Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Another Wednesday...another Visitor!

This morning we were surprised to have one of our very favorite "snow birds" return to the quilting nest....Fudge Cathy!  She is so named because each Wednesday morning for the coffee get-together she brings us a batch of her famous fudge...and she did not disappoint us today either.  It was great catching up with her, and it seemed as if she had never left. 


And check out this BEAUTIFUL afghan Fudge Cathy made and brought to me!  I just love it, and am actually looking forward to some cool nights just so I can snuggle in it!

It appears my cat, Zinger, loves the afghan too!....I put it down for 5 minutes to take a picture and she thinks it's for her.  Ha!  Think again, Zinger!!

Speaking of knitting (I think we were speaking of knitting, weren't we?)....since being at the bead and yarn shop, I have become addicted to all the yarn and the fun things to knit.  But my old canvas bag that I kept my needles in has seen better days....needles poking out everywhere, stabbing me in the legs as I walk!  So I went a-googling for a quilted knitting needle holder.  I found this one and decided to give it a whirl.  Super easy to make, and we have figured out with a few fabric placement adjustments, you can use 2 half-yard cuts of fabric for this completed project!


Knitting Needle Holder
Opened Needle Holder
Here it is,all bundled up,and then opened with lots of slots for different needle sizes as well as knitting markers, tape measures, crochet hooks and other important stuff.
We've already had requests for a few and we plan to make up several to have for sale at the bead and yarn shop, Just Bead It.

In House Retreat

Don't forget to let us know if you are interested in attending our In-House Retreat the weekend of November 19th.  We must have at leas 10 participants to hold the retreat; to date we have half that number.  Leave a comment on this blog indicating your interest in joining us.

Christmas Quilts

Don't wait until the last minute to get those Christmas quilts to us for long arm quilting!  We must have them dropped off by November 22nd to be completed in time for Christmas.  Currently we are not back-logged with quilts, so the sooner we get them, the sooner we can promise completion!



Thursday, October 21, 2010

Shop Talk....and Visitors!

SHOP TALK


We had mentioned in a prior post the recent arrival of our AccuCut 3/4" die cutter; well, we have been cutting lots of strips and making baskets.  Cindi and Katie made really cute Christmas baskets...I wish I had photos, but alas, I do not!  Maybe in the near future.
Today, however, while taking a break from long arm quilting, I decided to make a basket from strips of a Moda fabric with coral/cream/orange roses and brown background.  I made a small oval basket.....and when I came to the end, started pondering how to finish it off.  Well, gee whiz....here I am, in a BEAD shop!  Low and behold, we found these really cute glass/ceramic beads that are perfect for the basket.  I hope you can get a sense for the beads: they are peachy-cream color with a crackle glaze finish.  Very pretty, if I do say so myself!!

So....keep the bead section of Just Bead It in mind when finishing those baskets.  PJ has tons of beautiful beads and stones that can be added to your finished project to give it that perfect look.
And don't forget, we can cut those pesky strips for you in no time flat!  Just ask Cindi....!!

Question.....

We are contemplating an In-House Retreat to be held in November (most likely the weekend of November 19th).  We would like to know if you are interested in attending our retreat.  We will be able to accomodate about 10-15 people, and will keep the format similar to what we have had in the past at our previous location. 
Please COMMENT below as to your interest.  We are suggesting this retreat would work best for local quilters.

VISITORS
We've had some visitors this week, and we thought we would post a few pictures of them.  Newborn Levi stopped by for a visit, along with his Mom and brother, Benjamin.

Such a cutie, and a good baby, too.  Except Grandma just kept poking him and holding him....and would not let him sleep!  Those Grandmas......no accountin' for them!

At Wednesday Morning Coffee we had another visitor....Judy Danz' granddaughter Kaitlyn stopped by (and brought her Grandma too).  Kaitlyn was trying out a Halloween quilt we just finished for Cindi;  but when her face started to get red and she seemed to be "concentrating", Grandma decided it might be time to move her off the new quilt!  Good idea, as it turned out.
 Be sure to join us for coffee and talk on Wednesdays....you never know who will be dropping in!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Baby Levi is Here!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Deanna's new grandson arrived October 14th at 1:09am.  Weighing in at 8lbs 4oz, Levi Timothy and mom, Rachel,and dad, Paul are all doing fine.  Big brother Benjamin got to visit today with Mom and Levi, and had the opportunity to hold his new baby brother.  Oh....Deanna and Steve are doing well too...both are very excited to have another beautiful grandson!



Deanna will be on "Grandma babysitting duty" for a while, so she will not be in the shop every day.  But have no fear....we will continue to crank out those quilts we have for everyone, and make room for more quilts to be coming in. 





Friday, October 8, 2010

Welcome Newsletter Recipients

For those of you on our Newsletter mailing list....Welcome!  This is our blog......and we hope you enjoy poking around here.  We hope you take the time to become familiar with this site, as we will be eliminating our newsletter in the near future.  We will be posting information here on classes, groups and long arm quilting and notions sales.

You have the ability to leave comments here also, so feel free to give us input at any time.  We have had inquiries into classes and groups, and altho we have some ideas in mind, we would appreciate your thoughts and comments on what you would like to see us host here at Desert Flower Quilts.  We have limited space, but are also working on the possibility of using a larger facility when we have gatherings.

So, enjoy yourselves looking around!  Be sure to visit here often to keep updated on our latest happenings, and be sure to visit other blog sites too.  There's a lot to be learned and looked out out there in the big internet world!!