So much to share! A give away, a sew-a-long, and of course, a sweet picture!

Hello stitching friends! I have a few things to share with you today! Many of you have asked for a sew-a-long, so I'm starting a new one! It's not too large, and I'll try to post a block each week if I can! Here is the first block....

You can click here for the template....

http://www.woolenwillowdesigns.com/LittleWoolSamplerQuiltJG.pdf

And click here if you would like to order a kit of the background fabric and wool!.... http://www.woolenwillowdesigns.com/catalog.php?item=59

Also, I have created a Facebook group called "Primitive Stitchin' with Jeni Gaston" where all the templates will be as well! There will be several free patterns there, and you can share photos! I'm a little challenged with links and things, so the Facebook group will make it easy for me to share, without asking for help, as I usually do! Haha!

On the Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine newsletter that goes out tomorrow, there will be a give away! It's for the Martingales calendar with my table runner pattern inside! Go to www.primitivequiltsandprojects.com, and sign up for the newsletter and take the survey!

Here is the calendar....

 

Last, but most certainly not the least........sweet Henley is growing so fast! She started walking a week or so ago! Here she is yesterday wearing a sweet dress from our friend Kay Harmon! She was getting a book read to her!

Whew!

Please share your pictures of progress on the sew along on the Facebook page! Just ask to be added in!

Thank you and have a great evening!

Jeni

 

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Harvest Mystery Blog Hop!

Good morning friends!

Today is my turn for the..........

Farmhouse Threads and Friends

Harvest Mystery Quilt

Blog Hop!

Our Christmas Mystery Quilt Blog Hop was so popular last year - we are doing it again!! For 12 weeks, beginning June 17th we will share with you free patterns from some of our favorite designers to complete a Harvest Mystery Quilt just in time for the season. Each week, one designer will post the pattern to make a Harvest block using wool appliqué on cotton fabric. The patterns are free for you to download and print, and kits will be for sale by the designers. Week 12 will include the instructions to put all of these blocks together with some fun borders to complete your quilt. Finishing kits will be available from Farmhouse Threads. Make sure you sign up for each designer’s blog/website to receive the free patterns. Please share our blog hop with your friends and have them follow along!

Week 1, June 17 - Rhonda McCray, Farmhouse Threads

http://farmhousethreads.blogspot.com

Week 2, June 24 - Jeni Gaston, Woolen Willow Designs

http://jenifromthewillow.blogspot.com

Week 3, July 1- Lisa Bongean, Primitive Gatherings

http://lisabongean.com

Week 4, July 8 - Joan Grenke, Bits and Pieces by Joan

http://bitsandpiecesbyjoan.com

Week 5, July 15 - Joyce Weeks, Geoff’s Mom Pattern Co.

http://geoffsmom.blogspot.com

Week 6, July 22 - Kathi and Taylor, The Cottage at Cardiff Farms

http://thecottageatcardifffarms.com/blog

Week 7 July 29 - Kathy Campbell, Heart to Hand

https://www.hearttohand.com

Week 8, August 5 – Shawn York, Rusty Crow Quilt Shop

http://shawn-rustycrow.blogspot.com

Week 9, August 12 - Debbie Busby, Wooden Spool Designs

http://woodenspooldesigns.blogspot.com

Week 10, August 19 - Gloria and Vicki, Olde Green Cupboard Designs

http://oldegreencupboard.blogspot.com

Week 11, August 26 - Linda and Donna, My Red Door Designs

http://myreddoordesignsblog.blogspot.com

Week 12, September 2 – Finishing Instructions from Farmhouse Threads

http://farmhousethreads.blogspot.com

I have made a cute pumpkin block! You can't have too many pumpkins can you? I know I love decorating my home with a lot of them come Fall! I think Fall themed projects might be one of my favorites to stitch! Here is my block......

Click here for the pattern templates...

http://www.woolenwillowdesigns.com/mysteryharvestblock2.pdf

Click here if you would like to purchase a kit! (I'll use the same fabrics, or a good substitute in kits!)

http://www.woolenwillowdesigns.com/catalog.php?item=58

To make the block you will need...

13"x13" olive green print for background

8" x 10 1/2" textured light tan wool for large pumpkin, moon and star

5 1/2" x 6" hand dyed pumpkin wool for medium pumpkin

4 1/2" x 5 1/4" red stripe or plaid wool for small pumpkin

3 1/2" x 4 1/2" medium brown plaid wool for the medium and large pumpkin

1 1/2" x 3 1/2" dark brown plaid for small pumpkin stem

Use your favorite method to prepare the wool pieces for applique, but don't forget to reverse the shapes if you plan to use a fusible web! I drew some dotted lines to help you with the placement of the shapes on the block! I like to use a whip stitch to applique, and I also used some wool threads to make curved detail lines on the pumpkins with a stem stitch!

Enjoy the hop, and visit Lisa Bongean next week! Check out all our Facebook pages as well, because some of the designers are posting their blocks there!

Happy stitching!

Jeni

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The winner of #Mystashmystyle!

 

The winner of #mystashmystyle contest is...................

Laura of slicofpielife!!!!! Congratulations Laura! You will recieve some great gifts... A 1 year subscription to Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine, a beautiful curated bundle of fabric from Tonya Alexander, author of "Stash Lab," a bundle of beautiful hand-dyed wools from me, and a $50 gift card from Publisher Martingale, to spend at their website! Yay!!

Thank you to the contestants, and to all the people who "liked" and followed along! We also had many really nice comments! Thank you sooooo much!

Laura, please email me with your contact information so we can get your prizes to you! Here is a picture of Laura's great project!

 

 

Now that we have our winner, don't be shy! If you make a project from either of our books, and make it "your way" please share it with us! You can follow us both on Instagram!

Have a great week everyone!

Jeni

 

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#mystashymystyle challenge is extended!

Hello! Good news! We have decided to give you a little more time to finish your #mystashmystyle projects! You have until Tuesday May 31! So get busy, and share them with us! I have one of the entry's posted below for you!!

 

 

This gal posted on Instagram.....so make sure and check out her post at #mystashmystyle! Thank you "sliceofpilife"

If you would like to get a refresher on the rules....look here...

http://jenifromthewillow.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-stash-my-style-contest-and-giveaway.html

When I was deciding on what to make from Tonya Alexander's book "Stash Lab" I wanted it to be something that I felt I could make my own, and that would go with the decor in my house. I chose her Dresden quilt project, because I thought It would be fun to do , and it had applique, which I love!

 

I had so much fun picking fabrics from my scrap bins and shelves, and decided on just doing three blocks. Sorting through my wool shelves, I found a lot of different colors and textures to make my leaves, and the vines are from an old army blanket. For the centers of the dresdens, I decided to do penny circles! After all the handwork, I felt a little hand quilting was in order as well!

You will want to go look at Tonya's blog, http://eyecandyquilts.blogspot.com/ to see what she made, just in case you missed it! I'm planning on doing another of the projects from "Stash Lab" myself, so keep watching, and don't forget to use the #mystashmystyle when you post your project! If you don't do Instagram, just email your picture to me at woolenwillowdesigns@gmail.com!

I finally had some time to lay out the "Churning Stars" blocks from my book...in hopes to get them all sewn together this weekend...no luck with that, but my sewing machine is still calling! Here it is up on the design wall...

If you missed my post about "primitive is not a color" click here!

http://jenifromthewillow.blogspot.com/2016_02_01_archive.html

And here is the runner from my book, made by one of my Wednesday stitching friends!

I love the fabrics she chose!

Today was my day to watch little Henley! Growing too fast, and on the move all day! Grammie is pooped, so have a good night and get those #mystashmystyle projects done and share them! We are very excited to give you a little more time, and see what you have made!

Good night!

Jeni

 

 

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Take along projects

Here I sit in the waiting room.......why didn't I get my take along project to bring with me? I brought my I-pad, so I could check and answer emails. I brought my planner and spreadsheet for upcoming issue designers. I brought my "things to do" notebook, my "bamboo Spark" in case I wanted to play with new designs. What am I doing? Wishing I had some hand sewing along! There is a lady in the corner of the waiting room knitting away on what looks to be a wonderful sweater! I'm getting jealous!

This sweet grand baby Henley is getting a tiny tube put in her tear duct today, so it will quit getting clogged and infected. Grammie is sitting in the waiting room.

I usually have some hexagons to sew, or some applique to work on, but for some odd reason, it never crossed my mind to bring something. What do you have for your take along project?

Share your take along project in the comments!

Have a wonderful day of stitching,

Jeni

 

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What does your stash look like?

Good morning stitching friends!

Last week my Sisters and I went to Quilt Festival in Chicago! We had a great time, met a lot of wonderful quilters, and worked out booth. Gretchen and I gave demonstrations on Rug Hooking, and Punch needle embroidery! It was a lot of fun, and I especially love roaming the isles, looking at all the beautiful quilts! I found some really pretty fabrics and patterns that are completely out of my comfort zone! But you know, now that I have little Henley in my life, all of the sudden, I'm wanting to make things she will love! Haha! This leads me to the title of my blog......What does your stash look like? Mine looks like this......

This isn't all of it, but as you can see, there isn't much contrast and there aren't bright and colorful fabrics! So you see, I really need to feed my fabric stash! One of these days I'll finish organizing my fabric and get it all folded nicely. My wonderful hubby built me a wonderful sewing room above our garage a year ago, and at first I was hog wild on re-folding my fabric.....then I just wanted to sew!

This is a little fun rolling cart I found to hold most of my scraps that I have organized by light and dark. I also trimmed them all to about 2 1/2" strips. When I want to just play and creat something, I pull it close to my machine and go! The shelves behind, hold fat quarters, and larger, that are too small to fold onto the comic boards for the larger shelves. Nice and handy!

Today, while my stitching group is with me, I plan on working on another idea for the #mystashmystyle contest! What will you be working on! Remember to follow on Instagram! And don't forget to check out what Tonya Alexander has made!

http://eyecandyquilts.blogspot.com/

Hurry and get those projects made and share them with us on Facebook or Instagram! If you don't do social media, email them to me at woolenwillowdesigns@gmail.com, and I will post them for you! Just one project will enter you in the contest!

 

If you need a refresher on the details of the contest, go here......

http://jenifromthewillow.blogspot.com/2016/03/my-stash-my-style-contest-and-giveaway.html

Have a wonderful day!!!

Jeni

 

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What are you making? #mystashmystyle Contest!

I'm so excited to see what you might be making! We had winners drawn last Wednesday on Tonya Alexander's blog, and on mine. The gal whose name I drew, hasn't responded yet to me though....you can check out all the details for the contest again for a refresher, if you haven't started yet on the post last Monday!

 

Tonya will be showing you what she has been working on over at her blog, http://eyecandyquilts.blogspot.com/

Here is her book...

Okay! Let's let the fun begin.....be sure to follow on Instagram, and share your photos at #mystashmystyle!

Here is what I have been working on from Tonya's book Stash Lab...

I decided to just make three blocks, and turn it into a table runner. I used wool for the border applique and the centers of the Dresden blocks.

It is so fun to see how different a project can look by just changing the colors!

 

After years of owning a quilt shop, I never had much time to hand quilt, even though I love to. Tonya inspired me to hand quilt this, because her quilt looked so wonderful hand quilted.

What projects from our books will you be making? We can't wait to see!

Here is my book...

If you didn't win the e-book, and would love to get started on one or more of the projects, go to http://www.shopmartingale.com/stash-lab.html

Or..... http://www.shopmartingale.com/primitive-style.html

Happy quilting, and watch for Tonya's post!

Jeni

 

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And the winner of #mystashmystyle kick off giveaway is.....

The winner of the kick off giveaway is..... Susan Potts!

Susan, just send me an email at woolenwillowdesigns.com to get your prize!!!! Congratulations!

 

Jeni

 

 

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MY STASH MY STYLE CONTEST and GIVEAWAY!

Good morning stitching friends!

After owning a quilt shop for over ten years, I have gathered that most people have a "color sense" that they love, and that it can be difficult to see a style without judging it by its color. If you saw my last blog post "Fear not, Primitive is not a color," you will know what I'm talking about! It was always fun to show a customer a quilt in a couple different color ways and see their reaction! So in honor of this idea......I would like to introduce you to my new Martingale/That Patchwork Place author buddy, Tonya Alexander. Her book "Stash Lab" is full of beautiful bright quilts!

I happened to meet Tonya at Quilt Market this past Fall when she came up to me before the School House presentation I was about to make. I was nervous about it, never having presented there before. You would think after many years of teaching classes and presenting to quilt guilds, that I wouldn't have been nervous.....but I was. Tonya said she was nervous too, but encouraged me and stayed to watch. I instantly thought to myself that she was "buddy" material!

A couple of months after Market, I was looking at Tonya's book, and decided to make that last post about style and color, and to play with a couple of Tonyas designs. I contacted Tonya, she played with some of my designs, and together with Martingale, we are launching a Challenge/Contest! Here are the details....

 

1. Choose a project from the book Stash Lab by Tonya Alexander OR the book Primitive Style by Jenifer Gaston. (The further a project is from your typical style and stash, the better!)

2. Reimagine, redefine, and remake that project in your own style, using your stash, your point of view, and your creativity. Change the colors, change the dimensions—even change the purpose of the project. It’s entirely up to you!

3. Post your finished project to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #mystashmystyle and share how you changed it up. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Complete steps 1-3 and you’ll be officially entered into the MY STASH, MY STYLE contest! So, what prizes are up for grabs?

Prize pack includes:

• A free one-year subscription to Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine, co-owned by Jeni Gaston, author of Primitive Style
• A specially curated bundle of fabrics from Tonya Alexander, author of Stash Lab
• A beautiful bundle of wool from The Woolen Willow
• A $50 gift certificate from publisher Martingale to spend at their website, www.shopmatingale.comhttp://blog.shopmartingale.com/

We hope you will play along with us, as we kick off the contest this week, with a giveaway of Tonya Alexander's e-book, STASH LAB, and of my e-book, PRIMITIVE STYLE. To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment below about your stash style or a style you would like to try. We'll draw a winner on Wednesday, March 23rd so you can get started on your projects right away! There will be a winner from both Tonya's blog, and from mine, so be sure to go to Tonyas blog for a second chance to win!

Follow along on Instagram anytime #mystashmystyle https://www.instagram.com/tonyaalexanderquilts/. https://www.instagram.com/jenifergaston/

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Have fun stitching!

Jeni

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