Over the weekend, Laura decided to take a stab at sewing the Gumdrop Pillow by Amy Butler for the Huckster. She had been eyeing the Rebekah Ginda Robotic Fabric from Birch Organics, so she grabbed enough on her way out the door and got started. Luckily, with Huck being the super-helper that he is, this turned out to be a pretty fun project for everyone!






Laura looked to Amy Butler's Creativebug.com class to make the Gumdrop Pillow for easy step by step instructions with videos. You can download the PDF of the pattern from the Amy Butler website and print out all of the pattern pieces you need at home, or if you prefer a pre-printed version, you can order it from us here. Be sure to check out all of our great sale fabric while you are at it. (Never said I wasn't an enabler.)

Next up, Laura and Huck are making a second pillow in Tina Givens' Star Flakes and Glitter Christmas fabric to take to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the holidays. Won't that fun?!?!

Happy Sewing!

-Kristen and the JBW Team

The Old Silk Road

My honey, Geoff, left on Monday for Uzbekistan and we just got the Kaffe Fassett collection which has fabric called Uzbekistan...go figure! Geoff thought that was really neat when I showed him!

We do a lot of traveling together, but this was a trip that wasn't within my interest scope, however, I will be excited to hear about his adventures when he gets back in May.




He will be gone for almost a month and I will miss him, but I know he will have fun. Of course I will have fun here at home and may have to grab some of the Uzbekistan fabric and do something with it before he gets back.

What beautiful textiles he will see!

He will be traveling The Silk Road on a tour and has gotten it in his head to do some wheeling and dealing to buy yarn and maybe Laura will make him her international yarn rep...ha ha!! I am afraid that when he gets an idea in his head it's impossible to shake and of course he is actually kidding about this, but is truly going to look for yarn and textiles!!


Oooh, ooh, I just thought of an idea for the Kaffe fabric...a couple of comfy pillows!! What do you think?


How about the Honey Bun Pouf by Amy Butler? We could sit around on the floor and eat in an exotic manner and that would be almost like being on a trip!

For now we can all dream of travel together and consider the projects that we can make around those wonderful mental journeys! Are you travelling anywhere fun this year? Feel free to share!

As always, happy knitting, crocheting and sewing!

Jeanne

Who doesn't like something beautiful to lay their head on?? Well Sandy is no exception and she has been eyeing the Valori Wells Novella collection of late and what a great way to use this gorgeous fabric? A very special pillow case was a great choice, don't you think? She added a couple of her own touches with french seams and a rolled hem on the inside of the bag.

I also thought it is a great way to re-introduce you to our project log as well.








We recently updated the project log to feature our sewing projects and it's a fun place you can see what we have been working on around the shop! Rachel just finished her Birdie Sling by Amy Butler and she chose some stash fabric for her project and boy do we think it turned out great! I know I want to go for a little dip in Rachel's fabric stash...Rachel what do you think? Hee hee!









You can also follow our fiber related projects on the log and here is Jenn's lovely Belle Cable Hat! She used the Rowan Lima yarn which is so yummy to touch! Of course around here we hardly ever actually say hello...it's more ooohhhh what's that you made...let me touch please!!

You can find all the details for any of our projects on the log and we love to feature our customers as well, so if you have something you would like us to feature please let us know and we will let you how to make that happen!

I hope that our project log will inspire you to come join us in our adventures and remember, it's only a project, the world won't stop spinning if it isn't perfect!! The bottom line is that you try and learn something new in the trying!!

As always, happy knitting, crocheting and sewing!

Jeanne

This is the middle section and what lovely lace it is

I am having so much FUN working on this Artyarns KAL, whoop, whoop! I am in LOVE with the Ensemble Light yarn and I mentioned this in my last post too, but when it comes to yarn it's alright to be redundant, right? I am using color 907 and am really getting excited as I near the point where Iris suggested I begin using the Beaded Silk and Sequins Light in the same color.

This is part of the last section and I love it!

My plan is to work 2 rows of each yarn, which will give me just enough to cast off in the beaded yarn...oooohhhh won't I just be the coolest little bean?







Of course what kind of knitter would I be if I wasn't chomping at the bit for my next project? I AM a knitter that's for sure, even though I also am starting to love sewing! My next project is actually going to involve fabric as I take on the Barcelona skirt by Amy Butler! I am delving into a fabric type I haven't worked with much and that's Voile, so wish me luck!

This type of fabric is light, airy, and leans toward the sheer side of things. The drape is phenomenal, so that's the way I am going on this project. Of course I will be lining the skirt, and even if I used something other than a Voile the pattern calls for, a lining will be nice.

I can't wait to see this layered!

I love skirts and have been wearing them more often as the weather is getting warmer, "So why not?", is what I say!

The pattern includes instructions for an a-line skirt, as well as an over apron, both of which will be next in line. I chose the Night Tree fabric in the color Lime Peel and can't wait to wear my skirt!

Hmmmm, now I need to make one to compliment my beautiful shawl...what a tough life I have!!

Lastly, before I sign off for the day, we need to announce the Sweet Grass Wool giveaway winner!  Drumroll please....and the winner (thanks to random.org) is: Commenter #21- Linda, who said:


"What a beautiful color and yarn. It would make a great cowl, hat or 198 Yards of Heaven scarf. . . all mine, of course!"


Congrats to Linda, and thanks to everyone who commented!  Also, thanks to Patti from Sweet Grass and Wolf Creek Wools for the blog interview and giveaway!  Linda, please e-mail Kristen with your mailing address to claim your skein: kristen@jimmybeanswool.com.

As always, happy knitting, crocheting and sewing!

Jeanne

PS. Did you know that we are out to 'Stick it to Heart Disease'? Check out Stitch Red and see all the ways you can become involved in the battle against the #1 killer of women in the US!

Vintage Short Skeins

So, some of you may have noticed a bit of a shift on our site, especially under our New Products page. Without further adieu, pomp, or circumstance, I give you FABRIC!!!

You may notice a slight hesitation in my 'voice'. That's because this is a whole new business for us here at JBW, so please be gentle with us as we step into this new (fantastic) part of our fiber addiction. We are working to get the website fine-tuned for you all, but you may run into some questions about the fabric, sewing patterns and whatnots (like the Amy Butler thread) related to this new passion we have here at the shop. Please, please feel free to ask questions. That's what we are here for.

Here we have Sandy and Laura, (aka Jimmy) with the very 1st piece of fabric we cut and sold!!! Sandy cut it and then we all ran around and hooted and howled with excitement!!

Most of us around here have sewn at some point in our lives, but are a little rusty. Amber set up these great Learn To Sew classes and we were off and running!

Kristen's class was on a Sunday and was a huge hit!! She has been sewing for a long time and, of course, is a great teacher, so what's not to be thrilled about? Sandy and I have also taught 2 classes together, all with great success!

You can see Jill, Sharon and bit of Shevawn in this picture of class, sewing away! Good work gang!!

We did some very basic refresher-type sewing projects in class, but if you are looking for your own good refresher course, I highly recommend Rebecca Yaker's book One Yard Wonders as a starting point.

If you have never sewn a stitch (but are interested), then you might want to check out your local sewing store for a basic how-to class. There are some fantastic machines on the market for less than $100.00!

Here is Sharon with her finished bag! What a GREAT job she did!!!

We are all excited and a bit nervous about this new endeavor, so let us know if you see something on the site that is a bit off, or you have ideas for us. Remember this is YOUR LYS online and we love to hear from you.

There is a lot of work to be done (what's new around here :), so please keep that in mind as you surf around in the fabric sections, but we are happy to finally feel comfortable enough to post about our new fabric love.

I hope you enjoyed my little introduction into our line of fabric-related products and as always...

Happy knitting, crocheting and sewing!!

Jeanne

PS If you aren't getting our Newsletter check it out! We never share ANY of your information and it's one of the best ways I know to stay on top of what's going on around here.

Hello,

Amy Butler's new book, Midwest Modern Knits is full of fun and funky patterns - everything from sweaters to pillows! I was delighted to find that I liked EVERY pattern in here - not just a couple. We have added several new
kits from this book to our website, including the adorable Riding Hood Scarf kit and Hobo Bag kit. All of the patterns in this book are knit with Belle Organic DK and Belle Organic Aran yarn by Amy Butler for Rowan.


Check it out!!!

-Amerique