Friday, June 15, 2012

Shop Hopping

A few friends and I went on the 'Movie Mania' shop hop in central Missouri last weekend.  I realized as I was driving home after dropping everyone off that I completely forgot to take any pictures - what a bummer!  We started our extended shopping spree at Homestead Hearth in Mexico.  It is definitely one of my favorites!  From there we headed over to Mexico Sewing Center, and then on to Centralia to visit Material Girl Quilt Shop.  I wish I had taken a picture of that one - it is so cute!

Our next stop was Columbia, MO where we visited Satin Stitches and Appletree Quilting Center.  Both shops were larger than the last time I visited.  It's great to see places expanding in this economy!  From there we headed to Specialty Quilts & Fabrics in Jefferson City.  We wrapped up our first day with dinner at my favorite restaurant - J. Bruner's.  The onion rings were absolutely fabulous as always, and my filet was perfect.  I'm pretty sure they serve the best onion rings in the world!

We headed for Stover on Saturday morning, stopping first at Claude's Country Threads.  Claude's had an adorable version of this Fons & Porter bonus pattern hanging in their shop:



















Their version had sashing between the blocks, a look I think I prefer. This isn't a quilt I would normally be the least bit interested in, but then I found this fabric:














It is so cute!  I love some of the names!  I decided I had to have some - and that it would be a perfect border for the puppy quilt.  I downloaded the pattern as soon as I got home.

From Claude's we headed to NuStyle and then Stover Quality Quilting.  I found a couple of great fabrics and a super-cute kit at the second shop.  I've been pretty good about staying away from Christmas projects, but they had an adorable table runner with ultra-suede gingerbread men down the center.  It is actually a stitchery pattern called "Ginger Garden Table Runner".  I didn't take a picture of the shop sample, but here's a picture of the kit:












Our next stop was Love to Sew in Osage Beach.  That shop has really grown!  They had fantastic ombre fabrics...I had to by some of nearly every color.  They are fantastic for applique.  We wrapped up the shop hop at Fabrics and Friends in Camdenton.  Sadly, none of us has received a call to tell us that we won any of the prizes.  You'd think at least one of us would win something!

We then visited my second-favorite (or maybe it's a tie for first) restaurant for lunch - On the Rise Bakery & Bistro.  They have expanded, too - life must be good in central MO!  I had my usual - the Monte Christo.  It was yummy!

We wrapped up our shopping with a stop at The Quilted Fox on Sunday.  I have been thinking about signing up for an advanced hand piecing class I saw in their newsletter but hadn't taken the plunge - that is until I saw the quilt.  It is gorgeous!  Sign me up!  The class starts August 4th.  I can't wait!

We had a blast shopping and eating - it was sad to see the weekend come to an end so quickly!  One bright spot in the week was the arrival of blocks one and two of the Primitive Gatherings block of the week.  I was so excited to receive them that I have already prepped the first block!  The black flannel background feels wonderful.  I am hoping it will be nice to work with.  Here are the first two block kits - don't they look fun?














What may be even better than the BOW itself is the summer freebie!  It's called "My Favorite Things".  I love both of the blocks so far!  Here's a picture of the kit for block two:


















I love it!  I can't wait to see what's next.  I may have to prep this one tonight - I'm so anxious to get started!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Dyeing Frustration

I am making great progress on the Sauder Vilage rug.  So much so that I wanted to start the grass and sky this weekend.  I hate leaving all the background for last!














I broke out the dye pots on Saturday.  I hadn't done any dyeing in a while and was really looking forward to it.  I went through several recipe books and finally found colors that looked perfect - a light, bright green that would contrast with the corn stalk and a happy, sunny sky blue.  I did everything just the way it is supposed to be done, and ended up with this:














The colors in the photo aren't great...but the green clearly isn't light and bright!  The blue is way too dark.  Both colors are very pretty, but neither will work.  I considered starting over, but thought I might be better off just waiting to get them from Nola.  Definitely an 'epic fail'!

I spent a little time playing with a very old project in the sewing room this weeekend. About three years ago I went to Runaway Quilters' retreat and spent the entire weekend in sit & sew stitching these triangle papers.














I spent several hours cutting them apart, tearing off paper and pressing them.  I barely made a dent in the stack - those things are time-consuming!  














I am excited about working on this project, though. Perhaps I could finish this one (lap quilt size) in time for the quilt show....