YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS

We had a Teacher’s meeting Friday night and you won’t believe what those women have in store for you. Here are just a few notes and pictures:

Sampler –If you haven’t signed up for the 2009 Sampler you will want to ASAP. The first session was Saturday, but there are numerous other sessions during the month. Check it out on the calendar or call the shop. It is a Mystery BOM so you can’t see a picture of the block until next month (It's not the house pictured here). Each month for only $3 you will receive your fabric and directions (You have three choices in fabrics: Civil War, Batik, or 30’s) and there will be demonstrations where you will learn something new. There also will be door prizes, and if you attend six months in a row and have your blocks finished on time, you can attend the seventh month for free. What a bargain!

Mystery Week Mar. 16-21 – Join the fun and make this 40 x 46” quilt. (It’s a mystery so no picture yet) You must register to participate as two different quilt shops are involved: Attic Window and Quilted Memories. During the week you will receive a kit that contains ½ the material and ½ the pattern instructions. You schedule a sewing time at each of the shops during that week. Start sewing at one shop on one day then go to the next shop on another day to get the rest of the material and pattern instructions and sew on your quilt at that shop. The registration fee includes the kit, instructions, and your meal (lunch or dinner) and you will receive 20% off on your shopping experience the day you visit the shop. Call the shop to sign up!

Rug Making - MaryAnne is teaching a beginner’s Rug Making class. This rug is square and not oval like the others she’s demonstrated and she says it’s easier to make. These rugs are so cute and you’d be amazed at how soft and flexible they are.




Tote Bag - Cindy has made another cute tote bag. This one is expandable. You can fold it up or down to meet your needs.

Small thread catcher: Isn’t this small bag adorable? Can’t you just see it in your sewing room catching all those threads and little snippets that used to land on your floor? Watch for Sue’s upcoming class in the next newsletter which should be out in March.

Student Gallery - Everyone loves seeing all the finished quilts that students bring in to the shop for show and tell. We want to show them all here on the blog but are limited on this one page, so we’ve created a separate area just for student projects. In the column to the right you will see a small box labeled Student Gallery (just like the "class samples" box). Click on the picture and you will be taken to a new area that has the pictures of your finished projects. This will be so nice because we won’t have to eliminate pictures when the first page gets too full. We love seeing what everyone has done so I hope you like this new area.

Don’t forget to check out the "My Blog List" in the sidebar. The new BOM patterns are out on some of them.

Happy Quilting

HOW TO DEAL WITH COLOR

Have you been using the F word a lot lately? Now get your mind out of the gutter. The F word is the FEAR word. Is your fear holding you back from starting a new quilt project? Do you have a problem choosing colors? Are you procrastinating because you are afraid you’ll look stupid, no one will like it? Don’t let fear hold you back.
The best way to conquer fear is to do it anyway. It doesn’t have to be a queen size quilt. Do this the inexpensive way by tackling small projects. These little houses (pictured) are a fun way to experiment with colors. You can later use this small block as a pot holder like the one shown or add it to your UFO pile without guilt. Pop over to Freda’s Hive and get instructions on how to make these cute little houses. They are addictive and you learn so much by doing them. It is so easy taking small scraps of fabric and placing them next to each other. See what happens when you place a red piece of fabric next to a green. Or maybe it would look better next to an orange one. There is no right or wrong. What feels right to you is what will look right to you and that makes it great. What do you think about the pictured hot pad? Would you have used a darker yellow fabric or a different color altogether? Or maybe you would have chosen a different binding? What does it matter? What matters is what you learn when you play with color, what you like and what you don't like, and that you don’t let fear control you. This is for practice. This is for fun. Go for it.

I’ve added Happy House Swap button to the blog. Check it out too. Even if you don’t participate, it’s a fun way to use up those scraps and learn about color while you’re doing it.

Has This Ever Happened To You?

You’re excited about starting a new class, or pattern, or project, but after careful sewing, trimming, cutting your end product looks nothing like the sample. You wonder: What happened? In a recent post we discussed how different teachers may teach differently and that you need to find the one who really “speaks” to you. Maybe the teacher isn’t the problem. Maybe you are like this fly-head (your editor) who thought she heard all the instructions and eagerly delved into her new project only to discover that the end product looked more like a pizza instead of the new Wheelie so many are showing on their blogs. What happened? Sometimes we are so excited about starting the new project that we become overwhelmed, get information overload. Our mind gets a little pixilated and misses a few steps in the instructions. Compare this sample (pictured) to the Wheelies on Get Down Kitty’s blog About the only thing similar is that they are both round. Maybe (only maybe) this change in pattern was intended (did you get the maybe). New mantra: It’s not Ugly; it’s Original. When something different/unintended happens in your quilt, you are including a part of yourself, and that makes it special. Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid. Hop on over to Mary Lou and Cherries Too and see all her wonky designs. They are so free and inspiring. So, what does all this mean? It means that you should never give up. Take classes, take lots of classes from different teachers, learn new techniques, and gain confidence. Stop worrying (and I’m whispering here) there are no Quilt Police. Enjoy and create!

Changes – It was just discovered that the reason it took so long for things to download on the blog was because the files were too large. That has been fixed, so you should be able to download items much quicker now.

Happy Quilting!