Roxanne Temporary Spray Adhesive—AKA the secret sauce of the quilting world!
The result? We got rid of the rest of our 505 spray. Seriously. It was that fast of a decision. This is still an aerosolized glue so we still wear masks but the fumes don’t burn our eyes and lungs and we didn’t have to go outside to use it. Yes, we kept the windows open with a small fan on in the room (safety first!) but zero fumes and zero light-headed-oh-lawdy-I-gotta-go-outside-before-I-pass-out feelings. You know what we mean. When we used the other basting sprays, we did it in the garage with the doors open and cross ventilation open. Still, we had to take breaks and that was both dangerous and a pain in the… ya know…
We did a review and tutorial for the Colonial Needle Company blog for how to make a quilt sandwich using the Roxanne Temporary Spray Adhesive. Here is that review and video for you all and you can find the spray at craft stores and quilt shops or order it directly from the Colonial Needle Company website. FYI, we are able to do one queen sized quilt with one can. We are always using this type of basting spray for other smaller projects so we ordered four at a time so we don’t run out.
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Don’t miss out on this chance to take your skills to the next level with Strip Quilt A-Go-Go and Sashiko for Hand Quilting. Both workshops are beginner friendly so even if you’ve never done any quilting or hand stitching before, we gottcha covered. Link for all the relevant details and enrollment is below… optional kits are also available for both classes but are first come first served so get those orders in now.
We are thrilled to be back at virtual quiltfest and hope to see you all in the virtual classroom!
Heart On My Sleeve Iron-on Patch
Again, for our heart, we used colors from the Colors of My Pride Quilt pattern which we made in the colors of the Progress Pride Flag. You can see that post HERE and use colors that best reflect your Pride! Here's the step-by-step instructions: INSTRUCTIONS
Wear your heart on your sleeve… or your pants leg, or back, or anywhere else you want! You’re in charge of your heart! And here's the video: Now get out there and show your colors at Pride. And, if you can't be that visible right now, make your heart and wear it just for you. You'll know. It's your Pride… wear it your way.
Whether you are marching in a protest, dancing in the streets in celebration, vibing with friends, or having a moment of Pride in the privacy of your home, we are sending our LGBTQIA+ and TGNCNB community, love, light, and peace during Pride Month and all year long. ONWARD!! S&J Show us the Colors of Your Pride!
As with most of our endeavors, our mantra of "If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing!" held true here. We started with the They/Them Pullover crochet pattern to speak to the non-binary gender expression and the Progressive Pride Flag mini quilt project was a way for us to talk about the need for more inclusion of BIPOC and TGNCNB2S+ folx in Rainbow Pride Flag and the community as a whole. Both were projects created as a way to express our own Pride and it kind of snowballed from there into three different quilt designs during the past year. Also true to our modus operandi, we started working out the designs for all of those quilts at the same time. Soon, one of the designs started consuming our minds and became almost an obsession. Piece by piece, the blocks grew. Block by block, our vision expanded… as did the project! The patterning experiment became a wall hanging, the wall hanging became a lap throw, the lap throw became a queen sized quilt for our bed which brings us to this pattern release: the Colors of my Pride quilt pattern! Before we dive into the new quilt pattern, let's add some context to the content and take a brief look at the history of Pride flags. A brief glimpse at the History of LGBTQIA+ Pride Flags The history of the banners we wave to represent us in the LGBTQIA+ and TGNCNB community is as deep and as colorful as the members of our community itself. Without writing a tome on the subject, we would like to give you an overview of the flags and colors that influenced us in the creation of the Colors of My Pride quilt.
Beyond the Rainbow The LGBTQIA2S+ community is not a monolith, and neither are the colors of our Pride! In addition to the incarnations of the Rainbow Pride Flag, there are individual flags that represent the communities we each identify with. There are flags hoisted for the lesbian, bear, agender, transgender, and non-binary communities, as well as flags that represent the leather, pansexual, intersex, and genderfluid communities. And that’s just a few! Regardless of how we feel on the inside or how we represent ourselves on the outside, each of us celebrates our Pride differently and we certainly express our Pride with colors that go beyond the rainbow. The Project: The Colors of My Pride Quilt Our quilt, The Colors of My Pride, is a combination of colors from across the wide range of vibrant Pride flags that speak to us the most; the colors that we feel represent us best. We worked with Karla Overland at Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics to pick our very specific colors that best represented our Pride. As we encourage each of you to do with your own Colors of My Pride quilts, we chose colors from different flags and pulled the ones that had the most meaning to us to include in our blocks. Our choices were very personal to us… as yours will be to you. For our The Colors of My Pride quilt, we included the six colors from the Rainbow Pride Flag since that is the first flag that either of us remembers flying as a banner at marches, plastered on our vehicles, worn on our bodies, waved in defiance, and painted on our skin for the better part of 30 years. However, in more recent years, we have come to feel that the representation of the colors from the More Color, More Pride Flag is more inclusive and even further encompasses our community, so we included the black and brown stripes from that flag. Shannon is transgender so we also brought in the soft blue and pink from the Transgender Pride Flag and added a lavender stripe to represent those of us who feel we are outside of (or fluid within) the gender binary. And the soft pink for the framing of the blocks? We had asked Karla of Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics for a soft pink that was just barely there. We wanted something that would subtly frame and complement each of our blocks and would provide an overall unifying color when the blocks were assembled. For us, the pink framing of the vibrant blocks represents the overall LGBTQIA2S+ and TGNCNB community and our unity regardless of where we are and how we represent ourselves. Again, all these color choices are very personal to us and represent OUR LGBTQIA2S+ and TGNCNB Pride… if those colors speak to you, then use them for your own quilt but, if you feel like other flags and other color combinations represent your place within your community, pick the colors of YOUR Pride and make your quilt your own. The Colors of My Pride Quilt Color Choices How many colors? Which colors? That’s up to you. The blocks themselves are created using a Scrappy Wonky Log Cabin block construction with 17 pieces built from the center out. We used a total of 11 colors repeated starting with either of the three color sets. Don’t worry… in the quilt pattern, we break down the different color sequences we used. You can follow those exactly or substitute in your own colors that represent your Pride!
Finally, we arranged all of the blocks on our makeshift design wall (not much space around here for a big ol’ design wall!) to determine the final layout for our quilt. This is the exciting part where we get to see all of our work come together. For us, the layout was an exciting afternoon of putting together a giant, vibrant puzzle. This final step will ensure your quilt will be a one-of-a-kind work of art unlike anything anyone else will create. In the end, your The Colors of My Pride quilt will, just like all of us, look unique and be personal to you.
If you have never made a quilt before or if you are newer to quilting, you’re going to love how forgiving this method of construction is. No… really… time after time, folx in our scrappy wonky quilt block classes who were intimidated by matching corners and perfect lines are thrilled with how they can sit down and, with a basic machine that sews a straight line, create something glorious and stunning. Experienced quilters will love this style of construction both because of the freedom of expression it offers and the modern esthetic it creates. Most experienced quilt makers love the sense of play in the creation of these blocks and the resulting randomness is always a thrill… new or experienced! Click on the button below to be whisked away to the Creative Spark website buy the Colors of My Pride Quilt Class so you can start on your own version of this FAB quilt. A final word… or two…
On this, the 53rd anniversary of the riots at the Stonewall Inn that sparked the fire that became the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement and, ultimately, the reason we celebrate Pride Month in June, we are proud to be a part of this vibrant, diverse, exciting community of people. We stand in the shadow of those first transgender Black and Latino women, lesbians, and sex workers who threw the first bricks at Stonewall. We stand on the platform that those folx and so many more before and since have built so that we can be out and proud. Without them, we would not be where we are today… period. Now it is our time to speak out and use our own platform of creativity and education to express ourselves and make it possible for others to stand tall and proud. Whether you make this for yourself to show the color of your Pride or if you make it for someone else to show them your love and support, we hope you think of those who have come before and all of those of us who are still fighting every day just for our basic human rights as members of the LGBTQIA2S+ and TGNCNB community. Whether you make a Colors of My Pride quilt as a silent encouragement for yourself or as a way to shout out to the world, whether it is a personal journey or one of support for others, we hope you find the same strength and power in the creation process as we have. STITCH ON! S&J Making a Thing
We also used to create only in the mediums we were perceived to have a certain level of expertise in… specifically, yarn arts. And we liked that. We still do. But we like to do a LOT of things with a LOT of stuff. So, we started doing things that we liked with the stuff that we liked using to make things. Not all of it became part of something else. Sometimes the things we made just were what they were, and we were happy with them and that was good enough. Sometimes, however, those things became part of a larger thing and, yes, classes were developed, two books written, and patterns created and sold. Sometimes that happened. Sometimes it didn’t. Both were good. Both are still good.
Fortunately, we were able to create the perfect storm of circumstances where we could produce recognizable, marketable things AND fully embrace our creative chaos.
We found a balance. And we love that balance that came from embracing the creative chaos. Both are rewarding. Both are thrilling. Both excite and motivate us because embracing our creative chaos inspires the rest of our work. Embracing our creative chaos makes even those things we make primarily for the sake of earning the money we need to survive more special and exciting to us. Focusing on creating with purpose as well as being open to and embracing the creative chaos. That’s where we are. For now. Let's see where this takes us… #EmbraceTheCreativeChaos S&J The Great Yarn Challenge
Pat Sloan's Holiday Book Tour! Update 06.15.21 This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratuations to Robin J. who is the winner of a copy of Pat Sloan's new book! Come back soon for more FAB fun and check out our books and patterns via the links you'll find… well… pretty much all over this site! S&J
Food & Fiber Arts Classes at BARNHey there folx! We are thrilled beyond words to be back in the grooooooove of teaching again and we wanted to let you know about a new venue for us that we have LOVED working on. The Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) is a non-profit community center for artisans and makers and serves as a creative hub for many on Bainbridge Island and throughout our home base region in the Pacific Northwest. Here in Seattle, we are a quick but STUNNING ferry ride to Bainbridge Island so we were fortunate enough to hook up with the programing folx in their fiber arts program to plan out a series of yarn and fabric based classes before the pandemic shook everything up. Luckily, when we approached the folx at BARN about virtual programming, they were already headed in that direction and we worked with them to adapt our classes and workshops to fit this new way of interacting with our students and their members.
It's Time for a Crochet Wardrobe Refresh Yes, we know. It's just the first of September. But we are big fans of Fall and the temps have been down in the 50's here at night so we're calling it. Fall wardrobe refresh season is here! Even though the daytime temps prevent us from wrapping up in cozy layers, we all know it takes a bit of time to gather the materials and actually make new crochet garments sooooo… no time like the present to get started! For this season, we present four new crochet patterns that range from light and layerable to downright cozy. Here's a quick look at all four. Click through the photos for a more detailed look at the sizing and materials specs.
A Brief History: Pride Project 2020Happy Pride!! Every year as June rolls around, we take time to reflect on our LGBTQIA community: to consider how far we’ve come, how far we have to go, and to pay our respects to the folx who lead our community now and those who came before us who made it possible for us to celebrate Pride Month. From the Mattachine Society and the Society for Human Rights, the Daughters of Bilitis and the homophile movement, to the Stonewall Riots and the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. The Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activist Alliance, ACTUP, GLAAD, the LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund, the Black AIDS Institute, the Transgender Law Center, and Trevor Project… we could write rich volumes about each of these organizations… and so many more like them. (FYI, those last two sentences would make a great jumping off point for internet searches to learn more about the LGBTQIA community.) LGBTQIA organizations and the leaders who marched, threw bricks, fought, wrote, sang, chanted, and gave their lives for us are the reason we are able to be open and proud of who we are. We have a long way to go… but we have most definitely come a long way. This year for Pride, we decided to focus on one of the most prominent symbols of the LGBTQIA community: The Pride Flag. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all of the flags representing all aspects of our community. Instead we started from the end (we’ll get to that in a minute) and worked our way backward to show you how we got to the final Pride flag that inspired us to create the project at the end of this post.
More Than Just a Gender-Inclusive Design It may look like just a crochet pullover to you, but, for us, it is a statement of power. A statement of independence from the arbitrary binary masculine roles we were taught to play out our entire lives.
For years, we have tried to break out of the arbitrary gender binary with our design work but, according to the folx paying for our work, non-gendered or uni-sex designs just wouldn’t work for their magazine/yarn/books. So, all of those designs we gendered according to the arbitrary binary and published as such. To be clear, working for other companies in the fiber arts industry barely pays the bills and selling your work on your own even less so. So we justified it all by saying that we just had to do what we had to do to pay the bills. Once again, we swallowed our pride and learned our lessons… and we did the work to pay the bills. After a while, paying the bills and building a business become the norm and we learned your lessons so well that we forgotten who we set out to be. That realization was, again… a kick in the gut.
While a pink and black crochet pullover with a non-binary name might not seem like that big of a deal to a lot of folx, for us, it was a triumph in our own journey to realize who we really were as designers and as humans. It was the first monumental step that shook the foundations of our lives and put us on a path that we’ve been trying to get back to for a very long, exhausting time. For me, Shannon, it was a sigh of relief that I no longer had to hide who I was. And I’m telling you, seeing my husband, Jason, proudly wearing that pullover on the stage at a large national fiber arts event was one of the most life affirming events of my 50+ years on this planet. Plus… he looks really good in it… don’t ya think? Yeah the leather pants don’t hurt at all. Photos of Jason on stage taken by the talented Kellie Nuss Photography used with permission. Yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts… we know… it's pretty amazing! 2022 Update: Jason still looks just as good in this pullover and his leather pants (just sayin') and I, Shannon, have continued my gender identity journey. My transition will be an ongoing process for the rest of my life and I am unlearning those lessons… both of us are. My pronouns are she/her and I am a proud transgender woman married to an amazing man who looks great in leather pants. Wait… I said that part already… If you'd like to make your own They/Them Pullover, click on the link below! And don't forget that gorgeous Blue Moon Fiber Arts Yarn. Check out these colors (and OH so many more) by clicking on the button. They-Them Crocheted Pullover - DIGITAL PATTERN Size Small-5XFashion is meant for EVERY body regardless of gender Designed by the Shibaguyz – Shannon & Jason Mullett-Bowlsby, the They/Them Pullover is a gender neutral pullover that is perfect for him or her or they or them. This design features fabric made in a Half Double Herringbone crochet stitch with a large cowl neck collar, easy slip stitch shaping at the neckline, and the arms are crocheted long enough to become handwarmers, just insert your thumbs into the openings and you’re good to go. You can customize this design to fit your body, your life, and your style and make your own kit with NEW colors of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Soft Rock yarn available from Needlepoints West. SKILLS USED
SIZES S (M, L, 1X, 2X {Sample Size}, 3X, 4X, 5X) To Fit Chest: 34 (38, 42, 46, 48, 50, 54, 58)”/ 86.25 (96.5, 106.75, 116.75, 122, 127, 137.25, 147.25) cm Sample shown to fit chest 48”/122 cm FINISHED MEASUREMENTS To Fit Chest Circumference: 34 (38, 42, 46, 48, 50, 54, 58)”/86.25 (96.5, 106.75, 116.75, 122, 127, 137.25, 147.25) cm Finished Chest Circumference: 38.25 (42.25, 46.25, 50, 52, 54, 58, 62)”/ 96.5 (106.75, 117, 127, 132, 137.25, 147.25, 157.5) cm Finished length from shoulder: 28.75 (29.5, 29.75, 30, 30, 30.25, 30.5, 30.5)”/ 73 (75, 76.25, 76.25, 76.25, 77, 77.5, 77.5) cm Neckline Width: 9.5 (10.5, 10.5, 11.25, 11.25, 11.5, 12.25, 12.5)”/ 24 (27, 27, 28.5, 28.5, 29.25, 31, 31.75) cm MATERIALS and TOOLS Sample uses Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Soft Rock (100% Superwash Merino; 4 ounces/113g = 500 yards/475 m): 3 (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5) balls in color F*ck Cancer and 3 (4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5) balls in color #Survivor—3000 (4000, 4000, 4000, 4000, 4000, 5000, 5000) total yards/2743.25 (3657.5, 3657.5, 3657.5, 3657.5, 3657.5, 4572, 4572) total meters of fingering weight yarn; 18 WPI; CYCA 1 Crochet hook: 2.75mm (size C-2) or size to obtain gauge Yarn needle A Homemade Ten Grain Sandwich Loaf? |
First, go to Sewexpo.com |
Shibaguyz FAB Sashiko Essentials Aurifil Thread Collection
The time has finally come when we can tell you about a project we have been working on with the FAB folks at Aurifil. We can officially announce the launch of our NEW thread collection from Aurifil! The Shibaguyz FAB Sashiko Essential thread collection is now available for preorder RIGHT HERE on our website. Can you tell we’re more than a little excited about this? We have been fans of Aurifil threads for all of our hand and machine sewing and embellishing ever since we tried our first sampler pack. We because Aurifil Ambassadors in 2018 and have been using Aurifil on projects here in the studio and our students have been using Aurifil threads in the classroom thanks to Aurifil’s generous sponsorship of our classes. So… yeah… we’re big fans.
When we were approached with the opportunity to produce a thread collection of our favorite colors in our favorite thread weight, we were simultaneously excited and stressed. Excited because curating a custom collection of thread and colors is HUGE. Stressed because curating a custom collection of thread and colors is HUGE. But, of course, we did make decisions (with the help of our friends at Aurifil) and we were even able to design our own packaging! Check it out!
When we were approached with the opportunity to produce a thread collection of our favorite colors in our favorite thread weight, we were simultaneously excited and stressed. Excited because curating a custom collection of thread and colors is HUGE. Stressed because curating a custom collection of thread and colors is HUGE. But, of course, we did make decisions (with the help of our friends at Aurifil) and we were even able to design our own packaging! Check it out!
Get Your Tickets to Our Sew Expo 2019 Classes - A Walkthrough
UPDATE: This event has ended. Sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss our next big event! NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
It's time to purchase tickets to our classes at this year's Sew Stitch Expo in Puyallup, WA. WOOHOO! We have a LOT of classes at Sew Expo this year including embellishing crochet and knit fabric, English Paper Piecing, 5 FAB hand stitches, and our whirlwind BORO Class! In addition, we will be sharing a booth with Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabric. What a FAB weekend!!
Now we wouldn't want y'all to miss out on a minute of the FAB fun we have planned for you but, occasionally, we hear from folks that they have problems finding our classes and registering online. So this year we thought we'd put up a little walkthrough to help you with the process. The process does take a couple of steps, but is not difficult. Once it is all over, you end up with the best possible prize... a class with the Shibaguyz! [blush]
Here we GO…
First go to www.sewexpo.com
Now we wouldn't want y'all to miss out on a minute of the FAB fun we have planned for you but, occasionally, we hear from folks that they have problems finding our classes and registering online. So this year we thought we'd put up a little walkthrough to help you with the process. The process does take a couple of steps, but is not difficult. Once it is all over, you end up with the best possible prize... a class with the Shibaguyz! [blush]
Here we GO…
First go to www.sewexpo.com
Week 4 of the Season of Giving-Away Event is Upon us. That means our final weekly giveaway AND the AWSOME GRAND PRIZE
UPDATE: This giveaway has ended. Sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss our next big event! NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
Balsam Pullover on the Cover of Interweave Crochet
They don't tell you these things ahead of time… you just open your mail one day to find a mailing packet with your contributor copy and a very nice note thanking you for contributing to the latest issue of Interweave Crochet. Imagine the celebrating that ensued when we realized that was our design on the cover of the Winter 2019 Issue of Interweave Crochet! If you've ever been around us… you know there was some noise. |
The Balsam Pullover is a cowl-neck pullover that truly embodies our sense of tailored casual style. We used Valley Superwash DK (courtesy of the folks at WEBS) for a mid-weight fabric that would feel good on the body without weighing you down. The asymmetrical hem balances a wide range of body types and the single crochet ribbing at the cuffs and draped cowl neckline are cozy and balance the sleek look of the main body and sleeves. From special occasions to curling up with a good book to an afternoon of shopping, we designed this to be a true wardrobe staple. |
It's Week 3 of our Season of Giving-Away Event
UPDATE: This giveaway has ended. Sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss our next big event! NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
Week 2 is over, but there are a lot more prize packages to give away.
Lets look at what Week 3 has to offer.
Lets look at what Week 3 has to offer.
Week 3 is our Knitting Extravaganza
The winner of this week will receive:
From Clover: Takumi Interchangeable Knitting Needle Set
From The Daylight Company: Yoyo Magnifier Light
and from Soak: Soak Wash 12 oz bottle - fragrance "Lacey"
The winner of this week will receive:
From Clover: Takumi Interchangeable Knitting Needle Set
From The Daylight Company: Yoyo Magnifier Light
and from Soak: Soak Wash 12 oz bottle - fragrance "Lacey"
It's Week 2 of our Season of Giving-Away Event
UPDATE: This giveaway has ended. Sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss our next big event! NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
Week 1 is over, but there are a lot more prize packages to give away. Lets look at what Week 2 has to offer.
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Shannon and Jason
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