It's Already Time To Vote!

Are you ready to vote?!

No more freaky debates, no more Twitter anything, no more lies and innuendos?!

Just a throwback to the time when you simply get to vote on what you like, and you can even have a do-over every time you visit Bear Patch from now through November 1.  How great is that?

First, let me explain the beginning.  Our Bear Patch Circle of Quilters meets every other month on a Saturday morning.  (Next meeting is December 3.)  Attendees get a chance to sit back, learn about what's happening and what's new at the store.  There is talk about rulers, notions, patterns and books, including some demonstrations and tutorials.  And there's always a sweet treat to share, plus the coffee pot is close at hand!

The group was offered a chance to participate in a challenge.  They were given a piece of fabric from fabric "headers" donated by our Moda representative, Julie.  These are large swatches of fabrics shown to shop owners to make buying decisions.  Each participant received a different fabric.  The challenge then was to make something from that fabric and bring it back to display.  The possibility of winning super duper prizes was an added incentive!  Three Viewer's Choice prizes will be awarded, plus one more favorite picked by employees.

We received 15 projects from the group, and I have to say, they have really hit the mark with variety and creativity!  Now, any of our customers can view the projects and cast a ballot for their favorite.  And you can vote again every day you visit!

I had intended to compile a nice little slide show here for you.  But there seems to be a little war going on between Smilebox, Adobe Flash Player and my MacBook!  So we can skip the slide show and just enjoy the pictures below!  I have added pattern information as far as I am able to determine, and I will add more as it becomes known.  Some of these are originals, others are adaptations of existing patterns.  They are presented in random order numerically.  A swatch of the original challenge fabric is attached to each, so you know what the starting point is.  

So get ready for a load of pictures--

Our autumnal view on the hub of White Bear Lake.

Collage pup designed by Laura Heine

Bowtucks Tote

The little pyramid opens into a sweet sewing box!

Mini Pop Up

The Rhubarb Rally!

It's getting on in the season for rhubarb, but my clump is still going strong!  It hasn't launched out any of those big seed head stalks, and I don't notice any change in the flavor, so I keep on cutting.

At a recent event at the store, Bear Patch Circle of Quilters, Jeanne shared her Rhubarb Muffins with everyone.  They were a big hit!  So here's her secret recipe:

Rhubarb Muffins from Jeanne T.

1 ½ cups flour

¾ cup brown sugar        Topping:  ½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda                         ½ cup nuts

½ tsp. salt                                       ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 cup diced rhubarb

1 egg

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.  In a small bowl mix egg, milk, oil and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and mix only until blended.  Fill paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full.  Sprinkle with topping & press into batter.  Bake at 375˚ for 20-25 minutes.

Color Challenge

We have a great group of customers, and we love it when our Circle of Quilters gather every other month!  The content changes every month, and it includes info about new products, lessons on techniques and equipment, sharing by everyone, seasonal topics, recipes, and maybe a challenge!  Our most recent challenge to the group was the Color Challenge.  Members were offered the chance to pick a paint chip card, sight unseen, and were given a tablerunner pattern.  Then they were sent away with the instructions to use the paint colors as the basis for their fabric choices.  The results were terrific!

A free slideshow by Smilebox

We all have the chance to vote on the winners and there are some great prizes at stake!  Even employees get to pick a winner!  The voting is not based on popularity (names are not associated with the tablerunners) nor workmanship, simply on the best use of their color card.  

Maybe you would like to join our Circle?!  The next gathering is December 5 at 9:30 am.  It only costs $5 to reserve a seat, and the freebies, goodies and discounts you receive will offset the cost.  Call 651-429-1039 to add your name to the list!

Bear Patch Circle of Quilters--Kicking off 2014!

 Yesterday was the gathering of Circle of Quilters, our first of 2014.  This fun group meets every other month for sharing and socializing.  Last year, we offered a challenge to them to join in the internet party making the Scrappy Trip Around the World blocks from Quiltville.
We saw some fun results from that challenge, so we followed it up with a new one--
The Economy Block from Red Pepper Quilts--

I made a small sample of some special little fabric pictures--

and I handed out instructions and material to make the first block, plus ideas on changing the block size and a sample layout.  Can't wait to see if we have some show-and-tell of these blocks at our April meeting!

Another project that this group was offered last year was a series of 12 star blocks.  Each 6" star block was set in the center of a bigger (12") star.  Just to inspire some more creativity, I pulled together 4 samples of setting the 12 blocks together into a quilt.  I used the Electric Quilt program to make the diagrams and figured out the yardage that might be needed--

Working with the EQ programs is easy to learn and with a little practice, yields great results!

Maybe you would like to join our next Circle of Quilters meeting on April 12!  Just give us a call and tell us you want to be added to the gang!   651-429-1039

The Web of Inspiration

Last Saturday the Bear Patch Circle of Quilters gathered for some fun.  This is something you should mark on your calendars and sign up for because it is a great time at a very reasonable price--only $5!  You even get freebies and discounts for attending, so you will come out ahead in the long run!  Our next meeting is April 13 at 9:30.  

We talked about new things happening at the store and had a great show-and-tell.  The group got first viewing of 8 great new purse samples that are now on display in the window.  Jeanne brought Valentine's cookies for everyone and her little itty bitty granddaughter, Piper, even helped make them.

I was present to talk to the group about sources of inspiration from the internet--places that I visit to get new ideas or help me get inspired.  One of those places is Quiltville.  This is Bonnie Hunter's website and blog, and if any of you are familiar with her books and designs, you will know that she is a master of scrappiness!  She has a whole list of patterns that you can use for making up scrap quilts.  One of them is Scrappy Trips Around the World, and it has become a popular project out there among bloggers and quilters.  There is something appealing about using simple random 2 1/2" strips to put together a quilt top with repetitive rings of colors.  The people in the group on Saturday each received a little pack of pre-cut strips, enough to make 2 blocks if used alone.  The challenge is to add some of your own into the mix and continue assembling the blocks using the Quiltville instructions.  You can make many or only a few blocks, depending on how the mood strikes you.  It is up to you to decide what size you want to make.  I hope to see many blocks back in 2 months for show-and-tell!

So even if you didn't make it to our February meeting, you are more than welcome to jump on the Scrappy Trips bandwagon and see what you can come up with before our April meeting.  If you want to see more examples, you can see many examples, including the 2 below, on the Flickr group.  And now Bear Patch has our own Flickr group so we can share pictures that way, too!  You don't have to be standing in the store to enjoy show and tell anymore!

Here are examples of sample blocks that I made.  The first one was done with random colored scraps from my own stash.  Kind of fun to see how the layout plays with the eye.

The second one was done with more of a plan.  I picked 4 greens, 4 yellows, 4 reds, 4 whites, 4 blues and 4 oranges.  Then I placed them in the same order for the 4 blocks.  

So, depending on your preferences, you can do it either way.  Or, use alternating light/dark strips.  Or shades of 1 color from dark to light.  Or children's novelty prints.  Or Christmas.  Or Halloween.  Or Valentine's.  Make some blocks and show me what you can come up with!

Keep stitchin'!   Pam