Ginger Threads Quilt Shop

I recently had the opportunity to check out a new quilt shop with some of my friends. Four of us traveled from Dubois County to Bedford, Indiana, to meet with another friend and check out Ginger Threads. This is a quilt shop located on the east side of the square in Bedford.

We discussed this in the car as we drove home...all of us were a bit disappointed with the size of the shop when we first opened the door. However, we were ALL pleasantly surprised by the contents of the shop itself. As somebody said, "This is the first time in a long time I haven't been bored by a quilt shop--seeing the same old thing."

This shop has A LOT to offer. Jessica, the owner, carries modern fabrics. She has LOTS of interesting samples located throughout the store. When we first walked in, all of us immediately noticed her sample of the Gypsy Wife quilt. If you are not familiar with this quilt, it is a "modern-looking" scrap quilt. It will look totally different based on what fabrics you choose to use. It is a GREAT scrap-buster quilt (and most of us can use that). I looked at the book for this quilt today on Amazon, and the price was $33. Jessica sells the book for $19.99. If you'd like to see what a version of the quilt looks like, this is the link to it on Amazon. Needless to say, four of the five of us bought the book. Her Gypsy Wife sample is on the right in the picture.

I know, I know. You are saying to yourself, "That place doesn't look very big," but you will be surprised with what you'll find in this shop. There is classroom space in the back, and the Stone City Quilt Guild meets at the shop. You will find a nice selection of modern fabrics, books, and patterns along with notions and magazines. Jessica offers machine quilting and a variey of classes at the shop. She has a webpage, a Facebook page (that you can find from the webpage), and a blog (which could be updated a bit more often). Be sure to check those out. The shop even sponsors a quilt retreat. She is a full-service, friendly quilt shop. There is a pleasant surprise around every corner. We REALLY enjoyed our shopping experience there, and I think you will too.

Stop in, say hello to Jessica, and tell her I sent you!

(Just an FYI--I am NOT being compensated in any way for this blog post. I am just a happy customer wishing to pass along a great quilt shop to you.)

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Retreat #3 This Month

I just returned from my third retreat of this month. This retreat was my guild's (Patoka Valley Quilt Guild) annual fall retreat. This year the retreat was held at Santa Claus, IN. I still haven't put any of my retreat supplies away (and don't plan to do that anytime soon). During the retreat, I worked on the machine applique for one of my Marie-Webster-inspired quilts and on the piecing of the second.

We had a Show & Tell one evening, and I took the pictures during that time. (That is why you may notice the back of a head or two in some of the pictures. I did try to crop those out unless that took too much of the quilt image away.)

From traditional piecing to modern, from tiny pieces to large, from bright fabrics to reproductions, we had everything at this retreat. There were baby quilts, table toppers, table runners, full-sized quilts, wall hangings, pillow cases, and much more being made. Many people were working on their pieces for the guild's Crayon Challenge. (We had to draw plastic baggies (containing three different colors of crayons) from a brown paper bag. The "challenge" is to use these three colors in a project. The project can be anything from pillow to tablerunner to finished quilt. They are due to be shown at our January guild meeting.

Today, some friends and I went to a quilt shop that was new to us. If you are within driving distance of Bedford, IN, this is a shop you don't want to miss. I'll be writing a post on Ginger Threads soon, so stay tuned.

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Weekly Pattern Number 20

I've been bad about getting my pattern posted on Wednesdays. I think mine will just be a weekly pattern. That way I can post it whenever I have time during the week! This month is BUSY, BUSY, BUSY--Three retreats, babysitting for my grandson, three stitching meetings, two guests at our house (at separate times), and a trip to Arkansas. Maybe next month will be a bit less "cluttered."

Here is a little update of what I've been up to. I've been working on making little white hexies for my large hexie project. I have decided to make a white background of hexies for the project. I am taking my two Marie Webster inspired pieces to work on at my retreat this coming weekend. You can see them at the bottom of this post. (I'm nearly packed.) Of course, I have several projects on the "back burner"--hand quilting on Come Dance with Me, extreme embroidery on a piece in my Metamorphosis series, a table runner for my daughter-in-law, and pillow cases for all of the kiddos. I think this is one of the things I love about having quilting as a hobby. There is NO way to get bored with SO many things to do.

Here is my weekly pattern. In the spirit of Halloween, I think it looks a bit like fancy worms! This will be a fun one to color.

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Weekly Pattern Saturday?--Pattern 19/Retreat #2

I'm behind this week because I've been to another retreat, and we are currently in Arkansas visiting my son's family. I got home from the retreat on Wednesday evening and left for Arkansas Thursday morning--not much time to get my pattern posted, laundry done, things put away from the retreat, and pack for the trip.

Here is the pattern that should have been posted Wednesday.

I think the center looks like a headless snake! It makes me miss our pet snake Rusty (an albino corn snake).

Evidently I was too busy working on my own things to take many pictures. Here's a stack and whack block Cindy made. I really like how it is set together.

I worked on a couple of pieces for an exhibit (Dialogues: Contemporary Responses to Marie Webster Quilts) I'd like to get into. This is the progress I've made so far.

I drew the pattern, enlarged it, and cut pieces from the fabrics I had chosen. I have to put a center on the piece where all the pieces meet. (I'm thinking of twisting some black silk strips, shaping those into a circle, and stitching them down with some red French knots. I hope I'll like a three-dimensional center.) I also have to stitch around each separate piece of fabric (and there are a lot in this piece). I'll be working on this during my next retreat, which starts on the 23rd. I will also need to do some embroidery around some of the pieces to keep the white chevrons and dots from disappearing into the background. Then, I'll sandwich it and quilt it. I'd love to hand quilt it, but time restraints might prevent that. I sure hope I get it finished in time. If not, I like the piece anyway.

Here is the beginning of the other piece.

I know it is pretty hard to tell what is going on in this picture. You could tell a bit better if you look back at my Weekly Pattern #16--scroll down a bit. We have a crayon challenge going on in our guild. We drew three crayons--mine were red, orange, and purple. From those colors (and any we want to add), we are supposed to make "something." The top has to be finished in time for the reveal in January. I was happy when I drew the red and orange (those are my colors), but the purple "threw me for a loop."

 

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October Retreat 1--PUPs UFO Retreat in Memphis

I'm a lucky girl; I get to go to three quilt retreats in October. The first retreat was this past weekend in Memphis. I travel six hours to get to this retreat, but it is SO worth it. It had the three most important ingredients for a successful retreat--friends, food, and fabric. The people at the retreat are fantastic, the retreat center is beautiful, the food is great, and we even have an on-site vendor. There is a lot of sewing, visiting, and eating done--not necessarily in that order.

The retreat started on Friday at 2 pm and ended Sunday at 2 pm. (I had to leave on Sunday a bit earlier than most everyone else; I had a bit further to drive home than most.) One of the nice things about this retreat is that there is a "greeting committee." You pull your car up to the door and "luggage fairies" unpack your car and take your things to the sewing room and to your assigned bedroom. It makes getting started just a bit easier.

As you can see from the picture (if you look closely at the window), we have a beautiful location for the retreat. We are in the woods; the retreat center is surrouded by trees. The only problem with the sewing room is that I just didn't have enough room. However, I NEVER have enough room when I sew; I tend to spread out (as do most quilters).

Everyone brings snacks. If you take a look at our snack table, you might think we all thought we would starve while at the retreat.

This retreat is really nice, because we don't have to leave for ANYTHING. All meals are provided, and (as you can see) we have plenty of snacks. Lots of us sew for the two days in our pajamas--no makeup, no bras, comfy. We didn't have to leave to make quilty purchases either--thanks Susie. (There were bolts of fabrics I didn't get pictures of.)

I worked on fleece scarves making six for the quilt guild to sell at a crafts fair and four for gifts and personal use. I asked for volunteers to model them for me. Of course, I like both pictures, but I think the bottom picture is MUCH better. Before I took that picture, I told them they really needed to "work it, work it." I just know there are some budding models in that picture!

Here are some other things that made an appearance at the retreat. (I didn't get pictures of everything.)

There were jellyroll quilts. (Frieda and Jan)

There were star quilts. (Ginger)

There were charity quilts. (Ellie and Susie)

There were fall quilts. (Tanya and Pam)

There were gifts made for grandchildren. The Humpty Dumpty "pillow" is a family tradition. Julie's grandmother made them for her grandchildren (Julie had one as a child.), her mother made them for her grandchildren, and she is carrying on the tradition for her grandchildren. The outer covering can be taken off the "pillow form" and washed; it really is a pillow.

There were quilts made for new babies. Michelle started two tops. It is easy to spot the deer in the picture, but see if you can find the woodpecker, racoon, fox, rabbits, and owl. How much fun will this quilt be for a little one.

There were some FF Projects (Finally Finished) projects. As far as I can remember, these ladies (Kristin and Susan) told me they had been working on these for awhile and were very glad to get the tops finished.

How sweet is this little owl quilt. The owls are an original Ginger Stern design, and the quilt was made by Kristin. The inset photo is a closeup of one of the owls.

There were lots more projects completed, but evidently I was distracted at the time they were shown and didn't get pictures. My apologies to those I missed.

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Weekly Pattern Wednesday--Pattern 18

This week's pattern is just a doodle. I still haven't had the time to make a colored version. I am getting some good ideas for new pieces from some of my doodles. I find that it frees my mind and calms me down. Give it a try!

As usual, I'll try to link up with Lynn Krawczyky's Weekly Pattern Wednesday. I checked her Facebook page, but didn't see a place to link up yet. I guess her website/blog is still having server issues. With this said, I think (from now on) I'll just forego trying to link up with Lynn. I'm just going to post my patterns whenever the urge strikes me.

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