Saturday 20 December 2014

Thank you! ...

Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc is now on Christmas/Holiday  Hours.  Instead of having a complicated open here, closed there, schedule, the shop will reopen Wednesday, Jan 7th 2015.


Joan of Arc statue in Paris, 2014

Thank you for all your support and kind words this past year.  Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!  


Effiel Tour, Paris 2014

The shop may be reached via email: mrspsamherst@gmail.com if you have any inquires over the holiday season. 


Versailles Palace, France 2014

The pictures have no bearing on anything quilting, except to remind me how good blue and gold go together. :)  They are my pics from this past year.  


Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris 2014

I hope you enjoyed them.  I may post more of where I got to on all those Saturdays off, this summer!  

Again, have a wonderful Christmas! 



Friday 12 December 2014

Sat hours this week!

Just a quick note to remind you, Mrs P's is open thus Sat from 10:30 am til about 2 pm.


Frozen ....



Also a check to see if the pictures are posting. :) 

Thursday 11 December 2014

Frozen fabrics now available!

It's here! Some of the Frozen fabrics ordered have arrived! 

There is a 'Sisters' panel...


A 'Skater Toss' with sparkles ...

And 2 other bolts with cast members...


Olaf got his own fabric!  

A quick post, but there are lots of you waiting for the news! 

Meanwhile, I cannot get the pics to load!  I'll try again tomorrow. Cheers!

Saturday 6 December 2014

Tea Towel or Cup Towel?...

How about Dish Towel? Whatever you call it...

Mrs P's now has toweling!  It's from Moda and is finished at 16 inches wide. How hard could it be to make a cup towel?

First, has anyone every measured one? Not me for sure! I laid a cup-towel I liked from home on top of the toweling and measured an inch extra on either end.  My towel was 25 inches, so I cut 27 inches.  

 
Using the original cup towel as a 'pattern', a simple rolled hem was used.  I marked 1/2 an inch in from the ends on the back side.  This is where the turn under will be for the hem. 


Pressing on the line and then another 1/2 inch is turned under and pressed. That's where that extra inch on each end goes- into the hem.  


Alas, my machine did not want to sew though all those layers, so the side seams were picked apart just far enough to be able to iron the hem.  In doing this, there is a tab of fabric that sticks out, so that's the part I cut off to allow the roll over hem lay a bit flatter and in turn, fit under the sewing machine. The mark 'disappeared' because I used a Frixxon marker that disappears in heat.  Good thing the press line stayed. 


Ready to sew, but now left wondering if to use red or white thread...the sides are red but the biggest area is white.  Hmmmm....


How about a variegated thread?  Yes! Then I won't have to worry about matching.  I picked a Silco by Wonderfil thread that Mrs P's sells.  Silco is a 35 weight {normal machine weight thread is 50} cotton thread.  It's thicker than the average machine thread but not as thick as some.  

Putting a different weight thread in your machine can seem to be daunting task.   I put it in and started to sew....the thread shredded, broke and in general - it was not a pretty picture. So, knowing this thread is thicker than the average, I loosened the tension on my pressure foot area and also loosened the thread tension.   I moved both off by one mark- just to see what would happen.  Zoom went the machine- I hit the magic combo right off! 

 I definitely need to start keeping a small notebook near the machine to write some of the hits and misses in it.  Experimentation is is fun, but there is no need to replicate the boo, boos.  :)  I learned in playing with 12 weight thread, that I needed to adjust ( loosen )  the tensions but I wasn't sure how much for the 35 weight.  If your sewing machine is sewing fine right now, make a note or put a mark where ' normal ' is on your machine- then you can get back to there, if you are experimenting with new kinds of thread or different layers of fabrics.  Remember too- if your machine is sewing nicely and then starts acting up- it might need a new needle.  

By now, you've also figured out, I made a cowboy cup-towel !  I think it's awesome.  Mrs P's also has a  green and red striped bolt of toweling.


Have a great weekend!  



Friday 5 December 2014

Sometimes you just have to share...

Especially if it's fun! 

Mrs P's is a fun place to work.  That's probably not a secret to those that shop here.  As a previous post showed, making a charm pack garland is fun and easy.  Just arrived ...Monkey Tales by Moda... Only the charm squares, but oh, so cute.  Plain old string didn't seem 'fun' enough...but raspberry Jumbo rickrac did! 


I'm not sure where it will hang, but I know it's going up and will be fun !

New notions have also arrived...


Yes, BUTTONS!  Pricing ranges from $1.95 to $2.39 per package.  There are Hands, Teddy Bears, Houses, Paw prints, Pumpkins, Coffee cups and Jack O'Lanterns.  

Still with fun stuff, who wouldn't like a pair of good quality Thread Snips?

  
Still available in 3 fun colours....pink, gree or orange.  They sell for $ 9.95 each. 

These really cool tags are also a  fun 'hot' seller this week....


Not all are still available, but a good assortment is still left.  They are the amazing price of 65 cents ($0.65) each!  Not to be out done, there are Hand Made tags too...


Still at $ 0.65 or 65 cents each. {  Ever wonder where the cent sign went? }

And the best part is...

Mrs P's will be open tomorrow- Sat Dec 6th from 10:30 am til around 2 pm!  

Enjoy your day and have fun!  :)


Thursday 4 December 2014

The Tree for Boston is lit tonight..

 A couple of weeks ago, a yellow truck arrived at the Visitor Information Centre in Fort Lawrence carrying a very special tradition...


No, not the red bow...


The Tree for Boston! 

Nova Scotia donates a holiday tree to Boston in memory of the help Boston gave Halifax during the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion.  

"December 6, 1917 is a day indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. On that Thursday the Norwegian vessel SS Imo, carrying Belgian relief supplies, and the French freighter SS Mont Blanc, carrying munitions, collided in Halifax Harbour, thereby creating what was then considered to be the worst man-made disaster in the world's history." from the NS archive site on the Halifax Explosion.       http://novascotia.ca/archives/virtual/explosion/explosion.asp

As sad as the events were, people came to help.   Especially the people of Boston.  It's only a tree but it means so much more.  With the tree, we send our thanks for events long ago and our well wishes for another year.   




Sorry, the post is not about quilting, except ...  Sometimes, your quilts are like the tree...they mean so much more because of the caring thoughts you have of the person as you make the quilt.  Quilts are not just for warmth, they embody your warmth and extend your hugs to the recipient.