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Swatch Buddies-How to Make a Fabric Swatch (New!)

Ironic Situation

Funny story from this weekend...

I have two Shark irons, one that is probably three years old and one that is maybe 1 1/2 years old.  The first iron started leaking so I bought the second.  Well that one started leaking too.  I thought I would clean them both on the outside and then run a mixture of vinegar and water through them to clear any hard water deposits.  

I bought the iron cleaner on Saturday and proceeded to clean the plates of both.  Then I filled them both with vinegar and water and started pushing the steam button.  

Well by now the basement smells terrible because of all the cleaning I am doing.  

All of a sudden the old iron starts making a funny noise.  Now I have never heard an iron make any type of noise other than steam sounds so this was very different.  Next black smoke starts pouring out of the iron and I see it is on fire!!

I quickly unplugged it and Matthew took it outside.  So here sits this iron in the middle of the front yard smoking like crazy.  I thought to myself all I need to do now is move the washing machine to the porch and I will officially be a hillbilly!

And to top it off the other iron still leaks!  Off to Walmart to buy a new iron.  

But that's not even the funniest part.  Before we left for the store, Matthew moved the iron out be the side of the road.  We live in the middle of farm country on a county road.  When we got up Sunday morning the iron was gone!  Someone picked it up!  We laughed so hard we cried.  They sure will be in for a surprise!  I hope they don't plug it in.  Talk about "irony."  LOL

Fulton County Fair Results

So we went to the Fulton County Ohio Fair this morning to drop off my entries in the baking categories (Apple Pie, Zucchini Bread and Carrot Cake) and noticed they had judged the quilts and pictures.  Had to go over and see how things went....

Well my three wall hangings all received a blue ribbon, my snowman place mat and my coffee apron both got a second place and my raffle quilt got a blue ribbon....AND BEST OF SHOW!!!  Oh my goodness!!  I am so excited!  

Our pictures did okay.  I got a second place and Matthew got an honorable mention.  

We go back tonight to see how the baked goods did. And of course to eat all that yummy fair food!!

Website Update!

I have been doing a lot of updating on the website the last few weeks.  Wow!  It sure is time consuming, but it is looking much better. I have added new products, changed images, changed pricing and so much more.  Thank you to my awesome hubbie who continues to help me do a lot of data entry.

As I was answering an email from one of our customers I realized she had a blog and records podcasts!  I listened to her very first one and I am hooked!! Only 48 more to go and I can't wait.   What a sweet young lady and so fun to listen to! Check out her great blog spot Katie's Quilting Corner and she is on Facebook.  I have been having so much fun reading about Katie and her darling Corgi's.  

Funny, Matthew and I are going to get a Corgi soon and we may have found a breeder...THANKS Katie!!

How do you make quilting connections?  There are so many blogs, websites, podcasts and Facebook pages it can be overwhelming!  I try to find something that catches my eye and then dive in.  

So the Fulton County Fair is right around the corner and I have to decide which quilts and projects to enter.  I am thinking this wall hanging will go and probably my coffee apron.

I haven't picked any photographs yet, but will work on it this week.


This weekend is the Checker Open House and I get to attend a special workshop from FabShopNetwork and sew with Karen Montgomery!!  I also get to hear Alex Anderson speak.  Yeah I am a little excited!!!  This is always a great weekend!!  I'll keep you posted when I get back!! Until then ~Bear Hugs~


 

Good morning!  I hope your week is starting out to be a good one!  Remember to take a few minutes to just be thankful for everything around you.  We have so many blessings and some days we just need to take note of all that we have.  

As some of you who follow me on Facebook may know, I started the Couch to 5K program 7 weeks ago.  I am by no means a runner, and this has been a challenge for me.  For those of you unfamiliar with this program it is designed so that you go from Couch (no running) to running a 5K in 8 weeks.  I bought the app for my iPhone for .99 and a voice tells me when to walk and when to run.  You start slow, run 1 minute, walk 1 minute, etc. and build up to running 5K (3.1 miles).  I started off huffing and puffing my way along and I will admit that in the first two weeks, I wanted to reach into my phone and slap that voice silly, but I stuck it out.  

I started week 7 today and actually jogged for 20 minutes straight today or 3K (1.8 miles).  I can't believe I did it!!  I can listen to my music which I have tuned into K-Love and the voice interrupts to tell me what to do.   I have been very fortunate with the weather and only had to run on the tread mill once last week because it was raining.  

I also started the South Beach diet about 2 weeks ago.  Between the two programs, I have lost 9 pounds and can fit back into my summer clothes from last year.

What programs are you doing to take care of your health and body?  I encourage you to find something that challenges you , but also is fun to do!

You CAN do this!!

God bless!

Happy Summer!

So now I have been away for a while again!  I can not believe how fast time goes by!  I have been keeping up with our monthly newsletter, but I really need to get back to my blogging!  So let's start over today!!

We have so much going on around here!  The garden is going crazy and we have been able to enjoy fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans and more!!  We have a few sugar baby watermelons that should be ready soon!

I just love summer time!  

Matthew is just about finished umpiring for the summer and we are going on a much needed vacation to California to see Matthew's brother David!  We are taking Papa along and it should be a great time! 

Coming up in August our beloved first granddaughter, Amelia will arrive!  I made this quilt for her and gave it to mom at her shower at the end of June!

Our Quilt Bear Cafe Club is going well and this month's project is the Charmed Living Table Topper.  I made this one for a gift for my new sister-in-law and will give it to her when we go to California.  We will be piecing the top this month and quilting it next month.  If you want to make one too, you can purchase a kit HERE.  

I used a charm pack I had in my stash, but if you like the red, white and blue I would suggest the Old Glory Gatherings charm pack.

We just started a new incentive at The Quilt Bear!  Make any purchase over $40 and be automatically entered in our monthly drawing for a $10 Quilt bear Gift Certificate!  AND our top spender for the year will receive a gift basket valued at $100!!  How's that for a reward for buying awesome quilt stuff you already love!!  Start shopping and good luck!!


I hope you all are doing great and enjoying your summer!

Where have I Been?

Good grief!  I just looked  and realized I haven't posted here since March!  Wow!  Well alot has certainly happened since then, most notably...Matthew and I got married!! 

We enjoyed a wonderful two week honeymoon and are back settling into contented married life.

We also moved The Quilt Bear studio to Matthew's basement after painting and laying flooring.  It looks wonderful and is all ready for visitors.  Let us know when you are in the area.  We would love to have you.

We hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving and are as blessed as we are! 

New Products

We are so excited!!  We have ordered all kinds of new fabric and patterns and they have started to arrive!!

The Quilt Bear now carries Moda fabrics!!

Check out the softest minky fabrics we have ever felt...and I have felt a lot of fabric!!  This minky is from Shannon Fabrics and we have several kits available in lots of color ways.

 

New fabrics from Moda are available from the Java line.

Available in Charm Packs, Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls as well as yardage! 

Next up is the coolest marking pencil ever!  The Sewline making pencil and glue pen are amazing!  We got to try them out and the lead just glides across the fabric.  No snagging!  The glue pen dries clear and no gumming up!  Both are available in the new gift box set!

There are many more new products and we keep adding everyday!  Check out the Moda Fabric Page for a sneak peak at what's coming up.

Thank you everyone for making our first year in business a successful one!!

February News

Happy 2011 Quilt Bear Friends!

We have been very busy here deciding what new fabric lines to carry for 2011!  So far we have chosen:

some great Patrick Lose fabrics,

Marble Textures in a variety of colors

Fizz in a variety of colors

Dot to Dot in a variety of colors

                                       

the new colorway of Dragonfly Magic, 

Dragonfly Magic

Dragonfly Magic

Metallic Leaves in a variety of colors

some Minkee Safari fabric, 

Minkee Safari in a variety of colors

 Choo Choo You by the same designer who brought you Diggers and Dozers, Richard Neuman,

Choo Choo You

and Jolly Snowmen by Sue Zipkin.

Jolly Snowmen

 Also new this year is lower prices on fabrics and supplies.  Although our clearance sale has ended we still have several items at reduced prices.  

My new toy this year is a Brother PE-770 embroidery machine.

I can't wait to make all kinds of fun new projects!!  I will post pictures soon!

We hope you are enjoying your winter and staying warm!

~Bear Hugs~ 

Ho Ho Ho Contest Winner!!!

And the winner is......

PomieMommie!  Please contact us with your address so we can ship out your prize pack!

Want to know what she won?  Our awesome winner will receive the Tidings book by Nancy Halvorsen, a 12 fat quarter bundle from the Tidings collection, a Tidings fabric panel and one yard each of three Tidings fabrics!

Congratulations!

Happy New Year everyone!!

~Bear Hugs~

Mary Jo & Matthew

Ho Ho Ho Contest

Hi everyone!  We hope you aren't getting too stressed with all the Christmas shopping and preparations!!  We are busy preparing for our end-of-the-year clearance sale which begins December 20 -January 2.  All fabric will be on sale for incredibly low prices as well as books, patterns, kits, thread...okay well EVERYTHING will be on sale!

We are also having a Christmas contest.  

The rules are simple...become a follower of our blog and post a comment below telling us what you are making this Christmas.  That's it....you will be entered to receive a great prize package.  (More later on the prize...He He..or should I say Ho Ho?!)  Post your comment before December 25th to be entered!!

Sign up for our newsletter by clicking the link below:

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Stay warm and cozy and stay tuned for more Quilt Bear news! 


God Bless!
 

Mondays!!!

Okay I am sure I am not the only one to do this, but I sewed my sewing machine foot to the machine....yes I forgot I had my 1/4 inch foot on the machine when I tried to sew a blanket stitch and voila sewed it right to the machine. Am I the only one to have to use a seam ripper to disengage my sewing foot from the sewing machine!!! LOL  Mondays!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our wonderful customers!  We are so grateful for each and everyone of you!  Matthew and I have been very blessed this year and are so thankful for all the Lord has provided!  May God keep you safe in your travels, blessed with abundant food and surrounded by loving friends and family!  Enjoy your day!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and we are going to try (what did Yoda say...There is no try, only DO) to raise $750 by October 31 to be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation.  Purchase any of the four breast cancer products on our website and in addition to the donation the manufacturer makes we will donate another 10%!  This is huge ladies!  We can make a difference in a disease that has touched almost everyone of us in some way!  Let's see what we can do to make a difference!

Click on the links below the pictures to purchase!

Click here

 Add- a-Quarter Ruler $6.50

Click Here

Fiskars 8" Scissors  $7.00

Click Here

Olfa 45mm 5ct Replacement Blades $29.50

Click Here 

Quilt Pink For Hope Book $28.50

We hope you are enjoying this cool, fall weather and creating some fun quilting projects along the way!  It is hard not to get inspired with all God's beauty around us!  

 

~Bear Hugs~

Checker Open House 2010

Hi Quilt Fans!  I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 62nd Checker Open House this weekend!  How cool to meet some great quilters and presenters!  I attended several workshops and learned many new techniques!  Here is a re-cap of Day 1!

The first session was a class on the new EQ7 quilt software.  

 I learned how to add and edit any image to add it to a quilt.  It is so easy to import your images into the program and then you can do all kinds of things to enhance and even use effects to change the photo completely.  After you make your changes you can then print them on fabric and sew directly into your quilt using EQ Printable Fabric Sheets!

The second session was presented by Karen Montgomery and she told us all kinds of ways to host events in our quilt shops!  I will need to improvise since I don't have an actual shop, but I got some great ideas.  She also had several products that she demonstrated for us, including the Creative Grids Quick Trim Ruler and the Creative Grids 60 Degree Triangle Ruler.

The Strip Easy Table Runner uses this ruler.

Here are some other cool patterns she designed and The Quilt Bear carries them all!

The third session featured Sue Hausmann who gave us many tips for selling and also demonstrated several rulers and tools.  The Quick-Easy Mitered Binding Tool makes mitered borders a breeze!

The final speaker of the day was the fabulous Eleanor Burns!  She had everyone laughing hysterically and presented her new book Quilt Block on American Barns and several quilts made from the book!  What a hoot! She had a roomful of quilt shop owners singing and laughing!

Afterwards, Eleanor stayed and autographed her book.  I had to get one and a picture!  What a wonderful lady!!

Stay tuned for Day 2 update!!!

One of those Days

Do you ever have just one of those days?  Well yesterday and now today are one of those days for me.  

It all started by waking up with a killer migraine yesterday.  Then I came down to my computer to find our website is not up and running.  After many phone calls it still is not working. Now we are into day 2 and no resolution.

I hate having my hands tied and nothing I can do to fix it.  And being a fix it kinda person this just really irritates me.

The only thing I can do is give it to the Lord and hope it gets resolved soon...and hope I don't lose any customers over it. 

What do you do when you are frustrated over a situation that you have no control over?  I am thinking a huge bowl of ice cream is sounding really good! 


This one ought to do it!

Anyway, we hope to be back soon and send ~BEAR HUGS~ to all!



 

New Quilt Project

So don't you just love starting a new quilt project??  I spent Saturday morning cutting my fabric for the Montana Log Cabin quilt sample. 

I got all my strips cut and then I fussy cut my panel.  I thought I was doing such a good job making short work of it...but when I laid my fussy cut 8 1/2 in squares on my cutting mat...oh noooooo...they weren't square. :( 

So I guess its finally time to buy an 8 1/2 in square ruler.  I have looked at a couple and think I am going with the Omnigrid Omnigrip ruler.

8 1/2" x 8 1/2"

On a positive note, as I was cutting my fabric I received an order for several yards of Montana Modern fabric.  And then when I signed in this morning what did I see...an order for a Montana Modern Log Cabin kit.  This must be Montana Modern week at The Quilt Bear...and we love it.

Get yours today and let's quilt together!!

~Bear Hugs~

Sew, What's the Pointe? - Yellow Brick Road Quilt

Hi everyone. This will be our first virtual Sew, What's the Pointe? re-cap from our meeting last night. We had two attendees, Pam Zak and Mary Mackie. Mary is working on the Yellow Brick Road project...

and Pam is working on finishing her 'Comfort of Psalms' Quilt.

We decided to change the format of our meeting to actual sewing meetings and we will bring our sewing machines next month.

Here is my Janome Quilter's Companion 6260 which I absolutely love!

If you would like to follow along and create a Yellow Brick Road quilt, you will need to have the following supplies:

1 Rotary Cutter

1 Quilting Ruler

1 Cutting Mat

Sewing Machine

Iron

1 Yellow Brick Road Pattern

Fabric for top and borders to make the size you choose:

6 fat quarters - Crib

12 fat quarters - Lap

18 fat quarters - Twin

24 fat quarters - Full

30 fat quarters - Queen

48 fat quarters - King

**Refer to pattern for border fabric and backing fabric requirements.

Once you have selected your fabric, the next step is to cut your fat quarters. We completed step A of the pattern this month and cut our fat quarters according to the pattern directions. (Remember to iron your fat quarters first to remove all creases.)

Lay out your fat quarter with short side (18 inches) along the bottom.

Then fold in half from top to bottom.

You can then start cutting. Once you have cut all your fat quarters according to step A you will be ready to start sewing.

Next, we discussed our product of the month. This month's product is: Colorfast Printer Sew-in Fabric Sheets

Retail $30.00 at www.TheQuiltBear.com/store/moreinfo/Colorfastfabsheets.html

These printable fabric sheets are a dream to use and hold the color beautifully. I used them in my last quilt and loved the versatility and ease of use. There was absolutely no color bleed! Try them on your next project.

Next, was our show and tell. Pam brought an awesome tooth fairy pillow that she made for her daughter and Mary had a photo quilt project that we discussed how to assemble. (Will remember my camera next time to take pictures of their show-n-tells)

Finally, we enjoyed some awesome frosted angelfood cake and a nice refreshing cup of Limeade with 7-Up to make it sparkly.

See you here next month for our next installment of Sew, What's the Pointe?!

HAPPY QUILTING!!!