Monday, May 18, 2009

How much do I love fabric, let me count the ways....


In the past few years, I've realized just how much I love fabric. I was recently able to go to a quilt show in my home town. Where I live, there aren't many quilt shows, and I am not able to drive the few hours it would take me to get to a bigger city and see more of them. So you can imagine how wonderful going to this quilt show was for me.

I ran around from vendor to vendor, looking, fondling, and drooling over all the beautiful fabric that is out there. Wishing I had an unlimited amount of cash in my pocket. Quilting fabric has come a long way. It's softer, sturdier, and doesn't 'bleed' as much as they used to. Running the fabric thru my hands and feeling the softness, gazing at it's the beautiful designs really gets the inspiration flowing.

One thing noticed at the quilt show was how many panel fabrics there are out there now. It seems to me to be a growing number of manufacturers are making them. This is the one I bought for our Summer At the Beach fabric swap. Isn't it darling! There are so many panel fabrics out there, no matter what your interest, I bet you could find one. And to go with the panels, many quilt stores sell kits to go with them. Already made up for you, so you just grab 'em and go.

Jess has some great kits in her store

http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?Shopper_id=6660518841176660&Store_id=691&Page_id=17&categ_id=2&parent_ids=0

Kits for all the beautiful mystery quilts she makes up. Kits for the Geisha girl panel challenge the Q&N is doing. Kits from our fabulous Connie Eicher designs. And many more. As my good friend Pat pointed out also, Jess is very accommodating when it comes to making up kits. I know when I ordered a kit for the With this Ring pattern, Jess let me take some of the fabrics out and add others that I preferred. Kits are great, as they take all the guess work out of "how much of this do I need". And for me, that's always helpful.

Have a great day, and stop by and see us at www.thequiltandneedle.com

Dorian

Saturday, May 16, 2009

More Pre-Orders in the Shop!



Jess has more gorgeous new fabrics in the pre-order section of the shop ... hurry to get your order in before these arrive and the special pre-order sale price is gone ...

http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?Shopper_id=5558516206575558&Store_id=691&Page_id=17&categ_id=46&parent_ids=0


One of our favorites is the Taxi line from Timeless Treasures ...

We first saw these fabrics last March when our friend Lizzie asked Jess to help her select fabrics from this line at her local quilt shop for her Friends and Fellows Mystery Quilt for our Q&N Retreat in Tomball, Texas. Even though Jess did not have these in her shop at the time, she helped Lizzie pick fabrics. Jess is one of the most helpful quilt shop owners and lovely young friends that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.


Jess is always ready to help a customer put together a special kit from her shop or to just go fabric browsing with a friend.


Once we saw Lizzie's fabrics we all asked Jess to order these for the shop.

These are coming in soon ...


http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?Shopper_id=5558516206575558&Store_id=691&Page_id=17&categ_id=82&parent_ids=0,46


For a glimpse of what you can do with these beautiful fabrics take a look here at Lizzie's completed Friends and Fellows quilt top. Lizzie and I were travel buddies and I kept teasing her that our luggage might "accidentally" get switched at the airport. She kept telling me that no they would not that this quilt was "going home with her." Well now I have ordered my own Taxi fabrics so I do not have to drool over Lizzie's quilt anymore ... well maybe only a little. ;-)



For the Friends and Fellows pattern and kits, which is Jess's own design, look here in the shop ...

http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?Shopper_id=5558516206575558&Store_id=691&Page_id=17&categ_id=69&parent_ids=0,2ore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_dept_items.asp?Shopper_id=5558516206575558&Store_id=691&Page_id=17&categ_id=69&parent_ids=0,2

For those of you who want to join us for our next Mystery Quilt Weekend ... start getting ready now!

The "Hotter Than THAT" Mystery weekend is coming in June!

Final dates for this weekend are being determined now on a poll on the forum ...

http://www.thequiltandneedle.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1039&posts=3&start=1

We hope you will join us for this weekend of sewing fun. Jess posts the steps one at a time on the forum as the mystery unfolds and we post pictures of our progress.

Join us on the Forum at the Quilt & Needle and jump right in ... the fabric and the friends are fine! There is always room for a new friend in our cyber quilting circle. So pull up a chair ... and as Jess will say "Don't Be a Stranger!"

:-) Pat

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Great Q&N Hexagon Quilt-a-Long




Many of us on the Quilt and Needle forums have started sewing these six-sided pieces into quilts. Some are machine piecing, some are using the traditional English paper-piecing method and many us ... like myself ...


have fast become followers of an easy circle folding method taught to us by our very own Cindy of Princely Sewsations. Cindy has kindly shared a photo tutorial you may find here under
"Tuna Can Hexagon Flowers"


These are so easy and addictive!

Cindy has started a member-led Quilt-a-Long thread here on the forums as a support group to share ideas and encourage each other along ...


... we would be happy to have you join us!

I pick these up and work on them in the car, waiting in offices, at night when I am getting ready for sleep ... anytime I want to keep my hands busy with a pretty fabric project. Here is a photo of my hexagon flowers so far.


There is also a 4-inch Square Swap in progress to share our stashes and get more fabrics for our quilts. Many of us are making charm quilts or ones with one six-petaled flower per fabric. Sign-ups close for this on Friday, May 15th, so hurry on down if you would like to join us in this swap ...



Contact Cindy or Doreen if you want to swap squares.



Have a happy, quilty day! :-) Pat









Monday, May 11, 2009

Q&N Summer Fabric Swaps!

Only a few days left to join our Summer Fabric Swaps!

Sign-ups will be accepted until May 15th for our two 10” square Layer Cakes Swaps.

There are two themes for you to choose from .. or both!

The “Summer at the Beach” Fabric Swap …




http://www.thequiltandneedle.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=965&posts=92&start=1


You can almost hear the waves and smell the beach here in our album of the fabrics already in the swap …

http://www.thequiltandneedle.com/forums/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=60

and/or

The “Americana” Fabric Swap …






http://www.thequiltandneedle.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=963&posts=161&start=1

We are showing our true patriotic colors here in this album …

http://www.thequiltandneedle.com/forums/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=62


To sign-up, drop into the thread and contact Pat or Nola!

Anyone is welcome to join our swaps. International swappers may contact us privately to work out the return postage. We ask that all fabric be mailed to arrive to us by the end of May so that we may turn these around in early June and send them to their new homes so we can all begin sewing our colorful summer projects!



“You can never have too many friends

… or too much fabric!” ... ;-) Pat