Posts Tagged ‘show-and-tell’

“Spring” is in the Air — and on the Wall!

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

We received 17 amazing 12″ x 12″ quiltlets celebrating “Spring” by the March 31st deadline. Please stop by New Pieces and vote for your favorite between now and 6:00pm on April 5th if you can. The piece with the most votes will win a home made ribbon and a $10 New Pieces gift certificate.

We picked a complicated theme fabric for March, but evidence shows it didn’t slow our quilters down very much.  Each piece has a story, and some of those stories are available on the Facebook page  New Pieces 12 x 12″ x 12″ Challenge . The April Challenge has just begun, and the challenge “kit” (theme word & fat 1/8 of the theme fabric) are available at New Pieces. We welcome you to come play with us — just for the fun of it!

   

 by Barbara Hazard                                                 by Joy Troyer

   

by Mary Risard Burnett                                         by Julie Banfield

   

by Sharona Fischrup                                               by Jane Voytek

   

by Shawn Dubin                                                         by Helen Zung

  

by Claire Adams                                                        by Roxanne Fiscella

   
by Lisa Doyen                                                          by Sharon Whipkey

   

by Karen Dugas                                                          by Lissa Miner

   

by Heather Jacobsen                                                  by Kathy Ritter

by Pat Dicker

 

A Word From Our Sponsor….Nature

Sunday, March 18th, 2012

This has been one of those amazing weeks that featured rain, just when we all thought we were done with all that.

I hope that you all found a way to get beyond soaking wet feet and dubious traction for at least a few moments –  to enjoy some of the beauty of these difficult days. I forget sometimes that it’s the dark grey skies that give the most stunning, saturated colors of green and brown, and bring us the suddenly, wildly overgrown spring flowers. It’s not easy, but it is a joyful part of the cycle — and a great time to be inside sewing, or reading, or just looking out the window at the beauty of it all.

And of course, the view from the windows at Craneway Pavilion/the “Voices in Cloth” (EBHQ) Quilt show is spectacular too.

I don’t have pictures of the Show right now, but it really is wonderful. So many quilts, and such a range of talents and experience. It’s almost overwhelming to think that each one is the product of a unique concept, and a different set of hands. It’s like going to a commencement and realizing that every graduate is someone’s baby. Lovely, and almost overwhelming.

You’re likely to encounter old friends at “Voices in Cloth”,  and you might make some new ones. Go now, if you haven’t been yet – today until 4:00pm. Craneway Pavilion, in Richmond.

12 x 12″ x 12″ Challenge — January

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

 

These are the January 12 x 12s. The theme for the month was “bird”, and the variety and creativity are just plain amazing. The February challenge starts today. Stop by New Pieces to pick up your “kit”. Come soon, and the January quiltlets may still be up on the board! Pictures can’t do them justice. Additional information is available on the New Pieces 12 x 12″ x 12″ Challenge page at Facebook.

L

Mary Risard Burnett   Jane Voytek   Gail Shea   Jeanne Bartlett   May Lynne Gill

Roxanne Fiscella   Lissa Miner   Kathy Ritter   Julie Banfield   Sharona Fischrup

Leah Brown   Karen Dugas   Heather Jacobsen    Betsy Livak    Lisa Doyen    Pat Dicker

 

 

Sew With Sho – Banish UFOs

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
One of the things we want to do this year at New Pieces is to find ways to help you (our friends and customers) get from where you are in your quilt journey to wherever you want to be. We are offering a range of new classes and groups towards this end.
One option is this monthly class, Sew with Sho. Sew with Sho is an opportunity to work on something new, or something old, with the support of a group, and under Sharona’s guidance.
Join Sho on the 3rd Tuesday of every month in 2012, from 11:00 to 1:00 pm or 6:00 to 8:00 pm with the goal of doing something challenging for you — whether that’s starting a new project or finishing an old one; learning to take your sewing a little more seriously or yourself a little less…
Bring your machine and fabric from your stash, or let us help you move in a direction that’s new for you. Batiks? Large Prints? Asian Indigos? Come play with fabric and set your own goals. Help protect the planet from being overrun by UFOs!
For each block, quilt or UFO you complete you will be entered into a monthly drawing!
Come and sew! Come and enjoy the company of other quilters! Come finish a project!

The Mystery Quilter is Among Us!

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Portrait of the Mystery Quilter?

Join us at New Pieces on Tuesday October 18th, from 12:30 -1:30 pm

to hear from the latest Mystery Quilter! Bring your lunch and a friend for this free talk.

We’d tell you more if we could, but it’s a secret!

Hope to see you there!

A Ghastly Quilt

Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Today at New Pieces we got to see Jan Nilsen’s just finished “Ghastlies” quilt. As she said, we’ve been cheerfully dispersing this fabric (from an Alexander Henry line), but probably hadn’t yet seen it made up.

She’s made great choices throughout; the result is a beautiful piece she can use for Halloween — but also other times. Well done, Jan, and thanks for coming in to share with us!

  

Do You Know About Our Website?

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

when you get ALL your tools together, you might need a computer!

Sometimes a customer has a question for which the answer is “Have you seen our Website?”.  It’s tricky to write about the website, since you’re ON the website right now — but maybe a quick introduction is in order — it will help you get more out of what is available at New Pieces.

The New Pieces website has Contact information for the Store, and Directions for getting to our Store (at 766 Gilman Street). You can read About New Pieces for information about the Store and the Staff. And of course it wouldn’t be a quilt store without a place for “Show and Tell”. We are always looking for pictures to add to our gallery of proud friends and customers.

Under Quilting Service is a brief explanation of the quilt related services available at New Pieces. Even old friends of New Pieces may be surprised at the range of tasks we can do for you when you don’t want to do them yourself. We recommend reading this part of the website to acquaint yourself with the range of possibilities, and their estimated costs. “Quilting Service” also has samples of some of the quilting designs we offer — and precise instructions on preparing your quilt top & back for longarm quilt service — Reading these instructions can save you time and money.

In Classes you will find a calendar of all upcoming events and classes and a description for each class – usually with a photo of the class sample quilt. While we have always tried to indicate how much experience you may need for certain classes, we recently began tagging some classes as being especially appropriate for certain kinds of students:

 

If you find a class that interests you, you can register by phone or come see us in person. If you are looking for a particular class or pattern, there is also a search function (click on “go here>>” on the Classes page to get there). If you still don’t see what you’re looking for — let us know!

 

...Have you seen the Mystery Quilter?

SO… since you’re reading this you already found the Blog.  You either got here by clicking “Blog” on the navigation bar (the red bar under where it says “New Pieces Quilt Store & Gallery”, or by clicking link from our Facebook page. The Blog is meant to give you an idea of what we’re about. We use it brag about students and teachers and to remind you about upcoming classes; we mention new things happening in the store and offer tips and how-tos. The Blog is about the things we’d tell you if you were right here in the Store. If there are things you want to know more (or less) about please don’t hesitate to let us know, either as a comment here, or on the New Pieces Quilt Store  Facebook page. It’s not a conversation without your input!

Mystery Quilter Revealed!

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

The August Mystery Quilter  (8/16) was Sally Morris, quilter extraordinaire. Sally brought her show-and-tell quilts in a giant suitcase; she was equally generous with her time and expertise!

Among the stack of stunning quilts was this paper-pieced beauty that would have been enough by itself … but then Sally pulled out this one:

 

A second quilt made from the “leftovers” from the first quilt! What a range of wonderful work she shared with us!

Thank you so much, Sally, for your generous spirit and your skill. We are lucky to know you!

 

The next Mystery Quilter talk will be at 12:30pm on September 20th. Please mark the date and time on your calendar today, and plan to be with us for an informal, informative, lunchtime talk with ??????????

Amateur Hour…

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

This one’s personal: Last week I was getting ready to visit my family and wanted to take a present to my lovely mother-in-law. I found a pattern for a simple, reversible bag and decided to make a practice bag or two before using the fabric I’d been saving for her. Each bag was made from two pieces of fabric, each piece was almost 1/2 yard x 42″.

The directions are simple when you know the tricks… but, I had to learn every trick the hard way. I kicked myself several times for being such an amateur.

Over the course of two afternoons I made 8 different bags (there’s just a smidge of the 8th one on the left side of the picture above). While making them I made almost as many mistakes. On two I miss-read the directions for seaming the bottom corners, so those ones don’t stand flat. On two others I forgot to leave an opening in a side seam so the bag could be turned right side out. That problem was solved two different ways – once I seam-ripped an opening, once I put the opening in the bottom seam.  On one bag I sewed the bottom seam without re-orienting the bag; I fixed that by cutting the seam off and re-sewing it. My favorite mistake resulted in:

I forgot to cut the “handle” along the fold of the fabric, and solved that by cutting the pieces and re-arranging them, so this bag has both fabrics on both sides… (The bag is actually the same size and shape as the others, though the picture looks different.)

Somewhere in there I made the originally planned bag – with birds on one side and geranium leaves on the other  (my mother-in-law is both a birder and a gardener).

As far as I know her bag has none of the “mistakes” the other bags did — but here’s the thing — All the bags turned out nicely, and all the people I gave them to liked them. I learned lots from making them, but I learned even more from making and fixing my  mistakes without worrying about them. Each bag ended up looking perfect, with seams and boo boos sealed up inside. I hadn’t planned to make so many bags, or to give them all away, but have now done so joyfully.

Several times I accused myself of being an amateur  — but then remembered that the term “amateur” has nothing to do with perfection — it means “one who is a lover of”. I had a blast working on this non-quilt project, and it turned out well.  There was no mistake there!

Back soon, Heather!

Her First Quilt, and it is Lovely

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

Leann Gustafson just picked up her first quilt from Quilt Service at New Pieces. It is a beauty; subtle, simple and truly lovely. We are all very impressed. Leann says there are many quilters in her family.  She’s headed for a family reunion soon and hopes to share her quilt with them.

It sounds like the family has one more quilter than they used to. Congratulations Leann, and thank you for sharing your quilt and story with us!