Today's post will focus on the SUNSET color story that makes up the precut Half to Have it bundle in my SKY fabrics called SUNSET. It consists of 15 colors (half the collection) and it comes in a precut tower 1/2 yard each as well as on full bolts at your local quilt shop or favorite online retailer. I wish I could tell you I have it in my shop, but I don't! The collection is super popular and many stores have sold out! But don't worry, more is coming across the Pacific and headed to Robert Kaufman's warehouse arriving next month. There are online retailers that still have some stock but many shops are waiting for the next shipment! Be sure to stay tuned and ask for it! We have put the book into its second printing already! OMBRÉ QUILTS- It's available everywhere! 

SKY Ombrés have lots of nuance of colors reminiscent of the heavens above. Photos don't do justice to the variety and texture of the fabrics, however we try to show you from selvage to selvage just how wonderful they are. I'm featuring a few projects in this post that use the SUNSET Color Story (next time I will do the SUNRISE story). Above shows all 15 pieces in the precut with their appropriate color names. Each piece represents 44" across and about 24" repeat. 

The fabrics cut up beautifully and you don't need to be a color maven to get amazing results. The beauty of SKY Ombrés is that the color work has already been done for you! Add solids, prints or yarn dyes to give even more dimension and interest. Below is on of my students at Jen Kingwell's shop, Amitie Textiles, who chose a midnight solid to put her polygons on. I love how they pop.

Australia was fabulous, by the way! I love the people, the ocean, the sky and the animals. We are all so sad about the fires and the hardship they all are enduring since November. Best thing you can do is send money to help them take care of all the living beings that are affected. Every little bit helps. Thank you for caring. 

The Australian skies were breathtaking and yes, different than my Californian skies I see along our coast. The water is a different hue, the air feels smoother, the smells are full of eucalyptus and some kind of mint....And the light is all it's own too. There are many similarities to California as well, but I think I was most enchanted by the exotic animals: Koalas, Kangaroos, Echnidnas and Parakeets. 

Another favorite quilt highlighted above is made by Amanda McCabe. We became friends on IG bonding about the women's world cup soccer champs last summer- THE BEST!!! And then I found out she is also an amazing quilter with tons of talent. So I sent her the Sunset Half to Have It bundle and asked her to work with it. Needless to say, she made a breathtaking piece with just 15 of the half yard cuts. You too can make this quilt by buying the precut and the book and taking the time to study, cut, piece, study, play, piece! Below shows two ways she was thinking about when laying out the blocks. Every quilt will be unique, as the ombré will cut differently and you will make different choices. This is not a copy cat quilt, but a copy cat technique. Even if you do try to make exact one, (go for it!), it will still be unique. Also it's important to remember to cut out more than you need and be ok with the having extra blocks that may not make it into your final quilt. Put them on the back, or make another project. These colorful stars are too pretty not to use. All instructions are in the book under Dawn Star (colors will be different so substitute accordingly) 

Ombré fabrics are all the rage now. And they have been admired in our industry, especially hand dyes. Now with digital printing, I can create complex art with any medium and it is printable! I used pastels for SKY and we interpreted hundreds of colors in SKY. It is my first digital printed line and I am over the moon with the results. C&T and I made a few YouTube videos showing you how to use them. Don't be afraid! They are so fun and forgiving to work with, they make all of us look like color pros! Kick your feet up and watch a few. Let me know what you think. 

Sunset Lake WIP- Back when I was "Almost Done" and book deadline were pressing! I was debating whether or not to add another section at the bottom... hence the hanging blocks sweeping onto the floor. IT was a YES! So this quilt is jumbo at 88"x105.5" with the fabrics I used laid out on the floor in front. 

Kristen Takakuwa, One of the founders of HELLO STITCH in Berkeley California has been a friend of mine for some time now. We have worked on many projects together, she has helped me meet deadlines and shared with me her ways of quilting, garment making and design. She mentioned a while back that she wanted to do a flying geese bordered skirt and wondered if I had some early designer samples I could part with...This is just two strips: one Blush, one Sky. I love how it turned out. She posted on her Instagram @mamacatquilts and used the Cleo Skirt pattern from Made by Rae. 

Finally, I'd like to invite you to upcoming events I am going to be attending, teaching and would really love to see you. 2020 is going to be a colorful, creative year and I hope we get a chance to see one another. This week is Craft Napa, Napa Ca. to kick off the 2020, followed by QuiltCon in Austin, TX in February where I will be having a booth (#1010) and showing my Ombré SKY quilts, leading into an exciting summer teaching all week at Quilter Affair in Sisters OR and a very special fall retreat at Madeline Island School of the Arts, which still has some spaces left. Treat yourself to a fabulous week. It's a 5 day intensive and it's going to be an amazing, soulful time where we'll settle in for some ombré exploration and discover the beauty of island life making. 

That is all for today. I wish you a wonderful new year!
May 2020 bring you joy, curiosity, love and a renewed desire to make this world a better place. 
xo

Hi Quilters and Makers!! Hope you are well and getting your workspaces cleaned up to start making! SKY Collection, my line of full range of artful, ombré fabrics AND the book OMBRÉ QUILTS that uses ALL SKY fabrics is FINALLY shipping worldwide, now! I am so excited to share this first time accomplishment of giving you a book with gorgeous and approachable projects that you can make with the exact same fabric as I have done in the book. Plus shops have the potential to teach and kit many of the projects in this book, or do block of the month, and delve into the magic of OMBRÉS. (Robert Kaufman manufactures my fabrics and C&T Publishing prints my books and patterns.)

All 30 SKY fabrics are shown above. Some ombres are more dramatic than others, some pale to dark, others dark to even darker....And they all reflect what we see in the sunsets, sunrises and various weather through out the year. Below is all 6 projects from the book. You begin with two very easy projects: Madras Table Topper and Yellow Bars Quilt. Both great beginner concepts that I also support with a YouTube video to help you learn more about value, hue and cutting up these  Beauties! IF you are at Quilt Market and part of the trade, please stop by my booth this weekend or come to my schoolhouses- more information is on my Instagram and quilt market programming. 

Below are just a couple of more details from the book and shows a piece of the fabric and how it really captures the mood of light, sky and water. I hope you are inspired to get some SKY and OMBRÉ QUILTS book and see what you come up with. I will be doing a book and fabric tour beginning here in Houston, then onto Australia for most of November, Napa in January, a few guilds in March and May, Sisters Quilters Affair in July in Oregon, then also  have an exciting 5 day workshop lined up with Madeleine Island School for the Arts coming in October 2020 where we are delving deep into using ombres and unleashing the potential and magic. Stay tuned and thanks for reading up on what’s new. Until next time! Stay Creative!! Xx Jennifer

Do you want to make this Elephant and I Quilt but not sure how? Have you seen it on my feed, a friend's work table, at your local guild or on Pinterest and wonder how to make it? 

Or maybe you've already made this... and ready to make another? Especially if you're comfortable with paper piecing and a die hard elephant lover, (like me!) This popular pattern is super fun to make, and easy, once you understand how. 
That is why C&T and I put together  three YouTube videos to give you more information and expand upon the instructions in the Elephant and I pattern. Videos are super helpful, I love coming up with the lessons of things I can't explain in writing and strive to do a thorough job of showing the process. Our goal is to help you learn something new to keep your creative fire burning. There will be more videos coming about my expanded ideas on color, patterns, and favorite techniques. Below is the #1 Video and you can click on #2 and #3. ​I cover choosing color, simple to advance paper piecing and professional looking machine appliqué, plus my favorite GO TO products. 

Fun fact: The same techniques in Elephant and I are applied to image below: Whale and I in OMBRE QUILTS book (Oct 2019). ! Subscribe to my channel to stay informed with what's being recorded in the studio! 

The fourth video covers how to place the twigs if you are making my Cardinal Shimmer Quilt. So check that out if your are into the tiniest animal of the grouping!

If you like any of these videos and subscribe to my channel, get 15% off patterns by typing in YOUTUBE for coupon code at check out!  

Until next time.... (As I wait like a race horse at the Kentucky Derby for OMBRE QUILTS Book to come in!!)
Stay Creative!!
​xo,

Ombrés and Octagons is what I am teaching at Craft Napa January 18-19, 2020 as well as My Color Wheel . Sign up is in 7 hours. June 1, 7am. So yes, I am burning the midnight hour to get this post out to you! Sign up, and learn more about how to use ombré fabrics, work with value, hue and how to make the most of my SKY Collection as well as other ombre style fabrics. This quilt above is called Sunset Lake, featured in OMBRE QUILTS BOOK. We're going to have a ball and a great way to kickstart your creative new year, and it's all in gorgeous Napa Valley, just 45 minutes from our Golden Gate Bridge! It's 5th edition of Craft Napa and there are so many great classes to take! It would be a treat to see you there! 

All SKY fabrics will be shipping in October, see the entire collection here.  Above shows variations of MY COLORWHEEL class at Craft Napa, January 16, 2020. 
1. Winter Shimmer is shipping or has shipped to your favorite store. See the collection here! 
2. I have KITS in the shop for Cardinal Shimmer Kit and Winter Shimmer Table Runner Kit
2. If you want just the patterns that are made up in Winter Shimmer, check out my new Cardinal Shimmer and Winter Shimmer Table Runner,  which  are both based on the same Octagon Shimmer Template.
3. Contact me [email protected] if you want to order patterns wholesale for your store. Minimums apply. 
4. Craft Napa sign ups open June 1, 7am Pacific Standard Time. Get while the getting's good! 
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Above is some of the Winter Shimmer fabrics and the pieced then appliquéd Cardinal Shimmer. Below is the Tree Shimmer Table Runner, No Hats in The House Ode to Trees paper pieced pattern and Better off Thread Star Quilt. 

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading my blog, making beautiful things with my fabric and telling me about it! See you on Instagram! 

xx
Stay Creative. 
Jennifer

HUGE NEWS! If you follow me on Instagram, where I gush all the time about the cool stuff happening in my studio, At Robert Kaufman and C&T Publishing, you know by now I am in the final stages of my book, OMBRÉ QUILTS and have printed designer samples of SKY COLLECTION (see all 30 here) which I used to make every quilt (and then some!) for the book. The perfect storm of getting fabric and book to market AT THE SAME TIME was a robust undertaking, one that took the whole team at both C&T and RKC, plus some super talented sewists to help me get it done and for that I am grateful. I’m thrilled and you all get to benefit too!

Here are the hard fast details and NEED TO KNOW:
Book & Fabric shipping to QUILTERS Worldwide OCT 2019. Sharpen your blades and rev up your machines!

•SKY COLLECTION premiering now, MAY 16-19 at Kansas City International Quilt Market at KC Convention Center. Robert Kaufman Booth #925 Open to Wholesale Trade Only. We’ll be moving and shaking!! SO much exciting stuff premieres at these markets and this is our time to show it all off! This is where your store sees fabric, projects and orders all new products for Fall 2019.
•OMBRÉ QUILTS Book is also available for preorder at C&T Publishing Booth #324.
•SCHOOLHOUSE Presentation, like I am going to show all the projects In Real Life! Thursday RM. 2205 at 12:45 PM. Giving samples out free!
•OPEN TO PUBLIC - FABRIC CHIC!! SEE ABOVE ^ all quilts to show... rolled up in a Meet in Greet and talk(cause is just more fun that way) Wednesday 6-8pm. WINE TOO! 170 English Landing Dr. Parkville MO (10 min drive from KC Convention Center) Door Prizes! YOU’RE INVITED-
​ PLEASE COME IF YOU CAN!

These gorgeous pastels are what I used (Thanks to my dear friend and pastel teacher, Amanda Houston) to create the SKY design which is a celebration of all the glorious skies we witness overhead, 30 pieces to commemorate my 30 years of being a professional textile designer, and they are digitally printed which gives us limitless color options and a more green/sustainable approach to printed fabric which makes me very happy.

OMBRE QUILTS book highlights 6 gorgeous projects, talks about what is an ombre, which ones to buy, how to use them, cut them, and why you’ll fall in love with these versatile prints (if you already haven’t) so not only is it a HOW TO book, but also a process book as I discuss color, value, placement and design. You’ll learn a lot. I will show you all the projects in a later post and talks in more detail. For now, know that above is what the cover looks like!

Can you tell how happy I am?? I love all colors, I love all moods and textures of fabrics. It’s been a while since I have done this kind of intense color and it feels so good to be immersed and to get such “never before possible” colors digitally printed on one yard of fabric. You have to see it to believe it. It’s so yummy. More to come later. Please comment below if you have any questions, observations etc....These Ombres styles are trending up now and it’s time we dig in and have some more fun. Until next time, Keep creating, it does your soul good
xo
​Jennifer

Take a look at what my students did in the barn. I am so proud of them. Lots of natural light and room for creative work! 
​

 Pokey Bolton is the founder of Craft Napa, her latest endeavor and it's a retreat that I highly recommend. With an impressive resume to boast, Pokey is the founder of two quilt magazines, hosted PBS Quilting Arts TV,  was Chief Creative Officer at Quilts Inc and now that she has moved to Napa, built an AMAZING Art Barn and sharing her dreams with us!
 I believe she is just ramping up! 

I was lucky to be invited to teach and be the keynote speaker at The Creativity Luncheon. The event was a true, fill your cup kind of artist & sisterhood pow-wow. I got to preach my favorite belief  "we are all creative". We just need to support our creativity....

                           Harness it.                      Nourish it.                   Run with it.
​

Sunrise walk behind barn. Mist, light, shadows and tucked in that valley is Pokey's Art Barn....Magical.