Happy Lagniappe DAY!!!!!!

This is Wednesday, February 29...... it only comes around once every 4 years and we welcome it today by giving every customer a dip in the bucket to get an extra percentage off the highest priced item in their stack. Even the sale fabric can be additionally discounted (I had that wrong last week! oops)

The classes are filling up already and the selection is terrific. Check out the post below this one to view the schedule and calendar.

Schedule Of Classes March - April 2012

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Okay! It's up and ready for your viewing. I hope you like our selection of classes for these two months. We have some of the populars and a few from the past and some new ones we've never offered before. Something for everyone! Be sure to read the descriptions to get all the info as you make your choices.

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HEY!!!!!! Don't forget to get your RED and WHITE Challenge blocks in before Wednesday, Feb. 29. We're pulling the winner's name and will announce it in next week's newsletter. There are some terrific blocks hanging up on the wall..... it would be awesome to be the winner.......

As that is also Leap Day, we're holding a ONE DAY ONLY Lagniappe Day...... when you check out at the register, you'll pull a card with a percentage off the highest regularly priced item in your stack. Will it be 10%? 20%? 30%? 40% 50%? On Wednesday, everyone's a winner!

Up-coming Classes and Peanuts Fabric

I just received the Schedule of Classes and Calendar from Linda Kay and am in the process of converting the PDF so you can view it here on the blog. Since this usually takes several hours, I am giving the viewers of this blog a head-start on knowing the classes that are coming during the first two weeks of March.

Friday, March 2 and Monday, March 5 will be Linda Kay's 2-Part Duffle class. This is a class that fills up fast, so don't wait if you're wanting to sign up.

Saturday, March 3, Same thing with Celeste's Chenille Rug class.

Thursday, March 8, Eleanor Bag with Mary Gerardi. Really cute handbag

Friday, March 9, FreeForm Quilt with Carolyn Burga, Modern Quilting an Freeform cutting. Use your scrap strips.

Saturday, March 10, Beginning Quilting with Linda Kay. Learn the Basics of Quiltmaking in one day.

Later in April, we are holding a 2 day class for experienced quilters in making the Radiant Star Quilt with Eleanor Burns' book, Radiant Star. Here is our sample using Kathy Brown's new fabric line, Abigail

Did you see on the newsletter that we received the Peanuts fabrics?

Pearl is kitting these bolts into a fun layered quilt.

Good Example vs Terrible Warning Revisited

Pearl had the kits for the Seasoned Quilter BOM ready this week and as eager as I have been to get going on this project, I started first thing this morning.

I had all the pieces drawn on the Steam a Seam II and cut, all the appropriated fabric lined up and and the iron good to go.

I fused everything just the way I wanted and carefully started cutting out the shapes. I think I got to number 5 or 6, to the big shirt piece when the light bulb went off...... oh wait.

I was supposed to fuse these to the back of the fabric.

Doh! (facepalm)

Remember, ya'll... it takes a village. And every one has its' idiot.

Note to self: fuse on the back.

On a bright note, the lady is looking really sassy and I love the fabrics we choose for her construction.

I think her scuffies are cuter than mine there at the bottom. Can't wait to start blanket-stitching her.

Ya'll have a safe and HAPPY MADRI GRAS! The shop will be closed all day this Tuesday.

HOYST and the K Bar B Ranch

We wrote in our newsletter last week about a local program for displaced students and put out a request for pillowcases.

HOYST (Homeless Outreach for Youth in St. Tammany) is sponsoring the Kids in Transition program to help these motivated students see their way through high school in our parish and you can read about it here in the CityBusiness article from last fall.

Now, March 17 is National Quilting Day and we know quilters are very giving people, helping people in need and we are asking anyone who would like to join us in this quest to bring in handmade pillowcases (and new pillows if you would like!) to the shop before March 17th. Pearl is giving a $5.00 Gift Certificate to every donor as a Thank You.

Our goal is to make and donate 70 (you read that right...70) pillowcases and new pillows to these kids who don't have much in this life to call their own. As they struggle to get through life's difficulties, it would be nice for them to know there are people out here who are cheering them on and care.

We have already received some cases (thank you Jennifer W!) and are on our way to reaching our goal. We thank you all in advance for generously supporting these causes in the past and hope you join us again for this one.

If you need a pattern to go by, AllPeopleQuilt.com has several free ones to choose from and you can see them here. Some are easy, some are challenging and all are terrific.

The local quilt group, Sharp Needles, will be busy on this project at the shop on Tuesday, March 6 if you'd like to swing by and see the stacks.

Again, we here at Bright Hopes Quilting want to thank everyone who pitches in on our "challenges" and want you to know how very much we appreciate your involvement.

THANK YOU!!!!

So I Walked In The Door And What Did I See?

These batiks arrived just two days ago and are already beating tracks out the door and small wonder why!

The flickering fleur de lis' are really beautiful and I love the color schemes we have here.

I don't know what I am going to make with them and I don't care. The point is they will be in my stash when the inspiration strikes! (I know! I know! Again there goes the New Years Resolution!) (What can I say? I'm a glutton for batik) This beautiful doesn't last long.

So, yesterday Celeste had her Happy Shacks class and there was a whole lot of giggling and carrying on over by the class corner. I have to share this shot of her and Mary Lou B as it I believe it truly sums up the mood at the store all day.

And in the midst of all this fun and frivolity, in marches the UPS guy and Fedex dude with boxes of new fabrics and of course I flip over these cute cowboy motifs!

Gee whiz! A girl can't catch her breath around here! Being from Texas has me wanting these too!

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Mona has sewn all the blocks together now for the Amish with a Twist BOM sample and is busy on the appliqued outer border. I'll post again when the whole quilt is complete.

Want a cute idea for using UFO blocks that seem to accumulate? How about this! A customer wore this in the shop a few months ago and I thought I'd share it with you.

Wear your badge of honor proudly! We're QUILTERS and we are an army of many!

Farmer's Wife Information

A lot of you out there are picking up on the Farmer's Wife Quilt and I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are at Bright Hopes Quilting. Pearl has set aside two days each month for us to meet for a few hours with or without our sewing machines to work on this fun project.

The book includes a CD with all the templates and you pop it into your computer. There,you can print out whichever template you need; however, each template prints out on a separate page which is rather wasteful of paper. So Martha Pullen has consolidated all the templates used for EACH block onto one sheet as downloadable PDFs and you can find that here.

Keep in mind that many blocks use the same templates so you don't have to print out every block repeatedly......

Now, the blocks are all 6.5" but take on a large variety of designs; some are four patch, some 9 patch, and some are very easy while others rather complicated. They are scattered throughout the book, not done in any specific order and this is where Marti Michell steps into the picture!

She has organized all the various blocks into categories that use the same templates repeatedly. This way, you can make all of them at one time and move on to another set that uses a different selection of the templates.

By now, you probably are familiar with the Marti Michell templates that make the cutting and piecing of these blocks easier but are confused as to how to go about the whole process. She has made it possible to sign up for 10 bi-weekly newsletters delivered to your email box that break down all the blocks in the book that are similar. Here is from the Marti Michell website:

If you are not on our current mailing list and would like to receive the PDFs, send an email to cservice@frommarti.com and tell us you would like to sign up for our next round of mailings.

It may take several weeks or longer for your emails to begin arriving because they do it in batches... not one at a time. I sent in my request on Nov 15 and received my first post about four weeks ago. SO be patient.

Now, which set do you need to have on hand? Well, the short answer is NONE because you can print them out from the CD but having the MM templates on hand makes it easier. So theses are the "Sets" we are using: A, B, D, N and S.

Linda Kay has made this list that shows the "sets" used in each of Marti Michell's groupings:

FARMER’S WIFE – Marti Michell templates

CHART 1 Set B & N

CHART 2 Set A

CHART 3 Set B, D or N

CHART 4 Set A

CHART 5 Set B, A, Log Cabin Ruler #8038

CHART 6 Set B, A, C, N or D

CHART 7 Set A, B, N

CHART 8 Set B, N, D

CHART 9 Set A, B, C, N, O

CHART 10 Set M & S

We carry them all in the shop and can order any of the Marti Michell templates for other quilt designs, such as Storm at Sea.

Those templates will make a complicated design come out flawless.

If you are interested in joining us with the Farmer's Wife sit n sew, our next meeting is Monday, February 20, at 1:00pm. Some of us, are sewing, some of us are cutting out out next blocks and some of us are dithering over fabric selection. As for me, I find my stash of batiks make for a contemporary take on old favorite blocks. But, somehow, I never seem to have enough! Oh well, I know a place that has shelves of beautiful batiks!!!!

Oh yeah! Right HERE! at Bright Hopes!

Also, keep in mind that entering the GSQA show is about to end. If you are going to enter your quilt, you can download the forms here

And for all the good information, spider over to this link.

All entries must be received postmarked by Feb. 24 and must include a photograph. See you there!!