Friday, November 16, 2018

Fabric Friday

Since our events of September and October have come to an end, we have had some time to open boxes, rearrange the store, and get new products priced and into the store. There are many new fabric lines that have gotten priced and are in the store now, as well as many that are just about ready to get put into the store and will be on display in the next week or so.
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Monarch Grove, by Sara Berrenson, is a bright and cheery collection. This line has some great florals, as well as some butterfly prints. There are 12 prints to choose from, and I think it would make a great table runner and valance for my mom’s kitchen and dining room come spring. I have also been drawn to this line for a tote bag that I have been wanting to make.
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One of our favorite bag pattern designers, Noodlehead, got together with Robert Kaufman and put out a line of Essex and Essex Yarn Dyed, called Forage, which is great for bags. There are 20 hand drawn designs in this collection. The collection is inspired by where the designer lives, western Wisconsin along the Mississippi river. Kayla has already made a bag and a pouch from this line, and if you come into the store asking me to help you pick for a bag, I will very quickly go to this line.
The staff at Chicken Feed Quilts just loves to work with Art Gallery Fabrics. We have gotten two knew collections in that we are very excited about. The first collection is Autumn Vibes, by Maureen Cracknell. Esther has made a few gorgeous wallets from this collection. Both a Penny Inn and a Necessary clutch. Laura made a beautiful backpack at the Bag Workshop in October. Autumn Vibes has 20 prints. The florals are very bright and vibrant and the squirrel print is just adorable. Esther plans on making The Broken Herringbone Quilt by Violet Craft from this collection, and there are already kits available for this quilt in store. If you want some of this collection you better come quick, as some of the bolts are already running very low.
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The other Art Gallery collection that we got in is called Little Clementine. While being down in Orlando, Esther has almost completed the top for the sample of this line. She chose a fairly simple pattern that whips up really quick, but showcases the fabrics very well. She actually texted me today to ask me to send the last piece she needed for it with Kayla when she goes down.
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I have a Gabby Bag cut out of this line, which I just cannot wait to put together and start using. I have taken one of the main florals for the body, the blue cross stitch as my accent and strap, and the light blue floral as my lining. I plan on using antique brass hardware.
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Another sample that Esther is hoping to complete while being down in Florida is the sample that she is doing from a new line, Shiny Objects Sweet Something. This line by Flaurie and Finch has been descried to be 40 all-new pieces of sparkling eye candy. Esther is making the pattern called Prism Parkway. She is using all of the prints from the line, with an Essex linen that has a little bit of a shimmer to it as the background.
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Oxford by Sweetwater fabrics is a wonderful line of wovens and prints. The pattern that Sweetwater designed to go along with this collection is amazing and as soon as the collection came in the kits were made. The pattern is called Oxford Lane and just an adorable quilt that reminds me of a little village. There are a variety of different house blocks in the quilt, as well as some flower blocks.
Lynne Hagmeier from Kansas Troubles Quilters newest collection Nature’s Glory has also come in. This line has the traditional Kansas Troubles colors of tan, orange, red, blue and brown. This line, while looking great on its own, would also blend well with any of her other lines. The Kansas Troubles collections are great for doing scrap quilts or mystery quilts because all of the collections will blend together and come out looking amazing.
Since I am not really a winter person, and love spring and summer, I actually squealed when I opened the box that held the newest collection from 1Canoe2, Twilight. This beautiful collection made me long for spring, when the flowers begin to bloom, and winter hasn’t even begun yet. While looking for a sample idea for this line, I came across the 1Canoe2 website, and actually downloaded the iPhone wallpaper that they designed to go along with this collection because it is so bright and cheery.
There are a few other new collections that came in, but since I am trying to write this before I have to leave to go babysit I do not have time to mention them. I guess you will just have to come into the store to check them out.
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Before I leave to babysit, I just wanted to quickly share with you the new Luxe Cuddles from Shannon fabrics that we got in. We got in new colors of the Chenille cuddle, new Marble cuddles, and also a few new colors of the 90” wide cuddle. We also got in some all new types of cuddle. We got Luna cuddle, Heather cuddle, and Galaxy cuddle in. These types of cuddle are super soft and making your quilts super soft, warm and cuddly. With what the weather is like outside, and it being only the beginning of winter, I am going to need to make a quilt with one of these new cuddles on the back to have for cuddling under while sitting on the couch by the fire and watching Christmas movies with my family, or reading my book.
Just a reminder that there will be no blog posts now until Tuesday, December 4th as Kayla and her family will be going down to Orlando to waterski and vacation with our parents.

Carrie

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Updates

Next week my family and my brother's family will be on our way to Florida for our vacation. Before I leave I just wanted to post a few updates and reminders for the remainder of this month. On Friday I will post pictures of the newest fabric lines that we have in store and than that will be it for November, the next blog post will be on Tuesday, December 4.
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The voting for the next quilt along ended on Friday. The Gypsy Wife Quilt received by far the most votes, out of the 56 total votes it received 27,  so we will definitely be doing that one as a quilt along through the blog. I will post a schedule, coloring page, a link to some inspiration and the fabric requirements in December. We have the pattern available for sale in our store. The other three options for the quilt along split the remaining 29 votes almost equally. I am still debating in my mind if I have time to run all four of them or if I should start two in January and two later on in the year. Thank you everyone who voted, it helps immensely when planning projects when we know what you want. 
Facebook Bingo has ended again. We had a picture posted to our page today of 15 squares that matched the ones Esther has been posting. Her prize for winning the game is a notions Advent Calendar. 
We are taking food donations until the end of the month for the Food Bank. That means we have just over two weeks to collect, and see how many hampers we can fill with your help.
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Our pillowcase challenge has gone over really well. So many of you signed out a stack of pillowcases to sew that we had to cut more kits. As of today's count we have 155 finished at the store. Tomorrow is another sew day in our classroom dedicated to pillowcase sewing. 
Starting in December we will once again open our classroom for regular sew days. We will try to have one a week , and the dates for the month will be posted on our events page. The fee to use our classroom would be $5, and we would be available to answer questions that you may have. We have irons and boards, as well as extension cords available to use. If there is a special ruler you want us to demo for you on one of these days just let us know, and we will make sure we have it in store that day.
Our Zen Chic Trunk Show is the first week of December, if you would like to attend one of the Game Night Sessions you need to pre-register, and spots are filling up so do so soon to ensure you get a seat. 
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On December 11 we have our reveal party at the store for everyone who participated in the Be My Neighbor Quilt Along. I am so excited to see everyone's quilts and find out if they stuck to the challenges that they made for themselves. I am in the process of binding my first quilt and the second is loaded onto the long arm machine, and I hope to get it quilted tomorrow. 
As I start to prepare for a new year of blogging, I would love to hear what you would like to see more of on this blog. Should I share new fabric collections and products more often? Do some feature pieces on various designers? Tips and tricks from myself and other staff members at the store? Please let me know in the comments. 

Kayla

Friday, November 9, 2018

Zen Chic

Our Zen Chic event is happening in just under a month. So I thought tonight I would give a little background information on the designer. 
Brigitte Heitland is the face behind Zen Chic. She is a designer for Moda and has been producing Fabric lines and Patterns since 2010. Brigitte lives in Germany with her family, she is married and has three children. Brigitte grew up sewing clothes, and went to school initially for interior design but ended up switching over to textile design. 
After discovering a book on Quilting she was hooked, and soon started her own online shop, and a long arm business. It wasn't long before she produced her first collection.
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Her fabric lines are modern and sophisticated, with enough color to draw the eye in but simple enough to keep them there. Her patterns are simple and tend to have a lot of negative space, she likes to capture your attention but give somewhere for the eyes to focus, or give them a clear line to follow. 
White Christmas has been in our shop for a few months now and has been very popular, and the patterns that came with it as well. We sold out of the Tree Kit twice, and the mega star pattern has been reordered several times. 
Her latest line to be released is called Spotted. We received it in our store last week, with a load of other boxes, and Carrie is working as fast as she can with one arm to get it out into the shop for you. 
The trunk show is set for December 3-8 in our store. It is an open house type of event, we will have the quilts on display in our store all week, along with some in store specials focused around Zen Chic. The show is being done in partnership with Trend Tex Fabrics who are the Canadian Distributor for Moda, and it is being done in shops across the country. 
Tuesday, December 4 will be our Game Night. We have three time slots available, 5pm, 7pm and 9pm and there is still room in each one for you to attend. We will be doing some trivia, a hide and seek inspired game and have snacks and drinks as well. The fee to hold your seat is $10 but this will be returned to you as Chicken Feed Quilt cash when you attend the event (if you do not show up your money will not be returned to you.)
There is also a little contest going on just prior to the event. Any quilt, wall hanging, table topper or bag that is made using at least 75% Zen Chic fabric is eligible to be entered. We have a couple Representatives of Trend Tex willing to judge the entries, don't worry they are not quilters they just sell fabric, so they won't judge too harshly :)
I also got into contact with Brigitte and she has agreed to choose her favorite project as well via email.
The winner will be announced at the end of the show and will also receive a Gift Basket inspired by Zen Chic. 
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All the projects need to be brought in store by November 30 for judging, I made the date on this a week later than I had originally published, as I will be on holidays that week and will not be sending photos off for judging while spending time in Florida with my family. 
We would love to see lots of projects be entered into the contest, you have a few weeks left to finish them off and bring them in store.
Now as you seen on Tuesday I have quite a few projects that need worked on so I better go and take care of some of those now. 
Tomorrow I will be spending my time at the hockey rink, watching my Husband play in a tournament.
The shop will be closed on Monday in honor of the soldiers who lost their lives and the veterans that have sacrificed so much to keep our country free.
Kayla

 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

My Next Projects

For the past few weeks I have been in a bag craze. I haven't pieced a quilt in quite awhile, but now that I have completed 4 bags I think my bag fix is over and I am ready to get back to quilting. I have several projects planned out and am anxious to get started on them. 
I have been following along with the weekly Moda Blockheads Blocks and have been for the most part been keeping up. I am using Palm Canyon by Violet Craft for my blocks and have thrown in about 15 solids to compliment it. I am loving how my blocks are turning out, and it has been a lot of fun to make a new block each week, as well as seeing the way others put theirs together. To make it even better the Moda shared a picture of my blocks on their blog!
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Clover Hill from Sherri and Chelsi arrived a few weeks ago, and I made up some kits on Friday using the fabric and a pattern by Sherri called Balboa. The pattern involves some curved piecing, but you could totally cheat and applique the circle elements on top of the background fabric if you wanted. 
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I seen a really cute mini the other day on the Moda Bakeshop using a mini charm pack. It is called Christmas Baubles. It too is on my cutting table awaiting construction. I also put kits together and they are available in store. 
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I seen this fun Quilt by Hoffman a month or two ago and sent a picture to Esther. A couple weeks later when I arrived at the store Esther handed me a package and inside was the kit, plus 11 more. I quickly got to work, and finished the top in 3 hours. All the pieces were already cut and fused, I just had to put them in position and iron them down so they stay in place. I hope to get it quilted tomorrow afternoon while my little one naps. It finishes up at 42" wide and 25" tall, a perfect wall hanging size. We only have 11 available for sale so if you love this one like I do, you better get your name on one quick.
I need to finish quilting my Art Gallery Be My Neighbor Quilt and put the binding on that one too.
I also need to make my quilt for the Food Hampers. If you get our emails, I sent one out about two weeks ago mentioning that we were collecting donations during the month of November to put together Food Hampers for the Coaldale Food Bank, each hamper we put together Chicken Feed Quilts will donate a quilt that a staff member has sewn. 
Hopefully I can finish the majority of these projects before I leave for my holiday at the end of the month, because in December I need to focus on getting everything ready for next year's Quilt Alongs. Thank you everyone for your feedback and votes on your favorite. I will leave the poll open until the end of the day on Friday, so if you have not yet voted you can do so here. To read about each one click here, and to see pictures of each one check out our Facebook Page.
What are you working on right now? Share a picture I would love to see, and I'm sure others will as well.
Kayla
PS watch for some Flash Sales this week!

Friday, November 2, 2018

Next Quilt Along

I had so much fun doing my Be My Neighbor Quilts during the Quilt Along here on the blog that I have decided to do another one or two starting in January.
I have gone through books and patterns and have narrowed it down to four different projects. I thought I would go over them all tonight, and get some feedback from you with which one you would want to join me in doing. 
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The Gypsy Wife is a quilt pattern by Jen Kingwell that I have wanted to do for awhile now, but it keeps getting put onto the back burner. It is composed of 9 main blocks, some filler blocks, and has vertical strips of fabric that run through the quilt. Techniques for this include stitch and flip and some y-seams, which are not as scary as they sound. The pattern calls for a wide variety of fabrics, and would be a great stash buster. 
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In the last Christmas post I shared a new desk calendar by Inspiring stitches. This one is a fun block of the month that is great for scraps. It is also a skill building quilt. 
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SThe Moda All Stars All In A Row book is one that has been on my shelf, I think since it released, but I haven't made any of the rows yet. The books includes 24 row by row patterns created by 24 Moda Designers, as well as 9 rows to tie them all together. The rows are divided into three categories, Classic Patchwork, Well Seasoned and A Bit of Whimsy. I thought this one would be fun to choose a new row each month and make an individual seasonal project, or combine them all to make a fun quilt. This book would also work well to bust scraps.
The final project I chose is another one written by Moda Designers. This one is all Mini Quilts, and the book is called Mini Marvels. This book is a great way to learn new techniques and expand upon skills. The techniques included are traditional piecing, paper piecing, applique and even some embroidery. Because each project is mini, it is a good way to try a new technique without committing to a large project with a lot of fabric. 
The two Moda projects would be done one row or mini per month, the Inspiring Stitches would be a set of blocks each month, while the Gypsy Wife I would like to do every two weeks as I did with the Be My Neighbor Quilt. I will put a poll on our Facebook Page to vote for your choice of Quilt Along. 
I find that joining clubs or quilt alongs is a great way to jump out of your box, and try new fabric choices, and techniques that you would normally shy away from. And the encouragement, support and inspiration that comes with being a member of a group is incredible. 
My husband and I are off to Cirque Du Soleil this evening, and tomorrow I am teaching the November session of our Bag Club. Do you have any fun plans or is it a normal weekend for you?
Kayla