Sew Therapy, for Real-sies

I was recently introduced to Debby, one of our die-hard, awesome customers. She has an interesting story. Debby wasn't always a quilter, but she used it to get through a rough time.

1. How did sewing help you work through your difficult time?

   My oldest daughter, Brittany, was killed in a roll over accident that we were in. (2000)  I got back into sewing, quilting...to discover something new...and also to finish my Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  HERS, actually. 

I find when I quilt that I catch myself smiling most often.  I usually have DELILA, the queen of romance radio program on also, when I quilt.  It comforts me...I feel creative....I like what I'm doing!  It's like gardening, only a different medium.  It's fun to see the growth in me as a quilter. It's amazing the hours that pass when i am with my machine.  Quilting, listening to love songs, drinking tea, thinking.......what could be sweeter???!!!!

I have made Brittany's bedroom my quilting room.  That too, is very comforting to me!  I feel often that she is right there with me!!!

2. How has sewing changed in its purpose for you over the years? (Is it still therapy, or is it a hobby now?)

   Quilting was always a hobby that i wanted to explore more.  It is therapy yes, but I think it started as a HOBBY first.....went into THERAPY from there....back to HOBBY.....THERAPY...... 

Sometimes I just go into that room and quilt JUST to get away from all the crud of the day.   I am thoroughly enjoying making something for EACH of my family members now....and I mean EACH of them.  (I wish my nieces would stop having babies tho....LOL)

What started as something new and fun, has NOW become an incredible quest to MAKE things for people.  I am enjoying giving a personal piece of myself to everyone I love.  Most aren't quilters and are in AWE with what I've done.  Once I start making things for my AVID quilting buds, I will be a bit more nervous about "giving of myself!".

3. Would you recommend sewing as a way to work through things to others?

   I HAVE recommended it to others.  I've even taken others to beginning quilt classes, which is something KIM did for me!  I want them to see how rewarding it is to actually come home with something useful that WE have created.  Such an incredible feeling.  I often am astounded with the beauty of the matching of materials.....hard to believe that I have made some of the things that i have.  With Kim's help and many others too, I am learning how to match prints, colors...do individual touches to my quilts.  It's an ongoing LOVE affair with a new quilt each time!!!  

I wish I had truly learned how to quilt when I lived in NM, as it was colder there.  But, i guess it really doesn't matter....

I enjoy doing it...and I now feel:: SOOOO MANY QUILTS....SOOOO LITTLE TIME!  I need to bust my butt and start pumping them out faster, as i am doing MORE collecting of ideas, patterns, and  materials!

When I go in their shop....the colors, the quilts hanging up....their smiles, suggestions, time spent with me........it's MY HAPPY PLACE!!! 

Quilting is a passion in me that is growing daily.  I use to dream of designs in my gardens....now I dream of designs to make with quilt fabrics!!!

Expensive hobby.....but seeing a counselor is more expensive!

Thoughts on Grandmother's Flower Garden

If you haven't been in the store lately, there is a new quilt hanging from the rafter's showcasing a "Grandmother's Flower Garden" style. Before I knew it was called that, I just thought of it as honey combs or octagons. My grandmother made one, but as it started to fall apart from years of use, so my sisters put it in a shadow box with sewing notions for my mom to hang above her sewing machine.

This was made by Pat. (Unfortunately I don't  know her last name!) Thank you!

Anyway. I think they are super cool and I happened to snap a picture a while ago of one that was with super modern colors and fabrics. After I saw how it could be styled differently, I decided that I gotta learn how to do this! We had a class scheduled for today, but I think we'll have it again in the next month or two. 

What do you think about taking classic patterns and sewing them with modern fabrics? 

By Cassie Grace

Mid-Project Storage Solution

In my 10 by 10 foot art cave (as I call it) many of my surfaces double up on purposes. My sewing table is also my drawing and painting area for my illustrations or journaling. I have an kitchen island which serves as my cutting table, but it's also where I set up my still lifes for oil painting and do my book binding. So I'm constantly shuffling projects. Well, I've found a solution for putting away my quilt blocks without folding them up or getting them wrinkly. ( I don't have a felt design wall yet) I've hung them up in my wee closet with a trouser hanger! It's out of the way of my paints, but easy access. I imagine that I could put smaller ones in bags and hang them this way as well.

Please ignore the lame painting....
its in the closet for a reason...

My only question is... Will this stretch out my fabric?