Summer at the Lake

We felt we needed a little relaxation after the big Quilt Market so Country Mouse and I headed to the cabin with our doggies over the weekend.

The sun was shining most of the weekend and the lilacs smelled so sweet. It was the perfect way to welcome summer at the cabin! In between throwing the ball for all of our pooches (as you can see this took up the majority of our time!) we managed to get caught up on reading magazines and writing our to-do lists. 

We can't wait to show you the new fabrics that are on their way and all of the things we have planned for them! It's going to be a busy summer! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

International Quilt Market Spring 2010

Country Mouse and I had so much fun at our first Quilt Market! Our senses were overstimulated with so much to take in...we're still recovering. There were so many people that we have talked with via email that we finally got to meet face to face and everyone was so sweet and helpful to us during our first Market experience. 

On to the big event... 

Sandi Henderson's lovely booth, so bright and cheery! We got to meet her and she signed her new book for us - Sewing Bits & Pieces. 

Speaking of books, Joel Dewberry was signing copies of his new book Sewn Spaces which we also picked up. Joel did a demonstration on making one of the cute birdies from his new book.

Amanda from The Quilted Fish has to be one of the sweetest people at Market. We asked her so many questions before Market and she always answered us and pointed us to the best resources. She has so many fun sewing patterns (our doggies are begging us to make the dog beds and my feet could have used these slippers after walking all day!) AND she is debuting her new fabric line Sweet Divinity with Riley Blake!

One of the cutest booths was by Alyssa from Penguin & Fish. Country Mouse and I are animal lovers and just adore all of her cute embroidery patterns and stuffed animals. You can find them in her Etsy shop.

We also drooled over Tina Givens booth and her new fabric collection - Opal Owl.

We met with the sweet ladies of Cloud9 fabrics. We'll tell you more exciting news about their awesome organic fabric soon.

 And last, but certainly not least is Amy Butler's booth. She has a new fabric line coming in September - Soul Blossoms.  And she has new thread, wallpaper, yarn, towels, bedding, and what else am I missing?! She is going to be at Patina in Minneapolis tonight - Monday May 24th and  we can't wait to meet her!

That's just a small sampling of the talent at Spring Quilt Market! We'll be talking more about Market and our new pattern line soon!

Parks, Flowers, and Patterns!

Why hello! It's been far too long again since Country Mouse and I have updated the blog, please forgive us! It's been crazy with preparations for Spring Quilt Market and our new patterns. Here's a quick recap on what's been going on in the country and the city...

1. I took a vacation to Florida with my husband and his parents, while Country Mouse came to the city to housesit and take care of our furbabies

2. In Florida it rained nearly everyday! My favorite part was the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom...here are just a few of my many favorite animals...tigers and meerkats...oh so cute!

3. I made time to have breakfast with a good friend I had not talked with for nearly a year! Time flies! And that same day I visited Como Park Zoo with another dear friend and her two little girls. It's so much fun to bring kids to the zoo!

4. My husband has big plans for our yard. We went to Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, and several greenhouses all in one day! And then it rained.

5. Then it snowed! This is not a lie! Last weekend while I drove over the river and through the woods to Country Mouse's house, the rain turned to snow! It was still there in the morning, but melted during the day.

6. I treated Country Mouse to Hanabi  in Duluth and we found our new favorite drink!

7. Finished sewing projects for RJR Fabrics Quilt Market Booth (coming up May 21-23)!

8. Met a very nice lady at the sewing machine store. We came home with a new machine! What better Mother's Day gift can you think of??

9. New fabric arrived and a new apron design is in the works

10. Plans for a sewing room makeover at Country Mouse's house have been developed...more on that soon...

Just had to stop by and update you on the recent events...

Inspiring Sewing Spaces

I really, really want to reorganize my sewing room/office. And I know my mom (Country Mouse) feels the same way.  We both dream of a new desk, shelving (LOTS of shelving please!), and a large workspace. Oh and some pretty lighting fixtures as well. Are you with us?


These two ladies recently purchased ironing board covers from our shop and we've fallen in love with their sewing spaces and honored that they chose to add one of our covers to their lovely decor...let's take a look...

This is Bonnie's sewing room...just look at that long work table AND a cutting table! and cabinets! So much room to spread out projects! And the sewing table is just perfect in front of the window. I adore her ruffle cafe curtains and the pop of the yellow chair. *sigh* You can see which ironing board cover she chose for her sewing room here.


You simply must head over to Bonnie's blog Going Home to Roost to see more of her gorgeous home (or as she's says - roost) and also check out her Etsy shops: The Kitchen Roost, Home to Roost and Old Renewed for goodies to add to your home.


Next up is a sewing room makeover by Naz...

I love the light fixture she chose and all of the creative ways she has used things she already owns or thrifted to get organized. Her shelves are so organized! She shows close up pictures and tips on how to organize those shelves on her blog. And she reminds me...I MUST get an inspiration board on my sewing room wall!


To see the before picture you'll need to head over to Naz's blog Make it, Bake it, Create it. She also has an Etsy shop Oliver Rue where you are sure to find the perfect gift for Mom if you still need one for Mother's Day. I have my eye on this pink vintage wine stopper.


Now if only my yardwork would be done so that I could work on redoing my sewing room. In the meantime I'll gather my inspiration from these ladies and make plans to someday (soon please!) redo my sewing room as well as Country Mouse's sewing room!

Decked out!

This weekend has been fantastic! We've had sun and higher than average temperatures and I got so much accomplished! As I write this I am able to sit outside on our new deck that was finished this weekend. We enjoy the outdoors very much (both my husband and I graduated with degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife...although neither of us ended up working in that area!) and to be able to sit outside on our deck really is a dream come true. Our yard doesn't have much usable space and so we would end up sitting in our driveway with our camping chairs and the grill. I'm sure the neighbors loved that! But now we can walk right out of our living room onto the deck to grill, have a glass of wine and just hang out.

I freshened up our patio set with a coat of white paint and ordered this fabric for cushions and pillows. Hopefully I'll have another productive weekend in the future and actually get those made before the end of summer! My husband and I are headed out of town later this week to Florida to visit family and celebrate his 30th birthday, so it definitely won't get done until after that.

I'll post more pics of the new deck once I finish the patio set and new pillows. But here is a little before shot with the patio table (now painted white).

And I'll be sharing more pictures of our yard because we have big plans for it: a patio and lots of landscaping. We really need to think about where to plant things so our doggies don't tear things up while they're playing outside. They love it out here as well. They got long walks both days this weekend AND got baths today. I even cleaned the house and did laundry! And I didn't neglect our etsy shop - I added a new SALE section to make room for some new items Country Mouse and I are working on. I think I'll celebrate with a glass of wine tonight. Hope your weekend was warm and sunny!