Did I mention...

That I won a door prize at my guild's Modern Meetup at the quilt show last month? (yes, I'm that far behind on my blogging topics!)

I won a cute little coordinating bundle of FQ's from the Needle Shop, a pattern from Lee, and some Aurifil!

Also new to my stash is this pile of beautiful fabrics - most of them are already cut and being put together for my guild's challenge quilt. My assigned month is Summer - so I'm going with a sherbet color palate!

And finally at the quilt show (last month) I snagged a couple yards of one of my favorite Tula Pink prints - and some Aurifil!

QuiltCon Prep = Sewing for Myself.

For some reason going on a sewing related getaway means that I should sew a zillion things for myself including but not limited to:

Quilted Amy Butler Weekender - it's done!!!

Weekender (such a big project it will get it's own blog post)

Various zip pouches: Boxed pouches with real oilcloth laminate fabric this time. I made a couple of these, one for me and one for my new guild friend Judy - she's going to QuiltCon too. It just goes to show that if I write about sewing something on Facebook you should comment saying how useful that item is... I just might make one for you!

The blue and red polka dot oilcloth laminate fabric is available at The Needle Shop - I've been eyeing it and broke down and bought a quarter yard - since they cut their fabric wide there (my quarter yard was a smidge wider than 11"), I was able to get 4, nearly 5 pouches from the one cut. Not bad... it works out to be about $1 per pouch!

Voile Pillowcase: duh this is totally necessary  lol. I crack myself up. I made this with some of the AMH Voile that Shruti sent to me - it's luxurious. I can't wait to use it! Extra bonus, I won't have to worry about my hands / face breaking out from the hotel laundry detergents. :)

Pillowcase closeup - yes that is a precious bit of Sweetwater in there.for the accent.

I've considered making a case for my workshop necessities  but I just can't decide on a design. I guess it's better off since I'm not planning on checking luggage, I won't be able to carry my scissors or rotary cutter with me on the plane!

I had a lot of fun preparing for this trip, and I'm so excited to leave - I suppose I should just go to bed - my flight leaves in just a few hours!

Welcoming The Needle Shop - My very first blog sponsor!

It's with a whole lot of excitement today, that I'm announcing The Needle Shop as my first blog sponsor!

The Needle Shop is a fantastic shop located here in Chicago and it is full of fabrics, books, and patterns to love! Rachel has a fantastic sense of color and style and that really shows through in the fabrics The Needle Shop carries! While they don't carry complete lines of new fabrics, the selection is excellent. These are really my kind of fabrics! I dare you to walk into the shop and not feel inspired - it's not possible!

Rolls of beautiful fabric at the Needle Shop!

The Needle Shop is a brick & mortar shop - but it also exists as an online shop. So all of you who don't have the luxury of living nearby can still shop! Their online shop is categorized by designer, company, color, fabric content, etc. They carry a good variety of quilting cottons, as well as linen and home dec fabric. Take a browse around their shop I'm sure you'll enjoy what you see!

Check them out in person:

2054 W. Charleston St., Chicago, IL 60647

Or Online:

http://www.theneedleshop.net/collections/store

Read about my last trip to the Needle Shop here. 

Mini Shop Hop!

Rolls of fabric at The Needle Shop!

Today Emily and I went on a little mini shop hop - as a reward for making it through the week.The Chicago school teachers were on strike for a week and a half (ending mid week this week) which means that I went from settling into "back to school" routine (having some time to myself) back into craziness and uncertainty at home. Finally we have that all sorted out, the teachers have returned to school and Allie is so happy to be back. On top of that I'm happy to finally have one free morning off! So today Emily and I made use of it by wandering around a couple fabulous fabric shops!!

First up we went out to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Emily had never been there before so we took our time and checked out all the different areas of the shop. We had fun playing with tulle, helped another customer pick out replacement fabric for a skirt (for a messed up dress for a wedding that's tomorrow!), and we fell in love with silk. 

Tulle!!!

Vogue sells Dupioni Silk - in a couple dozen colors. It is radiant and vibrant and the texture is great! We were pretty much in love. After drooling over the bolts and the color card that the sales clerk was using to cut orders... she mentioned "we have a box..." lol 1/2 yd pre-cuts of the discontinued colors. We picked out a couple to share. I can see these finding a place within some quilts. I wonder how it washes though. I'll have to test it to see. :) 

After we spent an obscene amount of time in Vogue (there's a lot to look at!) we made our way to The Needle Shop. Now The Needle Shop is really the destination on this trip for me. I love that place! The owner Rachael was there while we were in and I have to admire her since she picks the best fabrics for the shop - very "me" fabrics! We spent a long time in The Needle Shop too - it was really fun shopping for fabric with another quilter. I don't think I've ever shopped with anyone else before - lol. We checked out the various fabrics/patterns/books. Snagged a couple swatches, and came home with lots of pretty fun fabric! 

Another note about The Needle Shop - they have a deal going on on Yelp this week where you pay $15 for a $25 gift certificate. Pretty awesome. So we both went in there with a gift certificate in hand - it was fun spending some money on fabric "just because." I'm usually a project buyer - I'll go buy only what I need. Instead this time I came home with a yard each of two colors of shot cotton (I wish I could get a good picture of the color variance here - it's amazing), some Anna Maria Horner Field Study, and another print just because it spoke to me. lol. On top of all that, it was nice to shop locally, in person, and with a friend. 

A box full of yummy!

We were going to stop in at Quiltology too... but we ran out of time. We rushed back to my neighborhood and stopped at Superdawg on the way! Yum! Just enough time to get home and eat before Allie got off the school bus! What a life! :)

My purchases: AMH Ribbon, Dupioni Silk, Kona Curry, Michael Miller "put a lid on it," AMH Field Study, Kaffe Fassett Shot Cottons.