About

Hello! My name is Jenn. I’m a graphic designer, quilter and hand-sewing enthusiast living in rural Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

I don’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t sewing. My real love for fabric and sewing started when, as a young teen, my grandmother took me to a local fabric shop that had an entire wall dedicated to vintage fabrics. I took a few select yards of vintage knits home and re-made some of my favourite clothes using those fabrics and a 1960’s Singer Featherweight. My mom and Grandma taught me to sew when I was little, and my first creations were made on that old Singer and also on my mom's old beige Kenmore that’s as old as I am but still runs like a dream. I grew up making forts under my grandmother's quilt frames, sitting on her lap while she sewed quilt tops, rummaging through her sewing kits for little treasures, and modelling the collection of halloween costumes my aunt had sewn and rented during the holidays. 

I love to dabble in natural dyeing, having taken workshops with world renowned Indigo master Aboubakar Fofana, using foraged plant materials from my property (goldenrod a-plenty!) and natural dye materials from Maiwa and Botanical Colors. I was also bit by the icy dye bug after taking a class with Anna Joyce at QuiltCon 2020.

I sew to stay sane but mainly because I value handmade. I want my girls to grow up appreciating the skill and time that people put into their handmade creations as much as I do. 

I’m all about supporting local; small local businesses, makers and artists in whichever form they come.

I am also the founder of Sew Fine Thread Gloss – a beeswax based scented (and unscented) thread conditioner to help make your hand-sewing less tangly and smelling fantastic! My grandma gave me an old knarly chunk of beeswax once, from her own (cookie) sewing tin, showing me what it was used for and I built Sew Fine Thread Gloss because of her.

Design

I occasionally freelance to quilt shops, quilt pattern designers and other quilt industry related businesses. For a high-level overview of the work I've done for my quilty friends, click over to my Portfolio page. 

To get in touch, inquire about a future collaboration or project or would like to see my regular design portfolio, please send me a message at jenn(at)fabricink(dot)ca.