A Valentine for all....and the winner is ...

Make a Smilebox greeting

Congratulations Andrea!! I've sent you an email so send us your address.

Andrea said...
So glad to see that you have a blog. I've added it to my google reader. Your giveaway is so nice!

Andrea, the winner of this basket was chosen by random, using the website http://www.random.org/.

Nancy and I would like to thank each and every one of you who entered the contest. Thank you for all of the wonderful compliments! It is so nice to get feedback on the different posts. Keep reading as we'll have another contest and more great pictures and information to share in the near future.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Hooray for quilters!!

Lynda and Nancy

Rosie Kirven's One Block Wonder

Rosie Kirven took Ann Petersen's One Block Wonder class last June and she came in with her finished quilt just the other day. I didn't get to see it in person, but it's sure stunning in these pictures. I'm always curious about the original fabric and in this case, Rosie stitched a large chunk of it into her backing. It's a very large print filled with lions and tigers and bears, oh my--I'm sorry, lions and tigers and zebras.
Below are two photos of the quilt. It is really amazing how many different blocks can be made from the same fabric. Doesn't Rosie look proud?

Way to go Rosie! Thanks for sharing your quilt with us.

Lynda and Nancy

P.S. Only a few days left to register for the Valentine's gift basket. Just leave a comment on the blog.

Onion Goggles?

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a pair of Onion Goggles--for tear-free Chopping, Mincing, Dicing, Slicing. I have yet to see one of the Food Network chefs tear-up when they prepare onions, but I cry buckets of tears. It didn't seem so bad before I had lasik surgery, but now, I have to go repair my mascara before I can serve dinner. I mentioned this fact to my friend Ann one day and she replied that before lasik I had a plastic disc over my eyeball--duh!--I hadn't thought of that. Here is my daughter Kim in slicing, dicing, chopping action--they look much better on her than on me. Here are some of the Onion Goggles features:
*Comfortable foam seal protects eyes from irritating onion vapors.
*Anti-fog lenses offer maximum clarity and eye protection.
*Unisex design fits most face shapes, but will not fit over glasses.
*Storage case keeps goggles clean.
*Your choice of black, pink, and white frames.

Wish you had some? Check out Amazon.
WOW, what a fashion statement!
Lynda

P.S. Be sure to write a comment to register for the basket of goodies we are giving away for Valentine's Day.

January's Patchwork Lottery Winner

Years ago we started a Patchwork Lottery at Great American Quilt Factory. It was very successful and we had a lot of fun. Well, we have started it up again. It's simple-- stop in the store and pick up the free monthly block pattern. Make it up in the suggested colors and return it to the store before the end of the month. For each block you enter you get a chance to win all of the blocks (although sometimes we've had so many blocks that there was more than one winner). Sheila Johnson was the winner for January. She received 37 beautiful blocks in shades of blue!



Here are some of the other blocks that Sheila won.
Aren't they pretty and isn't Sheila lucky?

Do you want a chance to win the February blocks? Simply pop into the store to pick up the free pattern or send a SASE to Patchwork Lottery, Great American Quilt Factory, 8970 E Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80231. Download the Patchwork Lottery block now at http://www.possibilitiesquilt.com/patchworklottery.html

Last, but not least, remember to enter the drawing for the basket of quilting goodies. Post a comment to the blog by February 13th, and somebody is going to have an extra special Valentine's Day!!

Piece and love,
Lynda and Nancy

Brussels Sprouts and Alex

For several years, Nancy and I have gone to the Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California. We usually try to go when Alex Anderson is teaching because we have so much fun together. One of our favorite evening traditions is to go to Passionfish, an incredible restaurant. Passionfish serves wonderful dishes that I've never had anywhere else. For the appetizer or salad, Nancy quite often chooses the fried green olives--they are yummy, and Alex and I choose a brussels sprout salad--very delicious! Over the years, I have tried to duplicate it and have not perfected it but have liked my version.

Well, a couple of Saturdays ago, Alex called the store to see if Nancy or I were there because she wanted to make the brussels sprouts salad for dinner that evening. Marge, who took the call, called me to ask if I could call her back. So, with my new title--Brussels Sprout Help Line--I called her back with a couple of recipes. I don't know if she tried any but a few days later I was reading the Feb/March 2009 Food Network Magazine, and lo and behold check out what's pictured on page 132. I think you will agree that the timing was perfect--maybe they got the idea from Alex herself. : )

Unfortunately, Nancy and I are not going to Alex's session this year--we're so sorry Alex. So no brussels sprouts salad for me. : (

Be sure to read the post below to see how you might win that great basket of goodies for a Valentine's present.

Thanks for reading,
Lynda

Sharing the Love--Win this gift basket

You should all know that we love our customers--if it weren't for you we wouldn't be able to offer you great fabrics, books, and other products. So in the spirit of Valentine's Day we're sharing the love by giving you an opportunity to win an amazing gift basket (shown above) full of fantastic quilting goodies! This gift basket includes a brand new Possibilities pattern that isn't even available to the public yet, plus great Possibilities books, fabrics, threads, tools, and sooo much more. How do you enter to win, you ask? Simply leave a comment below and we'll randomly choose and post the winner on February 14th! Make sure to let your quilting friends know about this contest, too!

A few simple rules:
*Please leave only one comment per person.
*Make sure to include your blog or email contact so we can let you know if you've won.
*If you post anonymously we may not be able to contact you, so please check for the winner on February 14, 2009
*Winner will be chosen at random using the random.org integer generator.
*Winner will be posted on the blog on February 14, 2009.

Good Luck!
Lynda and Nancy

Working with Paintstiks

I've just finished another slide show with the help of Susie, Lexie, and Kim. This one goes into working with Shiva Paintstiks. Paintstiks are really fun to work with and not hard to use at all. Add texture to any fabric, or make your own fabric. Paintstiks will be one of the techniques that we will play with in our Embellishment Schoolhouse. Enjoy the slide show!
Lynda

All over the board.....

I'm teaching some classes on Scrap Therapy. The classes are organized so that you actually start cutting your scraps into usable sizes of squares and then make quilts and other projects from these squares. The ladies in the class came with assorted shapes and sizes of fabric. As I was helping one lady press her scraps in preparation for cutting, I noticed that she had saved many ends of prepared binding. I started pressing these open and then I thought of all of the scrap quilts we have made with scrap pieces of binding. I pulled several pieces from her bag and set them together and suggested that she keep a box where she can collect these binding pieces, join them together, and the next time she finished a scrap quilt, the binding would be ready to go.


My new favorite notion is the Frostings Donut.




The Frostings Donut contains prewound bobbins of 36 colors of Superior's MasterPiece thread, hand picked by Becky and Linda from Piece o' Cake. This thread is perfect for applique and the BobbinSaver keeps it all in one convenient place. I wrote the thread information on the back of the BobbinSaver with a permanent marker. Makes a pretty snazzy bracelet, too!

Two times this winter we are having an Embellishment Schoolhouse. Five of our very accomplished friends are going to teach students wonderful ways to add embellishments to their work. The students will have hands-on experience in paints, making clay buttons, working with angelina, felting, paintstiks, and much more. Nancy and I sat in on a dry run last Saturday and we got sooooo excited that we will probably both sign up! The first schoolhouse is February 14th from 10-3:00--a great Valentine's present. Samples will be posted in the store soon and I will try to get them on the blog.


I can't wait until next week! We are going to have a contest here on the blog with a really great prize. Be sure to check back in.


Have a great weekend and get lots of sewing done.
Lynda

Block of the Month Kick-Off, January 17

We are so excited to present 3 brand new Block of the Month quilts for 2009. We actually have two of the original quilts in the store and you might want to see them, even if you don't plan on making them--they are stunning and well worth the trip!

The first one is by Sue Garman and is titled 'twas the Night Before Christmas. It is a 12 month BOM. This is displayed in the store and Kelly is hard at work making her own sample.

This next quilt is Back Home Again by Kaye England. The fabric line used to make this quilt is gorgeous. It is a beautiful sampler quilt--all pieced blocks and no applique-- and a great BOM for new as well as accomplished quilters. This BOM continues for 7 months.

Merry Christmas to All is marketed as a 16 month BOM, but we are accelerating it to 8 months so that you can have it finished by Christmas 2009. The design is by Daisy & Dell and Judy is working on her 5th block. This quilt is also on display in the store.

See close-ups of the blocks in the two applique quilts on our website. The Block of the Month kick-off is January 17 at 10:00. We will have lots more info then and will also be posting more info on the website at that time. If you can, please try to get in to see the quilts in person.

Lynda and Nancy

My "Not So Upbeat Playlist"

I married into a very musical family. All play several instruments, build instruments, and collect music in every form--records, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, CD's, MP3's, XYZ's, etc. My claim to fame is that I can play my ipod--but, not very well I found out!

My daughter commented to me before Christmas that I needed to work on my ipod playlists. It seems that my "Holiday Playlist" had several renditions of popular songs--I think maybe 9 versions of White Christmas and 6 of Jingle Bells, and if you don't hit shuffle, it is quite repetitious.

Kim also commented on my "Upbeat Playlist". It starts with Fields of Gold by Sting, advances to If You Leave Me Now by Chicago, goes on to On My Own by Michael McDonald, and I Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones, and falls into the depths of despair from there. WOW! I must have been pretty depressed when making this playlist and I am the optimist in this family. (I keep this list because it makes me laugh--which makes me more UPBEAT!!!)

So, I learned that I could have help making my playlists. If you download Genius from itunes you can select any song in your library and Genius will select 24 more songs that supposedly have some sort of connection with the one you chose. It actually is pretty neat. I tend to listen to the same songs or playlists and forget about the other songs I have purchased or downloaded. With Genius I am listening to songs that I forgot I had, and songs that I truly wonder why I downloaded in the first place. But, sometimes I wonder what in the world the songs Genius chooses have in common with the one I chose, but then I only have to think about my "Upbeat Playlist", which Kim now refers to as My Not So Upbeat Playlist.

Today, I started playing games with Genius. I took a remote song in my library to see what Genius would come up with. I chose Orinoco Flow by Enya (this version by Celtic Women) and could not believe what songs it matched--where did these songs come from?--well I now have several songs that I will be deleting from my library. I guess the more songs that you have in your library, the better Genius does.
What are your favorite UPBEAT songs?
Musically,
Lynda

Quilts by Pam Thiele and Becky Kramarz

Pam Thiele is a friend of ours who belongs to the embellishment group Nancy formed. We meet once a month at the store and learn a new technique. Earlier this year it became Pam's mission to finish several quilt tops. I can't remember which one this was (maybe #11 or 12), but it was one of Nancy's and my favorites. Every month she brings the finished quilts for our show and share part of the embellishment group. Pam is definitely inspiring the rest of us to finish our UFO's.
Way to go Pam!

Next is a Color By the Yard quilt made by Becky Kramarz. Becky took our class in Spokane. Her quilt is made of flannel--a great cuddle quilt, especially since Spokane has already received its share of snow. The close-up photo shows how rich and beautiful the prints are and the wonderful quilting. The quilt was quilted by Becky's friend, Lois Carpenter. Becky says that her quilt has inspired many of her friends to make one because it is perfect for whittling down a fabric stash. Color By the Yard is from our book Super Simple Strips.

Thank you Pam and Becky for sharing your quilts with us! Keep quilting and inspiring others!

Lynda and Nancy

Joined in Hope Update

Back in October, I told you about the Pink Ribbon Bagel Campaign that we were working on with Panera Bread Company and the Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers Foundation. We designed and made a quilt to be auctioned off with proceeds going to RMCCF. As you can see, the quilt is gorgeous and on the back are signature blocks signed by local community leaders. Bidding closed at noon (MST), Wednesday, December 24, 2008.

We will be getting together in January to put together the quilts from the other blocks that were submitted. I'll let you know more about that soon.

If I don't get another post in by tomorrow, have a great holiday.
Lynda

More yummy recipes for the holidays!

Here is a terrific Southwest Appetizer and to go along with it, Baked Mexican Chicken. It is about 3 degrees here in Denver and we had an all time low last night, so I am looking for anything hot--temperature and taste. I spice up the chicken with a spicy salsa. Now, anything hot and spicy needs to me tempered with a delicious Margarita--anyone willing to share their favorite recipe?





Happy cooking,
Lynda and Nancy

Murphy and the Popcorn Popper

I have a Wheaten Terrier named Murphy who is afraid of everything. My daughter Kim was popping some corn on Saturday night. Luckily the camera was right there and she took this video of Murphy. Notice he never gets very close and looks up at her every once in awhile to see why she is not protecting him from this strange creature. At least he sounds ferocious!

Enjoy, Lynda

Cooking Possibilities--Pizza Crab Dip

Several years ago, we put out a cookbook titled Cooking Possibilities. We asked five top quilt shops to submit recipes. They in turn, asked their employees for submissions. The recipes were terrific and it is one of our all time go to cookbooks. Unfortunately it is now out of print, but we would like to share some of our favorite recipes with you from time to time. Since this is the time of year for lots of holiday parties, we would like to start with a great appetizer from Judy Carpenter, our Buyer and Show Coordinator. It is easy and soooo delicious!

Pizza Crab Dip
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups ketchup
2 tbsp horseradish
1-2 6 oz cans crab &/or shrimp, drained
1 cup green peppers, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup green onion, chopped
½ cup black olives, sliced
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Crackers

Spread cream cheese on small dinner plate or decorative 8” pie plate. Mix ketchup with horseradish and spread over cream cheese. Sprinkle with next 6 ingredients in order. Serve with crackers.

Enjoy!
Happy Holidays,
Lynda and Nancy