Kanesville Quilting, Council Bluffs, NE March 2008

As a celebration of National Quilting Day, Teri, Mary and I went out to lunch and then went on a Saturday quest for a local quilting store that we hadn't visited in a while.   We got a late start due to the amount of time we spent at my house comparing projects that we were working on and then lingered over lunch at Wheatfields.  I showed them the completed T-shirt quilt and a couple of other projects that were underway and they showed me the miniature quilts they were making as part of a Jo Morton club they belong to.  So much fun to have our own show and tell.

We drove over the Missouri River to Kanesville Quilting.  This shop sits in a small parking lot next to a gas station; the store's plain looks don't begin to hint at all the activity inside!  We went inside and found all the tables in the store classroom, that takes up about 1/3 of the store space, occupied by ladies taking a class and learning new tricks on their sewing machines.  This store is an authorized Pfaff dealer so they have all the newest embroidery designs, accessories and carrying cases for those machines.  A trunk show featuring Cynthia England's paper-pieced quilts were hung on one wall.

Many chicken related items were displayed on tops of the shelving around the room.  There were chickens of many kinds, eggs, wire egg baskets, earthenware jugs and other cute chicken-y things to look at.

The rest of the store was filled with free standing racks that held books, individual quilt patterns, some gift items and lots of buttons.  There were also display cases with many different threads such as Robison-Anton, Thimbleberries, Sulky, Aurifil, Guttermann and Mettler.   A generous supply of notions were on one wall and bolts of fabrics were arranged on shelves around the edges of the room and in islands on the main floor.  The fabrics included beautiful batiks, shaded basic fabrics, flannels, Moda, Kona, chenille and a new line of "Wizard of Oz" fabric by Quilting Treasures.  Although there weren't a lot of pre-cut fat quarters, Kanesville Quilting offered packets of pretty coordinating fabrics that could be used in a kit or for some other project.   

Terri and Mary each bought enough pieces of the Wizard of Oz line to make a great quilt.  The three of us are planning a trip to Sisters, Oregon for July so I resisted buying anything this time. 

Kanesville Quilting

19851 Virginia Hills Rd

Council Bluffs, Iowa

712-366-6003

Hours:

Mon-Fri:  10 - 5:30,  Sat:  10 - 4:00 

T-shirt quilt for a high school grad *** March 2008

Last fall I was asked to make a T-shirt quilt for a friend's daughter for her upcoming high school graduation in May 2008.  In previous years I had made a T-shirt quilt for Lib's brother and for 3 other boys that she knew quite well.  All of these kids were from the same high school and they were all interested in music so that meant the all quilts, even though different, had the same black/gold school colors on the front and music as part of their theme.  So, I was looking forward to making a quilt for a girl--something that wasn't black and gold.....

Although the boys were very pleased with their T-shirt quilts (they all knew they were getting a quilt except for the very first grad who got his as a surprise), none of them cared about being included in the fabric selection -- that was left up to the moms and me.  Lib had definite ideas about colors she liked and which particular shirts she wanted included in her quilt.  By this time, she'd seen the 4 other T-shirt quilts made by me and although each was different there were many similarities so she had some idea of what she liked.  

First of all, her favorite color is purple.  That choice is reflected in some of her favorite shirts that ranged from lavender to a darker purple; she chose a deep purple batik fabric to be her background sashing that would frame the blocks.  Also she selected a mottled green to dark blue/purple batik fabric with a small swirled dot pattern for the outer border.  The green picked up the bright limey greens that were in 3 of the T-shirt blocks and made a nice contrast with the dark purple sashing.

I added upper and lower borders of a contrasting color to a few of the narrower shirt pieces to make them fit the almost-square 12 x 12.5" size of the block and I combined the front and back designs on a few shirts to make a more complete block.  On a few blocks I added some fabric pieces to make the design more fun such as including a section of "piano key" fabric to the Mozart block and a strip of black polka dotted yellow fabric to the bottom edge of a lavender shirt that had a row of quirky tea cups.  I also added a small outline border to a couple of the darker blocks in order to set them off so that they wouldn't blend too much into the dark purple sashing.

I hope the final quilt reflects Lib's interests in music, travels to France, and playing tennis.  

Country Traditions, Fremont, NE February 2008

An annual winter tradition for my friend Claudia and me is a quilter's day out to Country Traditions in Fremont, Nebraska.  We were graced with a gorgeous sunny day that was an almost warm 29 degrees -- I suppose warm is a relative term this year as it's been the second coldest winter since my family moved to Nebraska from Arizona 18 years ago.  Anyway, for about 3 hours in the middle of our almost-warm day, we actually left our coats in the car .......we still have high hopes that spring will return to the heartland!  It's been a LONG and cold winter.......

Country Traditions is located on North Main St. in downtown Fremont, Nebraska (located an easy 40 minute drive northwest of Omaha).  The store was recently moved into a different building just a block farther south on the same street in order to have more space, so we were anxious to see if the changes were to our liking.  The old Country Traditions was really good so I was hoping that nothing important was missing -- not to worry, the new building is bigger and better in all ways and has retained its old building wooden-floored charms.

The store is in a old building with store front windows that offer ample space for the lovely seasonal displays that Country Traditions does so well.  Double glass front doors open into a huge space that is filled with decorative and gift items arranged on old pieces of furniture and free standing screen doors that have been fastened together; there are bays of fabrics arranged around the outsides of the room, and a large figure 8-shaped cutting island in the middle of the floor.  The ceilings in this building are probably 20' high and you can see the see the beams and supports of the floor above -- it all creates an airy and spacious feeling.  

On a small annex floor,  halfway between the upstairs and downstairs, is the sales and classroom area for the Pfaff and long-arm sewing machines part of their business.  At the top of the building is a carpeted open space referred to as the "ballroom" that is available for workshops, classes and demonstrations, and off to one side is a display of previous quilt models that are for sale.   I was also told that there is another portion of the building just next door that is there for the taking if they need further expansion.   We should be so lucky.

Country Traditions advertises  having 4500+ bolts of fabric so that means a good selection of many fabric lines including Jo Morton, Thimbleberries, Kansas Troubles, Maywood, Moda, Windham reproductions, 3 Sisters, batiks, children's brights, the Dick and Jane line, Moda Marbles and a wall of what they call "the basics" -- fabrics of many designs arranged by color. The fabrics are organized with each fabric line or type shelved in little bays formed by shelving that juts out from the wall.  Quilting notions and threads (Sulky and Mettler) are offered for every need.  This store offers an enormous number of quilting books as well as many individual patterns for table runners to purses to quilts.

Items for gifts and home decor are offered for the current holidays and displayed throughout the store.  These are things such as floral arrangements, swags and greenery, candles, note cards, ceramic plates and dishes, holiday cutouts saying "Happy Easter," stuffed critters such as bunnies or Santas in the right season, and ornaments.  

On this particular day, I was on a quest for the pattern and fabrics to make a quilt that I had seen on an earlier trip.  The pattern is from the book called "Happy Hour" and is made of fat quarters in the popular color scheme of browns, tans and turquoise blues.  We had fun choosing about 30 fat quarters from the large variety of fabrics there and I should have enough neutral tans in my own stash to fill in the gaps.  Is there anything happier than leaving a nice quilt store with a full bag of fabric in hand?

Country Traditions

330 N. Main

Fremont, NE        402-721-7752

Hours:   M-F, 10 - 5:30,  Thurs til 8 PM

Sat. 10 - 5

Heritage Quilts and Fabrics, Newnan, GA

On a cool sunny winter day my mom and I drove to the town of Newnan, GA. If you were dreaming up your ideal of an old timey Southern town, this is probably what it would look like with streets lined with the beautiful white houses with wrap-around front porches, azalea bushes magnolia trees on the front lawns and a town square that boasts a lovely court house building.

The Heritage Quilts and Fabrics Shop occupies a section of an old building right across the street from the high-steepled courthouse in the center of historic downtown Newnan. The old theater is just doors away and is now the home of restaurant. I was impressed at how active their downtown has remained with lots of businesses, stores, and restaurants all the way around the courthouse square and on adjacent streets.

Heritage Quilts is a two-year old store that started off offering only reproduction fabrics but has branched out a bit to also include bolts of colorful children's fabrics and the Dick and Jane collection, a good number of batiks and Aunt Grace. Their specialty still is reproduction fabrics which is represented by the fabric lines Wyndham "old American Threads," "Antique 1800's and Blends" from In the Beginning, "Kansas Troubles" and "Decadent Victorian" by Moda, and the largest selection of Jo Morton fabrics from Andover Fabrics that I have seen assembled in one shop.

This shop is a very pleasant place starting with the marble topped table at the door that holds their guest book to the quilt samples hanging on exposed brick walls. Tall front windows let in lots of natural light. The book shelves are arranged down a side wall with the classroom at the rear of the store separated from the main part by a set of open windows in real window sashes. I had no trouble finding several pieces of whites for my snowman quilt and a couple of pieces of batiks for a future project. This shop will also take part in the annual Greater Atlanta Shop Hop 2008. If only I could be there too.......

Heritage Quilts and Fabrics
22B West Court Square
Newnan, GA
770-683-9058
Hours: Mon - Sat: 10 AM - 5 PM

Johnny's New York Style Pizza in Hapeville, GA

One of my favorite stops for lunch is to Johnny's Pizza in Hapeville, GA. This bustling small place is located near the Atlanta airport that looks like it's been there forever, but the food is worth the effort to find a parking space in a crowded lot. The back wall is decorated with a painted mural that includes scenes from Atlanta and pays tribute to both the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.  They serve salads and hand-tossed pizzas with a wide variety of toppings, calzones and strombolis, but our favorite is their oven baked sub sandwiches.  These come in about ten different combinations but we always get the Johnny's Special that has ham, salami and capicolla with the oil and vinegar on the side; you can add a salad or bag of chips to go along with your sub.   There is also a dinner menu but I have only been there for lunch. 

Johnny's Pizza

834 Virginia Ave, Hapeville, GA

404-766-3727

Back to my Roots -- Jonesboro, GA January 2008

I grew up and spent my childhood in Fayetteville, GA, south of Atlanta in the heart of Dixie with a strong flavor of "Gone With the Wind." On a recent trip home for my mom's 82nd birthday, I was on my usual prowl for quilt shops that are new to me and came across one in Jonesboro, Ga, called Quilts and Fixin's. (Jonesboro figures prominently in the famous book GTWT.) This wonderful shop is located at the end of a little unassuming strip mall on North Main Street in Jonesboro. The outside of the building gave no hint as to the quilting fun inside!

There was a block-of-the-month club just finishing up as we got there, so there was lots of bustle as the ladies were choosing extra fabrics and getting them cut and checking out with their purchases. Everyone was enthusiastic and helpful including two of the customers who told me that they'd been around long enough that they felt a part of the store. I left my purse sitting on the floor in one room and later found it on the cutting table for "safe guarding." The block-of-the-month for 2008 is a wall-hanging of 13 star blocks made of brightly colored batik fabrics; the project looked so inviting that I decided to join and do it long distance! This will be my first BOTM (block of the month).

Quilts and Fixins occupies 3 large rooms of the building and is much larger inside than it appears from the outside. In the back of the first section, there is a room just for quilting notions and a small baby's room complete with a cradle and baby quilt models including a cute one of a bi-wing airplane. The first room offers a reasonable selection of flannel fabrics, a good amount of black/white prints and batiks and quite a number of fabric bolts in all the ranges of color arranged on shelves around the room and in the center of the room.

In the second room there are novelty prints of all kinds -- they have MANY animal prints but cat prints outsell all the others; they carry over 200 bolts of cat fabrics! The owner told us that dog lovers want to see their specific breed represented on the fabric but cat lovers just seem to love them all. There are lots of projects there involving cats (and other designs) on wall hangings, sweatshirt jackets and stuffed animals. They also have a line of cowboy and western prints and a cute western quilt on the wall. In every room there are so many adorable stuffed animals, snowmen, dolls, critters and other things to bring a smile and make the store feel homey and cozy.

There is a very large room in the 3rd section of the store where classes are held for projects of many skill levels. Lots of quilts on display tempt you to look for the books and patterns that are handily located nearby. Quilts and Fixins will definitely be a stop for me on my semi-annual visits back home to Georgia.

I also learned about the Greater Atlanta Shop Hop 2008; this is an annual shop hop to the 13 quilt stores located within 25 miles of highway I-285 around metro Atlanta. This hop is held during the first 4 day weekend (Thursday through Sunday) of March and sounds like a must do for any quilt store loving quilter. The prizes offered for a drawing for the people who have their "passports" stamped in all 13 stores are really nice, including a grand prize of $100 to spend in each participating shop. That's $1300.00 dollars worth of fabrics, patterns and books! This year's theme is "Cruising Into Spring." One shop owner told me that about 700 women participate in the "hop." Count me in! In fact I'm planning my next year's winter trip so that I'll be able to go.

Quilts and Fixins, 7986 N. Main St., Jonesboro, GA

770-472-0015

Hours: Mon - Sat: 10 AM - 5 PM

"Common Threads" Syracuse, NE

Our second quest of the day was to visit a shop new to us on a picturesque downtown street in Syracuse, Nebraska. This little town lies between Lincoln and Omaha, about 1/2 hour south on Highway 50 and about 15 miles west of Nebraska City, NE. "Common Threads" occupies a former bank building that has very tall ceilings, exposed brick walls, arched windows and beautiful wooden floors. The ceiling is covered with the pressed tin squares and there is a beautifully impressive crown molding around the ceiling edge. The owner has hung quilt models around the front room against the brick walls.

An antique ironing board, an iron daybed, an old cabinet and table and a short thick-walled bank vault are used as to hold gift items such as cookbooks, candles, tea towels, ornaments and quilting books. "Common Threads" offers books and patterns and a selection of Jo Morton's newest line of fabrics. She also carries some batiks and the Kashmir II line by Moda. There are packages of wool fabrics and also enough quilting notions and threads to serve most quilting needs.

We each had a great time exploring this friendly store and had no trouble filling a bag with goodies to take home. This shop is definitely worth a stop if you are in the area.

Common Threads, 325 5th St., Syracuse, NE

402-269-2235

Hours: Mon - Fri: 10 - 5, Sat: 10 - 4