Pigeon Forge, TN and a prize winning quilt!

I'm sorry that I've been negligent in posting, but it has been a very busy couple of weeks. Nancy and I had a great trip to Pigeon Forge, TN for the 15th annual Mountain Quiltfest. We taught 4 classes, did a lecture and a panel discussion. We met some wonderful quilters with funny accents : ). Actually, Nancy had picked up that accent by week's end. It was an incredible week! My one regret is that we didn't have time to really see the quilts on display which were in another convention center a few miles down the road from where we were teaching. However, I did make it a point to see this quilt.

This quilt was made by Kathie Weatherford. She used to live in Denver and was a GAQF regular. She was a Saturday Sampler, Cabin in the Woods participant. Kathie's quilt won an Honorable Mention and here is what she has to say about it.

"The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. This park is the most visited park in the USA. As part of 'A Mountain Quiltfest' in Pigeon Forge, TN, quilters were invited to make a quilt to celebrate the anniversary. Each quilt had to contain 12 blocks from a pattern by Klaudeen Hansen that symbolized different aspects of the park." The winning quilt was purchased for $25oo and will hang in one of the park's visitor centers. Kathie's quilt used the borders from Cabin in the Woods. Kathie has donated her quilt to the city of Pigeon Forge and it will hang in the city's Visitor Center. Way to go Kathie--we wish you still lived in Denver!


I'll have more about Pigeon Forge next week, but for now, I'm off to California for a little family time. I'll be working on the Happy Halloween Blog of the Month and hope that you will want to join in the fun. Until then,

Happy Stitching,

Lynda

Patchwork Lottery winner and Store visitors

Cathy Barnes was the February winner of the Patchwork Lottery Blocks. She won over 45 Shoo-fly Blocks in beautiful shades of red. I can't wait to see how Cathy puts them together.

If you would like to enter to win the March blocks, download the March pattern or pick one up at the store. Complete your block in the suggested colors and have them to the store by or on March 31st. Each block you enter equals one chance to win.

We had two delightful ladies visit the store this week. They are Maureen and Peggy and they work at The Happy Quilter in Valley Cottage, NY, not too far from New York City. They were refered to us by their hotel concierge and didn't realize that GAQF was also the home of Possibilities. They were so excited and spent a good portion of one day shopping, looking, and getting inspired and then they came back the next day for more. They have a very interesting blog, Happy Quilter Adventures, because their store owner is overseas in Shanghai for a few years. So, you can be inspired by the quilt stories on the blog and enjoy the travel stories posted by the store's owner, Lorraine. It was fun to meet them and talk to them! The little guy next to Nancy is her grandson Ryan.

Well, we are off to teach and lecture at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee at the 15th annual Mountain Quiltfest. If you are there, please stop by and say hello. It is always nice to make new friends. I'll be back with more photos next week.

Till then, Happy Quilting!

Lynda and Nancy

Lori Broshears' T-shirt quilt

One of the great perks about having a quilt store is having customers share their finished projects. Lori Broshears brought in a really terrific T-shirt quilt to be long-armed quilted. Merrie Jones quilted the quilt and brought it back in for Lori to pick up. We think you will enjoy seeing it.

Great job, Lori and Merrie!

Thanks for sharing,

Lynda and Nancy

It's never to early to think Halloween!

It is never to early to think Halloween! I recently came upon this new Amy Bradley pattern for a great Halloween quilt and the proverbial lightbulb came on in my head--or it's that darn flourescent light flikering again. Anyway, I would like to make this quilt and would like some of you to make it along with me. It is going to be our Blog of the Month Quilt! I don't have all of the logistics figured out yet, but I thought that if we started in April and did 2 blocks a month, we would have it ready to be quilted in September, just in time to hang for Halloween. If you would be interested in more information, please email Ashley at info@greatamericanquilt.com.

I can't wait to get the pattern in the mail from Amy--I'm sooo excited!
An early (very) Happy Halloween to you,
Lynda

Travel question--Mountain Quiltfest

On March 9, Nancy and I are leaving to teach at the 15th annual Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN. We will be teaching several classes, doing a lecture and participating in a panel discussion with Klaudeen Hansen and Becky Goldsmith. It sounds like a lot of fun especially since there is a merchant mall to buy goodies. Our question though, is never having been to that part of the country in the spring, let alone any season, what type of weather do we have to look forward to--what to pack? Also, we would appreciate any advice as to how to spend our limited spare time, although we come in on Monday and don't have any responsibilities that we know of until late Tuesday afternoon. Are there any quilt shops in the area? Great restaurants? Please advise and thanks in advance! Also, if you are in the area or taking classes, stop by to see us.

Annie Smith Podcast Marathon

These last couple of weeks I have enjoyed an Annie Smith, Quilting Stash Podcast Marathon. Wow that was not easy to say! I drive a good long way to work--let me rephrase that, I drive a horribly long way to work. It is only 25 miles, but it generally takes 45 minutes to get to work and at least an hour home. So, I listen to a lot of books on tape and podcasts. This last couple of weeks I have been listening to Quilting Stash. Quilting Stash is the first podcast for quilters, started by Annie Smith. Annie is a very talented interviewer and I have really been enjoying her. The podcasts are usually about 1/2 hour long--so I can listen to at least 2 and sometimes 4 going to and from work. She interviews people in the quilting industry--new designers and well seasoned designers, including Nancy and myself. I especially enjoyed her interview with Karey Bresenhan--founder of Quilt Market and Festival, and Beth Hayes--editor of McCall's Quilting and Quick Quilts. Annie also does great Quilt Market recaps, letting her listener's know what was new, fun, and trendy.

The episodes I'm listening to now are from January this year as she takes a cross country trip to deliver her son's car to him in North Carolina. She visits with several quilters and quilt shops across the country. I think you will enjoy her, too. You can download the podcasts from itunes or Annie's website, or just listen to them on the website. Another plus, she gives away great prizes! I hope you check Quilting Stash out.

Last, but not least, we have had many questions about the banner that has been running on the side of our articles in McCall's Quilting and Quick Quilts. The newest issue of McCall's Quilting features our quilt Calypso, from Simple to Sensational Batiks pictured below. It truly is a beautiful quilt and it is a great banner for our article. Enjoy!


As always,

Lynda

Pineapple Sundae--a beautiful and charitable quilt!

Moda has designed a special fabric line called Legacy--Collection for a Cause. It is the newest collection of reproduction prints from Howard Marcus. The proceeds from Legacy go to help fund the research to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. We have written the pattern, Pineapple Sundae, to showcase this line. We have the pattern ready for sale as well as the Pineapple Rule and we will be getting a limited number of Pineapple Sundae Kits (which includes the pattern, but not the ruler) in March, so if you would like to make a beautiful and charitable quilt, order soon. The quilt is absolutely gorgeous in the ivory, soft blues, chestnut and double pink fabrics and you can see it in person in the store.

Lynda

Valentine Basket winner

The Valentine's Basket winner is Andrea Beutel from Clayton, CA and here is what she had to say:

"Wow, I can't believe it! This is so cool. I rarely win anything, so this is a real treat. Thank you so much! Love your website and books (I have several and have actually made and finished a couple of your quilts!) I'm new to the world of blogging, and really enjoy all of the creative quilters out there.

I have been dabbling at quilting for a long time, and usually try to do quick projects. However, now that my kids are (pretty much) grown, I have more time and am doing some more challenging things again. I generally have several projects (UFO's?) going at a time and sometimes I actually finish one! I do most everything by machine, but I just spent the weekend at Lake Tahoe with my SIL who hand quilts, and now I'm thinking I need some handwork to take with me when I can't take my machine. She looked so relaxed surrounded by the beautiful quilt that she was working on. She had it hooped on her lap and it just fell down around her. Makes me think I need to take up hand applique or maybe learn to hand quilt.Again, thank you so much!"

Congratulations Andrea,
Lynda and Nancy

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