BLOG HOP DAY 5: Happy 85th Anniversary, Jaftex!

Co-sponosored by: Aurifil Threads, Schmetz Needles, and Janome

A Blog Hop?

No, she better didn’t! 

H to the Oh Hell No!

I’ve never been a part of a Blog Hop (neither a follower or a contributor) but once asked by designer/author/teacher/friend Linda Lum DeBono, one loses one’s choice in the matter, doesn’t one?

Here’s how all this shakes down:

I get the call from Linda Lum DeBono asking me to be a part of the mix.  I say ‘yes’ (what are friends for?).  I get another call a few days later from Linda Lum DeBono.  I say ‘yes’ again.   A week or so later comes a text from Linda Lum DeBono asking me if I’m going to ‘flake out’ on the blog hop.  I say ‘no’.  She asks me if I’ll participate.  I say ‘yes.’  Multiply this by 15 and you get the picture.

Now, you know (and even if you don’t) that once Linda Lum DeBono gets her mitts on you, she twists your arm, kicks your shins, and wears a human down.  I acquiesced. And here I am — my first blog hop.

Who Knew?

In every dark night, a little light must fall and here was my big fat blog hop surprise:  Once I got into it, I really got into it and I loved it, in spite of the fact that I suck at deadlines (Linda Lum DeBono was right and I blame that on the Catholic school and Sister Miriam Fideles, but that’s another blog posting for another time)!

A Bit o’History

Here’s what was going on 85 years ago when Jaftex was born . . .

Coca-Cola introduced their Fountain Truck

Miss Pittsburgh (my hometown) stood along side of Miss Romania and Miss Russia to compete for Miss Universe

You can see what a thriving metropolis Pittsburgh was in the 30s!  Is it any wonder the city competed in the Miss Universe Pageant? I grew up just a little more than 2 miles from the bridge on the bottom right (but almost 30 years after this photo was taken).

Walt Disney was promoting Mickey Mouse

Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby and Maurice Chevalier were the Justin Biebers’ of the time

What else?

Jaftex Corp. was founded in the 1930’s when Jacob A. Fortunoff started selling fabric on the streets of New York.  At that time, the mainstay of the business was women’s sleepwear and lingerie.

In the 80’s, Jacob’s grandson, Robert, dramatically changed the business of the company.

The business focus was transferred to the over the counter quilt industry when Robert purchased companies like A.E. Nathan, Henry Glass, Stylemaker, Chanteclaire, Fabric Editions/Studioe and more recently The Blank Quilting Corp.  Robert is now joined by his two sons, Scott and Greg.

Scott currently is the President of Studioe Fabrics, The Blank Quilting Corp. & A.E. Nathan Co., Inc.

Greg just joined the business in late 2014 and has successfully spearheaded the company’s foray in to precut fabrics among other contributions.

Prizes!

You don’t think any blog hop worth its salt would forget prizes, do you?

There are 13 ways to enter! Prizes include a Janome S5 valued at $1500, an Aurifil thread box valued at $300, a Schmetz needle anniversary tin filled with needles valued at $75, fat quarter bundles, and bolts of fabric for your favorite quilt store!

CLICK HERE TO WIN SOME FANTASTIC PRIZES:  85th Anniversary Giveaway

 

Your big surprise from me is that you can win 20 FFQ (Fabulous Fat Quarters) of the very fabrics that I used to design my Jaftex Happy Anniversary Blog Hop project with!  

CUE HAPPY DANCE!

I’ll give you the details on how to win the fat quarters later in this post . . .

 So, Here Goes My Official Blog Hop Post . . .

How excited am I to have been asked to be a part of the celebration of the 85th anniversary of Jaftex, the company that has brought us the wonderful fabrics and talented designers for Henry Glass, Blank Quilting, and Studioe Fabrics?  The answer is, I’m very excited.

Over the years, I have become both personal and professional friends with many of the Jaftex family of designers, and have used Henry Glass, Blank, and Studioe fabrics throughout my quilting journey — yes, for professional in-a-magazine projects, but also for my own fabric projects.

I rarely get a chance to just play with fabrics much anymore, I have too many writing deadlines and lecture and teaching dates.  Since I launched The Slow Stitching Movement last year, all of those responsibilities have tripled. Having the blog hop fabrics sent to me to just dream and drool over was a gift.

Now What? And Why I Blame Montana

While I was visiting the amazing Big Sky Quilt Shop in Great Falls, Montana (Hi, Joyce!), one of my students brought in trim that had been made in Southeast Asia that I have seen here and there, and worked up in a few different variations, over the years.  Who makes this stuff?  How did they make it?   Could I figure out how to make the very primitive and most likely indigenous trim that I loved so much?

Do not dare me, sister, I am not in the mood.  I became obsessed.

It was also during that trip, flying home from Great Falls actually, that I realized that my organizational skills were lacking and my car rental slips were mixed in with half of my travel itinerary, along with a ticket to the parking lot where my car was, but without the “Paid in Full” receipt that I had been instructed to show upon return. I worried from the time I boarded the plane in the Great Falls, though my Denver layover, and finally landing in Newark, wondering if I’d ever find all of the papers I’d need to get home, not to mention reciepts for the vultures at the IRS.  I was a hot mess.  I knew that I needed some kind of organizational system.

The Fabric

OK, I get it!

“Hello, I’m Mister Pickle Road Studios, and I’m representing Peppered Cottons from Studioe!”

I was asked to work with Studioe fabric, shot cottons, designed my long-time buddy, Pepper Cory.  I couldn’t resist. I’ve wanted to get my hands on her Peppered Cottons for a long time (which, by the way, I need to get my hands on some of that big plaid of hers).

Soon enough, sitting in front of me, were 20 beautiful colors of Peppered Cotton shots, ready for action.  I hadn’t worked with Studioe shots before and was surprised at their hand.  These fabrics are substantial and don’t fray as I thought they might, and my project uses teeny-tiny squares and rectangles, around 3/4-inch at best. I expected them to fall apart with handling and they didn’t. Whew! The colors are rich and saturated while still maintaining a traditional India-Pakistani ‘boho’ quality.

The Project

I was in dire need of a travel organizer that would keep me on track while on the teaching and lecture circuit. It came to me.  What if I merged my burning desire for making my own primitive fabric trim and then designed a pattern for a travel organizer that the trim could be sewn into?   A button?  A zipper? My muse had spoken.  To the drawing board!

What I discovered in my plotting, planning and sewing, is that my trim would not be traditionally pieced but merely folded fabric and manipulated, secured on a foundation. It really was just playtime, and the trial and error (and error and trial and error) of trying to find the perfect widths, creases. and folds of the Peppered Cotton fabrics.

My Finished Piece

 

O… and Voila!  

The Get-Mark-Home Travel Organizer (featuring his 3-D Exotic Fabric Folded trim)

I’m not selling patterns for this sucker yet, but I will teach a class for your guild or local shop in making these (give me a call at 908.876.1208 to schedule something – wait until you see my Exotic Trim Zippered Pouch premiering on this blog sometime next week – I’m teaching that, too and I’m currently booking 2017).  I have classes scheduled early next year where you can learn this Exotic Primitive Folded Trim technique yourself, while creating a small zippered pouch. Subscribe to this blog for details (…and while you’re here, why not look around? You might like it.)

You’ve Got to Play to Win!

Now is your chance to win two, yes TWO, fat quarter bundles of Pepper Cory’s Peppered Cottons that I used in my Get-Mark-Home Travel Organizer!  That’s 5 full yards of fabric! 20 Peppered Cottons fat quarters!

Shipping will be paid by me for any winner of the drawing who are residents of the USA (sorry, non-resident folks). However, if you’re in Canada, Iceland, Palau or any other country, I’m willing to ship your Peppered Cottons to you, only if you’re willing to pay the extra postage to get them there (we’ll work something out through PayPal).  Sound like a deal?

Here’s How to Win The FFQs

All you have to do is leave a comment (leave one daily, the more you’re in the better your chances to win) in the comments section of this blog.  For every comment you leave, I will award you a ticket that will be dropped into a big bowl (no more than one ticket per person per day).

At the end of the Jaftex Blog Hop (October 1), I will choose a ticket from all of the entries and announce the winner.  So keep coming back and leaving your comments.

WARNING! WARNING!

Even if you leave more than one message per 24-hour period, a person can only win one ticket per day.

What to Write in Your Comment?

That’s up to you! I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and opinions on everything from soup to nuts.  In the meantime, why not visit the Studioe, Henry Glass, or Blank Fabric websites. Here are the links:

STUDIOe FABRICS:

http://www.studioefabrics.com

HENRY GLASS:

http://www.henryglassfabrics.com

BLANK FABRICS:

http://www.blankquilting.com

FOLLOW THE BLOG HOP

THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER:

September 1 – Kim guest posting @ American Patchwork & Quilting

September 2 – Pepper @ Pepper at the Quilt Studio

September 3 – Anjeanette @ Anjeanette Klinder

September 4 – Leanne @ The Whole Country Caboodle

September 5 – Mark @ Mark Lipinski’s Blog

September 6 – Heather @ Heather Kojan Quilts

September 7 – Heather @ Trends and Traditions

September 7 – Martha @ Wagons West Designs

September 8 – Linda @ Linda Lum DeBono

September 9 – Heidi @ Red Letter Quilts

September 10 – Jill @ Jillily Studios

September 10 – Dana @ My Lazy Daisy

September 11 – Penny @ Sew Simple Designs

September 12 – Ida @ Cowtown Quilts

September 13 – Liz and Beth @ Lizzie B Cre8ive

September 14 – Melissa @ Sew Bitter Sweet Designs

September 15 – Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl

September 16 – Amy @ Kati Cupcake

September 16 – Barbara @ QuiltSoup2

September 17 – Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting

September 18 – Leona @ Leona’s Quilting Adventure

September 19 – Margot @ The Pattern Basket

September 20 – Sylvia @ Flying Parrot Quilts

September 21 – Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts

September 22 – Kim @ Aurifil Threads

September 23 – Rebekah @ Don’t Call Me Becky

September 24 – Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

September 25 – Mary Ellen @ Little Quilts

September 25 – Mary Jane @ Holly Hill Designs

September 26 – Daisy @ Ants to Sugar

September 27 – Melissa @ Happy Quilting

September 28 – Janet @ One S1ster

September 29 – Jenny @ Martingale& Co.

September 30 – Teresa @ Third Floor Quilts

Thanks for dropping by my blog!  And Happy Anniversary Jaftex!  xooxm

TOMORROW:  September 6 – Heather @ Heather Kojan Quilts