To sew, or not to sew--that is the question?

Several posts ago, I told you about my daughter Kim, and that she was going to make the Amy Butler tunic. I don't think that she has ever made a garment or worked with anything other than a 1/4" seam allowance, except maybe on a Halloween costume.

We have had a very busy summer so far, not indusive to sewing at all. Kim's fabric is 'warshed' and ironed, and ready to go. So, see below how much sewing she accomplished last weekend.

Yeah right!

She chose not to sew, but to fish. She caught 2 cutthroat trout one of which we will have for dinner tonight--my 20 year old son is going to grill. I just have to sit back and relax--not!

Kim has today off and she was going to get started on her tunic. I can't wait to get home to see what she accomplised.

Lynda

Quilting Podcast and Christmas in July

Several months ago we did an interview with Annie Smith for her podcasts. Annie is a quilter, pattern designer, lecturer and teacher from California. She is a delightful person and we really enjoyed talking to her. I think you might enjoy listening to her interview with us, especially if you have never heard a podcast.

http://www.simplearts.com/podcast/quiltingstash/QS_106.mp3



Christmas in July is almost here at Great American Quilt Factory. YEAH! Susie and our design department have gone all out with new patterns, kits, and decorations. The fun starts Sunday, the 20th and continues through Saturday, the 26th. Christmas fabrics, patterns, kits, and books will be discounted 20 %. Come in and enjoy the fun.

Merry Christmas,
Lynda

Beautiful Sunset

I just had to share these pictures of the setting sun from my backyard last Friday. You can barely see the mountains. Enjoy! Lynda

Christmas In July demos

I just discovered something that I should have known. If you click on the Christmas tree on our home page, http://www.greatamericanquilt.com/, you will be taken to the Store Events page.


Click on "click here" and it will take you to the page showing our Christmas in July calendar handout. Click on any of the green days to see the projects that we will be showing and demoing that day--our inspiration stations. How fun is that!


I am getting so excited and nervous, too, because Judy and I will be talking about all the projects on Saturday the 26th. We have a lot to learn. I hope you can come.


Lynda

Tim Graves, Quilting Tool Inventor

We met a nice young man this week. Tim is fourteen years old, from Glendale, Arizona and was traveling to South Dakota with his family. They stopped in to see us so that Tim could show us his new invention. It seems that Tim is taking quilt classes and observed that some of his fellow quilters were having trouble holding their templates and cutting around them. So, Tim invented a template tool to help them. A colorful handle (hand painted by Tim) is attached to a suction cup. When attached to a template, it keeps your fingertips a safe distance away from the blade. Tim's Template Tool is packaged in two sizes to fit most templates and retails for $12.00. Our advice to you, Tim, is keep quilting and keep inventing.

Hooray for new tools and new quilters!

A quick raft trip update--as you can tell, I made it back alive. It was fun and I had a great time. The water was running very high and fast and was very cold. Three things I learned are--you are going to get wet, you are going to get dirty, and no one really cares about what your hair looks like. ; )

Lynda

Helping the Community

Lucky me seems to be my new phrase. There are so many things that people have to struggle with and I just consider myself LUCKY. I have things to deal with in my everyday life like we all do but I have such great friends and support that things always seem to work out. We have been working with Interfaith Task Force Community Services for about 15 years. They help families who are in need. Recently they had an auction and we donated a quilt. The quilt sold for several hundred dollars. The high bidder was actually the director of Community Relations for the center. She was thrilled and said that there was another person who just wouldn't stop bidding! She was so pleased that she had the final bid. Lucky us that we were able to contribute to a family's well being.

"Lucky me" also had the opportunity to have my 7 year old grandson, Jack, visit our work for a few days. He didn't know what to do and so I suggested that he sew! He wasn't too keen on the idea but when I showed him some dot-to-dot pages that he could sew, he thought he might give it a try. Well he turned out loving it. He did 2 mazes, 3 dot-to-dot, a pillow out of boy scout fabric, and a treasure pouch from our book The Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids. He couldn't have been happier. I think that we might have unleashed another sewing monster. What fun it was to watch the enthusiasm grow and the "boys don't sew" label melt away.

Sharing your love of sewing

I'm off for a few days to go on a family whitewater raft trip in Westwater Canyon, Utah--my first and possibly last raft trip. I'm excited and a little nervous. The Colorado River is running high and two of the rapids are named "Sock it to me" and "Last Chance". Yikes! My biggest concern though, is what to do with my hair? I wash, blow dry and curl my hair everyday and I don't look good in hats. I guess it's a good thing that they don't recommend bringing cameras so there shouldn't be any evidence of my bad hair days.

Summer is such a good time to share your love of sewing and quilting with others. If you have the good fortune to teach a kid to sew, be sure to check out these two books that we have written. I am so proud of these books. They are filled with fun and games and a unique method for teaching beginners. The Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids is aimed at true beginning sewers and is filled with lots of projects. Click on the link below to see some of the projects. http://greatamericanquilt.com/store/bestofsewingmachinefun.html

Sewing Fun for Kids teaches patchwork and is filled with great gifts for kids to make. Kids learn to stitch an accurate 1/4" and make several patchwork projects. Click on the link to see what they can make. http://greatamericanquilt.com/store/sewingfunkidspatch.html

I hope you enjoy sharing your love of sewing as much as I do.

Whitewater Lynda

It's too hot for Christmas but the elves must work anyway

I have been one busy elf getting ready for Christmas in July. We have had several planning meetings and have come up with some great "inspiration" ideas to help you get ready early for the holidays.

Last weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday making a small quilt with one of our new Christmas panels. It was fun because I knew that I could make it in a couple of hours and then be done with it. I even learned to do a machine binding! I can't believe in all of these years of quilting I have never learned to do machine binding, but I have now and is it ever fun! I'm even trying to finish up a few more projects just so I can do some more machine binding.

In addition to the Christmas quilt, I also made two Christmas sassy aprons and four oven mitts that I think are so very cute. I got a little carried away and made an oven mitt for myself in Day of the Dead fabric with an apron to match. I LOVE it! It has been a long time since I have made something for me. Hmmm, now if I could just figure out when I have time to entertain...

At work we have all been working on Christmas samples. We have received so many new fabrics that have truly inspired me. All this hard work on Christmas/winter projects has made us feel a little cooler, in spite of the 90 degree plus weather.

Lynda and I, along with our husbands, leave for a wedding in Atlanta tomorrow. Judy who is our most faithful companion and right hand person in the store, her son is getting married. So we are off to CELEBRATE! We will have to see what quilt shops are in the Atlanta area. I am sure our husbands won't mind.

Have a great week!

Nancy

Consider the Possibilities

We regularly write a column, Consider the Possibilities, for McCall's Quilting and Quick Quilts magazines and we have done that now for several years. We have consolidated them on our website and they are a wealth of information. We have written articles on everything from marking your quilt, to finding missing fabric, to quilting software. In fact, we have 44 articles that you can access. Both of these magazines are terrific and filled with great information and inspiration. We try to write the column to answer questions that we get from our retail store customers as well as our web customers. So, if you have any suggestions for columns to write, please send us an email at info@greatamericanquilt.com

We would love to hear from you!

To access the articles, go to http://www.greatamericanquilt.com/articles.html

Enjoy,

Lynda and Nancy

Lynda's Grandtwins

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Pure joy in complementary colors!!

Snow Buddies

It is a very hot weekend here in Denver and I need to think cold. How about snow people? One of our most requested quilt books over the years has been Snow Buddies. Everytime we took the Snow Buddies quilt to a show, we would sell out of the book. Well, we finally had to retire the book a couple of years ago, but we now have the technology to bring it back as an e-book. Hallelujah! It is a charming quilt picturing snow people celebrating every month of the year. Below is the block for February. If you made two blocks a month starting now in June, you would have Snow Buddies ready to hang to celebrate the New Year.

It is such a great feeling to know that we can now bring back books and patterns that have been retired and to not have to say, "I'm sorry, that book is no longer in print". Yippee!! Let us know if you have a favorite Possibilities book or pattern that you would like to see again. Click on the link to order Snow Buddies or to see what else is ready to download. http://www.greatamericanquilt.com/store/electronicbooks.html

Keep cool,

Lynda

Amy Butler Lotus Tunic pattern and Kim

This is the Amy Butler tunic that my daughter, Kim is going to make. The fabric is freshly washed and she is excited to begin. Her fabric choices are similar to those on the pattern. She also chose some cute fabric for the Birdie Sling bag shown below. I will keep you updated.

Also, my 16 year old granddaughter is visiting from Ohio and was telling me that she wishes she was a better sewer, so, I think I will see if she wants to try her hand at making Amy Butler's Barcelona skirt. I was telling her about it and she seemed interested. I think that Kim and Ellen would have fun working on their projects together, and, they also learn from each other. We have lots of Amy Butler patterns in stock and will have them on the website by next week.

If you can't wait to see them on our site, take a peek at Amy's www.amybutlerdesign.com, and then give us a call to place your order. Have a great weekend, and "happy stitching".

Lynda

New gadget for Lynda

To various friends and family, my husband is known as Captain Consumer. Now you may ask, "How did he come to have that title?" Well, he can talk himself (very easily I might add) into buying any electronic gadget that comes along. Right now, he has at least 3 computers, an iTouch, an iPod and a Nano, and is looking to get the iPhone as soon as he can have Verizon as a carrier. I do have to admit that his consumerism rubs off on the rest of us.


So, a few weeks ago I decided to get a Roomba--the little vacuum robot. I was a little hesitant--how well it would work, and more importantly, how Murphy, the Wheaten Terror, would take to it. For a dog, he is a big scaredy cat. Well, I LOVE IT! Rosie, the family named her after the Jetson's robot maid, is the best thing since sliced bread. I got the top of the line (Captain Consumer rubbing off). I can program her to come on anytime. She comes with two 'lighthouses' that tell her where to go and how to get back to the mother ship. She cleans the hardwood floors, as well as the carpeted areas, and goes between them beautifully. She cleans under chests and tables that have about 4" of clearance. In fact, we were watching her in the kitchen and she went under a bookcase. My husband said that she was stuck, and I said just watch. It took several turns and then she was free. Every time I empty her, I am amazed how much she has picked up. It is amazing how much dust and debris is on the floor, especially with Murphy going in and out all day. I was also surprised how Murphy took to her. He barked and jumped back a few times and then pretty much just tolerates her.


Tuesday evening I was watching TV and heard a little beep. Rosie separated herself from the mother ship and started cleaning. I had forgotten that I programed her and she brought a huge smile to my face. How fun! She is efficient and easy to maintain. I'm not giving up my good vacuum, but Rosie will help day to day. I think that any of you with a large sewing room or studio should try a Roomba. I would try Rosie in mine, but there just isn't enough unused floor space. Anyway, I think she is worth every penny I spent! Below is a picture of Murphy and Rosie.





Yeah for Roomba's and puppies,

Lynda

Colorado Skies

Since I am a Colorado native, I have seen thousands of gorgeous Colorado skies in my lifetime. Usually I don't have my camera at hand, but the other night I did. Below are two photos of an absolutely beautiful cloud formation directly north of my house at about 8:00 in the evening. The whole family, even Murphy the Wheaten Terror, I'm sorry, Wheaten Terrier enjoyed it.

Lynda

Amy Butler Midwest Modern

We are so excited!

At Spring Quilt Market, we made a decision to buy the entire Midwest Modern fabric collection by Amy Butler. The collection is quilting weight fabric, and was inspired by Amy's lifestyle book, Midwest Modern. It is an absolutely beautiful line with 3 luscious palettes--Ohio Sky, Pink Dahlia, and Orange Dahlia. We will also have some of her new solids to coordinate. These fabrics will be delivered to our back door in early August. In the meantime, you can see them for yourself.

Meanwhile, we just received several of Amy's patterns, including her two newest, the birdie sling and the laptop cover. These patterns will be posted to our website http://www.greatamericanquilt.com/ next week. Kim, my daughter, is making her first garment from Amy's pattern, lotus tunic and cami. She has chosen two gorgeous Kaffe Fassett fabrics and is prewashing the fabric as I write. It has been a long time since a garment has been made in this house.

Anyway, we can't wait to get the fabric in! We will be making lots of samples, and Amy is going to let us have a trunk show of her things in August. Nancy and I were lucky enough to spend 3 days with Amy at a creative workshop put on by American Patchwork and Quilting two years ago. What an inspiring lady! Let us know if you would like to be called when the fabric arrives. Have a great weekend and think of me trying to teach my daughter about 5/8" seams. : )

Lynda