Shopping!

You'll remember that High River, Alberta, was the town that was almost completely submerged in the flood last June.  Townspeople were not allowed back into their homes for a couple weeks, and came back to find severe damage.

Mr. CQT and I were happy to hear that the town was holding its annual Car Show last weekend, and made a trip down to see them. While we were wandering around, I looked for Chinook Fabrics, and found it in a tiny temporary location in an office building.

Well, I did a little shopping, and the clerk invited me to enter a contest.  I'm always happy to do that, and got a phone call this week to tell me that I had won!

So, it was back to High River today, to pick up my winnings - this fun apron!

It's made out of denim, and is embroidered with "River City Classics Car Club  High River, AB" and a picture of -- what else -- a classic car.  As soon as I got home, Mr. CQT claimed it for his "bacon apron".  I guess we both won with that prize!

I did a little more shopping.  I needed backing for my Maple Sugar quilt, and the wonderful ladies at Chinook Fabrics helped me find the perfect fabric.

The colours match the top perfectly - and it was even 25% off!

On the way home, I stopped in to buy this "goddess gift".

Several of us at work turned 50 in the same year - a few years ago.  We decided to celebrate together, and called ourselves goddesses.   We all wore tiaras and went out to dinner after work one night.  We had a fabulous time finding out how much we had in common.  We've since introduced others to our goddess club, as they reach that magic age.  I just found out that we are gaining a new member, as of this weekend, so went tiara shopping for her!

PS - my kids give me that "Mom's gone nuts" look when they hear about us going to dinner in tiaras.  But, when you're a goddess, you have to put up with a little ridicule from the younger generation!

Fabric Sale Purchases

As promised, here are photos of the fabric I picked up yesterday at the Ujamaa Grandmas annual fabric and yarn sale.

This was a kit - 2 1/2 yards of fabric, plus 12 fat quarters, plus the pattern - all for $25.  I haven't bought 1930 - 40 style fabric before, but I couldn't pass this up.

The ladies were very generous with their measuring.  This piece was marked as 1/2 metre.  It had been cut into, but the uncut part was 3/4 of a metre, and the part that was cut into left at least a fat quarter.

This piece was marked as 3.5 metres.  It was actually 5.  I have a Christmas quilt in the planning stage that can use this as a backing.

And then there were scraps of various sizes that were bundled together in coordinating packages.  Each package totalled about a metre, and was $3.  I got 4.

And finally, a "grab bag" for a dollar.  These fabrics were mostly non-cotton, although there were a couple muslin pieces in there.  These will be good for practising free motion quilting.

I'm on the Grandmas mailing list, and received an e mail from them today, saying they made $28,500 from the sale yesterday.  I'm impressed!

I'm linking up with Sew Sunday, even though I haven't done any actual sewing yet today.  I have done a lot of preparing, and thinking about sewing and I've decided that counts.

Strategies of a Fabric Sale Shopper

Ujamaa Grandmas is a non-profit society that raises money to help grandmothers in Africa who are raising their orphaned grandchildren.  Their big fundraiser of the year is their fabric and yarn sale in April.  I discovered it 4 years ago.  It seems to be getting more popular every year.

People donate their un-used fabric, yarn, notions, books, patterns, etc to the Grandmas.  They also get donations from fabric and upholstery stores in town.

The first year I went, I arrive at around 11:00.  The sale is held in the basement of a church.  I walked down the stairs and WOW! - I could not believe all the fabric that was there.  Tables stacked with piles and piles of one and two yard cuts of fashion and decorator fabric in the main room - and several side rooms with specialized items.  One room was full of quilting fabric, in various sizes.  Another was full of notions and tools.  A third had bolts of decorator fabric.  I was in heaven!  I stocked up, for just a few dollars.

The next year, I arrived right as it opened, at 9:30.  It was crazy busy!  It was hard to even get to the quilting fabric, but I managed to stock up again, and joined the huge lineup to pay.  I decided I wouldn't go right at opening time the next time.

Last year, I went at 1:00.  Bad idea.  The fabrics were very picked over and I went away empty handed.  :-(

Yesterday, my strategy was to arrive at about 10:00.  That way, I would miss the opening rush, but would still have a good selection.  I got there, and parked a couple blocks away, as there were cars all over the place.  That was not a good sign, but I assumed it was all the early birds, who were now in the process of leaving.  I turned the corner and arrived at the church to find a lineup well outside the door!  It turns out that people were lined up an hour before the doors opened!  This event is getting to be very popular!!

Well, what's a girl to do?  I joined the lineup, and shivered with all of the other women (and a couple men - or "sherpas" as one fellow described himself).  It took about a half hour just to get into the sale. And another 20 minutes in line to pay.   But, it was well worth it.  The selection of quilting fabric was the best yet.  I came away with a healthy haul.  I'm just washing it up right now, so I'll post pictures later.

My tips, for anyone who wants to go next year are:

• Come early and line up.  
• Wear warm clothing, but dress in layers.  It will be chilly outside, but it is quite warm in the church, especially once it fills up.
• Don't bring your children, unless they are old enough to be sherpas.  Especially don't bring strollers.
• Bring your own bags.  (Note I said bags, not bag.)
• Plan to pay cash.  They do take credit and debit, but I find it's quicker to pay cash.
• I saw one pair of women - one stood in the checkout line, while the other went around and collected fabric to purchase.  If you were in a hurry, that would be the way to do it.  But who wants to be in a hurry at a fabric sale?

More information about the event is here.

Back From Vacation

Boy you get some funny looks when people ask what you did in Las Vegas, and you answer, "Well, I went on a Quilt Shop Tour".

But, that's one of the things I did!  Susan runs Quilt Tours of Las Vegas.  In my case, she picked up me, and two other quilters (Carol Ann from Michigan, and Diane from Ontario) in her van, and took us all over town!   We started out at The Christmas Goose.  Before arriving at each store, Susan gave a brief overview of the type of store, what kind of fabric they sell and whether or not they have any sales happening.  She explained that the Christmas Goose really has nothing to do with Christmas or with geese.  Just great fabric!

Then we went to Fabric Boutique.  All of the stores, by the way, gave us a discount because we were on the tour.  After that, it was time for lunch.  You might think it would be awkward, having lunch with four ladies you had only just met, but it was not.  We all got along like old friends.

After lunch, we headed to Boulder City, to Fiddlesticks Quilts.  This is a cute little store, in an old theatre.  After this, we headed back to Vegas to finish off the tour at Quiltique, which was definitely the biggest and carried the most modern fabric.

What a great way to shop!  I didn't have to worry about how to get to the shops, and we spent about 45 minutes in each - lots of time to browse and carefully make our selections.  And, of course, it was great company!

So, I did make a few tons of purchases.

 First, I found this pattern  - Tulip Star by Jackie Robinson of Jackie's Animas Quilts.  It was sitting beside this gorgeous floral print.  Even though I  have SO many projects to complete, I decided to go for this one too.  The greens and reds are for this project as well - I still have to get some cream, and perhaps yellow.

Next, I saw the print with the birds on wires that I just loved.  I bought a yard, just because.  In another shop, I found this pattern  - The Abigail Bag, by Serendipity Studio, and thought the fabric would be great for either the inside or the outside - I haven't decided.  The green here will be the "other" side.

Or maybe I'll use this red.  It matches the bird on a wire fabric too.  It depends how adventurous I feel when I start sewing this bag.   (I'll probably go with the green.)

And a few other odds and sods.

 

 

All in all, a great day!  If you're ever in Las Vegas, I highly recommend the tour.

I'm Back!

Mr CQT and I took a week's vacation in Phoenix and soaked in the heat - which was good, as we really haven't had any heat yet this year in Calgary.

We also drove up through beautiful Sedona to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.  It was the first time I had ever been there.  It is awe inspiring!

This photo doesn't even begin to do it justice.  After walking around, we headed into the gift shop to look for a fridge magnet (we collect fridge magnets wherever we go!), and what did I see, hidden in a little corner?

Imagine that!  A Grande Canyon quilt!

We also managed to visit almost every quilt store in Phoenix / Sedona / Flagstaff, and I did a little shopping. You can't just go into these stores and not buy anything, right?  And there were Memorial Day sales going on in some of them, so I got some really good deals!

Here's my loot.  I have no idea what I will do with these bright fat quarters, but they were so pretty, I couldn't resist

 Same with these solids and the pastel coloured ones below - although I'm sure a baby quilt will be needed at some point or another, and I'll be ready with these fabrics!

Part of the reason for our trip to Flagstaff was so that Mr. CGT could experience Route 66.  He has always dreamed of driving on that route, so the bit that we were able to experience in Flagstaff was fun!  And, in one of the stores, I found some Route 66 fabric.

I'm going to make Mr. CGT a pillow out of this.

More fabric, a ruler and a book:

I've got an idea for a Mariner's Compass quilt that I would love to make to hang at work.  We work with people going through separation and other family disputes, and a big focus of the work is mediation.  The Mariner's Compass would be an ideal symbol of the mediators goal - to guide people to a better way of resolving their disputes.  This is a "someday project", for sure, but getting the instructions is a first step.



I also bought myself a hat.  Usually I look absolutely ridiculous in hats.  But I found this Anne of Green Gables style hat in Arizona, and I don't think it's that bad!  Now I've got something to wear when I'm gardening.  Have to maintain the pasty white Canadian complexion, eh?

Oh, It's Springtime in Alberta and the Gentle Breezes Blow...

There is an entire poem about this, but that's all I can remember - except for the last line, which is, "I'll never leave Alberta - my feet are frozen to the ground".  This is what we're seeing tonight.

Actually, in the 5 minutes since I have taken this picture, the snow has started falling even heavier! They were predicting 10 cm (4 inches) overnight, but I think we've already got half that, and it's only 7:30!  It should be a fun drive to work tomorrow.

On a lighter note, I made a very enjoyable purchase from a new-to-me online shop called Dragonfly Fabric.  I liked the look of Jennifer's shop, and she carries Kona Solids, which I haven't seen anywhere in Calgary.  I thought I'd try her out with some Kona coal and Kona snow for one of the baby quilts I'm working on.  Here is what arrived.

She included an extra fat quarter of Wooden Horses by Michael Miller.  What a treat!

Jennifer's prices are very good, her shipping is reasonable, and the package arrived only 3 days after I had ordered (and I ordered on Saturday).  Great service!  Thank you Jennifer.