On the 5th Day of Christmas...

Brand spanking new to the market is Alex Anderson's 4-in-1 Essential Sewing Tool for quilting, applique, papercrafts, dollmaking, and more. The tool includes a super-sharp Bernina seam ripper, extra-long stiletto, flat-ended presser, and a pointed wood end cap for turning and stuffing. Because it is so new it might make the perfect present for your quilting and sewing friends and for you, too! $19.95 Click here to order.

The Dolly Dresses Blog Event continues with Jennifer Bosworth of Shabby Fabrics. Jennifer designed a darling tablerunner. Very, very, cute! For more info on this event, check out our blog from November 30. The event is the brain child of Holly Holderman from LakeHouse fabrics. Check out Holly's blog to get the link to Shabby Fabrics quilt. Our turn is tomorrow and I can't wait for you to see our quilt.

The days, hours, minutes, and seconds are counting away--happy stitching,

Lynda

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

Because the holidays are such a great time to make personalized gifts, I'd like to introduce you to TAP. TAP is Transfer Artist Paper and was invented by Lesley Riley. TAP allows you to make iron-on transfers for almost any surface--fabric, lutradur, wood, polymer, canvas, glass, and more. Check out our story board to see transfers on some of our favorite surfaces. We also show transfers done with paintstix and magic markers. It's easy and fun--just add your imagination! A package contains five 8 1/2 x 11" sheets and retails for $11.99. Click here to order.

The Dolly Dresses Blog Event is in full swing. The first quilt to be revealed is from Debbie Taylor at Fat Quarter Shop. It's a delightful quilt! Check out Holly's blog to find a link to the Jolly Jabber blog. Remember, our day to reveal our quilt is this Sunday. Don't forget to check it out.

Happy stitching,

Lynda

P.S. Just for fun I added the Hallmark Christmas Calendar on the sidebar--don't let it make you nervous or stressed. ; )

On the 3rd Day of Christmas

One of my favorite notions is the Bendable Bright Light that attaches to the side of your sewing machine. You can aim the bright LED light right were you need to and it doesn't get hot. A low voltage 8' power cord, a power pack, and a mounting bracket are included for the price of $49.99--I think it is worth every penny and it can be used for other crafts, not just for sewing. For another photo of me using it click here. To order click here.


Tomorrow is the start of the Dolly Dresses Blog Event. I think there are 15 designers altogether, so it should be great fun to see all of the quilts and hear what the designers have to say. I'm pretty sure that there will be some prizes given for comments. Our day is Sunday December 6th. I hope to see you then. For more information, go to Holly Holderman's blog.

See you tomorrow with another one of my favorite quilty things.

Lynda

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

Hello quilting friends,

We design fabric for Quilting Treasures and our newest line is Petals and Paisley and it will be delivered to stores this month. Petals and Paisley consists of prints with an Old World wood block character in rich tones of denim, aqua, browns, and teals that will work well in traditional as well as contemporary projects.

Check out the Quilting Treasures website to download a wonderful quilt that we designed to showcase this delightful fabric. This quilt would be so easy to make for a special Christmas present for a special person. I'll let you know when we receive the fabric in the backdoor.

Only two more days until the Dolly Dresses Blog Event starts. We have designed a special quilt using Holly Holderman's (LakeHouse Fabrics) Dolly Dresses panels. The Blog Event starts this Friday. Check out Holly's Blog for more information and to get a sneak preview of Dolly Dresses 2 and 3 fabrics--they are lovely.

See you tomorrow,

Lynda

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

Oh my goodness!

December is here and Christmas is a few short weeks away. Over the next few days, I would like to share some of my favorite things for Christmas giving or receiving. Here is the 1st one on the 1st day of December.

Today, I'm happy to tell you that Patchwork Party, Fall 2009 has been extended until the end of December. We had an incredible Spring Patchwork Party and the fun continued through the Fall and we were not quite ready for the fun to end. So, need a wonderful Christmas gift for yourself or for a quilting friend? Collect a sampler block ($7.00 each, postage included) from each of the participating 12 stores and then choose your favorite finishing kit. WOW! Each quilt looks soooo different and they are all beautiful--it would be a hard choice, although I like ours the best.

See some closeups here. The fabric line is Samsara from Benartex--gorgeous focus fabrics and great coordinates. Don't wait, Patchwork Party Fall 2009 ends December 31st.

Also, only 4 more days until the Dolly Dresses Blog Event starts. I can't wait until you see our quilt.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Lynda

Dolly Dresses-Quilts and More coming soon!

Hello friends,

We have some exciting news!

We have been chosen by Holly Holderman of LakeHouse fabrics to be a featured designer for a fun blog event. Each designer was given two panels of Holly's new Dolly Dresses fabric and were to design a quilt or other projects using these panels. If I do say so myself, our quilt is wonderful!!!! Let's just say it incorporates a new product in the quilting industry and it was so fun to use.


The Dolly Dresses Blog Event starts this Friday, December 4th. I don't know what day our quilt will be revealed, but as soon as I know, I'll let you know. I'll be anxious to go blog hopping to see everyone else's quilts. I did a little blog hopping today to see some of the other designer's blogs that I haven't visited before--fun, fun, fun. I hope you will hop with me!

Lynda

Jill McNeilly and Sherri Moore--stitching visitors!

A month or so ago, we got an e-mail from Jill McNeilly, from Franklin, MA, stating that she would be in Denver with her husband who was attending a conference. Jill wanted to know if she could borrow a machine and sew in the store for a few days. We, of course, replied yes. Jill was with us for 3 days last week. She was making a quilt for a girlfriends' 13 year old daughter. The pattern was Topsy Turvy from an American Quilter magazine. It was fun to keep tabs with Jill and see the quilt progress. (Notice the beautiful ORANGE color?)

On the third day, Sherri Moore, from Indianapolis, IN, was in the store (her husband was also at a conference) and struck up a conversation with Jill. When she found out that Jill was borrowing a machine she inquired if she, too, could sew. We set up another machine and with the biggest grin on her face, Sherri announced that she was in heaven!

What a delightful time was had by all. Jill almost completed her quilt, Sherri almost finished a Grids & Grommets purse and we all had fun checking in on them from time to time.

I think the young lady that Jill is making this quilt for is very lucky--it was turning out great.

If you are ever in the Denver area and looking for a place to sew and be inspired, please call.

Thank you Jill and Sherri--we really enjoyed your visit. Come again soon!

Lynda, Nancy and the staff at Great American Quilt Factory

Jean Bonelli's Beautiful Scrap Quilt

It's always nice to share our customer's projects on the blog. This fun quilt, made by Jean Bonelli, was made from a pattern in a McCall's Quilt magazine. Jean told us she is a beginning quilter. We thought she did a great job with the pattern and especially with the color. We can't wait to see what else Jean will make.



Beautiful quilt, Jean, and thanks for sharing!

Lynda and Nancy

...and I'm not so fond of WHITE.

This is how my beautiful ORANGE bush looks today.

To be honest, most of the ORANGE was gone. The snow is coming down sideways at times and continues to pile up, so I'm working at home today. It reminds me of the snow storm we had last Spring.

I hope everyone has a stitching project to work on. What is your favorite snowy day activity? It's hard to decide between stitching and cooking. I guess I'll stick something in the crock pot so that I can do both.

The Denver weather should be nice, but chilly for the trick or treaters. I plan to see lots of coats covering up cute costumes.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Lynda

I LOVE ORANGE....

Hello everyone,

I love Fall and the change of color in the trees and bushes. I have a bush in my backyard that is an unassuming bush for 3/4 of the year, but in the Fall it becomes a STAR! Last Saturday it was pretty nondescript and then we had a couple of cold nights and this is what it looks like now--Gorgeous, gorgeous, ORANGE!

I've never noticed that it had berries until I took this closeup. I'm going to look closer tomorrow. I don't know what kind of bush it is, but I always look forward to its beautiful ORANGE display in the Fall.

Here's to the color ORANGE,
Lynda
(FYI-First pic, orange and blue, GO BRONCOS!)

International Quilt Market - Day 1 and 2

Hi everyone! I'm Laura, Nancy's youngest daughter. I was just 9 months old when Nancy and Lynda started the business, so I guess you can say I literally grew up in the quilting industry. I am here in Houston, Texas this week, along with Nancy, Lynda, Judy (our buyer, show coordinator and more), and Ashley (our Director of Marketing, author of the weekly update, and more).

(From L to R: Lynda, Nancy, Judy, Laura & Ashley)

We had a fun idea to share with all of our readers just exactly what happens at these wonderful markets. Every fall (for 30 years now), hundreds of quilters and vendors gather in Houston, Texas to attend a wholesale show known as International Quilt Market. It is a time when fabric companies debut brand-new lines, pattern companies show the latest patterns, and designers prepare to show everything they have created new in the past year.

Shop owners come from around the world (literally) to attend this event and stock their shops with new and exciting goodies for customers. We have a unique position at market, as we are both vendors (of Possibilities books and patterns) and buyers (for Great American Quilt Factory). The electricity in the air for the three days of the show is undeniable, and we undoubtedly return to the shop feeling renewed, refreshed and excited to share all of the new ideas with our customers.

But it does take preparation! The booth isn't decorated when we arrive, in fact we ship cartons of quilts, displays, curtains, even carpeting, directly to Houston to "decorate" our booth. There are hundreds of vendors at the event, and each is assigned their booth space. We arrived in Houston on Thursday afternoon, and started setting up our booth on Friday morning.

Nancy and Lynda getting ready to unpack the boxes and set-up the booth (pretty sparse!)

Now there are some poles to hang quilts on, and the tables have been moved:

We're not the only ones getting set up!

Nancy stood on the ladder to hang poles, and cover and wrap the poles in fabric:

I helped a little too!

With the basics of the booth put together, we loaded the quilts in suitcases, and headed to the upstairs floor of the convention center for Schoolhouse. Schoolhouse is a day of 15-30 minute presentations from vendors, designers, companies, basically an information session about new products and good ways to help your customers get the most from a product.

Nancy and Lynda presented a Schoolhouse about their new fabric line, Petals & Paisleys (for Quilting Treasures), and talked about making an "Inspiration Station" in a store:

Shop owners love to hear Nancy and Lynda's ideas!

After Schoolhouse, we return to hang the quilts up in the booth. On Friday morning, they turn on all of the overhead lights, turn on the air-conditioning (a must in humid Texas) and the show is ready to start.

In a few short hours, we turned our booth from bare to stunning, ready for visitors.

Check back soon, we'll post more about all of the other fun stuff to see at Quilt Market!

:) Laura

Quilt Market Sneak Peek

We are displaying a veritable smorgasbord of new patterns at fall Quilt Market. Here is a sneak peek at my favorite new pattern, No Guilt Quilt. I'm thinking of making this one as another Blog of the Month--any takers?

The pattern and possibly kits will be available very soon. I'll be giving more sneak peeks in the next two weeks at more of our smorgasbord--anyone hungry?
Lynda

Happy Halloween Blog of the Month, Part 7

WOW! WOW! WOW! Ann Petersen, an award winning quilter, finished quilting the Happy Halloween quilt and now it only needs to be bound and buttons stitched on for the eyes.

For the back, I wanted to use a cute Halloween fabric that we designed. It needed to be pieced with a vertical seam. I bought a little extra fabric (4 1/4 yds) because I wanted the characters to be spaced evenly and semi-lined up. It wasn't until I was sewing on the binding that I saw that Ann matched the two pieces exactly!!! Ann is truly an awesome piecer and quilter.

We used Warm and Natural Batting which is a nice choice for a quilt that will be displayed on a wall. First she ditched the quilt next to the sashing strips, squares, and borders using Madeira Monofil (Smoke) in the top and an orange Aurifil (to match the backing) in the bobbin . Then she outline stitched the characters, including the features, and around the Happy Halloween letters, also with the Madeira.

She free motioned quilted some soft curves in the block backgrounds using two shades of Superior Rainbows, #848 Buncha Violets for the darkest background and #847 Fuchsia Fusion for the others. Rainbows are lovely variegated threads where the color changes about every inch. They also have a beautiful sheen.

She meandered the green Happy Halloween banner with Superior Rainbows #820 Lime Squeeze and added a couple of spiderwebs in the corners. Ann used Superior King Tut #977 Ebony to quilt bats in the sashing strips and stars in the sashing squares.

Spider webs were quilted in the border. When quilting on the darkest background squares, the sashing, and the borders, Ann used black Aurifil in the bobbin. This way, if the tension isn't perfect, there won't be little dots of a different color thread popping to the top. All of these threads work best with a 90/14 Topstitch needle. (Can you see the backing seam?)

I stitched on buttons for the eyes as the pattern suggests. The larger buttons (approx 1/4") were used for Mummy, Bat, Mr. Monster, and Skeleton. All of the rest have smaller buttons (approx 1/8"). Because this quilt will most likely be a wall hanging the buttons could be glued on. They could also be embroidered or beaded. I hid the knot under the button and stitched the button on by stitching through to the back. My backing fabric is busy enough that it is very hard to see where these stitches are. I stitched through each button three times. I poked a pin through to the back to mark the position for the second eye, and I traveled my needle from the first eye button to the second under the backing fabric. I stitched through the button three times, made my knot, and then traveled the needle through the backing fabric for a short way and trimmed the thread.

Yeah! We are almost finished. I'll do a binding tutorial next and then it will be time to hang the quilt in plenty of time for Halloween decorating.

Happy quilting,

Lynda

P.S. If you are interested in a thread packet for the 5 threads we used, please email me. Also, we have 5 button packets that contain the two different sized buttons available on a first come, first served basis for $6.95. Please email me if you are interested. millilyn@aol.com

CANUKUS Pineapple Quilt

Diana Hill sent us a picture of this beautiful Pineapple quilt made using our Positively Pineapple book and Pineapple Rule. It is named CANUKUS PINEAPPLE because the ladies that made it are from Canada, UK, and the US. It was pieced by Janet Vigeant, Thelma Price, Diana Hill, and Alanna Petrusich and was quilted by Alanna. They are all members of the Kuwait group KTAA-Kuwait Textile Arts Association. The quilt will be raffled for funding to pay for educational speakers for KTAA Quilt members, also known as the Q8 Quilters.

What a beautiful Pineapple quilt--great job ladies!

Thanks for sharing,

Lynda and Nancy

Happy Halloween Blog of the Month, Part 6

Hello again Happy Halloween friends,

It's time to get this quilt together. Your character blocks should be trimmed and ready to be sashed. To begin, let's trim the Happy Halloween strip if you didn't already. I don't know about you, but that was a lot of applique. Now, my advice to you is 'measure twice, cut once'. Follow the pattern directions and place the HH strip over the placement sheet. Mark the final trim line on all four corners. I then folded my strip in half, matched the 4 corners and marked my cutting lines. I measured the height in several spots to make sure it was consistently 11 1/2". I measured the length to make sure it was consistently 20 1/4" (40 1/2" unfolded). I found I had to add 1/4" to make the 40 1/2". When you are sure of your measurements and that the corners are square, cut to size.

Vertical Sashing
Cut your sashing and setting squares, following pattern directions. Stitch vertical sashing to all applique pieces as shown on pattern and press all seams toward the sashing strip.

Horizontal Sashing
Years ago, I learned a tip that makes sewing squares together so much easier. When stitching a quilt of all squares together, first identify the lengthwise grain of each square. The lengthwise grain has the least amount of stretch. Sew the squares together matching the lengthwise grains. This leaves the unsewn edge with all crosswise grain, which allows for the stretch and/or ease you may need to match the seams perfectly. I applied this hint to the crosswise sashing strips. Find the lengthwise grain of the sashing squares and stitch this edge to the sashing strip. This leaves the unsewn edge with all crosswise grain, making it easy to match all the vertical strips. Stitch the quilt top together. Press seams towards the sashing strips.

First Border
Press the top from the wrong side, following pattern directions. Flip to the right side and make sure that there are no tucks in the seams. Follow pattern directions to cut and stitch border strips together. If using a stripe, try to stitch the seam so that width of stripe is similar in width to the others.

Measure the quilt from top to bottom at center of quilt.

It should measure 54 1/2". Mine measured 54 1/4". I measured in a few other spots and the measurement was consistently 54 1/4".

If your measurements are not consistent, average the measurements together and cut your strips accordingly. Cut 2 border strips to the size that your quilt top measured. Fold your top into fourths and mark with pins. Fold Border 1 into fourths and mark with pins. Pin Border 1 to quilt top, matching pins. Stitch seam with Border 1 on top. Work on one quarter at a time, leaving pins in position until you get to them. Press seams towards outer edge of quilt top. Measure quilt from side to side. It should measure 46 1/2". Adjust your measurement if necessary. Match and pin quarters, stitch and press as before.

Outer Border
Measure and cut side borders as before. Match and pin quarter sections. If you cut your outer border strips on the lengthwise grain as pattern suggests you will probably need to ease your quilt top to fit the border. There is a lot of stretch in the outer edges of the top, since it is all crosswise grain. Mark and pin quarter sections accurately. Stitch with the quilt top closest to the sewing machine bed. The feed dogs will help ease any fullness into the border. Keep pins in place until you get to them. Press seam to outer edge of quilt top. Repeat for top and bottom borders. Yeah--a completed quilt top!

Quilting

We are now ready for quilting. I quilt with my wallet--overheard in a class we taught. : ) So, mine will be going to one of our long-arm quilters, but I'll be back in a few days with some hints. In the meantime, choose and prepare your backing.

Backing
With a crosswise seam, you will need 3 1/2 yds of fabric for your backing. If you want a lengthwise seam, you will need 4 yards. If you are using a directional Halloween print (and there are soooooo many cute ones out there) you will probably want a lengthwise seam. Unfold your backing fabric and fold in half crosswise. Cut along this fold to make two pieces. Place these pieces right sides together and stitch one side along the selvage edge. I usually stitch with about a 1" seam and then go back and trim off the selvages. Press this seam open.

Well, it's been fun appliqueing and piecing the top with you. I can't wait to decorate for Halloween and put my quilt on the wall. I'll be back to give you some quilting tips in the next few days and then a lesson in binding.

Until then, happy stitching,
Lynda