Friday, July 9, 2010

Follower Friday Over at Gen X Quilters!

I meant to do this earlier today, but life happened and I ended up swamped...

I'm the Featured Follower at Gen X Quilters (& Y too!)!!  In order to facilitate conversation and forge connections in our vast community, AnneMarie is doing little write-ups on the followers of that blog.  It's just getting off its feet, so stop by and join in on the fun!

In other news, I've been sewing like a mad woman this last week.  I'd show pictures, but it would give away the surprise and I want to save it for Show and Tell tomorrow.  Once sewing day tomorrow is done, I'll post pics, I promise!  Suffice to say that my floor has been covered with blocks the last couple of days, thrilling the cats to no end.

Besides.. I can't post pictures at the moment.  My memory card has gone AWOL, which is actually causing me some consternation.  I took pics of my lay out, so that I wouldn't have to try and remember what I wanted to do.  *sighs* So much for that plan.

Back to the salt mines for me.

7 comments:

Kathy said...

Saw your profile and thought it was great. I'm originally from Wisconsin and will be heading back there in September to visit the family. Do you have any suggestions on quilt shops in your area that should be visited?

(Littlebook-notes)

The_Grey_Cat said...

A Quilt Lovers Shoppe
Valerie Cook
1604 S Crosby Ave
Janesville, WI
608-754-6497
quilting@ticon.net

This is a shop that's actually in the basement of the owner's home. One must call ahead to make an appointment to stop in, due to the size of the place. However, the fabric selection is awesome, and the prices are unbelievable. $4-5 a yard for 45" wide fabrics, $7-8 for the 108" wide fabrics.

Tea and Textiles is located at 107 South Main Street, Jefferson, WI, 53549-1631. The phone number for the shop is (920) 674-9017. I'm a big fan of this shop. The owner is always so pleasant, and she's got some really wonderful, bright fabrics. I particularly like the fact that she's got a lot of tone-on-tone and blenders in bright shades. She's also got a healthy selection of novelty prints, so shopping there is guaranteed to yield some excellent finds.

Backyard Quilts
N1541 Knaack Court
Fort Atkinson, WI 53538-9064
(920) 568-1974

This shop is also in someone's basement, though there is an exterior entrance to this location. I'm not a big fan of this shop, simply because I'm not into Moda or Civil War reproduction quilts, and that's a big portion of the selection here. There's a good selection of batiks, but they tend toward the darker end of the color spectrum. They also carry a good selection of children's novelty prints and minky.

Kathy said...

Awesome! Thank you so much. I'm so going to check these out in a couple of months!

Jeanr1 Quilting by Jeannie said...

Have you ever thought of making a quilt design board, so you dont have to lay out on your floor. I made one a few years back, and cant believe I actually made quilts without it. They are so simple to make. I have shown several quilters how to do. Mine is portable as I do not have the wall space to hang one and keep it up. All you need is housing insulation sheets. I used 3 sheets, and you can cut them to size that will fit your wall. If you want it hanging on wall, simply screw it to your wall. Now cover this with warm and natural batting. I used Tpins and pinned it to the insulation sheets. And there you have it. As I said, mine is portable so I have 3 sheets that I can place against a wall use while making and designing the quilt and then when done, stack them and hide them behind a door. What is nice, your quilt is not on your floor and you dont have to bend over to place pieces, plus you dont have to try and remember how you placed pieces before sewing them together. Let me know what you think.

Jeanr1 Quilting by Jeannie said...

Hi Kathy just a quick note: Loose Threads is another excellent quilt shop. I visit all the time, Located hwy 26 north of Milton heading towards Ft Atkinson. Just a couple of miles outwside Milton. Also Lifes a Stitch Hwy 14 east of Janesville. Also, just a couple of miles out side Janesville. Both are fine quilt shops. My name is Jean and you can find me at blog QuiltingByJeannie.blogspot.com I am a long arm quilter and work from my home as well.

The_Grey_Cat said...

I'm constantly wishing for a design wall. My problem is that I don't currently have a wall that I can access easily. My quilting frame blocks the one wall that isn't used up by bookshelves, windows, or a closet. I'm playing with the idea of attempting to rearrange the sewing room, but that might be wishful thinking on my part.

Jeanr1 Quilting by Jeannie said...

If you like you can come and see mine, its portable, stackable and can be put away when not in use call me if you like 868-7820

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