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Monday, March 06, 2017

miscellaneous Monday

Last Thursday & Friday I had the chance to visit Stitch Supply Co. in Altoona, Wisconsin. The store has been open for just over a year and this was my first visit. (For shame!) While I was there, I had the chance to take part in a retreat with a few good friends. The retreat space is AMAZING!!! (I failed to take photos, but you can see some here.) The store is quite lovely, too! Lots of amazing fabric, which made it overwhelming....but in a good way!
The first thing that you see when you walk in the front door is this amazing paper pieced elephant quilt that Ann made. Isn't it beautiful? (Pattern is by Violet Craft.)
There is a lot of gorgeous yarn at the shop, too. Everything is as cute as can be! The staff was wonderful and helpful! If you ever get a chance to stop by the shop, DO IT! :)
I took a bunch of tiny scraps to play with while I was there. They were literally flying. Hahaha! I did some tiny piecing.... I can't wait to get back to these scraps and do some more!
This mini is a brighter version of my remainders quilt (pattern is in No Scrap Left Behind). The mini measures about 10" x 12 1/2" and it took me all afternoon and evening to make it. It was totally worth it, though! I am planning on making a bright & white lap size version of this quilt sometime soon. Can't get enough of those tiny triangles!
I also made a 9 patch mini quilt, which took slightly less time. The squares in the 9 patch blocks finish at 1". That feels big to me....which is actually quite disturbing. Ha! The mini is about 15" square.
I immediately used the binding triangles from the mini above to make a little star pincushion. (Pattern for the pincushion can be found here.) The background fabric is a lovely chambray by Andover, which I also used in the mini. It's such a great fabric, so I bought a yard of it. It will be fun to incorporate into all kind of projects! I already gifted the pincushion. I LOVE giving them away!
On Saturday, I did my first trunk show and class from my new book at Gruber's Quilt Shop. Many thanks to the wonderful women who attended! It was a great day! It was awesome to finally show all the quilts that I worked on in secret in my basement for 6 months! It was also inspiring to see how the students dove into their scrap piles. Lots of fun, lots of progress!
I've been doing some stash enhancing lately.... these goodies below were purchased at quilt con, actually, from Cassie of Sew Stitching Happy. She makes the cutest bundles!
I finally broke down and bought an Uppercase fabric bundle while I was at Stitch Supply....such great colors. Such good blenders! My daughter squealed when she saw it. She wanted to claim it for her very own. I think we will be sharing it. Maybe.
I also purchased a quilt kit.... my first one ever! The fabric is Tag, by Cheryl Arkison for Connecting Threads. The pattern is Arithmetic by Jeni Baker. I'm super excited about this quilt!
One last thing for the day....
While I was at quilt con, I was on a panel about stash management, which was a lot of fun! When they showed this photo (above), there were several audible groans from the audience. Well, just to set the record straight, here's the rest of the story....
 ...this is the other side of the room. It needs a good cleaning!
And here's the reality of my cutting table today. See, I'm a normal quilter, after all!

Happy Monday to you!

28 comments:

  1. So happy that you enjoyed your time in Wisconsin. Since we'll be visiting this summer, I'll have a place to collect myself in. (And enhance my stash!)

    I laughed about the rest of the story. Like so many others, I know that side of the room only too well. Loving your new book, BTW.

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  2. Loved seeing the quilts, your fabric purchase and your sewing room.
    Paula in KY

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  3. Your first kit ever? Now I am truly flattered!

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  4. I want my sewing room to look like your CLEAN side!!! Alas, it appears WAY more like your NORMAL side.

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  5. Love the picture of your cutting table! I always think your studio must've been straightened by the fabric fairies daily!

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  6. Lovely post, lovely pictures! You must have been amazingly busy but thank you for sharing and keeping it real 😉

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  7. You are a normal quilter but you have scrappy super powers. I am pouring over your new book so that once I get moved I can dive in. I am practicing my mini piecing skills with the challenge from Quilt Shop Gal. Gotta finish packing the sewing room next week. Move day is less than a month away! Eeeekk!!

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  8. Hey - at least you have one clean corner :) - no sooner do I have one and it disappears :)! Beautiful quilts - loved all of the pics!

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  9. I'm buying your new book from Amazon *feeling excited* ..not that I do much quilting lately -_-. Anyway, love to see your cutting table ..yes, we - with messy table- are normal :D

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  10. I was in the audience for the scrap management panel discussion - thanks for coming clean and showing the other side of your sewing room!

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  11. I'm obsessed with the fabric bundles you bought! Especially the polka dots! I love polka dots!!

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  12. LOL! So glad you're one of us--normal, put-things-everywhere-while-we're-working-on-a-project quilters!!! Such cute minis! Sounds like a perfect weekend.

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  13. I'm happy to see your cluttered creative space. The tidy side of the room is amazing but I know you've got to have stuff everywhere to be really creative like you are. I'm enjoying your new book, especially the failures and WHY they didn't work and HOW you fixed the problem. Great lesson to be shared! Thanks!!

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  14. I didn't know you were at QuiltCon! I would love to have met you in real life!

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  15. Stitch Supply is like a dream!! I didn't want to leave when I visited! And that bundle-- wow!!! I covet! Everything from brights to greys to smoky blacks. Yum! :)

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  16. Hi Amanda, I was attended the Stash Management panel and remember the groans! lol Thanks for showing 'the rest of your room'! I absolutely love that Elephant quilt and have already purchased the pattern to make one of my own...one day. I adore all of your scrappy quilts and have many of those on my bucket list.

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  17. The minis are amazing!! So so pretty. The 9 patch is my favorite! Just wondering.... What do you do with them? Or how do you use them?

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  18. Oh, I wish I lived closer to Wisconsin! The Stitch Supply Co.'s retreat space looks amazing. Thanks for showing the "other side" of your sewing space. I know I can't make scrappy quilts without making a mess and I usually have several of them in process at once.

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  19. Anonymous10:38 AM

    Oh gosh I feel so much better seeing the second side of your quilt studio. Glad to know I am not the only one with creative clutter.

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  20. I love the "rest of the story" of your quilting space!

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  21. I just have to say...I am so glad to see that my sewing room is far from the norm!
    I love those stash enhancements you purchased. Congrats on the trunk show...I bet it's great to get all of your quilts out of hiding! Beautiful!!!

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  22. Happy to see you visiting a lovely quilt shop, retreating, and sharing quilts from your book. Most of all, I'm thrilled to see the "normal" side of your sewing room! I thoroughly enjoyed the QuiltCon lecturers on the stash panel, and seeing how differently everyone manages their fabrics. You did a great job! And watching/hearing it all with humor running throughout was the best! I'm still on a QuiltCon high! However, since QuiltCon, I've continued to travel with a quilt-y friend who's visiting from Australia. We're both itching to return to our sewing rooms, and turn our QuiltCon inspiration into reality.

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  23. Talk about overwhelming! I visited Fabric Depot in Portland, Oregon when I was down visiting my son and family. He left me there for about two hours and I managed to do about one hundred dollars worth of damage to my credit card. It is in an old Kmart store so it is BIG! I only shopped the quilting fabric area, so I never even got to the other parts of the store. Mostly 10.95 - 13.95/yard but everything was 30% off that day, and I found a couple of 50% off bolts that I liked. I am currently taking part in the 2017 Patchwork Quilt Along benefitting Make-a-Wish through Fat Quarter Shop. Can't wait for the March block on the 15th.

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  24. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your participation in the QuiltCon lecture/panel about stash management. It was well put together to have presenters with very different approaches. I loved your pictures as I am one of those people who gets anxious when my sewing room is a mess! But I also loved your pictures of "the other side!"

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  25. Just wanted to say hi! Also id like to add I thought I was going insane.. as I looked at the first picture in the post... it seemed oddly familiar! Stitch Supply Co. Is the only quilt store within miles from me! Love that place!

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  26. Great pics. Love your quilts, mini's and pincushions!! And the clean side of your studio! lol

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  27. What a fun post! You had me laughing by the end of it - thanks for keeping things real. ;o)

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