Build a Block Monday

Our Build a Block class is still going strong and Monday will feature the Flying Geese block. This indispensable block is one of my favorites and Mary Gerardi is the teacher this month.

If you are planning on attending but haven't signed up, give us a call. It's a 2 hour class which gives you time to grab lunch before the Farmer's Wife Sit n Sew which follows directly after.

We will be closed next Wednesday through Friday for Thanksgiving.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Eat lots of pie!

Farmer's Wife Quilt

You may have noticed in the newsletter that we are hosting a Farmer's Wife Quilt Sit Sew one day each month. Our first day is next Monday, Nov. 21 and I wanted to show you four of the blocks done in an assortment of batiks.

The Farmer's Wife Quilt was compiled by Laurie Aaron Hird from letters written by wives of farmers answering a question posed by the editor of a magazine from 1922, "The Farmer's Wife, A Magazine for Farm Women".

Do You Want Your Daughter to Marry A Farmer?

Each block is accompanied with a response from a farm wife and the insights are as down to earth as you can imagine, but it is refreshing none-the-less to read. The book is very popular at the moment with many websites sharing photos of the quilters' progress. It is a super quilt for stash-busting which is what I attempt to do here with my batik collection.

The book has 111 blocks, all 6.5" square and a CD with every pattern included. Now, Marti Michell has acyrlic templates in 6 sets to make the cutting easier and you probably already have some of the sets in your tool-kit. We have used them in several BOMs over the years.

These are fabrics Linda Kay is using in one of her two quilts.

This is going to be an on-going monthly event and everyone is invited to join along and share tips. It is totally informal and free. We look forward to seeing the fabrics you choose along the way.

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Linda Kay held her two-day Duffle Bag class last week and here is Dixie J showing her small bag.
The pattern has multiple sizes to make and here are 5 more:

They are so professional-looking! I love the fabric selections here....

~They're Back From Market~

and have returned with fun products and a bursting order book.

First off..... we have some complete wool kits from Primitive Gathering like this Hydrangea Table Mat...... I've been watching a friend here work on a wool quilt and am intrigued at the blanket-stitched wool pieces and how they glow against the dark background.

This is only one of the kits we have at the shop and we are expecting more to arrive shortly.

Pearl has chosen 2 new Blocks of the Month for 2012 and this is the Amish with a Twist by Nancy Rink:

Don't be fooled by this small photograph... this a large finished quilt! It's mostly piecing, as you see, with a small amount of applique on the outer border and again, how beautifully the colors glow against the background.

We will also be offering this row quilt, "Glory Garden"

This will feature an even mixture of piecing and applique in soft sweet colors.

The fabrics are all being made available in January so these BOMs will begin in February 2012. I'll post more information as we get closer to the launch but if either one gets you excited, get your name on the list soon.....

If you are anywhere near Picayune, MS with weekend and can't get enough of quilting, do check out the "Elements of Fall" quilt show, sponsored by the Picayune Piecemakers.

9-5 on both Saturday and Sunday... 303 W. Canal Street in Picayune. Drop by our booth on Saturday!

Nov Dec 11 Schedule

Okay..... here is the schedule of classes for November and December...

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As usual, scroll down to see what the Shop has set up for classes for the next two months, a description of each one and a calendar you can print on the last page.

Check out the Duffle Bag Class!

Any new quilters out there? or...... Do you know someone who says, "Oh I wish I could make a quilt!"? Well, let's encourage them to LEARN THE BASICS!!!!! We will get them on the right track to start with to piece a quilt. Why the 1/4" seam allowance is SO important and accurate cutting makes life easier!

"My Runners" is a super new book making table runners...... from a Scandinavian perspective.

Have you been reading about or thinking about the "Farmer's Wife" quilt? This is a very popular new book and quilt-along pattern. You can use your stash to make one or use a current fabric line for a fresh new look. Bright Hopes Quilting will be hosting an afternoon each month for anyone interested in working on this lovely project with a fun group of gals! Come join us and visit, laugh, sew and share tips as we work our way through the book. This is not a class but a "sit and sew".

Okay, that's all for now.... watch your email for the newsletter sometime tomorrow!

Thursday Wrap-Up

We had one heckuva fabulous hour yesterday afternoon when Betty T and Casey B stopped by to show us their final quilt-tops.

These two ladies have been making "round robin" quilts with member of their guild and we've been watching the progress all year.

For those who don't know, the round robin quilt starts with everyone participating bringing a center already finished and then handing it off with specific requests (like all batiks or no applique, please (no applique???) and then trusting your fellow-quilter to add another "border" or sides that both complements and continues to build on the center. Then the pass the quilt to the third and so on.

The thing is, you don't get to see what is happening to "YOUR" quilt until the last person is finished. So technically, you all get to see the final results at the same time.

Now this in definitely not for everyone. But it can be great fun for those adventurous souls out there and Casey and Betty are firmly in that category. One with the SHOW!

Here's Betty with her finished top...... exquisite work!!!! I am slightly disappointed in my photo because the batiks are more vibrant than shows in both shots..... but I can't wait to see it quilted! You can zoom in by clicking on either photo to see the fantastic workmanship. Casey pieced the intricate border third from the outer edge.

This is Casey's..... check out the outer-most border close-up..... see the diminishing geese?

I was lucky to be working on the days they'd bring in the ones they were adding to and watched the progress but this is the first time I got to see theirs.....

So GREAT!!!!!! Thank you for sharing this adventure with us!

This is "Market" weekend and the Big Houston show next week. All you attending, have a super fun time and tell us all about your trip on the return!

Interview with Carolyn Burga

1.When did you start quilting and how did it come to happen?
Senior year at Newcomb College, my mother panicked because I had not made a trousseau quilt. I couldn’t imagine piecing anything, so she set me to making a whole-cloth cross-stitched quilt by hand.

2. Do you still have your first quilt?
No, but I still have the first one I designed. And my mom’s 1938 hand-quilted bubble-gum pink quilt.

3. When did you arrive in St. Tammany Parish, and what brought you here?
We came in 1998 when my husband was transferred from a south shore bank.

4. How long have you worked for Bright Hopes Quilting and what do you do there?
I’ve worked here about 3 years part-time. I cut fabric on Tuesdays and teach classes once or twice each month.

5. Here is the other “stealth stitcher” in our family….. Carolyn will show up with a new sample and I never knew the pattern existed! How do you find things and from where do you draw your inspiration?
I find things by tripping over stuff, usually in my sketchbooks. (sometimes on the studio floor)

6. Your “art quilts” and canvas are very personal. Do you think of yourself more as a quilter or as a fiber artist? (Or do you even make that distinction at all?)

As I make “originals”, I see myself as a fiber artist. When I tell people that, some think I make art from healthy cereals. It’s easier to just say “quilter”.

7. Do you have a space dedicated to your work? Would you have any tips you’d like to pass on in “organizing your space?”
I am blessed with a studio – AKA spare bedroom, no bed. You just need a table to leave our machine out and a design wall nearby. Put everything else away.
Or see Answer #5.

8. If your fairy quiltmother could grant you one wish, what would it be?
I’d love floor-to-ceiling shelving so all my fabric could be visible all the time.

So, back to me...... Carolyn's work is intimate and the quality shows in the detail. Here are 2 small close-up shots of "points" in her work.

We have several of her originals on display at the shop and if you take one of her classes, I hope you take time to talk to Carolyn. Her calm and quiet demeanor only masks a sharp and quick humor. She leaves me in stitches!

Stonehenge Revisted

So, did you get a chance to attend the Event with Vic Dadika yesterday?

I sure hope you did..... but in the case of those unable to get here, I'd like to show just a touch of what we got to see first hand.

First, it was explained that Stonehenge, the fabric line from Linda Ludovico and Northcott, is the best-selling fabric in the United States and when you think that there are 81 fabric distributors all vying for our attention and money, that is no easy accomplishment.

However, by now you are probably well aware how beautiful the fabric is and how great it feels to work with and how well it blends with other designs.

But it was very interesting to hear how the designer came up with this concept, how it developed further and how far it's come in just two years.

We have had it in stock only since around the beginning of 2011 and carry a vast selection of bolts, collections, and recently received the 2.5" strips and now the "chips", the 5" squares. A package of these were given to each attendee along with a terrific trunk show of outstanding quilts. Here are just two:

Stoney River

Blueberry Hill

Now, these were my personal favorites and there were many more....

Northcott has a vast website offering pattern ideas for use with Stonehenge, some of which are free PDFs.... the two featured here are in stock now at Bright Hopes Quilting.

We lucky ladies sitting in got to see what was coming up in 2012 and I can't show n tell you. Yet. But there were plenty of excitable wimmen-folk and I only hope Pearl is able to order and receive enough of it to satisfy the masses.

Along with the pack I received, I purchased another and yardage of "Salt" Stonehenge and can't wait to get busy with it. I already know what I'm going to do... check back in a few weeks!