Words fail me!!!!

Before I share with you the reason why words fail me, I will do a little catching up....All the "Special Orders" arrived on Thursday so I spent the day pricing, etc. Last night was our monthly Friday night Sit & Sew, where many of us catch up on each others lives.  Condolences go out to Linda who's sister passed away this week, losing her long and brave struggle with cancer.  Our thoughts are with you Linda. 

On a happy note Barb celebrated her 29th Birthday again so I baked a cake, nothing too extravagant - I haven't gotten back into the cake decorating as of yet....

 Like I said - nothing fancy!

 For fire safety reasons we didn't put ALL the candles on the cake.....

Barb had no trouble blowing out these...

Now I will share the reason I am speechless!!!!  First a little history......This is our second year of Christmas Club and this year's pattern was Welcome to the North Pole!!!!  The participants had their reveal party today along with a wonderful brunch courtesy of Linda who attended every month but, not being an avid appliquer, was a bit hesitant to participate!  It was a lovely gesture on her part and even I enjoyed preparing it - she picked up the bagels.......

 Bagels, cream cheese, Lox (smoked salmon) and eggs, fruit and vegetable platters.....

They all had a lovely meal....

Then it was time to reveal the quilts - we entertained a few guests for this!!!!

This explains why words fail me -

 Kristen's masterpiece!

Check out the details....

 Marlene's masterpiece...

Check the details.....

 The ladies shop - in the centre....shoes on the first floor!

The quilt shop - complete with quilts....

 Here's Judith's.......almost done!

This is Flo's - another masterpiece in the works......

Here's Mary's - sensational and completed, the binding's even on!

A friend knit her the hat for the top of the building.......

Mary's a bit of an over achiever - she did two quilts, the binding isn't on the second one yet.....

I'm sure she'll have it done shortly - two sets of grandchildren, so two quilts!

This one belongs to Nancy, she had some design help from her niece.......the bakeshop (pink cupcake)!

 Check out the Fire House.......

 ...and here's Kathy's, bright colours just popping.....

Check out the lime green house - fabulous!

 Raili's came out fabulous too - and she was up until 3:45 A.M. to put in the last stitch!

 Check out the North Pole Casino....

 The Las Vegas Pin......

 The North Pole sign has a poker chip on top!!!!!

 This is Karen's, the top is done, complete with polar bears surrounding the North Pole.....and pregnant reindeer (you had to be there!!!)....

 even her backgrounds are fabulous........

 This is Linda's Christmas quilt - which explains why she "catered" the brunch!!!!  You actually have to complete the blocks Elaine chooses each month to do the quilt for only a $10.00 charge......This is actually a mystery quilt which Linda did and completely redesigned!!!  I love it!

Last but not at all least is Beth's, really colourful and loads of embellishments!!!!

How do I know that they had a great time doing this year's quilt - simple, they've all booked in for next years Christmas Quilt Club......it's going to be another fabulous offering!!!!! Actually there are two to choose from....

Hope you all enjoyed the quilts!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

3rd Annual!

It appears this is the month for the Pot Lucks and the Sew Many Quilts, Sew Little Time Monday group had theirs yesterday!!!!  Oh my what a feast - from stuffed pork to meatballs, to quiche and tortierre and 3 kinds of salad along with punch, desserts to die for - it was absolutely delicious!

This is the 3rd year they've put on the Pot Luck and they outdo themselves each year - of course, then there's the Secret Santa gift exchange which is so much fun - you even get to steal a gift if you want.....here we are just having a great time together......

 Leeann starting off the festivities.....

 Elaine opening a great gift.....

 Gail our resident photographer getting ready to shoot.....

 Gail shooting me shooting her......

 Gillian making a tough choice......

It was a great party and we all had a wonderful time, I'm not sure we got alot of sewing done......

Last week Sandy came by with another quilt for AAjfe - her Turning Twenty which really looks fresh in blues and yellows!!!!

 Here's an up close of the great quilting Sandy does!!!  She does a fabulous job - this one's an allover design but you should see her custom stuff!!! Phenomenal!!!

One of my customers came by this weekend with a great quilt idea!!!!  She took a large piece of silk and quilted her dad's ties onto it!!!  They are all silk ties - she is going to use silk batting and backing - I thought it was really cool not to mention a great keepsake for the family......

There's alot happening at the store - we're "renovating", rearranging and getting ready for a little Merchant Mall we're doing on Wednesday December 14th at the Yorkshire Rose Quilters Guild at their meeting.

We're also getting ready for the GREAT REVEAL of this year's Christmas Club Quilts on Saturday December 17th at 11:00 A.M. - we'll be introducing next year's choices for the Christmas Club......there are two this time!  (They couldn't agree on just one - lol)  Come and join us for the REVEAL - there might be a cookie and a cup of tea for you there too!

I've got a lot to do before then so I'm off to get it all done!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

P.S.  Big announcement coming soon!!!!!

Wow......

Yesterday was busy, busy, busy!  First, Elaine led the Christmas Club - they are working on Welcome to the North Pole and there's only one more month to go before they do the great reveal!  You are all invited and I will e-mail a "formal" invitation in time for you to all partake in the fun!  They have already chosen next year's Christmas Club Quilts and there is a choice of two patterns - come and join in the fun - one Saturday a month - $10.00 - with a few very stringent rules, but really a fabulous time!!!!

Here are the blocks they are working on......

 I can't wait to see the rest of the blocks that were made......I'm really looking forward to the reveal!

The afternoon was also busy - Luarissa had her Waterfall class, the pattern is from Helene Knott's - Postcards from Japan series......they sure got a lot done -

As for me, I am still busy working on Lithia Park and I am absolutely in love with this quilt......I managed to get the 4 centre blocks together tonight after work and I absolutely love it!

I can't wait to get the rest of the blocks done and put together!  I guess I'll be watching alot of TV this week and there's always the Retreat this weekend.....hmmm, maybe between cooking I'll get the blocks ready to go and then get it pieced and quilted!  Best laid plains, but I have hope!

Happy quilting!

Jo-Ann

Busy, busy, busy!

The Sale was a hit!  ....we were very busy and last night was our monthly Sit & Sew - actually we may rename it to Sit & Eat - Quilting for Dessert!

I made one of my favourite meals - Chicken Shnitzel, Green Beans with Mushrooms and Smashed Potatoes, then I baked up Apple Strudels for dessert.  It was delicious and the girls enjoyed it too!

Then we got down to some serious quilting - here's Linda putting her Christmas Quilt up on the board.....can't wait to see this one done!  She's using black and whites as her background, it's looking awesome.....

 This morning in between customers Kathy was taking Elaine's Christmas Club Class and here are the blocks every body made......they are gorgeous!

 ....and the girls brought Show and Share - here's Beth's 2,900 and something 1" block quilt - it's amazing - she made it for her granddaughter......

Beth brought in this fabulous quilt top - it's from a class Luarissa taught a couple of years ago - a Lorraine Stagness technique......

 This is from last Wednesday's Autumn Braid class which Elaine taught - you can see the sample quilt hanging to the left - really cool Beth!

 Linda wowed us with her Patchwork Sampler quilt which is completed - it was one of our Blocks of The Month last year, taught by Laurissa.  Linda quilted it on Elaine's long arm machine last weekend.......it is awesome!

I have to say I just love it when you all bring in your quilts to share with us!  It's really motivating!  Makes me want to get busy......so I'm off to quilt!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann