FINISHING UP THE OLD

With Christmas in the rear view mirror, my husband and I headed over the mountains, for a little R&R.  There is snow, lots of snow.  And the threat of more on the way.  We have groceries, firewood, and a local winery within walking distance.  There is a stack of books on the table, DVD's, my trusty pink laptop, and a bag of unfinished projects!  What could be better?  Well, my son and his fiance had to cancel, because of the snow, having them here would be the best ever.  But, UFO's have now popped to the top of my list!

Look at that sweet stack of blades, already basted and ready for whip stitching!  I worked on them years ago, while I was on a bus trip in Boston.  If any of you remember what year Quilt Market was in Boston, please let me know.  That's when this project was started!

Yes, some are already whip stitched together, just waiting for their friends

to join them.  They are pretty stinkin' cute.  The fabrics are timeless, I know they were printed in the 80's but, they could have been printed in the 40's or 2010.  I love that about them.

They are so happy, and I am happy to have them out of the bag, and ready to play.  There will be 12 blocks, they will be appliqued to a 12" muslin block, and a yellow center will go on each one.  I might sash them in yellow, I am not sure yet.  Borders?  Binding?  They are so friendly, I am sure they will tell me exactly how they want to be finished! 

This will be my Happy 2011 quilt!!  J

Holiday Cheer

Getting ready for the Holiday's has been different for me this year.

I am not really sure why, but I haven't pushed myself to do all of the things I usually do.

Today, I finally hung a few of my old favorite Christmas quilts.

This Holly Basket Quilt means a lot to me.  It is an old Thimbleberries pattern.

I hand appliqued the holly and the berries while sitting next to my mom, during her final days.

I remember her telling me that I would ruin my eyes if I continued to wear 'cheater' glasses.

Once a mom, always a mom!

This Snowman quilt is the size of a door, a life size, friendly fellow. 

Orange fabric was difficult to find when I made this.  Now, orange is one of my favorite colors.

Don't you think buttons always add a bit of whimsy to a quilt?

I bet this quilt is at least 20 years old.  But, it is always the first one I hang. 

It will stay up long after Christmas is over.

It was a Debbie Mumm pattern.  On the pattern cover there were 4 snowmen, with 3 boys

it made sense to just make 3.  I love the simplistic lines of this quilt.  I was still hand quilting everything!

Tonight, when I get home from the shop, I am going to light an Apple Pie Candle, listen to Elvis sing Christmas songs, and wrap a few gifts.  I feel like I am finally getting ready for the big Holiday!

I plan to bake some cookies in the next few days, remember all of those yummy recipes we shared during the Mistletoe Make and Bake Bloghop?  I must get busy!! J

Weather Report

 Today is one of those days, when everyone though the door is talking about the weather.  Even Face Book is full of weather comments.  This morning we had bright flashes of lightning followed by long, loud thunder claps.  There was rain, wind and hail in some places.   Quite the wake up call!  Now, the sky is blue and the sun is shinning. 


When I was growing up, my Grandparents lived on a farm outside of Portland, Oregon.  I loved spending time there.  I was always willing to help, we had to gather eggs, milk Bessy the cow, throw the ball for Shep, feed all of the barn cats.  My Grandmother did not quilt, she had a quilt frame, but it was never taken out of the Sears and Roebuck's box.  She mended my Grandfathers shirts, made sock monkeys and a few other soft toys.  She had a button box, which I treasure today.  One of my earliest sewing memories, is sewing buttons on wash cloths, picking the prettiest ones from the box. I imagine, my Grandfather was tired of my 'help', and she had to find a project to keep me inside!

In the hall way of the farm house, there was a big black wall phone.  They were on a party line,  remember those?  They knew what was going on at the near-by farms by listening in. They had a special ring, and I remember them saying 'It's for the Rassmussen's'.  We all know who's phone is ringing by our special ring tones, today!  Everything old is new again!  Next to the phone, hanging from a string, was a current copy of the Farmer's Almanac, and a pencil that my Grandfather sharpened with his pocket knife.  He would look at the Almanac, often.  Quoted it.  I just remember it's yellow cover.


Today, I decided to see what the Almanac had in store for our winter weather, since we have started out with a bang!  But, look at the map,  Mild and Very Wet.  That is great news for those of us in the NW.  We know how to do Very Wet, it's the Very Cold, that we have a hard time with.  It also said today was a good day to cut your hair, weaning and potty training, bake, cut fire wood and dig holes.  Nothing about stitching, hmm.  I wonder if they told women when to sew, mend, quilt, stitch?  I think it is something we should all but on our calendars!  Make time to do a little stitching, it's way more fun than digging holes!  J


PS- a pantie raid update.  Today, I am delivering 73 pairs of panties, and 65 pairs of socks to the Everett Gospel Mission.  They were thrilled with the call, as you can imagine, they are taking care of more people than ever.  Thank you for all of your generosity!

Stitching

Embroidery has always been popular.  It's a great way to introduce young girls to sewing.  I remember doing a little embroidery during a Blue Bird meeting, I loved it then, and I love it now.  Sometimes I am intimidated when I see the beautiful work both Faith and Kay do. I have decided that practice is the only way to get better, so I have been stitching a little in the evenings. 


We have quite a few patterns for embroidery in the shop. Did you know that we even carry the Aunt Martha's transfers?  I had an Aunt Thelma.  She taught me the love of collecting.  I own her salt and pepper shaker collection.  Hundred's of them. They give me great pleasure.  I know how hard she worked, in the cannery, and spending 39 cents at Woolworth's was a big deal!  She had many collections, but I don't think she realized we would call them collections today.  I have a big box of embroidery patterns that she mailed away for.  A wonderful look at the patterns that were available in the 40's and 50's.  My father and his brother thought they were 'junk'.  Not Me!  I treasure them.  She also collected pre printed embroidery projects.  Yes, I have many of those, also.  I will dig them out, and take pictures for you!

 This little stitchery, from Rosalie Quinlin, is the one I am working on right now.  Rosalie is an Australian designer, you may have seen her projects in the Australian magazines.  I ordered her patterns last week, I imagine they are on a slow boat, but when they arrive it is going to be a wonderful day.  Her things are delightful, and so is she!!

We have many customers who have made this pattern.  It is from Crabapple Hill, and a classic for sure.  More than one customer has done it in blue and white. It is on my To Do list.  That list just keeps growing!  How does that happen? J

PANTIE RAID!

Today is the 1st day of our cross country Pantie Raid.

Bring in a package of new women's or children's panties or socks,

and we will give you a free fat quarter!

Keepsake Cottage is the only shop on the West Coast

that is participating.  So, let's show the rest of the country

some West Coast spirit!!

All of your donations will go to a local 'safe house'

for women and children.

We will be taking donations from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Thanks for your help! J

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I had a different post planned for Thanksgiving day.  You know, a vintage Thanksgiving image, a heartfelt message, wishes for kindness and world peace.  I still have that message in my head, but my heart has a new message.


Yesterday, my 1st born, Christopher asked his long time girlfriend, Megan to marry him!  I am so thankful to be adding Megan and her family to our family tree. Not only is she beautiful, but she is funny, kind and loves my boy.


I hope each of you has a wonderful day with family and friends.  This year I have an extra reason to be thankful!  J

SNOW DAY

 Oh yes, it's beautiful, but it causes so many problems.  Hundreds of cars, scattered like Hot Wheels, on the side (or middle) of the roads. 

4 inches of snow should not be such a problem.  It's the ice. A layer of ice under the snow is very dangerous.  This morning I was watching the news, and they were showing, live, a city bus, sliding sideways down a hill.  I don't want to see that in person!

Maybe, I will brush off the chairs, and build a little fire in the back yard!  I remember my husband building fires in the front yard.  The boys were young, and our driveway was a perfect sledding hill for them.  They would come in, soaking wet, put on dry clothes and go back out.  They LOVED the snow. 


Now, Chris lives in a town in Idaho, where they measure the snow in feet, not inches.  He has a Saint Bernard, who digs huge holes in the snow and lays in them, snow shoes hang by his back door and one of the highlights of winter is the Beard Growing Contest. (you can't make that up)  He still loves the snow.


It's not so much fun at Country Village.  The slight incline to get back on the Highway, is a sheet of ice.  So, if you were planning on shopping with us today, stay home.  Work on a UFO, and check back tomorrow, because we are staying home today.  The shop is closed, along with the Northshore School District.  Stay warm.  J

PANTIE RAID

A huge thank you to all of the Blog Hop particpants!  I had over 1500 people look at my Blog on Thursday.  That takes my breath away!  We all had tons of fun, and positive feed back from all of you.  We will be posting the grand prize winners, tomorrow.  So Please check back.



Now for our next big event.  This weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,Select Quilt Shops across the country are collecting Panties and Socks for women and children.  Each shop has selected a charity to donate the items.  The panties and socks that are donated here, at Keepsake Cottage, will be taken to a safe house for women and children. 


For every package of panties and socks that you bring in, we will give you a free fat quarter.  A win-win.


A friend in the Atlanta area did this last year, and she collected hundreds of packages of undies.  I think the people of the NW are a very generous group, so I am hoping to out do her this year!  So, while you are shopping in the Mall at 4 am on Friday, pick up a pack or two, and drop them by the shop.  It will make someones life just a little bit better.  J

MISTLETOE MAKE AND BAKE DAY SIX

Today is the final day of our little journey together, what fun we have all had!  I have learned a lot, made new friends and have lots of great ideas.  I hope you are feeling the same!

First things first, I have 2 winners from Thursdays post.

At first I thought I was going to give just one prize,

but you were all so kind, I wanted to give all 172 a prize.

That didn't seem quite possible.  So, I decided to give 2.

The first prize, a zippered sewing tote,

and 9 spools of the amazing Aurifil Thread

goes to

CARAQUILTS

(insert applause here)

The second prize, 9 spools of the amazing Aurifil Thread

goes to

MRS. DILLYDALLY

(more applause)

Please email me (quilts4julie@frontier.com )  so I can get these out to you right away.

Today we are all talking about Cookie Exchanges, and tips to help you.  I wish I could write this post after I read all of my fellow bloggers ideas.  I am really bad at Cookie Exchanges.

I haven't been invited to participate in one for years, I'm sure it's because I have failed in the past.

There are always people with darling presentation, something a little extra.  They 'cute' it up.  They make complicated cookies, they have a secret twist.  I am always embarrassed by my packaging.

Usually a paper plate, probably left over from a themed birthday party, and plastic wrap.

I'm sure it was all I had time to do.  They always happen at the end of soccer season, with 3 boys, I spent a lot of time on soccer fields.  I imagine all the other mom's had kids in soccer too, they seemed

to make it happen.  I just couldn't get organized.  Besides, the boys would 'sneak'

the cookies out of some of the packages.  When they were small, they would

just take the Kisses off the top, and leave the cookie.

So, my advise to you is be organized, make it cute, do something extra, make fabulous cookies,

and don't invite your 'lame' friends.  Just give them cookies, and a hug.

It will make everybody feel good!

I found an old recipe for today, and old friend.  I haven't baked them in years,

but I'm sure I would love them as much today as I did back then.

OATMEAL SCOTCHIES

2 cups unsifted flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cusp firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp water

1 1/2 cups uncooked quick oats

1 12 oz package of Butterscotch Morsels

1/2 tsp orange extract

preheat oven to 375, in a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In large bowl combine butter, brown sugar, eggs and water.  Beat until creamy.

Gradually add flour mixture, stir in oats, Butterscotch Morsels and orange extract.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

makes 4 dozen 3 inch cookies.

Our last 2 designers are

Vickie Cook Eapen http://spunsugarquilt.com/

and my good friend Melisa Morrison http://sweethomequiltco.com/weblog/

Skip on over to see what the have going on for you today.

Now that we have become friends, don't be a stranger.

No, I don't post every day. 

No, I don't post recipes. (maybe I will start)

2 or 3 times a week I share a little of what is going on in my world.

Usually it's about quilting, sometimes I toss in news of my boys, or my granddogs.

I try to make it fun and fresh.

I hope to see  you soon!  J

Mistletoe Make and Bake Day Five

 A Huge Thank you to everyone for all of your sweet comments about my project yesterday.  Even with my 'techy' difficulties, you were kind and patient.  If anyone out there still needs my Cookie Tray pattern, Please email me at  quilts4julie@frontier.com and I will make sure you get a copy!

I will post my winner on tomorrow's post, since it is still Thursday where I live!

These are the Cookie jars that are on my kitchen counter.  I love the one's from the 70's.  However my super most favorite one in the entire world is the   one on the right.  It was painted by my youngest boy, Quinton.   It is the one we really use for cookies.  If you turn it around and look at the back, this is what you will see.

 

Quinton Stewart loves his mom, and her cookies as well.  5/17/97

This boy is now 25, he went to culinary school, is a Chef in a boutique restaurant in Seattle, Branzino.  He and his father, my DH, rode their motorcycles across the country and back last spring. 

I love this boy and his cookies, as well!

When I read that we were to write about a Holiday Tradition that we "had to do, no matter what"  I knew that it was the cookie recipe, that I would post today.  Even if the tree wasn't decorated, or if the lights were not on the house, there had to be Peanut Butter Kisses in the House!!

It doesn't matter who walks though the door, they all want my Peanut Butter kisses cookies!

This is your recipe for today.

PEANUT BUTTER KISSES

18oz peanut butter

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

48 Hershey Kisses (a 9oz bag has 53)

Heat oven to 350

Stir peanut butter, eggs and sugar until thoroughly blended.  (dough will be sticky.)

Roll Tablespoon size balls, place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes. (cookie will be dry on top)

remove from the oven,  press the unwrapped Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie.  Transfer from cookie sheet to waxed paper.  Cool and enjoy.!!

I have made these with my boys for their entire lives!  When they were really little, they just unwrapped the kisses. 

It was a big job for them and a joy for me.  Make these easy cookies with the children you love.  It will start the best memories, ever!

Today's designers are my good buddie

Roseann Kermes http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

and  Brenda Riddle http://brendariddle.blogspot.com/ 

MISTLETOE MAKE AND BAKE DAY FOUR

We are half way thru this fun event.  I am having fun reading everyone's blogs, and collecting gift and cookie ideas, I hope you are too!


Today is my day for a project, along with Moda Lissa!  What a fun partner for this event.  She is very creative, so I am looking forward to her post.  The pictures of her son, enjoying his cookies and milk, were pretty darned cute!

When we were asked to share our favorite Christmas book, only one thing came to mind 'the stockings were hung by the chimney with care'.  I have read that story hundreds of times.  My very favorite time, was always on Christmas Eve.  The boys would have on their new pj's, they would be so excited, I knew they would take forever to go to sleep.  I would always read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to them.  All snuggled up together.  Them dreaming of the morning to come, me dreading what was ahead for me.  There were always things to assemble, I usually hadn't finished wrapping, and then there were the stockings.  I usually had to force myself not to be upset with my husband, because he was not worried about it at all!  So, those few moments of calm were always very special to me.

I hope you will have fun making these fast and easy Fabric Cookie Trays!
Fabric Cookie Tray.docx

When I was looking for a recipe for today, I looked in my Mothers wooden recipe box.  I found one that sounded good, but the best part about it was under the title is said, Barbara Walters.  So, if you can just imagine Barbara in a cozy kitchen, wearing an apron, this is what she might be making!

Chocolate Macaroons

Barbara Walters

1 can (14 oz) Sweetened condensed milk

4- 1 oz squares of unsweetened chocolate

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz shredded coconut

Pre heat oven to 350.  Grease 2 cookie sheets. 

In a double boiler, combine condensed milk, chocolate and salt.

cook over hot, not boiling water, stirring frequently, until chocolate melts and mixture thickens, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat.  Add vanilla then the coconut.  Mix well, drop by rounded teaspoons one inch apart on cookie sheets.  Bake until cookies are just set, approx. 9 minutes.  Remove at once and place on waxed paper.  Let cool.

I made these last night, and remember to LET COOL.  The coconut holds onto the heat.  They were very good, I can see why Barbara enjoys them! 

Today I am having a give away.  Leave me a comment, and I will pick a winner.  I will be sending you 2 appetizer packages of my favorite Aurifil Thread, and a zippered sewing tote!

Now, go on over to Lissa's blog and see what she has cooking.

http://modalissa.blogspot.com/

NOTICE:  several of you have had difficulty opening the pattern.
I am not a very techy kind of girl.  So if you will email me,
I will send you a copy of the pattern! 
It's fun, easy, and I want you all to make one!  Julie
quilts4julie@frontier.com

Misteltoe Make and Bake Day Three

`

It's Day Three of our big adventure.  I don't know about you, but I feel like baking!!  Some of the recipes have been amazing. 

Today we are talking about how to start a conversation at a Cocktail party.  This can be difficult, especially if you are the only stranger in the room.

I remember years ago going to my husbands office party.  They asked him to dress as Santa.  It seemed like it would be fun, but it turned out to be one of the worst parties I had ever attended.  I was a young mom, I had been looking forward to a night out without the kids.  My husband was the most popular man at the party, but he didn't have time to introduce me to his colleges or even chat with me.  I decided that night, that I would always look for the 'stranger' in the crowd, and talk with them.  People love to tell you about themselves, their family's and their careers.  Try it, you just might make a friend, and I know you will make some one's evening much more comfortable.

Isn't this little guy cute!  Last Christmas my son, Christopher and his girlfriend Megan,  painted this for me.  He would never be lonely at a party!

My Mom used to make these cookies when I was a little girl.

I loved it when she baked them in the afternoon, just before I came home from school.  Spicy, thick, chewey cookies with crackled sugary tops.

Molasses Crinkles

3/4 cup soft butter

1 cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 1/4 cups sifted flour

2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves1tsp cinnamon

1tsp ginger.

Mix thoroughly butter, brown sugar, egg and molasses.  Sift together dry ingredients and stir in.  Chill Dough.  Heat oven to 375.  Roll dough into balls the size of large walnuts.  Dip tops in sugar.  Place sugar-side-up 3" apart on greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle each with 2 or 3 drops of water to make a cracked surface.  Bake 10 - 12 minutes. Just until set, but not hard.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Now  hop on over to Celinehttp://www.perkinsdrygoods.com/blog/

Patrick http://www.patricklose.blogspot.com/

and

Kelly Ann http://www.kellyannsquilting.blogspot.com/

Now, I am off to try my recipe for tomorrows post!

MISTLETOE MAKE AND BAKE DAY TWO

Welcome to the second day of the Mistletoe Make and Bake.  I loved Sherri's project yesterday.  How about you?

We all have things in our "bag 'o tricks to help us get through the Holiday Season.  I used to feel like I should decorate inside and out, every room in the house.  But, after a couple of stressful years, I realized it really is all about the people you love.  So, I have scaled back.  I have a large cookie jar collection, so I pull out some cute, chunky cookie jars, sprinkle a few quilts here and there and call it 'decorated'.  It's helped save my sanity!

I was given this recipe many years ago, by the Grandmother of a friend.  She baked them every day!  The mailman counted on it!

Drop Sugar Cookies

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

4 cups plus 4 Tablespoons flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp Cream of Tartar (her secret ingredient)

cream sugars with butter.  Beat oil and eggs.  Add vanilla, mix dry ingredients, and add gradually.  Roll in small balls, place on cookie sheet. Press with glass dipped in sugar.

bake at 375 for about 8 minutes

watch carefully, do not let them turn brown.

Now go over and see what Heidi http://blog.heidikaisand.com/

and Monique http://opengatequilts.com/id69.html

are cooking up today.

Remember to post on every ones blog, to be eligible for the big prize basket!

Mistletoe Make and Bake

Welcome to the first day of the Mistletoe Make and Bake. We have all been so excited to bring a few ideas to all of you, to make your Holiday season the best ever!

Santa has always been a magical man in our home. When our 3 sons would go to bed on Christmas eve, the tree would be lit, the stockings would be hung, but there were no gifts under the tree. If you believed in the Magic of Christmas, the tree would be full when morning came.


They are all adults now, but all of the gifts under the tree come from Santa. Who is going to argue with that?

When my boys asked for Yummy Cookies. I always had the ingredients in the pantry. This is an easy 'go to ' cookie recipe when you need something at the last minute.

YUMMY COOKIES

Combine in a sauce pan and boil one minute:

1/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

pinch of salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick oats

1 tsp. vanilla

Drop by teaspoonful onto waxed paper and let set overnight

Head over to Sherri's http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/ blog to see what project she has planned for you today.

FYI, my good Buddie Monica, aka The Happy Zombie had to drop out of the hop at the last minute. We will miss her, but you can still show her some love! Click on my sidebar to go visit her!

At Quilt Market the designers are like stars on the red carpet. Constantly posing for photos and answering questions. When I was talking with Liesl from Oliver & S, she tried to get in the best lighting in her booth! Her patterns are so adorable, I love them. Little paper dolls model her designs. How super cute it that. I loved Betsy McCall when I was a little girl, how about you?

Barb and Mary from Me & My Sister are super fun girls. They had us hold an iron in it's own little cozy, like it was an award. Lots of laughs in their booth. And the iron cozy is darling. One of my buddies, Nanci Quick from the Quilted Kitty is going to make them for all of the irons in her class room!

Kathy Schmitz has brought her Crackle back!! I know lots of you will be happy to hear that. Her newest fabric collection is all printed on Crackle. Pretty wonderful. Her panel is printed embroidery blocks. So, if you love the look of embroidery, but don't have the time to do it. This will be a collection you won't want to miss. Of course, if you love embroidery, her patterns are wonderful. We still have space in our Winsome Wreath Club, if you have thought about joining. Her projects are beautiful.

There were many wonderful moments at market that weren't captured in a photo. Most of them involved my wonderful friends from across the country. All of us shop owners wanting to create the best quilt shops ever for our community of quilters and home sewers. We exchanged thoughts and ideas late into the night. We are working on a 'giving' project that will involve all of our favorite customers. Watch for that next week.

Don't forget the Blog Hop- Mistletoe Make and Bake starting on Monday! J

Get ready for 13 fun holiday projects, from 13 designers! A cross country Blog Hop, starting next Monday. 6 Days of projects, cookies recipes and holiday memories.

• Monday: Sherri Falls http://thisandthatpatterns.typepad.com/
• Tuesday: Heidi Kaisand http://blog.heidikaisand.com/
• Tuesday: Monique Dillard http://opengatequilts.com/id69.html
• Wednesday:Celine Perkins http://www.perkinsdrygoods.com/blog/
• Wednesday: Patrick Lose http://patricklose.blogspot.com/
• Wednesday: Kelly Ann Richardson http://kellyannsquilting.blogspot.com/
• Thursday: Lissa Alexander http://modalissa.blogspot.com/
• Thursday: Julie Stewart (that's me kids) http://keepsakecottagefabrics.blogspot.com/
• Friday: Roseann Kermes http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com/
• Friday: Brenda Riddle http://brendariddle.blogspot.com/
• Saturday: Vickie Cook Eapen http://spunsugarquilt.com/
• Saturday: Melisa Morrison http://sweethomequiltco.com/weblog/

Doesn't this look like a great line up! We're all cooking up a little fun for you so

please join us next week! J

MARKET RECAP

I have been home from Market for 5 days, and it's been a whirlwind here! Finally I have a few moments to post a few pictures of my Quilty Friends!



This is Joanna, from Fig Tree Quilts. I always love her booth. The colors, and the traditional designs just draw me in. Joanna has become a good friend. We have danced the night away at many Quilt Market parties!






These are the Blackbird Ladies. Alma and Barb. Their quilts are breath taking, and they are the sweetest women. People were lined up for autographs and photos. As you can see, they didn't know which way to turn!



Their newest book was hot off the press, we will have it in the shop next week.





Ann Sutton, from Bunny Hill Designs, is a delight. Her fabric line, Lilly and Will, was delivered to the shop this week, and they have added 2 new color ways, yellow and soft turquoise. And look at that super cute sailboat quilt, darling!

Quilts, Inc. still won't let Miss Rosie in the show. So, Carrie Nelson has to go it alone! Every time I walked past her booth there were lots of people talking to her, and she always had a smile on her face. Her new fabric line just makes everyone happy!

There are more pictures to come. Some of the things I bought for the shop are Kwik Sew Patterns. Childrens clothes, doll clothes, pj pants and aprons. These are great sewing patterns that have been tested and retested for your success!

I spent many hours with my shop owner friends, sharing ideas about making the best shops ever for our favorite customers. I am ready to dig in and work hard for you! J

SCHOOL HOUSE IN HOUSTON

gThe first big day of activities during Qui t Market is School House. Eight hours of classes. The classes are either15 or 30 minutes, and are as varied as the vendors on the show floor. We see new tools, clubs and fabric. I try to go the the classes with designers I know my customers love. So that I can see what new patterns, books or fabric lines I should be looking for once market opens.

Jo Morton always has a packed house. They hold up her quilts and we are all trying to take pictures from a far. Seeing these quilts in person is a wonderful treat. The rooms are bright and I was far away, but I tried to snap a few pictures for you to see.

This quilt was amazing.

The number of fabrics used to create her scrapy look, takes years to collect. Her quilts have depth and richness.

I went to classes with Alex Anderson, Darlene Zimmerman,Nancy Zieman, Eleanor Burns and Elizabeth Scott. Great Samples and wonderful ideas.

Quilters I saw across the room-Pam Kitty Morning,Kaffe Fasset Jinny Beyer, Elly Sinkiewicz and the Swirley Girls.

It was a great day, and I will take more pictures tomorrow, when the market floor opens. j

FALL 2010

I love the fall. I love the crisp mornings, and the warm afternoons. I love the colors of the trees, the mum's and I love fall fabric.

Months ago, I thought about the great blog posts I would write during the fall. I planned to take lots of pictures of Fall Colors. What happened? Where did the Fall go? Last week I was thinking how beautiful it was. My husband was lamenting about the lawn. We wore jackets and sat outside in the evening.


It's raining, the wind has been howling for 3 days. The beautiful leaves are gone. There's no sitting outside in the evening. But, Safeway still has fall colors! Look at the wonderful graphics on these giant boxes of pumpkins! Beautiful. Who are the grocery store 'designers'?

And the displays! Do they keep those cute wooden crates in the stock room all year, just to drag them out for Fall? Or if I look other times of the year, will I see them? Who would think Watermelon and Pumpkins would work together? Makes me want pie and salad! Beautiful.

Oh, and the gourds! Bumpy and colorful, in a cute little basket. And look at those cute little pumpkins all wrapped up in orange net! Green, orange, white and yellow!

I must admit that Orange is my favorite color right now! You can't have a bad day if you wrap yourself in Orange!

You never know where you will find color inspiration. These colors just might show up in my next quilting project!

Stay tuned, I am going to Fall Quilt Market. ( Where it is 90 degrees with 87% humidity.) I will update you on a daily basis with ideas, color trends, and quilt super star sightings! J

THE REST OF THE STORY

I love my fall quilt retreat. I love my Killer Bee Girlfriends. We have a secret wave, and love all things Bee's. I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the projects we worked on.

This was a gift made by one of the Bee's. Stinkin' Cute Scissor Fobs. We all had a lesson in twisting embroidery floss to make the little cording.

This was the pile of Bee parts. It was a secret hiding in plain sight! Pam is so sneaky!

One of the things I worked on was a very scrappy quilt. I have been saving 2 x 3 1/2 rectangles. They make a really cute block, and a super scrappy FREE quilt top!

Our Queen of the Hive, Laurie, was working on this beautiful French General quilt. She can make perfect points, even if the hive is swarming with activity.

Pam loves her turtles. She is one with her machine. Whether it's machine applique or machine quilting!

Kay worked all weekend on this wonderful fall quilt. It is from a 10 year old book from Country Threads. It has aged nicely, and the project is fabulous!

Cleo worked on many things. My favorite was a Dirndl for an October Fest party she was attending. Darn, where was my camera? This block is going to be a quilt for a dear friend.

Betsy loves a Cowboy Quilt. Cowboy Bob has been her go to, snuggle up quilt for a few years. This is really a Cowgirl Quilt. Really great fabrics!

Our Head Drone, Suzanne, was very buzzzy. She made 2 table runners from 1 charm pack, and a little extra fabric. Beautiful!

There were many other projects. Lots of laughter, great food, a little shopping and ice cream for the Ferry ride home.

Best retreat buddies, ever!