12 Days Of Christmas

Can you believe it is the last day of November? My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this weekend, although it was a little quieter than we had been planning, steak dinner at home as opposed to a tropical vacation. 

Our 12 Days of Christmas Event starts at the shop tomorrow, December 1st, so I thought I would just run through what you can expect on each of the 12 days. Each of the 12 days has a little theme and the deal of the day will coordinate with that. 

Day 1 is Tuesday December 1st.  Still time to get some sewing done for Christmas. All Christmas yardage is 25% off, this applies to all fabric on the bolt that we consider Christmas. This one is instore only, however we will happily help you out with an email or phone order and apply the discounts for you that way as well. 

Day 2, Wednesday December 2: Stationary. With the purchase of any notebook or planner you will receive a Chicken Feed Quilts pen and notepad free! This applies to any instore shopping or web orders, no codes needed. 

Day 3, Thursday December 3: LDH Scissors. Buy any pair of LDH Scissors and get a free pair of LDH Snips. This is available in store and online, again no coupon needed. We have been really happy with the products from this Canadian Company and their customer service has been excellent. 

Day 4, Friday December 4: Yardage at a steal. Buy 4 meters of fabric for $40, mix and match 1 meter cuts or choose just one 4 meter cut. Valid on 100% 42" wide cottons only. (Cuddle, Fireside, Gauze, 108: wide backings, denim and canvas are all exempt) Instore only, however we will honor the dicount over the phone or through an email order. 

Day 5, Saturday December 5: Thread, all threads buy 5 spools get the 6th free (the 6th must be of equal or lesser value) Valid instore and online, for online just put 5 in your cart and in the notes section tell us the color and weight of the one you would like as your 6th and we will add it in for you free of charge. 

Day 6, Monday December 7 (note that we skip Sunday because we are closed) Pattern Love. Buy and 2 patterns and we will give you a 3rd free. (The free pattern will be from a basket of our selections) this will automatically apply in store and online.

Day 7, Tuesday December 8: Get Organized. Stash n Store, regular and mini as well as our Chicken Feed Quilts Ruler Racks are all 15%. This is instore only, but again we will honor the discount if you call us or email us. 

Day 8, Wednesday December 9: Creative Grids Love. Get $8 off the purchase of one Creative Grids Ruler. We really love the quality of these Rulers, the markings are clear, they have non-slip grips on the back, and the variety of sizes is incredible! Valid Instore or through a phone or email order. 

Day 9, Thursday December 10: Staying Fueled. Get a free drink coupon to the Chrysalis Cafe with the purchase of any mug, wine glass or water bottle. If you were unaware the Chrysalis Cafe is located in the same building as we are, and serves specialty coffees and teas, baked goods, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and soup. This deal is instore only. 

Day 10, Friday December 11. Pressing Matters. Purchase any wool pressing mat or acorn pressing solution and get a free Chicken Feed Quilts Mister Bottle. This one is valid instore and online, no coupon needed. We find that the wool mats and the acorn pressing solution really makes a difference in how flat our seams get when pressing. 

Day 11, Saturday December 12. Gift It. Purchase a gift card valued at $50 or more and get a bonus card for 10% of the value. For example, buy one for $100 and get a bonus card of $10. Buy it for a friend, family member, or maybe stick it in your own stocking!

Day 12, Monday December 14. Final Day! Get 50% off one item of your choice. Valid instore and if you call the shop or send us an email we will honor the discount as well. 

I know this may be a little inconvenient for our online shoppers, however with our current website POS System we are unable to make the coupon codes very specific at all so this is the only way around it. 

Each day the deal is valid during business hours while supplies last. There is no rainchecks. 

Have a great week! 

Kayla

Midnight Clear BOM Borders

 This is the last week of our sew along. All we have to do is put the borders on, or if you are like me and wanted to wait, assemble the quilt center and put the borders on. 

 For assembling the quilt center I laid out my blocks how I wanted them to be, then you place a sashing section between each block. Make sure you watch which way those “ribbons” point in the sashing row, so they all go the same way and give the ribbon effect. 

After you have this done, we have to sew the first border on. For sewing borders I like to measure the sides of my quilt center and then cut my borders to size. Once they are cut I pin the centre’s and then again at one point between the end and the center on both sides. This helps me not stretch my borders or my top when attaching these. 

 

Once these are attached we need to make our corner squares, for these I used my Folded Corner Clipper again rather than drawing the line across. 

 

See how the points nicely line up and nest when attaching the corner square the the top and bottom borders. 

  

All that is left is to attach the final border. 

Here is my completed top. 

I chose a green Shannon Cuddle for the back of my quilt. Hopefully I can get it quilted and bound next week. Watch for the photo of it complete to be posted. 

Thanks for sewing along with me. I had so much fun working on this. I am already planning my next one, so watch out for that. 

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Why we love Quilt Alongs

 Happy Monday, is anyone else loving this warmer weather? Our family certainly is, and my boys have been doing a lot of sledding and hockey in the driveway. 

I want to talk about Quilt Alongs. There are so many to choose, from so many different places, and so many color choices. How do you go about deciding when to jump in on one and when not to? What is so great about a Quilt Along?

A Quilt Along is when a group of people sew along together on the same project over a specified period of time. It can be very scheduled or relaxed, all depending on the organizer and the people joining in. 

First off I love Quilt Alongs I think they are fantastic for a number of reasons. 

Most times Quilt Alongs have a forum of some sort where you can share your progress and see how everyone else is coming along on theirs. This helps you to stay on track with the schedule. 

They can also be a fun way to try something new and because you are sewing along on the same project with a number of people you can ask questions if you get stuck on a technique or are confused with something in the pattern. 

Often the organizer of the quilt along will give out lots of tips or tricks on the pattern to make it easier for you to do or open your eyes to a way of doing something that you would never have considered. It is often a very good learning experience!

It can also be a fun way to jump out of your box with color schemes. When you see everyone else's fabric pulls, progress and finished project it can be super inspiring and may encourage you to try out something similar in the future. 

There are often prizes available throughout the quilt along, some may have prizes every week, others a grand prize at the end. 

As much as I love a quilt along it is possible to take on too many. 

When considering joining be sure to take into account any quilts that have deadlines coming up and how much time those will take, maybe you need to make a quilt for an upcoming wedding, graduation or baby in the family, that will take up a lot of your hobby time, or it could be that the project for the quilt along will work out perfectly for the person you need to make a quilt for. 

Also look at the schedule for the quilt along and consider if it is something you can honestly keep up with. Maybe a block a week works for you, but a block a day is way too much. Some quilt alongs have you make six blocks a week, others are a little slower paced. Some last a year, while others are completed in a month or two. Just keep in mind your time and how quickly you normally sew. You don't want to take on too much and fall behind, as this can be extremely discouraging. 

At the moment, I have two Block of the weeks that I am participating in (1 called Sewcialites by Fat Quarter Shop, and the other by Sherri McConnell using her Labor of Love Book) as well as a block of the month that I am the organizer for (Woodland Wonderland). And I just finished up one on our Facebook page using Creative Grids tools.  This gives me plenty of time for the other sewing that I want to do as well. 

So where to find quilt alongs?

Well the first answer is right here on our blog. We generally have at least one on the go, right now we have two going, the Woodland Wonderland and the Midnight Clear. 

Check with your local quilt shop if they are running any quilt alongs or block of the months. We have the two I mentioned and we have a couple new ones planned for the new year when these ones are finished. 

Social media is the next big place to discover a quilt along. Many pattern designers run a quilt along with their patterns, and so following a favorite pattern designer is a good way to find out about new QALs.

Moda Bakeshop does several quilt alongs through out the year, some of them being a block a week, others a block a day. These ones are free patterns. 

Moda Blockheads is a group of Moda Designers that design blocks, and a new pattern is released each week, you just have to visit their blog to download the instructions.

Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life runs a quilt along every year on her blog that starts in January and ends in December. The pattern is a free download during the year, but when it is over it becomes a purchase pattern. 

Creative Grids has a Facebook Group called Grids Girls that has a couple quilt alongs through the year as well. Many of these ones are a mystery which can be so fun to join in on, as you don't know what the end result is going to look like!

So if you have never joined in a Quilt Along I encourage you to do so, it will open up your quilting world to new colors, pattern designers, techniques, and quilting along with others will hold you accountable to finishing. 

Kayla

All the pictures posted are quilt alongs that I am currently working on or that I did over the past year. 

2021 Aurifil Color Builders

Tonight I am introducing a new subscription program that will run in our shop in 2021. 

It is called the 2021 Aurifil Color Builders and is organized by Aurifil Thread and is available to you through Quilt Shops that carry Aurifil Thread. 

The program was built to highlight 40 wt thread which is very versatile. It is great for piecing and quilting, sewing garments and bags and is beautiful when used as a Topstitching thread. 

There are 12 mini collections that you will receive over the course of 1 year. Each mini collection will focus on a different color, and will include a warm, medium and a dark shade of the color.

  

Aurifil's goal is to increase their sustainability and have a positive environmental impact and so this year for the Color Builders Program, Aurifil has chosen to focus on Endangered Species. Every month for 12 months they will focus on one of the animals currently on the Endangered Species List and work with Earth League International to create change with awareness and fundraising. The color inspiration for each month will come from 1 of the 12 different animals. 

We have Early Bird pricing on right now for the 2021 Aurifil Color Builders Club. If you sign up before November 30 you will get the mini collection of thread each month for 1 year for $45 a month. 

If you miss the Early Bird sign up it will be $50 per month instead. 

The sign up fee is $5 and this will be returned to you as a credit on your first bill. 

Shipping is available and is $4 per month. 

A credit card will be kept on file and you will be charged each month on the 1st (the 2nd if the 1st is a Sunday or a Holiday)

You can sign up by clicking Here

This program is a great way to slowly build the colors of thread in your stash. 

Have a great weekend, Kayla

New Products / Gift Ideas

 I know a lot of you may not be ready to hear it yet, but Christmas is coming up quick. I took down all the fall decorations last week at our house and have been putting out the winter and Christmas decor. The boys all put their Christmas blankets on their beds last week too. I decided I needed to make a new Christmas quilt for my bed so I started that yesterday evening. Do you have Christmas quilts for the beds in your home?

Last Tuesday on Facebook Live I did a little walk through of some of our new products that would make great Christmas gifts for your quilt friends, or maybe for you to add to your own wish list. You can watch the video here, and I will go through some of them below as well. 

Jewelry is always a great gift and we have several different options in the shop. We have necklaces in different styles, finishes and lengths. These have been selling like crazy over the past couple weeks and there are more on order that should be here this week or next. We also have the ruler bracelets. These are available in 2 lengths 15" and 17" ( I wear the 15" and love it) They come in 5 or 6 different colors. 

We also had some fun quilty socks in stock, I think we were nearly cleared out of them on the weekend, but more are coming again. 

Notebooks and stationary are always a super useful gift. The Lori Holt Office Bundle Set includes pencils, a notebook, bookmarks, stickers, file folders, tape, dividers and more! 

We also have a variety of notebooks available, and we have some day planners on order that should be here any day now. 

There is several different styles of coffee mugs and a stemless wine glass too that would make great gifts. 

We also have a couple products that are designed to keep your notions safe. We have the rotary cutter cases in pink or green and the ruler safes in 4 colors and 2 sizes. These are great if you normally travel a lot to classes and retreats, it will keep your tools safe, and they make great storage for when your tools are not being used. 

Car coasters are a great stocking stuffer and we have a couple different designs available. 

Gift Cards always make a great gift, and we have them available in any dollar amount that you choose. 

Do you enjoy getting quilty gifts for yourself or for your friends?

Kayla

Midnight Clear BOM Sashing and Cornerstones

 I can't believe we are already at the sashing and cornerstones week. It feels like we just started our blocks. For this week I chose to make my components and will assemble it all on our next week. 

This week is fairly repetitive since we need to make 93 of the flip and stitch in each direction. 

For these rectangles be super careful and watch the direction of your angles, they really do need to go the right way. For myself I like to complete one whole unit first, and then once I know what I'm doing I like to chain piece the rest. 

We need 3 of each rectangle for one sashing unit. 

 

Once you have these components assembled, put them into rows of six, and attach the solid cream to both sides. This is your completed sashing components. 

Even though these seem like a lot of work it will be totally worth it to have that ribbon sashing in this quilt. I kind of think it is what makes the quilt so stunning.  

Now we need to make our cornerstones. These are simply 9 patches. The most important part of these is to watch your pressing direction, so that they will nest with the sashing when we assemble next time. 

That is all for this time. I will be back on November 26 to assemble.

Have a great weekend, stay warm and out of the snow everyone. 

I will be at my brother's house, playing with my nieces in the snow, and maybe helping out in the barn some more. 

New Fabrics

 Happy Monday, here in Coaldale we are having a snow day. There was quite the snowstorm this weekend with plenty of wind and snowing and it left roads and yards full of drifts. My boys are home from school for the day and are thrilled that there is a huge snowpile made in the church parking lot that is perfect for sledding. 

We have recieved lots of new fabrics in the past couple weeks at the shop, so I thought I would share those with you today. Yardage is available for all these collections now and we are working on getting precuts and fat quarter bundles cut and packaged. 

From Art Gallery we have Picturesque and Serenity Fusion. 

As quoted from the Art Gallery Site: Katarina Roccella channels her inner William Morris in her latest collection, Picturesque! Capturing traditional 19th-century European designs with lush florals and contrasting embellishments. 

This sums up the collection perfectly. Here is a link to the project look book which has lots of inspiration for what you could make with these fabrics. 

Serenity Fusion is a collection of low volume prints in creams and blues and is calming just to look at!

Click on the link to check out the project look book for some great inspiration. 

From Riley Blake we have this really fun collection called Wild At Heart. I started a quilt on Saturday for one of my boys with it, but it will be a sample in the shop first and we will have kits available for it as well. The pattern I am using is called One Way and I am doing the version using all prints rather than every other block being a solid. I did add a few grunges to break it up a little. 

From Hoffman the Mosaic Masterpiece Tile Fabrics by Cheryl Lynch have arrived. These fabrics are printed to look like little 3/8" tiles and are perfect for the Mosaic quilts. We have patterns on order for these (they release later this month, and should be here early December). They would also  make really fun backgrounds, or borders for quilts too!

  

From Moda we have Balboa by Sherri and Chelsi. I was so excited for this collection to arrive, that when it came Carrie didn't even tell me, but let me discover it two days later when I went in to work! The colors in this one are so fun and different from their previous collections, with the added Orchid Purple. 

My quilt is finished and ready to hang in the shop tomorrow!

Solana by Robin Pickens for Moda arrived Friday afternoon at the shop, and we hope to get it unboxed, priced and on display this week!

From Marcus Fabrics we have Blushing Dots by Laura Berringer. I made a baby quilt with it and I love how cute it turned out. Kits for this one will be ready as soon as the pattern books arrive, we sold out of them before we could put them in the kit. 

Which fabrics are your favorite?

Click on any of the photos to shop the collection or visit our website by clicking on the link below. 

We will be closed on Wednesday, November 11 in honor of Remembrance Day. 

Carrie will be here on Thursday with another post on the Midnight Clear Block Of the Month. 

Have a great week, we are hoping the snow sticks around so we can take the boys sledding on Wednesday. 

Kayla

Website Link

Weather Watch Sales November 2020

 Esther left for Florida this week so we will not see her in the shop for quite some time. She is on vacation for several weeks and will most likely need to quarantine for a while before she can come back to the shop. 

As a family we often send weather pictures back and forth to each other, our parents by the pool or on the lake and us with snowdrifts. It has happened quite often that we have the same number on the thermometer here in Coaldale as they do in Florida, however over there it is positive and here it is negative. It has also happened that we end up being warmer than they are, we live in a crazy climate over here. 

So now to the point of that story, we decided to do a weather watch sale while Esther is in Florida.

We have made a Weather Watch Sale album on our Facebook Page and from now until November 24, I will post a picture of our forecasted high for the day, and Esther will post hers from down in Florida. If the numbers are the same, either both positive or opposite we will have a 24 hour sale to celebrate. 

We will give out out a coupon code that can be used instore or online for a discount off your purchase. The discount will depend on the temperature. 

I'll give a couple scenarios to explain:

November 9, Esther posts a picture and it is supposed to get to 22 degrees in Florida, I post a picture and it is supposed to be -22 here in Coaldale. Yay same number, I will post a code that is valid from noon on November 9 until noon on November 10 that will give you a 22% discount off your purchase. 

Or say it is a cool day in Florida only 17 degrees and it is warm here and it is plus 17 here as well, we would give out a code valid from noon of the current day till noon of the next for 17% off your purchase. 

Today our temperature is warm 17 degrees, however Florida is even warmer at 28 so there is no discount for the day. 

 

Small Print:

The code is only valid for 24 hours starting at noon and can only be used one time per customer. 

There will be no photos posted on Sundays or on Remembrance Day. 

The coupon code must be entered at check out online or mentioned at the till when shopping in store, it will not be applied automatically.

If you are not on Facebook you can always call the store to find out if there is a weather watch code for the day or not. 

Have fun watching the weather!

Kayla

Woodland Wonderland: Month 5

 Welcome to November, my son turned 9 this weekend so we had a busy weekend of celebrating! 

This month we are working on chapter 5 of our Woodland Wonderland Block of The Month. This month there is quite a few different blocks to make. We are going to add some more leaves, and piece them into rows with a winter bloom block. We are going to add another super cute large mushroom block and make the gnome which is so adorable!

With the instructions for some of these blocks being in early chapters we are going to be flipping around in the book a bit. 

The instructions begin on page 24. 

After cutting we are going to start with more leaves. We did this back in month 2, so we will just repeat that to make a few more with some new greens. Since we need to pull some of our old greens as well, I suggest taking out the previous leaf blocks and seeing which prints you want to add more of before cutting them all. 

Than we get to connect them to make our leaf and stem blocks. There is a lot of seams when connecting all the leaves so make sure your seam allowance is accurate or it will not measure the same as your stem. 

The winter bloom block is straight forward. Be sure when adding the e and d fabrics to a, that you are sewing corner, if you are off your little unit will be a little wonky. I used the diagonal seam tape from Cluck Cluck Sew to sew mine and avoid drawing the lines. And don't get going and forget that your fourth corner is a different fabric.

The mushroom block goes together the same as back in chapter 1. But you have more variety to choose from for the top. I went with the chevron looking red print for mine. 

The Gnome is really fun to make and turns out so cute! 

When making the hat make sure you press the h fabric out and trim from the wrong side before cutting back the underlying fabrics. Otherwise it may be a little more difficult to get it trimmed to the correct size. So sew on the marked line, press the h fabric, flip it over and trim all 3 layers to match the red, than flip it right side up again, fold the h down again, than trim the excess, and press the h back again. 

That is it for this month. This stack of blocks gets cuter each month! 

Have a good week. 

Kayla