Part 2: Pine Needles Sewing Centre

I have a few more photos to share of Pine Needles Sewing Centre, Cedar Rapids. Most of my photos are of the many fabrics on display. Look closely and you will see lots of quilted pieces. There were so many people looking at the sewing machines that I did not get photos of that area. One thing I did notice however, was that every machine was set up and ready to use. It was a very well lit and spacious space.

Pine Needles Sewing Centre, Cedar Rapids

During my recent trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I discovered a marvellous quilt shop, Pine Needles Sewing Centre. This shop carries the line of Bernia Sewing Machines, fantastic bolts of fabrics, lots of notions, patterns, quilt batting, interfacing, the complete line of Aurifil and YLI threads, kits, books, magazines - everything you need for sewing and quilting. It is a sewer's / quilter's paradise!

The store, itself, is very modern (I forgot to take a photo of the outside) with two floors. Instead of one large cutting table there are several cutting stations throughout the building. The lighting is fantastic. Every nook and corner is well lit and the products presented so that you want to stop, see and touch everything. I'm sure I missed a great deal. While at the checkout, I saw several items other ladies had that I hadn't seen.

Fabric collections were presented with books and / or patterns highlighting the fabric. In many cases, quilts, table runners or sewing projects, made from some of the fabrics, were on display. The
Christmas in July display table greeted everyone who entered the shop. I noticed lots of beautiful Batiks, geometrics, dots, stripes, from the show Downtown  Abbey, The Cat in the Hat, Christmas, Halloween, Autumn, Children and Baby and much more. You will just have to check them out!

The staff is very friendly and helpful.

It's easy to see that the shop is owned by a person passionate about sewing and quilting. All the quilts on display are owned by the shop and there are a lot of them. All proceeds from the sale of these quilts are given to charity.

Needless to say, I was impressed!
First batch of photos:

 

Sand - Lots of it!

I visited the Michigan Dunes last Monday. Sand!!! Lots of it! Its real name is Warren Dunes State Park but to the locals, it's the Michigan Dunes.

There are 3 miles of shoreline, 6 miles of hiking trails and is open all year. It has a dune formation that rises 260 feet above the lake, which, I'm proud to say, I climbed. The view was spectacular! I watched a group of teenagers roll to the bottom and another bunch jump over the opposite side (which was quite steep) onto a pile of sand. We had to keep a close eye on the 3 year old as she wanted to do the same things as the older kids.  She did climb the whole 260 feet herself just holding her dad's hand.

Here's a couple of sites to check out and some photos of the dunes:

Enjoy!

• Beach Theme Quilts
• Beach Quilts from the Quilted Lizard (check out all the quilts)

More Quilt Show Photos / Words of Wisdom

I don't know about you, but I did enjoy looking at all the quilts this past weekend. We were permitted to take as many photos as we wanted. The white gloved volunteers were so friendly and eager to show off the quilts. It was interesting to see how each of the three quilters backed their pieces as well as the quilting designs used to enhance the different pieces.

One of the things Ricky Tims emphasized throughout the seminar was the fact that even though his quilts looked complicated, they weren't! He took us through the various processes in the making of the Rhapsody, the Caveman and Convergence quilts. We even had a short hands on session in creating our own rhapsody pattern. He kept saying that the patterns weren't difficult but they did take time to do. 

I still won't be making bed quilts BUT . . . 

In the future, I won't look at a quilted piece and think it's too difficult or wonder how it was made. I will study the quilt and break it into sections and go from there. This might not work for all quilts especially art pieces but it's a start. Start with an open mind and if it's something you really want to do, don't shy away from it but give it a decent try. I have a few new pieces in mind for the future.

Here are a few more quilts to view:

Quilts and more. . .

Where to begin! It was an interesting weekend at the Ricky Tims Quilt Seminar. 320 people were registered for this event. Each of the instructors had some of their books and patterns for sale. Ricky Tims also had lots of his hand dyed fabrics available.

The Pine Needles Sewing Centre, the Bernia Sewing Machines representative, had a variety of machines on display. There were lots of deals for anyone in the market for a new machine. Photos of the shop will be posted soon. What a fabulous place!

Here are some photos from the quilt show with more to follow another day. The first two belong to Alex Anderson. I believe the one with all the applique will be on the Quilt Show web site as a pattern to do in the fall. It's a beautiful piece.

The next two belong to Ricky Tims. You can recognize his caveman technique of cutting without a ruler. I rather like this technique. You should see his method of cutting strips of fabrics!!!

The last three belong to Pam Holland. I was intrigued with her use of cheese cloth in the faces art quilts. I use my hand dyed cheese cloth for mountains and hills as backgrounds in some of my pieces.

Enjoy!

Ricky Tim's Seminar

Thursday afternoon was the start of the Ricky Tim's Seminar, Cedar Rapids, Iowa . There are over 300 registered for this event. It should be an interesting weekend.

I was rather disappointed that there weren't more vendors and I knew this in advance but. . .  One of the sponsors for the event is Bernina. They have a large display of great sewing machines and accessories. Ricky Tims has his fabulous hand dyed fabrics as well as some Superior Threads and a few other quilting supplies and Alex Anderson has her wonderful variety of quilt books and patterns. I'm looking forward to their quilt talks.

Pam Holland, Photographer and Art Quilter from Australia, is selling her alphabet book, The Adventures of the Amazing Alphabet. I now own an autographed copy! She is an amazing speaker. I'm looking forward to her session as well.

I took photos of the quilts on display and I will try to get those for you as soon as I get them transferred from my camera.

Enjoy! 

Knitting Book

Today, I made a return visit to Elemental Yarns. It's quite close to Leisure Lake Resort where we are staying. My purchase today was a children's sweater knitting book: Pick the Pieces by Lorna Miser. It has sizes 6 mos. to 6 years. All 12 sweater patterns are very nice. I prefer some over others but that's my preference. I just may knit another sweater for my granddaughter on the way home.
Enjoy!

Ricky Tim's Quilt Seminar

Next Wednesday, I leave for Cedar Rapids, IA, to attend the Ricky Tim's Quilt Seminar. This seminar is hosted by the Eastern Iowa Heirloom Quilter's Guild and the Old Capitol Quilter's Guild. It will be held at the Marriot Cedar Rapids from Thursday to Saturday.

This particular seminar is about a 4 hour drive from where we have set up the motor home. I attended one of Ricky's lectures in Houston, Texas a number of years ago and it was fantastic. I'm looking forward to another interesting event. I'll keep you posted.

Knitting Book

A few days ago, I wrote about a book that I purchased at the yarn shop, From Ewe to You. The book is 75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colourful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet. It has lots of colourful photos. The creatures would make nice gifts.

Enjoy!

Jake the Pirate

My little three year old granddaughter loves Jake the Pirate. She received the ship with all the characters for her 3rd birthday in March. We just finished role playing with the small characters on the ship. Out of curiosity, I did a search for Jake the Pirate and quilting. I was amazed to find fabric with these TV show characters on it as well as some knitting and crochet projects.

If you want to make some costumes for these characters, check HERE.
I also discovered some other projects for this kid's show, such as a party theme, and knitting and crochet stuff. It's amazing the amount of things out there for children's shows.
Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July

It's still the 4th here in Chicago! Fire works have been going off since mid day. Every corner and alley has some fire crackers and other types of fireworks going off. After it got dark, we went out for walk around the neighbourhood to see some more. To me, this is very unusual as where I live in Canada, all fireworks within the city, are controlled.

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation

Today, July 1st, the Canadian anti-spam legislation takes affect. If you do not want to receive any emails from me notifying you of new content to my blog, please unsubscribe. Otherwise, everything will remain the same. Thank you for your continued support.

On another note, my blogging will not be as regular as it has been. Internet connections have been a bit spotty these days.

Have a great Canada Day!
Enjoy!