New again......

First I would like to share a quilt with you! Karin had been collecting reds and whites and blacks for a long time when she decided to take the Raindrops class with Laurissa. Yesterday she brought in her finished top to share with us! It is absolutely stunning - kudos Karin!
You've seen this one before - I posted it last week but Barb has won the challenge and finished a fabulous grocery bag with it! Shopping bag really and because it's canvas it really is a sturdy bag......come in and check it out! I think she'll be offering a class and it didn't take long at all!

I was downtown on Thursday morning at Bay and Bloor and we parked at the Green P on Cumberland - as I was walking by The Toy Store bubbles started following me so I needed to find out why.......the cutest bear with sunglasses sits on a chair outside the store and blows bubbles! Gotta get me one of these!

Finally, the new stuff! A whole bunch of red and whites and black and whites to add to all of your collections! I actually need the black and whites for a quilt I have been saving up for for two years now.....maybe I can finally get started! Oops! Shhhhhh - I'm not allowed to start anything until I finish some stuff! I still have to do the back of my "Masterpiece" flannel quilt and get some labels and bindings on a bunch of quilts......and today is August 30th! Gotta get that newsletter out too!.....and plan lunch for tomorrow, and go to my mom's for dinner, and go food shopping...........and we won't even bother with the list for the "other" office! Exactly how many hours are in a day anyway!

All I know is that my house looks like it did before the BIG CLEANUP OF 2009! That's what Barb calls it - and I'm not sure how it got that way (my son had a lot to do with it and Bosley doesn't help much - he only picks up what's edible) so on that note I will say.....

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann (off to get started on that list I just made.....)

Go grab your coffee or tea.......

Seriously, go grab a coffee or tea because this is a long BLOG! Lots to show and tell! First Sandy Lindal dropped by to show off this magnificent quilt she quilted for a customer......(and I think she said she had 2 or 3 more the same to do...) Look at this applique work - it literally pops off the quilt and the colours are so realistic and so well placed that the flowers look real!


Check out the amazing quilting job - it is just stunning...........

Just after Sandy left (and I was so upset that she missed this), Andie dropped by to buy backing for her FIRST QUILT! I mean seriously......no lessons, nothing, she's a natural and she whipped this one up in less than a month......we were all blown away!

The girls showed up for the monthly Sunday Sit & Gab (I mean Sew) and Cathie and Gail and Una got to show off all of their treasures from their recent cruise to Alaska where they stopped at all the quilt stores!

Everyone wanted to know if they left any fabric in Alaska.......we know the did! Here they are pictured with Nanook (the Polar Bear) and Al (the Moose) and Gail's newest additions, the sea otters (hmmmm, forgot their names!)

Then Show and Share really got started......Gail showed off her Salad Bar quilt which she got busy quilting with eggplants......

......and the quilt she made with Bali Pops.........

.......and her Lakehouse Hydrangea quilt which she got ready to cut the scalloped edges on......

Christina was working away on her Celtic quilt...............

Cathie was very busy working on her Elephant Lap Quilt......it's the same quilt that our Kathy made up for me a few months ago. I had designed it as a lap quilt but gave Kathy the wrong measurements and before we knew it, there was a queen size quilt.......

Cathie was cutting strips for the sashing when she realized she didn't have enough fabric and it was all we could do to find a fat quarter for her (everyone loved that quilt). In her rush to get out the door at the end of the day she left the blocks sitting on our design wall......I went to put up my "masterpiece" to take a picture and there were Cathie's blocks! Since I had to go to my mom's for dinner I asked Barb to give her a call and tell her I'd deliver them later....here comes the story.......

Off I went to my mom's for dinner and the plan was that Barb was going to hang out at the store for awhile and then we would go up to the Walmart Superstore to do some shopping (they're open until midnight)! Since Cathie lives in Unionville - we would take the blocks with us and scoot across the highway and drop them off! Great plan! So - around 8:30 P.M. I head back to the store and pick Barb up and off we go. Half way up the 400 I say "Did we take the blocks?" - of course not! Why would we remember the blocks! So - we rush through the shopping and rush back to the store to pick up the blocks! No biggie!

We head up to the 401, up the 404 and we're there in 1/2 an hour - a little after 11:00 P.M.! Full service Quilt Store and all that jazz! Bet you think it's over - no way!

Just a bit of background before I tell you the rest.....Barb sometimes uses the Cock-A-Doodle Mobile (my car) when she runs around for store stuff and since she's shorter than me she usually moves the car seat as well as the rearview mirror! Makes sense right? Well my rearview mirror has a direction thing on it which lets you know in which direction you are going and there is a button right next to the ONSTAR button which turns this thing on and off and it inadvertently got turned off! We both commented on it being off - maybe the fuse blew or something (we didn't realize there's a button!).......

To continue - we leave Cathie's at approximately 11:20 P.M. and I think why go back the way we came, we're up on 16th, why not just drive back across 16th and drop down to Major Mackenzie and pick up the 400! That would have been fine had I been travelling west. However, I turned right coming out of Cathie's and we ended up driving east. I usually have a good sense of direction so when I passed Warden and then Kennedy and we had dropped down to Major Mackenzie and it suddenly jogged north I really should have realized I was going in the wrong direction. Then I found Hwy 7 and thought, okay, now I know where I am and proceeded to turn left onto Hwy 7 east. We see a sign for the Toronto Zoo - still doesn't register and we think we're going in the right direction. The signs for Pickering were what gave it away! By this time we were almost on the floor laughing.....and I finally ended up on Brock St. (or Rd. whichever comes first) and dropped down to pick up the 407 (going west). As we're travelling back along the 407 we start playing with the buttons on the rearview mirror and lo and behold one of them turns on the direction thing.......so 1/2 hour to Cathie's and an hour and a half to get back........at least we were still laughing! We had already decided we would call Judith from Ottawa in the morning and tell her we would both be a little late getting back!

We dropped the groceries at the store and I finally took a picture of my "masterpiece". If you've been following the blog the last couple of weeks you will remember this picture of my flannel blocks.......there were 118 blocks! Nancy helped me put these up and only used 63 - what to do! As it was I wasn't that impressed with the whole quilt but I decided to go ahead and sew them together and see what happened......

After getting the 63 blocks together I went out into the store to find a flannel fabric to border with that would bring the whole thing together.......I think I more than succeeded and was absolutely thrilled but I still had 55 blocks left over....

Nancy thought I should make two quilts......yeah right! I came up with a much better idea and got the last border on this afternoon! I am so blown away by this quilt that I have decided I am going to hand quilt it with #8 Pearl Cotton in royal blue - it's my winter (in front of the TV) project and I really can't wait!

I have to say it's been a long time since I've gotten this excited about a quilt! I really thought these blocks were destined for the perpetual UFO heap! Now - I wouldn't part with this quilt for anything! It's actually triggered an idea for a class we're gonna call Fun With Flannels! Hope I didn't bend your ears off too much on this post......

Happy Quilting everyone! (I know I was happy quilting today!)

Jo-Ann and Barb

Third Friday of the month........

So, before I show you what everyone was up to at Friday Nite Sit & Sew I have to show you what we just got in!

SAVE OUR PLANET! It's a nice heavy weight canvas, perfect for bags and it's 60" wide. We'll see who gets the sample done first - Barb or Nancy. My money's on Nancy but she's away right now so Barb has the edge........This is the black background - we are still waiting for the creamy white one.......
......and, I know, you don't really want to think about Christmas but these panels of 6 placements are too adorable and will do up really quickly with the great co-ordinate fabrics or make it into a wall hanging but......we all know it's just around the corner so you should get it soon!

Now I can show you what everyone was up to tonite! Well almost everyone! Some of us did not show our stuff!!!!! This is one of Gillian's designs made from scraps left over from her Australian quilts!

......and this is Gillian's second quilt of these scraps she had in her stash! It matches the first quilt because she had so many blocks left over!

Becca has the patience of Job and is working by hand with Quilt Pati's, this is going to be absolutely stunning and it's growing and growing........

Lynn was very busy cutting and piecing a fabulous 30's quilt from a Fons and Porter magazine which also has some amazing applique.....can't wait to see this one done! (That pink cutter in the background belongs to Janet and she really needs a blade!)

Liz has these blocks done for her quilt and was busy making a baby quilt tonite as well, but she finished off doing some pressing for the quilt below.......

It was a relatively small group tonite so Barb managed to get started on her Attic Windows quilt and I got a couple of borders on my flannel (I'm holding out until all the borders are on so I can really WOW you all!)

However, today was my last cake decorating class for Level I (I got my diploma) and this afternoon I made the "masterpiece" below so the ladies had a lovely dessert.....(and there's plenty left if you want to pop by for cake and coffee or tea!)

I will be moving on to Level II in September so I will keep you all posted! In the meantime I can make a Wilton Rose with Buttercream Frosting no less, and I am so proud! Ha, ha! Even my son was impressed (and boy that takes a lot!)........

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

Some new, some now, some old......

Let's start with what's NEW! These adorable play panels by Avlyn - Monster Trucks! These will make a great (should I say it - okay - I kind of have to) Christmas gift for that little boy on your list! Add a couple of Tonka Trucks and hours of fun will await!To make it bigger or enhance it we have the co-ordinating fabrics to go with it! The brown one in the centre are tire tracks in the mud - how cool is that!

For something NOW we have two quilts! "Our" Kathy has been very busy! She has made two quilt tops in the past few weeks from one book! Scrapbasket Surprise is just a treasure of ideas and gorgeous quilts. The one below is a pinwheel and it is just stunning.....

This one is Snail's Trail takes a Detour (I think that's the name) and Kathy used RJR Tuxedo's to make it - this one may be worth a class in the fall - let us know if you're interested because that newsletter is slowly getting done (hopefully by Monday)!

....and now for something OLD! I originally made this quilt for my grandmother who passed away in 2001(is that old enough????) The top sat around for five years and when I decided to open the store I "bit the bullet" and sent it to Sandra Reed to be quilted.......but, when I got it back I couldn't find the binding I had already cut.

Now, noone would say that I am stubborn BUT I was determined to find that binding rather than cut more.....frugal maybe??!!! Anyway, when Barb and I did the infamous cleaning of the studio, lo and behold the binding turned up, so I got Sharon to sew it on and then I hand sewed it on the porch over two evenings and (I get to use the F word again) IT IS FINISHED! Except for the label.....it's going to my uncle in Colorado!

Although it is a little hard to see the brown on the fabric is squirrels and Sandra did the most amazing quilting which again may be hard to decifer here but she did squirrels and oak leaves - it is just gorgeous! I remember buying the fabric out in Burlington at The Quilters' Cupboard. I'm thrilled to be getting all these UFO's out of the studio......
So I thought I would leave you all tonight with a Bosley "moment"! Trust me it was only a moment - he doesn't sit still for long........(Barb calls him the perpetual motion machine!)
Good night, god bless and Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

What's better than chocolate.....?

Chocolate fabric of course! We now have the whole line of Iced Mocha from Buggy Barn in the store and it is absolutely gorgeous! So's the quilt I've started...the picture is on top of the fabrics! The bolts are already starting to thin so come in and take a peek at this.....
Today was Monday and the girls were busy! Elizabeth finished a quilt for her grandson in Australia - animals from around the world which she designed herself......

.....and the back of the quilt is just as nice!

This one belongs to me! Somewhere in my travels (I can't believe I don't remember where these came from) I picked up a bunch of flannels. In 2004 or 2005 I decided to make half square triangle from them. I came across the half square triangle blocks when Barb and I cleaned out my studio at home and put them on top of the dresser. One night last week I clipped the corners and decided to finish a UFO, there are 117 - 5-1/2" blocks.....this is the center of the quilt which is almost together.....I will let you know how it progresses. So far I'm pretty happy with it!

......and this is my new obsession, cake decorating! I took my first class on Friday afternoon so the girls at Block of the Month got a treat this week! My next class is this Friday and I will graduate Course 1! It is really fun to do and our Friday night Sit and Sew will get the benefit of a cake for dessert! Should be interesting!

More fabric arrived late today so will have to take some more pics for tomorrow's blog! I'm determined to get back on track with the blogging.......(Mid-year resolution!) In the meantime.....

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

2nd Tuesday of the month........

First, I will share that our computer is back and it is almost up and running. What a relief, new hard drive, so there are still some kinks to work out but it turned out we had everything on our system including our database so I guess I'd better get cracking on that newsletter so you can all sign up for all the new classes.......coming in the Fall.

Tonight was our Underground Railroad monthly meeting and it being the summer we didn't have an overwhelming turn out but we certainly see some progress. Below is Nancy's Underground Railroad Quilt (Eleanor Burns book) which is coming along really nicely.....
Kathy stayed to finish another top from that fabulous book - Scrapbag Surprise, of course I've forgotten the name of the quilt.....

...and Fiona shared her Shipshewana Quilt from the club last year. What is truly amazing is that this gorgeous quilt was done with scraps.....She raided her scraps and ours and came up with this masterpiece! I love it - and she quilted herself too! What a great job! (Gonna ask her to quilt a couple of my UFO's soon!)

Sharon and Judith put their efforts together the past two days to help me out by cutting the pieces I need to start my Iced Mocha quilt.....all the fabrics have arrived now and should be marked and out by tomorrow afternoon! (How I missed that computer!) ....and we're expecting more boxes tomorrow - plus I have some "to die for" Red and Whites and Black and Whites hiding in the back waiting to be marked.......will post some pics tomorrow!

Going to head for the porch for a while and put on another binding - this one is one of my "old" UFO's which was just waiting for a binding! Thanks again to Sharon for getting that on for me today so all I have to do is sit out on the porch and sew it on!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

Thought I'd share.....

It's been a long and stressful week, so what else is new! Monday started with our store computer crashing (and burning - not literally - but might as well have)! Of course the IT guy was taking a holiday on Monday and we weren't able to get it to him until late Tuesday and then SILENCE! Not a word for two days.....Thursday he promised it would be back Friday and it was - for about an hour when he found out his techs didn't check if the programs were actually working! Hmmmmm! Anyway, hopefully we will be up and running some time tomorrow but since I have heard nothing I am not so sure.....

So - thank you to all my patient customers who patiently waited while we calculated everything the "old fashioned" way and please forgive us any mistakes in your bills. If you do find one please let us know and we will gladly correct them. Once we're able to put everything back onto the computer we will find our mistakes and you will certainly hear from us!

In order to DE-STRESS tonight I headed for my "sanctuary" - my home quilting studio. When I bought my house in 2004 the first room I planned out to renovate was my studio. I wanted it to be the perfect room to quilt in so I had my fabulous cabinetmaker make up some amazing pieces. The cabinet below holds all my "works in progress" as well as two drawers full of patterns, kits and fabrics.

Along the left wall I have my design wall, ironing board and thread spool holder.

Then I had him build a counter with cabinets below to house more "works in progress", kits, and fabric - I also have a computer and printer set up for my quilting needs. It really is my dream studio although I wouldn't mind it being twice the size.....ha, ha!

So after a long day at the store and dinner at my mom's I headed down to do some work in the studio. To be honest, two month's ago I couldn't find a thing in here but during the "big clean up" Barb and I really got the place in order and the other day I came down to get something and found it immediately, exactly where it was supposed to be - how cool is that! Tonight I went down and was able to start working right away because everything was where it is supposed to be.

I needed to make a block to send off somewhere which I did quite quickly and then I squared up my "miniature" Bubblegum Basics quilt so it's all ready to get borders tomorrow night (I hope). I also (because we organized everything) found the quilt that I want to have one of the girls put a binding on for me so got that all ready to go and then I found a stack of flannel 1/2 square triangles that needed to be trimmed so I took them upstairs with my favourite DVD - Coyote Ugly and while I watched my movie I squared them off.....I am completely relaxed now.....

Tomorrow the stress will return when the unknown number of boxes arrive from our supplier and nothing can be marked or put into stock until the computer returns home.......oh well! We just take one day at a time and hope for the best...but needless to say we want to get those boxes unpacked so you can see all the new stuff we have, not to mention get all those notions into stock that have disappeared over the past few weeks!

It truly is amazing how we have come to rely on technology to get us through the day.....but I have to say, it is really frustrating when technology doesn't co-operate!

Thank heavens for quilting - the natural de-stresser, which sure gets me through the day!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

Getting better.....

Only took 4 days this time! Trying to get to it but by the time I can sit down to do the blog it's usually into the wee hours of the morning. I've been trying to get a little more sleep these days, so...... Slowly but surely I will get back to a routine and blog more often!

Yesterday (Wednesday) one of our customers brought in her finished top to pick a backing! Isn't this gorgeous! She made the quilt from the Primitive Log Cabin Pattern by Sandy Lindal! It is so stunning, in batiks and florals....all in mauves and purples and blacks.....luscious!

Today we had our early meeting of U.G.R.R. (Underground Railroad) so Nancy was on hand to help Edie hold up her rendition of Chicken Buffet which she named ChicK Flicks! It's from the book Chicken Buffet and she used all kinds of rooster and chicken fabrics (hmmmm! wonder where she got those????). This picture does not do this quilt any justice....it's adorable! Sandy Lindal quilted it for her and did an amazing job as usual!

Last night I finally got to use the "F" word - FINISHED! on something. The Indoor, Outdoor Cats quilt is done. Here I am (Jonathan loves catching me unawares) on the porch "finishing" the binding. You will soon see it kitted - gotta get the pattern written. Oh wait a minute so I'm not actually finished yet?!?!

Kathy teaches a class on the Spiral Table Runner/Placemat and here's another one of her great ideas....the colours are fabulous on this one.....she just used a focus fabric for the centre and away she went.

Even though Mary hasn't been working in the store for the summer we still keep her busy.... She finished the I Believe Panel Quilt for us and it looks sensational. The fabrics from Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex are gorgeous (had to order two more bolts of a few 'cause we sold them so fast).....

For those of you who love the landscape fabric - the birch trees are back in stock!

These are so realistic and they sold out pretty quickly (I didn't even get a piece)

We also got in the Fish and Tackle...it's great fabric and just in time to do up some Christmas gifts for that special Fisherman in your life......

Iced Mocha from Henry Glass is almost all here too! We should have the rest of it by next week! Check out the free pattern for Iced Mocha at http://www.henryglassfabrics.com/ under New Free Projects.

In the meantime,

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann