Did you know it was Take Your Cat to Work Day?  Not really but I did take Opie in for a bit on Thursday night.  Our Air Conditioner at home bit the dust this week, yes this week of the hottest time of the year.  Both Opie and I were really hot at home and my office has a really nice fan so we loaded up and headed for the shop.  Opie was a little bit concerned and tried to hide his 27lb body behind my computer!  Once he settled down he was able to go out and visit with our quilters and tell him all about his experience.  Isn't he a cutie??

Peek a boo!

Later friends!

Nanci

This has been such a "filling of the creative soul" I can't wait to come back again next year.  Besides making wonderful new friends, eating great food and just having fun I have learned so much!  We have been treated so special each and every day.  Each night has been a different theme for our dinner decor and the food, well there are no words for how wonderful it has been! Check out this cute table arrangement!

There was even placecards for each of us!

Who wouldn't want to sit down and have dinner at this gorgeous table???

Okay my brain is so full of ideas and projects I can't handle anymore!  What a creative bunch!  Today Terry gave us an afternoon off and we were able to see some of the country side.  A group of us decided to visit the Leinenkugel brewery, which happens to be my favorite beer!  We took the beer tour and learned more about making beer than we ever wanted to know!  The best part of course was the tasting!  Tried two new ones and ended with my favorite, Sunset Wheat!  Yum!!!

Of course you can't leave without a group picture!  The bartender suggested we pose under the beer taps, I wonder why???

This has been a very educational retreat.......but someone has to do it!

Nanci

I had the privilege of attending a Quilt Shop Owner's Retreat by Terry Atkinson from Atkinson's Designs.  20 ladies attended to learn new tips, techniques, ideas and just to have fun!  I was a little nervous but the group turned out to be very welcoming and warm!

This is a picture of the retreat house we stayed at.

This is Terry showing us a cute idea for packaging!

We also practiced folding fat quarters!

So far, lots of fun!

Nanci!

Last night we held our first class in our new shop!   The name of the class was Zip It and the object was to help sewers get over the fear of using zippers!   The little tote we made was a new Atkinson Design called, Zippy Strippy.  The pattern offers three different sizes and we made the medium size.  It was a full house with 6 sewers who were all friendly and full of fun.  We accomplished our goal of eliminating "Zipper Fear" and everyone left with a finished project!   The next class for this project is Wednesday, July 7.  The class fills fast so come in and make your reservation today!

What would you think about driving through the country and seeing beautiful Quilt blocks hanging from old barns and houses!  This is exactly what you can see in Pender, Nebraska!  This small town in Northeast Nebraska has created a driving tour of 125 houses and barns that display large quilt blocks.  The whole idea started with a group of ladies from Pender that went on a road trip through Iowa and spotted unique, eye-catching quilt block creations on barns.  This planted the seed with them for creating the same project in Pender to help beautify the community!  The group designed, developed and completed 8 wood Quilt Blocks that were hung on various barns and homes.  From that point on the interest of the community was immediate.  More and more quilts were made and have been displayed throughout Pender and the countryside in celebration of the Pender Q125 Celebration.  If you happen to be near Pender this summer, take time to stop by Pender State Bank at 222 Main St or visit www.penderq125.com for more information on this truly fun experience!

It's not to early too think about Big Red Nebraska football!!  This year you can be warm as toast in your new stadium blanket.  The Quilted Kitty has your favorite "Go Big Red" fabric in addition to the best product ever, Insul-Bright.  This product is special ordered to help make your stadium blanket fast and easy.  Size is 22" wide by whatever length you need (or put three widths together for a "together" blanket), very cozy!! Haven't heard of Insul-Bright?  This is a great addition to any quilters stash.  The fabric consists of hollow, polyester fibers needle-punched through a reflective metalized polyester film.  The material is totally breathable and won't break down when washed.  It can be used for pot holders, oven mitts, casserole covers, place mats and cloth trivets.  For the summer months, keep your picnic take along cold; wrap them in Insul-Bright.  This is a must have must have product for every quilter!!

Howdy!  I have been busy finding places for all the new patterns, notions, books and fun stuff that I purchased at Quilt Market.  I love looking through all the new stuff and planning what I am going to do with it!   One of the new patterns I purchase at Quilt Market was from Crabapple Hill.  As many of you know, Meg Hawkey the designer is my "embroidery hero"!  I love her designs and how they turn out, wonderful!  One of the best things at Quilt Market was that I was able to meet her!  She was as wonderful as I thought she would be and we had a few moments to just sit and chat.  She had a beautiful booth that displayed all of her new designs.  Of course, being such a huge fan, I purchased all of her new designs.   It would be hard to pick just one as my favorite so I won't, but here is one that would be a peaceful and fun project to do through the summer!  It's called Nesting Time and so far it has been extremely popular in the shop!  Meg has graciously agreed to do an interview for us so keep an eye out for that in our blog soon!

Well it's been 4 days since I returned from Quilt Market and I am just starting to get some energy back!  It is such a overwhelming experience to attend Quilt Market on so many levels!  I have started to unpack all of the loot that we brought back so I can put out in the shop!  My focus was on smaller projects and easy to accomplish kits.  Of course I have lots of new stitchery patterns, kits and books to share!  Over the next couple of weeks our other items will start to arrive to watch for our newsletter, facebook postings and of course our blog!

Well Quilt Market is wrapping up and we are finishing up some loose ends.  Today we ordered some ceramic buttons from Riley Blake that are darling!  All the colors match their fabric collections and I already have 100 ideas on how to use them running through my mind!  I have a HUGE love of buttons so it was hard to narrow down the choices but these were some of the best! 

Pam and I took some time to walk through the quilt display that is featured at the start of the show.  The quilts were magnificent and one of our favorites was this beautiful lavender hand appliqued quilt.  The applique work on it was fantastic and I was ready to pull it down and stuff it in my tote but Pam said they frown on that sort of thing.  Really????

We finished out our day with a visit with our favorite pal and designer, Dodi Poulsen from Two Sister from Squirrel Hollow.  She had one of the best designed booths in the show, with all of her models from her new book, Fresh Picked!  We featured this book through Shop Hop and all those lucky people that ordered ahead will receive an autographed copy when they arrive in June!

We are making plans for our Post-Market Preview party that will be held in the shop.  Watch for details but don't wait to register, seating will be limited.  As fun as Quilt Market is, it will be nice to be home and have a good night's sleep in my own bed.  I am sure the Furry Dudes, Caliber, Opie & Wally will take their time getting over their "huff" with me for not taking them along, but maybe next time!

Nanci