The Smurf's go Shop Hopping

All I can say is WOWZERS!

Who would have guessed there would be such a HUGE response to the Minnesota shop hop??

Today I worked the checkout counter at the shop from 2-9pm...the doors opened at 9am and OVER 300 hoppers hopped into the Calico Hutch throughout the day to get ther passports stamped!

We even had some special guests in today....you see...

THE SMURF"S CAME TO THE CALICO HUTCH

Smurfette loves to sew and is a frequest reader of this blog. The day other after feeding my fish, she read that the fabric was all blue....and a beautiful blue at that...So she decided she needed to get her crafty mits on some. Afterall, what smurf's stash is complete without blue fabric?So, she decided that she must go on this wonderful shop hop and anxiously ran to her stashroom in her mushroom and made a list of all the things she needed so she could make the most of of her big adventure....

While looking through her great stuff, she got "sew" excited that she decided it was going to be too much fun to have by herself and that this kind of fun was made to be shared. Jumping up and down with excitement, she got on her "blue"tooth and called all her friends and invited them to come along.

At dawn the next day the smurfs gathered together...

and headed out on their journey....skipping and dancing all the way

After a long day on the road and making it to all 12 shops, the headed back to their humble little mushroom shaped homes, free black and white fabric in hand. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by an all smurf oompa band (their version of the Jonas Brothers)

Papa smurf was so exhausted that it was time for him to head to his home sweet mushroom and hit the hay.

While the other smurf's rebelled and partied like it was 1999

Okay, so maye the smurf's didn't stop by, but that would have been AWESOME!!!

Don't worry, you still have 15 days to hop around and see all that is to be seen....and don't lay awake at night fretting there won't be enough free black and white bundles to go around...we have not limited the amount incentives that will be given away. EVERYONE who finishes our section (12 shops) will recieve the fabulous bonus gift.

Tomorrow I work too...I'll try to remember my camera so I can hopefully get some shots of the shop hop action!

It's finally here!

The day we've ALL been waiting for for almost a year!

Today is the first day of the great Minnesota Shop Hop!

What does this mean????

Get out and get goin!

What are ya waitin for?

Pick up a passport at any participating shop today and see how many

of the 80 (I think) shops you can make it to!

Shop hop runs Today, July 30 through August 15th.

All shops open Sunday's too during this event.

At each shop you will get:

~5" square of the official shop hop fabric

~FREE pattern

~Lots of great ideas and inspiration

~ The opportunity to see projects made from the special shop hop fabric.

~Smiles....of course they're free!

And as always, be sure that when you're traveling with friends you have some small little car project to work on (wool is great) and fasten your seat belts!

Hey, if you come by the Calico Hutch later this afternoon or tonight, I'll be there workin!

Katie

(from Friday night)

Drum roll please......There's a celebrity in our midst!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I have something really exciting to share with you tonight! No, I'm not caught up on laundry, I didn't win a new car on the Price is right...for that matter, I never was on the Price is Right. I didn't get a puppy and my cat didn't learn to clean up her own hair...which I obsess about daily. I still haven't gotten a new camera and my car still needs to be washed and gassed up. One of the lights in my laundry room is still burnt out and my double wedding ring is still only 2/3 done. So, what's the big news? The big news is....drum roll please.....

Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

(insert drum roll sound here)

I'm unveiling our super cute Quilt Minnesota projects!

They've been completed for over a month and we've had them safely stored

in the vault till now...

Here's an overview of the projects in all their shivering, icy, blue glory

Now, I'll take you on a more up close and personal tour of some of the projects....better get your cameras ready, you never know when there's going to be a celebrity sighting on this super top notch, prestigious, guided tour! You think I'm kidding don't you...you'll be sorry! It would be a tragedy if Elvis walked by and your camera wasn't ready to go...

but, if you're willing to take that risk, okay.

This one was designed by our very own Bonnie. Bonnie works at the shop as the Bernina tech and the runner of the the computerised, long arm quilting machine...and I might add that she does a great job too! Her quilt uses the panel pieces as the centers for all the blocks. I also like that she fussy cut the "coin" fabric and used it as her narrow inner border....you can't see it very well on this picture, but be sure to check it out when you're in store next.

Here you will see an apron (pattern by Indygo Junction) and on the lower left you will see a super inventive pot holder/towel combo created in store. The picture does not do it justice!And now, moving on, you'll see three of the projects I created/worked on. The upper left is "Snowball Fight" which uses the charms and panel panes. The upper right is "Icicles" which is created using a jelly roll (2 1/2" strips) and a background fabric. Both these quilts were created by me. The little cutie on the bottom is "Storyteller". I can't take credit for this adorable work as It's a Schnibble by Miss Rosie. Did you know that if I could have dinner with anybody in the whole world, I'd pick Miss Rosie (AKA Carrie Nelson)? She's incredibly creative and just an all around sweet person...and a CELEBRITY in my world!
Look quick, it's a celebrity! No, I'm not talking about the person on the right, I'm talking about the person on the left...the one with her had on my shoulder....that's the one and only Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.(Miss Rosie is her golder retriever). If you don't believe me, zoom in on her name tag....it says "Carrie Nelson". I got to see her and talk to her at market in May....she even giggled with me! This is probably the coolest person I've ever had my picture taken with...that means she's cooler than Burt Blyleven! OK, back to the MN stuff....

Below you will see a great wall hanging that Bonnie put together. This sassy, classy little number features wool applique and is very beautiful, bold and robust. If you go back now and look closely at the very first picture, you will also see pot holders, a table runner, little zipper bags, snow shoes and my ice skates as well as a bag also made from this chillingly crisp fabric.

Now, we are coming to the end of our tour. The tram is still I motion so I ask that you please keep your hands inside. Also, be sure to watch your step when exiting and as always, mind that gap (for those of you who've traveled the underground in London) and take small children by the hand. Thanks for joining us this evening and it is my hope that the rest of your stay is.....wait....wrong schpeel....I hope you've enjoyed that tour and be sure to stop in and see the girls at the store to see and touch these great projects.

So, are you excited and inspired now?

Katie

(from Friday night)

I love cherry pies from McDonald's

Wow....it's been one of those weeks...you know, the ones where you are incredibly busy doing things (all of which need to be done) yet none of those things that you did were on your list of things that needed to be done. As a compulsive list maker, this makes life difficult for me...you see, I am one of "those people" who get gratification from putting that little, single, straight line through the something on my list that I just finished. Of course, like this week, there are times when I finish things that aren't on my list. Don't worry, when this happens I promptly head to my list and add it to the bottom. Then, the very next thing I do is cross it off. Thus, the list gets longer and longer and I feel like I'm getting absolutely nowhere in life because the very first things on my list remain to be done!

On that note, to kick of the weekend, I had the privilege to work tonight (Friday night) at the shop just like every other Friday night. The first thing I do when I walk through door is look around and take note of what is new. Don't worry, I'll share the fun stuff with you :)

New line from Heather Mulder Peterson (Anka's Treasures)

New pastel line from Free Spirit
Cute little bundles of 5 fats....how can you resist?
Tons of fun new jelly rolls and layer cakes and charms....oh, my~
From one friend to another, there's some REALLY good stuff on the 50% off shelf at the shop....Hello Betty, Snippets, Hushabye, some nice civil war, couple bolts of pirate stuff, some 30's...I know I left with a "few" yards!

Just so you know, I never make a list of sewing things that need to be done...too many projects, too little time! Need more hours in the day, preferably between 5 pm and 11pm. If it's not too much to ask, I could also go for 8 days in the week so every weekend can be a long weekend...6th day for the garden, laundry, cleaning toilets and buying groceries,7th day to rest, and the 8th to sew :)

May you be as inspired to sew as I am right now.

What are you working on?

Oh yeah, I like cherry pies from McDonald's...don't know why...must be the trans fat that makes them all so good!

~Katie

(from Friday night)

Keeping my promise-

DISCLAIMER: Please excuse all punctuation and grammar...It's getting late here and there is a mosquito buzzing incessantly right by my ear...now the other ear...now back to the first ear...you get the scenario :)

This has been one crazy weekend for me. Filled with mowing, laundry, cleaning, watering, writing the patterns for the two quilts I designed for the MN shop hop fabric and spending 23 minutes in the DQ drive up lane (one car ahead of me) waiting for my small sundae with butterscotch dip...no wonder it flew by so fast. I also may have -possibly- spent a chunk of time procrastinating and working on the double wedding ring quilt I started last year...but I also may not have, I'll let you figure that one out :)

As promised, I'll show you what I plan to do with the free black and whites I get from the MN shop hop....OK, so when I went to take the picture (singular), I found TONS (plural) of other things that would be fun too. Don't worry, I'll share all the great ideas.

Here it goes...are you sitting down?

"Toe the Lime" by Blue Underground - This is what I plan to make by adding batiks from my stash...or I may go to the store for that :) I've been in love with this quilt since we found the pattern at market in May. I plan to make two and donate one to Good Earth Village for their annual quilt action.

You could make a "Bento Box" (Did you know bento box means lunch box?)

"Square Dancing" Once again, all you need is a little extra batik

You could make your 20 - half yard pieces into fat quarters and put the extra set in one of these great bags (I'd pick the black and white one) and give it to a quilty friend!

I bet you could make at least a bazillion (maybe 2) of these cute little "Cash & Carry" things by Terry Atkinson. Perfect size for change, credit cards, gift cards, Polly pockets, the feet for your sewing machine, reeds for your clarinet, coupons, the little rubber things you put on the end of your knitting needles....the possibilities are truly endless!

"Twist and Turn" by D. Hall is always a cool option for black and whites

You could make this huge-honkin bag by Indygo Junction and use it when you go to farmers market. Or, I would use it as my "purse" when I go to the cinema so I can sneak in enough snacks for the WHOLE movie, not just the previews! Then, later when I get a belly ache, my friends can use it to carry me out to the car where I later enter into a sugar induced coma and become non-responsive for days -

And last but not least, Big squares are always a fun option...especially with minkee backs!

Truly, the possibilities are endless. I encourage you to take out that box of patterns and sit and thumb through them as you sip iced tea (with the lemon on the rim, of course!), while rocking in your big ol' rocker on the front porch, as you are serenaded by crickets chirping and the neighbors dogs yapping in the background to the tune of "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra...I think I just described the American dream!

What do you plan to make with yours?

Don't forget to comment on my last post...I don't want ya to miss out on a free charm pack!

~Katie (from Friday night)

Very first blog giveaway!

So, the very first time a ship goes out to sea it is a custom to break a bottle of champagne over the bow. I'm glad this isn't standard operating procedure in blogland because it would probably, most likely, certainly wreck my new computer...oof-da!

Enough rambling, to get our blog off on this new voyage, Carolyn has generously offered to give a FREE civil war charm pack to the first 25 people to become a "follower" of our blog and comment on this post. All you have to do is tell me what your favorite fabric genre is (batik, civil war, brights, 30's, funky stuff, outdoorsy, etc., etc., etc...).

~Katie (from Friday night) likes the soft, vintage look of Fig Tree and 3 Sisters~

If you are one of the first 25 to comment, I will send you a message!

Happy posting!

Katie ~ (from Friday night

What? 10 yds....FREE? for ME?

I ran out to the store quick on my lunch break today and this is what I found: Jill cutting up bolts and bolts and bolts and bolts of black and white fabric into half yard cuts.


Then I went into the back room and found Linda folding stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of these fabrics and then putting them in cute little bags.
If you haven't heard already, one of these stacks is our gift to you for FREE if you go to all the shops in the SE section of the MN shop hop...no purchases necessary at ANY shop...just simply go and get your passport stamped!


That's 10 whopping yards of fabric...all from the same manufacturer...for FREE...because we like y'all...and trust me, they feel REALLY nice :)


So....call your friends together, plan a road trip and hit all of the shops. How can you go wrong with 20-1/2 yard cuts of black and white fabric?


Check out the official website( http://www.quiltminnesota.com/ ) for all the details.

I'll try to post a picture tomorrow of what I plan to do with my FREE fabric!

Enjoy life and don't forget to make someone smile!

Katie ~ (from Friday night)

Welcome! It's me, Katie, from Friday nights at the Calico Hutch and I have been granted the extreme honor of being the official "blogger" for the shop. Be sure to check back often to:

*Learn a fun new technique

*Find a new recipe (of course it will ALWAYS be healthy)

*Register for a give away (FREE stuff baby!!!)

*Learn about some pretty super, duper deals!

*Join in on some mystery quilt fun

*Get a glimpse into daily life at the Calico Hutch....

*Find something quilty/sewy to do.......and.....

*See just what it is that Katie from Friday nights does the rest of her time :)

As you can see I hope to keep you "in the loop" (as well as I can) on everything you don't want to miss out on in a million-trillion years at the CH.

~Katie....

(from Friday night)