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

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

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

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

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.

~c

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

~c