Glad Creations Quilts

A Quilting Retreat

2012-01-25T19:36:00.004-06:00

Would you believe that Nancy and I have never gone on a quilt retreat? I know that many of you go on retreats--we've heard all of the fun stories. We know you go again and again, so it must be fun. Well, this is our first. We won't be teaching, just participating. Will we bring enough projects? What if we forget something important? I've been trying to organize my projects today. Of course that was after I finished my mystery quilt which I can't bring with me! I'm bringing parts to make a 7 sisters quilt using the Marti Michell templates, the next project for Scrap Tamers and some parts for the Scrap Tamers mystery quilt. I might get together some half-square triangle paper piecing for a quilt I've always wanted to make--one by From My Heart to Your Hands. Don't quite have it pulled together, but might get some of it organized. Is that enough? I might spend some time on a nature walk--I've heard that the Lanesborough area is beautiful. I've also heard you can get a massage. Now that would be fun. And I've got a new book I'm reading. Oh, and handwork on the binding for the Twin Cities Shop Hop Quilt--may pass it around for anyone wishing to put their feet up and do some handwork. Am I ready????? Did I forget anything???? I'll let you know how it went. Please respond with any tips you have.

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Part 2

2012-01-15T13:37:00.005-06:00

Wow! Another fantastic display of Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilts. I am so impressed at all the effort that has gone into creating these quilts. They're just beautiful. We've had lots of folks through the shop to see the quilts and there have been many complements while trying to select a favorite. Such a fun variety of sets and fabric combinations.

This group of quilts will be on display through Saturday January 21. If you're planning a visit to see this group of quilts, keep in mind that we do have a few classes scheduled during this show. You're welcome to view the quilts while classes are in session but it may be a little harder to get up-close to all of them. Our volunteer group will be working on quilts in the classrooms during the day on Tuesday but they'll be glad to have folks in looking at the quilts. Some of them even have quilts hanging in this show. We'll be open Tuesday evening until 8:30 PM with no class scheduled in the evening so that would be a great time to stop in. The final day of the show, January 21 is also our Scrap Tamers day so one of our classrooms will be a bit crowded. If that's your day to see the show, stop in after 2:00 for the best viewing.

Enjoy the slide show. The first 2 quilts in this slide show are quilts that were in the first exhibit but we didn't have a good photo for the first slide show so we've included them here.

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Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

2012-01-01T21:37:00.004-06:00

The first group of Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilts are hanging at the shop and they look fantastic! If you've been following our blog, you'll know that this show is the culmination of 2-1/2 years of work by our Sylvia's Bridal Sampler club. So many members completed their quilts that we'll be displaying them in two groups.

Thanks so much to everyone who finished their quilt and brought it in to share with us. Our New Year's Day shoppers enjoyed the great variety of sets and fun fabric combinations. This group of quilts will be on display through January 10. On the 11th we'll switch everything around and hang a second group of quilts that will be on display January 12 - 21. Enjoy the slide show!

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The Story of Sylvia's at Glad Creations

2011-12-27T15:00:00.004-06:00

In the spring of 2009, we received a new quilt pattern book at Glad Creations. The title of the book was Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. The author, Jennifer Chiaverini, is also the author of the "Elm Creek Quilts" series of fictional stories featuring a quilting guild in central Pennsylvania. In the sixth book of this fictional series, the members of the quilt guild make a wedding quilt using 6" x 6" quilt blocks for their founder, Sylvia. This led to the book we were looking at, Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, which features patterns for the 140 6" quilt blocks that the guild used in Sylvia's quilt.

Susan and Nancy, owners of Glad Creations Quilt Block in Minneapolis, looked at this book and thought it would be fun to make all these blocks. We talked about how long it would take to actually complete this project. We started wondering if anyone else would want to do it with us. As we talked to our quilting friends around the shop we found out that quite a few people were interested in this project.

So, we decided to start a club. We planned on 2 ½ years to complete the project. We sorted the blocks out by technique and planned club meetings, about 4 times each year, each of which focused on a particular technique. Imagine our surprise when almost 100 people signed up to participate in the club! Our group ranged from fairly new quilters to very experienced quilters and included quilters from all around the Twin Cities Metro area. We shared ideas on techniques and everyone learned and improved their skills.

So here's the result. We have about 40 completed quilts to display. They will be shown in two exhibits. The first will hang January 1 – 10, 2012. The second exhibit, with a completely different group of quilts will be shown January 11 – 21, 2012. Not everyone completed all of the blocks but put together the blocks they did complete into a variety of interesting sets.

What an exciting week it is as folks are dropping off their Sylvia's quilts at the shop, getting ready for the display. What an accomplishment! Congratulations to all who have worked on this project!

Watch our blog for a slide show of the first group of quilts on January 1, 2012. We'll post a slide show of the second group on January 12, 2012. www.gladcreationsquilts.blogspot.com.

A special card!

2011-12-02T14:56:00.002-06:00

Need a special card for someone? Carol Doak's new book, 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks may be just the ticket. Have some fun making one of the 3" paper-pieced blocks in her book, then insert it into one of her Keepsake Frame Cards. The book contains basic steps for paper-piecing, including sizes of pieces to cut. The small block is set into the card opening with the included double stick tape. Pretty easy! And it really does make for a very special card.

What's on your wish list?

2011-11-30T14:41:00.003-06:00

This is the time of year we often have non-quilters coming into the shop and hunting for the perfect gift for a quilter. We usually come up with some good ideas--hopefully something you don't already own, but wish that we knew what you were really wishing for.
Did you know we have a gift registry at Glad Creations? It's easy! Come in and list all your sewing, quilting, crafting items you'd like to receive. We'll keep that list at the shop and revise it as needed. You know that your family and friends would really be happy knowing exactly what you are wishing for. You can even give them a reminder card with our address, phone number and hours. To make it even easier for shoppers, we will gift wrap those presents for them. What could be easier?
We also have gift certificates which can be used for anything you wish. If you are like most of the quilters we know, a gift certificate can make for hours of fun!
So, come in and fill out your personalized wish list and may all your wishes come true.

Quick Gift Idea Demo

2011-11-23T09:43:00.002-06:00

Here's a list of some of the things we'll be showing at the Quick Gift Demo on Saturday, November 26. The demo will run from 10:00 - 1:00. Hope to see you there.

Quick and Easy Gift Ideas from Glad Creations ~ November 2011

La Todera patterns

· The Kafflower—just some hand gathering, glue and accessories

· The Slipper Orchid Brooch—hand gathering, glue and accessories. Our sample is the full size. Smaller flowers could be made by reducing the size of the template on a copy machine.

· The Poinsettia Brooch—hand gathering, glue and accessories. Our sample used 3 layers of petals. A smaller flower could be made using 2 layers of petals.

· The Kanzashi Flower Fascinator—uses the Clover Large Pointed Petal Maker

Clover Kanzashi Flower Makers

3 styles—2 sizes of each---Hand gathering by following the numbers on the template. The large flowers are smaller than those made with the La Todera patterns.

Reader Wrap by Atkinson Designs—for the Nook or E-reader

Composition Covers by Indigo Junction

Take 4 Placemats by Something So Fine Quilt Design

Lollipop Bag by Atkinson Designs

Waffle Time by Atkinson Designs

Amazingly Simple Coasters & Hot Pads by Tiger Lily Press

Candice by Lazy Girl Designs

Kids Aprons by Cotton Ginny ~ Farm Friends, Fun Friends and Jungle Friends.

Kanzashi Flowers

2011-11-18T16:15:00.005-06:00

I've been playing around with the Kanzashi Flowers and the Clover Flower makers today. What fun! And great quick gifts to make. We have 4 different flowers patterns by La Todera. The poinsettia, the orchid and the Kafflower in the picture are all made without any special tools. Stitches are done by hand and are easy handwork to do. Clover has come out with some plastic flower makers. The smaller flowers in the picture are made with the Pointed Petal flower maker. I'm planning on pinning one of them onto the Lollipop bag by Atkinson Designs. I think they will be great for decorating bags, hats etc. Think of all the possibilities!
The hardest part on all of the flower brooches was figuring out how to use my hot glue gun without burning my fingers. The flowers could also be made with any kind of quick setting glue.
We'll be showing how to make these at our Quick Gift Demo on Saturday, November 26. The demo will run from 10:00-1:00. Need a quick gift? Stop in and take a look.

Mystery Weekend 48

2011-11-13T14:13:00.004-06:00

All four sessions of Mystery Weekend 48 are done. We can't show the Mystery Quilts yet because some folks are still working on the quilt via Mystery by Mail. But, we can share all the fun "show & tell" that we saw during the Mystery Weekend sessions. We saw lots of quilts from past Mystery Weekends and many other fun projects that participants have been working on recently.
We snapped some photos during "show & tell" so we could share all the fun in a slide show. We've labeled quilts that use Glad Creations patterns plus some that were made in other classes at Glad Creations. It's so fun to see our Glad Creations designs come back made up in so many different color combinations! You'll also see a preview of some of the quilts that are in the works for our Sylvia's Bridal Sampler show that we'll be hanging in January.

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Market finds

2011-11-02T11:30:00.006-05:00

Back from market and now I'm trying to sort out all of the new items and ideas in my brain. So much to see and to choose. So much stimulation. We'll be showing you some of our new finds as they come into the shop.

Some of the new patterns that I think you will love are the Kanzashi flower pins from La Todera. What fun gift ideas. We ordered 3 different flowers and are working up samples so you can see them. The patterns will be arriving any day. These are easy and fast to make. We'll be showing these at the Quick Gift Demo on Saturday, November 26 along with other quick gift ideas. The demo will run from 10:00 - 1:00. Hope you can make it.

South Minneapolis Quilters

2011-10-12T10:09:00.005-05:00

We had a fun time last night at the South Minneapolis Quilter's meeting. What a nice bunch of quilters. The focus of our talk was about Glad and all of the wonderful quilts that she has made. Many of those quilts have been prize winners. I think the group was most surprised that she hadn't started quilting until nearly 60 years of age. She's 93 now, so all of the quilts we showed and many, many, many more had been made within about 35 years. We told a little about Glad, her other interests and were able to show about 35 of her quilts. She was able to come to the meeting and I know she enjoyed visiting with all of the quilters and seeing old friends. This is a photo of Glad in her favorite applique chair.

It was also fun to show some of her other craft projects she had been involved in while we were growing up. Did you know she use to make Panorama Sugar Easter Eggs and decorate sugar cubes to sell at a candy store? And some of the quilters at the meeting told us they use to buy her handmade purses back in the 70s--before we opened the shop.

She's just starting her next applique quilt. I think she has a couple blocks done. So it won't be long until we have it on display. We always have a few of her appliqued quilts displayed at the shop. Stop in and see them. You will be amazed.

Sew Many Stars

2011-09-28T17:12:00.005-05:00

The newest Glad Creations pattern,"Sew Many Stars", is now available! We put Susan's Jewel Tone quilt on the pattern cover but if you stop in the shop you can also see Nancy's "Jo Morton" combo. The pattern includes instructions for the quilt in two sizes - 78" x 90" or 90" x 102". Our quilts shown in the photos are the smaller quilt. The larger size adds a strippy border. We'll have kits for both quilts up on the web site soon.
Keep an eye on Nathan's blog. He has his quilt top done and will be posting a photo soon. I saw it a couple days ago and it's fantastic!

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

2011-09-20T08:24:00.016-05:00

When we started our Sylvia's Bridal Sampler club a year and a half ago, it seemed that a quilt show in January 2012 was a long time away. Now it's just around the corner. We're having our last sessions of the club this coming Monday and Tuesday. The members have really stuck with it--although some of those blocks were really hard! If you don't know about the Sylvia's blocks, they are from the book Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini. There are 140 six inch blocks using a variety of techniques. I think we will have enough quilts in our show to put up 2 quilt displays. Our only criteria for displaying your quilt was that it had to be completely finished--quilted and bound. I think some of the members made all of the blocks and will have a bed sized quilt--some will be lap quilts or wallhangings. We'll have all the specifics for entering your quilt ready by next week. If anyone else has finished a Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Quilt or if you are not coming to the final club meeting, let us know so we can send you the entry information.

Several of the club members have used the classrooms to lay out their blocks and make their final decisions. It's been really fun to see the blocks in different fabrics. Both Nathan and Dee have posted photos on their blogs. Check them out--we have links to their blogs on this page.

I've made all of the 140 blocks--I guess that's the pressure of being in charge of the club. I might not use all of them in my quilt. Now to make the final decision--how to lay out the blocks. One bed-size quilt or 2 lap size? I've been playing with some different layouts. Should I use a straight setting with sashing?

Or set my blocks on point? Maybe I should use alternating squares. Time to make those decisions. I have a quilting date set in December, so it's time to sew blocks together.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the quilts. I know it will be an amazing show--or maybe 2 shows. Watch for information on the dates of the show. We will have all the specifics in our next class schedule and in our E-mail update. We hope you will come!

Fall Fun

2011-09-02T14:00:00.003-05:00

The next session of quilting classes will be starting this month. We have some fun ones in the lineup. Whether you want a traditional quilting class taught by Pat Cox, a beginning machine piecing class taught by Annemarie Yohnk, a Lone Star class taught by Cheri Merritt or a once a month club we have something for you. Check out the class schedule on our website to see the complete list of fall classes.
Cheri teaches our Lone Star Class. She has made many Lone Star Quilts. She won a ribbon on one of them at the Minnesota Quilt show in June. You can see a photo of that quilt and another one that she has in progress on her blog. And don't let the Lone Star Quilt scare you! The small quilt you make in the class will teach you the techniques needed for perfectly matched points, perfect set-in corners and a star with a flat center. Your friends will really be impressed!
And if you want a monthly club, there are still a few openings in the 1:00 session of Scrap Tamers Plus From Marti and Me Club. We're excited to get a new year going.

Don't forget to enter our September Anniversary Drawing. Enter you name every time you come into the shop during September. We're giving away a really fun quilt called Northwoods.

Scrap Tamers Signup Day

2011-08-28T11:54:00.012-05:00

Why the crowd in front of the shop? It was Scrap Tamer Plus Marti and Me signup day. Word has it that the line started at 7 AM. Sign up started at 9:30. Fun to see all the quilters with their chairs, coffee, donuts etc. Scrap Tamers Club Plus meets the 3rd Saturday of each month. The first meeting will be Saturday, September 17. We have 3 sessions scheduled--there are still a few openings in the 1:00 session. I think it will be a lot of fun this year as we're combining the From Marti and Me club with our traditional Scrap Tamers club--2 clubs for the price one ! I'm all about learning as many things about quilting as you can! And the Marti and Me club offers some fun new techniques and information about using her well designed tools and rulers.

If you're interested, call the shop or come in to get more information. We have sample bundles made for the Mystery Quilt we will be doing in the club. Order one or you can work from your stash--after all, this is Scrap Tamers. We also have a sample of the 1st project for the From Marti and Me Club. It's a really fun table runner called Bali Breezes. Each of the Marti Michell patterns will feature one of her rulers. This time it is the Small Full Diagonal Set Triangle Ruler.

So, come join in the fun--next year you may be out in front of the shop--anxious to sign up again.

35 Years!

2011-08-26T10:04:00.005-05:00

With this being our 35th anniversary year, I thought it might be fun to do a little reminiscing. A few of you have known us from our beginning in 1976. But most of you have become friends later on and may not know our history. So the story begins: Gladys and Nancy (mother and daughter) opened Glad Creations Inc. in 1976. It was the bicentennial year and there was a new interest in quilting. Nancy had just graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Economics and had become interested in quilting. Gladys ran a busy business out of her home called "Glad Creations". She made purses from denim and vinyl with appliqued flaps. They were made to order--customers would choose their own fabrics and applique design and 2 weeks later come in and pick up their purse.

In 1976, they decided to combine their 2 interests and open a quilt shop which also took orders for and sold Glad's purses. They purchased a corner grocery store on the corner of Bloomington and 34th street in south Minneapolis. The building had a grocery store on the 1st floor and an apartment upstairs. We are still, after 35 years, in the same location. We have expanded the shop to include classroom, display and office space on the 2nd floor. As the quilting business grew, Glad sold her purse business and began working at the shop full time.

It has been great to be part of a family business. Our dad worked there after his retirement, doing the bookwork. Our sister, Carol, does our long-arm quilting and has made many samples for us. I began working at the shop in about 1978 after my kids were a little older. A lot has changed in our 35 years! Look for another blog talking about some of the changes that have taken place.

And don't forget--to celebrate our 35th anniversary, we will be having a drawing each month through the end of the year. All you need to do is come in to the shop and enter the drawing. Enter as many times during the month as you wish. We will draw the winner at the end of the month. In September, someone will win our Northwoods Quilt. It's from a Glad Creations pattern that we designed especially for the Moda Booth at Quilt Market. I love this quilt! So--good luck to all of your who enter our September drawing. I wish you all could win!
Susan

Class Signup

2011-08-10T09:01:00.003-05:00

Thursday, August 11, is the first day to sign up for Fall classes. There are some great ones coming up. We have some new ones in the plan so be sure to check on the website to see what looks like fun. Cheri will be teaching a color class. Dee has scheduled a machine quilting refresher class if you'd like a little more hands on help with planning or quilting. I'll be teaching a Lemoyne Star class using the new Rapid Fire Ruler by Deb Tucker. Nancy and I are working on the next Mystery Weekend quilt. And of course, all the basics are also in the schedule.

We'll be starting a new Scrap Tamers this fall. We're calling it Scrap Tamers Plus From Marti & Me Club. (What a long name). After some input from last year's group, we decided to combine the 2 clubs into one club. Signup for Scrap Tamers Plus Club is on Saturday August 27. We have the signup sheets ready and you can pick them up early if you'd like. We will be doing a mystery quilt like we've done in Scrap Tamers before, but also doing projects each month from the Marti & Me Club. We put together some sample bundles for both the mystery quilt and the September Marti & Me project for those of you who do not want to choose your own fabrics. There is also a poster of the Sept. project at the shop. After reading the Marti & Me pattern, I feel like I've already learned some new techniques. This should be fun!

Be sure and ask if you have any questions about upcoming classes.

Our busy neighborhood

2011-08-05T16:59:00.004-05:00

This weekend is the Powderhorn Art Fair. It runs on Saturday from 10:00 - 6:00 and on Sunday from 10:00 - 5:00 and is just down the street from us. It's a great art fair with 184 artists this year. It runs in conjunction with the Uptown Art Fair and the Loring Park Art Festival. It's a nice venue for the art fair, with all the artist's tents surrounding Powderhorn lake. It does make our parking situation a little tough. If you are coming for class, you'll want to drop off your machine at the door and then go to park. We'll be there to help however we can. If you are shop hopping, hopefully you might be lucky and find a spot that another hopper or art fair lover has just left. The art fair crowds usually thin out later in the day. Keep in mind that we will be open until 8:30 on both Monday and Tuesday of the coming week. The parking will be super easy both of those days. Or come and enjoy the Powderhorn Art Fair while you're in the neighborhood!

Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star

2011-07-19T16:34:00.005-05:00

Most of the year I complain because my basement sewing room is so cold. Not the last few days. With the temperature at close to 100 degrees and the humidity just about as close, I've really been lucky to get to spend extra time in my "cold" sewing room. I just finished a sample of the Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star. It will be a new class in the soon to be coming Fall class schedule. It uses the square-up tool by Deb Tucker which makes all of those stars go together perfectly. We'll be demonstrating some of her square up rulers on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30. That's the first weekend of the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. If you can't make it to the demos, we do have some demo boards set up at the shop so you can see how her tools work. They're pretty slick!

Hope you are planning on "hopping" during the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop. Pick up a passport at your first shop to get yourself started. There are 10 shops in the Central East Section. Each will be giving away a pattern for a 9" block, a charm square of the shop hop fabric, a card listing a "Step toward better quilting" and a charm with a $10 purchase. If you get to all 10 shops, you will receive a bag pattern designed by Terri Atkinson especially for our section. I think it would be really cute with all of the charms sewn on it. We have made several small samples using the Shop Hop fabric. The ideas keep coming, but the time is getting close. The joint buses between the Central East and the Central Section will all be running, and there is still time to sign up for one.

So, what project can I work on next that takes me into my "cold" sewing room? Maybe I'll get started on the Scrap Tamers Mystery Quilt. That sounds like fun!

Lazy Days of Summer!

2011-07-07T11:53:00.005-05:00

Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer? We are busier than ever at the shop! The Minnesota Quilters show in St. Paul was wonderful. It's always one of the highlights of the year. It's so much fun for us to reconnect with all of our quilting friends. And the quilt display was great.
But that's not all! Today Nancy and I are the speakers at the St. Cloud Heritage Quilters guild meeting. We'll be heading up to St. Cloud this afternoon with about 25 quilts, some older, some newer, some rarely seen from our own collections. It's always fun to show the quilts and talk about our shop history. Did you know we will have been in business for 35 years in August? Things have certainly changed in the quilting world.
The class schedule is in the works. New classes for the fall and a new plan for Scrap Tamers. Watch for it to come in the mail in early August. And you should be getting a postcard about our pre-inventory sale coming up July 14-16.
We are also busy getting ready for the Quilt Minnesota Shop hop which begins on July 29th. Our fabric has arrived, so we are busy getting some samples made. Shelly and Pat made a fun display of the fabrics so come in and get a sneak peek! I took a photo, but it is much better to see it in person! If you were thinking of taking one of the convenience buses, give us or one of the other shops a call. Sign ups have been a little slow--so decisions will be made soon on whether all of the buses will run.

Quilt Comfort

2011-06-22T15:55:00.006-05:00

We have a fantastic group of quilters that meet at the shop each month making quilts, primarily for children. The quilts are all donated to organizations that can use them. It's amazing how many quilts they produce! Not only do they get a lot done but they have loads of fun doing it.

Wanda, a group member was recently contacted by a physician friend, who is also a quilter, about the possibility of the group donating quilts to kids displaced by the tornado that devastated parts of north Minneapolis on May 22. The group participants were notified, and all who responded agreed it was a perfect opportunity to help in a timely way.

Wanda made contacts through the emergency resource numbers and learned that the Red Cross would be an appropriate recipient for distributing the quilts where they were most needed. On May 22 she delivered 30 kid-themed quilts to the Red Cross. They were happy to get a variety of sizes and put them right in the next truck headed to the north location.

These busy quilters have done much more than this! So far this year they have delivered quilts to the following organizations:
Children's Hospital - 66 quilts plus 105 small quilts for a special event
St. Joseph's Home - 5 children's quilts & 5 wall quilts
Veteran's Home - 6 quilts
Red Cross - 30 quilts

What a generous group of quilters. They share so much of their time to make all of this happen.

Minnesota Quilters Show

2011-06-16T07:20:00.005-05:00

We're ready! Our setup time was Wednesday at 8:00 AM. Does it look like we'll ever be ready? By 3:00 we were pretty much set up with just a few final touches to go. Time to even look at the wonderful quilt exhibit. Today the show hours at 9:00 - 5:00. Three fun filled days of seeing friends, meeting new friends and enjoying the company of lots of quilters.

Glad Creations Totes

2011-06-05T13:24:00.005-05:00

The new Glad Creations sunny yellow Tote bags are in! Get yours with a $25.00 purchase in the shop or in our booth at the Minnesota Quilter's Show next week.
We're looking forward to the show at the St. Paul RiverCentre June 16 - 18. You'll find us in booth 310-312. We're packing up loads of fun things to display in our booth. Did you see the photo of Glad with her most recent quilt that we posted a couple weeks ago? It's all quilted and bound so we'll be featuring it in our booth at the show.

Lazy Angle Ruler

2011-06-04T15:18:00.005-05:00

I got to play with another new ruler this weekend. I made a demo board for the Creative Grids Lazy Angle ruler. It is designed by Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs. Cut 2 simple shapes in any of 6 different sizes and you can make hundreds of block variations. Joan Hawley also has written a book called Lazy and Lovin' It as a companion to the ruler. The book includes step by step instructions to make 250 different Lazy Angle blocks! It also includes companion blocks that will work well with the Lazy Angle blocks. We carry a couple simple patterns designed by her called Littles. They are both "Charm Square" friendly.
I cut a few extra pieces to go along with the demo board so you can try out your own variations and see how this works. We'll show you how to use this ruler at our "New From Market Demo" on Wednesday, June 8. The demo will run from 1:00 - 4:00. Come to the demo or if you can't make it, come in to see the demo board. It looks like a fun new tool.

Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star

2011-05-28T07:03:00.007-05:00

I finally had some time yesterday to play with the new Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star Ruler by Deb Tucker of Studio 180. How fun! Made a 4" Lemoyne Star that turned out perfectly. The ruler makes stars in 10 sizes ranging from 3" up to 12". Pieces are cut oversized and then trimmed. Blocks are made with split corners--so no Y-seams! I made a demo board to show the steps. The instructions with the ruler are great. I plan to make the wallhanging that comes with the ruler. It has all 10 sizes of stars in it and is really fun. I will be demonstrating the Deb Tucker rulers at the upcoming Minnesota Quilters Show in St. Paul. We also have a demo day coming up at the shop on Wednesday, June 8th. It will run from 1:00-4:00. I'll be showing lots of the new things we picked up at Spring Market.
Susan

Scrap Tamers Spring Surprise

2011-05-23T11:27:00.007-05:00

Look at all the quilters that made the Spring Surprise Mystery Project in Scrap Tamers. They were all entered into a drawing for 1 of 4 gift certificates at Glad Creations. The table runners and toppers are great! Thanks to all of you for participating in Scrap Tamers this year. We will be working on the plans for next year soon. Signup day is August 27th with the first session starting on the 3rd Saturday of September. We've got some new ideas in our heads so watch for more information coming soon.
Susan

What's Glad Been Up To?

2011-05-19T08:10:00.004-05:00

We had a staff get together at the shop last night with lots of fun show & tell. Here's Glad - she just completed the applique on her latest project. All I can say is WOW! The pattern is "Roseville Album" by Kim McLean. It has loads of whimsical flowers and fun birds and animals on it. I think most of the cats are grey so they must be Gracie (Glad's cat) although she included one or two orange cats (Milo). Glad is a big fan of Kim McLean's applique patterns and has done several of them. I think this is by far the most intricate. Now it's off to be quilted. We'll have it on display in the shop when it's all done. I can hardly wait!
Nancy

Quilt Market

2011-05-17T15:34:00.003-05:00

Home from Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. What a great time. It's always a time of inspiration, planning, shopping and fun. The first day Nancy and I always go to the Schoolhouse Sessions. We each go to about fifteen 15 minute to 30 minute sessions, each on a different topic. These are put on by fabric companies, pattern designers, publishers and notion companies. It's always great fun to go through the list of sessions and plan which to go to. By the end of the day our minds are so full of ideas they are just spinning. After schoolhouse, we go back to our room and share the things we have seen and learned. This time we each must have walked more than our 10,000 steps!
The next day the market starts. Row after row of vendors--each showcasing their specialties. We always spend the first day just walking through the market, writing down ideas and picking up brochures. This year we couldn't even make it through the whole thing on the 1st day! So many rows and so many booths! Then back to our room to make some decisions.
The 3rd and 4th days are spent re-evaluating and shopping. We found some great new items and lots of new ideas. So now the fun will begin for all of you! We brought back a few of the new things--many will be coming in the next couple weeks. We'll keep you posted as things come in.
Susan

Twin Cities Shop Hop

2011-05-02T11:52:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all of you quilters who made the shop hop a fun event. It was fun to see so many friends coming in and having a good time. Hope you enjoyed the special exhibit of Annemarie's Quilts Remembered miniature quilts. The quilts will be on display until May 9 so if you missed it, there is still time to come see them.
The shop owners will all be gathering tonight to pick the winners of the drawings. We wish the best luck to all of you. Too bad you can't all win!

Quilt Shop "Til You Drop 2011

2011-04-15T17:29:00.003-05:00

We had our final shop owner's meeting today to finalize all the details about the Twin Cities shop hop. That always makes us aware of how soon it is coming. It's always a fun event and this year I think it will be extra fun. The dates are April 28-30. Hours are 9am-9pm on Thursday and Friday, 9am-5pm on Saturday. You will receive a free quilt block pattern at each of the 11 shops along the way. Each shop has designed it's own quilt pattern, using those blocks, available for purchase. We've added a Treasure Hunt this year as part of the event. You will receive a list of 11 unusual things to find along the way, one at each shop. Find them all and get entered into a drawing for a bundle of gift certificates--one from each shop! But that's not all! We will have a Trunk show of Annemarie Yohnk's miniature quilts on display. Both Annemarie and Susan will be doing demos during the shop hop, titles and times are listed in the class schedule and on the website. And of course there are some wonderful prizes you may win. Go to all the 11 shops and get your passport stamped to be entered into the drawings for these great prizes. Hope you can make it! It's going to be great fun!

Mystery Weekend 47 Show & Tell

2011-03-28T12:34:00.004-05:00

We've just completed a fun series of workshops for Mystery Weekend 47. Participants came with great fabric selections and had a loads of fun working on their mystery quilts. We can't show you this Mystery Quilt yet because we still have folks working on their Mystery by Mail 47 quilts.
We can show you the fantastic Show and Tell that we saw each weekend. I've put together a slide shop of photos we snapped during the show and tell. I've also added quilt names to the quilts that were made from Glad Creations patterns. It was sure fun to see all the Birds in the Air quilts that came back completed from last fall's Mystery Weekend! That pattern is in the final stages of getting ready to go the the printers so it should be available in just a couple weeks.
Enjoy the slide show!
Nancy

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Suzi Purse Insert and More

2011-03-15T13:15:00.004-05:00

I just finished making a couple Suzi Purse Inserts. The pattern is from Lazy Girl Designs and as always her pattern is well written and easy to put together. Use these anywhere you need some pockets. There are pockets on both the inside and outside. Move the inserts from purse to purse or use them to organize things at your desk or craft area. The pattern includes instructions for 2 sizes. She has planned the sizes to fit into many of the Lazy Girl Designs bags. Maybe next I'll make a Suzi Insert and a matching bag! I wonder which one to make?

Mystery Weekend

2011-03-07T12:03:00.005-06:00

Just finished our first session of Mystery Weekend #47. What fun! The group loved the quilt and got lots and lots of sewing done. Wonderful show and tell, lots of chatting and plenty of goodies to munch on. Thanks, ladies! We have 2 more sessions scheduled for the end of this week--and a final session on March 26 and 27. If you are not coming to one of our mystery weekends, you can still have fun with this quilt by signing up for mystery by mail #47. Same quilt! Check out the 2 kit choices on our website at www.gladcreationsquilts.com. The members of the first mystery weekend are sworn to secrecy--so don't try to get any tips from them.

Free Motion Machine Quilting

2011-02-20T16:15:00.005-06:00

Looking for a new book about machine quilting? The book Free Motion Machine Quilting by Don Linn is excellent. It focuses on free motion quilting on your home machine. It would be great for either the quilter who wants to refine her skills or for those of you new to free motion quilting. It includes a series of machine quilting exercises for you to learn to master a variety of skills. It also includes visual troubleshooting guides to solve common machine quilting problems. It's written in a fun way and really radiates a you can do it approach. This may be a book you would like to add to your quilt library.

Tea Leaf Tote

2011-02-04T13:28:00.003-06:00

I just finished making the Tea Leaf Tote sample for the free demo on February 9. The pattern by Poorhouse Quilt Designs includes both this large tote (18" x 18" x 5") and a small mini bag. I think this technique gives the look of a cathedral window with much less work. The best part is the technique could be used in a number of different projects. Imagine this as a strip on a table runner or on place mats. Or you could add a pocket or strip on a different purse or tote bag. The demo will run from 1:00 - 4:00 on Wednesday, February 9. Hope you can come.

Civil War Sewing Circle

2011-01-19T19:18:00.003-06:00

We just received a new book from Martingale that you quilting history buffs will love. The Civil War Sewing Circle by Kathleen Tracy is a fun book. It is sub-titled Quilts and Sewing Accessories Inspired by the Era. It has 16 easy projects including small and large quilts reminiscent of those made during the Civil War and patterns for a pincushion, sewing box and needle case. Along with the projects, learn a little history about women's efforts during that time. There are also photos and excerpts from letters written to and from soldiers during the Civil War and some interesting historical tidbits. Come in and check it out.

The Show Goes On!

2011-01-07T15:24:00.003-06:00

Folks have been enjoying the our staff quilt show of Lone Star Quilts as they've come through the shop this week. Our staff had a great time selecting challenging patterns and planning their quilts. If you haven't gotten in to see the show, we are extending it for a few more days. We'll keep it hanging through the day on Wednesday January 12.
Take a peek at the slide show to see the quilts!
Nancy

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Lone Star Show

2010-12-31T16:25:00.002-06:00

Here's a sneak peek of the Lone Star Show. Our staff has done an incredible job. We have 14 fantastic quilts on display. I'll be posting a slide show of the entire show in a few days.
Nancy

And the new year begins

2010-12-31T08:43:00.003-06:00

At this time of year it's always fun to reflect on the events of the 2010 and look forward to 2011.

It's been a good year for Glad Creations. We spiffed up the shop with new carpet throughout and fresh paint. It was a trial when going on, but well worth it! Our staff all pitched in and we are forever thankful!

We had some fun events this year. The Twin Cities Shop Hop is always great fun and such a nice group of shops to work with. The Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop was also fun. Such creativity in the quilting world. Nancy and I were the speakers at 3 different quilt guilds this year. We put on the program for the Chaska Quilters, the Deep Valley Quilters in Mankato and the Rochester quilt guild. It was great fun to meet all of those quilters and to share some of our quilts and some of Glad's prize winning appliqued quilts. Glad attended with us and thoroughly enjoyed it. We also enjoyed the Minnesota Quilt show in St. Cloud this year. It was great fun to touch base with quilters around the state and to share our love of quilting.

Personally, 2010 was a great year. Our family was blessed with good health and good times. We were also blessed with the arrival of a 2nd grandson, Win. What can be better than that?

So what will 2011 bring us? We are looking forward to another great year. It is starting out with one of the greatest quilt displays we have put up. The Lone Star Show is amazing. Our staff really went all out making some magnificent quilts. Be sure to come in to see it. It will be up through January 8. We know we will have those fun shop hops to look forward to. Also the Minnesota Quilt show in St. Paul. We will be the speakers this year at the St Cloud Heritage Quilters Guild and also the Women of the West. And who knows what else will pop up?

We wish all of you a wonderful 2011. Thank you for all your support this past year. We look forward to seeing many of you, enjoying your quilting accomplishments and getting to know you all even better.

White Christmas

2010-12-17T11:47:00.003-06:00

OK, all you quilters that have been dreaming and wishing for a white Christmas. You can stop now! Your wishes have come true! It definitely will be a white Christmas! After 2 snow emergencies in Mpls, they have now restricted parking for the rest of the winter. So, just a word of warning--there is no parking on the North side of 34th street. (that's across the street from the shop) until April 1--or until a lot of this snow melts. You can park on the south side of 34th (the side the shop is on) or on either side of Bloomington Ave. This may be frustrating at times, but you will find it much easier to drive on the Mpls streets. You may want to car-pool if possible, especially on a class day. Those of you coming to Scrap Tamers could come to one of the smaller afternoon sessions for easier parking if that would work for you.
Enjoy the beauty of the snow, think warm thoughts, get some quilting done and we hope to see you soon.

Mystery Weekend 46

2010-12-06T06:54:00.005-06:00

We've just finished our 4th session of Mystery Weekend 46. What fun! We can't show the Mystery Quilts yet because folks are still working on their Mystery by Mail 46 quilts and we don't want to spoil the surprise for them. We can share all the great "show and tell" that Mystery Weekend participants brought along to share. We saw lots of previous mystery quilts and many other fun quilts as well. It was great to see how many folks completed their "Fancy That" quilt from the March 2010 Mystery Weekend. So many beautiful fabric combinations! Enjoy the slide show. We've labeled the quilts that are Glad Creations designs.

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Holiday Fun

2010-12-03T09:14:00.008-06:00

We always get into the holiday spirit at the shop by making Christmas stockings for the Aliveness Project. It is always great fun to get all the staff together to work on these. We all bring fabric from home and spend a couple hours doing assembly line sewing. Of course every single year we forget how to make them--but I guess that's also part of the fun. Eleven of us got together in November and made 34 stockings.
How are you coming on your Christmas shopping? Be sure to sign up for our gift registry . You could list books you've had your eye on, a special Glad Creations kit, a gift certificate for a class or merchandise. How about the new EQ 7? Or maybe an assortment of fat quarters or Aurifil thread or a specialty ruler. We're hoping to make it easy for that non-quilting gift giver. Tell your husbands, children, parents, friends you have signed up at the shop. We will even do free gift wrapping! Can't be much better than that!

Quilters Gift Registry

2010-11-19T13:39:00.004-06:00

The time for gift giving is upon us. We're looking forward to family and friends coming into the shop looking for holiday gifts. Many times those shoppers have a look of absolute confusion on their faces. How can we help? We're starting a Quilter's Gift Registry this weekend. Come into the shop, fill out a registration sheet listing specific items you would like and take a few reminder cards home with you to tell your loved ones you are registered at Glad Creations. All the shopper has to do is ask to see your registration sheet. Easy as pie! We'll keep the registration sheet in a binder at the shop and you can update it whenever you would like. How fun to receive exactly what you are wishing for. We will even do free gift wrapping on most items. Wait until you see our wild and fun gift wrap!
Hope to see you soon. Be thinking about specific books, patterns, kits or fabric lines you would like. Or maybe you want to ask for a gift certificate to be used for merchandise or a class.
May all your wishes come true!

Quilt Market

2010-10-30T22:23:00.003-05:00

Walking through Quilt Market today wearing my hand knit sweater and who should come running up to me but Kaffe Fassett saying, "Oh, can you wait here....... Brandon Mably designed that sweater and he has to see it." So, off to get Brandon, lots of nice complements then a stop by the booth for a photo. What fun!

Ready for the quilter!

2010-10-27T12:00:00.003-05:00

My Oh My Stars quilt top is done. Can't wait to see it quilted. The photo shows only part of it. I couldn't get far enough away in my sewing room for a complete photo. It will be part of our Glad Creations Lone Star quilt show in January 2011. Check out Dee's blog too. Her Lone Star in Ohio looks wonderful. The staff is really working hard to make a wonderful exhibit. I can hardly wait to see what everyone has made.
Susan

Oh, My Stars Quilt

2010-10-15T09:18:00.008-05:00

I'm finally back to working on my Lone Star Quilt for the Glad Creations show in January. I hope I get it done in time! I have a quilting date in December! I'm making the Oh, My Stars Quilt by American Jane patterns. I absolutely fell in love with this quilt when we saw it at market. I've got all the lone stars done and all the 132 four inch stars done. Luckily I had the Wing Clipper Ruler to help make all those tiny flying geese units for the sawtooth stars. Here's a sneak preview of the parts. Next step is to sew the little stars together into sashing units. Then I can start sewing the top together. I think I might actually finish in time!

Take Four Placemats

2010-09-01T11:27:00.005-05:00

What to do with all those fat quarters! The Take Four pattern by Something Sew Fine might be the answer. 4 fat quarters will make 4 placemats. Just add the back and fleece for an easy gift. I made a set with Autumn fabrics--will start another set today using the Quilt Minnesota prints. The pattern includes 5 variations so you can have fun making some choices and uses the slice and shuffle technique. Check them out when you come in to the shop.

Scrap Tamers

2010-08-23T16:00:00.004-05:00

First day to sign up for the 2010-2011 session of Scrap Tamers is this Saturday, August 28. We will start signing up quilters at 9:30 AM. We have made a poster of the quilt patterns we will be focusing on this year, along with a time table. We will be using patterns designed by Kaye England for the Bread and Butter Society. (Not sure why I thought all of you quilters liked to be kept in the dark!) I am amazed every year when I drive up to the shop and see the long line of quilters waiting to come in to sign up. It always gets the neighbors talking. And makes me hungry for donuts! If you are in the area and wish to fill out the registration form ahead of time, we do have copies at the shop. You can pick them up for yourself and your friends. It really does speed up registration! If you want more information about Scrap Tamers club, visit our website, check out our class schedule or come into the shop. Looking forward to Saturday!

Wedding Quilt

2010-08-06T08:19:00.003-05:00

What a fun weekend! Lots of great family time and a beautiful wedding. Doug and Hayley received the Bali Wedding Star after the rehearsal dinner at our house on Friday Night.

Family fun

2010-07-24T08:54:00.003-05:00

What a glorious day for a wedding. Nancy's middle son is getting married today and we could not have asked for a nicer day. Carol has come from Tennessee for the wedding so it's been a fun week of chatting, reminiscing and of course eating lots of Glad's chocolate chip cookies. Life should get back to normal next week.
The class schedule is at the printers. You should be getting it sometime in the first week of August. There will be some fun new classes offered and of course all of our basic classes. Annemarie will be hosting a new club called the Groovy Girls Sewing Club and we will be starting a new session of Scrap Tamers. Signup day for classes is Thursday, August 12. Signup for Scrap Tamers club will be Saturday, August 28. Just a reminder that we will be closed Thursday July 29 for inventory.
The Quilt Minnesota State shop hop starts on Friday, July 30. Be sure to come and visit us during the shop hop. You can pick up your passport at the first shop you go to. Come and see the new fun samples we made using the shop hop fabric.
Susan

Wedding Star - ready to quilt!

2010-07-03T12:30:00.005-05:00

I finally finished piecing the Bali Wedding Star quilt for my son's wedding. I shipped it off to Carol on Monday for quilting. It should be back just in time to get the binding on - the wedding is July 24! I know some of you have seen it in process so I'll try to have it in the shop for a couple days around July 15 - 17 for anyone who wants to see the finished product (sans binding!). I'm expecting that the UPS man will bring it mid day on the 15th.
This was another great pattern from Judy Niemeyer. It's foundation pieced using a really neat strip piecing technique. The blocks went together nicely after following her pressing instructions which were planned so that all the seam allowances would wedge.
Thanks to Judy for a great pattern.
Nancy

Minnesota Quilters show

2010-06-14T12:15:00.005-05:00

We are starting to get all packed up to go to the Minnesota Quilters Show in St Cloud. Hope we can get all the new goodies in 2 cars. We will have 2 brand new quilts on display plus lots of others and a new mystery by mail ready. We will also be demonstrating some of our favorite tools. We have fallen in love with the rulers made by Deb Tucker for Studio 180 Designs. We'll show you how to use the Tucker Trimmer, the Wing Clipper and the Square-squared rulers. Hope you stop by our booth (H204-206). We're looking forward to seeing you. The show runs from Thursday, June 17 -Saturday June 19. It's always one of the highlights of the year!
Susan

Quilt Market Review

2010-06-02T12:31:00.004-05:00

The International Quilt Market was in Minneapolis this spring. Nancy and I found a lot of new items--books, patterns, tools, ideas, fabric. We met and talked to quilt shop owners from all over the country and had many shop owners visit the shop. Fun to show it off! Come join us for a preview showing of some of our favorite finds. We've scheduled a showing on Saturday, June 12 at 10:00. Call and reserve a chair for the event. If the 10:00 session fills, we'll schedule additional time slots. I took a photo of just some of the things we'll be showing. I know you're dieing to know what's in the bottom of the basket! New items are coming in every day! Can hardly wait for the delivery man to come. Come and join us on June 12 if you're able. Be sure to call to hold a spot.

International Quilt market

2010-05-16T11:21:00.007-05:00

We are very excited that Quilt Market will be in Minneapolis this spring. We wish to welcome all you quilt shop owners to our wonderful city. We will have many of our Glad Creation quilts on display at the shop. One of our newest patterns is called Tapestry. We have samples made in 2 different color combinations. Check out our website for the complete list of our patterns.
We are only about 15 minutes away from the Convention Center and very easy to get to. We will be open until 8:30 on May 17, May 18, May 24, and May 25. Hope all you visiting quilters will have a chance to come to our shop.

And the winners are

2010-04-29T19:40:00.005-05:00

Congratulations to the winners of our quilt giveaway. Judy Thayer won the Magic Carpet quilt and Gloria Meyer won the Twice as Nice. I think they were both thrilled and we were thrilled for them. We were glad so many of you came in to see our new carpeting. We only wish we could have given quilts to all of you. We thank you so much for being a part of our lives. We have made so many friends through quilting and appreciate the support you have given us. We hope to see you all soon.

Are you coming?

2010-04-27T08:00:00.004-05:00

Two days until the Twin Cities Shop hop. It's always a really fun time. We have our folders stuffed with all the information you need to start the hop, our sample made, kits ready, new samples hanging, door prizes ready and the shop all spiffed up. All 10 shops are ready for 3 days of fun. Its been great getting to know the other shop owners and working together for this fun event. Get in the drawing to win some really great prizes by getting your card stamped at each of the shops. We are giving away 4 sewing machines, a bundle including a $50 gift certificate from each shop and each shop will have it's own selected prize worth $200. Ours includes a kit to make the Forever Friends quilt. I love that quilt!
Hope to see you and good luck on winning. Susan

Twin Cities Shop Hop

2010-04-23T19:07:00.004-05:00

The Twin Cities Shop Hop runs next week from April 29-May 1. Fun, fun, fun! Visit all 10 shops to be eligible for the great prizes. Each shop will be giving out a pattern for a 9" quilt block. You need to go to all 10 shops to receive the block patterns. This year each shop has designed it's own quilt with those 10 blocks. Not only that--each has made the quilt with it's own selection of fabrics. This is our quilt. It's called Salt Water Taffy and was designed by Amy Miller, one of our staff members. We think she made a wonderful quilt. We have a poster showing the quilts from each of the different shops. You can see the poster at our shop or if you are a member of Facebook, you can see it on the Twin Cities shop hop facebook page. Each shop hop participant will receive a coupon for one free layout. If you love more than one, you can purchase others. We hope to see you during the Twin Cities Shop Hop. It's a fun event with great prizes, displays and demos. Hope you can join in the fun.
Susan

Mystery Weekend 45

2010-04-06T11:08:00.011-05:00

March was a busy month with 4 sessions of Mystery Weekend 45. Nearly 80 people participated in this round of Mystery Weekend sessions! Now we can reveal our quilts. We call this quilt "Fancy That!". We'll be adding this quilt to our line of Glad Creations patterns sometime this summer.

One of the highlights of Mystery Weekend for us is the Show and Tell. We saw lots of recently completed quilts - what a productive group. Check out the slide show below of the Show and Tell from all 4 sessions. I added quilt names to the designs that are Glad Creations patterns.

By the way,the new carpet is in place and we've put the shop back together - whew! Come in and check it out.
Nancy

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New Carpet

2010-04-01T14:02:00.005-05:00

You think you have a stash! We just spent 2 days cleaning out the entire shop to get ready for the new carpet. What a job! Thanks ever so much to staff, family and friends, the upstairs and downstairs are almost empty and the carpet is now being installed. The bathroom, office and basement are mighty full! You might worry about an avalanche in the bathroom. And you have to make yourself very thin to enter the office. It will be a huge job to get everything back in the right spot. But we can hardly wait to see it all finished. We will be reopening on April 6. Be sure to come in to check it out and also to enter the drawing to win one of two bed sized quilts. We will be ready for a celebration!
See you soon, Susan

Emily Dyer

2010-03-16T09:15:00.005-05:00

I had a few minutes this morning to catch up with some online contacts. While checking up on some Facebook friends I came across this great video that Emily created about her ceramics business. For anyone who doesn't know, Emily is Susan's daughter. She's worked at the shop in the past and now takes care of our web site and graphic design needs. She's done a great job of sharing in this video. You'll all want to go visit her at her Northrup King studio after watching her video!
Nancy

Cleaning out

2010-03-05T09:57:00.005-06:00

What happens when you are getting new carpet? We're cleaning out! The thought of moving everything is really overwhelming. So, we moved some notions, patterns, books and lots of fabric up to the half-price room. Come take a look and help us out! This picture is only a small section of the marked down items. Maybe you will find that treasure you've been looking for. Our carpet installation dates will be March 31- April 5 during which we'll be closed . Then remember to come into the shop between April 6 and April 24 to be entered into the drawing to win one of 2 queen size quilts. You can add your name to the quilt give-away drawing each time you come in. How fun is that! And you will be able to see how wonderful our shop looks. Hope to see you soon.
Susan

Layer 'em Up #2

2010-02-08T11:40:00.004-06:00

Our 2nd Wednesday Demo this month will be on the technique in the book Layer 'em Up #2 by Sharyn Craig. I will be showing this technique on Wednesday, February 10 from 1:00-5:00. It's a fun technique and a well written book. It's a stack, slice, shuffle, sew and square up technique so makes for a fast and easy quilt. It's also a great stash quilt since you can use so many different fabrics. The book includes several different options for "box" blocks. Within each option, you can vary the look of the block by changing the measurement of your slices. I might need to keep this quilt for myself. It looks really nice on my couch.
Susan

Wedding Star

2010-01-20T14:47:00.004-06:00

I got together with my son Doug and his fiance Hayley last week to select a pattern for a wedding quilt. We spent some time looking at patterns I'd selected as possibilities. I wanted to get an idea of what colors they like and what kinds of patterns appealed to them. We ended looking at Judy Niemeyer's web site and when Hayley saw the Wedding Star, she knew that was the one.

Wow, what a fun project this will be! I starting selecting batiks in gradations. I still have lots more to pick, but here's the beginning.

The wedding's in July. I think I'll be busy!

Nancy

Too Many Batiks?????

2010-01-18T18:43:00.006-06:00

Is it possible to have too many batiks? Shelly and I pulled 60 bolts from the batik colorwall today to make room for all the great recent arrivals. Those 60 bolts are in the half-price area now. We all did a bit of shopping as we moved the bolts upstairs but there's still lots to choose from. Stop in soon to see the selection - they won't last long.......

Nancy

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-17T11:22:00.006-06:00

Do you ever look at those beautiful photos of sewing rooms in magazines and books and feel jealous? I do! Oh, to have all that space and everything in its place.
The best part about not completing your new years resolutions is that you can use the same ones again. So this year I will try again to conquer the sewing room mess. OK, this photo was taken last year and nothing much has changed. If fact, it may be worse. I will try again. But maybe not until I finish this next project I'm working on.
Susan

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T10:57:00.005-06:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from Snowy Minnesota! 7 inches last night and more coming tonight. Might be 12-18 inches of the white stuff before it's over. We wish to thank all of you for your friendship and support this last year. Quilters are special people and we are truly thankful to be in such a wonderful business. We hope you all have a wonderful quilt filled new year.
Susan

Holiday travels

2009-12-01T15:57:00.010-06:00

I've had some fun this past week unrelated to quilting. We started with a great Thanksgiving visit with my sister Carol and her family in Nashville. We toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and visited a nearby site of a Civil War battle. It took place on the grounds of a plantation and we were able to tour the restored home. I may have gotten some inspiration for a quilt from the floorcloth in the dining room.

Another fun part of our trip was a stop on the way home to pick up "Charlie", an Australian Shepherd / Poodle puppy. For awhile I'll have to see how much quilting I can get done during "naptime".

Nancy

Mystery Weekend #44

2009-11-18T20:32:00.010-06:00

Susan and I have had a busy month so far teaching 4 sessions of Mystery Weekend #44 . We had about 70 participants! We can finally reveal the quilts! Susan made her quilt using an assortment of soft reproduction prints. I used a selection of Asian prints. We'll be getting a pattern ready shortly after the first of the year. We'll also have kits available in both of our fabric selections when the pattern is ready. The name of the quilt is "Shoo Fly". Both of our quilts are on display in the shop.

One of the really fun parts of Mystery Weekend is the show and tell that participants bring to each session. Some of the quilts are from past Mystery Weekends or Mystery by Mail quilts. Others are projects that have been completed from other patterns, in classes or created by the maker. It's so much fun to see the great fabric selections. We snapped some photos of the quilts to share. I've added quilt names to the photos of the quilts made using Glad Creations patterns. Enjoy the slide show below.
Nancy

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Christmas Stockings

2009-10-27T08:38:00.012-05:00

The staff (and former staff) at Glad Creations got together this week for our annual Christmas Stocking event. We made 31 stockings for the Aliveness Project holiday basket program. Can you believe we made all these stockings in one evening? Not only did we produce a huge collection of stockings - we had a fantastic time too!
Nancy

Quilt Market

2009-10-10T20:08:00.004-05:00

We hear it's snowing in Minnesota - but Susan and I are having a great time in Houston at International Quilt Market! There's so much great energy and inspiration. Here we are in the "Me & My Sister" booth on our way to see the new Moda fabric lines. We ordered some really fun groups from their Metro lines. We know the staff at the shop will be glad to hear we ordered the new "Chez Moi" line. It's called "Hunky Dory" and should be delivered in March 2010.

We're coming up with some fun new ideas and seeing lots of great new products.
We walked through the entire show today - we just barely finished the last aisle at closing time. Tomorrow we'll walk the entire show again and make some decisions. We'll also make sure we have some time to walk through the fantastic quilt exhibits. We'll wrap things up on Monday morning with an appointment in the Hoffman Fabrics booth - always a highlight of the trip to market.

Nancy

Too fun!

2009-09-30T20:29:00.004-05:00

The latest fabric line from American Jane has just arrived - "Happy Campers". This fun fabric line from Moda includes bright primary colors and some great vintage pieces.

Vine Creek

2009-09-17T20:11:00.008-05:00

Loads of new fabric for fall is arriving at the shop. Fans of designs by Kansas Troubles will love their new line - Vine Creek. It's a great selection of green, red, blue and brown in those great colors you expect.
We have the whole line in stock!
Nancy

Scrap Tamers Mystery Quilt

2009-09-15T12:05:00.004-05:00

The mystery has been revealed! This is a photo of my Scrap Tamer mystery quilt from last session, Sept. 2008-August 2009. Many of the club members made it from their stashes. How fun to see so many fabric combinations as they've been choosing their border fabric. I'm guessing we will see several for show and tell when the new club starts. The first session of the next Scrap Tamers Club will meet on Sept 19 and run for 9 months. There is still room in the afternoon sessions if you missed the signup day. We will again make a mystery quilt as part of the club. Check out the class schedule if you'd like more information about Scrap Tamers.
Susan

Upcoming demos

2009-09-08T11:36:00.008-05:00

We have 2 demo days coming up this week. The 2nd Wed Demo on September 9 will be on the technique in the book Layer 'em Up by Sharon Craig. A fun fast technique for making the X block. We will demo this technique from 1:00 - 5:00.

On Saturday, September 12th, we will demonstrate the Layer 'em Up technique again. In addition, we will also demonstrate the technique from the book Sew Simple Pineapple by Karin Hellaby. This is a technique to make the pineapple block using only easily cut squares of fabric. Those 2 demos will run continuously from 10:00 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 3:00. Come see us on Saturday to learn about these 2 fun techniques.

Hope to see you on Wednesday Sept 9 or Saturday the 12th.
Susan

Peppermint Purse

2009-08-09T11:30:00.010-05:00

What a fun and wild week it has been! The Quilt Minnesota shop hop is in full swing and quilters are having a ball. It still goes until August 16th, so if you haven't started, there is still time. Visit the 12 shops in the metro section to be eligible for some great prizes. I did have time this week to make a new sample. This is the Peppermint Purse from the book Big Bags Little Bags by Atkinson Designs. I used the Quick YoYo Maker by Clover. I thought it turned out really cute.
Susan

Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Club

2009-07-01T12:00:00.005-05:00

We just had our first meetings of the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Club. We had a group on Monday night and another on Tuesday night. Everyone will be making the quilt from the book Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from Elm Creek Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini. The quilt is made of 140 ~ 6" blocks. The photo shows a sampling of the blocks we talked about in our first session. We will meet for the 2nd session in July and then after that one time a quarter. Our plan is to put on a quilt show of these quilts in January 2012. If you had not heard about the club or missed signing up, we will repeat the 1st 2 sessions again in the Fall, followed by the 3rd session. Watch for information in the Fall newsletter. Sign up for the 1st 2 sessions and you will be ready to continue on with the group. Come in to the shop to see some samples up close! We have about 70 quilters working on their quilts now! Nancy and I are thrilled that so many of our quilting friends are joining us in this adventure.
Happy quilting! Susan

New Placemats

2009-05-29T08:06:00.005-05:00

Here's one of the new books that we picked up at Quilt Market - Six Halves Make a Whole Lot More from The Quilt Branch. Their placemat pattern uses 6 half-yard pieces to mix together into 6 placemats. Also included in the book are several quilt patterns that are also made with a selection of 1/2 yard pieces. What fun! They went together really fast and looked great on my round dining room table. They were only their briefly - now they're on display at the shop. We'll be making up some kits and will have them on display in our booth at the Minnesota Quilters show June 11-13.
Nancy

Quilt Market

2009-05-27T08:30:00.003-05:00

Nancy and I went to Quilt Market in Pittsburgh last week. This is
a photo of about a quarter of the market vender area while they were still setting up their booths. We came back with lots of new ideas, some new patterns, books and notions. Some of the new items are already in the shop. Others should be coming in soon. Just yesterday we received the new Dream Green batting from Quilters Dream Company. It is made from recycled bottles and feels really nice. Fun to try new things! Be sure to come in to see what's new.
Susan

Shop 'til You Drop

2009-04-30T19:33:00.005-05:00

Today is the first day of our 12th Annual Quilt Shop 'til You Drop - Twin Cities Quilt Shop Tour. Hoppers are having a great time going from shop to shop and collecting steps for the "Great Expectations" quilt designed by Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods.

There are 7 shops included in the hop - all around the Twin Cities area. If you visit all 7 shops, you'll be entered into a drawing for some fantastic prizes. We've had a few folks who completed the tour and turned in their passport this afternoon!

If you're thinking of making the rounds, there are still 2 days to go. You can find the list of participating shops on the Glad Creations web site. You can pick up a map to help you get around at your first shop. All of the shops will be open Friday May 1 from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Saturday May 2 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Hope we'll see you!
Nancy

Mystery Weekend #43

2009-04-05T08:48:00.009-05:00

Susan and I had a great time teaching 4 sessions of Mystery Weekend #43 during the month of March. We can finally reveal the quilts! Susan made her quilt using an assortment of "skin" prints and jungle themed coordinates. I used a selection of batiks. We'll be getting a pattern ready - hopefully around June 1. We'll also have kits available in both of our fabric selections when the pattern is ready. The name of the quilt is Log Cabin Shuffle.

Participants in all 4 of the Mystery Weekend sessions brought fantastic show-and-tell to share. It's so fun to see how creative and productive everyone is! We snapped some photos of the quilts to share. Enjoy the slide show below.

Nancy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Chubby Charmer

2009-04-03T09:50:00.003-05:00

I just finished making the Chubby Charmer bag from Quilts Illustrated. Made it with 12 prints from the Black, White and Red All Over collection from Windham fabrics. Its a great bag--really big. Great for toting all kinds of things with you. It has a nice square bottom so will hold a 9" x 13" casserole or a pan of brownies! Would even hold both! Now if I only had time to cook. Come into the shop to see the sample.
Susan

Reversible Table Runner

2009-03-17T10:59:00.008-05:00

I just finished the sample of the Reversible Table Runner by the Quilt Company. Its on display at the shop and is really fun. One side has coffee prints and the other side has Valentine prints. I will be demonstrating this at our 2nd Wednesday demo in April. Date is April 8th. Hours are 1:00-5:00. Hope you can come. How lucky was I to have some of Emily's fun pottery that matched!
Susan

Bali Bowls

2009-02-23T20:21:00.005-06:00

Susan's been busy getting ready for next month's Bali Bowls demo. She brought in a great new sample to show us. It's the Bali Bag from from "Aunties Two". This is a fantastic large tote that would have many great uses.

I was so inspired by Susan's tote that I wanted to make one for myself. I decided since this was my first attempt at making a coiled bowl, I'd start with a smaller project. I selected one of the other patterns from Aunties Two called the Bali Bowl. This pattern includes information to make bowls in three different sizes. I selected the middle size - they call it the Catnap Bowl. I made it over the weekend and had a great time working on it. Their pattern says that if you put it out, your cat will find it. So, I finished it Sunday night and guess what I found Monday morning........... Milo has really settled in. Now I need to make another one for Tigger!

Don't miss this great demo on Wednesday March 11, 1:00 - 5:00.
Nancy

Comfortable Companions

2009-01-14T15:19:00.005-06:00

We've had a great quilt show hanging at the shop since the first of the year - our annual Staff Quilt Show. Current and former staff members have been working for 2 years to get ready for this show. We formed partnerships and/or groups and selected quilts to make with a common theme. Some groups used the same pattern. Some used the same concept or block. Some used the same fabric selection. Needless to say, we had more ideas than we were actually able to accomplish!
We had planned to take the show down on January 10 but have decided to leave it up for another week. If you want to see it, you still have a chance. We'll be taking it down mid-afternoon on Saturday, January 17. If you aren't able to come in to see the quilts, enjoy the slide show below.
Nancy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Impressionist Stained Glass

2009-01-09T09:30:00.004-06:00

Just finished a sample from the book The New Classics, Impressionist Stained Glass by Brenda Henning. We'll be offering a class in March. It was fun and easy to make. Took just a couple afternoons of sewing. We are in the process of making kits for all 4 of the wallhangings in the book.
Susan

Colorful Kaffe

2008-12-01T12:44:00.002-06:00

Ooh. 38 bolts of new Kaffe Fassett's fabrics from Rowan/Westminster Fabrics. Staff were just pulling them out of the boxes when I snapped this shot. Can't wait to see what people are going to do with them!

Holiday Stockings

2008-11-28T17:09:00.003-06:00

Staff (and former staff) at Glad Creations gathered last week for our annual Holiday Stocking event. Thirteen of us set up a production line in the classrooms and we produced 28 stockings for the Holiday Basket Program organized by The Aliveness Project in Minneapolis.
http://www.aliveness.org/index.shtml
Annemarie did a fantastic job of photography in between pinning together stockings. Emily and Eli even showed up to help for a while.
Of course, we topped the evening off with a batch of carrot cupcakes.
Check out the slide show to see us in action.
Nancy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Little Quilts by Annemarie Yohnk

2008-11-23T21:10:00.005-06:00

We had a fun Saturday at the shop this past weekend. Annemarie Yohnk was here to give 2 lectures about the little quilts she's made over the last several years as leader of our "Jo's Little Women" club. She shared her love making these little quilts and sharing them with club members and gave us a bit of a feel for the companionship that develops in the club.
We also were lucky to host the debut of Annemarie's new pattern line! If you watch the slide show below, you'll see the quilts that Annemarie has designed hanging at the front of the classroom.
If you couldn't make it to the lecture on Saturday, you can still see the quilt display. Annemarie's letting us keep it up through Dec. 20. We have over 40 of Annemarie's little quilts hanging in the classroom. Stop in if you get a chance.
Nancy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hoffman batiks

2008-11-12T19:33:00.001-06:00

79 bolts of Hoffman batiks came in today. Yea!
Susan

Mystery Weekend at Glad Creations

2008-11-10T21:48:00.000-06:00

Wow! We've just finished our 4th session of Mystery Weekend. We had nearly 80 folks participating in the 4 sessions. Now we can share the quilts and the show and tell. We snapped photos of all the fun quilts that the Mystery Weekend participants brought to share. Many of them were from past Mystery Weekends but we got to see lots of other fun projects as well. Click on the image below and enjoy the slide show - I've added names of the quilts that are Glad Creations designs.
If you're wondering which one is the mystery quilt, you'll see 4 versions included in the slide show - Forever Friends. Two of the quilts were made my Susan and myself. The other 2 were made by 2 high achieving students (Mary & Nathan) who attended the first session and returned to show their completed tops during the 2nd session!
Nancy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Stitched Ornaments

2008-10-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

I can't help doing a little shameless self-promotion. I've been making these adorable slip cast ceramic ornaments at the studio hand-decorated with "stitching" patterns and "quilty" motifs. I'll be bringing some into the shop this week so take a look next time you're in. They coordinate perfectly with the Moda holiday print fabric behind the basket! Or, shop at my etsy page.

On a more directly related shop note, I forgot to blog about the new Mystery by Mail #41 kits. They are really fun and they are now posted on the website. Be sure to take a look before they're gone. We'll try to keep them in stock through mid-November.

Half-price fabric

2008-10-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

It's time to make space for new fall fabric arrivals. On Saturday afternoon and again on Monday we pulled loads of fabric from the shelves and brought them up to the mark down area. Here's Susan processing some of the fabric ready to go upstairs. Come in and check it out - especially if you have a quilt ready for backing.

Some of the fabrics that we know are coming soon - a fun line of coffee prints: "Bistro" from Moda; novelties from Elizabeth Studio (including a Fruit Lady panel); "Cover Story" from Thimbleberries and LOTS of Hoffman batiks.

Nancy

The Placemats are Done!

2008-10-10T15:11:00.001-05:00

If you read my post a few days ago, you'll remember that Amy and I selected fabric for placemats. The pattern we're using is from the book "Six Halves Make a Whole" by the Quilt Branch. It's a fun pattern - 6 half yards of fabric make 6 placemats, a different arrangement of fabrics in each placemat. Here are mine. My fabric selection is from a new line of woven plaids from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
Amy's placemats are still in process - I'll post a photo when they're done.
Nancy

Kits too!

2008-10-08T13:29:00.000-05:00

I just added Sparkler kits to the website too. Both color combinations, Potpourri and Civil War are now available. Get them while they're in stock!
Emily

Sparkler now available!

2008-10-07T15:13:00.000-05:00

I just posted our newest Glad Creations pattern, Sparkler, on the Glad website. Susan and Nancy must have had a really fun time designing this one because it just looks happy and full of energy. If you look closely at the picture of Susan and Nancy in their booth at the Chaska Quilt show (a few posts earlier) you can see Sparkler made up in a different color combination hanging behind them. Click here to go directly to the pattern description on the website for full details about this great quilt.

Emily

Bow Tucks Tote

2008-10-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

I'd been drooling over one of the new lines of fabric from Moda, Pine Creek Crossing by Holly Taylor. What could I make? The Bow Tucks Tote by Penny Sturges seemed like the perfect thing. The tote went together easily and it was fun to use the stripe for the pocket.
Susan

Fall Splendor of Quilts

2008-10-02T19:08:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for a fun outing this weekend - check out "Fall Splendor of Quilts", the show put on by the Chaska Area Quilt Club. This is their 20th Anniversary and they've put together a great collection of quilts. We will be vending at the show so we got a sneak preview of the quilts on exhibit when we were setting up our booth this afternoon (check out all the goodies we squeezed into our booth). The show is being held at the Chaska Community Center - 1661 Park Ridge Drive - Chaska, MN. Hours are Friday Oct. 3, 10am - 7pm and Saturday Oct. 4, 9am - 7pm. Stop by and say "hi" if you make it to the show.
Nancy

Amy & Nancy go shopping!

2008-09-29T20:59:00.000-05:00

The fabric I've been waiting for has finally arrived! Early in the summer we ordered a line of brightly colored woven plaids from Robert Kaufman Fabrics. When I saw the samples, I thought they would be great for a set of placemats to go with my Fiesta Ware dishes. So, I've had my pattern selected and have been waiting all summer for the fabric to arrive.

I'll be using a pattern from the book "Six Halves Make a Whole" by The Quilt Branch. The pattern uses 1/2 yard each of 6 prints to make 6 placemats. The prints are mixed so each placemat turns out with a different arrangement of colors.

I was making my fabric selections at the shop today and Amy couldn't resist being drawn into the project. She selected an assortment for placemats from a brand new group of prints designed by Terry Atkinson for Red Rooster Fabrics. The group is called "Paisley Party".........an assortment of 24 fun, bright prints.

Here we are with our fabric selections. Watch for photos of our completed placemats!

Charisma from Moda

2008-09-28T09:40:00.000-05:00

New in the shop this week is a great new line from Moda - "Charisma". This group is designed by Chez Moi. We've had fun in the shop planning quilts with their last line, "Posh", and Charisma looks like it will be just as fun. The line has a Jacobean feel and includes some large floral prints as well as some interesting basics. Colors are red, green, blue and
rust.

Quilts of Valor

2008-09-25T07:59:00.000-05:00

We have our Scrap Tamers Quilt of Valor ready to give to the machine quilter, Kars Quilting in Chanhassen. Then the binding, then back to Kars who will get it to our Minnesota Quilt of Valor group. Two of the women who are involved in Quilts of Valor stopped in the shop this week. They have made the connections for distributing the finished quilts. They are also the women who physically deliver the quilts to the different facilities and do a lot of the bindings. They now have enough connections made that all quilts made in Minnesota and given to the Minnesota group can stay in Minnesota. The quilts are given to hospitals, rehab facilities and also to those who will be deployed overseas. What a commitment! The suggested size of the quilts is around 54" x 67". But now that they are giving them to those soldiers being deployed, they can use some longer quilts. (it may be really hot there, but the barracks are air conditioned and the quilts give the soldiers a nice connection to home). They also can use smaller quilts for those soldiers who are now in wheel chairs.
What a giving group quilters are! From those who make the quilts, volunteer their quilting time, organize things so this all works or donate money. It works because so many people are involved. It makes me proud to be a quilter.
If you want more information on Quilts of Valor you can go to http://www.qovf.org/
I'll post a photo of our quilt as soon as we get it done.
Susan