Bribery

If we do another give-away, will you be understanding about our lack of blogging?


Thought so. You people are sooooooo easy.

This arrived today. A HUGE box of scraps. It is what is left after Moda made all the Salesman sample cap sets. You know, one of these.
This box (which is about 30" high) is stuffed with American Banner Rose scraps. Some are thin strips - just the thing for strippy quilts like this....
This was made with the same kind of strips of Charlevoix by NancyZ.

Some of the scraps are pretty generous, like this....
I will jam pack 4 priority mail boxes with scraps and pick names from the comments. You have until midnight Sunday May 1st. There are a lot of quilts in this box - just waiting to be made.

Oh, and about that sample above of the bumble-bee fabric...... that was a prototype of a fabric that was supposed to be in our Wiscasset collection. The bee is and was a symbol for Napoleon and many of the fabrics in that collection were inspired from old French fabrics. We also like the idea of a bumble-bee and the agrarian society that the brand new United States was at that time. It is also a symbol of industry. All good things, right? Well, once we got this back from the mill all anybody could see was that it looked like our fabric was covered in flies. That wasn't so good. All the best intentions, but it was a dud. The head of design at Moda gave me that as a souvenir. Some good ideas just don't translate well at all.

Back to work....

Laurie

Excuses

It's not that we've been neglectful on purpose.....it's just that not much has been going on except for stitching on top secret projects.
We're packing kits and such for Mackinac Island and designing things for American Banner Rose.
In the midst of all this, Polly and I have found Pinterest. Do you Pin? For people like us who like visual treats..... it's quite the place and like everyone else..... we have found it to take up large portions of the day.

While stitching, there has been this on the tv
And this...
This sports watching has been very productive for handwork, I must say. So, back to work I go. Have a wonderful holiday.
Laurie

Not Enough Caffeine

Good Morning everyone! Things are still a little fuzzy here. It seems both the Tigers and the Red Wings are on The West Coast and I was up till the wee hours flipping between channels and mixing in a bit of applique. Anyhow....... The winner of the American Banner Rose Jelly Roll™ is...

WoolenSails

Email me here and it will go out to you shortly.

By the way, both my teams won, which makes this over caffeinated day worth it.

I'll leave you with this - I wish I were napping as serenely as this kitty

(image courtesy of Cute Overload)

Laurie

Royal Wedding

Gee, those Royal types sure have loosened up a bit....



Have a great weekend,

Laurie

Friday Afternoon

If you follow other quilting blogs you have picked up on the theme.........we are busy. It is 1 month until the International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City where everyone will show their new patterns, quilts, fabrics and such. Crunch time. Blog posts have been sparse.

While we won't be going to Salt Lake City this time (we are already feeling separation anxiety) we still have bunches of stuff to do. Mackinac Island approaches fast. (Hey, you know we just heard the whole Grand Hotel is sold out for that weekend! All 358 rooms!) We are making class lists, plans, packing boxes of kits, all that and more.

Today, after the usual list of chores - I now have the afternoon to work on a future quilt plan. If you are anything like me.... I have to get rid of the chores, tidy up all the flat spaces (tables, counter tops, shelves, etc.) and then I sit and draw. The physical clutter has to move out as does the mental clutter. Now I have blank paper. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's kind of intimidating.
Which brings me to what I am loving today - my vellum graph paper. Specifically, my 50 yard roll of 42" wide vellum graph paper. It's see through, traceable, and very eraser friendly.
I used to buy it singly, in big sheets at the local art supply store. It's kind of pricey. The local art supply store is not particularly user friendly. If you can get a parking space within one city block - you are really living right.

So, a couple of years ago I noticed they sold it by the roll. It was more than pricey. It seemed extravagant. But with a little math, it figured out much cheaper per foot than I was paying by the sheet. I bought it. It is a lifetime supply. It has turned from a guilty purchase to a wise one. It was the best thing I have ever bought. Need 90" to figure out an applique border - got it. Need to trace your drawing over and over again - with mirror images - got that too. I know now that when an idea strikes, I am prepared. I don't have to rely on the whimsical hours of the art supply store. The silly roll of paper has really helped me design.

Have you ever bought something that at first you thought was a mistake or was extravagant and later you learned to love it??

Comment on this before midnight April 18th and some American Banner Rose, and other choice clutter will make it's way to you.

Laurie

Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

(photo courtesy of uhockey.blogspot.com)

This is a banana chocolate chunk muffin from the Clinton Street Baking Company. My pictures didn't turn out as good as this, but I guarantee you they tasted as good as this looks.

The recipe and many, many more just as good are found here.
We are not paid lackeys for the Clinton Street Baking Company - just fans. Big fans.

Laurie

Saturday Chores

I am midway through my list of chores today. Next up is cleaning the refrigerator and then baking banana muffins. If they are successful, I'll post the recipe. After a very light round of housekeeping, then it is on to some quilting while watching baseball and hockey on television. Pretty exciting, huh? Actually, I'm looking forward to it.

This was at the Farmer's Market this morning.
Very soon we will see asparagus and other spring vegetables. Not too many edibles yet, except for the new batch of maple syrup. Have a fun and productive weekend, everyone.

Laurie

More Of The City

While the Infinite Variety show is what took us there, we found other things to keep us occupied.
Well, for one, you don't go to the restaurant capital of the world and not have a good meal or three. Thanks to Rue 57, Tao, and Clinton Street Baking Company, we ate well. Rue 57 is charming and has great food - but beware the Tuesday Night Special. The steak is bigger than your head.If you happen to get to Tao - order the Banana Pudding for dessert. The waiter suggested it and so do we. And as for Clinton Street Baking Company......order anything at all - it will be wonderful.Once fortified, make your way to Pins & Needles, a new little stitching and quilting shop on Lexington Avenue. It's tiny, well lit, high energy, and adorable.Here's Rachel with some of her well chosen fabric.

At the same time as the quilt show, there was a nice little show at the Cooper Hewitt.
Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay. A wonderfully displayed show of the Art Deco artist, fashion and fabric designer, Delaunay.
It was inspiring and surprising. What stopped us in our tracks were the photos of the fabric department of Metz & Co. Department store in Amsterdam, where most of Delaunay's fabric was sold. If a fabric store could be a monument to style, taste and function, certainly that store was it. I wonder if it is still as grand as the 1930 photographs?

Now, let's get to the good stuff..... the winner of the American Banner Rose fabric is, The Lazy Quilter! I drew another number and Nancy of Marietta Georgia will get a little something from the gift shop at the Infinite Variety show. Lazy Quilter, and Nancy - email me here and I will get the goodies to you.

Laurie

American Banner Rose

There will be quite a few posts in the next couple of days. There is lots of news to share and stuff about New York that we want to show you. First off ....... this was waiting for me when I got home. Two big boxes of American Banner Rose, our newest collection that will be sent out this week to the sales reps. Look for it in your local shop this fall.American Banner Rose is named after one of the first American hybrid roses from the 1800's. We love the big, old fashioned rose stripe. We hope you like it too.

Also arriving this week was the new American Patchwork & Quilting magazine - the June 2011 issue. Our Flying Free quilt was in it.

We have kits available and you can get them here.

Oh, and hey..... what's a new fabric debut without a give-away??!!

Make a comment here about the Infinite Variety show or red and white quilts in general, or if a red and white quilt is in your future..... and make that comment before midnight, Monday April 4th (not much time!!) and you could get a fat quarter of every fabric in the American Banner Rose collection.

More Later,

Laurie

Infinite Variety

We are back. You know, we debated on going because it is such a busy time for us, but we are so glad we made the right decision. The word that keeps coming up again and again, is breathtaking. Superlatives are overused in everyday life. This makes it hard to find the correct words to describe this show. The fact that there were 650 quilts - all red and white - in one place is one thing. To display them in that otherworldly way is another. Kudos to all involved.
Once you got over the spectacle of it all.... I kept focusing on the texture.

Thanks to Glenn for taking these close-ups for me. Don't miss these fantastic glimpses here and here. It's great when quilters who are also fantastic photographers got to record this.

Still unpacking and opening mail.....much more later.

Laurie and Polly