Giveaway!

I have been working several weeks straight without so much as an afternoon off and exhaustion has set in, thank goodness this weekend there are no guests booked and the house is quiet.  We are approaching our three year anniversary and I thought it would be great to have a giveaway! Now, I know that a lot of you read my blog but you never comment so here is what you could win and how you need to enter.

Write a comment telling us what part of quilt making that you enjoy most and why. You have until Monday, 23 July 2012, midnight Irish time. I will use a number generator to pick the winner and here is what you could win! 

A fat eighth bundle (8 fat 1/8's) of Sentiments, Moda's new collection by 3 Sisters. Absolutely scrumptious, don't you agree!

Now stay tuned because there will be other giveaways as we move toward September.

Our Sweet Heart Houses BoM has only one spot left, who will be the fortunate one?  Penelope's Garden has a few spaces left so if you are interested let me know, our BoM programs sell out and so far all of the participants have finished their quilts.  I do my best to encourage and sometimes threaten people into finishing.  Stop in if you would like to see the fabric.

On to other news, we have listed some new classes for the month of August and sew far the free motion quilting class is filling up.  We also are taking names for classes starting this September, with the popularity of patchwork growing our sessions are filling up and I can't emphasize enough the need to get your name in, I hate to see people disappointed.  We are offering a beginner class on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Hop on over to the Workshops and Classes page to see what's on offer.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend, goodness knows we deserve a bit of dry sunny weather after all the rain we've had the past month and a half.  We are attempting to do another youtube video, if only my camera operator would stop laughing everytime I start talking!!!  Sew unprofessional for a 12 year old.

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

August Workshops

I have been thinking about classes for August and wondering about the types of classes that would be fun and enjoyable.  The weather this summer has been atrocious and all the familiar faces have been popping into the shop looking for projects to keep themselves busy during all these rainy days!

The Workshop page has been updated with a number of classes in August, both weekday classes and a few on Sundays.  Give us a call and reserve your spot or if you have any questions.

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

Christmas.....Already!

Believe it or not, Christmas fabric is arriving in the shop and already I am thinking about possible gift ideas and itching to get started.  We received a shipment this morning from Moda of Sentiments by 3 Sisters, it is to die for it is so gorgeous.  I know, I know; I think everything is gorgeous but trust me it is gorgeous!  This just maybe the collection that will disappear into my own precious stash, lol!

 I have an idea for this fabric and will be consulting with my wee helpers on how to really show this off.  I also discovered that the red and greens in this collection work perfectly with the Yarn Dyes that arrived last week that are part of the Anni Downes Collection.

 In choosing Christmas fabric I try to find collections that will work through out the year but when used at Christmas are Christmasey?! Does that make sense?

Hopefully, tomorrow I will have new classes listed for August and the class line up for this autumn.

 I will most certainly have some lovely sweet dreams tonight.  Speaking of Sweet, the Sweet Heart Houses Block of the Month is almost sold out. As of this evening there were only two places remaining.  Penelope's Garden has several sign ups.  If you are interested please give me a call or email, I would hate to disappoint anyone but I am limiting the numbers and there is a limit with the fabric as well.

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

New Block of the Months

Starting in September we will be offering two Block of the Months.  Both quilts draw their fabrics from the new Penelope range from Lake House Fabrics and they are gorgeous!  The first program is almost sold out, we are making up 12 kits and are keeping the program limited.  It involves a good deal of applique and was designed by Jennifer Bosworth of Shabby Fabrics, the applique will be completed doing the spray starch method that Jennifer uses.  We will have silk threads available for hand sewing the applique, we have also brought in the industrial freezer paper that Jennifer uses!  The BoM includes the pattern, embellishment kit and all the fabric for the quilt top and binding; the wadding and backing are not included.  All the participants are invited to meet at the shop on one Sunday each month to review that month's block and share any tips or ask questions with all the other participants. There are only 4 places remaining, if you are interested please give us a call for more information.

This is a photo of the pattern cover, most of the fabric has arrived in the shop and the last few bolts will be shipped around the first week of August. I am so excited for it all to be here so I can start working on it.

The second Block of the Month is a beautiful and striking quilt that consists of 12 distinct blocks and 4 applique blocks in the centre.  The applique blocks can be constructed using your favorite method. The program is the perfect project to undertake if you wish to improve your skills; we will review precision cutting techniques and perfecting our sewing and block construction skills. This Block of the Month includes the pattern and all the fabric for the quilt top and binding; the wadding and backing are not included.  We will be meeting at the shop on the same Sunday as the other BoM, but at a different time.  By running the meetings on the same Sunday we can dedicate the classroom space for people  wishing to work on their projects and their is no pressure on time.  A few places have been taken up and just like Sweetheart Houses, there will only be 12 kits made up.

Having made a quilt similiar to this colour scheme I can honestly say don't be put off by the black, it is incredibly striking and really makes the other colours pop!  I am waiting for the last few bolts to arrive and then the sewing will begin, my patience is being truly tested right now.

Happy Sewing 

Anne Marie

Summer Holidays

Absent as always, never a very consistent blogger but those of you who know me know how crazy things are in our home!  My niece was visiting for a week, she arrived from Bellingham Washington and here is one of her "little cousins" greeting her at the airport.
This summer I have been spending time with my kids; we took time to enjoy my niece will she was here. She was particularly impressed with Dublin and loved walking the narrow streets of Wexford town shopping.  We moved back to Ireland in Jan 2002 so it is fun to see our home through the eyes of a visitor.

The B&B has been chugging along keeping me busy and thanks to our fabulous weather the quilt shop has seen quite a bit of activity the past two weeks.

We have a lot of gorgeous fabrics arriving, some of them are for Christmas and we have the Lake House Fabrics arriving for the Block of the Month that we will be doing this September. Both of the BoMs are designed by Shabby Fabrics, Sweetheart Houses is mostly applique and is a gorgeous quilt for that special little girl in your life or as some of the women have said it is the perfect wall hanging for your sewing room.  The second BoM is Penelope's Garden which is pieced blocks with an applique centre.  I will post pictures soon.

Sew, I know you need to see something quilty and I haven't done much the past few weeks in quilty department.  These two quilts are called the "Twins" and they were done by my sidekick Jackie.  It is the Boston Commons block and they are fabulous when you see them side by side. I love these quilts so much, Jackie dropped off the pattern to me and I am itching to do it. Another idea for a class maybe, need to talk to Jackie about the construction.  Working on a few class ideas for August and preparing for September.

It has been a lousy summer weather wise here in Ireland but it has been a lovely to spend time with my niece and kids. Stay tuned will be back shortly with lots to share!

Happy Sewing!
Anne Marie

Free Motion Quilting Part II

My on going saga with my computer and uploading a video onto YouTube was finally fixed this week and with great excitement I uploaded my first tutorial and I am planning on doing more.  My only complaint is that I don't like the way I sound it seems so unnatural but then no one likes the way they sound on  tape.

Be careful not to have a mouthful of hot liquid in your mouth, you may not be able to contain the laughter!!
This is the tablerunner that you saw in the previous entry, and this is a very brief look at free motion quilting.  Keep in mind, and you can see my hands in the video, that you need to place your hands down on the fabric and gently spread the fabric tight.

Hope you enjoy!

Sew, what have I been up to lately.  Classes have finished up and everyone is off doing their quilting, a few have already come back to sew their bindings on.  A jelly roll weekend was great fun and everyone left with a finished top, Woohoo!!!!

We ate lunch outside and we were all sporting sunburns that evening.  I have made some design changes to my border and will hopefully have that completed this week.

The shop is still very busy even though we are all enjoying our gardens.  We have received Meadow by Blackbird Designs from Moda and I must say it is exquisite, beautiful rich blues, greens and roses. We will be ordering their next line Cinnamon and Spice which is due October/November.

Summer Beginner Classes:
I have received a few phone calls regarding a summer beginner class.  I am thinking of Monday evenings from 7-9 for 6 to 8 weeks starting around the first week of July.  If you or anyone you know is interested in learning the fundamentals of patchwork, we will be working on a bed runner with six 12 inch blocks, give us a call.

Until later, happy sewing!
Anne Marie

Free Motion Quilting - finally!

First, I made a video that was 5 minutes in length and wasn't too bad as home videos go of moi free motion quilting my hexagon tablerunner.  Sadly we can not upload it, several attempts were made, ethernet cable was purchased and plugged into the box etc. and still no upload to YouTube.  I am so frustrated at this point, so we are going to have to settle for photos until we figure out what the problem is. One of my sons insists we need a better computer, a really expensive super computer!!! Yeah right....

Sew, here is an extra large picture of what I did in the Hexagons!  I free motioned a heart shape in each pie shape wedge. You can see that I was creating the hearts in a sort of figure 8 fashion, meaning I would start in the center of the block and sew in the ditch going up the left side and then sewing in a clockwise direction I created the top of the heart. I would then sew in the ditch back down on the right seam into the center and do the opposite wedge of the previous wedge just sewn. Phew, does that make sense??  I would then clip threads once all the inner wedges had their hearts and start working on the outside, in this case the brown fabric.  The only difference is I keep going around the circle and I don't cross through the center to the opposite side.

How do I do this without a wobble (well their are a few wobbles here and there), PRACTICE!!!  I have spent a great deal of time doodling and drawing shapes and then creating suitable shapes that would be fairly easy to create with thread.  Everyone can do it, you just need to practice and practice some more.

The applique flower was quilted with echo stitching, there are some wobbles on this one but I don't care it still looks lovely and sometimes the wobbles make the piece more charming (If I keep repeating that I will start to believe it).  The quilting done in the cream half hexagons and half triangles have small stippling and that is all there is to it!

Here is another colour option, Helen sent this photo to me and she used Butterscotch and Roses by Fig Tree  Quilts.  Notice that Helen used two colours for her flowers, and her free motion quilting is brilliant.  Free motion quilting is all about practice, practice and more practice. This particular project is perfect for experimenting with quilting. Notice in Helen's piece how she quilted a flower/star shape in the inner hexagon. It is very effective and can be done without drawing the shape onto the fabric.  Just Practice!!!

 If you are interested in learning more about free motion quilting we are holding a class on Sunday 13 May from 10:00am until 5:00 pm. There are a number of spaces still available. 7

Happy sewing!
Anne Marie