Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a wonderful New Year!

My computer crashed just before Christmas and I'm now typing on my laptop.  My husband is fixing my computor and it's amazing how dependant you become when you don't have use of  your desk top computor.  Of course all my designs on are on desktop, so until it' is fixed the designing will have to be done on my laptop. 

I have designed two patterns for  Trend-Tex and 6 new designs for Northcott which will be released in the new year starting in January 2014. 

It's exciting to see them on their websites and of course you can pick them up at your local quilt shop or on my website. 
Trend-Tex the desgins are:

Hoo's in Technicolour
Big Fish, Little Fish

Both of these are using the soft "Fireside" on the back and the front of the quilt in bright colours.

Northcott Fabrics

Raspberry Dishes
Hoo's Garden
Happy Sailing"
Beneath the Earth's Crust
Log Cabin Beauty
Down by the dock by the Bay

So keep checking our website so see the new patterns and have a wonderful 2014!

Sue


Susan J. Jensen of Quilted Escapes

Help Sue Celebrate the news of her first Grandchild with her new design "Hoo's Cabin"

We are going to be new grandparents and of course what does a designer do when she is told it's going to be a girl you ask?  Design a new baby quilt of course and here it is, "Hoo's Cabin".  I will be teaching this at A Great Notion, Abbotsford, B. C.  in 2014, so if you are interested in joining me, check out  www.agreatnotion.com for the dates at the end of December 2013. 

 

Meandering Feathers

Okay, so I need to finish a quilt with lots of white space.  Using the pre-cut hexagons and of course you know me, I don't do y-seams, so the next best thing is to applique!    Now that they are appliqued on, it was time to machine quilt it and get it done but how, so why no meandering feathers!   The more I do the more relaxed I become......I love machine quilting!

Here's what's happening here in the studio!

Well, it's been busy, here at the studio, I'm designing a new quilt using the fireside fabric for TrendTex called "Hoo's in Technicolour"   I think it's going to be a series of my family of "Hoo's"!

So here is a sample of what the "Hoo's in Technicolour" looks like in progress, there is fireside fluff all over the place, and while I work away, I keep thinking how can I use the fluff in my fibre art!  You know me, my mind is constantly thinking "what if"!

Westcott Scissors by Acme

I was at a trade show recently and met Sue from Acme United Corporation.  She gave me a demo on the titanium scissors and boy I was impressed!  What I like about these scissors first of all they are bright pink... I won't loose them in my studio like my other pairs, but this particular pair have a "Blade Tension Key"  so if you are cutting layers of fabric you can adjust the blade tension.

You can cut several layers at a time easily.

These are great not only for quilters and fibre artists, but for those in the fashion industry. 

La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum

I'm honoured to have my "Loon Lake" submission accepted into the La Conner Quilt and Fibre Art Festival October 2013.  I hope that if you have the opportunity to visit LaConner Quilt & Textile Museum and see some incredible work.   Check out my fibre art blog at susanjjensenblogspot.com

I have heard of Barn Quilts......but I don't have a Barn! So......what about garage quilts!

In the latest Quilter's Connection newsletter, Heather did an article on barn quilts (quilt blocks painted on the side of barns) here in B.C. 


Mulberry Wine

                                    
As part of the editorial committee of the magazine I suggested to Heather that we should start a "Garage Quilt"  for those who live in the city! 
So.....let me know what you think.

The idea would be to have a piece of wood cut by your husband  or your local hardware store,  approximately 15" square, using exterior paint, paint a  quilt block and hang it on your garage, let's see how many we can do and let me know!  Email me at suequilts1@shaw.ca!

 

I'm a lttle nervous, I'm doing a trunk show at Lions Gate Quilter's Guild on Tuesday!

When I'm invited to talk a a quilt show, I always wonder what I should talk about, what should I show, what kind of quilters are they, are they traditional, contemporary or are the textile artists? 

As a quilt pattern designer for a few fabric companies, I have realized just how far I have come from the days of not knowing how to quilt, where to start, what's the right way and when I look at my first quilt now, I can see how much better I have become. 
Of course I can always improve and there is so much to learn in the quilting world.

What I love in the quilting world is the how wonderful quilters are about sharing!  Don't know how to do something, ask a quilter, made a mistake, there is always a quilter who says, boy I remember doing that!  Don't know what colours to use or you can't find a fabric to match, the quilter is always there to the rescue, "I have something in my stash that will work".  

So I thought I would share  my journey and how my quilting has changed through the years and how I became a Quilt Pattern Designer that I am today.    So Lions Gate Quilter's Guild, here I come!

Till next time, hug a quilter, they are great! 

Our qult is having our first quilt show in years!

As part of the Ridge Meadows Quilter's Guild, I pleased to annouce our first quilt show in years and I hope you can join us!   The venue is great - no stairs, parking is ample and so much more!  We have guests joining us - Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild, Fibre Art Network, the award winning fabric artist Judy Greenwood to name just a few as well as some great vendors!  So please join us in spreadng the word!
If you a traditional quilter, a fabric artist, a modern quilter or admire of all things quilted, this is the show for you!  Enjoy a weekend of pure inspiration and music not to mention the tearoom.

See you at the show!  Susan

Playing in the studio!

Well, I had some time with my friends to learn needle felting using my needle felting machine and boy is this so much fun, so much so, I think a small class on this is in the works. Of course I was supposed to do a peach, but you know me, I truly tried to do the peach, but to no avail!  Landscapes are in my heart soooo......, here is my piece. 

What I like about this technique, is you don't need a machine, you can do it by hand as well.  Clover sells 2 hand held felters - a 5 needle and a 3 needle felter.  At the moment I have been given a small electric felter made by Simiplicty to try.  I will keep you posted.  You can felt just about anything, wool roving, fabrics, yarns to name a few. 
Try it or join me at A Great Notion in the April - July session.  This is great to take anywhere, the cottage, the beach or getting together with your friends for a fun day of needle felting.

Victoria and Abbotsford Creative Stitches Show

I'm pleased to announce that I will be teaching my "Stitch explosion!  " and "What’s rubbing alcohol got to do with it?    at the Victoria and Abbotsford Creative Stitches 2013.  I hope to see you there!

Pattern Correction

It has come to my attention that there is an error in "Under the Tuscan Sun" and I sincerely appologize.  It should state that you need to make 18 identical blocks and 18  of the reverse.  Thank you Elyse for bringing this to my attention..

A Camera for Christmas

My dear husband Morgan gave my a camera for Christmas and I love it.  I spent New Years day taking pictures, trying to find a place where the fog had lifted was another challenge!  I finally arrived at Hayward Lake and trotting down to the lake from the parking lot feeling like a professional with my tripod and camera in hand.  As I was trying to set up the tripod, and man came over and said got a new camera for Christmas?  How did he know....then he asked if I had seen the eagles, I said no.  His reply was "You walked right past them....then I knew, a professional photographer would have noticed....oh well.  What is great about having a camera that has telephoto, wide angle, panoramic and micro is I can really see the world around me in a whole new way.  So.....when I didn't forget to take the lens cap off, these are a few of my pics!