From Our Hands ~ Creative *On our Way*

On our way to Yellow Springs, Ohio, Mom and I decided to stop and stretch our legs in Greenwood, Indiana at Back Door Quilts. I have wanted to stop there for a while after seeing their wonderful booth at the International Quilt Show in Rosemont, Illinois.

I had read on their Facebook page that the owners were at the Paducah Quilt Show, 

but that the shop would still be open. We weren't sure how much would be missing for their booth, but let me tell you This is a BIG Quilt Shop and it was absolutely chockful! :) 

As you walked in the door, it was hard to decide where to start!

Inspiring vignettes the moment you walked in the door!

Some required a closer look ;)

So many beautiful models!

Mom and I found the wool room quickly

With a large selection of models, patterns, wool and accessories.

Even a few wool designers that were new to us.

I was excited to see models from a favorite designer ~ Carried Away Designs.

This was a good stop for stretching our legs!

Back Door Quilts has rooms for different mediums ~

From embroidery

to English Paper Piecing

Little quilts from Red Button Quilt Company

And large quilts too.

And oh the fabrics!!! 

So many different styles at every turn!

Well, we had miles to go before we sleep, so it was time to make some decisions...

Mom purchased:

Mom purchased some wool felt, a pattern from a new to us designer,

 and a wonderful Hexie Needle Case kit.

And I bought "Wool Eggs" pattern by Eweniversity, a mini charm pack of Bee Inspired fabric, some wonderful rick rack and measuring tape trim and another  Hexie Needle Case kit.

It was a wonderful first stop on our trip.

You can visit the website for Back Door Quilts here and their Facebook page here.

If you are ever in the Indianapolis area, I would highly recommend a visit!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Blessings, Patti

International Quilt Show ~ a lovely weekend

This past weekend was the International Quilt Show in Rosemont, Illinois.

Lucky for me it is only 10 minutes away.

This year the show was celebrating its Ruby Jubilee - 40 years.

In honor of the celebration, they put together this exhibit inspired by the "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts" show held in New York City a few years ago.

The graphic red and white quilts, both large and small, made quite a statement.

This year was also special as my Mom took the train up so we could attend the show together.

This was her first time purchasing wool in person. She doesn't have any local shops and has always bought her wool online.

It was so much fun to walk down aisle after aisle of quilting treasures

and woolie goodness!

One of the best parts of attending a quilt show is meeting designers and shops that you aren't familiar with.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Carried Away Designs took my breath away!

Her sense of color and beautiful embroidery is so stunning in person!

How can you ever decide which to purchase?!

You can see her lovely designs close up here and her Facebook page is here.

Holly & Ivy from Ripon, Wisconsin was another favorite booth.

Her website is here and she even has an Etsy shop here.

So much lovely wool in one booth!

(And she didn't get mad when I riffled through all her golds looking for the perfect shades :)

So pretty!

 Next up is Back Door Quilts from Indiana - home of lots of paper piecing!

I did a little stocking up :)

Their website can be found here and their Facebook page here.

I may need to plan a road trip ;)

Here is Farmhouse Threads - their booth was so sweet that you wanted to move right in!

I loved the screen doors!

And the picket fence!

Their website can be found here and Facebook page here.

And when looking at wool , you know we are going to spend a lot of time in the booth of Mary Flanagan Woolens!

So many colors and so little money LOL!

There are more pictures of her beautiful wool here.

Of course, you know we also spent a substantial amount of time in Primitive Gatherings booth as well, but I was to busy shopping to take pictures. You can see their booth here.

Well, I think I have taken up enough of your time!

I'll be back with my purchases and my Mom's latest work!

"She sets about her work vigorously;

    her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable,

    and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff

    and grasps the spindle with her fingers."

~Proverbs 31:17-19

Blessings, Patti

Inspiring Stitching Weekend Part 1

My inspiring stitching weekend started late Thursday afternoon. 

The International Quilt Festival was in Chicago. My sister-in-law, Joy, and I usually spend a wonderful day at the show, but this year the weekend was booked solid. So Thursday after work, I snuck over to the show for two hours to do some power shopping! Those are my purchases above. One of my favorite booths this year was Lakadaisies. Designer Dolores Storm and  her husband were such a joy to visit with. I love her use of antique textiles and had to buy some of her vintage teal wool and flag bunting for myself. The design above is beautiful as shown, but she also had an example made in all cream wool on antique ticking - be still my heart!

You can visit Lakadaisies website here and can learn more about Dolores on her blog here. She has pictures of her booth at Paducah and in the bottom right hand corner you can see the ticking and cream piece that inspired me so!

I also picked up some templates for English paper piecing. The samples at Back Door Quilts were so inspiring!

I love both - the pin ball and the basket.

And look at these awesome bowls!

Wouldn't they be great in vintage fabrics?

So right about now you are probably thinking that I was very well behaved during my power shopping. 

Well, that was before I got to Stacy West's Buttermilk Basin booth!

I guess that you could say that I did a little damage in her booth :)

I bought my very own  2015 BOM of "Basin Banners Thru The Year". (along with a few other patterns that I couldn't live without :) 

Now on January 1, I am all set to just pull out my kit and get started - each and every month.

Stacy is such a joy to meet! She has a very kind heart and I felt like we could have talked for hours!

Stacy is a prolific designer - I don't know how she does it all!

Buttermilk Basin's website can be found here and Stacy's blog here.

I had such a great time in my short amount of time at the show, 

that I just had to pop back over to the show in the final hour on Saturday.

Of course I had to visit with Stacy again and picked up a bit more wool. I also picked up the ivory wool from JJ Stitches. I was so excited about this Josie's Petals kit! How did I miss that kit the first time?! I've been admiring the Josie's Petals quilt for some time, but wasn't sure about making it. Kaye Moore's booth had the perfect solution - a kit for Josie's ball - a great opportunity to try a smaller version first to see if I like it before investing in the quilt.

And this is just the tip of my Inspiring Stitching Weekend!

Wait until you hear about Part 2!

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all."  

~ 1 Chronicles 29:11 

Blessings, Patti