Falling Charms Quilt

Aloha!

This is the falling charms quilt that I made for another grandchild. I got the pattern from this tutorial by the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Thank you Jenny!

The tutorial has a pattern of the layout. I stopped the video at this point and made a copy of the layout by using the print screen function on the keyboard. It helped when it came time to lay out all the blocks.

I cut the 2.5" strips from yardage and used a few charm packs from Amy Butler's Soul Blossom line. The remainder of blocks are from my own fabric stash. Here are some pics of my progress.

Block design

The blocks are laid out on my bed because I have not made a design wall yet. I plan to make one soon. I take photos of my layout to refer to as I sew the rows. This helps if things get mixed up as they frequently seem to around here. Hey, I'm new at this!

The back was a challenge for me. I wanted to make the back different. I used left over charms to make the quilt back instead of just one large piece of fabric. The charms in the middle were warm colors so I used a brown border around them. Then I pieced all the other charms using the disappearing nine patch technique. I say it was challenging because, I realized that when I went to machine quilt it, the design on the front wouldn't line up with the design on the back.

I decided to machine quilt an all-over design of loops and hearts. That way the back wouldn't look too bad.
What do you think? The last photo is the pillow that I made to match. It has some blocks made from the Soul Blossoms charm pack and some that I had purchased. The bug blocks are from fabric I purchased from eBay. I believe it's discontinued. I appliqued her initial in the middle block. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo but it's quilted on the white strips.

Falling Charms Quilt Front

Falling Charms Quilt Back

 

 

Square block pillow

 
The quilt I'm working on now will be from Batik fabrics. I plan to use the same block size as on the front. If I understand correctly, the back must be bigger than the front for machine quilting purpose so I plan to add a border around the edge. I hope it doesn't get all wonky during quilting!

Thank you for reading my blog. I'd love to have questions or comments about my projects. Helpful suggestions are always appreciated. I'd love to see your creations too!

Mahalo!

My first quilt in a really long time.

Aloha!

The workroom has been filled with my sewing stuff. I still haven't unpacked the jewelry making supplies yet! It seems I need to organize more space to have even a small inventory at hand.
 
I made a quilt a while back. It was a Blanket of Hope for the Soldier's Angles charity program. It was my first attempt at making a quilt. I made a rag quilt which came out pretty good. The second attempt at quilt making was a queen size for my bed. It remains a UFO to this day.

I decided to make quilts for my grandchildren. I started with a baby quilt for the youngest. Here is my progress through it. I learned a lot from searching the web but apparently I must learn a lot more! More about that later.   

She likes Disney Princess.

The journey began with a trip to the local fabric store for princess print fabrics. With these and a few fabrics from my own stash I was on my quilt making journey. After rotary cutting everything I tested out a pattern by placing my quilt squares in rows and columns. Looks okay but something is missing.

My daughter mentioned during a phone call that they purchased new furniture and the baby was moving into a bunk bed. (She lives in Cali and I live in Hawaii.) So, back to the fabric store for more fabric. I felt that I needed white to make the prints pop. I also found a princess panel that I figured I would use for the quilt back.

I felt that the size must be bigger as it was now for a bigger bed. Back to the drawing board. The white blocks were added to the design. Still not big enough. Okay, lets put a border. Not wanting to return the the fabric store I used the fabric I had left and pieced together a bunch of them for the border. Sewing it to the quilt piece was a challenge as; I had never done a border before, the strips were too big or too little. Some creative piecing was done and whew, it went together!

Now the back. I'm not sure if it was my lucky day or if this happens a lot but the printed panel was off. To square it up was a challenge. I hope you can't tell too much. A little cut here and there, another border or two and I got it squared up, assembled and ready to quilt. I've watched free motion quilting tutorials and practiced a bit and was ready to go.

Not quite. Why not a few appliques? Now I've never appliqued either, but did that stop me? Heck no! So what started out as a simple baby quilt turned into this. She loves it. I made a pillow too. It's called the sprocket pillow. I found a free tutorial for it on Cluck Cluck Sew.

How does it look?

Finished top.

Back

Pillow

Pillow back

Hearts!

 

 

 

 

What did I learn? You should probably use a pattern if your a quilting newbie. Stick with a plain back for your first one. I know it's not perfect but I accomplished my goal. My granddaughter loves it!

Aloha! We have a new family member....

Well, 2012 was quite a year. Dear hubby participated in the WBRC, blind rehab program for three months. Then, it was off to dog school. I am so proud of my hubby. He has over-taken this latest obstacle with patience, humor, and the endurance of a soldier.

John and Rocky's Graduation Picture

I have linked to the Western Blind Rehab Center and Guide Dogs of America. I cannot thank them enough for giving me my husband back with a positive view of our future. The programs and people that work there are absolutely wonderful. If anyone has vision that limits their daily functions please contact those facilities. I believe you must be a veteran to attend WBRC although GDA has their own admission requirements.

Also, a special thanks to the puppy raisers. Your love and dedication has enabled Rocky to transition into our furry clan which includes, our adopted children Mickey, our dog, and Felix, our cat.

While John was away I worked on turning our second bedroom into a dedicated studio. We got lots of ideas from houzz.com. I am completing the process of adding the sewing items to the room. Next I will add the jewelry making supplies.

I have gathered the fabric for a baby/toddler quilt which I will work on this afternoon. I also found this great fabric store. They have a design wall feature so you can see the fabric choices together and get an idea how they will work in your project. Check it out! Till next time, be creative, love what you do!

Mahalo!

Hubby is going on a business trip!

I hope to get some projects completed. There's the costume for my granddaughter, and one for her classmate. They are due in about a week. No wonder I don't mind being alone until the first week of May. Do you get inspired when you are alone?

Then, there is the quilt I have to finish. I hope to use some machine quilting techniques that I read about on Leah Day's site. Hope I do this right:

 Free Motion Quilting

Pictures will be up soon.

Aloha!

Changes and Challenges

Aloha! I apologize for being away from my blog. I had surgery to remove my gall bladder in November. My husband's vision has gotten worsened so I have been his driver since I recovered from the surgery. My dear Mother passed away December 31.

My granddaughter was Tiger Lilly in the school play. I made her costume and will attempt to get a picture up.

Since my surgery I have been challenged with arthritis pain in my hands, arms, wrists etc. My doc thinks it's carpel tunnel. I sleep with braces and am taking new meds that help most of the day.

I am learning how to quilt. I made one, a rag quilt, several years ago. This one is a patchwork quilt. I am totally confused right now. I found a great site the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Their website can be found here: http://www.missouriquiltco.com/

Well, that's it for now. I'll work on getting some pics up.

Facebook Friends Get Free Shipping!

If you enter code FACEBOOKFRIEND during checkout at my Bonanza booth you will receive free shipping! Coupon is valid until Friday, March 18 at 11:59 PM HST.

I have Justin Bieber photos if you have a Bieber fan, vintage clocks and sugar skulls will be uploaded this weekend.

J & J Design Inspiration: Aloha!

J & J Design Inspiration: Aloha!: "I promised a photo of the gown I made for my granddaughter and here it is. I had to wait for my daughter to send the photo and then scan it ..."

Aloha!

I promised a photo of the gown I made for my granddaughter and here it is. I had to wait for my daughter to send the photo and then scan it in order to post it.

I realize it's a bit long. Not a bad fit for being over 5,000 miles away though! Plus she was bare footed for the play. If you remember she was in A Midsummer's Night Dream. I hope to give her sewing lessons when I visit.

Here's the bride gown for my other grandkid. It was a Halloween costume. No that's not an orange purse, hehe.

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Now, for my recent jewelry creations:

With Valentine's Day in mind, I used red crystals paired with gray Swarovski pearls for these earrings. They  dangle from gold-filled ear wires. To keep the cost down I used Beadalon German wire. This is the first time I have used this product.

Beadalon German wire has copper and brass core with an anti-tarnish coating. I used the gold color with these designs. It looks pretty good in the finished design. I found working with it very easy. It is a bit soft and doesn't work harden very well. I tapped it with my nylon hammer and it became a bit harder. 

I would like to hear from anyone out there if they use this in their designs. I have used the 7/19/49 strand wire with crimp beads. Does anyone have any opinions about the German wire? If so I would love to hear from you.

This is a wrapped loop bracelet and earrings made with the wire.

 

Dangle earrings

Hoops

 

 

 

My husband and I made a light box to photograph our jewelry. I will post more about that challenge next time!

Mahalo!
Jozee

January Contest - Give Away!

Do you ever intend to do something and once you start you realize it is taking a path of its own? That happens to me all the time. I sit at my workbench in my studio with everything before me to make something. Then it happens. I don't make what I had intended to make. It changes.

Sometimes I feel the design creates itself. It's as if the crystals, pearls, and stones speak to me. I don't know any other way to explain it. The design I had intended is changed and reworked. I have always been intuitive. Once would think that would help with jewelry design.

To enter J&J Designs' January Give-Away you must leave a comment about your inspiration, your muse, or your design process. John tells me all the time I'm his muse. No darling, you can not enter the contest.

The winner of this month's contest will receive one of my best selling Steampunk tile pendants:

We will post the winner in February.

Mahalo!
Jozee

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Is everyone ready for the New Year? Does anyone have resolutions to share? I want to find balance in my life. I will work on that everyday. That means I must schedule "me time". My caring, nurturing, instinct goes wacky and I tend to neglect myself. Anyone have that problem?

I promised pictures of my latest creations. Here are the bangle bracelets that I made in soldering class. We also drilled the holes in the beads bigger so they move around the bangle.

One has a huge faceted quartz bead and for the other I chose two smaller jade beads. The photo came out kinda funny but it isn't easy photographing jewelry! My hubby plans to build a light box for me to use.

Here is another bracelet I made in fusing class a while back. It has an apatite bead. I wear it a lot so I didn't want a bunch of beads hanging from it.

The linked bracelet is fine silver. You can not fuse with sterling. I like fusing as it is easier than soldering. I plan to practice soldering so that I can become more familiar with working with sterling. John and I plan on taking a workshop in June. I will let you know more about it in another post.

The wifey has finally given me something to sell. He has been busy with other projects (my Christmas gift). Here, by popular demand, what you have all been waiting for; ta da, earrings by John:

I like the blue and copper together. 

Aloha! Hope to hear from you.

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho,

Yippee, I got my laptop back! Now that I've been on the desktop in the studio for weeks I'm not sure if I'll be switching back. All my stuff is gone anyway. Well it's on a hard drive; on top of the workstation in the studio. I use an office chair and slide from my workstation to my computer. Wee!

Anyway I've been busy creating but am a little disappointed that sales are not what I had hoped for when I started out in June. That's when I lost my job and decided to get back into jewelry making.

At this point I am thinking of incorporating more sewing into the business as I've always done well with sewing. The only drawback is, as I have mentioned before, is space. Sewing takes up a lot of space! Especially if you sew window coverings and home decor stuff. Yikes! We are still recovering from sewing the two gowns for my granddaughters. I'm still pulling thread out of the vacuum!

What to do? Well I have taken more classes. John and I went to soldering class and I took another one to make bangles. It was really cool. We used a drill to enlarge holes in beads. It's another level of knowledge I can use. It's different using the torch and drill press from beading with wire and beads. Well, different muscles anyway! Holding onto those beads so they don't go flying and knock someone out was challenging.


I will post photos when I get a chance to take them. Busy with the turkey day and all that.


I must also mention I was surprised no one participated in the pendant give-away. I promise not to sell any one's address, ha ha. So, guess we will have to do another one. I will post the details soon. Don't be shy, leave comments, follow me. Which brings to mind a patch I sewed onto my favorite jeans back in the day...Don't follow me; I'm lost too!

Mahalo,
Jozee

My new pendants are old school tattoo designs. No I didn't do the art! But kewl, dontcha think? I know, I drive my granddaughter nuts. She calls me the crazy grandma! hahaha I'm not crazy, girls just wanna have fun!



My Bonanza Booth:  http://www.bonanza.com/booths/J_J_Designs

J & J Design Inspiration: Being creative

J & J Design Inspiration: Being creative

Being creative

My angel earrings are made. How many different ways can you make an angel earring? Ha ha! I made one that looks like she has hair. I also made regular ones. Tell me what you think.

I was pondering doing a tutorial for my drawstring jewelry pouches. Just in case I took lots of pics. The fabric is the backdrop for the photo above. Wondering if anyone would like to make their own bags?

Anyway I not only made Maddy's Halloween costume, I also made a gown for my older granddaughter. She's in A Midsummer's Night Dream as Helena at school. After the horror show I had working with real bridal satin and chiffon for the bride dress I made Maddy, I swore I wouldn't go that route again. After all, it's only a school play, right?

Wrong! OCD kicked in and I got the color she wanted, lilac and it was what I believe is called damask. Satin with a flower sort of embroidered into the fabric.

Here's a pic I took when I started cutting:

I'll post more later. You get the idea. Just me being creative.
Holla back if you want to know how to make one of these:

Have a great week!

Happy Holidays!!!

I had a productive day as I finished six glass tiles, photographed, and posted for sale. Then cut the pattern for my soon to be 12 year old granddaughter, Seiana. She is in a play at school. I was so rushed with Maddy's Halloween costume that I didn't photograph it. My daughter is sending pics through her Blackberry but I still haven't figured our how to get them on the computer.

Joy Pendant

Holiday Snowman

Pink Owl

I also have some interesting Steampunk art that looks great and will post a few in the next day or so.
My sister hopes to give me a tutorial on PhotoShop so I can use my own photos for the pendants. That will be great and is the reason I started making these babies!

My plans for later include cutting out the gown/costume. She is Helena in A Midsummer's Night Dream. Lots of fabric!!

I've decided to do a freebie this week. Leave a comment on my blog and you may win one of my glass tile pendants!

Hope everyone has a great, productive week!

Aloha,
Jozee

Happy Halloween!

I just shipped off my granddaughter's Halloween Costume. Don't you love the holidays? I enjoyed making glass tile pendants for Halloween. Here are a few samples:

I sewed a few drawstring pouches for them. Here is a photo of one:

I sent my older granddaughter this black cat glass tile pendant necklace:

Check out my Bonanza booth for upcoming Christmas theme pendants. Purchase a glass tile pendant and mention you saw my blog for free shipping on Christmas themed pendants. Valid October 29 through December 10, 2010.

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/J_J_Designs

Happy Halloween!

J & J Design Inspiration: If it weren't for bad luck...

J & J Design Inspiration: If it weren't for bad luck...

Maybe I should use the internal workings of my laptop for some altered art...

If it weren't for bad luck...

Geez Louise! My laptop crashed. We are fortunate to have a desktop in the studio. Right now I'm using John's laptop. Of course he had it locked up like Fort Knox so most of my stuff wouldn't run. Something about multi firewall conflict. Most of my photos and all the household account info are on that thing.

John had a special account set up for me when I came home from class. He's such a good hubby. Now I can relax on the couch to type. I really didn't want to spend any more time in the studio. I was in there all day until 3:00. Then I came out for lunch and to get ready for tax class.

I will be back in the studio tomorrow for more creating, picture taking, and labeling. Ah yes, inventory labeling and supplies. I need an assistant! I've been spending so much time on other business demands it has taken time away from jewelry making. Note to self, schedule some much needed torch time.

Aloha

Bonanza Booth

Finally have my Bonanza booth up and running. Whew!

Here is the link:

J-J_Designs' booth at Bonanza

Aloha!

Busy bee, busy me!

It has been a busy few weeks for me. I started classes for Professional Tax Preparation. I have also taken a stamping class at the bead shop.

Dear hubby, John, has been away at school on the mainland. He took supplies with him to work on chain mail and has made several items. I promised I would post a picture of my first knotted bracelet so here it is along with a few of my recent creations with copper components.

Also found some turquoise color Czech glass table cut beads. They are really pretty and have a touch of purple in them. Hope to have my website up and running by October 1. Aloha!

Fancy jasper, copper bracelet.

Swarovski glass pearls, bicones, silk thread, sterling toggle.

Dangles

Wire wrapped Czech glass beads, Sterling components.

Bali sterling silver components

 

 

 

The white pearl bracelet is not for sale. Everything else pictured here has been hand made by me in my home studio.

Knot your traditional pearl jewelry...

I recently attended a pearl knotting class.  The evening prior to the knotting class I created two crocheted bracelets. One would think that pearl knotting would be a fairly easy process compared to a braided crocheted piece.

My thoughts went to the history of pearl knotting. To a time far away when women would get together and create beautiful pieces to adorn themselves, family, friends, and others. The men of the village would brave the deep water of the ocean to find the ocean gems. Weddings, gifts, and heirlooms are gracefully created with this simple technique.

I was slightly embarrassed when I realized I was in the bottom of my class. As another student stated, we were the "special ed" corner of the table. Frustration grew as my fingers fumbled when I attempted to hold the silk cord while guiding the tweezers to just the right spot above the pearl. The technique seemed to "click" after a few words of encouragement from the instructor. A few knots later, I was confident my next knot would go smoothly and I too would be on my way to creating beautiful pieces.

The cord is draped around my fingers, I turn my hand to bring the tweezers to the right spot, and NO PEARL! What's this knot doing there? In my excitement of, "By George, I think I've got it!" I forgot to bring up the next pearl before starting to make the knot. Now my hands are wrapped with cord and the tweezers are suspended like a high wire acrobat swinging to grab the hands of their partner who is missing.

The pearl knotting class is is actually my attempt to keep busy, socialize and learn new skills while hubby is off to college on the mainland for three weeks. Okay, no harm done. Let's untangle this and start over. I continue along as the other students finish their pieces. The bracelet is finally finished. Whew!

I used Swarovski pearls and crystal accents. It actually came out okay. I will post a picture of it when I perfect my jewelry photography technique.

Black and white bracelet; Swarvoski pearl and crystal, hand knotted, sterling silver findings.