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

What happened to the weekend?

Happy Monday!

Where did the weekend go? I was hoping to get some time in the sewing room, but this weekend really got away from me.

I did spend a little bit of time behind a machine, sewing with a couple friends, but it was not long enough. I was helping them on their Merry, Merry Snowmen quilts which are looking fantastic. I cannot wait to see all of ours finished. Mine is still lacking borders, let’s not talk about that. Hopefully this is the week to see those borders come together.

Today, I thought I would share a little project I have enjoyed working on in the past- Memory Bears.

When my grandfather passed away, no one knew what to do with his clothes. I asked my grandmother if I could have a few of his shirts. At the time I was not sure what I would do with them, but I knew I would come up with something. He was a hero in every definition of the word. I wanted something to remember him with.

One shirt I used to make a memory bear for my grandmother for Christmas.
I used McCalls pattern 4275 with few alterations. Most notably, I cut the buttons off the buttons and attached them down the front of the bear.  
This is possibly my favorite thing I have ever made. It has many memories sewn into every stitch. 

Part of this shirt was also sewn into my wedding dress as my something old and something blue. 

 

After making my first Memory Bear, my brother asked me to make two more for a friend. I changed them each slightly. I love the possibilities for these bears and how different each one looks depending on what the shirt style, material, and fabric pattern were. 

What are you working on this week? I am hoping to have a bit more time behind the machine than last week. 

See you at the machine,

•Care