Elegant Wool Garden BOM

The spring session flew by and the upcoming summer session has really caught me off guard. I haven't been as prepared for my new Block-of-the-Month, Elegant Wool Garden, as I would have liked to have been. When we sent the newsletter to print, I still wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with these beautiful blocks. My original plan was to put them together with no sashing and have a border with some more wool applique. After making all of the blocks and laying them out, I decided that they really needed sashings. They are all so beautiful that they each need to be framed and seen separately. As I was coming to this realization, the perfect sashing fabric happened to be right in front of my face. Here is a photoshoped picture of what it will look like with the sashings. (Don't look too close because not all of the blocks are done and it's not actually put together yet).

The sashing I used is a Japanese fabric that I think works just perfectly with the blocks. So, I guess if I had done a better job of planning, I would have made it clear in the newsletter that the starting fee of $40 includes all your background wool and this beautiful Japanese fabric to sash the blocks in (you'll get that at the end). Something else I realized a little too late is that this would be really nice done on a white wool background as well. For those of you that don't like things as dark as I do, you can choose to do this on white and then it will be sashed in this lighter version of the sashing fabric.

Either way, I am loving this project and I think it will be a great B.O.M. As it says in the newsletter, we will make two blocks each month and be done with it in five months. Each month, you'll get a kit that includes two block patterns (the patterns are really nice and already reversed for you), and the demos will focus on different embellishment techniques.

Hope to see you all on Saturday!

Katie

My "Peeps"

Strictly for your amusement....





When we were at the staff retreat we somehow got on the subject of my "People" - as in "I have people for that," or "have your people call my people." Anyway, I guess there is some commercial where someone calls them, "My Peeps." Kind of lame, but mildly amusing. So one of my "Peeps" got some Peeps for me, and here they are:

My Peeps - Aren't they cute?

Knew you would like them!

Carrie

Fairfax County Patriotic Quilt

Wow - Deb made up this gorgeous quilt using Jo Morton's Free Download pattern. It turned out so much prettier than the picture on the Andover website. She will be using it in her Triangles class next session - I bet that one is going to fill up fast!

Don't forget - Early Discount Registration Day is this Saturday, April 4th.

See you there - Carrie

Seneca Shirtings from Jo Morton

At last we have received Jo Morton's Senaca Shirtings. I was beginning to wonder if they had lost our order. Just as I was going to call, they arrived. Although they are not real typical of Jo's usual dark, rich looking fabrics, they will work really well with a lot of our other reproductions. If you were at my Snippet Stew demo last month, you will want to get a bundle of these for "Stewed at the Cabin." They will be perfect!

Pieceful Auction a Big Success!

The Pieceful Auction has come and gone - can you believe it? We did much better this year than last year, keeping the general confusion to a minimum - and we got some ideas that will make it run even better next year! People went home with lots of neat stuff, along with a few interesting things. I relieved more guilt by getting rid of several unfinished projects that I started at "Another Shop," before my life as a quilt shop owner got underway. I know I would never have finished any of them, so I hope someone else will get some fun out of finishing them. We just took a few pictures before our camera quit, but we may be getting more from Demi. The ones we took are below.

Who is this lunatic? (The one on the stairs, that is)

They never listen this well during our classes, clubs and demos.

Maybe we need to give out more free junk!

Don't throw away your extra Pieceful Bucks - they will still be good for next year's

Pieceful Auction

Hope to see you in the shop soon,

Carrie

Cat's Away in Vegas!

Happy Birthday to Katie!

Her friends took her to Vegas for her birthday......


So - while the cat's away - we need to clear out some bolts!

Before Katie took off, she and Demi rearranged the shop to make room for some new stuff, which means we had to move about 50 bolts to the sale room. I also cleared out a bunch of bolts to fill up the flat fold sale cabinet, and it is too full, too! Then I turned a bunch of skinny bolts into fat quarters and snippets, and we are out of room for those. We are outgrowing our shop!

I have been driving Katie crazy with the goofy sales and promotions, but since she is gone for a few days, I think we will add a quick little sale to move some old stuff out and make room for new!

All day on Saturday, February 21st we will have the following extra sale:

• All classroom sale fabric $4.50 per yard - One yard minimum cuts
• All Sale Flat Folds an extra 10% off the already low prices
• All Fat Quarters $2.00
• All Snippets 50 cents

ONE DAY ONLY! Be there!

Carrie

What is your Quilt Worth?

Hello Pieceful Quilters,

I was recently fortunate enough to be involved in a lecture/discussion group headed by AQS Certified Appraiser, Sandy Schweitzer. Sandy has worked with our shop since we opened as an advisor and appraising quilts for our customers. She is truly one of the most knowledgeable people I know regarding quilts, from antique quilts to the newest art quilts.

What brought about this particular lecture was a fire suffered by one of the group members. Sandy was called in to do an after-the-fact appraisal on the damaged and ruined quilts, quilt tops, fabric, sewing room supplies, and various other textiles and sewing related items. Because of her thorough and detailed work, our member was able to get the full appraised value of everything that Sandy appraised.

Although our member did not divulge the values of everything, she did share with us a few of the values on some of her quilts and tops. To say we were stunned would be an understatement. Even though I have gone through the appraisal program, the methodology for appraising new quilts hadn't really hit home for me before this.

When you go to figure out the value of a quilt that you have made, you base the value on what it would take if you were to hire someone else to make it, from shopping for the fabric to the finished quilt. When you start figuring out what you paid for fabric - and you know you had to purchase more fabric for the top than you did for the backing. You can't usually purchase less than a quarter yard of anything, so if you are making scrappy quilts, think about how much fabric you bought for it! Then consider the time that went into finding all those fabrics. What if you had to do it again? You could spend months on the Internet trying to track down a fabric that just came out a year ago!

Now start adding up all the time it took you to cut the fabric and piece it together. Did you quilt it yourself, or did you pay someone to quilt it? What is the quality of the workmanship - excellent, of course! I know all my quilts are masterpieces - aren't yours? (ha-ha) Even if you aren't winning any awards, it still takes a lot of time. If you had to hire someone to make it for you, it would cost you at least $20.00 an hour. Start adding that up and you will realize that maybe that quilt you made is worth something after all.

This is another reason to make sure you put a label on EVERY QUILT YOU MAKE and TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH! (If we quilted your quilt, we have a picture of it in our computer) You would be amazed at how many quilts are stolen each year. We may not value our quilts enough, but there are plenty of thieves out there that know the value of our quilts. Wouldn't you just be sick if you had a quilt stolen, and you couldn't even get something from your insurance company for it? If you don't have any way to prove you had it, the insurance company will pay you for a blanket - maybe $40.00, if you are lucky!

The point here is that you should get at least one of your quilts appraised. That way, if you should have a fire or loss, you will have some proof as to the quality and value of your work. Be sure to label and photograph every quilt. This way you will be able to a) prove you made it, and b) have the quilt returned to you if it should turn up somewhere strange. These things happen all the time.

Ok - end of lecture....

Sandy will be at Pieceful Gathering to do appraisals for the women that were in attendance at the lecture, however, several appraisal spots are still open, so I am opening these spots up to anyone that wants to come in that day. You can have any quilt appraised, old or new.

The date is Sunday, March 15th in the afternoon. The appraisals are $45.00 per quilt. You will receive a written appraisal that you can submit to your insurance company. Sandy is an AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser, so her credentials will be recognized by any insurance company.

Call the shop for details, or to have your name added to the list. If you can not make it on that date, you can make an appointment with Sandy at another time. The cost is still the same.

Happy Quilting!
Carrie

Call is at (847) 516-7911