Mary...

Tomorrow, Mary Farrow-Sinclair will be in from slightly after 11am until 3pm, demonstrating some bead embellishments on a quilt...  or some other handwork on quilts!  She also mentioned 'turned edge appliqué' , when I was speaking to her today. 

Mary is the local president of Victoria's Quilts.This group makes quilts for people that have cancer and usually are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation.  

http://www.victoriasquiltscanada.com

Mary is also involved in the local Zonta club and the Victorian Order of Nurses.  Mrs P's was very fortunate that Mary took time out of her busy schedule to come Wednesday and is a wealth of knowledge on different stitching & quilting techniques. Drop in and say hello!  

http://www.zontadistrict1.org/amherst_ns

http://www.von.ca/en/home/default.aspx

This fabric is made by Adorn It. They are also involved in the scrap booking industry, so they have coordinating ribbon and some wood buttons.

How cool are these ribbons, buttons & fabric lines from Adorn It!? 

It is another owl line, including chevrons, big dots and lots of colour!  Drop in to see the line.  Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc is open we'd, Thursday & Fridays from 10 am to 4pm. Tuesdays are 1 pm to 4pm. All other times are by chance or appointment. 

Closed this Tuesday...

I am closed this Tuesday, tomorrow, as I will be piping and paying my respects at the fallen RCMP officers service tomorrow in Moncton.  I will leave the outside lights on at Mrs P's as well.  

Snow-Buds...

It starts with an appliqué pattern, some pieces of fabric, a small bag of embellishments and you are on your way to creating a Sno- Bud by McKenna Ryan!

This, in progress, raw edged appliqué, is Block 7 of the series of 9 blocks.  Christine McCarthy kindly allowed me to photograph her work in progress. The blocks may be used alone as a quilted wall hanging or you could piece the blocks to make a bigger quilted wall hanging ... 

The quilt image is from the Hoffman Fabric web page.  For more information on McKenna Ryan's designs, her web page is pineneedles.com  Christine McCarthy has a new blog page, http://krissteezkreationz.blogspot.ca  

To help understand the raw edged appliqué technique, Christine McCarthy will be at Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc, this Wednesday from 10/10:30am til 3:30pm.  You may drop in and see how it's done and see if it's a type of quilting that appeals to you.  She will be working on one of the blocks and have some she has done to show us.  

That makes this coming Wednesday another, bring a project to work on day! 

Please, let me know if you are bringing a project and need a table- I have a limited amount of tables and floor space.  It can be a hand or machine project- just come and enjoy!  You may just drop in and see what people are working on and be inspired!  There is no charge.  If you're sitting on the proverbial fence wondering if you can quilt- these project days are a great chance to see what people might be working on.  They are totally for fun and the wonderment of saying, "I did that!"

  

Mrs P's has all 9 of the block patterns packaged with the embellishments for $14.95 (plus tax) each The beautiful colours you see, are Hoffman Batiks and are also available as a 'kit' at Mrs P's. The cost for the precut batiks kit would be $20.00 ( taxes included).  You will also need Wonder-Under or an equivalent product to fuse the pieces to back- also available.  These can be shipped, just drop an email to mrspsamherst@gmail.com for info. 

Appliqué mats are also available, in 3 sizes!  They are a sheet of silicone that is layed over the paper with the pattern and you fuse the design on top of the (see through) silicone, following the design below.  The finished design is then removed from the silicone and positioned on the final background fabric and fused in its final placement.

Mark your calendars for the following Wednesday as well.  Mary Farrow-Sinclair will be in 10/10:30am  til 3:30pm to show how to attach beads and some other 'hand' work in quilting!   

Shop Hours are Changing...

Brrr- it's still a cool day here, in Amherst.  It's supposed to get to a modest 12*C today and  by the weekend, warm days should be here under sunny skies!  

This is more of a housekeeping post....

Shop Hours will be changing from June 1st on until mid to late September.  Mrs P's will start being open on Tuesdays from 1pm to 4 pm!  Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays remain the same, 10 am to 4 pm. Saturdays will now be by chance!   

As always, by chance means, if I can be here, I will be.  If Saturday is the only day you can come for a visit, by all means reach me at the shop during working hours, or send an email or find me wandering on the streets of Amherst and I can meet you here for a time that is convenient for both of us.  I am not available every Saturday, so please make contact and make sure to get a reply so that you are not disappointed by Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc being closed when you come. 

The phone number at the shop- let it ring, I can be pretty slow- 902-661-4260

To further muddy the waters....

Mrs P's is open this Sat from 10 til 2pm- the last scheduled Saturday for now. 

And is open on a rare ...Monday, June 2nd, 2014 from 2 pm to 5pm...

The local quild, Cumberland Quilters Guild, is having a dinner featuring the Singing Quilter, Cathy Miller at 6 pm that night.  http://www.singingquilter.com

Totally for fun...

Sometimes, we want to decorate, quickly and easily.  Using fabric can be a way to add colour and a nostalgic feel to a celebration.  People who do not sew are amazed at some of things that can be made from fabric.  

Recently in Halifax, a store had a banner made of pennants with a pinked circle sewen on it with a letter markered inside. It was beautiful !  Together, it read 'Happy Birthday' but it would be limited only by your imagination.  

There are all kinds of ways to make pennants and to string them up. 

Recently, I found a way to make a pennant from a 10 inch square.  Don't despair if you do not have access to a package of 10 inch squares- you can cut  a 10 inch width of fabric that you like & get 4 squares or use a fat quarter.  Mrs P's will cut any width that you need, so feel free to mix and match what you like.  

I was intrigued by this oriental pattern that has come in by Red Rooster, Tadashi.  There is a lovely panel and this is one of the 4 complimentary fabric to the panel.

First, the 4 ...10 inch squares were cut out.  

Next, the square is folded in 1/2 diagonally and one side is sewn.  It doesn't matter which side.

Now, turn the sewn square inside out.  Centre the seam in the middle of the back of the pennant and press.  Careful poking the tip- we really don't want a hole, but if that happens- sew the seam shut again.  

You would make more than one!  For this example, I used a piece of ribbon that was handy, but you could use ribbon, binding tape, twill tape, or any string.  This works best for a flat 'stringer' as the flap will be sewn done over the ribbon.  If it's a round 'stringer, a casing  could be made but to prevent the pennants from sliding on the string, they will need a few stitches though the 'stringer' and the pennant. 

Above, the back of the pennant.  Note, I did not stitch the raw edges down.  Depending how you will be using the finished project, back of a chair, hung from the rafters, or in a window... You can sew a quick stitch to hold the flap down.  The square can be any size, so experiment! 

Ta Da!  A finished pennant.  Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc has a lot of oriental fabrics in stock and I think this would be an awesome way to showcase them.  The elegant fabric is enhanced by having a finished edged rather than a raw edged look - but a pinked edge would be a lovely finish on some other more 'rustic' fabric and be totally fun.   I can see trying some of those too!  

Using a fusible web ( Wonder-Under, for example) you could fuse on letters or numbers or animals or...

A piece of batting could be put inside and then you could practice quilting on a small project to gain confidence.  The possibilities are truly endless!  

Let you imagination run free and enjoy! 

Bazinga !! ...

Yes it's true!  Mrs Pugsley's Emporium Inc has 'the Big Bang Theory' fabric in stock!  

There are 3 different patterns & colours to pick from.  The blue <Bazinga Glow> has atomic symbols and Bazinga!.  The white <Heroes in Space> has the characters posing in their favorite super hero costumes  and the black <Cast and Elements> has the characters and their names.  The fabric is printed under license by David Textiles, Inc.

There's a lot of vibrancy and fun in the fabric.  A pillowcase was in order, but I really liked the white fabric as the big piece and that meant the 2 darker colours would be together...

So, I  went with a Michael Miller print ( also in stock) as a band.  This picture shows the beginning of a French seam.  It looks so odd- starting to sew the pillowcase together- right side out- but is necessary so the product can be turned inside out and thus seam is then enclosed by putting a seam line on the inside.  

So, when we turn this right side out....

It's the finished product!

Pillowcases are fun to make and don't be afraid to play with their creations.

Beside the finished pillowcase is a kitted pillowcase by Mrs P's and it has stripes for the accent band...but they don't run parallel.  Another suggestion is the Glow in the Dark Fairy Frost by Micael Miller Fabrics....that would be fun too!  ( also in stock)

A quilt would be awesome too!  Sometimes though, a smaller project is needed for a gift and pillowcases are wonderful. ..

This pillowcase I have made with Hoffman's Bali Paradise line.  It is so crisp and summery looking.  Again there are 3 different prints to chose from- all in the Sea Breeze colour way.  I liked it best with this solid ( now carrying Michael Miller Cotton Couture- but more in a later post! ) called Candlelight.  It added a pop of colour without being too overbearing and Cotton Couture by Michael Miller is so soft to feel.  A perfect gift for a special Aunt! 

Stof...

Is a Danish company that produces an interesting array of fabric.  It does has a Scandinavia feel to some prints but for the most part, they are just a bit different from a traditional print.  There is a sense of whimsy but not so avant grade that you cannot use it with your stash at home.  

The three Stof cotton prints are in their Quilters Basic Perfect line.  I'm not saying thiese are 3 colours to put together, but rather, just look at the fun.  The newsprint style on the background is not in English, but French, which adds to the whimsy.  There's not enough printed in the squares to read- just a few words here and there.  It's a totally fabulous print!

The gray flowered print has enough light to help keep it from just being grey/gray. ( I'm never sure which is the Canadian way to spell gray- so I alternate!). Small petal  flowers  allow your eyes to move around on the print which will add some interest to a normally staid colour.  

The row houses in green, blue and yellows is just plain fun!  It is a one direction print ... but who hasn't wanted to live in an upside down house?  can be your answer if you want to flip the print in your squares.  Green is dramatic but with the blue, you spy the houses and smile.  It's reminds me of a village or neighbourhood and of a city block.  It's hip and urban.

Drop in to see theses fabrics and many more!  A couple of big boxes have also arrived with some more notions.  Mary Ellen's Best Press in all fragrances including no fragrance are some of the items!  

Enjoy your day!