Shop Hop and Blog Hop

What?? September already? It sure has been a long time and a couple things have compelled me to dust the pollen off this blog (more info in a minute). But first, i hope you enjoyed a fun summer and have been doing very well. A special “best of luck!” to anyone who’s heading back to school – like our nieces Katie (11th grade) and Rebecca (off to college in Rochester, NY), and all our friends who are parents, educators, bus drivers and other essential people/professionals in the cultivation of America’s future.

Around here, Pete and i have been busy with work and lots of projects both indoors and outside. With so much activity, i've mostly been Facebooking, Instagramming and Pinning the days away. Please join me (and Franny and Lou) there too — I'd love to connect and see what you've been up to as well!

Ok, so the first bit of news...

I am SO excited to see my wonderful friends Sarah and Joyce Ely and JEllen’s House of Fabric – now in its 3rd year – featured in the Fall/Winter issue of Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine — on stands starting today. Please head over to their Facebook page and join me in congratulating them on this milestone!

Used with permission from Quilt Sampler® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

They're featured in the "Ultimate Shop Hop" article and if you're ever in the Cleveland area, I highly recommend stopping by to experience this place in person. Not only is it stocked with fabric, it is abundant with bolts of happiness. You can feel it from the moment you walk in the door, and even more so when you meet Joyce and Sarah. I have long admired these two for their charity sewing for kids with cancer, their efforts and contributions to the Million Pillowcase Challenge, their support for Reece's Rainbow, Camp Cheerful — but mostly for the kind, generous and huge-hearted people they are.

I was overjoyed to meet Joyce and Sarah back in 2010 during their shop's opening week. You can read about that trip here. They both have a very special place in my heart, and will always.

Along with the story about JEllen's, there is also a beautiful quilt and pattern tutorial that’s featured in the article.

Used with permission from Quilt Sampler® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

It was designed by the ever-so-talented Crystal Stanworth of Frivolous Necessity, and i understand there were many other hands that helped to make it come together...including Sarah who sewed the binding on herself!

I am honored and humbled that the Sunnyside fabrics i designed for Moda Fabrics are featured in the quilt. And i'm so thankful to have these wonderful people in my life. They make it better, brighter and sunnier each day. If you're interested in picking up a copy of the magazine, please check your local quilt shop, newsstand, or visit the BHG site for a sneak peek (looks like the digital issue will be coming soon). I hear Sarah has been autographing copies at the shop too!

Next bit of news...

Tomorrow begins Moda's latest fun blog hop

You won't want to miss this because there will be free quilt block designs, a free quilt pattern and lots of prizes along the way! You'll get to have a look at the latest fabric collections and maybe even sneak peeks of future collections! So please join us. Here's the schedule:

September 4th

Laundry Basket Quilts

French General

Zen Chic

September 5th

Bunny Hill

Basic Grey

Sweetwater

September 6th

Jan Patek

Pat Sloan

Pieces From My Heart

September 9th

Deb Strain

Barbara Brackman

V & Co.

September 10th

Kate Spain

Me and My Sister

September 11th

Kathy Schmitz

Minick & Simpson

Primitive Gatherings

September 12th

Fig Tree

A Stitch and Dye

Thimbleblossoms

September 13th

Blackbird Designs

Cotton Way

Stephanie Ryan Studio

September 14th

Kansas Troubles

Aneela Hoey

September 15th

Suspense-building day. Prizes announced tomorrow!

September 16th

Prize winners announced!

Quilt Assembly instructions included on the Moda Cutting Table

Looking forward to catching up more on the 10th and hopping along with you!

Have a wonderful day.

xo,

kate

Large-Block Quilts Tour and a Giveaway!

Hello hello! Today i'm happy to be participating in my friend Vickie Eapen's blog hop book tour. So glad you could join me for a peek at one of the many fun, simple and quick quilt patterns from Vickie's new book:

When a complimentary copy arrived in the mail, i was so surprised to see that the cover quilt was made with my fabric collection, Terrain! What an honor.

Something i really like about this book is just what the title says, the blocks are big! Which means piecing goes together really easily, seams nest perfectly and points are sharp — well, i got pretty close which is an improvement for me. There are lots of great patterns to choose from and after flipping through trying to make up my mind, i finally decided on a pattern called Quaint. Here, Vickie made it using Denyse Schmidt's fabric line, Aunt Edna.

I picked this block design because i thought the stars looked like suns and i wanted to show you another little peek of my newest fabric collection, Sunnyside. For those of you who were wondering, Sunnyside will be in shops this September (sorry for the shameless promo). I think i'll be continuing on and making the whole Quaint quilt, but here is the one gigantic 20" block i've made so far:

It went together in no time flat (even for me), so this book would also be great for quick gifts or fun retreat quilts that you could easily finish in a weekend. The good news is that Vickie and Martingale were so generous to offer a copy of this fab book to one lucky winner! Please leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. I'll pick a random winner on May 1st — what a nice way to start the month! Be sure to visit all the participating blogs for a total of 10 chances to win — you may have to go back to the posting date to find where to leave your comment. For winners outside the U.S., Vickie may opt to send you an electronic copy (eBook) instead of a hard-copy.

4/20 Vickie

4/21 Me and My Sister

4/22 Natalia Bonner

4/23 Kathy Brown

4/24 Jen W

4/25 Carol's Craft Blog

4/26 A Spoonful of Sugar

4/27 Me!

 4/28 Stefanie R.

4/29 Stitch This!
On a personal note, i met Vickie back in 2009 at my very first Quilt Market. Hard to believe it was that long ago already. Then in August 2010, when my dear friends Joyce and Sarah were opening the doors of their new quilt shop outside Cleveland, sweet Vickie made an hour long drive to be with us for the celebrations!

I'll never forget that. And now we're celebrating her first book. What an accomplishment for such a well-deserving, talented and kind person. Congratulations, Vickie! Keep up your creative and inspiring endeavors.
xo,
kate

Brought to You by the Number Two

Today is February 2nd and it's also Day Two of the Moda 'Pillow Talk' Blog Hop!

Alma and Barb are the two fabulous designers behind the beautiful Blackbird Designs. Hop on over to their blog to see what they have in store for you.

The 2nd bit of news today is that Sarah and Joyce, the unstoppable mother and daughter team who continue to amaze and inspire me (and many others), have had quite a significant thing happen. If you've already gotten the April issue of American Patchwork and Quilting, open it to page one. Sarah's smiling face will be right there beaming back at you:

She has been featured for her story about learning to sew through her contributions to the Million Pillowcase Challenge, and how she brightened the hospital room of her dear friend Kristen — a leukemia patient born with Down syndrome. Sadly, Kristen passed away last summer but she is remembered and honored every day at JEllen's where they continue to make and donate pillowcases. Sarah is also making quilts to donate to Reece's Rainbow.

You can read all about how Sarah, Joyce and i met in this post. And you may have heard me talk about them with Pat Sloan the other day. When i was digging back to find that post, i was so surprised to see that it was almost a year ago. You just can't believe what these two have done in that time — it is remarkable.

Speaking of remarkable, there are two other women who have some pretty exciting stuff happening that i've been eager to share with you. Not only because they welcomed me into the quilting world with wide open arms, but also because they're both very talented in their own right.

The first is Rachel Griffith (rachel, hope you didn't just *faint*). You might know her from her lively blog ps: i quilt where she is the non-stop hostess of quilt-a-longs and siggy swaps. Or from her recipes on the Moda Bake Shop. Or from the new book she is included in (and on the cover of). The list goes on. And now her first-ever quilt design and pattern, called "Flipside" is being offerred exclusively on the

Fat Quarter Shop!

Yes, i'm a wee biased because she used Central Park, but it's such great quilt design for the jelly roll lover in you, that i bet it would look good no matter what fabric you use. But you really want to use Central Park, right?? *wink* Congratulations, Rachel!

The second woman is Vanessa Christenson, the creative mind and bubbling spirit behind V and Co. Vanessa has a clean and simple style to her designs that invite even beginners (like me) to take on sewing and craft projects with a certain degree of confidence.

Like Rachel, Vanessa's list of accomplishments has been ever-growing. She's been a chef on the Moda Bake Shop (you can find her recipes here), she's also going to be published in this book, she'll be a guest speaker at the Sewing Summit in October, annnd she emailed me last night to share the fabulous news that three of her projects are in the Spring issue of Quilts and More magazine! Whew! So why did she email me? Well, this cutie quilt she made with Verna (almost a year-and-a-half ago), will be featured in there at last:

Congratulations, Vanessa!

And what do Rachel and Vanessa have in common? They were the first two people i knew of who made the first things i'd ever seen with my very first line of fabric. They're pretty special to me and i'm so very happy to applaud their successes.

Road Trip: Part One

Last Saturday, Pete and i flew out to Ohio to visit with some
very special people for the grand opening of JEllen's House of Fabric in Lyndhurst. What a wonderful day it was! We walked in the front door and up the steps, and i think my jaw hit the floor. Though I've been following Joyce's blog and seeing the progress of the shop renovations,
it was incredible to finally be there in the bright,
joy-filled, people-packed space.

The first thing we saw was this fun display featuring 12 Days along with some cute jumbo ric rac and Gudrun's Fast and Furious pattern book:

But i whizzed by the display because i was too excited to finally meet my friend Sarah! It was a joy to meet her in person and to get to know her a little better. She is just so sweet. I learned that she loves to sing, that Lady GaGa is #1 on her iPod playlist, that she is a huge Zach Efron fan and has seen High School Musical more times than she can remember!

Sarah turned 21 on Monday and in honor of the occasion, i made some of Rachel's friendship bags and filled them with some goodies.
I gave one to Sarah and one to Joyce:Hey, look who else was there! It's Moda Mark! He's the amazing Moda sales rep who Joyce has been working with to stock the shelves with a wide variety of fabric and notions. You don't have to talk with Mark for very long to recognize that he is committed and dedicated to helping each shop achieve success...so much so that he spent most of the day with us. And did i mention is was a Saturday? He's also as nice as can be. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us, Mark. Above and beyond.I was so impressed with how well-planned and organized the shop is, and how many great project ideas are right there at your finger tips. I think someone else might agree...right Vickie? We caught her just as the bolts were flying across the cutting table!

You might already read Vickie's spectacularly creative blog, Spun Sugar Quilts. If not, you really should. She has cute projects galore and tutorials that are clear and easy to follow. She has a quilt design on the cover of the Fall 2010 issue of Quilts n' More magazine (read all about it on her blog), annnd she's also a talented "chef" over at the Moda Bake Shop. Whew, quite a few accomplishments wouldn't you say? On top of all this, Vickie is a Mom to two little girls, and works full time! Thank you thank you for taking time out of your busy life to stop by JEllen's. It was great to see you and to catch up — please thank Mr. Vickie for taking the girls to the mall so you could join us! Vickie has a great tour of the shop if you'd like to see some more (including a cake that is too cute to eat).

The shop was busy all day and it was fun to meet people of all ages from around the area — who are so happy to have a new fabric shop closer to where they live. Little do they know how lucky they are...Joyce has 16 new Moda collections arriving soon! Many of the people i chatted with were interested in learning more about the design process which i'm always happy to talk about (and fling my hands around while i talk. just glad i didn't bonk anyone by accident).

I talked with a quilt group of 8 women, a young woman who sews her own clothes and wants to pursue a career in fashion, and this little girl, Mackenzie. Her Dad helped install the cabinets in the shop, and while she was in there one day, she decided she wanted to learn to sew! She's in 4th grade. Can you remember what it was that made you realize you had to learn to sew? Mackenzie asked me to sign the Moda catalog that Joyce had given her. In the midst of my blushing, it sure made
me feel pretty special (ok, like a lot special).But it took me a little while to figure out what to write. Mostly because i wanted it to mean something. So i sat and talked with Mackenzie and Sarah for a bit and thought about how it came to be that i was sitting in that chair in that room in that shop on that day. I realized that in one way or another, we were brought together because we are all following our hearts and doing what we love. So my message to Mackenzie was just that,
"Keep doing what you love, and sky's the limit."There is a palpable sense of deep gratitude and joy about the Ely family.
By "joy" i mean the instantaneous kind that whisks you up into its swirl of positive energy before you even know what's happening. Joyce's shop is stocked to the ceiling with this kind of joy, because i don't think she can help it. That's the kind of person she is and the kind of family she has. It was an honor for me and Pete to share a day with them and we wish them all the success possible! You should be so proud of what you've created. Congratulations!!

Grand Opening Hooplah

Some of you may have read my post a while back about Joyce and her daughter Sarah. Well, over the past 6 months, you would not believe what this mother and daughter team (and whole family) have accomplished! They are opening their very own dream-come-true fabric shop in Lyndhurst, Ohio. It's called JEllen's House of Fabric, though it will be much more than
just a fabric shop...

I have been reading along on their blog from the time they signed the lease to more recently when they remodeled the interior, got the space inspected by the fire marshall, had the lines painted in the parking lot, the exit signs illuminated, the ceiling fan installed, and even when they got locked out! And now...just this past weekend, their very first display has been put together. Way to go!

It has been so exciting to cheer them on and watch their dream being realized, in real time...step-by-step. All their planning, energy, hard work and commitment are finally coming together and i admire this family so much for what they have already been able to do for each other. Their shop has been assembled with loving care and is an inspiring reminder of what can be accomplished when people work together.

When Joyce first told me about her endeavor, i told her that i wanted to be there for the Grand Opening to support this amazing milestone. So....if you're anywhere around Lyndhurst, OH on Saturday August 14th between 1-3 pm, come on by to celebrate with us (here's a map with address)! Joyce, Sarah and I would love to meet you, and hope to see you there!
In the meantime:
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you've always imagined.
Henry David Thoreau (and Joyce and Sarah)