Friday, August 5, 2011

Smile it's Friday!

Not only is it Friday, but tonight kicks off the Quilter's Take Manhattan events in NYC organized by the Alliance for American Quilts.  I don't know exactly what to expect, but my friend and talented quilter Jackie Kunkel is moderating tonight's discussion and tomorrow's event features Marianne Fons, Jay McCarroll (Proj Runway winner), Mark Lipinski and I believe Mary  Fons as well.  Time will tell!  If you want details go to http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/support/events.php .

OK, so back to my salute to creative CA quilt store owners.  Store #2 receives my award for "Store with Best Sense of Humor" goes to The Sew N Sew in Glendora, CA for this sign:



The store itself offers quite a lot of fabric choices - they've got great space which is larger than it appears when you first walk in (the picture above is only one set of windows - the store is on the right as well).  Very nice mix of fabrics, tons of tools, long arm capabilities and it looks like they have a lot of fun class offerings. Their website is www.sewnsew.rdswebsites.com. 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

When in Dallas...keep calm & sew on

From the green hills of Vermont to the hot, hot, hot streets of Dallas...
I'm fortunate enough to travel with my job (sometimes unfortunate if you've killed as many hours as I have stuck in airports), and days are pretty full, but once in a while I get a chance to search out the LQS.  Such was the case this past week when I realized I was only a 10 minute drive away from CityCraft (citycraftonline.com) a vibrant store carrying a bunch of lovely fabric.  No stereotypical "Texas" fabric here - just a huge array of bright, bold, yet mostly feminine fabrics for quilts & clothing.  Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, FreeSpirit and some unique fabrics from Japan. My thanks to Jennifer who was helpful without hovering.  I only wish I could have stayed for the skirt class that evening.

One look at this display and I knew I was in the right spot


Words to live by!

My happy haul - I love finding fabrics I haven't seen before, and most of these were new & delightfully unique in my eyes

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The hills were alive with the sound of Singers...

and Pfaff and Jenome and Bernina.  That's right, the first week of June was celebrated in my favorite way - the annual Quilt Weekend Retreat in Chester, Vermont.  Hosted by Country Treasures, this is a weekend my sister Christine and I look forward to every year.  It's a great group of ladies who have returned every year since it's start in 2008.  If you haven't ever been to the Country Treasures quilt store in Vermont, you are truly missing out - clean out your car trunk, hop in and hit the gas.  The setting is an idyllic Vermont village complete with lovely churches, inns and a gazebo on the green.  From the front, Country Treasures appears to be a small shop with some cute gifts upfront.  But then you walk and realize it goes on and on and on.... Your heart will be racing as you try to take in room after room of fabric.  There are dedicated rooms for novelties, brights, batiks, color sorted rooms, areas of wonderful Asian fabrics,  reproductions, huge back area of clearance and an attic full of flannels and holiday fabrics.  The owner Sue hits Quilt Market each year so there's tons of the latest to choose from, and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful.  Chester is not too far over the southern Vermont border (hour or so), so go go go!  Their website is www.vermontquilting.com 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Me in the glorious Batik room
My niece Emma learning the ropes of fabric shopping from Mom
Christine at the all too familiar checkout

Saturday, May 28, 2011

I've got a golden ticket!

Ok, not really - it's black and white and hot off my printer - but it IS an exciting ticket to The Alliance For American Quilts' "Quilters Take Manhattan" event in August.  Celeb speakers will be Marianne Fons and Jay MacCarroll (first ever winner of my beloved "Project Runway" show, although Mondo's loss last season has me questioning tuning in again).  Also joining will be Marianne's daughter Mary, who was guest host for PBS "Fons and Porter" series this year.  (Or as my husband believes it should have been called, "Fons and Fons" to avoid false advertising.)   Back to the event - click the link http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=e65cc5bab&oeidk=a07e3qi0bpf172e1080 to buy your ticket.  (I have zero to do with this event other than being an attendee - just thought the link would be convenient for you). 

Dear Jane? Seriously? Seriously.

My promise to you as a reader of this blog - I will try to include photos that inspire and/or amuse you, links to sites I find particularly helpful and to cover a range of creative topics.  While the original motivation to start this blog was to track my progress on a Dear Jane quilt (and keep procrastination at bay so it doesn't become a 10 year project), it is very likely to take detours along the way.  Hope you hang on for the ride and let me know what you think.

Ok, so let's start at the beginning. For some unknown reason, a few months ago, I signed up for Dear Jane quilt classes at The City Quilter in New York City. Not earth-shattering news to most, but my enrollment surprised me and those who know me well.  Historically, my response to DJ quilts has been something along the lines of "Very, very impressive, but not me." I'm not a big Civil War or Americana fabric fan, and a billion little pieces may push me over the edge.  Yet there I was, holding the book and listening to CQ's DJ experts Judy Doenias and Diane Rode Schneck talk about the history of DJ in a class that was divided between "optimistic newbies" and "in it to win it" DJ marathoners (aka "janiacs" - learn more at www.dearjane.com) who may be working on their first or may be on their fifth, but they like the camaraderie of the class and access to teachers' experience.  I basically blame the whole thing on the fact that I'd been working so much that I was fabric-starved and somewhere in the back of my mind I decided that if the only way I was going to get to play w/ fabric was during my daily two hour commute, so be it.  Throw caution and fear of handwork to the wind - let the games begin!