Kaye England Visits Bear Patch

What a wonderful time we had with Kaye. She made us laugh, she showed her beautiful quilts, and she helped us learn smart piecing techniques. I love that a portion of the sales of her rulers goes to Susan G. Komen research. Thanks Kaye!

More Retreat Photos

I just had to publish a few more photos!

Retreat Fun

We had such a great time at our fall retreat! How could the time go by so quickly? There was lots of laughter- it's a wonder how all those many projects were completed! I tried out a few new recipes for breakfast and dessert and made some old favorites for dinner. Nancy and Leisl's soups were yummy. Sandy and Deb made the oh-so-good cucumber sandwiches in the afternoon to keep our energy levels up. Lots of mini lessons on things we forgot (or never knew) and some fun projects to make for gifts or to keep for ourselves. I even made 2 table toppers for our Christmas window display at the store and a fantastic bag from Kwik Sew using Free Spirit's laminated fabric. Before we knew it, it was time to pack it all back up. Can't wait until we all get together again in March. I better start trying out new recipes on Bob....

Hard to resist!

Have you heard about the wonderful Kinkame fabrics coming from Japan?

The Clothworks Fabric company has been working with designer Reiko Kato to bring these to us, now available here! These are not your typical geisha girl designs, but the very soft and subtle hues that have been a signature of fine Japanese fabrics. Shades of taupe, grey, rose, green and brown all combine to give a very sophisticated look. The prints feature tiny flowers and geometric designs. The textured yarn-dyed wovens are exceptional. We have the European Taupe II collection on hand and have ordered the European Taupe III group.

Debbie just finished making a great small quilt from this fabric, this pattern is Appomattox by Blue Underground. Well, the binding isn't done yet, but "finished" is a relative term open to interpretation! It will be on display very soon! If you visit the Clothworks website, you can view the fabrics and even download some free patterns. I quilted this project for Debbie and it is an example of a good use of a simple all-over design that I like to use instead of the usual meandering design. Actually, this quilting design is kind of ingrained in my brain now because it is what I used on the miles of tablerunners that I made for my daughter's wedding earlier this month!

And here's a little teaser for you--if we can make it work, we hope to have Reiko Kato here in our store in the spring! No confirmed details yet, but this would be a very special event not to be missed!

Minnesota State Fair Ribbons

We are so very proud of 15 year old Mikayla and 11 year old Elise! Mikayla came to the shop with her grandmother Marion ( a great customer!) and picked out these great fabrics for her quilt. She sewed it up, entered it in the fair and won a ribbon! 11 year old Elise sewed her capris while taking our Kids Sew Camp this summer with Jeanne. Elise and mom came back to the shop to pick out fabric for a matching top. She entered her top and capris along with a quilt and afghan and won ribbons on all. Congratulations you two!

Friday Craft Crawl

We had a great time sewing quick and easy aprons from tea towels. The project took all of ten minutes. The hardest part was choosing your towel! Join us every 3rd Friday of the month for other fun and easy projects. These make great gifts!

Very Important News!

We have prepared a bounty of beautiful handcrafted items for our silent auction now on display in the store and on the web--just click here to go to the website and then click on the banner about the Susan G. Komen fundraiser. You will find a picture of each of the 17 items, allowing you to participate in the auction even if you can't visit the store! Just call or email us and we will update you on what the current bid is and add your own bid to the list. Couldn't be easier! All the money collected goes directly to the foundation to help research and prevention of breast cancer. Don't hesitate! We need your help!