Quilt MN 2014

We have undergone another transformation!  Last week was our 3-day sale, sending many yards of fabric to new homes!  Then over a few days, we are ready to kick off our annual Quilt MN Shop Hop! We have so many fun displays and samples and inspiration!  This slide show is not a good substitute for being at the store in person, but it will get you moving to head our way!

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Back to the Modern Quilt Blocks

Seems like it has been awhile for our 100 Modern Quilt Blocks pictures, so we have a little catch-up to do:

43, 44, 45, 46

And will you take a look at this--

a stack o' 100 blocks!

Kristina has been a busy bee!  Now comes the challenge of deciding how to put them all together.  What setting pattern to use?  Lattice? Border?

So many questions, so little time!

Stepping back a bit in time, 3 months ago, in fact---we saw pictures of Debbie's sewing room.

Now she has been busily working through getting her sewing room organized, and had a couple new pictures to show:

She has a great cabinet to keep quilts folded and out of the sun and dust.  The shelves are glass and the lower part is glass-fronted drawers, good for smaller pieces like tablerunners.  Something about this says IKEA to me.

 And this shelving area is tidied up and probably catalogued, right, Debbie?

And just to keep things fair and square, here's my own little bit of heaven!

The panorama takes in all of my weak spots!  Since this was taken, I have cleared off the disorganized clutter on the cutting table, front and center in the photo.  Now what's really bugging me is the mess on and below that white table on the right.  That has got to go!  More pictures will follow.  What you can't see from this picture is that I have washed the windows and screens for the first time in at least a year!  I really should have taken down those blinds and washed them too, they are beyond dusting.  Put that on the list!

The Taming of the Cords

Today is a little bit different kind of post for you.  I am going to share a simple little tip and instructions that will make your life easier!  This is sooo helpful if you are taking your show on the road, that is, traveling to sewing/quilting events with your machine and all the stuff that goes with it.  

I always have a tabletop light, machine cord, iron, and my personal fan packed for my trips.

This is a way to help keep all those cords tamed down and it really takes very little effort.

I love this little Lasko Air Stik fan, culled from the clearance section at a big box office supply store.  It  has a permanent place in my mobile sewing center.  I looked it up and they are shown on several sites online, including Home Depot for $24.  This is why it's always good to check the clearance aisle--I can guarantee that I paid much less than $24!  I like the fact that this fan takes up very little table space, and doesn't blow things around.  It moves just enough air to keep me cool and not bother others around me.

To make it easier to take this fan places and not have the cord all tangled up and hanging all over the place, these little velcro strips from Case Logic can be very helpful.  I got mine at The Container Store, $3.99 for a pack of 6.  There probably is a similar package at the Dollar Store!  

If you have velcro on hand, you can even make your own custom cord keeper.  It is a 7" strip of velcro, just the soft loop strip.  Then a 1" piece of the stiff hook portion is sewn to one end.  The pretty little yellow tab is purely a means to attach a logo, so you can leave that out.

This makes a nice neat way to wrap up your cord and keep it in place.  But each time you unwrap it, the velcro comes off and goes into a black hole, never to be found again when you want it!  Well, it's really pretty easy to conquer that problem with your sewing machine!  

It is a magical wonder machine, after all.

At the end of the strip (away from the velcro hook piece) fold over about a half inch or so.  The fuzzy side is exposed around the fold.  Encase the electric cord in the fold and leave just enough velcro strip to stitch close to the end.  I just used a standard foot (Bernina #37) but a zipper foot would be another good choice because you could position the needle to sew close to the cord.  Stitch back and forth across the end of the velcro.  I used a contrasting thread to be visible in the photo.

Now fold up your electrical cord and wrap the velcro (fuzzy side out) around snugly.  The velcro hook tab will attach and hold the cord in place.

And now you are ready to hit the road!

Employees On Display

We have decided to do a little bragging about our wonderful employees. What a talented bunch!  We put out an invitation to them to show their work and we found  ourselves surrounded by a wide variety of designs. Everything from hand embroidery to tried & true patterns to custom designs. Many of the samples on display have patterns available for purchase but some are either out of print or exist only in the mind of the maker!  Stop in for a look at what we have come up with!

39, 40, 41, 42

Four more pretty little blocks, just waiting to become a grown-up quilt someday!  And that wait might not be so terribly long, since Kristina told me that she has finished block #100!  A major accomplishment, which means several more pictures to share.  Now she is deciding how to put them all together, maybe one of the layouts in the book....