One of the comments to a previous post was from a reader looking for panels.  We have panels!  Plenty of panels!  Ok, too many panels!  I admit it!  About 4 months ago, some of my staff sat me down and said “NO MORE PANELS!”  I couldn’t imagine what they were talking about so I went around & counted how many panels were currently in the shop - I stopped at 117.  Yes, that’s not a typo - ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN is where I stopped.  I needed immediate intervention from buying panels! 

Panels have gotten a bad rap I think.  Quilters of my age - we won’t discuss what age that is but you all know who you are - often think of the VIP pillow panels when the word panel is mentioned.  I will say we don’t have any cute kittens or wildlife ones but we have LOTS of others!  Moda does quite a few panels and I can’t seem to resist very many baby panels (obviously!).   I admit I went overboard on Christmas panels, ok and probalby fall ones too . . . .

Angel wall hanging

The main problem with panels in a quilt shop is how to display them.  With 117+, making a sample out of each one was obviously out.  When I was at Karen’s shop last spring, I saw she had a great display but unaware at the time that I was a panel addict in desperate need of reform, I filed that display away in the back of my mind & then promptly forgot about it!  Faced with a staff who were ready to mutiny over the panel situation, I went into the storeoom & figured out a panel display that would allow lots of panels to hand in a small space.  The staff liked it so much, they made another on my day off.  It’s basically gridwork with a dowel that we hang panels on large hangers.  The sides of the gridwork serve as space to hang the folded panels in clear plastic bags. 

Panels can be a very quick gift.  Here a few that the staff has whipped up in their desperate attempt to sell some that we had multiple bolts of . . .

Sail Away Wall Hanging 

Large Snowman Stocking

Do we have all the panels on display?  Well, most of them.  I refuse to count to see how many we acutally have now, but I know it’s less than 117 . . .   Have I reformed and not bought anymore panels?  I refuse to answer on the grounds it may incriminate me!

Until next time,

Debbie Welch

Quilting Possibilities

www.quiltingpossibilities.net

We haven’t seen much snow yet in Minnesota. We are in the “everything is gray” season. Leaves are gone, grass is brown, and the sky is very often gray. As I take my morning walk, I trek along the Rum River, a little river that flows into the Mississippi River in my home town of Anoka. This time of year, I enjoy watching the river as it first begins to form ice. One day there is movement and the next day stillness. The contrast of the moving waters to still waters is always a surprise to my senses. Along with the gray and the stillness, there is a comforting peace in winter nature that helps me to pace myself during this time of the year.

Here is an idea to give you the feeling of winter peace anytime-make a comfort quilt for yourself. Think of it as a “blankie” that you can use to take on quilting retreats,  or just use to curl up for a nap. We often think of making quilts for others, but how about making a quilt for yourself on purpose!

The “Due Date” quilt pictured below is made from “Woolie” cotton flannels that are thick in warmth and rich in texture. The pattern by Bean Counter Quilts is easy and quick enough to make a quilt for yourself (and one to give away if you must). For a step up in luxury, try Moda Fireside to back your woolie quilt. Skip the robe and slippers, curl up with a good book, a cup of cocoa, and this quilt.

 You can find this woolie flannel Due Date kit at www.quiltedtreasures.net - just check out “What’s New”.

Watch McCall’s magazine for our next Village ad, visit www.myquiltvillage.com , to get more ideas for great flannel quilts.

Making lists, wrapping gifts, sending cards, fighting crowds, decorating the house, baking cookies, and being the perfect host…all things we try to do during the holidays. Don’t forget to save time for a few peaceful moments for yourself-under your blankie.

Mary

If I can possibly pull off the technology required to post a link to the free pattern, I will have yet another thing to be thankful for today!  Designing fabrics, no problem.  Writing patterns, no problem.  Anything that involves HTML….. usually a problem.

Boutique Style Tissue Box Cover Pattern
by Karen Montgomery, The Quilt Company
Click to download:  tissue-cover.pdf

Fat Quarters - I love them!  I love to cut them, I love to fold them, I love to give them as presents, I love to make quilts from them.  Heck, I’ve even written two books about them!

With the holidays upon us, perhaps you’ll be giving some fat quarters as gifts this season. If you are, here’s a fun way to present them–as a Six Sided Star. It’s really very easy and makes a lovely presentation. You can do this with as few as two fat quarters or as many as twelve or more.

Step 1. Place the selvedge edge of the fat quarter along the bottom of your work surface. Fold it up twice.

Step 2. Fold down the top left corner to form the shape of your triangle, as seen on the orange fat quarter in the photo below. You’re aiming for a 60 degree angle, but it doesn’t have to be exact. 

Step 3. Now bring the folded edge even with the top of your strip, as seen on the print fat quarter.

Step 4. Bring the top left corner down to the bottom edge of the strip, as seen on the aqua fat quarter.

Step 5. Fold one more time.  You will have a little flap left.

Step 6. Tuck the little flap into the fold.  Voila!  You’ve done it!  

Step 7.  Make as many as you want, stack them alternately and tie with rick rack or pretty ribbon.

   These are perfect for secret sister gifts, guild exchanges or decorations.  They look adorable hanging from a tree.

Karen Snyder

The winner of the Old Man Winter pillow kit is Wendy, who posted comment #10!  Congratulations!  Please send your snail mail address to quilt@nauticom.net and we will send it right out to you!

Wendy
November 18th, 2008 - 8:02 am e

“Saw the old man winter pillow when I was at your shop a few weeks ago. Love it. Perfect for all winter, not just the holidays”.

(- If you are wondering, we use a random number generator to select the winner.)

Each with her own version of Judy

Johanna Reicks made a cool version of Judy

Sewing for ourselves is a tough road for many of us to manage.  We get so caught up in doing for everyone else that it is easy to forget why we sew in the first place.  While I enjoy expressing love for people by sewing for them, I mostly enjoy creating on behalf of other people.  It is a time to think about the person I am sewing for and to be inspired by the ideas that roll around in my head.  Sewing is a form of expression, a release of energy and a way or rejuvenating my soul.

Recently, we had the privilege of having Judy Martin come to our store.  Judy has been an author and designer for many years and is the author of many classics that still sparkle with every generation of new fabrics.  Her sense of color is courageous and her ingenuity is truly exciting.  I had the privilege of taking a class with Judy 20 years ago and have never forgotten the way she really pushed people outside of standard design.  A lot of what she taught me then still lives on in my current work and teaching.  I was thrilled to have her bring some of her finest quilts and visit with our customers.

Judy is a very modest person about her sewing skills and her wisdom in sewing.  It was great to have her with us for a book-signing event as people got to sit with her and chat about her techniques and learn in an a very informal setting.  It really made my day to see her grab a napkin and start drawing out a design for customer.  When we replaced them with notepad pages, she started filling multiples with her teaching.

Judy improvises for customers, drawing on notepads.

Our friends Lois & Tony came by to visit Judy and we captured this great image of the two of them.  They are a great sewing team.  Each of them have their own sewing machines but they often collaborate on their projects, Tony is the cutter and Lois is the sewer.  I am sure they are planning their next project with Judy’s work in mind.  As you can see Lois is Tony’s shining star!

You can check out Judy’s books on our website.  They are some of our favorites.  I was so inspired by Judy’s quilts that I went back to playing with my Sew Red Silk collection at a recent retreat.   The garment sewer in me always goes back to techniques that blend fun fabrics like silk with home decorating and design work.  I love working with fabrics like silk that are not only rich in colors but also have deep texturing.  I have had lots of questions about how I sewed these together.  I used a Microtex 75 needle and used an Aurifil thread for piecing.  I didn’t press anything until I had the whole quilt top together.  I am planning on machine quilting this with the embroidery machine.  My plan is to bind this and possibly even stretch it as a wall piece.  This is not intended to be a “drag around quilt”.  It is a quilt that is a strong expression of design and color.  I had a LOT of fun piecing this!

Silk Dupionis in Shades of Red

We will be sponsoring a Sew Red Challenge with Sew Red Silks in 2009.  The initiative is to bring awareness to heart disease among women and to motivate people to tend to their heart health.  Coming from a family with a history of heart disease, this one is near to my heart (forgive the pun).  When I saw the Red Silks, I loved them and was highly motivated to sew with silk dupioni.

The best thing about getting to sew is that it reminds me all again why so many of you sew and create.  It is freeing and inspiring and motivating.

Sew Inspired at Pine Needles of Cedar Rapids….jill

Just how did it get to be so close to the holidays????  I keep asking my customers that question and none have an answer, which leads me to believe that none of us have any idea how it could possibly be time to get ready to be making the whole turkey dinner tradition!

And since it’s so close to Thanksgiving - Christmas, yes Christmas!, can’t be far behind.  Forget all the good intentions I had all year, forget that I was going to make at least ONE gift each month - the road to you know where is paved with good intentions - forget that my children expect something handmade each year  . . . . but wait!  We are women - hear us roar!  Nope that’s not us roaring but it could be our sewing machines revving . . . .

There are quite a few things you can still make in plenty of time for Christmas:

Notice the pocket for glasses!

Aprons!  What is it with aprons lately?  My mom still wears one, I just wipe my hands on whatever towel is closest or whatever I’m wearing at that point in time - much to my Mom’s dismay!  Aprons have been a hot ticket item in our shop for over a year now.  I finally got my act together & started kitting our most popular pattern - Church Ladies Apron.  You can click here to see our kits and the patterns we have.  Quick and simple - notice the  pocket for your glasses or your cell phone!

Here are some Christmas combinations we have for Apron kits.

Santa Apron Kit

Peppermint Apron

Every year we have a bunch of Christmas fabrics left over that don’t really go with anything else but are still nice fabrics.  Every year I try to figure out just what to do with these “orphans”.  This year I hit upon a pattern in Terry Atkinson’s book called “Let’s Do Lunch” and this table runner resulted.  2 1/2″ strips cut on the AccuQuilt machine!  We’re working on a kit & if you email me, deb@quiltingposs.com I will contact you when they’re ready.  It’s about 18″ wide and 52″ long.  And it went together ‘likedy split”!

My favorite Christmas kit this year is a quickie to make and holds fond memories for me - it’s just like a truck my Dad had when I was about 4 or 5 but his was yellow.  I have the sample home with me tonight and I am sewing translucent snowflake buttons onto the tree.  Click here to see the kit.

And last, but by no means least, is another table runner - Christmas light bulbs!  There is something about those old, big lights that were hot to the touch, broke off in the sockets so you had to get pliers to get them out - they just looked better on the tree.  I know, I know - they’re DEFINITELY not the “green” choice anymore but I still love to see them on the outside of houses.  Jim finally wore me down and we replaced the strands that we run up the flag pole to form a 20 foot tree every year.  I am sure the new energy effecient ones will be nice, but it just won’t be the same . . . .  Click here to for kit details.

May you be surrounded by your blessings this Thanksgiving season.  Enjoy and pass the pecan pie!

Debbie

Quilting Possibilities

www.quiltingpossibilities.net

Hi Y’all!!

Thanksgiving will be here next week, which means Christmas decorating and gift giving is right around the corner. There is still time to make that new Christmas tree skirt or Christmas quilt that you have been longing for. Want a smaller project? How about a Christmas tablerunner?  Here are some of the all time favorites from Suzanne’s Quilt Shop. All of these patterns have kits that feature my Hoffman Christmas prints with gold metallic. I love to use the Hoffman Christmas fabrics in holiday decor. They are always so rich and elegant looking. They look fresh and beautiful year after year!!

Simply Squares Christmas Quilt

Trip Around the World Christmas Tree Skirt

It’s been a very busy week here at the shop.  We are hosting our annual Holiday Open House and we try to pack the shop with great new ideas, old favorites (that may be new to our new customers) and a few “funky” off the wall projects that appeal to our younger customers. 

One of the favorites this year for the younger set is this quick and easy table runner from Moda.  The pre-printed panel is easy to quilt by hand or machine (yes, believe it or not, many of my customers like to hand quilt!).  The finished size is about 20” by 40” without the red border.  We’ve put a kit together with the backing (that’s the fun ornament print on the right) and a coordinating stripe that is printed on the bias to use for binding.  It has turned out to be a popular project, especially for the new quilters.  One of my longtime customers had a great idea; she bought one kit for each of her daughters that she has trying to get interested in quilting.  This may be the project that gets them hooked!  Quick, easy, everything they need but batting and thread and just the right colors for that funky Christmas look! Another “out of the box” favorite is this Odd Ball pincushion that we made with the felted wool balls from Artgirlz.  It is so amazingly simple!  Wool makes the best pincushions, it holds well and keeps your pins sharp.  The balls come packaged in Christmas colors in assorted sizes.  They already have holes in them, so you just string them together and take a stitch here and there to keep them in place.  I used embroidery floss and just the green and white balls.  I’m saving the red ones to embellish with beads for another project!

It isn’t fair to show you things that you can’t purchase for yourself, but we don’t have enough to offer the items on our website, so I am willing to take a few orders by email.  If you would like the table runner kit, it sells for $20 and I will included priority mail shipping.  If you would like the Wool Felt Bead Mix from Art Girls the package is $14, shipping included.  Both items are “while they last” and you can email your request to quilt@nauticom.net along with your daytime phone number.  We will call you on Monday to get your credit card information and shipping address.

As a big THANK YOU to those of you that have found our site and are enjoying our blog, we are going to have a drawing for a FREE PILLOW KIT!  All you need to do is leave a comment between now and THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20!  We will select the winner randomly from the list of comments!  The prize is a complete kit for this “Old Man Winter” button pillow.  The project measures 12” by 16” when complete and includes the pattern, all of the material for the appliqué and pillow, and the decorative snowflake buttons!

We want to hear from you!

Karen Montgomery