Christms Window, Stockings

Getting a full view picture of our windows isn't easy but Laura managed to get a good shot of our Cozy Cabin window.

To start I hung a couple of red plaid table cloths from my thrift stash to create a festive backdrop. The church pew was centered and placed on a vintage handmade wool braided rug. I picked up two at our local Methodist Church spring rummage sale.

A rustic wood bench serves as our coffee table.  A sled, small trees and, and child's wicker chair round out the scene.

We knew we wanted a fireplace and making one out of cardboard fit our budget. I saved this huge piece of cardboard for several months waiting to make this project. I cut various rock shapes and glued them on to the front of the fireplace with hot glue.
 The base got a coat of cream the the rocks got a swirl of grey paint with a foam brush. I only had to buy a small tester pot of the grey paint.
 I finished it off with a few flicks of grey paint from a brush to give the whole piece a flecked look. I leaned the front against the butcher's table that is permanently in our window and placed a few crates on top for height.
I slipped another crate partially in a cut out fire box added a hatchet and a chalkboard painted silver tray. If I had a few logs I would have stuck them up out of the box.  One $2.50 (for paint) fireplace, done.

Of course stockings have to be made for the fireplace. Laura was in charge of that and she picked out some great wintery brushed cottons for a vintage feel..

We hung a lighted garland across the top of the display and hung fun gold ornaments. The ornaments are from the dollar store. I also made and hung 4 large burlap and red fabric strip pompopms. Can you see them in the first picture? I used this tutorial from Cleverly Inspired.

Star Wheel Quilt

We like to feature a quilt in our themed windows and over in our Cozy Cabin window is the Star Wheel Quilt, perfect for snuggling under during those frosty nights.
We draped it over an old church pew and it shares it seat with a large pair of antlers.

Big thanks to our friend Trina, she knocked out our shop sample for us.  We have a few kits left. I put one in our etsy shop if you would like one too.

The circles and stars are raw edge and fusible applique. The pattern is from the book Scrap Quilts Go Country. Amy long arm quilted an all over stipple design.  Amy does a lot of local long arm quilting but we also receive quilts in the mail from all over. You can get more info here.

Dollar Store Christmas Tree Garland

I am back from my Thanksgiving holiday (the girls and I went to Victoria, BC for the week) and am geared up for Christmas. And Christmas blogging. A few days before I left Laura and I hustled to get our Quilt Barn Christmas windows all set up.
Have you been by and seen them? What do you think? Laura took great pictures and I will be sharing what we did and what we made.

First up is our Christmas tree. I knew our colors were Grinch green, red and white. We had the oversized Christmas ornaments in our treasure trove basement, I had ropes upon ropes of red bead garland so all we needed was something to fluff it up. I checked around locally and wide ribbon is expensive. Our windows have limited budget (because we like to see what we can come up with without spending money).

The green and white garland on our tree? Dollar Store bath puffs. I used 3 of each color. Here is what I did: 

Dollar Store bath puffs. I used 3 of each color. Here is what I did: 

You simply have to snip the string in the middle of the puff to release the layers of mesh. Pull gently.

Tada, tree garland for 6 dollars. You could buy more and make it even more loopy and puffy.

Another money saver is our tree skirt. We needed 2 and I only had one made. There wasn't time to make one and my budget was nil. I headed to my favorite thrift store and picked up the green and white circle fringed table cloth for one dollar. I cut it up to the middle and cut a circle to accomodate the tree base.

Like free patterns? Me too. All this week Tula Pink is giving us a free pattern a day to promote her newest fabric line. Stop by each day to get that day's pattern while its up.

Meet Tara!

We hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  It was a busy week around here at the Quilt Barn and hope you didn't miss our Black Friday sale!  If you did we still have some store samples for sale, so don't miss out! Tara and I took a little break in blogging but we are now up and running once again!

Tara is Canadian born and raised, is the mother of three adorable girls, and the author of the blog Tiny Glutton!  She started quilting about six years ago and used it a s a type of therapy.  Which I'm sure we can all relate to!  Tara was first introduced to sewing in 8th Grade Home Economics.  However, it became a bigger part of her life when she needed to sew Halloween costumes for her girls. Tara said she taught herself to sew by just starting with smaller projects like pillows to help hone her skills!


Inspiration for quilting comes in the form of magazines, blogs, and Pinterest for Tara.  Also, when a whole line of fabric comes into the store Tara gets really excited (just like the rest of us!)  Tara is drawn to very modern and bright fabrics.  Some of her favorite lines include: Sweet, Swell, Katie Jump Rope, and Hope Valley.  It should come to a shock that some of her favorite designers are ones like Denyse Schmidt, Bonnie and Camille, and Lori Holt.

 Tara's favorite quilt she ever made was a free pattern by Anna Maria Horner, her fabrics were also used in this quilt.  Tara also loves to work with the color orange so this quilt is right up Tara's alley!

One quilting tip that Tara gave was when quilting your own quilts, generally don't try quilting anything bigger than a full size quilt, everything else is just too big.  She also suggested using a combination of 505 Basting Spray (which we sell at the Quilt Barn) and safety pins.

Tara is the one that is behind a lot of the blogging and online things you see.  She's an important part of the Quilt Barn team and so fun to have around!

Black Friday Sample Sale

Its the time of year that we get asked about all year long, "do you ever sell the quilts that are hanging in the store?". Its Black Friday Sample sale next week! We have stock piled all of our shop samples since last Black Friday and they will be for sale starting Friday November 23, 7:00AM until they are gone.

We have the quilts (and other sewn items) priced to include material and quilting, no labor. You can't make these quilts yourself for less.  Last year was a crazy success and we are really excited for this year's sale.

We will be having other fantastic deals from 7AM-12PM that day. A teaser newsletter will be going out today and a full details newsletter will go out the Thursday before. Watch your inboxes for this great newsletter. If you aren't on our email list you can sign up for it on our website here.

Our quilts will also be on our etsy store and will be available at 7AM. You can shop for them here.

 

Staff Pick Batting Tape

I bought a roll of batting during our Founder's Day sale and I finally was able to cut in to it. However, I got the 60" wide roll (it was such a good deal!) and my quilt was wider than that. I really don't like to sew my batting together. I find that no matter what I get drag and this creates ripples and it sometimes shows through the quilt.

 That day we got in a big box of these little miracles, fusible batting tape. Oh my heck, it worked like a charm. I butted up the straight edges of my two pieces of batting and ran an iron over the tape. It adhered immediately and I was good to go. This took seconds and I didn't have to wrangle a queen size batting under my sewing machine.

Since using this tape I have heard others using it with success. Why hadn't I heard of this before? So, I give Easy Knit Tape a big thumbs up. I am never sewing batting again.

Wonky Ticker Tape Quilt

A Quilt Barn customer and friend, Mary, brought her wonky ticker tape quilt in to our Modern Guild meeting last Thursday. 
Mary was inspired by Crazy mom Quilts, Amanda Jean, and her new book Sunday Morning Quilts.

Mary says she pulled scraps and used them as is. She even used batting scraps. I like the Aneela Hoey scrap that looks like an envelope to the top right. Thanks for sharing this with us Mary.

Chevron Pillow Class

Laura is excited to teach us how to use a unique strip method to create these fresh, modern Chevron stripes! This gorgeous pillow would be a perfect addition to your couch or bed and a great Christmas gift for the person who has everything.

Date: Saturday, November 17th

Time: 1:00-5:00 pm

Where: Quilt Barn Classroom

Cost: $10 plus supplies

Supplies: TBA - you will need your Basic Sewing Kit

Fabric Friday Padstow Range

Its New Fabric Friday! This is Padstow Range by Cabbages and Roses for Moda. Purple had been the it color here for over a year now so I expect this line to be very popular.

I accidently left out my favorite fabric from this line. What was I thinking?
I put a fat quarter bundle on etsy and my favorite bolt is the forth one down.

I am trying to put myself in a Christmas frame of mind. I have been eying the Grinch fabrics and toying with a few patterns. I think a Grinch window is in order on the bed side.

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you have a good and restful weekend.

Forest Friend Fox Box!

Tara and I have been talking a lot about foxes lately and we just keep finding them everywhere.  I showed Tara this pattern and just thought it was the cutest thing ever!

Tara showed up to work today with one made up in her hand.  I was asking her about and wondered what she was going to use it for.  She said she had actually made it for me!!  Isn't that the nicest thing ever!  Tara just made my day!

Tara first held the eyes in place with fusible webbing and then did a blanket stitch all the way around.  She hand stitched little eyes and a nose on with black embroidery floss.  She then used this sewing bucket tutorial to construct the body.  Then was clever and made little ears!

Even the lining has little foxes on it!  So fun!  Thanks so much Tara for the fun surprise!

Urbanista Quilt

We have another fantastic group effort on the Quilt Barn blog today. First, Judy is the sewer/maker of this stunning yellow and black quilt. The fabrics are Urbanista by Studio E.

This line has been popular and several bolts just flew out the door. Its a good thing Judy kitted this one up before we put the bolts on the shelf. We couldn't re-kit this one now.

Judy used a vibrant yellow minky for the backing.

Laura gave us awesome quilt photos again. And that wash stand is the perfect prop.

Amy long arm quilted champagne bubbles, a perfect compliment for this quilt.

This is a free pattern provided by Studio E and you can find it here

We have a few of these kits left and if you are interested in making your own Urbanista quilt you can find them here

Amy's Ticker Tape quilt class is this weekend. You can find the details here on our website.

A huge thanks to everyone for their continued support of our blog, the brick and mortar store, the website and etsy! We love all things sewing and quilting and love that we can share this with all of you.

Vintage Modern Flannel

A few weeks ago we got in a few bolts of flannel from the Vintage Modern line from Bonnie and Camille. It flew out the door within a few days. We got in a a few more bolts today! I am making winter pajama pants stat before we sell out again.



We also received charm packs of Marmalade. I really need a reason to make a rag quilt.

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you all have a great weekend. I will be having another marathon sewing weekend trying to catch up on some Christmas presents and shop samples.