In the Heat of the Night

UPDATE 8/16/2004: Our re-order of Row by Row License Plates has arrived, and prepaid orders have been mailed to customers today. There are still plenty more to sell - we look forward to seeing those who wanted to wait until both license plates and kits were both back in stock, and we achieved that today.  Come visit us for your free pattern, and take a look at our new kit fabric, with glow in the dark constellations!

As August continues to bloom in all it's heated beauty, the quilt shop continues to grow in summer fabrics. We've gone to a cool, minimalist window display to get us through the summer while the carpenters are hard at work in the hot attic above us. Martyn Richards and his crew are "sistering" the old beams of the attic of the barn, and a new six over six window will replace the old one to hold securely an air conditioner. The new skylights are already helping to pull the heat up and out of the attic room, and of course, ice cream treats from Jeff and Maria's new Ice Cream Shop on route 97 help, too.

Friends continue to stop in and add to our collection of 'orphan fabrics' and the lending library of quilt books. Here's a simple wooden dimensional picture of a quilt block that resembles something Rick and I plan to add to the front of the barn, brought to us by our artist-friend, Lynne.

Our quilt-artist-friend Ann keeps us well-stocked with quilt quality fat quarters and color family fat-eighth bundles, as shown in the new display case that Lynne also donated to the shop. Often, when quilters come in to pick up their Row by Row free pattern, and maybe a kit and/or a license plate

collectible, I talk with them about the artists who help keep Quilters' Quarters as diverse a quilt shop as it can be.  Many recognize Ann's kaleidoscope purse kits and know her as a teacher of workshops at their quilting guilds throughout the state. It gives all of us a sense of friendship and shared experiences to talk about with each visit.

I've done some shop-hopping myself this summer as part of the Row by Row experience, and as a new quilt shop owner I've learned a lot from the various shops I've visited. And along the way I pickup some beautiful fabrics and cut a few into fat quarter collections for Quilters' Quarters. I'm most often out in the shop during open hours, but sometimes also in the evenings, preparing the next day's

supplies of Row by Row kits.  And when I find a sale and get a lower price, the fabrics in the shop also have a lower price, which helps us keep a good range of prices to please both quilters and crafters alike.

Our kits have a new dark sky background in the Attic Window Pane: the galaxy print by Timeless Treasures was out of stock a month ago, and so I chose another fabric that has the same blend of deep, dark blues; this one, though, has distinct constellations rather than distant galaxies in its focus. You can see it on the top of the Sew a Season stack of fabrics, below:

I've also begun making our kits with a slightly smaller dimension; rather than 3 inch strips, I'm using 2.75 for both the season side panel and the winter tree window sill. This small change allows me to use the other 3/4 of the Sew a Season tree fabric for other season rows, and for 'All Four' season rows.  Recently, a completed quilt was brought to a shop as a winner of the 25 fat quarter prize, and it included our Summer Row, but rather than placing them in a horizontal row, they were used as the four corner blocks. Here's a picture of that quilter and her winning quilt, and another with our row:

Stop in to see us, and take a look at the new fabrics sitting on the floor in a large box, waiting for more cabinet space to be built. All are quilt-quality, ready for your end of summer projects, or back to school outfits, or picnic table toppers.  And remember, if there is something you are looking for that you don't see in our shop, let us know so that we can shop and stock what you want to find at Quilters' Quarters.

This fall, watch for a new set of patterns and kits in our shop; we'll be adding some different media that I think you will be excited to find and use!

Thanks for keeping in touch with our blog - we've had almost 6,000 visitors already. Take a look at the Feedjit post in the right margin to see how far-reaching our followers are!

As always, if you are reading this update in your email, thank you for signing up for the newsletter. We usually publish it about twice a month, but in between editions, we also update the various pages that comprise this blog. Recent additions are the Machine Quilting Classes page,  and progress on current quilts at Terry's QuiltingJournal 2014 page.  Come visit us at the blog and see what else is happening at Quilters' Quarters.

Feel free to share this email or blog link with your friends and families, and encourage the quilters among you to check out the Row by Row page of the blog as well as the website itself. We're in for a great experience this summer ~ jump in and join us!

Terry, web page TerryCrawfordPalardy.com, email: needlesandpens@comcast.net
Rick, web page WoodenToyandGift.net, email: woodentoyandgift@comcast.net
Rick's blog: WTandGNews.blogspot.com