Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Our UPS guy has been a fixture around here lately, making deliveries of lots of stuff I bought at Quilt Market in May. One of the new products that arrived this week just happens to be featured in the latest project at Moda Bake Shop.

It’s called Texture Magic from Superior Threads, and I’ve been itching to experiment with it.  I saw the demo at Quilt Market and could immediately imagine all sorts of possibilities for this project.  All you do is mark a grid or some sort of design on the Texture Magic fabric, pin it to your fabric and then activate it with steam (DO NOT IRON!). It will shrink, leaving you with a wonderful textured piece to use in your projects. I’d love to use it on a tote, and the pillow project at Moda Bake Shop is a cute idea, too.  Another idea occurred to me, too, right after I sat down to write this post and I think I’ll take a package of Texture Magic home with me this weekend and see if I can whip up a new sample – stay tuned!

I’ve got a busy weekend planned, and I hope you do, too.  Saturdays here at the shop are always busy and filled with laughter and visiting. We’re expecting a visit from Becky today, who is visiting from Louisiana. We sure miss her here at SHQC – if you get a chance stop by and maybe you’ll catch her here. After today, my plan is to quilt and bind the three samples I made last weekend (I’ll show pics after they’re finished), and if I have time, I’ll play around with the new Texture Magic and see what I can come up with.  I’m also planning some serious grandie time – it has been a few weeks since we’ve had more than just a few minutes with Hayden and Haylee so we’re overdue for a long visit. The other two grandies, Grant and Zachary, are spending the summer at the beach so we won’t get to see them for another month at least. We talk to them about once a week, though, and they are loving the “beach bum” life!

I’m off to get ready for the day. I hope you’re making the most of your summer weekend!

The latest issue of Mary Jane’s Farm magazine arrived at the shop today, and I spent a little time browsing through the issue while I ate my fresh tomato sandwich at lunch!!! Yummo!  Oops, I digress.  I’m not really an organic-type person and I certainly don’t lead an organic lifestyle, but I do have fond memories of growing up in South Georgia farming country. My granddaddy was a farmer, and I spent summers on the farm harvesting and canning vegetables or working in the tobacco fields. There’s nothing like cropping tobacco when it is 95 degrees and getting covered head to toe with tobacco tar! We’d come out of the fields, hot and sweaty, with our hair glued to our heads by the tobacco tar.  But we had the best time, and never did we complain about the heat or having to work while our friends were doing other things (we didn’t dare!); it was really just what was expected and we never thought to do anything differently. Sorry, I digress again…anyway, my point was that the Mary Jane’s Farm magazine takes me back so I really enjoy each issue.  There are always good recipes (in this issue the focus is on fresh corn!),  household hints and recycling ideas, and usually some unique crafty idea or project…just good reading, in general. Occasionally, however, I learn something that is just a little too far-fetched for me.

Ever heard of “Basket Caskets”?  Apparently, the Natural Burial Company specializes in environmentally friendly burial products that offer more natural choices. Huh?

From the magazine article, “Instead of laying your loved one to rest in an impermeable metal coffin, consider a natural and fully biodegradable seagrass casket…”   Not only do they offer caskets made of seagrass, there are also choices in willow, cane, rattan, bamboo, recycled paper, cardboard, and pine. The latter three choices are shipped “knocked-down-flat” so that you can assemble them yourself or store under a bed until needed!?!?! Now there’s a long-range funeral plan for ya!

Just to make this post a little quilty, the bee group I belong to, the Batty Babes, decided several years ago that we would all make our own one-of-a-kind, heirloom “casket quilt.”  This was to be a showcase of our quilting skills, favorite colors, patterns, yada,yada, yada, which would be placed over our casket instead of the usual floral blanket.  Last year, when we started a year-long Baltimore Album class at the shop, I decided that my Baltimore Album quilt would be my “casket quilt.”  I started out with good intentions, I’m still not a fan of hand applique, but I did manage to totally complete ONE block.  Since it is my intention to be cremated, I decided that ONE block would be my “casket quilt” since I will have an urn anyway and the block will be the perfect size (you think I’m kidding…I’m not!)

Anyway, now that I’ve found the Natural Burial Company, I’ve also found my urn.  It is the ARKA Acorn Urn,  hand worked, sanded and overlaid in a moss green or vibrant red recycled silk and mulberry leaf paper.  All I have to decide is the color – moss green or vibrant red – hmmm – and whether I want the 100% cotton drawstring ashes bag that is available as an optional extra!

Am I the only one who thinks this is a little macabre and more than a little weird? I’m all for recycling, but…

Get this, the Acorn Urn comes with burial instructions, too.  “Plant the urn about 1-2 feet deep in the earth, at least 3 feet away from the roots of any small bushes or young trees. The alkali “ash” of the burned bones, mostly calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate (sterilized bonemeal) then returns slowly to the soil and will be used by the surrounding soil web, just as the ash from an old burnt out stump would be.”

Maybe that should be on my headstone “…ash from an old burnt out stump.”  Yep, that’ll be me…

We enjoyed a visit last Friday from Marcie Patch of Patchalot Patterns and Karen Mowery, of  Folk Art Children patterns. It seems that Marcie and Karen had been blogging friends for a while, but had just met face-to-face that very day and were off on their own “Excellent Adventure,” visiting a couple of local shops and getting to know one another better. We had a fun visit with LOTS of laughter and sharing of ideas. Both Karen and Marcie have posted great reviews on their blogs for Sweet Home.  I love reading about my shop from others’ perspective (especially when it’s good!), and the images they captured during their visit spoke volumes about Sweet Home Quilt Co., not the usual “shop” pictures you expect to see.  So fun to view it through someone else’s eyes!

I am glad Marcie and Karen enjoyed their visit with us, and since Marcie’s daughter lives in the area, hopefully she’ll be back for a visit soon and they’ll come back to see us again! I was already a regular reader of Karen’s blog, sewprimitivequilter, and now I’ll be a regular reader of Marcie’s blog, patchalotmore, too.

Sew, how many other bloggy friends are planning a visit to Sweet Home this summer? Please be sure to introduce yourself to us – we love meeting new friends!

P.S.  Can anyone explain to me why my links only randomly appear in color? I changed the html code so the links would be blue, but only one appears that way. I’m using WordPress, BTW.  Computers, gotta love ‘em!

Brand new spool of Aurifil thread – can you tell I couldn’t find the beginning??? After about 15 minutes I turned into the “Thread Slasher” and this is the result! <sorry for the blurry photo!>

Does Aurifil not understand that I am menopausal these days and this kind of stuff absolutely sends me into orbit???

P.S.  I’m much calmer today, thanks…

Today is the first day of the Minnesota Quilt Designers’ Blog Hop. You can read all the details at Terry Atkinson’s blog, and then head on over to Gudrun’s blog for the first stop. She’s offering a really cute tutorial for quilt-as-you-go placemats, celebrating the release of her book, Fast & Furious quilting as you go, which was released last month. We have it at SHQC, by the way, and it has some really FUN projects in it.  Best of all, when you’re done, you’re done!

Be sure to visit the featured designer’s blog each day and leave a comment to win prizes. If you comment on all 10 of the designer’s blogs, you’ll be eligible for the grand prize. Now who doesn’t love prizes! And you don’t even have to leave home to do it!

So many times when I tell non-quilting friends or acquaintances that I own a quilt shop, I get a quizzical look and an “Oh, you mean you can make a living quilting?” response. (My answer, by the way, is Yes, sometimes!) So I really enjoy those times when my passion for quilting is validated in a way that people can see it is not “just a hobby.”

I ran across two articles this week that certainly put a different spin on the importance of quilting. I think we can all agree that quilting and sewing are therapeutic, but did you know that the complexities of quilting are proving to be an effective means of keeping the brain sharp? Read the rest of the article here on this trial sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.

And then there was this article on MSNBC.com about Elkhart, Indiana using quilting to promote tourism during the recession. It seems the Elkhart Tourism bureau has planted “quilt” gardens featuring 80,000 blooming annuals planted in both traditional Amish and original quilt designs, and is marketing the gardens as an economical getaway to stimulate the local economy.  How’s that for thinking outside the box!?!?

I am a fan of Crabapple Hill patterns, and have been collecting black and tan fabrics for a while so I could do their Over the River and Through the Woods pattern. I enjoy stitchery, and I adore black with anything so this is right up my alley! I know I’ve been collecting black and tan fabrics for well over a year, but for some reason never felt that I was at a point where I had collected enough fabrics and could actually begin this project. I was continually on the hunt to add to my stash of black and tan fabrics so that “some day” I could make this project.  While continuing the ongoing battle to organize my sewing studio, I found several piles of black and tan fabrics which I corralled all in one basket.  Holy Cow! I had enough black and tan fabrics to make three of these quilts!!!

BUT don’t think that stopped me from gathering some of the Cambridge Square fabric line from Northcott to add to the project bin. This fabric collection is perfect for this quilt – guess I’ll just have to eliminate some of the others I’ve already purchased so I can work these into the mix.  Or perhaps there is another black and tan quilt in my future. I know my friend Debbie is working on a black and tan version of Pat’s new pattern called Scrappy Nines and it is stunning.  Hmmm…the wheels are turning! Any suggestions?

P.S.   Northcott also has a free pattern download here using the Cambridge Square fabric collection.

….or else my sewing machine was possessed by aliens overnight! Yesterday I was wrestling with some thoughts/decisions, and decided a little bonding time with my sewing machine was in order. Usually when I’m besieged by demons or dilemmas, a little quilting therapy works wonders!

I started this VERY simple quilt sample, which was already cut out. All I had to do was sew, which is what I needed – mindless sewing so I could think about other things. The top went together without a hitch, but because I was running up and down the stairs (I sew upstairs in the classroom) all afternoon dealing with issues and helping customers, I didn’t have time to get the borders on before I went home last night. No biggie, I thought, I’ll just come in early and get the borders on, give the top a good pressing and get the backing ready so it can go to the quilter. I estimated a half hour at most – the borders were already measured, cut and ready to stitch on.

Well, that estimated half hour of work turned into almost three hours! I swear I ripped those borders off no less than two times (each one!) and I still wasn’t entirely happy with them when I finally got them all on. It was as if my sewing machine had a mind of its own, and its mind wasn’t on sewing those borders! I couldn’t keep the machine threaded for one thing. You know how sometimes you’re stitching along and then realize you’ve been out of bobbin thread for a while? That’s what would happen only it was the top thread, not the bobbin.  And then the feed dogs were pulling to the left so I had to sew very slowly and pin, pin, pin just to get a reasonably accurate 1/4 inch seam. But it is finally done, now that I’ve used up half the day trying to sew four little seams!  My sewing machine has been admitted to the hospital, but no diagnosis yet. Pat’s advice was to just go buy a new machine! I can assure you that is not going to happen!

Sorry for the yucky photo of the sample - it was cloudy here this morning and the lighting upstairs was really bad. It really is straight, but I just threw it up on the wall to quickly snap the picture. The quilt also looks more mint green in the photo than it is. The fabric line is Kiwi by Timeless Treasures – the slide show below is a better representation of the colors.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The pattern is “Fresh Vanilla” from the BHG Quilts and More, Summer 2009 issue.  We have the Kiwi fabric collection in stock, as well as a few remaining copies of the magazine. This would be a quick and easy quilt to whip together to send off with a college student to brighten a dorm room. (Without the issues I had, it realistically could be made in 2 or 3 hours!)

After wrestling with the sample, I promptly poured a box of cereal in the floor while fixing my ‘delayed’ breakfast…I think I’ll go back home and crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head until this passes! Hope you’re having a better day!

I love to cook, but by the time I get home from the shop at 8 or 9 PM, the last thing on my mind is cooking dinner.  Mike “can” cook, but rarely does.  He will feed himself when he gets hungry, though. Usually I settle for a bowl of cereal or popcorn – very nutritious, I know!

This week we’ve managed to do a little better. Mike grilled chicken on his new grill Sunday and I had him do a couple of extra pieces so we’d have leftovers.  Monday’s dinner was Creamy Chicken Fettucine, using the leftover grilled chicken.  Tuesday morning I put a roast into the crockpot and we had Italian Roast Beef Sandwiches for dinner. Tonight, it will be leftovers!  Both meals took less than 30 minutes to get on the table, and while not gourmet, they were very tasty! Better than cereal or popcorn! Anyway, I thought I’d share the recipes in case you’re looking for quick and easy meal ideas, too.

Creamy Chicken Fettucine

• 8 oz. fettucine, uncooked
• 3 cups assorted vegetables, fresh or frozen
(I used the frozen “Summer Blend” with zucchini,
yellow squash, green beans, carrots, onions and
red peppers)
• 1/2 lb. chicken breast, cut into chunks
(I used two leftover grilled chicken breasts)
• 1 cup milk
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed (I used Neufchatel)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Prepare pasta, adding vegetables during last 4 minutes of cooking time; drain well. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet. Add cubed chicken and cook until done. (I skipped this step by using the leftover grilled chicken.) Remove chicken and set aside. Drain excess oil from skillet. Heat milk, cream cheese and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese in skillet on low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth (use a wire whisk). Add garlic, cooked chicken and pasta/vegetable mixture; toss well. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Note: Sauce will seem to be thin, but will thicken quickly when added to remaining ingredients.

Italian Roast Beef Sandwiches

3 lb. chuck roast
1 can beef consommé
1 pkg. beef au jus gravy mix
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix

Place roast in crockpot. Mix all other ingredients and pour over roast. Cook on low for at least 10 hours. Shred roast. Serve over hard rolls or French bread, with gravy and sliced Provolone cheese.  I also sauteed two Vidalia onions, sliced, in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter until carmelized and added to our sandwiches – yummo!

Confession – I snagged these photos from the web – my camera was at the shop!  I hope you’ll try these recipes and let me know how you like them. And if you have any Quick & Easy recipes you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you!

I’ve been busy making plans for my trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota in late July to attend a Shopowners Retreat with Terry Atkinson - woohoo! I met Terry at Spring Quilt Market, and I have always been a fan of her designs. We have lots of samples from her patterns in the shop, such as this Lilypads design from her Time Out Quilts book. Our sample is made with Moda’s American Primer collection by Minick & Simpson (sorry for the horrid photo, my quilt holder-upper was in a hurry and I had to do some major cropping to even get it this presentable!) Kits for this quilt are available on the website.

I am excited about this trip to say the least! This is my 50th birthday present to myself – nine whole days to PLAY with only myself to answer to! And I also discovered that the Minnesota Quilt Shop Hop begins two days before I come back home, so guess what I’ll be doing on the last leg of my trip? Yep, shop hopping! I’m hoping to snag a seat on the bus and let someone else do the driving.

Anyway, enough about my trip plans; the whole point of this post was to give you some ideas for planning your own quilty trip this summer! There are lots of good suggestions here.  A customer had brought me information on the “Quilt Trails” project late last year, and I’ve had it on my “Bucket List” since then. There are numerous quilt trails throughout the country, including Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina, which is pretty close to home. Just do a Google search on “quilt trails” and you’ll get lots of hits for the different participating areas. 

Edited to add:  Here’s another great list of quilt shows and events from Gammill – you’re sure to find something here, too!

Quilt shows, festivals and exhibits abound, wherever you may be traveling this summer. If you go, please share your pictures and adventures with us so we can experience your trip, too. I promise I’ll have LOTS to share when I get back from my trip in August.