Grand Re-Opening

After 10 years at the Hungerford, Quilting with Margaret has moved to the Charlotte neighborhood at 100 Boxart St., Studio #265. The boxes are nearly unpacked, the new and larger studio shop is all set up, so it is time for a Grand Re-Opening!

See all of the new fabrics and patterns at the new Quilting with Margaret, Studio #265 on Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. for the Grand Re-Opening. There will be refreshments and door prizes. Come check out my new location!

Find the new studio off of Lake Avenue on Boxart Street, the road leading to Turning Point Park. Follow Boxart Street and go straight at the stop sign at the bottom of the hill (behind Charlotte Appliances), into the large parking lot at Boxart Business Park. Enter the building through the double glass doors and go up the steps to the second floor and turn left . Go through the open door leading into the large hallway and turn right. Quilting with Margaret is down the hall and just around the corner.

The studio is stocked with a huge selection of solid color fabrics from Paintbrush Studios and Art Gallery Fabrics. You will also find new print collections and precuts from Riley Blake Fabrics. And just in, the entire line of Eastlyn Souk, Exotic Splendor, Love Confessions and Finch & Fern all from Midwest Textiles. Also, brand new at the studio shop are Midwest Textiles Kwik Kits, which are ready-to-sew kits which include pre-cut fabric for an easy to sew quilt top, pattern, backing and binding fabric. In addition, you will find pre-cut fat quarter sets, 5” and10” square sets and jelly rolls which include the entire line of several Riley Blake and Midwest Textiles fabrics, like “Coffee Chalk,” “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” “Honey Bee, Saturday in Paris,” “She Who Sews,” “Vintage Deluxe,” “Market Fresh” and more. There are also coordinating by-the-yard fabrics for borders and backings.

Also just in are new $2 Rose Card patterns from Villa Rose Patterns and new modern patterns from Missouri Star Quilts. Plus you will find a large selection of modern quilt patterns from various other companies.

I also have a huge selection of oil cloth fabric by-the-yard in bright and colorful prints. Oil cloth is perfect for all of your summer decorating needs, like picnic tablecloths and deck pillows. I also have D.I.Y. kits of this easy-to-so fabric to make reversible placemats, tote bags, coin purses and mini notebook covers. Other craft fabrics available at the studio shop include chalkboard fabric and Kraft-tex (a leather-like paper fabric). Kits for D.I.Y. projects are also available for Kraft-tex wallets and ear bud cases, wine bags, embellished tea towels and cork fabric clutch purses.

Quilting with Margaret is the place to go to find modern quilt patterns and fabrics. I can’t wait for you to stop by my “happy place” and feel the creative vibes!

Making the News

Quilting with Margaret is making the news! There is an article about my business, new studio and annual Get-Away Weekend in the March/April issue of 55 Plus Magazine. You can find this magazine, for free, near the newspapers at your local Wegman’s store.

The article includes some photos from last year’s Get-Away Weekend at Beaver Hollow in Java Center, NY. Photo credits to Karen Schiely.

If you have never attended one of my retreats this would be the perfect year to join us. We have a few spaces left, but you need to register before the end of March.

After several years of “staying home,” this year’s retreat is being greatly anticipated. We did have a Covid-safe retreat last year, but this year will be more expanded and more like previous Get-Away weekends.

Don’t worry if you are not a quilter. We always have retreaters join us who don’t quilt, but just want a relaxing weekend away with other creatives. You can bring whatever project you choose to work on. But I will provide a free pattern and instructions for an easy quilt project, if you would prefer to do that.

This will be our 16th year of getting away. Hope you can join us!

2023 Get-Away Project

2023 Get-Away Guided Project 45” x 54”

The Get-Away Weekend is just a few months away and I finally decided on the guided project for 2023. The pattern we will be using is fat-quarter friendly, but you can also use a coordinating 10” square set. The pattern requires 8 coordinating fat quarters or 23 coordinating 10” squares. You will also need 5/8 yard of a contrasting accent fabric and 1/2 yard binding fabric.

I have lots of Riley Blake fat quarter sets at the studio to choose from. Also, you could choose one of the many Paintbrush Studio Flat Fat Stacks, which are coordinated fat quarters all printed on one continuous piece of fabric. I used an 8-piece Flat Fat Stack called “Modern Botanicals” for the sample and then chose a dark green solid for the accent and binding fabrics.

You can also choose your own combination of eight fat quarters from your stash or select eight fat quarters from the large selection I have at the studio. Plus you will find a selection of 10” square sets in many novelty themed fabrics from Riley Blake at the studio.

This pattern is easy enough for a beginner, but also a fast and fun project for the more experienced quilter. It’s a pattern from Villa Rosa Designs called “Kalinda.” Everyone attending the Get-Away will receive the pattern for free at the retreat.

Stop by the studio to see the sample. All of the bolted fabric is currently on sale for 40% off, so it would be the perfect time to pick up your accent fabric and backing fabric. I will be open on Second Saturday, January 14, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. and by appointment after that.

If you haven’t signed up for this year’s Get-Away Weekend, there is still time. Just print the signup brochure, fill it out and mail it with a $200 deposit to hold your space. Lots of new people will be joining us this year. It should be a fun and creative weekend as always. If you have any questions, give me a call.

Great Minds Think Alike

I am participating once again in the Studio 402 Self Portrait Exhibit at the Anderson Arts Building. So for the last couple of months I have been trying to decide what I would do this year. The theme was “Hello Again.” But all I can think about is how crazy 2022 was for me.

My dog Abbie had some serious surgery to remove a malignant cancer on her hind leg in the early spring of 2022. She was 14 and recovered well until she suffered a series of seizures. Quite a scary thing to witness if you have never seen a dog having a seizure before. I thought she was dying right before my eyes. But being the ever-resilient Abbie, she bounced back from several days of seizures and was even able to gradually stop the anti-seizure medications. She was fully recovered by June and able to accompany us for a week at Keuka Lake. We had a wonderful summer with Abbie. But over Labor Day weekend, while in Cleveland visiting Jeff’s 92-year-old mother, Abbie’s stomach suddenly bloated and we had to say goodbye to her. If you ever met Abbie, you know how full of life she was. Absolutely the smartest dog we ever had. She could open doors and backyard gates. She lived for 14 1/2 years, quite unusual for a Weimaraner. So needless to say, we were devastated by the loss.

Oh but 2022 wasn’t through with us yet. After a fun two weeks of Fringe Festival and a visit from our dear friend Karen, we felt as though life was getting back to normal. But the night before Karen was to return home, I started coughing and thought I was coming down with seasonal allergies. Nope! After avoiding Covid for 2 years, I tested positive. After a round of Paxlovid, I felt much better and tested negative, only to relapse in several days for yet another week of isolation. Fortunately both Karen and Jeff never caught the virus from me. Although Jeff also had Covid for the first time in May after a radio conference in Philadelphia. I did not go along because I was home nursing Abbie back to good health.

But fortunately I recovered from Covid and tested negative again just in time to leave for a previously planned vacation at the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This vacation was a plan to help us relax and recover a little from the pandemic and our recent loss. And the plan worked. We came home rested and ready for the holidays. But 2022 still wasn’t done with us.

Five days after we returned home, we got a call from Jeff’s brother. His mom was in the hospital. She had suffered a massive stroke. So we packed again and headed to Cleveland for what we expected to be a few days. The few days turned into over 2 weeks, as my mother-in-law ended up unable to swallow and not wanting a feeding tube, went into hospice and eventually passing away.

So we returned to Rochester, heads spinning, to face the holidays. While I was trying to come up with an idea for my quilted self portrait in December, I suddenly decided it had to be a crazy quilt. And since I love machine quilting and it’s my favorite step in the quiltmaking process, I decided to machine quilt my image over a crazy quilt. The thought being: my image with the crazy behind me.

But here’s the funny thing. After dropping off my self portrait quilt at Studio 402, later that evening I get a text from Nancy Valle. Seems Jeanne Simpson had practically the same idea for her self portrait. Only for her self-portrait she machine quilted her image on one of her specially hand-dyed discharge fabrics. And another friend, Martha O’Connor, also machine quilted her image, but on a sleeve of a handmade “Hamilton-inspired” jacket. None of us have seen each other recently or even discussed what our plans were for the self-portrait show. My only reaction: “Great minds think alike!”

You can visit this amazing exhibit featuring 63 local artists which runs January 6 - February 11 at Studio 402 in the Anderson Arts Building. The exhibit will be open to the public by appointment or on the following dates:

Opening Reception, First Friday, January 6, 6 - 9 p.m.
Second Saturday, January 14, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
First Friday, February 3, 6 - 9 p.m.
Second Saturday, February 11, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.