Oilcloth (?) bag...

We have had a "we should really make this" list going at the shop for a while now. One of the things on the list was the nursing mom's cover-up we made last week. Another was this bag I just finished out of the "oilcloth" fabrics we have. Free Spirit/Westminster calls these fabrics oilcloth, but they really are not at all like an oilcloth. A lot of you have fondled them and know exactly what I'm talking about - right? They are very soft and supple. And I can tell you that they are pretty easy to sew with as well. I made this tote bag this week. It's lined with one of my favorite "Nicey Jane" coordinates (that's the line this comes from designed by Heather Bailey). It's the big dots. This tote is going to come in handy to haul my "stuff" around in the next week or so! It went together really easily and I'm working on getting you the directions.

What else have we been doing? Well, Linda started on part of the Spring "re-do" of the fabrics today. Partly, we just need to rotate the fabrics out of the windows fairly often to avoid too much sun exposure. The nice young man from FedEx brought us some "basics" today and a couple of bolts of darling corduroy in some bright colors. Jan cut out and put on the design wall the parts to the "Eclectic Garden" free handout project - very fun! I cut most of the pieces for a patriotic topper we were picking fabrics for last week. Thought I might get to it tonight, but if my first quarter taxes aren't postmarked tomorrow, it would not be a good thing!

Okay, it's late and I think I need to go find my pillow....hope you have a fun weekend planned! We have EQ Saturday - last one before the summer break. Night all!

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Baby, baby....

As promised, here is a picture of our Nursing Cover-Up. Like I said, a lot of you have been coming in to make these, so we gleaned the best features and added a few of our own to make this cover-up for nursing moms. We've got a free handout available, so just ask if you're interested. Harriet was mentioning that some customers have said they'd like a lightweight one for summer. We have a few wonderful voiles from Anna Maria Horner that would work beautifully for that. Hmmm....maybe that should be our next one?

Jan and I had a pretty busy day today. We worked some more on getting "stuff" ready for the sale and we had quite a few customers in between times! Tomorrow, Jan, Linda, Izzie and I will be rearranging the tables and setting up for the big Spring Cleaning Sale Thursday-Saturday! And don't forget that Tracey and I will be there until 8:00 on Thursday, in case you'd like to come after work or leave kiddos at home so you can shop.

Okay....laundry going and getting ready to do a quick sewing project. Have a wonderful evening!

Boutique Bag...

Remember the bag I told you Jan was working on? This is it! It's made using the gorgeous sunflower group from Clothworks. We were going to have a gold bow, then a red bow, but when the bag was done, the blue bow was the only way to go. Doesn't it just make the rest of the bag sing? One of our customers was telling us that she used one of the big leather buttons we have and made a closure that way. (The bag has a casing on the outside that the bow "slides" through.) We thought about doing it that way, but in the end the bow won out. The pattern we used is "Boutique Bag" by Bella Nonna. It actually comes in two sizes, but I haven't ever seen the smaller one made up....bet it would be equally fun. I'll try and get a picture of the nursing cover-up next to show you. It turned out really well and I think I've got the directions all written up so it can be recreated at your house if you so desire

So...how's your weekend? The sun was so inviting today that I took the old horse car on my errands with the top down! Then, I sat on the patio and read the Sunday paper. What a decadent lifestyle!! Now I'm doing the Sunday laundry, tidying and getting ready to send an e-mail update to all of you Fab-Etc'ers! I hope you too got a chance to relax a bit and enjoy the weather today. Happy Sunday from me to you!

Spring dress....

Remember when I told you about that great new Riley Blake "citrus-y" group we got in a week or two ago? Well, Harriet and I picked these fabrics and a Kwik Sew pattern last Saturday, and today she brought it in almost done. So....we picked out buttons for the dress, made a strap for the purse, found some cute buttons for the purse and voila! Isn't it darling? Harriet's youngest granddaughter (she has 4 of them!) has been promised this outfit for her birthday in August. Won't it just be perfect! We have the pattern in stock and lots of other fabrics that would be equally cute.

We're on a mission of late to get LOTS of new samples for you to feast your eyes upon! Yesterday Jan finished a bag she started last week using the new sunflower group from Clothworks. (Will try and get a picture in the next couple of days.) We've been wanting to create a nursing cover-up for the last few months, so we perused the free tutorials on line and tried to pick the best features of all of them to create the Fab-Etc version. Hoping to have that finished tomorrow. Then, we picked a couple of fabrics to make our favorite placemats again. And we've selected flannels for receiving blankets and burp cloths. I'm hoping to lay out our Garden Party quilt tomorrow and place all of the petals so it's ready to sew in place. And I'm playing around with a runner from the Anka's Treasures book with my Garden Party "leftovers". There's also a bag pattern in the latest "Quilts and More" magazine that's just been calling out to be made up! That, and we've been doing some "Spring cleaning" of little piles of "stuff" that has accumulated of late.

Whew, that made me tired just writing all of that....think I'll call it a night so I'll be ready for more fabric fun tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Izzie....

Well, I was going to put this up yesterday, but I left my camera at the shop! This is a picture from our Tea Party on Wednesday. Elizabeth (Izzie) is a 4-H/Running Start student who works for us two days a week. she works a couple of hours tidying, rolling fat quarters (we know that's her fav) and doing everything we ask with a cheerful attitude. I blew it last month by writing down the wrong date for her birthday! So....we decided that since she works Wednesday afternoons, we would surprise her at the Tea Party. Of course, she was surprised since we were about 3 weeks late for her special day! Jan made this wonderful strawberry cake with purple frosting and pink sprinkles on top. Then she found this great pink boa for a "tiara/crown". Izzie is such a great sport to go along with us old ladies and our crazy sense of humor! Happy Belated Birthday, Izzie!

What have we been up to this week? I've been trying to get my Shop Hop block together to mail next week, and I think I might have finally gotten it! Just a bit more tweaking and then off it goes in the mail to be part of the annual quilt made by In The Beginning fabrics. Whew...glad that's almost done! And of course, we've gotten a couple of bolts of fabric....some wonderful pastel flannels came today, along with lots of notions to restock the wall after the Quilt Tour.

I'm sure tomorrow will be lots of fun. Harriet and I will be tidying, putting notions away, and ready to cut fabric for whoever walks through the door! Have a wonderful weekend....I know I am....all of my kiddos and grandkiddos are supposed to be coming on Sunday afternoon - YIPPEE!!

Thangles....

As most of you know, this year our "thing" of the month is something we're calling Fantastic Finds. This month's Find is Thangles (I wonder how they came up with that name?) These are paper strips that eliminate the bias when making half square triangles. You just cut your strips, put the paper on, sew on the lines, cut, trim and voila - perfect half square triangles! They come in lots of sizes and there are a few patterns as well. This is a picture of a sample our Tracey did for us using the "Intro Pack" - didn't she do a fantastic job? The Intro Pack comes with two patterns and scads of 2" finished Thangles. Take a look at the display if you're in this month.

Today was a good Monday. Quiet and then not so quiet. Diane and I got a few things crossed off the To Do list. She's taken home a panel and fabric to play with from a new group we got a week or so ago - Serengeti. I made some more petals for our Garden Party on the design wall. And we got bagels. No, not for lunch...on fabric!

Tomorrow, Jan and I will set up for the Tea Party Wednesday and work on a bag from the Sunflower group and I need to finish my Shop Hop block and get it off to In the Beginning by next week - yikes....I better get a move on!

That's all for now, folks. Have a good evening!

Feed me....

This is a picture of a bib we made from the latest "Quilts and More" magazine. Isn't it just too cute? Harriet and I started it yesterday and Jan finished up today. It's a very fun pattern and super-easy to make. Doesn't the strawberry fabric just set it off perfectly? There's also an applique for a monkey to put on the bib if you prefer (maybe not with the strawberry fabric, though!) Do you know anybody that might need one of these? I'm afraid my Cody would not like the pink!

Today was Jan's first day back from her trip to Belize. Her daughter, Officer Jackie from the Lynnwood Police Dept. got married over there last week. They had a marvelous time - I got to see pictures today. She even has a bit of a tan!

We got some really cute prints from Riley Blake today - kind of citrus-y (probably not a word, but you get it - right?) We're thinking of using it in a bag pattern in the same magazine or maybe a little girls dress? Jan and I will play around tomorrow with some ideas while Velina is teaching EQ6.

Well, that's all for this windy evening. Going to go finish my laundry and sit a bit. Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend!