Introducing Bumble Berries!

Have you heard the news? We’ve released a new fabric line with Moda and it’s coming soon to a quilt store near you!

We went back to our roots for inspiration this time…memories of childhood spent growing up around small family farms in eastern Pennsylvania. 

For this line we channeled those summers spent berry picking and being chased by the bumblebees that always seemed to be hanging around nearby.

We played with feed sack style when designing this line. And while our old faithful berry reds and sunny yellows can be found throughout, we also experimented with some grey tones too. 

We’ve had our designer’s sample yardage for a little while now and have been very busy quilting and sewing. I’m whipping up a new tote bag that I hope to share with you next week (including instructions!). And my Mom (Jessi!) has barely left her sewing machine since the Fall. And we have a few new patterns to show for all of that work. 

We released 3 patterns with this line that we hope you love as much as we do!

Swarm, Strawberry Field, and Wild Flowers, were all inspired by themes in this fabric line.

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Can you even with those bees!

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Let us know when Bumble Berries hits your local quilt store shelves! And what you plan to make with it. 

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Happy quilting!

Our Affinity For Berries

If you couldn't tell…we have quite the affinity for berries. We always include them somewhere  in our fabric designs and when given the chance, we'll design sewing patterns involving them too.  

This particular fabric line was called Birds and Berries...for obvious reasons.

As summer foods and celebrations get underway we felt inspired to bust out our collection of berry pillows that have been in storage through the winter.  They measure about 7 or 8 inches tall.

They're super easy to make and as a result…we've made a ton of them.  Ours have made an appearance in pretty much every setting of our lives…many have found homes on our porch and deck chairs. And still others have been given away as gifts.

Adorbs in a nursery, right?! And I've even had requests for college dorm decor!! You can find the directions in our book, Sweet and Simple Sewing! 

(Hint! We've also included directions for a smaller pin cushion version…complete with a ladybug button on the leaves.) 

The possibilities are endless, really! Happy sewing!

Summertime Appliqué!

It's almost officially summer, which means in our book, it's time to celebrate the many beautiful bugs that come out in full force this time of year. 

Yes, some of them are gross (like roaches), but many can be beautiful (like the beetle or the dragon fly) and what better way to celebrate them than with an appliqué pattern. 

This is our Bee Canvas design and we're super proud of it.

We use a blank canvas (you can buy these from Michaels or Hobby Lobby)... then you'll need to cut out this adorable little bee using bright and vibrant fabrics. I think this one came from our Flora fabric line. And the applique bee templates come from our book, Sweet and Simple Sewing!

Cut out the pieces, applique them to a subdued background, (by the way, it's best to use invisible thread for this project).........And I used a zigzag stitch, nice and clean looking!!

The last step is to wrap the background fabric around your canvas and using a staple gun, secure the fabric to the back frame of the canvas. Easy peasy! A great home dec project (that, by the way, can be done within the comfort of air conditioning), and nice enough to give as gifts. : ) Make one or several!

Lauren and Carrie took these pics in the desert just outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Super hot this time of year (hence the need for indoor projects), but quite beautiful.  

Thinking Spring

I don't know about you, but our family is getting pretty tired of hearing weather forecasts that include terms like "polar vortex" and "arctic blast".  Seriously, even our trusty pug, Toggle, has been getting visibly agitated by the idea of going out in these sub zero temperatures.

And thanks to said cold temperatures, most of us Jung girls have been spending an inordinate amount of time indoors. In an effort to stave off cabin fever, we've again turned to our sewing machines and are diving into some fun springtime projects. 

As usual…we got a little picture happy.

Here's to hoping we can sew our way through the rest of winter!

Adventures in bag making

While this post is about a week overdue, I'm excited to finally share the photos of my new messenger bag…aka radio reporter gear bag. 

I finished it a few weeks ago and would like to think that I've been the envy of everyone at work. 

There are a few fun details I'd like to point out as well. The front pockets are pleated…which was an awesome technique I learned from another pattern. And rather than traditional buckles or buttons, I used overall fasteners as closures. 

As far as fabric goes, I chose a tone on tone print from our Chantilly line for the exterior, but decided to have a little more fun with the lining!

I like to think of it as the messenger bag equivalent of a mullet…business on the outside party on the inside.

So that's my show-and-tell…now it's your turn! What projects have you been working on with our fabric?