Monday, August 27, 2012

Hello Isaac!!!

Just giving everyone a head's up....

All you intrepid quilters out there in SE LA..... because Isaac is waffling around out in the Gulf, we are still deciding whether to be open Tuesday and/or Wednesday. We are open today for all your sewing needs but please call tomorrow and Wednesday to be certain.

985-845-9554

September is almost here and with it brings our 9th Anniversary. Pearl and the crew have some fun things in store and you can learn more about it in the up-coming days here and through our newsletter.

Stay safe and we'll see you on the other side of Isaac!


Monday, August 6, 2012

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Shop Hop 2012 is just a little over a week away. Have you been making your plans as to strategy? You know what I mean......

1. Depending on your personal location, you map out a route to take you to the various participating shops...... allowing enough time to get your passport stamped, to fill out a entry for the shop's $250.00 value basket and browse around for new ideas and see what that shop has to offer and head off to the next/nearest/most convenient shop. If this is your first time at any given store, you might want to spend extra minutes, especially if it happens to be one that is at a great distance from your home town.
 The Red Stars show locations of each of the store.

2. All the 9 shops are extending their open hours from 9am to 6pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 16, 17 & 18,  to accommodate the hoppers. Here's a good tip: try to get to the shop that is the farthest away and be there when the store opens for business. That gives you more leisurely time to travel to the others and get something to eat in between.

3. Food, mustn't forget food on your travels. Is there a restaurant you've heard of in one of the towns and needed an opportunity to check out? This might be the perfect time to drop in! Or ask one of the shop employees.... you know they have recommendations.

4. To make the trip more interesting, take along a friend, even one who doesn't quilt. This could be your wife, if you happen to be a guy who quilts and she doesn't! Or vice-versa.... a gentleman who had accompanied his wife on several hops decided to purchase his own passport one year and he was the winner of our basket! You never know!

5. Above all else, Have Fun; this is not the time for stress. This is the time you give yourself to play. Think of it as recess. Remember those fleeting minutes at school when all the worries of lessons and grades were totally gone from your mind and you were completely in the moment. Just playing. Let your imagine run free and your eyes see something new. Meet old friends and make a few new ones.

Laissez Les Bon Temp Rouler indeed. Let the good times roll once again at our annual South Louisiana Shop Hop!


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Flower Box Medley

Bright Hopes Quilting hosts several local quilt groups each month and one of them is Sharp Needles, a collection of quilters with various sewing techniques. Several are into applique and two are working on this beautiful project, Flower Box Medley by Colette Belt.  
This pattern is perfect for both the experienced quilter as well as the beginner. The pieces are large enough to have fun with and there aren't too many of them to get intimidated by. 
 Here you can see a couple of finished blocks and the one they are now working on.



Linda (left) using a technique of finger-pressing the seam allowance to the back and basting it fast. She then pins the pieces to the background and proceeds to stitch each piece in place.
 Karen (below) traces each piece onto waxed butcher paper and cuts them out accurately. She irons this to the right side of her fabric and trims to 1/4" for seam allowance. Then using the 'red dot' fabric as her positioning device, she needle-turns each piece using that paper template as her guide as to where to stitch.

These two went on a road trip to LaGrange, Texas to see the Texas Quilt Museum and turned it into their own "shop hop". At night they worked on these blocks and came to the meeting to blow me away with the results! Nice work, ya'll..... thanks for sharing it with us.