The latest

Writing this from Pittsburgh, where I have been working this week. My past visits here have been good but this visit has been great. Such a neat city, thriving, proud of its heritage and diversity. Given that the city is built along 3 rivers, it seams more like a cool small town than a metropolitan area with major professional sports franchises. My view this week:

The smokestacks in Homestead along the waterfront.

Since I am not home, the sewing/quilting has slowed, but as I had felt a lack of mojo, not surprising. I have squeezed in some visits to local shops. The lovely Loom:

 They have a lovely array of textiles, tons of Alexander Henry novelties, home dec fabrics and trims. I purchased some of the new Charley Harper collection. If you like modern designer prints, stop here! (And visit the Parisville powder room!)

The next evening I visited the Quilters Depot. Such sweet ladies! This is a shop that caters to quilters and knitters.

 They carry a nice variety of fabrics, yarns and notions. This shop is a Handi Quilter dealer si I picked up needles, many sizes! After a 20 minute visit, I felt like I had made life-long friends. (More of a traditional aesthetic and lots of thread choices.)

My last quilt-shop visit was The Gloria Horn Sewing Studio.

This shop is in a charming old house and is jam packed with fabric, pre-cuts, embridery notions and inspiration. Mostly Moda, with a traditional slant, I purchased some Bella Solids pre-cuts. Also notable here are the many antique sewing machines on display. (Traditional Moda fans, this is the place for you. Florals and patriotic prints).

I am glad to be home and starting to feel that creative tingle. Hoping to spend some quality time in my tiny sewing studio this weekend.

Darma Sunrise

I got a little carried away with the quilting on this one.

Darma Sunrise 46" by 36"

I started the border first on this one. One of our LQS, Sew Original is hosting a "Solids Challenge" and this was originally going to be my entry.

I love how the border looks. But originally I wasn't loving the dark gray I used in the center.

So I decided to lighten it up with quilting. And I quilted a lot. 

Feathers, fronds, swirls, oh my!

I believe this will serve nicely as a teaching sample for a while.

 

The backing is a batik I had in my stash, and the colors worked perfectly.

a quilty Saturday, and I didn't even sew

But the day was devoted to quilting!

I started Saturday morning attending the quarterly meeting of the Carolina Longarm Association, which was held at Sewingly Yours. This was our Machine Quilting Bee meeting for this month and it was so informative.

Next, I traveled to deliver all my mini-quilts. They are going to be on display and offered for sale at Statesville's Downtown Art Crawl, this coming Friday, April 19 as part of Taproot Artisans. I met Janet (from Taproot), at a Barn Quilt workshop. There were 4 people there, painting their own barn quilts! If you want a barn quilt of your own, contact Taproot, they can help you! They also lead barn quilt tours through Iredell County.

Brand-new barn quilts, just born!

Then on my way back home, I stopped by Carolina Quilt Market, where I am teaching on May 4. What an amazing place! Jean sells quilts on consignment, as well as holding classes.
Quilts were everywhere, sorted by size and theme.

There is a great group of Christmas quilts and wall hangings, as well as an amazing group of vintage quilts, at great prices. She also had a large selection of handbags, as well as quilt books and some fabrics she was selling from the estate of a quilter.

There will be sewing tomorrow, but this was a day filled with inspiration.

Local Quilt Shop Love

I do not receive any thing for my posts about the quilt shops I feature, except (I hope) a little love. 
I truly believe in supporting local merchants and hope you do as well.


Here it is January, and you do not know what to do to while away the winter hours. How about visiting one of our local quilt shops? You could get inspired, buy some goodies, take a class, visit and have fun!

Here in the Winston-Salem area, we are lucky to have 4 very different, yet equally awesome shops:

Sewingly Yours: this shop is a Baby Lock and Viking dealer and offers a variety classes (link to quarterly newsletter) for a variety of experience levels and interests. In fabrics, they have current offerings by Moda, Free Spirit, Northcott and others, and a huge selection of batiks. The clearance fabrics are in the back hall and offer an ever changing chance for wonderful deals.

Sew Original: this is an "everything" Bernina dealer. They also have a great variety of classes to learn and expand your knowledge. They feature Moda, Free Spirit, Batiks, and have recently added a nice selection of Kona Cottons solids. Sew Original also have a wide range of books and kits available. (link to website, classes are on their sidebar)

The Little General: this is a wonderful little jewel box full of Free Spirit fabrics. You can find the latest and greatest by Amy Butler, Tula Pink and Joel Dewberry among others. Gina also has lovely voiles, laminates and wools for crafting along with many modern quilt, craft and apparel patterns. Drop by to learn about current class offerings.

Knit One, Smock Too: I know, I am late to the party on this treasure,  but I have only been back in W-S full-time for 2 years and I only have Saturdays for retail therapy! BUT, I have been here and shall return! This is a great little shop in the neighborhood of my early childhood, South Fork. They have a great variety of fabrics not offered at the other shops listed, so it is well worth the trip to round out your stash! Knit One Smock Too sells supplies and teaches classes for knitting, smocking, quilting, and embroidery.

North, into the wilds of Stokes County, there are 2 newer shops I have discovered:

Papanana: Melanie says her shop is "like Pinterest in person" and she features how to's on a "Pin of the Week". This cute shop in King offers classes and supplies for knitting, crochet, sewing & quilting, painting & scrapbooking, candy & cake decorating, among others. Airy and filled with sunlight, this is a fun shop to visit!


The Thread Bear Quilt Shop is in Walnut Cove and is filled with great fabric, books and samples. Gina also offers classes on demand, so drop by and see what is available. The fabrics here are a wonderful array of batiks, modern fabrics, traditional and seasonal prints. They also offer yarn and needlework supplies.

Please leave me a message if there are other shops in the area, I would love to visit and feature them!

And how boring is a blog post without a picture? Here is a shot of quilting in progress:

quilt related

I have some travel for work for a few weeks. I did an up-&-back to our NYC office yesterday for a meeting. It made for a very long day, but the meeting went very well and I had time to get by The City Quilter.

Got these goodies for our TMQG upcoming summer block swap!

I so love my iPhone and its camera!!!

I have been very bad.....

I visited Karen Gray Designs for the first time on Saturday.

It was a gorgeous autumn day, I had been running errands. Barnes & Noble, Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics. Checking out what was new and different, not looking for much, some new magazines. 

Ran into some of my TMQG peeps at JoAnn. (Hi Anya and Sarah!)

Sarah mentioned Karen Gray was having a sale.

Now, I was just on my way home, and as a drove near the Reynolda Road exit, I thought I would drop by, see if they were still open. Check it out.

Oh, boy, my first visit, but certainly not my last! I am already looking forward to may next visit!

A bright, cheerful shop. Karen was so nice and friendly! And yes, a SERIOUS sale on excellent fabrics!

And I bought stuff:

More Carol Taylor

Permission to photograph was granted at gallery

I love "The City Quilter". I try to visit every time I am in NYC. Such a great LQS!

Great fabrics. Prints, batiks, panels, felt, patterns, books.

And now that they have expanded, more of that, plus gallery space! Awesome!

It was truly a treat to see these quilts up close. Here is an example of "direct" inspiration. By that, I mean, I want to make more quilts!

Mid-week peek!

Lucky me! When I dashed into the City Quilter yesterday, not only was I amazed at their newly expanded space, I was delighted by their exhibit of art quilts by Carol Taylor! The show is:

“Explosions of Color” at the ArtQuilt Gallery, NYC

The show opened on Sept 8, 2011 exhibiting 37 of her quilts on display.

It will run until October 29, 2011. The gallery is located at 133 West. 25th St. NY, NY.

AWESOME!!!!! More pix to come! I can not wait to get home to SEW!!!!!

A little "stunt sewing"

What is stunt sewing you ask? Well, it where one steps in and sews for someone who can't! In this case, I am sewing some store samples for a friend who is opening a new quilt shop! I know, you are wondering how I can make such a sacrifice? Well, I get to sew with new, beautiful fabrics. FOR FREE! Oh, yeah, I have to give them to her, but I still get to play with them! 

I am also developing the pattern for each sample I make. None of these patterns are re-inventions of the wheel, but they are my method of constructing a classic quilting design. 

The first up, I call "Simple Stunning Star". It measures 42" square and this sample is done in Christmas fabrics. 

This pattern could also be used for a baby quilt, or you could put 4 together for a bed sized quilt. I will post the pattern here, once it has been proofed. Have a good weekend!

Adding to the stash

Seems so many quilters in blogland are trying to de-stash. Well, not me! I really never have just randomly bought fabric, not since I figured out my quilting style. What's my style? Well, I like to shop with a project in mind. I have several projects on my mind at the present, but until I finish the king-sized quilt I am working on, I will not allow myself to start anything else!

Back on the subject, adding to my stash. 

I have made small additions this week. First up, I visited Dragonfly Quilt Shop this week after a customer meeting. The shop was so cute and the ladies working there were delightful! They have a large window-filled room for there classes and lovely selection of fabrics. I bought the cute Charms, FQs, a pattern and some Dr. Seuss fabric to use as a backing.

Next, Tammy and I were walking this week and discovered that the little quilt gallery (Sew Welcome) near our office has started carrying fabric. They have a nice selection of FQs so I bought these for a T-shirt quilt I have on my to-do list.

Lastly, my Mom went to Batiks Etc (maybe our very favorite quilt excursion!)on Friday and brought me this pattern.

Can't wait to start it!

Quilt Shop Visit

Meme (my sweet MIL) and I ventured out to Creative Crafters Quilt Shop one recent Saturday.

This gorgeous fall day way enhanced by this great new shop in Statesville, NC! A small storefront gave way to a huge, varied, colorful selection of great fabrics. They carry Kaffe Fasset, Moda, beatiful batiks and lots of patterns. What really got me going were many beautiful samples handing around!

Check them out here.

Why yes, I did buy some fabric! We are now 10 days away from moving in our house and I need to build my stash for some intense sewing! 

Batiks, Etc.

Yes, I am so excited about our house and really anxious to get in it, but, I have to wait! Don't worry, I will post inside pictures. But for now, more on the quilting side:

This past Saturday (a beautiful, sunny, late October day) I went along with my mom and here friend Janet to Wytheville, Va, to visit Batiks, Etcetera and Sew What Fabrics. Mom had been before (and has the frequent buyer punch card to prove it!) but for Janet and myself it was a magical entry into a jewel box full of beauty!

Love this ladder display in the hall!

Batiks to left of me and batiks to the right, batiks upstairs in the Sale! room. Fat Quarters, Layer Cakes, Charm Squares, books, tool, gadgets, everywhere I turned there was a new delight! I bought charm square packs, FQs and 2 books along with batik yardage for a quilt I am planning for my living room wall. I will post on the books later. Mom got 108" wide batik baking for a friend along with additional fabric for her stash (my mom loves batiks, really loves them!). Janet bought fabric and patterns. We had so much fun with the lovely ladies working there. The customer service was fantastic and judging from the raucous laughter coming from the class room, it would be a fun place to take a class! Make a trip to Wytheville or buy on line, this is a great shop with a fabulous collection of batiks.

Working in NYC this week

My company has an office in New York, on 5th Avenue, across from Lord & Taylor. I spent this week working out of this office with the rest of our design crew on a yearly project. So great to all be together in the same room, face to face. We function via conference calls the rest of the year so this is really jam-packed and a lot of fun. All was not work, however. On Tuesday, we went to FIT to catch a guided presentation of their exhibit "Japan Fashion Now". The curator, Valerie Steele, led us through a history of Japanese fashion from the vanguard designers in the 1980's through the current years. A fantastic show!

Thoroughly inspired by the japanese designs, I made my way to Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore. I found myself purchasing a gorgeous book and magazine on Japanese quilts (imagine that!).

Can't read a word of them, but the beauty of the quilts speaks volumes. It is so interesting to see the different perspective at work in the composition of the quilts. Sure to inspire my work (as soon as I have a studio to work in!)

I also trekked down to West 25th Street to visit a jewel of an LQS: the city Quilter. Full of beautiful fabrics (prints, batiks, shot cottons, silk fat quarters and japanese wovena nd prints) this shop was so busy with quilters taking classes. Felt like home and it was my first visit. They had wonderful samples on the wall, each easily identified with the pattern or book. They also have many New York themed patterns and fabrics available.

 Love the skull made from Halloween Prints!

From the book Dare to be Square by Boo Davis.

 Couldn't leave without buying a charm pack of bright blue and red patterns along with some white on white FQs. Already have an idea for these!

Quilt shop Loot from Jacksonville

Quilt shop Loot from Jacksonville, originally uploaded by kheli.

Look at my goodies! I bought 3 new quilting books: Quilt as Desired by Charlene C. Frable, Quick Quilt Tricks and More Quilt Tricks both by Billie Lauder. The 2 Billie Lauder books were recommended to me last week and I thought it was a crazy coincidence to find them in the first shop I visited, sitting in a prominent place in the front of the shop! I also picked up 3 Moda Charm Packs: ZaZa, Merry and Bright, and Adoring. I love pre-cuts and it was awesome to find so many here. I also picked up the Simplicity Layer Cake and 2 coordinates for a future baby quilt. Then the luscious batiks! Those are also for a future project! Nice to refill my stash coffers with these lovelies!

June 16, 2010 - still quiet, cloudy

June 16, 2010, originally uploaded by kheli.

It started very hot today. I decided to try to find an LQS (Local Quilt Shop) and left out at 10 this morning. I found 2! Stop and Shop #1 was Cotton Patch Quilt Shoppe in Jacksonville, NC (910-938-1395). I could tell by the awesome customer service on the phone (I had to call twice since the Google directions were off and they talked me right to their front door!) that this would be a good stop. It looked like a tiny little place, but once I got inside I was blown away by the inventory! Fabulous amounts of fabrics! Tons of Moda and some of the most beautiful batiks I have ever seen. Sharon the owner was so fun with a ready smile as well as directions to the other shops in town! I bought a couple of cool books and some of those beautiful batiks. They have a lot of past season's Moda lines, so if you are needing some, give them a call, they do not have a website, but they will ship!


The second stop and shop was as unasuming and delightful as the first. It was The Country Collection Quilt Shop, also in Jacksonville, NC (910-347-1960). Again, tiny on the outside but packed full of goodies! Lots of Moda precuts and more fabric bolts than you can imagine! Connie helped me there and again I have to say, quilters are just the nicest people! Here I bought a layer cake and some fabric for a baby quilt. They also will ship and have a lot of fabric.


Altogether, a phenomenal day! ( I will post a pic of my goodies later).

a little web shopping love!

Time for some stash building! I placed orders last week and have been so delighted with the deliveries!
Check 'em out:

The lovely Kona solids came from the Fabric Shack. They actually called me to pick out subs for colors they were out of! We spoke on the phone for about 20 minutes while I asked about a color, and they checked the inventory. Delightful customer service and excellent prices! I am quite enamored with solid pops of color right now. And those modern prints on the right? The Grey, Citron and Black fat quarter bundle by Micheal Miller from the Fat Quarter Shop. Again, thrilled with the customer service, selection and quality! I love coming home to some presents in the mail. Now, off to sew....

A little stash building!

I may not live near a local quilt shop, but I can still do a little stash building via the fantastic internet quilt shops!

A halloween quilt is on my "want" list, so I have been scouting for a sale layer cake. I found the "Chic or Treat" at Cotton Patch Quilting. I also grabbed 2 charm packs of  "American Jane Pindot" since the price was so reasonable and these pre-cuts can fit in many quilt ideas! Love both of these.

I have also been wanting a Kona Cotton swatchcard just for the "pretty" factor. Nothing like gazing at all these lovely colors to spark ideas and sweet daydreams. So I visited Pink Chalk Fabrics and ordered one! And I decided to treat myself to a Kona Cotton FQ sample pack as well.

Just look at all the pretty fabrics! Makes me go yum! Nice to have these bright colors to balance out our gray days. 2 great experiences with 2 great internet shops!

Nana's Quiltin' Place - Shop Review

I was so happy to find Nana's Quiltin' Place! This delightful shop just opened in Hudson, NC on Friday, Nov. 13. I went by yesterday and they graciously allowed me to take photos to share with you.

 

 

This quaint shop has a ton of fabrics, lots of fat quarters and scads of patterns. There are also many beautiful samples on display to inspire.

The proprietress, Dixie Stoltz, has operated an internet quilt shop and is a fabulous quilter, so she knows what we want and need. I wish her the best and anticipate spending time (& money) there often. She is located at 155 - B Hickman and hours are Tu & Th 10am to 7 pm, Wed 9am to 4 pm, Fr & Sat 9am to 3 pm, closed Sunday and Monday.

 

Veteran's Day

I finished this table runner Monday night.

The fabrics are from Joel Dewberry's Deer Valley line.

The colors are luscious!

I put it in the etsy shop this morning. Then my sweet hubby took me fabric shopping! I went to Mary Jo's and to a great shop called Sew Much Fun!
I will post a review on it soon. Now, I am going to fondle my new fabrics!

Today is Veteran's Day. And I am so very grateful to all who have served our wonderful country.It is also my baby brother's birthday. He is very handsome and smart, and I am very proud of him.

Happy Birthday Kent!!!

Reno Quilt Shop

We got home @11:45 last night. Great flights, great trip, and FAB LQS!

This is the colorful street front of Windy Moon Quilts in Reno, NV. I hiked from our hotel for a visit and I was "WOW-ED". A bright, colorful shop, stocked with an enormous array of fabric. And I mean, a lot of fabric. I just wandered around for about an hour, looking at all the selection. Not only was there a great variety of fabric, there was a huge amount of books and patterns, and a phenomenal number of sample quilts to inspire. And cap all this off with a warm, friendly and knowledgeable staff! While I was there, they were running a sale, where if you brought in your completed quilt top to show, you received a discount on your batting, and I was fortunate to see some incredible quilt tops. Make me wish I could spend more time there to soak up some of the quilt-know-how in Reno! I bought 2 books, and 2 sets of 2 different new Moda charm packs. I will put those up here later. Now to unpack and do laundry!