Vermont Shop Hop 2011

Passports are now available! The annual Vermont Shop Hop will take place beginning Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 20. All 17 participating shops will have games, prizes, and lots to see. Join the fun!

Winter 2011 Class Schedule is posted!

Check out the class schedule page for pictures and times.

To wash or not to wash…

Well, it might not be everyone’s question but it’s one I get asked frequently. My answer is always “wash”. I’ve always washed my fabrics first for several reasons, not the least of which is that I just like the feel and the way it handles better once it has been washed. In addition, here’s the label that comes tucked in the bolt when I unpack them.

For yardage, this is no big deal. My hesitance comes when all the pre-cut fabrics are part of the picture. We all know that if you wash those 10″ squares, they’re not going to be 10″ anymore! Why buy 2 1/2″ pre-cut strips if you’re going to have to trim them all up again after washing. It’s a dilemma…
Here’s how I’ve solved it so far. If it’s yardage, wash it. If it’s a kit, check the amount included and wash it if the pieces are not pre-cut. If you’re using pre-cut pieces, go ahead and use them as is. When you finish the quilt and wash for the first time, use a “color catcher” (Shout makes them) in the wash just in case! For me, so far so good.

Class Schedule for Fall 2010

Click the link on the sidebar to check out the class schedule for this fall. A great new program called “Scrap Therapy” is starting for all you fabriholics, a really beginner class for brand new quilters, and another option for those beginners ready to add triangle points to your patterns. Join the fun!

Kwilt Kamp 2010

“More fun than humans should be allowed to have.”
Great food, wonderful company, giggles galore, and lots of sewing time made for another successful year for the Kwilt Kamp Krew. More pictures to follow soon.

Mark the date….July 17-19, 2011….We’ll do it all over again!

One Million Pillowcase Challenge

Join us for the One Million Pillowcase Challenge sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting!  Although the challenge and the count is kept nationally, the donations are all made locally. Our pillowcases will go the The Ronald McDonald House in Burlington. (click here to see more about them) There are 3 different ways to participate.

# 1
Download a free pattern at allpeoplequilt.com, complete a pillowcase, and bring it to Mad River Quilting to add to our donations.

# 2
Choose a pattern and purchase a coordinating kit for the bargain price of $13 ($15.50 for the basic to make 2 pillowcases), complete a pillowcase, and bring it to Mad River Quilting to add to our donations.

# 3
Purchase a completed pillowcase ($25.50 each) and $10 will go to Ronald McDonald House along with our pillowcase donations.

Prize Drawing ~ A Christmas Collection of 6 1/2-yard cuts
Your name will be entered in the prize drawing each time you donate or buy a pillowcase!

Collections will continue through September 15.  Stop by any time to make a difference!

“Day Off” is a relative term

This week has been school vacation week. Since the shop is also closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, that gave me two full days “off” this week. Over the course of those two days I had a dentist appointment, got my hair cut, and had my annual mammogram done. My youngest daughter and I moved all the furniture in the shop so we could strip, scrub (the hands and knees variety), and rewax the floor, then move everything back.  We made the “big city” (Burlington) trip so the youngest could shop for new softball equipment and the other one could shop for a business suit. In between there I balanced the checkbook, taught one daughter how to drive a standard, and machine quilted two quilts.  As I said, “day off” is a relative term.
For the rest of the week I have been able to blissfully concentrate on being at the quilt shop. I have ignored the fact that, like all teachers on “vacation”, there are hours of school work yet to do and have, instead, rearranged fabric, created new strip set bundles, picked out fabric for a friend’s baby quilt, and planned directions for the summer retreat quilt.
OK – I’ll get to that school work this weekend but in the meantime, it’s been a great vacation week.

Choosing Fabric

Many of my quilting students have said, “choosing the right colors is the hardest part.” I love choosing fabric! My hardest part in deciding the fabrics for a quilt is settling on only one combination. Now, I don’t have to stop with one! That’s why I have so much fun putting kit fabrics together. I can decide on a pattern, pick 10 different starting points, and go for it. I can go with bright and fun kid fabrics, beautiful florals, or striking geometrics and keep them all! (OK, I admit, I’m not so good at the soft and calm combination but I’m working on it)

Here are some new fat quarter packs to try with the great series of patterns “Turning Twenty”. Easy to cut, easy to put together, great results.

New Arrivals!

Boxes arrive at the door.  Wait!  Check the label first.  Who’s it from?  Oh, yes, I know what this one is!  Snip, cut, rip, I was right!  Are they all here?  Lay them all out on the table at the same time.  Move them around so they look pretty together.  No, move that one over there.  Walk around and pat them for awhile (come on, you all do it too!).  Label them.  Put them out on the shelves.  Ahhh, such fun!

Mark Lipinski’s Home Elements Collection – 25 colors in a tone-on-tone print for all your blending needs.

New kits have also been added with a great selection of themes.

Holy Snowballs!  Kits for the advanced beginner/intermediate in themes of floral, country Christmas, fall, baby, and blues.

Do You Sudoku?  The puzzle becomes your quilt pattern – how fun!  Made for beginners in mind with pre-cut 4 1/2″ squares in themes of kids, floral, and various batik packs in blue, pink, yellow, purple and orange.

Buying Fabric

Yesterday was my very first visit with a representative for fabric companies.  He came with suitcases of sample pieces – batiks, flannels, kids, Christmas, floral, funky – you name it!  With all those pieces spread out on the table, how do you begin to decide?  It was all a bit overwhelming.  I tried to keep in mind what I already have, what I want to fill in, and which collections I’d like to feature.  Combine that with which lines are available in April and May and what can come in July, which ones have minimums and which can I mix and match, and don’t forget how many total bolts we’re up to!  My head was spinning after the first 1/2 hour but what a lot of fun!

In the end, I had chosen some new batiks (of course!); a great, bold set of orange and magenta and a beautifully soft set of spring purple, green and pink.  There will be some new colors in Fusions, a great background and blender series.  A couple of full collections will be featured in May and in July.  As fabrics begin to arrive, I’ll be posting pictures so check back often to see what’s new!