Old Town Fabrics Gets A New Home

Chillicothe's new fabric store, Old Town Fabrics, has outgrown its original home, and has moved to the next street over into a veritable mansion of a building. The mother-daughter team of Cindy and Kelly bought a warehouse on historic Water Street, practically gutted the entire place, and remodeled for their quilting shop. I had the chance to stop in to see their new home on Wednesday of last week.

Let me just say this -- What a Treat!!

Upon entering the front door, you are greeted with a huge expansive room. The area to the left is the Bernina showroom and if you come back this way, still on the left you will find a large classroom area.

Here is a better look at the classroom. Big tables and lots of elbow room. Students will love it! And take a look at all the inspiration hanging there on the wall! These are quilts that have been or are going to be taught.

And, still at the front door, if we look to the right, we see the checkout counter. Kelly is there inventorying new merchandise - wool! Take a look at that beautiful creation on the wall. Love it.

This view is to my right just as I'm walking into the store. There is an entire other half a building over there, and it is full of fabric. There's a worker at the cutting table.

Get a load of these hardwood floors. They are gorgeous! The fabric side of the store features a huge collection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, a wide range of batiks, lots of reprodution fabrics, and more. I noticed that they carry 30's prints and solids, too.

The displays are inviting, but THE most inviting place of all is way back there in this photo (above).

How can a gal resist this cozy area?? Two wingback chairs flanking that old fireplace. The rustic color on the wall is so reminiscent of older homes. The quilts, the bed, the rug - it looks ready for a family to move in!

This corner in the front of the shop is the place to stop if you are looking for fat quarters or pre-cuts.

 Heavenly! Just the kind of stop I needed to make before heading out to a dental appointment!!

Every inch of this place is interesting - from the fabrics and precuts to the samples on display to the store's unique collection of antiques. I enjoyed my visit to Old Town Fabric Shop and their brand new store. And I did allow myself a few small purchases. *grin*

This makes Chillicothe a destination for quilters. We have our other fabric shop, Creations, this store, JoAnn Fabrics and Hobby Lobby! If a quilter wanted, she could travel out in my direction (northwest) from Chillicothe and take in Ben Franklin in Greenfield.

My thanks for November 19:
I am thankful for having grown up a country girl. I was raised on a farm and have lived my adult life in mostly rural settings. I love the slow pace of rural living.





Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Making Decisions

Over the past couple of days I've been focusing on trying to get my sciatic nerve to feel better, and therefore, have not accomplished very much on the sewing/quilting front. I do find, however, that I think about quilts a lot, and I mean A LOT! Like maybe I am preoccupied with them or something. That's cool, though, for thinking generally leads to doing, and that is exactly what happened.

I was thinking about getting something going. I had 4 likely options from which to choose.

#1-- sandwich my little November Stars wall hanging and machine quilt it.

#2 -- machine quilt the baby quilt for Flynn, Sharon P's new grandbaby.

#3 -- apply the fusible web to Emma's t-shirt blocks and get busy making her t-shirt quilt.

#4 -- cut out a new quilt.

The t-shirts have been cut out for awhile - maybe 6 weeks!

Option 3 was the lucky winner. I have all the necessary parts to get this quilt finished, and t-shirt quilts go together so fast, it seems like a no-brainer to get this out of the way. She (hopefully) will be surprised on Christmas morning!

I hadn't gotten the fusible web ironed on, though.

Emma was a Tigerette! Hopefully, her quilt will bring a smile!

My stack of 15 t-shirt blocks. It will be 3x5.
I have a hot pink flannel for use as sashing and borders.

I  am behind in posting my "thankfuls."

My thanks for November 16:
I am thankful for beautiful, sunny November days. Usually November is our cloudiest month, but we have been enjoying some gorgeous days this last week.

My thanks for November 17:
I am thankful for modern conveniences. Hot water, electricity, heat, toasters, dishwashers, irons, cell phones - the conveniences we take for granted are so much a part of everyday activities. I would surely miss them if I had to do without!

My thanks for November 18:
I am thankful for my safety and security. Many parts of the world are fraught with terrorism and poverty. I am so thankful that I live free from such savage worries.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Pinwheel Quilt

I had hoped to finish the pinwheel quilt on Monday when we all sewed at Sherrie's house. Alas, I did not.

I did, however, get back to work on it Tuesday here at home, and I finished it in just an hour or two.

It is a rather small quilt, and I should have paid better attention to that. I have plenty of fabric remaining - I could so easily have made it a row wider and a row longer. Oh well, it's done, and I am pleased with it. The pic above looks washed out because the sun was shining in behind it.

I don't think I've ever made a Thimbleberries pattern that has dissatisfied me, come to think of it. All of her patterns are well written and easy to follow.

I did make a small boo-boo. I was just rolling right along adding those borders without a thought. When I picked up all my stuff, there were 4 extra pinwheels. What?? How could I have miscounted those?? Well, a quick check of the pattern and those four pinwheels were supposed to go in the border corners. Duh. Now I have these extra pinwheel blocks to use somehow. I will figure something out. Just give me time.

This is the quilt in the book. Hers is a Christmas-themed quilt in 3 fabrics. I used 4 fabrics in my version.

And, of course, this is the book in which the pattern is located.

My thanks for November 15:
I am thankful for my siblings. I am the oldest of 5, and I have such wonderful childhood memories with them. I always look forward to holiday get-togethers.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

A Long-Standing Tradition

Sewing together on Veterans' Day has become a tradition for the Frienzies. Every year we have the same discussion about when exactly we started using this day for marathon sewing. The best answer we have is 2002, based on a book that we all signed and gave to Sherrie, our hostess.

Monday, in the drizzly rain and cloudy, windy conditions, we traipsed in with our gear in tow. It was a perfect day for sewing together. A warm, cozy house filled with the best of friends --I ask you, what could be better?

Let's take a look at the variety of projects going being tackled.

Sharon worked an old UFO --  the tumbling blocks that she and her daughter
bought about 8 years ago. It's called Not Your Mother's Tumbling Block
 (or something along that line).

She sewed all day on strip after strip after strip.
They have to be done in a certain order to keep the block shape.

Pam was making a table runner using this pattern from her church's Mission Project.

 

Pam was using leftovers from a project she made earlier in the summer at Quilt Camp.

Linda worked on making this bag. She has some wonderfully playful fabric, too!




This is a pocket for the purse/bag shown above.

 

Sherrie's project. Applique.

Beautiful! I think I could get really attached to an embroidery machine.

 

Kay, bless her heart, worked most of the day on a Comfy Care quilt for a member of her church family who had recently fallen; she traced and cut out hands and hearts; then she appliqued them onto the fleece throw. Those Stack and Whack blocks in front there are the real project she intended to work on.



This is Susan. She and Hettie are still teaching while all the rest of us have retired.
Susan brought quarterly assessments to grade and analyze.
Hettie brought coupons to sort and organziae.
Hettie could only stay a bit, so I have no pic of her.



A mutual quilting friend, Pat, stopped in with her Stack and Whack blocks.
Oooohs and aaaaahs aplenty as she showed us one gorgeous block after another!

I worked on this pinwheel quilt with the hope of completing the entire top.
Alas, I did not. My sciatic nerve pain was just too much to bear.
So I will show that finish in the next post.
 

 My thanks for November 14:
I am thankful for a husband who will do household chores willingly. Since this business with the sciatic has flared up, he has done a lot of my work for me. I am ever so grateful!






Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

A Quickie

Yes, I do have a lot of pictures from our big sewing day yesterday at Sherrie's. However, I have not taken the time yet to load them onto my laptop, or to think about how I will organize it all.

So . . .

I will show you this quick little item for today, and spend today thinking through the Monday sewing day. (I always used to tell my students that much of writing occurs in the brain before we ever pick up a pencil or pen...or sit at a computer.)

Today is Frienzie Kay's birthday, and yesterday while at Sherrie's, we celebrated. I gave her a coffee mug and a gift card to Ben Franklin. I added her initial to the plain white mug to personalize it. Here is the practice one I did for myself.

I found this project on Pinterest. It seemed easy enough and it definitely appealed to me. I bought the plain white mug at Rite Aid of all places, traced the letter that I printed off the computer, colored it in with a Sharpie marker, baked it in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes! Voila! Glad I made a practice one - my edges are a bit rough on this, and the 'j' is leaning a bit. The one for Kay was much spiffier!

So, this morning since DS is here, I baked some sticky buns and had a cup of coffee out of my new mug. Mmmm, good!


My thanks for November 13:
I am thankful that my sciatic nerve finally seems to be responding to the medications. Today I am standing upright with very little pain. Hallelujia!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Veterans' Day SWF

Because some of those in the Frienzie group are still teaching (i.e. have yet to retire), we have for many, many years used the Veterans' Day holiday for a long day of sewing. Sherrie has been our hostess, oh, these many years, and that's where I'll be today, stitching away on my blue and green pinwheel quilt. In the early years, we went with the intent of staying all night, sewing all night. It wasn't too many years, though, that we decided we were just not cut out for such stuff any more, so we end at a reasonable hour in the evening.

Here are the pinwheels I will be making. I just couldn't resist. I had to make a couple just to see what they'd look like. I am going to like this, I do believe!

 

 

Here are all my parts! Ready to go! Can I get the entire top made in one day? I hope so!

I promise to take pictures of everyone's projects. Some will be scrapping instead of sewing, others come along just to iron or "unsew" or whatever someone might need. It's all about the fellowship, mostly. (Well, there will be a fair amount of eating, too!) These girls are as dear as sisters to me, and we just don't get to see one another as often as we did when we were all still working in the same building.



My thanks for November 12:
I am thankful for my Frienzies. These women are so dear, sweet and special. We started out as co-workers and ended up as lifelong friends.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Thank You!

I did get my blue and green pinwheel quilt cut out yesterday afternoon. To be better prepared for sewing tomorrow, I think I will do further prep on the pinwheel units - get them cut and laid out for sewing.

Mostly today I just want to honor our military on this Veterans' Day. We have much to be grateful for as a result of the sacrifice of others. I know I often take my freedom for granted, but I do so appreciate our service men and women, both present and past.




My thanks for November 11:
I am eternally grateful for America's military, their dedicated service and sacrifice.

Happy Quilting, Friends!



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