Brown Bear, Brown Bear Quilt Kit Designed by Gail Kessler

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle was Josh's favorite book when he was very little.  I think he still "secretly" likes it at 8 years old!  Andover's Brown Bear, Brown Bear fabric collection perfectly recreates Eric Carle's illustrations from the book, with all the gorgeous, vibrant colors!  I found this Brown Bear, Brown Bear quilt pattern a while back in a Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine, and I have finally gotten around to creating the kits!  Gail Kessler's quilt design is just perfect for this collection.  She uses bear paw blocks along with the squares from the Brown Bear, Brown Bear panel to create the focal point of the quilt.  I just love it.  We have the Brown Bear, Brown Bear Quilt Kit, which includes a copy of the Love of Quilting magazine now available in the shop.  Enjoy!

Serendipity Studios Sewing Patterns have arrived!

I have added some wonderful new sewing patterns to the website this week.  They are created by my favorite new designer, Kay Whitt of Serendipity Studio.  She has designed some fabulous dress patterns, skirt patterns and handbag patterns.  I can't wait to get started making my own new dress!  I also have autographed copies of her book Sew Serendipity, which includes several very easy to understand chapters on clothing construction and pattern fitting.  There are lots of illustrations!  Plus, there are lots of patterns for clothing included in the book!  Love it!  Altering patterns to fit my body perfectly has always been difficult for me to do.  This book has everything I need to know to make my patterns fit me just right!

Animal Party Too! by Amy Schimler is here!

The cicadas are gone from my neighborhood, so I can finally sit on my swing again.  I have missed that! I love being outside in the swing under my shade trees on summer evenings...very relaxing!  There are squirrels and birds and chirping crickets - kinda of like the new fabric we have in the shop this week...


Animal Party, Too! is Amy Schimler's newest fabric collection for children.  There are fun and funky owls, squirrels, foxes, birds, and racoons, plus some fabulous flowers, leaves, and forest-y foliage! With three wonderful colorways, the possibilities are endless!  There are lots of cutie patootie boyish fabrics, which as a mom of two boys, I have a weakness for....it just seems to me that really wonderful boy fabrics are so hard to find.  Plus, there are some great girlie fabrics here, too. We have the entire fabric collection! Yea!  See them all at Animal Party Too by Amy Schimler.

Just love these owls! Hoot! Hoot!

Tricks and Treats by Teresa Kogut for Marcus Fabrics is here!

Hi All!  Boy, it has been a busy week around here!  Taking care of my Mom's business keeps me pretty busy, plus Rachel has a "mini band camp" this week! One fun part of the week was unpacking the boxes of new fabric that arrived.  Not only did I get a huge shipment of Fandango to restock the shelves, but I also got some fantastic new Halloween fabric in!  Tricks and Treats by Teresa Kogut for Marcus arrived this week.  It is just as cute as her Wickedly Wonderful collection with several new designs. (Plus, it coordinates with Wickedly Wonderful!) It has the wonderful silhouettes of trick-or-treaters on bright yellow, orange, purple and green.  Plus, there are some fabulous Halloween prints with Jack-O-Laterns, witches, ghosts, bats, cats, moons and more.  These prints will make some great pillowcases or treat bags.  I am working on a Lucky Stars quilt with them, also. (Stay tuned!)

Who ends school on a Thursday, anyway?

Well, it turns out that Josh's last day of school was Thursday, not Friday, so I did not finish Mrs. Hargrave's quilt!  Oh well....  So, here she is with her almost completed quilt.  I will finish and return it to her next week when I go to help her move her classroom.  We love you Mrs. Hargrave!

All Michael Miller Fabrics are 25% Off!

Good Morning!  Well, I am still plugging away on Mrs. Hargrave's quilt.  It is taking my mind off of how anxious I am for some of my new fabrics to arrive....agony!  I need to make a little room, so I have all Michael Miller Fabrics on sale 25% off through May 31st!  Just use coupon code MAYMICHAEL in the coupon code box on the checkout page to get your discount.  It's a great time to stock up!  Thanks for shopping with us!

It's a Quilting Emergency!

Well, I have just spent a wonderful day quilting.  Josh has his last day of school on Friday, and darn it, I am determined that Mrs. Hargrave is getting a quilt from me!  She has been the most wonderful teacher ever and Josh has been lucky to be with her this past 2 years.  My daughter Rachel also got to be with Mrs. Hargrave during her 1st and 2nd grade years.  She is the GREATEST teacher ever! I have been planning her quilt for a long time...picked the fabrics from my stash some time ago.  But with all the stuff happening...my mom's home was destroyed by a tornado...Candice graduated from college...Spring Quilt Market....life!  I just haven't gotten the quilt finished.  Well, I am counting down....5 days to go.  Let's see how I do! Here's how far I got today...

Gallery in Red II by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics is Here!

Finally, a few minutes to add some more notes here about the wonderful things we saw at Spring Quilt Market!  First of all, we bought Gallery in Red II by Faye Burgos at Marcus Fabrics.  It arrived yesterday! We have the entire fabric collection, plus we are cutting fat quarter bundles.  It is a really pretty red & white fabric collection, and I just love redwork quilts and red and white quilts!  Did any of you get to see that breathtaking red and white quilt show that was held recently in NYC?  I will try to find the link to the phots of that and post them here as well.  Meanwhile, here is a couple of photos of the quilts displayed at Spring Quilt Market using the Gallery in Red II fabrics.  I hope you enjoy!

We are back from Spring Quilt Market! What a great time! David and I just love Salt Lake City....we love driving around the mountains to see all of the breathtaking views! This year we drove north and into Wyoming, then over the mountains north of Ogden. It was spectacular! This is Bear Lake. The photo can't do it justice!

Wow, what a week it has been! Josh lost the first of his top front teeth this week, changing his looks from sweet baby to growing boy! The time is really flying! Then, he turned 7! He is such a cutie! The only thing he asked for was a shirt and a jacket he saw at Gap and some money for his wallet. He is quite the little man!

Michael Miller Booth at Market

Michael Miller Fabrics is celebrating 10 years! Their booth this year was hilarious with a real live gnome and an actual camper! What you can't see is the dark charcoal colored carpet "road" with a double yellow line in the middle and stop signs at each end of the booth. Histerical!

More Quilt Market '09

Gorgeous new BOM from This & That Quilts by designer Sherri K. Falls. Here is the finished quilt, made up in Moda Fabrics 3 Sisters new collection called "Martinique", due to be released in March of 2010! Beautiful!

More Quilt Market '09

Beautiful new fabric - Spring Fever by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda Fabrics. It will be here in January 2010!

Quilt Market 2009

Oh, Quilt Market in Houston was wonderful! I had a fantastic time with quilting friends looking at all the new fabrics and patterns and quilting stuff! Here is me with Alex Anderson. She is the sweetest lady! It was great to hear about her new magazine "The Quilt Life". She and Ricky Tims will collaborate to create this magazine due out in Spring '10.

Newbie

I am trying to get the hang of this blog “thang”.... I am a little technologically challenged - my background is in nursing, but I sorta strayed away from that while staying home with my kids. I started quilting when Rachel was little and it just sorta took over my life! So, now it seems that blogging is the “thang”! I enjoy reading so many - looking at photos of quilts in progress...it just seems that I want to join in the fun. Plus, it’s a great place to for a proud mom to brag about great kids! Stay tuned...as soon as I figure this out, I am off to make a cherry quilt for Josh!