Wow! The week flew past, yet somehow I was able to finish a few things. I sure hope you were able to as well.
First, I worked on a class sample. Our first class is February 25th and it is a beginner quilt class on making a Disappearing Nine Patch; although, any skill level could join. I have set up three different sizes: a queen layer cake friendly version, a charm pack friendly throw size, and a charm pack friendly crib/toddler version.
This is such a fun, versatile pattern. I used a Moda Grunge layer cake and grey complementary fabric to whip up this sample. I actually really like it and cannot wait for it to be my new couch quilt. I am using Ellen Medlock’s fabric line to make the throw quilt size. It will be an excellent quilt for the spring with all the bright colors. I just started this one, though, so it is not making the leap to the finished quilt pile just yet.
In addition to the Disappearing Nine Patch quilts, Millie was a go getter. This weekend we quilted about 10 quilts. It was such a great weekend spent getting to see different quilts and how the quilting pattern changed the quilt for the better. Everyone has such a unique style that I just love.
We still have a few spots open for the Disappearing Nine Patch Class and Thursday is Open Sew Night at Quilter’s Hideaway! Last week we stayed sewing until after 9pm.
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?
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.
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.
Do you have any fun Christmas or holiday traditions? I thought I would share a few of the fun things we did this weekend and a little about how WIP Week wrapped up.
Over the weekend we had our good friends come over and we went to see Santa, ate dinner together, and even made it to see Christmas lights. There is a place in town that decorates with thousands of Christmas lights, and it is a common tradition to go walk through the lights some time in December. Of course, we picked a pretty cold night. A and I quickly learned it was warmer if we piggy-backed than if we walked alone.
Having a best friend who doesn’t live in the same town is rough. Recently we have both been so busy that this was our first visit in quite a while. Thankfully, we have planned a longer get together around the New Year with movies, fort-building, and popcorn. I’m looking forward to it.
After they left to head home, I scurried off to the sewing room desperate to finish up a couple projects. I knew my Saturday was booked, so my only chance to get things knocked off the list was late Friday night. Thankfully, I got quite a bit done burning the midnight oil, and I was able to wake up early and finish it the rest of the way on Saturday morning.
Earlier in the week an SOS had been issued. A friend needed to get a t-shirt quilt done fairly quickly and a group had pulled together to help. I told you I might show up and help you finish projects during WIP Week. You never know, you might be next!
Anyways, Saturday I knew would be filled with her t-shirt quilt and it was. We were able to cut, sew, and quilt it all in one day. I even heard that the binding was sewn on and it had been through the wash before the weekend ended. That is a pretty successful sewing party.
It was too funny. Two were sewing frantically, two were pressing, and one was handing pieces out to sew and cutting away at the sashing, borders, blocks, and binding. Things were crazy. We kept the quilt laid out on the dining room table, but there were times where pieces were at each station and nothing was on the table. Sewing started around noon and by 5pm we were loading it on Millie. A simple meandering pattern was chosen and Millie got to work.
Be careful when you issue an SOS, things will start flying and projects will get finished.
After quilting and attaching the binding, they left to start sewing down the binding, and I got to work on another quilt. I was determined to quilt the quilt I had finished that morning. I couldn’t decide on a pattern, but Mom said I should go with Meandering Feathers to help smooth out the geometric pattern in the quilt. I wasn’t sure at first, but I have been loving Meandering Feathers, so I went with it. The quilt turned out perfect. I really like this one and might have to remake one for myself.
I’m a huge fan of half square triangles and all the things you can do with them. I think they have been appearing in every quilt I have sewn this year with few exceptions. Do you ever get caught up on one specific pattern or block?
Although last week was WIP Week, I think this will be another week of finishing up a few Christmas projects before I drag out anything new. There will be plenty of quilting, sewing, and rambling in the near future. Stick around.
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.
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. 🙂
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.
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),
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 6th 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.
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),
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!
