A Time of sorrow.......

Over the past 2 plus years since I opened Cock-A-Doodle Quilts I have been fortunate to meet hundreds of people who share my passion for fabric and quilting.

One of those people was Janet Hellmann who passed away on July 13th, 2009 after a long and hard fought battle with cancer. Janet shared her passion for quilting and her generous nature with us on the first Saturday of every month when the ladies would gather to work on Quilts for Healing Heroes. She also was a strong supporter of The Quilt. She brightened our lives with her generosity, her selflessness and especially her smile.

A year ago we completed Valentine Bargello, Carolyn Flood's design, made from Joie de Vivre fabrics by Robert Kaufman. These fabrics were a line put out by Robert Kaufman to benefit Breast Cancer Research. We were planning on donating this quilt but I could not make up my mind where it should go......In hebrew there is a word "Beshart" which means fate. This quilt waited quietly in the store for the right moment, it was fate.

We will be donating our Valentine Bargello to Princess Margaret Hospital in memory of Janet ........

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Janet's family. We know how much she touched all of our lives and can only imagine the depths of your loss.

We will miss you Janet......

Jo-Ann, Barb, Kathy, Sharon, Nancy, Mary and Judith

Libby's Wedding

Here, at last, are the photos from Libby and Lorenso's wedding on Saturday. It was a lovely event, held in the backyard of their home. They have created an amazing garden oasis and it was the perfect place for their wedding.

Libby and Lorenso's first dance ... so romantic!

Libby looked stunning (as always) in her bright orange dress and beaded shawl. Of coure Lorenso was looking pretty dapper himself!

There's a slideshow of candid photos below if anyone is interested in seeing more.

Happy Quilting!
Barb

Tonight was special........

We all love a celebration and tonight at Cock-A Doodle Quilts monthly Friday Sit & Sew we celebrated! It was a full house!

Libby, a customer as well as a quilting friend is getting married tomorrow so we thought we'd give her a quilting night!

Dinner was served and I wanted something really special so I decided to go with a Middle Eastern theme. Hummus, Tahini, Baba Ganoush, Seet Eggplant Salad, Chicken Taboulleh, Tomato and Cucumber Salad and Pita bread. It was a hit! The girls loved it! Normally I do all the cooking (or most of it) but tonight all I made was the Chicken Taboulleh, the rest came from my favourite Mid-eastern restaurant: -

Me-Va-Me

330 Steeles Ave. West

The restaurant is at the northwest corner of Steeles and Bathurst and the take-out place is just east anddown the road on Steeles W. near Hilda. Phenomenal food - the girls will vouch for that!

When Libby showed up we had her don her "princess" attire, a pink boa, necklace and of course her tiara!

I spent the afternoon icing her "princess" (Barbie) cake! I had icing everywhere (the pics have been destroyed) and it was so much fun. I haven't done a specialty cake since Jonathan was little.

As you can see - Libby thought is was great!

A picture with her "look-alike"........

We all waited patiently for a piece of this cake - it was delicious!

Barb and I couldn't resist playing with the bubbles.........it was part of the favours we gave out at the party!

Libby didn't get much quilting done tonight - she has "vacation" nails which she showed off along with Little Rock! Her magnificent engagement ring.

In the meantime - some quilting did get done! Laurissa was busy putting borders on her quilt - stunning as usual! Maybe it'll be a class.......

We also got some quilting done tonight........

For all of you who follow the blog - I apologize for my long absence! I will try to be more diligent in the future! Suffice it to say there have been things going on and I've been distracted but all will be revealed soon........

Barb and I will be attending the nuptials (and taking pics) so stay tuned!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

Clearly I wasn't thinking......

I completely missed Canada Day! Well I didn't exactly miss it - I spent it with quilting friends and we had a wonderful lunch and did some hand work (I admittedly brought along my knitting) but it was a lovely way to spend the day!

However, I did want to show off the "flag" Kathy made from a great pattern which we have in the store.....
Barb and I expected to spend a quiet day getting stuff up to date and just clearing up some lose ends......well, it was the first Saturday of the month and that's when Healing Heroes meets in our classroom. We didn't expect many to show up but lo and behold we had 8 bodies industriously working away and boy do they produce.

Leave it to Nancy to produce another gorgeous "summertime" window for us. It really shows off all the nautical fabrics we carry as well as that fabulous Ship Shape quilt which will be available as a kit in the very near future. (Barb and I thought we might get them ready today - but things were hopping at the store so we never got a chance).

I went home and collapsed for an hour thinking I would watch some TV and get some hand quilting done but I fell asleep and then ended up hanging out on the porch for the evening. The house is clean so (wow I love that feeling) I just have to my weekly clean/vacuum tomorrow and I'm off to the store.......what a great feeling! But, I really have to get downstairs to my studio and start using it like it was meant to be used!

Happy quilting!

Jo-Ann

Books, books, books!

We've been getting in a lot of new books and I have been meaning to "blog" about them but then, other stuff comes up and they just get forgotten so I thought that tonight I would just do books. There are some repeats here because they have been popular as well as some really great new books!

Prairie Children and Their Quilts by Kathleen Tracy is a repeat. It consists of "14 Little Projects That Honor the Pioneer Spirit". This book is great for the beginner as well as the experienced quilter and will give you a number of great small wall quilts or table toppers, (Great gifts!) while allowing you to perfect or try different techniques.
Judith, Mary and Sharon made up three of these great little quilts and they are hanging in the store.

What is there to say about Quilt In a Day! Bears in the Woods is an old favourite which has a number of great blocks and projects including applique! There are some great "cottage" projects as well as a fabulous tree skirt (Christmas isn't that far off!)

Another Quilt In a Day book is Tenessee Waltz - also an oldie but a goodie. We're thinking of teaching this one in the fall. (Comments welcome!) Doesn't look like much on the cover but it's really a very pretty quilt.

If you check out Monday's blog you will see I mentioned this one! Scrap Basket Surpises by Kim Brackett! Fabulous quilts in this one (18 Projects)! It went so fast the first time we got it in, we had to order more!

Quilting your Style by Leah Fehr is all about embellishing techniques and there are some really great ideas in this one. From threadwork to buttons!

Four Patch Frolic by Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson has 15 great projects using 5" and 10" squares. I'm actually drooling over some of these quilts! (No- I am not starting another project! - I'm into finishing right now!)

Warm Welcome by Mary Hickey - what can I say, there are never enough books for baby quilts! This one has about 17 projects and I can safely say there isn't one that I wouldn't make......(hopefully I won't have 17 baby quilts to make this year - so far I know of only 2!)

When we place our book orders we tend to order 4 of each new title, well this one went out the door almost faster than it arrived. Bold and Beautiful by Judi Dains is just one of those books you have to have! It's described as ARTFUL QUILTS FROM JUST ONE FABRIC and the technique is not only innovative but fun along with the embellishment ideas!

A Baltimore Album by Marsha D. Radtke is an AQS publication chock full of everything you need to know to start that Baltimore Album quilt you've been meaning to make.......

I Beleive has arrived, has arrived! Yup it arrived twice! We sold out the first time.......this book is from Art to Heart and goes with the Nancy Halvorsen line of fabric from Benartex.....which is already in the store and going fast! There are some really great Christmas projects in this book as well as great gift ideas!

For now, I think that's about it for the books but in going through our extensive collection of great books I'm sure I'll find more to tell you soon!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann