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We are vending this weekend in Madison, WI at the Alliant Energy Center for the Quilt Expo. If you’re in the area, stop by! We’d love to meet our customers!
Wanna join us even though you don’t live in the Midwest? I’ve got the next best thing for you…
No need to pack. I’ve done that for us.
Throw your bags in the car. Let’s go!
Bye daisy! I’ll miss you!
First stop. Starbucks of course. I can’t think without a coffee!
We’re here! Let’s unload and set up.
Whew! That was a lot of work!
Let’s go eat now. I’m starving.
We deserve a glass of wine too!
Back to the hotel and time to kick my feet up and relax. Tomorrows going to be one busy day!
Be sure to stop by our booth, #916, if you’re out and about!
Check back tomorrow for more updates.
Sorry for the lack of posting these days. We’ve been really busy trying to get ready for the Madison show coming up in just about 1 week! Yikes! It’s been a frenzy of assembling kits and cutting fabric. But I did want to sneak in a quick post for everyone…
I got a chance to relax and enjoy our monthly sew-in this last Sunday. We all went out to Pattie’s new home. It was fabulous! She has great taste in decor.
She had a chicken salad ready for us and Watermelon Mojitos…yummy.
Kelly worked on the binding for a Halloween quilt made from charm square scraps.
This is a quilt Pattie had over a sofa in her living room. Stunning comes to mind. I think the kitty liked it too!
Pattie has four kitties. But Pete was our favorite. He insisted on helping us out at every turn. He happened to love the Cosmo floss. I’m pretty sure he thought I had brought it just for him:)
We decided to start a group project next year with all the SewMod girls. Each of us will make a 15″ to 18″ “house” block, whether it be pieced or applique. Anything goes. In January we will pass our block to one of the girls and she will add her own creativity to it, such as beads, applique, embroidery, buttons, etc. In February, it will go the next girl to embellish. I’m really excited about this project and I can’t wait to see the finished blocks. We really have a very talented and diverse group so the end results should be interesting.
So that’s what I worked on during our sew-in. I chose to do an embroidered gingerbread house from a pattern I purchased from an Etsy shop called BigBgd. Very cute stuff! I enlarged one of the designs and embroidered the outer lines so the girls could have fun with the landscape and “candy decor”.
I still have the side candy canes left to embroider but I made some pretty good progress this Sunday. Now gotta get back to embroidering the Witches Boot before another month sneaks by and it’s October.
Thanks Pattie for being a great hostess. We all had a great time and look forward to coming back.
I hope to post a couple of new quilts we’ve recently finished soon, so be sure to check back with us!
Hi Everyone! Our friend Vicki over a Accio Fabrics is having a fabric moving sale. If you’re in the ChicagolLand area, stop by. She has some great deals and is letting go of a lot of great finds!
“Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things.” A fitting quote I found on Google:) My voices tell me to shop & worse…eat!
Here are a few thing that have kept me busy lately. Let’s start with the shopping. World Market is a dangerous place and I shouldn’t be allowed back in…
Cute coffee mugs and cereal bowls that say Good Morning!
I poured myself a tasty cup of Red Velvet Coffee, yes I said it, Red Velvet! Sooo yummy!
I found more of those cute stacking measuring bowls and a new set of ceramic measuring spoons.
Cute reusable polka dot straws!
A mini colander in turquoise, a maple bacon sucker for neighbor Susan, who loves bacon & a mini measuring cup that is 2 Tablespoons..
I didn’t buy this adorable pillow but took a pic for inspiration…
Some fabric shopping..I found the perfect polka dot for Halloween applique and picked up a few Halloween fat quarters I didn’t have.
And a piece from 3 Sisters with Christmas post cards all over it. I love this piece!
I’m going to skip the food pics because, well, it’s just embarrassing :(
So to keep myself occupied and out of stores and restaurants, I’ve been busy working on shop samples and kitting them for our upcoming fall Quilt Shows.
Arbre de Noel was made using the Tinsel Christmas line from Blend Fabrics. It turned out really cute! Paige did some awesome quilting, adding snowflakes and swirls. The big red star is my favorite.
This quilt in progress is called Chopsticks. It’s currently awaiting quilty magic from Paige and I can’t wait to show the finished quilt soon.
I’ve also been working diligently on the Witch’s Boot. But, I’m going to wait and show you that when it’s completed. That’s how close I am to being done…very excited!
Here’s a list of the upcoming shows we will be vending at this fall. If you’re in the ChicagoLand area, come see us. We love to meet our customers!
Quilt Expo
Sept. 6-8, 2012
Exhibition Hall at The Alliant Energy Center
Madison, Wisconsin
Sew Many Stars Quilt Show
Friday, September 28 10-7
Saturday, September 29 10-5
Church of Holy Apostles
5211 W. Bull Valley Road
McHenry, Illinois 60050
Prairie Star Quilt Show
Friday, October 12, 2012 9:00am to 6:00pm
Saturday, October 13, 2012 9:00am to 6:00p
DUPAGE COUNTY FAIR GROUNDS
2015 West Manchester Road
Wheaton , IL 60187
We will also be vending at our local guild
Northwest Suburban Quilters Guild
Oct. 18th , 6:30 pm-10:00 pm
PO Box 146
Arlington Heights, IL 60006-0146
Cool Kelly hosted us this Sunday for our monthly SewMod sew-in. She has a new place in the city and we couldn’t wait to see it.
I recently purchased an iPhone which I’m totally in LOVE with. I mean seriously in love with and addicted to. It’s the best thing since sliced bread:))
I took a lot of pics with it yesterday so I thought I’d do a day in pictures for y’all. Give you a glimpse into our get-togethers. Here we go!
The Loft
The View
Inspiration
Cute Bag Handles
Kelly’s $40 Flea Market Find
Kelly’s Fabric Organization
Paige’s New Tattoo
Drinks Sangria
Lunch
Dessert
Finally…some sewing:))
Rotating Mat For Fussy Cutting
Kelly Sewing
Shape Cut Ruler For Fast Strips
Stitchery Update
Vicki Hard At Work
A New Project
Almost.
I did get some work done this week. I managed to do some finishes and start a new Christmas quilt. Christmas.Shocking. I know:) Love me some Christmas and what better time than July with this scorching heat wave than to sit in an air conditioned studio and wish for cooler temperatures. So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I’m going to make you wait for the newest one I just finished. I’m waiting for Paige to work her quilty magic on it before I reveal. But here’s what I’ve done so far this week….
I added this cute Alpine Wonderland Christmas Quilt kit to Etsy yesterday. We used the Summer Tweets quilt pattern that Paige and I designed because it showcases large scale prints and the main fabrics in Alpine Wonderland are so darn cute I couldn’t bear to cut it up. Kit comes with the free pattern.
Paige quilted it in an all over stipple.
Chain Reaction is finally ready and added to Etsy as well. This is one of my faves! Very modern looking. We used all of the Art Gallery prints we had in stock to create a scrappy modern quilt. Paige picked an excellent all over quilt design to enhance the look. Kona white and Kona Ash Grey are the coordinating solids.
And last, I hung the finished Sassafras quilt in my living room. Paige also did an all over design on this since it was so busy but added some special touches to the cone flowers.
Today I’m off with Shelley over at Elsie’s Girl for the downtown Crystal Lake Sidewalk Sale. I hope I come home with lots of good finds and bargains to share with you! Talk soon!
What to do when work is the farthest from your mind, your teen is away for the week, and the pup is at the doggie spa for the day? Shopping of course! So me and my bestie friend Susan took a couple of hours for a midweek break. We started off by doing some errands but as usual the shenanigans started and we found ourselves on a tiny spree:)
We didn’t make it to Target, but that was only because we ran outta time. We went to K-Mart and I picked up some new dishes. On sale for only $7.00! And I like them! I need to go to Target for matching brown bowls and small plates now.
Next we headed to World Market. A dangerous place for sure! Just look at this adorable vintage like cake carrier we came across. It’s tin and it’s in the robins egg blue…love it! I picked up the tea towels at K-Mart too . I could add an embroidery design and display them with the cake carrier.
It even has a removable top for a pie…I’m actually giddy over this find!
I love pretty much anything for the kitchen, so these cute nesting measurement bowls jumped into my basket as well. Each one has a different design in the bottom.
The ceramic measuring spoons came home with me too.
Check out this awesome vintage looking bird cage wall hanging that holds photos or post cards. Mine now:) That’s the perfect spot for it.
A cute sitting chair in a linen fabric and each button was a different fabric. So cute and I wish I had a place for this. I don’t, so it had to stay at World Market even though I know it wanted to come home with me.
I picked up these bicycle paper clips for me and my friend Vicki, who also has a love for cute bicycles.
We stopped by our favorite grocery store…The Fresh Market.
Lots of goodies to keep you…um …healthy;) Isn’t this cake beautiful? This did not come home with me. Unless having my teen away for the week counts as a special occasion…hmmm.
Even though work was a distant second today, it was still in my thoughts. I managed to find the new issue of Mollie Makes.
So now that Daisy has made it back home from her beauty appointment, I’m going to relax after all that shopping and read my new issue. I hope there isn’t anything in there I want because I don’t think my wallet will be very happy with me:(
Thanks for letting me brag about all of my great finds. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Paige and I spent last Thursday evening vending at a local guild in Algonquin, IL. We did a little intro about what our shop was about, demonstrated how to use the Easy Dresden tool by Darlene Zimmerman, and gave a trunk show with all of the quilts we have made in the past year. We had a great time and we’d like to thank all of the ladies who welcomed us into their guild!
Since we are so Dresden happy, a demo on the Easy Dresden tool was just that, easy! I’d like to also share with you the steps to make one and also provide a refresher just in case some of the ladies from the meeting visit the blog.
This is the Easy Dresden, which can be found at your local quilt shop.
First, you’re going to want to determine what size you want your Dresden to be and cut a strip of fabric to that width. For example, if you’d like a 5″ Dresden, cut a 5″ wide strip of fabric. The Dresden I’m working with today is 8″, so I cut an 8 inch strip of fabric.
Start cutting your wedges from the strip by alternating the tool. This will cut down on any waste from your fabric.
Take your cut wedge and fold it lengthwise, right sides together and sew using a 1/4″ seam allowance, begin sewing at the widest end.
Chain piece all your wedges.
Clip your corner, being careful not to cut too close to your seam.
Turn the wedge right side out. Use the turning tool provided to turn out your point. Don’t push too hard. You don’t want to push your stitches through.
Press the wedge flat, making sure the seam is pressed open. This helps remove some of the bulk.
Sew the wedges, right sides together to begin making your plate. Always start from the widest part and work your way down. A tip to hide all of the loose threads, is to start 1/4″ down, reverse your way back up to the beginning, and continue to sew down the side of the wedge.
Press in one direction, careful not to stretch your plate.
I find it best to sew the Dresden together in sections. For example, our Dresden has 20 wedges. I sew 10 each together to make 2 halves and then sew the 2 halves together to make a Dresden.
Here are some examples of Dresdens that we have made using this Easy Dresden tool and this technique. This is our new Christmas Dresden Table Runner made from our SewMod pattern called North Garden. It’s made with 8″ wedges. This kit is now available in the Etsy shop. Just in time to get started on some of those Christmas Projects. We used the new Tinsel line by Maude Asbury for Blend fabrics and the kit comes with the free pattern!
The corner Dresdens on the Cannon Beach pattern…
I used a 2-1/2″ wide blade for the “grass” wedges on my Wonky Wildflowers wall hanging.
And instead of using the template provided for the this quilt, I made it easier by using the Easy Dresden tool. Neither the Wonky Wildflowers or this quilt required a pointed blade. The “grass” was sewn into the seam and the “tree” blades edges were turned under using hand applique.
And last, Paige’s sewing machine cover…
I hope our Demo has inspired you to make a Dresden. It really is that easy!
I haven’t been this excited about a fabric line in quite some time, except of course all of the Christmas fabrics we got in the shop. Lilly Belle is by Bari J. for Art Gallery fabrics. It’s her first design for them and I’d have to say she did a great job. I’m in love!
If I have to narrow it down, here’s some of my fave’s.
Also arriving was Vintage Summer by Little Yellow Bicycle for Blend fabrics.
We plan on using this line to make and kit up some from the pattern ‘Rome‘, which I showed y’all in a post from Market.
This would make a great summer quilt. We also have the Arbre de Noel quilt pattern which will soon be kitted with the Tinsel fabrics from Blend also.
Two more Christmas fabrics arrived yesterday. I just couldn’t help myself when I saw theses two available from Riley Blake. They would make great bidings and fillers that could be used with just about any Christmas line. They are part of the Santa’s Workshop line.
All of these fabrics can be found in the Etsy shop. Enjoy all of the beautiful weather everyone. Have a great weekend!
I recently spent the day sewing at Paige’s house. She worked on a new quilt design, while I worked on a Christmas Dresden Table Runner, which I can’t wait to show you how cute that is. We are doing our first demo and vending at a local guild. We are going to be doing a show ‘n’ tell of our quilts and designs and doing the demo with the Easy Dresden tool. We’re very excited!!
As you know, Paige is an excellent longarm quilter. She gave me my first lesson on loading a quilt. I learned a lot.
One of the things I took away from the lesson, besides how important it is to have a square quilt for the quilter’s sanity, is to make sure that all my pieces, backing and batting are cut to size, only 4-6″ more on each side. Otherwise it creates more work for the quilter. I know in the past I’ve been guilty that. Another good tip is to remove all of your extra threads on the back that may show through on the front.
This beautiful Lone Star quilt hangs in her longarm room. Talk about inspiration. I’m always in awe of this quilt. What a find!
And check out this super cute sewing machine cover she whipped up. Of course there is a dresden on it!
I can’t wait to show y’all the fabrics tomorrow for the Fabric Friday post. New patterns & fabrics. You won’t wanna miss!
SewMod