New Storage for my Quilting Room!

One of my last quilts was a scrappy string quilt.  I had a ball making this and I love that it uses up all of those small scraps left over from other projects.

Here's a picture of this quilt in progress...

  
Motivated by this project, I started collecting strips or "strings" regularly.  For a while, I was just storing them (by color) in large ziploc bags.  Not ideal but it worked. 

Then, I started reading the Quiltville website and enjoyed reading about all of the creative ways she uses leftover pieces of fabric.  So, now, not only do I store my strips by color but I also cut a few different sizes of strips that coordinate with her patterns.  

If you're interested in checking out her website it is located here @ Quiltville.   It''s just an awesome site that she has obviously put YEARS of work into.  I just purchased her most recent book which talks about how you can make scrap quilts by using scraps as "leaders and enders" while working on your current projects.   It's like making two quilts at one time.  Very cool, check it out!

Anyway, back to my new storage!  As I've mentioned before, I don't have a very large quilt room.  Don't get me wrong, I'm really appreciative that I have one as I know many people have to make due with their dining room table.  But all this really means is that I have to be creative when I decide I want to keep yet another item in the room.

While at Lowe's tonight, I came across these great storage containers.  They're tall and thin but the drawers are deep.  They also have rolling wheels so that they can be moved with ease.  I bought three with 5 drawers each for a total of 15 drawers.

Once I got them into my room, I decided to store them against my design wall.  When I need access to the full wall, I can easily roll the drawers out of the way!

Here's what the finished product looked like!

What do you think?  I LOVE that I can add to my strips as needed and that when I want to use some, I can just pull out a drawer and take it to my machine.  How cool is that?

:)   Thanks for stopping by....Heather

Classes at the Long Beach Quilt Show 2009

Last summer my Mom and I went to the Long Beach Quilt show.  What a great show!  It's SO big.  It was impossible to see all of the booths and still walk through the quilt exhibits and also take classes in just a few day's time!! 

I took a Kaleidoscope class from Marti Mitchell.  This was the first time I have taken a class at a show and I had a great time!

I still haven't actually made one of these quilts but she showed us some very inspirational examples.   Here's an example...Marti is peeking out from the back of the quilt. 

She was a really nice lady.  Wouldn't it be fun to travel all over demonstrating your techniques at quilt classes?

I REALLY liked this quilt because it was "scrappy".  Scrap quilts are really growing on me.  I think it's because I have so much fabric!!

 

 Isn't it cool how it looks like there are circles in the quilt but there are only straight lines???  :)

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While in Long Beach, I went on the show sponsored "Shop Hops".  How fun is that to be driven around a strange city and have the bus stop at quilt shops?  It was pretty cool!

While at a shop called "The Tall Mouse", I came across this darling store sample.  It was a table cloth made of a jelly roll and charm squares, all from the same line.  I just LOVED it.  It looks easy and is so pretty.

See how it's just the jelly roll strips that are grouped by color with coordinating charm squares around the edge for the border?  How cute is that!

 Wouldn't this be cute for any season?  Loved it!  And I love my "quilting travels"!!!

Take care!  Heather
 

Sacramento Quilt Show in March!

A few weeks back we set out to the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival in Sacramento, CA. One whole building was filled with quilt booths of all kinds.  I traveled over with a terrific group of ladies and we had a wonderful time (except for the car sickness).  In the future I must remember to face forward when traveling through winding mountains!!

The show was held at Cal Expo.  Here you can see us approaching the building.  Yeah, Rachelle, I caught you in this picture!  :)
 

My Mom and I are were prepped for some SERIOUS shopping.  I made my Mom promise that she would not let me buy any kits.  I'm not kidding, I really love kits and I have a BUNCH at home already.  Of course, she was all ready to dive into the long arm quilting supplies!

 

Jan, Sandy and my Mom.  Great picture guys!!

We went on the last day of the show and it was still quite busy. 

 If I counted right, there were about 75 booths.  Not a huge show but PLENTY of stuff to see.  I was more than satisfied and managed to find some great fabric!  (Huge surprise, I know!)

Looking forward to the next show ladies!!!  Thanks for the wonderful time!!

Heather

Back to Reality & the Rolling Table Tutorial

So, I had to enter back into reality and return to work today!  After 2 weeks off, that was Hard!!!  I'm sure most people can relate.

I've been trying to get my tutorial up for the rolling table but have been having issues.  Turns out, Lowe's doesn't carry this type of wire drawer organizer anymore.  Geez....  I also checked Home Depot but no luck there.  Not even online at either store.

So, I have pictures for everything BUT the carts.  So...what to do...

I think I will go ahead and publish the tutorial anyway.  I'll keep looking for a source to add on later and if people run across something similar, then they can still proceed.

If you run across storage carts similar to these...please let me know where you found them!  THANKS

I'll leave you with a shot of the pool where we spent many a day in Hawaii...

Heather

Maui Quilt Shop...Kihei

So, we hit the last quilt shop in Maui today.  How depressing!

But the good news is that it was a terrific shop so it was a great way to end.  The Maui Quilt Shop is located on the south side of the island in the Azeka Shopping Center. 

Their website is:   http://www.mauiquiltshop.com/

Although not a huge shop, they really pack a lot into this space.  They had a lot of Hawaiian fabrics and ocean prints.  All quality quilt shop fabrics.  They also had a lot of batiks and asian prints as well.

In addition, they carried a lot of different Hawaiian themed kits.  They carried the traditional hand applique patterns (in kits) as well as very cute and original kits featuring sea turtles, flowers and other Hawaiian animals.

I thought they had a nice updated selection of books, many of which were geared toward Hawaiian/Beach themes.  (I bought three)  :)

I noticed that they also give lessons in traditional Hawaiian quilting on Fridays.  

I had a terrific time in this shop and highly recommend it!  Check out their website 'cuz you can also shop online.

Oh- here's what I walked out with!!!

Aloha!  Heather 

Maui, Maui Quilt Shops...the FUN continues!

Today we made our way down to Kahului, Maui.  It just so happens there were two quilt shops within 1/2 mile of each other! 

The first quilt shop on our agenda was Sew Special in the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Mall. 

OMG-this shop was Amazing!!!! They had thousands of bolts of fabrics.  Batiks, Hawaiian themed fabrics and everything in between!!

They have been in business for 32 years in the same mall.  One of the owner's daughters, Patricia, filled me in on the history of the shop.  She was SO much fun!!

After seeing how much fabric this shop had, I sent my husband off on his own to explore the mall.

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Our second stop was at the Fabric Mart. 

Located just across down the street from Sew Special and directly across from Whole Foods.  This shop was easy to spot.

 

This was also a fairly large store but completely different from Sew Special.  This was not a quilt shop, rather they carried a huge selection of Hawaiian fabrics (on the roll) at extremely low prices.  Most Hawaiian prints were $3.25/yd.  They were more of a shiny shirt fabric rather than a traditional quilting cotton.

There was a medium size collection of "quilting fabrics".  However, these fabrics were not comparable to higher quality quilt shop cottons.  They were similar to the low end fabrics in JoAnns or Wal-Mart.  However, if you're looking for a deal, they were only $4.99/yd!

 
Done quilt shopping for the day.

Here's a peek at my "Stash Upgrade" compliments of Sew Special!!

Aloha!  Heather

More Quilt Stores in Maui- "Quilts 'N Fabric Land" in Lahaina

Another quilt shop can be found in Lahaina (west Maui) just one street over from The Needlework Shop.  "Quilts "n Fabric Land" is located in a multi level shopping complex on the main street AKA Front Street.

This shop was very difficult to find.  I had an address but didn't realize that it wasn't a shop on the street front.  Instead, it was located in a multi level outdoor shopping complex.  You know, one of those places with restaurants and t-shirt shops?

I finally found it on the second floor (right hand side) in the very back.  Here's a picture.

 They don't have a website so I sort of stumbled upon this by chance on the internet.

So here's the skinny.  It's not a huge shop but they do have a long wall made up entirely of quilting fabrics, lots of Hawaiian fabrics and batiks.  This was a nice selection of fabric, albeit not huge. 

The other side of the shop and the racks in the center of the floor were made up of completed Hawaiian quilt products.  Potholders, wall quilts, quilts, bags, purses etc.  These reminded me of every other quilted Hawaiian product I see in Hawaii, although they had a fairly large selection to choose from.

In addition, they also had a reasonable selection of "how-to" books on Hawaiian quilting.  There were quite a few to choose from and if you're looking for a how-to book, you could probably find it here.

I would not personally consider this a "quilt shop" but they did have a nice selection of Hawaiian related quilting fabrics. 

 Aloha!   Heather

Quilt Store Hopping in Maui...

**Please NOTE:  According to a recent visitor, this shop will be closing at the end of November 2010.    Sorry.....   :(



So...of course, I don't go anywhere without looking for ANY and ALL quilt/fabric stores.  I've found several so far and thought I would share!

First off...The Needlework Shop in Lahaina, Maui -click on shop name to go to web site.  (This shop is located in WEST Maui which happens to be where we are staying.)

Here is a photo of the shop. 

 It's just off the main street and very easy to find.  I went there because they said they carried Hawaiian quilting supplies and gave classes and I wanted to look into taking a class.  The cost is very reasonable.  Only $35 for all of the supplies and the lesson is free.  You get 2 1/2 hours of their undivided, personal attention.  I thought this was pretty good.

The picture below was borrowed from their website.  It shows what you basically get in a kit.  I noticed that they seem to use Batiks a lot for their backgrounds and I liked that a lot.  It was a nice change from the usual plain, solid. 

I spoke with the teacher and she was very helpful.  She gave me a mini demo of the process.  Basically, in the two and a half hours you will learn the entire process from start to finish.  How to cut the fabric (you cut it like a paper snowflake, where the fabric is folded into eighths), basting the fabric to the background, appliquing around all possible combinations (corners, turns, etc) and the final process of "echo" quilting. 

Overall, I thought this was a real steal for $35.00 for anyone interested in learning Hawaiian quilting!!

I've really thought about taking a class just for the experience.  I just keep holding back because needle turn applique is NOT my thing and I don't think it ever will be. 

Still considering it though!

By the way, they also sell completed pillow forms and small wall hangings made by employees.  Well worth checking out.  These really are a labor of love.

Aloha!  HEATHER

Our View from the Window...in Maui

We arrived in Maui and this is the amazing view from our window!!

Another beautiful view...

We're so lucky to be here.  We soaking up the sun and enjoying the 80 degree weather.  :)