Sew Kind of Wonderful Poinsettia Table Runner

 If you live here in the Phoenix Metro

we have a wonderful opportunity coming up

December 5th

10am-2pm

Helen Robinson

of 

Sew Kind of Wonderful 

fame will be teaching a class

at Mad B's Quilt and Sew in Mesa

on their

Poinsettia Table Runner 

Perfect project for the holidays.

Helen lives here in the area

and we feel privileged to 

have her teach at the store.

I heard that Sew Kind of Wonderful

really rocked recently at 

Pacific International and Houston

as they demoed their ruler and patterns.

 Kathy Pope 

put together this store sample

and she said the ruler

made the curves very easy to do.

I will be working on the day of

Helen's class and I'm excited to learn her techniques.

Mad B's Quilt and Sew

Ticket Strips Halloween Quilt

 My friend Vicki

recently made this wonderful Halloween quilt

Ticket Strips

The pattern uses

3 Mr. Chillingsworth panels from Andover Fabrics

 It's really fun to see the creative use of these panels.

 Ticket Strips is designed by

Sew Many Creations

Vicki purchased her pattern and the Chillingsworth panels

at 3 Dudes Quilting in Phoenix

If you have any questions,

I'm sure Jeff, Ray or Bam would be happy to help

480-598-8601

or 

email at 

3dudesquilting@live.com

I recently taught classes with the Mr. Chillingsworth panel

at 3 Dudes

He also comes in bright orange.

Kind of a skinny guy, but he does 

catch your attention :)

Shop Hoppin'

When I lived in Utah

I used to go on their quilt store Shop Hops each year 

with my girlfriends.

But, now that I live in Arizona,

this is the first time I have attended the

Maricopa County Hop

Theme: Rally In The Valley

What an experience!

I was invited by my friend Denise

who coordinated 4 car loads of ladies.

Denise was amazing.

She had printed out Maps and Instruction Binders for each car.

These ladies have gone together for several years

and are quite experienced hoppers.

Judi stocked her trunk with cold drinks in a cooler

and boxes for each one of her riders to stash their purchases.

W.O.W.

I learned a thing or two :)

Some of the stores on the list 

were quite a distance from my home in Chandler.

Consequently, I had never been to them before.

Fortunately Rally In The Valley lasts 9 days

so there is plenty of time to drive from here to there.

We started with the store that was the farthest away for us

Arizona Quilts

in Surprise, AZ

is 55 miles away, and an hours drive.

A nice store with some beautiful quilts.

I especially liked this version of

Lori Smith's

Quilt Block Sampler

Our next stop (and my first time to visit) was

Sun Valley Quilts

in Sun City, AZ

Lots of fun things here too,

and everyone found a lot of quilty goodies.

With Denise's great directions and instructions

we managed to reach 7 of the 11 stores the first day.

I felt

Sew Blessed 

to be invited along with these wonderful ladies.

On Monday I was able to finish up with the last 4 stores on my end of the valley.

Rally In The Valley 

runs through Saturday the 27th

if you would like to join along.

Hiking and Quilts or Is That Quilts and Hiking?

 One of the nice things about living in the Phoenix Metro

is that we are only a 3 hour drive from

the South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We took a few days vacation with our friends 

the Hollands to combine

some hiking with visits to a few quilt stores

along the way.

 Paul and Mr. Cactus

were quite the adventurers as they trekked 

down to 

3 Mile Rest House on 

Bright Angel Trail

With endless switchbacks, the Grand Canyon

is known as "a place of extremes"

While descending the 2400 feet,

going down can be hard on the knees,

but the coming back up can be exhaustive.

Mr. Cactus was quite surprised he had service

when his phone rang

deep down in the canyon.

It was our 90 year old Aunt

calling to say she was home from the hospital :)

At least it was good news!

 While the guys hiked

Denise and I hung out at the top of the rim

visiting places like Lookout Studio

and the Lodge

 Always the quilter looking for inspiration

I noticed this Hexagon pattern

on the tile floor in the ladies restroom :)

(go ahead and laugh)

 The day before on our ride towards the Canyon

we stopped at a few quilt stores 

like Quilter's Store in Sedona

Very nice with a great selection of batiks

Southwest patterns and fabrics

and even some Modern

and Quilts on Route 66

in the small town of Williams

 Quaint with a Vintage feel

and current fabrics.

We were glad we stopped.

And to not overload the guys with too much

quilty stuff in one day

we spent the evening in Flagstaff

at the Lowell Observatory

where Pluto was discovered in 1930

on this telescope.

We've been to the Lowell several times

but this was our first visit at night.

They opened up their telescopes

for some terrific views of the Moon

I was even more thrilled to be able to see

up close

 the rings

around Saturn and 3 of it's moons.

Handmade With Love Labels

 As I have mentioned before in several blog posts

I often like to use 

pre-made labels on the back of my quilts.

While visiting a local quilt shop with some friends,

Denise called me over and said she spotted something

she knew I would like.

She was right !

Quilt Labels with a Modern look :)

 Handmade with Love by Sweetwater 

for Moda

 The labels are sold in a 

12 1/2 " X  44"

panel length

Of course I had to get several lengths.

 These will be perfect for some upcoming projects.

 many styles to choose from

 I purchased the cream background,

but the panel is also available in an aqua or gray background.

LOVE

Things Quilters Really Think

 When we were visiting

Amazing Quilts 

in Lakeside, Arizona

they had this fun wall hanging

Things Quilters Really Think

hanging on the door

 It had me pondering

What do Quilters Really think?

I suspect our thought process comes from a unique perspective.

(*Panel's are available for purchase at the store.

You provide your own setting.)

 You know, this really is true statement for me :)

 I agree!

Now that you mention it....

Refer back to the first picture for more amusing ideas.

Amazing Quilt Shop in Lakeside, Arizona

 One of the fun parts of summer travel

is to visit quilt shops along the way.

 Over the 4th of July Weekend

while we were visiting 

Pinetop/Lakeside

we stopped in at

Amazing Quilts

2964 W. White Mountain Blvd, Lakeside, AZ

 Lakeside is a resort community up in the White Mountains

surrounded by trees and with  much cooler summer temperatures.

 I mentioned to Mr. Cactus that I would be very happy to live here for the summer.

A very nice community.

I was especially impressed when I saw they had a really nice quilt store:)

Seriously, who needs anything else?

The minute I walked in and saw a big display

of Color Me Happy fabrics by Vanessa Christensen

I knew I was going to like Amazing Quilts.

 Big smile on my face when I saw 

rows of Kaffes

(*love those Kaffes!)

 Aisles of Batiks

 A great solid selection

 Their Fabric Addict doll oversees the cash register.

As I was checking out, I was encouraged to make sure

to see the bathroom before I left.

(smirk smirk )

I thought that quite an odd request.

 Then I had an aha moment.

Who but Amazing Quilts

would decorate their ladies room

like a Boudoir?

We are in the Wild Wild West after all.

 Denise and I made sure to give our husbands 

"the tour"

Mr. Cactus'  only reaction was

"I don't think that restroom is for me." (ha ha)

If you are traveling through 

the Central Eastern part of our state

Amazing Quilts 

is definitely worth the stop.