Cherry House Quilts

Sewing with Minkee

I love Minkee...it's so soft!  Sewing with it is a bit of a chore.  I'm working on Morgan's quilt!  My nephew's soon to be born daughter.  My sister is so excited at the prospect of being a Grandma.  When we went fabric shopping my Mom wanted lots of texture in the quilt, so I'm adding Minkee, flannel, and whatever other textural goodies I can find. 

The problem I've found in using Minkee along with say, a charm pack is that it doesn't behave like the other fabrics...one of those "one of these things, is not like the other" kind of situations.  Well, necessity being the mother of invention, I came up with a solution.  Maybe everyone is solving their Minkee issues this way, and I wasn't aware, but it's working.

Here's how I resolved my dilemma:  Charm square blocks are 5" square, so in order to be able to use the Minkee with charm squares, while keeping a normal 1/4" seam allowance, I've cut 4" Minkee squares, and added 2" sashing on top/bottom, then side to side, with a 1/2" seam allowance, then trim the unit to 5".  This is perfect!  The minkee blocks then can be mixed on the design wall with the rest of the fabric for the quilt. These become framed little log cabin type blocks.

I really hated the thought of wasting fabric with wider seam allowances, just to incorporate the Minkee.  This solution will work for chenille, velvets, or anything that needs a wider seam allowance, and special handling.  Now...I'm off to finish the quilt, before this new little one arrives. 

P.S. Here's a link to some free patterns from Sew Simple magazine.  I came across these, and wanted to pass them on.

One last thing...to those that I promised free patterns to of City News, they will be in the mail in a day or two...I didn't forget...just crazy busy.

For the love of all that is... Part 2

Hereditary: Let's hear it for the genes!

Last weekend I flew to Killeen, Texas to spend the day with my son Luke, and his little family.  They have had lots of excitement; their first home (brand new), baby Alton's first birthday,  It's so hard to believe that he's walking, talking (jabbering), and that he is a year old.  My son is preparing to go to a military school, and will be away for 5 months; that's a long time.  That precious baby is going to change so much.  Becky said that Alton loves art...here is one of his painting.  He's taking after Lizzy in the art department, I can tell.  I have Lizzy's art from when she was so young, and by the second grade she was already developing her own signature style.  It will be interesting to watch Alton's art in the years to come.    

 

 

New & Wonderful:  My newest love

Meet Gentoo...I've only been tempted to kidnap (you know, not really kidnap, but take home) a cat a few times in my life, and this was one of them...I fell head over heals in love with this cat.  I never was able to get a great picture of him, but he is beautiful, and amazing!  He has permanent black smile on his sweet face.  He is very curious, and he likes to touch faces ever so gently with his paw.  He was named after the Gentoo Penguin, since their markings are so similar.  As you can tell, he is a very intelligent kitty, and likes to correspond via email with his friends. 

Slightly Insane:  Summer has started

So summer is officially here, and the girls (in the case of Melissa and Ashlee) travels will soon begin.  Ashlee is going to Germany tomorrow, and will fly home from Switzerland on Monday.  She will spend the night on Monday, then is back to SLC in order to get on the road, and begin her summer tour - FYI - her CD will be available on itunes soon...I'm so excited, and proud!  Melissa (Happy Birthday Pooh) is going to Paris next week for a few days, then will begin as a nurse aid at a summer camp in Boston.  I have to have the girls email their itineraries; otherwise I can't keep up with who is going where.  Lizzy will stay in her magical Idaho for a while, and I will be at my sewing machine...knocking out lots of quilts.

Happy Summer!

For the love of all that is... Part 1

Unique:  Here are some cool/unique finds from Market. 

Okay, this first one is really about Portland, not Market, but I love this business card from Cupcake Jones.  Whenever I see a font that I love, I save it for Lizzy, to ask the name of it.  If ever there is a game show called "name that font" Lizzy would surely be the champion. 

Seven Islands Fabric...nothing fancy, but that fabric is adorable!

Late Bloomer Quilts...I had to save this...M&M's with QUILTS written on them.  I'm so sad they got crushed.

Me and My Sister Designs - isn't this box wonderful?  The box is full of Tic Tacs...perfect!

Andover Spring 2008 Free Quilt Patterns...this is brilliant, all of the free patterns for the new fabric lines are available on this disk.

Key Fabric from Bunny's Designs.  I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I just fell in love with it, and bought all the fat quarters they had.

Time Consuming: Every quilters dilemma

When I was preparing to quilt City News, there were so many choices to make...so many that I could have used a flow chart.  Easy or Challenging?  Easy - do an overall design, with a single color thread.  No  Challenging - Variegated thread, overall design?  No.  Variegated thread, two unique types of quilting?  No.  Individual threads to match the background fabric?  Yes.  Monofilament for the B&W fabric?  Yes.  Quilted all the same, or directional?  Directional.  I ended up purchasing 18 different colors to match the fabrics in the quilt...I thought I was never going to get the quilting done.  After seeing the quilt at Market, hanging on Robert Kaufman's wall...I'm glad that I made the decisions that I did, it was worth it.

Shameless Name Dropping 101...plus other Market fun!

Okay, let's start up with the celebs we saw; and some we even got to visit with...

Amy Butler- Lovely as ever, with an equally lovely booth.  It was funny, I saw her walk outside, maybe to get a breath of fresh air, or something.  She was just sitting on a bench, like a regular kinda gal.

Heather Bailey- Always fresh, and cheery with her famous yellow shoes!  Lizzy and I visited with her for a few minutes.  She was very informative about the trials of an initial fabric line, she perfectly understood what Lizzy is working through, and was very encouraging.

Anna Marie Horner - We were walking behind a lady wearing a blue dress, and Lizzy said "I almost bought that dress".  She said something about the woman wearing it, and I said,  "Who is it?", and she said, "that's Anna Marie Horner".  Next thing I knew, we were introducing ourselves, and having a chat.  Her booth was amazing, and those covered chairs are awesome to behold.  I just read that she won a blue ribbon for her booth...I made a prediction that she would win...no surprise, it was that great!

Pam Kitty Morning  - A good chat about the trials of young adult children...one foot in the door, and the other, ready to take on the world; almost.  I have to admit, in my dyslexic twistedness, I always invert Pam Kitty Morning to Pam Morning Kitty...I did it the first time I met her, now I save myself embarrassment, and just say "Pam".

Amy Schimler - What a doll!  We were so excited to meet her in person, and we were able to meet her sweet husband Charlie too - he said he was the invisible husband, but he's really not invisable at all.  I'll forever be grateful to Amy for her kindness and support to Lizzy.  She has been so encouraging, and helpful to her.  Is there anything that can mean more to a mother, than another mother aiding their child?  To me, that is the ultimate gesture of goodness. 

Last, but certainly not least Diana McClun & Laura Nownes...I believe that Laura was actually waiting for Lizzy!  She and Diana couldn't have been more excited for her.  More Momma's...more encouragement; I told Lizzy that they are her quilting guardian angels! 

Others we saw, but didn't get to visit with; Joel Dewberry - lovely booth, and fabric, Valori Wells - she seems so friendly, and warm; Kaffe Fasset - hot as ever, and Lizzy's forever crush! 

It was really exciting having quilts in three different locations - Soda Shop in Andover's booth, City News with Robert Kaufman, and I Do! at Brewers.  I was like a mother hen, walking from booth to booth checking on quilts, making sure they were all safe & sound.  Here's a look at I Do! 

So that it was for Spring Market...we had such a lovely time!  I was so happy to see Lizzy, and spend a little time with her.  It was also wonderful being able to spend time with Eric and Julie - they are amazing!  There is no telling what the next 6 months will bring, but it's definitely going to be an adventure.

We're Back!

We're back...or I should say I'm back in Texas, and Lizzy is back in Idaho.   Lizzy ended up going straight back to school, since she had missed so many days, we went our separate ways in Houston. 

It was a great trip!  Portland is a wonderful city, and Elizabeth (Lizzy) is in the process of convincing her sisters, and best friends that this is the town they all need to live in.  Very eco/bike/public transportation/vegan & vegetarian/artist friendly ...very friendly in general.  Half of the time I was in the wrong lane, no ever hit me, or honked at me, they were very patient with this out of towner.  This was the first Quilt Market that I had been to outside of Houston, it had a different vibe - maybe just because it was on a smaller scale.  The convention center is beautiful with two huge spires, we could always find it once we got in the area. 

We went to our first School House, which was very informative, and in the case of Eric & Julie, very entertaining!  They introduced themselves, and their company Cosmo Cricket, gave a demonstration of the Dear Hubby Panic Button which received lots of laughs, and Julie told everyone about Jon, the warehouse guy.  Andover handed out tote bags made from Jitterbug fabric, too cute!  Click here for a peek at their next fabric line.  As a matter of fact, I'm off to create a quilt out of this fabric right now...I have a 10 day deadline for Designer Quilts magazine; I better hurry! 

There is lots more to report...Sample Spree, lots of quilting celeb sightings, new fabric lines, beautiful booths (think Anna Marie Horner).  I'll be back, but right now I've got to started on that quilt.  Stay tuned!

Fabric Update

Well, after sorting through all of the fabric, there were a total of 4 garbage bags.  Most it is strips & strings, perfect for string pieced quilts, but there is also quite a bit of yardage...1/4 yds or better.  Please let your Heartstrings, and Valor friends know; I really would love for this fabric to find a good home.  I've had some offers to pay for shipping, but my first choice would be for someone to come whisk it away from my little house.

What a lovable face!  Every time I say that I'm going to market, my BFF always finishes the sentence with "to buy a fat pig".  Then I say "home again, home again jiggity jig"  then we do a little dance.  Just kidding about the dance part...well, kinda kidding.  Okay, so I could definitely bring this girl home from market...what a doll!  Lizzy & I are off in the morning to Market, and I am so excited!  But more importantly I am just so excited to see my girl!!!  It's been since Christmas, and that is just too long.  I'll be sure and bring lots of updates about Market, what's new...what's hot...all the good stuff!

Take care my friends,

Cherri 

Help! Hurty Painful Adult Decision Time

Okay my quilty friends...I'm reaching out in need of assistance!  It's time for me to grow up, and face some realities (never a fun way to start a post)

1. I have too much fabric
2. I have more fabric than I WILL EVER USE
3. My pioneer heritage will not allow me to throw it away
4. Lizzy says it's time (past time really), and sometimes that girl is the grownup, and I'm the 7 yr old :(

So here goes; I probably have at least 2 BIG garbage size bags of strips and strings (that I love), but cannot fathom having time to use, and I must find a home for them.  Is anyone part of the Heartstrings group?  If not, do you have any Heartstring friends in the Houston (Humble) area.  I think they would just be too expensive to ship.  This is excellent fabric - quilt shop quality fabric.  It will be hurty to get rid of them, sort of like getting rid of teddy bears, and dolls, but I must...it is time. 

So, if anyone is interested in coming to pick them up, they are yours for the taking.  Please spread the word, and tell your quilty friends.  Just leave me a comment, or email me at cherryhousequilts(at)gmail(dot)com. 

Okay...I can do this. 

Cherri

Happy Mothering Day!

Happy Mothering Day!  That's what my Melissa always calls it...I like it.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's day wherever you may be, whatever your situation.  We are all Mothers, because we mother...we nurture, we love, we share, we are the caretakers of the world...and what could be better than that?

This is my first Mother's day without any of my children being home...I never imagined it would be so hard.  But I do take comfort in the knowledge that Lizzy will be home on Tuesday; so I'll survive till then.

Have a happy day!

Cherri

Twist & Shout!!!

Look!  It's official, our Soda Shop pattern is now available on Andover Fabrics website...I am so excited, I'm just giddy!  Just scroll down the page to Jitterbug by Cosmo Cricket to see all the fabric selections.  Before you know it, our JukeBox quilt pattern will be published in Fons & Porter magazine which also uses fabric from the Jitterbug Fabric Line. 

This fabric is so much fun to work with, especially the super big polka dots!  I love polka dots so much...as I'm sure you can tell. 

Click her for the free Soda Shop pattern

 

Silly Me

Okay...I meant to add this to the previous post, but blitzed it, but I've remembered now!

After doing the test run print of City News a few changes were made.  Everything was correct, it just needed a little tweaking (remember that from You've Got Mail?)  So here's the deal, if you are interested - I'm giving away those copies of the City News pattern.  There is no reason to be wasteful, and throw them out, I just don't want to sell them.

To the first 6 people who respond, and leave and comment can have a free pattern! 

Brought to you by the friendly girls at Cherry House Quilts!