabeth

 

 

Elizabeth was working on this Seagrass matchstick quilt from Craftsy for a quick wedding present. Unfortunately, the wedding was postponed until August taking away any sense of urgency in completing it.

 

 

Once Jinny’s new Impressions fabric arrived, as Elizabeth says, she “dropped Seagrass and picked some Sweet Tea.”  She is making the shop  sample of this new quilt and it is looking good.

Linda

Linda is busy as always with lots of projects in the works.

 

 

When the pattern for Jinny’s Sweet Tea was ready to go, Linda got to make the first sample. She chose purples and teals along with a Casablanca border print and completed this lovely top.

 

 

This triangle square quilt is for her nephew’s baby, Sophia, using Palette #149 as a background and random grey fabrics. All of the fabrics are from her stash.

 

 

While organizing her sewing room, Linda discovered a long missing piece of County Clare border print to finish a kaleidoscope quilt made as a class sample using Marti Michell’s kaleido-ruler and pattern.  With it was the backing which looks perfect with the front. Don’t you just love when you make discoveries like that?

 

 

Also in-process is this Disney Frozen panel for her granddaughter’s 3rd birthday. The icy blue Milan fabric will be a great backing for a quick quilt. It seems all little girls love Elsa and Anna!

Twenty years ago, Linda’s daughter selected the pattern from a Fons and Porter book “Quick Quilts from the Heart” as her college quilt. She then changed her mind and wanted a 30s fabric quilt so this quilt top sat in the UFO pile. About 10 years ago, Linda started trying to quilt the top.  Nothing went right and finally all the stitches needed to be removed and batting replaced. Now, after a year of removing stitches, she quilted it on the longarm and it is done (with a little help from the kitty)!

We have more staff quarantine quilts coming to share with you so keep watching for the next post on the blog.

Posted on by — 10 Comments

Quarantine Quilts Part I

We staff, on occasion, take over Jinny’s blog usually when we have a snow day. Many of us have read about global pandemics in works of fiction but could never have imagined we would have to live through it. So now, spending more time at home, we are doing what quilters around the world are doing—working on our quilts.

As you will see in the quilts we share today, we tend to work on a few projects at once.  Don’t you?

Diane

 

 

 

You may recognize this table runner. It is from the same designer as the Showering Stars quilt we had for a Weekly Web Special. Diane is making a table runner and a second. She has shortened one by leaving off the two end pieces and making placemats with it. How clever!

 

 

Above is the border for a quilt made for a class Diane was supposed to teach.  The flowers and circles are amazing.  She is still trying to decide what she wants the quilt on the inside to be but I can’t stop looking at that border.

 

 

This final is one is just a UFO begun many years ago and loaded with Jinny’s fabrics. This strip quilt has great dimensional qualities just from the careful placement of lights and darks.

Carole

 

 

Carole also has several projects going, all amazing. First, she finished her quilt for the Sacred Threads “Backyard Escape” Challenge. Using mostly Jinny’s fabrics and paints, it depicts a painted birdhouse given to her by her grandson, Rhys, a few years ago. She hung it on a branch of the dogwood tree next to her deck and a bird built her nest inside, raising her little family.

 

 

Two other projects are still in the works. First, ten members of Fiber Artists@Loose Ends are each making a piece for the beginning of a series that may be called “World Wide Threads,” this one depicting East Asia. They have to measure 16” in width, but length can vary up to 45”. For her background, Carole is using part of a Japanese room divider. She painted it then added beads (about 475 of them!) and embroidery. She also added some sashiko stitching, appliquéd and painted a crane, then appliquéd pine branches and bamboo using all Jinny Beyer fabrics. Whew!

And finally, Carole is working on one section of a triptych (not knowing what the others look like) depicting a town on Islay, in Scotland. It is one page of a calendar and the Quilters of Islay are doing a challenge to recreate the twelve photographs in fabric. The quilts will become part of a travel exhibit. The photograph is shown with her work in progress. She painted the sky and the two brown textured fabrics chosen for the landscape are Jinny’s…perfect! Other Jinny Beyer fabrics are in waiting for the rocks, snowy road, wall, houses, etc.

Diane and Carole are just two members of our staff.  We have lots more to show you so keep checking back in the days to come. But before we go, the staff doesn’t have as much time at home as you would think. Why? While our retail store is closed, upstairs in mail order, it has been quite busy. Our manager, Rebecca, sent this photo of what she and others have been up to which is filling your orders and getting those needed supplies out to you.