Giraffe quilt and summer classes

Billie made a beautiful baby quilt....

For Sukie and Trudie's cousin...

Who lives in far away New Zealand...

We think it's perfect...good bye, giraffe quilt...

Don't forget to check on our website for the latest JULY knitting and sewing classes...we have a great beginning quilting class starting on Saturday, July 9th..

NOTE: We will be closed 4th of July weekend (from Friday, 7/1 - Sunday 7/3). We will open again for regular hours on Wednesday, July 6th.

Friday Interview: Meet a Knitter

It's Interview Friday, a new feature here on the JPK&S blog. Every Friday we hope to post an interview with a knitter or sewer or all around crafter. First up, David, a knitter.

Meet David. He's a knitter. David walked into our store and sat in our living room and proceeded to pull out his enormous project bag (a giant plastic bag) and started knitting away. We sat down and asked him a few questions:

What are you making? twin blankets for two little girls.

Where are you from? my partner and I just moved here from Atlanta. We're here for 6 months.

How long have you been knitting? for four years.

How did you learn? I taught myself by reading books, hanging out in yarn stores, asking lots of questions, and watching youtube videos.

What's your home yarn shop? Bumbleberry in Clarkesville, Georgia [big shout out from David to his friends at Bumbleberry...anyone traveling in that direction this summer should definitely check it out.]

What's your favorite project you've done so far? probably when I finished my first sweater.

Do you make things for your partner? mainly hats and scarves, he won't wear anything else.

Favorite knitting book? all the Stitch n' Bitch series.

Your favorite needles? Addi Turbo Clicks

[Insert shot of David's manly black leather knitting case.]

Best David quote: "I never thought I was creative until I started to knit. It's very relaxing, once you know how to do it."

Thanks to David for participating in our first ever "meet a crafter" Friday Interview series. And welcome to the neighborhood!

ps. all of David's answers to my questions above were delivered in a lovely southern accent.... being a Yankee, I loved it!

New Fabric and Sewing Class update

NEW Japanese fabric arrived!

First up are these sweet, delicate floral prints in a super soft cotton.

Next are the yarn-dyed checks...they just exude summery freshness and I can see a perfect picnic blanket and napkin set in the yellows and blues and fresh gingham-y dresses and men's shirts in the blues, greens, and browns. For those of you who don't know, "yarn-dyed" means that the check design is created by weaving the colored thread together to create the design rather than printing on one side. This develops a beautifully textured look to the fabric and it's also reversible and makes for a nice fray to the unfinished edge.

We also have some new cotton interlock (jersey, stretchy) fabric in that I'm dying to make a summer shift out of..right now we have the all important basic black, a black and grey strip, an aqua polka dot, and a bright floral.

Last up, a quick reminder that we have a sewing class and a workshop starting next week and there are still a few spaces left in both. Call or come in to the shop to register:

BYOP: Bring Your Own Project Workshops

Sundays 2:30 – 4:30 pm

Workshop 2: May 29; Workshop 3: June 12; Workshop 4: June 19; Workshop 5: June 26

Sign up for only one workshop $30

This class is perfect for the sewer who knows how to sew, but needs a little help with a current project. Two hour session includes instruction on using our machines.

Finishing Touches Workshop

Instructor: Taylor McVay

Saturdays 10:30 – 12:30 pm

June 11; June 18; June 25 Level: Intermediate

$100 plus materials

Sewing technique classes for those who know how to sew, but would like to give their handmade garments a little extra polish. Class will cover seams (French seams, faux French seams, flat fell seams, Hong Kong bound seams); hand and machine hem stitching (including tape hems, chiffon hems, folded and rolled hems); handpicked zippers; hook and eye closures; blind and belt loops; and fabric covered snaps. These finishing techniques will make your garment sing!

We love knitting and sewing projects!

Thursday project is complements of Caroline of SockPixie. Those of you who know Caroline or follow her SockPixie blog know how talented she is: she knits, she sews, she designs patterns, she spins, she dyes, she does it all (and I'm probably forgetting something). We love her work and her creativity. Caroline's latest project (apart from the tiny human she is incubating) is the sweet brown sweater and pants above (for said tiny human coming this fall). The pants are made from one of my favorite fabrics, Ukelele by Birch 100% organic. How adorable and I just love those toggle buttons! Stay tuned for a whole post devoted to Caroline's sweet sweaters..she's made about 4 so far by my count and more on the way...