Christmas is over...time to stitch!

The gifts have been given, the dinners eaten, the relatives are leaving... now it's time to take a deep sigh of relief and get back to what you've truly been wanting to do - quilt! And not for your sister, or your niece, or for you cousin's newlywed daughter... for yourself! The quilt above is a fun and easy little number. It's great for brightening those cold winter nights and for allowing yourself to mindlessly chain sew. (And it would make a great gift...just don't give yourself a deadline.) This one's been on my design wall for quite awhile now, so my goal is to get the top finished in the next couple of weeks. The fabric is Serendipity by P&B Textiles, and the pattern is called Serendipity by Verlinda Magby.

Ribbon Cutting/Cookie Feed

Here we are doing our ribbon cutting last Friday. It was pretty cold outside, but quite a few people still showed up to witness the cutting and have punch and cookies. And boy, did we have cookies. As a matter of fact, almost a week later there are still some cookies left. They are safely stored in the freezer for when I lose the pounds I gained the first time. Anyway, back to the picture. From left to right are Bruce Fairbank of Labette Bank, Kanak Patel of Commercial Bank (representing the Chamber of Commerce), my husband and business partner, Byron Stokes, myself, and Mayor Lewis Smith. As I said, it was chilly outside, but many of my friends and acquaintances came out to show their support, and a good time was had by all. I truly appreciated the event and everyone that attended.


But on to quilting...



I whipped the binding down on this little number last night. (Please forgive the amateur photography.) It's made of the Aunt Purdy's Parlor 5" charm pack by Kansas Troubles for Moda. It went together pretty quickly, and it's small enough (24" x 24" finished) to quilt at home if you want to. It would make a great little wall hanging or table topper.

Lots of things in the works right now, but I'll try to show you a quilt next time!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to the blog for Around the Block Fabric & Quilt Shop! We are very excited, because a blog is such a great way to keep up with what's going on in the shop between newsletters. You won't have to wait to find out what the latest and greatest products are... we'll tell you right here! We also hope to use this blog to tell you about other great quilting resources on the web including designer and manufacturer websites, free pattern sites, and anything else that just looks cool.

Latest and greatest product number one is this adorable apron pattern. I made it up in fabrics from the Free Spirit line Utopia, but you could pair up any two coordinating fabrics. The best part is, it only takes 2 yards of fabric (one yard for the fron and one yard for the back)! The pattern is by Vanilla House Designs (http://www.vanillahousedesigns.com/). I saw her and her patterns at quilt market in Houston in October, and I just had to have some.

Thanks for visiting the blog, and check back often!