Juicy Bits

a day at the fair

Hello everyone! I've been getting such a warm welcome from you all....it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Please stick around, I'll make it worth your while. That's right...I'm thinking giveaway. I don't know exactly what yet. I was waiting until I had a decent number of readers so I didn't feel too pathetic if I did a giveaway and only like 5 people commented. But at the moment I have no excuses....so stay tuned for more details...

For now, here's some more rural America fun for you...

We spent the day at the Barnstable County Fair. This thing has been going on for over 150 years. So I tend to try to plan a summer visit to the cape to go with the kids, since I've yet to find anything to compare here in Jersey. Don't get me wrong...I'm sure there is something...I just haven't been yet.

(gratuitous rust picture for Melissa's pleasure)

There were 2 things I didn't quite remember about the fair:

1. It's freakin expensive. I mean one ride for $5?!?! But luckily it was arm band day and I made sure we got our money's worth.

2. There are just too many ridiculously-bad-for-me-but-oh-so-yummy food options. Really everywhere I looked, I thought, "no, THAT's what I'm craving" I didn't eat it all, but believe me, I ate enough.

And, no, no pictures of the food. I was too busy gobbling it. And just writing about it is making me hungry...I'm glad I don't have to look at it.

Of course I did take photos of the quilts, but honestly they don't do them justice. I wish they had more room to display them, because most of them were folded up.

But I couldn't get over this one.

Look how cute! This tree is only like 5" tall and is only one small section of a whole appliqued quilt. But I just found it so charming with it's little birds...

tweet, tweet.
JT

connecting and reconnecting

I just got back from another trip to my visit my parents on Cape Cod. While there I got the chance to meet with two friends...one old, and one new.

First off, I met Melissa Averinos of Yummy Goods blog fame. I say fame because to me she's already a celebrity in the crafty little world I love, even though her first fabric line hasn't been released yet. I mean she did go to Quilt Market after all... and really I'm fairly certain that you've been reading her blog much longer than mine. As you would imagine, she is just as lovely in person as I knew she would be. So sweet and genuine and seriously easy to talk to. And she even brought me a birthday present!

Gorgeous fabric, no?

Thank you so much, Melissa.

We chatted for a while and then went fabric shopping at Tumbleweeds. While we were there I learned to use a fun new gadget

a yo-yo maker.

I've never made yo-yos before, nor had any real desire to do so, but after seeing how easy it was and how cute it came out, I can see they may be addicting. Can you see how teeny tiny the smallest one is?

I also got to see one of my best all time friends...we've been friends since kindergarten. And, as always, Jesslyn was charismatic and really "gets me". Since we forged our friendship (egads could it be) 28 years ago on the swings...it was cute to have our little ones doing the same.

I love you, Jess.

JT

the afterglow

I had another productive and most enjoyable fabric shopping trip recently. This time to my "local" quilt shop - Pennington Quiltworks. I'm really just going to have to stay home and sew because my stash is getting a bit out of control.

For me, one of the best parts of the whole fabric shopping experience is reliving it at home. I love to lay it all out on the floor and "ooh" and "ahh" over all my finds. I have to refold it before I put it away and I love to enjoy it all over again before it gets hidden on a shelf.

I know I'm not the only one who does this....come on...admit it...

My husband doesn't quite understand it. Petting fabric isn't really something he can relate to. But he does know me well and he gets that gathering it all around me it just another way to make a nest. And I AM comfortable in a good nest.

This is what all my nice stacks look like after Theo comes over to "help" me.

Ah, well, guess I'll just have to fold them again. :)

JT

playroom preview

I've mentioned before that I'm designing a "playroom" (really more of a tween hangout) for my nieces in their basement. It's a whole big long project because the basement was only semi-finished to begin with and I designed some fun built-in stuff.

Anyway, I'm not going into all the details now. When I have before and after pictures I'll share them.

But, I did get to go fabric shopping for the pillows, curtains etc. Fun!

So this a quick peek at what I picked out. It was purchased at a recent visit to Tumbleweeds Quilts.

The rug that I had them get is this one from Pottery Barn Teen

and the color palette looks something like this:

While much of the major building and painting work is done, there is still a ton for me to do including painting murals, painting furniture, sewing etc. I hope to get moving on the sewing soon.

JT

start spreading the juice

I suppose I should start by saying that "Juice" was a nickname a few of my friends called my in college. So that's where it comes from. It's not to say the details of my life are exceedingly fascinating ... ... ... so now you know.

Anyway, in an effort to get the word out about my humble little blog, I figured I needed a card to give people. Especially since the url isn't too simple or catchy.

So here they are:

Cute, no?

I'm thinking they should probably be more of a designer's "business" card at some point, but for now they'll serve their purpose. And they're a good use for tiny little scraps of fabric.

I'm weirdly proud of them and simultaneously a little embarrassed by them. It's sort of like shouting out to the world "please read my diary!" Um, does anyone care?

So now I have to get the nerve to start handing them out to strangers. For now, maybe I'll give some to my mom. She loves to brag...

JT

teach what you love

Recently I had the opportunity to teach my first official sewing classes: beginning quilting and a bags workshop. I have taught lots of people to sew or quilt in the past, but I'll admit I was a bit nervous. It's not that I don't know the subject matter, but putting myself out there as an "expert" felt a bit presumptuous. Especially because I've taken very few formal quilting classes myself.

Also, I designed a bunch of simple patterns for the quilting class to use so they wouldn't have to buy them. I was a bit paranoid that I supremely goofed on some of my calculations and therefore had everyone buy the wrong amount of fabrics. It turned out I did make one error (bound to happen) but it was fixable and I don't think anyone minded too much.

Anyway, I needn't have worried. The ladies in both classes were just wonderful. I truly enjoyed spending time with them and hope I offered not only some technical advice, but also helped them to be more confident in their sewing skills. The satisfaction they showed with their final products made me proud. I know that feeling, and I love passing it on to others.

And isn't their handiwork beautiful?

The classes were offered through a local community education program called The Jointure. Obviously that means nothing to folks far away, but I had to plug them nonetheless. If you're local...please join us for more fun in the fall.

JT

a bag and a budding photographer

Well, originally this was just going to be post about this cute new bag I made. I made it a few weeks ago and finally took a some pictures of it, which is a good thing because considering how mean I am to my bags, it will be trashed before I know it...(I sort of treat my purse as a "junk drawer" and never clean it out)

It was made from the Black Forest pattern from Melly and Me. I've really be into bags lately because 1) how cute and who doesn't want another bag? and 2) they're smaller projects and I can get them done so fast. For now I've been using patterns for that time saving element, but I've been trying out different designers to sort of "learn how it's done" so I can make up some of my own patterns. BTW, Henrietta's Handbags is a great source for bag patterns of all types....and no shipping!

Anyhoo...you're now thinking this IS just a post about her bag. But the funny thing is when I went take the pictures, Aurora came over and, of course, wanted to "help". Really she just wanted a turn pressing the button. I don't think can even really look through the viewfinder right. BUT, she managed to take my favorite picture of the bag (the first one up top).

Now I'm not a crazy "my child is a genius" type so I know it was just a fluke (and sadly says something about how much the camera does itself and doesn't need me...), but it made me remember to try to look at things from different angles. As I practice this whole photography thing, I must remember not to center everything....how boring.

JT

juicy little bits

For the fourth of July I went to my parents house on cape cod. And, as always, while there I went fabric shopping.

The cape is great for that because it has, not one, but two, big beautiful quilting stores: Tumbleweed Quilts and Heartbeat Quilts. This trip I made it only to Tumbleweeds but boy did I have fun. Here's a quick glimpse of only a small portion of my purchases:

I love that their fat quarters are only $2. I have a hard time paying the $2.50 that many places charge because then they cost more than the actual yardage...

I also got a bunch of prints for the basement playroom I'm working on and also for my daughter's Bday party. And I dove into the big bin of "little bits" and came away with a juicy colorful bunch. These are the same bits that one miss Melissa Averinos of Yummy Goods has posted about. So addictive.

As you can see, most of them are Kaffe Fassett fabrics. This is because I have aspirations of one day doing something like this Lollypop Trees pattern by Kim McLean. I think I might first start small and do an applique on dress for my daughter. But for now this is one of those projects that has to put aside for a good long time. However, it does give me a good excuse to collect Kaffe fabrics....

And, of course, the ladies there were a pleasure..."hi" to Karen and Mary. i wish we had stores like that here in NJ.

JT

relaxing in the OBX

We just got back (and by "just" I mean in the last month) from a wonderful vacation in Duck, NC...aka the Outer Banks. We rented a lovely house by the beach and proceeded to hang out by the pool and almost never go to the beach. But we KNEW it was there so that made it all the better.

While there my sisters and husband and I tried our hand at hang gliding. Not as easy as I'd hoped, but fun nonetheless. (Yes, that's me.)

And, of course, while there I had to do a bit of shopping. I came up with 2 things I just love. First is this delicious mirror.

it was one of those stop-your-tracks-this-is-just-perfect moments. It was purchased at Urban Cottage, a cute little store with many things I could see finding a home in our house. But the mirror was a missing element in our bedroom, which I would really love to get cracking on the design of before the end of the year.

Also, at an art show I fell in love with the works of Donna Silvestri and her On U Jewelry. This is the necklace I finally settled on after quite a long time of trying them on.

I love that she thread/braids them with brown cord...it makes them a bit earthy. I also wanted her Lola Love ones, but I found them a bit short for me.

I did also get a few prints at the art from from Serious Whimsy (P. Carter Carpin).

The first is an addition to my son's nursery. The other two or for the basement playroom/tween hangout I'm designing for my nieces. (more on both later...)

Finally I will leave you with a few beach-y pictures of the kids...

JT

something's fishy

So my baby is almost 11 months now. Before I know it he won't be a baby anymore. And the thing is, his quilt isn't done.

When my daughter was born I made myself a deal, I knew I couldn't finish the quilt before she arrived, but I promised myself I'd have it done before she turned 1. And I did. Yay, me!

But now that date is rapidly approaching with Theo and it's not done. I still need to quilt and bind it.

For now, here's the top:

I'm very pleased with it thus far. His room has an ocean theme (more on that later) and includes a lot of batiks. The pattern for the fish is my own. Then a snail's trail border. Then a simple floating square border with starfish in the corners. The hardest part was calculating all the sizes to get the borders to match up. Oh, I paper pieced the fish and the snail's trail.

And look a the cute fish batik on the back.

So now I must quilt it. I'm thinking of a water-like stipple on the fish, some whales over the waves, and waves over the blocks. I'll keep you posted on the progress...

Have you made any quilts lately? Even if they're not done, I'd love to see them.

JT

fourth of july hometown style

This is how they do it back in my hometown of Barnstable Village, Cape Cod, MA.

I don't always make it back for the celebration, but it really is one I enjoy. Mostly I love how all the kids get so into it. At some point in my youth I did participate in the parade, but for many kids it's all about catching the C-A-N-D-Y!

After the parade everyone heads over to the hollow for more wholesome fun including egg tosses, tugs-of-war, 3-legged races, water ballon tosses, and even a greased pole. You gotta love it. What could be more all-american?

While I no longer live on the cape, my parents still do. This is my super-cool photographer dad. You can't see his long hippie ponytail in the picture. :)

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend full of fun, festivity, and freedom. Yay for america!

JT

look what I found!

Can you handle the cuteness? Maybe it's just me...but I LOVE it.

A little background....I'm not the super-thrift-store-goddess that many of you are. But some days I aspire to be one too. Lately I've been going to a few more yard sales and antique stores. I find I really just need time to roam around and look through things to find the 1 or 2 items that say "BUY ME", and I rarely have that time.

Anyway, this called to me. It was a children's sewing machine back in the day. Oh I guess I should show you the size since it's not nearly as cute if you think it's full size. Here it is with my machine:

It's metal, not plastic and says "SewMistress"! I don't know if it works yet, but I love it either way.

Which reminds me, my daughter got this for christmas:

Also adorable. She not even 4 so I haven't actually let her use it yet. She's been helping me a little. She's just starting to show a real interest in sewing....so maybe soon.

I did have a few more finds that I'll share soon...I promise.

Oh, and a belated Happy Fourth to you all! I've got some fun in "small town america" from my hometown to post later (it takes me a while...I'm still learning here...)

JT

eye candy for your walls

I'll start right in with my very first tutorial.

I recently made these super-easy and very inexpensive fabric wall dots. I feel a little silly posting directions as they really are EASY, but I know someone out there will enjoy them.

First your supplies:
- any fabrics that your heart desires (fat quarters were a good size for my 10" and 12" dots)
- cake circles of your size choice(these are merely cardboard circles, which you could obviously cut yourself, but how simple to have them perfectly done for you - you can find them at Michaels or anywhere that sells cake supplies)
- scissors
- needle + thread
- fabric marker ( or other marker)
- removable foam mounting squares

That's it!

Now to get started...

1. Trace your circle on the wrong side of your desired fabric. If you want you can take the time to place the circle exactly where you want it on the fabric...make sure to leave a few inches on each side.

2. Cut around 2-3 inches outside your line.

3. Hand stitch large stitches all around the margin using doubled up thread (or for more strength, floss).

4. Pull both ends of the thread to gather the circle slightly. Insert the cardboard circle. Pull more to tighten the fabric around the circle and tie it off.

5. Press the gathers so it lays flat against the cardboard.

6. Attach the foams squares (2 or 3 per circle) and stick on the wall wherever you want.

Voila!

I love this as a fun way to showcase some of my fabrics. One of the best part is it's totally removable when you change your mind and you can even reuse the fabric after you're done with them. Certainly a similar effect could be created by using embroidery hoops, but I didn't want to have to use nails and I liked the low profile.

Now that I figured out how easy this is, I see myself putting them up all over the place. The ones I did are above a big bay window in my studio. But I think next I'd like to try an arrangement like this:

Have fun...and if you put some up, please send me a picture!

JT