Pieceful News

Pictures from Fall 2011 Quilt Market

2011-11-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I posted anything - it seems to be easier to post things to Facebook. I have a bunch of pictures from Market, so I am going to post some of them here.

The first bunch were taken at Schoolhouse, which is kind of a crazy race around from classrooom to classroom to see the latest and greatest products, ideas and techniques. There are 13 time slots in about 8 hours. Crazy!

This first group of pictures is from the schoolhouse that Betsy Chutchian & Carol Staehle presented with most of the quilts from their new book, History Repeated. If you have been to the shop recently, you have probably picked up this great book! The book is about a group of women that call themselves the 19th Century Quilt Divas. What they do is exchange blocks to make quilts based on antique scrappy quilts. Below you will see some of the blocks with the resulting quilts, and more beautiful quilts from this book:

Quilted Crow Girl, Leonie, helping Betsy.

There's Leonie, again!

Edyta Sitar showing some drop-dead gorgeous quilts. Fun and cute as always:

Edyta's new fabric line - beautiful!

Froncie Quinn is coming out with a line of fabrics based on the quilts of Florence Peto. Here she is at here Schoolhouse demonstration:

Lynn Roddy Brown - Martingale Author. Talking about some of the quilts and techniques from her new book.

Notice how arranging the same pieces in different ways can make completely different blocks

Jo Morton featured some quilts from her new book, Prairie Flowers revisited:

The bigger version. Katie will be doing this one for her next wool BOM.

Look at all the people at Jo's Schoolhouse!

Moving along to the main part of quilt market....

Believe it or not, we were sucked in by this adorable little dress and ended up buying some Anna Griffin fabric. We think it will make some beautiful quilts and matching accessories. Here are a few pix of the stuff we bought in their booth:

We bought a lot of this line - isn't it pretty?

The other quilted crow girl, Diedre. This was their booth.

For more pix, visit their blog at: http://thequiltedcrowgirls.typepad.com/the_quilted_crow_girls/

Katie picked up the pattern to do this great tabletopper or wall hanging.

This is Kaye Moore. We liked her wallhanging, among other things. Maybe one of our staff will pick this up as a BOM?

We fell in love with this pretty line at Marcus. I was impressed with all the cool things they did with it. Inspiration!

Our friend Renee Plains at her Schoolhouse, showing all the cute things from her new book. They always look so much cuter in real life!

And at her booth - we will definitely be kitting the great quilt behind her.

Some of the stuff we picked up from Valdani. On the left is the new silk floss. Very pretty!

And here are a couple of examples of embroidery using this new product:

Some new friends from Ireland! Button Tree Farm...

And their wonderful Irish wool. We might have gone a wee bit overboard ordering their wonderful wool!

Check out the wonderful colors in the Primitive Gatherings newest line, Seasonal Little Gatherings.

And, this interesting little line appeared without warning.

We are still not really sure when we are going to get any at the shop. I think the fact that fat quarters showed up at Sample Spree is a good sign. I will just keep holding my breath!

Hope you have enjoyed the show.
Happy Quilting - Carrie

2011-08-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I have had a request to publish the winners and other pictures from our 5th Anniversary Quilt Show on our blog, since not all of you do Facebook. I know - some people are afraid of doing Facebook, my husband for one.

Anyway, I am going to try to copy and paste the pictures and descriptions from Facebook. Hope this works!

Viewer's Choice - Ladies of the Sea by Carlene Moeller. Made in Pieceful Gathering's Baltimore Album Club

Pieceful Staff Favorite - Dear Jane by Violet Klein. Started in Dear Jane Club at Pieceful Gathering using many Pieceful Gathering Fabrics.

Best Quilt Academy Quilt - Marina by Helen Olson. Made in Beginning Hand Applique Class. (Hand Quilted, too!)

Most Unique Quilt - Shattered Suns by Dawn Swim. Quilted by Pieceful Gathering's Gammie Girls.

1st Place Wall Hanging/Table Topper - Crimson Tweed by Kathleen Widmer. Quilted at Pieceful Gathering

2nd Place Wall Hanging/Table Topper - Stars All Around by Jane Velander - Quilted by Pieceful Gathering's Gammie Girls

3rd Place Wall Hanging - Anita Johnson - we need a picture!

1st Place Lap Size Quilt - Garden Jubilee by Kathleen Widmer - A Pieceful Gathering Block-of-the-Month quilt - Quilted by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop

2nd Place Lap Size Quilt - Shaded Wedding Ring by Sarah Stannard - Quilted by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop.

3rd Place Lap Size Quilt - Union Stars by Janice Griffith. Made at Pieceful Gathering's 1st Annual Retreat with Kathleen Tracy using the pattern from her book, The Civil War Sewing Circle. Quilted by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop

1st Place Bed Size Quilt - Civil War Diary Quilt by Geri Haddon. Made in the Civil War Diary Club. This quilt was also show in Paducah! Congratulations Geri!

2nd Place Bed Size Quilt - Irish Stars by Janice Samsa - made from a Pieceful Gathering kit with the first Pieceful Gathering Pattern by Carrie Quinn.

3rd Place Bed Size Quilt - Unlocking the Future by Stephanie Matz - Quilted by Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop.

Our youngest exhibitor, Alivia H. with a quilt she made for her teacher using fabrics mostly purchased at Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop.

Demi, one of our first employees, and Ellen, our newest employee, greet visitors to the show.

I will try to add more pictures later. Gotta go work - imagine!

Happy Quilting - Carrie

A 4th of July Tribute

2011-07-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

..to listen to his son whine about being bored.

....to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

...To be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.

..to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

....to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

...to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

....to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to Send their kids off to summer camp.

....to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

....to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

....to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

.....to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

.....to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

....to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

The only thing harder than being a Soldier...

Is loving one.

Sarah's Sewing Circle - Summer Session Plans

2011-05-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

It is hard to believe that May is already ending! I lost a week somewhere, but Katie and Diane helped me pull together a great little quilt for the first meeting of Sarah's Sewing Circle this session. The quilt is based on this antique top from my collection:

Antique Quilt that inspired Criss-Cross Applesauce

We had wanted to use Jo Morton's beautiful Carolina collection for something, and this seemed to be the perfect choice. It is pretty quick and simple, and, of course, kits are available. Of course, if you were a member of Sarah's Club, you would have received 15% off at the first meeting. You can join this club at any time, and we are especially looking for daytime members. Call the shop to sign up and pay only for the remaining meetings this session.


Criss-Cross Applesauce Sarah's Sewing Circle, May 2011 - Kits Available

We talked a little about changing the format of Sarah's Sewing Circle a little bit. We will still have a project each month - sometimes biggish and sometimes small - sometimes both! I would also like to make it into more of a real sewing circle. Of course, that means some hand work. For those of you that want to learn a new skill, we started an English Paper Piecing project. If you that have been in Sarah's Club for awhile, this will not be a new skill, but we will be doing hexagons this time, instead of diamonds. Here is my ongoing hexagon quilt project. It is still growing:

If you want to do the hexagons, we will be working on those next time, again. Talk to me if you have questions about what to bring. If you don't want to do hexagons, you can work on your own favorite hand project - bindings, embroidery, knitting, etc. We also talked about doing a little reading. I am hoping to read Gone With the Wind - one of my all time favorites. It seemed appropriate, somehow. If you guys have other ideas that excite you more, I am easy - but you know that.

Next month I will also have a project based on a quilt that is owned by one of our members:

Blocks from quilt owned by Club Member Karen Schultz
Inspiration for upcoming Quilt, Karen's Stars our June project

I haven't started it yet (there's a shock), so I am not sure how large I will do it. Maybe I will give you a choice?

Karen's Star Block - Quilt to come

You will also get instructions for our quarter-square triangle exchange. We will be doing this with Triangulations Software print-outs so that the blocks will be easy and accurate. Here is the inspiration for this project:


Sarah's Hourglass Sashed

The exchange will take place at our July meeting. You will be able to choose your own sashing if pink isn't your color.

Finally, in August, we will be duplicating this wonderful quilt that I acquired recently. I am in love with this quilt, and I can't wait to get started on it. I will probably do it full-size, but I will definitely have options for you to do it in smaller sizes, or as a tablerunner - or something like that....

Sarah's Checks and Steps

So, that is the plan for this session. I am always open to suggestions - this is your club.
Hope to see some new faces next month and in the future - come and join the fun!

Piecefully Yours,
Carrie

Spring Quilt Market 2011 - Our favorite things!

2011-05-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

My mom and I just got back from Salt Lake City where we spent four days looking at all of the newest fabric, patterns and notions. We had a great time in a beautiful city and our heads are spinning with all kind of new information and ideas. Our market review demo isn't for a couple of weeks, but we just couldn't wait to share with you some of our favorite things. So here they are, Carrie and Katie's top three Market finds:

Carrie's #1 - My THREE fabric lines! (Obviously)

Cynthia's Scrapbag

Carrie's Madders

The Captain Phillips Collection

Katie's #1 - Generals' Wives B.O.M.

This is a new BOM by Windham that's going to be starting in October. We got to see the actual quilt and it is gorgeous! Each month, in addition to the pattern and fabric, you'll also get a little bit of history on a Generals' wife. We manages to snatch up a fabric bundle of this fabric at Sample Spree so you'll want to come and see it at our Market review demo.

General's Wives Block-of-the-Month

Carrie's #2 - The Accucut Studio Fabric Cutter

Accucut Studio Fabric Cutter

You all know what a gadget gal I am, so you will understand why this caught my eye. I have been thinking about getting one of these for awhile, but the show special sucked me in. I can't wait to get it so that I can start playing!

Katie's #2 - Goodnight Moon Fabric by Quilting Treasures

We didn't get to the Quilting Treasures booth until the end of the day on Saturday. By this point I was really missing my little Sam and I just couldn't resist this fabric. This is one of my absolute favorite children's books. It's been around forever and I'm sure that all of you have either been read this book or read it to someone special. The fabric doesn't seem to be up on their website yet but I can tell you that there is a panel of "the great green room" along with a handful of great accompanying pieces. They did a wonderful job on the colors, they really are exactly like the book. This fabric will be arriving in September and we plan to do some baby quilt kits.

My Favorite Childhood Book, EVER!

Carrie's #3 - Cool Gadgets from Guidelines 4 Quilting

These are the folks that make that nifty ruler we have been carrying with the fabric guide:

So - at this market we picked up this nifty add-on thing that takes the math out of cutting squares, half-square triangles and quarter-square triangles:

Quilt Ruler Additions

I think a lot of you will get into this neat little tool that you can use to trim your points for more accurate piecing:

Guidelines Prep-Tool

The guy that sells this stuff is like the Sham-WOW guy, if you have ever seen him (I think he died - RIP), but the tools he has are so cool! We ordered some other new gadgets that aren't even out yet - you will have to wait for the details on those!

Katie's #3 - Sew many patterns!

We found so many great new patterns, I couldn't pick just one to share with you. I found a couple of new and different wool patterns. One that I thought was especially cool from "Heart to Hand" used yarn to add some embellishment which looks really neat! Here is a cotton and wool project from one of my favorite companies "The Quilted Crow" in Australia. They always have cute stuff.

We also got some great new patterns from Lori Smith, Carol Hopkins and many more (probably too many!). Come to our Market Review Demo on Saturday May 28th at 10:30 to see them all.

Happy Quilting!

Carrie & Katie

New Classes for Summer 2011

2011-03-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to show you Katie's new Wool BOM. It is Edyta Sitar's Sweet Sixteen quilt. Katie did it using wool on a really neat Moire, which goes really well with Edyta's border fabric. Be sure to sign up for this great class! Registration starts this Saturday, April 2nd at our Summer Open House and Early Discount Registration.

I know the pictures are a little fuzzy, but I hope you can see the embellishments.

Katie even decided to try beads on this one!

Hope to see you all at registration!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

Retreat 2011

2011-03-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Our first retreat was a resounding success! The retreat center was perfect, comfy rooms, a roomy meeting room and (most important) great food! Kathy Tracy did an interesting talk about doll quilts and a great show & tell of many of her quilts from all of her books. Then on Saturday she taught us the Union Stars quilt from her new book, "The Civil War Sewing Circle." Most of us got at least a few blocks finished, and I am hoping to see several of the finished quilts in our Annual Quilt Show in August. Here are some pictures from the retreat.

Some of the girls talk in front of Kathy's Union Stars Quilt

Judy shows her finished blocks

Ellen wins the album quilt that we made - isn't it gorgeous?

A Happy Group!

Judy shows one of Kathy's quilts that she made in a previous class.

Lynn Ray and Leanne Pottebaum - working hard!

Mary shows off another quilt from "The Civil War Sewing Circle."

Hard at work

Having Fun!

Busy, busy.....

Fun, fun, fun.....

Leanne spends some time working on her Porchtime quilt - one of our PG classes

Diane made a cute wallhanging using Alice's Washday Blues.

Dawn with her Fractured Sunshine project. Interesting, huh?

Lynn with her version of one of "Wool Coneflower Welcome," by Emily Hardwig. Kits for this darling quilt are available on our website: http://www.piecefulgathering.com/contents/en-us/d53.html

Cindy shows off her beautiful quilt.

Katie, Kathy & Carrie

Alberta with her finished Pieceful Block of the Month

Jill with two of her finished blocks

Deb hard at work on her craft show goodies. Guess what - she didn't get this fabric at Pieceful Gathering. I know - you are all very surprised.

Susan shows off her finished Pieceful BOM - It is always nice to see things get finished! Especially since I rarely get my own things done!

The retreat is over, but we are already planning for next year's retreat. It will be the weekend of March 9th, so mark your calendars now!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

Alice's Washday Blues has Arrived!

2011-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

I am happy to announce that my fabric line with Blue Hill Fabrics has finally arrived in the shop! Pictures of the fabrics are shown below. We are busy cutting fat quarter and snippet bundles, and we will be starting on the kits for the quilt I designed in the next couple of days.

Call the shop for more information or to place your order!

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement!

Carrie

What's Happening!

2011-02-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Just in case you think I have been slacking, I want to fill you all in on a few things I have been working on! This should make you all feel better about your own UFO's!

First - I finally finished the never-ending triangle exchange project:

My Triangle Exchange Quilt Top - Waiting to be quilted....

And speaking of exchanges, here is my project (so far) for the upcoming strip exchange next week. I am doing the Courthouse Steps project from Edyta Sitar's book, Friendship Strips and Scraps. I am plugging away. I might even have a good part of it assembled!

Friendship Strip Exchange - my Courthouse Steps project

Continuing around the fabric dump that I call my sewing room, you will find my 1000 Pyramids project taking up most of my design wall. This is a charm project that I started when we did a charm square exchange in Sarah Club last session.

1000 Pyramid Charm Project

Moving around the room we will find a few more unfinished projects:

A Mini 9-Patch from a year ago - or so, some blocks from a guild Stack & Whack project that I hope to finish, Nine Pineapple blocks - a lot more are started - somewhere around here.....

A fairly organized stash (but I am not showing the overflow), and a few more UFOs that are hanging on the door.

Finally, my next two projects - the papers and fabric for the half-square triangle exchange we are doing in Sarah Club next week, and Alice's Washday Blues Quilt.

So - if you are feeling overwhelmed with your UFOs - this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have more in the closet, more in the guest room, and more in the basement.

Be sure to attend the Pieceful Auction - I will be purging a few more of my UFOs!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

2011-02-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

With Sarah's Sewing Circle coming up next week, I thought I should take a minute to outline what we are doing this session. You are welcome to join our club at any time, and now would be a good time! At our meeting next week we are having a half square triangle exchange. If you want to get in on the exchange, there is still time to do the pre-work. It is fairly simple, and it promises to be a lot of fun!

First, I would like to show you what we did last month. As you may know, our projects are intended to replicate antique quilts. The first project this session was based on an antique 16-patch quilt top that I own. It is actually a strip of an unfinished quilt:

Unfinished Antique 16-Patch Quilt

The club members liked the way it looked, so we decided to do it as a runner:

Sarah's 16-Patch Table Runner

We put some extra fabric in the kit so that you will have a chance to play around with the setting. I had enough left over to make a small doll quilt.

As I said, next month we will be doing a half square triangle exchange. We will be reproducing a small quilt that is owned by Sandy Schweitzer. The original was made in the 30's, but our reproduction will be more Civil War. We will be sewing 1" finished Half Square Triangles using Triangulations Software sheets. To make the smallest size, shown below, you will need to sew 4 sheets. We are all using the same setting fabric. If you want to get involved, stop in soon to get the full instrucions. Here is a representative of the quilt we will be making:

Sarah's Kites Doll Quilt

For March we had decided to do a replication of one of the quilts from the book Childhood Treasures by Marikay Waldvogel. The quilt I chose is this cute (and simple) Churn dash:

Churn Dash from Childhood Treasures

Of course, it seemed like a good idea to use my fabric, "Alice's Washday Blues," which will surely be in the shop in plenty of time. So, I designed it using the blues:

Alice's Washday Churn Dash

For April, the club chose to do one of the larger quilt tops in my collection. I don't think we will do it quite this big, but maybe a large wall hanging or lap quilt. Of course, if you want to do it larger, that will be your choice.

The Final Quilt for this session

I just loved the way the quiltmaker did the sashings, with red strips going in one direction and light blues and other colors in the other direction.

As I said, we are always open to newcomers. You will only pay for the remaining meetings in the session. Club members receive 15% off club kits that they purchase at club meetings. Kits are available for sale after the club meetings have taken place.

Hope to see you all at our next meeting!

Carrie

Exciting News about Alice's Washday Blues!

2011-01-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Sorry I have been so bad about writing. We have been going nuts at the shop trying to get ready for all the events we have coming up. I just wanted to share the news that we have finally received some yardage of of my fabric with Blue Hill, "Alice's Washday Blues," and to post some pictures. We are expecting the bolts in the next couple of weeks, and in the meantime, we are going to be busy making up samples. Here is a picture of the one that I designed for the free pattern from Blue Hill - it is based on the original quilt that inspired the line:

We will be kitting this one, for sure. Let us know if you want us to hold one for you. Here are individual pictures of the fabrics. There are 21 skus in the line:

You can pre-order as follows: Fat Quarter bundles $58.99, SnippetBundles $19.99, Half Yard Bundles $104.99.

Once the actual fabric arrives, we will have some kind of event to celebrate, so be sure to watch our weekly email for details!

Thanks for all your support!

Carrie

What I've been doing

2010-12-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

First, I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers over the past couple of months. My Dad's illness and subsequent passing were made so much easier by all of you - your kindness, sympathy, and above all, your patience, have been amazing! I can only hope for each of you as wonderful a circle of friends (for you are all my friends) as I have.

Now, in case you were wondering if I have been sitting around and staring into space, well, yes, to some extent you are right, however, I have taken my own advice to so many of you, and turned to my quilting for therapy. There is nothing quite so soothing as sitting at your machine and choosing fabric after fabric to put in a scrappy quilt, and then piecing them through in a long, long string of pieces. So, here are a couple of things I have been working on:

First, the most recent Sarah's Club project. I didn't quite have it done in time for the meeting last month, but it is finished now, and Vonnie has it all quilted. All I have to do is put on the binding and add a label. I am really pleased with it:

Sarah's Patriotic Quilt

Then, I have been working on three great scrappy projects at the same time. Sewing a bunch of pieces from each, then ironing and then more sewing. First is the 1000 Pyramids quilt that I am making from the Charm Squares we exchanged in Sarah Club. I still haven't found the two missing rows that I brought to the shop to show you. I am sure they will turn up, but in the meantime, I have continued to move along. Here is six more rows at the end of my guest room bed:

1000 Pyramids

Next comes the quilt I am working on using the triangles from the exchange. Some of you may have seen part of it at the demo, but here is some more on my design wall. I have started writing the pattern, too, and it will be available free on our website, soon.

Hidden Diamonds - Triangle Exchange Quilt

Finally, I have started my project for the next exchange. If you haven't heard, we will be exchanging 1" x WOF strips to make quilts from Edyta Sitars newest book, "Friendship Strips and Scraps." Information about the exchange is in our current newsletter. If you didn't receive one in the mail, you can download one from our website. I am doing this adorable Courthouse Steps quilt. The one in the book uses slightly bigger strips, but it is working just fine with 1" strips. Here are some of the blocks in progress on my ironing board. Don't they look kind of like they are floating? Hmmm - Magic!

Strip Exchange Project in Motion

So, no need to worry about me. I am doing fine, and getting plenty of therapy in my sewing room. Gosh - I might even finish something! And, if you see my missing triangles somewhere, please tell them to come home so I can add them to their quilt before I finish it!

Happy Sewing Therapy!

Carrie

New Sarah Club Quilt

2010-11-29T20:43:00.001-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

While I was at Quilt Market in Houston, I had a chance to visit the Quilt Show. One of the exhibits was a collection of Patriotic quilts from the collection of Cindy Rennels of Cindy's Antique Quilts. I have purchased a couple of quilts from her, including the pink stars quilt we did in Sarah Club awhile back with the Entlish Paper Piecing. I fell in love with this quilt:

Isn't it a great quilt? Besides being patriotic, which I always love, I loved the way it leads your eyes around and around. Katie & I decided to reproduce it for Sarah's Sewing Circle club. I was sorry to have to miss the club meeting last week, and I had hoped to have more of the quilt done to show you, but it is done now - finally. The picture is below:

I made a few minor changes to make it more symetrical, and a little simpler. Kits are available at the shop. Enjoy!

Carrie

2010-10-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I want to tell you about a project that we got involved with. A few months ago, Jim Kreher, Deputy Fire Chief here in Fox River Grove, approached me about doing a quilt to raise funds for a scholarship in honor of the children that were involved in the bus accident here in 1995. As most of you probably know, seven high school students were killed, and many were injured when a commuter train hit the back of their bus, which had not cleared the crossing here at Algonquin Road. I lived here at the time, and it was a time I can never forget, so, of course, I agreed to do the quilt - not realizing just how involved it would get. I thought it would be a lap size t-shirt quilt featuring the local fire departments that had responded. Instead, we ended up with 42 patches and t-shirts from all the fire and police departments that responded, along with various other entities that were involved. It was a little overwhelming, to say the least.

Since we received mostly patches, we decided to do a star quilt with the patches centered in each star. Katie took the lead on the project and cut out all the pieces we needed to assemble the quilt. Then we called in staff, teachers and faithful friends to help us stitch it up. In one afternoon/evening, we put the entire center together! The borders were added, Vonnie quilted it, and all that is left to do is the binding and label!

Here are some pictures of the "sew-in" and almost finished quilt. Please read the end of this post to find out how you can help:

The Finished Quilt Front

And, the back...

How you can help:

I know, the poster is a little blurry, but what it boils down to is that the raffle tickets are available now, and at the blood drive this Saturday, October 23rd from 9-3 at the FRG Fire Station (just over the tracks on Algonquin Road).

We have suggested that they extend the time for ticket sales until the annual Fire Department Poultry Party in November, so we hope they will do that. In any case, I will have tickets here, at the shop, hopefully by tomorrow, for you to purchase. I hope you will consider supporting this worthy cause.

Thanks!
Carrie

Schoolhouse Quilt - Finished!

2010-10-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I had mentioned awhile back that I was planning to do a reproduction of the schoolhouse quilt from the International Quilt Study Center in Nebraska, that Jo Morton and Gail Kessler had used to create Andover's Schoolhouse fabric line. I had always wanted to do a traditional schoolhouse quilt! Our month in the recent shop hop was September, so it seemed like a perfect chance. Here is the original quilt:

And, our quilt:

Oklahoma Schoolhouse Quilt

I was determined to come up with a way to do this without templates, so my pattern uses the Tri-Recs Ruler set. The quilt finishes to 70" x 94", but you could easily make it bigger by adding another border or two. We have several kits leftover from the shop hop, and they include the pattern, for $109.99. Patterns are also available seperatly for $8.99. I don't think Katie has had time to put them on our website yet, but feel free to call the shop to order over the phone.
(847) 516-7911

Happy Schooldaze!
Carrie

2010-09-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

As many of you know, we are starting a new quilt with our ongoing Civil War Diary/Love Letters Club. Technically we are finished with the CW quilts, but some are still working on them, so I will continue to have the kits and handouts until everyone is done.

But - I digress - we are very excited about the Hobo Quilt, and to get us started, Debi Henninger, the author, was here on Saturday to talk about the book and Hobo culture. She brought along the wonderful quilts from the book and more to share with us. Here are pictures of just a few of the quilts she brought with her. This should help club members decide what direction to go with their blocks. We will be doing all 60 blocks in the club, but that doesn't mean that you have to do all of them, or to limit them to just one quilt. There is no reason you can't do several of the quilts from the book with your blocks, or come up with something of your own!

So - here are the pictures:

The crowd listens - why aren't they always this attentive?

The main quilt from the book using all 60 blocks

Cute train quilt using just one block

A small wall hanging or tabletopper using a handful of blocks

A small wall hanging using some of the more interesting blocks

Cute tabletopper - Debi is not happy because another one she had was stolen!

Great setting!

Debi's newest venture - appliqued and embroidered blocks.

Check back here for further information on ordering it.

Our Hobo Club starts this week (September 7th or 8th) and we are really excited about the way it is turning out. Instead of doing regular applique, we are doing wool applique. I think you will find it is much quicker and simpler. Katie has a running start on the blocks:

A few of our blocks - some pieced and some with wool for the applique

We will be doing 5 blocks each month, with the applique blocks fairly evenly distributed. Our kits will consist of snippets for each fabric in each block and wool pieces as needed. The price for the kits will vary, depending on how many fabrics, but we expect them to run around $12-15.00.

There are still a couple of openings in the Hobo Club. You have a choice of the first Tuesday evening of the month at 7:30 or Wednesday morning at 10:30. We start this week, so call right away to reserve your spot.

Hope to see you all there!

Carrie

Sarah's Sewing Circle - Charm Quilts

2010-08-30T20:46:00.001-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I haven't done a Sarah Club update in awhile, so I thought it was time! First, a little Show n' Tell from last week's meeting:

Mary Zenger with her beautiful Sarah's Broken Dishes Quilt - all in blues!

Julia Thomson with her Sarah's Birds in the Pines Quilt, made from our kit.

Donna Stupple with her Sarah's Star Doll Quilt - Made from our kit (with additions?)

Carol Henn with her version of Sarah's Birds in the Pines

Carol's Antique Find - this block has several names including Devil's Claws and Crowfoot. Isn't it a great graphic piece in the red and white?

Carol was busy - she also completed Sarah's Broken Plate in these great 30's style fabrics. Doesn't it feel like a birthday party?

At this meeting we did our charm square exchange, and talked a little about Charm Quilts. So, what is a "Charm Quilt?" Traditionally, a charm quilt would be one where no fabric was repeated. This style of quilt was first observed in Victorian times, and was thought to have been borrowed from button collectors, who would have strings of different buttons which were called, "charm strings."
Various patterns have been used since then, including, Tumbler, Apple Core, Hexagons and 1000 Pyramids. The quilts below can be found on the International Quilt Study Center website, along with many more!

1930's Hexagon Charm Quilt

1800's 1000 Pyramids Quilt

If you have never checked out the IQSC site, it is a wealth of information and great quilt pix!

So - anyway, we had our exchange and I gave out suggestions for how to proceed. The challenge is to make a quilt, any size, without repeating a fabric. We decided it would be ok to repeat within a block - such as a 4-patch using 2 fabrics. I have already started on my own version of the 1000 Pyramid Quilt. Since I am not a big fan of templates, I wanted to use one of my (many) rulers. I figured out that the Tri of the Tri-Recs Set would just fit on my 5" squares (hanging over a tiny bit on each side). So I set out cutting triangles and sewing them together. Here is what I have so far:

And, here are few more charm squares and cut triangles:

I think I am heading towards a King Size - what do you think? I just can't stop! In the process of cutting my own Charm Squares, I have been busy cutting packets to sell at the shop. This is pretty labor intensive work, so I think our price of $10.99 for 50 (hopefully) different squares is a bargain! What an easy way to get started on your own Charming Quilt!

Join Sarah Club now. The first meetings for the Fall Session are September 28th at 7:30, or September 29th, at 10:30. Katie & I have big plans for this session!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie

Quilt Show Winners - Finally!

2010-08-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

At long last, I have formatted and organized the pictures of our Quilt Show Winners and their fabulous quilts! So, without further ado:

First Place - Wall Hanging/Table Topper

Lynn Ray - Lone Star -made in our Quiltsmart Club

Second Place - Wall Hanging/Table Topper

Diane Neiman - Voices of the Past

Made in our Voices of the Past Club

Third Place - Wall Hanging/Table Topper

Lynn Walters - Wool Flower Basket

Made in Katie's Wool Flower Basket BOM

Honorable Mention - Wall Hanging/Table Topper

Kim Hartman - Sarah's Stars Doll Quilt

Made in Sarah's Sewing Circle Club

Best Quilt from a Quilt Academy Class

Barb Dale - Star Tabletopper

First Place - Lap Size

Tricia Baldwin - Black Pineapple

Made in Sew Simple Pineapple Class

Second Place - Lap Size

Susan Price - Jacob's Ladder
Many Pieceful Fabrics used

Third Place - Lap Size

Lorraine Tritthardt - Not Everyone Likes Sunflowers

Many Pieceful Fabrics used

Honorable Mention - Lap Size

Katie Reed - Mark's Quilt

From the book, "Simple Comforts," by Kim Diehl

Using Pieceful Fabric

First Place - Bed Size

Marilyn Randall - Washington Medallion

Made in the Washington Medallion BOM

Second Place - Bed Size

Violet Klein - Gene's Flower Garden
"Vintage" Quilt using English Paper Piecing Method
Appraised at PG Appraisal Day

Third Place - Bed Size

Karen Schultz - Give & Take

A Pieceful Gathering kit and design for a Shop Hop

I missed getting a picture of Karen or the quilt at the show, but luckily, she had it quilted here, so we had this picture on file.

Honorable Mention - Bed Size

Tricia Baldwin - I Did it My Way

Made in PG Snickel Club

Most Unique Quilt

Susan Osborn - Birds in Autumn

An original design (?) using Pieceful Fabrics

Pieceful Staff Favorite

Mary Landis - Rancher's Daughter

Made with many Pieceful Fabrics

Last but certainly not least

Viewer's Choice

Violet Klein for Gene's Flower Garden

Hand Pieced and Hand Quilted

Made for her husband, Gene.

Nice Work Violet!

Many thanks to everyone that participated in our show and helped to make it a successful event! I hope you will all consider entering at least one quilt in next year's show, which will be two days, and coincide with the Northern Illinois Quilt Festival. You won't want to miss this!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie

4th Anniversary Quilt Show Pix

2010-08-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters:

Wow! What a weekend! Our 4th Annual Anniversary Celebration, Barbeque, Quilt Show, Registration and all around good time, was wonderful. I put a lot of pictures on Facebook, because it is much easier to upload things there, but I know some of you haven't taken that plunge yet, so here is a little bit of a virtual quilt show for you. I will probably add more pictures and captions in a day or so, once I figure out who all the winners are, and get pictures of the winning quilts with their owners. For now, here is a pictorial synopsis of the day:

Katie & I before the show - Yes, we were actually ready before the doors opened!

Katie with Vonnie, one of our Longarm Quilters:

My Wonderful Husband, Tony with sons, John on the Left and Mike on the right.

Ready to get things going!

So many wonderful Vendors and Local Businesses to thank! Our show would not have been the success it was without them:

Please be sure to visit these local Businesses:

Vicki Madigan
Quilts2Go Trips, Tours, and More
(224) 848-1990

CarX Auto Service - Fox River Grove
(847) 639-1597

Brunch Cafe - Fox River Grove
(847) 516-0409

Atrium Arts, Ltd. - Cary
(847) 516-1413

Kathy Dzubin at Sheer Madness - Cary
(847) 530-6490

Susan Peterson
Massage Polarity Therapy - Crystal Lake
(815) 444-9910

Sandy Schweitzer
AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser - Crystal Lake
(815) 459-5545

Jennifer Koralik
Cary Grove Photography - Fox River Grove
(224) 622-4671

Ringers Landscape Services
(847) 989-5593

Cary Physical Therapy
(847) 516-8095

Distinctive Designs by Roberta Lynn

Flowers & Gifts - Island Lake

(847)487-2241

Debbie, Demi & Jessica waiting for the Show to start

Rebecca's Madders Quilt - Owned by Sandy Schweitzer

This is the quilt that my fabric line is based on. It is now supposed to come out in December - I haven't turned blue, yet.

Famous Person Siting! Kathy Tracy came to see the show. She has a tiny picture of her next book pinned on to her blouse. The title is still a secret, but I can tell you it is going to fit into our shop perfectly - as usual. Can't wait to see the book in real life!

Julia T. and Mary Z. a couple of our sainted White Glove Ladies

Madelyn Anderson and her helper judge the quilts. This section had the quilts from our Sarah's Circle Sewing Club.

Some Pix from the Show

A Few of the Entrants and Winners
(more to come)

Izzy - our youngest entrant with her cute little pink and green quilt.

Tricia with her Sew Simple Pineapple Quilt

Violet Klein - the big winner of the show - Second place in the bed size category and Viewer's Choice! Congratulations Violet!

After the Show

Diane and Mary L relax on the deck

Demi & Dave --- Waiting for more great food!

Tony with my Dad ----- Samantha

Jenn -Mike's Wife ----- Katie, B-I-L, Luke & Husband, Mark

John & Girlfriend Kristen ----- Tony, my long-suffering Husband

That's all for now - I need to get the weekly newsletter out. We have much to do before the end of the session! Yikes!

Thanks to all that came to our show, put your quilts in our show, and especially all of our wonderful staff members and volunteers that came together to make this happen.

Happy Quilting,

Carrie & Katie

2010-07-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I want to mention some upcoming events that we are involved in so that you can mark your calendars.

Demi hanging last year's show

First, of course, is our 4th Annual Anniversary Celebration on August 7th. We have a nice quilt show featuring quilts by our customers. The show takes place in the renovated warehouse building adjacent to our parking lot. Last year we had over 100 quilts! We hope to have just as many this year. Entry forms are being accepted now. Copies are available in the shop, on our website, or click this link: http://www.piecefulgathering.com/pdf/2010_Entry_Form.pdf.

We are pleased to have Madelyn Anderson judging our show this year. She is in the process of obtaining her Professional Quilt Judge Certification. The quilts will be judged in various categories, with great prizes for the major winners. Our vendors and a host of local businesses have been kind enough to donate some great prizes for winners, and door prizes that will be awarded to anyone that turns in a viewer's choice ballot. Tickets for the show will be $2.00 this year. There is no fee for entering a quilt, and anyone with a quilt in the show will receive two tickets to attend the show.

In addition to the show, we will have our Annual Barbeque featuring cooking by the men in our lives. (Believe me, they are better cooks than we are).

August 7th is also early discount registration day. This is your first opportunity to register for our wonderful selection of classes for the fall. We are really excited about the classes we have coming up. The girls that attended market with me came back full of enough great ideas to last us for awhile, and Iknow there will be something for everyone. You should receive your fall class schedule via snail mail in a week to 10 days.

SALE - of course we will have some kind of sale, just to sweeten the pot. What that will be remains to be seen. You know I haven't thought that far ahead!

Our next big event is the Quilt Expo in Madison. Pieceful Gathering will be vending again, and we are really looking forward to being there again! This is a great show - not as large as Rosemont, and easily done in a day. It is just a little over 2 hours from here if you want to drive, but I highly recommend taking Vicki Madigan's Quilts 2 Go bus trip. She has buses going up on Friday and Saturday leaving from various local spots. If you click on the mini registration form below, it will get big (isn't technology amazing) and you can read all the details and print it off. It's a pretty good deal considering that it includes breakfast, admission and a goody bag! I don't know why you would even consider driving yourself!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I should also mention that I will be participating in a Stage Presentation with my friend Sandy Schweitzer. The presentation will be on the importance of labeling your quilts along with ideas on the best way to do labels and what you should include on your labels. Sandy is our local AQS Certified Appraiser and expert in quilt repair and all things quilt related. I will be there for comic relief. I can promise an information filled presentation along with (we know what you really want) a trunk show of quilts. Here's Sandy doing an appraisal with Abe! Click on the picture to visit her website:

I am also doing a Lecture/Demo on my Snippet Stew method for creating quick scrappy quilts using Snippets (10" squares). The lecture is only$10.00 - such a deal! Be sure to go and register online right away! To make it easy, here is a link to my registration form:
http://www.wiquiltexpoorders.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=329&category=5

If that doesn't work - just go to their website - classes and click the word "online" and look for my class. Of course, I didn't get my picture in on time - so just scroll down to Snippet Stew.

Last but not least, I would like to tell you about a wonderful opportunity that Vicki has put together for us again! On Octover 1-2 she will be taking her Quilts 2 Go tour bus to Shipshewanna, Indiana again. I was not able to go last time, so I am really excited that I will be able to attend this time! The tour includes transportation, overnight accomadations, box lunch, museum admission, shopping, quilt lecture, and a meal on a traditional Amish farm! If you register by August 31, the rate is $195.00, after that it goes up to $225.00. So - join me and Vicki for some serious quilting fun and adventures - call Vicki today to register 224-848-1990.

I hope I haven't totally overwhelmed you with too much information at once - I just wanted to get everything in so that you can get your calendars up to date!

Feel free to call me if you have any questions about any of these great events!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie

Antique Schoolhouse Quilt

2010-07-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I want to share one of my current projects. Andover fabrics has reproduced the fabrics in the Schoolhouse Quilt shown below. The quilt is from the collection of the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska:

IQSC Schoolhouse Quilt
Click on the quilt to visit their website

I ordered some of the fabrics from the collection, including the great fabric you see in the alternate blocks. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the fabric really gives the quilt wonderful movement. Some of the fabrics are below - again, it is hard to see the detail in the pictures, but if you click on the pictures you get a better close-up view.

I am working on reproducing this quilt, and making it easier - as usual. Not quite sure which of my favorite methods I am going to use, but I will let you know as soon as I figure it out!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

Sarah's June Quilt

2010-06-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters:

Believe it or not, I actually got the top of a little quilt finished for Sarah Club sometime between my two weddings and a baby! It is still not quilted, but maybe this week I will get it done.

In case anyone missed the quilt from last month, I will show that first. The first one below is the antique quilt that we started with. It belongs to Deb, and it has been in her family for a long time.

Antique Broken Dishes Quilt

The pattern is sometimes called Broken Dishes, so we called our quilt Sarah's Broken Dishes:

Sarah's Broken Dishes - I think we captured the feeling of the original - don't you love it?
Kits are available on our website

This month we reproduced a quilt from my collection. The block, when it is pointing up, is called Little Pine Tree, but this quilter had her blocks pointing every which way. I think that when they point sideways they look like the Birds in the Air block, or maybe fishes. The fish thing didn't appeal to me, so I called it Birds in the Pines.

Carrie's Antique Quilt - Birds, Fishies, Pine Trees?

Sarah's Club Reproduction - Birds in the Pines
It is a bit smaller than the original at 23" x 19"!
Kits include Pattern, Backing and Binding for $29.99.

This four-patch on point is an antique doll quilt that I recently aquired. We are thinking about using it for one of our selections next session. We will be adding a daytime group for those of you that get nervous going out at night. Be sure to register on August 7th at our Quilt Show, Barbeque and Discount Registration Day!

Hope to see you all soon!

Carrie

Memories of the 4th

2010-06-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Patriotic Quilters,

This weekend is the 4th of July, a time to celebrate America and to reflect on all the blessings that we have here in this great country.

My own reflections have to start with my dad. He is the most patriotic person I know, and he saw to it that his family celebrated the 4th in true American style. He would start the day by waking us up to a LOUD recording of Stars and Stripes Forever, followed by a bunch of other patriotic selections. After feeding us a wonderful brunch on the patio (Mom, like me, was not the head chef in our household), we would all pile into the car and head over to the Parade.

I grew up in Deerfield, which had a wonderful traditional parade. We had our spot - right in front of the Duraclean Store (it hasn't been that for years and years, but it will always be that to us). The store entrance was set into the building just enough to fit two lawn chairs and a cooler. The "sun-shy" would sit there, or we would all smush in if rain threatened. I only remember 1 complete rain-out in the 30 plus years that I attended. Back in the day, everyone knew my dad, and that spot was always open for us - more recently, we had to stop down there early in the morning to stake out our spot with old chairs and blankets. Deerfiend is not the sleepy little town I grew up in.

The parade was always magnificent - During the time I was growing up, Deerfield always hosted a Drum and Bugle competition the night before the parade, with groups from all over the country. The groups then appeared in the parade, so we got some amazing musical entertainment.

Remember when the kids used to wear clothes?

There was always a bunch of convertibles carrying the local politicians. We only liked the ones that threw out candy! The Shriners and Kiwanas (sp?) groups would have BIG men in tiny cars that looked like flying carpets or on tiny motorcycles. We often wondered how they got those guys in and out of those vehicles - mostly out... The lady that owned the local shape-up place always had a float full of fit people doing exercises - on hot days we wondered why they didn't keel over! We also wondered how the owner never seemed to get older or droopier - could it be she made a deal with the devil? Ok - I was already jealous of her figure by the time I was in High School. It's just not right!

After the parade we would head over to the local Country Club for great games, food and more food and finaly, the fireworks. That was back before people realized that goldfish had feelings, so they would release hundreds of them into the highly chlorinated pool for all of us kid to try and squish - I mean catch. Mom would hold a plastic bag full of fresh water for us to drop them into. By the end of the day, most of them were floaters - if it was hot we called them boil-in-bag fish. But at least one fish always survived in it's algi filled bowl - with little or no food - usually until the end of June of the following year. Goldfish are amazing little creatures, aren't they?

Besides the Goldfish Boil, there was the penny toss, races, pony rides and various other games we would play in order to win all kinds of cool platic junk. Remember the cheap paddleball games? After we lost the ball, dad kept the paddle in the linen closet to remind us to be good - and we never even considered reporting him for child abuse!

The club back then was awesome. I lived there in the summers. It was still a small town club - now it has moved and become pretty ritzy - I liked it better then. I believe the french fries there were probably what started me on the path to obesity - or it could be the beer in college. Hmmm - I guess we will never know for sure. Anyway, I digress.

The fireworks there were always the best - a perfect end to a perfect day. I remember watching them on a blanket on the driving range with my first summer love. He was so cute. I wonder what happened to him. Probably fat and bald - but then, so am I (fat that is).

My memories of the 4th will always remind me of what an awesome country we live in. Even though the 60's were not the best time in our history, we still managed to celebrate this great nation. I will never take this country for granted, for no matter what problems we may have at times, it is still the greatest nation on earth. This weekend on the 4th, try to forget your troubles, and remember how lucky we all are to be living here. I know I will!

Three Cheers for the Glorious 4th of July!

Carrie

Mystery Quilt Photos

2010-06-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I know I promised photos of the quilts my Mystery Group made - for those of you that don't do Facebook yet. So without further ado - here they are:

First, and far from the best, is mine. Not nearly enough contrast to show the pattern. Luckily the class listened to me better than I listened to myself:

Carrie's Quilt - Almost Done! Just need to finish the binding.

Marcelline - hers is actually done and waiting to be quilted. I will get her picture with it when she comes to pick it up. It is gorgeous! (Of course I am not laughing in the back there)

Mary L - liked it so much, she did a baby one! (No, she's not an over-acheiver)

Mary K - You can really see the pattern in this one - Good Job!

Mary L2 - Gosh we had a lot of Marys! Maybe that's why we had such a Mary time!
Don't you love the way that cheddar pops in this one?

Laura - aren't those colors fabulous? Great border treatment!

Geri - Picked fabrics based on one border, and didn't like it in the end. It took serious courage to scrap the original border and choose a different one. It was worth the risk - this border really frames it nicely. Beautiful!

Marilyn - Beautiful colors, stunning quilt. Bravo!

The pictures really tell the story. The "Mary" group did an amazing job at making my pattern look faboo! Thanks to all that participated, and - I PROMISE next time the pieces will be bigger and not as numerous! It sure is pretty, though! Good Job!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

A Quilter is Born!

2010-06-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Pieceful Quilters,

Please welcome Samantha Quinn Reed! She was born on Thursday, June 17th at 11:55 pm, weighing 7lbs, 5oz - 19" long. Mom, Dad and Sam are all doing well, and Grama is as proud as she can be! I was thrilled to be included in the delivery and to see my first grandchild born. What an amazing experience! Below is a pictorial visit with Sam as she came into the world. If you don't find other people's babies all that exciting - feel free to log off now. Otherwise, enjoy my little family:

Let's get this show on the road!

Just a few minutes old

Daddy, Mark, and Sam - bonding

He's not crying - there's something in his eyes - hahaha!

Happy Mom holding her little sweetheart

They will let anyone in here!
Proud Grampa, Kate & Sam, Jen & Mike Quinn, John Quinn
So neat to have the whole family there when she was done.

Day 2 - Isn't she sweet?

So tiny!

Mom and Daughter

Grampa's Girl

Getting dressed to go home

Not too excited about her new clothes!

It takes a Mechanical Engineer to figure out one of these things!

Do I look excited? Too bad Sam didn't echo my enthusiasm!

First car ride. Sleeping already, and they haven't even started the car!
What a good baby!

That's all for now. I have a ton of stuff to catch up on here at the shop. We are actually open this week, and there are several things going on that I have to prepare for! No rest....

Happy Quilting,

Grama Carrie

More from Quilt Market

2010-05-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Last week I was almost finished with my Blog entry about market when I was frozen out. Usually the Blog saves itself every few minutes, but not this time (of course). I lost at least an hour's worth of work. Anyway, it was too late to do more (I couldn't stay awake), so I didn't get back to re-doing the captions for the last few photos until yesterday! I would like to say I was super busy all week - but I am not sure what exactly I got done. I did get a lot of things started, though!

Anyway, I had a few more pictures and ideas from Market that I wanted to share with you. There was so much there that I don't think I have really digested all of it yet. Here are a few things that I thought would interest you:

I took this picture at the Bluehill booth. It is the Pink Star quilt that I mentioned in the last Blog post. The picture on the right is of the card from the line that the quilt inspired. This is just part of it! We ordered quite a few of the fabrics from the line. I think you are all going to like these ones. We got our first shipment of Blue Hill Fabrics in the shop this week, Colonial Prints. I am really pleased with the quality of the fabric - I can't wait until my line comes out! They are saying November or December, so I am just holding my breath until then. It is back up on their website, now, so you can go and take a look if you want - Rebecca's Madders. I noticed that they have the Little Pink Stars line up, too. While you are there, check out the House of Seven Gables fabric. I ordered some of that line, too.

This beauty is a reproduction of the quilt that Moda has based their next Collection for the Cause fabric on. The line is called Hope. I am not sure if we are going to do this quilt - it looks a wee bit difficult - but I had to buy most of the fabrics in this gorgeous line.

This is Renee Plains of Liberty Star with her new book from Kansas City Star. We picked up all of her new patterns, including one for the beautiful quilt you see on the bed behind her. We will plan to kit it soon, probably using the new line we just got in from Marcus Brothers, Nottingham Village. It is so pretty!

This is Carol Hopkins and a few of the beautiful quilts from her booth. The one in the corner there is also made with the Nottingham Village line. I wish I had time to make all the quilts I want to make!

Here we have Mary Koval in her booth with the wonderful Baltimore Album quilt that she based her newest line on. She is back with Windham, and they did a great job on her new line. We ordered the main panel and some of the coordinates. It should make a gorgeous "cheater" Baltimore Album quilt (my style!).

This is a Block of the Month quilt designed by Linda Hall of Primitive Pieces by Lynda. She has some beautiful quilt designs. I am hoping to talk one of my teachers into doing this one!

This is another Wool Block of the Month that Debbie liked. She may do it - who knows...

That's all I have from Market. At least, that's all I can remember right now. There are so many things running through my head - well, maybe I had better just get to work!

Happy Quilting - Carrie

Fun at Quilt Market

2010-05-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

What a great time we had at Quilt Market! Five of us ended up going, and boy did we have fun! We left early on Wednesday morning so that we could stop at a few quilt shops on our way up. We visited three nice shops and got to Minneapolis just in time for dinner.

Theresa and I being silly pretending to be each other - I think she got me pretty well!

We started each with morning classes - mine were usually about merchandising, or something grown-up. The girls took some fucn classes to learn about new techniques, tools and other fun stuff.

Thursday is technically the day before market and they run a couple of great programs. From 10-6 they have Schoolhouse. It was crazy, fun and exhausting. The day is divided into 15 and 30 minute segments and you are given a list of about 15 different presentations to choose from in each period. You don't get the list until shortly before the Schoolhouse starts, so planning is rather rushed. The presentations vary from previews of upcoming fabric lines to demos of new products, books and patterns. It is hard to decide where to go, and sometimes the rooms are full when you get there, so you just go to something nearby and try to learn something new. It is a fantastic opportunity to learn all kinds of things and keep up with what's new. Here are a few pictures from some of the Schoolhouse presentations that I attended:

Edyta Sitar Shows one of her new quilts and a bag. Her new fabric line is really neat, some of it is batiks and part is reproduction. It is just Lovely!

Blue Hill Fabrics did two presentations - first there was one by Margo Krager who is coming out with a line of pinks. The quilt that inspired the line is pictured on the left. It was made by a friend of hers using scraps of double pinks from the 1800s. The stars are only 2 or 3" finished. It was absolutely gorgeous. Margo is a well known quilt historian and she also talked about how double pinks came about, and how they got their name. Margo's line was gorgeous, too, so naturally I had to order some.

The other presentation was about another new line which is based on wallpapers and other textiles from the House of the Seven Gables Historic Site. The lady with the poster is Anita Blackaby, Executive Director. She spoke about the history of the House and Nathanial Hawthorne. Then she talked about how they had chosen the patterns for the fabrics, and she even had some pieces of the original wallpaper. It was just fascinating! The fabric was pretty, too - and, yes, I did order some.

Renee Plains and Edie McGinness holding one of Renee's cute quilts. Renee's new book, A Bird in the Hand, is available at the shop. She had many of the quilts from that and she talked about how the book came about. She is so cute! We got some of her new patterns at Market

Renee Nanemann showed gorgeous quilts made from her upcoming book and fabric line. You may recognize local designer, Lynn Schmitt Cibulka holding a quilt that she designed using Renee's upcoming line. Isn't it pretty? Yes, I ordered some of this fabric - it was too hard to resist!

Jo Morton showed some of the quilts from her new book - we have a few copies left in the shop, but don't wait too long, the are going fast! The quilt on the top left is made from her newest line, Companions. Isn't it pretty?

These are just two of a large collection of feedsacks that were shown at one of the other demos that I went to. You would be amazed if you were to see all the different varietys.

This photo was taken at a Schoolhouse presentation that I attended that featured a new book called Tile Quilt Revival. The quilts in the demo were a little artsy fartsy for me, but it was fascinating, and I actually won a copy of the book. When I get a few minutes (don't hold your breath) I am going to see if I want to try to apply the technique to our more traditional types of quilts. It is a quilt form from the past, so I think it goes with our shop. Traditional tile quilts are reminiscent of Crazy quilts. Very interesting. Here is a traditional tile quilt made by Hattie Burdick about 1876. It's in the collection of the International Quilt Study Center:

For more about the book and tile quilting check out Barbara Brackman's Blog.

Kay Capps-Cross showing off one of her "interesting" quilts in her Schoolhouse Presentation

As some of you may know, Kay and I have known each other since we were both babies in the business. She is such a delightful and fun lady, which makes it much easier for me to overlook her strange fascination with Black & White quilts. Very stark and contemporary - not exactly my look! I have been working hard to bring her to the "dark side," after all, she is half way there with the black! I may have finally made some headway - her next book has a black and tan quilt, sort of a tribute to yours truly. I can't wait to see it. She gave me a few hints at market, but I will keep the secret until the book comes out in a couple of months.

The Pieceful Crew picnics on the floor while we wait to get into Sample Spree!

Sample Spree is one of the craziest things at market. Some of the vendors participate, but not all, and they offer their latest wares for you to purchase right there so that you can go home and get started on samples for your shop. We are usually able to pick up some fat quarter bundles of lines that we will be getting in the fall, or new patterns from some of our favorite designers in packages with one each of all their newest - instead of the usual minimum orders required to get the wholesale price. It was a great opportunity for the girls to pick up some stuff to try out for possible quilts or classes. Lots of fun!

Ok - More to come on the fun times we had at Quilt Market, and some of the great ideas we have for upcoming classes and events.

Stay Tuned!

Carrie

Coming Soon!

2010-05-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Just a quick show & Tell - Katie has been working on this gorgeous Eagle quilt from the new Summer Gatherings book from Lisa Bonjean of Primitive Gatherings. We are planning to do several projects from the book, but this one is almost finished. Katie has appliqued hand-dyed wool for the eagles and then used regular quilter's cotton for the rest. There is one more border of pieced triangles in the dark blue to round out the quilt. We have it all kitted up and ready to go for the demo tomorrow. Isn't it gorgeous?

If you google Antique Eagle Quilt you will see many versions of this quilt - here is one that is shown on Cindy Rennels website:

I have purchased several antique quilts and tops from Cindy at shows - in fact, there is a chance that I might have a line with Blue Hill that is based on one of the tops I purchased from her, and it will be named after her - cool, huh?

Here is another example of this style of quilt that I found on Kimberly Wulferts website - always a great source of information on the history of quilts.

I could go on an on, but why don't you start at Kim's site to do a little research of your own and share it with me! I have much more to share - so stay tuned!

Carrie - Quilt History Nut

New Sarah Club Quilt for May

2010-05-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

We have been busy trying to get ahead, since we are leaving for the International Quilt Market in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning. Yikes! I have so much to do before then!

I just wanted to give you a sneak preview of the project we are introducing at next week's meeting of Sarah's Sewing Circle. Below you will see a picture of Deb's antique quilt that we will be reproducing this month. The original looks like it was probably made in the 20's or 30's, but it was made from a deep scrap bag with many great indigo prints, shirtings, mourning grays and other turn of the century fabrics.

We tried to reproduce the soft and cozy feel of the original with our collection of turn of the century repros and shirtings, and I think you are going to be pretty happy with the results!

Our version is a little scaled down with slightly smaller blocks than the original yielding a nice lap size quilt. Kits will be available to Sarah Club member first, at their club discount, and thereafter any that are left will be available in the shop.

It is never too late to join any of our clubs. We encourage you to jump in at any time, and pay only for the remaining meetings in a session. (Such a Deal!)

Anyway, I digress - Here is the original quilt:

Bet you can't wait to see our version!

Happy Quilting!

Carrie

The Miracle of Best Press and Other Great Tools

2010-05-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Many of you are probably fans of Lori Smith (From My Heart to Your Hands). How she continues to come out with so many great patterns is beyond me. I had a chance to chat with her for a few minutes when we were vending at the International Quilt Festival a couple of weeks ago. I asked her if she ever slept. She did divulge that she works a lot, and, since she doesn't have anyone but herself to worry about, she can work at all hours of the night and day. I guess that helps explain - and I thought I was obsessed with quilting!

Anyway, Lori usually has her newest patterns at Quilt Fest - even before we see them at Quilt Market! As usual, she had a few that we fell in love with. Her new format for patterns was two little patterns in one packet. This is a nice size for us, as we don't feel bad about putting the pattern in our kits. The one we decided to kit first is this one:

I volunteered to do the one on the left - I am not sure why, since it is a bit harder to skoonch with these little quilts, but it is so cute! I tried really hard to be perfect, but still ended up skoonching a little to get my corners to match. One of my star blocks ended up looking a little like a bowl! Enter Best Press - the Miracle Liquid. As you can see from the picture below, they all turned out flat as a pancake!

Aren't they cute? Kudos to the genius who invented Best Press! We just got another order in the shop, but it disappears very quickly! So, since I was taking a picture of the blocks, I thought it would make them look better if I squared them up to trim off all the little threads and raggedy edges. For this I used another one of my favorite tools, the June Taylor (another genius) Shape Cut Ruler. Actually, since these blocks were so small, I was able to use the Quarter Cut Ruler. To make them really nice and even, I lined up one of the slits with the center of my block, and one of the lines with the top of the block. This way you don't end up trimming one side too much and end up with a wonky block. (Another highly technical quilting term) I put a red line down the middle to show you how I lined it up with the "V" of the star points.

I have to admit, some of my blocks were a tiny bit too small, but I am sure a little more skoonching and Best Press will take care of that! Hah - you aren't getting this kind of quilting information from everyone else!

So - while I am talking about cool tools, and since I am a sucker for patriotic stuff, let me introduce you to the amazing Quiltsmart interfacing. These brilliant designers have come up with a bunch of patterns - or I guess you would call them kits - that make previously difficult patterns easy and accurate by using fusible interfacing with the patterns printed on them. There are various ways that they use it, depending on the pattern, but I wanted to show you one I love that we have in the shop right now - visit our Patriotic Corner:

The package has enough interfacing to complete two of the flag quilts. Don't you just love it? While I am talking Patriotic, Katie finally finished the pattern for Uncle Sam, which has been on my "to do" list for quite awhile (don't even think about asking how long - it is too embarrassing!) Thank goodness I have a wonderful daughter that has realized that waiting for me to get things done is sometimes a lost cause. She even made the sample out of our kit:

I don't think she has this one on the website yet, but she has several of our other new kits and patterns, including the Little Nine Patch Doll Quilt that Kathy Tracy designed, Sarah's Stars, and the cute bag we did for the Shop Hop:

Visit our website to see many of our patterns and kits. Of course, not everything we do makes it to our web store, so if you don't see something, please call the shop or send us an email and we will be happy to help you out!

I had better get back to work!

Happy Belated Mother's Day - Carrie

Sarah's Signature Setting Idea

2010-05-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

For those of you in Sarah's Circle Sewing Club, I have come up with a setting pattern for you to use in our Signature Block exchange, if you wish. This setting could be used with any kind of sampler blocks. My cutting directions assume that you are using a 6" finished block, but it could be adapted fore any size blocks.

Our Signature Quilt ended up with 13 blocks, and this setting will use all of your blocks. Cutting directions are below:

Directions for this setting:

Frame each block with strips that you cut 1 1/2" to finish to 1". If your blocks are not all finishing to 6 1/2", you may want to cut your strips a little bigger. Then trim the finished framed block down to 8 1/2".
For the half square triangle blocks cut an 8 7/8" square in half diagonally.
The star point blocks can be made from 8 1/2" strips using the Tri-Recs Rulers. If you have any questions about this, stop by and I will be happy to demonstrate.
Cut the first border strips 1 1/2" to finish to 1".
Cut the second border 3 1/2" to finish to 3"
Finished size of the quilt is 48" Square.

I did the setting in grayscale so that you would each have to come up with your own color schemes. Have Fun!

Carrie

Sarah's Circle Sewing Club Pictures

2010-04-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

This week we will be winding up the first session of our newest club, Sarah's Sewing Circle. We have done quite a lot in one session, so I thought I would review a little, and share some pictures and memories about how it all started.

First, if you look at our logo, you will see a picture of my GG Grandmother, Sarah Atkins Phillips. Quilting and sewing run deep in my family, and I have been fortunate enough to inherit some beautiful and historic quilts, along with "the sickness." Don't you sometimes think that the need to touch and collect textiles is something you are born with?

Collect.. Yes, that is a nice way to put it. In addition to the quilts I have inherited, I seem to be unable to pass up an antique quilt or top if it has a lot of fabrics in it. I can't seem to stop staring at them! The fabrics from the 1800's and earlier really draw me in. Do you suppose I am a reincarnated fabric manufacturer? Ha-ha.

So now, we come to the quilt that started it all. This wonderful six-pointed star quilt that I purchased in Paducah a couple of years ago from Cindy Rennels. Cindy can usually be found at quilt shows with lots of beautiful quilts, tops and other antique textiles. As a matter of fact, she sucked me in again at Rosemont. I've got it bad!

So here are some pictures I took of the quilt when I bought it. I think that is Cindy's hand on the right. Here are a couple of close-ups. The quilt is not in perfect condition, but the double pink screamed at me, and I had to have it! I was going to reproduce it the original size, which I still am, but it seemed like a perfect project for Sarah's Circle, so I photoshopped up a little version of it for our Club Poster. Don't you just love the secondary star pattern that is formed by the pink triangles? Here is my version before it was quilted. I had been doing some English Paper Piecing with hexagons - see some of my previous posts for pictures of those. I much prefer the smaller hexagons that were typical in England in the 1800's to the more commonly known Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts that were so popular here in the 1930's.

Anyway, I digress....
The first quilt we actually did in Sarah's Club was based on an actual Doll Quilt owned by Sandy Schweitzer, our local AQS Appraiser and quilt historian:

Sandy's Doll Quilt is well-loved, and rather crudely assembled, but it is wonderful in all the great madder reds and browns that were so typical in the 180o's. What is also very neat is the "back art." Part of the back is pieced from the scraps. The pattern is simple, so it was a great kick-off quilt for Sarah Club. We put together kits, and no two were the same. I even included a few of my treasured stash fabrics in the kits to add some authenticity, since I had a few great madders in my "collection."

I was pretty pleased with the resulting quilt, which, although much brighter and cleaner than the original, seems to capture the essence rather well:

Of course, "back art" was in order, and I was able to piece most of the back from the scraps in the kit. I think we may have put a few too many fabrics in the kits (is that possible?), but I wanted everyone to be able to pick and choose from a nice variety. We do still have some of these kits in the shop. Call if you want one (847) 516-7911.

The final project for the session you can see below, hanging next to my star quilt. Deb Walker, my co-leader designed this wonderful medallion quilt based on an antique one we found online at

http://www.womenfolk.com/. This is a great site for those of us that are interested in quilt history.

We do have patterns available for this one. We never did make up kits, hoping to encourage the club members to use their stashes and/or to purchase snippet bundles in pink, brown and cream. I know that Deb used Triangulations to do her half-square triangles. If you have never used this great software, you are really missing out!

In addition to the quilt projects, we are turning in blocks for a signature block swap this week. As you can imagine, I haven't started. What's new? I did finish (mostly) Kathleen Tracy's Little Nine Patch quilt:

Kathy gave us permission to kit this quilt using the free pattern she has on the Fairfield Website.
The kit includes a print-out of Kathy's pattern, backing and binding. We will be introducing it at the Seasonal Samplings Free Demo right before Sarah Club tomorrow. Be sure to attend to see the latest seasonal projects along with this cute little quilt.

That's it for now. I need to get going and finish this week's email newsletter. I don't know where today went!

Hope to see you all in the shop this week. (Or call us to order anything by mail)

Carrie

Quilt Festival Pix

2010-04-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Pteceful Quilters,

I know that not all of you were able to come and visit us at Quilt Festival, so I thought I would share a few pictures and some of the fun! We really had a fabulous time this year - getting a double booth was definitely worth it. It was so great to see so many familiar faces and meet a lot of new friends. It was a wonderful show, and we are really going to miss it when it moves to Cincinati next year. What a bummer! At least we will still have Madison!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of our booth. Demi and Katie did a super job putting it together in record time. I tried to help, but they never like my ideas, so I just let them have at it. Obviously, their ideas worked!

Yes, this is me, with a FAMOUS Person - Kay Capps Cross, the one who wrote those Black & White books. We don't always agree on fabric choices, but I have brought her to the dark side for at least one quilt. She said she has a "Dark & Dirty" quilt in her next book. I can't wait!
One of her books: A couple of local quilters had quilts in the show:

Madelyn Anderson's Civil War Sampler

Shar Snellman's Dear Jane Quilt

I am sure there were some others, I just didn't have time to see the entire show. As you may have guessed, I had to see the Antique and Traditional style quilts first. Here are a few of my favorites.

This was a one made with a hankerchief in the center. What a amazing historical quilt!

Here is a close up of the center:This beauty is made entirely of hexagons:

This wonderful antique quilt has some pieced parts and some applique. It is one of those quilts that you can sit and stare at for hours.

What is it about a quilt with an Eagle on it that attracts us?

Coxcomb quilts are so appealing, too.

Watch for a variation on this one coming soon to your favorite quilt shop!

The vendors at the show had some really wonderful stuff, too. I bought a few things, and got a lot of ideas for things to do in the shop. I can't wait to get started on some of the new projects I have been thinking about!

I hope to see you all soon!

Carrie

2010-04-08T14:17:00.001-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Just a quick reminder and teaser about our registration this weekend. Our wonderful teachers have been bringing in their samples to hang in the classroom, and I have taken pictures of a couple of our new class offerings that I thought might interest you. Be sure to come in this Saturday, April 10th, to receive a 10% Discount on classes!

We will also be having a BIG SALE - Saturday only. Since it is our 4th Spring Open House, we are having a 4 Sale - Buy 4 Pre-Cut Fat Quarters, Get 1 FREE - Buy 4 Pre-Cut Snippets, Get 1 FREE, All Sale Fabric in the classroom will be $4.00 per yard - one yard minimum.

Here are a few of our new class projects:

Twisted Spools Tube Quilt with Jean

Tulip Bag embellished with Texture Magic taught by Jean

Paper Pieced Mariner's Compass with Deb

Holiday Projects - Monthly classes with Diane

American Summer Block-of-the-Month with Diane

54-40 or Fight Advanced Beginner Quilt with Theresa

We also have many of our old favorites this summer, and all of our continueing Clubs, such as Sarah's Circle Sewing Club, Featherweight Club, Civil War Diary & Love Letters Club and MORE!

Be sure to stop by on Saturday to see everything, sign up and take advantage of our sale!

Carrie

New Stew!

2010-03-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to share the latest Snippet Stew with you. I am really excited about this one. It may even be my favorite so far. We liked it so much that we are going to kit it for Rosemont.

Here is a picture of it - the real one isn't quite done, but this will give you an idea of what it is going to look like:

We used the blacks from Jo Mortons new Ravenswood collection, and added some other blacks and tans to make it flat out stunning. Hopefully I will have the top done in the next couple of days so you can see it in real life!

Stop by soon and see us, either way!

Piecefully Yours, Carrie

Pieceful Auction a Big Success!

2010-03-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I believe a good time was had by all! I know I had fun auctioning off all the wonderful treasures we had been collecting all during the past year!

Katie and the girls kept the auction going by handing me items and running tags out to the winners. There were around 90 items auctioned off, so they were VERY busy!

Items were laid out on tables for customers to look at - except, of course, for the magical mystery bags. Wow - we had some great stuff!

It took a lot of concentration to keep all the goodies straight and not run out of Pieceful Bucks before your favorites came up!

Who couldn't use a giant bag of batting scraps? Perfect for small projects OR the best dust clothes ever!

If you missed this year's auction, never fear - your bucks will still be good when we do this next year. Start collecting more Pieceful Bucks starting in January 2011 so that you can join in the fun next year!

Happy Hunting!

Carrie

New Quilt Kits & Vending at NSQG

2010-03-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote in the blog. I was trying to update at least once a week, but you know how that goes.....

Since I last wrote, we had a staff retreat at the lovely Homestead Retreat Center in Hillpoint, Wisconsin. Patsy, our hostess, always makes it a relaxing and carefree weekend. I suggested that she turn it into an Old Quilter's Home in 15 or 20 years when I retire. What a fab idea!

Part of our staff retreat included working on shop projects - mainly, I had to finish the top of a large Karen Witt quilt, Friendship Album, so that Vonnie could quilt it on Tuesday, and we could have it ready for vending at NSQG (Northwest Suburban Quilt Guild) on Thursday night! Crazy! Everyone pitched in and helped me finish the blocks and then I stayed up most of the night putting it together. I may be getting too old to do this - nah - I refuse to succumb!

The rest of the weekend was spent working on some other shop projects and a few things of our own. I worked on my Mystery Quilt, which I hope to have finished (at least partially) by our next meeting, and I finished part of my Sew Simple Pinapple quilt - which I LOVE!

Other people worked on some new samples for our beginner classes, and projects for new classes that we have starting next session. Deb worked on our next project for Sarah's Club - Wow! It is really going to be pretty.

The retreat was a lot of fun, and the Friendship Album quilt got quilted and mostly bound just in time for the meeting, where our friend Karen Witt was speaking. Her talk was fascinating and very informative. I didn't fall asleep even once! I usually have to struggle to stay awake if I sit down at all in the evening!

Here are a few pictures of our vending station:

And some up close pictures of our two new quilt kits - Solitude and Friendship Album:

Solitude Quilt

Karen Witt's Friendship Album Quilt

That's it for now - stop in soon to see these quilts in person and get your kits while they last!

Happy Quilting - Carrie

2010-02-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just thought I would share my latest obsession - to add to the hexagon thing....
This is the next quilt we are doing in Sarah's Circle Sewing Club. Like the hexagons, it is done using the English Paper Piecing method. Anyone that knows me is probably wondering where my brain jumped the track. I usually refer to anything that has to do with handwork as "slit-your-wrist" work. Not my favorite - however, these paper-pieced blocks just make me happy. Go figure! Anyway, we will be learning the method in Sarah's Club at our next meeting on February 23rd - right after our monthly Seasonal Samplings FREE Demo. We are really having fun in this club, and we can still take a few more members, if you are interested.

Call the shop for info - or click on the link above.

Hope you are all having a great week - waiting for the snowstorm, and hoping they are wrong!

Piecefully Yours,
Carrie

Sarah's Sewing Circle First Meeting

2010-02-01T15:54:00.001-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to give you all an update on the happenings at the first meeting of Sarah's Circle Sewing Club. As you may know, the club is named after my GGGrandmother, Sarah Phillips. That's her pictured above, stitching on something. Maybe it's one of the quilts that I inherited!

Anyway, the club will be making quilts based on antique quilts - some will be reproductions of quilts owned by me, others from books, and hopefully, some from the club members own collections.

Our first meeting was a lot of fun. Deb had made up nametags for all of us with Sarah's picture on them. Very nice. We started out talking about our plans for the session, and then I talked about the first quilt - Sarah's Album Doll Quilt. It is based on an antique doll quilt owned by Sandy Schweitzer, my friend and our local AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser. Knowing how I love the Madder colors (righ reds and reddish browns, originally dyed with the root of the madder plant), she had loaned me this wonderful doll quilt from her collection to reproduce. The quilt is double sided, as you can see below:

Sandy's Madder Doll Quilt - Front & Back

It is quite faded, and obviously had been loved. It was a perfect quilt to reproduce for our first project in Sarah's Club. I made up the sample using all the madders, pinks and browns that I could find that would bring out that same warm golden feel of the original. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out:

Sarah's Album Doll Quilt by Carrie Quinn

Front & Back

I had so many fabrics that I wanted to use, that I have decided to make a big one, too! I dug deep in my super-secret stash to find some perfect fabrics for this quilt, and I did my pattern using my Snippet Stew method - sort of (color that easy!). Because of the large number of fabrics available, and the fact that I couldn't make up my mind, I made up the kits with enough fabrics to do the front, and most of the back of the quilt - and no two kits are exactly the same! I have decided to declare war on cookie cutter quilts. The girls in the club seemed to really like that idea, and a few of them are going to do their own version of Sarah's Album. Deb did hers up in Blue and Gold:

Deb Walker's Version of Sarah's Album Doll Quilt

The pattern directions are only for the front of the quilt. I decided to challenge the club members to do their own thing on the back. I, myself, took all the scraps and sewed them into some more of the little album blocks, some pinwheels, four-patches and strips. It was fun to try to get them to all fit!

Patterns and kits are available in the shop, or you can call the shop to have one sent out to you.
Next month we are going to learn English Paper Piecing as we do a small reproduction of a quilt I purchased in Paducah last year:

Carrie in Paducah with her Six-Pointed Star Quilt

I used Photoshop to show what our small version will look like:

Sarah's Star Doll Quilt

Of course, club members can do whatever they wish to do with this quilt. It is very scrappy, and not everyone will want to set it in double-pink, I am sure! Some may decide to just do a potholder! I think it will be fun to learn the method, though. We will be sewing at the club meeting, so be sure to bring:

Needle and thread (a neutral color for piecing and a crummy thread for basting)
Scraps to make the stars - each star uses two colors.
A background fabric for the stars - I am using a tan with a small dot, simular to the one used in the big quilt.
A setting fabric. Double-Pink or whatever floats your boat.
A small pair of embroidery scissors
A larger pair of scissors for cutting fabric

I will add anything else I might think of. I will provide the paper pieces, and we will have scrap fabric on hand for practicing on. It is sure to be a good time!

Another project we are planning is an album or autograph block swap. The members of the group are to bring their ideas for blocks and we will choose one next month. It should be fun!

If you haven't joined Sarah's Club, it is not too late. We can take a few more in the current group, ) and if there is enough interest, we can add a daytime group, too. Call the shop to register i-f you are interested: (847) 516-7911.

That's it for now!

Stop by and see us soon!

Carrie

Rebecca's Madders

2010-02-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

What an exciting week we have had here at Pieceful Gathering. Tuesday morning, Katie and Demi called me down on some pretext and handed me a large mailer to open. I knew something was up - especially when Demi started snapping pictures:

What the.... Well, I'll be darned!

The "Boards" (Representative's Sales Folder) with my fabric line from Blue Hill Fabrics had arrived in the mail. I hadn't really known what to expect, but the line turned out even nicer than I had anticipated! I think you will all agree!

So, without further ado, here are

Rebecca's Madders:

If you want to see bigger pictures, they are already on the Blue Hill Website! Wow - they have my name and everything! I am famous - Woo Hoo! Don't worry, I haven't turned into a Diva, yet! I don't see it happening any time soon, either.

While you are on the Blue Hill Website, be sure to check out Grace's Dowry Shirtings by another local designer, Beth Fuller. We are just surrounded by fame in the Chicago area - at least in our own little quilting circles.

Anyway, the company told me that the fabric would be in stores in the Fall, but our rep told me June. Who knows? We will be putting together fat quarter and snippet bundles as soon as they come in. If you would like us to save you a bundle, please let us know. It would be helpful to know if we need to order more right away.

Thanks for all your support - you are the ones that make this worth doing!

Carrie

Cotton Theory Workshop

2010-01-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

As many of you know, we c0-sponsored a Cotton Theory Workshop last weekend with Vicki Madigan of Catalyst Career Group. As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, this method is pretty labor intensive, but you do get a really neat result. Here is my finished runner:

Yes, I know, it's hard to believe I actually finished something. It took me quite a while to get it done, but I knew if it went into the UFO pile (read that MOUNTAIN), it would never emerge again. I used Kansas Troubles fabrics from my stash, and they look so nice in my house, that I really wanted to finish this. I am pretty pleased with the result (from a galloping horse, anyway).

Here are some pictures from the retreat with all the happy quilters and their partially finished blocks:

The Whole Group - Teacher, Margy Weber is in the front row on the right. As you can see, some people got farther than others. There were sure some beautiful colors!

A few close-ups - Sorry if some are a little hard to see.

Vicki Madigan - having fun!

Blue & Whites - very pretty

Gotta Love the Patriotics!

Check out the purple boa - we all got one! Now that made the workshop worth attending!

More of the ever-popular Blue & Whites

You can hide, Alberta, but I still know it's you!

Alberta's sister, Susie, getting ahead!

More pretty color combos

And more....

Keeping Busy!

Katie & Jan

Thanks for sending us your pictures, Jan!

All in all, a great time. Stay tuned for details on more adventures with Vicki. She is planning another Cotton Theory workshop/retreat where they will do a tote bag. Sounds like fun!

Piecefully Yours,

Carrie

Shipshewana Trip with Vicki Madigan

2010-01-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to let you know about a trip that is coming up in March. Unfortunately, I am already committed to something else that weekend, otherwise I would be going for sure! That is why I thought I would share it with you, so some of you can come back and tell me all about it.

A few of you may know Vicki Madigan from the Madison Bus Trip or the Cotton Theory Workshop that we were involved it. She does a great job of organizing these things, and I am sure you will have a great time. The brochure is below - but it didn't copy over very well. We will have copies available in the shop, though.

The dates are March12-13, and you can save $ if you register by Feb 6th. She can only take a limited number, since they are having an Amish dinner with Rebecca Haarer, who also happens to be the same Rebecca that my upcoming fabric line is named after. I haven't even had a chance to meet her! Call or email Vicki for a better copy of the brochure (224) 848-1990 or sewnow1@hotmail.com

I wish I could go!

Happy Quilting - Carrie

Pieceful Auction 2010

2010-01-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

Pieceful Auction
Sunday, March 21st

Fox Valley Engineering

Next Door to Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop

(same parking lot)

106 Northwest Hwy (Rt. 14)
Fox River Grove, IL 60021
(847) 516-7911
Doors Open at 1:30 – Auction Starts at 2 or so

1:30–View Auction Goodies
Cocktails & Hors D’oeuvres will be available during the viewing time

How it works:

Starting in January, you will try to collect as many “Pieceful Bucks” as you can. There are various ways to earn your Bucks. Some of them are:

Purchases – This year we will match the amount you spend at the shop on everything, rounded up to the nearest $1.00, during the Pieceful Auction Buck Hunting Season.
Bring Pieceful Show-n-Tell to any Pieceful Class, Club or Demo, and earn 10 Pieceful Bucks. (Show-n-Tell must be made with fabric primarily purchased at PG)

Bonus Buck Hunt
On a regular basis we will put Buckhead Stickers on various merchandise and bolts. The first person to purchase the item or fabric from the marked bolt will receive 20 Bonus Bucks!

Weekly Bonus Buck Specials
Watch the Weekly E-mail or Check here for Specials!

Bonus Buck Special - Week ending January 30th:
Kit Mania - Receive 50 Bonus Bucks for every kit you buy!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

I can hardly believe that 2009 is over - it seems like just last year we were all worried about the Y2K computer disaster (that didn't happen - phew!). What happened to all those years in between? It is also hard to believe that we have been here for over three years. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun. I know that my years in the law firm didn't fly like that.

I hope you are all ready to get back into quilting. The winter months are a great time to stay home and quilt. I have been busy doing bindings now that it is colder in the house. It is nice to wrap up in a big quilt and stitch away. I have finished four bindings in the last few weeks. Of course, some of them were partially done. We seem to have a habit of hanging our samples with the bindings pinned in parts. We changed the shop around last week, and I ended up with a couple of quilts to take home and finish. The Williamsburg quilt must have had 50 pins in it! It was all good, though, since I apparently threw away the thread catcher/pin cushion in my sewing room. It has been M.I.A. since the last time I cleaned in there. I have been using some "antique" pins from a box of my grandmothers sewing junk. I am sure I will end up with some rust spots if I leave them in too long. Of course, that will make my quilts look more authentic. There is always a silver lining, isn't there?

Newly Reorgnized Shop Pix

We decided to open things up a little in the back by moving out one of the big ugly fabric shelf thingers. The quilt over the fireplace (yes, there is a fireplace behind that pile of snippet bundles) is Beyond Borders - A Monique Dillard/Open Gate pattern using the Lincoln Bicentennial Line from Windham Fabrics. The blue and white one in the back corner is Janes Journey - a Bethany Fuller/Grace's Dowry Quilts pattern. Both are bound - with labels! Aren't you impressed? We do have kits for both of them, which which we would be happy to mail out to those of you that are reading my babbling from far away. Just give us a call - 847-516-7911 or 866-433-7911 (Toll Free). Katie has Beyond Borders on our website, too. Feel free to email me if you have any questions - carrie@piecefulgathering.com.

We moved the big cabinet out of the corner, and I really like it where it is, now. Funny to think it was in my parent's basement the whole time I was growing up. I think my Dad would have been just as happy to leave it there when he broke up the house a few years ago, but I made my (sainted) husband drag it out of there for me. It is all one piece and it weighs a ton! I am sure glad I did - it looks great in the shop! The quilt you see hanging from the shelf thing is Calico Comfort from Kathleen Tracy's book, Remembering Adelia. We still have some kits for that great scrappy quilt. It is on the website, too.

If any of you have time, you should bop over to Kathy Tracy's blog, http://sentimentalquilter.blogspot.com/2009/12/quilt-shop-tours.html

She has a review of some of the quilt shops around here, including your favorite and mine :)

Take a few minutes to read through some of her other entries, too. She is really a wonderful writer. That reminds me, we finally did up a sample of Kathy's Broken Dishes quilt in Pink and Brown from Prairie Children and Their Quilts. We have had the kits for awhile, but our sample was in the originial Red, White and Blue that Kathy used in her book. Don't you love the Pink and Brown:

I had a call this morning from a new customer that wanted to know about our quilt service. It seems that she had taken an applique quilt somewhere else to be quilted, and the quilter went right over her applique work! I would have been sick (assuming I would ever do applique). Anyway, it made me think of this great quilt that Vonnie did recently on a quilt that Jan Griffith made in our Quiltsmart Club. The group did a Lonestar last session, and Vonnie did these amazing feathers free hand! Both Vonnie and Cathy are turning out such beautiful work. They have really mastered the Gammil!

Well - that's it for now. I need to get home and get to work on my Mystery Quilt instructions for next week - ACK!

I wish you all a very Happy 2010!

Carrie

Snow Pool

2009-12-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

As you all know, I am insane. Just to prove it, here is a picture Katie took of me shoveling Route 14. It is taken through the window screen, so it's a little fuzzy, but that's me! Crazy as a loon.

Actually, I was doing it for your safety and mine. The wet slush and snow had formed a puddle at the end of our driveway, which would have turned into a nice skating pond if I hadn't gone out and cleared the drain. It worked great, and I am alive to tell about it!

Anyway, I decided it would be more fun to clear snow all winter if I made a game out of it (I have a little Mary Poppins thing going, don't I?). Hence, I have created the Pieceful Fat Quarter - Snow Removal Pool. Here's how it will work:

The pool will be based on the number of times I (or another Pieceful employee) have to go out and sweep or shovel snow. This can be more than once a day, so the number could get pretty high! So far, I have been out 5 times! We are going to start the pool at 20 and go up to 200. You can get into the pool by purchasing a fat quarter which will go into the Pieceful Snow Pool Pot. Each fat quarter will "buy" you half a square (20 - 200). The pool will end on Pieceful Auction Day, March 21st. (And hopefully that will also be the end of Snow Removal!) The winner or winners will receive all, or half, of the fat quarters in the pot (depending on whether there are one or two people on the winning square) PLUS - 100 Pieceful Bucks (if there are two winners they will each receive 100 Pieceful Bucks)! How's that for FUN! You can begin purchasing squares now - so come in soon to get your first choice of squares!

Good Luck!

Carrie (the head nut)

Man Day - Wish List Suggestions

2009-12-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

As most of you should know by now, Man Day is coming up on Sunday, December 2oth. This is the day you can send your man (husband, son, significant other, etc.) to shop for the things you actually want (what a concept). We will have "Manly" refreshments - yes, that means beer, and our husbands will be working the register. We will have the Bears game on the radio and Katie & I will be in the back doing giftwrapping (just in case any questions come up that the boys can't answer).

Man Day will also be the Kick-Off of Buck Hunting Season. Anything your Man purchases on Man Day will earn him DOUBLE BUCKS to bring home to you! These can be used at our Pieceful Auction on 21st. Regular Buck Hunting Season will begin after the 1st of year.

I know that you all have things you have been wanting, but if you are like me, when you sit down to fill out the list they will all go right out of your head. I thought it might be helpful if I came up with a little list of nifty things you might want:

Items between $10 and $20

4.5" Frosted Square Ruler
Mini Crafting Iron
12" Add-a-Quarter Ruler
Best Press 16 oz Spray Bottle or 33.8 oz Refill Bottle
Pounce Pad - White, Blue or Iron Off
Texture Magic
Mesh Bags (Various sizes)
Easy Angle, Companion Angle or Tri-Recs Rulers
Foundation Paper Pack
Fit to be Geese or Fit to be Square Rulers
Applique Pressing Sheet
Desktop Needle Threader
Super Satchel Slim or Large
Get Squared Ruler pack (for fussy cutting)
Susan's Simple Applique Rulers (various designs)
Printed Treasures Photo Transfer Paper
A NEW Rotary Cutter - oh yeah!

Items between $20 and $30

A NEW Mat 18" x 24", or a NEW Ruler 6" x 24"
Amazing Nickels - Pat Speth's newest book
12 1/2" Square Ruler or 15" Square Ruler
Dating Fabrics by Eileen Trestain (1800-1960 or 1950-2000)
Little Box of Baby Quilts (patterns)
Remembering Adelia by Kathleen Tracy
Sew Slip (Teflon Sheet to aid in machine quilting)
Fat Quarter Quilting by Lori Smith (Her new book)
60mm Rotary Cutter (the big one - doubles as a pizza cutter - haha)
Judy Martin's Log Cabin Book (just awesome)
Ergonomic Rotary Cutter (good if you want to cut sitting down)
Pack of 5 Rotary Blades (45mm)
Simple Comforts by Kim Deihl (great book)
Autum Gatherings by Lisa Bongean (classic)
501 Rotary Cut Quilt Blocks (a must have!)
Little School Girl Kit (Lori Smith)
Lincoln's Platform Quilt Kit (from Remembering Adelia)
Sawtooth Star Wallhanging Quilt Kit by Carrie

Items $30 to $40

Best of QNM - Quilt Design Software (see what EQ is all about before buying it)
Triangulations Software (A must have!)
Shape Cut Plus or Quarter Cut Rulers (you know how I feel about these!)
Autumn Medallion Wallhanging Kit by Katie
Pieceful Gathering Denim Shirt
Sawtooth Star Lap Quilt Kit by Carrie
Fun at the Beach Tote Bag kit by Jean
Pieceful Flowers Wool Tablerunner Kit by Katie
Gifts from My Heart Wallhanging Kit (Patriotic looking with Wool Bird Applique Center)
Kansas Winter Jelly Roll
Fabricalculator

Items $40 and up

20.5" Square Ruler
24" x 36" Cutting Mat
Morgan 12"/14" Lap Stand
The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns by Jinny Beyer (A must have)
Heritage in Quilts - Quilt History book from the Tennessee DAR
Best Press 1 Gallon Refill Bottle
Shape Cut Pro Ruler (20" x 24" - 2.5" intervals) the mega one
Dear Jane Design Software
Aurifil Cone in our favorite color - 2310 Light Beige
Calico Comfort Quilt Kit from Remembering Adelia
Beyond Borders Quilt Kit (blue & white - Grant & Lee Panel Center) by Monique Dillard
Holiday Shop Hop (Autumn Medallion) Full Size Quilt Kit
Jane's Journey Kit (Blue & White from Grace's Dowry Quilts)
Vonnie Marie's Wedding Ring Quilt Kit (1870 Reproduction by Carrie)
Civil War Sampler Complete Kit by Karen Witt (on SALE)

I hope this helps. We will try to have enough of these things in stock, but be sure to have second choices in case we run out of the most popular items. Don't forget, Gift Certificates are always an easy choice for your man (less confusing).

Below you will find a copy of our wish list form that we have been handing out at the shop - just in case you didn't get one.

....................................................................................................

Pieceful Man Shopping Day
Get a jump start on Buck Hunting Season!

December 20th from 12:00-5:00

· The shop will be open for Men Only
· Mark & Tony will be “manning the shop”
· The Bears game will be on and there will be “manly” refreshments
· Free gift wrapping will be available
· All purchases made will receive double bucks which can be used in the 2010 Pieceful Auction

Just fill out the “wish list” on the back and give it to your man. Then be sure to send him to Pieceful Gathering on December 20th.

.......................................................................................

Dearest Husband,

I’ve been really, really good this year and all I want for Christmas is quilting supplies from Pieceful Gathering Quilt shop. Please, pretty please, buy me the following must have quilting items!

· A Gift Certificate
· A Kit for the Quilt _______________________
· Fabric in the color _______________________
· Fabric from the new line __________________
· These Notions __________________________
· The book ______________________________
· The pattern ____________________________
· Other _________________________________

Yours truly,

________________________

.............................................................................................

Thanks for Shopping with us!

Carrie

A Few Pictures

2009-12-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

We have a winner! Nancy Luehrs won the 2009 Pieceful Gathering Quilt Pink Raffle Quilt. Thanks to our great customers who came through at the last minute after I confessed that I had done a truly pathetic job of promoting the quilt this year, and bought enough tickets to double the amount we will be sending to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. We will be sending a check for $320.00 thanks to all of you!

Nancy Luehrs with her new quilt!

Yesterday, I worked during the Baltimore Album Club meeting. I was so exhausted from standing all day on Saturday that I decided to sit and stitch with them for a little while. Talk about a fun group! I just sat and giggled the whole time. I had to take a couple of pictures to share with you. They are working on a method called Papercuts, where they actually cut a pattern out of paper and use it to create beautiful applique blocks. Watching a bunch of women that are a long way from kindergarten trying to cut paper was amusing, to say the least. Here are my pix with captions:

"Are you serious? Where are my magnifying glasses? Does anyone have some sharper scissors?"

"Ta-Da, it's a snowflake - ok, so maybe it's a melted snowflake."

Of course, I am just making fun. The actual blocks are truly amazing. Stop by the shop to see Joanne's sample blocks.

That's all for now. Be sure to stop by and sign up for our Spring (Jan-April) classes and clubs!

Piecefully Yours, Carrie

Quilt Pink Raffle Ending!

2009-11-30T13:54:00.001-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I have to admit that I have really dropped the ball on the Quilt Pink Raffle Quilt. So far, we haven't even sold $200.00 worth of tickets, and the drawing is this weekend. In other words, whoever has entered has a good chance of winning! On the other side, we will not be sending a whole lot of money to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This means that whole thing was a tremendous waste of time. Heck - the quilting and the raffle tickets probably cost more than we are going to donate, unless a lot more tickets get sold between now and Saturday. SO - if anyone has a meeting or group this week with people that might buy some tickets, feel free to borrow the quilt and go sell some tickets for the cause!

Here is a picture of the quilt. Sorry, it's not a very good picture, but you get the idea. I think it turned out really pretty:

Pieceful Gathering Quilt Pink Raffle Quilt 2009

Please think about how we can sell more tickets this week. And be sure to purchase some when you come in the shop. I have tons of tickets, if anyone wants to take some to work or something. Or - if you just get names and phone numbers, we will fill out tickets for anyone that is interested.

Tickets are $1.00 each, or 6 for $5.00

The drawing will be held at the end of the day at our

Holiday Open House and Discount Registration Day

This Saturday, December 5th

Thanks!

Carrie

Hexagon Quilt Update

2009-11-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Just in case you thought I had given up on my hexagon quilt, I thought I would give you a quick update. I am up to 18 rosettes now, with several more in the works. Here they all are.

I love the way they look when they are done. That is what keeps me going. I am actually looking forward to paper piecing the stars in the quilt I am reproducing for Sarah's Club. See post from November 16th. Who would have thought I would be having so much fun doing hand work?

That's it for now - Keep watching for the next Hexagon update!

Carrie

Sneak Peak at New Spring Class - Harvest Moon Wool Table Mat

2009-11-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here is another sneak peak at a new spring class. I'll be teaching this class and I think it will be perfect for those of you who have been wanting to do something with wool but haven't known where to start.

This class will be a great introduction to working with wool. We'll learn wool basics, how to use fusible with wool, and how to do the buttonhole stitch. In class we will get all of our pieces cut out and fused down and we will start on our stitching. I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend working on my sample. I'll have it for you to see at the December 5th open house to make sure you are there!

Katie

Sneak Peak at New Spring Class - Twist and Shout Tote

2009-11-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

I promised I would give you a sneak peak of a few of our new classes, so here's the first. This is a new bag pattern that we picked up at market and are super excited about! It’s called the “Twist and Shout” bag and it is put together in the coolest way.

It’s kind of hard to explain because you really need to see it done. You basically make four panels using the “quilt as you go” method and then they somehow twist together in this really awesome hard to explain way. It goes together really fast and you don’t have to make a lining. It comes in three different sizes, the mini is 5” x 5” x 8”, the small (which is what Diane made) is 7” x 7” x 10” and the large is 9” x 9” x 14”. Diane is teaching the class and you will be able to pick which size you want to make. It’s a strippy tote and is jelly roll friendly. I think this is going to be a popular class so come to the open house on December 5th to be the first to sign up. Look for dates and times in your newsletter which should be arriving sometime next week. Keep watching our blog for more sneak peaks at next session’s classes.

Katie

Meet Sarah!

2009-11-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Meet Sarah, my GGGrandmother

We are starting a new club and I am so excited about it. It is named after my GGGrandmother, Sarah Phillips, and we will be doing our own designs based on antique quilts - some that I own, and some will be from pictures. The club will be lead by Deb, with some input from me, and we are already busy working on the samples for this session. Most of them will be designed to be little quilts, with an option to make them bigger if you want.

The first one is based on an antique doll quilt that is owned by Sandy Schweitzer. It is made with a lot of madders (I am getting some designs ready for my upcoming fabric line with Blue Hill Fabrics). I dug deep into my secret stash at the shop to find some wonderful madders that I had been saving for something special. The kits will be made up of a variety of madders and neutrals (and probably no two will be the same!). I have already finished my top, and I love it! You will have to come to the Open House on December 5th to see it in person.

Another quilt we are reproducing is a six-pointed star quilt that is set with triangles to make a star in a star pattern. I purchased the quilt in Paducah this year, and I think you are all going to love it as much as I do. We are going to learn Engish Paper Piecing in the club, but I will give you an alternate method to use, too. My quilt is set with double pinks, but Deb will do hers in another colorway. We will make it small, but you will have the option do do it as big as you wish! Maybe you will want to make it as big as my antique quilt!

We talked about other quilts too, and I know this is going to surprise you, but I really don't remember which ones we decided to do this session. We came up with so many different ideas - I think we have enough for the next several years! We are planning to try and cover a lot of different techniques, as well, that you can add to your quilting repetoire.

I know you are going to love this club as much as I already do!

Be sure to come to the Open House to get 10% off of your registration fees.

Piecefully Yours,
Carrie

Northern Lake County Quilt Show Pix

2009-11-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to share a little of the fun we had at the Northern Lake County Quilter's Guild Show. We had a wonderful time vending there - everyone was so nice to us, and it was great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new friends.

I was very impressed with the skill level of the quilters in this guild. The show had something like 200 quilts, and there wasn't a dog among them. These girls obviously are doing a great job of sharing their skills with each other, and that is what belonging to a guild is all about.

I was especially pleased to see a lot of Pieceful Gathering class and kit quilts in the show, along with a lot of quilts featuring our reproduction fabrics. I tried to take pictures of a bunch of them, but my camera card didn't have enough room for everything I would have liked to photograph. The lighting made the pictures turn out kind of dark, but I tried to lighten them a little, and the rows were too close together to get full pictures of some of the bigger ones, so I apologize for them in advance, but here are a few that I did get (in no particular order):

Starburst by Jean Gundrum

This was a Pieceful BOM that eventually was made into complete kits. I think we still have a few floating around the sale room. Isn't it gorgeous? Good job Jean!

Elegant Garden by Lynn Ray

This was Katie's last Wool BOM. Lynn did a beautiful job on it. And, might I add, I think Lynn had more quilts in the show than anyone else. I could be wrong, there were several women that had quite a few, but I was pretty amazed. Imagine finishing all those quilts! What a concept!

Civil War Sampler by Madelyn Anderson

I think this was the first BOM I did after opening the shop. It was a wonderful quilt that was designed by Karen Witt, one of our favorites. I might have been a little overly ambitious when I decided to tackle this one, but several people did finish it, in spite of me! As you can see, Madelyn won a well-deserved ribbon for her efforts!

Baltimore Album by Marcia Hilse

And speaking of ribbons - Marcia won Best of Show with this stunning quilt. Marcia started this gorgeous quilt in our Baltimore Album Club with Joanne Parks and finished it later on her own. I believe most of the blocks come from Elly Sienkiewicz designs. It is amazing to see how beautiful a traditional quilt like this can look when you do it in batiks. Congratulations Marcia - what a wonderful heirloom you have made!

Lori Smith Quilt by Marcia Hilse

While we are admiring Marcia's work - here is another one of hers. I can't remember the name of it, but it was another Block of the Month we did awhile back from a Lori Smith pattern. As you can see - it is pretty complicated. Great job Marcia!

Jacob's Ladder by Susan Russell

This is a kit we made up using a pattern that I wrote up for a traditional Jacob's Ladder quilt. Susan did such a nice job on it that we stole it from her for awhile to use as a shop sample. I really loved that quilt. It was nice to see it again!

Dear Jane by Denise Groesbeck

ACK! It's the "Slit-your-wrist" quilt. Ok, that's my take on it, but many feel their quilting life won't be complete unless they do one of these incredible quilts. Denise actually finished hers, which I think is a rare feat. Many have started and given up somewhere along the way. (I can guarantee you that this one will NOT be included in my vast collection of UFOs) I wish I could have gotten a better picture of Denise's quilt, but there wasn't enough room to back up. However....

Dear Jane by Shar Snellman

Shar's Dear Jane was hanging at the end of a row, so I was able to get all of it in my picture. Any Janiac living in this area probably knows that Shar is the Queen of Janiacs. Her quilt is amazing - but I would still slit my wrists....

Tumblers by Denise Groesbeck

Well, I think Denise did this before she became a Pieceful Groupie, but we do have a Tumbler class, and I really liked her quilt, so I had to take a picture - and look, she won a ribbon!

Cool Cheddar Star Quilt by Denise Groesbeck

I tool a picture of this one just because I liked it. How awesome is that Streak of Lightning setting with the Cheddar? A little bird stopped by to tell me this was made by Denise. I should have known - I love her work!

This show takes place every other year, so be sure to watch for it in 2011!

Happy Quilting,

Carrie

Cotton Theory Class

2009-11-08T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I would like to let you know about an event we are sponsoring in January along with Catalyst Career Group. Vicki Madigan, the woman that organized the great bus trip to Madison, is organizing this event, so it is sure to be a lot of fun!

Here is the picture and info:

COTTON THEORY CLASS
Sponsored by Catalyst Career Group and
Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop

Taught By
Margy Weber
Certified Cotton Theory Instructor

Date and Time
January 15-16, 2010
Friday Night – Trunk Show and Introduction – Cotton Theory – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m
Open Sewing – 9:00 - ????
Saturday – Sit and Sew – Courthouse Steps Table Runner – 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Lunch on Your Own

Location
Courtyard by Marriott, 1311 American Lane, Schaumburg, IL
Special Room Rates with Breakfast Available if You Desire to Stay at the Hotel
(847) 619-8100

Cost
$65.00 for Friday and Saturday if Registered By 12/31/09 – $75.00 after 01/01/10
$20.00 Additional Kit Fee – Kit Provided by Instructor
Paid at Time of Class (01-16-10)

To Register Call:
Vicki Madigan at Catalyst Career Group
815/308-5426
OR
Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop, Fox River Grove, IL
847/516-7911

Credit cards or checks accepted for registration payment
Upon receiving registration student will receive via email: class supply list, cutting instructions,
and coupon to Pieceful Gathering

Mailing address
Catalyst Career Group
801 Prairie Ridge Drive
Woodstock, IL 60098
815-308-5426

I think this sounds like a really good deal. Katie and I are planning on vending, as well as attending the event. It should be a lot of fun! I am betting it will fill up fast, so don't wait too long to register.

Piecefully Yours,

Carrie

Jo Club News

2009-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

We have received word from Jo that the new club is ready for us to order. We are still contemplating our next move. Here are Jo's new quilts from the next Club:

Sorry the picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea. So, in the last couple of months we have been doing some of our own quilts, while Jo was busy with a sick mother. Deb and I have done some quilts using Jo fabrics and our own patterns. This month Deb designed this one called Crossed Paths:
We would welcome any input on what you guys would like to see us do with Jo Club. Just email me, stop by, or call the shop. We don't want to completely give up on Jo Club, since we still adore every fabric she comes out with, but we want to do whatever would make our Jo Club members, or future members, the most happy.

There are a lot of different ways we could go with this, and we are really stuck. So, please let us know what you think.

Thanks - Carrie

Buck Hunting Season is Coming!

2009-11-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters and Buck Hunters,YES, Buck Hunting Season is almost here! If you are new to Pieceful Gathering, you are probably wondering, "What the heck is this nutcase talking about, now?"

Well, for the last couple of years we have had a Pieceful Auction in February or March, where you can use your Pieceful Bucks to bid on fabulous Treasures (a.k.a."one man's Trash"). The event is a lot of fun and laughs, even if you don't always get your favorite "Treasure." This year's Pieceful Auction will take place on Sunday, March 21st at 2:00. We have been collecting treasures for months, so be sure to mark your calendars now!

You can start collecting Pieceful Bucks in January. Every time you make a purchase of regular priced merchandise, you receive a matching amount of Pieceful Bucks. There are other ways to "earn" bucks, as well. Bring in a Show n' Tell to earn bucks, or watch for little Buck Head stickers on items in the shop to earn double bucks. A flier with all the particulars will be available at the shop when the time comes.

In the meantime, we want you to plan to send your significant Male other to MAN DAY on Sunday, December 20th we planned this for the last minute because we know they like to wait until then, and they will be in a panic to find something you will actually like!

MAN DAY will also be the kick-off for Buck Hunting Season. For every dollar your man spends on you, he will bring you two bucks to add to your collection! If you have Bucks from last year, they will still work. We are just recycling them - so never throw them away!

MAN DAY will begin at Noon and go until 3:oo. Man Refreshments will be served and football will replace our usual lovely Music. No Women Allowed! Our wonderful men will be working the checkout, but Katie & I will be in the background to wrap gifts and help out as needed.

A "Wish List" for you to fill out will be available in the shop and online soon. Just fill it out and tape it to your fridge, or to his forehead - whatever works - then send him in to do some hunting and gathering for you. Ha-ha - get it - Buck Hunting and Gift Gathering....

Sometimes I even make myself laugh!

Happy Hunting!

Carrie

FREE Demo this week at Pieceful Gathering

2009-10-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Picture added later - Tricia Baldwin's Sew Simple Pineapple Quilt. Isn't it great?

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Sorry I haven't had a chance to write since we got back from Houston. We have been going crazy trying to decide how to use all the new ideas and cool stuff we picked up there.

Please join us this Tuesday, October 27 at 6:30 or Wednesday, October 28th, at 10:30 for our monthly Seasonal Sampler Demo, at which we will also be showing some of the new stuff from Quilt Market. We will be demonstrating a couple of new products and showing some new techniques, patterns, etc.

We will also be talking a little bit about some new technique classes we are considering for next session. SNEAK PREVIEW:

I went to a demo by Karin Hellaby on her technique for easy pineapple quilts. These aren't exactly your traditional pineapple blocks, but you can do some neat things with them. Here is one that I am working on - isn't it turning out nice?

In addition to the Market Review, we will be showing some new items for your fall decorating - Yes, you can be Martha Stewart!

Be sure to attend this week to get all the news!

Piecefully Yours,

Carrie

And the Winners Are.....

2009-10-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I am sure you are all dieing to find out who the Shop Hop winners are, so without further ado:

The Grand Prize Winner of the Janome AQS Sewing Machine
Lynn M. Mundt - Racine, WI

$50.00 Gift Certificate Winners

Donna Nawman, Yorkville, IL
Tricia Baldwin, Cary, IL
Karen Kugelman, Crystal Lake, IL
Terese Bailey, Cary IL
Barbara Porembski, Grayslake, IL
Marie McKay, Wauconda, IL
Kim Lowe, Wauconda, IL
Betsy Lynn, Canton, NC

$25.00 Gift Certificate Winners

Debbie Byrne, Long Grove, IL
David Svatek, Racine, WI
Margaret J. Hagemann, Prospect Heights, IL
Jodell Collins, West Dundee, IL
Debbie Lazarski, Cary, IL
Betty Gauthier
Wendy Arther, Spring Grove, IL
Bonne Proesel, Hebron, IL

In case anyone missed our quilts - We had two. One was the full quilt:

And then we had a smaller version with the center, borders 1 & 2, and a border fabric:

Both of our quilts use mainly Jo Morton fabric, which went well with our Autumn theme. We have kits for both of them available - call the shop for info (847) 516-7911.

Thanks to all who participated. I hope you had as much fun as we did!

Carrie, Katie & All Your Friends at Pieceful Gathering

Missing Quilt

2009-10-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

Please help us apprehend our "Escaped" Shop Sample. Sometime during the day on Saturday, October 3rd, the quilt apparently sprouted legs and sneaked out of the shop.

The quilt is an original PG Quilt called Fruit Fly (Little Shoo Fly). It is about 16" x 20" and it is made from Jo Morton's Crimson & Clover collection and Seneca Shirtings.

The fact that this quilt is missing makes me so sad. It is not just the loss of the quilt, but it is so hard for me to think that a quilter would do something like this. Maybe it was a mistake - it is pretty small, so maybe it got picked up by mistake?

If it were to suddenly appear in my mailbox, I would be very thankful. In the meantime, if anyone has finished one of the quilts from our Fruitfly kit, I would appreciate it if you would lend it to us to use for a sample until our kits are all sold.

Thank you for helping us find our quilt!

Carrie

New Kits!

2009-09-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I know you all love kits - even if you just look at them sitting so pretty on the shelf. We have a bunch of new kits in the shop, so be sure to stop by and get them while they last!

Here are a few that we introduced at the FREE Seasonal Sampler Demo last week:

Diane Nieman's newest design - a cute scarecrow for Fall - All pieced, no applique - yippee!

Two new designs from Jeanne Mueller - Halloween Fun, and Apples, Apples, Apples. How great would these look in your home? Or how about a gift for a special friend?

This is the little quilt I designed for Jo Club. It is made from Jo's Crimson & Clover collection and Seneca Shirtings. I called it Fruit Fly because it is a little Shoo Fly. Isn't that just wonderfully corny? You love it, don't you?

See the pictures in my previous blog post of the Lincoln Bicentennial (Beyond Borders) quilt by Monique Dillard, and Beth Fuller's Jane's Journey quilt. I have put together kits for both of these quilts - both in Blue.

Be sure to come by soon to get the best selection!

Happy Quilting!
Carrie

New Pictures

2009-09-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Pieceful Quilters -

Katie came in and we took some good pictures of the new quilts that I mentioned in my last post, so I thought I would share them with you:

Hallowe'en 1904 Quilt. As you can see, we cut it down by one row. We though three rows was plenty. Didn't Cathy do a wonderful jog on it? We don't have a lot of kits left, so don't wait too long to come and get one if you are interested.

This is what Monique Dillard from Open Gate Designs did with the Lincoln Bicentennial fabric. We have her quilt in the shop for a little while if you want to see it up close and personal. I think we will be doing kits in the red as shown, and blue. Or maybe a combination of the two.

Here is my most recent Stew - Shoo Fly Stew. You can purchase red, white and blue snippets, or cut some 10" squares out of your stash. I got so carried away that I used a bunch of my old patriotic fabric on the back, too. Check it out when you come in.

The bargain of the month - the Victorian Christmas Stocking kit. The kit includes pre-drawn foundation fabric, all the fabrics - including a velvet for the back, and all the embellishments - even the floss for doing the embroidery. All you have to do is sew it together. For $15.99 each, you will want to do one for every member of your family! Get them quick before someone else grabs them all.

Thats all for now. More pictures next week from our Seasonal Demo kits. I have seen a couple of them, and they are adorable!

Happy Stitching!

Carrie

NSQG Show Highlights

2009-09-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

As you pr0bably know, we spent this weekend vending at the NSQG (Northwest Suburban Quilt Guild) Show. The show takes place every other year, and this year's show was really wonderful. I took a few pictures so that those of you that didn't make it could get a peek. You will have to pardon the quality. The lighting wasn't great for taking pictures, and a lot of the pictures I took didn't turn out well enough to post (including a picture of my quilt - oh well). I will start with a few of the quilt pictures that turned out. I am sorry, I forgot to go back and write down names on some of them, and the placards are too small to read. I will give you info I have:

This one is a first time entry by Julia Thomson. It is done in 30's fabrics and the quilting on it was exceptional.

This is Vonnie's "Tribute to Judy Garland" Quilt. Some of you may have seen it at our show. It is a great example of what to do with those panels and novelty fabrics we buy.

This is one of Mary Naumann's wonderful hexagon quilts. You know I am deeply obsessed with hexagons right now, so I had to take a picture of this one. Check out the wonderful colors - these are all reproduction fabrics - many of them from our shop. Gorgeous!

This one by Elizabeth Zwiener was Katie's favorite. It is wool applique and she fell in love with it. It really was adorable.

This house quilt by Gail Gregory was my favorite. From a distance it looked like hand dyed fabrics, but when you got up close, you could see that it was all done in wovens. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The fabric seemed to glow.

Here are a few pictures of our booth. Katie and Demi set it up on Thursday without any help from me! Needless to say, it turned out great!

Me with another happy customer. We like to keep 'em laughing. Holy Ned I look fat - I am going to the gym tomorrow morning for sure.

Vonnie and Katie - putting out some more of the ever-popular candlemat/tank-toppers. We are sold out of everything except the one you see in the picture - my personal favorite, but apparently not everybody shares my weird sense of humor.

One corner of our booth. The quilt on the left is our new Hallowe'en 1904 Kit. Cathy Banker finished it just in time for the show and it is really stunning. I knew it was going to turn out nicer than the one pictured on the pattern, but it turned out even prettier than I thought it would. We sold quite a few of our kits at the show, so if you want one, you will want to come in and pick one up right away! We will be happy to mail them out to our out-of-town customers. It probably won't make it to the website, so call the shop to place your order. Ours is not quite as big as the one in the pattern - which is huge!

Another part of our booth. We have some really cute kits for the holidays still available including the Victorian Crazy Stocking - a real deal at $15.99! It includes pre-drawn fabric and all the fabric and embellishments needed to complete the stocking. Stop by to pick one up while they last!

Another shot of our booth. Note the Blue & Red Sawtooth Star quilt in the background. That is the larger size kit. You can just barely see the corner of the small size behind the lady in blue.

More views of our booth. Some great fall projects! Come to the Seasonal Samplings FREE Demo this week to see these and more!

Snippet Stew quilts - the one in front is my newest pattern, Shoo Fly Stew. I finished the quilt just in time for the show. It still needs binding, but that will happen eventually - or not.....

Some other parts of the show:

The Make and Take Booth, which was right next to ours. They had some cute pincushions, coasters and other stuff.

Sue Glorch & her daughter in the Bundles & Bolts booth she has with Monique Dillard. We will be using the pattern in the background with the Lincoln Bicentennial fabric.

Good friends Docia & Jim Fuller of The Quilt Merchant. Jim is so proud of his Vendor necklace! It's amazing they are still awake and smiling after spending the last few months traveling and vending all over the country.

Patti Dockus and Beth sit down to chat for a moment in the Quilter's Destination booth.

Kathy Dayon from Quilt in Joy in her BRIGHT booth. She will be in the upcoming Holiday Shop Hop with us for those of you that haven't made it all the way to the dark side.

Debbie Best from Woodstock Quilts - another participant in the Holiday Hop.

And - Last but not least - my nomination for the show's Mr. & Mrs. Congeniality, Diane and Lowell Kuck, of Details by Diane. We had a great time talking with them. How cute are they with the Crown & Jester's hat?

All in all, it was really a great show. We can't wait for it to happen again in two years!

Have a great week and be sure to stop by and see us!

Carrie

Vonnie Marie's Wedding Ring

2009-09-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I just wanted to quickly share one of our new kits with you. It is called Vonnie Marie's Wedding Ring. Some of you may remember it from our show. It is an antique top from around 1870. I purchased it from Mary Koval before I opened the shop. I knew I would never finish it if I quilted it myself, so I asked Vonnie to quilt it - knowing that her quilting was very good. She surprised me by having it hanging in our show, all finished and bound. Isn't it a beauty?

We have put together kits for the quilt using our reproduction fabrics, and I am working on a sample, but in the meantime - the antique quit works fine! Because Vonnie has put so much time and love into it, we have called it Vonnie Marie's Wedding Ring. The block is often called "Rolling Stone," but it is also known as "Wedding Ring." I copied the original maker's blocks exactly, leaving the corner square-in-a-square patches floating a little. This means you don't have to worry about matching up the points - hoo hah!

We didn't make up a lot of these kits, so come by soon or call if you want one.

Happy Quilting!

Carrie