A couple of months ago, Jeanne posted about the quilting lessons that she and Sandy have been giving the staff here at Jimmy Beans. When we started carrying fabric last fall, many of the beans were anxious to learn how to sew. Some had never sewn before and others had learned at a young age and not kept up with it. In any case, it was a great opportunity to learn something new!
Jeanne and Sandy patiently led their students through the process of learning to choose the right fabric, matching prints and colors, washing and cutting, following instructions, how to works the machine, sew a straight line, and all of the other steps associated with quilting. The finished quilt tops are just beautiful so I wanted to share a few of them here. I’ve got pictures from Laura, Erika, Sharon, Lianna, and Sandy. Each quilt, although they all used the same pattern out of Joel Dewberry’s “Sewn Spaces” book, is beautiful and unique in its own way.
First is Laura’s stunning yellow and grey quilt. She used a mix of Joel Dewberry prints from the Aviary 2 and Heirloom Collections with some Mark Cesarik Calypso and Amy Butler Midwest Modern thrown in for good measure. In regards to her fabric choices she told us, “I chose these fabrics because I liked the way the yellows and grays worked together. The combo was relatively modern, but not too wacky!” Choosing fabrics that she liked was key for Laura in order to motivate her to learn to sew in the first place. She recommends picking colors and a project that you love and then you’ll be inspired to finish it. 
Next we have Lianna’s gorgeous quilt! She used a wide selection of prints ranging from Joel Dewberry Heirloom and Modern Meadow to Valori Wells Wrenly, Amy Butler Lotus, Heather Bailey Freshcut and more! Basically little bit of everything. This was her first sewing project and she made this quilt as a gift for her cousin's wedding. Her fabric choices we selected based on the colors in her cousin’s wedding registry, that way it could be used in any area of the home. Such a neat idea! Lianna said that she had a lot of help from her mom on this project since she has been sewing for many years. Her mom ended up loving the pattern so much that she is now making two more quilts. Thanks Lianna for sharing your lovely project with us!
Erika took a slightly different approach to the making of her quilt. She absolutely fell in love with the Gold Rose Bouquet Print from Joel Dewberry's Heirloom collection and based the rest of her quilt around that. She tried to choose prints that would compliment it but still allow that print to stand out among the rest. This was also Erika's first sewing project and she was the speediest sewer in the group finishing her entire quilt before anyone else. We think it turned out so pretty and we love how prominent her favorite print is!
Sandy, our most experienced quilter, used several of Kaffe Fassett's gorgeous prints as her inspiration. She settled on a mix of pinks and cranberries with touches of turquoise and blues. She hadn't quilted in a while, since knitting is her favorite sport, but she was really excited to dust off the old sewing machine and stretch her legs a bit. She loved how simple this quilt pattern was. The perfect small quilt to get back in the game with! Since this project, she's been planning all kinds of other sewing projects to keep her busy through the summer! Don't you just love these colors?
Lastly, we have Sharon's bright and wild quilt! As vibrant as her bubbly personality, this quilt is a mixture of prints and colors. Even though each of these prints are so different, they do work together really well. Basically, Sharon just picked every bright print that she liked and found a way to make it work in the design. We would expect nothing less out of our ever-exuberant Customer Service Lead. After she finished this quilt, she was so pumped that she grabbed a Jelly Roll of the Berenstain Bears prints and started on a cute log cabin kids quilt. We'll share pictures of that one soon too, promise!
We hope you've enjoyed seeing these photos of our most recent new hobby! We've been so excited to share them with you and hope that you will join us in this new journey into the land of fabric. And if fabric isn't your thing, never fear, we still have many, many fun knitting and crocheting projects to share with you in the coming weeks as well!
We hope you all have a great weekend and happy making!
-Kristen and the JBW Team
