A Quilter's Delight, For Sure

Click on the picture to read the label...then you'll understand why I just had to buy a few bottles of this to share with my quilting friends.

It can be found here.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

I've had several people ask me where the shop that I blogged about in the previous post is located. Here's the scoop.

It's Weaver's Dry Goods, located outside of Lititz, PA, which is about 10 miles north of Lancaster, PA. Weaver's doesn't have a website, but if you visit the Lancaster area, just stop in at one of the tourist info places and you can get a list of fabric shops in and around Lancaster. You can read about one of my trips down there from several years ago on this blog post here.

Here's a list of Lancaster-area shops I found online...and another one. I'm not sure how up-to-date those lists are, but it's someplace to start if you're planning a trip.

A Quilter's Definition of Heaven

On my way home from the AQS show in Lancaster earlier this month, I was lucky enough to spend a little time at a new-to-me fabric shop. 

The first thing you see is sale fabric outside....

 ...then more sale fabric in a trailer....

...and then you step inside to see more fabric....

...and more fabric....

...and still more fabric....

No, this following photo is not sideways...the fabric along one wall is stored on a clever hanging system where the bolts slide off and on very easily. You can see it a bit in a couple of the photos above.

Even though a busload of quilters had just arrived when I did, there was plenty of room for me to look around and the shop was fully staffed, so there were no dreadful lines at the cutting counters or checkout.

I was drunk on fabric when I saw this place, but it wasn't any fun being drunk by myself. I really wished some of my quilting girlfriends were there with me.

A Giveaway and Free Shipping

I have two great things to tell you about today --

The first is a giveaway that my friend Susan and her daughter-in-law are sponsoring for an adorable knitted three-tier pincushion. Click here to see the details on the giveaway. Do it soon -- the winner will be announced on Monday.

And the second fun thing is that my fellow guild member and quilting blogger Kathy, of Cotton Cellar blog, is offering free shipping through March 31st for items purchased at her online Etsy shop. I have seen Kathy's purses in person at Needles Quilt Shop and can tell you that they are absolutely gorgeous and incredibly well-made. If you're not quite sure what an Etsy shop is, click here to read Kathy's post that has a great explanation.

So what are you waiting for? Click here for the giveaway and here to read about the free shipping offer.

Quilters Behaving Badly (Well, Not Really)

See more info here.

Amish Beauties

Because of the wonderful weather forecast last week, my husband and I made a spontaneous trip to Lancaster, PA so I could visit several quilt-related events in town and he could enjoy some birding at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.

In addition to the American Quilters' Society show at the Convention Center, I spent some time at the nearby Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum to see a wonderful collection of Amish quilts. It was a spectacular display and I'm so glad I went. I was happy to pay my admission fee to help preserve these treasures.

Sadly, the museum is closing after this exhibit. Read more about that here. It's a shame that my state's governor feels it's OK to give tax breaks to the natural-gas companies while cutting funding for arts and education.

Off my soapbox....Here are a couple of shots that I took inside the museum. The pictures are nice, but it was a glorious thing to see in person.

Pass the Word -- Who Is The Owner Of This Quilt?

Welcome

Even the sidewalks of Lancaster are welcoming quilters!

Lucky Me!

I'm planning to go see this tomorrow... Can't wait!



For more info, click here.

And thank you to all who gave their opinions on the backing fabric I talked about in yesterday's post. You've helped...I'll make my decision soon.

Help Me, Please!

Ever since I finished the top to my Jane Stickle quilt (more than two months ago now), I keep second guessing my decisions about the next stage -- putting the entire quilt together.

I've already changed my mind about what thread I'm going to use (see my posts about that here and here), and this weekend I was wondering about my choice for the backing fabric.

I bought a wide backing (and got a good deal on it) because I don't want to piece it, but I've also found a wide backing that is the same design as the fabric I used for the dark triangles and sashing (it will also be the binding). Part of me wants to go and buy the fabric that matches (my LQS has loads of it) and save the first backing to use on future batik quilts. And there will be more batik quilts in my future because I have loads of leftovers from the DJ quilt. No big pieces left over for backings, however, so I know I'd use this up.

So, what do I do? Go with the fabric that I've already purchased or buy the matching fabric?

A Lesson on Blog Commenting

For those who want to learn about commenting on blogs, this is a great explanation!

Buyer Beware!

Sometime last year, I bought a bolt of 90-inch-wide white flannel to use as batting for some of my quilts (see my blog post about it here). I've been using it little by little since then and then last week, when I was cutting a piece for my next quilt, I discovered that the bolt does not contain one long 20-yard piece of flannel, but two smaller pieces instead. There was a cut in the middle of the bolt. It's not something that was noticeable when I bought it.

I sent off an email to Joann's telling them that I was not a happy camper when I discovered this, but their reply did not make me happier. They said that since more than 90 days had passed since I bought it, I could not return it. Well, it took me longer than 90 days just to get to this point in the bolt.

The lesson here is that whenever you buy a whole bolt of fabric, unroll it immediately to make sure it is really one long piece of fabric. Am I supposed to do this with a roll of toilet paper, too?

Finally!

After several weeks of waking up at 4AM and stressing about what I'm going to make, and after hours and hours spent thinking and looking through books and magazines and the Internet for inspiration, I believe I may have finally settled on an idea for the current "mission" of my challenge art quilting group.

When we last met, we were given the theme of  "spring" and told to go through each other's scraps looking for pieces to use in our assignment. We are free to interpret "spring" any way we want. One additional rule is that we are to also use "a recognizable piece" of a solid fabric in the final project. I'm still deciding between two solids, but that will be a much easier task than coming up with the design.

I'm glad this headache is over....now to actually get working on my piece (due in just over a month)! Wish me luck!

Lancaster Is The Place To Be In March

It looks like you can see many of these in person at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum later this month. And if you can't make it to Lancaster, enjoy them here....