April Showers....

Bring May flowers...so the saying goes. If that's the case, our hillside is going to be nothing but flowers next month :)

But all this rain helps me to stay inside and visit with Mr White, my treadle sewing machine. I have been working on some secret blocks, I'll tell you about them next month. Once done with those, I've been trying to get myself caught up on the blocks for our forum.

Our charity quilts are moving along smoothly. We've made one for each of our 3 charity groups, for Feb, March and well on our way into the April ones. You're welcome to come join us in this endeaver.

Someone said that something must of been put in the water system, as we have lots and lots of baby quilts to make this year too! LOL Not only are a few of our members expecting a bundle of joy, but many, many of the Grandma's are expecting Grandbabies too. And we all love making baby quilts, so we've been making them like crazy!

I can't wait for us to get our swap fabric back this time. We are doing a '30s repo swap, and I know what quilt pattern I want to make. It's Spring....so flowers, right?!...and one of my favorite blocks, the Irish Chain. I think I might applique some flowers in the big squares. Then again, these beauties would look lovely in a Jacob's ladder pattern too, with a crisp, white background...hmm, decisions, decisions... So many wonderful patterns to choose from. And the 30s prints are in high style right now. I am seeing loads of great patterns with them, all with crisp, white backgrounds. What is your favorite pattern to do with these 30's fabrics?

Keep your sewing machines humming merrily along, and come join us for a chat and fun :)

Till next time,

Dorian

The Fun of March

March seems to be the time when the quilting bug starts really hitting. There are retreats and quilt shows popping up all over the place. Must be Springtime. Unfortantely, my LQS just recently closed, I have to drive an hour North or South to get to a quilt store. Not only that, but the local quilt guild only puts on a show every other year.

So hear I am, listening to the talk of the Ladies on the Q&N who went to Tomball to the retreat Jess has there every year. Wanting to go to a quilt show. Or at least go browse a shop. Guess it's time for a town trip :) Another of our members was talking about a local shop hop she went on. How fun is that! I need to find an area nearby that does those. And then I remember, and see ads for, the online shop hop. Cool, at least I can go window shopping on my computer.

I am having a great time. Finding new stores, and seeing all the new fabs and gadgets coming out. I'm going to try real hard to find most the bunnies too. I've decided to make folders on my favorites list, one for each of my favorite designers/manufacturers. The stores that I find on the shop hop that have a lot of my favorties for good prices, go into a folder. My favorites list has grown quite a bit in the last few days. LOL.

More fun in March. Jess always has a mystery quilt when she goes to the retreat. If you haven't tried one of her mystery quilts yet, you are really missing out. She is a fabulous designer! I choose bright, Spring colors for my mystery this year. And it sure does bring in the sunshine.

And to top that off, we are having a lovely 1930's repro fabric swap! I've just ordered my fabric (found it when I was shop hopping ) and can't wait to get a bunch of lovelies back. I have a great pattern for a hexagon table cloth that would look adorable in these.

Have fun hopping and shopping. Don't forget to stop in Jess's store and look at her yummy fabric kits.

Till next time.

Dorian

Embracing Change

Hello friends and fellow quilters,

As many of you know, exciting things have been happening in the Smith household over the past half year. We welcomed our second child, Sapphire, into our lives on August 17. She is a "woman" with a voice and is already keeping Billy (my DH), Sammy (our 3-year-old) and myself on our toes!

In October I made my annual trip to Quilt Market in Houston. The trip was fruitful - I picked up a position teaching at the LQS and signed on to design quilt patterns with Northcott fabrics.

In December we learned that Billy was accepted into the Nurse Practitioner program at Texas Tech University Health Science Center, and he started classes in January. He has been working very hard for a very long time to reach his career goals, and (I think I speak for all of us) when I say that we are elated that an end to all of his training is finally in sight. August of 2012 (just when Sammy starts Kindergarten) marks the end of his journey!

Each of these new endeavors brings along with it many challenges. Since the early part of winter, I have been pondering how The Quilt and Needle can adapt to help meet these challenges. Billy and I believe that our children benefit from having a stay at home Mom, and we ardently hope that I can continue to work at home while raising our babies.

After much consultation with my peers and many hours spent praying and meditating on the subject, I have decided on a new fee structure for our Mystery Quilt Weekends. Participation in a single Mystery Quilt Weekend (with pattern) will now be $9.95. If you would like to sign up for the entire year (all four Mystery Quilt Weekends with patterns), you can do so at the discounted price of $34.95. Visit The Quilt and Needle Store for more information. (If you purchase a kit or retreat package from us, the Mystery Quilt Weekend and pattern are included!)

Many of our projects, clubs, activities, etc. will continue to be free of charge and anyone is welcome to participate. I enjoy the open atmosphere of our online community and hope that we will continue to grow and learn from one another for many years to come!

Additionally, we will begin phasing out the "fabric from the bolt" section of our website and begin concentrating only on kits for our original patterns, 5-yard-bundles, and bolt ends and remnants at a discount. Kits for our Mystery Quilt Weekends will continue to be available in our store for your convenience.

I hope you understand the reasoning behind these changes. I am a quilt designer, shop owner and quilting teacher. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a woman. I am sincerely grateful to each of you for the support you have given me in all that I am, and all that I hope to be.

With warmest regards,

Jessica J.E. Smith

Happy Valentines Day

I hope you all are having a lovely day. Full of laughter and fun. It's chilly here in N. Cal. But no snow in the valley, just up on the mountains. A good day for hanging out in the sewing room. I have been getting some projects done and out the door. Making room for more :)

On the Q&N, we make baby quilts for our expecting Moms or for our members Grandchildren. The latest one, I've just finished putting Prairie points on and got it sent off. This is for BJ's newest Granddaughter, born just a few weeks ago. Isn't is precious!





We've also started making quilts for our charity groups again. We are going into our 3rd year doing this! We have three different charity organizations that we make quilts for. We have volunteers to make the blocks, donate the batting and backing, someone pieces it and another quilts it. I am so proud to be part of this great group of Woman who devote some of their precious sewing time to making quilts for needy children, families and Veterans. We've made over 100 quilts so far!!!

And I've been working on a border for a round robin medallion that I have. We have started our second robin and are just having a blast. We have 3 groups, and my group is going fast, as two of the Ladies in it are expecting babies later in the year, and we want to get these done before they have bundles of joy to care for :)

On the personnal front, I am being remiss in getting my window quilt done. My excuse is that I just don't have the right fabric to finish it :) Maybe I'll have to do some shopping to see what I can find. I have ordered 3 patterns though, that I would like to do sometime this year. And I am anxiously awaiting our next Mystery quilt, which will be next month. If you haven't done one of Jess's mysteries, now is the time to start. Her's are always gorgeous!

So many patterns, so little time....as my good friend Pat is always saying. I hope you find something crafty to do with your day. Enjoy it and enjoy your family.

Till next time,

Dorian

Rainy Day Blues

The rain is our Winter here in Far Northern California. I live down too low to get snow, although every once in a blue moon we'll get a half an inch or so. That hasn't happened for about 7yrs though. But our mountains are covered with the beautiful white stuff. And just looking at it makes me want to snuggle under a quilt or two.

I am in the process of making a window quilt. Our house is small, so there isn't much room for wall quilts. I need a new curtain on this particular window anyway, so why not make it a quilt! Then I have a cover for my window from the cool air trying to come in AND make a pretty for the 'wall'. I wont quilt this, just 'tack' it every so often, so it gets done and on the window, instead of getting put away with all my other quilt tops.

The round robins we are doing on the forum and coming along so nicely. I love seeing what borders people are putting on these. And the Gals doing the Easter bunny swaps are having fun deciding how they are going to decorate their fabric egg blocks.

We are also getting our charity quilts under way for this year. We've decided to cut back a few months, so that we have time to catch up. The quilt tops tend to pile up as they are all voluteer's doing the quilting and they only have so much time to devote to these. I so enjoy looking thru the albums though, and seeing all the pretty quilts we make for the three groups we donate them to.

Well that's all the news from my rainy part of the world. I hope all your machines are stitching nicely, and pretty things are being made.

Till next time.

Dorian