Technical Difficulty

I am sorry for the delay in blogging..but I am having some technical difficulty with my computer. I think it is time that it went to the doctors. I will have to deal with that next week. And I am disappointed at all the things that I wanted to share - but I can't, because I am unable to download all of my pictures. I have been carefully documenting my progress on the Ocean Waves quilt, and I wanted to share it all with you. But, I guess you will have to wait just a little longer.

Now, to all of you who are concerned that I am starting a career in the meat packing industry, you don't need to worry. As it turns out, all of the volunteer possitions were filled last week, and I wasn't needed after all. I am sorry that I couldn't help, but I am very touched, becasue it ment that so many others were willing to help. So for all of you who have e-mailed me, I will clarify what the 'canning' truck was all about. Yes-it is a portable meat canning truck that goes to various communittes, and cans meat. It is highly inspected by both Canadian and American agencies, and after the cans have been in a 'quarentine' for 3 months, they will be shipped overseas. How do I help? Trust me, the only part that I am qualified to help with is rinsing the packed cans, and applying lables! But I do like to help. And I would encourage everyone - that at this time of year when we freely give donations to worthy charities, why not give some of your time instead? It is just as important.

So I wanted to say THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped us this year. 11,000 can of pork meat will be sent to orphanages in North Korea, and the rest will be sent to Haiti.

So what is up with this picture?

It's my daughter, and everytime I pull out my suitcase, she know's I am going somewhere again...and she always tries to sneek along. By now it is a little joke between us. So where am I going? Well, this weekend Cori and I have been invited to the 'uber-exclusive' Bernina retreat in Chicago. There are two different sessions, and a very small group of deligates are invited to the event. We got the invite through a friend who is 'on the list'. It is hard not telling you who will all be there, because these are THE TOP designers in the industry. I don't want to breach anyone's privicy by revealing that they will be here. However....you might want to check back after the week when I could share who was there. We will be back in the middle of next week, so make sure you check back.

-myra

International Weekend

Today is one of those days when I am over tired, but very inspired. Yesterday (Sunday) turned out to be a day full of new friends, old friends, and pizza. I knew it was a great day, when I ran out of hangers for coats in my guest closet.

It started with meeting the 'canners' who are in town. We had lunch with these three young guys who are staying at my parents house this week while they are here with the MCC meat canning truck. They came down to our place for the afternoon...partly so they could all get onto the internet with their own computers. So, Eric is from Pennsylvania (10 miles from where I use to live!) and Josh is from Kansas, and Viktor is from Germany. It was cool watching him and his family speak back and forth through their web cams. A short time later, other friends came down, with the young man who is living with them this year. His name is Mark, and he is from Paraguay. And later that night, Katherine made it down to our house, and she is from Switzerland. So we had a house full of international friends, and I didn't take a picture of any of them! It shows you how involved I was, because I never remember to stop and take a picture when I am having a great time.

As it turned out, everyone who was here had a connection to MCC. What is MCC you ask? It stands for Mennonite Central Committee, and it is a world wide relief organization. My family has been involved in some manor with MCC since I was born. It is a long story, but it is because of MCC that quilting came into my family, and that has lead me this profession.

So, the meat canning truck comes into Winkler once a year, and will process and can about 22,000 cans of pork. The volunteer crew is lead by these three guys, and together we will all work around the clock from Wednesday to Saturday to finish the canning. This is not an environment that is familiar to me, but I am looking forward to working a shift later on this week. Chances are good that I will end up on the night shift again. I hope that I will remember to bring my camera with me this time, and document my time working in a packing plant.

I am also working on a quit top that I hope to finish this week, which will be donated to the MCC quilting room. I will definatly have pictures of that to share with you soon. I decided to make an Ocean Waves quilt this year, and it has turned out to be a really, really fun project.

So, I will talk to you all again soon!
-myra

Our day trip

Welcome to Oma's quilt shop, a sweet little quilt shop in the country. Myra and I took a little trip today and it was so worth it. Adiena (the shop)owner is full of energy and great ideas and Velma came out to join us as well. Myra and I haven't taken a "just for fun" trip in a long time and you would think being in the quilting industry, we would visit quilt shops regularly, but we don't :(. We are often so busy just doing our thing that we loose touch. We bought some cool fabrics that I can hardly wait to use. This week I have been on a roll, experimenting with fabric and designs and yes, as Myra would put it...my new "obsession" with bias. And yes, I will share photo's really soon.

Velma brought show and tell. She sewed up Rumba this past weekend and was excited to show us and we love seeing our friends and customers using our "stuff". (she also brought fresh pumpkin muffins...mmm good!) This trip to the country brought new inspirations and great times with friends. Thanks ladies for your hospitality and inspiration we had a great time. Oh and I encourage those of you close to Grunthal...it's worth the trip to look up Oma's Quilt shop!
If you don't know were Grunthal is...it's about 15 min. from Steinbach MB!

~cori

as promised by Myra

As Myra stated in the last post, Cori (that's me) would post the cover of Quilts and more, winter 2007 issue. This issue is full of little weekend projects and Save the date is one of those super fun projects - make sure you check it out, oh and give it a try. Make your calendar this weekend! :)

~cori

I forgot to remember.



I came home on the weekend to find another little parcel on my doorstep. I honestly couldn't rember if I had orderd anything. So what could possibly be inside? I ran inside, ripped open the box, and smiled. I had totally forgotten about this project. That's probably because I didn't make it - Cori did. Cori made a few of these as gifts last year for some editors, and other friends. Well, one thing lead to another, and we were asked to make another one for the December issue of Quilts & More. So, if you check your magazine stands, this is now out there! I will see if Cori can scan in the cover, so you know which magazine to look for. I would scan it in for you....but my copy hasn't shown up yet....

-myra

if you liked the baby quilt...how about this one?

This is the kids version of the little lady baby. These patterns are available on our website, http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/. I am glad you all enjoy these patterns.

~C

and the WINNERS are..

Thanks ladies for leaving a comment on the blog. I hope you enjoy making your own little lady quilt! For those of you that were too shy or too lazy...there will be more chances to win, very soon. I guess you could say we are feeling generous! Stay tuned and we love to hear from YOU!

~Cori

little lady baby

This quilt was made by Jackie from Ignace ON. She is one of our regular "retreater's". At this years retreat a bunch of the ladies worked on various projects as well as our retreat quilt project. I think that jackie basicly got this quilt done at retreat - and just recently finished machine quilting it. She quilted the lady bug outline over the whole quilt, every which direction, in purple verigated thread- so cute. The picture below is of the back of the quilt, where she added a pop of orange! LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing these pics with all of us.
Great inspiration.

The first 3 people to leave a comment along with a email address will recieve a free little lady pattern! I know your out there...be sure to leave an email, so that I can contact you for your mailing address.

~cori

Finding my way to grandma's house

What have Cori and I been up to since the retreat? Not a whole lot - and for us, that's shocking! We had decided that for the first time in 10 years of working together, we were going to take a few weeks off. This is just a little of our own time, to rest, and play, and hang out with all of the really great neighbours who I don't have time to talk too. But don't worry, you will be seeing A LOT of projects and half finished projects in the next little while. I have a huge mound of unfinished projects that I am just waiting to dig into. These are the one's that I really love, but were pushed aside for work deadlines, and other commitments. Well, it's time I dusted them off. So keep watching....

One thing that I had at the top of my list, was to make new Christmas stockings for my children. Why haven't I started this yet? Because the weather out here is phenominal! It is the end of October, and southern Manitoba is starting to have spring all over again. Our grass is green, the neighbours flowers are bright and yellow, and we are wearing T-shirts. The rumor is that the snow is just around the corner, but I'm not going to believe that one.

So instead of making stockings (it will take snow to put me in the right frame of mind to start that project) I grabbed my camera, and started on another item on my list. My goal is to photograph, and document the quilts in our collection. We have over 100 that we need to formally organize. I have started on a lot of the bording data, but today, I wanted to try getting some good pictures. The following picture is NOT one of the good shots, but I chose it for a reason.

I took a handful of quilts, and headed down to our little Thresherman's Museum. I spent the afternoon throwing quilts over different buildings and fences, and when I was there, I suddenly remembered that I have some connection to one of the buildings. When I got home, I called my mom, and sure enough, this house is the one where my Grandma Jessie was born, and lived. There was a total of 16 children born into her family. Can you imagine! Not all of them survived, but it still must have been cramped in their little home.

My Grandma Jessie is a really cool grandma. I hope to get down to her place in the next week to spend an afternoon embroidering with her. She has the most beautiful embroidery stitches. I have very long fingers, and I think I inherited them from her, but I can't stitch as well as she can. Maybe with a lot more practice.



So this humble building was the home to a very sweet little girl, who grew up to be a very kind grandma. And you will be hearing more about my Grandma Jessie soon. Last year someone in the extended family gave her a shoebox of old drawings...and to some of us, it is the family treasure chest. I will see if I can sneak the box away from my mother, and show you what is inside.

So I will talk to you again soon....

-myra

The Weekend Review....

My mind is still processing this past weekend, and trying to remember everything that was said and done. Every few minutes I remember another thing that happened, and it just makes me smile. So here is my top 10 list of what I remember so far....(sorry, but if you wern't there, they may not make sense to you.)

* '50' comes in a great looking package

* I never made it to the party in room #203

*You should always bring your own corkscrew to a quilting retreat

* 'Marekans' are 'keaners' they just don't know it

*Smart mothers bring their daughters as their personal assistants

*Mather is a town in Manitoba, and not someone's last name

*Not all houses are created equal

*The Clarion Hotel staff are now familiar with what a quilting reteat entails

*Saskatchewaners don't follow directions...and that's OK

*Autographs arn't just for famous people

And we will post the rest of the commentary along side the pictures. Enjoy the show.

And to all the fellow 'retreaters' don't forget to leave a note about what you remember from the weekend.

Show & Tell

We had an AMAZING show and tell on friday night at the retreat - It really looked like

we were going to have a quilt show. These are just a few photo's featuring projects from past years' retreats.

This was the quilt that Marcy did last year at our 3rd Hometown Retreat - Bohemian Rhapsody.

This was the quilt design from our 2nd Hometown Retreat - Love Joy Peace made by Alice.

Carol attended our Winter Retreat in Fort Frances ON.

I love how she customized the black and turquoise kit with a splash of yellow!

Marlene did the applique option and it turned out beautifully!

The above photos were some of the many quilts that our retreat students brought to the friday night 'Show &Tell'. The interesting thing about these quilts, is that they are all from our past retreats. It was encouraging to see that they all finished their projects, and it was inspiring to see how they changed their projects, to make them reflect their personal style.

Open House Winnipeg MB, October 15th

The above photo is a picture I took, before our guest's arrived, the Alberta room had beautiful sunlight.

We had two fabulous "gift pails" to give away.

We featured our NEW Cape Cod collections, patterns and the quilts

We thank all of quilter's and sewers that met the strickt deadlines!

We also had samples of our Out of the Blue Kids and Baby & kids, Little Lady Baby & Kids,

Autumn Signs, Lemon slice, Exclamtion, Daisy Baby and Calypso.

Ocean waves is pictured above and Nantucket Rose below.

These are the quilt patterns that accompany our fabrics.

~cori

4th Annual Hometown Retreat - Cape Cod

Due to circumstances we had to take the Hometown Retreat on the Road!

This was a little scary, but the Clarion Hotel treated us very well. The food, the amenities, all wonderful. We had the largest group ever this year and the energy and comraderywas incredible. Below is the group picture we took on Friday night after show and tell. We had women from Winnipeg, Portage La Prairie, Washington, Minneapolis, Ignace, Dryden, Fort Frances, Emo, Regina just to name a few. Thanks Ladies for a great week-end, your support and encouragement - you don't know how much it all means to us!

after the show and tell we laid all of the items out and WOW, it looked like a quilt show - which by the way is one of my dreams. To have a quilt show with all of the projects not only that Myra and I have designed and made over the years, but to have our customers display the projects that they have made with our designs. ( I hope that made sense!) Long story short I was amazed and wowed by the talent we had in that room. Projects big and small all wonderful. Then there was Marlys' story about using our Love Joy Peace "word" fabrics in an MCC quilt and ALL the money those quilts raised...brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes Myra and I just work so hard that we loose sight of what this really means to us and Marlys...you reminded me of why we do this!

What fun watching all the ladies sew, be creative and sharing "sewing secrets".

One more sleep!

Tomorrow is the big day...look out Clarion Hotel Winnipeg, we are MOVING in for the week-end!!!! For those of you who can not join us for the Retreat, we will post pictures and fill you in next week on ALL the fun we will had.

The other BIG news, if you live near Winnipeg you won't want to miss our open house on Monday from 4-9:00pm. Go to http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com to see all of the details. We are unvieling our newest collection ,Cape Cod.

Be sure to visit again next week, when we will have some photo's up about what has all happened this week-end.

~Cori

The countdown....

Cori and I are waiting for next weekends retreat...just like little kids at Christmas. I have not counted the days, until now. We have one week left. One week to prep, pack, and double check everything that we have packed.

For those of you not in the loop, you will not have known that in the past three weeks we have been on a wild ride getting ready for this upcoming weekend. We usually start planning our retreat in January, and follow through with details until the event in October. This year we were definatly ahead of the game, and everything was done at the beginning of September. We sighed out a deep breath, and said 'great, now we can relax.' That was until three weeks ago when we got the news that the hotel we had booked was closing. So, we started again, and headed off to Winnipeg, and re-planned the retreat. But, since this fun weekend is no longer in our hometown, it will mean doing a little more packing. But the good news is that our new location is right next to a shopping mall. And so for all the things we forget (I always forget my dental floss!!) their is always VISA.

And my favorite part of this past week was cutting all of the kits for our friends. There is just somthing about cutting new fabric, and smoothly folding them into neat little piles that I love. Right now all of the kits are spread out over my studio floor, but in a few minutes, I will take one last look at them, and pack them in a box.

I can hardly wait to see all of you!! And it will only be 7 more days.

till then...
-myra

A little peek

We got his back from the quilter last week. We had two lovely ladies working on this quilt, Velma pieced the top and her sister Lorna machine quilted it. ..another SISTER ACT! Of course this quilt is made with our Cape Cod fabrics and will be an upcoming pattern, debuting at our retreat and open house. That leads me to my next announcement.

Myra and I will be hosting an Open House at the Clarion Hotel in Winnipeg in the Alberta room on Monday, October 15th. Browsing begins at 4:00pm until 7:30pm, from 7:30-8:00pm we will be making a PowerPoint presentation "a year in review" followed by more browsing; 7:30 - 8:00pm. If you would like to pre-register for this event, please email cori@bluemeadowdesigns.com and drop me your name and or the friends that will be joining you.
Looking forward to unveiling our new collection with you!

~cori

Sister Act.

With everything that has been flowing through our studio lately, it was a real treat to stop and really appreciate some of the work. To help us with our deadlines, we enlisted the skills of some of our former co-workers.

Their is a talented sister pair, who Cori and I use to work with at our local quilt shop. One of the sisters, Lydia, very quickly pieced together a quilt top for us, that has already been sent off to the quilter. You will be seeing in a magazine next spring. And the other sister, Meg, did all of the applique work that is in this picture. It will be the center piece for another Cape Cod project. I really like the way that it has turned out. It has a modern touch to it - because it has a chocolate background, and modern flowers....no roses in my bouquet! Cori is working on the piecing that will go around this center, and you will be able to see the finished piece in a few more weeks. And I already know that is will be one of my favorites.

-myra

Show & Tell

I was at my local grocery store today and came across this magazine...looked inside and found "In stitches" guess who's fat quarters those are on the right hand side? OURS! Bohemian Rhapsody fat quarters are in this months Country Living magazine. This is kind of neat just because this is not a "quilting" magazine. We had sent out some fabric samples and Charolotte at Country living called me and said that they would like to include our fat quarters in a special interest section of this months magazine...Neat.

Another show and tell item is the this totally cool wall hanging! A customer emailed me this picture today and I just had to share. (love getting those pictures!!) It is not that noticable on the picture but there is actually beading all over it. This was a gift...lucky recipient.



"Show and Tell"items (how can you tell I have a child in Kindergarten :) Wether it's something you have done with our fabrics, patterns etc. please do share. I think I can speak for the "whole class" when I say....we would ALL like to see!

I hope you all received our September newsletter. It as full of all kinds of upcoming fun stuff! Go to http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/ to add your name to our list!

Have a great day...

cori

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the '7 year' nap

I know Cori blogged last week that all of our kids are now in school...but I couldn't help but expound upon this point. We both have great kids, but my kids were created with a unique characteristic. They never napped. EVER! I couldn't believe it when other mothers would talk about their children having a morning nap, and afternoon nap, and go to bed at 7:00 pm. That was a gene my children definatly didn't have.

And so, in the past ten years, with our four small children under foot, Cori and I designed and published over 100 quilt projects. We created and designed in between feeding kids, washing floors, burning potatos (sorry Cori :) and all the other tasks that had to be done. I don't know if I will be able to design with both eyes on the paper...because one eye is always looking out to see where the kids are.

So, now with every afternoon free, I can see one of two things happening.
A: having more ideas than I can possibly ever draw on paper
B: being very well rested.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but today, I am taking that nap. Because I have waited 7 years for this afternoon.

-myra

Coming & Going


I quickly grabbed the camera today, to try and capture what the past few days have been like. It seams that my office is now a shipping depot, with boxes arriving, and being sent everyday. I also have to thank my amazing neighbours, who have saved a few boxes left on my front step. A few weeks ago a neighbour rescued a box full of the new handspray samples, and thanks to her, we were able to make the Lemon Slice quilt....and yesterday, the real handspray yardages arrived. The colors really are very lush.We will have the new colors available online in a few days, and you can find them under our 'shop' page...just scroll down below the bohemian fabrics. And it also means that we can start cutting the kits for the Lemon Slice quilt. I can hardly wait. I really do love cutting fabric, and folding it into neat little piles.

And the rest of the boxes? Well, we have had a few quilts returned to us, but in the picture, you can see a glimps of a quilt that is being shipped out in the morning. I can't show you any more, you will have to wait to see it next spring in an issue of Quilts & More. It is from the new Cape Cod fabric line, and it is very soft and sweet. The fabrics for Cape Cod should be shipping in a few more weeks, and we will have them online by mid October. There are also a few more quilts being made right now from this line, and you will be able to see them very soon.

So, I am off to pack a few more boxes, and call the UPS guy. And then I get to lovingly unpack the new fabric, and put them in the shelves.

-myra