Happenings, Happenings - Up-Dated!!!

A few posts back, I wrote about our new "Lagniappe " classes. Once a month, we (let me be more specific: Linda Kay!) will host a class that teaches the student something that can be made quickly. The idea is to be a helpful method of preparing yourself for Christmas or any gift-giving, really. When you want to give something of yourself (at the last minute, even) now you can have a veritable arsenal of ideas at your fingertips.

Here are the results from the first class last weekend: The Bucket Class

Adorable!

Now that you have seen this, here is what's coming up:

Feb 20, 10 am - 1pm Learn to sew a quilted cover for a folding "camp stool"! You can buy one of these at Wal-Mart and you will need it when you come. You'll get the class supply list when you sign up. Too cute. And so easy to stow away when it's not needed. How great would that be to cover with school colors and send off to college in the fall?

Up-Date: Linda Kay has made it official: March 20 Lagniappe Class will be the Bucket Basket.

Call to reserve your spot!

And speaking of coming up, next week, Feb. 5 is UFO Friday.

Pearl sent out an email concerning two volunteer Outreach projects you might be interested in joining. One is to sew "ditty bags" (Pouches of Comfort) for the women soldiers to stow their personal items while they are in fatigues and the other is to make pillowcases for Ronnie's Life Ministry, through St. Timothy's Church in Mandeville, LA.

You don't sew much but would like to help anyway?, great! We'll get you cutting up the fabric. You say you don't cut too good? No problem! You can doing the turning and keep us in stitches.

If you would like to help out with either of these two projects or would like to bring your UFO in and join us for the camarderie, bring your machine, UFO's, donated fabrics, cutting/piecing tools and good cheer next Friday. And a snack! Snacks are good! (I'll hit the Chinese take-out, meself)

We're going to sew up a storm ALL DAY at Bright Hopes Quilting. Feb 5 That's next Friday.

Romantic Blooms BOM - Up-date

Mona finished the center block!!!!!

Back in October I posted that we were going to have a Block of the Month of this quilt, by Kit Morse and Julie McAufille. Fabric by Alex Anderson and P & B Fabrics.

It Has Arrived!

But only Just Arrived (shhh......I saw the bolts hidden in the back!) and OH the blues and yellows are beautiful......when I get back in the shop, I'll take some close-ups of the fabrics for your viewing pleasure. and voila!


This is going to be one gorgeous quilt. You can see from the promotional sheet that the blocks are not just cookie-cutter ordinary either. Here's a chance to improve your piecing and points as you move thru the months of 2010.

If you want to get in on this BOM, give us a call at 985-845-9554 to save your spot.

Just a Few New Things to Show

Ya'll know how popular Fleur d' lis' are in Louisiana and how remarkably few there are to be found in fabric.....? Well, take a look at these four new fabrics Pearl just got in and in these unusual and fashionable colors....

"Plume" by Moda


This is one of those images you need to click to enlarge to really appreciate the patterns. The colors remind me of a cup of neapolitan and chocolate mint chip ice cream! (great, now I'm getting a craving...) The quilts' pattern is "3-6-9" which goes Fast, Fast, Fast. and the fabric is lusciously soft!

"Nicey Jane" by Heather Bailey

This is one of new quilt samples using the pattern, "Flora" and new fabric from Heather Bailey called Nicey Jane, by Free Spirit. Again, the fabric is very soft and these colors bring to mind gentle breezes of summer. What a sweet quilt for a young girl.

Last month I posted about a new fabric line designed by sight-impaired artists. We have made a sample using these fabrics and the "5 & Dime" pattern:

This quilt is larger than what you can see here....which showcases these vibrant fabrics rather well.

Yesterday was Applique Society meeting day at Bright Hopes Quilting, which brings to mind the following: I am so bad at applique, darn near hopeless. Yet at the same time, I really appreciate the look and artistry of applique and do try it on the odd occasion. Like now.

I am working a mostly pieced quilt-top that calls for a, thankfully, small amount of applique and have been stressing over how to actually DO it. I can't needle-turn to save my life and yes, I have tried and tried. I didn't want to have rough edge, machine-applique on this one so that left, as far as I know, traditional technique. But I don't want to use freezer paper because I don't want to cut the back to remove it. I know... picky picky picky.

I spied at the shop a product that intrigued me, bought a pack and scurried home to see if this might be what I need:

Wash-Away Applique Sheets by C & T Publishing

The idea is you can run these sheets through your ink jet printer, or draw directly on it, iron the shiny side to the back of your fabric, cut leaving a 1/4" seam allowance and sew to the background, using the sheet as the edge to needle-turn against. Then, it washes away with warm water. And here is a neat feature! It's so soft that you can just LEAVE it in the quilt and it will soften in time!

Now I like Steam A Seam; it's great for machine applique but it does leave a stiff layer in the quilt. It has it's place in sewing, to be sure.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Well. Does it work?"

YES! It washes right out in warm water! I let the block soak for less than a minute and could feel it disappear.

!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS IMPORTANT !!!!!!!!!

If you do use an ink jet printer to make your templates, any ink will transfer to the fabric in the water bath! This happened to me and I was able to wash THAT out with detergent. I would advise you to white out any labels, marks, unnecessary lines you have on pre-printed patterns prior to copying and printing them on that applique sheet.

It will save you from a panic attack like I just had. You really don't want one of those!

How Things Sneak Past Me

I find it amazing that I can totally miss something we have had in the store for several weeks (months apparently as well....) and when I finally see it, I hear "Oh we've HAD that!" Here is what I speak of:

Robin Pandolph Beach House Rolls

These are a collection of 35 - 5.5" x 22" strips in her new Spring Collection of roses, stripes and solids in beautiful yet vibrant pastels. When I saw the name she gave this collection, I thought "perfect!" It really brings to my mind what a Cape Cod cottage would have draped over a sofa.

Soft, soft, soft.

Peter Rabbit by Quilting Treasures

We have three bolts of the cute Beatrix Potter "Peter Rabbit" stories.

Here are two close-ups to see some of the images taken from the various children's favorite bedtime stories. The fabrics are wonderfully soft to the touch and will sew up to some warm snuggly quilts.

Hoffman Challenge

I have to confess, I have been remiss in mentioning that we have the Hoffman Challenge 2010 fabric

and it's friends
in stock. Aren't they gorgeous?

I intend to get so excited when this is finally issued each year and it's so much fun to see the entries at the Houston Quilt Show each year (each year I am lucky enough to be able to attend, that is.) And this year the fabric they chose is really really beautiful. I love the bold blues and swirling motifs.

Everyone is able to take part in the Challenge so please click on that hyperlink above to learn more about the Challenge and it's rules and deadlines.

New From Moda!!!!

Hang on now because I am going to blast us well into Spring with the next few images.

Nature's Notebook , by April Cornell.

We have 16 bolts of beautiful Blue and Yellow floral fabric on the bolt as well as Charm Squares and Jelly Rolls.

Eden by Lila Tueller
As you can see, this is a fresh bright series in Lime and Pinks. We have 3 bolts, Layer Cakes and Charm Squares.

Moda Spring Fabrics Just a great assortment of cantaloupes and spring green. So much to be inspired by and more on the way.

Fortune Teller Class

Mary Gerardi is holding a class tomorrow, Thursday January 21, making this beautiful quilt:

And there is still time to sign up.

This pattern comes out of the Floragraphix IV book, by Jason Yenter, which has beautiful patterns to showcase his unique collage fabrics. But Mary put a twist to Fortune Teller by using more traditional fabrics in cheery Spring colors.

The class is from 10am - 3pm and is a good second step for someone who has had limited experince in quilting and wants to go forward. Class fee $30.00 Book required.

Please call for more information 985-845-9554

Lagniappe Class This Saturday!

We are beginning our new series, Lagnaippe Class, this Saturday, Jan 23.

Lagniappe Class will be held once a month and offers something new each time. The idea is to learn to make something that can be made quickly. Then, once you see how much fun THAT can be, you can start early (like, NOW) making gifts for next Christmas and not feel so rushed come November. Let's be honest.... who reading this doesn't feel that stress building around the week of Thanksgiving?

Linda Kay will walk you thru the making of this fun Bucket from 10am - 1pm. Class fee is only $10 and you can start to use up those fat quarters you've been hoarding but don't know what to do with!

Dresen Star Class

Pearl will be holding a class next Tuesday, Jan 26, on using the template to create this 3-D star. From 10-12 and only $15.00 plus purchase of template and pattern.

So complicated-looking and yet so simple when Pearl shows you how!
Give us a call 985-845-9554 to reserve your spot.

Movin' On Up!

In With The New!

A few weeks ago we got in these whimsical baby/youth prints that stand out as they are so darned cute. Kate Honarvar with Timeless Treasures fabrics. The pigs are our newest arrival

So M'liss Czarnecki goes off and whips up these two "Take 5" quilts!

Take 5 is a GREAT pattern to use when your focal fabric is just too big to slice up in tiny pieces or you simply want to showcase it. Click on either image to see a large version.

And staying wiht the theme of Youth, here is Pearl's newest sample, Safari So Good and we have kits, complete with pattern measuring 78" x 99", $81.99 (the border is yet to go on but I didn't want to wait to at least get this much shown)

This is Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns, a veritable encyclopedia of information. If ever you wanted to know the name of a block or variation of that block, or how to draft your own pattern of that block, THIS is the reference book for you. It covers over 4000, yes you read that right, 4000 blocks and is replete with historical perspectives and information as well. $49.95

Mary Engelbreit

Linda Kay has whipped out this new quilt using Mary Engelbreit's new line and I really like the movement. Those ARE straight sewing lines and doesn't look like spinning pinwheels?

The pattern is Popsicle Posy Quilt by American Jane Patterns:

Butterflies!

How is THIS for inspiration?

These HUGE butterflies are 4 to a panel and Celeste Chabert used two of them to create this pretty tablerunner:


But what about a BQ or Just Can't Cut It? Or pillows?

Shopping totes? You'll never run into one of THOSE at a grocer's checkout counter!

That Gum Drop Class and Storm at Sea

I promised I'd get a better photo of these cute floor pillows Linda Kay made. Her class is THIS Thursday!

Now Pearl has a class coming up for Storm at Sea and this uses the paper-piecing technique.

Such an effective design and a great way to make this beautiful quilt.
The class is this Sat, Jan 18.

Call the shop to book a spot (985) 845-9554

Spring Really IS Just Around the Corner!

How do I know this? When it's 29 degrees outside? Because we just got the entire line of Nancy Halverson's spring fabrics, Garden Song and the panel!




The new fabrics (37! squeal!) are really pretty... the colors have a more intense saturation yet still that classic Halverson look and yes they still blend well with older fabric styles. What a great way to begin this year and look forward to thawing out. See, we can "garden" without the soil!

Embellished Tablerunner Class

So, here is a 2 part class coming up that offers a unique opportunity to explore embellishments with our talented teacher, Mary Green. To begin, Celeste Chabert will guide you through the construction of a fusible and pieced table runner as you see above. On the second day, Mary will put you through your paces with Angelina fibers, basic beading, couching with your sewing machine, Shiva paintstix and hot-set crystals. If you have been curious about any of these techniques and possibly slightly frightened, here's an opportunity to let the expert show you how much fun it is to kick your stitching up the ladder to new and exciting heights.
These techniques can be applied to so many projects, large and small, and once you get the bug, nothing's gonna stop the creative flow.

February 12 and 18, 10am - 2pm. Spaces fill up quickly so if you're interested, please call (85) 845-9554

Astor Manor Layer Cakes

Astor Manor by Moda: We have Layer Cakes and 3 bolts to complement them. Linda Kay has made this large and lovely sample hanging, "Ashley's Journey" from the Piece of Pie quilt book, on the wall using these soft pinks and browns floral fabrics.

Calendar

Happy Year to Everyone

It has been over a month since I got my fingers on the keyboard and up-dated the happenings at Bright Hopes Quilting and for this, I truly apologize.

In full disclosure, it's been 2 weeks! since I have set foot in the door due to the holidays falling on a Thursday and my work schedule but it's so COOL to walk in again and find so much newness all over the place. Pearl and the staff keep generating beautiful samples of new fabrics and patterns. Linda Kay has the new newsletter out and if you would like us to pop one over via email, drop us a line at

brighthopes1@bellsouth.net

Also please note that I have added above the new class schedule calendars. Lots of classes and a few new twists. I will try to remember to keep "lifting" the calendar as the days go by to make it easier to see.

OKAY! on to What's New!

The Gum Drop Pillow The two different size samples were made by Linda Kay and make great gifts for that elementary thru high school or college kid in your life! Use wild Kaffe Fassett fabrics or buggy juveniles and watch them throw themselves on it! She's got a class coming up for it as well, Thursday January 14th if you want a little guidance for your first one.



This is Eclectic Garden by Jason Yenter at In the Beginning Fabrics and we really do enjoy the innovative fabric motifs he designs as well as the clever quilts that are made with them. This pattern comes with our kit. $72.99

Our Mini Quilt Block of the Month is full but we still have a few spots left for Leslie's Washington Medallion Quilt I wrote about back in November. Here's reminder:

As you see, it is awesomely beautiful, all batiks, but what you DON'T see is the quilting on this.... you have to drop by to witness it. It measures 84" square and costs $24.99 a month. SO if you are inspired to step up your sewing skills and give a BOM a try, this is definitely one for the memories.

January is fresh and new and we at Bright Hopes are ready to get busy creating new quilts! However, if you are anything like me, you still have a few UFOs hiding that need a little attention and we encourage you to drag them out, put them in a prominent spot so they nag at you and bring to our UFO Fridays (the first Friday of every month).
Let's get them finished and move forward!

Happy New Year to 2010.