Had to share!

Was watching my favorite show yesterday - Cityline. The show was called "simply style" and two of my favorite ladies were on the show; Kimberly Seldon and Samantha Pynn from Style at home magazine. I just had to share what Kimberly said at the beginning of the show! Oh I am so excited to tell you this....Blue is the new Green. So why am I excited about his statement you ask. Well Cape Cod is going to be released in 3 months and Blue is a predominate color in the grouping! Most of the collection is soft colors with a unique mix of contemporary prints - not modern. You say what is the difference? Contemporary is a mix of traditional elements with a "modern" twist = contemporary. We have designed a lot of projects using that same equation. Cape Cod is comfortable, soft and easy, not harsh. Well now that I got that off my chest....run to your quilt shop and ask when Cape Cod will be arriving in their shop. Next week I will post the projects that will accompany this great fabric. Don't forget that Cape Cod will be appearing in our favorite quilting magazines; American Patchwork and Quilting, Quilts and more & Love of Quilting.oh and I still LOVE green and there is a fair share of green in collection too!!:)

cori

Love emails

I love hearing from quilter's that have our books and patterns. It is even more excitting when customers send us pictures of the completed projects!

Every year for the past threeyears (this year will be our fourth) we have hosted our "Hometown Retreat" this is a retreat that Myra and I organzie and host in Winkler Manitoba Canada (for more info http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/retreat/retreat.htm)

We give away prizes, meet new quilters, get to see quilter's we have met through our journeys and just have FUN! We always design an exclusive pattern and for the past three years we have been able to launch our fabric collections as well. That is the most fun, sharing the new collection with the retreat group before anyone , anywhere has seen it! We have a great facility to host our event in. The Heartland Resort is a completely renevated hotel and spa http://www.heartlandresort.net. The pool area is amazing (it is not a hotel that families go to - it is geared for adults) We have a great area for sewing and the food is good too - not to mention Tim Horton's is just across the street! But back to my original statement...customers finishing projects that we have designed. It was about 5 or 6 years ago when we met Karen Greaves for the first time. An enthusistic and talented quilter! She has attended a couple of classes and three of our retreats. Last week she emailed me this great picture. This was our last years retreat project , changed up a bit, because Karen is also very creative and she wanted to customize the quilt for her Son & daughter-in-laws wedding gift. This projects featured our Bohemian Rhapsody fabric collection. She also machine quilted it in true Karen style! Since we first met Karen, she has become a good friend and she has done some work for us as well. Thanks Karen for allowing me to share this on our blog. I hope that those of you reading this will be inspired!

So those of you who have made projects from our books, patterns, using our fabrics....get to it and send us those pictures...it's always a treat to hear you like our stuff, but it's even better to know that you finish the projects too!

Cori

Waiting for UPS

A few weeks ago we received a package from RJR with samples of some of their new handspray colors. They were so beautiful. The colors were rich and vibrant, and inspiring. We very quickly had an idea for a quilt that would use a multitude of their new pinks, reds, yellows, oranges and greens. When I finally worked out a format, I sent it over to Cori for the color placement. To my surprise, she added two of the new teal colors. She was so right! The two darker teals balance out the all of the 'hot' colors, and the quilt has a much better feel to it.

So this design has been hanging on my board for a few weeks, and yesterday I got the call that the fabrics were on their way! So sometime in the next few days my UPS guy should be showing up with a great box of colorful new fabrics. I love those deliveries. It really is like Christmas in July.

We've called the quilt 'Lemon Slice' and it should be available at quilt shops in the very near future. But if you want the pattern or a kit, just talk to Cori about that...she'll be happy to help you!

The hot weather kept Cori and I inside today, and working through another mountain of work...but of course it was fun work. We got to spend the day reviewing artwork for another upcoming line called 'Prairie Wind'. We received the hand painted artwork, and at first we just stood back and gushed over the prints, and then we stepped close, to look at everything with a critical eye. I think that we were both very happy with the final decisions, and we hope that you will like the fabric too.

And on a final note, RJR fabrics has just updated their website. The new site is amazing, and really easy to navigate. It will also give you a clear look at all of the new prints coming out soon. So go to http://www.rjrfabrics.com/ and spend a little time looking around.

Well, it's time to get back to the drawing board, there are still a few more idea's that I want to get down on paper tonight.
I'll talk to ya soon.
myra

Fall already?

It seems that the fall issues of our favorite magazines are on the shelves of magazine racks and in our mailboxes. I feel it's a little early but that's the way it goes! This is what I came across as I was browsing the magazine stand at a local grocery store...you might want to check out McCall's QuickQuilts for a great flannel quilt pattern...wink, wink.

And not far behind this design will be two other features in Quilts & More as well as Quiltmaker. Don't worry we will let you know when those are out and about.

You may have noticed regular blogging this week. Well it is summer and well that means routines have been thrown out the window and it's "fly by the seat of your pants"! Myra and I did however have a little meeting last week and decided that some form of routine would be in order for our blog as well as our e-newsletter. You can expect to see at least two new posts a week, one from Myra and the other from myself. We really enjoy the comments you are making! The other topic...our e-newsletter, we have been trying to send it four times a year but we think that it might be a good idea to try and send it monthly (or at least we will try :) ) We do have a lot of upcoming news, new products and well just some tidbits of info we would like to share with our readers. Feed back on our blog and newsletter is always welcomed.

Well that's all for today, it has been a long one and I am off to dream land. Nighty, Night!

~Cori

And then there was light...

Like many of you... we have had a busy summer of enjoying the sunshine, and finishing up outdoor projects. However, last week, I finally had one day to play around in my studio, and solve a difficult problem that had been bugging me all year.

Last fall my husband and I packed up the kids, the furniture, the toys, and every small detail of our life, and moved down the street to a new home with more space. The hardest part was boxing up all of my fabric, and books, knowing that it would be weeks before I could even think about unpacking them. On the other hand, I was dreaming about what I could all put into my new, larger studio. I talked about finally having room for all of my desks, my tables, my fabric library, and my huge light table. My supportive husband gently tried to point out that the desks and library might fit, but the light table was going to have to be somewhere else. Oh really? We'll see.

I know why he was concerned. The light table is 50" x 100". It was a very rare find that came up for sale a few years ago. I convinced my mother to let me store it has her house in my old room until I had space for it. Now that I had a bigger studio, of course I would have room for it!

After all of my desks were moved ( I have 6 desks in total. When I run out of desk space, I just buy another desk.) and the library shelves were in place...I have to admit that the large studio was getting a little crowded. The movers brought down the light table, and my mother agreed that it could never fit in my studio. Oh really? We'll see. We set up the table in the family room, just outside of my studio, but in my mind, it had to fit in here somehow.

Well, last week, all the pieces came together, and I finally configured my studio and to everyone's amazement, the light table fits perfectly. I am able to use one end of it as a cutting table, and still have plently of room at the other end for drawing. AND, all of my fabric bolts nicely fit into place under the table.

There is still plently of things that need to be finished and polished before I feel my studio is complete, and I will share more parts of it in the future. Until then....I will happily go back down to my studio, and enjoy all of the light.

-myra

Happy colors

Here is the inspiration for the day!
Myra and I were picking colors for our next project and we thought a while...and decided to choose colors we haven't used before. What do Strawberry, Pear and peach have in common? They would make a great summer fruit salad!!! Well that's not what we are making but I will leave you with that for today and hopefully soon we can tell you what these colors will become.

Possibilities...

Just take your favorite fabric collection and spread it out on a table. Move it around a little and just see what you could do. That's what we do and we have this little problem call TOO many possibilities! Well maybe I shouldn't say TOO many, but TOO many ideas too little time!! This is our new collection, our first taste of it on cloth and the ideas are just so many. We have designed six quilts that will be published and the possibilities....oh the possibilities. With in this one collection there are so many different feelings. Do you get those different feelings too? There is the burgundy, green & taupe combination, kinda "Christmasy" with out being Christmas prints.

Then there is the softer side...pink, yellow, lavender....pretty, really pretty. It has this cottage feeling. This color combo would also be great for a more sophisticated baby or little girls room.

But I must say I am impartial to the mossy green, blue and brown combination. Very contemporary. The colors give you that beachy, seaside flavor. But then again I am a earth tone kind of girl, not usually into blue's but the blue, brown combo is a new favorite.

So now I have said my piece, we would love to hear which one is your favorite. What colors are you usually drawn to? I have really enjoyed more modern quilt design (as you will see in future projects) When I say modern I don't mean crazy stuff, but more simple and clean design. I can hardly wait to show you some projects with Cape Cod fabric!