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

Meet our friends, a new quilter and a long-time quilter

Good morning everyone,

Having a quilt store gives us many opportunities to meet wonderful people and to share our passion with them. This last week I was privileged to talk to two of them. One beautiful young lady has been quilting for just one year. She brought in two finished quilts to share with us and her arms were filled with several more that she was working on. Meet Carrie DeBoer with two of her newest quilts!


It seems Carrie is a very generous quilter. These quilts were made for Carrie's friends and her next project (a queen size bed quilt) is going to another friend. Great job Carrie--I loved the sparkle in your eyes when you were telling us about your quilts!

The other quilter has been a customer of ours from close to the beginning of our store--almost 30 years ago. She's taken lots of classes (in fact she is taking one today) and loves fabric. She was lucky enough to win a stack of batiks--over $100's worth last week at our Shop Hop. Meet our friend Joan Parpal!

Congratulations on winning so many fat quarters, Joan--I bet she's using some of them today!

I think I'll go wander through the store and classroom and soak up some inspiration! Happy stitching!

Lynda

Happy Halloween Blog of the Month, Part 5

Hi Happy Halloween friends,

We are almost finished with the applique and will be ready to start constructing the quilt. I saved the Mummy for last because I thought it looked so hard. In reality it was one of the easiest blocks to applique. The Mummy is just six applique pieces--head, eyes, eyelids, nose, and eyebrows. I sprayed and ironed the background fabrics (the darkest background for the Mummy and the green for the Happy Halloween words) with spray starch to stiffen them so they would act as a stabilizer. I used my lined white fabric for the Mummy.

Again, build small sections on your Applique Presser Sheet before combining the pieces together. For Mummy build 1 section: eyes, eyelids, and nose. After fusing the sections together, use the placement guide to fuse them into place. Mark all detail lines. I used my Sewline black pencil and a sunny window to see the lines. Fuse Mummy to the background.

Stitch all of the detail lines. I stitched the bandages with a straight stitch--I did not need to stitch over the lines. Be sure to bring all of the threads to the back and tie off as you go. I found a neat tool to help with this. It is a very fine crochet hook. You punch it through from the back to the front, wrap the thread around the tiny hook and pull to the back. It took a bit to get used to wrapping it correctly, but I love it now!

Blanket stitch the head. Stitch his left eye from the top right lid around to the nose. Stitch the right eye from the right side of his nose around the top of the lid and down to the nose. Stitch across bottom of eyelid and then the nose. I stitched his mouth with a very narrow and short zig-zag stitch. As you can see in the photo, I forgot to stitch his eyebrows.

Now for the Happy Halloween word panel. Tape paper pattern together and cut out on the trim line. Press it flat and then press it in half horizontally and vertically. Do the same to the green background fabric. The green fabric will be larger than the paper pattern. It will be trimmed to the correct size after the applique is finished. Pin the pattern to an ironing board and pin the green fabric over the top, matching all of the pressed lines. Place and fuse the letters from right to left, following the placement pattern that shows through the green fabric. Applique in place. My black letter fabric frayed a bit while I was sewing, but I think it added a little character.

Press the word panel flat and place it over the placement sheet. Mark the final trim line on all four corners lightly with a pencil. Double check that the measurements are 11 1/2" x 40 1/2". Square and trim using a rotary cutter and a ruler.

Follow placement sheets for trimming all 12 appliqued blocks or make a plastic template that measures 9 x 11 1/2". Place template over block with bottom edge of template along bottom edge of applique. Mark corners and trim with a rotary cutter and ruler.

Trim all 12 blocks and we are now ready to construct the quilt. See you in a few days!

Happy stitching,

Lynda

Rocky Mountain Fever Shop Hop Block Tutorial

Yeah!!!! This is our 10th anniversary shop hop! We have designed an exclusive (only our 8 shops can sell it) beautiful batik in 6 colorways. We chose our favorite colorway for the shop hop quilt. The quilt consists of star blocks set into an 8 pointed star. Each shop designed their own finishing kit.

We promised we would have a tutorial to help you make our shop hop block--so here it is! You will need to refer to the printed pattern as you watch the slideshow. We also have two classes scheduled to help you. One will help you make the 8 different blocks from all of the shops. The second class will help you make our beautiful quilt. Call or email for more information.

Here is our version of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Fever Shop Hop Quilt.

Have fun,

Lynda and Nancy

Happy Halloween Blog of the Month

Hello friends,
I got a new hard drive for my computer this month and have had to re-install so many things, so the Blog of the Month will be a bit late. Computers are wonderful and dreadful at the same time--glass half empty or half full--but so far it is taking far less time to post than before. See you soon.
Lynda

"Blogging for Bliss" and Let's Build a Snowman

I really enjoy blogging. I guess I'm not very talkative in person, but I have a lot to say. I've enjoyed pushing myself in the last year and a half to learn new things--uploading pictures, linking, making slideshows, etc. But I'm wanting to learn more. So on Friday, I discovered the book Blogging for Bliss, by Tara Frey, on Amazon, available Aug. 4. I surfed over to Tara's blog and found out that it was already out. I found out my B&N had a copy and zoomed over to get it. I read it cover to cover in a few hours. WOW! It's a great book with lots of information that I was looking for. Seven chapters of info are interspersed with descriptions of other blogs and their creative owners...and these bloggers reference their favoite blogs. I'm now going page by page to see these blogs. What a treasure! If you enjoy blogging or reading blogs, check it out--Blogging for Bliss. Let me know what you think.

I promised you a sneak peek of our newest pattern. It is the cutest snowman quilt ever--and you don't need to get wet and cold to build it. If you start it now you will have it ready just in time for colder weather.

Isn't it great? Makes me smile every time I see it, but then, I'm not the one who had to kit it. Let's Build a Snowman will be available in 3 different ways--a complete kit for the top, a Row of the Month option, and pattern only. Click here for more information. I will be posting tips on the blog to go along with the Row of the Month (similar to Happy Halloween entries). I can't wait to get started.

Well, I'm off to make dinner, a little more blog surfing and looking into classes for photography and html!

Happy surfing to you, too!

Lynda

Rocky Mountain Quilt Fever-A Celebration of Stars

Yeah! It's almost time for the Denver area's 10th shop hop--A Celebration of Stars--to honor our customers, who truly are our stars. To make it extra special we designed a gorgeous batik with columbines, aspen leaves, pinecones, and pine needles.

Each shop chose a star pattern and then the blocks were set into a giant Rolling Star, that features the specially designed fabric. The hoppers will buy kits to make up the Rolling Star portion of the quilt and then each of the participating 8 stores designed different finishing kits. This is our (Great American Quilt Factory's) quilt. It finishes to approx. 77' square. It is beautiful!

We also have 5 additional colorways of the featured fabric. These fabrics are exclusive to our shops.

Rocky Mountain Quilt Fever Shop Hop is August 7, 8, and 9th. See more information and download the passport on our website.

We hope to see you hopping,
Lynda and Nancy

Artifacts by Possibilities for Quilting Treasures

Our new fabric line from Quilting Treasures is now in stores. Artifacts features soft, stylized imagery reminiscent of native motifs in soothing colors of turquoise, green, lavender and purple. This beautiful, sophisticated group lends itself to art-to-wear as well as accessories and quilts.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We think it is a very beautiful line and can't wait to share some projects with you!
Happy Stitching,
Lynda and Nancy

American White Pelicans

It has only been the last few years that I have seen white pelicans in the Denver area. They arrive in late Spring and stay for awhile before heading North. I saw this flock a month or so ago. They are huge with incredible wing spans. I think they are terrific!

They reminded me of this poem, possibly by Ogden Nash or Dixon Lanier Merritt--there is some dispute.

A wonderful bird is a pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week;
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.

Have a great day!

Lynda

Happy Halloween Blog of the Month-Part 4

Hello again, Halloween friends,

I'm sorry that I'm a bit late this month in posting the blog, but June went by soooo fast! June is the end of our fiscal year here at Great American Quilt Factory (which means lots of extra bookwork and inventory counting) and we've been blessed with having our son Barry and his two great kids, Ellen and Neil, visiting for a couple of weeks.

Well, we're on month 4 and October is just 3 months away. I hope you are able to keep up, but if not, these lessons will be here for a long, long, time. Just click on the Halloween Blog of the Month icon on the right side of the blog and bring up all of the lessons. You will find them in the newest to oldest order, so scroll down to the first lesson you missed and work up from there.

Our three applique blocks this month are Death, Cat, and Werewolf. I, once again, sprayed and ironed the background fabrics with spray starch to stiffen them so they would act as a stabilizer. I used my lined white fabric for all of the eyes, teeth, white collars, and scythe blade. If werewolf's face is much lighter than his hair, you might need to line it also.

Again, build small sections on your Applique Presser Sheet before combining the pieces together. For Death, build 2 sections: eyes, eyelids, nose, and hood, face, cloak. After fusing these sections together, use the placement guide to fuse them into place. Mark all detail lines. I used my Sewline black pencil and a sunny window to see the lines. Fuse Death to the 2nd to the lightest background.

For Cat, build 2 sections: eyes, eyelids, nose, and shirt, collar, BOO. After fusing the sections together, use the placement guide to fuse them into place. Mark the detail lines. (The yellow or white Sewline pencil or refills are perfect for marking Cat's mouth and whiskers.) Fuse Cat to the 2nd to the darkest background.

For Werewolf, build 3 sections: eyes, eyelids, nose, and shirt, collar, tie, and face, hair, ears. Mark the detail lines and fuse Werewolf to the lightest background.

For the stitching, I started with Death, the easiest. The stitching order I used for Death:

1. Inside of hood
2. Outside of hood
3. Right and left collar
4. Scythe blade
5. Scythe handle
6. Eyes, eyelids
7. Nose

Each eye, eyelid, and nose combination seems to need a little different treatment. Trace the stitching path with your finger to see what works best. For example, for Death, I stitched his left eye first, from the top of the lid around to the nose. Next, I stitched his right eye from the right side of his nose, across the lid and down to the top of his nose. The bottom edge of his eyelids came next, and finally his nose.

The stitching order I used for Cat:

1. Shoulders
2. Arms
3. Left and right side of head
4. Collar
5. Eyes and eyelids
6. Nose
7. 2nd "O"
8. 1st "O"
9. "B"

For Cat's eyes and nose, I stitched them in the same order as Death's.

Werewolf was my most challenging block yet. He is not that hard, but I seemed to forget everything I have learned so far--just so you know, you will never see the backside of this block. : )

Here is my stitching order:

1. Right and left ear
2. Face
3. Hair
4. Shirt
5. Collar
6. Tie
7. Eyes and eyelids
8. Nose
9. Teeth

For the eye section, I first stitched the inner side of his right eyeball, and then from the right side of his nose around the right eyelid. I then stitched his left eye from the top of his nose around to the left side of his nose. Next, the bottom of the eyelid, and finally his nose.

**As I was explaining this I realized that I stitched his eyes just opposite from the pattern--just goes to show you that there is more than one way to do anything. : )**

There are at least two ways to stitch the detail lines. For the heavier lines, such as the mouths, I'm going to use a very tiny, very close zigzag stitch. I would suggest that you put together some practice squares that are similar to your block--two layers of fabric with or without the fusible in between (since I cut away most of the fusible, I folded a square of fabric together and ironed it with several coats of spray starch, like I do for my backgrounds). I experimented on a scrap of fabric until I had a stitch that I liked. Choose the zigzag stitch on your machine, needle down position if you have one, and have the same thread on the top and in the bobbin.

The settings on my Bernina that worked best was with the zigzag slightly less than 1 and the stitch length just 2-3 bars above zero. This made a stitch that was no wider than 1/16 or about the width you get with a chalk pencil. Stitch steadily, but not too fast. As you go around curves, pivot on the outside edge of the curve so that you don't get gaps in the stitching. Make sure that you have enough thread in the top and bottom so that you don't run out--it is very hard to match your previous stitching--guess how I know?

Some of the detail lines are not as bold as the mouth stitching, such as Witch's scar and Mummy's bandages. For these lines, use a regular straight stitch and stitch across the same lines 2 times. This takes some practice and a steady stitch. See the right side of my practice piece.

Below is a closeup of Werewolf's mouth.

If you are not happy with your practice stitches, you can always hand embroider the detail lines.

Yeah! We are coming right along. Next month we will work on the last applique block--Mummy and applique the Happy Halloween panel. Have you chosen your backing fabric? We have a terrific selection of Halloween fabric in the store and some of it is online.

Please comment if you are enjoying this blog of the month concept and/or if you have any questions or ideas for another blog of the month. I am really enjoying bringing it to you.

Nancy and I leave Tuesday to teach and lecture at two guilds in Southern California. We plan on visiting some quilt shops along the way. I plan on bringing you more inspiration.

Happy stitching,

Lynda