Millie, the machine, Earned Overtime This Weekend

Happy Monday!

Today feels like Wednesday, or maybe Thursday without the added excitement that tomorrow is Friday.  It just has the drag that we are pushing through another week.  The get up and go of a Monday following a relaxing weekend is nowhere in sight.  I’m tired.  The reason I’m tired is exciting, though.  We open THIS weekend!  I never thought the day would come, but there are only 4 more days until Grand Opening, and we will be ready.

I might be drinking caffeine which I normally avoid and running around with a slightly jumbled brain, but it is beyond worth it.  Dreams are coming true, y’all.  Yes, I just said “y’all” maybe I do need a little sleep…

I digress.  This weekend was a whirlwind of fabric, Millie working away, and things coming together.  We could open tomorrow, but there are still a few things I am hoping to finish up beforehand.  It feels a little like wedding-week or the week of a big performance.  These are the only things I can find comparison to at the moment, but both are very positive and we survived each in their own way, so this will be no exception.

First up, Millie earned overtime this weekend.  It started with a ginormous King-size purple and camo customer quilt.  The pattern was simple but executed well and I can only imagine how long it took to finish the mile-long seams from one edge to another.  We found a quilting pattern called antlers and deer hooves, and I am so happy we found it because there is nothing that could have been more perfect.  Take a look!

Next, we pulled out my most favorite panel that just came in.  I wanted it visible for you to be able to see, and decided to toss it up on Millie and play.  Bruce the Moose came to life with an acorn precisely placed on his nose… snout?… I didn’t plan that, but maybe I should say I did? The acorn adds to the overall playfulness of this quilt.  It is a favorite for sure.

Bruce will hang in our kid room along with a cradle my grandfather made for me.  Our shop is filled with family and love.  Much of the furniture is from my grandmother’s house when she passed away.  The sewing machine my mom learned on which was purchased and owned by my great-grandmother sets in front of a quilt that my mom watched my great-grandmother sew using remnants of tattered clothing.  My mom’s first quilt hangs along with my first quilt-the difference is incredible, but each quilt showcases our tastes in a funny way.  Each quilt hanging in our store holds a story, as every quilt does.

The furniture in our shop, though many of the pieces are from IKEA, includes several family pieces: the cabinet puzzles were kept in at my grandmother’s, crates my husband built for our wedding, my mother-in-law let us borrow furniture, more of grandmother’s furniture, pieces made by my grandfather for me, and so much more are all mixed together.  It was fun creating the feel of our shop and trying to find ways to mix the old and new, much like mixing older fabric from your stash with new for a quilt.

After Bruce the Moose was complete, I worked on another customer’s quilt.  This one used hand-dyed fabric.  I love seeing all the different ways people create quilts and how their personality is showcased through fabric.

This quilt was yellow with pieced triangles and we found an all over triangle pattern to quilt on it.  I love how it turned out.

After Millie had a few seconds of a break, I needed one last thing finished before the weekend was over.  I had great plans of piecing a quilt for the back of our checkout area’s dresser.  We have it turned backwards so the drawers can be used for storage, but it left a slightly ugly back.  Time just kept sneaking away, and I made the decision to take a solid piece of fabric and try quilting it much like a Wholecloth quilt. It is not perfect, actually far from perfect, but it will work.  It also gave me a reason to use purple thread! Where are my purple loving friends??

Once it is cut down to size and binding attached, it will do the job.  I will keep practicing and one day, I will make a Wholecloth quilt. I just love how they look.

I think that about wraps up our weekend.  More boxes are due for arrival on Wednesday, and we will send out our first Newsletter tomorrow or the next day.  If you would like to be included in our newsletter, please send me an email with “newsletter” in the subject (quiltershideaway@gmail.com)

Don’t forget, you can have your own Bruce the Moose if you come to the Grand Opening on SATURDAY!

See you at the machine,

•Care

Squirrel moment: every time I post a blog, I worry about all of my high school and college English teachers reading it.  I’m sorry to all teachers and grammar enthusiasts trudging through my many issues. You are a champ for continuing to read these posts. Thank you!

FOUR MORE DAYS!!

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