Archive for August, 2009

New Product – Gee’s Bend Quilts

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Strips and  Strings - A Gee's Bend KitWhen I was in grade school, I struggled with one subject:  history.  It became an ‘issue’ with my parents and my mother insisted that I bring my dreaded history book home EVERY night (whether I had homework or not) to go over the days lesson with her.  

She patiently listened to me, asked way too many questions and by the end of that term I knew the book inside and out — and I passed the next test with flying colors.  I became so interested in the subject that I actually named History as my minor in college.  If you have been in our shop, there have been times when the amount of the till will remind me of an important date in the history of our country which I happily share with everyone!  I know, I know,  annoying but true! 

So what does all of this mean????  It means that when Susan and I saw the fabric line and kits available to us called Gee’s Bend Quilts, I was ecstatic about them.  Not only are these quilts wonderful for their use of color and striking appearance, but they are really a part of our history. 

The women of Gee’s Bend, a small remote community in Alabama, respresent the genius of a group of exceptional quilters who for more than a century  have created distinctive works of art for their homes and families.  The textile artists of Gee’s Bend are the inheritors of a tradition that goes back many generations.  The discovery of these unique American masterpieces has led to their exhibition in museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Strips and Strings is just one of the FOUR kits that are COMING SOON to our shop.  You can check them out and even pre-order them on our web site at:  http://www.abcsofquilting.com/featured_products/html

Don’t miss this opportunity — it truly is once in a lifetime!

Live from Grand Rapids — it’s ABC’s of Quilting!!

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Here we go – our very own little blog!  Susan and I thought we would keep you current with all of the happenings at the shop this way.  And, we want to hear your thoughts, too.  We all have opinions and ideas and they are always welcome!

For those of you who don’t know us, we are Linda Van Arkel and Susan Wahlsten.  We own ABC’s of Quilting in Grand Rapids, MN and love what we do.  Both of us have had careers in other fields, but, we think this is the BEST job in the world.  We get to do what we love:  quilt and buy fabric!

In addition to having a Retail shop, we also have a Quilting Studio and an On-line store.  We take great pride in providing great customer service for all the ‘divisions’ of our shop.  If we do something wrong, please let us know.  Susie is in charge of the Quilting Studio and she does some awesome work.  We also have another Long-Arm Quilter, Edna, so we keep the machine going seven days a week.  That lets us be very responsive to your needs.  And, just in case the rest of the staff is reading this, I will mention your outstanding responsibilities next blog, okay?

Since my hubby, Doug, also had a former career ( he was in telecommunications), we decided that he could handle all of our website work.  He is great at it and keeps the site current.  Right now he is busy trying to keep up with a couple of ‘special’ projects I thought we should do.  Yup, he gets a little frustrated at times, but he can be bought with a cheesecake!

No blog would be complete without mentioning our latest project and that is Gee’s Bend Quilts.  We are very excited to be able to offer these quilt kits (and the yardage and patterns, too) so check them out at our website:  www.abcsofquilting.com  they are under the ‘Featured Products’ section.

I think that is it for today – once I get more comfortable with this ‘blogging’, I know I will have a LOT more to say.  Anyone who knows me will be nodding their head!!