Ruler of the Month and a Quilt Along

SXLLM​​Can you believe that February is already almost over! The first day of March is on Thursday which means it is time for a new Ruler Of The Month. For the month of March the Round Up Tool by Creative Grids will be on special, 20% off. This tool has variety of uses and is a lot of fun. It’s great to round the corners of any of your project, quilts, wall hangings and runners. This adds just a little bit of extra flair to the quilt and the Round Up Tool makes it easy to ensure that each corner is the same. It is also great for cutting 8” and 10” circles. I love how simple it makes cutting appliqué shapes like orange peels, petals and those for the Drunkards Path. We have quite a few different patterns at the store that feature this ruler, and Esther made up a fun Drunkards Path Runner using a Cut Loose Press Pattern and a fabric line called Bloomsbury by Franny and Jane for Moda. 

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I mentioned last week that I was wanting to start a quilt along here on the blog, and today Esther and I decided on a pattern together. The story behind this decision is a little funny so I thought I would share it with you. I have been wanting to do the Moda Be My Neighbor Quilt for quite some time but have been waiting for the right fabric, on Monday I decided that the new Color Master sets from Art Gallery would be perfect and sent Esther a picture of it. Turns out that she had been searching for a pattern for the Art Gallery Color Master bundles and had just finished downloading the Be My Neighbour Pattern. Seeing as how we both want to make this quilt we thought others would maybe like to sew along with us. 

This pattern is a block of the month and finishes at 68”x84.5” so it is a really good size for a twin bed or a large throw. There are 16 blocks and rather than doing one a month we will be doing 2 a month. I will post pictures of mine and Esther’s blocks as well as some tips that we have for you on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month starting March 13. Though we are both using Art Gallery Fabrics I am sure that our quilts will be very different as we will not show each other our fabric selections before we sew each individual block. The photo is of some of the prints I will be using. 

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As mentioned this Quilt Along (QAL) will start on March 13, and we would love for you to join us. The pattern is a free download and I will post a link for the pattern on the blog each time we do a block but we will also have copies of it for you to pick up in the store, and if you click here you can download the pattern now. The pattern is printed in greyscale so you can color it in yourself. The quilt is meant to be scrappy so this is a great way to destash or use up some of those precuts you have collected. Or if you want to use the same fabrics as Esther and I come check out our large selection of Art Gallery Fabrics or grab some of the Color Master sets for yourself. 

To see more pictures of the quilt go on Pinterest or google and search for Be My Neighbor Quilt. There are lots of images available to check out. 

We will also have some fun prizes and incentives along the way to keep you motivated and encouraged to continue sewing along and finish this quilt up.

So grab your fabric and get ready to Quilt Along with Esther and I, it is going to be a lot of fun. 

March 1st is game night and there is still room in the 7:00 session to join us for this fun evening. The registration fee is $10 but you will get this back in gifts and prizes. 

Kayla

 

 

 

 

 

Solids

MXLLS​​On Friday I mentioned that I was itching to get to our solids and blenders shelf and organize it. Well today I managed to do just that, and I am thrilled about it, that section of the store now looks so much neater! 

Our solids now take up almost one full side of the unit, and I think there is pretty much every color of the rainbow represented. The vast majority of them are Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman, and Bella Solids by Moda. 

If I had to choose one over the other I personally prefer to work with the Bella Solids, I find them to be a better quality and easier to sew with. That being said I use both quite frequently. 

After barcoding, pinning and organizing these bolts today I have the urge to make a solids quilt. I have never actually done a quilt using only solids but that will change in the near future. Have you done any quilts using just solids?

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Robert Kaufman has a whole section of patterns on their website devoted to Solids, some of these really caught my attention and I may end up making some kits using them next week if time permits. 

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Accuquilt has also done up several projects using solids and their various dies. If you have an accuquilt check the projects out on their website. If you need a certain die, remember that we carry a wide variety of the dies and we can order any of them and have them in store for you ion about two weeks. We also carry the machines if you are interested in purchasing one.

I am also curious to see if anyone is interested in joining a quilt along run through the blog? Whether it follows a more difficult pattern, a book full of blocks, or a seasonal wall hanging or table runner. Let me know and I will put something together. 

Kayla

Designer Bolts Explained

MXLLS​​MLXLS​​SXLLM​​A few weeks ago we got what are called Designer Bolts in the store. Sitting on the shelf they look unusual but not a lot of people understand what they are and why we like them so much. Because we currently have two collections of these Designer Bolts and a couple more lines on the way, I thought I would explain them a little. The fabric is printed in Fat Quarters and the two collections we currently have in store both have 8 Fat Quarters per bolts printed in 2 meter repeats. So the line has 33 prints in 5 bolts, 1 full bolt of the main print and 4 bolts of 8 fat quarters each containing the coordinates. 

The designers of these collections have also been designing patterns that not only work well for all Fat Quarters but especially for these bolts. The patterns have special cutting instructions which take advantage of how the fabric is printed that results in less cuts, fewer seams, and quicker quilts. 

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We love Designer Bolts because we can get a full collection and not worry about how much space it will take up, 5 bolts take up a lot less room than 33 bolts do. Also rather than cutting and folding 33 fat quarters we can make 4 or 5 cuts, and give you a complete Fat Quarter bundle. This also means there is fewer creases for you to iron out before you begin your project.

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Both collections that we currently have are called All A Twitter by Kari Carr, one is in the cooler color tones and the other in the warmer tones, and already some of the bolts are getting quite low.

New in store today are Color Master Fat Quarter Bundles that came in from Art Gallery Fabrics. Each box contains 10 Fat Quarters in one color story, and there are 12 different ones to choose from. There are only 4 of each left so if these interest you don't wait too long. 

We were asked to do some Creative Grids Rulers at a retreat this weekend and as usual I left my planning until the last minute so I better go and do some prep work for that. 

Have a great weekend,

Kayla