Our 11th Celebration of our 20th Anniversary!

We just love to celebrate!  We find many occasions to celebrate our customers, our store, our employees, the fact that the sun was shining all day yesterday, etc.!
You know we have been celebrating our anniversary all year long, right?  So, November 20 is upon us!  And what better thing to share with you than one of our favorite pattern designers!  

Pat, of Villa Rosa Designs, is always producing plenty of inspiration!  I can't even tell you how many times we have used her patterns, sometimes repeatedly!  Her patterns are printed on heavy cardstock in glossy color.  One side of the card is a full picture of the quilt, with the very succinct directions on the reverse side.  This is the "no-frills" set of directions, very easy to understand.  Many of these patterns are good for a favorite print or panel that you don't want to cut up into little bits.  Others are just right for a pack of 5" charm squares or a 2 1/2" roll.  There's great diversity!  

Maybe a Prince tribute??

We call them Rosecards, from Villa Rosa.  The price ($2.25) makes them perfect to collect for yourself or a friend. 

And notice that one on top of the stack?  It was custom printed for Bear Patch and features the Quilt MN fabric from a couple years back.  It was used as an incentive prize for shop hoppers!

A few years ago, Pat visited Bear Patch and did a "bed turning" show of some of her quilts.  We really need to have her back!  Comparing the picture on the card to a sample made of different fabrics and colors can really bring on that "aha" moment.  We are displaying 2 or 3 hot-off-the-sewing-machine samples right now for our Christmas display, and that's a perfect example of how different the resulting quilt can appear from the picture.

So, Monday, November 20, from 9am-9pm, we will be handing out 1 Rosecard per customer!  No purchase required.  Just pick a card and get happy!  We have a lot of the newest designs to share, carried home from Quilt Market just for you.  And, of course, we have many on hand for purchase, if you want to expand your collection.

Our Multi-Talented Employees

Full disclosure:  I love the people I work with, so my opinions might be a little bit biased about the things they make!

I asked my co-workers to bring me something to display at the store for our own little gallery.  It took a bit of wheedling, but I got some great results!  It took even more wheedling (and some threats!) to get them to write a little something about the stories "behind scenes".

But they have some humorous, moving and compelling stories to share.  I'm not going to put them all here, but if you are stepping into the store, just take a minute to admire and appreciate and read what compelled them to make what they did.

Kristina made this cross quilt with some improvisational piecing from scraps.  She even worked a few inspirational words into the blocks, and she dedicates the quilt to the nurses she knows.  The nurse of my previous life appreciates that!

Diane made something wonderful out of the Deco State Flowers fabric by In The Beginning Fabrics, using the Night Light pattern by Villa Rosa.  Honestly, when I saw this fabric I wasn't sure what I would ever do with it.  It didn't grab my attention.  But now that I've seen Diane's quilt, I am re-thinking that!

Tammy's quilt (below) is a memento of a European trip with her daughters.  What a wonderful opportunity!  She worked a lot of little quilted designs into the blocks and it's like a scrapbook from that trip.  

Do you see Mona Lisa?

And arched windows, maybe Notre Dame?

"Alternative Tweets" is the name for Diane's whimsical quilt made from her collection of bird fabrics.  No tweets of questionable thoughts in this store!  The only tweets we have are the ones in this quilt!

She used the Creative Grids Wonky Trim Square to make her blocks.

Sharon is our hand embroidery master, and here's a close-up of the detail that goes into her stitching-- beautiful and what an heirloom for generations to come!

Debbie is in love with Art Gallery Fabrics (sorry, Bob!), and she makes sure our shelves are stacked high with their gorgeous prints and solids.  The quilt she made is from their large assortment of free online patterns.  It's called Falling and the fabric is from the Sketchbook collection.  This fabric has to be touched to fully appreciate it.  They have some of the best designers in the field working for the company, creating new temptations constantly.

Linda put together this little sewing apron, and even gave us a checklist for our To Do list!  I hope that she has completed the first task, so now she can make the KnitWit Clutch.  That will be a great home for her fancy pants knitting needles!

 The apron pattern and much more are from this Make It, Take It book:

There are several more items on display that aren't included here, so you will have to make a trip to White Bear Lake to view the full gallery!

It's great to be surrounded by such talent.  Did you know that we regularly meet after work for our own little Employee Sew Night?  And there's a lot more than sewing that's going on there!

Our Employee Gallery will be on display until July 27, so don't miss out!

Keepin' It Simple!

Today we are sharing an idea that we use when we have some great fabric in a collection, and we want a way to show it off to our customers.  We try to find ways that are quick and simple to display for you.  Sometime you might just sense that a fabric is calling your name, but you don't have any notion about what you would do with it.  We can help you with that!

This little lap quilt was made using 6 fat quarters plus a fabric for the vertical spacer strips and another for the horizontal sashing strips.  Pretty easy picking even when working with a small group of coordinates.  The fabrics for all the blocks were Forest Floor from Art Gallery Fabrics.  They are sorta sweet, sorta funky - especially that bunny who looks like he came from Alice in Wonderland!

Happy Child by Villa Rosa Designs

 The horizontal sashing strips are a great basic print from Cotton and Steel, and it has a little glimmer or "pearlescence".

Villa Rosa Designs prints a multitude of uncomplicated patterns that can be soooo convenient to use!

They are printed on a glossy "postcard", finished picture on one side and directions on the reverse side.  They make great collector's items!  And they don't break the bank!  You can purchase 4 or 5 of these for the price of one standard quilt pattern.

Here's a portion of the back of the card, showing a diagram and some printed instructions.

The directions are brief and to the point.  There isn't room on the back of a 4x6 card for many details!  Many, maybe most, of the patterns make use of standard pre-cut fabric sizes (5" squares, 2 1/2" strips, 10" squares, etc.).  Or you can cut yardage to the recommended sizes.

This Heirloom pattern is a great pick to feature a focus print in the large rectangle.  Those fabrics that you love, but have a hard time cutting into because then the design will be chopped up?  I think you know what I mean, and you probably have a few!  Well, now you can actually put that gorgeous or unique or whimsical print into an actual quilt and it can be of some good to someone, not just occupying space in your fabric collection.

We used the Heirloom pattern to feature the Quilt MN fabric--

So go ahead, indulge yourself in something fresh and new!  Won't be long before you have it all stitched up and warming someone you love!

Ladies' Bags (Not Bag Ladies!)

Bags, purses, totes---

whatever you call them, we love to make them!

First on our list of Quilt MN 2013 bags is the Claire Handbag by Lazy Girl Designs, sewn for us by Linda.  An excellent addition to your personal bag collection!  Numerous pockets make it easy to stow your necessities, and the size is very accommodating (10 1/4" w x 9 1/4"h x 4"d).  The Lazy Girl patterns are fully illustrated with color photos with step-by-step instructions 

and tips galore.

Claire Handbag by Lazy Girl

Second in our lineup is the Tabitha Jane bag, one of our Rose Card patterns from Villa Rosa Designs.  Debbie stitched up this sample--this is one bag that is completely reversible, so I am showing you both personalities of one bag--

This easy-going shoulder bag will be extremely handy for your quilt shop hopping, roomy enough (16 1/2" tall x 18" wide) to hold some super fibrous goodies.  This bag is made from 4 fat quarters, so pick any of your favorite themes or choose from our extensive supply of fat quarters in addition to our Quilt MN fabrics.  One of the bonus points with this bag is that the pattern, like all of the Rose Card patterns, is only $2.25!  What's not to love?!

Call us at 651-429-1039 to request and reserve your bag patterns!