the official release -- the Sunburst Sling sewing pattern!

It's here!  And I must say, I am mighty proud of this one.  Orders are on their way to distributors as we speak!

In other news, for the next six months I will be unable to sell patterns to individuals or small orders to quilt shops -- I'm going on a trip!  To keep logistics simple, and because I will not be keeping an inventory during this time, I will only be shipping directly to my distributors.  If you are a quilt shop or an individual looking to buy patterns, please contact me and I can put you in touch with a distributor or a quilt shop who carries my patterns :)

Want details about the trip?  Then hop on over to America On Foot, where my husband and I will be cataloging our trek!

getting back on the horse.

Things have been progressing more slowly than expected -- I had planned to release my new pattern by now, but those of you who have heard about our new adventure may be able to forgive me for my slack.  If you haven't heard, pop on over to America On Foot, then pop back over here to finish reading this post.

.... Back already?  You can see why I've been sidetracked!

So the point of this post is that I need your help.  I need some extra sets of eyes to read and sew through my latest pattern, and give me thorough and honest feedback to help me finish up my edits.  If you are interested, you will need to have an intermediate level of sewing or higher, you should be very detail oriented and willing to spend time writing comments and filling out a form that I will provide.  I would prefer that you have experience sewing bag patterns by other pattern designers, such as Anna Maria Horner or Amy Butler.  You will also need to be able to get back to me within roughly a week of receiving the pattern information that I send to you.  Interested?  Email me directly and we'll go over details, including how you will be compensated for helping me out :)  jengiddenspatterns@gmail.com

Thanks, folks!  Hope to hear from some of you soon!

introducing a brand new pattern!

I'm proud to introduce my latest sewing pattern!  This bag is called the Sunburst Sling and includes a patchwork exterior and a top zipper!  I am looking forward to see the fabric combinations that you all use with this pattern!

This isn't quite available just yet -- I'm finalizing some edits, but it will be ready to go in about 2 weeks!!

head first into winter

We were surprised with a mid-week storm this past week, while the leaves were still bright and clinging to the trees.  About 6 inches of snow fell, so I took a walk to the park and tried to capture the magic as best as I could.

weekend in the Rockies

I've been MIA recently, but I will be back soon to show what I've been working on lately!  I'm introducing a new pattern, just in time for fall Quilt Market.

But before I reveal too much about my new pattern, here's what I was busy doing this weekend:

guest post at U-Create Crafts!

I've been a little quiet on the blog front lately, but I'm busy with new sewing projects to show you all! I just need to get over feeling weird about taking photos of myself wearing my home sewn garments :)

Meanwhile, head over to the U-Create Crafts blog for my little guest post about transforming a crew neck sweater into a cardigan.

I promise I'll be back soon with photos of my latest sewing escapades!

weekend getaway

Chris and I have one car.  We've been married for almost 5 years now (anniversary in just a few weeks!) and we had two cars for about 10 months several years ago, but then went back down to one again. Most of the time it works out perfectly... but it's been slightly more challenging in a bigger city and when Chris needs the car Monday through Friday to drive to Boulder for work. I am thankful that I live so close to my job -- only 1.5 miles away!

So, on Friday, I drove Chris to Boulder (45 minutes), drove back into Denver (45 minutes) to get the car registered (4 different lines and 3 hours -- aargh!!), drove back to Boulder (45 minutes), and got my DMV aggression out with a hike. It was a rigorous uphill trail and I was rewarded with great views of Boulder at the top.

On Saturday, I had a day off work!  Chris and I journeyed up to Rocky Mountain National Park, and I was surprised that it is only an easy hour and 45 minutes away.  Yay!  I foresee many trips there in the future.

We tried to avoid the midsummer weekend crowds as much as possible and opted for a 12 mile through hike and linked up several different trails.  The park has a shuttle system, which was awesome, so we didn't have to backtrack at all.  We started by hiking to Bierstadt Lake, then over to Odessa Lake and Fern Lake.  It was beautiful... water pouring off of snowfields and creating impromptu waterfalls down the sides of granite cliffs.  We walked through snow for a bit, and lost the trail a time or two because of it, but I was glad because it discouraged the less adventurous folks from continuing down our same path.