Carside Critique:You'll LOVE this place!

I just got back from a week plus down in the sunny south with my daughter where my favorite aunt had shoulder surgery.  On the way to Alabama from Michigan, I had another chance to visit one of my FAVORITE quilt shops, The Quilt Box of Dry Ridge, Kentucky.

This shop is perfectly located 4 hours south of my home in southeast (Ypsilanti) lower Michigan.  If you are traveling south on I-75 through Ohio, it is just south of Cincinnati in northern Kentucky, just off the highway at exit 159 (Dry Ridge).  As I-75 winds southeast toward Atlanta, GA, I-71 splits off to the southwest towards Louisville, KY, which is the way I usually go as I motor towards Alabama.  But it is super easy to continue south on I-75 for a few miles, get off at the Dry Ridge Exit, go to this charming shop, then travel a little west through the scenic countryside until I meet up with I-71 south.
Owner Natalie Lahner buys what she likes to fill her beautiful shop, and I LOVE what she likes!

This shop on Walnut Springs Farm started out as a log cabin, which was enlarged to make the shop.  The grounds are INCREDIBLE!

You can see the "log and chink" construction on the left side of the store.

As you meander down the long, gravel driveway, you pass Natalie's log cabin home and continue on, following the signs, to the shop on the scenic hilltop.

My family always packs a picnic lunch to eat under the tree while gazing at the rolling hills and pond.  Riley and my husband like to wander around while I enjoy browsing and shopping.

 This shop has been open almost 30 years and was featured many years ago in Quilt Sampler.

The shop carries mostly reproduction and batik fabrics, along with a few 30's.  What is so fabulous about Natalie is that she carries more obscure lines in addition to the favorites you look for everywhere.  I love her fabric eye, and load up on things that just aren't available anywhere else.

Just look at all these shirtings (and this is not all of them)!

 

Yummy chocolate browns and hard-to-find black and grays.

Just some of her many green bolts...

 

Reds, with blues and batiks peeking through from behind...

 

New, featured lines are placed in the "cabin," in front of the hearth.

 My favorites, the blues...

The shop is sprinkled with inviting samples, patterns, magazines, books, quilting tools and supplies.  They have a nice selection of wide backings, as well.

If you are traveling south on I-75, take exit 159 at Dry Ridge.  Then right off the ramp, then turn right on KY 467 at the next light.  Go 2.6 miles, passing a barn with the Little Mermaid painted on the side, then turn left at the sign on the mailbox onto a gravel driveway.  After a short meander through the woods, and passing the first log cabin home, drive on to this fabulous shop.  Well worth the drive!!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

A sample show and the last day of school...whoopi!!

I don't know who is more excited about today being the last day of school...me or my daughter!  Those last weeks of school are a push for the parents as well as the students...concerts, award programs, dances, trips, teacher gifts to make...and no more school lunches to pack for a couple of months!

I've been working on things I can't show yet in my spare minutes, but I can show you some fun samples made by my friends for the shop and an Amy Bradley trunk show.

I love, love, love this beautiful angel quilt!  The pattern is shown below.  It is easily made by laying out pieces on the batting/backing, securing them with spray baste, applying fusible commercially made black bias tape, machine-stitching on each edge of the bias...easy, easy!  Then all you have to do is apply binding...it is already "quilted."  This sample was made by Ola Rosselot.  It is also beautiful in Christmas fabrics.

This little cutie was made from Nancy Halvorsen's latest book, "Jingle All the Way."  I really like Santa and a few of his Reindeer friends.  Mary also made this one.

We borrowed Amy Bradley's trunk show to show off her new crop of patterns.  They are AWESOME!!  I love her stuff anyway, but these latest ones are over the top.  If you have never tried her patterns, her designs are so fun and her directions and patterns are so well made.  Our picture doesn't do them justice because we have such limited wall space to hang samples, but check out the pictures on the patterns and a couple of close up shots.

 I love "Q" and "F."

When the samples were unpacked from the shipping boxes, I thought the following sample read, "Have a Scrappy, Crappy Day!"  I sure am glad I was wrong, although there are "those" days...maybe it could be made reversible!  LOL

This next pattern has so many possibilities!

Amy sent us the Nutcracker version.

And I love the turtles with vehicles on their backs and all the bright colors...

 

Two quilts in one pattern...

This is a new Halloween pattern that Mary Jones made a sample to show off.

This little gem was designed and made by my friend Ola Rosselot..it is so bright and happy (it's hung over a door, so it looks a little funky...).

This little trio of patterns is offered by Country Threads of Garner, Iowa.  I couldn't take a picture of the pattern because the shop is temporarily out of them...can you see why?  Mary Jones made these samples, too.

Those are the three words I'd like to leave you with today!!  The world sure needs more laughs, giggles and smiles right now...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

How I am getting around Blogger's current problem...maybe it will work for you!

I caught up on 3 blocks for the Bee Balm bee that I belong to online.  Here are two of them...

Two people wanted blocks with the same pattern, I think it is called a double Ohio star.  It was fun, especially trying to do it in two color ways.

I've also been on a quest to tame my out-of-control scrap situation, pressing, cutting and feeding SEVERAL scrap quilt projects.  Once I get pieces gathered, I will have plenty of fodder for leaders and enders, and for mindless chain piecing when I only have 15 minutes to sew.  Sewing time has been rare lately, and I needed something simple for the times when only 10-15 minutes was possible.

I love this little number.  It is a Bonnie Hunter design that I found in Quiltmaker Magazine (she has had a scrappy feature every issue for a while where she shares a great scrappy block).  I think this one was called something like "Positive/Negative).  Each little square quartet will finish 9 inches square.  I have a container to hold all pieces, finished blocks, and 2-inch strips that will be sub-cut into the pieces needed.

I enclose a card that reminds me what and how I cut the pieces, and a pressing diagram (so I only have to figure it out once!).

There are MANY other Bonnie Hunter scrappy quilts I want to do from both of her Scraps and Shirt Tails books.  This one...

 And this one...

And this one...

And this one...

Also tons of 1.25 and 1.5 inch strips for log cabin type quilts and lots of strings for crazy blocks, like the ones needed in the quilt above.  Applique quilts are calling, but I really need to finish taming my scrap stash.

So in closing, please know I have been reading many of your blogs, just unable to comment and tell you that I have been.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Quilts for Joplin Tornado Victims...

I just got an email from the Ackfeld Manufacturing Co. of Reeds Spring, MO.  They are collecting quilts to give to victims of the recent devastating tornado in Joplin, MO.  (check out their web site at this address http://www.ackfeldwire.com/)

They are a comany that makes quilt hangers, especially featured in Nancy Halvorsen books like the one pictured above, and they are located in Missouri as well.  If you have an extra quilt of any kind, or an extra top that you could turn into a quilt, any donation would be welcomed and distributed.  They are asking that quilts be labeled or signed so that the recipient will know who made it and where the love and hugs came from.  Check out their site for more details.  Quilts can be sent to:

Peggy Ackfeld
Ackfeld Manufacturing
360 Reeds Spring, MO  65737
(888) 272-3135

As most of my family is in Alabama, if anyone knows a similar effort for victims of that storm a month ago, I would love to know of it.  I'd like to support that effort with a quilt as well.

Also, my cyber sister, Mary Lou of Cheaper Than Therapy Quilting lost her 17-year-old son this week.  Please keep her family along with all these storm victims in your thoughts and prayers.  There are a lot of people in a whole lot of pain right now.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Scraps are taking over!

Just a quick post...mostly to get rid of the picture of the lady with the zippered mouth.  I've heard from some of you saying she was a little creepy.

I've been holding on to my new Stars and Sprigs pattern for months now while finishing other projects.  That has the appearance of being disciplined, but really I've been having a hard time deciding how to proceed with this pattern.  I've been trying to decide between brights and reproduction fabrics. 

I FINALLY decided to experiment with some brights, maybe because it is spring and all the lovely flowers and new tree leaves have been influencing me.

I've cut out and glue stick prepped about 10 blocks worth of applique.  Each pattern and the prepped pieces are in a separate sheet pocket protector until I can get to them.  After glue basting the shapes from one of the blocks to the background, I'm thinking I need to make some of the more leaf looking pieces other colors than bright greens.  There are so many leaves in the whole project that I need to loosen up and stretch my definition of leaf color, or the quilt is going to read too green.

I've had to put this project on hold while I deal with my scraps...they are taking over the quilt cave!  The containers I sort scraps into are near to bursting, which means the piles of unsorted scraps have been growing because there is no place to sort and store them.  I've been looking for a block that I misplaced and I keep bumping into scrap piles!  It is insane!  

I have to stop and feed some of the scrap quilt projects I want to do to clean this clutter up!  This involves pressing each scrap and then processing it into strips, squares, rectangles, and strings.  I've been needing to do this for several months, but I didn't want to stop the applique and quilting projects I was working on to do it.

Once I've done this, I'll have oodles of space to sort and store NEW scraps.  And I will have endless leaders and enders ready to go while sewing on other projects.  All these scrap quilts are long term projects...but I will soon have quite a few processed bits to chain piece together.

As I process the scraps, I save the tiny bits for small applique shapes and crumb quilting.  I sort those into 4 bins...WARM (red, yellow, orange, pink), COOL (blue, green, purple), BROWN/BLACK and NEUTRAL. 

Next post I will show the 8-9 scrap projects I am currently feeding...and maybe by then I will find the missing block that prompted all this stash maintenance.

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)

I've been quiet this week because I've been kitting a BOM for the shop and writing patterns.  This picture is not me...I think I would look a little more "mental" if someone had sewn a zipper to my face...

I've been working on the kitting/writing at home in the quilt cave, which is good, but I have not had time to do any sewing for myself this week, and that is BAD.  All work and no play makes Teresa a cranky quilter!  I've been cutting, folding and counting what seems like thousands of little rectangles, and them counting and recounting again to get the kits absolutely right.  I sure love the look of a scrappy quilt, but it makes kitting a small nightmare.

This is the quilt, called "Most Wonderful," that the fearless threesome (Mary J, Ola and I) came up with using the calendar blocks and letters featured in Nancy Halvorsen's book, "Count On It."  We launch it in the morning!

Since I have not decided on what to work on next, I'm going to share a couple of things that my friend Kathy F (no blog) has been working on.  Pictures were taken at our Friday morning Sit & Stitch group by Judy T and MaryLiz...thanks girls!  First, Kathy got her "Roll, Roll, Cotton Boll" quilt back from the quilter (our buddy, Marilyn Lange).  Marilyn does FABULOUS feathers!

Kathy is also making these fabulous hexagons...

And then one Friday when I wasn't there, she wowed everyone with THIS...

Good thing I wasn't there...I would have grabbed it and RUN!  Blue is my favorite color.

What's up with Blogger today?!?  Is it a "Friday the 13th" thing?  It seems to be back and working for me...I hope everyone else's issues are better as well.

Next week I look forward to catching up on Bee blocks and a few other projects.  Then I hope to stop spinning and decide what to start next.  That won't be easy as there are so many things on my bucket list!

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)