Wednesday, April 25, 2012

We are hitting the road...

Three days until our big bus trip.  I am so excited to see all the quilts on display.  It is always such an inspirational day.  I come home motivated to get going on my own masterpiece.  There are several local quilters with quilts in the show this year-Congratulations to Joy and Thelma!  Can't wait to see them in person.

We have lots of new fabric in.  The Seasonal Gatherings line arrived last week.  Sarah is going to be using this one in a BOM to start in the fall.  It will feature piecing as well as some applique and embroidery.




















We also just got in Lily Ashbury's newest line, Trade Winds.  It is bright and ready for summer, very exotic prints.



Ellie and I have also been very busy on our East Central Illinois Shop Hop Quilt.  I think you will all be very pleasantly surprised by this years quilt.  Hopefully we will have the big reveal next week.  All the blocks are done and we are in the final stages of assembly.  It is by far my favorite shop hop quilt to date.  (The shop hop is July 12-14 this year.  Passports are available now.)

Have a great weekend!
Kate

Monday, March 12, 2012

It's been a while...

I always have the best of intentions when I start something like this blog.  I think "I'll be sure to post something new at least every week."  Then life happens and before you know it one, two months have past.

We have stayed very busy.  Between the shop and kids it seems like I don't make it home before 8 most nights.  Sometimes I remember back to the days when my kids were little and I was home for days on end, just wishing for something to do that would take me out of the house.  These days I would be happy to spend a whole week there with nowhere to go and nothing to do.  But then I remember my goal to "be content".  I have really enjoyed watching my daughter play volleyball during some of those late evenings.  It's been fun to see the girls learn to work as a team.  Kelly's skills have really improved this year but unfortunately their season is over after the loss last week. (Congratulations to the 7th grade girls who advanced to the State Game on Tuesday!)  As the weather has improved we now get to move on to track and field.

New things continue to arrive at the shop.  I am happy to announce we will be starting a new Block of the Month class.  It is based on the gorgeous quilt featured on the cover of the last American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine.  We chose fabrics that looked as close to the original as we could and in my opinion our quilt looks even better in person.  This one will last for four months, it will begin in April.  It meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 6-8 p.m.  You can choose to make a quilt just like the one we made or use your own scraps.  Kits for our quilt are limited (at this time 4 remain).



We also have the "Friendship Braid" class coming up this month.  The first class was moved to March 19th so there is still time to sign up.  Perfect for that special Jelly Roll you have been saving!



The Sassy Strips Quilt As You Go runner will be on March 24th from 9 a.m. until finished.  There are also a few spots left in this class.  It is the perfect project for a beginner or if you have strips left over from the Friendship Braid class.



We will be heading to a couple of quilt shows this month.  Springfield has their bi-annual show in March 16th and 17th in the Orr Building on the State Fairgrounds.  We will have a booth there with lots of new goodies.  Later in the month we will be at the annual Decatur Quilt Fest.  This one is held at the Civic Center in downtown Decatur on March 30 & 31.

I'll leave you with a selection of whats new......



Saturday, January 7, 2012

Some Rearranging




We have had our hands full lately redecorating our newly acquired space due to our finished class room.....Along with all this new space comes new fabric!