June 29th, 2008

We are gearing up for the 4th of July which is coming quickly. Float ideas for the parade are being formulated and plans are being made. If you are unable to attend the wonderful 4th of July festivities in Paradise, which end with fireworks over Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay, make sure to check back here at the end of next week and you can see how our float for the 4th of July parade turned out.

All four of us are in the middle of projects so I don’t have any finished items to show today, but I do have some pictures of the beautiful wildflowers that are growing right now. These flowers are growing right along the road so it makes a very pretty drive.

Aren’t daisies a happy flower – you just have to smile when you see these.

My very favorite is the wild iris and they are blooming in every slightly wet area from the swamps to the ditches at the edge of the road. There are some areas along the road that are green with the grasses and then you see all these little purple flowers poking out.

If you look closely, in this picture you can see all the flowers together.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July. If you are in the Paradise area stop in to visit us and join us for our parade and fireworks. Till next time happy crafting and remember all threads lead to Paradise!

Lisa

June 18th, 2008

Well, we have been knitting, crocheting and sewing- oh my! I have some great new pictures to post and more to come since we have all been hard at work and the UPS man is here many times a week bringing new things. Since I haven’t posted any knitting or crocheting in a while I will start with those. First, I have been crocheting and felting bowls. I had two missions: one, make a penny dish for next to the cash register and two, design and write up a pattern for a crocheted and felted wine bottle cozy. Well, as some of you may know felting with wool yarn is sometimes a bit of an experiment. This little coin bowl made with Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky come out slightly bigger than I wanted but all in all I am very happy with it. Now the wine bottle cozy on the other hand, turned out to be a beautiful bowl. In other words, I really made it too big to start with and I felted it just as much as I possibly could. I added a really cool new yarn called Circus, to a wool and silk blend yarn to get this bowl. Circus is a fuzzy yarn and also has little balls of color hanging off it.

I absolutely love the look of this bowl (even though I was aiming for a wine bottle cozy) and I knew when I was making it that I was making it a bit too big around and I should have went back and tore out a row before making the sides. Now I just need to make the wine bottle cozy to match! Great gift idea here!

Vicki just finished a really cool knitted hat. The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky and the pattern is from Halfmoon Hallow Designs. Since it is made of bulky yarn with big needles, it knits up quickly and can be made in an evening. There is a wide selection of colors and the new Brown Sheep hand dyed looking yarns. Here’s the hat with Kyle modeling:

The 13th and final banner of the month is done. If you purchase all twelve you get the 13th one free. This one is adorable and embellished with lots of buttons. You can join our banner of the month club and have the banner kits sent to you each month. Each kit includes pattern, all fabrics for the top as well borders backing, binding and embellishments. Contact us if you have any questions or would like to join our club.

I made a new table runner from a pattern from Maple Island Quilts. It has curved borders and is so much fun. Don’t fret; the curves are not hard to do. I think the bigger and bolder the print for the center, the better it is!

From Blank Textiles we have the Chelsea collection and this cool new bright quilt with geometric flowers. Made with strips and borders with fusible machine applique, it can be completed quickly. Makes for a great size for a student going off to collage.

Deb just finished these great Christmas ornaments from Susie C. Shore designs. They are colored with the fabric inks and are as cute as a button and couldn’t be easier. Add trim and embellishments and you have a wonderful gift for co-workers or a newly married couple. The fabric inks are fun and it is just like coloring in a coloring book such a wonderful and relaxing activity.

‘Till next time, happy crafting and remember “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa

May 19th, 2008

Happy Monday to all! First, I have to post a picture of my new sweatshirt jacket. The pattern comes from the designers at The Teachers Pet and it is fun. You pick 5 fabrics, make a quilt top, cover the sweatshirt, bind and your done. Well, there are a few steps in between but you could have this done in a weekend to wear to work on Monday.

We have some wind issues today so Vicki and I tried to take this next picture 4 times before I got one. Thank goodness for digital cameras. This table runner comes from a pattern from Kansas Troubles Quilters and uses the Jelly Roll Strips or you can cut your own strips from your stash of favorites or a specific color group with the new strip and charm square ruler. As a bonus there is a pattern for a strip tote bag too. Both projects are quilt as you go, so piece, binding and you are done! Either one would make a great gift, especially during this time of year when there are many weddings and graduations going on.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and all your travels. For you that will be in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula stop by and visit us. We are open everyday including Memorial Day. We have met some wonderful people lately that have been traveling to here from all over the United States – Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virgina and Alabama just to name a few off the top of my head. Happy crafting and remember “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa:-)

May 14th, 2008

Deb finished a quilt using some of Mark Lipinski’s (of the Quilters Home magazine fame) line of fabric called Katmandu. This pattern is great for beginners (because the designer takes you through step by step and includes great pictures) as well as those who are more advanced but looking for a quick to make project. You can do all squares or make the triangles, fun fun!

I recently finished putting together my vest that I had quilted and posted pictures of a little while ago. I absolutely love this vest pattern (LOVE the Favorite Things designers) and love being able to pick fabric to go with shirts that I already have. Batik fabric is my fabric of choice for these vests because it washes and wears so well. Into the washer, into the dryer, give it a good shake and hang it up. They also seem to travel well; even after being folded and squashed in a suitcase they still look good when you pull them out. I have two of these vests now and have been wearing them quite often with our sometimes cool spring weather when you don’t really need a coat.

On Saturday May 3rd the volunteers got together to make quilts for Whitefish Township EMS, which is our local volunteer ambulance crew. The quilts are carried with the crew in the ambulances and are given to seriously injured or ill folks who are transported to the hospital. Eight quilts were completed on May 3rd for a total of 215 quilts that have been made and donated so far. The two quilts that are pictured are made from the 55 quilt squares that were made during National Quilting Day on March 15th. (See my March 24th posting of our National Quilting Day activities.) A BIG THANK YOU to all of the wonderful women and men that spend time with us to make these quilts.

I am off to finish a new sweatshirt jacket I have been working on. ‘Till next time, happy crafty and remember “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa

Spring Has Sprung!

Wow where does the time go. I can’t believe that it is May 1st. Our snow is almost gone and the flowers are starting to bloom.

I have a favorite new book that is all about short cuts to crazy quilting. It is all done on machine and you get to use all the wonderful decorative stitches on your sewing machine that you never are sure what to do with. If you don’t have a sewing machine with all the fancy stitches a zig zag with variegated threads is equally as stunning. Here are the pictures of this great new project.

Be sure to stop into the shop and check out this book and sign up for a class!

For the frog lovers we have finished a quilt in these lovely frog fabrics. We are finding that the adults want it as much as the kids.

For the little kids a quilt with silly animals and bright colors.

I have been working on Kyle’s sweater vest. I have only pulled it all out twice to start over. I wanted it a little bigger but it was turning out almost big enough for me. I have recalculated and I am on my way again. I really hope it turns out now that I have all the bugs worked out. I would like to make a lighter weight one for him to wear to my cousins wedding this fall.

We hope all of your projects are turning out perfect and sometimes you just need a little break or change of scenery to get back in the groove. Happy crafting and remember – “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa

Final Endings and New Beginings

It has been a week for finishing up all the little details on those on going projects.  And then of course getting to start new!  There are so many new patterns and ideas coming into the shop that it is hard to decided what to start next.

Vicki finished making heart shaped yo yo’s and finished this very cute table runner.  Great gift for someone getting married, a house warming gift or just because!

I have been meaning to post my finished floor quilt/cloth.  I started with a place mat size and learned a lot of techniques and discovered some helpful hints and tips for when I do classes.

To all the mothers, aunts, grandmas, friends and any one who has children or knows children – this it the best gift ever.  A nap sack!  Pick fabrics in the child’s favorite colors or prints and with the simple construction you can have this nap sack done for the next days nap.  Easy enough for beginners with  basic sewing skills and it includes an attached pillow.

The spring type weather makes me think of a new wardrobe and this quilted zip up vest is perfect.  Here is a picture of the one that is finished.

And a second one that is quilted but has to be assembled.

For those who don’t really like to do zippers, no fear, there is nothing to putting this zipper in!  I picked out batik fabrics that matched two long sleeve t-shirts that I have.  It can also be worn with a sweater or a short sleeve t-shirt.  If you have a special collection of fabrics you want to use, the pattern gives you the pattern pieces and directions so you can also make a patchwork version of this vest using a group of five fabrics.

Last but not least is a wonderful strip quilt that can be made from jelly roll strips or cut your own 2 1/2″ strips with the new jelly roll strip ruler.  We added some wider strips to our quilt to feature a group of fabrics with a cabin scene on them. 

Quick and easy to make with any group of fabrics or stash and makes a great gift or throw to spruce up any room.

So now that we have finished up these projects it is on to new.  I have started on a new project that is crazy quilting by machine.  It allows you to use all the fancy stitches on your machine if you have them and if not you can use a zig zag stitch and jazz it up with decorative threads.  I have my blocks cut and sewn together and now on to the fun part of the stitches oh, and it is quilt as you go so you when you are done there is no extra quilting.  Plus the quilt as you go technique allows you to do a bigger quilt on your sewing machine.  I have in mind a Halloween themed quilt for one of my dear friends quilted with glow in the dark thread- yum!

Till next time – happy crafting and remember “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa

National Quilting Day

National Quilting Day was held on March 15th and was a blast! Everyone, including all of us staff, had a wonderful time. 55 quilt blocks were made for our ambulance quilts and 4 quilt tops were finished.

Thank you for all that attended and thank you to Teri from Eagle Radio for doing a great live broadcast.

We even had some guys making quilt blocks for this great cause!

Kyle had a great time too! Maybe he will be the next great pattern or fabric designer – who knows.

For those of you who are not familiar with our ambulance quilt project, volunteers meet about every other month or so in the classroom at Village Fabrics & Crafts to make quilts that are donated to our local ambulance service which is volunteer also. The quilts are about 45″ square and are given to those who are seriously injured or ill and transported by the ambulance. We donate most of the fabrics and some quilts turn out pretty wild! What better way to keep someones’ mind off of what is going on around them then looking at all the wild prints and colors of fabrics in their lap quilt. We have received many nice thank you notes from people who have received quilts. If you are interested in knowing more about our ambulance quilts or our next meeting date, just drop us an email at villagefab@jamadots.com.

Happy crafting!

Lisa :0)

Our New Rainbow

Here is the before and after of our new fabric rainbow. 71 bolts of new blenders in all colors. The first picture is after they have been unboxed and sorted by color and the second picture shows what they look like now after Vicki has worked her magic and put them in the correct order. The picture doesn’t do it justice – you have to see these in person. There is a color to match pretty much anything you want!

I am off to finish getting ready for our National Quilting Day event on Sat. March 15th. We are planning a party like no other! Lots of folks will be coming to make quilt blocks and some will be sewing for the very first time. The will make 2 blocks; one for themselves and one to be made into quilts for our local volunteer ambulance crew to hand out on runs. The local radio station will even be here doing a live broadcast and learning to sew. I sure hope I will have time to take pictures so I can post them next week!

Happy crafting and remember – All Threads Lead to Paradise!

Lisa

The Fun of Floor Cloths

On Saturday afternoon I started my fabric floor cloths. I have been trying for a couple of weeks to get this started. It is a bit of a process because all the fabrics and canvas that the fabrics are attached to have to be treated before you can start. We will be doing this as more of a demo rather than a class because of the time that things take to dry. If you don’t know what a floor cloth or floor quilt is, here is a quick general description. First of all there is no sewing involved so they are for anyone who has a love of fabric whether you sew or not. They are also great for scraps and pieces. Fabrics are treated and so is the canvas that the fabrics will eventually be stuck to. When the treated fabrics are dry you can cut out shapes like you would for quilts. You can use traditional quilt blocks or cut out motifs to do “applique” the options are endless! Once your pieces are cut, they will get stuck to the canvas and treated so they are protected from wear and tear. Floor cloths are great decorative rugs (but very usable), place mats, drink coasters, luggage tags, etc. Stay tuned!

In the first picture I am treating my fabrics and the other picture is of my fabrics all laid out to dry. Today is Monday and all the fabrics are dry and as stiff as cardboard! I hope to iron and cut shapes this afternoon and maybe start attaching them to the canvas. Stay tuned the next couple of days and you will probably see the finished floor cloth by the end of the week.

Happy crafting and remember – “All Threads Lead to Paradise!”

Lisa

Bear Quilt

Vicki finished this quilt a while ago but I was catching up on my posts and realized that I had forgot to put it in the blog. It is a really cool bear panel and the bear paw blocks around the outside really set it off.

We took a drive on Sunday to have lunch with the in-laws and I finally had some time in the car to do a little crocheting. This is the gauge swatch for Kyle’s sweater vest. The gauge is a little larger than I wanted so I am going to go down a hook size and try again. I want to make sure it will be big enough so he can wear it next winter but I don’t want him to swim in it! I found some red corduroy fabric to make a pair of pants for him too. He will be such a Dapper Dan!

Till next time – happy crafting!

Lisa