The Common Pin.

In my collection of quilting tools are a variety of pins. Steel common pins, brightly topped pins, small sequin pins, long flower-headed pins, pins I have made with Shrinky Dink plastic, safety pins and more. They are useful, needful objects for any home sewer and especially quilters. Like tiny, sharp fingers they hold fabric together freeing your hands and making it easier to sew. They allow you to match and hold points accurately. Well, as accurately as possible. Pins are easy to take for granted.



It wasn't always so. Back in the 14th and 15th centuries pins were scarce and costly. Women in England would save for an entire year to purchase plain pins, the sale of which occurred on the first two days of January only by Parliament rule. Their savings became known as pin money, a term still used today for dollars saved for a purpose, like fabric for your stash.

Pins in the early years of our own country were kept in safe places, either in a small box or stuck into a pinkeep. Over the years pinkeeps have gone from small pillows stuffed with wool or sand to much more elaborate and decorative items. The pinkeep above is one I made from a rose pot weighted with flax seed and sealed with a layer of felted wool. The bulb is silk ribbon, hand-stitched and stuffed with raw wool fleece. The lanolin found in the wool prevents steel pins and needles from rusting. I don't really use this one, it just adorns my sewing room.

This little chicken was purchased in Paducah, KY at the National Quilt Museum. I just love it. I keep it on my sewing machine and jab pins into it while I sew. Oh, poor thing!
While I can make a quick trip to the store to replace lost pins, I do try to keep them safely tucked away. If I drop them, I make sure to pick them up before I sweep or vacuum. They are only thrown away when they become bent or broken. I have pinkeeps and containers all over my sewing room to hold them. I think I might be a pin addict.

What about you? Where do you keep your pins?

The Scarlet Strippers Strike Again!

Saturday morning found the Scarlet Strippers bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Why? Well, because that was the day we shared our completed quilt tops for strip club! It is like Christnmas waiting for the girls to open up their quilts and spread them out for us to view.
My favorite part is seeing what colors they chose. Each quilt top speaks to the personality of the maker. Here are the completed tops from last month's Stars Aligned challenge:

This quilter has her quilt nearly completed, hand quilted, mind you!

Stars Aligned done in Mary Engelbreit's Recipe for Friendship line. This might possibly make me want to do another one.

No wonder Cilla is smiling, her quilt is bright and cheery! Perfect for Spring.

Soft blues and orange make for a stunning piece of workmanship!

Quintisential pink perfection make for quite the quilt confection. Her son was not amused. ;)

Another joyful yellow and green delight. Yellow was the hands-down favorite choice for the background of this quilt.


After the quilt show, it was on to the reveal of the newest pattern. This month? Chain, Chain, Chain. Now, tell me Aretha Franklin didn't just pop into your head?

Karen explains the step-by-step process until we all know what we are doing.

I always take a few photos as a guide for construction. You would not believe how handy these photos are when it comes time to sew!

And, Ta-Da! The completed sample quilt made by Harriet the Amazing Sample Quilt Assembler. Isn't it beautiful?

I have already started mine. It is nothing like the sample, but that is just fine. When you put your own twist to a pattern, the result is a quilt that speaks to your personality, individually yours. That's what makes quilting so much fun.

The Goods.

Yes, more Shop Hop stuff! One of the benefits of going to Shop Hop was the treats that you received at each shop. From fat eighths to fat quarters, boxes of safety pins (great for quickly basting a quilt top!), tiny pouches and even scissor charms, each bag that was handed to shop-hoppers was a delight. The time and effort that went into each and every one is amazing.


And, of course, no quilt related event would be without quilt patterns! I think I have enough to keep me busy until the end of next year! I'd better get crack-a-lackin'!



I tried to be good about spending my dollars on things I knew I would use. I just didn't give myself a time limit on when that would occur. Take these two sweet pieces of Japanese import fabric from Intown Quilters. How cute are they? The little pigs (who speak French, by the way) and the tweeting birds will one day adorn a cute outfit for a grandchild. What? Yes, I know my children aren't married yet, but they will be one day. And yes, they are at that age.

Vintage feed sack reproduction prints made my heart go pitter-pat, each fat quarter more cute than the next. Once I have enough, I will use then in a quilt. Until then, they will be darling nestled in a basket on my sewing table. The two Civil War reproduction fabrics will be used to repair a quilt made by my great-great grandmother, the reason I am learning to quilt.

I had to buy these fat quarters at Little Quilts. The rooster reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen. Up over the stove hung a larger-than-life rooster my grandmother had created from paper and feathers. It was absolutely beautiful and these prints would definitely have found their way into her kitchen had she seen them. I'm thinking an apron will be just the things for these 1940's inspired prints.



And now for something completely different. This is my version of the Strip Club quilt which is due Saturday morning. I chose cocoa brown and a grassy green for my background and accent fabrics. I love how it makes the square-in-a-square pop. I have two more rows and then the borders and the top will be complete.

This started as a challenge, nearly taxing my skills to the maximum of their ability. But, I think it and I have reached a happy medium- it lines up where necessary and I don't cut it into bits. Now that's a compromise.

Are You Tired of Shop Hop Yet?

Our day started with Summer Vacation at Intown Quilters. What is the one thing that will totally spoil summer fun? Rain. And lots of it. It was so bad that my shoes squeaked throughout the entire store and one of the staff had to follow customers around mopping up behind them.
That did not deter us from sleuthing out an abundance of cuteness though.
This is the Camp Quilt that greeted us as we walked in. I love the cabins. They make me almost want to go camping. I said, "Almost."




How sweet is this gathered serpentine trim? Love it! I didn't see this anywhere else, so I know I will go back to buy some. Something else they had, that was new to me, was bobbin bikinis. Have you seen them? They look like tiny hair bands that wrap your bobbins and prevent them from tangling up together. So cute.

Row after row of sweet fabrics. Too many to choose from really.

But, what they did have downstairs set my heart all aflutter. Japanese fabrics! Yes! I treated myself to two. It was so hard to choose. (Photos of all the treats will come tomorrow.)
Next we drove to Covington and Patrick's. It was not what Cilla and I were expecting at all. It's an old-fashioned store, full of seeds, plants, bulbs and quilts!

You can get your farmer's clothes, boots and baked goods all in one stop.



And wouldn't you love to have her cutting your fabric for you?

We bought two fat quarters each, and I had to have that bag of spearmint leaves to munch on in the truck, which I have now named Tula. Tula the Truck. Perfect.

Back into the dark, rainy day to our last stop- Sweet Home Quilt Company in Conyers. This is the view from the front porch. The trees are in full bloom but look at that rain! I am about over it, really.

Inside it was warm and cozy. Just like going to Grandma's house. Little vignettes everywhere made me feel quite nostalgic for my Grammy's house.

Every nook and cranny filled with homespun goodness.

They even had a grandma, with the smile of an angel, to stamp the last space on our passports.

And then, done! We did it, Cilla and me. We completed a three-day tour of nine quilt shops and are still here to tell about it. I will say that next year we are planning on being better prepared. Here are a few tips for successful shop hopping anywhere:

1. Make a budget and stick to it. There are so many eye-dazzling enticing things that you can really get caught up in the excitement and have a case of buyer's remorse the next day. Not good.

2. Bring cash. Why? Because you have a better sense of what you have to spend that way. If you budget out $20 or $50 per shop, say, then it will be easy to keep to your preset budget if you have nine twenty or fifty dollar bills.

3. Pace yourself. Unless you only have one day in which to hop, take your time. A leisurely visit to two or three shops a day is much better than that "We have twenty minutes here and twenty only! Chop, chop!" kind of pressure.

4. Bring a few different pairs of shoes. Really. I had my Crocs, which were perfect for the rainy weather we had but I would have been sunk if the sun came out and it turned warm.

5. Pack a few healthy snacks and water for the drive between shops. It will restore your energy and keep you from experiencing that afternoon lag.

6. Go with a friend. They will notice something that you missed and you don't want to miss anything.

7. Bring a camera to record the fun. You think you will remember, but you won't. There is just too much to try and store in your brain files.

8. Have fun. talk with the shop staff, chat with other shop-hoppers, make it an experience to remember. You'll be glad you did.

Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Sleet, Nor Dark of Night...

Shall stay these quilters from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

(That means getting their passports stamped from each and every quilt shop!)

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With humble apologies to the US Postal Service, I felt that the Postman's Creed says it all about the intrepid women, and a few sweet husbands, who have battled some very rainy Georgia weather to attend Shop Hop 2009. And I mean rainy- at times we have been deluged with water, thunder, lightening, flooding, tornado watches and warnings. The forecast for today? More of the same. But will that stop us from getting in our cars and driving to see the last few shops on the list (or taking wonky pictures)? Absolutely not. And this is why:

Yesterday found us in Marietta, first stop- The Red Hen. A Day on the Farm started with a greeting from this precious pup. How cute is that little scarf around her neck?




I loved everything about this shop. The colors, the decor (absolute vintage farmgirl perfection!), the staff in aprons that seemed to come right off the hook in the kitchen, everything.




But I especially loved the dogs. There were three in total, each one sweet as pie and a rather welcomed, unexpected addition. No wet dog smell, either. How can you not love that face?



The quilts were fabulous and begged you to come for a closer look. The center panel on this quilt is not a panel, it is assembled and appliqued!



One day I will find a red barn and convert it into a house. I'll be keeping this photo for reference.



Hanging up over the cutting table is the most extraordinary quilt- Aurora. This photograph does it absolutely no justice as it does not capture the shimmer and sparkle that is abundantly stitched throughout the quilt. No wonder it has received so many ribbons. It is a masterpiece.

Gathering our purchases, grabbing our umbrellas it was back to the rain drops for us. Goodbye, Red Hen. We will be back.

The next stop was Little Quilts. No pictures as it was too rainy and the shop is very tiny. Only two rooms and difficult to maneuver through with a fair crowd of people. But, I did find some sweet fabric there that I have not seen elsewhere. I'll be sharing my treasures tomorrow.
From Little Quilts to Tiny Stitches, where a charming princess greeted us with a rather over-the-top English accent that set the mood for some fun storytelling.

I loved this display. Just because.

The Princess and the Pea bed. It was very tempting. Very tempting.

How sweet is this? A delicate fairy floating over a luscious lavender and blue confection, decorated with nests and egg garland. Spring has arrived in Georgia.

This morning it is back out into the inclement weather, threatening us once again with hail, severe thunderstorms and drenching downpours. But we are not ready to give in or give up the chance to see what lies in store for us in the last three shops.

We have to go. We must. We are quilters.

Hop. Hop. Hop.

It's Shop Hop time! And oh, my goodness, it is so much fun. My friend, Cilla, and I started early this morning, stopping at McDonald's for a plain biscuit, a Dr. Pepper and diet Coke, respectively.
We started our trip driving through a downpour to Newnan, home of Heritage Quilts and Fabrics. It is a darling shop, with wonderful quilts. Bad blogger that I am, I only took a shot of the exterior as it was beginning to rain again and I did not want to get my camera wet.




You can see from this shot of the window, they chose a Christmas theme and there were many cute Christmas quilts displayed throughout the shop. Christmas music streamed from above, Christmas cookies and candy canes were there for munching on and everyone was wearing their favorite Christmas clothing. The only thing missing was Santa Claus!

After making our purchases (we hadto buy something!), it was back into the truck we went and drove to Jonesboro, to Quilts and Fixin's and some favorite Saturday morning cartoon characters.

Here's Cilla posing in front of one of the windows.

Look! It's Scooby Doo! Ruh-roh.

It was a lot of fun revisiting some of my favorite Saturday morning friends- The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Tom and Jerry. Almost like a trip in Mr. Peabody's Way-Back Machine. :)

From Jonesboro we drove to McDonough, to home base as we call it. Where? A Scarlet Thread, of course, for a birthday party! The staff wore birthday crowns and the entire store was decorated with papier maché cakes and fat eights rolled into candles. Cute, cute. I had to share this darling trim on this dress. Yo-yo heaven, I'd say!

Anyone for birthday cake? Better bring your hack saw and wire cutters for this one.

I love how the cakes coordinated with the fabrics they were displayed with.

In the back of the store, where strip club and sewing classes are held, a magical transformation took place. Seemingly overnight, it became a quilt gallery, with a feast for the eyes at every turn! I am only going to give a sneak peek for now, because if you live in the area, you need to see it for yourself. Amazingly drool worthy!

Turning the corner who did I find? Deanna (DeeDee), who won our very first blog giveaway! Talk about good timing! I was able to document her receiving her prize from Karen and meet her in person! She's an absolute sweetheart.

At each location we received a gift bag, with a tiny treasure and a quilt pattern to make. Lovely, thoughtful things put together by the friends and staff of each shop. The attention to detail did not go unnoticed. It was a wonderful day. I'm glad we decided to stretch it out though. It would have been too much to get all nine in one fell swoop.

Tomorrow will find me up at the crack of dawn, picking Cilla up at 8:00 AM, making our required stop at the Golden Arches and driving to Marietta, where we will visit the next three shops on our list. I can hardly wait.

Gee, I hope I sleep tonight!