Monday, November 22, 2010

House Hunting Block of the Month!

House Hunting begins in Dec - click here to reserve your spot now!

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Glacier Star BOM!

We are one of 12 certified Judy Niemeyer shops in North America - check out this beautiful BOM - and we offer several colorways!
Click HERE

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Beach Walk BOM!

Click HERE for more details on this BOM!

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Baltimore Bali BOM

Starts March 2011!
Click HERE for full details!



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Easiest Quilt Ever!

This new tool is SO much fun!
You can literally finish a quilt in a day - so if you still have gifts to make for Christmas - you know, that person that is always begging you to make them a quilt - now you can! ...and it doesn't  look like it was as easy to make as it really is - it gives the illusion of a lot of piecing. 

What tool is it? The Twister! The basic concept is that you sew a bunch of squares together (charms or layer cakes are perfect) and add a border. Simple enough so far, right? Then you use the Twister tool to cut the pieces and rearrange them back into a quilt - so you have all these great little pinwheels but with zero of the hard piecing!


This Twister tool comes in small - perfect for the charm pack lovers - and large - perfect for the layer cake lovers! We really love both sizes - but what is so neat about the large size is that the "leftover" pieces make a second small sized quilt! ...so you can make one large quilt and use the smaller pieces for the border, a table runner or something fun!

Click HERE to view the page with the pattern book and both sizes of the Twister tool.

Want to see one almost done? We had a QBTB fan email us a pic of the quilt top she made with the large Twister tool - and she did all this in one morning! She used a stash of Christmas fabric she bought here at QBTB 2 years ago. (This goes to show that eventually we do use all of our stash!) She is going to add the border still so hopefully we will have a follow up picture soon!

How fun!

So if you order yours this week it will come at the beginning of Dec and you will have a weekend or two where you can crank out some lovely quilts as gifts! 

Happy Monday,
QBTB


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Friday, November 12, 2010

Doll Clothes!

We try very hard to feature patterns and fabrics that you say are your favorite.

We have heard from many of you that you are making doll clothes for your kids and grandkids. All of us here at the store were reminiscing about our dolls - we all had memories of making doll clothes with our grandmother or mother! ...That must be why we all spend so many hours in a quilt shop!!

We have several great patterns for 18" dolls...that would be the size of popular brands like American Girl Doll. This pattern below has 12 outfits in 1 pattern - you can make a few as a gift and then after Christmas spend some time teaching the young lady in your life a little bit about sewing! 



This made us think - what was your very first sewing project? Here are some of ours...purple shorts and a purple and white polka dotted top, a baby doll blanket, a basic jumper...we would love to know what your first project was!
~QBTB

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Bags Bags Bags!

128 pages of cool bag ideas in Brilliant Bags by Deena Beverley!
This is the one stop shop if you have bag lovers on your Christmas gift list!

There are 20 bag patterns that are SUPER SIMPLE! 
You can finish several bags in one day and you can make them in several different styles!
Sweet, sleek, retro, contemporary, modern, etc



And for fabric choices click here to view a multitude of options!

Happy Bag Making!
QBTB

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Pain Free Gifts!

We all lead busy lives. 
All of us here at the store rely on quilting to relieve our stresses. 
Sometimes, though, our stress relieving activity can leave us with "Quilter's Neck!"
You know what Quilter's Neck is...it is when you have been in front of your machine for too long and you neck sorta aches...or when you have been sitting on the couch working on hand applique or binding and your neck is stiff...

Here is a pattern that is awesome (yes, awesome) if you ever have any aches or pains! 

How wonderful is this? You can make a Shoulder Stress Suppressor and/or Eye-Sinus Bag! They work either hot or cold so you can change your mind time after time! You fill the bags with whole kernel field corn - you can find this at most feed stores and isn't expensive at all. 

This is a great pattern to use for Chirstmas gifts because quilter or not, most people experience some shoulder stress or yearn for some quiet time at one point or another.

Check out our online store for a huge selection of fabrics or check in your stash for the perfect fabric!

Happy Stress Relieving!
QBTB




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A no fail gift for young women!

 If you have a daughter or granddaughter in your life then you know that technology is a major part of their life. They are also very into modern styles and love to have one of a kind accessories...

We featured this laptop cover in a previous blog post  -  back in July - but this is truly a hit with young women. This laptop cover by Amy Butler is such a lovely gift for a young women in high school, college, or even a young career women. This laptop cover has sleek lines and lends itself to fun, modern fabric.

There is one particular fabric line that seems to be a favorite among young women - it is the Love Collection by Amy Butler! We posted pictures of the fabric line below...you can see why everyone loves it - it is gorgeous!

Happy Quilting,
QBTB






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The PERFECT gift for a quilter!

 What to get a fellow quilter for Christmas? ...well, we thought about what would be useful and still make said quilter "oooohhh and ahhhh?" Then we thought about how so many of you have told us that you love to attend our retreats...you just don't like hauling the stuff...so we thought we would show you a few useful patterns that are great for hauling rulers, fabrics, notions, etc to and from our quilt retreats, your sit and stitches, you guild meetings, etc

So first up is a tote called Diamond Island Tote. It is a jelly roll friendly pattern - we like the example with white strips and then a fun colorful fabric line for the opposing strips. We have white, black, red, and some other basic jelly roll colors to pick from for the solid strips.We also included a bunch of pictures of all the jelly rolls we have in stock - we put our best sellers in here so you can rest assured whichever jelly roll you pick, your fellow quilter is sure to love it!

The second pattern we thought would be a great quilter gift is the Carry Me Bag pattern. What we love about this particular tote is that it is designed to carry rulers to and from quilt retreats and classes! The tote is only 7 inches high but is 18 inches long! This means you can fit some necessities in here that are normally awkward - I mean how not fun is it to carry around rulers! Now it is a piece of cake!! And wait for it...it gets even better! One Honey Bun makes THREE bags! This is super budget friendly, fast to make, and perfect if you have several quilters on your gift list! (...maybe you should make one for yourself, too!)


 Here are a few of the lines of fabric we feature in Honey Buns and/or Jelly Rolls...click HERE to go to our Pre-Cut page on our website!











Goodness that is a lot of fabric to pick from! ...and now instead of going back to work in the store we all want to make the Carry Me Bag for our quilt retreat and Judy Niemeyer classes coming up in January and February!!

Happy Quilting,
QBTB

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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fast and Easy Quilts for the Little Ones in Your Life!

If you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or any little ones in your life then this is the pattern for you! Why? Because it is super simple to make and is great for use with flannels - and all little ones love a soft, snuggly quilt!

The pattern is The Quick Brick Quilt.

 Using this pattern with flannels you do not need batting! This makes the quilt not only simple and fast to make, but is also budget friendly as you don't have to buy batting!

The quilt pattern includes instructions for crib/throw size (45" x 60") and full-size (74" x 90").


Flannel Fabric ideas:

Wheels for the little boys in your life...




Taffy Flannel for the little girls in your life...





Click HERE to view our full collection of flannels - we can ship them to you right away so you have plenty of time to finish a quilt or two with this pattern!

Hope this helps as you plan for Christmas!
Happy Quilting,
QBTB


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Monday, November 8, 2010

Stocking Stuffers for Quilters!

Countdown to Christmas: 45 Days!

We will be your "go to blog" for quick, easy, and special Christmas gifts so that your next 45 days are as stress free and as enjoyable as possible! ...and if you have tips please share them!!

So as the holiday season approaches we know you have to watch your budget AND still make sure you have a little something for everyone on your Christmas list. Since you are a quilter you are probably surrounded by quilters and will need LOTS of little fun gifts that make your fellow quilters go "OH, I love it!" when they open their gift...

...and we think adorable Pin Cushions are just what you need!

Take a look around your sewing space, is it filled with little items that make you smile? ...are some of them Pin Cushions? 

There is just something about a homemade pin cushion that melts a quilters heart...and today we have 5 pin cushion patterns that will make the cutest little cushions EVER! Make a bunch to have on hand to give to all those who are special in your quilting circle - personalize them by picking colors you know the recipient loves!

(If your fabric stash doesn't have the fabric you need then check out our Sale Page for fabrics to use on the cushions!)

Cherry Blossoms

Fresh Picked

Hoot n Annie

Pieced Pincushions

Yo Yo Pincushions

Take a little looksie through your stash, find the fabrics you bought last year because you had to have the whole fat quarter bundle ( you know we all do that!), and then have an afternoon in your sewing room making the sweetest little pin cushions for those you love and care about!

45 days and counting!
QBTB

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Thanksgiving Pretties!

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving tradition? We had someone in the store this past week who was buying fabric for an apron for herself - we will call her Sally. Sally mentioned that it is her own personal tradition to make a new apron every year to wear while she is in the kitchen cooking Thanksgiving dinner. She said it was her little pleasure each year - something to add a little "pretty" to her day. 

We thought that was just a beautiful idea! So, we walked around the store and thought, hmmm, which apron would be fun and which fabric would we use?

We picked out the My Other Kitchen pattern. Why this one in particular? Because it is a quick and easy pattern and you can even make an apron or small gift for those that help you in the kitchen!


My Other Kitchen is a pattern that includes a reversible apron, placemat with napkin, oven mitt, three-pocket hanger, dish towel, and a scone mix bag with a recipe for White Chocolate Chip Scones! (If you are really really on top of your game you could give a gift to your guests - a scone mix bag with the recipe and mix!)

...we decided just about any fabric would be cute because, well, we were having a hard time picking out our favorite! ...but here is an option or two...



 Daisy Doodle is a fun way to spice up your day and make you smile - wouldn't this be a cute apron?!

Or...if you want fun and elegance then you may like Blush!





...or maybe you are lucky enough to not have to cook and this can just be a hostess gift!

Happy Quilting,
QBTB

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