The Little Engine That Could

19 days! There are only NINETEEN days until our grand opening.  Between picking up fabric, ordering notions, planning greatness, and so much more, I have barely had any time to sit at my machine and have a sew date.  “Soon” I keep telling myself… soon.  

 

Soon the shop opens. Soon I will be able to sit and sew with many fabulous quilters.  Soon Quilter’s Hideaway will be an actual, real life shop and all of the hard work will have been worth it.  Soon seems all too soon.

I have tried to enjoy each moment.  Looking back it has all happened at warp speed, but each moment seemed to take years.  File this then wait, sign this then wait, order here wait for a delivery, the doing and the waiting have gone hand in hand.  

There was a period of time when everyone kept asking how things were going.  I knew it was the calm before the storm, so I wasn’t quite sure how to articulate my response.  Normally “things are going well, we just keep chugging” was my answer.  It is even truer today.  We just keep chugging.  Something comes up, we find a solution, and chug along.  Inventory seems like this daunting, never-ending pile but we just keep chugging.  We are exhausted but beyond exciting.  We chug along, pause for lunch, chug some more and then collapse in bed at night.  The Quilter’s Hideaway helpers are like The Little Engines That Could. 

The ginormous pile of inventory might seem daunting right now, but it means that there are so many options for you. We kept hearing, “make sure you get things that are out of your normal taste”, or “don’t only shop for you [when picking stock].”  We took this to heart and found ourselves picking our extreme opposites.  My mom who doesn’t care for flowers and loves earthy tones kept picking up flowers, while I kept picking up earthy tones and historic type fabric even though I like bright colors.  We would laugh each time we saw one another putting another bolt into a cart that wasn’t anything like what we would normally pick.  We did manage to get past this after quite the giggle.  Having other sets of eyes shop with us also meant that many different tastes were able to help us pick fabric and choose a wide variety.  I just can’t wait. 

Boxes are being delivered every day. We had two trips-one to Arkansas and one to Tennessee, and then my mom and mother-in-law had a little road trip to Dallas.  I had to work and was beyond jealous, but they did a great job picking things and even remembered to send me several pictures so I could share with you.

They were gob smacked when they entered Moda.  It was set up a little differently than the other two warehouses that we had visited and, of course, it was much larger than the others.  Had I gone, I don’t think we would have stayed on budget, but they did a fantastic job! I was impressed with what they collected and they even left a little room in the budget for me to “play” online. I’m expecting a few more boxes this week. 🙂

This weekend flew past but we were able to cross items off our to-do list. We might have added a few more, too. Let’s not focus n that.

We now have quilts hanging on the wall, fabric in shelves, and ironing stations finished. The boys even made a notions station that I love! Thank goodness for an amazing husband and father-in-law who turn my jumbled thoughts into actual things and make them so much better than I first imagined. They are the best!

I even quilted a couple quilts this weekend.  The first was one of the craigslist quilt tops I found a few weeks ago.  They were in rough shape, but I wanted to practice a couple new patterns so it was perfect.  This pattern is called “Raindrops on the Pond” and it is possibly my favorite so far.

The other quilt was for a customer.  The fabric had flowers on it and she chose “Spring Flowers” as the pantograph pattern. I LOVE how it turned out.  The pattern matches the fabric so well and the combination was fabulous

Tomorrow starts another week with more fabulous things to come.

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

Are you Millie?

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows who Millie is.

I have been asked if I made this name up, if it is the name of one of our pups, if it is a family member… I’m surprised no one has been brave enough to ask if I have an imaginary friend.

For those of you who missed the introduction of Millie, let’s play a game: Who is Millie?

Along the way I’ll even introduce you to a few key players.  Let’s get started.

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Are you Millie?

No, this is NalaJane.  Nala joined our family about a year ago and has fit right in.  She is one smart cookie and passed puppy class with flying colors, though you have to be careful, she is part kangaroo.  We got Nala as a puppy and I think (*knock on wood*) we are finally reaching the end of all the puppy-ness.

 

 

Are you Millie?

Nope.  This is KylieBelle.  Kylie was rescued over 6 years ago. She is such a good pup and loves to model quilts even when she isn’t asked.

If you haven’t noticed, our puppies are our kiddos.  They are spoiled, loved, and think our life circles around them (it actually might).

If these two aren’t Millie, then who is?

 

Are you Millie?

Not quite.  This is the latest picture I had in my phone of my husband, Dalton, and myself.  We were on the amazing Toy Story Ride at Walt Disney World.  Dalton and I have been together since High School and got married in September of 2014.  We are both avid Disney fans and he is calm and collected while I’m a little scatter-brained and chaotic.  Most of the time he avoids the sewing room, but occasionally you will see him make an appearance.  Often he is called My Love on the blog and in real life.

Are either of you Millie?

Well, no.  This is my mom and my mother-in-law.  Also, my dad is there in the background.  I was blessed in the momma department and gained an amazing lady as a second mom too.  All the iffy stories out there about crazy mother-in-laws do not apply to me at all.  We are all able to do things together and enjoy one another.  It sure makes family get togethers and holidays fun!

 

If none of these people are Millie, and I can’t take a picture of my imaginary friend, then who on earth is this Millie person/thing I reference in almost all of my blogs?

Are you Millie?

YES! This is Millie! If you look closely under the red bow you can see her name.  Millie is one of the APQS Longarm sewing machines.  Her full name is Millennium.  APQS creatively names each of their models: Lucey, George, Lenni, Larry,  and Millennium (Millie) are just a few examples of their different machines.

If you remember, although our machine is Millennium, my brother-in-law renamed her to Millennium Falcon.  I will almost always call her Millie, except in his presence.  🙂

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Now you know.  I wonder how many were clueless in the past posts.  Looking back and reading the blog posts without knowing who Millie was sure makes them sound strange.  I had quite the giggle as I was looking over the blogs.  As least we were able to clear this up a bit.  Feel free to look over past posts including when we opened Millie for the first time!

 

Don’t forget we are making our first public appearance at Gift’s Marketplace TOMORROW at Tri County Technology Center in Bartlesville, OK.  Doors open at 5:30.

 

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

Quilter’s Hideaway Has Furniture!

Hi there everyone! It is raining outside and we are supposed to be decorating our house for Christmas, but instead I am sitting here with a half-assembled tree thinking about how wonderful this past weekend was and writing this blog. I sure hope no one realizes I’m slacking ;).

 

Did you have a fantastic Thanksgiving? We had everyone at our house for a late lunch/early dinner that was yummy. There was more food than we could finish, lots of laughter, and the kitchen was clean by the end of the day. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I love how both of our families (my husband’s and mine) get along so well.  It makes holidays easier and life greater.

After dinner we went out to a few shops to see what the big sales were. We didn’t purchase much at all, but we saw quite a few baskets piled high.

 

 

Friday morning I went to one store and spent over an hour in line. After that, I decided I was finished with Black Fridayshopping, and we headed to IKEA with an empty trailer.

 

We spent about an hour walking through the store seeking out different items and options. Then, we found a spot to sit and regroup. We wrote down what we needed to look for in the self service area.  We realized a few of our items were not in the self service area, and there were a couple things we wanted to look at again.

 

With our list organized and our plan set we marched through the showcase floor once more and found a lady named Rachel to help with our items that were not in the self-service area. She turned out to be an amazing help and organized our entire list for us based on aisles and checked inventory. This is when we realized a few things were out of stock. She walked with us to find other options and once again helped us to get a plan in place. She was fantastic!

 

This time, with our list in hand we scooted down to the first floor-the self service area. If you have never been to IKEA, almost all of their items come in flat packs. When you arrive at the store you walk around the second floor to see different rooms assembled with their furniture. Each item has a tag with an aisle number and bin number. You write down the information and when you finish you head down to the first floor and pull all of the furniture yourself. There are few exceptions where the staff will have items pulled for you to pick up after checking out (Rachel did this for us).

 

 

So with our LONG list, we found the elevator and headed downstairs. My parents laughed when I told them we would each need a cart, but it turns out we needed a total of 5 carts. It was crazy, but so fun and exciting.

 

We stuck to plan until we got to the chair aisle and my dad decided to mix it up. A last minute decision meant we had three different chairs on our cart. We also couldn’t find three of our originally planned chairs but it worked out for the best and we found an even better chair (in my opinion).

 

Loaded down and struggling to push the carts we headed to check out.

 

 

 

**I just got caught!! A certain someone just walked in and realized my tree is still only half assembled.**

 

After checking out, we waited on the last two carts with 11 more boxes then we headed for the elevator.

 

My dad decided we could fit everything into the elevator at once so it became a game and we won! We loaded the trailer and headed home.

 

When we arrived back in Bartlesville my husband and his family met us to help unload and start building. It was pretty late but we couldn’t wait.

 

Saturday morning I finished quilting another quilt just in time to head to the shop and finish assembling all of our IKEA items.

The shop is coming together and we cannot wait. It won’t be long before our doors will be open.

Remember, if you want to be the first with a calendar of classes, come see us at Gifts Marketplace on December 6th at Tri County Technology (Bartlesville, OK).

 

 

See you at the machine (but first I must finish this tree),

 

•Care

Wishing for Weekends

Last weekend was one for the memory books. 

Thursday after work I raced home, grabbed my bag and sewing machine, then jumped in my mom’s car. Off we were to drive late into the night. The most worrisome part were the two bridges I knew we would be crossing an hour from Paducah (really, a small town around Paducah). I hate these bridges. There are two skinny, skinny lanes, no shoulders, RVs and semis can’t seem to stay on their side, and you are way up high in the air. If you have ever driven over them, you won’t forget it. My mom always tries to tell me to look at the barges and whatever is crossing under the bridge, but she doesn’t seem to understand if I look anywhere we will be swimming. 
 
Anyways, we obviously made it over the bridges- barely.

After midnight sometime we pulled into my sisters’ driveway and we were exhausted.

Friday was a sewing-on-the-porch day. Fabric was cut, machines were set up, and we were ready. Whenever we have sewing-on-the-porch days I feel like we are sitting in a magazine photo or in a movie. Their land is gorgeous with free range chickens, a duck named “Quackers” and a wraparound porch. It is quite possibly my favorite place to sew. That was until the wind decided to show up and blow our fabric all over the yard. Although the chickens loved it and we found it quite funny, I’m sure we all looked a little crazy running around making sure we found all of our pieces. Well, even with the wind it is still my favorite place to sew.

 

Friday my mom and I ended up staying awake sewing until after midnight and we were tired Saturday but ready to take on the day. Saturday was our shopping day and a hotdog roast day with family and neighbors. 

 

Backyard Fabrics is my favorite quilt shop in Kentucky. I always make sure to stop by there and this trip was no exception. Of course, we also made a quick stop at Hancocks of Paducah. After these two stops we were loaded and off to sew. 

 

More sewing happened and we paused for a fun night by the fire, riding a hayride, and making s’mores before it was back inside to sew some more. Another late night happened, but we were well on our way to figuring out this quilt. 
 

Sunday was our last day. We spent the morning working on the layouts of our quilts and packing up the car. 

It was a quick, but fun trip and I cannot wait to have a repeat of it soon. 

  

I have been waiting months for the trip that happened this past weekend. A three day weekend, a 8+ hour drive, a hayride, a day on the porch, time with my sisters, and time behind my machine. Count me in, always!

See you at the machine,

•Care

 

A Hidden Fairytale

There is a fairytale hidden within this quilt and it is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.
 

Today is My Love’s and my wedding anniversary. That means I have been the owner of this quilt for two years now. You see, I was raised by an incredible family and extended family. A nursery worker turned babysitter, turned sister, turned neighbor and her actual sister have carved away a piece of my heart I never want to have back. I have had a room in almost all of their houses, and I always have a machine calling my name when I am at their house. Though we were once neighbors in a small Oklahoma town, they now live in Kentucky and I try sneaking away every chance I get.

 One of my “sisters” made me this quilt and it does the best job of describing who I am. My Love and I like Disney- we could be called fanatics, but I try to tone it down on occasion. We got engaged at night in front of Cinderella’s castle and my family surprised me. The clock on the tower depicts the time our wedding started and the picture is of us going to our first prom- we have been dating since High School. My sister designed this quilt for us and I love it.

 

Since we are on this topic, I thought I would share a little more about our family. We both grew up in a small Oklahoma town but after we got married we moved about an hour away to a larger town still in Oklahoma. We love it here. We have two four-legged babies named Kylie Belle and Nala Jane. Nala Jane is our baby child. She just turned ONE five days ago. In an attempt to control the puppiness she has been going to classes and slowly learning all kind of things. Kylie Belle is the older, wiser pup who is already trained in Quilt Modeling. You’ve seen her before showing off quilts and I can guarantee that is not going to be the last. 

Nala Jane is sitting, Kylie Belle is laying

Well I don’t want to bore you with the nitty gritty of life so I will leave it here for tonight. Now you know the core people in our little family- My Love, Nala & Ky. I’m sure you will learn more as we go. 
I know this post was lacking in quilt awesomeness but I just had to share the quilt made by my sister, and I thought it was about time I brought you all up to speed on who lives under this roof (besides the machines). 

See you at the machine, 

•Care