Posted By Margaret on May 8, 2012

Thanks to all who visited me at the Hungerford Friday night to help celebrate my move into my new studio.  About 100 of you stopped by and I appreciate your support.  I plan to be open for most First Fridays this fall and in September will have a Grand Opening.  I should be settled in by then and unpacked.  I won’t be there in June or August this summer, but I will be open in July.  First Fridays downtown at the Hungerford, Anderson Alley, RoCo and many other artist studios is a great way to spend a Friday evening.  From 6 – 9 p.m. artists open their studios to the public.  Sometimes there are show openings, receptions, art/craft sales and refreshments included.  It’s just a great way to enjoy art and see how much creativity we have right here in Rochester.

Sizzlin' Summer Retreat, June 1

On the first Friday of June I will be at Jackie Lynn’s instead, for my Sizzlin’ Summer Retreat.  Don’t miss the fun…we’ll be making Terry Atkinson’s fun and easy pattern, “Texas Two Step.”  The fun starts at 5 p.m. with hors d’oeurves and a chance to settle in and relax a little by shopping.  Jackie usually has a special sale just for us. Then we’ll get started on the evening project.  At about 7 p.m. we’ll break for a BBQ dinner, followed by a big show & tell.  Then it’s back to work on finishing up your quilt project until we wrap it up at 11 p.m.  If you prefer, you can spend the evening working on your own project, as many do, instead of the guided project.  There will be door prizes and a lot of fun.

Then if you want to make a weekend of it, simply leave your sewing station set up at the store overnight, and return at 10 a.m. for the U.F.O. Pizza Party.  In this class we’ll work on finishing our Un-Finished Objects (or projects).  I’ll be there to answer your questions and will provide the coffee and donuts in the morning and pizza (and maybe some leftovers from Friday night) for lunch.  The U.F.O. classes happen once a month at Jackie Lynn’s.

Category: Class News, Events, Fun Stuff | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on April 23, 2012

My fabric stash is in it's new home.

I spent every chance I could get last week moving into my new studio.  Four car loads and a van load later, my fabric stash, tables and chairs are in their new location.  Thanks to my husband Jeff and friend Rick, we got a lot of bigger things moved.  Sunday I put up a design wall and hung two quilt tops on the wall.  It’s beginning to look like a quilt studio.  I can’t wait for you all to see it!  Of course I still have more things to move, shelving units for my fabric to buy and more settling in to do.  But the basics are done and I can now start working in my new space soon, or at least as soon as my dog Abbie recovers from her TPLO surgery.

Moving was the easy part...now to organize it!

Abbie’s doing much better and is walking up the stairs and taking several 15 minute walks each day.  She still can’t run off-leash or run up and down the stairs, so I’m only free to go to my studio when Jeff is home to keep an eye on her.  She should be back to normal, though, by mid-May and I can start working at my studio several days a week.  My goal is to be all set up by then and ready to work.

But I plan to be open for First Friday on May 4th, 5 -9pm.  Hope you can all stop by for a visit and check out my new studio.  The fabric will still be in boxes and only the basic set up will be done, but it will be a preview of what’s to come.  I plan to have a formal grand opening, probably in September, when I should be totally settled in.  I’m on the third floor in studio #307.  Just take the elevator to the third floor and make a right at the end of the hall.  Then follow the hall to the end, make another right and continue to the end of the hall.  My studio is on the right behind the double turquoise doors.

A space to work.

I need to get busy planning classes for next fall.  But there are still several classes yet this spring.  This Tuesday during the day is a one-day Strip Club class at the Scarlet Thread where we will be making a Strip Squares quilt all from 2 1/2″ strips.  And then starting this week on Tuesday night for 3 weeks is the Picture This class at Jackie Lynn’s.  Friday at Jackie Lynn’s is this month’s Fast & Fabulous Friday one-day class where we’ll be making the quilt Organized Chaos.  Then on Saturday is the April UFO class.

In May, I have several classes at Jackie Lynn’s including  a new Twister Quilts class, Stack-n-Whackier Butterflies, Eureka, Weaver Fever and a SABLE club (where we’ll be making Amy Butler’s Lotus Brick Path quilt).

What a difference a quilt on the wall makes.

On Friday night from 5 – 11 pm, June 1st, is my Sizzlin’ Summer Retreat at Jackie Lynn’s.  We’ll be making Terry Atkinson’s pattern, “Texas Two Step.”  If you haven’t signed up already it’s not too late, there’s still some room.  We’ll spend the evening quilting and have BBQ for dinner.  You can also plan to make a weekend of it and come to the June UFO class on the following day.  Leave you machine and “quilting station” set up overnight and return Saturday morning to continue quilting.  I also recently added a July UFO class this summer on July 21.  These UFO classes are a great chance to get some projects completed.  I’m there to answer your questions and provide you with pizza for lunch while everyone works on their own projects or UFO’s (unfinished objects).  We have a lot of fun and get a lot done.

Category: Events, Fun Stuff | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on April 12, 2012

I told you I would be sharing some big news with you this year.  Well, guess what I did yesterday?!  I signed a lease on my new quilt studio at the Hungerford Building downtown.  Yes, I now have a quilt studio away from my home.  A place where I can have uninterrupted time to quilt and create.  I plan to work at my new studio creating samples for my classes and hopefully do a little art quilting for myself.  I still plan to teach classes around Rochester as much as before.  I may add a class or two at my new studio in the future, but it will be very limited.  I will still be teaching most all of my classes at Jackie Lynn’s and the Scarlet Thread.  Also, my studio will give me a place to teach an occasional private lesson and a place to have my class preview sale open house (instead of at my home).  The main purpose of this studio is to reclaim our dining room table at home, separate my business from my home and to give me a space where I can get away from all of the distractions of home to do my work.  I think I will be able to get a lot more work done in a shorter length of time if I can “go to work” to do my quilting.  Also, I’m hoping that being in a space surrounded by other artists will help to increase my own creativity and enthusiasm in quilting.

Right now it’s just a big empty space, but I hope to start moving things soon.  Since my dog, Abilene, tore her ACL in January and had surgery the first of March, we’ve been going through a long, slow rehabilitation.  It has required one of us to be home with her 24/7, which means a lot of schedule juggling.  So I figure I’ll be doing good to get fully moved in by the first of June and not really setup until mid to late summer, when I hope to have a grand opening party to introduce my new space.  I will also be participating in the First Friday events, selling a few table runners and purses to help pay for this new venture.  I’ll keep you posted on future dates through this blog.  I can’t wait to get set up and show you my new space.

Category: Fun Stuff | 4 Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on March 27, 2012

Only 2 days until we head to Bristol Harbour Resort for this year’s Get-Away Weekend! It’s not too late if you want to join us.  I just had a last minute cancellation and now have two spots available.  That’s right, you can still join us for the best weekend of the year.  Imagine yourself at an Adirondack-style resort overlooking Canandaigua Lake with no responsibilities for an entire weekend.  Just time for yourself to quilt or do whatever you like.  Your meals will be prepared for you and you can sleep in as late as you like.  Or stay up late quilting.  Indulge yourself and read more about it by clicking on the Get-Away Weekend page at the left.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on March 2, 2012

Afternoon Delight

I’ve made a couple of date changes to The Afternoon Delight class and the Think Inside the Box class at the Scarlet Thread.  The Afternoon Delight class will be on two Monday evenings:  March 5 & 26, 6 – 8:30 p.m.  In this class we will make easy drunkard’s path blocks using templates so that every block sews together smoothly.  You won’t believe how easy it is to sew these curved pieces.  You can use a design wall to determine your layout.  The pattern gives you several options, some with both the larger and smaller templates, and some with just the larger templates.  This quilt works especially well with batik fabrics, since they are less stretchy and finger press so nicely.  Just choose a color family or two coordinating colors and select both light and dark values in those colors.  This quilt is fat-quarter friendly.  Doesn’t the design make you think of moons and planets?  Wouldn’t it make a great quilt for a boy’s room.

Following the Afternoon Delight class will be Think Inside the Box on the two following Mondays: April 2 & 9, 6 – 8:30 p.m.  Think Inside the Box is a variation on the tumbling blocks quilt.  It’s a great quilt for highlighting a collection of smaller scale print fabrics.  I chose fruit fabrics, but you can fill your boxes with whatever you choose.  In the past, students have filled their boxes with autumn leaf fabrics, assorted flower fabrics, Christmas prints, Halloween prints, even polka dots.  The box is made up of fabrics that read as solids in three different values, giving the quilt a real three-dimensional look.  It make look difficult to piece, but the piecing is done without set-in pieces making it a much easier project than it looks.

Category: Class News | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on February 3, 2012

The deadline to sign up for the 2012 Get-Away Weekend at Bristol Harbour is March 1.  This year the guided project will be this vertical row quilt which highlights a large floral (or chili peppers like in mine) along with two rows of a coordinating and easy-to-sew block. You could really use any fabric for the main fabric and then just pick coordinating fabrics for the row of blocks.  It’s all strip-pieced and easy enough for a beginner.

If you were thinking about coming, but didn’t have a roommate, I have another person who needs a roommate.  Just send me an email at qwm@rochester.rr.com and let me know you’re interested.  To read more details about this fun weekend, click on the Get-Away Weekend page at the left of this blog.  You can also download a signup brochure and the supply list for the weekend on this page. The dates are Friday, March 30 – Sunday, April 1.  And this year for the first time you can sign up for an optional extra day, Thursday, March 29. Don’t miss out on the event of the year!

Category: Events, Fun Stuff | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on February 2, 2012

Congratulations to the winners of the four kits to make the Fast & Fabulous Friday Braid Runner.  The lucky winners were: Michelle Garvey, Alicia Giroud, Janice Dana and Holly Tucker.

March Fast & Fabulous Friday - Braid Runner

February Fast & Fabulous Friday

This easy-to-make runner is a quilt-as-you-piece project.  For those of you who had fun making the French Braid quilt or the French Braid Tree Skirt last year, this is a very similar project.  Only difference is you will sew the braids together through the batting and backing fabric so that you runner will be complete except for the bindings when you are done piecing.  Also, the bias edges are much less stretchy because the backing and batting act as a stabilizer.

Join us in March for the Fast and Fabulous Friday if you would like to learn this technique.  If you can’t make the March class, we will be making the Stripilicious quilt in the February Fast & Fabulous Friday class.  It’s a similar technique, also a quilt-as-you-piece quilt.  In this class we’ll make a lap quilt.  The Fast & Fabulous Fridays classes are a monthly monthly series that focus on 2 1/2″ strips which you can buy in coordinated sets (like bali pops or jelly rolls) or you can cut from your stash.  Lunch is included in the price of the class and we have a lot of fun quilting for the day once a month.

Category: Class News | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on January 22, 2012

Thanks to everyone who attended Jackie Lynn’s Classes on Parade.  It was good seeing you all.  Classes are filling up fast this year!  Tuesday, January 24, from 4 – 7 pm, I’ll be have a second class sale at my home.  I live in Charlotte, right off Lake Avenue.  Call me or email me if you need directions.  I’ll have most of the samples for my upcoming classes at both Jackie Lynn’s and Scarlet Thread for you to check out.  If you sign up for 3 classes at either store or a combination of the two stores, you’ll get 25% off the lower priced class.  Also, for every class you sign up for, you’ll get an entry into the door prize drawing for one of four kits to make the Fast & Fabulous Friday Braid Runner.    So stop by after work for a glass of wine and a snack while browse through the samples for my upcoming winter and spring classes.  I can also answer any question you have about the classes.

One of the my new classes is the Twister Quilts class, where you will learn to make these intertwined pinwheels from simple squares using the L’il Twister acrylic ruler.  We’ll actually be making a runner and placemat in class.  Pictured is a quilt made using the same technique but with a larger template.  Although it looks complicated, it’s really easy enough for a beginner.  Hope to see you Tuesday.

Category: Class News, Class Sales, Events | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on January 17, 2012

January FFF - Road to Bali

I haven’t been out of my sewing room much this January.  There are lots of new classes coming up and I can’t wait for you to see all of the samples I’ve been making.  I shared a couple of the new SABLE quilts with you last week.  I’ve also got 4 new Fast & Fabulous Friday (FFF) quilts.  In this class, we meet monthly on a Friday and make a quilt from 2 1/2″ strips.  You get preliminary cutting instructions so you can spend the day sewing.  At the end of the day you’ll have a quilt top (or at least nearly a quilt top) pieced.  The January FFF is the pattern “Road to Bali.”  I love how fast this quilt went together.  And it works especially well with a batik Bali Pop.  I, however, chose to go through my stash of purple, blue and lime batiks and cut my own 2 1/2″ strips.  Two each from 18 different fabrics.

May FFF - Organized Chaos

In April we will be making a pattern called Organized Chaos, which is how I feel my sewing room looks now after a month of marathon quilting.  I used totally different colors from the pattern cover, earth tones instead of bright jewel tones.  Also, I made my quilt one row narrower so that it would be a rectangular instead of a square quilt.  And, instead of a pink/blue background fabric I used a neutral taupe and didn’t repeat it in the border.  I felt the contrast between the background fabric and the accent/frame fabric made the pattern much more obvious and organized.  I also wanted the quilt to be more of a lap size, so I eliminated the first border.  What do you think?  There’s always room for switching up a pattern to fit your needs.

Organized Chaos Pattern Cover

In the other two FFF (February & March) we will be learning a quilt-as-you-piece technique while completing a French Braid Runner and a Lap quilt, all from 2 1/2″ strips.  I think you’re going to love how fast these quilts go together.  You should have the runner done by the end of the day, and the lap quilt should be close to done.

February FFF - A Quilt-as-you-piece Lap Quilt

Now, you’re probably wondering “what about that class sale?”  Well, the Classes on Parade at Jackie Lynn’s will be this Saturday, January 21, from 10 am – 3 pm.  I’ll be there with samples of my classes and if you sign up for 3 classes, you’ll get the third lesser-priced class at 25% off.  Also, if you sign up for all 4 Fast & Fabulous Fridays, you’ll get the May class for free.  That’s a savings of $40!  Sign up for all 4 SABLE club classes and you’ll get the classes for $25 each instead of $30 each.  And, for every class you sign up for you get one entry into my winter door prize drawing.  There will  be 4 lucky winners.  We will do the drawing after Tuesday, January 24, which is the date of my second class sale from 4 -7 pm at my house.  I do this second sale so you have an opportunity to sign up for classes at the Scarlet Thread as well as Jackie Lynn’s.  At this sale you can combine classes from both stores to receive your “25% off the third class” discount.  I will have all of my samples and some refreshments at the Open House, so stop by on your way home from work and have some cheese  and a glass of wine while you check out the new class samples.  I live in Charlotte off of Lake Avenue.  Email me at qwm@rochester.rr.com or give me a call at 865-0823 to get directions.  Hope to see you in the next week!

Category: Class News, Class Sales | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Margaret on January 7, 2012

SABLE (A Crooked Mile) - February 18

Now that the holidays are behind us it’s time to make those New Year’s resolutions.  One of mine is to blog more regularly.  I’m going to try to add a post once a week in 2012.  I’m optimistic about this new year.  I have lots of exciting events and surprises coming.  Right now I’m racing to finish samples for the new classes I’ll be offering this winter and spring.  The quilts you see here are two of the new S.A.B.L.E club samples that I just finished yesterday.  The Classes on Parade sale day at Jackie Lynn’s will be in a couple of weeks on Saturday, January 21, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.  I’ll be there for the day with all of my new samples and to answer your questions about my new and old classes.  Later today, I will be dropping off a huge stack of samples at Jackie Lynn’s, so you can stop in ahead of time to check them out.  The new class samples will follow, but I will be posting pictures here as I finish them.  This website will be updated in the next couple of weeks with photos of all of the class samples along with the dates and times.

On Tuesday, January 24, from 5 – 7 p.m. will be my Open House & Class Sale at my home for all of the classes at all of the stores where I will be teaching this winter and spring.  You can stop by after work to see the samples, have a glass of wine and sign up for your winter and spring classes.  I’ll post details of the sales nearer the dates.  I’m bringing back a lot of old favorites in addition to the new classes, so there should be something for everyone.

SABLE (Shadow Box) - April 21

I’m also working on the sample for the guided project for the 2012 Get-Away weekend which is scheduled for March 29 – April 1 at Bristol Harbour.  It’s an easy quilt to make and will be great to highlight a fun large scale print.  You can read the details about this weekend by clicking on the Get-Away link at the left of this page.  Soon I will be posting a photo of the sample for guided quilt project and announcing the guest speaker for Saturday afternoon.  Just about everyone from last year has signed up again for 2012 and plus we have several new first-timers.  But it’s not too late to get in on this exciting weekend.  You can download a sign-up brochure on the Get-Away Weekend page of this website.  New this year, we added an optional extra night (Thursday) and full day on Friday for anyone who wants a longer retreat.  Watch for more details on this fun weekend soon.

I know I’ve been promising an updated gallery page for a couple years now, but it is actually going to happen in 2012 before the summer.  I have my computer guru working on it right now.  So watch for this exciting unveiling.  Soon you will be able to see lots of photos of your quilts and your classmates’ quilts in my new and updated quilt gallery.  I also have some more surprise announcements coming this new year, so check back regularly.

Category: Class News, Class Sales, Events | No Comments »
Tags: