by Great Joy Studio | Dec 6, 2025 | Art News, Quilting & Fabric, Spiritual, Studio
Late career just starting out. J Wecker Frisch
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Hello Everyone
Many of you have followed, supported and encouraged me throughout the 25 – ish years that I have pursued an (late) art career. And I do mean MANY of you. At first there was so much I needed to learn and you generously shared experiences, your expertise, emotion and just about everything. The memories that came from meeting all of you and those in the industry and are fresh as when they happened. It has been my great pleasure and privilege connecting with fellow creatives, makers and entrepreneurs. Thank you!
This is the first time ever that I may be organized enough to give you my 2026 schedule of events and workshops in advance. Even some of these do not have all of the details worked out however, for planning purposes I wanted to provide what I could.
As I consider the opportunities that I’ve said yes to for next year it occurred to me, hope I can do all of these and is this my first and final tour? Let me put it another way. Those of you who have written to say, “One of these years I’m going to meet you, attend one of your work shops, guild or quilt shop events,” etc., I wouldn’t wait! That is, if we’re to ever meet and have a chat, maybe the time is now? You know what they say, we’re not getting any younger?
2026 Schedule:
• Valentine Workshop January 15 – 16, 9:00 to 4:00 both days at The Maker Studio Space Eureka Mo
• Shop visit at Oh Sew Personal on March 7 at 11:00 – 12:00
• Shop visit – Apple Tree Quilt Shop March 13
• Americana Semiquincentennial Workshop April 16-17, 9:00 – 4:00 both days at The Maker Studio Space Eureka Mo
• Bit N Pieces Quilt Guild speaker spot April 28 6:00 – 7:00 pm
• Sew Journal Workshop to be determined
• Christmas In July Workshop July 9 – 10 9:00 to 4:00 both days at The Maker Studio Space Eureka Mo
• Garden Of Quilts at Thanksgiving Point in Utah, Artist Special Exhibit begins September 18 – 19
• Artist Special Exhibit continues The Maker Studio Space Eureka Mo
• October Workshop Oct. 8 – 9:00 to 4:00 both days
• Artist Special Exhibit ends November 1 9:00 to 4:00 The Maker Studio Space Eureka Mo
God willing these are the events I have committed to and will do my best to honor and be in attendance!
Something new you may have noticed on social media is The Maker studio space in Eureka, MO. This is a one year endeavor that I took on in late September. It is in addition to the Great Joy Studio office around the corner. Makes little sense I realize but I am trying to walk in the limited light that God has given. The outcome is (Part of my exit strategy?) unknown to me but I am trusting that He sees the BIG picture. Stayed tuned, I sense something exciting.
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Fourteen years in, home studio. J Wecker Frisch
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So, if you are local please come by and tell us how we can serve your MAKER dreams and if you’re able to travel here to Missouri I would love to meet you and hear about the art journey that you are walking thus far. Or please use our calendar schedule under Maker tab at top.
Btw – The most recent head shot can be viewed on the RBD Storyboards and it is as recent as I agree to post. Lol
Sincerely, Janet.
Great Joy Studio, 16 Dreyer Ave. Eureka Mo
The Maker Studio Space, 137 S Central Ave Eureka Mo
by Great Joy Studio | Apr 8, 2025 | Quilting & Fabric
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Spring Fling
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Spring/Summer Tag Sale!
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Our returning summer hours will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 am -1 pm.
We are currently transforming the quilt workshop studio to include a collection of curated vintage and antique items for sale/donation. The Spring Fling, hosted here in Old Town Eureka, Mo. (April 15-17th) will kick off a summer-long Tag Sale event at the Great Joy Studio shop, 16 Dreyer Ave. All proceeds for this will be donated to Samaritans purse to help their disaster relief efforts.
Mendy from Missouri Stitcher will also be offering long-arm quilting services for any projects you may have.
Watch our IG Great Joy Studio account for updates on the pop-up Tag Sale and IG and FB J Wecker Friscg account for all fabric details.
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See you soon!
by Great Joy Studio | Dec 10, 2024 | Quilting & Fabric
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Whew and hello!
We are grateful to be completely moved into our new office and workshop location at 16 Dreyer Ave., in Eureka, MO.
Not only moved but managed to make some repairs and dress up the tiny ‘play’ house with a brand new coat of white paint! It is quite the transformation and most of the reactions have been positive. It took a lot of work but at the same time very fun project to watch. All the while as local folks stop by and share quilt related stories I can’t help but wonder . . . where is all of this leading?
For instance, does anything change regarding our office, online shop and workshop space routine now that we’re in an actual retail location? It’s very tempting to invite the community in however, we are still suppose to be working here and we do still have deadlines to meet. The location is right in the heart of Old Town’s hustle and bustle (and noise) so it’s taking a bit of adjusting. In a good and interesting way so far.
Another very positive change that took place over the summer is a connection that we made with a few young energetic high school students from the home school community. They are eager to learn what we do and have been extremely willing to help us get in and organized no matter what the task.
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As promised we are posting our plans and tentative schedule as we know it, to date.
These are the dates in mind for the 2025 workshop schedule and featured fabrics we will be using. Note, there are no firm decisions on each specific project yet. As many of you know our intimate clubhouse setting only allows us seven spaces comfortably or 10 if we hold them at the Eureka Chamber of Commerce as before and these do go quickly. Here are some to consider if you need to make travel plans:
Workshops – Quarterly
• January 9th – 10th – All My Heart Project
• April 10th -11th – Project to be determined
• July 10th – 11th – White As Snow Project
• October 9th – 10th – Queen of We’en Project
Note: These are not listed under Eventbrite and are only available with an email to me direct to reserve a spot: Write to janet@greatjoystudio.com We are working on a google doc and will post this week.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday – open studio hours (10:00 – 1:00)
• Thursday’s we will be working with our Home School workers and students.
• Friday and Saturday offerings will depend on interest:
A.) Introduction to quilting and appliqué. B) Work with volunteers interested in creating charity quilts. C.) Intro to watercolor and drawing
Visitors will need to let me know your thoughts in the comments please. The open hours will allow for short visits with me, Janet and customer’s purchases pick up upon request.
These are subject to change as we learn the interest of our new community.
Closures in the coming weeks/months:
December 6, 26 – 28
January 2 – 4
February 13 – 15
April 17 – 19
July 3 – 5
October 30 – 31
November 1, 27 – 29
December 25 – 27
The hope:
With a little more prayer and consideration over the next couple of months I trust that a sound direction for the coming year will come to light. We would appreciate hearing your interests and suggestions.
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Upcoming events will post:
On Instagram @jweckerfrisch and Facebook Joy Studio-tiding of Great Joy
Great Joy Studio Office
Old Town Eureka, Mo
16 Dreyer Ave.
Parking is available in back.
Please use front door access.
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by Great Joy Studio | Sep 22, 2022 | Quilting & Fabric
Hello once again.
We took some time at the end of summer to do a bit of traveling so, our week five for the fabric journal post was delayed. We also took a couple days for garage and closet cleaning! In addition, the actual execution of this project is somewhat new to me and I am learning what works and what doesn’t. So I’m giving myself plenty of time for my fabric journal style to evolve. There are many techniques to try and experiment with.This is going to be an ongoing, learning process to enjoy.
Now, back to the fun fabric stuff! I have two more fun layouts signatures/pages to share. One I did in the car while riding along on the road trip. We had just received a bundle of Hush Hush II from Riley Blake Designs before we left so I grabbed our Baby Button Dot low volume sample and a bit of inspiration for this one. I stamped some words on linen scraps from Colossians 3 which was my scripture reference for this piece.
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I had purchased some craft board paper doll templates some time ago and decided to cut one from Riley Blake natural linen and one out of ordinary batting. Then a dress from our Doll Closet appliqué template and adjusted to the right size. I simply layered in a pleasing layout and began to hand stitch. A perfect project while taking in the sights.
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The second group of images were inspired by insects from our upcoming “Art Journal” fabric (above)! We are so eager to introduce this collection (February 2023 delivery) from Riley Blake Designs that we could not resist including a few early samples that were sent for color approval in our finished piece (below).
I asked Kate to design and cut out silhouettes in Riley Blake Black and then highlight with Best of She Who Sews measuring tapes and button dots. Once Kate had the black appliqué pieces cut out we auditioned a few of the Best of She Who Sews fabrics to see what to use for the beetle highlights and butterfly wings. Best of SWSs offers so many great options it’s difficult to choose!
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After fabrics were chosen, we prepped our base signature/page fabrics, Again we used RBD Natural Linen layered with Journal Basics Ledger Paper and assembled in place to fuse. I like fusing before sewing down to assure precise placement and this offers more stability to the signature/page. We added a little more stamping and plan to continue with the sew-y theme with vintage buttons and maybe some labels. Plus I have much more sewing details to try/add but see what you think so far! We will have these bug-y appliqué kits in our shop soon.
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I’m saving the Baby Button Dots beetle for a small accent pillow! Stay tuned:
Great Joy Studio/J Wecker Frisch on Instagram and Facebook
by Great Joy Studio | Jul 14, 2022 | Quilting & Fabric
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Hi and welcome!
This will be short and sweet so if your time is limited like mine this summer, you can still squeeze in a little TAG fun!
I tried a couple of new (to me) fabric tag making processes this week and it’s ongoing. The further I explore possibilities, the more ideas that evolve. Especially with so many fabric options. For these I used the Best of She Who Sews measuring tapes fabric from Riley Blake Designs. I love these text and color rich tapes and as always the scripture snippets!
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I’m sure many may have already done this with cargo tags however, I just happen to have a LARGE number of these manila paper tags so I decided to cover some with fabric. I like the stability that they offer as a base and also the look. The method I chose was the quick and easy trace, cut, sew! Here in these photos is how I did it.
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I used a Frixion Pen so the lines would disappear with heat from the iron and the red sharpy to hide my careless cutting. They are not perfect, not precise but that is the sketch-y, stitch-y, journal-y charm, I was told on IG. Then I decided to trade out the white strings that came on the cargo tags for some black hemp twine to compliment the tape text.
Now, I think we need to go a bit further by stamping the backs and attaching a few trinkets of ‘found’ objects that we ALL have in our growing stash and a little layering. To see this progress however, I invite you to tune in to my socials: Instagram or Facebook.
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One other new development for me this week was discovering my concise purpose for this Fabric Journal as I build and contemplate. I stated initially that it would be for personal use and since I chose such a jumbo binder there might be room to store my entire fabric designing journey! Or at least bits of the most significant items.
Again bye, for now and I hope you enjoy some create time.
~Janet
