In love with this new magazine!!

It's not often a magazine catches my eye. As a matter of fact - I hardly ever buy quilting magazines. For a few reasons....mostly I just don't have the time to read them. But this new magazine we started carrying at the shop....WOW! And almost everyone who look at it....walks out with at least one!!!

These are the first three editions. From what I can see, they will be publishing them every 2 months. So soon they should have a new one out!! So many great ideas on how to use pre cuts and rulers!
Both Jeanne and I made this one:

We used 4 Fig Tree charm packs - 4 different charm packs actually!! It turned out amazing!! Just off being quilted as we speak! And it made a very large quilt, 78" x 93". It was so easy and fun to put together that I am making another one out of some other charm packs that I have kicking around at home!

I guess I should tell you that the magazines (we think they are more like BOOKS! There are NO ADS!!) are $9.95 each and have a great variety of projects in them. We have another shipment of each edition arriving very soon - so if you happened to miss the first shipment - no problem!! We also have some of the rulers coming in that are used in some of the projects!

This and That

Ahhhhhh....summer! FINALLY!
And just when we are finally having HOT weather, our Christmas in July even is rolling out - to remind us that there is exactly 6 more months until Christmas!!! Sad but true!!
Mark your calendars - July 25 and 26! It will be a very event with some enormous savings throughout the weekend - but the best savings will be found during the Friday evening Christmas party event from 6 - 9 pm. You should try and make it out - it will be very fun weekend - and we can absolutely promise.....there will be no snow!

Have you heard??  Jeanne and I are Calendar Girls!!! Woo Hoo! Thats right! Martigale's new 2015 calendar is on its way to the store and we are featured in two of the twelve months!! (ok - well....our quilts - not actually us!)

Stop by and pick one up - they are an amazingly great price at just $16.95.

Now I am really attracted to trims. Lots of trims! And Its not often I actually use them! But I did this past week and thought you all might like to see what I did with them!!

I used scraps to make an interesting background, then I quilted it in an allover stippled design. I then laid random trims diagonally. I pinned them down then either straight stitched or zigzagged using an invisible thread, depending on what the particular trim required.

I made two of these pillows as you can see! One for each of two of my nieces. And quilts to go with. Which is a secret....unless of course they read this blog. Heehehe! I don't think they will!
So there you have it - a great way to use those fun trims we collect!

So speaking of Christmas - have you seen the new Believe Bag we are offering as a class during the Christmas in July weekend? Its super cute and the entire kit is only $26.95!!

Now most of you will remember back when I made the ginormous decision to get a kitten......

This is Oli, helping me hold the fabric down in my sewing room! He just turned 8 months old. I got him in March.

And some of you may know that I thought long and hard about it - and I did go and get Oli a playmate.

This is Molly. Molly is a tortoiseshell sweet soft snuggly little beauty. And she tolerate Oli who loves her dearly! I got her in June.
But what most of you don't know....is that Molly had a sister. And I split the sisters up when I took Molly from the Humane Society. And it ate it me. And I couldn't stop thinking that if her sister was as sweet as Molly....well then someone was in for a real treat. However, as the Humane Society became more full of kittens....less people looked at Molly's sister. And she was now 6 months old....not exactly a tiny kitty anymore. And well....you know what happens when cats stay too long at the shelters....so....after a few weeks, I went and got her too!!

So this is Molly and Maggie together!  Yep. and guess what? She's even sweeter and more cuddly then her sister!! So yes...that escalated quickly! From, no way, I'm not getting any more pets...to three!

Until next time!!
S

Fun Guild Engagement!!

I know - by now all of you who really and truly do ready my blog, are wondering who I am and what have they done with Shelley who usually procrastinates writing this blog?!!! Im trying!!!

A couple of things to chat about today!!
Jeanne and i just returned from a very very fun engagement with the Bonnyville, Alberta quilters guild. They had us down to set up a shopping area:

 do a trunk show, and teach the very first class / workshop out of our new Here Comes Winter book!!!

We had a fabulous time with these ladies!! And there was a potluck lunch!! Woo Hoo! Doesn't get much better then that!!!

Next thing I HAVE to show you......Yvonne's quilt!! Wowsers!! Yvonne works here at the shop - and her dirty little secret is...she loves to make something out of nothing!! We all routinely give Yvonne our fabric scraps - and sometimes she even picks them out of the garbage can here at work! Most people would throw out scraps that Yvonne uses!!
So check out this stunner she recently completed!!!

She's amazing!!! There are over 12,000 pieces in this quilt. (i say probably more, but whose counting??!)

And I know you are all curious about my new lover....the one who keeps me up at night with all his affections. He's hairy chested, he brings toys to bed and likes to snuggle in very close.....

Yep....Mr Oli. Growing like a weed. Little snuggle muffin. I however don't enjoy playing 'throw the squeaky mouse' at 3am like he does!!!

And one more item on my agenda today.... do you buy Trends quilting magazine? If so...you are going to see this ad for Here Comes Winter in it this month!!!

Until next time!!!
S

Spring Quilt Market debriefing - Number 6!!!

I am just rocking out these blog post aren't i??!!! For those of you who usually tell me i don't blog very often.....Im making up for lost time!!

The Market floor opens on the Friday - and it's hard to explain how large it is. The scope of it is overwhelming if you have never been there before.
I will show you some pics - but it certainly doesn't do it justice.

Now you realize that each photo is just a small portion of the show floor right?! I read a statistic once, that I am inclined to believe is true. It said that if you walked up and down every single aisle from beginning to end - you will have covered 4 miles!! 

Walking the show floor, seeing new fabric, patterns, notions, etc. is all very fun and exciting, but my favourite part of quilt market is seeing all our old friends and making new ones!!

John Q Adams aka Quilt Dad with Karen Burns from Martingale

Check out John's book Beyond Neutral! 

John was a real inspiration to me. I know what it takes to write a book - but Jeanne and I do it together. John is a single Dad raising 3 young kids, works full time, makes quilts, and still managed to squeeze out an amazing book! Check him out! http://www.quiltdad.com/

Terri from Whimsicals in her booth!

Terri having her picture taken with Colleen for Jo!

Taking selfies with Karen's camera!
A little surprise for the morning after!
Conner, Ramona and Colleen

Working so closely with the Martingale people is always so very fun! The opportunity to make new friends and meet other authors is always amazing!

Gail Pan and her crew were a ton of fun! These ladies flew over from Australia for Quilt Market. Gail's friends, Sandra and Ramona helped her work her booth while Gail was busy with book signings! Gail's book Patchwork Loves Embroidery, has been a huge hit! And thats no surprise - it's a lovely book and Gails handwork is impeccable!

Gail, Shelley, Jeanne, Sandra, Colleen, Ramona and Wendy!
Last meal in Pittsburgh!

And just so you know, I am always on my utmost best behaviour at Quilt Market........

Unless Karen is around....then all bets are off!! Hehehehee!
Until next time my friends!!
xox
S

Quilt Market debriefing - Part 4!!

I know right!! FOUR Blogs in a row!! With no "Months" between them!! And no one had to nag!

So let's see....where are we in the Market saga...schoolhouse day!
Jeanne and I did a schoolhouse for Martingale to promote our new book - Here Comes Winter, which releases on June 3rd! We gave everyone who attended a sneak peek of the projects in the upcoming book, and discussed how these projects can work in their stores.

I'm going to give you sneak peek when we get to the end of this post, but for now, lets back up a little bit....this is also the day I got to meet my very very good friend BILL LOCKE, face to face!!

Bill is currently living in Newfoundland, Canada and operates not one, but two quilt shops!! You really do need to check out Bill's shop, which is primarily based on Facebook.  He has an amazing selection of hand dyed wools and projects to go along with it! Oh and not to brag or anything, but Bill sells a LOT of our patterns! Heehehe! And that is how Bill and I met! via email! And we've become amazing buddies! I love him to pieces! But....really...so do a lot of people!

Colleen loves Bill

Gail Pan loves Bill

Wendy and Ramona love Bill

Wendy loves Bill

Gail and I both love Bill!

Bill arrived in time to help Jeanne and I with our schoolhouse! He was the official quilt holder upper! Nothing like jumping in to Quilt Market with both feet!

So here is your little sneak peek for sticking out this blog post to the end!!

These are just a few of the quilts you will see in Here Comes Winter! We are very excited that this book is larger than our previous 3, so you will see many many more projects!!

Believe it or not - Part 5 is coming soon!!
ox
S