Last Year's BOM Applique-Jacobean

I wanted to share with you a quilt that was brought in last week. This was made, beautifully I might add, by Helen Brownfield and using the traditional applique technique (no raw edges). It is amazing.

I have added a close-up for your inspection.

The quilting was done by Paula Hughes.

Veggie Cats

Celeste has been hard at work, continuing the blocks for the "Garden Patch Cats" Block-of-the-Month. Here are 9 so far and she will have a 10th one as well, shortly.

Aren't they cute? They can be embellished to your heart's desire. They are easily made into individual wall hangings as well.
and as an added bonus, each pattern comes with a recipe based on the produce that inspired the design. So you will have a cook booklet! Lagniappe, as we say around here.

Now our BOM will be 9 as of this writing (I suppose that may change) but the creator of this series, Helene Knott and Story Quilts, is designing additional blocks as the months go by, so you will be able to make a larger quilt if you'd like.

When Celeste has the entire quilt assembled, Iwill post a new photo. In the meantime, if you'd like more information about the BOM, please give us a call @ 985-845-9554.

Mardi Gras and Dreadful Weather

On a day it's sort of promising to be today (cold with a likely chance of ick), what better way to spend it than behind a whirring sewing machine? Think of it as a mini-retreat. One day to yourself.....just you and the cutting board. And pins. and cups of tea! Heavenly!

And Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras, indeed! Can you believe it is here? I got all caught up in the Saints and the Super Bowl and lost track of time altogether. I haven't bought a single King Cake, either! Just as well...... all those nachos.

Now, if paradin' and carryin' on is just not your thing, and you're looking for a project to get lost in over the next few days, we WILL be open today, Friday (drive safely), and all day Saturday and again Monday. Plenty of time to pick up those forgotten gotta-haves before settling down to the business of quilt-making.

BUT! Next Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Bright Hopes Quilting will be closed all day.

Just thought I'd give y'all a heads up! See you on the other side of Mardi madness or Saturday at the shop.

Avignon by Moda

Every other year, (or so) we get a line from Moda that is inspired by Provence and they are ALWAYS welcomed with great joy at Bright Hopes. I am so pleased to announce that 2010 is one of those years:

SO beautiful..... the two white background and one red with the little spots? Those "spots" are fleur d' lis'. (EVERYONE is getting in on the act, huh!)

And if that doesn''t rev your engines, how about this batik corner:

Here is a small sampling of new batiks and some quilt designs/ideas. Lots of great color from Island Batiks (those rolls) and Hoffman Bali Pops.


Next Friday, Feb 19, Linda Kay is teaching a class, "Strip Joints", using those batik strips (or any jelly roll, of course. I just happen to be partial to batiks......),

so if you want to learn a fast way to whip up a quilttop, you should join in! Call us at 985-845-9554 to check if there are any spots left.

Before we leave the Batiks, click the photo to enlarge and check out the bolt to the far left.... the green one...... it is gorgeous...... trying to decide what to use it in, myself......


Now, just because those two above lean toward the adults, don't think we leave out those lil' pardners in your life, either:


I bought the brown lassos to make a couple of pillowcases for my not-s0-little-daughter. What can I say, she's mad about about cowboys! (who isn't, right?)
And these fabrics are so soft to the touch as well.

Sit n Sew Friday

Last week, we came together for the Sit n Sew, as we have on the calendar the 1st Friday of every month and I took a quick shot to show...

There were approximately 5 of us all working on a variety of projects. In the foreground you can see Linda Kay, one of our instructors for many projects each month (check out the calendar!), cutting up fat quarters to make the Pouches of Comfort. We knocked out quite a few and I figured out how to make button-holes on my Viking. (talk about FUN!)

So, if ever you thought about joining in but didn't know what to expect, here you go......just bring your stuff and hang out. Get those UFOs knocked out and quilted!

Verna Layer Cakes

Moda Bake Shop is featuring a great pattern you can download and use to create a quilt with the new "Verna" fabric line by Kate Spain. Konda Luchau from Moose on the Porch Quilts designed it using a happy pink fabric for the sashing and if you'd like to tone it down a notch, we have 4 fabric friends on the bolt to do just that!

This gives a quick look at the 40 fabrics you'll find in the "Layer Cake".

"Easy As Cake" is a fast smart way of using one "cake" to it's fullest. If you'll look closely at the skinny inner border, you'll see it's the same fabric... Check out that pattern on the link above for details and fabric requirements.

A New Block of the Month!

Celeste is working on a new BOM starting up in March. Here are the first 5 for your review:

As you can see, these kitties are derived from vegetables.... an eggplant, an avocado, a pumpkin, a bunch of celery, a gourd and 4 more to come. What til you see the cauliflower cat. So cute!

This BOM will last 9 months and can be embellished with fancy stitching, hot-press crystals.... couching... your imagination is your limit. I'll keep adding the blocks as Celeste finishes them and post the completed quilt ASAP

Pillow Day

I mentioned, down below, that on Feb 5, on UFO Friday, we are going to sew up a storm. Well, we got the party started early this week. Check it out.

Serger Action!

Just want to share with the readers what hub-bub of activity we experienced Tuesday morning here at Bright Hopes. Here you see a group of ladies behind a couple of serger machines, cranking out pillowcases. Now, some of us had never used as serger before and in MY case, I may have been in the same room with one before but it was still sitting in its box on a shelf. So what great fun it was to sit behind one and take it for a spin. Those rascals are FUN! and efficient!

You can see we had stations set up, one for cutting, one for ironing and 5 with various machines and we just went to town. We all donated fabric towards the cause and what a collection it was.

The Sharp Needles cut n sewed for little over 2 hours and the end result was 25 pillow cases ready for distribution.

Our stack of pillowcases and the Sharp Needles
(and what's left of a pile of fabric)

So there you have a little preview of what we will be doing on Friday. Now this time we will be focussing on the Pouches of Comfort and everyone is invited to participate. Bring a machine if you have one and cutting tools or fat quarters you would like to donate. One fat quarter will make one pouch. Or...

If you have a UFO project you would like to work on and just want company, come on in.