Remember where it started?

We are almost there. It’s like training for a (half) marathon and running your last long training run. There’s so much excitement but you’re also tired and sore from the run before and you just want to make it through this last little training session before you bring out your best, or at least that’s your hope. You hope that all of your training will have paid off-and it almost always does. 

It’s Thursday night; we open Saturday morning. There’s still quite a bit to be done but none of it is crucial to our door unlocking on Saturday morning at 10 AM. We’ve had many people wander by, and we are getting more and more excited as the time grows shorter. 

Fabric still needs set up, toilets still need cleaned, boxes keep getting delivered (apparently I like shopping for the store), and I’m sure there is more. Lists have been made and items have been crossed off then other lists have been created. I’ve called people many times asking to be reminded of different things because my brain is mush, but at the end of the day we will open and it will be perfect. Even if many things don’t go quite as planned. 

If you don’t remember, this is where we started-lime green walls, no name, clueless about starting a business. Just two girls with a dream running at it with lightening speed and absorbing all the new information we could along the way. 

If you want to see the “after” make sure you stop by! Our Grand Opening is Saturday February 4 from 10-6. We absolutely cannot wait to welcome you to Quilter’s Hideaway. The countdown is almost over. Did you ever think it would end? 

See you at the machine,

(Just kidding, I’ll be at Quilter’s Hideaway) 

•Care 

ONE MORE DAY!

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

A Car Full-Take Two

Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!

 Wow, this weekend was definitely one for the record books. Friday we ran over to Batesville, Arkansas in the ice and snow to visit Marshall Dry Goods Co.’s warehouse. Our eyes were opened to an entire new way of buying fabric (three flat carts full) that I shared in the last blog. 

Saturday was a workday at the Quilter’s Hideaway. We unpacked fabric, input what we could into inventory, replaced light bulbs, worked on odds and ends projects and even had a few fights with the heater. Apparently part of the shop isn’t getting heat, but I promise it will be fixed before we open. It is just a little bump in the road.

Sunday we loaded the car with as little as possible and drove to Kentucky. My sisters live there so it was a great place to stay the night, work on inventory, share what has been going on, and most importantly-rest. Monday morning we woke up bright and early (again) to drive to Tennessee and visit Choice Fabrics’ warehouse.

This time we had a small idea of what to expect after visiting our first fabric warehouse, but we still tried to enter the doors with as few expectations as possible. It is easy to get overwhelmed and completely freak out-in a good way- when there are thousands of fabric bolts surrounding you. I mean, when is the last time you could fill cart after cart after cart FULL with fabric. Last time I went to a fabric shop I only thought I was leaving with a car load. We have sense redefined what it means to have a car full of fabric.

Jody is our representative at Choice Fabrics and boy is she awesome! We giggled, hollered, and asked a million questions. It was such a fun environment to spend our time in and, I believe, we came away with fabric that you will all love (At least I hope so!).

We took Fran, one of my sisters, so we could have another set of eyes picking fabric. We want to fill our shop with many different styles. I’m finding that each warehouse has their “thing” to set them apart. Whether it is flat folds, bundle packs, or pre-cuts, finding this information out has been extremely helpful. We have also enjoyed meeting our representatives face-to-face and establishing a relationship with each of them. Call us old fashioned, but I would much rather talk with someone than only send emails. At least now we know who is responding to our emails and that it is an actual person.

Choice has their fabric displayed on tables, so we walked row after row filling four laundry mat style carts. We even got to take a peek at how they take rolls of fabric and put them on the bolt which I shared on Quilter’s Hideaway’s Facebook and Instagram pages. I’m having a hard time getting videos to display correctly on our blog.

 The two guys who ran these machines were too fun. They also helped us load the truck. I wish I could have taken a picture of their face when they realized we didn’t just have the one cart in front of them but three others plus a smaller shopping cart full. They were troopers though and it was loaded in no time.

We managed to fit all of the fabric and batting into Fran’s truck bed and back seat then drove back to Kentucky. Once we arrived back at her house, we moved the fabric into mom’s Honda Pilot and we took off. We drove late into the night Monday, making our way back to WINDY Oklahoma. I was back at work Tuesday dreaming of all the fabric we purchased. I cannot wait to open so you can see it, too.

 

The MODA trip is happening today, though I’m stuck at work. I sent detailed instructions for tons of pictures and updates along the way. I also might have sent a shopping list. Along with Moda, another IKEA trip is taking place because we are out of shelf space. That means we are expanding out of the main shopping space and into another couple rooms. Exciting!

I have faith in my mom and mother-in-law to find awesome things, and I am heading to the shop tonight to see what all they found. I will try to post a few sneak peeks in the coming days.  

Is anyone else getting excited?! 23 days…

 
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

Moving, Quilting, & Sew Much More

2017 is the year we unlock the doors to Quilter’s Hideaway.  Every day we are one step closer and yesterday was no exception.

 

Millie moved into her new and final home at the shop yesterday.

 

Before we moved her I wanted to play with quilting a quilt using a custom design instead of edge-to-edge or a pantograph.  I still needed to quilt Playtime in the Past, so I decided it was the perfect starting point.

I knew what I wanted in the solid squares, but I wasn’t sure what to do in the pinwheel blocks.  I really liked the secondary circle created by the design I quilted first, so I decided to play off that with a circular design over the pinwheels.  The result was perfect for this fun, playtime quilt.

Once Millie was set up in the shop, I was able to finish two more quilts.  It felt amazing to be working in our quilt shop and imagining what is to come.

This quilt is a customer’s baby quilt for a little girl.  It will be washed quite a bit, so a dense pattern-meandering circles, was chosen.  I love how it adds to the playfulness of this quilt.

 

The second quilt was a Disappearing Hourglass Quilt done in blue and cream.  It was a gorgeous customer quilt.  I quilted this with a damask pattern.  It was the perfect, subtle touch to finish off the quilt. Look at those points!

Aside from quilting and moving Millie, we were able to finish this 20 foot design wall for use in the classroom. Who wants to be first to have their blocks hanging here?

 

 

This was a full and busy weekend: moving Millie, building design walls, quilting, and so much more.  We only have 32 days until our grand opening, and many surprises along the way! Make sure you are following us on Facebook and Instagram to be the first to know!

 

See you at the machine,

•Care

 

 

2016- Walking Down Memory Lane

2016- A year of finished quilts and dreams in the making.

 

2016 was a big year.  I started this blog, finished a handful of quilts from my WIP stack (hopefully you were able to, too), Millie joined our family, and we made the decision to open the quilt shop– Quilter’s Hideaway.  2016 was a big year, but 2017 will be a ginormous year!

 

Here is a small roundup of a few projects throughout the year.  Let’s walk down memory lane, or at least the last few months. 🙂

Between these quilts and learning to quilt on Millie, it has been a great year for learning new things and spending time at the machine.  Now, I promised myself I would start the New Year with a clean sewing room (YIKES!), so I better go get started.  If you don’t hear from me for a few days send reinforcement, please!

 

See you at the machine (I’m sure I’ll find my way there more than once while cleaning),

•Care

 

 

 

 

Packing Away Christmas

My husband started taking Christmas down yesterday. I on the other hand retreated to the sewing machine and pretended that he wasn’t taking it down. I sure love Christmas and all the Christmas lights and Christmas trees, but I’m ready for what’s next. 

In 38 days our doors open, and we celebrate our grand opening. I am ecstatic… And a little nervous. There’s so much to do, so much stuff to finish, so many new things to learn, and I’m sure there are items that haven’t even made it on the list yet.  I’m ready to tackle it all.

Yesterday while at the machine I finished three more quilts. They were all customer quilts and they were gorgeous. I thoroughly enjoy looking at each customer’s quilt and the different techniques  they use and styles that they have. There’s an endless possibility for every quilt made, and I love seeing what different people bring to the table.

The first quilt one of my sisters made. We settled on a damask pattern and it looks lovely.

The other two quilts for a sweet lady. They were each panel quilts with cute borders for babies. We quilted a meandering, stipple pattern on both of them and it’s just subtle enough that it doesn’t take away from the panel. I love the bright colors of the fun animals and cars on each of these. 

With every quilt we quilt, my to-make list grows. I think I’m set for a lifetime with quilts to make, and I’m sure that list will just keep on growing.  I sure hope I’m not the only one with this problem. How do you keep up with making the quilts you want to make and getting them all done?
I’ve been off work for a long weekend and I have another long weekend coming up, so the quilt shop is high priority. We had another quick trip to IKEA to pick up a few last minute things and will be building those soon. 

We have lists and phone calls to make this week and fabric is almost on its way which is very very exciting. I’ll be sure to share when the first box comes in. 

Our website guy keeps asking me if I’ve done any YouTube videos or live videos on Facebook, but I’m so nervous and I don’t know where to begin with that. I might be adventurous and try some type of video when we unboxed our first box of fabric. Would you be interested in seeing a sneak peek of what we will be offering? 

We love, love all of your ideas and we cannot wait to get our doors open and welcome you into our place. We hope that you’ll share your likes, dislikes, and wants so that we can fully become everything you all are expecting. This is a new path for us and we are beyond thankful to be walking it with such sweet friends. 

We hope you each had a magnificent Christmas, and we look forward to celebrating the New Year soon! 

Now, I guess I better re-focus and help repack some of our Christmas decorations. Here is one last Christmas picture-a quilt I made years ago. I’m sure dragging my feet on getting everything packed away. 

Sew 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

Weeks are Packed Around Here

Hello! Hello!

Let’s be honest with each other for just a moment.  I never expected the last post to be read by so many people.

We had hopes and wishes and dreams, but you all rock!  

With that said, I have been at a loss for what I should post next.  Nothing is quite like announcing the opening of a quilt shop.  Everything else I could say will pale in comparison, but I love writing and sharing what we have going on, so I will do just that.  

 

Today might be a bit of a ramble and somewhat on the jumpy side, but you deserve to know.  Plus, I just cannot contain my excitement.  Here we go!

Last weekend my mom and I walked through the building for the first time with the intention of opening the quilt shop.  Walking in and picturing where the fabric will go, where Millie will call home, the classroom, the notions, precuts and patterns- it is all there.  With every step we take it is turning more and more into a shop.  My hope is that when people walk through the door they feel at home- they feel that they can create in this space, and enjoy the company of other likeminded people.  A creative, warm, welcoming place with a touch of modern and a splash of randomness (after all, I can be pretty random). 

We are continuing to work on the calendar and schedule.  Our hope is to reveal the calendar at Gift’s Marketplace– a women owned, small business fair on December 6^th at Tri County Technology Center (Bartlesville, OK).  If you want to be the first to get your hands on our calendar, make sure you stop by and say “Hi!”

 

With the calendar in mind, do you have a specific class you want to take? A quilt you want to make? Something you want to see or learn more about? Would you like to know what on earth a sewing machine even is (I’m talking to all of you newbies! You have to start somewhere.).  Let me know in the comments below.

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We have chatted about the building and the calendar, now let’s check in on what Millie has been doing.

A little snippet about something we learned this week: if Millie seems happy but is not sewing vertically, do not spend hours researching and trying everything you can think of.  Instead, check that the encoder is still plugged in.  It appears while I was cleaning and oiling her before sewing this weekend, I managed to unplug the encoder.  I spent hours trying to figure out what had happened and searching online for answers. I finally called in back up.  The dealer we bought Millie from (Brenda at Red Barn Quilting –She’s awesome!!) was able to pinpoint the problem over the phone.  Within seconds Millie was back to sewing like a dream.  If only I had made that phone call earlier on…

There are a few more quilts in line for quilting this week and even a few shopping adventures.  Opening a quilt shop brings an entire new meaning to Black Friday shopping.  I have even tried sweet talking a few of the guys in my life into coming along and bringing a trailer.  It will be quite the undertaking.  Make sure you are following along on Instagram (quiltershideaway & quiltingwithcare) and Facebook (Quilter’s Hideaway) to see what happens.

See you at the machine (or maybe in line on Black Friday),

•Care

Remember, if you want to be the first to see our Calendar, stop by and see us at Gift’s Marketplace on December 6^th!

Also, let me know what classes you are hoping to see on the calendar this spring.

Quilter’s Hideaway

First, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has made this possible.  It has been a dream I never knew I could dream, and watching things fall perfectly into place has been a blessing.

Now for the fun stuff.

The past few blog posts have been sprinkled with different clues.  Did anyone pick up on them? Does anyone want to make a quick guess?

If you found this through the new Facebook or Instagram page then you already know.  My mom and I are opening a quilt shop.

Do you need me to repeat that? I have been hearing it for many months, and I still feel like I need pinched.  A quick poke of the needle as I work on binding for shop quilts has helped with the pinching part.

We are opening a quilt shop!

When I started this blog I made the decision to be open and honest with the world behind the screen.  I wanted people to be able to relate, to see the good, to see the not so good, and to really join in on this journey.   With that said, I plan to share about the shop in this manner as well.

Read on to learn how Quilter’s Hideaway became Quilter’s Hideaway.

Growing up my mom and I would talk back and forth about how great it would be to own a quilt shop- a fun place for quilters, crafters, newbies, and experienced to join together to make somethings from nothing.  It was always a dream but never a reality or something we thought would become anything.

Many years have passed and we took notes every time we visited a quilt shop- we love this, not so sure about that, oh my gosh this is fabulous, and maybe we wouldn’t do that.  Everyone has different styles and watching those styles form quilt shops is part of why visiting other shops is so fun.

One day this summer my mom and I became more serious about diving into this adventure.  She had retired and took a small business class to see what would be possible while I let my imagination run wild.  Could this really be a thing?

I’m the doubter, mom’s the plower.  She is a go getter but wants to have knowledge of every aspect.  She has taken business classes, met with accountants and attorneys, discussed business plans with others, and made phone call after phone call to make sure we are on the right road.  She never second guessed that we could do this.  If one path didn’t work she ran down another.  If one door shut she pounded until the next opened wide.  It has been fun to watch her take hold of this.  I on the other hand, take a closed door and second guess what we are doing.  I make a decision and change my mind three seconds later.  At the beginning this was rough, but now we are in a rhythm of our different roles and I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anyone else!  I’m also getting better at making decisions and sticking with them (you’re welcome, mom).

Now that all of the business side is falling into place we made the decision to announce to you and the world our secret!  Quilter’s Hideaway is real and coming January 2017.  Are you ready? I know we are!

Last night we walked through our building and talked layout (and maybe a little about painting).  It happened right after I created our Facebook page, and I could not contain my excitement.  Things are happening every day to lead us to our grand opening.  From meeting with our web guy (We got the website link we were wanting!), to deciding on shelving, classes, and fabric lines, shop layout, quilts to hang and so much more, each step brings us that much closer to our dream.

So many friends and family members have stepped up to help throughout this planning process, and we wouldn’t be where we are without them. There are no words to cover what others have done for us, but thank you, thank you, thank you!

See you at the machine,

•Care