ABCs of Quilting Blog

Farmhouse Blues Quilt -- find it at http://abcsofquilting.com/kits.html

Let’s talk about ‘organization’, okay?  I think the best way to begin is with a definition.  And, NO, I am not going to type the one out of a dictionary.  To me, organized is knowing where everything is located but not necessarily in a nice, neat and tidy arrangement.

I read an article the other day about getting organized and the types of containers to use when that urge strikes you.  Since one of the rooms I have consumed with projects was a titch out of control, I decided to purchase some of these containers and fill them as advised with projects.

After buying all of the containers in the correct sizes in the store (by the way, have you noticed the price of these things lately????  Wow…..), I came home and began the process.  To be perfectly honest, I did unearth a project that only needs a couple of borders,  several bags with stash fabrics in them and, of course, a ‘few’  projects. 

To begin, I found a project, placed it in the container – with the pattern, even — and snap the lid shut.  Pretty soon I had a tower of containers that resembled the Empire State Building in the middle of my room.  I used up all of the containers, moved the stack into my closet, and noticed that the room didn’t look that much different.  Hmmmm……do you think this means that I have too many projects??????  …..nope, I didn’t either! 

So, why am I writing about this?  Just to let you know that I don’t think it is necessary to spend hours of your quilting time worrying about how neat and tidy your sewing space is every day.  Quilting is an artform and artists don’t have to be organized — just creative! 

Enjoy your creativity!!!

"What do you mean, get down?????"

Yesterday, I spent some time surfing on the web and checked out some blogs.  I noticed that most of them have photos of their pets.  Hmmmm…..I didn’t want any of you to feel like ABC’s doesn’t give you all of the ‘perks’ associated with a blog, so here is a photo of my dog, Chloe.  And, yes, she thinks she is a princess.

I have long loved Miniature Schnauzers and she is the 4th one that has joined our family.  She is probably the cutest one, the most stubborn, and least social — that is, unless we have friends over and then she is suddenly  a ‘family’ dog!

I have a variety of dog beds throughout the house.  Chloe, however, prefers to sleep on my bed, the sofa in my office, the chair in the family room (the one with the flannel quilt on it) and will occasionally sleep on the (heaven forbid) dog pillow in my sewing room.  That only happens if I SHUT the door and keep her trapped in there with me!!  Remember the social part????

She does have one quality that has ranked her at the top of Doug’s list of favorite dogs:  She loves to go fishing!!  Yup, she pouts if Doug doesn’t take her out on the boat, gets mad if the guys can’t catch anything and prances proudly back to the house when they bring home dinner.  What a hoot!

Okay, now you are up to date with MY pet.  The blog is officially valid, right?

Making PERFECT Flying Geese!

Remember that old adage:  you should learn at least one new thing each day?  Well, I believe it is good for us — keeps us young! 

This year at ABC’s, I decided that each month (always the 2nd Friday and Saturday) we would teach a new technique.  And, the best part????  It is FREE — you gotta love that, right?   

Last weekend, Shannon (left) taught the technique of Perfect Flying Geese using Quilt In A Day rulers by Eleanor Burns.  This was a WIN-WIN-WIN situation!

She got most of the geese done for a quilt she is making (gee….I hope it is for me….) and the quilters who stopped by learned  an easy way to make them, and I got to chat with all of you!  Worked for me!!!!

The schedule for the entire year can be viewed at http://www.abcsofquilting.com/classes.html .  Hop over there and take a peek.  Then mark your calendar so you remember to come in that weekend.  The Demos are an all day activity which makes it more convenient for you. 

Now you can mark off your ‘learn a new thing’ for today since you now know about the upcoming technique days!  See????   Learning new things is a piece of cake….er…..quilt!

Edna doing the custom quitling on her Wizard of Oz Quilt.

A couple of years ago, our rep for Quilting Treasures brought us the first showing of the Wizard of Oz fabrics.  Since Grand Rapids, MN is the birthplace of Judy Garland, we had to have it!

Edna decided to make a quilt using all of the scenes from the fabrics to recreate the movie in one quilt.  She had been very faithfully using fabrics from each of the fabric lines — there are six of them! 

Of course, we have all laughed with her, gave our opinions, and watched her creation come to life.

It is done now and she has been working on the custom quilting in our design studio!  It is just too beautiful for words.  And, even if you don’t particularily like the Wizard of Oz, this quilt is just awesome!

In another lifetime, I lived in Chicago.  Our first home was in this great ‘burb’ called Naperville.  As usual, I was looking for something unique to do as a family and found out that you can have a garden plot in their ‘community’ garden!  I thought this would be just the ticket for our family time!! 

The first year was so successful (yes, that was my point of view….) that I decided to have TWO  plots the second year so we could have even more fun.  WRONG!!!!

Not only was this a really bad idea but Mother Nature pitched in and sent NO water in the form of rain that year.  We had to HAUL  all of the water to the garden.  The moaning and groaning from each of my children was unbelievable and once again I knew I was not going to make Mother of the Year!

The water-hauling exercise paid off, though, and we had produce for the entire neighborhood.  People started running the other way when I brought them zucchini, tomatoes, peppers,  carrots, etc.  At home I had so many batches of pickles going in different stages that one of the boys said I was making him sick!  Hmmmphf!!!

The next summer, we moved to Northfield (a little north of Chicago) and guess what?  NO community plots!  The family was ecstatic and I gave my little seedling tomato plants to my father-in-law for his garden in Iowa.  Sniff, sniff!

Now, however, I have been saved!  I can MAKE my own garden with all of the great fabrics on our website (you can find them at http://www.abcsofquilting.com/FruitsandVegetables.html ).  The project possibilities are endless!  And, there are NO bugs while you decide what to do either!!

 Send me your photos of what you have made and I will get them on the post!

Happy Gardening!!!!!

Just a sample from the panel!

Back in ‘06 (you gotta love that we can say that, right?) when we purchased the shop, the fabrics reps all made the trek to Northern Minnesota to get our order.  One of the fabrics lines that I just loved was and still do is  Loralie !!  (http://www.abcsofquilting.com/SewFabulous.html)

However, I had a very difficult time trying to convince Susan that this would be a good addition to our shop.  And, in some respects she was probably correct – we didn’t know how the golfers would do, or the nurses, etc. 

BUT, Susan is in Arizona for the winter and so the latest line is now in our shop!  Heh, heh, heh!!!  It is just great with a little something for all of us and there is even a KNITTER on the panel!  

Here are some of the highlights from the panel:

• Vibrant Colors
• Humor at it’s finest
• Very creative use of our notions — little pillbox hats made out of tape measures
• Capri pants made with HUGE spools of thread on them
• “Marie Antoinette” hair styles decorated with Scissors and thread spools

Of course, in addition to the panel, I also bought some really cool prints that go with the line.  Now my challenge is to find some patterns to do justice to the line!   I know that I can do it — I am thinking of bags, and aprons, and little pin caddies, and maybe even a whole quilt!  What do you think????

Let me know and just in case there is someone out there who doesn’t know what a ‘pillbox’ hat is all about, it is one that was popular before we were all born!  How’s that?

I don’t know about you, but any changes in my moring routine seem to impact my entire day!

This morning was the day the car needed to be at the shop for an oil change and some other misc. details and I am starting to wonder just what the rest of the day will hold for me! 

Getting the car to the shop involves more than just that.  My hubby was waiting for me, I had to grab some stuff off of my desk for the shop, stuff the dog into her kennel, make my lunch and morning tea (I cannot skip that….) and then I headed out the door.  Of course, I forgot that I had to TAKE the car, so I went BACK into the house and got the keys, etc.

After I tossed all of my stuff into the car, I spilled my tea (you knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?), and managed to get out of the garage without incident.

As I was driving into town, I was totally engrossed with thoughts of what to do with a couple of new lines that arrived yesterday and , yup, I drove right by the dealership, got turned around and finally got there.  Doug stopped to pick me up and dropped me at the shop.  It was 7:30 am and I am hoping that all of the bad karma is OUT of my day!!!

By the way, the last of the WIZ fabric is on it’s way to the shop — we hope to see it later this week or early next week.

Frosty, the Snowman!

Okay, there are only TWELVE days until Christmas and here is what I still need to do:

One Christmas Tree that needs to be decorated.

Two gifts to buy.

Three batches of cookies (spritz, chocolate truffles, and sugar – YUM).

Four  parties to attend ( no weight gain there, right?).

Five socks to hang  by the chimney with care (yes, Chloe AND my new grand-dog each get one).

Six side dishes to make – after I figure out WHAT to make!

Seven inches of snow to shovel off the back steps – maybe Doug will do this one….

Eight days until I have to cook a ‘lunch’ for all of Doug’s co-workers.  How did this happen????

Nine minutes for my nervous breakdown!!!! 

Ten cups of eggnog (I am going to intersperse these into the rest of the duties…. and, no, there are NO calories in eggnog!).

Eleven gifts to mail – gee, I bet there is no line at the post office, right?

Twelve  hours of SLEEP – which is what I will need when I get all of this done!!!!!