Me and the First Lady!

I was invited to a friend's house for her birthday. And guess who came to the party! Yes Michelle Obama. She even let me have my picture taken with her. The first thing Michelle did when she came in the door was kick her shoes off. She is a very nice person.
The person who had the birthday was Helen Miller, she is the state senate representative for Fort Dodge, IA. She commissioned me to make a jacket for her and she is also a very nice person.
This is a very historical event and I am so proud to be a part of it.

The Scrappy Jacket

This is the Scrappy Jacket that is listed in my Esty shop. I thought I should model it myself. I grabbed a bag of my silky scraps and sewed them all together (randomly) then I cut out the jacket. It was interesting how it came out. I also lined the jacket with a soft coral silk fabric. I also hand sewed small square (plastic) crystal beads all around the band and sleeves. This jacket is so nice, it is light and airy and you feel good when you wear it because it does not feel like you have anything on. If I look good in it you know you will too. If you want to purchase the jacket, you can leave a comment on this blog, go purchase the jacket and I will give you 25% discount. Just purchase the jacket (using paypal) and I will refund you the 25%, what a bargain.

Random Acts of Fans Quilt

This quilt started me back into the world of quilt making. For me, I think I have been making quilts all my life. I don't remember a time in my life when sewing was not the center. My grandmother quilted and won a few competitions with her quilts. She used to have me sit with her cutting pieces for her quilts. Each piece has to be precise. As I grew older I turned my intrest to making clothes. Then I started making quilted jackets and I really love making them. Each jacket that I make comes out so different from the last. Each one that I make, makes me want to make another. I love blending the colors and finding colors in fabric that don't come to life until you add another color with it. So when my Quilts and Heirloom team presented the fans challenge on our blog I decided to take the challenge and make a quilt. We was supposed to do 36 squares any size.

So I cut 36 squares and used the crazy quilting technique on each of the 36 squares. I will tell you that after about the 10 square I was ready to quit. But I don't like to start and not finish so I kept on going. It took about 4 days, to crazy quilt the 36 squares, I did 9 squares a day. Then I sewed the squares together randomly. I did not try to match colors or angles. As I finished each square I turned it upside down so that I would not try to coordinate it with the one I was working on. That is how I came up with the name "Random Acts Of Fans" I love the way it looks sporatic and unconventional. I also made a pillow that looks so prettly with it. It is a small quilt, 48 X 48 inches. Just big enough to cover your legs while you watch tv. I made one for my friend and she uses it at work to cover her legs from the air conditioner she says it is the perfect size. I am often asked how long it took for me to make a quilt. Well this quilt took me about 1 week. I try to do projects that go fast, that is what keeps my art interesting. Thanks for checking out my blog. Please visit my Etsy shop for more details about this quilt and to see some of my other designs I have available.

Sudoku Quilt

After I did the Sudoku Oops with the jacket, I wanted to follow with the Sudoku Quilt. This time I started with a Sudoku puzzle that was already solved. Then I cut squares from 9 different fabrics,put them in piles and gave each pile a number from 1-9. Then used my (solved) puzzle to arrange the top. Now what I had to do was sew together 9 nine patch squares. It was easy, I got a little carried away and the last square that I put in was upside down. But that was the great thing about the way I put the quilt together because it was easy to take that one square out and turn it around. The part I really enjoyed was the free-motion quilting. I did not do any handstitching on this quilt, thank God for free-motion quilting. I like making small lap quilts. I am not ready to commit to large bed quilts. I like to get done in a couple of days. I love the way the colors came together on this quilt it is bright and cheerful. You can go to my Etsy shop to get more details.

I love Paris Swing Jacket

I have always loved the swing jackets, I was going through some old photes in my family album and came across a photo of my mom in this swing jacket, it was a black and white phote so I don't know what color the jacket was she had on. It looked like it might have been white or off white. I always loved the way my mother looked in that jacket with it's big cuffed sleeves. So I decided to recreate that jacket. I made my jacket with denim fabric. Also I used a method where you cut the denim full of small holes, then wash the piece so that it frays, then quilt it to another piece of fabric. I used denim as a backing fabric for this project and I free-motion quilted the two layers together. Then I used that piece for the facings for the jacket and the cuffs. It gave a very nice contrast. I then lined the jacket with beautiful bright green satin lining. Oh and then I added a bag. You won't be able to resist it. It is so nice. And the denim is so soft.

Now that I live in Paris, Tennessee we have an Eiffel Tower Replica which I found to be a very nice spot to take pictures. My friend Yolanda, was a willing model and I think she complimented my swing jacket very well. Visit my Etsy shop for more information and pricing.

Featuring Tote Bags

Right now I am featuring tote bags in my Etsy shop. Yesterday I got carried away with this idea of taking the silk cuttings from my serger and arranging them on fabric. I covered it with tulle and free-motion quilted the top. What happened was I was serging some silk scarves for another project and when I got ready to throw out the cuttings they looked so beautiful that I just could not throw them away. So I decided to make something out of them. They add great texture. Please visit my shop to see more details.

Just Shirts

Right now I am featuring shirts in my Bobby Joe S40 Designs shop. My husband and I are working together to design unique and exciting shirts for men. You might think, what can you do different with shirts, well click on the link to our shop and see what we have designed so far. I hope that you will like what you see.

Here is a sample of what you will see there.

The Cinderella Dress

I call this The Cinderell Dress because it is going to take a special person to wear this dress. It is a beautiful sundress, with beads down the back. The fabric content is 95% cotton with 5% lycra for a little stretch. It would not fit my mannequin so it is for someone whose hips are about 32-34 inches. The waist is 30" the length is 38"If it is too big, you can easily alter it, or have it altered. And guess what! It is free, if you are the "Cinderella" that can fit into this dress it's yours. I just need you to pay the $8.95 for shipping (through PayPal or RME). So all you Cinderella's get your tape measures out. The first one to respond and pay the shipping, receives the dress. It is a beautiful dress I would just like to have someone wear it before the summer is over. You can comment on this post if you are Cinderella.

A Jacket for Auntie Bettye

My aunt asked me to make a jacket for her. She wanted a chenile jacket,but Auntie is a small woman and the chenile jackets that I have made in the past are very bulky. So I designed this black and white chenile jacket and also this big roomy bag. With the princess seams it will look very wonderful on my Auntie. I have some more chenile jackets in my etsy shop. Check them out at.
www.stormeejean.etsy.com

The Black Denim Trench Coat

When I was in 6Th grade, my mother bought me a plaid,black and white trench coat. I wore it all the time with a black or white turtleneck sweater and a black skirt. You could not touch me with a 10 foot pole. I loved seeing actresses with their trench coats and turtleneck sweaters. Now you see the same trench coats (but I don't think they have ever gone out of style) they are made in unusual fabrics now. I saw on Oprah that she had on a trench made out of gold organza, it was beautiful. So I don't think they will go out of style. I thought I would make a few. Here is my first one. They are also being worn like dresses now too. So they are made out of light weight dress fabrics, like silk, or satin. I put black lace on the lapels, and embellished it with rhinestone studds. Visit my online store at:

http://www.stormeejean.etsy.com/