Saturday, March 29, 2014

I Have GOT to Stop Sleeping In!!

I must be HOME…that bed is just too darn comfy!   Man, did I ever sleep in this morning!!  It was 7:30am before my eyes opened…which is unheard of!  But then I was exhausted when my head hit the pillow…all that unpacking, washing and folding, putting away…FINDING a place to put the new fabric!  YIKES!!  It boggles the mind! 

Not to worry…all has been put away!  The only problem is… will I ever find it again?  I must make a note to myself to buy more CLEAR totes for storage!

So this morning I sat down all prepared NOT to do a post…too late!  I thought I would sip my coffee in peace and catch up on blog reading instead.

First blog at the top of my list was Jeni’s Blog From the Willow.  Love her blog! 

WHAT?!!  Jeni is closing her shop?!  Geeze Louise, you leave blogland for a day or two and everything falls apart!  Yup, Jeni is closing shop!!  Her wonderful little shop, The Woolen Willow!!  She will still have The Painted Cupboard…( I think this is her online shop?)

My first thought was ohhhh noooo…the magazine!!  You may remember that her sister left the shop to start the magazine, Primitive Quilts…and of course all of them had their hand in it’s production!  “The magazine is growing fast, and we need to be able to put our full attention to all the work that goes into making it.”…writes Jeni.   OK…OK…and breathe!  The magazine is good to go!!  Whew! 

So that is the scoop for the morning!!  The Woolen Willow Shop is closing so that everyone can concentrate on the magazine!  I never like to hear about a shop closing…especially one that sells WOOL…but if that’s what it takes to keep Primitive Quilts Magazine functioning and out there then SEW be it!  I applaud their decision…it couldn’t have been an easy one to make!

As far as the magazine goes…it’s top of the list for me!!  LOVE THIS MAGAZINE!!  It’s the ONLY one that I subscribe to!

This was waiting for me when I got  home!  I know…it’s OLD NEWS for you, but for me it was HOT OFF THE PRESS!!  Oh sure, I had flipped through the magazine on the newsstands down south…how could I NOT…but I knew this was waiting…

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…and it was SEW worth the wait!!  Just LOOK at a couple of projects that are in it!!  Lisa Bongean’s Repeat Bloom is wonderful!!

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And look at this pillow…Cozy Posies by Yellow Creek Quilt Designs!  How sweet is this!

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If you aren’t familiar with this magazine then you have to  know that you’re not going to find just wool projects in it…there are your usual cotton quilts as well…BUT there is nothing ordinary about THIS quilt by Kay Harmon!!  Dang cute with its three white sheep and one black on the outer border!  LOVE IT!!

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And Laual Arestad continues to knock them out of the ball park!  I want that little verse in my life too!  Laural always has words of wisdom or inspirational verses on her work that add a special touch!!

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Sew there you have it!  I have had my ‘quiet morning’ haha…no rant here!! 

I’m SEW sorry to hear about the Woolen Willow Shop closing BUT in the same breath I am so happy that Primitive Magazine is ALIVE and WELL and will continue to excel with these lovely quilters at the helm!

Have a SUPER Saturday and Happy Quilting!!~P

PS…if you haven’t subscribed to this magazine then what are you waiting for?  It’s not expensive…and if you like traditional quilts and wool then you will LOVE this magazine!!  You NEED to go HERE!  You can thank me later…

Friday, March 28, 2014

Last STOP….

We’re HOME!!  Such sweet words!  It’s always fun to go ‘Snowbirding’, leaving the wet and cold behind…but man, is it ever sweet to get back HOME!!

First thing yesterday morning, before we did anything, we went to visit our little Mason (and Carrie too!:))  Three and a half months in a baby’s life is a long time and we noticed a lot of changes…he can sit up now, he is almost crawling and can pull himself up in his crib! He is more alert and he can hold up his arms indicating that he wants to come to YOU!!  Very sweet!  And he continues to be his happy, smiling self!  The PERFECT baby!  Come to Grammy!

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And he LOVED all the toys that we bought him!  Babies…correction…big boys are such fun!

And SEW are Quilt Shops!  If you remember correctly we were right in the middle of a tour of Pioneer Quilts in Portland when I ran out of computer room and told you to HOLD ON…more would follow!  Well today is the day!!

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Joanne is going to make this quilt so this picture is for YOU!!

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This quilt was hanging in the classroom…silhouettes of rabbits in action! Loved it!

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Lots of wee stitcheries…wouldn’t this look cute done around those left over blocks that we all have hanging around our sewing room?!

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And lots of small framed wool work!

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Pincushions are definitely ‘IN’!

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Dang cute and elaborate pincushions!

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And don’t these pincushions look yummy…(you can buy the little tins to put them in!)

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The sweetest baby quilt EVER…but so much work!

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Yes, they still have a Christmas room…full of Christmas goodness!

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LOVED this sweet wool runner…complete with grommets and a real shoe lace!

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Valdani in all shades and colours!

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Tons of hand dyed wools…and the cutest mats!

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Looks like I’m back in the Christmas room….

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Beautiful displays throughout the shop….

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I want…I want…I want…!!

I found this Yoko Saito book ‘Houses, Houses, Houses’…their last copy and it was waiting for ME!!  It was meant to be!

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So much goodness in one shop!!  Ohhhh… the lucky quilters who live here and have this shop to browse at their leisure whenever they want!  And this is only ONE of many shop…they have several QS to choose from!  Next time you are driving through Portland, slow down and take a few of these shops in…you won’t be sorry!!  Besides hubby has to stretch his legs…right?

Have a FUN, FANASTIC Friday…and happy stitching!!  Now that I am out of the shops maybe I will have time to do a little stitching too!  :)~P

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

A Visit to Pioneer Quilts

We arrived in Portland around 3pm and after setting up ‘we’ had time to go to ONE quilt shop…so of course I picked ‘Pioneer Quilts’ and as usual it didn’t disappoint!! 

Upon entering this shop my heart always skips a few beats!  So much to look at!  So much to touch…and so much to take pictures of!  They are so good about letting anyone take pictures!
SEW…pour yourself a coffee…and put your feet up!

Yup…that’s my reflection…and I am in long pants!  It’s only 11C and looks like I have that cooler, rainy day!

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I don’t have time to dilly dally this morning as we have a ferry to catch…so you are on your own…ENJOY!

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Did you see anything that you wanted to stitch?  I know I sure did!  This was just a snippet of what was inside this shop…You’ll have to wait for the rest of the pictures tomorrow!!  Got to run…

Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Stitching!