20 Years of KT

Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles has been with Moda for 20 years. In that time she has designed over 60 collections of fabric and countless patterns to accompany those fabrics. Lynne also has a special technique she uses when making quilts called layering, she shared this technique with us when she came to our shop a couple years ago for some workshops and a trunkshow.

To celebrate her 20 years, Lynne has designed a new block of the month that contains 20 blocks, one for each of her years with Moda. The pattern is called 20 Years of KT. We are offering this pattern and all the needed fabrics as a block of the month program.
For the past week all the staff at Chicken Feed Quilts has been busy putting these kits together.
-Tammy spent an afternoon cutting strips of fabric, which Taylor than cut into 10" layer cake squares (504 of them to be exact) on our Accuquilt Go Machine.
 -The next day Jenn started cutting Fat Quarters, we needed a total of 480 to make the 12 kits. She finished that up on Thursday.
-Carrie's job was to choose fabrics for the backgrounds and borders, and cut them accordingly.
-Carrie, Shay and Taylor have all been working on folding and sorting the fabrics into what is required for each month and packing them up accordingly.
-I had the easy job, I went to Lethbridge to pick up some clear totes to store each kit.
If you haven't been in the shop over the past week, I will tell you that there was a mountain of Kansas Troubles Fabric on the main cutting table as well as the secondary table. I did not get a picture but I really should have, though I don't think anyone would appreciate it if I asked them to recreate the image for me.
Sometimes kits come together quickly and easily, other times there is a lot of effort from multiple people involved to get the fabrics all cut, folded, packaged and priced.

Now for the information that you need to know for this Block of the Month Program.
It is a 12 month program and starts this month, though you could sign up later if the kit is still available.
The kit for each month will be ready to pick up on the first Friday of every month.
There will be an option to buy the full kit all at once, though this option will not be available until March.
The program is free to sign up for, and will be $45 per month. When you sign up we will ask for a credit card number, and your card will be charged automatically on the first of each month. There are some months when you will receive well over $45 worth of fabric, and others where it will be less, but an equal sum for each of the 12 months is the easiest for everyone.
I believe there are also a couple of bonus patterns included throughout the year as well.
The finished quilt finishes at 118" square. If you are thinking that is just way to big for you, you could always make it without the borders, and use that fabric for a different project or for the backing of your quilt.
Lynne also has a blog, and she has posted some more information on this project, a little comment about why she has included a specific block in the pattern as well as any pattern corrections that she has made. For example she has posted a blurb about block 2 which is made with nine patches, she talks about her love for that block, posted a picture of her block and a little tutorial on how to make it. You can check it out here.
There are limited kits available and once they are gone they are gone, so if you are interested sign up soon.
Have a great week. In our house we seem to slowly be getting over the assorted flus, colds, viruses and what nots. And when I say slowly I mean slowly, I think the school secretary and I should have each other on speed dial for the amount of times we have called each other either about a child staying home or needing to be picked up from classes.
Have you been suffering from the winter bugs this year or have they left your family alone?
Kayla

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

Be My Neighbor: Block 10

SXLLM​​I am home once again from our family vacation last week. My husband, boys and myself spent five days with family and friends in Swan Lake Montana, a beautiful campground that we go to every year. We had wonderful weather and it was so nice to spend quality time together as a family. 

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This week we are working on the tenth house in our Quilt Along. I absolutely love star quilt blocks and so this house ranks pretty high on my list of favorites.  When I was putting the center portion together I had a slight moment of panic because my squares were smaller than my rectangles, I double checked all my measurements with the pattern, but it turns out this is how it is supposed to be. It gives a lovely floating star effect when the block is finished. 

MLXLS​​With this block I primarily used my 4.5" x 8.5" Creative Grids Ruler, it is such a handy size, it fits perfectly in my hand and in my ruler stand, and is a great length for trimming the triangles. 

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I have also been using my 18.5" square ruler from Creative Grids to square up each block before putting them aside to await the completion of the quilt. 

Speaking of triangles, my collection of Sherri and Chelsi HST's grew substantially with this block, and the tin that I keep them in is starting to fill up. I'm going to have to think of a project to use them for.

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If you are falling behind make sure you visit the blog on Friday for all the details on a new club that we will be starting in September.

Kayla

Be My Neighbor: Block 9

We have reached Block 9 in our quilt. This is the first block in the third row and the beginning of the second half of our quilt along. 

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At this point it is a great idea to lay out all the blocks you have made so far and see what colors and patterns are proving to be more dominant and if others need to be focused on more. 

Block 9 is a great house to do some playing around with colors. For example you can do the house all one color, the roof another and the bow tie blocks a third. You could do a couple colors for the roof sections or each layer of the house. Another option would be to use a couple colors for the bow ties or change the background of the bow tie blocks as Esther did in both of her blocks.

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SXLLM​​When making my Sherri and Chelsi house I chose to do each bow tie a different color, and because the pattern gives cutting instructions for a single bow tie this was easy to do. I love the pops of color that result from this!

You may notice that Esther and I used the same fabric for our Art Gallery Blocks but used different placement. This was entirely coincidental as we sent pictures to each other after we were finished, though Esther did finish hers first and added more fabrics to the blocks than I did. 

When making the bow tie blocks I rotated every other block 180 degrees in order to have the seams nesting, and I pressed the seams between each one open, resulting in a nice flat row with great points. 

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I am having such a great time making both my quilts, choosing fabrics and sewing up each house is a great way to feel like I have finished something and can check off my mental to do list every other week. 

And getting inspiration from everyone else’s blocks is amazing to. What are your favorite parts of this QAL so far?

Kayla

 

 

 

 

New Samples

SXLLM​​These last few weeks everyone has been hard at work sewing up some fresh samples to hang in the shop. It’s time to get some different quilts up on the walls that feature the latest fabrics that have come into the store. MLXLS​​To go along with these new projects we have been cutting kits to go with them. 

We have done two different quilts using the Fourteen Squared Pattern by Hunters Design Studio. One is using the Blue Brilliance line and the other using Old Guys Rule. This pattern sews up quickly and makes a great lap sized quilt. 

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Another pattern by Hunters Design Studio is the Faster Fourteen. It uses fourteen fat quarters to make this cool quilt that is easier to make than it looks. Indie Boheme is the line featured in this quilt. 

Although not one of our newest lines, this line is still great. Fragile by Zen Chic is sophisticated and modern. I love the simple look of this quilt and that pop of blue is amazing. 

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SXLLM​​Kansas Troubles latest fabric line, Fresh Cut Flowers, is as beautiful as ever, and this quilt done out of is stunning! We used the cutouts for this which are precut and prefused for you, saving a lot of finnicky work for those of you that do not like to cut out all those little shapes. 

We have put together some more tumbler kits again as well which are always popular, they are all cut for you, and are super easy to put together. 

Come in store to see these quilts and fabrics in person. There is also more new fabric coming in all the time to check out. 

Our third shipment of Art Gallery Basics arrived this week, we have two shipments left and than we will have all of them.

With this weekends forecast I hope to finish off one of my projects and start working on a new wallet for me or a bag for the store, I will have to see which one is calling to me after soccer practice and groceries tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the last day to use the coupon that you were emailed earlier this week, so make sure you head out to the Quilt Show in Medicine Hat or visit us at our store.

Kayla

 

Kansas Troubles Workshop Recap

The long awaited Kansas Troubles workshops and trunkshow have come and gone!

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We had a fantastic two days spent with Lynne and everyone that attended the workshops and the trunkshow! Thank you to all those that came out, I hope you had as much fun as we did! A thank you to Lynne Hagmeier as well for making the trek all the way from Kansas to visit our shop, and sharing her techniques and quilts with us, and to her granddaughter as well!

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During the 3 workshops Lynne taught us an amazing technique called Layered Patchwork and we applied it using several of her templates, all of which were designed to be used with precuts. The first quilt we did was a sampler quilt with several different styles of blocks involved, and everyone was able to complete a few of each style. Today we had two sessions. The first one several ladies were able to finish their tops, and there was even some trading going on, to create two borders instead of just one, I love the creativity that flows when you get 30 quilters together in the same room. Our second project today was called Twisted, and because I was actually sewing this one, I have no pictures of it, however everyone was able to compete a couple rows of the quilt!  

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At the end of the first day we kicked everyone out of the building for an hour in order to set up for the dinner and trunkshow. When everyone arrived for the evening portion, we shared a meal together. Afterwards Lynne gave us the history of Kansas Troubles Quilters, and showed us many quilts and patterns, each with a different backstory.

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For dessert we had some fruit from Edible arrangements as well as a beautiful cake and some delicious cupcakes made for us by Crazy Cakes from Lethbridge.

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We realize that there was limited room in the trunkshow and the workshops, and also that July is a difficult time for some people to attend, and so we will be teaching some classes this fall at our store using Lynne's patterns and techniques.

Now that we have some some room in our brains again we will be starting to work on the fall class list though it won't be released until August. We do need a little bit of brain recuperation time first. We also have some new promotion ideas that we have been

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 tossing around, and will finalize the details on those!

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Esther and I have taken lots of notes, and we have  learned a lot from hosting this event and are super excited for the next one. Yes we are going to be doing more of these! If you have any feedback please let us know.

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Thank you again, from all the staff at Chicken Feed Quilts. I know I write that often, but we really do thank you, without your support this event would not have happened!

Kayla

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