10 Minute Vest

Yep, it really can be made in 10 minutes.  This vest from Kwik Sew is cut on the fold, in an oval shape, cut out the armholes and wear it.  Granted, we made ours with double sided fabric that didn't require the edges to be finished, but it took longer to trace the pattern off, than it did to cut it out!  It can also be made from fleece or a batik because they don't have a clear right and wrong side.  We saw them made from "Cuddle", a deep pile, cuddly fabric at Market.  They were just stitched, wrong sides together.  No binding or turning necessary!

Maple Leaf Festival is this weekend.  As you travel to and from Baldwin City, stop and shop with us.  Fabric will be on sale, 20% off.  We will be open Saturday, October 15 from 10-5 and Sunday from 1-5.  Hope you take advantage of this special Sunday opening, as we don't have too many of those.

Jane Anderson is teaching an Umbrella Class on October 22, beginning at 10:30.  Bring in an ugly umbrella and leave with a spiffy new, in-style umbrella.  Hope we see you soon!

Well, as usual, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I've been busy going to shows and keeping up with my family.

Jane and I just got back from the AQS show in Des Moines, IA. We had a great time talking to all the quilters in our booth. The three-pocket purses continue to be the biggest hit of all the things we demo. If you haven't gotten yours yet, you are missing out. They make great secret pal and Christmas gifts.

Next in the best seller category were the Pilot Frixion Pens. These pens have a very fine point and the ink disappears with friction or heat. Great for tracing embroidery designs, as the ink disappears when you iron your finished project.

We've begun making plans for next year's $5 quilt block of the month. We will have it on the website soon. The kits will be cut in 5" squares from earthtone batiks. We will be using the pattern, "Five-Square Fanfare" and featuring the "Charming 5 Square" templates. There are six different templates. Be sure and sign up for the email mailing list so you won't miss out on information.

Maple Leaf Festival is October 15-16, so keep an eye on the website for special information coming soon!

Hope you had a great summer!
Roxane

Dear Emily reminded me this week that I have not posted lately. I've been just a bit busy with vacation, two weddings, etc. etc. But that said...We have four busses coming on Saturday, April 16. We are participating in the Cruisin' Kansas Quilt Shop Tour. There is a bus leaving from Overbrook, Severy, Newton, Emporia or Eudora all at the same time and making a circuit, all going the same direction. For $93.95, you get to visit all the shops and have a continental breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner included. I think that is a great deal.

We just had our 13th Annual Kansas City Shop Hop. It was deemed a success with lots and lots of first time shop hoppers. The batik designed just for the hop shops was brown with sunflowers and hawthorne flowers. Sunflowers as the Kansas state flower and hawthorne as the Missouri state flower. All the shops had different ideas for setting the 6" blocks together. We received a lot of compliments on our quilt. It is pictured in the photo gallery on our website.

I'll write more after the bus trip to let you know how it went. There is still time to sign up if you'd like to make the circle of shops. Look for us in Paducah. We are in the pink Finkle building where AQS has their sale books.

The countdown begins to the end of the year. As always, we will begin the Inventory Reduction process on December 16, with the discount of 16%. This sale goes through the 31st, with the final discount being 31% off. The more you buy, the less we have to count.

We will be closed on Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day. But we will be open New Year's Day as that is the beginning day of the 2011 $5 Block of the Month. In January, you will pay $5 for a 12" block kit. If you bring it back finished on the first Saturday of February, you will receive your February block for free! By making your block each month, this tree skirt will only cost you $5 for the blocks. At some time during the year, we will have finishing kits available for a 70" treeskirt or tablecloth to use the 12" blocks. There are only 10 blocks this year, so you will have from the beginning of October to finish your project.

Heading to Houston

The packing starts today! We'll load the trailer Wednesday night and head out bright and early on Thursday morning. Vicky's booth will get set up on Friday and she will open for her Prairie's Edge Patchworks business on Saturday. While she is selling her patterns, I will be shopping for the shop. Our friend, Dee Gerardy, is going with us to demonstrate our new projects. She will also help me shop.

On Monday evening, we will tear down Vicky's booth and start moving in our booth. Depending on our progress, we should be able to take part of the day Tuesday to play a little and maybe run down to Galveston. We open for business on Wednesday evening at 5:00. The International Quilt Festival is open from then until Sunday at 4:00. Then we load the trailer and drive to Dallas. We will get home Monday evening.

Thursday, November 11, begins the BBBETO "Deck the Walls" shop hop, through Saturday. Come and see our demos and new stuff we brought back from Houston.

Thursday, November 18, we will start our "Christmas Open House", featuring all the stuff from Market that we bought, and some quick and easy Christmas presents. We have lots of projects in mind for fun gifts for Christmas.

We will keep you posted about our schedule!
Roxane

On The Road Again

We are headed to Des Moines today for the AQS Quilt Show that starts Wednesday. Today we will load the trailer, drive to Des Moines and get in line at the marshalling yard. We have to wait in line until they tell us we can go to the convention center and unload. After we unload, we'll play a little while, check into the hotel and grab a bite to eat. Tomorrow, we will set up the booth early and then hit a few quilt shops.

Wednesday we will be open for business. If you come to the show, be sure and stop by the booth to get a free gift. Just mention the blog and you can pick a 1/2 yard of fabric, compliments of the shop!