Shop 'til You Drop

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

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

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

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

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

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

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