bluemeadowdesigns

2010-02-13T09:10:00.003-06:00

Moving Day

We have loaded up, and we are moving out!

One of the MANY projects that we have been working on behind the scenes is a new blog. So thanks to our hard working elf (ok...it's Karen) we now have the new site up and running. The new blog will give us more options, and you will find some of our past projects listed up on the new pages. So, please make the trip over to the new site, book mark it, and come and visit us often. You will find all of our new postings at http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

Cori & Myra

2010-02-09T18:27:00.001-06:00

Twitter

Is it spring yet?? Around here there is still several feet of soft, fluffy snow...which my husband, my son, and their snowmobiles love. But we are already looking ahead to spring.

We got a sneak peek (actually we were proof reading) our latest magazine project. We legally can not show you the project, however, in my studio was this little pillow that Cori made up to reflect the quilt. We have always called our project 'Twitter' but since I am sure that is a copywrited name, the magazine has given it a new name. So this is just a tease, but you can see the real project, with the new name in American Patchwork & Quilting on newsstands March 2...but those of you who have subscriptions will get to see it 2 weeks earlier. There will be a limited number of kits available for the baby quilt, so don't wait too long in placing your order!

We also worked on editing another project that will be featured in a calendar. (yippee, we're calendar girls, and we can keep our cloths on!) One of our quilts will be featured in American Patchwork & Quilting's 2011 calendar. I can't wait to see it, but I hope 2011 won't come too quickly.

see you soon.

myra

2010-02-02T15:43:00.003-06:00

PEACE

Well, it looks like Cori beat me to posting today! We are both busy on our computers, working in different area's, and trying to keep our paperwork from taking over our design life. I will be working in the Etsy shop, listing new products, as well as putting up some of our projects for sale. We debate ALL THE TIME about what to do with our enormous collection. Well, some of our fun sample projects need to find a new place to call home...so they will start being listed in Etsy.

Cori is busy with the 1 & 1 shop, listing all of our blueprints and elements. This is a new area for us, and we LOVE IT! The possibilitys of creating in this new format are endless. I posted a picture of one pillow that Cori whipped up over the summer. It uses an element, and a very simple pillow layout (yes Cori...I will get you those instructions...)

And on my final note, according to the informal poll results, (and from people stopping us on the streets) we will keep the name '37 kisses' as the name for the quilt we posted last week. Thanks for the amazing suggestions. (yes Marcy, I always want to know what you think) And Sheila - I reserve the right to use the name 'Hot Lips' in the future.

see you soon.
myra

2010-02-02T13:47:00.008-06:00

It is time to share what we have been up to.

I hope you all have time to go to the shop today. Why? Because there is a whole bunch of new stuff!! There are some new patterns, blueprints and elements. What are blueprints and elements you ask? Oh, I can't wait to tell you.

Let's start with the blueprints. The blueprints are a simple pattern with basic instructions. The blueprints are only e-mailable!! No shipping. You pick a layout and then pick the elements of your choice to "embelish" your project.

How about the elements? The elements are shapes that you can applique onto the quilt or pillow you choose. This is a great way to customize your project. We even have alphabet sets, so you can add a name. The elements will be mailed to you, as they are all full size shapes to make it easy for you to use.

We will be re-leasing new blueprints and elements monthly! Not to mention the new patterns too.

The other new patterns are Country Lane & Astoria for only $9.99!

So come to http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/ and take a look at the new releases!

~c & m

2010-01-27T20:00:00.003-06:00

Another wonderful surprise!!
Remember when we picked a winner for fabric,? But they had to make quilts to donate to there charity of choice? Well Diane was the winner and this is the letter she wrote to the organization. Here is her story.

"Please find enclosed two more quilts that I have completed for Quilts for Kids, Inc.

As with many quilts, these come to you with a story. Back in November, I won a unique contest on the Blue Meadow Designs website (www.bluemeadowdesigns.com). They offered to give free fabric to a few lucky winners who in turn would make and donate a quilt to charity. Cori Derksen and Myra Harder are quilt designers and have also designed several fabric lines for RJR Fabrics. The patterns I chose are also from Blue Meadow Designs. It is with many thanks for their generous donation of fabric that I was able to complete this project.

In October, I lost two dear friends to cancer. One young lady was a relative that was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the age of 17. She battled that as well as other cancers for 11 years. Denean gave her life to God and served her community as a special needs teacher in the public schools. She was just 28 years old.

My other friend, Betty, was a young lady I met 10 years ago in my sewing club. Every month we’d get together to share ideas about our embroidery/sewing machines and, once a year, our group would take on a charitable project, i.e. sewing mastectomy pillows, blankets for the neonatal ward, etc. Betty, too, succumbed to cancer in October.

I thought it was only fitting to choose Quilts for Kids for my charitable organization since one friend touched the lives of so many children and the other shared my love of sewing. It is in their memory that these quilts were made and with much prayer for the two young ones that will receive them. Thank you for your continued work for such a worthy cause. "

Warm regards,
Diane Van Ryn

The other thing that Diane wrote in her email to us was that she took inspiration from Karen's guest posting on quilting ideas - great to hear.

It sincerely brings tears to my eyes, that we could be apart of Diane's mission, a very generous and touching one. Thanks Diane for making us so proud and creating such beautiful quilts! I think they are gorgeous!! I hope Diane's story has inspired you as it has us.

2010-01-26T09:50:00.002-06:00

Where our quilt designs land up?

This was a wonderful email that we received this week. (I asked for permission to post these pictures and share her story)

"I would like to say thank you for the beautiful quilt donation that my daughter Kayley received during her four day stay at the Children's Hospital on the May long weekend. After being diagnosed with a very sudden case of pneumonia, Kayley was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital for 4 days in order to receive IV antibiotics. Having a special blanket (in her favorite green color) was very comforting for her. The picture of her with the quilt was taken on her third day. To this day she still enjoys sleeping and playing with the quilt. " grandma Leona.

So I had to email her back, and she went on to tell me that another special friend of ours Barb Hayward had made this quilt for the hospital to donate. What a small world and THANKS Barb for being SO generous!! (this is the turtle twirl pattern and it looks like she enlarged the pattern to be twin size) And the other good news is that Kayley recovered and is doing GREAT!

It is so fabulous when we hear that our designs have touched someone else.

~c

2010-01-23T22:19:00.005-06:00

What's in a name?

Tonight, Cori is away from her computer, so what do I do when I need her to answer a question for me? I have decided to take my plight public.

This is the computer generated copy of our latest quilt design. From the day it was on the drawing board, I called it "hugs & a smooch". Then, our insightful friend Judy pointed out that the X is a kiss, and not a hug. Thanks Judy - so we changed the name to 37 kisses.

I have spent the last few weeks, piecing this quilt together for my daughter. Well, while piecing 37 kisses, I made at least 37 piecing errors! I told Cori that I was happy when it was done! Today I finished it, layed it out for the last final look, and realized that one section of blocks was pieced wrong. Grrrrr. Well, I fixed it, and tonight I sat down to finish the project, and write the instructions. Grrrr, I found another error! Did you find it? There are only 36 kisses on the quilt!

So, tonight I threw out the name, and asked my daughter, what should I name it? Her suggestion - 'the kisses quilt'.

And now I am asking all of you. What would you name this quilt? Once it has a name, this project can finally be edited, photographed, and set to print. So for the next week, (until next Sunday night) leave your favorite name for this project.

see you again soon.

myra

2010-01-17T19:38:00.002-06:00

Snapshot
It's been uber busy, but I dropped in to share one new photo with you. We gave a pile of quilts to our friend Marcy, and told her to go out and have some fun. And she did! You will be seeing more of her great photography popping up in the future.

It's only January, but we are already starting to move into high speed, so that we will be ready for Market in May. A lot of projects have been underway, so keep checking back to see what is coming and going through the studio.

see you soon.
myra

2010-01-05T11:31:00.004-06:00

New year...new projects

It's only Jan. 2nd right? Otherwise I would be late in posting...and that never happens! Today Cori and I spent a FULL day being computer geeks, and getting all of our programs and files transferred, and compatible with our new computers. At one point, when we were almost over our heads with technology and electronic components, I looked at Cori and thought "Arn't we designers? Don't we use pencil and paper, and draw things?? So where did all of this come from?" But isn't it surprising how much electronic do-hicky's are now a part of our everyday life.

But back to the picture. For Christmas, I decided to make several gifts for my kids. The thought came to me this summer, when Cori and I each made up a giant PEACE body pillow. When it was done, I thought it would look really good in my son's room, so I decided it would be a gift for him. Well, then I then I needed to make one for my daughter. Cori and I came up with an equally cute and cool pillow for Robyn. My kids loved these gifts, and have been dragging their pillows everywhere in the house.

And of course, while we were designing this pair of pillows, we accidentally designed a few dozen more...and you will be seeing them pop up on our site really soon.

see you later,

myra

2010-01-01T23:13:00.001-06:00

HAPPY New Year!

Welcome to 2010! We have had a beautiful, and snowy Christmas, but I am ready to pack away the tree, and start experiencing all the possibilities of this new year. Cori and I have a lot to share with you, and it will start tomorrow.

For today, I am conducting a test, to see how long it will take Cori to call me after she sees this post. I tried to call her today, but I couldn't get her on her home line, or her cell, so I decided to leave her a message where she would see it. So Cori - Santa left you something at my house.

We have been waiting for these new pieces of office equipment, and they will be put to immediate use. Lately we have been having a few gremlins running through our computers, so we now hope to have a fix to all of those problems. Now I just have to read a few manuals.....or maybe I could borrow Cori's brother....

So tomorrow I will try to round up pictures of all of the new projects that we created over the past month, and hopefully, they will inspire you to try something new in 2010.

see you soon.
myra

2009-12-24T11:34:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas
Thank you for your patronage in 2009 and
we look forward to inspiring you in 2010!

We hope that you have a blessed Christmas with family and friends.

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel-which means, God with us."
Matthew 1:21 & 23

May you experience the Christ child this Christmas season.

~Cori & Myra

2009-12-21T15:03:00.001-06:00

Quilts for all!
Well I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas break, it officially started here today! It is also the first day on winter today and here in Manitoba it is a beautiful winter day. I am ready for Christmas and looking forward to the kids having lots to do (no more bored em aloud after Christmas!!)

I just wanted to share this picture of our dog max. Even country dogs need quilts! This was one of my first projects. It has been an outside "blanket" for awhile already. It was coming apart at the seams (poor workmanship I guess !) So when the weather turned cold I gave it to max. He loves it - a little too much, now there is a big hole in the center of it. BUT, I often find him carrying it around the yard or he will be lying on it on the porch. He is so cute...when he is listening!

enjoy the winter day,

~c

2009-12-18T16:16:00.001-06:00

Happy Holidays

As you know I have been doing some Christmas baking and well I came across this recipe and thought...let's give it a try. Biscotti, something I have never made, only had on maybe one other occasion, so I gave it a try and voila!! They turned out, I gave a few to a friend with their Christmas card and she just called to tell me she was REALLY enjoying them.

So I thought, I can't have a mocha and biscotti with all of you...well... maybe I can. Make yourself a coffee, mocha, cappuccino, hot chocolate or tea and make yourself a batch of Starbucks almond Biscotti...mmm good.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/sr/24389/starbucks-almond-biscotti/recipe/

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup veg. oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 extra large eggs
2 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract

the above link has all the directions on how to make your biscotti.

enjoy!
~c

2009-12-14T09:24:00.002-06:00

Christmas baking

Well it seems that last week got away on me, completely! I promised to put up a couple of recipes for you to enjoy and I am sorry that I am so late with it. It seems that between volunteering at the Canadian Prospects hockey game in Winkler, a few hockey practices of our own, ( not "my own" but my son's) finishing up the last of the Xmas shopping, working with Myra on some really cool stuff for the new year and a cold snap to boot, the week came and went before I knew it.

This is the last week of school before Christmas break, so I have to make the most of it. We have 3 days of school Christmas concerts to go to this week as well. The weekend will be full of friends and family gatherings and then the kids are home for holidays.

This year I made a new recipe. Well actually it is an old recipe, but one of my Mother in Law's Christmas baking traditions and my husbands favorite. Several years ago, my mother in law and her sister made us girls (daughter and daughters in laws) a cookbook of old family favorites. This year I strolled the pages to find some recipe's that I wanted to add to my list of Christmas baking.

Marshmallow Roll

4 squares of semi sweet chocolate
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup glazed cherries, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
mini marshmallows
1 cup pecan's, chopped

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (I used the microwave). Mix all ingredients in order given. Make a roll shape on wax paper. Then roll the chocolate roll in sweetened, flaked coconut. Keep cool in fridge. Cut into slices. Freezes well. (that's if it makes it to the freezer!!)

Here is another easy treat.

Nuts & Bolts

3 cups pretzels
3 cups Shreddies
3 cups Cheerios
2 cups peanuts, cocktail style
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Put seasoning into melted margarine. Pour over dry ingredients. Put onto a cookie sheet and bake @250 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 min. Stir and bake for another 10 min. Cool and stir. Store in a covered container. (also freezes well.) This makes a great gift for neighbors and teachers!!

Back to sewing & quilting! By now you know that I could do every one of our quilt patterns 10 times over in different colors and fabrics. Well that is what I have been doing with a very simple pattern of ours - Chunky log Cabin. Myra had made the original sample for the pattern, so I thought I should give it a whirl myself. I have made a few log cabins but this one is bigger and goes together like a breeze!!

This fall on a trip to Ignace Ontario (shout out to our friends there!!) We made a stop in Dryden Ontario at a great fabric shop called A.J's fabrics. This shop isn't very big, BUT it has A LOT of fabric and when I say it's piled high...all the way to the ceiling!! I fell in love with this fabric collection Al Fresco by Michele D'Amore for Marcus fabrics. Myra suggested I make the chunky log cabin quilt and that is what I did the other day. I would love it to be quilted with a LARGE floral pattern (wink, wink K.G) If you haven't made this quilt yet, and need a fast and easy project for the new year, give this one a try.

Well I have rambled on long enough. I am staying inside all day today (-45 degrees with the windchill! Why do I live in southern MB?) so maybe I can get these quilt blocks sewn together!

Have a great day!
ttys,
~c

2009-12-05T19:11:00.002-06:00

Here at last!

Here it is, the invitation! And Mrs. P was right, we will be whipping it up!
We have been invited to the "Creative Circle of excellence - A Celebration of Quilt Designers" by none other Than American Patchwork & Quilting! It is defiantly an honour.
The egg reads " We're whipping up tons of fun with a batch of the BEST quilt designers!

Does this other project look familiar? It was a free pattern in our last newsletter, tiny timber. I re-made it using scraps of Figgy Pudding by Moda. And yes, I machine quilted it my self, even a little free motion. Now, don't even thinking of enlarging the photo to check the quality lol. I have a lot of improving to do in the machine quilting department. That is why we have some amazing machine quilters on staff :)
For those of you who missed the free project - it will be on our blog as a free-bee in the new year. I better get back to the sewing machine...mmmm wonder what I am up to?! I also did some Christmas baking today, maybe I will share some recipes with you this week (haven't done that in a while hey? The baking or the sharing of it !!)

~c

2009-12-04T11:53:00.001-06:00

Surprises
So Myra mentioned that we had received an exciting phone call this week. Well this is what arrived in the mail for us yesterday! And yes, it is related to the phone call and no, it's not an invitation to a cooking party either!! I will show you what was in side later on.

The other surprise we got this week was SNOW and lot's of it. So it looks like it will be a white Christmas after all. It is very strange for Southern Manitoba not to have had snow by November.

The third surprise is I forgot to blog about our latest photo shoot. This quilt has been finished for quite sometime now but we have been in talks as to what to do about it. It looks like the pattern will be released this spring. Astoria is unique and definitely different, therefore makes pattern writing and photography a challenge. This picture is taken in a small town called Rosenfeld (were my husband grew up) at their Lutheran Church. The other cool thing about this quilt is if you just do the center area, it is the perfect size for a baby quilt...neat hey?

I hope you have a great weekend, and remember to come back soon to see what's inside those envelopes!

~c

2009-12-02T20:45:00.001-06:00

So we got a phone call...

Where have we been hiding? Deep under piles of fresh snow, stitching up the most amazing projects! I am waiting to share all of them with you...but a few people on my gift list tend to read this blog..so you will have to wait until after Christmas to see the most spectacular gifts. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

If you could see what Cori and I are cooking up for you in the new year, you would be wishing it was New Years Eve...but that too will have to wait.

We did have one REALLY hard job this week. We had to finalize our spring calendar, which ment we had to pick between two events that conflicted with each other. Would we go to New York, or Minneapolis? And then the phone rang, and a third option got thrown into the mix. The phone call informed us that we were receiving an invitation in the mail for a very special event. Now what do we do??!! We struggled back and forth, and in the end, we decided that we would be crazy not to accept the invitation that was being sent to us. As soon as it arrives, you will see it posted here.

Until then, stay warm and cozy under a quilt.

See you again soon.
myra

2009-11-25T15:33:00.001-06:00

Coming Soon
Soon we will be adding our new country lane sampler pattern to our shop! This project was designed for a past retreat. We designed 2 projects and this is the one I designed. It actually tells a bit of a story. The leaf signifies my favorite season (the season I got married!), the spool is for my hobby and job, the friendship stars for my friends & family and the shoe fly block, was my first quilt block I ever made. You can change the blocks to your favorites and customize this quilt.

Now is the time to pick up a new pattern for the new year or better yet a Christmas gift!

So what have we been up to...mmm...we have been finishing projects, designing new projects and products for the new year. What have you been up to? We have been making Christmas gifts and projects. Are any of you making a bmd project to give at Christmas? I hope so and we would love to hear about it!

We had some snow today, not very much but up till now we have had some really good weather (for Manitoba that is) I really have not been in the mood to decorate for Christmas, although my Christmas shopping is just about done! horray!! And as you know, if you have younger children, that their activities keep us going.

As the year comes to an end, it is always a busy time for us. Evaluations of things that went well and things that didn't. We would love to hear what you think we have done well. Maybe your input will help us make decisions for the up and coming year!

~c

2009-11-12T09:34:00.005-06:00

Field Trip close to home.

Do you ever visit museums in your area? Isn't is surprising that we will travel long distances to visit other interesting places, but we rarely look around at what is in our own backyard.

This summer, my son kept begging me to make the 7 mile drive, to take him to visit the dinosaur museum in Morden. For all of you who visit our great quilt show every spring, do you realize that you are standing on top of a basement full of dinosaur skeletons? This is actually the largest dino display east of Alberta, and all of the fossils are found in our area. In Alberta, all of their fossils are of land dinosaurs. In our area, all of the one's that are found are from water dinosaurs. Right now the display is housed in the basement of the Morden Rec. Center, but they do hope in the future that they will be able to build a new museum, so the dino's will be able to be brought above ground.

So I used the picture from our field trip, to introduce you to our latest project, that is on newsstands now. In the Winter 2009 issue of Quilts and More, you will find this simple and sweet project. The staff at the magazine affectionately gave it the name 'Dino might' and I can't say that name without thinking of an old TV character named Jimmy Walker. Wasn't that his favorite expression? And does anyone remember what show he was on?

Anyway, I hope that you will enjoy this latest project, and take time to discover what is in your neighbourhood.

See you soon.
myra

2009-11-04T18:50:00.002-06:00

FREE pattern

As promised a free pattern for you to enjoy, this is one of my favorite quilts because of the fabrics. For the small squares I fussy cut out of a big floral print, it still gives it a circular feeling. Enjoy!

You can download the pattern here.

Finished Quilt Size: 38" x 50"

Sashing: 2"

1st border: 2"

2nd border: 3"

Yardages

1 1/2 yds of Fabric A for background, 2nd border & border to blocks

3/4 yd of Fabric B for sashing & 1st border

1/2 yd each of Fabric C,D,E & F for blocks

1/2 yd of Fabric B for Binding

2 yds of Fabric G for Backing

42" x 54" of Batting

Cutting instructions

From Fabric C cut:

2-4 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangles

1-4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square.

From Fabric D cut;

3-4 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangles

From Fabric E cut;

5-2 1/2" x 42 1/2" strips

2-2 1/2" x 34 1/2" strips

From Fabric F cut;

10-6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares

From Fabric A cut:

16-1 1/2" x 10 1/2" strips

16-1 1/2" x 7 1/2" strips

4-1 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips

4-1 1/2" x 7 1/2" strips

2-3" x 46 1/2" strips

2- 3" x 38 1/2" strips

From Fabric B cut;

3-4 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangles

1-4 1/2" x 4 1/2" square

Block Assembly

Begin by framing each one of the 4 1/2" x 10 1/2" rectangles and 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares of fabrics B, C & D.

Using the 1 1/2" x 7 1/2" as well as the 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" strips to frame each rectangle.

The plain 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" squares were fussy cut out of a large floral print, to give the illusion of circles.

Quilt Assembly

The quilt is assembled in 4 horizontal rows.

1st row; 6 1/2 square, oblong block, 6 1/2" square, oblong block, sashing strip

2nd row; oblong block, 6 1/2" square, oblong block, 6 1/2" square, square block, sashing strip

3rd row; 6 1/2" square, oblong block, 6 1/2" square, oblong block, 6 1/2" square, sashing strip

4th row; oblong block, 6 1/2" square, oblong block, 6 1/2" square, square block

Continue by adding the first border sides, followed by top and bottom. Repeat for the outer border.

2009-11-04T10:15:00.001-06:00

Sharing
Take a look at this quilt! One of our very dear "retreater's", Laurel. She shared this photo with me yesterday and I was so excitted I just had to share it with the rest of you. She just finished this quilt for her grand daughters 2nd birthday. Isn't is gorgeous! You want to know something else that is amazing about this quilt? I thought you would...it is HAND quilted! Can you believe it. I don't know if you can enlarge the picture but I just love the vine motif in the green section. And, I think she used Ric rack for the antenna!! How cool is this quilt, lucky little lady! If this inspires you check out the Little Lady pattern in our shop.

Thanks so much Laurel for sharing, if anyone else has something to share email me.

Stay tuned to our blog and website, changes coming...again and I have a free pattern to post this week!

~c

2009-10-29T12:04:00.001-06:00

Idea!
I hate to admit it, but I don't have a lot of quilts displayed in my house. Considering I am part owner of a collection that exceeds 100 quilts! I have a few quilts on my kids' beds and a few little things here and there but,what to do with larger quilts when I don't want to hang them on the wall or have them all over the place. Myra gave me this idea one day, out of necessity. We were packing up from a quilt show, she rolled the quilts and stuck them in a bucket (they would take up less room that way). So off to the store I went and bought this basket and rolled my quilts and change them up every now and again. I really like the way it looks, especially by my wood stove. I just thought I would share in case any of you are looking for a new way to display your projects.

On another note...the winners of the charity contest are... Diane & Mary Grace. Ladies, could you please email me your mailing info? To the rest of you, I am so sorry we couldn't send you all fabric. I know all the charity's are worthy.

~c

2009-10-27T20:25:00.000-06:00

Dandelion

Hi there, Karen here. I have a confession to make - I'm a procrastinator. If it wasn't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done! Having said that, I enjoy working under pressure. Well, serious time constraints came with this quilt top! Cori may wish to tell that story another day but for the moment I'll share the inspiration for the stitching design I used for this project.

The dandelion appliqué called for echo quilting of some sort. Rather than stitch a quarter inch outside the entire shape, I copied the applique and offset it the fourth inch. This created a shadow effect. This technique is effectively used with rubber stamps.

For the remainder of the quilt, I chose a cute branch motif and flower doodle from the design elements printed in the fabric then exaggerated them to fill spaces with vertical rows of stitching.

Next time you are looking for a machine quilting design for your project, look closely at the shapes printed in the fabrics. Pick one, enlarge it and stitch it, freehand, all over your quilt connecting each motif with loopy lines or stippling.

Happy stitching!
Karen

You are not kidding, this was quite the deadline to meet and lucky for us we have a wonderful quilter who's always willing to do whatever it takes to get it done! Thanks Karen!! I think we may have had about 1 week to sew, hand applique, quilt and ship. And well the shipping is a whole other issue. We researched every possible way to get this quilt to Houston by quilt market, which was about 5 days time. From Canada that's a challenge. Again...lucky for us Karen also has some great friends and they took it with them to Wisconsin and shipped it UPS from there to the hotel where the Robert Kaufman staff were staying... ffeeww...it made it in the nick of time and it hung in their booth for International quilt market! I do think that this pattern will be available as a free download on their website. I will let you know when it's up. I hope you enjoyed Karen's quilting inspirations - we do.

~c

2009-10-20T20:10:00.001-06:00

A BIG update

We had a great weekend...our 7th annual retreat!! Here is our group photo. We started the weekend with fashion Friday. Everyone was invited to wear there most fabulous shoes and handbag and this picture is the proof that we had a very fashionable group. We had lots of laughs on Friday that's for sure. We also had show and tell, what a creative group of quilters. I will have to share those photo's another time. They spent all day & evening Saturday as well as Sunday sewing up a storm. The food, friends and fellowship was absolutely wonderful. Thanks ladies for a GREAT weekend. (but I am still recovering from sleep deprivation :)

The next 2 photo's are some pictures from our recent photo shoots. Ric Rac and Central park. These are the patterns that RJR will be kitting using their stripes and dots collection. The patterns will be up in the shop shortly. My cousin was willing to borrow her bug for the photo shoot. Oh, that brings me to another point - OUR new home page on our web site! Have you seen it yet?

A few days ago I mentioned a new give a way coming soon. Well today's the day, I know so many of our customers make quilts for donation to many good organization/charities. that is why Myra and I have decided to give a way some fabric for you to make donation quilts. This is what you have to do.

- enter your name by leaving a comment on the blog
- tell us about your charity of choice
- if your charity has a web site please share that with us too.
- tell us why you would like to donate a quilt and why we should send you the free fabric.

I won't tell you how much fabric we are prepared to give a way or how many people will receive donation fabric. So get to it, leave a comment and just wait and see what happens.

~c

2009-10-14T12:24:00.002-06:00

2 more sleeps!

That's it only 2 more sleeps until our 8th annual bmd retreat. I can hardly wait, I think we are mostly ready just have to move all of our stuff over to the hotel and set up. I really wanted to blog about some more of our new stuff but I can't spill any secrets before retreat. I know that they are all watching the blog.

In the next few weeks we will have an announcement to make for a give a way. It will be Charity based - so for those of you involved in a charity that makes quilts to donate...keep watching.

Talk to you next week...lots to tell you.

~c

2009-10-06T13:56:00.001-06:00

coming soon
You may be wondering what we have been up to. Well here is one of the new patterns coming out this fall. We have been doing a lot of freelance pattern design and Spectacle is a pattern we have done for RJR fabrics using their new dots and strips collection.

We always have a hard time finding new places to shoot our covers. Thanks to Myra's neighbor and his scooter!

Also check out the new logo at the bottom. Thanks to Karen for teaching us how to use photo shop.

There will be more projects to come (4 more!!). Spectacle will be hanging in the RJR booth this weekend for Quilt Market in Houston. As well there will be one of our designs hanging in the Robert Kaufman booth as well. Can't wait to share that one....later.

Other updates include;
~Myra is back at home and doing well.
~our 8th annual retreat happening Oct. 16-18th CAN NOT WAIT. Getting lots of stuff ready for that too.
~working hard to get ALL the patterns done and in the shop.

~c

2009-10-01T14:52:00.002-06:00

Kaboom!

THANKS EVERYONE!!!! I am sitting here in my hospitable bed reading your encouraging words. My husband - who I LOVE brought me my laptop, and my ipod. And Cori - who I like very much, brought me a stack of paper, pencils and magazines to read. And we had our first blue meadow meeting in a hospital room. Ironically, it is closer for Cori to visit me here, then when I am at home. So why is everyone bringing me stuff? Because I will be here for a little while, so I might as well get comfortable.

So what brought me to the great place? My appendix ruptured very suddenly yesterday. The doctors tell me that I was an exceptional case. Of course, why would I be typical? From the start of the pain, to the operating room was a very short time frame, but by the time they got me in, the rupture had happened, and the damage was extensive.

So I now have a very close relationship with an IV pole, which will be my close friend for the next 5 days.

And now it is time for a nap. But I will blog again soon...I've got time.

see you soon.
myra

2009-09-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

Oh Boy!

You are probably wondering why the picture of the Fisher Price Doctors kit. Yeah it's been a while since I have played Dr. but today someone we all know and love is not playing Dr. but the real thing. Myra is having emergency surgery today! It would be really neat if you would all leave a little get well message, so when she gets home and back to the computer she will have a little surprise. Notice how I wrapped the Dr. stuff in a qult? I will let her tell you the details when she's back an well.

And it never fails, she always gets sick when we are busy working on deadlines - wish me luck!!

The next photo is an invitation we got in the mail this week and it's also a clue to what I have been frantically working on this week. It's all in the hands of our trusty quilter...maybe we should send her some good luck messages too :)
Unfortunately we can not join the staff at Robert Kaufman at Market next weekend :( oh well, the invitation was so nice to get!!

There will be a whole lot more NEW stuff coming over the next few days. Thanks for watching.

GET BETTER soon Myra!

~c

2009-09-21T08:26:00.000-06:00

Surprises are the best!
I wanted to blog so badly this weekend but we were working from a secret location from Friday - Sunday! You know her as our guest blogger, she is an "employee", our friend Karen. This trip was a spur of the moment type trip but we just couldn't resist going to Ignace ON. We had a lovely 6hour drive, with visits to three fabric shops; Oma's in Grunthal, Cottage Country in Keewatin and AJ's is Dryden. Oh what fun! You really must take a trip to all those stores, they had great stuff.

So the best part of this trip was the surprise. Karen told no one that we were coming! There is a large group of ladies in Ignace that have supported us from our very first teaching trip. The plan was to work like crazy all day and evening on Saturday. Then on Sunday this group would be meeting to have a sewing day, that is were the biggest surprise came to be. We casually walked into the room "asking for directions" you should have seen the stunned look on their faces. "What are you doing here?", we stayed to chat and catch up and then we hopped back into the car and headed home.

The second and third pictures are photos from Karen's screen porch...not a bad place to work hey? What a view!! We did so much and were SO inspired I don't even know what to tell you. The things we learned and accomplished in one day was overwhelming. The last picture is of another special "surprisee". Karen's friend (and ours too) from Stonewall MB (yes she only lives 2 hours from us and we drove 6 to surprise her!) was at Karen's for the weekend. She didn't know we were coming either! We had a fabulous time of creativity, inspirations & friendship. Thanks Karen, Judy & the "Ignace sewing group" for allowing us to crash your party!!

p.s we worked on the website, so with any luck that new home page should be up and running shortly ;)

~c

2009-09-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

Back to School

Ahhh...do you hear that....exactly, it's quiet here today. Our kids started school yesterday, grade 2 & 5. This is a snipet of our annual back to school photo. The kids were happy to go back, my daughter more so than my son, but they booth had GREAT 1st day back. So what did I do yesterday? Myra and I spent the day working. It had been a really long time since we had a day to do some errands, meetings, a photo shoot a yummy lunch and lots of talk.

We have this beautiful walk way in Winkler along 15th street. We took many photo's along the garden path. Across the street is our local park and all of a sudden a looked over at the park and there was a group of mom's watching us. I told Myra "they probably think we are crazy! "Well not two minutes later a mom walked over...it just happened to be Myra's cousin! She said she thought that had to be Myra...who else would be taking pictures of quilts? So we walked over to the park to continue our photo shoot. Next we took a photo of our pattern Crayon Box and right on cue this sweet little girl runs into the photo unknowingly of course, just playing! So we landed up chatting with some of the mom's in the group, they were very interested in our quilts, especially the baby quilts. Yes, that's right, I am not showing you ALL the pictures we took yesterday, you will have to wait on those.

In that mom's group was another young lady, whom Myra and I got re-acquainted with. Yes, she's younger than us but I knew her from our Church, so we played a short version of the Mennonite game and off we were, many connections. Then we found out what she is up to, and architect and photographer. She gave us some great photo tips and then asked to use our camera...SURE!!! The last picture is one that Tracy took. Let's just say it's a sneak peak of a new and upcoming pattern :)

Well that was our day...I hope if you have children that have gone back to school, that you too have a nice quiet day.

~c

2009-09-05T18:47:00.008-06:00

Shaking the family tree.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures, and tons of text, but this post is still somewhat quilt related.)

I am beginning a post today, that I have thought about for a long time. Two years ago, two separate events occurred that made me stand back, and look at things in a new perspective. Since that time, I have always pondered the question. Is my creativity in fabric a talent? Or is it in me from my Heritage? Now don't doubt me for a moment when I say that I believe everyone has their own special God-given talent, but I still wonder if being artistic in fabric can be a part of our very complex DNA.

The first eye opening event that happened, was a family gathering. It was a one of those huge, extended, bringing-people-from-all-corners-of-the-earth, types of gatherings. And I didn't attend. But not to worry, my mother was there, and came home with a wonderful file of family info. Thanks to her cousin from Alberta, I now had one part of my family tree...that can be traced all the way back to 1480. My 9th Great Grandfather was Jakob Harnasveger, from Amsterdam, Netherlands. From there, his decedents are the famed, Gysbert (Geijsbert) Deveers. (They must me famous...otherwise why would you pass down that name for the next four generations?) But what caught my eye, was Gysbert Deveer III. He was born in 1600 in Amsterdam, and his listed occupation was 'fabric merchant'. WOW! My great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather sold fabric! This is where I could sit and ponder deep thoughts for hours. What did his fabric look like? Where was it made? What were the colors? What were the designs. What would he think of me, generations later, working in the same industry? So is my love of fabric a random coincidence, or is it a shared love? Whatever the answer, I suddenly felt some connection to my family tree.

Last night, I had a chance to sift through more of my family history, and I made another discovery. My family lived in Danzig Prussia for several hundred years. I had never heard of it, so I looked it up. What a fascinating story of Danzig! It was called the Free City, and I wish that I would have had a chance to visit it. It was destroyed by the Nazi's during WWII. But I did find our Prussian coat of arms. Finding our Coat of arms taught me two things about my family.
1) They must have been quilters. Look at that center crest, it is clearly a scrap quilt.
2) They had great abs...even for old guys.

So, what is your opinion? I know people who have a musical talent, and you can see that it runs in their family. So what about creating with textiles? Is that also something that can run through your blood? I will keep pondering that for a while.

And maybe sometime soon, I will share with you the other event that brought about this train of thought. And it has to do with our family treasure chest.

myra

2009-08-25T20:22:00.000-06:00

North of the forty nine Block of the Month

Announcing another new pattern, North of the forty nine is a unique block of the month and if you are interested in joining our BOM we would love to have you. If you are looking for the perfect project to use up stash fabrics this is the project for you. If you are looking for a quilt to make for a husband, son, brother, nephew, grandson...this is the project for you. Do you like getting monthly mail, working on a project with a group of other quilters...this one...you know! This unique sampler is so easy yet, the end result looks like it was a advanced quilt. This quilt has some traditional piecing, paper piecing (flag) and applique (hand or heat and bond, you choose). All the applique shapes are all full size and the pattern instructions full color. Whether you are a beginner or advanced quilter you will enjoy this project.

We will start October 1st so if you would like to join us please email me. The cost per month is $6.00 including shipping. We will be sending a few of the months by email and the majority of them by mail. We accept Visa or MasterCard and I will mail you all the specifics when you sign up.

I am excited I hope you are too!

~c

2009-08-24T20:10:00.001-06:00

Inspirations

Well it's been a long day and I can finally sit in silence and write you a little something. Summer is coming to a close, when in fact we haven't really had "summer" yet. This evening felt like a fall evening. Don't get me wrong fall is probably my favorite season but unfortunately it is followed by winter, and in southern Manitoba winter was about 8 months long!! yikes.

Enough about the weather....

I got an email the other day from our friend Jill. She was the young lady that was the winner of our plan B contest. Anyhow, we apparently inspired her do a project. You all must know by now that we love it when you change up one of our quilt designs and make it your own. I just wanted to share this with you because it just turned out great!

Jill took our Nantucket rose design and tweaked it to make the quilt pictured below. She kept the outer border and star border the same, picked a different applique and bordered the center square, choose a jewel toned palette and ta da, here you have a one of a kind quilt. I do believe this quilt is being donated to the red cross in her area.

Thanks so much Jill for sending us this picture. I am sure there is more to the story so If Jill wants to share it she can leave us all a comment explaining. (I know you are reading this Jill :))

If any of you have a project inspired by us, please email it to Myra. Maybe we can share your project too.

FYI #1- Myra and I counted all of our new fall release patterns (coming between now and November) and there was about 12 of them. We will let you know as the new patterns are available.

FYI#2 - For those of you who subscribe to our e-letter, we will be sending the fall edition our this week. Included in it this quarter is a new "sweet" project. You don't want to miss it.

good night,

~c

2009-08-19T13:20:00.002-06:00

Update on Domino

I just spoke with the lovely Editors at McCall's and they tell me that it is the November issue of McCall's quick quilts which will be shipping September 1st. Hold tight...it's coming Soon.

And...Thanks to Karen for joining our blog this week! I hope you all enjoyed her quilting tips and if you could give her a "shout out" to say thanks. She will be posting more creative quilting tips in the future.

~c

2009-08-18T07:28:00.002-06:00

Hello there! Karen Greaves here just popping in on the bmd blog to share some machine quilting ideas. Cori & Myra have been sharing some of their unconventional inspiration sources for pattern designs. They also watch for design ideas they would like in the projects they send out for quilting. I am a fortunate recipient of some of their work. When we were looking to machine quilt Domino (featured in previous post), a scrapbook page sparked an idea for in the border.

Varying sizes of light yellow circles in the pink paper under the photo create a visually interesting design element. To create this look in the border of Domino, I drew on (rather around) items I had readily available. I often use household items such as bowls, plates and cups to mark circles on my quilts. These are the items I used for the borders of Domino.

The teal coloured cup conveniently provided two sizes of circles! A silver marking pencil or chalk marker is useful to mark on dark fabrics. Once the baseline is drawn equidistant from the border edge and the outside edge, the circles are drawn at random along that line.
Working with a free-motion foot, I work around one half of each circles all the way around the quilt. Once back at the beginning, work the other half of the circles, stitching over the connecting lines between them. This technique works well with any border motif that touches the next. Give it a try!

Karen

2009-08-13T18:11:00.001-06:00

The waiting is over!

What does this fabric and the Domino have in common? If you go back a few posts we played a little game, what in the picture inspired our upcoming quilt in McCall's. Well it was the pictures behind the table with the 2 dots - like a domino! We always say inspiration comes in mysterious ways.

The bright colors and big prints partnered with Black and white make a graphic statement. This is a picture how the lap quilt appears in the magazine. Kit's will be on sale in our shop shortly.

Does anyone have a copy of this magazine yet?

~c

2009-08-05T10:14:00.002-06:00

One of you....

is SO right on! Way to go. The magazine is set to launch on stands on Tues Aug.11 and once I get my copy I will post the quilt.

Sorry it's so short. I will be back soon.

~c

2009-07-30T14:37:00.001-06:00

Another game

So hopefully you all have your copy of American Patchwork and quilting already. So now we can play another game! In about 2 weeks you will see another design by yours truly, for McCall's quilitng.

Here is a tear sheet that inspired the project in McCall's. This is the game...what in this picture do you think has inspired the project? Have fun and be creative.

Things are still buzzing about, working on ALL kinds of new stuff . I hate to say it you won't have to wait too long to see the new fall releases....not that we have actually had summer weather yet.

oh well, I hope you have fun with the guessing.

~c

2009-07-28T19:30:00.001-06:00

is that your final answer?

Well Jill was right...but she saw the magazine! I loved the guessing, you guys are so creative. But
"ahead of the curve" is the final answer.

This queen size quilt is made up of Bold prints and bright white to make this stunning quilt. We took a traditional block and mixed up Heather Bailey's fabric collections Bijou and pop garden and came up with this modern looking bed quilt. Our friend Jaqueline Pohl did an amazing job with the quilting. We took the inspiration from one of the fabrics for the funky floral motif.

To top it all off...Electric Quilt emails us today and wants to feature our design on their blog! They saw the quilt and they know WE EQ, so they want to share with their readers how we design. I think that's cool.

So if you don't have this issue, October 2009 Issue 100...go out and find it because kits will be available on our website for $135.00(includes shipping).

Maybe Myra can write a new riddle for the next release...what do you think? Good idea??

~c

2009-07-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

Where oh where?
has all the time gone? Summer is just slipping away so fast. It sure hasn't been Hot in Southern Manitoba, but at least the sun shines. It is so hard to be inside when it's finally nice out but work still goes on.

Over these next few weeks I will share you you some of our newest projects and there are many!

The 2 quilts in the picture are for a pattern we developed for Robert Kaufman Fabrics called Heartstrings. It features a new collection of fabrics, chick-a-dee and chick-a do by SEI. For those of you who are scrapbookers you will notice the name! You can see the quilting very clearly in the photo, but in the boys quilt there are "strings" of stars and in the girls quilt there are "strings" of hearts.
The pattern will be available by August 15th in our shop.

I hope your summer is going well.

~c

2009-07-19T12:37:00.011-06:00

Coming Soon

We have mentioned that their will be a lot of our projects featured in magazines this fall, and you will be seeing them on shelves very shortly. It has been hard to keep all of the 'insider info' to ourselves, so we have devised a way to give you a few hints.

This is actually the method my brother and I would use on each other in our teenage years. We would never write out the other person's phone message, we would draw a riddle instead...and if you couldn't figure out the riddle, you never got your message. (Here's an example. If John called, by brother would draw a toilet.) There were some pretty creative drawings going on in our house. However, we will take it a little easier on you.

+ 2

you will find our project in an issue of

And the name of the project is:

And it features the fabric from this designer.

Anyone want to take a guess?

See you soon.
myra

2009-07-12T20:28:00.003-06:00

Figgy Pudding in Time Square

Here is your skill testing question for today. What does this quilt, and the Nordic quilt from the last post have in common? Answer - they were made using fabrics from the same collection. Both quilts were done using Figgy Pudding by Moda fabrics.

When we looked at this large collection, we could see many different things being done with it. I have a tiny pet peeve about quilts representing a fabric collection having every print in one single quilt. When you break collection apart, you can often achieve a greater range of design. I think Nordic and Times Square show this concept. If we had used the same prints in both quilts, they would have looked the same, and neither of them would have stood out.

Nordic is a quilt with large open spaces, that handle bold, large scale prints. Times Square is a quilt with a lot more structure, and you would not see it's great lines, if you used bold, large scale prints. This quilt is an example of where great supporting prints can make an equally great quilt.

And if you would like to make a Times Square for yourself, we did put one kit into our Etsy shop. And for the locals, you can run over to Annie's Sewing Center, and see this quilt hanging beside the Nordic quilt. You will be able to compare the quilts, and see what can be done with a wide range of fabrics from one collection.

So which one grabs your attention? The big and bold Nordic quilt? Or the smaller structured Times Square?

Thanks for dropping by, and I will see you again soon.
myra

2009-07-09T20:24:00.005-06:00

Christmas in July

I am very happy to report that we haven't had a snow fall in the past 3 months (knock on wood) but there was an occasion several years ago when it did snow in July.

However, what does pop into quilt shops this time of year is Christmas fabric. Most shops place their orders for Christmas prints back in March, and they are shipped out over summer.

This past spring, Cori and I got to play with a fabric line from Moda called Figgy Pudding by Basic Gray. If you are a scrapbooker, you may recognize the name and prints, because they were first available in paper. Cori and I were asked to take these great prints, and create quilted projects with them....and here is your first look.

Nordic is an easy favorite of ours, because it is so very different. We had first designed this layout to use at a different time, so it was originally designed with large flowers, and bright colors, but when we saw these fabrics, we changed our theme. Cori is the daring one who decided to do brown snowflakes, and I think that it is a great (and certainly not traditional) choice.

We first showed this project to our retreat students, who had first chance at buying a kit, but we have now put the last few up for grabs. We have put one Nordic kit up for sale in our Esty shop.

But if you happen to be a local you can run down to Annie's sewing center here in Winkler, to pick up the other kit, and to see the quilt first hand.

Enjoy your summer sunshine!

See you soon.
myra

2009-07-09T19:27:00.002-06:00

Preaching to the Choir

I wanted to take a quick minute to share a blog that I found the other day. It is a great clothing pattern company called Oliver + S.

They had a wonderful article about how they do not use lead prints in fabric collections in many of their products. This is something that Cori and I have in common with them. Very often it is the supporting or the secondary prints that are more usable than the leads. However, you will have a very hard time convincing a fabric company of this. Through our personal past experience, there is a huge importance, and pressure on you to create a lead print for your fabric collection. Cori and I both struggle with this, because we feel that it is equally important to have workable supporting prints. Fabric company exec's need a lead, so that they can give the collection a name. Sale's rep's need a lead print, so that they know what is the 'theme' of the collection. But quilters need something deeper. How many leads can you put into one project? Often it is the quiet, over-looked support prints, that ultimately are needed to create great projects.

And that's my sermon for tonight.

See you soon.
myra

2009-07-01T08:27:00.003-06:00

Happy Canada Day!!!

I am sure that I use this picture every Canada Day, but I just haven't made anything new with the Canadian flag on it for a long time. Maybe that should be one of my new challenges this summer.

So I don't know where we will end up today, but I am sure that it will involve kids, ice cream, water, games, and fireworks. Let me know where you spent your day, but where ever you are, take a quick minute to appreciate being Canadian. We live in a country where we have free medical care, freedom of religion, vast beautiful wilderness, and beer.

What a great country, EH.

See you soon.
myra

2009-06-30T12:22:00.003-06:00

Summer time socializing

The kids officially finished their last day of school today...it's bright and sunny ...and I am happy to declare the summer has finally come to southern Manitoba.

As the kids are busy doing their chores (can't let them get lazy over summer!) I am grabbing these few minutes, to sit down, and talk to my old friends. It has been a very long time since I have had a chance to catch up with all of you.

Out here, our spring was cold, wet, and windy. It was a little depressing at times, but we could hardly notice the weather outside, because Cori and I were busy with our noses buried in fabric. We do hope that you enjoy the quilts we design, because in the next few months, you won't be able to pass a news stand of quilt magazines, with out seeing our names all over them. We are itching to let you see these projects, and it is hard to keep the great photographs of them a secret, but the minute we can let any cats out of the bag, we will. Plus, Cori and I have come up with a unique way of giving you hints, without breaking the rules...so keep watching.

What else has been happening around here? Well, my house is once again a shipping depot of boxes. We send out quilt tops to the quilters, we ship off finished quilts to the editors, and we are receiving boxes of fabric from companies, who let us explore their new lines, and let us play with the fabrics in fun new ways. We received a wonderful parcel from Robert Kaufman yesterday, and our drawing board is full of possibilities. Of course, we will show you all of those as they develop.

Well, it sounds like the lawn mower has stopped, and the sprinkler has started. I guess the kids are done their chores, so I have to run, and see what adventure they have created.

But stop by again soon, we will have lots to chat about this summer.

See you soon.
myra

PS - To Annette, I would LOVE to visit NC or VA! I lived in PA, and I fell in love with the lush beauty of the east coast.

2009-06-11T08:37:00.001-06:00

Boho Baby
I don't think I have shown you this quilt yet. Do you remember the original boho baby? Black, cream and turquoise prints from our Bohemian Rhapsody collection. The pattern has been selling strong and is currently in our shop, so I thought I would re-make it using current fabrics that we had. This quilt features fabrics from Mingle & About town by Monaluna for Robert Kauffman fabrics as well as two handsprays from RJR fabrics all available in our shop! I can't wait to see this one quilted. We would love to see your interpretation of this pattern.

On another note, you might be wondering why you haven't heard much from us of late. Myra and I have been designing like CRAZY, our pencils barely come off the paper and then we get another idea....oh what to do with all the ideas. We have been working on more magazine work, some freelance designs for Robert Kauffman and getting ready for a few events this fall, yeah you heard me fall. We haven't even had summer and we are working towards fall, also looking forward to next spring and making preparations for then too. I can't tell you what that's all about yet :)

And to top if off our school year here in Canada is coming to a close at the end of this month. There have been school field trips, swimming days and track and field day are yet to come. I was at a petting farm yesterday with my son and his grade 1 class. That just proves it's been a long time since I have had a "baby".

Hope you have a great day!

~c

2009-05-28T13:48:00.001-06:00

and the winners are...

JoAnne J.
Diane V.
Cheri B.

Congrats!

~c

2009-05-28T07:36:00.003-06:00

What a difference!

Have you ever made the same quilt twice? Have you ever changed just one thing on a project? What a difference it can make. Take this quilt for instance...recognize it? I have this thing for taking one of our original ideas/patterns and making it smaller. In this case I turned the original quilt into a baby quilt! Now the second picture is really what the original looked like, I didn't change anything other than the fabrics used and the finished size. I chose fabrics from our completely kids collection and threw in 2 handsprays and a solid cream fabric. Pink and orange is one of my favorite color combo's! But back to the first photo. See what I didn't do? That's right as if this project wasn't fast enough I took out the appliqued circles! I found this awesome Heather Bailey print and "fussy cut" these big flowers out to take the place of the circles in the original quilt. It gives the feeling of a circle with out the applique. This palette of fabrics were all Heather Bailey's except for the soft yellow handspray and solid cream. What a fresh and spring like feeling.

And for those of you who say "APPLIQUED CIRCLES?" They are fast and easy, and yes they are done by hand. (you are more than welcome to use fusible :))

So can anyone tell me what this quilts original name was? The first 3 people to email cori@bluemeadowdesigns.com TODAYand tell me the name of the pattern that I took this quilt from will get a free pattern. This pattern is not available on our website, however a very limited number of kits will be available on our Etsy shop next week. Pattern will not be sold separately.

~c

p.s If you have not signed up for our newsletter go to www.bluemeadowdesigns.com and do that TODAY! Our newsletter goes out very soon and we have a free pattern in the newsletter this month!! It's worth your while.

2009-05-18T20:33:00.001-06:00

Sweet Inspiration

We got this photo from one of our friends, who wanted to share her finished quilt with us, and the story of the little girl who owns it. As you can see, the quilt looks great, and little Celeste looks healthy, but the reality is that she has Cystic Fibrosis. We hope that she continues to grow strong and healthy, and she is very lucky to have a special friend like Jackie to encourage her, and to make her special quilts.

When I read Celeste's story, and saw the quilt, it reminded me of an incident I had with my daughter a few years ago. Late one night, when my daughter was 3 1/2 years old, she was playing on my bed, and fell off the edge...backwards. It was a simple fall, but I instantly knew something was wrong when she only reached up to me with her one arm. I knew her other arm was broken, and I had to take her to the hospital. In an effort to comfort her, and make her feel safe, I grabbed her quilt off her bed, and wrapped her in it. Robyn was carried in her quilt from the emergency room, to the X-ray room , and into the casting room. When we were all finished (at midnight) and her arm was set, she once again fell asleep wrapped in her quilt. And then a nurse made a comment that I have never forgotten. She said "When you see a child wrapped in a handmade quilt, you know that the child is very loved." After the stress of that night, those words almost made me cry.

So I wanted to pass those words along to Jackie. When I saw Celeste laying on a handmade quilt, I knew she is very loved.

See you soon.

myra

2009-05-07T12:43:00.001-06:00

Peaking is aloud
Here is a sneak peak at the two new projects on the go. Just when we think we have a break in the action, we come up with some new stuff! We had the new mingle and about town fabrics in stock NOW in our NEW on-line SHOP. The colors and prints are perfect for spring and summer projects. Yes, you heard me the new and much improved shop is up and running smoothly. These fabrics will not be around for long so be sure to get yours now. We are now selling fabrics by the 1/2 yard. These two projects will be released very soon, but not in the usual way. So, keep your eyes on the blog for further details.

We only have 2 more spots available for our fall retreat, so don't get left out email me today to sign up!

As for the new web site, it is still in progress so keep checking to see the improvements. If you have not signed up for our newsletter yet, be sure to do so. I will be sending out a newsletter very soon.

~c

p.s thanks for the well wishes for our puppy!

2009-05-05T12:44:00.000-06:00

Introducing....

the newest addition to the Derksen family. I just had to share this photo of our newest "baby", MAX. He is a 3 month old German Shepherd puppy. He is a very affectionate puppy. When we are all playing with him outside he always picks our son over the rest of us....?? BUT when they aren't around, he likes to cuddle with me! I'll take that.

And the day we brought MAX home we found out that our cat had a small litter of kittens. Lot's of excitement on the yard. Spring is in the air.

~c

p.s stay tuned for an exciting announcement (quilting related that is).

2009-04-28T18:00:00.001-06:00

Color Changes Everything

I am sure that we have shown you this quilt before, but have you ever seen the second color way? Isn't it pretty (if i do say so myself) We made the green and black one first. I had so much fun making this quilt it was just too tempting to make another one! This quilt serves to teach a few lessons.

How the green and black colorway got started was with the large Amy Butler print. We deliberately used that large print in a large plain block. We did not want this quilt to be made from a particular fabric collection but rather a mix and match approach (like we did in the "old" days, before collections were the rage) We choose a basic black handspray, a small green & black print, the white and black paisley which is our medium scale print, as well as a tone on tone green print for subtle texture. Print size is very important when you want to create symmetry and interest. The simple block is just repeated, tossed and turned and separated with white sashing.

In the second colorway,again we started with the large Amy Butler print in shades of brown, green and pink. Again keeping with our original philosophy of mix and matching collections, we began picking fabrics from our stash. A brown tone on tone, deep pink and brown medium print, small brown and green fabric, and again green tone on tone print (from our bohemian rhapsody collection). I did make one sample block first with the ivory sashing, we decided it was to stark. We picked a pink tonal print (from our cape cod collection) instead. We purposely chose different shades of pink. Why? Because it proves another point, as long as they all blend they do not need to match exactly!

We have often wanted to make our quilts in two different color options. It is really hard to just pick one for the pattern cover. This was a great lesson in picking fabrics and how color changes everything.

The Manhattan pattern is available in our Etsy shop as well as it will be available in our new shop (coming VERY soon.) So be sure to check http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/ so you don't miss the launch!

Which one do you like best? If you have a teenager, this is the quilt pattern for you. Modern and simplistic, it's all in the Fabric chooses.

~c

p.s if you want to see these quilts in real life...we will be at the Morden Barnswallow Quilt show. Friday from 10-8:00, Saturday 10 - 5:00 and Sunday 12-5:00. We will have many quilts in the show as well as a booth. Come by.

2009-04-20T14:09:00.002-06:00

Just a little tease...

The sewing machines have been humming around here for the past few months. I wish I could show you all of the projects, but unfortunately, you will have to wait until fall, when we will be in just about every quilt magazine on the shelves!

My house has been a busy place again, with boxes coming and going. I just sent off a queen size quilt, to American Patchwork & Quilting. Those of you who were at our local sewing day, you will remember the project. I can tell you, now that Jacquie has quilted it - it is STUNNING.

Cori was also working on another project on our sewing day, which will be featured in McCalls Quick Quilts. I can't show you the front of it, but here is a small glimpse of the back. Our friend Karen quilted this one for us, and it is perfect!

Both of these quilts were made using Heather Bailey's fabric collections, but they both have a very different styling from each other.

Since I can't show the quilts that we did send away, I can show you one that is staying right here. I have always wanted to do our Lemon Slice quilt, in prints, and two weeks ago, I had a chance to dig through our scrap basket, and made one. I love it. The picture truly doesn't do it justice, but hopefully I will have it quilted by fall, and then I will have something for 'show & tell' at our quilting retreat.

See you soon.

myra

2009-04-20T07:48:00.003-06:00

Updates!

I have had some inquiries about the retreat, here's the specifics.

7th annual bmd Retreat
October 16th - 18th 2009

Friday 7pm start
Saturday 8 am - whenever you go to bed!
Sunday 8 am - 3 pm

Accomodations
Heartland Inn, Winkler MB

Retreat Package
$350.00 cnd - per person
Rates are based on two-person occupancy
Two night stay and 5 meals and snacks.

Registration
$200.00 deposit at time of registration
$150.00 final payment due August 31 2009

check, Master card & Visa accepted
(**no cancellations accepted)

email Cori to register.

We will have 15 patterns and kits to choose from, as well as fabric for purchase. Goodies and door prizes!

coming soon...

Our new website will be up and running this week, stay tuned.

Etsy

Here is the direct link to our shop on Etsy.

~cori

2009-04-17T07:43:00.002-06:00

What's new?

Things are just a buzzing around here. Quilts and fabrics have been flooding in around for the past couple of weeks. Very exciting stuff! We are also working on a few on-line options. You will notice that our website is down for a short while, due to a NEW site coming VERY SOON and very exciting. A new and very much improved shop will make shopping easier, new products, new patterns, new fabrics, what's better than that? We also have en Etsy shop were our patterns and such are also available. (as well as a few finished quilts too!).

We are also getting ready to attend the Barnswallow Quilt show in Morden MB, May 1-3 '09. Be sure to come and check out all the new stuff there.

Every year for the past 7 years we have held our "Hometown Retreat" in Winkler. We have so many regulars that we have not really been advertising it. This year we are happy to say that we have opened up 4 more spots due to the fact that we have more space available to us. Think quick because these spots won't be there for long. If you are interested you can email Me to register. The package includes 2 night stay at the Heartland Inn, your meals and snacks, a great place to sew, be inspired and make new friends!

~cori

2009-04-14T09:20:00.005-06:00

Right back at ya!

Do you EQ? We do. Just about everyday! If you are unsure what I am taking about, it is our EQ quilting program. I have been using the EQ (Electric Quilt) program since version 4, way back in the 90's. It literally transformed the way that Cori and I designed quilts. Now we can very quickly change the size of blocks, re-arrange color placement, or draw our own unique quilts, in a matter of minutes.

Well, just a short time ago, EQ mentioned our Plan B contest on their blog...and so we are returning the favor. If you want to see some amazing things that quilters are creating on their computers, check out their site.

EQ has a lot of really great products, and we were fortunate to design a program for them a few years ago. I mistakenly keep calling it the 'Down in the Valley' CD, which is a huge error, because that was the name of the book! Our EQ CD, which features many similar houses, is actually called "Town & Country". So, please forgive me for continually mis-quoting the name. And thanks Sarah, for pointing that out to me.

There is much more to share, so I will see you soon!
myra

2009-04-07T13:26:00.000-06:00

Playing with fabric

I must admit, playing around with fabric, and folding them into neet little piles is one of my secret joys. This past week I have been busy folding bundles, kits, and fat quarters, and tying all of them up with a bow.

For those of you who live close to us, you can stop in at Annie's Sewing Center (204-331-1344) here in Winkler, to see all of the great new fabrics that we have been working with. And for those of you who are a little further away, you will have to have just a bit more patience. We are hard at work creating some new and exciting shopping options for you. And we will let you know all about them as soon as we can.

See you soon.
myra

2009-04-04T13:51:00.002-06:00

A very RARE sight!

This picture was taken of us by Shelia at our sewing day that was held in March. We had a nice group of ladies from Steinbach area, Portage La Prairie, Gladstone and Winkler. We had a lovely room at our local Library with lots of natural light. Everyone worked on their own projects and Myra and I even got a chance to finish up 2 quilts that will be published in McCall's and American Patchwork & Quilting this fall! I don't recall the last time Myra and I sewed together.

We will more than likely be holding another sewing day in the fall and we will be sure to let you know.

Another thing I would like to let you know is we have made news on the EQ blog! They are all a buzz about our Plan B contest. If you haven't checked out the plan b blog, check it out.

The other exciting news is we are re-building our website. One of the major re-build components is the new shop. It has a great layout, more pictures, descriptions and easier to get around in. So looking forward to sharing the great reveal with you soon.

2009-04-03T18:41:00.002-06:00

what we inspire...

These 2 pictures were sent to me from Susan in Indiana. She shared these 2 baby quilts with us -we inspired her!! I could see it right away... an asymmetrical layout of the baseball quilt. In the Winnie the Pooh quilt, each of the pictures are appliques. She used coloring pages of the character she wanted and traced it on to a fusible web. Susan then used a satin stitch around each piece. Great work Susan and congratulations on becoming a grandma!!

If we have inspired you in some way or another, send your pictures to me or myra. We would love to see your designs.

~c

2009-03-30T12:03:00.000-06:00

They think of us as EXPERTS!

Did any of you read the latest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting? Then you might have found the issue that is chalked full of all our brilliant insights! A few months ago we were asked for our opinion on certain quilting topics, which the editors complied into their 'Top Tips' issue. I honestly couldn't remember all of my answers, until I read them in the magazine. It is fun to see what others think when we are all asked to answer the same question. And did you see who was all interviewed? There were some very impressive names on that list!

Here's a question they didn't ask. What's the worst thing about your job? And for me, it is definitely having my picture taken. The article also reminded me, that when this snow actually melts, Cori and I need to go out and do another 'author photo' to give to the magazines. They keep pulling out our old pictures, so I guess it is time to get them a new one. It's like school picture day, only worse. But really, that is the only downfall to a pretty fun job.

See you soon.
myra

2009-03-30T11:43:00.002-06:00

New Patterns on the way.

Here is the first look at some of our "hot of the press" projects that we have been finishing this past week.

The top and bottom photo's are Zippidy do da baby & twin size quilts. These projects are included in the same pattern. We used Cozy Cotton flannels by Robert Kaufman. Kits will be available our website in brown/blue and pink/green colorways in both sizes! Patterns & kits should be available in our shop next week!

The next project is impressionist. This is a wall hanging using charm packs and a little extra yardage. Pattern & kits will also be available for this project featuring Sultry by Basic Grey for Moda.

Be sure to visit our site's shop for all our new spring releases!
...there will be more on the way soon!

~c

2009-03-30T07:58:00.000-06:00

Catching up!

Oh my! There is so much to talk about, that it is hard to know where to start! The past week or two have flown by, and now I have to try to remember everything that has happened. But now that I am older, I may tend to forget a thing or two...like picking a winner in my birthday draw. I picked #10, Terry, so if you drop me your mailing address (myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com) I will send you some of my favorite fabrics.

We are into spring break, and so the kids are home, for a much deserved rest. My youngest has decided to get sick one more time this year, so she will stay tucked in under her quilts, while my son will explore every mud puddle in Southern Manitoba. For those of you who live around here, I think I should let you know that it is actually Cori's fault that we got this last dump of snow. We have a beautiful winter quilt coming back from the quilters today, and Cori said "I wish we had some snow to photograph this quilt on" and sure enough, a blizzard blew into town. So we are going to quickly photograph the cover, and then all the snow can melt away.

And for those of you who live in the States, and may not know where we live, just watch CNN. My husband bugs me that I am a CNN junkie, and it is true. All this week they have been talking about the flooding in Fargo, North Dakota. Well, when all of that water heads north along the Red River, it will enter into Canada, just 45 minutes east of where we live. So now you have a general idea of where to find us on a map. Cori said that the Dead Horse Creek that runs behind their house has already crested, so she should be fine and dry.

Well, there is much more to say, so I will be back soon, but first I need to track down some pictures. A blog without pictures just isn't right.

See you soon.
myra

2009-03-24T09:18:00.001-06:00

Another Mystery

I just got this photo from our friend Peggy, in Ontario. She did the mystery using a Holly Taylor charm pack, and added a few borders to make it larger. Thanks for sharing it with us!

-myra

2009-03-23T08:46:00.002-06:00

Mystery Project update
Some of you are curious as to how the mystery project worked out. Here are 2 photo's we received from participants. Great Job everyone! I like how you customized by adding borders to make it larger. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you have a photo of your mystery quilt email it to Myra and we can post more of them on the blog. And...they don't have to be quilted, they can just be the quilt top.

~c

2009-03-22T20:57:00.004-06:00

Have you ever wondered...

What happened to our plan b? Well it's back. I have updated the blog with some photo's and more to come. I will make the big reveal this week!

Oh, and Myra will be picking the winner of her 1 yd old birthday contest too. Check back to see if you are the winner.

And for those of you how couldn't make it to our sewing day it was a great success! We had a great day of interacting, sharing how to's and finishing projects. Thanks ladies for a great day. It was requested that we do it again so we will let you know when the next sewing day is and maybe you to can join us.

~c

2009-03-19T07:22:00.001-06:00

Guess who....

has joined the 1 yard club? That's right Myra is 1 yard old today. We will play the same game as she did for my birthday. Post a birthday wish comment for her and you will be entered to win 1 yard of fabric! Sound like a plan?

What else is new you ask? Our 1st annual bmd sewing day in Winkler is set to happen on Saturday. I must say I am really looking forward to it. We have a great group of ladies coming and we are really excited to host this event.

I also have been brainstorming about some new ideas for the blog and our newsletter, so hopefully next week I can start sharing about those ideas. I just have to get some pictures together first.

We are also working on a new project for Robert Kauffman fabrics...that's exciting.

But anyway...Happy Birthday Myra, we hope you have a great day!!

~c

p.s Myra, are you wondering were I got this picture...I have been saving it for a long time. wink,wink.

2009-03-11T07:54:00.002-06:00

Home...from a short trip to paradise!

I went on my first trip south and let me tell you...relaxation was an awesome experience. Not thinking or worrying how things were going at home but just enjoying the company and our surroundings! BUT it is back to reality, cold weather, work, routine. I think I still had my feet in the sand when we got back, trying desperately to hold on to holiday mode, but needless to say it didn't work. Life pulled me back in full force.
Myra has been filling you all in on our projects in progress. I too will be doing the same in a few days as I fire up my sewing machine (I had it serviced while I was away!)

And while I was away Myra had a little happy birthday contest for me. I am assuming that you are all waiting for the winner to be announced.... #7 Deanna Gipson. Deanna, email myra your address myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com . She will send out your gift. And to the rest of you that entered, THANKS so much for all the great comments and bday wishes. I had the best birthday ever.

2009-03-10T15:05:00.002-06:00

Great Expectations

I am stopping by for a very quick minute, to show you what is on our cutting table. It doesn't look like much, and the colors are a unique combination of solids, but when it is done, it will be stunning. And I would love to show you a picture of it, but you will have to wait until the December issue of American Patchwork & Quilting before you can see the final product!

See you soon.

myra

2009-03-02T12:31:00.003-06:00

Coming soon to a quilt shop near....us.

As I looked at my calendar today, I realized how much time has passed since the beginning of the year. And during that time, some of you (Hi Marlene!) were wondering if we found the edge of the earth, and fell off. Well, the truth is quite the opposite, and today, I can begin to start telling you about it.

Since the start of this year, Cori and I have freed ourselves from some responsibilities, and took on others. Our passion is design, and we have taken the steps to get back to that. We have been working with several different fabric companies, and you will be seeing a lot of new quilts, made with some of the best available fabrics. We pieced, and produced 10 quilts in January alone, and this snap-shot is the first of many that you will be seeing.

Robert Kaufman sent us samples from a beautiful new flannel collection, called Cozy Cotton, and asked us if we had any idea's. Oh, did we ever! This is the 'Cutie Pie' pattern that Kaufman loved, and has decided to kit. The flannel, and kits are now available in the US, and we will be bringing them into our shop in the next few weeks. We have also learnt, that we will be the only supplier of the Cutie Pie kits in Canada...so if anyone is interested, please drop us a note.

Cori also designed a special bed quilt for her daughter out of the same fabric line, and as soon as it is finished, we will post it.

There are MANY more fabric collections that have been pouring into our studios from Moda, Robert Kaufman, and Freespirit, and we will let you in on all the details as soon as we can.

You will also be seeing a lot more of us in magazines. We will have 4 quilts published before the end of the year, and I can't wait for you to see the first one. It's an adorable baby quilt using the Mingle line from Robert Kaufman, and that's the only clue you get right now.

So keep checking back, because we have lots to share with you.

see you soon.

myra

2009-03-02T12:28:00.002-06:00

More inspiration.....

I just wanted to post another quilt top that was sent to us this past week. This quilt was done by our friend Jill who was from Indiana...but was recently transplanted further east. Jill pieced this project for her guild as their Red Cross fundraiser quilt. The layout of the quilt is based on our Nantucket Rose quilt, but Jill changed the color palette, and she used a very special block as the center. The middle applique is a block that was designed for her guild by Kim Diehl! Now that is cool.

Thanks for letting us share this Jill

See you soon.

myra

2009-03-01T13:58:00.001-06:00

One of our favorite things....

We absolutely LOVE sharing pictures of quilts with you. Because new quilts inspire us, we want to share them, and hopefully they give you new ideas as well.

We recently got this photo from Sharon, who lives right here in the cold, snow-covered Provence of Manitoba. Isn't it cool? Sharon based her quilt on one of our designs. Our quilt was done in fall colored flannels, but with a simple change to the color palette, Sharon has given a completely new and modern look to the same design. I was completely impressed with her fabric choices, and I hope you are inspired by them too.

Thanks for sharing it with us Sharon!

See you soon.
myra

2009-02-26T19:33:00.006-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORI!!!

Well...today happens to be some body's birthday! I was searching through photo's and decided to use this one again...because it depicts our life. We are surrounded by quilts and kids, and this is where we love to be. (side note - this is not one of our baby's in the photo, but rather our youngest student in Indiana.)

And yesterday Cori and I decided to refer to our age in a new language. Today, Cori is a full yard. :) And when we turn 40, really we will just be 1 1/8 yds. And 45 won't be so bad, because 1 1/4 yds isn't very much. But we will NOT refer to our age in the metric system....otherwise, Cori just turned 100.

So please stop by, and leave Cori a Happy Birthday note, and she will pick one of you to share in her special day, by sending you a beautiful sampling of fabric.

See you soon.

myra

P.S. Kudos to Diane from South Carolina! She remembered today was Cori's day before we ever mentioned it.

2009-02-26T19:23:00.002-06:00

Cori's Mystery Quilt

Tonight as I was going down 'memory quilt lane' I found this picture of Cori's mystery quilt. I know that many of you have been working on this project, and patiently waiting for our instructions. (Thanks for the help Karen!)

And we would love to see your versions.....

-myra

2009-02-25T13:45:00.010-06:00

Mystery Solved

Layout your charm square blocks in 7 rows of 5 blocks, scattering the dark and light blocks in a pattern that you like.

Here's the original concept:

Bind and 'quilt as desired'.
Hope you enjoyed making yours. Be sure to send pictures!

- Karen (for Cori & Myra)

2009-02-25T08:33:00.004-06:00

ANNOUNCING...

Bmd Sew Day in Winkler

Who: you and a friend!

What: Work on your own one of your own projects or start a new one. We will have some fabrics and patterns available for sale.

Where: Winkler Library conference room (great lighting!)

When: March 21, 2009, 9:00 – 5:00

$40.00 includes lunch and fee must be paid at time of registration.

Only a few spots left!

2009-02-17T11:35:00.007-06:00

Mystery Monday Step #4

I have been without internet for a whole week. Still don't have the problem fixed so I am blogging from Myra's.
(corrections - sorry)

Block B
Make 18 Blocks

18 – charm squares
36 - 2 ½” x 5” strips of your light fabric
36 – 2 ½” x 9 ” strips of your light fabric

Sew a 2 ½” x 5 ” strip of your light fabric to
each side of your charm square.

Sew a 2 ½” x 9 ” strip of your light fabric to the top and bottom of your charm square. Press. Repeat until you have 18 blocks.

These are the exact same blocks as the previous. As soon as I have my internet problems solved I will post the assembly instructions.

~cori

rcderksen@mts.net

2009-02-10T09:12:00.006-06:00

Mystery quilt step #3

Make 7 blocks

7 – charm squares
14 - 2 ½” x 5 ” strips of your dark fabric
14 – 2 ½” x 9" strips of your dark fabric

Sew a 2 ½” x 5 ” strip of your dark fabric to
each side of your charm square.

Sew a 2 ½” x 9 ” strip of your dark fabric to the top and bottom of your charm square. Press. Repeat until you have 7 blocks.

Enjoy!

We are having rain/freezing rain day! No school for two days now.

~Cori

2009-02-03T18:51:00.005-06:00

Good morning and happy sewing.

CORRECTIONS ARE IN RED - sorry (Thanks Diane- yes charm squares are 5" squares!)
You will just have to trim your pieces if you have already cut them.

Charm Mystery Quilt

Finished Size: 42 1/2" x 59 1/2”
Finished block size: 8 1/2” x 8 1/2"

Block A

Make 10 Blocks

10 – charm squares /5" x 5"

20 - 2 ½” x 5 ” strips of your medium fabric
20 – 2 ½” x 9 ” strips of your medium fabric

Sew a 2 ½” x 5 " strip of your medium fabric to each side of your charm square.

Sew a 2 ½” x 9” strip of your medium fabric to the top and bottom of your charm square. Press.

Repeat until you have 10 blocks.

The next step will be Next Monday! Happy sewing. Sorry about the error!

~Cori

2009-01-31T07:52:00.002-06:00

Mystery Quilt #2

Here is it the LONG awaited mystery quilt. But first, we have been very inspired and creative over this last month! Myra & I have designed somewhere in the realm of 10 quilts this month alone. Finding Fabrics and writting instructions ect. has been at the top of the list of things to do this year, so please forgive us for not getting this pattern up sooner. Here goes.

Yardages

1 charm pack;
35- 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" squares

Light fabric;
1 1/2 yds

Medium fabric;
3/4 yd

Dark fabric;
3/4 yd

Binding;
6 strips - 2 1/2" x width of fabric

(hints; my charm pack was very medium toned fabrics and my light and dark fabrics were very high contrast. My light, medium & dark fabrics were calm tone on tone prints.)

Have fun picking your fabrics!! I will have the first set of instructions up by Wednesday.

p.s we would love to hear what you are up to and what your favorite fabrics are this month.

~c

2009-01-01T15:15:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

Have you made your resolutions? I haven't. Maybe more like a list of projects to finish! I don't have that many, but bmd has a few to get quilted, right Myra?

Keep your eyes open for the next mystery quilt...coming soon.

If you are looking for a new project to start...check out www.bluemeadowdesigns.com and go to the shop.

Thanks for your support this last year and we look forward to a GREAT 2009!!

~c

2008-12-24T22:26:00.001-06:00

A very Merry Christmas

I thought I would share some Manitoba Snow with those of you who may not have any!
And here is a fire to keep you warm this holiday season.

I know we have been MIA, but...we have been hard a work planning for 2009 (and beyond) We thank you for your patience as we have not been blogging. We will be back in the swing of things January 5th (the kids will be back at school). Myra and I are looking forward to a little rest time and be ready for you all in the new year.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

See you in 2009!

~c & m

2008-12-02T13:27:00.002-06:00

We are here!

OH were to start! Some of you have been wondering were we are and we are still here, but it is the season. The house is decorated, gifts are pretty much bought, christmas baking is in full swing (almost done!) and the kids Christmas concerts start tonight. And that's just me, then there is Myra's holiday prep, So I hope you can forgive us for not being active on the blog.

Myra and I decided that everyone is busy this time of year and we all want something to look forward to in the new year. SO...please wait for the next mystery quilt it will start at the beginning of January (not the 1st, just wait and watch!)

~cori

2008-11-23T23:21:00.003-06:00

Weekend Update

I just wanted to share some of the photo's that came into the office this past week.
This top picture is the mystery project, that was made by Myra...not me, but another Myra. This is the second Myra that I have met through quilting. However, I have never met another Cori in the quilting world. If there is another one out there, please drop us a line.

And we also got this great photo. This is Norma, who was at our fall retreat, and has just completed her quilt top. Which begs the questions, how is it going with the rest of you who were there??

Thanks Myra and Norma for sharing those updates with us. And we hope that you keep in touch with your next projects.

-the other Myra

2008-11-19T08:26:00.001-06:00

Are you looking ?

For a quick Christmas project? Either for your table or for a gift?? Here is my recommendation, sweet petunia! Our sample is done in spring/summer colors but with all of the inspiration of our mystery project this last month, I thought, why not turn this into Christmas? Then it would become a sweet pointseta. The flowers (12 of them) are paper pieced. The project goes together very quickly. Go to http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/ and click on shop to purchase your pattern for only $7.99.

2008-11-18T16:42:00.001-06:00

It helps to nag....

I knew nagging produces results...even if my husband would disagree. I just received these pictures from my friend Anne, who has not only finished piecing her project, but as also finished quilting it. (I think it helps that she has a QBOT.)

And apparently the two little gold blocks up in the corner are not a mistake. They are there because they hold some deep meaningful insight from her husband. And that's all I am going to say about that. If you want a better explanation, you need to contact Wolfgang directly. :)

Now I am back to bed. I think my winter flu has down-graded it's self to sinus/head cold. Unfortunately, this new diagnosis has also down-graded my families sympathies.

See you soon.

-myra

2008-11-17T15:52:00.007-06:00

Mystery Solved!

Every week, we get countless business e-mails that need to be answered and delt with, but this week, I got a few messages popping into my inbox, that had photos attached showing me the Monday Mystery project.

I am so grateful to all of you who sent in photo's. I know a few of you who did the mystery, and DID NOT send me a picture, so I want you to know that I will be bugging you about it, and holding it over your head for the next year or so.

But let me introduce you to the following....

Mystery # 1 - By Peggy, from Northern Ontario.

Mystery # 2 - By Norma, from B.C.

2008-11-17T15:51:00.007-06:00

Mystery #3 - By Jill, from Indiana

Mystery # 4 - By Marlene, from Manitoba.

Mystery # 5 - By Diane, from SC.

Mystery # 6 - By Mary Grace.

Isn't it amazing, how one project can look so different, when seen through the eyes of others? I really enjoyed seeing what colors all of you chose to work with.

And the winner of the charm pack featuring Robyn Pandolph's new fabrics - is Mary Grace. If you would kindly send your mailing address to myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com I will happily send the package over to your home.

I do intend to start another mystery next week using charm squares, but you will have to pardon me tonight, as I am going to tuck myself back into bed, and finish having a good old fashioned winter flu.

Talk to you soon.

-myra

2008-11-16T14:48:00.002-06:00

Charming Sunday Afternoon

I have to get ready for our Sunday evening guests, but I decided I would steal a moment to share two photo's with you. Since we are on the topic of charm squares, I thought I would post these.

This top quilt is a little project from our friend Jill, who sewed all of her charm blocks together, and then appliqued the three remaining blocks on top! Very cleaver.

And this is a simple little table runner that I made out of a set of charm squares. Do all of you (who were there) remember the snow storm that hit the Dryden Quilt Show? Well, it gave me some free time, so I ran over to another booth, bought a charm pack, and cut them up. (I was tempted to borrow a sewing machine from one of the dealers there, and finish the whole thing in a day.) But I waited until I was home, and stitched it up. It doesn't have a border, or binding. I wanted the blocks right to the edge, so I turned it inside out before quilting.

Enjoy, and I will be back tomorrow to show you some pictures of the mystery projects that have been sent my way.

-myra

2008-11-13T11:17:00.001-06:00

Inspiration Thursday

What do you do with those cute little charm packs you buy? Well my Niece simply sewed them together, nothing fancy but fun and a cute way to decorate her room! Her mom-my SIL machine quilted a cute pinwheel design in each block (this was her first machine quilting project - I was wondering if she was for hire!) Just so you know my niece was 10 years old when she made this.

So this is my challenge...make a charm square quilt either for your self or better yet a niece, daughter, grand-daughter or friend. A simple was to get bit by the quilting bug.

p.s our next project for mystery Mondays will be a charm square project! Can't wait.

~cori

2008-11-11T13:13:00.005-06:00

It's Monday - One more time!!

I FINALLY got it!!! Thanks to your e-mails, I finally figured out what was wrong on my diagram!! You are all correct, I have the wrong diagram posted! Where are my handy editors when I need them!! I will go back into that entry, and post the right diagram. I simply entered the one that I had in my file, and I never saw the differences. I honestly had to look at it 4 times to see the mistake in the corner blocks. Anyway, I apologize, and I hope to fix it quickly. And then...finally....Monday can be over....I hope.

-myra

2008-11-11T09:48:00.008-06:00

It's still Monday....

Due to some gremlins living in my computer, these pictures were not able to load into the last post, but I wanted to share them with you.

This is the original quilt that Cori designed, and hand quilted for me...about 9 years ago. I quickly took a picture of it outside, so that you could see how she quilted it. Cori outlined the blocks (stitch in the ditch) and then quilted a 1" grid diagonally across the rest of the project.

So what will your project look like???

I just decided, that for those of you who have taken on the challenge of my little mystery, I will be giving away a little prize. Send me a picture of your mystery (just the pieced top) and I will enter your name to win this charm pack. Robyn Pandolph has designed a line for RJR, and the fabrics were just released two weeks ago at Quilt Market. But we just happened to have a few advanced samples in the studio, and I would love to share them with one of you.

I will give you until next Monday to send me your picture, and be enterd for the prize. (And YES - I will post all of the pictures for you to see.)

And a huge Thank You for all of you who participated in this adventure. I have never been daring enough to join a mystery club, and so I am grateful to all of you who trusted me to lead you down a blind path...where you cut up precious fabric, without knowing if you were even going to like the end result. If you want to do it again...just let me know.

See you soon.

-myra

2008-11-09T20:55:00.008-06:00

Mystery Monday @ Myra's

It is still Monday...(somewhere in the world) so I am not officially late with this post. I have had a few glitches, trying to get this together, and I may have to add the polish to it in the morning, but at least it will give you the bones of the project.
Is everyone caught up on their homework? I hope so, because today I want to show you the final layout, the borders, and a picture of my finished project.

I am having problems up-loading some of my images, so unfortunately I can only post two graphics. If you have all of your blocks together, lay them out in the following five horizontal rows...and then join the rows together.

Each of the block will have a finished size of 4 1/2", and you will have 5 rows, with 5 blocks in each row.

Adding the borders. Sew your half square triangles of your border print, to the half square triangles of your accent fabric. Sew a half square block to each end of a long border strip, and add to each side of the center blocks. (note on the direction the half squares should be facing) Do the same for the top and bottom borders strips, however you will need to add a 2" x 2" square to each end as well.

And now...layer, quilt, and bind! (and then wrap it up, and put it under the Christmas tree for someone special.)

2008-11-07T11:22:00.003-06:00

Fun Day Friday

I won't even START to tell you about the snow storm that blasted over our town last night! The kids of course are in heaven, bundled up to their noses, and playing in the white, wet, snow. Winter has officially hit Winkler. So I am snuggling down under a pile of quilts, with my computer, and some quilting books.

I was recently looking through a book that I bought at the quilt show in Regina this past fall. And these are two quilts that I absolutely LOVE! The book is "Wisconsin Quilts' by Ellen Kort, and it showcases a lot of historical quilts from the state. If you didn't already know that I am a history buff, it will soon become evident.

These are two quilts in the book that caught my attention right away. The owner of both of the following baby quilts is listed as Delores Sundeen, and I am just a little envious of her.

The quilts caught my attention, but as I read the history of them, they began to have a new beauty to them. In 1933, a new President was elected to the White House, where he had to face a tough economic problem. (sound familiar??) One of the programs that Franklin Roosevelt created was the 'Works Progress Administration', where they created work relief jobs, to provide income for the unemployed.

Through this program, the Milwaukee County started a unique program, that employed women in handcrafts. Long story short - they learned to make quilts. They used the best solid fabrics available, but they did not put any batting into the blankets, because it was too costly.

Delores Sundeen was a forth grade teacher from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and was able to purchase three baby quilts made by these gifted women.

These two quilts are examples of how a great design can be made out of simple fabrics. I love the simplicity, and 'modern' styling that is found in both of these quilts.

The Small Rocking Horse pattern, and The Deer and Butterflies pattern, were both made between 1935 - 1940, and were made by the Milwaukee State Teachers College.

So my compliments to these women, for they were truly ahead of their time. During a very hard era, they came together as a collective group, and created beautiful quilts that provided warmth to the children, and inspiration to future generations.

Keep warm, and I will see you on Monday.
-myra

2008-11-05T13:30:00.007-06:00

Our Fall Class List

Cori and I are very happy to be spending some time at home this fall, teaching classes at a local shop - Annie's Sewing Center, in Winkler, MB.

We have missed getting together with some of our local friends, and working on projects, and showing 'the ropes' to some new quilters who are anxious to start one their first quilt. So here is a brief review of what we have in store. Please note, that we will be having a new class list after Christmas.

Love Joy Peace is one of our favorite samplers. This quilt will show you all of the basic techniques of quilting: piecing, applique, bias vines, curved piecing, and a small touch of paper piecing. Due to all of the classes, we will run this course with 2 classes per month, beginning in January. This class will only begin in the new year, but it is necessary to pre-register, because there will be limited space.

Our hopscotch quilts are fun little baby quilts, that will introduce you to hand applique. The quilts are quick to make, and fun to give away.

2008-11-05T13:08:00.007-06:00

Prairie Lap Quilt is a favorite of Cori's, and we are excited to teach it as a class this fall. It is a great quilt for any beginner, because it will help you understand the basic principles of cutting and piecing.
Lemon Slice is a quilt that I really enjoy making. It is a wonderful quilt on which to practice your curved piecing. Someday I hope to make it again using bali print, or earth tones, which will give it a completely different look.

Sweet Petunia is a fast and fun table square that will teach you the basics of paper piecing. It is a small project, where you are able to feature one of your favorite fabrics in the center.

So if you are interested in any of these classes, please drop us an e-mail at myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com and I will send you an e-mail file will all of the class times, and other details.

Hope to see you there.
Myra & Cori

2008-11-05T11:03:00.003-06:00

Recipe's continued...

I had trouble with the last post for the brownie so here is a photo to go with that post.

Taco Dip

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tsp chilli powder

Whip together and spread on a platter.

Cover with 1 jar of mild salsa
1 layer of cheddar cheese.
1 layer of chopped green pepper.
1 layer chopped tomatoes.

Chill and serve.
Serve with a variety of tortilla chips.

2008-11-05T10:34:00.005-06:00

a new recipe!
actually 2 (because I owe you one!)

Chocolate Brownies

Step 1
1 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Step 2
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
2-3 Tbspn Cocoa

Step 3
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp vanilla

Sift flour together with sugar and salt.
In a saucepan put margarine, water, oil & cocoa. Bring to a boil and pour over flour mixture.
In another bowl, eggs, baking soda, buttermilk & vanilla.
Stir well and add to flour mixture. Bake in a greased and floured cookie sheet.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 min.
Ice in 10 min.

Icing
1/2 cup soft margarine
3 Tbspn cocoa
pinch of salt
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbspn milk

This brownie freezes well.

2008-11-03T12:53:00.008-06:00

Mystery Monday @ Myra's

It may be hard to believe, but today I will show you how to make the last block of this mystery project. Next week, I will show you how to do the quick little borders, and reveal my finished project.

Criss-Cross Apple-Sauce

Sew two, 2" x 2" squares of one accent color, to two other 2" x 2" squares of the other accent color. (the purple accent color is the same fabric that I used in my nine patch blocks, so what ever color you made your nine-patches, should be in the same place as my purple. Clear as mud?)

Add a 2" x 3 1/2" rectangle of your border print. Add this to the right side of your four patches.

Sew a 2" x 2" square of your accent color (same as your nine patches) as sew it to the right side of a 2" x 3 1/2" rectangle of your border print.

Sew your first unit on top of this last unit to form a block.

Repeat these steps until you have 4 corner blocks.

We are almost done! And next week your mystery will be solved. See you then.

-myra

2008-10-29T16:39:00.003-06:00

Talk Tuesday

Q: Why are you posting a question for Talk Tuesday on Wednesday?
A: Because Cori was sick, and Myra was in charge. Enough said.

But here is the real question that we are going to answer today.

Q: Are there any designers that inspire you?
A: We are going to be very bold, and tell the truth. No. Are all of you shocked and surprised?

There is one part of me (Myra) that is inspired by a quilt designer who was at her prime 100 years ago. Her name is Marie Webster, and she has been the only one who has inspired me by her works. But she represents only one part of the quilts that I like to design.

But if you stand back, and look at the industry, there are actually very few quilt designers. There are a TON of fabric designers, but have you noticed that most of them don't quilt? Most of the big designers create stunning fabrics, but they don't know what to do with them. They may make smaller projects, that only use one or two fabrics, but they honestly don't know how to design a quilt with the collection they have produced. But, this is where Cori and I come in. Fabric companies, and magazines hire us to design quilts using fabrics designed by others. We are often very inspired by fabrics, but we do not have another designer in the industry who we look at and say "now they know how to design a great quilt."

So, that is the post for today, but if you have any other questions you would like to ask us, just drop us an e-mail, and we will answer it here next Tuesday (or Wednesday).

-myra