Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Club

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

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

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

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