Missing in action

Hi friends,

 Sorry I have not posted in such along time. Time has gotten away from me.

I had a customer in the shop who bought a layer cake and my Piggie in the Middle pattern. I love the colours of her layer cake. Last week she came in to buy border fabric, and  I helped her choose a coloured sashiko thread for her to do the naive hand quilting as an accent to the Piggie section. She kindly let me take a photo to share with you. You can buy this pattern from here

Piggie in the middle

Our little grandson is growing fast. He and his parents are going to New Zealand for Christmas so Rob can meet some of his wife Joey's family and spend the festive season with them. We hope they can come to Adelaide to visit us in the new year. I have so many cuddles and kisses I owe him :)

So Christmas will be much quieter this year for us. I am still procrastinating about putting the tree up and have a Christmas cake to bake.

I have been busy stitching and another step closer to finishing a new design that has been taking some time to finish. Here is another peek, looks like the dragonfly theme is taking over in my designs. So many of you just love dragonfly's. What do you like best ?

I will be sure to share another sneak peek with you as it progresses.

Don't forget you can follow me on Facebook PaisleyJamDesigns

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)

Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

Good Morning

Good Morning,

Well this quilter has been missing her little grandson after my visit to meet him. My beautiful daughter in law is sending me regular photos to my iPhone. She even had fantastic timing and sent me an photo after his bath on Tuesday night while I was sitting in the doctor's surgery waiting to see my doctor who was  running very late. Such a nice feeling to see him looking at me from my message. Even had a few photos of the last bit of a smile that have just melted my heart.

Jaxon after his bath

I have been making myself get in and finish already started projects. Proud to say I have finished some shop samples & working on some class samples. I have also been sneaking in some time to do my beloved stitchery's. I find my stitching soothes my soul. Do you stitch ?

I have also been working on and off on one of my designs. I have the piecing of the quilt top finished and I am now working on the applique circles that I will be adding to the top with an applique on them. If I get what I would like to get finished today I will share a peek with you.

So while I was doing this post I was sent more photos of baby Jaxon to start my day. Had to share this one to make you smile :) A cutie what do you think ??

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)

Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

What have i been doing and Baby Jaxon

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have just arrived back from a trip to meet my little grandson. We met up in Townsville  Queensland, a pretty coastal town with weather warmer than we are having in Adelaide.

Jaxon and his Nanny

Meeting my first grandchild was very special. He loved to just look at my face,  I felt he was looking into and stealing my heart all at the same time. I enjoyed giving him his bottle, lots of cuddles and kisses. I did a tiny spot of baby sitting while his Mum & Dad popped out for a short time. Then he decided to christen me with a dirty nappy! That was interesting to say the least. I have not changed a nappy in 22 years and these disposable nappies, I have never used. Anyway I did what had to be done, had trouble with those tab thingies, but I got it  on. Only to find out later I had put it in back to front!!! hehe Oh well at least he had a clean one on :)

Leaving my son and his wife Joey and baby Jaxon to fly home was one of the hardest things I have had to do. Broke my heart to leave them. Already looking forward to the next time I get to see them. Hopefully here in Adelaide in the new year.

So what have I been working on design wise? Not a lot of late. I was busy making a quilt for a little someone :) 

But I have two designs that I have started and hoping to start back on one this week. Would you like to take a peek ??? These are two different projects.

As you know Paisley Jam Designs are sold exclusively By Patchwork By Sea here in Adelaide. They now have a new online shop and my patterns can be bought by clicking Here . Please have a look around the web site remembering that products are still being uploaded. If you make a purchase of one of my Paisley Jam Designs patterns they are offering free postage on them with in Australia until the end of October 2014. This will include other products on their web site excluding Block of the Months.

Hope you enjoy your browse.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)

Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

My News

I have a new love in my life! He was born on Sunday 31st August. And he has stolen my heart and I have not even been to visit and cuddle him yet. Yes, he is my first grandchild. My eldest son Robert and his wife Joey have become parents. They have named him Jaxon Peter, very heart warming as they gave him Robert's little brothers name as his middle name. As you maybe able to tell I have turned into a doting Nanna!

I think he is most handsome & gorgeous baby ever.

Here are some photo's so you can see Jaxon. What do you think? 

Jaxon Peter 31/9/2014

My proud son Robert.

This is the day he was born. I did not tell a fib, he is gorgeous, well I think he is :) . The photo with my son is my all time favorite, he looks so very proud holding his son less than a day old.

 In the photo below he is 4 days old and has his cranky pants on, as my son tells me. He was woken to be fed! How rude of his mum hehe.  He screams the house down if you dare to take his clothes off for a bath, just like his daddy did. I will be visiting  them next month. My son works in Mt Isa Queensland as he works down the mine and that is 1877 kilometres away from Adelaide were I live. I am so excited to be visiting them.

Jaxon 4 days old with his cranky pants on ! hehe

So, of course as I quilter I had to make a quilt ! So this is the quilt Terry and I have made for our little grandson. I love the colours we have picked and the mustard 1st border makes the quilt sing. And of course a special little message of love from his Nanna & Poppy.

I have never made bibs before but must say I am happy with the results.

So, now you know why I have not been finishing off two design projects that I have on the go at the moment. Until next time.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

New design pattern release Adelaide

Hi Everyone,
Yes we have finished the pattern or my latest design Christmas Memories. I was inspired to do this design after having my eldest son home this last Christmas for the first time in 6 years. We also had his fiance'e Joey (now Robs wife) come share Christmas with us too. I am not a big Christmas girl as I was not brought up with a lot of tradition for the season. Partly I think as my parents found it hard celebrating Christmas in the hot humid weather of Sydney when we immigrated from England. So Christmas to me is about having my family around me, eating lots of food and having lots of fun and making lots of memories to treasure forever. My family mean the world to me and I love and treasure each and every one of them with a special place for each in my heart. So I made this table runner for you to share with your family each Christmas.

"Christmas Memories" copyright to Paisley Jam Designs 2014

Tomorrow the pattern and kits will be released at Sewing Stitching and Craft Fair at Wayville Showground Adelaide on the Patchwork By Sea stand S14. So if you are coming to the show please stop by and say hello.

Patchwork By Sea stand S14 

 I hope you like my new pattern. What do you think of the words I have used ? I felt these were very important ones for me and my family :0)

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

First Magazine ad.

I am so excited that Patchwork By Sea have advertised for some of my patterns in Australian Patchwork & Quilting and a couple of their sister magazines. I feel very excited and overwhelmed at seeing my designs on a glossy magazine page. Here is a copy of the ad.

I thought I would put up photo's of my other patterns for you to see too.

  

Patterns are $15.00AU each plus postage except for the bigger pattern Christmas Blessings which is $19.95AU plus postage. You can order them from Patchwork By Sea by ringing the shop on 08 8377 3942. If you are not in Australia like us, you can order them by sending an email to pbysea@bigpond.com   My patterns are exclusively available from Patchwork By Sea.

I am hoping to be able to share two new designs with you soon. One is still waiting for the pattern to be written and the I am working on another at the moment.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

We are having fun in the new shop.

Time has flown by quickly this year and it is hard to believe, that we will have been in the new shop 6 weeks this week. We have had so many lovely comments about the shop from everyone "who has come in to visit us from near and far. Everyone tell us how '
"bright" and "so much room" we have. We have over 500 new fabrics in stock with  more deliveries arriving.  We are proud of the new shop, so I decided to share some photo's with you.

These are some inside the shop photo's taken at night.

These are the new chairs in the classroom. The photo is taken after the Jelly Roll race we held in our Gala opening week with Nikki Tervo as the teacher. How pretty does the off cuts look on the floor with the bright chairs? :)

And last is a photo of our back entrance. See the big sign above the door, to let you know where to enter from the large rear car park. 

We have now finished painting and cleaning the old shop, and now we can finish settling into the new shop. Terry's office is a store room at the moment, so we have that to finish. Then I am hoping to be able to get back to some more designing, and be able to finish off the Bali batik quilt   I was making months ago.  I also have a completed design of a table runner that needs a pattern written for it. I will share these with you as soon as they are finished.
Please feel free to leave me comments on any of my blog posts, as i would love to hear from you :)
Till next time.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

Patchwork By Sea has moved.

We spent 4 days over Easter moving our shop from Jetty Road Brighton to 5/365 Brighton Road Hove SA 5048. Such a huge amount of work in moving a patchwork shop I can assure you. Not just what you see in the front of the shop, but also the classroom and all the behind the scene Bom's fabric and a whole lot more :).

It is sad to move the shop from the street where it began back in October 1998. The street has become so busy and parking difficult, so we felt it was time to move our business to a bigger and brighter shop with ample parking at the rear.

Patchwork By Sea at Jetty Road Brighton Oct 1998 - April 2014

This is what is left at the Jetty Road shop now and we have to clean and smarten it up for the next tenant.

And this is how everything got to the new address ! Yep I was a truckers wife for a few days!! 

Can't tell you how many loads we had already done before this one !

And now for the reveal of the new shop.

What do you think? We have updated the logo colours and the signs really stand out, just as we had wanted them too. The sign design is also being used on our new web site we are having built and is coming very soon.

And this is a sneak peek of the inside from out side the front door. More photos next week after the Gala Opening which takes part all of next week. We have Nikki Tervo as a guest designer with us for the opening and she will be releasing some brand new designs at our Gala opening on Monday night.

Terry and I would like to thank everyone for your support and look forward to your continued support in our new and exciting shop. With your continued support we can grow bigger and better into the future.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

Rob's wedding

We have had the pleasure of flying to Bali with our daughter Alynda her husband Jon and our youngest son Peter and his partner Ally for my eldest son Robert's wedding just over a week ago. We were privileged to welcome Robert's bride Joey into our family.

I hope you don't mind this proud mum sharing some wedding photo's with you.

Bride and groom with parents.

My beautiful daughter Alynda, beautiful bride Joey and my two handsome son's Robert & Peter.

The beautiful reception table

 The beautiful people of Bali and the resort we stayed in during our stay has stolen my heart and I am already looking forward to my next visit .....one day :0)

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

                                       Jennifer xx

New designs and a design needs a new name pattern giveaway.

Hi, I have been busy with ideas and have two new sneak peeks to share.

The first one is a new Christmas table runner. I decided to challenge myself and use the brighter Christmas fabrics. I hope you like them as much as I do. This peek is before it was quilted and I am now just stitching the binding down. Then to take the photo and pattern writing to be done and kits to be cut. Oh! 

and a name to be chosen too! 

Sneak peek of Christmas table runner.

The second is an idea I had using a Jelly Roll / Bali pop. We had this beautiful Bali one in the shop that I fell in love with. We did show this photo on the shop's Facebook page and people loved it so much.

Bali roll with blue/grey fabric.

So we cut the pieces and played with the layout and this was the one we like best. So this is the other sneak peek.

Bali sneak peek.

  

More work to be done on this one, but I have enjoyed myself so much so far.

The design with the snowman, has gone back to the drawing board. I found out the hard way not to use a felt tipped marker with the Floriani Stitch & Wash!! should of known the marker would run when wet.........but did not think of it at the time :( ..... Lesson learnt the hard way! one I will not forget.

On a brighter note I have finished another design that you have seen before and it has been waiting patiently to be quilted. It is Piggy in the Middle.

Piggy in the middle on display at Patchwork By Sea.

Close up of the hand stitching I have done around the rectangle in each block.

Full size photo before quilting.

I hope you like it. I would like to re-name Piggy in the Middle to something else as it is not my favorite name for such a pretty quilt. Any suggestions??

Please comment on the blog and if I like the name you suggest I will pop a couple of patterns in the post to you. I look forward to reading your suggestions.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

                                       Jennifer xx

Same pattern different fabrics.

Thought I would share with you some photo's of two of my patterns made up in different fabrics.The first is my Bar Cake pattern. The photo on the left is the original quilt sample made using a layer cake. The new quilt in the photo on the right is using 22 amazing aboriginal fabrics. I have re named this pattern to Steps to the Past. How good does it look! the beauty of this pattern is it would look great in almost any fabrics. I can see beautiful rose fabrics or fun kid's prints, yummy Batiks or even repo fabrics.

The second lot of photo's are of my Piggie in the Middle pattern (sorry, could not think of another name after running it as a class and picking the name for a bit of fun!) The photo on the left is my quilt now pinned and ready for some quilting. The one on the right is my daughter Alynda's quilt. She was a student in the class I taught at Patchwork by Sea. She chose the ever yummy Moda range Mimi by Chez Mio.  She added a few extra fabrics to her Layercake to make the quilt a bit bigger. She has quilted it herself and then gave it away as a Christmas gift. I just love  it!! (yep, I do know the photo is sideways, but I was not able to get it to download the correct way)

Both these patterns have been designed to use Moda Layer Cakes and are quick and easy patterns for you to have fun and make a quick quilt for that someone special.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx

Christmas and new year Oh! dear

Time has just flown past for me. We have been busy with interstate visitors off and on since the end of November. I ran around doing some deep cleaning house work before they arrived. So, very belated wishes for Christmas and New Year from me, sorry.
We had Terry's family visit end of November from Sydney. We all went out for dinner to celebrate Terry's Mum's 90th birthday, then did some sight seeing and a family BBQ.

Two week's later our eldest son Rob came to visit from Mt Isa and a few day's later his fiance arrived to spend Christmas and New Year with us. So wonderful to have all my family with us for Chrissy.

I am not a big fan of Christmas as a rule, but this Christmas I even invested in a new tree and baubles. It had to look good having my family together for the first time in 6 years. A big thank you to Alynda for putting the tree up for me. Christmas for me is not about gifts it is about family and the special time spent together as a family and making new family memories to treasure.

Years ago I made a fruit Christmas cake and iced it with marzipan and royal icing for Christmas. It has since then become a family tradition in our house.

This year I was running late making the cake. Yep, another tradition each year haha.
 So a late night to cook the cake and a few day's later an early morning to ice it before work. When it was iced I put a clean tea towel over it so the icing could harden. When I checked the following day this is what I found.

Yes! fat cat has walked on my cake!! I Shared the photo with my Facebook friends who told me to leave the prints in the icing, so I did. Hope fat cat does not think he can make this a new tradition each year.
We did take a family photo's one evening that turned into a lot of fun with both son pulling faces and being silly. Boy's never grow up....do they ?? hehe

New years eve we all went out for dinner and then came home to protect Sadie from the fire works. She hates them. We all spent a quiet evening having a few drinks and chatting to bring the new year in.

I hope you all had a family filled Christmas and may the new year fill your needs and keep you healthy and safe.

Hope you have a wonderful day where ever you are :)
Happy Quilting

Jennifer xx