It's (Almost) Christmastime at Quilt Essential

Back to school is upon us and it is time to start thinking Christmas. Maybe not the decorating, cookie making, present wrapping part of Christmas yet, but definitely time to start those quilted Christmas gifts. We have been getting in a lot of Christmas fabric and have a lot more to come. Here is a nice little sample of what is available now.

A Christmas Story: May your days be merry and BRIGHT... how can you not love these crazy colors? 

Snow Days Batiks: Who wouldn't want a snow day when you could be working on a quilt with these batiks?

Blitzen: No reindeer on this fabric, but the greys and aquas are just delicious.

Allie Cat Runner in Blitzen: Yum, yum!

Christmas Spirit: The new Holly Taylor... and yes, we already have kits for this line!

Joy: This line comes with a happy panel.

Winter Penguins: Make a quilt for your "Happy Feet" fan.

Like I said, this is just a taste of Christmas. We have been and will be working on lots of kits with these lines. We should have a great selection of kits at the Fargo Quilt Show.

Katie

Playing with my camera

About a month ago my old digital camera disappeared. I'm not sure if it grew legs and walked off or if I just misplaced it, but I've searched all over and can't find the thing. This weekend I decided it was time to invest in another camera, but I got a little crazy and decided that a dslr camera is really what I need for taking photos of quilts in the store (maybe a little overkill, but it sure does do a great job!) So here are a few photos that I've been practicing on...

Our newest kit in Kansas Troubles - Queen Size

Sleeping bag from the Curiousities and Mischief Book

My kitty on the prowl

Bob-bert...isn't he cute?!!!

Baby Room Stuff

Hehe, I love these little witches...Stop staring at my lollipops!

Kate

Katie's New Toy

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! We weren't expecting to pick it up yet, but Sunday Ryan, Ma, Pa, and I went down to Valley City to pick up my new toy from our good friends Julie and Jim. Below is a photo of her all set up in our shop.

Her name is "Miss Julie" after her previous owner, Julie, who used to be our longarm quilter before she was diagnosed with cancer. She was instrumental in the store being what it is today and we will miss her dearly. She passed away just two days after we picked up the machine, but she will always be a part of our shop and the longarm machine is a daily reminder of what a wonderful friend, quilter, and woman she was. 

We got "Miss Julie" up and running on Tuesday and did a little playing with some verigated threads. It is completely different than my HQ Fusion, so it has been quite a learning experience already! Loading quilts, oiling, threading, and the buttons are all different than what I'm used to, but it has been fun doodling with thread :)

Kate

Custom quilt-double wedding ring

First things first, I think I'm completely incapable of uploading photos to any social media and have them show up the right way. They are fine on my computer and then, bam, wrong way on Facebook or the blog! Anyhow...I've added a couple photos of the quilt I just finished. My camera disappeared so they are photos with my phone, so not the best quality, but you get the idea. The bottom photo gives an idea of the block. There is quilting inside each large area, plus a different quilt pattern in the small areas and a separate one in the brown squares. The borders are quilted differently as well. This quilt took around 20 hours on the machine. The quilt turnout out absolutely gorgeous, so I'm pretty pumped.

Kate

Country Register Story

I was lucky enough to be interviewed recently by Chickencreek Communications, the publisher of the Country Register for the Dakotas. Follow this link to page 7 to read the article about Quilt Essential.

Some of the questions were easy to answer, but the question  "what is your favorite part of your job" was a tough one. As with any work, there are things you love and things you would prefer not to deal with. In my case I have a hard time saying no to pushy vendors, paying bills (but really, who LIKES paying bills) and would prefer to never have to dust and clean. However, I have many things I love that I get to do: help people pick out colors for their quilts, see customer's completed projects, rearrange the shop to my liking, choose designs for quilting tops, design patterns that go with fabrics from the shop, etc. I just wish I had more time to design and less cleaning to do.

Kate

A few extra moments

The bus trip is almost here and I'm almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief. This week will be full of menus, kits, and trying to get caught up on the shop's long arm quilting. Oh...and getting ready for the International Day we are vending at in East Grand Forks. It is all coming so fast and we'll be adding to the chaos by vending in Rapid City in early June.

I can't wait for the craziness that will soon be upon us. We seem to thrive, spitting out kits and samples at the last minute. When the list of things to do is longer than the time we have left to do them in, somehow everyone pulls it together-Mercedes keeps me in line, Mom sews like a madwoman, and Grandma and her group of friends folds until their fingers ache. And it works. Welcome to my wonderful, crazy life as a quilt lady.

Kate

Spring is here!

Spring is here...well, I hope it is, anyway! The sun is shining outside and I have an itch to start my garden. 95 pepper plants last year...that's nothing compared to what we'll have this year! I was told we should really put in a LOT more tomato plants this year so we can make more homemade salsa to can. Evidently the three quarts and eighteen pints of salsa last fall wasn't enough to keep Ryan in salsa for the year, he was down to three pints just a couple weeks ago. Bring on the sun.

Enough day dreaming...just a reminder the Spring Fever (which I seem to have) Bus Trip is scheduled for April 28th beginning at 8:30am. Get a group of your friends together and book your seats today! Seats are limited and are filling up quickly, so get your seat right away!

Kate