Sewing and Quilting Retreat in Pocatello, Idaho!

Hen House Retreat

***UPDATE***  We are sad to cancel our first Hen House Retreat, but we are taking health and safety precautions very seriously.  We will certainly reschedule this event, however, I'm not sure of a date yet!  We are considering late October.  For now, we will be refunding any payments in full.  Please stay home and healthy!

The Hen House is going on the road!  We miss having fun with all of our friends who traveled to Kimberly to the Hen House to laugh and sew together, so we have decided to bring the fun to you!

Join us in Pocatello, April 23-26th for classes, open sewing, prizes, food, friends, and FUN!  The cost is $395 and includes classes, food, and lodging (double occupancy).

There will be plenty of time for free sewing and the following classes will be included (and optional):  

Learn to Longarm:  Learn the basics of Free Motion Quilting with hands on practice!  We will have 2 longarm quilting machines set up for the class and plenty of time in the evenings to practice what you learn!  Taught by Heather Cartwright and Vanessa Cartwright

Gingham Galore:  Vanessa is Gaga over Gingham and is super excited to show you multiple methods for creating adorable gingham projects.  The focus project for this class is a set of beautiful gingham placemats.

Scrapbusters:  Heather is the Queen of Scraps.  Bring a sandwich bag of scraps and turn them into a quick project, perfect for gifting!  Learn several techniques to turn those overflowing scrap bins into beautiful creations!

Trunk Show:  Erika of hello.erikabea is bringing a literal trunkful of GORGEOUS quilts in a quilter's rainbow of colors.  Her quilts will come to life as she shares their story and her inspiration behind her quilts and color choices!

We are super excited to bring you a weekend full of learning, laughing, sewing, food and fun!  We hope this becomes a regular event in Southeast Idaho.  Space is limited to 24 attendees, so round up your friends and register today!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

My Favorite Things Quilt

You know the symptoms.  Rush of adrenaline and panic to hurry and purchase that print before it's gone, meticulous folding and stashing away, the gleam of satisfaction as you take it out of fabric jail every once in awhile to hold it in your hands and give it a smell and a few fond strokes of loving admiration.

This was me years ago after I quilted a low volume, japanese fabric filled, scrappy log cabin quilt for Bonnie of Pink Stitches (@greenletterday).  It was love at first site and I knew immediately that if I didn't start collecting japanese fabrics right away, there would be a huge void in my fabric hoarding life.

For years I collected, and collected, and collected.  It would be a sin to cut into this precious fabric.  It  was expensive and came all the way from Japan!  I had to wait for the right day, the right project, one worthy it's glory.

Until one day.  One day, I looked at my collection and realized that it was becoming ridiculous.  Haha!  I decided the only way get this obsession under control would be to immortalize all the fabrics!  I would make a quilt with all of my very favorite fabrics and all of my precious Japanese gems.

I started by cutting a 6" strip off of the short end of each of my favorite fat quarters.  I then cut those strips into 6" squares.  I didn't have a size in mind for the quilt, I just wanted it to immortalize all of my favorites!

I put it on my design wall in sections.

I ended up with a patchwork quilt FULL of fabrics I could look at for a lifetime and fall more in love each time I did.  It measured approximately 125" x 110" - HOLY CRAP!  So... I made myself a king size quilt!  I decided to put a double layer of wool batting inside and use it as a warm quilt on my bed under my bedspread in the wintertime.  Wool is absolutely wonderful!  It's natural and it breaths, keeping it warm in the winter, but not too warm in the summer.  I would put wool in all my quilts if I could!  

I chose an Art Gallery Fabrics print for the back.  It has such a soft, smooth feel and gets softer every time it's washed.  I wanted to keep the quilting at a minimum so the quilt stayed soft and pliable and cozy.

I chose a clamshell pattern.  It quilted up beautifully and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!  It's the perfect winter quilt for my bed.  We can both hog the covers and there is still plenty of blanket left!

Fast forward 1 year... I still had a pile of my favorite fabrics left over.  So, I sewed them together to make a large throw.  I put a single layer of wool batting inside and chose an infinity loop pattern for the quilting.

This quilting is perfect for this quilt and reflects its modern style.

I chose a light grey striped binding because... well, I love striped binding!  I backed the quilt with one of my favorite Art Gallery Fabric prints from the Cherie line.

TA-DA!  A great finish!  Now... since I already have a king size version, this one is for sale.  Contact me for pricing.

Start collecting now!  When you buy a fat quarter that you love, cut a square and start your own "My Favorite Quilt" stash!

Heather @quiltbarn

And our winner is....

 

Congratulations to...

Jennifer Colson

Jennifer was our lucky winner on Saturday of a Bonnie and Camille Basics bundle!  

We had so much fun transforming the Gem County Rec Center into a fabric store for the day!  Thank you for coming out to Emmett to support our event - we appreciate it!

                

Opening limited number of Machine Quilting Memberships

As you know, Quilt Barn has provided quality computerized machine quilting for 9 years now.  Our pricing has remained largely unchanged and will continue to stay affordable starting at just 1 1/2 cents per square inch.

What you may not know is... Our quilting has been and continues to be published in popular quilting books and magazines.  Our quilting has been displayed and will continue to be displayed at International Quilt Market on fabric designer's sample quilts.

As we relocate our quilting studio to Emmett, Idaho, we have room to grow and expand our business.  As a result, I am opening our popular quilting memberships to a limited number of additional members.

The Quilt Barn Membership program started in 2014.  A limited number of memberships were offered and due to the high renewal rate, memberships have not been available since the program was introduced.

Machine Quilting Members receive 20% off machine quilting, 10% off backing fabric and minky, and a flat $10 return shipping on all quilts.  It's simple and affordable!  Membership cost is $150 and expires 12 months from purchase date.  On average, members save over $500 annually, with some members saving over $1000 in 2016!

Membership is open now on a limited basis.  When the member pool is full, this page will display instructions to be added to a waiting list.

Subscribe HERE

I'm back!

A little over a year ago, I wrote what I thought would be my final post on this blog.  I was off to new adventures!  Little did I know, they would not be the adventures I had in mind.  My business and my hobbies have been on the back burner this last year as I "regrouped".  My husband started a whole new career in May, and we relocated our family to the Treasure Valley in time for school to start in August.  We are building a little farmhouse in a small town called Emmett.  The valley is beautiful and the people are so welcoming.

Our cows are enjoying an abundance of grazing on our 9 acres, and I'm finishing the "new" Quilt Barn that will he located behind our home.

I won't be selling fabric anymore, but I will continue to provide quality and affordable machine quilting for customers across the country.  I'll be spending the next couple of weeks updating my blog to make it easier for you to send your quilt to me for quilting.

I'm happy to call myself the Quilt Barn again!  I'll be transitioning my instagram and facebook back to Quiltbarn as well.  I can't wait for the new year, new ideas, and new tutorials to share!

Good to be back!

Goodbye Quilt Barn - Hello New Adventures!

As most of you know, The Quilt Barn closed it's doors in April, 2015.  The store is no longer, websites are gone, and Tara and I have already dived into some new adventures!

Tara is usually the one who posts all the amazing tutorials and ideas on this blog - she is so talented!  She will continue to post, but soon will start posting on my new blog:  www.sew4mysanity.blogspot.com.   When that transition is made, you will be notified when you visit the blog and will need to follow us at the new blog address.  We have big plans for this fall!  Look forward to some great new tutorials and lots of "vintage" fun!

Heather is now machine quilting from her quilting studio in the old "Hen House" just behind the old Quilt Barn.  There are no shop hours, so quilts are dropped off and picked up by appointment.  Get those Christmas Quilts in by October 25th to guarantee them before Christmas!  Call Heather at (208) 420-3484 to make an appointment.

We have been crafting away, getting ready to be a vendor in the Vintage Vixens Fall Market!  
If you missed in this spring, you missed alot!  Click on the link to check out all the Vendors and get the details so you can add it to your calendar!  We will be there with quilts and other "vintage" home decor items and great prices!

Meanwhile, I want to let all of you locals know - I have a used Janome 3160QDC for sale.  If you are interested, give me a call or shoot me an email at sew4mysanity@gmail.com.

Thanks for sticking with us - we have great things for you coming up!

Heather & Tara 



 

Scrappy Strawberry Blocks

Have you seen the scrappy pineapple blocks on Instagram by  @holly_inez ? I saw them and thought how fun and cheerful. I have almost zero yellow in my stash. Bummer. I do have a lot of pink 2.5" squares. After I finish a project and have scraps I cut them into either 5" charms or 2.5" mini charms. I was halfway there!

 

I ended up making 9 blocks. One red one and 8 pink. I tried to separate the pinks by shade. The lone red berry used up all my red.

Now they sit on my cutting table chair waiting for inspiration for what to do with them next.

My last berry I pieced all laid out on my personal block size design board. I can carry the board from my cutting table to my sewing machine. You can find the tutorial on Lori Holt's blog, Bee in My Bonnet.

Free Strawberry tutorial can be found here, at Skyberries Handmade. I used 2.5" squares instead (its what I had on hand) instead of what she uses in her tutorial. The leaves I had to cut bigger as well and trim down to 2.5" half square triangles.

As always, you can find Heather and I on Instagram. Stop by and say hi!

Tara @tinyglutton
Heather @thequiltbarn

Dyeing Vintage Linens

After the wedding I had a substantial pile of vintage linens and lace table cloths. Most were bought on the cheap in thrift shops. One can, in fact, have too make cream linen and lace table cloths so I decided to dye a couple (the family heirloom pieces were spared this experiment).

I also tossed in a few napkins and doilies.

 I used Rit Dye, both the powder and liquid and I used my sink kitchen sinks. One to dye and one to rinse. This worked for most pieces except the bottom linen cloth. It was probably too big and a little heavy after wet and hard to rinse.

First up, the pink.

The darker tablecloth had a soak time of about 20 minutes and the lighter one was 5 minutes. I washed and dried all items in my machines so this is the final color.

The doilies were soaked for about 5 minutes and you can see there is some variation in color.

These napkins are the exact same yet very different colors. Interesting.

I didn't have much luck with the Teal or Aquamarine (both liquid versions).

The linen cloth on the left is Teal. The final color is very light.

The next lace piece is Aquamarine but turned out purplish. I might try and over dye it with pink some other time. 

The last piece is the Aquamarine again. The color looks pretty good here but it actually very pale.

I think I will stick to the powder versions of the Rit Dye. My local shops didn't have much of a selection so I might try and buy online for a better selection.

I might try dyeing white tone on tone fat quarters just to see what happens.

Have you tried your hand at dyeing?

Pink Little Houses Quilt

My little pink houses quilt is done. I didn't realize how wrinkly it was until I saw it held up for a pic. I think I may need to wash it before I list it for sale. Washed quilts have a great crinkly, vintage feel to them anyway.

I used a scrap pack of pinks, a few yellows, and a bunch of Moda Essential Dots in a pale pink (I don't think the dots show up here but, take my word for it, they are adorable).

The pattern is Suburbs by Cluck Cluck Sew

 

I quilted across each row and going up, over, and down each door then quilted the vertical rows.

I think I will wash it up and share a new picture later. I want to see if there is a noticeable difference .

Quilt in a Day

I woke up one day last week and had to make a quilt and it needed to be finished in a day. My teen was telling me about a friend of hers and I knew I needed to give her a quilt.

I searched my quilt closet first (I have a few finished quilts ready to gift) but none of them said teen girl to me.

I ended up using some of my scrap charm squares. When my scrap bucket gets a little full I spend a bit of time cutting out charm squares, mini charms, and 2.5" strips.
 

I took out red and navy charms and ended up with a soft sherbert pallet.
I quilted in the ditch and attached the binding by machine.

I ended up liking this quilt and the sewing process I made a similar quilt with low volume charms.

This year I set a New Year's resolution to give away 10 quilts this year and I am up to 6.

You can find Heather and I on Instagram

Heather @thequiltbarn
Tara (me) @tinyglutton