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!!

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


God Bless!