Twinkle, twinkle...

 

We're kinda in love with this quilt... Night Sky by Jaybird Quilts.

More pictures to follow soon, but we need to bind this one and wrastle it outside so we can get a good photo of the whole thing (it's a queen size!).

Custom quilted by our own Tammy.

I love the ruler work she did on this one.

She knew there was no way (NO way) she was doing some ol' pantograph design on this looker.

We were so pleased when Julie (the creative mind behind Jaybird Quilts) mentioned us on her blog... what an honor!

(Makes us twinkle a little)

XO,

Rhea

Bundle up!

What is it about a fat quarter bundle?

All luscious-looking and full of potential...

I just love 'em.

These are the latest fabrics from one of our favorite gals: Lotta Jansdotter.

The full-spectrum bundle is from the new collection called "Mormor," and the black and white collection is called "Sylvia."

What to do, what to do with such beautiful bundles?

Something tells me I will have NO trouble figuring something out.

XO,

Rhea

I tried...

I really did try so hard to do the "low-volume" thing...

It's such a hot trend in the quilting world right now and every time I see a low-volume quilt on Pinterest I know I've just got to make one.

But my first attempt may have the dial cranked up just a click or two.

I wouldn't call this the lowest of low-volume fat quarter bundles, but it's what I was feeling the other day, and I do love how the fabrics work together.

I would do something simple and keep the blocks fairly small with this bundle: like a pinwheel block or even a half-square triangle, somewhere in the 3"-5" finished range.

And of course you know how I feel about a simple grid of patchwork squares.

Like a Chanel suit, it will never go out of style.

So, try as I might, this bundle is "low volume-ish," at best.

But I do love it so.

XO,

Rhea

Snapshots...

 

A snapshot of my knitting basket shows a sweater in progress for Bert (all our yarn is 40% off, by the way...)

A quick glimpse into my messy, messy bag will reveal bills, random pieces of fabric and a seed catalog... no money or anything fun like that.

 

A snapshot from our bedroom shows a tea towel Ollie put in my Christmas stocking that I promptly turned into a cover for a throw pillow (I am nothing if not an equal opportunity textile junkie).

 

In the sewing room, among other things are some miniature paper-pieced baskets (these are just 2" square) that I thoroughly intend to do something with one of these days...

 

And how could I not include a snapshot of this little guy who is oh-so close to walking and had the cutest little cowlick today?

XO,

Rhea

PS

Just in case you don't follow us on Facebook or receive our newsletter, we have a huge new clearance section on our website.  It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time and I think you're all gonna like it! 

Snow Day!!!

Are you still reading my blog?

Oh, good.

We had a nice snow day here today.

Fish totes, quilts, new books, knitting, naps and snacks.

Hope you had a good day, too.

XO,

Rhea

Big sale starts Saturday!

 

Pam and I gave the classroom what I like to call an "extreme makeover" the other day in anticipation of our giant clearance sale that starts this Saturday.

We've schlepped a lot of fabrics, etc. downstairs to turn the classroom into a sale-room, and there's lots of great stuff down there at 40% off.

Sometimes I am a bit stubborn about fabric... meaning I love it, I have big plans for it, I can see the finished projects in my mind's eye, but the reality is, there's just not enough time in the day to pull the trigger on all the sewing projects I would like to execute and there's only so much room in our little shop and some things have been around a bit too long.

Therefore, 40% off.

Out with the old and in with the new (and there is so. much. new).

The sale starts this Saturday, January 18th (we're hosting an Open House that day, as well) and runs through Saturday, January 25th.

We don't do sales like this very often, so if you are local, or even local-ish, you should make the journey and score yourself a bargain.

I will be back again soon... we've got lots to talk about.

XO,

Rhea

2013 ramblings...

2013 was a good year for me.

We picked peaches from our neighbors tree and ate them 'til we were covered in juice.

We went to Acadia National Park and rode our bikes around Witch Hole Pond: Ollie in the front towing Bert in the bike trailer... me bringing up the rear, watching Bertie's head bobbing around, enjoying the ride.

We went on lots of boat rides in our little red boat on Damariscotta Lake: Ollie brought the "daddy" things like gas and ropes and spare oars, I brought the "mommy" things like sunblock and sweaters and snacks.

My favorite fabric of the past year was "Specimen" in the color "struck" from the "Field Study" collection by Anna Maria Horner (That came out in 2013, right?  Even if it didn't, it's still my favorite fabric of the past year...)

My favorite thing I sewed in 2013 was Elise's "Baby in the Hood" jacket from the book Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner.

 

The biggest lesson I learned in 2013 was that you will never have enough time to do all the things you want to do: just pick the most important things and do them really well.

The scariest thing that happened in 2013 was hearing that my Grandmother had had a stroke.

And when a bat flew into our living room while I was watching TV alone late at night.

The happiest thing that happened in 2013 was my Grandmother's complete recovery from a stroke.

And watching Bert grow up into a one year old.

The happiest "fabric" thing that happened in 2013 was receiving a package full of out of print Heather Ross fabrics (can you say VW buses and gnomes?) from my friend Suzanne.

My biggest accomplishment in 2013 was to pull off the re-arrange of the century: every single bolt in the shop was methodically moved over the course of five days 'til we had a whole new energy in the place.

I'm still looking for fabric in the old places sometimes.

And my goal for 2014 is to be healthy, happy and safe.

I wish you and yours the same!

XO,

Rhea