Block of the Month

I finally finished the Block of the Month quilt for the shop!  Here it is!

The kit that includes the book and all of the fabric for the top of this quilt is $115.  We will be having one class a month for twelve months to make this quilt, the fourth Saturday of every month, starting next Saturday, January 26 at 10:30 am.  If you are interested in attending the class, you will get 20% off the kit price.  Space is limited, so call us at (207)764-3800 to sign up!

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek of something coming to the shop very soon...

Anybody want to take a guess as to what we'll be doing?  Here is a hint: it involves a book by one of our FAVORITE people...

Three Pocket Tote Class!

Hi everyone!  I know I sound like a broken record, apologizing all the time for posting pictures of projects for classes with such short notice until the classes.  Does that make sense?  Recently, my brain seems to not be working 100% properly, so hopefully this post will make sense.

On Saturday, February 18, from 10-5, we will be making the Three Pocket Tote by The Quilt Company.  The price for the kit and class will be $26, and will include all of the necessary materials to make this cute little bag.  And now that I've given you (hopefully) all of the details, let's see some pictures of this bag!

 

So this bag has a bigger pocket in the center (as seen in the second picture), and then two flap pockets on both sides on the outside.  The fourth picture shows one of the outside pockets.  This would be the perfect little bag to make for your favorite stylish girl for Easter.  Or, who am I kidding, it would be the perfect bag to make for YOURSELF!  I was actually just thinking the other day that I want a smaller bag just to carry my wallet and other little necessities while on a shopping trip, instead of my normal huge and heavy purse.  This was a very quick project, since it's basically a quilted square with binding and a handle, and then it's folded and sewn in a few strategic places.  I made it even faster by using a pre-quilted fabric instead of quilting the square myself.

If you are interested in signing up for this class, please call the shop at (207)764-3800 or email us at sylvia@gardengatefabrics.com.  We would love to have you for this class, so please get in touch with us soon!

Pillowcase Sewing Party!

I know you have all heard about All People Quilt's One Million Pillowcase Challenge.  They are trying to encourage people to make pillowcases for charities and then tell APQ how many they have made, so they can reach a grand total of one million.  As of 3:45 pm on December 31, 2011, the count is up to 381,941.  One of my resolutions for 2012 is to sew and knit up A LOT of my stash, and to do more crafting for charity.  I took a short break from Christmas knitting a couple of weeks ago and made a hat for a charity out of a lonely skein of bulky wool that I had languishing in my stash, and it was fast, easy, and made me feel so good to be giving to people who have so much less than I do.  Also it was nice to do a quick, mindless project to distract me from mittens with pigs on them and Kindle covers with flaps and buttons everywhere, which is what I was doing for Christmas gifts this year.

In that spirit, we here at Garden Gate Fabrics would like to encourage charity sewing (and/or knitting/crocheting, if that's your thing), so we will be having a Pillowcase Sewing Party!  During our normal Sit and Sew time on Tuesday, January 24, we would like to encourage you to come and hang out, eat snacks (of course!) and sew pillowcases with us.  Come anytime after 3 or 4, and stay until 7 pm.  Pajamas and slippers/other comfy clothes are encouraged.  Feel free to bring fabric from your stash, if you have a substantial one like myself.  We will also have kits that we will donate if you come and donate your time to sew pillowcases for charity.  So we would love to have you come and sew with us that night.  Don't forget that we always have Sit and Sew on Tuesdays from 5-7, and would love to see you other Tuesdays besides the 24th as well.  Please call and let us know if you'll be coming, so we can make sure there are places set up for everyone.  We have a quick and easy pattern for pillowcases, but you can look at the ones on the website above as well, if you'd rather use your own.  If you are interested in having your fabric pre-cut when you come, so you can get down to business and sew right away, cut a piece of fabric 27 inches by the width of the fabric for the body of the pillowcase, and a piece 9 inches by the width of the fabric for the cuff.  I, for one, am SUPER EXCITED about some serious stash-busting that evening.  I may cut a whole pile of pillowcases so I can go crazy sewing!  If the thought of sewing with a scary crazy lady makes you worried, you may want to sit this one out. :)

So to recap, come to the shop on Tuesday, January 24, from about 4 pm to 7 pm, bring some fabric to sew pillowcases or we'll have kits here to donate if you want to make them for charity, and get excited about sewing again!  Please call if you'll be coming to let us know.  Thanks!

PS You can also come and make pillowcases for yourself, and we won't think badly of you. :) Our free kits will only be if you plan to donate the pillowcases to charity, however, so keep that in mind.

Four Sided Placemats

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share a project that I made for Christmas presents this year that was very quick and easy.  It was also fun for me to put together, which is not always the case, as we know. :)

I made something called the Four-Sided Placemats by Several Settings, a company in New Hampshire.  These placemats are actually 4 in one, you choose four different fabrics for each placemat and can change them as you wish.  Let me show you a picture:

This is the picture that comes with the instructions.  The instructions are free with purchase of a reusable mylar template that you use to cut the ovals for your placemats.  Here are the placemats that I made:

So this is all the same placemat, and the flaps fold as shown to make the different sides.  Obviously when the placemats are in use, you probably would fold down the flap shown on the right, so that your placemat is flat.  BUT you can use the placemats however you wish, I don't want to stifle creativity!  Each placemat takes 1 yard of fabric total, you can use four fat quarters.  I made twelve altogether, three sets of four, and to make a set of four you would need a yard of four different fabrics.  You can also put interfacing inside the placemats to make them more stiff, but I didn't find that necessary for mine.

We will be having a class on these placemats on Saturday, January 7.  Watch your email for information on times and prices.  If you are not on our email list and would like to be, please email us at sylvia@gardengatefabrics.com.  Thanks, and happy sewing!

Project Linus

Today I would like to tell you a little bit about an organization that is special to me. Many of you may have heard of Project Linus, but many of you may not have, so let's talk about it!

Project Linus is an organization that collects blankets made by volunteers and delivers them to children in need in the area. For example, blankets will be given to hospitals, fire departments, and schools. The website lists statistics like the fact that there are 368 total chapters that collect and deliver blankets, and there have been over 4 million blankets delivered so far! That's a lot of blankets!

How can you help this worthy organization? The first way is to make blankets. This quote is directly from Project Linus's website:

Our volunteers, known as “blanketeers,” provide new, handmade, washable blankets to be given as gifts to seriously ill and traumatized children, ages 0-18. It is Project Linus’ policy to accept blankets of all sizes, depending on local chapter needs. All blanket styles are welcome, including quilts, tied comforters, fleece blankets, crocheted or knitted afghans, and receiving blankets in child-friendly colors. Always remember that blankets must be homemade, washable, free of pins, and come from smoke-free environments due to allergy reasons.

You can make blankets and drop them off to us at the shop, or many Marden's stores are also a drop off point, but make sure you call and ask before you drop off a car full of blankets.

A second way to help is to donate money to the organization. You can talk to your chapter's coordinator for information on that, BUT, for a limited time, we are having a raffle in the shop to raise money for the Northern Aroostook chapter of Project Linus. The prize for the raffle is 100 fat quarters, 2 quilting books, and 10 1 yard cuts of fabric. The tickets are 1 for $1, 5 for $3, and an arm's length for $5. We would be happy to fill out some tickets for you if you can't make it into the shop as well. Please let us know if you are interested in supporting Project Linus in this way!

So to recap, Project Linus is a great way to get involved with charity, and you can drop off your blankets (or monetary donations!) to us at the shop. Please ask us if you are interested in getting involved with this charity!

For November: The Friday Bag!

Good Friday, everyone, and Happy Veteran's Day!  I hope that those of you who know people who have served or are still serving remember to thank them for their service today.

Today we at Garden Gate Fabrics would like to present November's bag, The Friday Bag!  This pattern has two options for your bag, either a quilted option or a reversible option.  I chose to make the reversible option, because the only thing better than a new bag is TWO new bags, right?!  We all know that I'm a bag lady!  Here is my bag, done in bright spring/summer prints because I'm sad about the onset of cold weather, although that does mean more cozy crafting time for me.  Not that I let things like outside chores get in the way of my crafting in the summer time, as you may well know.

This would be one side of the bag, and it features another orange pocket like the one shown on the other side of the outside, if that makes sense?  You may notice a little loop there that's looking kind of sad, that is there in the event that I find the perfect buttons for this bag and sew them on.  I haven't started looking for buttons yet, which may be contributing to the fact that it doesn't have any buttons on it.

This is the reverse of the bag, with pockets on the sides instead of the front and back.  You'll notice another sad buttonless loop on this side of the bag; two loops get added, and two buttons get added as well, since it's reversible.  Cool, right?

So of course I didn't measure the bag, or even try it on my person to give you an idea of how big it is.  But I would guess that it would fit nicely on my shoulder, and hit me about at my natural waist, if that makes sense.  It's a good sized bag, but not huge.  We will be having the class for this bag on Saturday, November 26.  This is the Saturday after American Thanksgiving, just as a headsup.  The cost for the kit and class will be $42.  We will also be offering to cut your bag out for you ahead of time, at a cost of $10 per hour.  You will need to pick out your fabrics ahead of time, however, as I won't have time to cut on the day of the class. :)  We are recommending that you come pick out your fabrics ahead of time and cut them before the class, if you can, because that will allow you more time for sewing.  Please call the shop at (207)764-3800 to sign up for the class, as space is limited!  We hope to see you there.  Thanks for checking out this month's bag!