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.

When I Grow Up

It seems I still haven't decided what to be when I grow up. Yes, believe it or not, I've returned to college for round 2. After the urge to finish an Education degree I dabbled with during my Business degree years hit me last month, I decided "Why not?" and enrolled for the Fall term. Now, I'm a Secondary Ed./Math major, with an even stronger addiction to Starbucks, fed by my 7:30am Calculus class.

Yes, I said 7:30am......4 days a week.

It has been a very long time since my last formal math class. I frequently leave that class with one of two attitudes:

(1) The misconception that I actually understand the day's lecture. This misconception is quickly cured as I attempt to complete the day's homework. (Notice the word "attempt")

(2) No misconception that I understand the day's lecture, just a combination of fear of the homework and the feeling my head might explode if I don't get more espresso soon.

Yes, I am fairly convinced that Calculus was invented by a bunch of expert mathematicians.......while they were drunk.......as a cruel joke to torture the rest of us.

I am still here, I am still quilting, and I promise to post about something quilt related soon. Just as soon as my head stops throbbing.

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!

Maggie May Bag

Over the weekend, in between the shop hop customers, this bag pattern (The Maggie May Bag)kept tugging at me from the pattern wall. So, I grabbed some fabric and took it home with me on Saturday. A few days later, and only 2 or 3 hours of sewing time, here is what I have! This was possibly the easiest bag I've ever made, and I'm not saying that lightly. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it went together and how easy to cut out the pieces it was. The pattern utilizes 1.5" strips from a honey bun, and 1 honey bun could make 3 bags. Add a fun button, and you've got a great hand bag!

White Flag Waving

I'm waving my white flag for the night. It's the last few days before the Crazy 8 Shop Hop, and I've been putting in some late nights of quilting and piecing in a last ditch effort to finish as many new displays and prepare as many things as possible for the hop this weekend. My last big project? Finishing up the quilt sample for Holly Lane, which shoulda, woulda, coulda been done last month had the fabric arrived on time. As it stands tonight, I am a few borders short, which brings the promise of another late night tomorrow.


So for now, I am waving my white flag and yelling "Uncle" at the top of my lungs.

Well, at least I would be, if I had the energy. I.....need......sleep.

But first, I am going to finish drinking this: (Don't mind the mess in the background. I waved my white flag at housework last week)

Next, I'm going to eat this:



And I'm going to attempt to be somewhat coherant when C gets home from work, around 3am.

However, if he's lucky, I'll fall into a deep sugar coma before I go back for seconds, and there might be a brownie left for him (if the girls don't find them first!)

New Monthly Program Updates

Today I finally made it far enough on my to-do list to add a new monthly program I've been wanting to start. These new patterns were designed by The Wooden Bear, and now that I've added them to my website, you can view them under Monthly Kits.
I debated about waiting until I had some samples made and everything in order, but who am I kidding? If I do that I might as well pencil it in for 2044 or so. Instead, I'm offering it right away with a promise to myself that I'm going to have to get it in gear and make some samples soon.
Here are the basics:

Once monthly for 1 year, you'll get a pattern and buttons to make one quilt. These quilts hang on a scroll stand, so with the monthly program you'll also get a stand. The price of the monthly kits ($13.75/month) includes shipping and one stand as well as patterns and trims/buttons. You can also get each kit separately, if you prefer not to do 12 months, or if you need an extra. The quilts finish to 12x12, so they are a perfect way to use up scraps and stash fabrics, making them very affordable! A very fun addition to a table, desk, shelf, or dresser in any home.