Summer Kids Camp Coming Up in August!

This beautiful Bargello was made by Sarah in the Advanced Kids Camp and displayed at the San Mateo County Fair this year! 

Kids - we want you!  Please come and join us for a week to make a quilt! Kids will make a completed quilt from choosing their favorite fabrics to quilting it and sewing on the binding. Of course they all put Minkee on the back, so the quilts are so soft and cuddly!  The kids will use the long arm machines to quilt their quilt, and the last day of camp is "Movie Day" where they watch a movie while doing the hand sewing on their binding.  It is so fun - I want to go to kids camp too!    

Whether you've had some sewing experience or if you are just starting, this is a great time to learn to sew and quilt! For kids all ages, 9 - 17, and all experience levels, register today to save your place!  There are two options for camp - August 3-7 and August 10 - 14.  If the kids are repeating for a second week of camp, they will do a different quilt than the one they did the first week. 

If you have time, please come in some time before your session and select your fabrics if possible. We will keep the fabric at the shop and pre-cut it so you will be ready to go the first day. If you can't make it in ahead of time, selecting fabrics will be done the first day of camp.

Binding Tool Quilt Class Coming Soon - A Missouri Mamas Special!

Are you familiar with the great BLOCK magazine published by Missouri Star Quilts?  Or the wonderful online tutorials produced by them? 

We are introducing our very own Missouri Mamas! Throughout the year, Pat and/or Evelyn will be presenting classes from Missouri Star patterns and tutorials. This is our first Missouri Mama class! Pat will be teaching this fabulous star quilt made using the Binding Tool! And the best part of it is no Y-seams! Click here to register for the class. You won't want to miss out on this one! 

Here is the tool we will be using - the Binding Tool Template Ruler:

And here is the quilt we will be making:

By the way, we are also doing subscriptions for the BLOCK magazine, or you can purchase individual issues.  Each issue has ten patterns, several great stories, and no ads!  They are actually more like a book, and definitely the best deal around!  Click here for more information on the magazine. 

And if you enjoy reading the stories in the magazine, you will also enjoy the book, Stitched Together - Stories for the Quilter's Soul.  This is a compilation of  stories written by regular folks like you and me whose lives have been touched by quilting. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you may even cheer out loud as you read story after story of the unique power of quilting.
Stitched Together is a great read for yourself, or the perfect gift for any quilter!

Patchwork Poker is a Fun Pattern to Make!

This weekend, we held a special Patchwork Poker class for a wonderful group of ladies!  This pattern is an exclusive Always Quilting pattern, and originated as a mystery pattern at one of our weekend retreats.  It's actually a pretty good mystery, since you have no idea how it is going to turn out - as long as you don't peek at the pictures before you start! 

This one has little poker cards on it; here is a batik version I also made:

This group did a great job selecting fabrics, and one of the ladies, Jan, got her first block sewn together!  She has a very cute border with flowers, and bumble bees that she is using to compliment her blocks, and I wish I had gotten a picture of her border fabric too!

Doris is making four blocks so she can do a table runner, and here are her blocks all stacked up and ready to sew together.

These ladies will be coming back to our free sewing sessions to finish their quilts, and I will post pictures as soon as they are done.  I can't wait, and since I know all of the fabric combinations they selected, I know we are going to have some beautiful quilts!

I also thought it would be fun for you to see some of the quilts we made in the mystery retreat; it is always so inspiring to me to see how different the quilts can be even when you use the same pattern! 

 

Kathryn's Quilt - Beautiful with Fall Colors!

 

Roberta's Quilt - Very Elegant with Asian fabrics. 

 

Louise's Quilt - Fun and Cozy with Moda's Shangri La Collection.

 

Kit's Quilt - A Lovely Floral

 

Charla's Quilt - beautiful in blues, greens, and pink

 

 

Evelyn's Quilt - a wonderful contrast with a beautiful floral

 

 

Judy D's Quilt - Bright colors are her favorite and really look great in this quilt!

 

We can't wait to add to the gallery of our Patchwork Poker Quilts! 

Christmas Celebration Tree Skirt Class This Saturday!

Please join us for the Christmas Celebration Tree Skirt Class this Saturday, August 1st, taught by Judy Niemeyer Certified Instructor Kathi Carter.  Kathi is a nationally known instructor and quilter, and an amazing instructor!  You will enjoy taking this class from her. 

There are multiple ideas about how to make this project - it can certainly be used as a tree skirt, or a table topper would be great too.  And it doesn't have to be made in Christmas fabrics; it would look beautiful in fall colors or even beautiful blue and whites or blue and silver for winter.  Start now, and have it ready for the upcoming holiday season!

A similar project you might want to consider is the Seasonal Table Runner.  This one also has many different color options.  Both are great Judy Niemeyer projects to get you started on Judy's technique! 

To find out more information or register for this class, click here.  We hope you will join us!

Mesh Tote Bag Class Was Very Fun! Here are Some Results

Pat's Mesh Tote Bag Class on Saturday was so much fun!  The samples for the class included two versions of Row by Row totes - one with zipper and one without.  They are pictured here:

Although some did use the Row by Row fabrics, there was a nice variety of other projects as well.  Here are Angelica's fabrics - yellow for the inside pockets with Minions on the outside!

 

 

And Emily was working on Birds and Bows.  This is the inside of hers, which will become the pockets:

 

Here is Emily's finished project - by the time she finished the class, she already had papers and fabric and things loaded up in the bag and ready to use it!

 

And here is Jackey's bag - in process.  I love the beach umbrella fabric on the yellow mesh!  What fun.  She left before I could get the finished picture, but it turned out very cute!

The other girls finished theirs as well - Evelyn did a Row by Row bag, Pat is holding bags from two other students - SF Giants and another Row by Row version, Gloria did Row by Row, and Angelica finished her Minions tote bag.  A fun day was had bay all, and these projects are definitely addicting - most everyone in the class has already started on their next bag! 

Here is the link to the Screen Play pattern, and we also have the screen mesh available by the yard in three colors - black, purple, and royal blue.  Just let us know what you need and which color you prefer.  And we also have an upcoming class for the Nifty Notions Mesh bag with Pat.  You can register for that class here, or click here for more information on the kit.  Here is what the notions tote bag looks like:

Won't you join us for this class?  These bags are so fast and will make great holiday gifts! 

Shabby Chic with More Favorites from Moda 3 Sisters

Moda designers 3 Sisters have put together a beautiful collection of their old favorites.  This collection has a beautiful shabby chic look, and can be easily combined with other collections from 3 Sisters.  Here are some of the fabrics we've just received - click here for more of a close-up!

We've also gotten in strip rolls from this collection that have a beautiful variety of all of the favorites.  They would be perfect for a soft quilt that you just want to cuddle up with - maybe even put minkee on the back.  What about the Heart Strings pattern - it would be perfect for these soft pastels in the strip roll with the beautiful cream tone on tone as background.

Another option would be the classic Yellow Brick Road quilt pattern by Terry Atkinson.  This is always a favorite - grab 12 fat quarters plus pick your favorite for a border, and you'll quickly have a beautiful shabby chic quilt! 

As a side note about this pattern, it is one of my very favorites!  When I was first learning to quilt, I decided that practice was the best thing to do, and so I made Yellow Brick Road quilts for all of my family and friends.  I tried all different color combinations and styles of fabrics.  They all turned out really great and I learned so much in doing them.  I made 32 Yellow Brick Road Quilts!  Thinking back now, I can't believe I did that!  And I think I have a few more in me....someday when the grandchildren come along I'm sure I will have to make Yellow Brick Road quilts for them too!

However, if you'd like to make things even easier, how about a Turning Twenty Quilt? 

For this one you need twenty fat quarters, and you can easily have this top done in a day - I promise!  This is another one of my favorite quilts, and a great go-to pattern for gifts.  The quilt is good sized, and it is so easy to make.  And with this new version of the pattern, you can make the original Turning Twenty, or try one of the variations using half dark fat quarters and half light fat quarters.  For the shabby chic look, though, I'd recommend the original Turning Twenty, since I'm not sure you would get enough light and dark contrast with this collection.  I've done at least 10 of these quilts and am pretty sure I have a few in my UFO stash too.   I should probably get those out and get them finished one of these days.....

Which quilt would you do with these fabrics - a strip quilt / Heart Strings, a Yellow Brick Road, or a Turning Twenty?  Or do you have something else in mind?  We'd love to hear what you will be making!

Majestic 3D Machine Embroidery Birds From Anita Goodesign are Breathtaking!

On my recent trip to Africa, one of the most pleasant surprises was to see so many beautiful birds.  The colors of the birds were amazing.  We saw Starlings, Weavers, Parrots, Guinea Hens (and we even saw the very rare Crested Guinea Hen), Storks, Pelicans, Herons, Eagles, Vultures, Flamingos, and more.  I have definitely found a new interest in learning more about birds! 

Of course that will be easy to follow up on, since Melissa, our Beginning Quilting Teacher, was an Aviary major in college and has significant knowledge about birds.  I am hoping she will be able to tell me which bird is in which picture, since I'm not sure I remember them all!  And I was so excited to come home and see the newest Special Edition from Anita Goodesign - Majestic 3D Birds!  I can't wait to try these out!

Majestic 3D Birds is the latest machine embroidery Special Edition from Anita Goodesign.  This is a technique they have been working on for a while and they thought creating majestic birds would be the best way to launch it! 

All of the feathers on the birds are 3-Dimensional, creating a realistic beautiful look.  Here is a close-up of the feathers on one of the birds.

When these designs were introduced, everyone who saw them couldn't believe how they were done.  Best of all, they are completed in your hoop!   The first step is to stitch the feathers.  Once the feathers are stitched, you attach them to the bird in you hoop.  They are so easy to create!

There are 12 different birds, including a Peacock, Swan, Phoenix, Bird of Paradise, and much more.  Each design comes in multiple sizes and they will look amazing on whatever project you decide to embroider them on!  Here are close-ups of some of the birds:

The pre-order price for this newest Anita Goodesign Special Edition will expire on July 31st.  Click here to order today so you don't miss out on this special pricing!  What project will you make with these beautiful birds - a table runner, quilt, perhaps a design on the back of a shirt?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Mesh Tote Bag Class is Today! Come Join Us!

Pat is teaching us how to make these fabulous Mesh Tote bags today!  Class starts at 10:00 am and we do have room if you'd like to join us.  Of course, you can do the Row by Row version if you'd like, but you can also use your choice of fabric if you want to do something different.  One person is doing a San Francisco Giants bag; won't that look great on the black?  And we have several  people that have matched their fabrics to the other colors of mesh that we have - royal blue and purple.  Both look great and those projects will be very fun as well.  Of course, we'll post some pictures after the class so you can see all of the fun things that are made! 

New Moda Batiks are Here! Los Cabos, Here We Come......

What a fun day! Today we received some new Moda Batiks from the Los Cabos Collection.  It's always fun to get a fabric delivery, but I really love it when we get new batiks in!  And these are so beautiful and so saturated, that you can feel the colors of Los Cabos when you look at them!  Here is a sampling of what we have received; click here if you'd like to order some! 

Of course there are so many wonderful patterns that can be made with batiks today.  These would be great as borders or "zinger" fabrics with any project you are working on.  I have several unfinished projects (ok, more than several :-) that I am going to pull out and see if these will work for inner borders..... Do you have something you are working on that would be perfect for these batiks?

Do You Get Frustrated Squaring Up Blocks? We Just Found a Perfect New Tool!

We have just discovered this great new tool from Karen Kay Buckley.  Karen is an amazing quilter.  She has over 300 quilts to her credit, and her personal work has received numerous awards including NINE Best of Show awards, including the 2013 Best of Show at the American Quitler's Association Show in Paducah, Kentucky. She was voted teacher of the year by the PROFESSIONAL QUILTER MAGAZINE in 1997. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and calendars. She has fourteen  cover quilts to her credit (she considers herself very lucky!). One of her quilts was chosen by Senator Wofford’s wife to be placed on display in the U. S. Capitol in 1992, and another was chosen for the same display in 1993.  She has appeared on Simply Quilts and AQS show American Quilter.  She has a very busy schedule teaching, judging and designing!

With all of these credits, when Karen speaks, quilters listen!  She has designed and patented a unique system to make sure you can easily square up any block or rectangle, any size from 4" to 24 1/2".  The Perfect Adjustable Square is a series of pieces that snap together (like puzzle pieces) to create any size square you need.  This tool is perfect for squaring up your applique squares or pieced squares as well.  It also comes in a beautiful storage box, since it is something you will want to use over and over again!  To find out more about this great tool, click here.

Have you tried this tool yet?  If so, let us know what you think!  We do lots of t-shirt quilts for customers, and usually have lots of different size squares to square up.  We can't wait to try this tool and see how much more quickly we can do this! 

Fun Calendars for 2016

Every year, I wait for the QuiltArt engagement Calendar from AQS (American Quilter's Society).  I carry mine around every day, and am so inspired by the quilts shown in the calendar.  They are all prize winners from around the country, and there is such a variety of color, style and technique.  The 2016 calendars arrived today, and I've already snatched up a copy for me!  We have plenty left, so click here if you'd like one too!

Of course, there are so many others to choose from, and of course I also like to have a wall calendar as well!  We have two new wall calendars that just came in, and of course, I like them both and can't choose which one I like best!  What do you think?

The first is a more traditional 2016 calendar with a variety of projects shown across the months.  This calendar is from Martingale Publishers, and also includes a 28 page booklet for all of the projects shown in the calendar.  Click here if you'd like this calendar. 

The second calendar from Martingale is called Stitches to Savor, and it features projects from Sue Spargo.  What a beautiful and inspirational set of projects!  I just love Sue's colors and her unique style of artwork, and both really come through in this 2016 calendar.  Click here if you'd like this calendar. 

We will have a few more calendars coming in if you can't decide amongst these - but whatever your choice, get your calendar early since these always come out in July and then sell out very quickly!  What a great way to keep your schedule and activities straight, and to be inspired while you do it! 

Two NEW Books Arrived Today!

Today we received two new books from Martingale Publications!  Both look great, and I can't wait to tell you about them!

A Bit of Applique - Easy Projects with Modern Flair

You'll love these simple, sophisticated patterns featuring bold, graphic fabrics and straightforward applique techniques.  Rely on clear instructions and beginner-friendly instructions for over 17 stylish projects - quilts, bags, pillows, and wearable items.  These projects feature easy applique, including a variety of hand and machine stitched applique techniques and other embellishments.  Wool, raw edge, reverse, fusible, freezer paper, and bias tape are all discussed.  To learn more about this book, click here. 

                                Season's Greetings - A Hatched and Patched Christmas

Join a fun and festive celebration of the season with this varied collection from well-known Australian designer Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched.  You'll enjoy charming patchwork projects that feature embroidery and applique, all in Anni's whimsical style!  There are 12 heartwarming designs for decorating and gift-giving to make your Christmas complete.  Projects include a Christmas story quilt, tabletop tree skirt, Advent calendar, short and tall gift bags, ornaments, and more!  To find out more about this great new book, click here. 

Be sure to take a look at these two great new books - what a wonderful way to get started now on holiday projects!