Happy World Quilting Day 2018! We have been very busy behind the scenes producing our first studio quilt pattern. Introducing Morris Mouse. A dapper young chap, inspired by Liberty's Cottage Garden range. He loves relaxing amongst the cosmos flowers and bluebells, which surround his cosy thatched cottage. How is he made? Morris is a foundation pieced sewing pattern. This means that you sew through the paper templates on your sewing machine and then remove the paper afterwards. It's a technique that allows you to make very accurate lines and we love it! When can I buy him? Morris is making his debut on Sewing Quarter TV on Sunday March 25th at 10am. He will also be available on our website...
Three years ago I wrote a little wish list for 2017 in my notebook (my 40th year) and at the top it said "visit Quilt Con with a purpose". I didn't make it to Savannah in February as we were in the middle of a house renovation, but I have just got back from my first Spring Quilt Market in St Louis, Missouri. Market is essentially a trade show for businesses in the quilting world where shop owners and distributors buy for the next seasons. It is hosted in Houston every Autumn and moves around US cities in the Spring. It was a huge opportunity to see how the industry works and to meet people, many who I have only...
Today I am sharing a recent project I stitched for the amazing Lisa Congdon. Lisa is an American artist, author, fabric designer and somebody I admire very much. Lisa has very kindly agreed to an interview which will be on this blog on Sunday (March 6th) so make sure you check back or sign up to Jenni Smith Sews on Bloglovin and don't miss it! There will be a fabric giveaway from Cloud 9 too. The textile picture I stitched shows Lisa's beloved dog Wilfredo, fast asleep beneath a quilt. It has now made its journey across the Atlantic from Ilkley to Portland Oregon and has been very well received, much to my joy. The story of how it...
Next week I take up my place on the Entrepreneurial Spark business accelerator programme in Leeds. Back in December I had to submit a business plan and pitch my vision to a team of professionals. It was scary, but I got through it and on February 3rd I will be on the 7.30am train to boot camp. For the next 6 months I will have a lot of input from people with business and financial expertise. I will have an office space to work from and be part of a network of entrepreneurs with access to industry-specific mentors, growth consultants and lots more. My aim is simple - to develop, produce and sell products that I would like to see...
Recently I spent a day at Aurifil HQ in Milan, invited by the very lovely Brad Mitchell who is the UK sales manager and, as it turns out, grew up just down the road from me in West Yorkshire. During my day in Saronno I learnt about the history of the company, saw the production process at the factory and planned my first collaboration with them at the Craft, Hobby and Stitch show in the UK next February (yippee). I love Aurifil thread like so many other people out there and bought my first batch from Lisa and Justine at Simply Solids who have a really good supply here in England. I not only use it for quilting but also...
