Fall Classes

After taking a long hiatus from offering a class schedule, I have decided to offer new classes this Fall and Winter! The classes through September are listed on the "News and Classes" page now, you can view them here. Questions, requests? Send me an email through my home page!

It's finally here!! The fabric I ordered at Spring Market, and then had to re-order when my order got mixed up in the supplier's computer, finally came! Now, I can finally begin offering this beautiful new block of the month from The Quilt Company.
This time it features barns! This quilt is gorgeous in person, and will make a fantastic addition to any one's quilt collection. These quilts are also fun to make, and are much less daunting than they appear when you take it one block at a time. (Months 5 and 6 include the setting blocks and borders.) Last year I vividly remember sewing up the last BOM in a round of 3am sewing sessions in late July. Maybe this year I will create my shop sample in the same fashion a month later? I will be sure to let you all know when it is complete. Regardless, if you are already in love with this quilt as much as I am, you can start yours anytime by ordering here!

Back from Market

Another Quilt Market has come and gone, and I survived yet again. We had a fun trip to Salt Lake City, and found some great patterns. I have finished uploading everything to the website that is in stock now, and more will follow as ordered items start to arrive in about a week or so. Check out the New Additions category to keep up with everything we found!
I also ordered various fabrics that will ship through the rest of the year. Included are a western themed line, a large selection of black, white, cream, and brown prints, some wilderness cottons by Holly Taylor, and new Maywood florals.
Now that I am on summer break from school, I will be spending my spare time (or lack of spare time as the case may be) sewing up a storm of new store samples. First up, my Santa Monica jacket, which now has sleeves and will hopefully have a collar and a zipper by the end of tonight!

It's Friday!

It's Friday! Hooray for the weekend, hopefully you find some time to visit your sewing or quilting machines. I have a light load for homework, my kids are visiting their dad, and other than working I will be spending time with my quilting machine for sure.
I have finally made time to upload the new Holly Taylor fabrics from Moda. You can find them under Dragonfly Summer in the online catalog. They are beautiful!
I also invested in a new camera recently. It is just a simple Kodak model, but it will do the job and I should be able to put pictures up much easier and more often now. I decided that repairing my Nikon was probably going to be more hassle and expense than it is worth right now, considering I'm not exactly an expert photographer. So, I will be posting pics again soon.
First up? Maybe a picture of the tablerunner I made Wednesday, followed by a picture of what my car looks like after Wednesday night.

No, I didn't make a cute quilted car cover for it.

Instead, I drove it into the broad side of a moose. Now my car is crunched and sad and needs major surgery. I, thankfully, am not crunched and do not need major surgery, but I am sad. And you should see the hot rod I get to drive 100 miles/day until my car is fixed....

New Sample Coming Soon From Sugar Pop

My mom generously volunteered to make my sample of this new Sugar Pop quilt. I know this picture is not too impressive, but the actual quilt is turning out beautifully! It uses non-traditional applique techniques to make it fun and easy, and it features the layer cake from the Sugar Pop fabric line. This way, you get over 30 great fabrics in one quilt, without having to buy a piece of every single one off the bolt. Watch for this sample in the store soon! Kits are available now, click here.

Where to Begin, What to Finish?

The cold weather seasons always make me want to do more quilting. Combine that with the holidays, and the new fabrics that continue to arrive, and the fact that I'm on break from school for a month, and I really want to quilt! Now that I've finished all the long-arm quilting for Christmas gifts, I might actually get to sit down at the sewing machine before midnight soon. In high hopes of this, I am adding my to do list back to the blog. Maybe this will help keep me accountable to actually finishing up some projects!

What Are You Looking Forward To?

With only one week of the semester left, and the Christmas season upon us, I find myself thinking about all of the things I am looking forward to doing in the next month. Of course, as with everything I do, my list of wants is far longer than what reality will probably allow. However, forever an optimist, I like to set my goals high and see what happens. With that in mind, here is part of the list of things I am looking forward to:

*Vacation days spent at home playing with my kids.
*Being more than a train passing in the night to my husband.
*Baking sugar cookies with the kids from my Grandma's fantastic recipe.
*Not buying a tank of gas every 3 days.
and, of course, *More time for sewing and quilting! (can you say home-made gifts?)

So, what are you looking forward to this season? Send me a comment with your favorite holiday "look forward to" and I'll comment back to you with a coupon code for 40% off your Christmas fabric and/or pattern purchase! Send your comment before December 15th!

Groovy Girls Club Update

I will begin offering a Brand-New club in October, organized by Terry Atkinson at Atkinson Designs, called "The Groovy Girls' Club." I'm super excited about it, the information and design of the first meeting is loads of fun and includes a great learning opportunity. The club will be offered the 2nd Saturday of each month, for 1-2 hours, it's up to you if you stay and sew or not. Benefits include free patterns, demonstrations, door prizes, and fun! If you're a Groovy Girl, join me for coffee and fun on Saturday, October 9th, at 10am!!

*Club runs for 6 months, beginning October 2010, on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 10am.
*Club fee is $10/month. This includes free patterns and gifts each month. You will receive MORE than enough in club benefits to pay for your fee. (In month 1, you'll receive a FREE zipper and 2 FREE bag patterns with multiple options for customization!)
*Members receive a special punch card. Fill your punch card to receive a free gift by completing a club project, bringing a friend, or making a $25 purchase. A full punch card can be exchanged for a free club gift. Punch cards are exclusive to club members, and there is no limit to how many cards a member can fill!
*Bring your sewing machine and supplies and sew for the day up until 3pm in you like! Work on the club project, or work on anything of your choice!

Hint!: For month 1, we'll be learning about how to use zippers in a fast and easy way to make customized "Cash & Carry" bags to carry everything from your glasses to your credit cards to your change!. The new zippers from Atkinson are fabulous! Here is a sample preview:

This bag is one of the options for your first free pattern. This version is the perfect size for reading glasses, and only takes about 1.5-2 hours to put together! There is a perfect zipper color available for any fabric choice!

If you're interested in becoming a "Groovy Girl," contact the shop during business hours. You can find hours and contact information at www.crazyforquiltng.com.

Origins-Fresh on the Shelf

Origins, the new line by Basic Grey for Moda, arrived today! Myself and my freight crew (Bailey and Kylee) got it unwrapped, tagged, and ready for sale. It is beautiful, and I can't wait to get my hands on it and whip up some samples!

New! Groovy Girls' Club!

Terry Atkinson has come up with a new club centered around quilting, learning, and fun. "The Groovy Girls' Club" will be offered through The Crazy Quilter beginning in September. I don't have all the details lined out yet, but here is what I CAN tell you for sure:

*Club Members will meet once a month for a fun lesson on a new technique. (The first month involves zippers) There will be free patterns and lessons relating to each month's pattern.
*The club day and time is yet to be determined. Membership and all benefits are available in store only. Sorry distance followers, this is a rule of the club and not my rule!
*Members will have exclusive dibs on these projects and lessons. They WILL NOT be offered outside of the meeting!
*Fun, easy, inexpensive kits will be available for members featuring the monthly projects.
*There will be a small monthly fee to cover the costs of copies, snacks, etc. While I haven't crunched any numbers yet, this will be quite affordable. I aim to keep it under $5/meeting.
*As of now, the club will run for 6 months. Should Atkinson Designs choose to extend it before then or run it for another 6 month period, I will let you know!

More details to follow!

I LOVE this Hat!

Yesterday, sort of on a whim, I decided I would whip up a hat for Bailey for her birthday. (which was yesterday) This hat is from Whimsical's new book, "Tangled Up in Thread. I knew the hat was cute, I'd seen them at Quilt Market. What I didn't know was how easy, and how addictive, they were going to be! Here's the run down on the hat:

2 hours = 1 hat
<$10 of materials = 1 hat
2 fat quarters, 1/8yd. trim and 1/4yd. interfacing = 1 hat
1 hat made = orders for at least 3 more!

Even if you made nothing else from the book, the hat is more than worth purchasing the book for! I am making 2 more today for my other two girls, and maybe tomorrow I'll finally get one for myself. It is great fun to embellish them with different flowers and buttons, and this Fall I'll probably make us all a winter hat from the Woolie Flannels!

Newly Completed Samples

Finally,a picture of the Piece, Love, Applique quilt!

Also, my mom finished this quilt this week, and it is BEAUTIFUL! The quilt is Blessings Baskets and we have kits available.


I also finished up this sample today. It is from the book Dolly Days that I brought back from Market. The book is loaded with girly quilts and cute doll clothes. This project is so fast and easy, and made to fit right on this wire table top stand.

Now, I'm on to making something wonderful from One Bizillion B.C.. Will was eye balling these fabrics this morning, so maybe I'll earmark it for him!

New Books Featuring Embroidery and Quilts

The book I ordered from an Australian designer at Quilt Market finally arrived today! Along with a couple patterns from the same company, this book, A Boy's Story, has become my motivation to start doing more hand work!
The book is full of fantastic boy quilts, for boys of all ages. There are some quilts with minimal or no embroidery, but the one that stole my heart has equal piecing and embroidery work. The embroidery sections are stunning in their creativity, and capture the essence of little boys perfectly.
And then there's the embroidered door signs, with sayings like "Toxic Waste Dump," and "Pretending to Study," they are to die for!
I will definately be starting a quilt from this book soon. I am also offering a beginning embroidery class for anyone interested in making their own projects like this. Trust me, if I can do this hand work, anyone can!
If you're already into hand work like this, check out their 12 Days of Christmas advent calendar pattern!

Piece, Love & Applique Up and Ready to Order

I'm so excited to share that I've finished my new BOM quilt! I will have pictures of the complete quilt some time this week, when I get my mom to help me hang it for a good shot. In the mean time, I am really excited to say that I've figured out pricing, and I think it's an awesome deal!
After finishing my quilt, I went through my notes and totaled up how much fabric I actually used. This leaves plenty of room for personal color choice and scraps for mistakes, yet doesn't leave a lot of extra yardage for no reason. What I came up with is a cost of only $10/month! The quilt is about 62x82, so this includes significant fabric for a substantial project. But the best part? For only $10 you also get your backing!
Yep, that's right, I was able to include the price of backing and keep the quilt super affordable. I just love it when you have a matching backing all ready to go with your quilt top and don't have to make another purchase or hunt down the perfect fabric months after starting your project!
Here is a link to the ordering page I've created for this project. Monthly kits will be available starting in August. Piece, Love & Applique link

New Pillow-Class to be Posted Soon

I made this great throw pillow the other night as a class demo. I will be listing it as a Summer class on the News and Classes page soon. This is a great class if you've never made a throw pillow and would like to try it out. What a fantastic way to easily customize your home decorating! A great beginner class as well.

Final Blocks of Piece, Love & Applique

Here it is, the final block of the newest BOM at The Crazy Quilter! This quilt is gorgeous, and if I can stay awake long enough tonite I might finish the applique on the borders.
In fact, today was my last day of work at my "real job." (to some people, owning and operating the quilt shop is just a "hobby" and not worthy of being a "real job." ha, ha)
So, technically I can sleep in as long as I want tomorrow. Not really, since my husband has a wild hair you-know-where to drive to Kellogg, ID and drool over some Dodge Challengers tomorrow, BUT, if I really wanted to I could sleep in.

At least telling myself I could sleep in tomorrow might just get me to stay up late enough to finish the applique on the borders of this quilt. Then it will be ready for the quilting machine! Can't Wait!

Crazy Updates!

Don't forget to keep checking the New Additions page, as I continue to add in new stuff from Market. A lot of the things I found I had to order, so as they arrive in-store they will be added to the website.

Also, if you're at all interested in Block-of-the-Months, check that category out and watch for new additions. I have a few more programs to add to it, and all of them are available by mail as well as in-store. By the way....I saw the newest kitty at Market, and it's a fabulous broccoli cat. It's so new it's not even on the website yet!

I have lots of new pics of the Piece, Love & Applique quilt, which I worked on a lot this past holiday weekend! I am nearly finished with the quilt center, so watch for pics later today.

Also watch the News and Classes page, as I am updating it for Summer this week, complete with a Summer class schedule including a Kids' Quilt Camp in July!

And, now for the best part.......

Are you ready??? It's really good......

After June 11th, I am officially unemployed again.

What, you say? How is that a GOOD thing??
Well...OK, it's not. At least, not if you're my checkbook.

And, I must admit, it wasn't an easy decision, and there are a lot of factors that led up to it. Many of which won't fit into this blog post, and all combined wouldn't fit into a made-for-tv movie.

BUT......it's a very good thing if you're a Crazy Quilter customer! It means more projects, more products, more classes, more quilting, more website updates, and more blogging.

I have lots of great, fantastic plans for the shop. And yes, I know I always have great, fantastic plans, many of which fizzle and die, or crash and burn. Yet, I continue to make more plans. I know, I'm a sucker, or a glutton for punishment, or just plain stupid. However, I can't help myself.

Watch for a Crazy Quilter newsletter soon with some new details on classes, BOM's, and such. If you're not on the mailing list, shame on you! You should sign up right now!

Home From Another Quilt Market

I'm home from yet another Quilt Market experience, this one in Minneapolis, MN. I must say, Minneapolis was a great city to visit, and this turned out to be a great Quilt Market. I came home with as much as I could carry, and ordered even more than that to be shipped to the shop!
C had fun too, I think, especially since we were able to do a little site seeing in between time at Market. However.....he has already ran out the door this morning to go meet G for some man time, so maybe he got a little more girl-i-fied than he could handle after all.
They wanted $9.95/day for WiFi access, so I didn't blog from Market at all. I mean, come on, that's like over a yard of fabric! That means I have a back log of great stuff to share with you all. To get started, I'm going to begin uploading new items into the online catalog. Watch for them to start appearing today!
Oh yeah, a little birdie told me that new Christmas fabric from Moda arrived in store while I was gone. You can check it out at Fruitcake in the online catalog under fabrics.

The Final Count Down to Market

I leave for International Quilt Market in less than 12 hours! I have yet to finish packing and get my thoughts in order. It has been a crazy week. I've spent all week fighting off a nasty head cold, and completely lost my voice yesterday. I've burned through nearly half of my sick leave at work, and spent every afternoon sleeping in an effort to avoid attending Market with a box of kleenex and bottle of cold syrup in tow. I think it's working, as I'm starting to feel better, but it's working slowly. And, chances are C will just start to come down with it by tomorrow and I'll end up towing around a box of kleenex, a bottle of cold syrup, and a miserable husband! Should be fun, huh?

Our plane leaves at 6:15am sharp tomorrow, and since the airport's a 2 hour drive from home we'll be leaving the driveway at 3am or so. Another reason this has been a crazy week? C's started back to work, with a night shift of 4:30pm-2:30am. That means that he'll have just enough time to take a shower and inhale a few of those donuts he bought today just for the occassion before we hit the road.

Despite all of this, I'm really excited! I think we'll have enough time to check out the Mall of America tomorrow afternoon, before Sample Spree. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow of Sample Spree, so watch for those. That is...assuming I don't get trampled over, Day After Thanksgiving style, by the mass of quilters waiting to get through the door!

So, I'm off to finish up the last minute tasks. A t-ball practice to take Ky and Will to, packing to finish, thoughts to organize, kids to organize, etc. etc. etc. Let the count down commence!

Origins-Sneak Peak

A couple weeks ago my Moda rep visited with a preview of new fabrics. One line really stood out for me in particular, making both my mom and I drool with excitement. What can I say? sometimes fabric "speaks" to me!

So....I got an awesome email from Moda with links that I can share with everyone. Here is a link to "Origins," which I loved so much that the ENTIRE line will be in store this August!

Origins by Basic Grey for Moda

Happy drooling!