P's New Curtains

So it took me 7 months but I finally have curtains up in P's room that I love....see I told you I already had a project done with these. I have quite a few ideas to finish up the decorating in the room loosely around the birdhouses-I don't want it to be a matchy matchy space so we'll see how that goes.

Have a good weekend and don't forget we're closed tomorrow!

Finally Here and I did it again...

I've been waiting awhile for these fabrics to come in and it ended up being worth the wait...the minute I opened the box I measured out for a project that I had been waiting to do. I'll post a pic of the finished product tomorrow too-I'm not going to lie I may be a little obsessed with these

Oh and it's really a good thing that I don't have a larger space here, because believe it or not I rearranged again...well just some bookshelves moving there and a table here, but enough that I needed my husbands help(yes he was oh so excited to lend a hand).
Hopefully when we finally expand I get smart and put wheels on everything.

Really?

Yes Really...I have something to admit....I love wearing leggings...I guess maybe I just need to admit that I've hit "that part of my life" or is there a "that part of my life"? Maybe I'm just realizing how comfortable they are....yeah that's what I'm going with...not the fact that it's just so easy to put on a dress and some leggings and be able to sit with one leg up and type(like I am now) and not have to worry about being ladylike. The great thing is that leggings were popular when I was a kid-granted slouch socks over them were also "the thing" and I don't plan on doing that again but you never say never right!

So today on Friday I'm going to say a big "THANK YOU" to the inventor of leggings...although I googled it and I couldn't find a person per se to thank, apparently there is quite an extensive history on leggings.

Pretty Awesome

I love when things turn out...not perfect...but still pretty awesome

WIP Wednesday

So I came across Lee and her blog Freshly Pieced recently and thought her WIP Wednesdays would be a great way to keep track of my projects...so without further ado this is what I've been working on....

The Farmer's Wife QAL...yeah I haven't made any progress on these, I just have 4 blocks done, but I really do plan to get caught up soon.

The Courtyard Maze quilt by Olive Tree Textiles. I wanted to try this out myself before ordering the patterns for the store and I have cut almost all of my fabric and have started piecing the basic blocks.

image from olive tree textiles

Kona solids challenge. Well I FINALLY went to one of the Milwaukee Quilt Guild meetings and I received a charm pack of Kona basics to do a project. This was a new concept to me since I usually work with lots of prints and very very few solids, but I've embraced it and am even excited about it. I played around pretty quickly and decided to do a spectrum quilt and came up with this quilt block(yeas I'm sure it's not original but hey I didn't use a pattern or look anywhere-ha it will probably be one of my next blocks I have to do for the Farmers Wife)

I also finished my block for Anna for the Drawstring VQB...it was fun, pretty simple and I enjoyed the color palette-

I also made a dress of of fat quarters for P, but it's hideous oh and I tried to make board shorts for E, but after much seam ripping, I finally got them together and yeah there is no way they are supposed to fit a two year old. disastrous :)

Anyways my blogging may be limited for awhile...our computer is having issues and I either have to type blind or hold the screen with one hand...we're sending it out to be fixed soon since I can't live like this anymore!

So go check out what everyone else is working on too! Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

I Just Can't Do It

So I'm not going to lie-owning a fabric store has it's perks...I play around with a lot of fabric a lot of the time! I was pretty excited to start making clothes for my kids and even myself...well let me just say... I SUCK AT IT! Maybe I'll get enough courage to show some of my "what the heck was I thinking projects" maybe

I don't know what it is, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm sick or going "huh" and seam ripping and trying things on that don't fit-I have a weird body shape. So I'm going back to making what I love-interiors....quilts, blankets, pillows, curtains...all home dec items...I'm going to let over people make the children's cloths and I'll make the home dec :)

This made me think about how there are just so many different crafty things that are geared towards so many different people and that's part of what I really love about the handmade movement.

Ok so I'll be back tomorrow to show you some of things I've been working on this past week.

Just ordered

Pretty excited to start carrying this new line...

Supporting a Great Cause

You may remember this quilt top from a few months ago-I had it made when the Shades of Grey Collection first came in. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it-just need it had to be something good. Well I found the perfect use....THIS EVENT-It's a Breast Cancer Fundraising Event. Usually with donations I submit a gift certificate-but this event was somewhat personal. I went to high school with Erin, the person organizing the event and walking in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk. Erin is walking in memory of her mother who passed away this past year. I have many found memories of Erin's parents as well since we played soccer together and her parents were always at the games cheering. So I selected another one of my favorite patterns for the back and added some of the zig zags I was working on. I love how it turned out-even if I did finish it in the shop without A/C during the hottest days in WI-yes I now can say I work in a sweat shop.

Anyways-if you're in the area and can attend the event, or even if you're not you can still contribute via Tracey's Team.

Anyone Interested?

So I think I'd like to organize a vintage sheet fat quarter swap! Thoughts, suggestions, anyone want to participate? Leave your comments below and I'll try to get organized quickly :)

Looking Ahead

So Our doors have now been open for one full calendar year! I've learned a lot about a lot of things this first year and am happy to say that we plan on sticking around for awhile. I'm also collaborating with some talented people to work on some concepts for the upcoming year. Here's a sneak peak at some of the things coming your way:

-A monthly newsletter(with a coupon)

-Discount Club

-Offering more classes-soon you will be able to go on the website and suggest classes that interest you too

-Participating in more local events-we're having a booth at Bay View Bash and working on some other events too

-Another Craft Supply Swap-planning on setting up a concrete day soon :)

Also I'll be adding Michael Miller fabrics to the store soon...I'm pretty excited about that-honestly I've been putting it off since I think I'll want to make way too many projects with them.

Thanks again for a great first year

Getting Ready

I can officially say that I am sick of cutting fabric-and I'm not even anywhere near done cutting Fat Quarters for Sundays Sale. Yup that's right Sundays Sale will focus on Fat Quarters-oh yeah and did I mention that they're only going to be $1.50(except for the organics).

Head on over we'll be here 11-4

Project for Kids

I made this tent/teepee for my nephew's 2nd birthday earlier this month. It was surprisingly easy and the hardest part was finding enough space to lay out the fabric to cut the large pieces. I have the pattern available in the store if you're interested and the Home Dec fabric works great.
Also I'm going to apologize in advance if the posts are lacking this week-I'm gearing up for the Anniversary Sale this week and getting back into the swing of things after a weekend away. Why is it that you always feel refreshed getting away but there's always so many things to do when you get back-I found myself almost immediately thinking 'I need a vacation' Ha!

Ships Ahoy!

I had a customer that was interested in home dec weight Nautical themed fabric....these are what I came up with-have a great weekend-jsut a reminder we're closed this weekend and our week of email only sales starts on Monday!

Pretty Darn Excited

I received my Fall 2011 issue of Stitch today and I have to say it really has me yearning for Fall. The projects in here are great-I already have about 6 projects that I want to get started on right away.....not good. Especially since I'm already toying with the idea of joining another quilt-a-long after learning about it from a customer today. Really no idea why I'm even considering it since I have no time....yeah I'll probably do it anyways.

Anyways back to Stitch-if you want to take a sneak peak, go over HERE and take a look at what's in the fall issue.

Poetry Skirt by Katrin Vorbeck courtesy of Stitch Magazine

My first tutorial

And it's not even fabric related!

So with summer finally here in WI my husband and I have rekindled our addiction with these iced coffee drinks...they're super easy to make at home and you can save yourself tons of money. I don't know why but I can never make a hot latte or whatnot at home like they do at the coffee shops...but this I can make!

So we brew our coffee(12 cups) at night and then put it in a pitcher and put it in the fridge over night-don't think this is really how you're supposed to make iced coffee but it works for us.

Get a nice tall glass out, put 3 ice cubes in it, take your chocolate syrup and drizzle it over the ice-prob about 2 tablespoons worth-more or less to your liking.

Then add about an inch or so of half and half(I prefer soy)

Last pour the iced coffee over it and it will mix together. Sit back and enjoy! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

I'm a Cheater

So I decided that I wanted to join the Farmer's Wife Quilt-A-long over HERE. Basically you follow along in The Farmer's Wife Sample Quilt book and make 111 blocks-2 per week. Well the only downside to this is that the blocks are each just 6"x6"-talk about small pieces-then when talking with a customer yesterday I decided that I would make my blocks 12"x12" and just have a few quilts out of it. My purpose of participating is to learn how to do all of the quilt blocks and personally I think I will enjoy them more and they will fit into my personal style more if they are large. So yes you can call me a cheater I'm ok with it.

Also if you want to hop on the wagon and participate in the quilt-a-long I have the books avail in the store for purchase.

These are my first two blocks....I'm also a bit behind since the group is on week 5 I believe but I'll catch up soon!

Repurposing Old T-Shirts

So for a variety of reasons...A. we're trying not to spend a lot of extra money B. I was getting rid of these and C. I love the Big Butt Baby Pants by Made by Rae I made these for E for the 4th of July.

I took a couple of old t shirts that were too big and cut them up and pieced them together. I cut off a few inches off of the pattern to make long shorts/high wader pants-which will be perfect for sleepwear after the 4th. Also I loved working with these because I was able to place the pattern so that the existing bottom hem of the t-shirts became the hem of the pants/shorts(whatever you want to call them)

Have a happy 4th of July!

Also if you haven't already(I know I sound like a broken record) I encourage you to sign up for our email list...with our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY right around the corner-I'll be sending out specials to the email list that whole week.....YEAH!!!! You can sign up right over there on the upper right hand side-oh and make sure to complete step 2 of the process and acknowledge the email you get confirming subscription. I'm pretty excited about the week of giveaways myself