I’ve got some exciting news to share this month! Now less than one month away, June 3rd will mark my little shop’s one year birthday!! It’s hard to believe that it has almost been a whole year already, how time flies! When I initially opened this shop, my vision was to sell handmade items that were made by myself. While searching for the best deals on fabric to keep my material costs low and in turn pass those savings along to my customers, I decided the best way to accomplish this was to open some wholesale accounts with big distributors. Buying fabric wholesale is a great savings, however, the quantity must be large with most manufacturers requiring a minimum amount each order and the minimum per print is one bolt which contains 15 yards. It became clear that I could not purchase wholesale with the intent of just being a manufacturer and using the fabric for my own production needs as it was way more yardage than I could ever use. That’s when I decided to sell the fabric and become a retailer.

It has been a whirwind and while my little shop is close to 1,000 sales in just under a year, I have found myself needing to make a big decision. While I have absolutely loved surrounding myself with beautiful designer fabric, it has required me to give up a large amount of my sewing time. I have been unable to get a decent inventory of handmade items created and listed because I simply have not had enough time to dedicate to it. It’s left me a little sad that my machines sit so lonely without being used as sewing is such a creative outlet for me. I miss that time as a maker so very much.

After much thought, I have decided to take my shop in the original direction that I wanted to take it one year ago. I am going to be switching gears and focusing on making and selling my handmade items. I still have A LOT of inventory in yardage left, and that is going to become a giant destash if you will. I need to move out the rest of that inventory and will be having some awesome sales on what’s left shortly. All fabric inventory will be listed in my Etsy shop ONLY…I’m going to be transferring it all to that shop within the next couple weeks so that it will all stay together and the yardage quantity left can be as accurate as possible. Head on over to https://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchedchic to see what is available and take advantage of these sales! I’m still going to be making quilts to sell as that is how my sewing life first began, but my primary focus is going to be on handbags.

I’ve got some super cute bag designs that I’m currently working on, and the best part is I’m creating for all ages! I’ve been making some sweet shoulder bags, adult style if you will, and some even sweeter little girl messenger bags inspired by my daughter, Camrynn. I’m using the highest quality materials available to me consisting of waxed canvas, linen-cotton canvas, railroad denim, and genuine Horween leather. Please stay tuned as I will be posting bags regularly as they are made. They will all be ready to ship items which means no waiting time for production.

Thank you to my customers for all for your support in fabric sales in the last year. I have learned so much, and I am truly grateful to have had such a great experience in the handmade market! I hope you will continue to follow me on my blog and my journey as I concentrate on what makes me the best I can be, that is sewing to my heart’s content and creating some super cute and stylish fashion accessories for you all!

April has finally arrived! We have been having some nice Spring weather, however, that’s all about to come to a halt today because 8 inches of snow are in the forecast. This is for sure the never-ending Winter!

I’ve had a lot of different projects going on lately and will have a complete shop update coming soon. With that being said, I’ve only got a couple completed things to share right now because I have multiple other WIPs going on. Both kids just finished their last day of b-ball yesterday, so I’m hoping that will bring me more project time for the weekends! Probably wishful thinking but a girl can dream, can’t she? 🙂

As totes are one of my favorite things to make I’ve got a new one to share. I made a bag for a friend recently and decided to go with waxed canvas on the entire exterior as opposed to just the bottom which I’ve done in the past. I bought my canvas from a lovely little shop on Etsy called Al Frances Textiles. Their canvas is great, and they have so many options to choose from color wise. It’s a new favorite for me for sure!

I used a linen-cotton canvas on the interior from Hawthorne Supply Co. along with a zipper pocket. Lastly, I finished the bag off with a Horween leather strap and it is so soft and flexible. The leather and waxed canvas are such good materials to pair as they both have a unique wearing process and get more distinct and beautiful with use. I used a pattern from Sotak Handmade as a guideline, but added my own modifications and changed up the sizing a bit. This is my new Color Block Bag!

I’ve also recently finished some zipper pouches. I used the Essential Pouch pattern by Sotak Handmade in XL. I needed storage for wooden beads and wanted something big enough to hold them all but still practical and easy to store. These are a very generous size and had more than enough room for what I needed. I love how to they turned out and I will definitely be making more. Everyone could use a zipper pouch, right? 🙂

The winner of last month’s giveaway of the Stargazer fat quarter bundle is @apernica. Please send me a message at jennifer@stitchedchic.com to let me know where to send this!!

Here we are, officially into March! How is the weather where you are? In Maine it’s still COLD…..oh Spring will be such a welcome sight! In the last month, I’ve been working on a couple of projects. One was a sweet custom HST quilt that was shipped out to a family to wrap their new little bundle in. I personally adore half square triangles, but I think they are something you either love or hate. As tedious as all the trimming can be, I love the way they look after they’ve been pieced together. This quilt turned out so cute. The mommy-to-be had a color scheme in mind, but let me have the fun and choose the prints. Once I found the collection below, I knew they would be so nice together and that they were! Take a peek!

For this quilt I used some prints from the Big Freeze Collection by Dear Stella along with some basics and a Cotton + Steel blender. If you didn’t believe me about the LONG winter we’ve had, I thought this last picture would be a good visual. This is a snow bank in my front yard that is taller than my son 🙂 It was a nice backdrop for my photo session, but I’ll sure be glad to see this huge pile melt!

Another project that I worked on recently was another custom request. I LOVE bags. My obsession for bags is probably right up there with shoes, but that’s another story for another day. Tote bags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags, I love them all. My daughter has followed in my footsteps and has a little bag addiction too. She wanted a small bag to put some snacks in to take to a basketball game. I generally pack a bag and sack it around with everyone’s stuff, but when she asked for her own, I jumped at the chance. What I came up with was a sweet little mini messenger bag. These were so cute I made five, and once some of her little friends laid eyes on them, they all wanted one too. Check them out below!

These can be such a helping hand to the moms out there. To free some room up in your bag because your child can carry some of their own things = PRICELESS…. and I’m speaking from experience. I’m going to make up another batch soon. If they aren’t spoken for once made, you’ll likely find them added to my shop.

Last but not least congrats to @perniej! You’ve won February’s giveaway of the Serendipity bundle! Send me a quick message at jennifer@stitchedchic.com to let me know where to send this prize.

Up for grabs for the March giveaway is this cute Art Gallery fat quarter bundle from the Stargazer Capsules collection.

As always, thank you for stopping by and checking out what’s been going on in my life and on my blog! Until next time ~Jennifer

Well, it’s already February. One good thing about time flying by is we are closer to Spring every day that goes by, right?? I’m in Maine. We have incredibly long Winter’s here. We started with freezing weather in November, and it has not improved much until this week. We’ve had a couple days in the 40s and I’m getting spring fever up here!! Thanks for stopping by catch up on my life and projects.

First, let’s announce the winner of last month’s Rifle Paper Co. canvas duo bundle….it goes to (marcysbaskets)!! Marcy, please send me a message at jennifer@stitchedchic.com to let me know where to send your cute prize!!

Up for grabs for this month is a sweet fat quarter bundle from Riley Blake Designs by Minki Kim called Serendipity. This cute little bundle is very whimsical and reminds me of childhood summer days. Remember all you have to do to be automatically be entered into the monthly giveaway is subscribe to our email list from the link on the homepage of our website, it’s that easy!! A winner is chosen at random the first week of each month.

Now onto my recent projects…I just made a bag that I am smitten with. It’s the Vera Slouch Bag from Sotak Handmade. I used essex linen in Polk as the exterior fabric with a waxed canvas bottom. It was my first time using waxed canvas, and I’ll admit I was a little intimidated; however, it sewed so smooth and nice that I was pleasantly surprised. I paired it with a fuschia lining from Cotton + Steel in the Steno Pool Collection, and it just made it pop. (Steno Pool is also up for grabs in the shop if you love it!) This bag came together so quickly and has lots of room for storage with two pockets on the exterior and an interior zipper pocket. I modified the pattern just a smidge to meet my needs, and I love it. I need your help though…. I’m going to add a leather strap, BUT I can’t decide if I should use dark brown or black leather. What do you all think??? Let me know in the comments which way I should go. I like the idea of dark brown for the contrast with the bag colors, but my OCD self is telling me to stay with black, haha!! I’d love to hear your opinions on this so drop me a comment!

Next on the project list was a sweet baby quilt for a BFF who’s expecting in March. She has decided not to find out the gender, and she chose a neutral jungle theme for the nursery with shades of gray. When the baby is born, she will add either pink or blue to the current color scheme, and it will be adorable. She asked me to make her crib quilt, and of course, I was thrilled. I’ve now gifted this, so the coast is clear to share the photos. She chose all the prints, and I backed it with a super soft minky that will be so cuddly to snuggle that sweet baby. Being in Maine in the Winter, my options for natural light photos are limited. While I love what the outdoors can provide for a quilt photo shoot, sometimes due to the weather up here that isn’t possible, this was one of those times. I quickly took my pics so I could wrap this lovely gift up for the shower and when I went back to do my editing I cringed. I wish the pics were brighter because they don’t do this quilt justice for how cute it is. Anyway, you’ll get the gist- here goes nothing!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my little blog and for supporting my shop. Stay tuned for the next bundle winner that will be announced the first week in March! Jennifer

So it’s officially 2019! Wow, that is hard to believe. I hope everyone had an excellent, peaceful, and relaxing holiday season. I decided to take on several handmade holiday gifts this year. I’m not sure why I put so much on my plate? I guess I work well under pressure because I completed my last gift on December 23rd, just one day shy of our first family Christmas. Now that all my creations have been gifted, I can finally share some photos of what I had been working on since November.

First things first, I’d like to announce the winner of December’s Fat Quarter Bundle in Wild Bouquet from Riley Blake Designs: alyssae2010 congrats, you’ve won! Check your email for confirmation 🙂

Our next giveaway for January will be a half yard bundle of each of these super fun canvas prints from Rifle Paper Co. These two prints have been one of my best sellers. I’ve also used them myself on projects and they are a dream to work with. Remember all you have to do to be entered into the monthly giveaway is subscribe on our website home page, it’s that simple! Every month a winner is chosen at random out of all subscribers, so everyone has a chance 🙂

Up next are some of my holiday projects that I gifted. I chose to show a few of my favorites instead of them all to keep it short and sweet for reading purposes. I will admit, the week prior to Christmas was a little crazy around my house. Between my other job, kids school activities and basketball schedules, I felt like I had very little time to complete the projects on my list. Somehow I managed! I made a total of 6 quilts, one tote bag and matching wristlet, five Christmas stockings, and 6 teacher mug rugs. The last two quilts were wholecloth because it became clear after the first week of December that I was not going to be able to find enough time to piece them and keep my sanity.

Here we are in December already! Wow, where did November go? If you’re not following me on Instagram or Facebook, I announced last week that I am going to be doing a monthly giveaway. To be entered for a chance to win all you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter which can be done right on my website.

As promised, the giveaway for this month is going to be this sweet little fat quarter bundle. It is the from the Wild Bouquet Collection from Riley Blake Designs by Citrus and Mint. I love each one of these prints, the colors are great!

If you missed how this works, at the beginning of every month I will announce what is up for grabs for the monthly giveaway. At the end of that month, a name will be chosen at random from all those who are subscribed to my newsletter. At the beginning of the following month, I will announce the winner for the previous month and send them their goodies! This is an excellent way for me to show my appreciation to all those who have been supporting my little shop and to say thank you!
Again- if you haven’t signed up yet, go to https://stitchedchic.com, scroll down to the bottom of the page to where it says “Join For Updates” and that is the place you want to sign up.

Now onto my latest project:

If you follow me on social media or on my website, you’ve probably seen some photos of my sweet girl Camrynn who is a new Daisy Girl Scout. She just joined this Fall and as a former Girl Scout myself I was so excited for her. Once I saw Riley Blake’s Girl Scout Collection, it instantly spoke to me, and I knew a quilt must be made from it. There are some adorable color choices in the entire collection, a purple, a pink, and a green. For this first quilt, I chose the purple colorway with a splash of pink. I was so excited with the cuteness overload of this fabric once it arrived, particularly the cookies, that I went and ordered the pink colorway for a second quilt….eeeeekkkk!! Yes, a true fabric addict I am. Here are some sweet photos of this fabulous quilt. I chose a patchwork pattern with straight line quilting, which is my absolute favorite. I almost always go with this method because the simplicity of patchwork is amazing and I just love it. It is backed with an oh so soft minky cuddle fabric, and it is so warm and fuzzy! Here are some photo’s from the shoot:

Also, here’s a little extra project for you seeing how we are now in December and Christmas preparation is in full swing. Yesterday was initially supposed to be a busy day with basketball for my son and a Girl Scout meeting for my daughter. Well, we ended up having a snowstorm as we seem to have every other day here in Maine and the game and meeting were both canceled. I took advantage of the schedule change and had a much-needed sewing day. A couple of items with top priority on my to-do list were new Christmas stockings and a coordinating tree skirt. I looked at several fabric options and was having a hard time coming up with something that would coordinate with the bright red wooden beads that I have on my Christmas tree. I then decided to go with some red buffalo print and a white minky top. I was a little hesitant because I was afraid they might look a bit too “manly” however, once I got them finished they were great! So great that after showing some friends and family they have already placed their orders for next year! Score!! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and I will be back with another newsletter in January 🙂

It’s been too long since I’ve posted and I’ve got some new pics to show. This is my latest quilt, plus sign in Dollhouse Collection by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics. I love how it turned out!
I used five coordinating fabrics from the collection and backed the quilt with some luscious minky! It is oh so soft and one that you would love to cuddle under. This quilt is available in the shop in a baby/crib/toddler size. I’ve also made this size quilt for my kids, and it is certainly big enough for me to use as a lap quilt as well, so don’t let the size title deter you if you don’t have a little one to buy for 🙂 If you love the fabrics they are also available in my shop by the yard so check them out!!

Today’s quilt features soft pastels with some fun polka dots. I used Art Gallery Fabrics throughout and some Michael Miller stripes on the binding. The quilt was straight line quilted and machine bound. I intended on listing this quilt, but my daughter loved it some much I’ve decided to keep it. If you love it and are interested in a customer order, shoot me a message, and we can chat.

My daughter is usually my quilt model, but for this one my handsome son, Chase wanted to be behind the quilt. He wasn’t thrilled about being wrapped up in a “girly” quilt, but he was a good sport and took one for the team!

Last but not least, Olive the quilt cat. She’s getting so long and fluffy, and I think she’s going to be a large kitty 🙂

It’s finally together and I love it! My first drop in sewing table, and it’s making my life a lot easier already! I got this table from Sew Perfect Tables. It is very sturdy, which was a worry because my big ole Bernina is HEAVY, but it holds it just fine. The ergonomically correct position has already been a help to my arms, shoulders and back when I’m quilting for long periods of time. The extra space is great as well. The back half of the table folds down and can be pushed up against the wall in order to save space. It’s heavy and I didn’t want to have to rearrange it every time, so I just opted to leave it up and have the additional space at all times. This is my sewing space, my happy place!

My twisted gingham quilt is now in the shop. This quilt features prints from the Everglades Collection by Michael Miller Fabrics and also some basics from Riley Blake Designs. It was straight line quilted and the pink really makes this one pop!