JWD Publishing Blog

Hi Everyone,

First things first……Finding new and exciting products to tell you about is such a high for me. I am like a kid in a candy store. That is how I felt when I saw the “Pound Hounds” fabric panel by Sue Marsh. RJR Fabrics really found a talented designer when they found Sue. Can you say “cute?” Being a dog lover, I think the panel is just darling.

Judy Parker of Scrappy Quilting, located in Wanatah, Indiana showed me this panel and several other fabrics that are in the same collection. She sells the panel for $9.00, but she also has a kit that would make a 70″ x 82″ quilt.

Let me tell you about the 3-D fabric! OMG! I never knew they could make such a thing. Did you? Judy showed me a fabric with spaceships on it and asked me to put 3-D glasses on. This I did and suddenly the shapceships looked as if they were floating through space. It was really 3-D. This fabric would be great for the quilt Kids’ Night In (JWD/Christine Porter pattern).

Next, Judy showed me a butterfly-garden fabric. I looked at it with the 3-D glasses on and it looked as if the butterflies were flying through the garden. Hoffman Fabrics creates this fabric, which retails for around $11.00 per yard. Yet another Hoffman 3-D fabric is Snorkeley’s Underwater View, which gives you a realistic underwater scene.

If these fabrics interest you as a shopowner, do contact Hoffman Fabrics. If you are a quilter, run to your favorite quilt shop and ask to see the new Hoffman 3-D fabrics. They are all so much fun!

See you soon!

Teresa

Speaking of summertime and flowers, it is truly the flower season. If you’re in the mood for a summer flower quilt, check out these dazzling summertime flower quilts by JWD designers Mary Hoover and Barbara Persing of 4th & 6th Designs.

Summer Blooms and Coneflower Garden both begin with pieced backgrounds. Each uses easy machine applique techniques to create their dazzling flowers. Notice how realistic these two quilt images are. Wouldn’t either of these quilts look stunning on one of your walls?

Shop owners, these two quilts are great quilt projects for classes, as they are beautiful, easy to do, and provide skill-building opportunities. We have each quilt available for shop trunk shows to advertise classes, sell patterns and fabric, or just to add a happy flower quilt to your mix on the walls. For more information on these two quilts, check these patterns out on their individual pattern pages. To reserve a trunk show for either of these quilts, contact us.

Summer has just begun!

I saw a cute elementary-school-age girl working very intently on something as I was walking around the vendors’ booths at the Kokomo Quilt Guild quilt show recently. So I had to check out what she was doing. This young nine-year old, granddaughter of the owner of the Creative Stitch in North Manchester, Indiana,  was making Kanzashi flowers.I had never seen or heard of these flowers before. I was amazed at how quickly she could make the flowers—and how beautiful they were.

I was quite excited to see the young girl’s demonstration. To begin, all you have to do is cut a square of fabric. The fabric is folded in half and placed in the Kanzashi flower maker. The excess fabric is cut away from the plastic stencil. Then the flower is made petal by petal by hand using a double thread. Creating Kanzashi flowers is oh-so-easy, as our young demonstrator can attest to. If she can make them, so can you! I can hardly wait to make some myself.

These flowers are perfect for  embellishing quilt and sewing projects, as well as accessorizing clothing, jewelry, and home decor projects. The flowers can be elegant or whimsical, depending on your fabric choices and how you finish the flower centers. Clover Needlecraft, Inc. makes this flower tool. It retails for around $6.00. The flowers can be made in four sizes. This looks like a perfect tool to demonstrate in your store. Also, it would be a fun idea for a half-day accessorizing class. Let me know what you think of this tool. I imagine you have many great ideas as to how you can use these flowers in different projects. Love to hear your input.

Talk to you later. I’m off to find some more great quilt products for you!