Rosebud's new adventure!

There's always something going on ... ya know? Over the last few years I've had so many people ask to buy just the patterns for our projects instead of having to buy the kits to get them. And yes ... I've wanted to but it was more than just printing them ... I had to come up with a new pattern cover ... write directions ... think about packaging ... size ... price point ... all that shop owner and pattern designer stuff.  With the Quilt Minnesota shop hop looming and some new projects I wanted to print, it just seemed the timing was right!

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to work with my friend Maureen ... a graphic designer in Iowa. She took the concept of my old patterns covers from fifteen years ago and revamped them to look better today. I love all the little details she put into them!  I picked the covers up at the printer this morning and I have to say ... it's exciting to be doing this part of the business again!

For these first four patterns I decided I wanted a smaller format ... the directions are all on one page ... they fit in a tiny 4x6 bag ... and they don't cost a lot. Five bux each. I wanted them affordable.

So today ... in addition to getting ready for the shop hop ... I'm stuffing pattern packets. I miss the old days when I could get my boys to pack them for a penny a pattern ... that was before they grew up and found out they could make a whole lot more money working for IBM or at Cub Foods or as security at Drinks! It's hard to get good pattern packing help now.

I have to say that my favorite pattern in this group is the Barn Square Churn Dash. It went together so fast that I made another in the Minnesota fabrics. Bob loved the fabric and he loves this quilt ... he keeps asking how soon he can take it home. Does he know the temp outside??? This is the first quilt I've made for him ever ... and like I keep telling him ... probably the last if it took 28 years to get around to it!

So just in time for the shop hop I'm happy to announce the relaunch of our pattern line. There are more in the works ... look for some of them at the Minnesota State Fair in a few weeks!

New gotta have widget ... Clover Clips!

I don't use pins when I stitch down binding ... I use hair clips that I buy at Target. But they don't always stay on really well ... enough to hold the binding in place a little bit ... and I guess they're a better alternative than pins. I hate getting poked and also having my thread wrap around the pins.

And then I saw these new clips at Quilt Market and they finally came in ... and they work great!  The opening is perfect for binding because it's the right size ... plus there are tiny little teeth on the inside so it grips well and stays in place.

Look how cute they are biting into the binding of the quilt I'm finishing for Quilt Minnesota!  Love the big pine cone quilting on this quilt too! I've been moving the clips a few ahead as I stitch so am not using the entire package at once ... just three or four. Some of the other clips are on other projects ... lots of binding being stitched right now!

And here's a sneak peek at the quilt ... but you'll have to come into the Cottage to see the rest!! And to get some binding clips while they last! You know everyone's going to want them.

Fiesta chairs!

I'm a big fan of Fiestaware ... but how about Fiesta chairs?

When I saw this out door home decor scene at Linder's Garden Center yesterday, I just couldn't help thinking how delightful they'd look with Fiestaware dishes! Imagine the posibilities ... the linens ... the assortment of beautiful colored plates ... the pots of colorful flowers surrounding it all!

I imagined myself lounging around with a sweaty glass of lemonade in my hand enjoying the 90+ degree temps! But dang ... Bob was just looking for a stone bench and didn't see my vision. Or he was afraid ... he knows how much these cost ... and how expensive Fiestaware could be ... cuz of course we'd have to start from scratch!

But I girl can still dream. And I'm also dreaming of those darling metal flowers, too!

 

Ending the magazine diet!

I've been on a self-imposed magazine diet for over a year now. I've gone through my stash and painfully got rid of those that I could and then managed to find a way to store the ones I couldn't ... and then decided that I would think long and hard before I bought more. So going up to Itasca State Park a few weeks ago seemed to be the perfect reason for throwing caution to the wind and loading up on some new reading material!

I chose a variety of magazines so I wouldn't get bored ... three of them aren't even published in the USA and one of them is written in French! If you're gonna break a diet ... go big or go home, right?

I have to say that I've had a partner in crime when it comes to breaking the diet. Thank you Pam Kitty Morning! Pam regularly searches out ways for me to waste time and her new obsession with the Mollie Makes magazine has driven a lot of us nuts! We have to have it ... primarily because we CAN"T always find it ... it's from the UK and is wonderful ... just like perfect imported chocolate.

I saved all of them in a backpack for a week before we left. It was horrible to have to wait but I knew the reward of kicking back and enjoying them on the porch of the cabin would be worth it. And it was!!!

Now I want to take up cake decorating.