New Classes

Where does the time go?  The summer is almost over and the next newsletter is in the shop.  The newsletter is full of fun classes for the fall and winter.  I know this sounds crazy but I am already looking at the 2016 calendar.

Here are some of the samples of the classes.

                                           Stella
                                         

               

                                                      Mahalo

                                                   Tennesse Waltz

                                                Buttons and Thread

                                                   Plain Jane

Classes start in September.  You can get a copy of the newsletter on the website: www.fabricexpressions.com

Happy Quilting

ROW BY ROW

Are you Row By Row Hopping?  

It has been a month since the Row By Row Experience started, and it is great fun.  We have a lot of out of town visitors.  We have them put a pin in our map where they are from.  There have been people from 36 differant states so far.  All 50 States and Canada are participating.

Today we had a winner for the first person who brought in a quilt made with at least 8 rows from differant shops.  Our winner Dale Coy of Elizabeth CO Row brought here quilt. The Rows from top to bottom: Row 1 Fabric Expressions, 2. Nanas Quilt Cottage, 3. Lady Bug Hill Quilts, 4. High Country Quilts, 5. Holly's Quilt Cabin, 6. Mulqueens Sewing Center (AZ), 7. High Prairie Quilts, 8. Quilters Stash.

You still have time to start your own Row By Row quilt. Shops will have there rows through Labor Day Weekend.  From September 9th through Halloween there is a blackout period w , give the shops time to get more fabric or licence plates if needed.  On November 1 shops can mail out kits, patterns; take phone orders or offer the rows and plates online. i   I know I will be selling my kit after the Row by Row is over.  I designed a wall hanging option for my row.  We have kits available for it now. All the letters are already cut out for you.

Have Fun

Block Exchange

We will be having a block exchange inspired by the quilt  “Medallion Melody” by Lori Smith.  You do not have to make the quilt to exchange blocks.  Starting in June will be exchanging three different blocks in three months.   

You do not have to make this quilt to be in the exchange.

Please use good quality fabric.  We want these quilts to last.

There will be two color-way choices:

 1. Traditional colors with cream color backgrounds. Civil War Reproductions, Kansas Trouble, Kim Diehl type fabrics work well together.  These colors are more like the pattern. The background fabrics can be prints but no white fabric.

 2. Bright fabrics with white background fabrics or tone-on-tone white fabric  (think more of a modern look)

The Blocks

You can swap as many sets as you like.  Please put each set in a zip-lock type bag with your name and phone number written on it.  Blocks will be ready to pick up one week after the due date.  We will be mailing out the blocks at that same time.

June 16^th Nine Patch Blocks are due in the shop by 7pm (closing).  The blocks will be 3 inch finished. We will swap in groups of 20. Please put your blocks in a zip-lock type bag with your name and phone number written on it.

Here is how I made my Nine Patches:  a quarter yard of a background and a quarter yard of the dark fabric.   Cut the background into 4 strips

1-1/2 inches wide.  Cut 5 strips the darker fabric also 1-1/2 inches.

You will be sewing them into 3 strip sets.  One set will have light, dark, and then light strips sewn together.  The other two sets will be dark, light, dark sew together.

Press toward the darker fabric.

Then cut them into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Then sew them together alternating the strips sets.

You should be able to make at least 25 nine patches from these strip sets.  We are exchanging in groups for of 20.  You may exchange as many sets as you like.  Please put each set in a zip-lock type bag with your name on it and address or phone number.

If you are mailing in your blocks you will need to include a postage paid self addressed envelope or a check to cover the cost of postage.  Block will be ready to pick up or mailed out one week after the due date.

Other Blocks we will be exchanging:

July 12^th Pin-Wheels Blocks are due in the shop by 7pm (closing).

The blocks will be 3 inch finished.  We will swap in groups (10) pinwheel blocks. The fabrics need to be the same in each pinwheel.  Please do not have different half square triangles in the same pinwheels. Please put your blocks in a zip-lock type bag with your name and phone number written on it.

August 18^th Quarter Squares Triangles are due in the shop by 7pm (closing) the block will finish at 4 ¼ inches.  We will swap in groups of 20. Please put your blocks in a zip-lock type bag with your name and phone number written on it.

I will have more instructions for the other blocks later.

Alison

Mystery Retreat

Last weekend I hosted Fabric Expressions first annual “Mystery Retreat at the Quinberry Lodge in the mountains above Black Hawk, which is about a hour west of Denver.

A group of 12 ladies spent a long weekend together sewing, staying up late, laughing and of course eating.

Before the retreat began everyone was giving a list of supplies to complete the mystery quilt.  You did not have to make the quilt if  you did not want to.   I gave out the clues once everyone had arrived and had there sewing machines set up.  Clues were given throughout the weekend and the mystery was solved Saturday night.  Many people finished the mystery and were planning the borders before the left on Sunday.

There was time in between the clues to work on other projects, Everyone’s sewing machine got a workout, Everyone one was sewing early in the morning till late at night.

One of my favorite parts is the food.  Everyone brought snacks to share and I made the meals.  I love snacks.  There was also wine and margarita in the evening for those who like that kind of thing.

My brain is already planning next years retreat.  I have my reservation for 2016

Applique Club

 Our Applique Club has started another round of our Pizza Box exchange.  Our group has expanded so each person will have more blocks that can be made into a great sampler quilt.
Here is how it works. Each person selects fabrics that want to be usedfor there blocks and put them in the pizza boxes.   We pass the boxes to a person in the club.  Each person leaves with someone elses pizza box.  They have till the next meeting ( one month) to make two blocks.  One pieced block and on Applique Block.  The blocks will all be 12 inch finished.  Each month the boxes get passed around till everyone has had a chance to make there two blocks.

Here are the blocks the group made with the fabrics I made from last years exchange.  It will be fun to see what people make this year.

 The first set of boxes I received was from Chris.  Her focus fabric was so bold and bright I decided to  applique a basket and I used the other fabrics in her box to make a flower.  All her coorindating fabrics are "Artisian Shimmer" from Northcott.

I can hardly wait to see what everyone does with the pizza this month.  We will see.

Pizza Box Exchange

Happy Earth Day,

It is a beautiful spring day in Colorado.  It is hard to believe there could still be snow coming.  I can’t wait till I can start planting some tomatoes and herbs.  Not till after Mothers Day they say.

Our Appliqué Club has decided to have a block exchange. “Pizza Box Exchange,” Each person who is participating in the exchange filled their pizza box with fabric that they like. 

          Here is my box filled with different fabrics

Each month each pizza box goes to a different person who make a pieced and appliqué block. All the blocks will finish at 12 inches.  At the end each person will have enough blocks to make a quilt.  So far we have 6 people participating, but more are welcome to join.  We just started, it is not to late to join us.  The appliqué club meets on the second Friday at 10am here at Fabric Expressions

      Here is the Applique Block I made for Yvonne

                            

      Here is the Applique Block Yvonne made for Wendy

This is the Applique Block that Wendy made for Zenith 

        Here is the Applique Block Zenith made for Chris

         Here is the Applique Block Beth made for me.

    These are the peiced blocks everyone also made.

Sjogren's

Good Afternoon, It has been a long time since I have written anything.  I have had a lot going on and I am trying to figure things out, but since that may never happen I figured I should get come back and explain. It t has been almost a year since I starting getting sick.  It started out as a cold while I was at a convention in Portland Oregon.  Then it went into a salivary gland infection from there it took months to diagnose that I have an auto-immune disease call “Sjorgren’s.”

 Although the hallmark symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth, Sjögren’s may also cause dysfunction of other organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system. Patients may also experience extreme fatigue and joint pain and have a higher risk of developing lymphoma.  

 Currently I have 6 of this symptoms.

I had never heard of this disease before but over 4 million Americans are living with this disease. 9 out of 10 are women.  So now I am living with it and not letting it stop me while I still can.  There may come a time when this disease stops me but maybe not.  I am going to keep fighting and living each day as best I can.

The next post will be more upbeat I promise.

Alison