Show weekend

This is the weekend quilters all over the Hudson Valley have been planning for.   The weekend of the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show.     Every odd numbered year it takes place in the gym of Dutchess Community College.    I have it on good authority that the over one hundred quilts on display are a particularly good bunch and that the Best in Show will take your breath away.     I will also tell you that Debbie Brown, the featured guest will be doing lectures and workshops that you should definitely check out.   She is a wonderful speaker and teacher,  who often teaches at the Big Show in Houston for a much higher fee.    This is a great opportunity to learn from her without needing a plane ticket.

I wanted to share with you the runner that Beverly Allyn made from our Jack O’lantern pattern.   The kids in her life designed the faces,  don’t you love the puppy and the unicorn??    Kids are just so free in what they design,  it’s wonderful and its a lesson we could all benefit from.

We will be closed tomorrow,  the 13th,  and will be opening late Wednesday the 16th,  at 2 pm.    Having said that,  you should also mark your calendars for the Weekend of Halloween.    Red Hook is having its annual Chocolate Festival, the Saturday  after Halloween,  so we will be running a workshop on our Chocolate Kisses and Hugs workshop.   It will be Friday November First, at 11 am.   and will teach you how to make the Kiss and the Hug blocks,  and discuss ways to use them together or separately.    Class fee includes a copy of our printed pattern,  and materials for 2 kisses and 2 hugs while supplies last.   ( makes a 12 inch block )   Cost is $30.00    Bring your sewing machine, with cream or light brown thread,  and a pencil.    Call ahead to reserve your materials.

Have a wonderful and creative weekend.

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The Most Valuable Resource

October is a busy month for creative fabric and fiber types.   With Halloween at the end of the month lots of people who don’t sew are thinking of costumes,  and the weather is getting cooler so thoughts turn to warm quilts and knit and crochet cozy afghans.   But it is also show season.    Tonight at the Morton Memorial Library is an opening for their annual fiber exhibit,  My quilt, Go with the Flow is hanging there in good company.    Here is the information from their newsletter.    You can find them on Facebook for more info.

Morton’s Homage to the Fiber Creators
Opening:  Friday, October 4, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Exhibition:  October 4 – October 26

Join us to see the community’s fiber arts creations. We will have quilts, knitted animals, rugs, handmade garments, knitting, spun wool, fiber collage, and much, much more.

Admission is free; art purchases
and donations for the library are welcome.

Refreshments will be available.
Library open hours for exhibition.

The back of the Gilson Quilt,  see the front at the show!!! 

Then next weekend is the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show.     The award winning Gilson Quilt made for the Red Hook Historical Society is my entry for that show.      When the quilt was loaned back to me for entry in this show it came with a certificate from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network.   A 2019 Award for Excellence,   for “Gilsonfest and the examination of the life of Alexander Gilson as a case study of slavery and its aftermath in the nineteenth century New York and the Hudson Valley.     I will be framing that.     Information on the quilt show is all over social media,  google it and you can find a dozen sites for information.    And then,  on the weekend of the 19th  is the Sheep and Wool festival at the fairgrounds in Rhinebeck.   They also are on several sites if you google them.

All these events provide inspiration from the fibers,   but the best part of these events is the people you meet when you are there.    Looking at things is a very solitary activity until you make a polite comment or ask a question out loud.   Before you know it you are deep in conversation with someone interesting.   Sometimes it is the artist, or a friend of the maker,  sometimes just someone who has an opinion,  but it always enriches the experience.    I have made a bunch of good friends just by a simple audible statement wondering how or why the maker did it that way.      If you attend, enjoy the color texture pattern and design work,  but don’t forget the people around you who are there to enjoy the same thing you are, the people are the most valuable resource.

Here at the shoppe,  since I am not allowed to vend this year,  we will be having our last meeting for the Alaska BOM tomorrow,  please bring your show and tell, no matter how much or little you have done.   We will make a plan on how to get it done.    Tuesday is Handstitchers Club.   We will talk about how to finish the cross stitch piece and then work what ever UFO you have.   November we will do Redwork. 

And lastly,  Thursday the 10th is the Jack O lanterns workshop.   Super fun and quick to make.    If you prefer your pumpkins uncarved  you can always just add leaves and vines instead of faces.    Plenty of room in the workshop,  sign up today and we will have some fun with it.

Ready for Fall?

The leaves are beginning to turn colors and fall,   apples, cider and cider donuts are everywhere ( I like that better than the pumpkin spice everything )  and the school routines are established and hopefully going well for everyone.     It’s fall.    The cooler nights get lots of people thinking about making nice warm quilts,  and of course thoughts of Halloween.

Although I have a huge sweet tooth, I like quality over quantity so the whole candy thing isn’t for me,   I have always liked Halloween.     Even people who don’t think they are creative let their inner child out for this holiday,  and that inner child will love making the Jack o Lantern quilt that I have added to our fall schedule.      If your inner child is shy you could always ask a real child to help design the faces,  but this is a simple quilt that will have you smiling throughout the entire season.     It is scheduled for October 10,  at 10:30 and costs $30.00      These fun pumpkins could easily be adapted to a trick or treat bag using out Fab fats tote pattern too.       The wall hanging as shown in the wonderful sample that my daughter helped with when she was small is about 32 inches square.   Yardages and supplies needed for the project as shown are listed on the “New This Season”  page.

Other dates to mark in your calendars are new dates for Sunbonnet Sue,  Oct 18 & 25,   The next and final Alaska BOM on Oct 5,   and the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show Oct 12 & 13.    I have spent some time overhauling several pages on this website,  so if you haven’t browsed in a while I invite you to do so.      There are a few of you I will be contacting over the next week to reschedule with,  so watch for those calls.    Have a great week!!      

Back in the Swing

Next week we will be back to regular hours.   I am still moving a little slower than normal,  but everything is healing.    Crazy Quilt Club on Tuesday afternoon will be an inspiring way to get back in the swing of things.

Crazy Quilting sample by Diane Johnson

The ideas didn’t stop flowing while I was down, even if the body couldn’t keep up and the painkillers and lack of good sleep had me foggy.    I kept my journal handy, and I wrote down some really good ideas.   ( and a few that are not so good or totally illegible!!  )       I have on many occasions shared how much I value the practice of keeping a journal,   and it proved to be so helpful in this situation that when this all settles I want to work up a new course.    I also did a bunch of hand stitching when handling needles and scissors was possible.   Also very therapeutic, but in a different way.

I will slowly begin to reschedule all that was postponed.     The Block of the Month and Handstitchers Club will just pick up with the October meetings.     I will be contacting the rest of you as I am ready to book times to make up for meetings missed.    I have a nice long list of who needs to schedule what,  so I will do my best to get everyone back on the schedule as soon as possible.

Unfortunately I will not be allowed to vend at the Dutchess Heritage Quilt Show,   but I still encourage all of you to attend,  I will post more details next week.

I can’t wait to see you all again,  come in and visit soon!!

 

Some open hours this week.

I am getting better so this week I will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 12 – 5,

I have Doctors appointments on Friday.  If I get approval to travel I will be going to see my daughter at college for Saturday,   if not I will be here Saturday too.   12-5

Next week if all goes well I will be back to regular hours and begin the rescheduling process.   Thank you all for your patience and good wishes.   

Jake misses you too!!!

 

Still Healing

Yes I know it’s Friday so it’s time for a new post.    I am still home healing.  It gets a little better each day and now that I can get up the stairs to my own bed and I am actually getting some sleep I hope that the process will accelerate.     I deeply appreciate your patience and understanding as I get better bit by bit.   I am keeping a running list of all the lessons, workshops and club meetings that will be rescheduled as soon as I am up to it.

Photo by Fancycrave.com on Pexels.com

This event has made it so clear to me how critical it is that I am able to communicate with you all through this blog and website,   and of course Facebook.    Please encourage your friends who may not yet be connected to the Shoppe in one of these ways to join this conversation.     I work hard to post interesting and relevant content,  and I only advertise my own events and merchandise ( and even then minimally) ,  I promise that I will never give out your contact info.     If you are seeing this through Facebook,  please visit our website homepage where the blog is posted each Friday and subscribe by entering your email in the space in the right column.     You will get a simple email notification when there has been an update, usually once a week early in the day of Friday.    Many of my customers are not super local so knowing what is going on makes life better for you and me.

Keep stitching so there is plenty of Show and Tell when I get back!!!

 

 

Closed this week

The shoppe will be closed this week as I continue to recover from surgery.   I came home yesterday but it will be a a bit before I can fully return to normal.   For now I am celebrating my husbands amazing cooking,   and the total and unconditional love from Jake the Quilt Pug.     They are both taking good care of me as I slowly resume normal activities.

This does mean that there will be no Handstitchers or stumpwork clubs tomorrow.   I am hoping to be open for limited hours the following week, so I will let you know asap about Crazy Quilt Club currently scheduled for the 17th.

Keep stitching,   keep being creative and I hope to see you all again soon.

 

-Diana