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

Happy BACK to SCHOOL

Yesterday was the first day of school in our city. Myra and I both have kids starting Kindergarten, which means half days everyday and our oldest are in grades 3 & 2. This extra half day is going to be busy, trying to soak up every oppertunity to work without kids around - we have NEVER worked without kids around (welll occasionaly we get babysitters to watch the kids while we have a work day) but this is different.(guilt free you could say:) ) Kindergarten is always a extra special busy year, half days means lots of driving, especially for me because I live in the country and my kids take the bus in the morning, but I have to go to town to get my "kindergartener"!!

Well if any of you others have school age children, I hope their year has started off as well as ours did and that everyone stays happy and healthy and learns A LOT!

~Cori

Lemon Slice
I mentioned the un-packing of a quilt. This quilt is for a pattern that we will be releasing the middle of september. It uses nine RJR handspray fabrics. We will also be offering kits in the shop as well. Our friend Karen Greaves (I have mentioned her before) machine quilted this for us and wow. The quilting just makes this quilt pop! Did I mention Karen just uses her regular sewing machine? Amazing !Just thought I would just share a little "slice" of it with you. ~Cori

Happy Labour Day Long weekend!
These last few days have been full. From labeling school supplies, getting a quilt back from the quilter, putting the binding on, getting projects ready for Cape Cod, but one of the highlights of yesterday was getting this rather large box of goodies. You are probably assuming that I received fabrics and quilting supplies ...nope. Our brand new Canon Rebel XTi arrived and needless to say I have been snapping A LOT of pictures. These six are just a few images from my yard that tell me fall is fast approaching! Wild grass, sunflowers, apples, the bottom left is a picture of a humming bird, pumpkin and a bumble bee. I take a lot of pictures...and now with this awesome camera....I will be taking EVEN more and just wait till Myra gets her hands on it!! So you can expect to see a lot more pictures on our blog.

Happy long week-end:)

~Cori

Cover Girl
No not Myra or myself but our quilt has made the cover of Quilts and more!
Many months ago we were asked to submit some designs to Jill, the editor of Quilts and more, using RJR fabrics, So you sew fun too! collection. This was one of those moments were Myra and I needed to "step out of the box". This collection was bolder and brighter than we had ever worked with before. But...you know what, it has made us turn a corner in our designing process AND as it turns out "Exclamation" is one of our favorite quilts!! So we made the quilt and sent it on it's way...then Jill called and asked if we could design some coordinating pillows. You will see those pillows inside the magazine. (I can't give away all the secrets - run out and buy a copy!)

Don't be scared to try something new...I can say that...we did it and it turned out to be a great experience, a new page in our career. We have been in something like 14-15 magazines, but never a cover. Some of you have emailed us already to send congrats our way and many thanks for that.

Today I am working on the next project for Quilts and more using our Cape Cod collection, it doesn't have a definite name yet, but I can say it's pretty and soft. Simplicity has kind of been our thing lately. I will sneak a picture of it when it's a little more complete.

~Cori

Look...

what came today! So excitting to get our cuts of fabrics to make Seven quilts all using our Cape Cod fabric collection. Three are for patterns by blue meadow designs, Three others for magazines, and One for our retreat!

We will post our patterns really soon. I hope you are excitted and the fabrics and patterns will be in our shop in October!

~Cori

a little bit different

I had been wanting to do a layout with our fabrics for sometime and well when there is so much work to do it is hard to just play. Yesterday was the day I decided, work would have to wait a bit! I went through my scrap basket, fired up the sewing machine and away I went.

I made this 12" x 12"layout using 5- 2" x 11" strips of bohemian Rhapsody fabrics, zig zag stitched around each strip, then I layered a 4" x 12" piece overtop and staight stitched on the top and bottom of this piece. I took a 5" x 7" sepia tone photo, chipboard embelishments (which I painted to match), buttons and a personlized journaling block to layer on top of the fabrics and "ta da" my first fabric /scrapbook layout. Not rocket science I know, but I am very pleased with the results. It was a lot of fun playing again too. You should try it.

We also have a project coming out in Quilts and more this fall that is not a quilt, but an interesting spin on a desk calendar.

What types of non-quilt items have you embelished with fabrics? I am working on a new design to re-cover and embelish a chipboard album. Hope you enjoyed this tidbit of inspiration.
~cori

Cruising to Alaska!

We're going to Alaska!!! Do you want to come too? We got a very exciting phone call a few weeks ago, inviting us to teach aboard a cruise ship that travels along the coast to Alaska. What an amazing invitation. We still had a lot of questions, and details to figure out, so we didn't talk about this great opportunity too much, but now that everything is in line...we want everyone to know.

The above photo is the ship 'Serenade of the Seas' and it will be the cruise liner that we will be teaching on. There is more information about the date, the schedule, and the ship under our 'events' page. We have met a wonderful lady named Wendy Smith, who has experience organizing these quilting/cruising events, and she will be taking care of all of the details for our trip as well. Her name and information is also found on the 'events' page, so please feel free to contact her with any additional questions that you may have. We won't be leaving port until next August, but all of the spots to be part of the class will probably be filled by December.

Getting out to new places, and meeting other quilters is the best part of what we do. This last week, Cori and I had a few days of being bogged down by many small tasks, and bookwork, and when we needed a boost, we would just start talking about our upcoming retreat. We are almost to the point where we will start counting down the days. I keep reading over the list of women who are coming, and I can hardly wait to see them again...and to meet the new names who made it in this year.

So, we will be seeing many of you soon! Take care until then.

-myra

More news!




For the quilt related news...check out Quiltmaker. We designed this quilt for RJR fabrics So You sew fun too! collection. This design lends itself to all the beautiful, big and bold prints that are so popular. So don't be scared to buy them, they aren't as hard to use as you think -


just keep the quilt design simple.
Now for the personal news. As you can see this kids are doing okay. This picture was taken last saturday at our local Harvest Festival parade. The kids are adjusting well to their casts and Kierra to her crutches. But when I said I needed a "break" this was not what I had in mind!! :) Thanks for all of the well wishes either on the blog or via my personal email, greatly appreciated. Here's to better luck and a great fall!

~Cori

Deep End of the Ocean

I had to post a blog today, because we not only share our good days with you, but also our bad. And Cori had a really, really BAD weekend.

I will keep it short and sweet, and only post the bare facts. During the weekend, her daughter was jumping on the trampoline, and broke her ankle. After many long hours in the hospital, her daughter was home with a cast and crutches.

The very next day, her son has a simple fall on the backyard slide, and breaks his arm between his sholder, and his elbow. Cori spent 6 hours with him in the hospital while they tried to figure out how to cast this very difficult break.

It will mean a whole new routine at Cori's house for the next few weeks, as both children will need her help. However, I am confident that if anyone can organize, and make a plan of attack on how to handle these circumstance, it is Cori. It just means that her full plate, just got a little fuller.

So her weekend was miserable, and then she calls me today (monday) with more news.....the dog died. I could not make up a story as sad as what this one really is. Unfortunatly I started laughing. Not because I thought it was funny, but because her life now sounded like a country western song. But take this as a compliement Cori - because God does not give us more than we can handle - so apparently you can handle a lot!

So for this entry, I went through some of our old photo's, and I found this one. It was three years ago this month that we first flew to L.A. to meet RJR. And during that exciting and overwhelming trip, we had a chance to walk down to the beach, where we stood in the soft sand, and had a peaceful day out by the ocean.

And so Cori, I pray that your days will get better, and truly be filled with some great surprises. And when you need me, you know the number.

myra.

Trends
Let it be known that I am a Home Decorating Magazine junky! I have a really hard time not picking up a magazine when I am waiting in line at the grocery store. So yesterday I picked up Canadian House & Home, I must admit this has not been one of my favorites... until recently. It's Canadian so I thought I should give it a chance and I am so glad that I did! This is the latest issue on stands now and what might you suppose drew me to this issue? "Quilts + coverlets Roundup" was on the cover and as I flipped through the pages I saw exactly that and not just one article but many. So here I am today sharing my find and inspiration.
The article "Quilt Trip" really made an impact on me "The recent trend toward handcrafted design gives quilts and coverlets fresh cachet." and I said "AMEN sister!" This has always been our goal when designing quilts and fabric, how can we bring quilting mainstream? Quilts need to be a part of everyday life & home decorating. They need to be accessible to people who wouldn't normally walk into a quilt shop. Myra and I interpret the trends in such magazines when we design our fabric collections. We take these trends and create fabrics that transition between traditional and modern, like I said the other day "contemporary".
The other thing I find interesting in this article is two words "Pale Pastels" another thing you will find in our Cape Cod collection, coming soon. I hope you find this information helpful and as interesting as I do. Whether your quilts are antique or modern in style incorporate them into your everyday.

Cori

Had to share!

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

cori

Love emails

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

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

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

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

Cori

Waiting for UPS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fall already?

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

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

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

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

~Cori

And then there was light...

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

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

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

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

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

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

-myra

Happy colors

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

Possibilities...

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

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

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

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

Happy 1st day of summer!

To Celebrate we are having a
Summer SALE.

All remaining Bohemian Rhapsody Fabrics $7.95/ yd

Rumba kits 50% off (2-ocean 1 - tabacco only)
Calypso kits 50% off (3 only)

Fat quarter bundle 30% off ; ocean palette and tabocco palette
(6 FQ bundle) black & whites

There is limited quantity available and prices are in Canadian funds. Shipping charges will apply.
Please email info@bluemeadowdesigns.com or CALL 204-362-1984 to place your order.
Visa & Master Card accepted.

p.s you will note that our patterns are now $7.99 in the shop. You can view the products and regualar prices on http://www.bluemeadowdesigns.com/. DO NOT USE pay pal, the sale prices are on email or phone call orders ONLY.

Happy summer shopping!!

Here are some places you may want to visit.

www.violetpatch.com
www.makeitu.com
www.thimbleberries.com

enjoy your trip to these great places!

Something Special

We have worked for RJR for a few years now, but rarely get the opportunity to meet the other designers. We did have the privilege to meet Debbie Beavis at our very first quilt market, but had not seen her since! What a sweet lady, treated us like one of the gang, great advise and made a special effort to help us with our power point! Loved the talks about the quilting industry.

This trip was especially special because we finally had the opportunity to meet one of the largest fabric & pattern designers in the whole quilting world...Lynette Jensen!! She was gracious and interested in what we were doing. She was so approachable and fun too! We had a great supper with these ladies and the rest of the RJR staff; Demetria, Mario, Rick & John.

Then there was this young lady...Shannon Mullen. She is the force behind the Make it You campaign. Young full of life and great fun. We had many conversations about how to get younger women into this great quilting industry. It was so fun just getting to know her on a personal level. We connected so well that we are going to be collaborating with her on her next book! So excited about this.

As you can see our time in Vancouver was so much more than just a trade show. We made great connections and had a ton of fun with this great group of quilters! In a future post I will get links to these ladies websites.