Fabric & Much More!

                        Yippee!!  Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc has some notions!  

At this point, they are not properly displayed but I can find things. There are Olfa blades, chenille cutters and a mix of seam rippers. Some thimbles and more. Let us know what you are looking for & we'll see if we can get them if they are not in this order. 

Organized chaos?  Maybe, but it's exciting to have straight pins, measuring tapes and more. 

Something else that came in...

... Joen Wolfram's Colour Tool, Wheel & a Ratio Tool. All tools to help quilters to interpret design choices and why some colours 'work' together better than others. 

And then there are some projects people have finished....

A hand tied small quilt made of assorted Mrs P's fabrics.  She tied on the back and looks lovely on the front and back.  An awesome job!

From a pattern by Karen Neary, also sold at Mrs P's...a collection of salvedges and yes- that orange on the left is a piece of Mrs P's ribbon.  That's so fun and exciting to think, she will carry the shop name along with her.  Another fabulous job.

As a tease, I'll show a piece of a hand quilted queen size quilt!  It was started during last years NS FibreFest- a hunter star workshop put on by the local guild.  This might not have been the original start project, as someone fell in love with the Florence line by Hoffman Fabric that was available at Mrs P's.  

Once she shows her project herself, I will show and tell a bit more. It is magnificent and a joy to behold.   

I really appreciate all those that have been bringing in your finished projects & allow me to take pictures and mention them in the blog.

Mark - Wed, April 9th on your calendar.  It's going to be project day!  I can hold up to 10 sewing machine and their 'operators'. I have 1 person confirmed of bringing in her machine and working the day away at Mrs P 's. If you would like to come and play- please let me know so I can have a table set up for you but if you want to play it by ear, by all means- drop in and see what's going on and stay to play if there is room.  I'll post more in a another blog to remind you. 

Hearty Good Wishes...

Is a line of beautiful nautical inspired prints by Janet Clare for Moda fabrics...

This is a jelly roll opened up to show some of the whales.  There are also seagulls, outlines of schooners, coral/ seaweed and more.  Ranging through ivory, sand to dark blue, the colours are very reminiscent of the Bay of Fundy although Janet Clare is from the United Kingdom. 

You can find her blog and website here: http://www.janetclare.co.uk

Drop in and see the complete line -now in stock! - at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc.  There are charm packs, jelly rolls and layer cakes available as well as the yardage.  

So, you may wonder why there is a jelly roll open...I cut 2 more 2 & 1/2 inch strips and cut those 2, plus the same print one from the jelly roll into 2 &1/2 squares and added one square onto the end of a shortened strip and another square onto the other end before attaching the next strip in the roll- lengthwise...working towards...yes, a jelly roll quilt !  

Enquiring minds, want to know what a jelly roll will make.  It's worth $49.95- is it enough to make a quilt top?  How big is the top?  So, Mrs P's decided, to see, but just adding end to end, even on slant, didn't really appeal...then there was the square added in between each strip....hmmmm, that's might be fun.  (Only the two lighter strips are used as extra )

So far, after just about an hour, the strips are joined end to end with the square in between.  Now, to find the other end and sew 1 seam lengthwise end to end.  Then those pieces are joined lengthwise and sewn.  This is done until you reach the desired width.  You will have 2 inch  horizontal strips of fabric making the quilt.  Thinking of the waves rippling in at the beach or the ridge lines on the sandbars made by the tide on the way out- I think this is an ideal use of this method of using jelly roll strips.

Never Stop Learning...

Karen Neary's newest creation is her bright and bold ...The Quilt of Learning...

The pattern is available at Mrs P's for $12.95 plus tax and includes the really cute block pillow. The quilt top is made from Stof fabrics.  A metre of off white  for the block centres, a Maple Cake and a Maple Roll for the blocks.   The Maple cakes/rolls are Stof's bright pepper.  Stof Pepper also comes in earth colours and dark colours. 

The Quilt of Learning was Karen's first experience using precuts.  The Maple Cakes are available only in Canada and are 10x10 laser cut squares and the Maple Rolls are 2&1/2 inch width of fabric strips. Both have 40 pieces of fabric with about 20 different colours in the packages.  Mrs P's has some of all the Stof Pepper lines in stock but I expect them to move out quickly and it will take awhile to have more delivered as the wholesaler is waiting for stock to make more Maple Cuts.  

This is a beautiful quilt and Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc is so fortunate to have it on display.  

You may purchase on line or let  us know you want by email and items will be sold on a first come, first serve basis.  Orders will not be shipped until Monday.

The Quilt of Learning Pattern

Stof Pepper Maple Roll

Brights Earth Darks

Stof Pepper Maple Cake 10x10 inches

Brights Earth Darks

You may check out more info on this quilt on Sew Karen-ly Created Website:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/sewkaren/

Please Note:

Mrs P's is re-learning her Pay Pal buttons!  They should work but I'm not sure if the tax button is set properly.  Taxes will be collected on the sales.  I will email when I receive your order...If you do not receive an email from mrspsamherst@gmail.com- I may not have your order and I don't want you to be disappointed. 

International Quilt Day...

Yes, it's true! Tomorrow is International Quilt Day!  

What do quilts mean to you?  As a quilter, maybe they are an outlet for your creativity.  As a owner of a quilt, maybe it holds a special story or memory for you.  As a potential quilter, there is an air of mystery that, yes, you can create a quilt.  

Quilts used to be a necessity- created for warmth and crafted from scraps of fabric into works of art.   In today's world, material is much more readily available and in bigger pieces, yet the need to make quilts and their beauty remains.  

To celebrate International Quilt Day...

This quilt lives on a spare bed.  It is a bow tie quilt and I never thought much about it. Looking at it now, I realize it is hand quilted and also- hand pieced.  The block is a bow tie block made from templates- set in a circle pattern. 

It's not particularly warm, the batting is pretty thin, but it is an awesome quilt!  You can't help but reach out and touch the bow ties & pick your favourite colour. Sometimes it will be a stripe, other times it might be the blue polka dots or maybe the daisies.  

The corners are rounded and just fits a double bed.  Perfect!  

Sadly, I don't know much about who made it or when it arrived in our house.  My Dad thinks it might have been a wedding present (1960), but he's not sure.  Mum would know, but she never wrote the quilt 'pedigree' down.   

In celebration of International Quilt Day, Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc, will have a new pattern for sale tomorrow by Karen Neary of Sew Karen-ly Created...  Mrs P's will have 'the' quilt on display starting tomorrow.  It's a beautiful quilt made with Stof precuts... Stay tuned &/or check Karen's blog on her web site  http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/sewkaren/

A Friendship Quilt for Marsha..

This past Saturday, Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc had a couple of very special guests. Marsha Cleveland, past editor of 'The Canadian Quilter', the newsletter/magazine of CQA/ACC and Dorinda McCully, CQA/ACC  NS's Regional Represenative.   

Dorinda and her husband came from Antigonish, NS with a very special quilt for Marsha on behalf of the Canadian Quilter's Association/ Association Canadienne de la Courtepointe to thank Marsha for being the Editor of The Canadian Quilter magazine for the past15 years.  (Marsha has just retired.) The Canadian Quilters Association is a National organization for quilters all across Canada with also members from some other countries.

The name of the quilt is 'Marsha's Friendship Quilt'.  The friendship star blocks were made by members of the CQA/ACC from all over Canada.  Dorinda McCully ( on the left) presents Marsha Cleveland with the quilt.  It is an amazing quilt and so are the thougts behind it.  ( photo by KA Neary)

The Amherst News very kindly came along for the presentation as well.  You may read their article here

http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2014-03-09/article-3642781/Fifteen-years-an-editor/1

For more information on the CQAACC, please visit their website at http://www.canadianquilter.com

You may sign up for an individual subscription which will allow you to receive the magazine on a quarterly basis. 

This is a great magazine for seeing what guilds are doing in other parts of Canada, reading profiles on quilters and staring in awe at pictures of some of the most spectacular quilts you have ever seen. 

Even Teddy, the hexie making bear, was amazed that they are discussing paper piecing hexies and showed some different layouts, in the 'Gizmos & Widgits' section by Daphne. There is also a great ad by Janome.  It's practically a blank page for you to design your 'dream quilt' on.  Totally brilliant! 

Not available in stores, means... non quilters, may never have seen this magazine.  It is only available with a subscription and contains Canadian content- which can be sadly lacking in the American magazines.  A great magazine and resource for Canadian Quilters and people interested in being quilters.  

Snow Day!

Or... Weather in Amherst can be an adventure...

It didn't look like it was doing a lot weather wise, so I went out to go to the shop...oops!  About 4 inches of icy snow. 

                            Long story- short- Mrs P's will not be open today!  

It took awhile just to get the doors to open on the truck. As it is still freezing rain, I left the snow on the windshield for now.  The side windows have 'portholes' scraped into the ice.  The coolest part though, I'm able to walk on the snow/ice mix!  For you that know, I'm a 'hefty' weight- it's been a long time since the crust on the snow has been thick enough to hold me!  

The above pitcure is the icy snow chunks dug off the doorstep. By this afternoon, the weather people are saying more snow.  It's a good day to stay inside 'working' on projects!  

I never knew ice had a colour until I was visiting in the Yukon and glacier ice always had a pale green/blue tint.  Every once in awhile, I see 'that' colour in the shadows on a pile of ice or snow.  

Man of the House ? ...

Teddy wanted to make sure that you know, he's still working on his hexie centres...I'm the one not keeping up with making the Dresden 'ring' to put the honeycomb centres on.  He's up to 2 centres done with a 3rd almost finished.  The 4th centre is started.  Although the quilt pattern calls for 9 blocks- the original plan was to make one block but Teddy likes making the hexies, so we'll see if he can make nine...

Speaking of plans, my Dad helped put 'shelves' up tonight to hold Mrs P's thread.  (I'll post more on that later.)  Fathers are pretty special people and this arrived in at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc...

                                 Man of the House by Dan Morris for RJR Fabric. 

What words would describe your Dad?  I like the words: Kind, Patient & Fair.  

Have a great day.

  

Playing for all the Marbles ? ...

Marbles!  Anyone looking for marbles?  I may have lost mine...3rd post in 3 days!  A new record for Mrs P's!  This lovely fabric which is even interesting on the 'wrong' side, is from RJR Fabrics and part of 'Where the Toys Are' by Dan Morris. 

The toys are retro toys and include some stuffed toys...

And some retro or vintage toys... ( some I even remember playing with)...

It's a wonderful 'child's' line but it could also be used in any quilt for a vintage toy collector. Simply put: a charming collection of prints that is just a bit boyish in style.   

There are 17 prints in this line currently available at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc, including the coordinating border print...

Not to be outdone by Teddy's Hexies, Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc arranged the line of fabric in...

                                                       Hexagons!

                                                    Hexagons!

                                                and more Hexagons!

 Teddy wanted me to show you to see his progress to date!  He's pretty good at those hexies...

He's having a great time! 

Have a great weekend.