What's this?

This is the newest member of out family!  Scott sent this to Veronica.  She wanted a light weight machine that had a thread cutter and an extension table.  This is what arrived a few days later.  This is an EX30.  This machine is so light,  Veronica just puts in a tote bag, throws it over her shoulder and off to class she goes.  It's got a 1/4" foot for piecing.  It sews like a dream!   Want one?  Call Scott at Citrus Sew and Vac 352-620-0225, tell them Jaggie the Bear said to call.  They can drop one in the mail, well, rather UPS for you and you'll have it in a couple of days.  And yes, we know it's not a Janome, but Janome is the parent company.

  

View from our Valuable Vendor Vault: Fantastic Fabric Fanatics

Hello all! Jaggie here! It's that time again, time to introduce one of of Valuable Vendors! This month's choice is one of Michelle's favorite vendors and she has been waiting for this post!

Fabric Fanatics, is not your normal fabric shop! This Plano, Texas, shop has a Texas-sized selection of Batik fabrics. They are home to more than 3,500 bolts of the most color-rich, inspiring batiks by top designers, including Robert Kaufman, Hoffman, Island Batiks, Moda and Anthology. Take a moment to let that sink in!

They also stock fat quarters, fat quarter bundles, jelly rolls, kits and the newest "flavors" of the popular Bali Pops and Tonga Treats. They also have their own line of patterns! What more could a quilter ask for?

Michelle is always excited when we hare at the same show as Fabric Fanatics, which means that she must be monitored or she'll spend the diaper money! 

 

 

These photos are from their booth at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival in Loveland, Colorado, August 17-19. And that's just what they TRAVEL with! Imagine the shop ~ it must be heaven!

 

Go check out their website and tell them we sent you!

 

Happy stitching!

 

 

View From Our Valuable Vender Vault: Quilt Smarter ... With Quiltsmart!

It's that time again ... View From Our Valuable Vender Vault! This month we are featuring Mattie at Quiltsmart. Mary Pat "Mattie" Rhoades was a quilt teacher who wanted a way to ease the frustration of harder, "fussy patterns" and tedious sewing methods. So with the belief that quilting should be enjoyable, Quiltsmart was born.

"One of the first patterns that was printed on interfacing was Quilt in a Day's Sunbonnet Sue.  We still print this for Quilt in a Day," says Mattie.

The Quiltsmart method is piecing by fusible interface, similar to paper piecing but easier.

Let's take the Lone Star Quilt and use as an example. Usually with the Lone Star pattern you would cut strips, staggering at a 45 degree angle and sew into a strata, the you'd cut diamonds from your stratas. (These diamonds are not always a girls best friend!) You'd make 6 different stratas, systematically moving your fabric colors down one row. Holy cow! Are you confused? I am, after all I'm just a simple bear!

After a you cut a mess of strips (technical term!), you pray and hope that when you offset your 1/4 inch seam allowance, and sew your seam, that your diamands line up and look correct. Let's hope that you didn't get a strip out of line and mess the coordination of the colors. Yikes!

The Quiltsmart method is much easier! You start with cut rectangles, placing the first one face up on the interfacing (where it says "Start"!). Next you place your Applique Pressing Sheet TM on top and press with with your iron for 5 seconds. Place fabric number 2 crosswise onto fabric number 1, with fabric right sides together. If you look for the dot on the left side, that tells you where your fabric goes, then run it along the arow on the right side. I stick a little pin in it, then flip it over to sew line 1. Flip fabic down, press it with iron, then add number 3 in the same manner. Continue until the section is complete! So easy!!

Make 8 sections and you're a star creator! Watch Mattie show you how on this Lone Star Tutorial!

Above: This Lone Star quilt was made by Mattie Rhoades using a Quiltsmart technique.

Below: Quiltsmart takes the stress out difficult quilt patterns ... And a star is born!

Veronica and Mattie are working on a joint super secret project, that will debut in November at the Houston International Quilt Festival!! Are you excited yet?

Veronica was lucky enough to test Mattie's new pattern, which will debut this fall as well. Stay tuned as later we unveil some of Mattie's borders that Veronica used in a quilt project.

Please take some time to visit the Quiltsmart website, you'll be glad you did! Quiltsmart can also be found on Facebook and  check out Mattie's blog, it's definitely one of our favorites!

View From Our Valuable Vender Vault: Sew Wonderful Dreams

For years, Veronica and Bear Thread Designs, Inc. have traveled the United States going to trade shows, expos, guilds and festivals, and one thing she's enjoyed from these experiences is meeting new friends and valuable vendors who keep her inspired and creatively challenged. On the 21st of each month we'll tell you about one of these amazing artists and let you get a peek at some of our favorite vendors!

This month's inagural vendor is Connie Spurlock at Sew Wonderful Dreams! Though Connie and Veronica had met a few years before, it wasn't until 2001 that the two companies, Bear Thread Designs and Sew Wonderful Dreams, started to work together to provide quilters and other crafters with amazing projects.

It was 25 years or so go that Connie created her first pattern. Her aunt, Elaine Thompson, a designer, writer and book publisher asked her to create some Santa patterns for a book she was publishing. The book was published with one of Connie's Santa's on the cover. The book sold 15,000 copies in the first six weeks, and soon inquiries began to arrive.

"It has been almost 25 years ago that we struggled through our first pattern and we now have over 250 that we have added and/or deleted over the years," says Connie.

Connie gives a large portion of her early success to her Aunt Elaine and the Santa book. It was Elaine who even came up with the name Sew Wonderful Dreams. In 1990 Connie took Sew Wonderful Dreams to their first Quilting and Craft Show.

Connie, and her husband Sonny, participate in more than 20 quilt/sewing shows a year.

She credits much of her success (and sanity) to her family and friends' support.

"(To say) that my family has been not only supportive but also very 'hands-on helpful' would be a grand understatement," Connie says. "My friend, Teri Chandler, who traveled with me, kept things in order and had a huge hand in our pattern design all those years has been more than a blessing in so many ways."

Sew Wonderful Dreams has a variety of projects to choose from. Jackets, fusible applique, paper piecing and kids stuff - there is a lot to choose from for any type of crafter.

Sew Wonderful Dreams Studio is located in the panhandle of Idaho, surrounded by gorgeous lakes and mountains. They're 30 minutes to Washington, 60 minutes to Montana, and 90 minutes to Canada. For more information visit them at their website.

Happy quilting ...