Join Us for Texas-Sized Shopping!!

What are you doing this weekend!?! Well, if you don't have your dance card filled, join Veronica and Carla from Cactus Quilts at the Heart of Texas One Stop Shop Hop in Waco, Texas.

This year's theme is "Shopping in a Winter Wonderland" and with all of the vendors participating this year you are sure to find a plethora of projects, fabric and more to jump start your 2014 project list! More than 30 brick-and-mortar quilt shops are participating in this event.

Also featured at the shop hop is "The Quilt of the Last Supper", by Dr Don Locke. If you have not seen this amazing quilt, you won't want to pass up this opportunity.

Many shops are planning to bring buses to the One Stop Shop Hop.  Ask your local shop if they have one in the making.  Leave the driving to someone else while you visit with your friends!

The Heart of Texas One Stop Shop Hop will be held at the Waco Convention Center - McLennan Hall, located at 100 Washington Ave, Waco Friday from 10 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. Admission is $5 for those 12 and older.

As an added bonus, Veronica will have her 3 charm-pack quilt available for viewing and if you purchase 3 or more charm packs from Cactus Quilts' booth, you will receive the pattern for free!! Don't forget to sign up for the Cactus Quilts newsletter and be the first to learn about classes, sales and other special events.

Snowed In and Quilting

Oh, my goodness!!  We are still reeling from the two colds front that came through our little Southern world! I don't know who to contact, but it is not suppose to snow in Houston!!

Well, the snow came and shut down the office for a few days, but that just meant that staff members had time to work on some projects they had been anxious to get finished. This also allowed Veronica enough time to finish a top ... then take it apart because she didn't like it. {sigh} 

She didn't like the setting, so she decided to try again. Hopefully she will have it completed for show-and-tell next week. Have no fear though, her mother-in-law finished her quilt from the same class and we have it to show you!!

Veronica treated her mother-in-law to this class Debbie Caffery class for her birthday in 2007. As you will soon see, Veronica has recently found a stash of buried treasures ... or unfinished quilts. We'll have a few upcoming posts showing some of her finds.

If you like the look of scrappy quilts, this thought will warm your heart. Veronica is teaching a bi-monthly class called Scrap-Happy Club at Cactus Quilts in Texas City, Texas. An Ohio Star pattern using Deb Tucker's ruler the class last weekend and the participants had so much fun, they had to be kicked out at the end of class. Now, that sounds like a group of quilters I'd like to hang out with!! If you want to join Veronica at the upcoming classes in March or May, call Cactus Quilts at (409) 965-9778 for more information.

Happy stitching and stay warm,

With Free Time and A Little Charm ...

The sound of sewing machines hums through the Bear Thread Designs office and Veronica's home as she works on a variety of projects. I'm surprised she even stops to eat some days.

Well, she is off to a class today, so I sneaked in to see what she's been working on and look what I found!

She did this in one weekend. Goodness the sewing machine may need a break! This 48-inch square Rocky Road to Dublin is only missing its borders. She made this tops so far using 3 Charm packs and some black and white fabric. Isn't it wonderful? I wonder if she'll let me snuggle under it when its done. Eventually it will finish was 60-inches square, so its big enough for me to snuggle with a friend or two.

Well, let me see what else I can find. It's like a scavenger hunt without a list!!

Bobbins and Spools Cause Threading Question

How much thread do you go through a year? Think about it ...

Well, recently, this was the question Veronica asked herself and she found she didn't have the answer. So what to do, but find to find out!!

 

Veronica's personal sewing room is an eclectic colletion of fabrics, notions, machines and more. But nothing in there (including the fabric) is as varied as her collection of thread. Cotton, polyester, silk, heavy-duty, metalic, embroidery and more. You could turn it into a scavenger hunt!! Some is in use, a lot organized, much of it is tucked away in baskets, boxes and bags, but thread is not something that she will run short of soon.

Over the years, as a quilter, teacher, business owner, board member and more, she has unknowingly collected thread of all types. Sometimes it was as a gift, other times she was asked to sample new products, occasionally she was asked to review a color ot texture of a thread, some of it came from her great-grandmother who set her on this journey of creativity. In December, Veronica and Michelle were discussing the amount of thread one might use in a year and Veronica decided that in 2014 she would save her empty spools of thread to determine the answer to that question.

Veronica spends quite a bit of time in the sewing room. Not only is she a member of what I think is a million quilt guilds, groups and bees, but she also makes many of the samples for Bear Thread Designs vendor booths at shows and the samples for classes she teaches. When she finds the time she manages to make a quilt or two for her adult children, though more often the grandbabies (who are now PRESCHOOLERS and feel they should not be called "baby".) I even get a quilt or two made from extra blocks or scraps of fabric. Oh, I love them when they get soft and cuddly.

 

So tell us how much thread you think she'll use by the end of the year, or how much you think you use. You can even join us in this journey of discovery! I'll check in with Veronica throughout the year and let you know how she is doing!!
 

Scraping Along with Scraps

Ah, my fellow quilters, it has been a week or so since I last wrote, but we have been busy as ever. With the start of the new year we are working with quilt shops to restock your favorite Bear Thread Designs products, scheduling lectures, classes and workshops through 2015 and preparing for an exciting 2014.

One of the new programs Veronica is teaching this year at quilt shops and guilds is classes on turning scraps into quilt blocks. There are so many creative ways to use your leftovers to create something new. The past few weeks, we have been busy making samples for this program. Here are a few of our blocks.

There is still time to schedule Veronica to teach one or more of these classes at your local quilt shop or guild. To learn more contact Bear Thread Designs at BearTD@hotmail.com.

Start New Year with New Goals

With the new year comes new resolutions and goals, and this year is no different. Every year Veronica resolves to spend a year focusing on quilts in one manner or another. In the past few months while organizing both the company Creative Room and her personal craft rooms, she decided this might be the year to focus on getting creative with what she has in her stash. That's right, Veronica has decided to not purchase fabric for personal projects in 2014. Instead she is challenging herself to get creative with stash and scraps!

Now I admit this will be a hard on for me, I personally prefer when she makes goals like "a quilt a month" but this is going to be fun. She's actually done it a few times as a resolution, where she only bought fabric for company samples and projects, but I don't know. This bear is convinced that its harder to give up buying fabric than it is to not eat a bowl of fresh berries you find on the kitchen counter.

I think what will make it easier for us is that Veronica is scheduled to teach a variety of scrap quilt classes throughout the year with several guilds and quilt shops.

There is still time to join her classes. Visit our blog often to get updated information on class schedules and locations. If you'd like your quilt guild or shop to host Veronica's scrap classes, send email to Beartd@hotmail.com.