New Website!!!

Please visit us at our new website at the link below.

http://www.kilboraquiltshop.com/

You can now purchase all of our lovely fabrics and enroll in classes via our website.  We will sadly be removing this blog in the coming months.

Pinapple Quilt

I have spent the past weekend working on my Pineapple Quilt.  I have always wanted to make a two colour quilt and this is my opportunity, Red and Creams/soft pinks.  It is going to be gorgeous if I do say so myself, but it is a great deal of work.

There were a few reds that had to be pulled because they had too much orange.  This is a great project if you want to play with colours due to the number of fabric variations you need.  I have 8 or 9 reds chosen and when the wrong red was placed in the pile it really popped out.  Have you ever heard the rule about piling up your fabrics and if one fabric leaps out and gives you a bad jolt then you pull it, well I had to do just that.  The creams were easy, I used creamy whites that were either tonal, cream on cream or soft (really soft) pinks on cream and a few red prints on cream.  The effect is beautiful.

The reds are a lovely cherry red!!  I have picked my centre to be pink with red.

Here are 8 of my 10 blocks.

The Pineapple block is a traditional quilt and is a great way to use up oodles of scraps, and I have found a ruler that is minimal on waste.  One of the big complaints with this block is the amount of waste but after shopping around on the internet and reading reviews I have chosen the Marti Michell Pineapple templates and I must say that my waste has been minimal and the instructions are fairly straight forward.  I will keep you up to date with how I get on.  This is a class we are running here starting on 20 September at 10:00 am until 2:00/2;30.  The class has been filling up so if you're interested give us a ring.

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

Jelly Roll Class

Starting on 19 September, Thursday evening and possibly on Wednesday morning 18 September, we will be offering a fun Jelly Roll class.  Jelly rolls are a fantastic precut collection of fabrics created by the Moda Company and are the perfect solution for quilters looking to make a gorgeous quilt when time is at a premium.  I've always felt that Jelly Rolls are perfect for people new to quilting who want a scrappy look but don't have a stash quite yet.  You open your jelly roll and start sewing!

Here is a picture of the 60 degree quilt!  There are a number of options, these are just two.

I have gotten alot of questions about the classes and whether people are capable or am I going to learn anything, so I thought I would put  this post together.

First, everyone is capable of doing all the classes.  This isn't rocket science although there is a good bit of engineering involved sometimes.  Each class offers a unique experience and is filling a certain box or need. The Kim Diehl class is labour intensive but easy to do, it requires creativity with regards to use of fabric choices and the applique work is by machine and can be tricky.  The Pineapple quilt is also labour intensive and will challenge you to create a look with colour. The Pineapple quilt is all the rage with US quilters right now, a truly vintage quilt that every quilter should have in their collection.  The Jelly Roll quilt is the perfect quilt for those of us who have busy lives and just want to pick up strips and start sewing, there are tricks to making it all work and the patterns we will be working with are not easy but the project is perfect for those who only have small amounts of time for sewing.

There is a Fast and Fun class that is geared toward alot of people. Those who want a break from larger projects, or people who want to work on small projects and build up their confidence with their sewing and then the gals who want to learn how to do zippers and create fun small projects for gifts.

There is one thing that I do know, and that is, that it is more fun to create and share the journey with others than to travel alone.  The classes are about learning, making friends and enjoying a common passion.

Autumn Schedule 2013

Good Lord has it really been 5 months since I posted?!  This summer has been the toughest summer, my workload has quadrupled and although we had a fabulous July weather wise I am seriously looking forward to it being over.  Terrible I know.

Anywho, I am in the process of loading up the new term classes. I still have alot going on over here; semi-finals, quarter-finals etc and of course there are still B and B guests roaming around downstairs so please bear with me.  I should just scan in the pages from my notebook but I'm afraid my handwriting might be slightly illegible.

This quilt is from Carrie Nelson's Blog, La Vie En Rosie and I stole the picture without her permission, mea culpa!  I needed to share something and sadly at midnight I have resorted to stealing because I'm too lazy to go thru my photos from this summer.  This is one of the beauties we are going to be teaching this term in class.  A pineapple quilt, every quilter should have one in their press.  This is also a project that can be done as a 2 colour project, modern fabrics, brights and of course a scrappy traditional like the one above.  It uses 1 1/2" strips so a great project for using up scraps.  Ok folks, time to go to bed! Long Day Ahead!!!!

Ah, look another stolen photograph that I just swiped.  This is a two colour version.

Bye All,
Anne Marie

Never A Dull Moment

Do you know the phrase, "Never a dull moment"?  Well, that is a phrase that pretty much sums up my life everyday.  I have 6 classes this term and they are full up, several different levels of ability and many of the women travel long distances on a weekly basis.  The responsibility of keeping everyone motivated and progressing with their projects falls on my shoulders, I love my job but time does fly and my blog and facebook are not a priority -- my classes are!!  To give you an example, two lines of fabric came in over the past 4 weeks.  Two gorgeous lines of Moda fabrics, I haven't even finished the samples and the fabric is all gone!!! Time flies when your having fun.

Guess what else I've been doing!  We have a website and online shop, I have been loading fabrics onto our website at every opportunity.  I have many more to load so go and have a peak....I'll wait here for you!
www.kilboraquiltshoppe.com/  We have been sending out packages for our customers for quite some time, hopefully this will allow our customers to see what's new and place orders from the comfort of their own home.

I have loaded up some new classes and a few weekends for those of you interested in a fun and productive weekend away.  The Applique II class is all about spray starch applique, my favorite method, there are only a few spaces left so if you are interested please give us a call sooner rather than later!

This is another project that has been eating into my time!  All of those quilts are hanging on my new quilt frame and you can see my Pfaff Grand Quilter sitting there ready to rumble.  Sew much fun, sew little time. I have played on a large practice piece and then put an old UFO on the frame.  I wanted to see how difficult it would be to quilt a top which consisted of blocks, and boy was it difficult.  Thankfully I used a quilt that isn't going to be a show piece or heirloom, it will find a home with someone who isn't hung up on the quilting -- like a family member!

I decided not to give you a close up photo, too terrifying!

Now that classes are finishing up I will hopefully have more time to blog and share the comings and goings here at Kilbora.

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

January Project

Today I had the shop all to myself, my children were making the dinner as a special treat for me! Sew, what's a girl to do but start a new project with new fabrics.  First, the inspiration for this project came from a pattern in a new book that we ordered in for the shop.  Simply Fat Quarters, a book using all fat quarters and background fabrics; an assortment of both traditional and modern quilt designs. I am using Riley Blake fabrics that just arrived before Christmas and a few others that go perfectly with it!

The most important piece of advice that I can give any new quilter is read the instructions all the way through.  Just looking at a picture of a block and assuming that you know exactly how it's going to go together is a big mistake.  I decided that I was going to use 1/3 yard cuts and make a couple of extra blocks out of two of the pairs.  You see, the pattern calls for a whopping 24 Fat quarters and I only had 10; 24 fq yield 12 blocks, I need to produce 12 blocks so with only 10 fq/5 pairs I need to get two bocks per pair and in the case of two pairs I will need to get 3 blocks.  Does this make sense?  Here is where reading the directions thoroughly comes in handy!!!  I mistakenly didn't understand that all of the 2 1/2" squares are going to be used for a pieced border, I was rejigging my cutting and having a panic attack trying to get all of the squares cut.  When I went to sit down and sew my first test block, lo and behold the 2 1/2" squares weren't used. If I had read thru the directions I would not have wasted so much time having a the above panic attack!!!

Okay, now that I have everyone seriously confused and scratching your heads!  I have to cut the remainder of my fabric, I typically always make one block first before I cut too much fabric.  This is a protective measure, I want make sure that the directions are reliable and I don't need to fiddle with my seam allowance and it turns out exactly how it's supposed to.  Sew with the first block sewn and the results are fabulous, I proceed to cut up that gorgeous pile.  Another item, the orange appears to be very flash!  However, the orange does appear in two of the fabrics and it most definately will help the whole quilt pop.

Ta Da!!!!  Isn't this the lovely, so spring like.  I really enjoyed making this block, tomorrow I will be making more and will photograph some of the steps along the way and show you some of the other blocks.  I can't wait for tomorrow morning to arrive.
Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

New Idea for the New Year

I have a great idea for this coming year and it's going to be a oodles of fun for those of you that decide to participate.  Starting Saturday, 2 February 2013 I am going to offer those of you that are interested an opportunity to sign up for a UFO monthly get together. We provide the tea and coffee and you bring your own lunch and projects, you have use of the shop from 10:00 - 5:00 and the company of other like minded souls!  There is no charge for this, although a contribution of biscuits or baked goodies will be appreciated because you know how hard it is to keep up one's stamina.  There are so many women out there that don't have the company of a weekly group or don't have the time in their schedule.  I need a minimum of 6 people per session.  This is not a class but an informal get together, you'll find that if you are having a problem with a project then this is the perfect opportunity to consult with other quilters!  The dates are as follows 2/2, 2/3, 6/4, and 4/5.

Free Motion Quilting Class I - Sunday, 13 January
Just a quick reminder regarding an upcoming class on Free Motion quilting.  I have run this class at least twice in the past 12 months and it has been a huge success.  I will teach it once more and then we are on to Free Motion Quilting II in February, the class won't run again until next autumn.  Don't delay and sign up this week!!!  I do most of my own quilting and love the satisfaction of completing a quilt from start to finish.  This class will teach you what to practice and give you hands on experience stitching the different patterns.  You will complete a panel with over 20 patterns that you can practice on after class as well as use as a reference tool for future quilt projects.

Two examples of Free Motion Quilting with no pre marking or in the case of the 2nd picture, I used a connect the dots method!!

Tomorrow I'm going to show you my new project.  It's a fat quarter pattern and I've been cutting fabric this morning and hopefully there will be some sewing machine action tomorrow.  Yippee!!!!!
Happy Sewing
Anne Marie

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!  I am returning from my fabulously peaceful and restful Christmas Holiday, my family was visiting from the United States and it was lovely to turn off the computers and phones and just chill out for two and half weeks.  Recharging the batteries...

Any who, I did do a small amount of sewing over the Christmas holidays.  Most of the work was finishing up projects left unfinished, sewing bindings on and a few clothing repairs -- school uniform repairs to be exact!  I had a great time playing with Lil' Twister and my new Sizzix Cutter.

Charm pack and Lil Twister, we sell both the Lil Twister and the larger Twister template.

Tumbling Block table runner.

I enjoyed both of these table runners, quick and as always a great way to practice my free motion quilting.  With the left over charm squares I made this oven pad for the kitchen, I used 2 layers of Insul bright so it won't matter which direction you hold the pad.

Finished Cushion, just in time for next Christmas! LOL

I finished up my little snow lady just in time for next Christmas, typical!! The more I look at her the more I come up with more ideas on how to embellish the pillow with extra quilting.  The back of the cushion cover is an envelope style closure so I can continue to quilt it through out the year....

Awww, so cute.

I played with my new Sizzix Die cutter and look at this adorable Duck, how cute would this block be in a baby quilt.  Maybe tomorrow I will start putting together a sweet little quilt for display in the shop. These ducks will be available for sale in the shop complete with Heat n Bond already on the pieces.

Until tomorrow, I have a few more items to share but I need to pace myself.

Happy sewing!

Anne Marie

Quilting your Masterpiece

We all have that same feeling when a quilt top is finished; a sense of relief and accomplishment that we completed another beautiful work of art and how the end result is more beautiful than we could possibly have imagined. However, all that fades when we contemplate the quilting of our masterpiece! One word, DREAD!!!!  Do you know that you should spend as much time quilting you quilt as you did piecing it?  I know so many people who have countless quilt tops completed but left to languish because of their fear of ruining their quilt.

Here is a picture of Mary's quilt, the Lone Star to be exact. First, Mary quilted around each piece with a 1/4" quilting stitch. Then Mary decided to quilt a feathered wreath in the four corners:

The last step was to fill the large triangular space between the two star points. She marked the center line and took measurements then started drawing lines from the center out in even increments.

My advise is take your time and face the challenge of quilting by breaking down your piece into small areas and tackle each space individually. We often become overwhelmed when we look at the quilt as a whole rather than separated into all units.

When I quilted this little number;
I took the time to draw all the lines that needed to be quilted, or I made small marks for reference points to aim for while quilting. The extra time spent marking out all my quilting designs made the whole process both manageable and believe it or not fun!!

New Arrival That Has Me Smitten

Just a quick note to show you what arrived on my doorstep this morning!!!  Cuzco by Kate Spain..... oh be still my heart.

So many possibilities so little time!

I am also in the final stages of creating my "Snow Woman". Since taking this photo I have done French knots for her eyes and mouth and I'm on the last of the blanket stitching.  I'll take some photos as I create the cushion.  By the way I use Anni Downes Christmas Time fabric collection to create this lovely project and it's all available here in the shop!

Class Schedule

I have posted a new class schedule and am looking at adding some additional workshops over the next few days. One class that I will be adding is a Back to Basics workshop. This workshop is a technical class and is all about proper cutting techniques, precision cutting and piecing allows you to create this:

Class Roundup

First, a very big Thank You to all my customers and all of you out there in cyberspace for a fantastic year!  The text messages and phone calls I receive from you make all the hard work worthwhile.  I have some great ideas for this coming winter, spring and yes even next summer, so stay tuned.  Right now I am trying to finish up all the weekly classes and then spend some well deserved time off with my family.

Before I show off a few pictures of what we've been up to in some of the classes, I need to conduct a little business.  We are offering a class with Valerie Mullaly on 26 January, and already we have 10 participants.  If you are interested in taking this class please contact me asap since we will cut off the number at 12.  The course is all handwork and is €40 for the day and this price includes the kit.
Here are pictures of the two pieces that you can choose from on the day.

 Sew here we go onto the classes, just a small glimpse at what the women have been up to.  The beginners are finishing up their blocks so it will be another week or so before I have any pictures of their finished projects.

Here is the Monday morning group with a few of their Lone Star quilts or wall hangings:

Fabulous work, will get some photos next week at our last meeting.

The Wednesday morning group is finishing up their projects which were based on a project from the Kim Diehl book Simple Comforts.  These are going to be truly treasured and well they should be.

Ruth's almost complete top!  Gorgeous...

Betty won't let us photograph hers until she's done!!!

Brid's quilt in the adding vines stage

This project is something that I am thinking might be a great 4 part workshop for Intermediate quilters, an opportunity to do a project that you've always admired from afar but not quite sure if you would be up to the challenge on your own.  I'll be your very own motivation coach, sounds good don't ya think!!??

We are rearranging our class schedules for next term and already I have an almost full beginners class for January.  If you know of anyone interested in joining us please get in touch soon. There is always a warm welcome newcomers and our groups are very good at having loads of laughs.

A Small Slice of Heaven

Well, we're back from the Knit & Stitch show and it is hard to believe that we are flying through November. I have been busy as always with the shop, classes and family.  What have I been up to, lets take a look!

In October I finished up block one of the Sweet Heart Houses BoM, I am falling behind with block 2 so i will be busy over the next two weeks getting that ready.

The small quilt that I was working on "Kylee's Quilt" with the Eleanor Burn's ruler is finally done and was used in a finishing workshop, prairie points were added to the top and then quilted.  It was hanging in our booth at the Knit & Stitch Show. Here is the completed quilt in case you haven't seen it.

A week before the Knit & Stitch Show we received a new line of fabric from Moda, Cinnamon Spice by Black Bird Designs.  What a gorgeous line of fabric, I just want to hide it in my own personal stash!!!
Here is the quilt that I quickly made up for the show, so beautiful and a very quick project to do.

Hmmmm, what else is new?!   Our workshop at the end of January with Valerie Mullaly is really filling up, only a few seats left.  We have bought in a small selection of felted wool, my hope is that we can carry some lovely wools for our customers who enjoy working in this medium.  Valerie gave it quick inspection and gave the samples the thumbs up so if you are interested let us know.  Customer feedback is very important to me, I enjoy carrying stock of hard to find items.

I do hope to have some lovely photos to share with you over the next couple of days.
Enjoy and Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

A Productive Weekend

What did you do this weekend?  I had a very productive three days, Saturday was spent in my official lounging gear creating this beauty for next Saturday's 2 Hour Tulip Bag

This is a standard size bag, we will be making the next size up which supposedly you can fit a volleyball into. I had great fun making it and guess what, it only took 2 hours!  We have 3 spaces left so give us a call or text me. The class is on Saturday from 12:00 to 3:00 or thereabouts.  You will need 1 yard of fabric for handles and outside of bag and 1 yard of fabric for the interior.  You will also need 2/3 of yard of pellon fusible fleece and 1/2 yard of pellon decor bond for interfacing.  The shop has fusible fleece and decor bond so don't panic if you don't have any.

We are running two workshops in November, you can either come for a half day or a full day and we will be creating some fun and quick gifts for family and friends.  Here is one of the items that I created for the craft day and it is made using 1/2 yard of christmas fabric and some Soft and Stable wadding.  This is really fun to make and super fast, what a great way to package some of your home baking as a gift for a neighbor or teacher!

Before the string is added to the top 

Cute!

The bucket handle can be rotated backward and forward for easy filling and easy emptying!

Today we had great fun with our introductory Applique class, as always there were alot of laughs and some serious comsumption of chocolate chip cookies.  We are very lucky to have such a great group of customers and that they bring their joy of quilting to every session!

We are getting ready for the Knit n Stitch show at the RDS the first of November thru the fourth.  We will be located in Booth N11 which is ironic since that is the location of our home and shop!!
Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

Colourful Kites part II

I thought I would continue tonight with my fun project, I was working on it briefly late this afternoon and rather than wait and forget about a follow up post, I decided to make a post tonight.  Remember I told you that after you add the third piece you would press them open and then trim.  Well, here is a photo of the block with the ruler on it before I trim.

I would line up the centre V with the pieced block and you can see the dashed line is your 1/4" seam allowance.  By using this specialty ruler you get a perfect square, no points cut off!  But no specialty ruler is going to work unless your original cutting and sewing is straight and precise.

Okay, you have trimed all your pieced blocks, what can be do with them.  I have a few photos of blocks that I have placed on the cutting mat.

This is how it would look if the blocks are sewn side by side.

You would have some great secondary patterns by sewing them this way.

Here is a possible sashing and post setting and as you can see I turned my four squares in the opposite direction as the photo above. I prefer the above photo but I thought you might like to see it positioned differently. Also, if you wanted to really get complicated you could have alternate colours for your outer triangles. So instead of all white diamonds, your diamonds would be two colours.  I think the design possibilites could be fun to explore.

I will leave you with this and will hopefully have more to show you later in the week.

Take a look at our workshop listings, a nice selection of classes are on offer as well as some quilt weekends.  Treat yourself to some fun and bring a friend along!

Happy Sewing.
Anne Marie