Size Backing the Easy Way!

In today's video, I'm sharing how I use fabric tearing to quickly and easily trim up quilt backs before quilting. Enjoy!  http://vimeo.com/75003307

Two Great Free Offers!

I have been working hard on my latest project, creating a series of helpful worksheets, reports, and free downloads to help you with your quilting! Phew, I've had to learn Photoshop, automated email, publishing, and more! I'll be working hard to make sure these just keep getting better and better!

Here are my first two products, and you can get them absolutely FREE!

It's an honor to be able to help you with your quilting and share my passion with the world! Please enjoy these free gifts, and be sure to let me know if you find them helpful. You can connect with me daily at www.facebook.com/crazyforquilting.

Quilt With Passion!
Sincerely,
Mindi Johnson

Who's Ready for a Quilt Challenge With Me?

I am so excited!!!

At the end of each year, Moda sends me a calendar planner as a thank you for carrying their fabric.  This year's planner has a beautiful outside cover that is a quilt made with a Collection for a Cause fabric line. These fabric lines are unique because each collection donates its profits for a different cause.

But, what really sets this quilt apart is the design. It's a beautiful star quilt, complete with set-in seams. The fabric line is reproduction done in a civil-war style. Many times I've looked at my calendar and thought, wouldn't it be awesome if I could find that pattern!

Imagine my surprise when, while browsing online for something else entirely, I ran across Moda's kits for the exact same quilt!  I didn't know exactly what to expect, the kits will be priced at $149.99, so I was a little nervous about how many I can sell, but I hurried and added 4 of them to my order. One for me, and 3 for customers who might love it as much as I do.

Today the kits arrived, and They.....Are......Awesome!!!! My girls think I'm crazy because I am so excited by a quilt kit, but the kits are gorgeous! They are boxed in a fabulous matching, quality gift box. They contain a giant stack of layer cake squares, a jelly roll, background fabrics, and an even more giant stack of charm squares. Plus, full color directions. Everything but backing is in there!

Yes, this quilt in all of it's glory does require set-in seams. Those can be a little scary. But, I'm up for the challenge. Maybe some of you are up for a challenge to! If you are, don't delay. I only have 3 kits to sell, and although I might still be able to get more I wouldn't bet on it.  Plus, Habitat for Humanity will receive the proceeds from any sale of this fabric collection, including this kit.

So, if you're ready to take on a challenging quilt for a huge payoff, this is the quilt for you!

Get Your Warmth Quilt Kit here!

Diane Kimono Dress

This week, I've been busy every night preparing to travel to the Moscow, ID Palouse Patchers' Quilt Show as a vendor. Granted, I only have to "travel" 20 miles to get there, but it does involve a lot of pre-planning, last minute quilt making, and general organization. Not to mention...loading all that stuff into a trailer, and then unloading it and making it all look pretty! Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it!

It occurred to me last week that I usually make something to wear to the shows in the Spring each year. I hadn't even thought about what to make, or when exactly I was going to find the time this year.  Then, I walked by the Accu-Cut in the back room at the store, which my mom so nicely organized last month and covered up with a large piece of fabric.

Wait! That's not just any fabric! Mom had used the teal blue with brown hearts piece of fabric I've been hoarding for over a year now, with big plans to make another dress.  The fabric had been stuffed in a bag and stashed on a shelf in the back after we moved the store last Fall. 

For some reason unknown, just like that, the mood struck me, and I have been a dress-making, mad-sewing crazy person all week. Not to mention, I have watched 2 full seasons of Star Trek Voyager on Netflix while I whipped up my latest garment.  I guess sometimes, insomnia can be a productive thing!

My Never Ending, Futile Quest for the Perfect House

People spend their spare time and money on a whole host of things, from booze and gambling, to more wholesome activites like golf and travel.  Me? I spend mine on My Never Ending, Futile Quest for the Perfect House.

"What is that?" you ask?

It could be described as a genetic predisposition to obsess about the style, appearance, and functionality of my home. (Thanks Mom) 

Or, you might think of it as an obsessive, extreme desire to make my house look like it just stepped (if houses could step) out of the pages of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Some people crave alcohol. I crave hugely messy, always more expensive and twice as long as planned, home remodels.

Weird, right? I know.

I almost had it once, that ellusive BH&G house. But,shortly after it was built my (ex) husband developed an affinity for bars and blondes, and I discovered there are some things I'm just not willing to sell my soul for.

Today, I continue to follow my quest in my current home. It's proving to be quite a challenge, as it's an older home, and old homes need special help. It's not quite the same when your remodels are dictated by the next thing to break, fall apart, or stop working. Combined with a very limited budget, and a carpentry and design challenged husband (she says with love), I am climbing quite the mountain of futility these days.

Case in point: the deck with no railing. I'm finishing it this Spring, I swear!  Plus, it's been Winter here. Winters mean long months cooped up in a house just crying for a good do-it-yourself project.....or two, or three. Oh boy, have I had too much time to think! An empty house this week, while the kids are on Spring Break, means one big mess at my house. I'm like a crazy person who lost her straight jacket!

So, if you wonder what I do when I'm not quilting or chasing the kids around, here's a peak at how I spent last night.

Before

After

The original plan in my head was to paint the entire cabinet. But, when I got this far I kind-of liked it better than the all-blue cabinets in my head. So, $25 worth of paint and I'm one step closer to my kitchen remodel on a budget.

Now, moving on to getting that claw foot tub out of my hallway before Friday, when the kids return!

Glass Half Full

I haven't written on the blog for a long time. Plus, it's been even longer since I applied myself and wrote here regularly and often. My life is at best busy, and usually it's down right barely organized, teetering on the brink of insanity, chaos. This makes it easy to get caught up in the "poor me, I can't get anything done" syndrome.  And if I haven't done anything worthwhile, then what is there to write about, right?

I've decided I'm not going there anymore. Instead, my glass is going to be half full. I'm going to focus on the things I did get done.  You see, for everything on that ever-expanding to-do list, there's at least one thing per day that I actually did finish.  All I need to do is train my brain to see it.

Easier said than done. As I was preparing to write this, I needed pictures to share. That required finding the memory card for my camera, which has been MIA for a while now. But I was determined. My super awesome husband gave me a super awesome camera lens for my birthday, and it's time I put it to good use. So, I poured out my 30 pound shoulder bag and started digging.

I found my 1/4" sewing machine foot, which I keep forgetting to leave at the quilt shop, the notes I made to myself about the next Saturday Block I need to design (but haven't yet), the Challenger keys I forgot to hang back up (dang, no wonder he always knows when I take it for a spin), a receipt I need to scan.......do you see where this is going? Before I finally found the memory card, I was already mentally going to that place of the never ending to-do list.

Still, I'm determined, remember? So I picked up the camera to take a test shot, and here's what I saw.  

 Oh no, not another to-do list!  This is the one we keep in the office at home.  It's mostly for the kids. As you can see, they have as much trouble getting things done as I do sometimes. It is nearly April, and the second day of Spring, and "put sleds away" is still on their list.  Oh No! Maybe it's genetic...

But wait, I'm supposed to be focusing on a glass half full. So, to that end, I can say that one thing I have done is raise awesome kids.  Many days this list is erased before I get home, and they always remind me to make a new list for the next day. Yes, it appears I am doing something right.  After all, how many kids out there remind their parents to give them chores?

The camera is finally working again. On to the sewing studio to see what else got done today.  I know it might look like a dining room, but trust me, my house didn't come with one of those. Just this sewing studio that we sometimes eat in.

 Aha! I did do some quilting related task today.  I button hole stitched around 4 corner blocks and 2 out of 14 bat blocks for my Sew Spooky quilt, while listening to Bailey debate the pros and cons of Summer volleyball camp.  Hopefully, I can remember tomorrow that I need to cut one more beige rectangle to attach one last bat to.  Now, on to the quilting machine...

Here are two table runners I quilted after dinner this evening. The variegated thread looks great on the solid black. (note to self: order more variegated in this color. You're going to need it for the Deary raffle quilt)

Phew, I feel a little better looking at a few items I accomplished today.  Hopefully, this new approach helps me post here more often. Hopefully, I can inspire you to see your glass as half full too!

Hooked on Hats

I promised to share the new items coming into the store this Fall and Winter.  Having so much more floor space since I moved, and a larger variety of customers, means I can add items I love but didn't have the space for before.  So, when I ran across this great line of hats, I fell in love with them and just had to have them in the shop!

I love hats, they keep me warm when I'm usually cold, and they add fashion to even a boring outfit. Hats are a great way to add unique style to your wardrobe without a lot of cost.  Each of these hats sells for just $14.99!

Of course, wearing a hat for me requires taking an hour to straighten my naturally curly hair.  Otherwise, hats just make me look like a clown.  Sorta like this, only with a hat and better makeup.

Luckily, My girls have much more sleek hair than I, and they were more than happy to play hat models.
Here's a sneak peak at some of the hats in stock!

Kylee has been pining away for this hat ever since it came into the store.  I'm going to give it to her for Christmas.  Shhhhhhhhh...

This hat has a great braided accent.  It's a little smaller, and would be great for a younger child or someone with a smaller head.

 

The hat on the right is available in several colors. This is the blue.  There's also a pink one in stock.

These hats are geared more toward Spring and Summer.  The one on the left unbuttons in back to become a full brimmed sun hat.  The hat on the right has a funky, part sun hat and part bonnet look. It also comes in creamy beige.

Here's another view.

The hat on the right here also comes in different colors.  Pink, blue, green, etc.  Both of these hats are wool with silky lining. Super comfortable!

I haven't decided if I'm going to sell these on the website yet.  If you'd like to see them available for purchase online, please leave me a comment!

Too Much New!

I came home this evening from the quilt shop overwhelmed at how little of a dent I made in organizing and putting the new stuff away today! It seems like everything I ordered over the past month decided to arrive on the same day.  Right down to the pellets to keep the quilt shop warm and toasty, which my dad awesomely took it upon himself to pick up an entire pickup load's worth!
I want to share some of the great new products we have in the store with you, but I'm taking it slow, just so you don't get as overwhelmed as I am today! So, I'll be featuring new products on the blog for a few days. 

First up, great new signs from Bainbridge Farm Goods.

When I came across these signs, I knew I had to have them.  In my case, it was the chicken signs that did it. My mom decided to get her own chickens a few years ago.  They are the happiest chickens I've ever seen, and who could blame them? Their chicken house is none other than a chicken condo!  It has nicer siding on it than my house...

I just knew my mom needed this sign. Then, I found out they make a whole bunch of other awesome signs. Perfect for our little corner of North Idaho!

There are signs for horse lovers, dog lovers, flower and vegetable gardeners, the list goes on! Choosing my first order was difficult to say the least.  In fact, they haven't even hit the store shelves yet and Mom has already purchased swiped the orange "Happy Chicken" sign.

I won't be able to sell these online, the shipping is too awkward.  But, if you're in our area you can check out all the styles we have in stock starting tomorrow.  The signs come in 2 sizes, and they are made to resist weather and UV damage. What a fun addition to your yard, home, garden, or chicken condo!

Busy, Busy Goings On

I never have trouble keeping busy these days. With a full time job, 3 kids and a husband, and the quilt shop to run, most days everything else runs me!  I thought I'd share a little of what's been going on lately, and what we're getting ready for this next week.

The weekend before Halloween I was consumed with making Will's costume.  For some reason, he got it in his head that he just had to be "Captain Cutler."  Don't know who that is? Neither did I until the kids explained it and I looked it up online.  Captain Cutler happened to be the ghost star of the second ever Scooby Doo episode.  Check out the details here.

 

I have a hard time disappointing my kids if avoidable, so here is what I spent $100 and 3 days working on:

Here is my attempt at getting a picture of how it glowed in the dark:

It really was a pretty cool costume, if you don't count having to wear that thing on your head while trying to collect candy! By the end of the night, Captain Cutler had been de-masked, and his helmet made a pretty good candy carrier.

Last weekend we were able to get away for a little r&r at a time share my in-laws graciously let us tag along to.  I took my sewing machine, of course, and got some projects done. A jumbo-sized pair of slippers for Bailey's jumbo-sized feet, and two of the new fabric books.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was listening to Charlie and Will play Crazy 8's.  Will had never played, and couldn't get enough.  I love the way he would giggle when he tricked Charlie!

This week, I'm putting Halloween behind me. I was going to hold on to Thanksgiving and Fall for a few more weeks, but I'm about to be the last dark, non-Christmas-lighted storefront on the block, so I think I'll do some redecorating this weekend.  The new table I just finished painting is going to make a perfect addition to my holiday window display!

Here it is, balancing on an old chair while drying. And yes, I did finish painting it on my cream colored carpet with no drop cloth. I like to live dangerously like that.

Watch for a newly updated store display after the weekend, and hopefully a few pictures for the blog next week.

New Panels For Fabric Books

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, I have panels in stock for making fast easy fabric books.  These are the kinds of toys and gifts that are hard to find any more, and that everyone remembers fondly.  I have three panels to choose from, and all you need is a yard of fusible fleece or interfacing and a couple hours to have one pretty awesome gift for a child you love.

I'll be sewing a few up for samples this weekend.  You can purchase your own by clicking here.

Coming Soon In Fabric

I got a call today that the new Batiks I ordered eons ago are finally ready to ship!  It has literally been over 6 months, and I've probably forgotten half of what I ordered.  All I remember is I was in a beachy sort of mood, it being the end of Winter and all, and I was drawn to some warm, sunny yellows and some relaxing, ocean blues.  Then, I threw in some light batiks to satisfy all those of you who were asking about lights.  All in all, it should make for a fun assortments to help boost my Batik selection!  They shipped today, so watch for them next week.

Arriving any day now is a line of Sunflower prints from Blank Quilting.  Here's a sneak peak, just in time for Fall!

And then there's the Mystery Quilt fabric. It's arriving in October, and it's going to be Fabulous!  Here is a sneak peak of the fabric we are using:

You get your choice of a more red or a more blue quilt!  Here is a piece from the red version:

 

This a beautiful fabric line designed by Barbara Brackman for Moda, and I can't wait to get started! Sorry, that's all I can tell you, you'll have to wait to find out what the final quilt looks like. It is a mystery, after all!

Runway Apron

Tonight, I lacked the correct size batting for the next quilt to hit my long arm. So, I decided to sit down and finish a UFO for the quilt shop. The result is this cute little number, "The Runway Apron", modeled by Bailey.

And yes, she does have shorts on under there. (She made me promise to point that out)

I really like it, but I'm thinking about adding some buttons down the center top.  What do you think?

Super Exciting News!

OK, let's get this out of the way first.  If you live in Deary, this might not be "Super Exciting News."  I realize that, and I do regret that this might be sad for some of you.  Truth be told, I'm a little sad about it myself, because I really like being in the old Deary Church, and I have family in Deary that I won't see nearly as often.

Ok, so maybe there are some people that won't be so sad.  Being the Crazy For Quilting resident handy-man isn't my dad's favorite job, even if he is super fantastic at it! I suppose he might be getting ready to throw a little party of his own...

Even so, I am really excited about the fact that I will have so much more time and opportunity to improve the store!  What am I talking about?

WE ARE MOVING!

Yep, the quilt shop is moving into my home town, Potlatch, ID.  I grew up here, and I live here (again), and I can't wait to be so close to home!  Not to mention that the new location holds many opportunities for Fantastic Quilting Fun, which I just might make my new tag line!  Plus, Kylee, my Crazy Quilter in Training, loves to help at the store and is excited that she will be able to spend time there during the week.  All around, it promises to be a great change for us all!

I'll be spending a lot of September moving and organizing.  Be sure to keep track of our moving progress by checking our store website, signing up for email news, and "liking" us on FaceBook! All of these can be done from our homepage

Now, back to packing for the St. Maries Quilt Show!

Let the Spooky Sewing Begin!

The rest of the fabrics for the Sew Spooky quilt arrived this week. Hooray! I was one of the lucky ones to get my fabric order in early, and now I can ship these awesome quilt kits right away.  This might be my favorite block of the month so far, but my birthday is in October, I love Fall colors, and one night of trick-or-treating sooooo beats weeks of Christmas shopping and stress, so I'm kind of partial to Halloween.  I'll be sewing up my sample this month, if you want to join me, order a kit before they're all gone!

Crazy 8 Shop Hop 2012

The Crazy 8 Shop Hop is fast approaching. As usual, I am nowhere near ready! But do I let that stop me from adding to instead of subtracting from my to-do list?

Of course not! Instead, I picked up paint today after work. (My non-quilting, daytime, unfortunately necessary to pay my bills, work.)

"Paint? For what?" you ask.

 For the quilt shop, of course!

I am giving the store's front porch a much-needed make-over before the Shop Hop. This means, sometime in the next 2.5 weeks, I have work to do!

But wait.....I already had work to do.....

Oh well, what's new, anyways?

I will post before and after pics when the painting party is over!

Want to learn more about the Shop Hop, like dates and times? Check out the store's Calendar Page and look at the first weekend in August for printable fliers and info.

Hope to see you there!

Newest Shop Sample-Vinyl Bags

It's been forever since I wrote on here regularly. Life gets in the way sometimes, and combined with my laptop's complete melt-down, blogging got put on the back-burner. Now that my laptop is working (if you don't count the keyboard's habit of adding random u's and six's to everything), it's time I get back to sharing my quilting with you all! Tonight, after a fun BBQ at the quilt shop, I decided to finish up my first set of this great new Atkinson pattern, Briget's Bagettes.

The pattern uses super easy zipper techniques to combine 2 fat quarters and some clear vinyl into 3 great organizing bags. Here is my first set.

My second set, which I was also able to cut from the same fabrics with just a few pieces needing to be pieced together from scraps, will be the opposite. The yellow will be where the purple is, the purple where the yellow is. These bags will be featured as part of a class at the store this Fall. Be sure to check the Shop Calendar for up to date classes and events!

I made 4 dozen cookies Tuesday night.....

it's Thursday, and I ate the last one for breakfast this morning. No kidding.

No, I didn't eat all 48 of them by myself. I had a little help, times four.

So tonight I decided to make more. Because they were really good. And I don't make really good cookies very often.

It's not for lack of trying. It's just that Grandma Judy gave the baking skills to all her other grand kids. Me, I got nothing but eating skills. Lots and lots of eating skills.......and this Kitchen Aid mixer.

This is the Kitchen Aid mixer Grandma used through my childhood. I'm pretty sure that it was her guilt over my lack of baking skills, and her fear of my children growing up never seeing me make a homemade cookie, that persuaded my grandma to give me her mixer a few years ago. It still purrs like a kitten, so there was no reason for Grandma to part with it. Maybe it was just her desire for a shiny new one and my obvious need for any baking help I could find. Whatever it was, I ended up with this beauty.
Sure it's dented and dinged, but it made a lot of mean cheese balls in it's time, so it's earned the right to be a little worse for wear. Now, the mixer makes it's home in a lonely corner of my pantry cabinet, only seeing the light about once or twice a year when I have delusions of knowing how to bake.
Like this week, when a craving for homemade chocolate chip cookies began to plague me, and Luke was nowhere around to make them. Seems he thinks that moving out gave him the right to not make me cookies anymore. The nerve......Now I have to resort to torturing my hand-me-down mixer.
However, thanks to a recipe from my

"Favorite Recipes From Quilter's" cookbook, my cookies turned out great. I should have know when the first ingredient was shortening! A staple in Grandma's cooking, of course my mixer was going to love it! So did my family, apparently, as evidenced by my very empty cookie jar. Who can blame them? It's not very often my baking results in something so....edible.
So now, my cookie dough is chilling in the fridge. Isn't it pretty?

By the time Charlie gets home from work, the house will smell like delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and Grandma's mixer will have one more success under it's belt bowl.
Now, I'm off to finish cutting pieces for my next quilt while I wait to taste test my cookies.

Have you heard about my crazy new pricing?

Have you heard about the new pricing at Crazy for Quilting? To make things simpler, and more affordable, and just more fun, all fabrics in the shop are now either $7.99 or $9.99 per yard! That's right, even the brand new stuff, and this isn't just for a sale, it's for all the time!

Regular cotton fabrics, 44-45" wide: $7.99/yd
Batiks and Flanels: $9.99/yd

The new website reflects the new pricing as well. Now you cannot afford not to shop with us, and why would you want to miss the great selection and friendly service anyways?

What's New, Besides the Website

Finally! It looks like my new website will be up by the end of this week. That means I'll be spending my Sunday at the computer, madly uploading every last item I can squeeze into the product list. Some of them are brand new to the store, so I thought I'd share a few previews here.

First, the new quilt from Moda's Birchwood Lodge fabric line. This quilt goes together quickly, since the entire center is preprinted! Kits are available in the store, and will be online as well.

How about these great Fall prints? I love Halloween decorating, at least as much as Christmas decorating. Of course, my birthday is the day before Halloween, so that might have something to do with it. This fabric line, Haunted Hallow II, from Red Rooster, is just the right mix of Fall, Halloween, and rustic style that I love. It has a great panel, and once the website is online and running smooth I might find some time to play with it and make something fantastic!

Last for today, the Twister tools and book. This is a new technique I have yet to try, but I keep hearing great things about. I have a fat quarter collection from the 1990's that I have never broke into, from a fabric line I've long since forgotten the name of. Maybe I'll have to test out the Twister on it....

New Name for the New Year!

My new logo is done, and I've unveiled it on this blog above! The website is in progress, I hope to see it up and running within the next month. Right now, whenever my home page opens up it has a very sad, dejected, "This site is closed" message. Hopefully not for long!
Revamping a website is hard work, even when you hire someone else to do the geeky, technical part! I already feel like I have spent days entereing merchandise into the new site, and I haven't even finished the patterns yet! That's right, I haven't touched fabric, notions, kits, or any other catagory besides patterns and I'm already whining.
I know it will all be worth it in the end. The new site will be much better organized, prettier (very necessary, wouldn't you say?), and more fun to spend time looking at. I can hardly wait to see what you all think!
Until then, you will have to wait patiently, or just visit me in person at the store! New fabric is arriving this week, watch for a preview here on the blog until the new website is up and running.