ONE DAY AWAY

It is Tuesday! We are ONE DAY AWAY from our biggest challenge, change, project QH has ever tried to tackle.  There will be mistakes, we will still be crawling along, learning as we go, but the end result should be amazing.

Customer Quilt quilted with Deer Hooves and Antlers.

Tomorrow, you will have to check out our NEW website!

Customer quilt quilted with Ocean Froth.

Close up of customer quilt quilted with Ocean Froth.

The class calendar, in my opinion, is much easier to operate, and you can even sign up for classes. You might just have to give us a few moments to get everything set up.

Customer quilt quilted with Meandering Circles. 

We are still working to get everything set up: every bolt of fabric, notion, ruler, etc had to be re-input.  That part has been gross!

Customer quilt quilted with Modernish.

I miss my sewing machine. Millie, our longarm quilting machine, has been putting in long hours, but that is the only machine that has really seen any operating time.  I miss it.

Customer quilt quilted with Americana Rounded Stars.

I’ve received two spectacular machines recently, and they are begging to be used. Soon.  I keep telling myself that it will happen soon. When it does, you bet I’ll be sharing with you.  TWO MACHINES! You will be meeting them soon.

Customer quilt quilted with Nested R&R.

Until then, I’ll be looking through photos on my phone and trying to share some of our older quilts that we have quilted.

 

See you at the machine,

-Care

VALENTINE’S DAY FREE PATTERN

It’s Valentine’s Day and I miss making a paper mailbox so my friends could drop a sweet valentine into it and the school parties… Oh how I miss those! Since I will be working, sitting in a bland cubicle all day and not acknowledging the holiday, I thought I would leave each of you a special valentine. I hope you enjoy it.

 

How about a quick and easy mini quilt filled with love.

 

Actually, I think that is what I will name this mini, “Filled With Love.” It is even simple enough to whip up quickly and have finished before the day ends. Let’s get to it.

 

You can mix and match fabric or use all the same.

 

Prep:

Dig in your stash for red/pink and cream fabric. Or whatever floats your fancy. Personally, I think this would look beyond cute in purples, but I’m a purple girl.

 

You will need:

1/4 yard of red {heart fabric}

1/4 yard of tan/cream {background fabric}

One fat quarter {backing}

One fat quarter of batting

Two 2.5” strips {binding}

*You could also use mix and match your fabric as I did.*
 

Chopping Block:

Cut two 2.5” strips of heart fabric. 

​Now, cut 20 2.5” squares from the heart strips.

Cut two 2.5” strips of background fabric. 

​Now, cut 34 2.5” squares from the background strips.  

Depending on the width of your fabric, you might need three 2.5” strips.

*Note: If you are unable to get the full 34 squares from these strips, you could also cut down the scraps in the next step to get the remaining squares.

Cut one 3” strip of heart fabric. 

​Cut this into five 3” squares.

*If you were unable to cut all your squares earlier, use the scrap from this step to cut the remaining squares.

Cut one 3” strip of background fabric. 
​
Cut this into five 3” squares.

*If you were unable to cut all your squares earlier, use the scrap from this step to cut the remaining squares.

 

Stitchin’ Time:

For this step you will be using the 3” squares of background fabric and 3″ saquares of heart fabric.

Take one of each square and place them right sides together. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.

Now sew a quarter inch on both sides of this line.  

 

Repeat for all 3” squares.

Cut along the line you drew and press seam. 

Trim these down to 2.5” squares. 

You should end with ten half square triangle squares. 

Assemble your block using the diagram.

 

 

When the top is complete create the quilting sandwich:

​Backing fat quarter—Batting fat quarter—Quilt top

​
Pin, spray baste, or thread baste the sandwich so you can quilt it together.

Quilt however you desire: stitch in the ditch, horizontal lines, meander, the options are endless

After quilted, trim edges and attach binding.

Finish by sewing the binding, and you will have a completed heart mini quilt.

 

Finished size: 16.5″ x 16.5″. 

Instructions Without Pictures: 

FILLLED WITH LOVE 

Prep:

Dig in your stash for red/pink and cream fabric. Or whatever floats your fancy. Personally, I think this would look beyond cute in purples, but I’m a purple girl.

 

You will need:

1/4 yard of red {heart fabric}

1/4 yard of tan/cream {background fabric}

One fat quarter {backing}

One fat quarter of batting

Two 2.5” strips {binding}

 

Chopping Block:

Cut two 2.5” strips of heart fabric. 

​Now, cut 20 2.5” squares from the heart strips.

Cut two 2.5” strips of background fabric. 

​Now, cut 34 2.5” squares from the background strips.  

Depending on the width of your fabric, you might need three 2.5” strips.

*Note: If you are unable to get the full 34 squares from these strips, you can cut down the scraps in the next step to get the remaining squares.

Cut one 3” strip of heart fabric

​Cut this into five 3” squares.

*If you were unable to cut all your squares earlier, use the scrap from this step to cut the remaining squares.

Cut one 3” strip of background fabric

​Cut this into five 3” squares.

*If you were unable to cut all your squares earlier, use the scrap from this step to cut the remaining squares.

 

Stitchin’ Time:

For this step you will be using the 3” squares of background fabric and heart fabric.

Take one of each square and place them right sides together. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.

Now sew a quarter inch on both sides of this line.   

Repeat for all 3” squares.
Cut along the line you drew and press seam.

Trim these down to 2.5” squares.

You should end with ten half square triangle squares.

Assemble your block using the diagram.

 

When the top is complete create the quilting sandwich:

​Backing fat quarter—Batting fat quarter—Quilt top

​Pin, spray baste, or thread baste the sandwich so you can quilt it together.

Quilt however you desire: stitch in the ditch, horizontal lines, meander, the options are endless

After quilted, trim edges and attach binding.

Finish by sewing the binding, and you will have a completed heart mini quilt.

Finished size: 16.5″ x 16.5″. 

Happy Valentine’s Day! 

See you at the machine, 

•Care

Oh My!

Four words: Oh my goodness gracious. 

Friday was amazing! Although it started off rough it quickly turned into one of the best days ever. I woke up bright and early to snow on the ground and ice on the roads, but we had planned a trip to start picking out our inventory, and we were determined.

Our first stop to build our inventory was Marshall Dry Goods Co Inc. 

Marshall Dry Goods Co, Inc. manufactures fabric domestically and overseas so we will be able to offer both.  The other nice thing about them is their location. They are located in Batesville, AR so we were able to go to their warehouse and gather a full understanding of their process. 

I even made sure to ask if I could share pictures with all of you, so you could jump in this adventure with us. 🙂
We arrived, met our representative, and started walking. As we walked through their warehouse we were told prices, bundle prices, about the process and so much more. There were giggles, bug eyes, and many overwhelming moments. I felt like a kid in a candy store after spending a year on a diet. 

I was easily overwhelmed! 
We loaded cart after cart, desperately working to stick to our budget since this was only our first stop. 

After our carts were loaded, business was done, and “thank yous” were said, we loaded our car. 

We pointed our car towards Oklahoma and crossed our fingers for better roads on the trip home. Thankfully at least one lane was clear most of the way home. The next morning we met at the shop, and started another work day. We unloaded the fabric, I worked on the inventory and POS system, new LED lights were installed, and we even started cutting fabric. This is actually happening, y’all! 

Today we are in Kentucky staying with my sisters and heading to another warehouse in Tennessee this morning. There will be more pictures coming soon. 

For now, I’ll be sitting in the passenger seat inputting inventory on multiple devices-anything to get us open soon! 

See you at the machine,

• Care

What’s In A Name?

This morning I’m going to share a few ginormous things happening. Have a seat, grab a drink, and let’s get to talking… or reading. 

Not too long ago, I came across a website full of different Quilt Blogs. I love reading and writing blog posts, and I of course love any blog that covers quilting, so I was in heaven. After reading different blogs and falling even more in love, I looked into how to get our slice of the world, Quilting with Care, included in this list of awesomeness. 

This morning I received the news that we were accepted! Make sure you go check it out. I’m even adding a new widget on the side of my posts that links directly to their site in the next couple days. It’s pretty fun.

Another bit of news: we have decided on our logo and have been working on branding the quilt shop, Quilter’s Hideaway. Things are really happening. 

When my mom and I sat down to discuss opening a shop, we started working on a name. Lists upon lists were made in an effort to find the perfect title to describe what we wanted to create.  Naming a quilt is daunting enough, but naming a business-our hopes and dreams in a real, tangible place-seemed unimaginable.

We originally discussed opening the shop in a house. It was an older house that my parents own and would have been cute, but this… this is a whole different ball game. This is the dream that seemed impossible.

 Anyways, since it was a house we came up with names such as “Quilt Cottage”, “Fabric Shack”, “The Stitchin’ Place”. They aren’t horrible names, but they are already used and never brought about the feeling we were searching for. The more we thought, the more we added to the list. Pages upon pages of names slightly different than the one before, but nothing jumping off the page.

We wanted something unique. It was important to me that our website link, or domain (?) as I am learning, would match what our store name was. I wanted a shop that wasn’t a duplicate of 20 other shops across the states. I wanted something all our own, but not crazy or random; something that made sense. A name that meant something. 

 Quilter’s Hideaway was born. It will be our hideaway, our getaway, our place to go and spend time with other like-minded friends while ignoring or getting away from the outside world. It will be a quilter’s hideaway.

With a name decided we had to start branding (I never knew anything like this existed a few months ago, but I am learning… slowly). 

My mom and I love Kentucky- partially because my “sisters” live there and partially because it is just so pretty. And the barns… Kentucky has what they call Quilt Barns. Other states have them too, but I have only seen them in Kentucky. They started long ago when a lady wanted to honor her mother by painting a quilt square on their barn in remembrance of the longtime quilter. It spread quickly and now quilt trails have been created and there are sites where you can map out trips to see many different Quilt Barns. The most fascinating part for me is that each square tells a story.

http://boonebarnquilts.com/

I wanted this for our shop. I wanted our logo, or branding, to tell a story, but also to resemble a Quilt Block or Quilt Barn. 

My mom loves the Road to Oklahoma quilt block, and our quilt shop is in Oklahoma. She purposed the idea to use this block as part of our brand and I loved it. With a few modifications, we finally settled on what you see now.

 

Thus far, I think deciding on the branding and the logo was the most difficult. We put a lot of added weight on it since it is the first thing a person sees. It can be the deciding factor for whether someone decides to drive and take a look, or whether they decide it isn’t worth the trip. I probably put way too much thought into this one piece, but we have now made the final decision and it is FINISHED.

We would not be this far without such amazing friends and family, though. After overthinking to the point of frustration people stepped up and helped guide us to come up with what you see. 

With all of this said, we have also settled on a grand opening date! February 4th from 10am-6pm we will be opening our doors, providing snacks, and having quite a few giveaways and activities. Mark it on your calendar and cross your fingers for good weather. We are beyond ready to ring in the New Year and unlock our doors. 



The countdown is on: 50 days!

See you at the machine,

•Care

Final WIP Week Of 2016!

Oh my goodness, it is DECEMBER! It is also the first full week of a new month, and you know what that means. It is WIP WEEK!

For those of you new to the blog, the first full week of each month is work-in-progress week also known as WIP Week. It is one week where you try your hardest to not start anything new, and instead drag out a project sitting in your unfinished pile and get to work. It is one week where we hope to mark something off the to-do list. One week. That’s all it is. 

If you are anything like me (someone tell me I’m not alone) you have a closet or box or cubie or hidey-hole full of projects you haven’t finished. Some are one seam away from being finished or one page in a scrapbook or one something away from finishing anything while other projects might take several WIP Weeks to finish up. Set this week aside and avoid starting new things. It doesn’t have to have to be a sewing project. Just something in your life you want marked off the never ending to-do list. 

Working with a group to finish projects is much more enjoyable than dragging through it alone. Share your pictures, tag us, use the hashtag #QHWIPWeek, let us know what you are up to; who knows, I might even show up to help ;).

Not only is this WIP Week, it is the last WIP Week of the year! Have you been avoiding a calendar like I have? This week is the last week to finish up those WIP’s and start new in 2017, or at least finish up your Christmas projects in time to get them under the tree. 

Now, let’s get to work. I will be working away on this little one.  Well, hopefully these two… I’m also hoping to get a couple quilts quilted and on their way.

Here we go!

See you at the machine,

•Care
 

Standing at the Start Line

Everyone has to have a starting point. This is mine.

 

Not that long ago I wrote a blog post about us opening some very special boxes. Once we assembled our Millie, I spend almost every waking moment wanting to sew with her.

This weekend, I was able to take a two day class on quilt path, Millie’s brain/computer quilting system. There was so much information and I am very tired, but I have 20 pages of notes to hopefully pull me through and remember everything that was said.

It was an incredible class that was both informational and fun. It also left my mind wandering to new quilt ideas and more projects (because we all need more of those, right?). Saturday’s class started at 9am and we dove right in. When class ended around 5pm I just wanted to jump behind the machine and apply many of the skills we had learned in simulation mode during class.

After class I drove straight to my parents house, loaded my first actual quilt, not just pieces of fabric sandwiched together, and got to work. Nerves were high as I leaned in to push the SEW button, but everything functioned fairly well.

There was a bobbin change, a thread break, safe zone areas to set, patterns to resize, repeat, and nest, and so much more.  I think I might need a checklist to remember the common steps for the next few quilts.

Quilt pieced by Nance Allen

My weakest area is either setting the numbers for pattern sizes and thinking through that aspect of the loading process, or the last partial row at the bottom of a quilt. This row was causing a few challenges last night while quilting.

I thought I just had a problem with my pattern or a setting. I wasn’t sure, so after finishing my first quilt I loaded a second– determined to figure out what was happening.

I should clarify that the problem I was having was manually working through the jumps and a system error between the computer and the machine. There may have also been a few errors with the users brain. It happens. It was still sewing fine, occasionally there would be a thread break sensor go off when the thread was fine or it would start tracing a pattern when it was supposed to be sewing.  With each issue I was able to back it up and restart at the stitch the problem started on without changing the end result of the quilt.

With the second quilt loaded, a pattern imported, and settings seemingly happy I dove in. Unfortunately I had the same issues on the second quilt as I had with the first.

Quilt pieced by Nance Allen

Thankfully, when I returned to class today I was able to ask a handful of questions and come up with a game plan on trouble shooting to find an answer. No matter what, she still sews beautifully and I can work around this hiccup manually instead of automatically for now.

I am just so thrilled with how each quilt turned out. I love watching Millie sew and thinking through how to enhance different quilts with different quilting designs and concepts. It opens an entire new element to quilting.

Sew you at the machine,

•Care

Flying Away On Fabric

Does life seem like it is flying away without you? I sure feel that way some days. 

I’ve been working on a new quilt and pattern that has me flying with the fabric. It is an airplane block that I have been messing with different sizing, trying to come up with the “perfect” size of each section in the block. I have a certain little one in mind for an airplane quilt, so hopefully I am able to finish this up quickly. 

For now, I have been practicing and playing with scrap fabric. I never really understood the desire for mini quilts, but I am beginning to jump on board. Some of these trial blocks are just too cute to adios. I’m thinking they might get quilted up and turn into minis. I’m sure I can find a few homes for them.

What have you been working on?
Ever since we unboxed Millie, I have been dying to get my hands on her at every available moment. Keep in mind, Millie is at my parent’s house which is a little under an hour away from where I live. That doesn’t stop me. I spent most of last weekend standing behind her, and I even went up last night to get in a couple hours of playtime. 

This weekend, my mom and I are taking a two day quilt path class. Quilt Path is the computer system that APQS offers for their longarm machines. I expect to walk away with my mind blown. Hopefully I will be able to pick up the pieces and learn everything I can. Gosh I just cannot wait.

I will be sure to share different tricks and tips we learn. Sharing this journey from cutting the tape on the box to learning how to use Millie is something I plan to do.  I am planning on posting the good, the bad, and the ugly and dragging you along with me. Strap on that seatbelt, things could get crazy around here.
For now I will dream of flying away to a land of no clocks, no commitments, happy sewing machines, and full bobbins. Care to join me?

See you at the machine,

•Care

Millie Hums

We went on vacation this last week and I completely checked out on technology. It was wonderful, but I am happy to be back!

I missed WIP Week for this month, but I did spend some time working on an unfinished project. I hope you did too! See my last post for more about my WIP Project. It was an English Paper Pieced quilt designed by Mickey Depre (Her patterns are fabulous!).

We flew back home late Friday night and yesterday (Saturday) I spent on a date with Millie. If you remember, we had a few boxes delivered the week before I left town. Those boxes turned into an amazing, APQS longarm machine. I AM IN LOVE! Sorry My Love, you might have a little competition.

Back to Millie- Her full name has turned into Millennium Falcon thanks to one of my awesome Brother-in-Law’s suggestions. For short, we will still call her Millie. The week before we left I was able to get her all assembled, we plugged her in, saw lights turn on, then I had to leave and drive back to my house. This was so tough! It was just before midnight when we saw her lights turn on, so we were not able to actually hear her hum.

The week was crazy and I wasn’t able to get back to her before leaving town. Thankfully, I had a great distraction-Disney World. Though I would be lying if I said I didn’t think about sewing with her every day.

Back to yesterday. Yesterday I finally got to not only turn her on and hear her hum!

At first, I loaded on a couple fat quarters to check tension and play with settings on QuiltPath, the computer program she is able to work with and we have conveniently named “Millie’s Brain”. Here is what we came up with.

After this was finished, I decided to work with a larger area and loaded a little over a yard top and a backing then played more. This time I didn’t have a plan and just wanted to try different things.

I wasn’t looking up tutorials or spending too much time fighting through settings because I am taking a two-day class next weekend. This was just a time to get my hands dirty.

The first row I was hoping to alternate a teddy bear and crosshatching. Everything went well for the teddy bear, then it moved to do the crosshatching, but instead of making a jump, it sewed the transition line. “It is just a test piece,” I reminded myself, though I was already looking for a seam ripper to mend this mistake. On the next jump from crosshatch to teddy bear I thought I could trick it and stop her right after finishing the crosshatch then move it to the start of teddy bear and search for closest stitch. In theory it sounded like a fabulous idea, but in action it just didn’t work. I moved along to a new row.

Another issue I came across was that sometimes after starting a block, setting the safe areas and where the block should sew, Millie would move through the pattern, but wasn’t stitching. I was able to jump in the middle of it and get her to start stitching again, but I couldn’t figure out how to back up and get her to fix what she missed.   I’m hoping to clear this up with a YouTube video or in class next weekend.

I’m very happy with how everything is going so far even with this learning curve. I’m glad I was able to start playing and come across these issues ahead of time.

After coming across a few issues I decided to take a stab at freehand quilting. I turned QuiltPath off and unlatched her from the belts to give me full control. Once ready, my mind went blank and I had no idea what to quilt. I started with a simple “hello!” and I forgot halfway through how to write cursive- brain fart!

Next up I played with writing “Quilter’s Hideaway.” Remember that surprise I hinted at a few posts back? Here is another part of it. I’m going to let you slowly put pieces together as I share hints and clues.

With that, I moved on to some meandering, straight lines, and a box. I also tried pebbles in a smaller box, but my goodness, this will need some work.

I hope you enjoy this journey with Millie. I cannot wait to continue learning and sharing along the way.  I already realize I will need to come up with a better option for getting pictures of the quilting.  Often it was hard to get the stitches to show up.

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

Traveling With My Needle & Thread

Hand sewing is happening.
We were up and at the airport by 4:00am this morning, but we are heading to our favorite place on earth-Disney World. 

Last year I started an English Paper Piecing (EPP) project. My Momma-In-Law gave me a pattern for the first row of a row quilt using EPP, and I dove in. It was a learning curve but not too difficult to figure out (you could definitely figure it out!). 

I was doing a decent job of staying on top of things with the first row and even the second row. However I quickly fell behind. Then, our rental lease ended, we frantically searched for our first home to purchase and we moved. I’m still trying to find everything again and really dig back in to my slower projects. 

This week happens to be WIP Week, and a travel week so I dug this quilt out and have started it again. 

The pattern is by Mickey Depre and I could not recommend her work more. If you are a fan of English Paper Piecing, she is a fabulous resource. She also has many other patterns outside of the English Paper Piecing world and all are spectacular!! Be sure to hop over to her page on Instagram (mdquilts), Facebook (MDQuilts) or her site. You won’t be disappointed! 

A fun little back story- After I started working on my first block I wanted to find the designer on Facebook (nothing is official until it is Facebook official-or something like that). When I began my search her last name was awfully familiar, and when I found her page, MDQuilts, I instantly realized I roomed with her daughter in college! Small world! Mickey is in Chicago, the college was in Arkansas, and I’m from Oklahoma. I love how things work. 

Enough of the jabber, here are some of the blocks I have finished. 

Everything always works out perfectly. As I dug for my EPP box last night, I hopped over to MDQUILTS and was greeted with a super exciting live video that Mickey has just released a Basic Hand Piecing Acrylic Template Set! You can read more about it or even purchase it here. 
That’s all for now friends. It is time to lay my phone down and pick my needle up. 

See you at the machine (or maybe the comfy chair with a needle and thread?) 

•Care 

Come Fly Away With Me?

Today is all about borders. It is due time that I stop procrastinating on my border-less quilts. They are so close to finished; it is time they make their move to the done pile. 

First up: Merry, Merry Snowmen. I’ve sewn on the inner border, and I was going to move forward without any green since I was out and unfortunately the quilt shop was also out. Have no fear, I have found a similar fabric and will be using it in place of the original green. I just felt the quilt needed a hint more green to balance out the reds and neutrals.

 

Since I was able to find a green substitute, I will add a skinny green border and then finish off with my favorite- the red with tiny white polka dots. This will also be my binding. Sweet! One quilt down.

 

Up next is my purple and teal quilt. (I still need to figure out a name for this charmer, because purple and teal quilt will not cut it, any suggestions?) I want a small white border to finish off the points, then flying geese pointing outwards.

 

Remember how I had run out of fabric to repair my last block… I am still running low on fabric I used in this quilt. It is time to dig in my stash and hopefully come up with something that will work. If I’m not back in 5 minutes you might want to send in a rescue team. It is pretty scary in there. 

One of these WIP Weeks just might have to be devoted to reorganizing. We can wait until next year to worry about that though.  

3…2…1… I’m off in search of fabric.

Alright friends I have found a few contenders, time to fly away with the geese.

 

After the flying geese border, I will finish it off with a thicker white border and this quilt can join Merry, Merry, Christmas in the DONE pile!

After a week with little sewing, it feels great to mark unfinished quilts, “DONE”. 

See you at the machine,

•Care
 

**If you like the Merry, Merry Snowmen pattern by Bunny Hill Designs, it is available here.**