NS Fibre Arts Festival...

As you are aware, Amherst is home to the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival. 

http://www.fibreartsfestival.com/#

     
This festival, allows you to get in touch, literally, with fibre.  It happens once a year, the short week after Thanksgiving (in Canada). This year, Oct 15th to
Oct 19th. 

Beginning on Tuesday and running full steam to Sat- it's a great week to reconnect with some skills you may not have used in a long while or maybe you want to learn something totally new. 

Maybe you have found your fibre 'ewe' and want to come an rejoice with like minded people.  That's what Fibre fest is.  People.  People connecting with their hands on fibre and holding it out saying, "I did this; I made this," with they have a big smile on their face because, they DID it!
    
Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Ltd. will be a quilt store by then!

I would like to invite - want to be quilters, quilters, designers and anyone that wishes to come, to the Quilters Quarters at Mrs P's location Friday evening of the festival!  Check out the NS Fibre Arts Festival web page for the time.

http://www.fibreartsfestival.com/#!schedule/component_41229  

I'd also like to invite you to bring a quilting project or a sewing project that you have made either at a previous NS Fibre Arts Festival or been inspired by the festival to create and we will try either a show and tell evening or a display of the projects, that evening.

Have a Happy Canada Day! 

Too early for Christmas?...

Not for fabrics!...

Wintergreen - 3 Sisters- by Moda

 Another Moda precut has arrived!  This one has traditional to primitive colours in the roll.  It is called, Wintergreen and is designed by 3 Sisters. 

How nice it would be to snuggle under a Christmas Quilt...

Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes

Wintergreen is also available as a Layer Cake or 10x10 inch squares at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium.  In the above picture, is Winter's Lane, another Moda jelly roll in stock.  It is not so traditional, having cranberry reds with aqua and browns. Both are very pretty, though. 

       Please note, no shipping will be available until July at the earliest.

Life is a road to travel on.  Enjoy your journey today and everyday! 

A Nova Scotia Road

'Manly, yes...but I like it, too'....

A bit early for Father's Day, but...

I admit to being intrigued by colour and patterns.  I found it interesting when I saw the brand marque or badge that is in the above picture.  This company also has a paint colour attached to it- obviously a red.

The company is a agricultural company and I am fortunate to be able to wander tractor lots, just to look around with my family.  I'm pretty sure, I do not see what males see, but I enjoy my wanders!

I know there are tractor brand names with fabric lines, but sometimes, it's nice to think about the farm ladies from long ago (& now, too!) and what they would make special for the males in the family. 

The above is the couplings on the back of a tractor. I see lots of silver and grays with round circles and lots of lines for quilting.  

By taking your camera around where 'the male' likes to go, you will see patterns and colours that they see, making them appreciate that quilt even more.  

Think out side the box.  What does he like to do- and see if there is a possible quilt for him! It doesn't have to be full size, it could be a lap size for the couch or a potholder size.  

There is no right or wrong, it's about cutting into the fabric and see what you can make/create.   

I know the colour of the tractor as Massey-Ferguson Red. 

Have a great day.

In the Running...

A Maritime Beauty...

Maritime Beauty Fabric Kit
-There are still a few left-

A lady in Ontario, Kate, supported Mrs P's when the Maritime Beauty Fabric Kit was 1st released this year.

Now it's time for Mrs P's to stand up for Kate.  She has made the table topper, designed by Karen Neary of Amherst, and entered it in a circle quilting contest on the web.

         http://artsandsocks.blogspot.ca/ 

Above, is the link to her blog and from there, you can click on the link to Quilter's Show & Tell. 

Maritime Beauty. designed by Karen Neary

At the bottom of the Quilting Gallery Blog, you may enter to win a give away. 

Please vote to support Kate! Although, to be honest, there are other amazing quilts there as well!

I never thought of just circle quilts...

Voting ends tomorrow. so don't delay. You just need to push the 'box' to vote for the quilt you like best.



-Kate's Maritime Beauty-
-A Karen Neary Design-
-Fabric Sold by Mrs Pugsley's Emporium-

Cross your fingers, Kate, and thank you for all the support & kindness you have shown Mrs. Pugsley's Emporium.


Thank you as well, to everyone else for supporting Kate and Mrs P's!

First Guild Meeting...

Cumberland Quilt Guild invited Mrs P's to visit...

The physical location of Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Ltd.
Proud to be located in Amherst, Nova Scotia

I was invited to talk about my shop, Mrs Pugsley's Emporium or, Mrs P's, at the Cumberland Quilt Guilds' last meeting of this year.

I've never been to a guild meeting before, and I quickly learned, the end of the year ones are the best!  There was a lot of socialisation with laughter interspersed with food, yummy desserts, a show and tell and some games. 

I won't mention individual names, as I forgot to get their permission to mention them.  I would like to profile some of the work of the different guild members later, with their permission. 

Guild members brought their work to show the others and their  projects were fabulous!  Such a variety of different projects on the go.  Wonderful talent and each project has the uniqueness that gives it their own 'stamp'.  I could only look on in awe. 

There were examples of hand quilting, machine stitching, workshop projects, applique, piecing and so on.  The home we were at, had the most beautiful primitive quilts.  She had them displayed on the wall and kept that warm country feel through her house. 

I admit that I really, really like those primitive quilts but, as we discussed with great laughter- our personalities help pick the colours.  I'd be afraid of being bored with working with the muted colours but seeing her finished projects, I'm hoping to try someday.  I really admire her work and all the others of the guild. 

I'd like to thank the guild for inviting Mrs P's to come and explain what the shop hopes to be and the chance to answer some questions, including when the shop may open. (Hoping now for late July/early Aug)

Island Sun Batik by Moda

As a thank you for inviting me and because I appreciate what this group does, especially at the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival in October, they were all treated to a Fat Quarter of Island Sun batik by Moda.  I hope they'll smile and remember their fun night when they use it in their next project, either as a group or individually. 

As a thank you for coming, the hostess presented me with a pin cushion.  She made it- it's awesome!

Pin Cushion- totally fun!

Thank you so much to the guild for sharing their evening with me and for doing the good they do in our community.   

My Mum's Sewing Room...

Blast from the past...



...My Mum's sewing machine...

My Mum loved to sew, knit and bake.  She disliked crochet & embroidery with floss.  Mum would 'dissappear' for 10 minutes to her 'sewing room'.  Her sewing room really was the cabinet, that my Dad made for her, to house her new sewing machine in.  For awhile it was close by the kitchen and family, later it moved upstairs to the spare bedroom. 

No matter where the sewing machine sat, we were taught that it was her space.  Fear of needles, pins and extra sharp scissors were the normal and not for use in cutting paper- no matter how pretty of a job the pinking shears did on that piece of paper.

My Mum started to loose her vision when she was 55.  For close to 20 years, her health fluctuated and her eyes deteriorated.  I think that's why I love colour.  I would try to describe the greens in the spring and the autumn hues to her.  There are never enough words to describe colour.

It also explains why I like a nice feel or 'hand' to the fabric, as that is how many a conversation started with my Mum. "Feel that!", I'd say, while trying to describe what it looked like.  It helped her to connect with what others were seeing. 

I was digging around in her sewing machine drawers, looking for the infamous pinking shears, and I found a treasure trove of things she held dear.  It's truly amazing.  There are notes we wrote as kids, pieces of material I vaguely remember wearing as a dress and her sewing supplies.

One of the items I found is how she held her buttons in the drawer.  I know there is an old square box of Pot of Gold full of buttons as well, but I had not seen this button holder.  The first thing I noticed, was the feel.  It's made of a soft supple leather and sits flat.  It has a nice heft to to without being heavy...



Mum's Button Holder

It has an awesome look to it as it opens...
 

 

 

And as it spills it contents....

 

For the love of Buttons!

 You realise it's buttons- from the past!

 

Mum's 'sewing room' is now mine and I see it as our own family time capsule.  I'll treat you to a few other  things as I find them; although I clean pretty slow. They may not have much to do with a quilt shop, but they explain why I want to have a quilt shop.

 

Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Ltd. is about exploring new ideas, reconnecting with the past and enjoying yourself- even if you can only spare 15 or 20 minutes, you can trim some fabric or stitch a seam- if you have a small area for your sewing machine set up.

 

What 'secrets' are you putting away for the next generation? Or, to paraphrase a tv commercial...What's in your 'drawers'?

 

Have a great day! And don't worry about those drawers full of sewing items and family treasures- someday, they will be the best thing to happen to someone!