I KNEW I FORGOT SOMETHING
YESTERDAY!!!

I talk to Cori about 3 times a day. And yesterday - all day - I knew that I was forgetting something. NOW I remember.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Cori & Randy!

I had to do some serious picture diving to find this one. (unlike Cori, who has all of her pictures neatly scrapbooked)

So I hope you guys had a great anniversary. And maybe I should wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Birthday, before I forget those dates too.

-myra

Our latest trip....Regina SK
(I chose green for the title in honor of the Roughrider fans!)

Yes, we were on the road again and we went out to Regina to their quilt show. This was the 3rd time that we had been to Regina and it did not disappoint. We drove 6 hours there and a 6 hours home...what do we do during our car rides? plan, discuss, create, giggle, eat & contribute to the amount of road kill on the road. It was my turn to drive this time, so we packed the car (jam packed) and hit the road on Friday morning. We want to thank the Regina quilt guild for their invitation as well as their support, compliments, kind words and encouragement! It was fun talking to our supporters. Where next...back to Moosiman SK on Thursday for Shirley's customer appreciation evening. See you there.

~cori

About last weekend....


Is it really Thursday night already?? I guess it is, because I am re-packing my bags for this this weekend. And then I realized that I haven't even filled you in on our last weekend. I know that I won't remember to mention all of the great stories, but here is a brief overview of our time away.


Last Friday, we drove 6 hours east, into Northern Ontario. We went up to see an old friend who has a quilt shop in Sioux Lookout. It's called Serenity Quilts, and when you are there, you might experience the same conflict I did. I was torn between going into the shop and being surrounded by fabric, or going down to the lake that is right beside it.

I took a small detour to the lake. What a great view! I hope all of the locals still appreciate this beautiful sight that they get to see every day.


Hazel has a lot of great quilters in her area, and we got to spend three days with them. Our first night we got to share a lot of our quilts with them when we gave a trunk show presentation. During the next two days, we helped to lead them through two different projects. Many of the students chose to do our Love Joy Peace sampler (which was Day 1 of our 100 Days.) Cori has just finished formatting the sampler into a real pattern, and it will be released to our distributors very shortly. The other students in the class chose to make our curved patch baby quilt. And somewhere along the way, the curved piecing was mistakenly called 'cursed piecing'. But everyone persevered, and by the end of the weekend, there were many great quilts taking shape. It is always interesting to see the same project, done by so many different women, who all choose their own colors, and add there own touches.

And here was the first clue that we were going to have a great time. When we checked into our hotel, Kathy sneaked up behind us, and surprised us. If you want to have a great quilting weekend, simply gather a bunch of quilters together in a room, and invite Kathy. By the end of the weekend you will have enough stories to keep you laughing through the longest Canadian winter.

Thank you Hazel for the great time. We came away inspired, energized, and well feed. (Thank your grand-daughter for the recipes. My kids loved the breakfast I made them, with a dish that we now call 'Danica's French Toast'.)

So, we are off again, with more to share with you soon.
Next stop - Regina, Saskatchewan.

myra

Roadtrip!

I wish I had a picture to post - but I will have to do that when we come back. Tonight I am packing my bags, and packing a car full of quilts, for our trip to Sioux Lookout, Ontario. We will be teaching and talking to quilters all weekend! And I hope to remember the camera this time, or I will be drawing more stick figure cartoons to describe the weekend.

This week we have also been busy sending things. We have 6 quilts at quilters right now, and catalogs and info. of our new patterns out to the distributors. You will be able to see many of these new project in the upcoming days, and we will interested to know your opinions.

So watch out Sioux Lookout - we are on our way.

myra

Do you see what I see?


We checked our mail last week, and were happily surprised to find the latest issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting. We had made 2 baby quilts for them in spring, and I was very curious to see how they would be photographed. Of course - as always - they did a great job.

The quilts are called Hopscotch, and they are made from our last fabric line, Completely Kids. And, the magazine will also give you information on how to order kits of these two quilts directly from Fons & Porter.

We hope that you will be able to find a copy on newsstands near you, and enjoy all of the projects found in this issue. I know that there are a few more quilts in there that I would really like to try this fall. I might have to try to schedule that in somewhere.....I know that I have a few days free in December....
See you again soon.
myra

Hiding out at Home.
Where have we been? Well, we are getting ready for next weekend, when we will be in Sioux Lookout (northern Ontario) and for the following weekend when we will be in Regina. So while we have to get ready for a lot of travelling, I have also been making frequent visits to my new local hide-out. I took these pictures a few months ago, (but lost them!) because I wanted to let all the locals know about my friends new shop. It's right here in Winkler, on Navigator road. (between Days Inn and Janzen's Pontiac)

Anne and her husband Wolfgang, opened the doors to their sewing center this spring, and since that time, they have continued to bring in really cool things. I don't have room for all of the pictures, so you will have to stop in and see for yourself.

Annie's Sewing Center is place where you can get service for your machines, or up-grade to the fancy-schmancy models that are on hand.

I had to put in a picture of this book. At first 'someone' didn't know that the title referred to sewing machine feet. So if you think of it in another context, it sounds like a very intriguing book.

But I was thankful that I could finally, buy Blendable thread at home! I use to stock up on thread when I was travelling out of town, but now, it is just down the road.


Do you know how men feel when they walk into a car dealership? Well, I think I get that feeling when I walk into a sewing machine dealership, and see the new and bright models just waiting to be touched. But so far, I have been really good, and have kept my hands in my pockets.

But I did find my a Wacom writing tablet! I have waited a long time to find one, and I know that it will help me with my design work in EQ. And if you hurry, I think there is one more left.

And really soon, we hope to have a teaching schedule out, listing all of the classes that we will be giving at Annie's this fall. So for all of you who live close by, drop us a line, and we will make sure that you get all of the info.

If you want to keep up with what is happening at the shop, you can also visit the blog at http://anniessewing.blogspot.com/.

And what else has been popping up at Annie's??

A lot of really nice fabrics. I won't mention names (like Irene) but a few of my friends really should take the time to poke their noses into the store. I think they may be surprised at what they see. I only took a picture of a few of my favorites, but there are a lot more to choose from.

Anne has started to carry some of the new and modern fabrics that I love to work with , and I think that you will enjoy them too. In our area we have a good selection of traditional fabrics, but Annie's style is a lot more contemporary, and I really enjoy that. You will also be seeing a lot of these fabrics in some of our new fall projects.

Also, let Anne know what you are looking for. There is a lot of fabrics out there in the market place, so if you are wanting to see anything specific, just let her know.

You also might find one or two of our quilts hanging around the shop. We have a large collection, and people often contact us wanting to know where they can go to see our quilts. Well, until we can afford our own museum (which is a long way off) you will be able to spot them around the store from time to time. And since I don't like to keep up the same quilt for too long, I will keep popping in and changing them around.

But I do admit, I think Lemon Slice goes nicely with their wall color.

And I had to include this picture. You can't actually see my name on it - but it is going to be mine someday soon. I have been secretly wanting this board for a long time, but thankfully no one locally carried it. Now, it is just down the road from my house, and sometime at night it calls out to me. OK, that might be a little dramatic, but I do think about it. You know you are middle aged when your dreams are about an ironing board.

I will see you soon. Because there is a lot more to talk about before the weekend.

-myra

Isn't this cool?


Today I get to share with you a great photo that got sent to us. It was made by a quilter named Debra, and I am grateful that she sent us a picture of her project.

The design she used was one that we created, and was published in American Patchwork & Quilting in June, 2006. The name of the project was 'B is for Baby', and we were asked by the magazine to do the quilt in two different colorways - for a girl, and a boy. So naturally we used the pink/ivory and blue/green fabrics from our first fabric collection. In our quilts, the center monogram is a scripted B, which is stands for baby.

What I LOVE about this picture, is that Debra did what we hope all quilters will do with our designs. She made it her own. She looked past the colors of our quilts, and was able to see this quilt in black & white. Doesn't it look sophisticated? I think this baby must have a very chic baby room. And Debra also put the baby's initial in the center, instead of the generic B.

This quilt made me smile today, and I hope it did for you too.

See you soon.
myra

Running at full speed

OUR KIDS ARE ALL IN SCHOOL!!!! Did you hear the cries of joy from where you live? Where we live, our kids went back to school, with a staggered entry, right after the September long weekend. We LOVE our kids, and we have had 9 years of being stay-at-home (and working) mom's. But this year, our two youngest kids are in school full time. Cori and I have always said "imagine what we will be able to do when we have the whole day to ourselves." And so far, we are getting a lot done with this new found freedom.

There is so much to talk about, that I think it will take several entries for me to accomplish it all. But here is a start.

Cori is finishing up work on our fall catalogs for our distributors. We have added at least 8 new patterns, which are all very unique, and very different from each other. We will love to see what you think of them.

And if Mr. Schaefer is wondering what I was so frantically writing out math equations for during my daughters Tae Kwon Do class, it was for this quilt.

I have been back at the sewing machine, and running through spools of thread. Cori and I have had a collection of Joel Dewberry fabric on hand for a few months, and we were unsure what we wanted to create with it. I was thinking of new intricate blocks, and very modern layouts, when suddenly, it was clear, we were going to go back to the basics. Sometimes as designers we are so concerned about creating 'new - never seen before' blocks, that we forget about some of our old favorites. This is a basic log cabin, created to use the new large prints that are now on the market. I fussy-cut out the center block, which is 4", and then added the chunky 2" logs all around...and so we have named it our 'Chunky Log Cabin' . And if I keep on the pressure, and get it finished, it will be one of our new fall releases.

Talk to you soon,
myra

Congratulations JILL PESTI of Fort Wayne, Indiana!

After pouring over all of the submissions that came in, something kept us going back to Jill's project. When we look at her quilt, we have a lot of ideas of what we can do with it. And we hope that she will be OK with the fact that her finished quilt is going to look way different than her original....because this one is going to be cut up, and really changed.

We struggled with almost every entry, because we wanted to help everyone fix their 'road-block' so that they could finish their quilt. Some projects have had small things go wrong, and some projects took a wrong turn without anyone knowing it was wrong until it was too late. We do hope that now that you have pulled these projects out of the closet, that you will take another look at them, and maybe ask a quilting friend to help you find a new direction to take with it. When we worked in a quilt shop for 11 years, we would often find quilters bringing in quilts that needed fixing, and I would suggest this for many of you. And good quilt shop should be able to offer you help and assistance in finishing your project into a spectacular quilt.

And from the entries, we have made a few observations.

1. Free download patterns are not always accurate. These patterns are put out there fast and easy, so that you will buy the fabric to make them, but usually no one has been paid to 'test' them.

2. Large blocks of fabric on point, can get wavy. This was the case in several entries. Sometimes if the 'waves' are not too severe, they can be quilted out. But we have noticed that the larger the area is that is 'on point' the easier it is for it to wave out. This is often because of the long stretch of bias in the blocks is being 'pulled' rather than 'fitting in'. So be cautious of these types of projects, because they can really stretch on you.

3. There is always a Plan b. But you might have to totally let go of what the quilt was 'suppose to look like' in order to finish it. And I totally understand how hard this can be. I have had projects that I have had to walk away from for YEARS before I could see them in another light. But it is a very gratifying experience to go back and finish that project.

So keep watching here as we reveal Jill's quilt, and we keep you up to date on what is going to happen to it.

-Cori & Myra

Plan b submissions - closed

Well, it is officially 12:17 am on Sept. 1st, and I have checked my e-mails for any last minute entries into our Plan b contest....and there were a few. Cori and I had our late night chat, and we have decided on one project. And trust me when I say, that it has been a painful process. It was fun and exciting to see so many projects, and we can honestly say that we wish we could do them all. (We have already started talking about our next Plan B contest..so you never know...)

And the stories! Wow, I wish I could tell all of you about them! One thing that became clear to me as I read through all of the entries, was how much quilters lovingly create and share their gifts with others. Quilters take a part of themselves, and stitch it into a quilt, and then give that gift to someone who is grieving, or celebrating a milestone, or starting a new life. These stories truly reflect what it is to be a quilter. And I feel sorry for those people who think we 'just make blankets'.

But THANK YOU to everyone who shared a piece of their (broken) dream with us. We hope that you won't put your UFO back into the closet, but look at it again in a new light, and try a new direction.

And who did win? Well, I will wait a few more hours (at least until dawn) and then make a phone call. You will find out who the lucky winner is very soon, and we will post all of her information on our other site - Plan b. You can get there by clicking onto that logo thingy on the right hand side of this blog.

See you soon.
myra

Our trip to Fort Wayne

There is SO MUCH to catch up on, that I almost don't know where to start. We had the most amazing trip to Fort Wayne to teach, then we had to come home...do laundry...fix the computer problems...do more laundry...get the kids ready for school next week...and try to ignore that fact that it feels like fall outside.

So let me start with our trip. We were teaching in Bluffton Indiana, so we flew into the Fort Wayne Airport, which is right next door. Apparently it was easy to spot us as the 'tourists' because we were taking so many pictures at the airport.

But from reading all of the touristy info that was available, we learnt that this was the home of Johnny Appleseed. Yes, he really was a real person.

We were brought down to teach in Bluffton by three quilt shops. They had decided to do our Love Joy Peace sampler quilt as their project, and to our delight, each shop made the quilt in VERY different colors. We loved seeing this, because it shows how different the same project can look. Which is your favorite version? We had 30+ students, and many of them picked their own colorways, so we spent half of our time teaching and guiding, and the other half of the time I was drooling over their fabric choices.

What I don't have space to show you, is all the quilts that were hanging around the room. I was inspired by their color combinations, and great quilting designs. This area of Indiana definitely has a collection of quilters who understand and embrace the new, bolder, fabrics that are coming into the market place. They understand how to put fabrics together, and their projects reflected their skills.

The result of seeing so may great projects, was that we had

to take a few trips down to Mary's quilt shop - Quilt's 'n Gifts. It has been a while since I have been in such a well stocked, and diverse quilt shop. This is a shop that has it all. The fabrics were very current, and tempting, and she had a great selection of patterns, and other notions. Cori and I worked very hard to restrain ourselves from taking home bolts of fabrics. It's a good thing we knew how much room we had in our luggage. But what is the best feature of Quilts 'n Gifts? The staff. If you are ever having a bad day, just go there and hang out with their staff. Even if you are not a quilter, it would be a good place to go to find friendship.

We were teaching at the local golf clubhouse, which was a great facility. We had plenty of space, good food, and a wall full of windows, that gave you this to look at.

I love quilting, but with a view like this, it was easy for me to get distracted.

We had a large group of quilters...some were experienced...some were beginners...and some were only 5 weeks old! This was baby Katie, and she is officially the youngest student that we have ever had in class.

And baby Katie never had trouble finding a pair of arms to hold her. Cori is so talented that she can teach, and baby sit at the same time. We wrote four books while having four babies, so guess the instincts of quilting and holding babies is pretty ingrained by now.

The following day, we were back at the golf clubhouse, but for a different reason. The room was full of quilters, who came for a wonderful Sunday brunch, and to hear us speak about some of our quilts. When we travel and talk about our quilts, we usually take along a powerpoint presentation to show examples of our work, and how we have designed some of our quilts - but we also take about a dozen quilts with us to show. This can be hard, because out of a collection of 125 quilts, only a few can fit into our 'quilt luggage'. (And what's with the new luggage prices at the airports?)

So we had another enjoyable day surrounded by quilters. That evening we relaxed by taking a nice walk around Bluffton, and enjoying the beautiful city. It was a good way to unwind, and relax, before we had to get ready for our our 5:30 am drive to the airport.

So, THANK YOU BLUFFTON for a great weekend, that we are still talking about. And don't forget to send us pictures of your finished quilt projects! We love getting those. And we hope to see many of you again.

-Cori & Myra

On our way

It is 6:37 am and we are waiting for our flight! What a weekend...we had SUCH a great time in Bluffton. The class went great. Everyone was very receptive to what we had to teach, I think we may have converted a few "appliquers" and took out a few myths about paper piecing too! We had a wonderful luncheon and a great time of sharing our story. One of my favorite parts was meeting the "Cori & Myra's" in the group (and you know who you are :)) Everywhere we go, we always notice that there is a Cori & a Myra in the group. When I say a Cori & Myra, I mean people who have a few of the same quirks and habits as we do. We played a game are you a Cori or a Myra and there were at least 2 of each of us! So many lovely people, such great hospitality and Bluffton was a beautiful place. Thanks for everything Mary, Deb & Linda and ALL who attended. Bye, Bye

~cori

On our way to Bluffton Indiana

This is a picture of Mary from Quilts 'n Gifts. We are on our way to Indiana in a couple of days to teach a class and present our trunk show at their annual Luncheon. So if you live in the area, come down and see us...we would love to meet you.

What else is going on? Turtle Twirl featured in Quiltmaker has been a HUGE sucess and for those of you who could not get your hands a kit, we are sorry. Thanks for all the lovely compliments and the orders, we hope you enjoy the pattern.

Summer feels like it is winding down which means that the fun is just beginning. We will be in Sioux Lookout ON, Regina SK, Winkler MB as well as Portage La Prairie MB.

Don't forget to get your Pictures of projects gone bad in to Myra. We have many people watching Plan B, so don't miss out on this EXTREME QUILT MAKEOVER!

~cori

And the WINNER is...Sue Cahill

Thanks to all of you who left comments! Sue please email me, so we can make arrangements for your gifts. Myra left me in charge of this honor of picking the winner!

~cori

HERE IT IS! The most unusall quilting contest you may ever see. We have carefully crafted an outline of what we want to do - but here it is in a nutshell. We want to find an unfinished project, change it, finish it, and return it to the owner. So...show us what lurks in your closets. We can't wait to see what we can do with it.

So tell your neighbours, and tell your friends, because we want everyone to join in the fun. (And YES, you can enter more than one un-finished project.)

Cori & Myra







































the concept

In the back of closets, hidden deep in drawers and tucked away from everyone’s sight, are unfinished projects that have gone horribly wrong. We all have them (Myra has a drawer full) and we all wish that they would go away. They seem like such a waste. These projects were once exciting and you were eager to dive in, finish and display them with pride. However…they went wrong and now when you come across them in your closet you cringe and try to ignore them. Well, we have a plan to help ONE of you!

During the 10 years that we worked in our local quilt shop, we spent a lot of time helping customers fix projects that were taking a wrong turn. Now, we want to offer the same help to one quilter out there. We have teamed up with a few of our favorite suppliers and together, we are out to fix one of the ‘hidden disasters’, and bring it out into the daylight.

the plan

We will select one unfinished project, change it, finish it, and return it to the owner as a finished project.

Submission deadline: Beginning August 1st, until August 31st.
The selected ‘winner’ will be announced on Sept. 1st
The project in its original form will be revealed by Sept. 20th.
The project will be broken down, and put into and EQ file. Alternate layouts of what could be done will be shown during the month of Oct.
The finished quilt will be reveled, and shipped to the owner Dec. 1st, and they should have it in their home in time for Christmas.

submissions
1.) Send us pictures of your unfinished project that is hiding in your closet.
2.) Send us a brief, less than 600 word paragraph telling us what was your original plan, why you stopped working on it, and why you want us to finish it for you.

3.) All submissions must have your full name, day and evening phone numbers and emails. (this information will be kept in our confidence, and will not be shared with anyone)

4.) All submissions become property of blue meadow designs and will not be returned to you. (so don’t send us your projects – just photo’s of them!!)

5.) Submissions are to be e-mailed to myra@bluemeadowdesigns.com Please do not send them to our other mail addresses, because the server may not be able to accept large image files, and it may be bounced back to you. Please try to keep the MB of the photo’s as small as possible.

6.) Submissions must be received by midnight, (central time in North America) August 31st, 2008 to qualify.

what we are looking for
Cori and I will be looking through the submissions, and we will choose a project based on what inspires us. We will love to read the stories of ‘what could have been’ but we believe that we will choose the final project to work on because it will reach out and grab us.


the rules
1). We will choose one entry, from all of the submissions. (only send photos please)

2). All submissions for entry must be made from 100% cotton. The quilt can not be vintage.

3). If you have extra fabric yardage from the original project, we may ask for it.

4). We will have the full right to change the project, take it apart, or only use portions of the original, in any manor that we see fit. We will also decide on what the finished size of the project will be. You will sign a waver/contract.

5.) The finished project will be your property, and will be returned to you by mid Dec. 2008.

6.) The owner of the selected project will be asked to give us additional information as to their personal style, color choices, and favorite quilts. This will assist us in making sure that what we create for you, will fit with your personal taste.


Sponsors

Electric Quilt Company
Working with EQ, and the programs that they develop, has enabled us to be better designers. Their computer programs allow us to ‘test’ designs, and find many of the flaws before we cut any fabric. It also lets us ‘play’ with different layout options, and color options. We will be using the latest version of their program EQ6, to show you different options of what we could do with the troubled project.

The Vintage Quiltery
When we found Jacquiline Pohl, we discovered one of the best machine quilters in the industry. Located right here in our province of Manitoba, Jacquie Pohl has created beautiful quilted projects for customers across Canada. You have to have a lot of faith in the machine quilter that you hand your quilt top too. We love working with Jacquie, because she is an artist, a skilled quilter, and she always has great ideas. We will be sending the completed quilt top to Jacquie for the quilting, and we will all anxiously wait to see how she will finish it.

Day 100 - of 100 Days of Quilts
Blessed Home

It's finally here!!! The final post in our parade of quilts. There was a little pressure (from myself) as to which quilt I would save to the end. I could have chosen a traditional one, or a modern one, or something that was beautifully photographed, but I picked this one for a reason. Because I want quilting, the simple art of sewing and stitching, to bring a Blessing into your life. In these quilts are stories, and journeys, and times of quiet solitude. And they are a physical comfort that can be given to others, so that they will feel the warmth of your love and friendship.

This is the cover, and main quilt in our 5th book, called The Blessed Home quilts. It is a very unique sampler, and it is broken down into 'lessons' so that you can practice a wide variety of quilting techniques.


And I JUST decided (which means Cori doesn't know about it) that we have a nice bundle of quilting goodies that we should give away. So, to have this parcel of 'really good stuff' showing up at your door, simply leave us a comment, telling us which was your favorite quilt from the past 100. I must admit, I will be very interested to hear what grabbed your attention. And I will give you until next Thursday at midnight to enter.

At this late hour, I could write an essay on the journey of posting some of our quilts, but I will keep it simple, and say Thank You for letting us share what we love with you. It was good for us to 'stop and smell the roses.' We had forgotten some of the great projects, and stories, and because of this trip, we had a chance to remember all of the good times. So, THANK YOU.

Cori & Myra

Day 99 - of 100 Days of Quilts
Running Bear





















Yes - I am still digging through my pile of old projects, and shaking off the dust. I do remember making this one in the spring of 1997, and thinking that we were so cleaver, by putting a log cabin in the center of a bear paw. Now I know 1000 designers have produced a pattern like this one, but in my little mind, I still like to think that Cori and I came up with it first.

Cori claims that she has a large quilt done in this pattern, made in fall colors. It sounds so pretty....so why can't I remember it? I guess maybe I should be going through her stack of quilts

See you again soon.
myra

Day 98 - of 100 Days of Quilts

How am I possibly going to finish the 100 Days of quilts by tomorrow? By posting several quilts in one day! I am sorry to rush to the finish line, but tomorrow is August 1st, and it's time to let everyone in on the big surprise.

So, last night I was running through the neighbourhood with a few quilts, looking for places to throw them down, and take some pictures. (Thankfully my neighbours have great yards.) And across the street I found these guys. Well, the color of these two little ducks reminded me of a quilt from WAY BACK when. I think that I might have made this quilt around 1995. I love making little nine-patches! The finished size of the squares is a 1/2", which means that they also have a 1/2" of fabric for seams behind them. Most quilters (I mean my mother) could never understand why I liked making these squares so small, but when they are this size, and your seam allowance is accurate, they fit together perfectly. Just try it sometime. Make a little 1 1/2" nine patch block, and see how much fun it is.

See you soon!
myra

Turtle Twist update.

Thanks to a fellow 'Manitoban quilter' I was told that the cover of Quiltmaker, with our quilt on it, can be seen at http://www.quiltmaker.com/ So if you are like us, and you have not seen the issue on your local newsstand, you can always sneek a peek on the web site.

There has been a great response to this quilt, and Cori's phone has been ringing off the hook. And yesterday, we made a custom quilt for a little girl using this pattern, and it has the yellow and pink turtle print, with a pink turtle on it. So here is another chance to be creative, and envision a quilt in another way.

myra