Quilt Patch Party weekend!

I feel like I have to start each blog with a confession....yes, I am a crappy blogger! Ok. There. Done. Now lets move on!
I always feel like I don't have a lot to say (if anyone shows this to my husband, i will deny, deny, deny that I wrote this!!) so once again, struggling to find a topic that might be of some interest, and around here the hot topic has been....The Quilt Patch Party!! If you've not attended or even HEARD  of it....I don't know where you've been!! It's the hottest (and good lord I do mean HOT!! Like really...a store full of menopausal women...whew!!) sale we host. And we only do it every second year. We started doing it in conjunction with the Moose Jaw Quilters guild biennial quilt show, (which is another fabulous reason to be in Moose Jaw April 27th!) and it's just been an absolute blast!
So this is the plan for this year (cause every year, we like to add or subtract things, based on our customers reactions!)

First of all - weekend specials. And I do mean SPECIAL with a capital S!! Truly. I've convinced Jeanne that for this weekend (April 26th, 27th and 28th) we will move all of sale closet (those of you who love shopping our sale closet will appreciate this!!) upstairs to our second floor and ADD tons and lots more goodies for you to enjoy throughout the weekend!! We will be going through our current fabrics, moving lots of them upstairs and they will be 60% off!!!
Heres just a little wee hint:

Ok, whatever you do....DO NOT tell Jeanne I gave you that hint!!! This weekend is about super top secret secrecy!! And HOT deals!! Ok, here's a few more things I do know...thread, some notions....some kits!! Patterns, and even some books. Those are just the weekend specials.
THEN....we move onto the QUILT PATCH PARTY SPECIALS.......

So to kick off the QP party - we are hosting a (get this!!) TAIL GATE PARTY! oh ya! FREE hot dogs, good looking men cooking them (ok, alright, bear with us - our husbands were the other ones who would work for free) and while you are enjoying those free hot dogs, standing in line (cause goodness knows - you DO want to be the first in the door to ensure you get some of these hot deals (more on those in a minute!!) we will periodically popping out between 6pm and 7pm and treating you!!! Thats right, we have giveaways and treats planned! You are gonna have sooooo much fun!!

Now, onto the doors opening for the QUILT PATCH PARTY at 7pm.....you will be handed a flyer listing all the specials - and they are amazing - I mean, hold onto your hat amazing!!! Like start the car, you might feel like you are stealing amazing!!! And don't worry - this is not going to be stuff you just paid full price for 3 hours ago - oh no....we wouldn't do that to you! This is fresh product that we brought in and packaged beautifully just for you! Oh ya and that b*&^% racing you to the specials, so you'd best get your game face on and get your butt to them!!
Ok here's a hint......

And honest to pete - if I hear that even ONE of you has told Jeanne I was dropping hints.....I'm gonna be in some big trouble.....and I'll be forced to take you down with me!

Ok...so...there will be fabric bundles, maybe a notion or two. The quilt we will be unveiling for an amazingly awesome price for 2 hours only...and wine!! The wine will be the trophy after you've fought off all those other crazy, deal loving quilting ladies!

And no worries, we will once again have 2 till stations opened to help alleviate the traffic congestion.

Oh yaaaaaa, and the draw.......cant forget THAT!! You can put your name in for our draw ( one entry per person please) and at 8:30 that evening we will make the draw. The basket is usually worth a $500 value, but 2 years ago - Jo forgot to stop and the basket ended up having a $600 value!!! AND the best part is - you don't have to be in attendance to win, but if you are......we will toss in  a $100 gift certificate!!

So.....plan to attend. Try to remember that it REALLY WILL be wall to wall women. and depending on the weather, it might be hot! But, we will try and make it fun and the deals so fabulous that none of that other stuff matters! See you soon!

Quilt Police

So how many of you are scared the quilt police are going to come and get you? Call you out for some quilting infraction? Point out your 'mistakes'? Or haul you off and throw you in some jail where you are fed three square meals a day that you don't have to cook? (now that does not sound so bad!)

Well people, let me tell you something......there are no quilt police, so alas, you and I are both cooking our three square meals today.

Of course there are the self appointed quilt poice. You know the type...."Gee look Mabel....her seams don't match. and looky here, she has a pucker where she tried quilting this herself. And gosh those colors, what was she thinking? tsk tsk"
Recently we had an incident where someone dissected a quilt Jeanne and I designed, literally picked it apart - right down to the name! I'm not sure who appointed her head of the quilting police, but there she was, letting us know what an abysmal job we had done with that particular design. At first we were offended, but quickly recovered and were able to laugh about it. I mean really, we are not going to be to everyones' taste....THAT is why there are so many styles of quilt shops, so may different fabrics and patterns out there!

Quilting is our hobby. It's what we, as women (and men) do for pleasure. And unless you are into perfection, or strictly making quilts to be entered in elaborately judged competitions, no one has any right to judge your work. So don't let them. You finished a quilt. Finished is sometimes better then perfect. A finished quilt will be used, a quilt top you never finished because you were frustrated that your seams weren't 'perfect' by someone else's standard of perfect...well...that's a sad waste of money isn't it?

Are you the type of person who says...."oh don't look too close" or "I really messed up here, look, right here...look at my mistake....."

Todays quilter has no business demeaning herself. Why do that? That's just inviting the quilting police into your life! Don't let them in!! You rock, you made a quilt! Yay you!! Celebrate that!! 

I often hear people say to me, "golly, I'm not nearly as good a quilter as you are"Are you freaking kidding me??? I'm a sloppy quilter and I would be the first person to admit it!! (and Jeanne right behind me!) I'm into speed and very often my seams don't align perfectly, I have threads everywhere, and sometimes.....my quilts don't lay flat. There. I said it. Out loud. And I'm still here. No one has hauled me off. (although those meals are sounding better and better!) So just because i own a quilt store and have written a book or two, you think I'm a fabulous quilter? HA! I just don't point out my mistakes....cause truly.....if you don't point them out....people won't notice.

Stretched a border to make it fit? Yes I have! And I'm still here!
Left a seam that didn't line up even though I could have MADE it line up by ripping and resewing? Yes I have! Still here!!!
Used a thread that didn't match....oh yes i sure did!
Got a pucker in the back of a quilt I quilted myself...you bet I have.
Didn't read the instructions, just looked at the pictures? Why yes, yes, I've done that!
Wavered in my 1/4 seam? I'm the queen of that!
Have my borders waved - your darn right they have!

And I'm still here. The quilt police haven't come for me yet.
Nor will they, cause I will kick their ass!
Now about those meals though........

Shelley

To prewash or not to prewash....

For many quilters this is a confusing issue, mainly because ask 10 quilters and you may get 10 different answers and opinions! So I'm here to give you my expert advise (opinion!!!)

In both our Tis the Season and Urban Country Quilts books, we discuss this exact topic. You will see the very same topic in our book Tis the Autumn Season that releases in June 2013 as well. And in each book we say basically the same thing, only in a different manner in each one!

So.....do we prewash? Or don't we?

drumroll please.......and the answer is........

NO!!!

That's right we don't prewash our fabrics. (as i look over my shoulder looking to see if the quilt police are on their way......)
We all have a lot of laundry to do already so why add to the load? Pardon the pun! 

The fabric that is being manufactured in this day and age doesn't have the shrink rate it did even 20 years ago. The dye is much more stable, so unless you are using a hand dyed fabric, this shouldn't be an issue. (Having said that, let a quilt sit somewhere soaking wet and you will almost always have trouble!) 
The sizing that is in the fabric cut directly off the bolt makes for a crisp hand and are definitely easier to work with this way.

                                                                                   

In todays fabric market, we have access to all varieties of precuts, 5" squares,  10" squares, 2-1/2" strips, and much more. These items are not meant to be pre-washed, to do so is asking for trouble! These items will simply fray too much to be manageable. And besides, who wants to iron those little bitty squares into submission?

The other thing you most certainly do not want to do is prewash a finished quilt top. That is a recipe for disaster. You will end up with frayed seams, threads hanging everywhere, and depending on the type of fabric, maybe some very frayed edges. And you most certainly will have to iron it before you could even think about basting and quilting it. 
We don't prewash our quilt batting, or our backing fabric. If you really feel the need to wash the quilt top, be sure to do it after the quilt is put together, quilted and bound. This way, all the fabrics will do whatever shrinking they might do (minimal!) and you will end up with a beautiful quilt with an overall scrunchiness that says....use me!

Sailing, sailing......

WE'RE BAAAAACKKKKK!
Oh my, what an adventure! For Jeanne and I this was the first time either of us has been on a cruise, and the ginormitty (probably not a real word!!) of these ships are unbelievable!!!
Our ship held close to 4000 passengers and just over 1000 crew! Thats a ton of people!!

 It was difficult to get a picture that really and truly shows the enormous size of these cruise ships!!
The quilting class was held on the first day at sea, which may not have been the best idea! I'm not sure about everyone else, but it took me awhile to get my 'sea legs'! I was surprised at how much you could feel the movement of being on a ship! I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't sick or nauseous, but kinda dizzy and out of sorts. As was Jeanne.
But we did alright, and so did the ladies who came to sew!

 

The ports we stopped at were St Thomas, which was fun to wander around in for the first few hours. We had a catamaran tour booked that took us out snorkelling. Everyone (even Jeanne) seemed to get the hang on the whole snorkelling thing, except for me!!! I certainly didn't expect to be as panicky and fearful as I was!! The water in my eyes, nose and down my throat didn't help though! But in the end i did manage to get the hang of it....somewhat, and enjoyed the few minutes I had left in the beautiful water!

If you look closely, the guy in the centre is Jock - Pauline's, husband (Hamels Fabrics)

Antigua was the next stop. I was surprised at how aggressive the people where in port, trying to sell stuff!!
We had a tour booked for that port as well, a Jeep Safari! That was avery fun! We drove in an open aired Jeep that seated 8 people. The driver (who drives on the right side by the way!!) Had a microphone and told us all sorts of interesting facts about the island. I learned it take a pineapple 16 months to grow to full size!! We then had a chance to swim at a beach, our first opportunity to swim in the ocean so far!!

Our next port was Tortola. Now if you are like me - you maybe hadn't even heard of this island before! It's a part of the British Virgin Islands, and it was beautiful! I wish we had more time in each port, but such is the way when you are cruising! At this port we had a tour booked that took us to on a beautiful book ride to see the scenery, dropped us off at an amazing beach for a few hours, complete with a burgers and drinks! This my friends is where I really and truly burned!

Our last port was Nassua, Bahamas. At this port we nothing planned, just a little poking around, maybe a little shopping!

It was a fabulous trip! We all had a ton of fun! There's so much more I could say, but I don't want to bore you with the details! I'll leave you with a few more pics!

If you want to see even more pics - check out our Facebook page!

A Day of Hookey!

Hello Folks!
Well if anyone reads this blog you know Shelley is away right now on a cruise with Jeanne. So who is this? This is Jo!  Office manager of the Quilt Patch. I know fancy title for a job that really means " girl that does a little bit of everything from looking after the office, and orders, to cleaning the bathrooms". So you kind of get the picture. Well the girls and I decided today that we should have a day of Hookey! So that is what we are trying to do. It's not working out too bad  we are still helping customers if one happens to stop in, and yes there have been a few. We did think about putting up a "closed for the day" sign but thought that might be pushing our luck a bit much. So I am now going to try and post a picture of our sewing room aka office! Here I go!

Hmmm Not sure if that worked apparently I am not very tekky!  Ya hoo!!! omigosh I did it! Ok Well there is Yvonne on the right and Rebecca on the left and my sewing machine at the front. A little crowded but it works!
Ok gotta get back to Hookeying just wanted to let you in on what was happening while the girls are away! I hope Shelley doesn't see this hehehe! Gotta say hi to Elaine cause I'm pretty sure she will read this! Keep the lid on this I don't wanna get in trouble!!

Paris Flea Market, Red bikinis and FREE patterns!

So we leave for our quilting cruise in just 8 days!! Thank goodness cause this cold weather is making me crazy! I am chilled to the bone and have had about enough! Having said that, I ordered a bikini on line! Not just any bikini - but one that is flaming red and guaranteed to make me look younger and slimmer! (ok - I made that last part up!)

But if you're gonna wear a bikini - you'd best have some confidence, so watch out people, here I come!

Onto real quilting topics....some of you may remember this delicious collection that came out about ohhhhh, nine years ago or so. It was called Paris Flea Market and it was a collection by 3 Sisters for Moda. This collection was HOT!!! People just couldn't get enough of this soft collection. Well guess what??? They've brought it back!! I know! We couldn't believe it either!!

This is a really rare occurance. I've never seen it happen where they rerelease a collection like this.
But hey, We are not looking a gift horse in the mouth!!! We have this delicious collection coming in any day now!  We have a plan for it as well - so watch for the project! As well, you can go to the Moda website and download a free project sheet using Paris Flea Market.

As well we are bringing in the latest Primitive Gatherings fabric so we can do the Warm Winter Blessings Block of the Month program!

It's going to start in September 2013. We are not quite certain of the exact price just yet, but the quilt finishes at about 56" x 65". The snowmen are made with wool, which is all included each month.
Watch for more details in the coming months as we hammer them all out!

If any of you are interested in using up some of your scraps, I posted a FREE pattern on our website today!

http://www.thequiltpatch.ca/free-quilting-patterns.htm

Enjoy!!!

So just remember - if you see something red and lumpy bobbing over in the Caribbean next week - don't be alarmed! It's just me, rocking my curves!!

Hacked!

Just when you think you've seen it all!! Yesterday I was going through the emails when I came upon one from a customer that stated I needed to deal with my website immediately....there were some issues that I would want to take care of, because when you click in a certain spot it opens 'you know what'. Actually....I didn't 'know what'! I was clicking away trying to figure out what she was trying to tell me, and I just couldn't seem to see anything amiss with the website.....so I moved on to a few other items on my to do list. Later when Jo came down to my office, I asked her to read the email and see what she thought it meant.....and we clicked some more.....then Jeanne came down, and now all three of us are clicking and navigating the website, hovering over the screen wondering just what this customer was talking about when....BAM....YOUNG NAKED ASIAN GIRLS!!!
Well there it was.....'you know what'. Now we knew!
Somehow, someway, not just one, but three links had been hacked on our website that lead you to 'you know what'! Well, honestly....we laughed pretty hard, cause seriously.....you think quilter ladies are going to spend their money on naked young women? I think not!! I think they would just be pissed off that the link didn't take them to the latest quilt kit we had to offer!!
So I very quickly broke the link - reported the offence, made some security changes, and moved on.
I do apologize if anyone was offended. Personally I would have liked to see naked men, but hey, no one asked me!

We had some new art work brought in by local artist Andrew Meredith. If you enjoy quilts, you will certainly enjoy his work. He loves to paint quilts!!

Quilt In Crescent Park

This is the limited edition print we currently have at the shop. Quilts in Crescent Park can be purchased framed or unframed. If you look very closely you can see that the quilt in the centre is Row Flowers, a quilt designed here at The Quilt Patch using our very own Shasta fabric!

Rustic Breeze

Up close and Colorful

Both Rustic Breeze and Up Close and Colourful are original framed paintings that he brought for us to sell here at The Quilt Patch. No prints available, but he will making cards using these images.
I love love love the Rustic Breeze painting!!
Andrew is working on more quilt paintings using our next fabric collection - Wallflowers! That's very exciting for us!!


Until next time, please let me know if you happen to see any nakedness on our website, or call or email for more information on these one of a kind paintings! xo