Tsukineko Class

Our Tsukineko class last Saturday was a BLAST!!!!!

Just check out some of the fabulous things the participants created by painting, rubbing, marbling, dyeing, mono-printing and so much more!

International Quilt Festival Went Out With a Bang

What a week it was! 

First, I had to dump all of our stuff in the booth at Rosemont and then race back to the store for the bus group which was set to arrive at 1:45 that afternoon.  I figured set up would go much better, if everything was at least in the booth.  And it proved to be worth it because for the first time ever we got to Rosemont early enough for them to let us drive right up to our booth to unload!  How much easier could it get?  No carts needed. 

Then, back to the store to wait for the bus group.  It was the first time we had hosted a bus group and it went really well!  In fact the organizer told me that my store was the most prepared and organized out of the three they had visited that day!  And, now I know that my store will fit a bus load full of people!  I was wondering how they would all fit.

Then, In between all of this TWO new lines of fabric arrived which we quickly cut and folded while waiting for the bus to arrive so we could take the latest and greatest fabric to the show.
 
Next, we had to race back to Rosemont to set up the booth the next morning so it would be ready for the preview that night. And we got it done in time!  See?

 

Preview night was OK.  Bev and I were both exhausted but we got through it.  And, Friday was so good that it made this show OUR BEST SHOW TO DATE!  Way to go to everyone who attended the show!  I've never seen such a crowd at a show before.  And, a huge THANK YOU to my sister, Donna for helping me checkout people on Friday!  I know it could not have been so good without her help.  And sewing is not exactly her cup of tea!  Needles and thread are foreign objects to her!  But, she is good with a computer and that's all that mattered on Friday!

It is sad to think that this was the last Rosemont show as it is moving to Ohio!  I wish they would have chosen a closer venue!  The show will be missed!  Maybe I'll try Paducah again????  I took this pic from my booth this morning before the show opened.  It is a strange feeling to be there before the crowd arrives and an even stranger feeling to think that it will be no more! 

Farewell International Quilt Festival Chicago!  It was good to have it so close to home and it will be missed!

Spring Is In The Air

What a beautiful March 1st!  .... and March usually comes in like a lion .... not this year .... it is definitely a lamb kind of day today with Spring in the air, the bright sun shining, and the days getting longer.  I love this time of year.  I have so much more energy at the end of the day.  I even spotted these spring flowers peaking up through the snow this morning.

 
Even better is that they are predicting mild temps all week - maybe even as high as 50 at the end of the week!  I wonder if there will be any snow left on Friday?  The downfall - time to schedule spring clean up and I have a feeling we'll have a few more cold days before spring really comes so I'm not putting away my winter coat just yet.

Button Button Who's Got The Button?

Button Button Who's Got The Button?  I had a baby sitter when I was young who played that game with me and my sister every time she came over.  And, being only about 3 or 4 at the time I thought it was fun!  Now my store is loaded with fun new colorful buttons.  Here is a small sampling of what is new:

What Do You love?

Valentine's Day makes me reflect on those little things that I really love.  Besides family and friends - and my cats - I love quilting fabric! The designs and colors get more beautiful every year.  You'd think they would run out of new ideas, but they don't.  There seems to be an endless variety at most of the vendors that makes it so hard to pick and choose when I go to Quilt Market.  Makes me wish I could buy every line.

But, there is one thing that I love even more than fabric!  It is what drove me to quilting - and it is sewing machines.  I've had a strong passion for sewing machines since I was about twelve or thirteen.  A couple of my friends' moms had machines that my friends could use from time to time.  But, my mom wasn't a sewer so we didn't even have a machine in the house.  After much pleading, my parents finally broke down and got me a machine complete with classes to learn how to sew.  All of the classes back then were clothing which was never my favorite thing to sew, mostly because there was no one at home to help me when I got stuck on something.  Plus the fabric back then was awful!  I mean really bad!  But, I persevered and found things that I enjoyed sewing - like stuffed animals.  It wasn't until I got into my late twenties that I found a fabulous quilt store in town with beautiful fabric and classes too.  Finally, something I loved to do with a machine that I loved using!

And at the store we have lots of great fabric to play with on a sewing machine.  Here is a little peak at a few of the new lines in the store:

Out With The Old In With The New!

Its out with the old, in with the new!  We've got so much fabulous new fabric that the older fabric is looking really old so today I filled up our sale room with loads of older but still really nice fabric!  Come in today to check out the great deals you can get.  Older fabrics make really nice quilt backings and at prices from 25% to 50% off you can't beat it.  While you're at it check out all the new fabric too!  Here's a peak at what's new:

The new Boutique by Chez Moi for Moda.  Chez Moi is my all time favorite!

Kaufman's Mixmaster Satinesque looks like real satin. You'll have to touch it to be able to tell that it is really cotton.

Beautiful new batiks!

First Quilt

Do you still have the first quilt you made?   That is the question I asked on our page on Facebook yesterday.  That question got me thinking about my first quilt.  The first quilt I made was a baby shower gift for a friend - so of course I don't have it anymore.  But I have heard many tales about it through the years about how it was her kids' favorite blankie and how they played with it often.  I am so happy that it has been loved and enjoyed as much as it has!

It definitely is not perfect.  I hadn't even taken a quilting class.  But after countless washings and who knows what else - it looks as good today as it did when I made it - and I did the whole thing myself - piecing and machine quilting!  Yes, I was brave!  I didn't even know how to do binding.  But, I fudged it and it has held up beautifully!

I did get to see the quilt a few years ago when I took this picture of it and I even got to borrow it to take it to a guild meeting I spoke at last year.  I got a kick out of it when my friend told me how concerned her youngest daughter (who is a teenager now) was, when she saw her mom take the quilt out of the house!  And, I was under strict orders not to let it out of my sight!

Notice the bright colors!  What else?  They say babies respond more to bright colors than the traditional pink and blue pastel baby colors.  And, my friends kids certainly responded to this quilt!