Brimming Over in Brimfield, MA

Oh My! I had no idea how many vendors would be here - over 3000! We haven't hit half of them and are soooo delighted with the cool finds. Pam Buda, Heartspun Quilts, and I are tickled with the selection of vintage fabrics and quilts along with the wonderful early American antiques. We've hauled wooden advertising boxes, divided grain bins and a nail bin for displays in the shop, a couple of marshmellow and pretzel tins for display in my kitchen, and some awesome old sewing needfuls shaped like acorns. Pictured below are a couple items that I wish I'd gone back for- a really good red cupboard (but where to put it?) and a graphic old dart board. Guess you can't buy everything you see. There's so much to choose from and so much of everything. Including people & traffic. It took 2 hours to go 15 miles last night, parking is as rare as hen's teeth and porta potties and my feet feel like they're 80 years old, but I'd do it all again in  a heartbeat. Great trip, great company, great finds.

 

Vintage Fabulous

 Congrats to Cricket-bug Corner! You're the winner of the new Icicle Stars pattern. We'll send it out next week after I return home.


Heading East
Pam and I embarked on our most excellent adventure on Friday, making our way to Massachusetts via Lancaster Co.,Pennsylvania. First stop, The Old Country Store Quilt Shop & Museum. I am honored to have been asked to share some of my quilts for display at the museum throughout this year. Never thought I'd ever make it into a museum! What a great job Jan Mast and her staff did showcasing Kansas Troubles.

 The museum shop is superb - lots of local and handcrafted items. We did not walk away empty-handed! Stay tuned for updates throughout the week. And follow Pam Buda and I on Facebook for up-to-the-minute action.

Spring has finally sprung, Christmas is near

KT Winner

Congratulations to AnnieO - you're the winner of the Primitive Quilts magazine featuring Friendship Garden by Pam Buda and I. Thanks to all the quilters who commented on the pictures of the shop. It made my day!

Icicle Kisses Fabric/Giveaway

It's only May, but Christmas is just around the corner - Christmas fabric, that is. KT's new Icicle Kisses will ship in June, but precuts may be hitting your local quilt shop any day. Grab a Jelly Roll  and some fat 1/8's or a fat quarter bundle to make our lovely lap quilt, Icicle Stars (70"sq.). A JR creates a scrappy background for the stars. If you prefer the star backgrounds all one print, you'll need a little more fabric for each - a fat quarter bundle is perfect.

Our easy layered patchwork technique makes quick work of the star points and tree units by simply laying triangles on top of the strips, stitch 1/8" from bias edge of triangle and piece blocks together. No lost points, no set-in seams, no fuss! Lois made a smaller version of this project as a prototype to test the "ravel factor". She washed and dryed the quilt in her regular washer/dryer as she would regular laundry - no special care. After 2 rounds thru, the stitched edges were softly frayed and curled but no ravelling in sight, no trimming needed. It gave the quilt a dimensional, casual feel without looking messy. The secret is to make sure all the cut edges are on the bias or have a precut pinked edge. You can also use a pinking rotary blade if you don't have the required precuts. I enjoy adapting traditional blocks to our layered patchwork method to see how easy they can become. I'd love to see pictures of your creations using this technique. Win an Icicle Stars booklet by commenting here this week.

Blog Readers' Quilts

Speaking of which, here are a few blog followers projects I thought you might enjoy.
Jacki Ryba worked with ladies from our church to create a beautiful quilt for the soup supper raffle - with KT fabrics, of course. Great job, ladies. Thanks to Jacki for all her time organizing and teaching the classes.

David Lamb pieced an intricate pineapple quilt in KT gold & brown - stunning!

Brenda Anderson found a delightful way to display a pile of quilts (many with KT fabrics) in a little bit of space - awesome!

Thanks for sharing your quilts. I'll see ya next week!

A Little Down Time

The Grand Opening of KT Bernina Quilt Shop & Emporium 

...is officially done. We closed the doors and retreated to the porch for a tall class of cold beverage (fill in your favorite) to relax and revisit the events of the past week. Many of the quilters who visited took advantage of our specials - fabric & precuts were on sale and a Bernina service special ($20 store gift certificate with a scheduled cleaning/service before June 1st). Robert is so pleased with the response and excited to get to work on the machines. We had a good bunch of ladies steadily wander thru the shop over three days, admiring displays and exclaiming over the quilts. Too fun! It's always nice to hear the ladies' reactions to the long hours to make our shop homey and welcoming. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped in to say "Hi" and check it out.

Since the last pictures, we added a a few things to the shop....

 That's my quiltin' hubby behind the checkout counter....he's not new, but cute anyway.

A ladder full of treasures over the cutting table..

and a lampshade frame tied with plaid strips and loaded with greeting cards that make me smile.

Just getting started with our little wool corner featuring Ewe-nique hand-dyed wools and Valdani threads - beautiful! Connie Huddleson, Starry Pines Designs loaned a few projects from her collection, too.

 Hands down, the most popular pattern all weekend was by Pam Buda, Heartspun Quilts, and her Endless Summer charm quilt made as a gift for me by Lois Sprecker (lower right just above the giant wooden stars). The 4 quilts cascading over the cupboard are also by Pam. My parents brought the basket of sunflowers - so pretty! - and Mom made oodles of delish cookies to filll the tin. They were a huge hit! Thanks, Mom.

I forgot to add in the last post that you can win a copy of Primitive quilts magazine with Pam Buda's and my versions of Friendship Garden. Just comment here about whatever's on your mind. We'll go with that for this week's giveaway while I catch up with paperwork and take a really deep breath. Later, Lynne

2 Days to Grand Opening!

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Nancyz - you're the winner of the new Love of Quilting magazine! Please send your mailing address to ktquilts2@twinvalley.net. Thanks to all of you for the positive comments on the Quilting with the Stars videos.

KT Bernina Quilt Shop Grand Opening

Just a few days until the Grand Opening is underway with some pretty cool prizes, homemade cookies (courtesy of my Mom) and lots of specials - fabric $9/yd.; precuts 10% off; pattern 50% off with purchase of kit; schedule service/cleaning of your Bernina before June 1st and receive a $20 in-store gift certificate. Our KT Retreat space is open for browsing, too.

 We've been busy cutting kits for our favorite projects....

and hanging quilts on every flat surface. The new Pheasant Hill collection is just in and ready to go home with you to make the new Pheasant Feathers or Pheasant Crossing quilts. More pictures throughout the week. We're adding more displays/props every day.

Primitive Quilts Magazine

Have you checked out the summer issue of Prim Quilts? My buddy, Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts, and I played together to create a little quilt we call Friendship Garden. I've used my easy raw edge applique techniques on my version, Pam chose to embellish her quilt with wool applique. I love them both! Kits are available for $40.95 for the cotton + $36 for the additional wools from KT. Call us at 785-488-2120 or email lynne@ktquilts.com for more information.

Fons & Porter Alert!

Love of Quilting

The new issue of Fons & Porter Love of Quilting magazine is on the newsstands now, with a lovely article and pattern by none other than - ME! I was also lucky enough to be featured in this month's Quilting with the Stars videos. Mary made it look so easy and instantly helped me relax and enjoy the day. Thanks so much to Mary Ann and Mary for a delightful experience. Check it out!

The project in the magazine, Homespun Honey, features Moda precuts - charm squares or a Layer Cake along with a Honey Bun. The HB strips are layered on the squares and stitched close to the pinked edges, then 4 squares are sewn together to form each block. Set on point, the quilt spins and swirls and just makes me smile. It goes together quickly and would look great in brights for a child of any age.

To win a copy of the Love of Quilting magazine featuring this quilt, comment here before Monday, April 22. Watch for the last minute countdown to KT Bernina Quilt Shop & Emporium's Grand Opening April 25-27.  

This week's winner!

Congratulations to DebrafromMD. You're the winner of the Pheasant Crossing pattern & charm pack! Thanks to everyone who commented on their favorite Pheasant Hill print/color. I appreciate the feedback for future collections. Today I'm trying to whittle down a huge pile of beautiful prints into a new 40 piece KT Favorites II collection. Oh my - I wish there could be 60! You'll see this new group just in time for Christmas this year! If there's a KT Favorite you love now, grab it before it's gone.

Lynne's Really Bad Day

Have you ever had one of those days/trips when everything that could go wrong, did? I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to IL last week, but it started out on April Fool's Day less than perfectly. I woke up to pack my clothes in the car and the handle broke on my suitcase. No problem, just repacked in 2 smaller suitcases - clothes in one, shoes/socks in the other. Out the door and on my way. Just about an hour down the road, my oil light came on. Funny, since I'd had the oil changed just the previous week. When I stopped to check, there was no oil in the car. Hmmmm, guess they forgot to put oil back in. Pretty easy fix, just added a couple quarts. Stopped in Des Moines for gas when the tire light came on. Really??? My rear tire had a bulging spot on the side with a slow leak. Buy an extra large Diet Coke, fill up the tire and move on, I'll have it checked tomorrow. Between Des Moines and Moline, I stopped every hour to fill the tire. Grrrrrr..... When I reach Davenport, IA and turn south to Moline, the front end of my car "clunks" loudly and starts grinding every time I turn the wheel. Sounds just like it did in Dec. when one of the wheel bearings went out. As I limped into Moline, I stopped at the motel and asked for the nearest tire dealership. There happened to be a Firestone just around the corner. I talk to a nice young man who says to come back at 8am for someone to look at my "issues". Back at the motel - a very nice Comfort Inn ungoing remodeling - I sink into a hot bath, hoping to soak away my really bad day. When I'm good and prune-y, I step out of the tub into a puddle of cold water - the toilet has been running over. SERIOUSLY??? I stood in the cold water, laughing/crying wondering how this day could get any worse. I gathered up my stuff, moved to another room and crashed for the night. About 4am, I woke up in a panic realizing I'd left my suitcase with all my shoes/socks at home by the bed. Could this get any worse? I'm up and waiting at Firestone at 8am. When I explained my situation to Bill, that I needed to be at the guild meeting by 11:30am to unpack all the stuff in my car, he was very understanding and promised they would have my car fixed or take me and my stuff there themselves. What a guy! I walked over to the mall, ate a cinnamon pretzel for breakfast and waited for the stores to open, wondering how the day would play out. Now I know most of you would love to HAVE to shop for shoes, but it's one of my least favorite things to do - right after bra shopping. My feet are wide so very few brands fit well. I prayed someone had a pair of Berkenstocks or Dansko's in stock in my size. Three stores later, Von Maur had 2 pair - black and taupe - that would work. I bought 5 pair of socks and headed out to Firestone about 11am. They were pulling my car out of the garage - with 4 new tires, an oil change, new wheel bearing and alignment as I arrived. Bill and his crew were absolutely great in working so quickly to get me back on the road safely. Thank you guys! So, the moral of the story is - if you need tires, go to Bill at Firestone in Moline, IL. If you need shoes in a hurry, Von Maur is the place (we don't have Von Maur where I live so I was pleasantly surprised by their huge shoe selection). The ladies in Moline were delightful and excited about my program and workshop. My very bad day disappeared and was replaced by a very good day with quilters. I figure when that many things go wrong all at once, I must be good to go with no major issues for a long time. Let's hope so, anyway! I'm driving halfway across the country next month.

Have you had a very bad day that ended well because of a saintly helper in your life? Share your story to win  a Pheasant Hill mini charm. Here's hoping your problems are "mini", your troubles few.