The Promise of Good Things To Come!

Hello friends!  We had a very enjoyable day Saturday with so many of you stopping in to shop, have a cupcake, and, of course, meet Diana as she gets ready to start her own new quilt shop, Affinity For Quilts.  So much promise of things to come! 

Now just 4 days remaining of the Bear Patch Quilting Co. that you have known for close to 22 years!  Yes, we do still have fabric, and we still have the good stuff, too!  The picture below was taken today, 1/27.  Good stuff!

During these last 4 days, we will take those prices down one more little notch to 60% off!
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 9-5:30, Thursday 9-5 and then done!
We have had so many fun interactions with you, our customers and friends.  It has been a period of adjustment, with time for me and my co-workers to embrace the concept of life without Bear Patch.  We have a great work crew, and we are already setting up plans for sewing days and retreats in the future.  A lot of you have asked, so we'll tell you a little about what the future holds for us:

Nancy T. - continues with her full time job at the League of MN Cities for now but still could work evenings and/or weekends for Diana
Diane H. - thought she was going to be a bank teller, but when she found out that they don't pay in fabric she lost interest quickly!  Diane and her husband have a little Skamp trailer, and they will be out camping whenever possible, especially up north.
Sharon L. - has agreed to stay on to share her hand embroidery expertise, and will take more trips to new destinations!
Kristina T. - might show up working for Diana, and otherwise she's knitting, dying yarn and cleaning her sewing room.  Good luck with that!
Pam H. - planning to travel, along with soon-retired husband, in our new Airstream trailer.  First we are going to Charlotte, NC, for a month with our grandsons.  A Singer Featherweight will be safely stowed for travel.  I'm getting back into knitting, and I might even use my longarm to quilt one of the many quilts of my own that have never been finished!
Carol F. - planning a 6 week road trip to AZ, FL & NC.  Is serving on the Senior Advisory Committee at the White Bear Lake Senior Center.  And always doing something good with the Lions Club.
Tammy B. - you might see Tammy back at the store with rotary cutter in hand.  And dirt under her fingernails once the ground thaws out!
Linda P. - simply looking forward to no schedule!
Debbie E. - would like to just Breathe!  And then she will organize her sewing room, knit, read, take classes, go on retreats, cook and become much more familiar with her grandkids!  Doesn't seem like there's much time left for to Breathe!
Linda E. - will continue with her full-time work for the DNR, involved with the state park campground department.  In the past, she has been a good resource for people looking for some help with making quilts or fixing problems.  If she decides to continue doing that, she will leave her contact info for Diana.
Marlene M. - already down in AZ, smart girl!
Sophie V. - plans to be using her new EMT status, so you might see her smiling face at your next emergency!  That would be very reassuring to me!
Sue S. - Will be camping and traveling. And quilting a lot. Possibly teaching classes for the new boss.
Laurel R. - is starting off her retirement with a trip to Belize with husband, George.  After that, she has "many, many, many quilting projects planned" and might work some teaching into her schedule.

Karen L. - will still be working fulltime as Business Office Manager at Ecumen Seasons at Maplewood and Lakeview Commons in Maplewood.

So, you can see that many good things await us!  I have always embraced the idea that change is good because the next new thing might be even better than the old.  And it keeps the old brain cells working!  I hope to see some of you on my shopping trips to Affinity For Quilts!    Pam

Enjoy 40% off!

Hello Bear Patch Friends! 
Christmas Day is past, wrapping paper has overfilled the garbage can and pine needles are dropping as you read this!  Dinners have been made and consumed, and diets have resumed!  We hope at least one of your own gifts included something for your quilting and sewing projects!
 
There were no gift certificates from Bear Patch in your stocking this year, but we do want to remind you that any past gift certificates must be spent soon in the store.  After the store closes, any remaining dollars on gift certificates will be voided.

Please be aware we are closed on Wednesday, December 26.  We are open for the after-holiday shopping from December 27 through the 31st.  Your discount moves to 40% off nearly everything!  The only thing you might find in short supply is solid black and white, since that's like stocking up on water and peanut butter before a big storm, just blink and it's gone!  Who can't use some spare black and white in the stash?!

As we continue in this process of closing down, you can see some changes around the store.  We are all feeling various shades of joy and sadness.  And still finding some very interesting things to pull out of the nooks and crannies!  You have a chance to own a bit of Bear Patch history for cheap if you shop our "garage sale" table in the back corner!  And, by the way, there is no dickering and no further discounts on those items!

One big change for Bernina is that we will actually close the dealership.  The plans we had hoped for have changed.  We do have a few machines left to sell with good incentives on the prices.  Any machines in the repair department are being completed and will need to be picked up as soon as you are notified.  We are recommending that Bernina owners contact Jordan for service and repair through his own phone number, which we can give to you on request.  We are still running some classes in January for new owners, since there are people still needing that and we want to carry through with as much as we can.  And for future help and assistance, please check out Quilter's Haven in Rosemount.  They are an established Bernina dealership.

We don't have any definite news to share about what might possibly follow Bear Patch in our space.  Whatever happens, please remember that we need to support our small businesses of all kinds.  Downtown White Bear Lake has so much to offer and things you just won't find anywhere else, and we are proud to have been a part of that.

We are no longer accepting donation blankets and quilts for Project Linus.  You can learn more about drop off locations at the website for the Greater Twin Cities chapter.

We are closed January 1-2-3.  That will give you plenty of time to begin to work on your resolutions for 2019!  If you're not a big football fan, please join us in thought as we spend January 1 barricaded in our sewing space!  It's a great day for the sisterhood of sewing!

                                  
Bear Patch Quilting Co.  2199 4th St., White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-429-1039   bearpatchquilting.com  

Fun Facts

One more milestone was recently accomplished in the closing of Bear Patch -- we had our final employee Christmas party!  I know, it's bittersweet, but I think it was possibly the most fun party we have had!  It was a potluck at the store after business hours.  Normally, we go out to eat, but since we had just had a fabulous dinner at our retirement party for Debbie and Laurel, we opted to just stay at the store and share our own specialities.  Wow!  Good food, too much to even fit on our cutting table buffet line!  Desserts had to occupy a separate space!  We were all seated at our classroom tables, which is a place of familiarity and good memories for us.  We had much more lively dinner conversation than if we were out in public at a real restaurant.  People clearly wanted to enjoy this last full gathering.

From left to right:  Jeanne T., Linda P., Sharon L., Barb E., Carol F., Pam H., Diane H., Kristina T.,
Laurel R., Sarah A., Linda E., Debbie E., Tammy B., Sophie V. and Karen L.
Missing: Beth H., Marlene M., Sue S.   Others attending but not pictured: Jordan F., Laurie L. and Bob E.

We all brought toys, food, toiletries, socks and underwear to donate to charity.  We have a customer donation spot for charity, too, and have already contributed more than 100 pounds of items to the local food shelf, plus cash donations, too!  And literally hundreds of toys, which are going to make
Christmas day a whole lot happier for some lucky little ones!  Thank you to our very generous customers who have already donated, and we are continuing to collect until December 14 so there is still time for you to participate!
We played a numbers game that really kept us all guessing.  Barb, our wonderful bookkeeper, had combed through some of the store records and challenged us all to put our brains to the test in a guessing game.  She separated some of the most frequently purchased items in our database and we were pretty surprised at the quantity of some of them!  Plus, these numbers are just for the past 5 years!  It would not have been possible to capture all of these items for 21 years because the early years were non-computerized.  So to keep it simple, she just captured the totals for 2014 to the present.  Here are a few of the stats:

Fat Quarters - this was the highest quantity of all items.  For the uninitiated, a fat quarter is not a body part.  It is a piece of fabric measuring 18" x 22" and is the equivalent of 1/4 yard of fabric.  Our total number sold isn't even a true total, because we do give away a lot of fat quarters for retreat groups, bus groups, shop hops, etc.  Our total sold was 44,416 fat quarters over 5 years!  That equals 11,104 yards of fabric!  I wanted to put that number into a quantity I could relate to, so I figured that many bolts have about 12 yards of fabric when they come to us.  Maybe more, maybe less, but I'm going with 12.  That equals 925 bolts of fabric used for fat quarters over 5 years!  That means there are a whole lot of fat quarters leaving Bear Patch every year!  Are any of them in your stash?

Cosmo floss - this item is a Japanese made embroidery floss.  The parent company is actually Lecien, and they make a lot more than embroidery floss.  It is called a 6-strand floss and is sold on a little skein wrapped with paper loops, much like the DMC brand of floss.  We have a large group of hand embroidery enthusiasts shopping and meeting at Bear Patch.  They love this floss and feel it is superior to DMC in the quality and feel of the product.  Over the last 5 years, we have sold 17,668 little skeins of Cosmo!  Each skein holds 8 meters (8.7 yards).  That equals 153,711 yards of floss!  To clarify just how much thread that is, imagine if you tied all that thread together.  And then tie one end to the goal post arm of a football field.  Now run to the other end 1,537 times.  That's how much Cosmo floss we have sold since 2014!  Amazing!  And think how short of breath we would be from just running the length of the field once!

Aurifil thread - we all knew this would be one of the top-selling items in the store.  We love our Aurifil thread, and we preach the wisdom of using the best thread you can afford to buy for your precious sewing projects.  This is an Italian-based company with a mission to make the best thread ever!  They have an American headquarters in Chicago, in addition to their original establishment in Milan, Italy.  Anyway, here are the stats:  7,049 spools of Aurifil sold in 5 years.  These are the large spools of thread, and this is a combination of the 2 most-used weights of thread, the 40 and 50 weight spools.  The 50 wt spool outruns the other by a long run, so I am using that spool as the basis for my calculations.  Those spools each hold a lot of thread, 1,300 meters (1,422 yards) to be exact.  Multiplied out, we have 10,023,678 yards of thread!  There are 1,760 yards of thread in 1 mile.  This equals 5,695 miles of thread that we have sold in 5 years!  Now, let's tie all of that thread together on a giant spool and go on an exotic vacation to Istanbul.  Fasten the giant spool to the plane (I'm sure we could duct tape it on there somehow but getting it through security might make the people behind us a little testy!) and string that along from the plane for the entire flight from MSP airport to Istanbul.  That is 5,489 miles (12-14 hours fly time with 1 stop to pee), and we will arrive with still 200 yards of thread to spare.  How about that!?  That kind of blows my mind!  Yes, we all really really love our Aurifil thread!

I could go on with more, but I won't because, although fascinating, this is enough numbers for today!  The next 2 most frequently sold items are our 14" zippers from Atkinson Designs (6,747) and Isacord thread (6,313 spools).  How many of all these items are at home in your stash?!

No Tricks, All Treats!

Hello!  We have a big holiday coming up!  Are you ready for some treats?!  
There are enough tricky things in our lives, so we are all about the treats!

Our Going-Out-of-Business Sale continues!  Yes, there are still thousands of yards of fabric for you!  You have been keeping us very busy, and we are still unpacking new fabric.  We want to keep the supply fresh!  

The #1 question we are asked is "What is your last day of business?".  
We don't really have that date set, but we will know when the time is right!  
The #2 question we are asked is "Isn't someone buying the shop?".  
All that we can really tell you is that there have been some talks with interested people, and it's not a quick process.  If there is any news that we can share, 
we will definitely communicate that to you. 

 

Now, for the treats!  Starting Wednesday, October 31, our storewide discount moves to 20%, and we are done with all those exceptions to the discount!  The only thing still sacred are the Bernina prices and services. We will honor the 20% discount on Bernina feet and accessories, Isacord, OESD stabilizer, Embroidery Design CD’s and patterns.

Starting the 31st, the minimum cut on all fabric is 1/2 yard, and we are not cutting fat quarters.  We are no longer taking special requests unless the item is something that we consider our regular stock items.  

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  

We do still have some classes going on and Open Sewing on our calendar.  
Come join us for a day!

Finally, we again want to say how much we appreciate all of our customers!  
You are the best!  It's a bit of an emotional roller coaster to be working 

at Bear Patch right now, and we try to put that aside 

so we can focus on you, our friends.  
Please understand that we all are going through a big transition, 
and we will do our best to make your shopping experience a good one.

Look for the beauty in every day!

Your friends at Bear Patch

Great Fall Class Line Up

Bear Patch is such a classy place!  That doesn't have anything to do with society, but it means we love to present classes for our customers.  It's such a great way for like-minded people to sit down and hopefully learn a thing or 2!  We have always tried for a variety of projects:  big, small, handwork, machine techniques, beginner, advanced, morning, afternoon, night and weekends, too!  We try to keep our classes small and friendly for everyone.  Even though our days are numbered, we can't resist the chance to offer a few more learning opportunities.  And sometimes it's just plain nice to get some inspiration from each other!

Our fall classes are almost entirely posted up on the website now.  There still will be a few things added, but not much is left to add.  On our main page, hover over the Class tab at the top of the page, then choose Bear Patch Classes from the drop down.  You will also find a choice there to send us an email registration.  We are taking registrations in the order we receive them.  We can also help you over the phone (651-429-1039) and, of course, in person in the store.  Your place in class is not secure until we receive payment from you.  Many times we have people waiting to take any cancelled spots, so please make sure you let us know if you can't come.  If you cancel at least one week or sooner from the class date, you will receive store credit for the class fee, minus the pattern if that was included and you choose to keep it.

We want to highlight some of the classes that are coming up soon.  Next Tuesday (9/18) Joy is having an open sew for hand applique and quilting.  She has taught classes to many of you, and this is your chance to ask questions about finishing your project.  Joy also has a Beginner's Hand Applique class starting 9/19.
Continuing with the handwork, Sharon has scheduled a Hand Embroidery Basics evening class on 10/3.  If you want to learn from a master stitcher, this is last call.
Laurel has modified the Beginning Quilting class to 2 all-day sessions, starting 10/6.  She has also added a new Machine Quilting class, Beautiful Borders, for using your specialty foot and rulers.

Sew much to do, sew little time!  We hope you can work something into your schedule, and we look forward to seeing you at Bear Patch!

Bear Patch Quilting Co.
2199 4th St.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-429-1039
bearpqc@aol.com
bearpatchquilting.comMon-Tues-Wed  9am-9pm
Thu-Fri-Sat  9am-5pm
Sunday 12noon-4pm

A Quilt Minnesota Retrospective

Today I'm sharing our new window display at the store.
We'll call it the Quilt Minnesota Retrospective.
And it's all about me, Pam Hansen, your friendly blogger!

Way back in 2008, I began a little journey into the land of designing and writing patterns.  I have learned so many things along the way!  Even if everything is proofread 3 times there can still be typos!  And math is really important!  I've learned ways to improve the formatting, and learned to create diagrams.  I've also been using photos in some patterns, so I've worked on making those as clear as I can without being a pro!
I've gotten pretty good at shooting the pictures for the pattern covers, with tips and ideas picked up along the way.  My son, Dan, is responsible for the template on the front and back of the pattern.  I send him pictures and text and he makes it work!

Debbie (store owner and therefore the boss) encouraged me to try writing some quilt patterns specifically using the exclusive fabrics designed each year for the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop.  I thought sure, I'll give it a whirl!  And so the story goes.....!

I searched high and low in my house to find each year's special quilt.  The first year I only made a tablerunner, I didn't have time for anything large.  But from then on, I designed something different each year, and sometimes more than one!  When I got all of these displayed, I had to step back and take a deep breath!  That's a lot of work!

Slug Bug, Wound Around and Pie In The Sky

 Each year there is usually some sort of panel or border print or decorative scenes.  So I usually incorporated that whenever I could to just give customers ideas of how they could turn those into something more than they started with.

16 In Between, Star Light and Wild Child up above.

Pie In The Sky and Explore More

 I've used the row quilt layout more than once.  There are 2 examples in the picture below, although the quilt on the upper left isn't very visible.  The quilt on the lower left was made with fabrics originally designed by James Meger, a noted nature/outdoor artist.

Ten and Sweet Treat on the left, MN Mixer on the right.

MN Mixer, Connections and Stix Mix pillow below.

 The quilt on the right above is called Connections, and it is one pattern that I have made in multiple sizes.  The baby quilt is cute and just the right size!

Below are 2 patterns that are small items that were part of the collection - a tablerunner and a pair of tablemats for centerpieces.  

I've used that round tablemat design for making some Christmas gifts, too.

Ring A Ding and Winner Spinner

So that's the saga of my Minnesota quilts!  It's been an interesting endeavor, and it's been fun to see many patterns come to life in fabric.  We always make up some kits for the quilts, and I've taught some as classes.  The 2018 fabrics can be viewed online but we haven't received any bolts yet.  I'm wondering what I will come up with this time?

So Many Things To Love

We are very excited to share lots of wonderfully inspiring ideas through our many new class offerings!  We have classes for all levels of experience with sewing and quilting and machine embroidery.  Visit our website for complete descriptions and information on any of our classes.  Or, you can give us a call (651-429-1039) and we'll do our best to answer your questions.  Or, best of all, come into the store!  Our slideshow covers many of the class samples, but there are more in addition to these.

We're going to do everything we can to keep you happy this winter!  Just think, by the time this "term" ends, it will be May and springtime!  There's light at the end of the tunnel!

 

Free slideshow design created with Smilebox

2 of our Favorite Things

It's time for another anniversary moment, and it's a two-fer!

It's not too hard to guess what I'm talking about when you see this picture! 

Honestly, I'm pretty sure that if Bear Patch had lived in a previous life, it would have been a ribbon store.  That's the kind of prettiness that is just under the surface when Debbie is choosing goods for the store!  She could easily slip over the edge and buy racks and racks of ribbons and trims!  I've been there.  I've seen the lust in her eyes when she is surrounded by beautiful ribbons, and I've had to pull her back to reality!  It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!

And what about those rainbows of zippers!?  We love our 14" zippers from Atkinson Designs!  We use them in so many ways, it's hard to imagine what life was like before our rack of zippers moved into Bear Patch!  These are the best zippers for many of our bag patterns because they can be easily sized down for any length 14" or less.  There's no fear of zippers around here, and we'll help you master any zipper anxiety you might have!

So, it's December 20th just around the corner.  Our final chance to pass out a little present to celebrate our 20 years of doing business right here on the corner of 4th and Banning!  

It will be a zipper and ribbon combo, because we want to share 

2 of our favorite things with you!

Come to the store from 9AM to 9PM to receive your little present! 

 No purchase necessary, one per customer, please.  

We would love to see many happy faces on Wednesday!

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.

It's All About The Pink!

 It's a Circle of Quilters Challenge!

The Bear Patch Circle of Quilters meets every other month to share design ideas, tutorials, product information and so much more!

For this challenge, participants were given a pack o' pink!

Not just any pink-- this is

Robert Kaufman's Color of the Year, Pink Flamingo.

There were very few rules.  Even though they were given a pack of 2 1/2" squares, they only had to use that color, in any amount, somewhere in their creation.

We are collecting votes for some prizes for Viewer's Choice.  Actually, 3 prizes will be given to the top vote-getters, 

plus 1 more from the employees.

Isn't that exciting!?

Customers can vote every time they come to the store 

between now and November 21.

I can't wait to see what happens, 

because there are 13 excellent choices.

I don't have pattern names or sources, so if you are dying to know those details, you can contact the store (651-429-1039) to leave a message.  When the names are revealed, we can put you in touch.

So, here we go!

This is the center of a longer tablerunner, with strategic placement of the pink.

One section of a tablerunner, with just a little pink in the butterflies to tie it together.

Finding the perfect fabrics to go with the strong pink could be an additional challenge!

Hotpad, trivet, coaster for a very large latte?  It all works!

Don't bikes just make you happy! 
This is done by machine embroidery, using just the right colors of pink and turquoise.

Someone was very clever here with the Bear Paw block!
How can we not love that?!

Some skilled paper piecing went into these blocks! 
This does look like summer!

This is a section of a tablerunner with some great
whimsical flowers with button embellishments!

The pink triangles really shine in this quilt!

A color wheel of Aurifil thread spools, plus the perfect quilter's mantra, are wonderful! 
There's lots of stitching on those spools to show the thread wraps!

Perfect hand embroidery, embellished with crayon shading, makes a colorful pillow cover! 
Can you spot the pink fabric?

This quilter took the Pink Flamingo fabric literally! 
We really do have the most creative people around!

These coordinates really blend nicely, and tone down that bright pink!

And a big round of applause for a job well done!

Maybe you will join us for the announcement of the winners at our next Circle meeting at 9:30 on December 9!

Back To Quilt School!

It's back to school time!  And we have some Grade A classes for you!  We are always looking for new ideas, techniques, rulers, tools, etc., to add to the curriculum and give you chances to become a better educated quilter!  Plus, there are some classes that are all about the fun and social experience of sitting down with friends and soon-to-be-friends!  We have watched many people form friendships with the other people they meet through Bear Patch, which makes it much more fun!

I have prepared a new slideshow with pictures of some of the class offerings.  Please watch it for inspiration and ideas!  Then, go to bearpatchquilting.com and read the details for each class under the "Classes" tab.  Click on anything that catches your eye to read the full details.  Another good way to look for classes is via the "Calendar" tab, which is great if you are looking for something during a particular period of time.

Sign-up day is next Saturday, 9/9, which is always like a party at the store!  We also have provisions for you to register separately from that day, and it's all explained on the website.

Enjoy this tail end of the summer, and join us for a great class (or classes) this fall!

This free digital slideshow made with Smilebox

Thursday Is The Day!

First big reason to shop at Bear Patch on Thursday, July 20:
This is a day that requires you to play hooky from whatever else you are supposed to be doing!  Your presence is requested at Bear Patch!  20 is that magic number signaling another anniversary gift from us to you!  This month, we have called on the resources of a very talented local designer--Gudrun Erla!  You might already know Gudrun and her company, GE Designs.  She designs quilt patterns and fabric, too.  And lately, she has been busy designing rulers through Creative Grids Rulers.  Her Stripology and Stripology Squared Rulers have been big hits with many quilters, and she has a full range of books and patterns to support those rulers.  In addition to that support, she has another product - GEasy Ruler Stickers - which come in oh-so-handy on my cutting table!  I did write a product review on this blog last May, which you can refer to if you would like to see how I make use of the Ruler Stickers.  But better yet, watch this video to help you understand why you really need these stickers!



For our anniversary celebration, Gudrun has packaged single sheets of stickers for us to give away!  You will receive 64 colored arrow stickers just for being our very best customers!  They will be 1 of the 3 colors in her usual package, and if you want the full assortment they will be available to purchase.  No purchase necessary, available 1 per customer while supply lasts.
2nd big reason to shop at Bear Patch on Thursday, July 20:
Our summer sale starts!  25% off in-stock fabric, books and patterns!  Many kits will be included for past projects, too.  And here's something we have never done before-- all fat quarters are $1!  And our little Bear Cubs (12" x 10") are 3-for-a-dollar!  We have been very busy reducing our stock, marking reductions, and preparing for our 5 day super sale!  Here are the dates:

Thursday, July 20, 9-5

Friday, July 21, 9-5

Saturday, July 22, 9-5

Sunday, July 23, 12-4

Monday, July 24, 9-9

I promise it will be worth the drive, unless you're coming from Alaska!  Or depending on your thinking, it might even be worth that drive just for the fun of it!  I think if I look real hard at the horizon, I can just barely see a convoy of quilters speeding southeast to Bear Patch!

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!