Sonflower Quilts & Gifts

Quilting Inspirations

2011-06-28T15:56:00.002-04:00

I was in Petoskey Michigan within the past few weeks taking some time off and enjoying my family. We took our grandson to the park which is across from my daughter's former home. There on the school building I saw the brickwork which inspired my pattern Partial to 4's. I had forgotten where it had come from! I have started taking pictures with my camera or phone of brickwork or stepping stones at the zoo, downtown and the places I visit. It is amazing how many quilt ideas can come out of this kind of observation. Patterns for machine or hand quilting, pieceing, applique and more can be used singly or in combination. I was surprised when we went to Israel 2 years ago, that the tiles in a floor built around Christ's birth, were many quilt patterns we see today!

So, this summer as you travel, even in your own home town, observe design. Take a notebook or use your camera/phone to record things of interest. You just might discover something you need in the future.

Summer sewing

2011-06-23T10:38:00.002-04:00

Does the heat get to you or do you love it? Some of us sit inside and sew, enjoying the air conditioning and sipping our favorite summer drink. Others of us spend a lot of time in the garden or by the pool soaking up the summer weather. Do you miss your sewing? Try putting small pieces of your project in a ziploc bag and doing a little each day. Pin strips together one day; sew them together another day. Then pin the pieces together yet another day. Slowly your project will get done but you'll still enjoy the summer weather. You don't need hours and hours to sew. In 10-15 minutes every few days, the project will get finished eventually. AND you won't feel deprived or guilty at all!

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. Come take a class or join us for Monday Minimizer on July 20 from 10-3. Also, remember Kaleidoscope of Quilts Show on July 15-16.

OH-MI Shop Hop

2011-02-23T21:20:00.002-05:00

It's the night before the shop hop starts and all is ready! Now if the weather will just cooperate! There's lots of fabrics on sale, lots to look at and adventures just waiting to be experienced.

What a great way for all of us to fight cabin fever. With all the snow and ice and lack of electricity, we all need some laughter and excitement to perk our spirits. We hope to see you soon!!

Winter Newsletter

2010-12-20T10:37:00.002-05:00

The newsletter is printed and should be on the way to your house just in time for you to sit down and enjoy it. Hopefully all your holiday preparations are winding down and it's time for you to enjoy all of your hard work and planning. I am still wrapping and have just a couple of gifts to buy. One of our Christmas celebrations with family isn't until January 22 so I have some time to kill yet!

Kathy and I have tried to once again think up some new and different classes to teach. Also, we have added more sessions of "Keep Cutting" which was the Fall's most popular class. If you got closed out, notice that we have started over in January with Class #1 during both the day and the evening.

We have heard a lot of you moaning about all the unfinished projects you have (so do we!). So Pam and Lois have decided to host a "Monday Minimizer" two times per month. They'll be there to help. The shop will be closed to all but the participants, so attention will be easier to give! We do require a fee of $5 and preregistration so we can cover the additional heat and electric cost. Also, so we know someone wants to be there!! I am summarizing Pat Sloan's fabulous ideas of how to overcome and deal with all of our UFO's. That summary will be available at our Open House on January 8th. Maybe we can ALL get our UFO's under control and give ourselves a wonderful feeling of completion during 2011.

Happy New Year! See you soon.

2010-11-11T12:52:00.002-05:00

If you come in the shop, you will see a patterns with yellow covers from a company called "Vine Designs". That's us!! Kathy and I have been designing quilts, tablerunners and so on for about 2 years and finally have used our newsletter printing company to create a pattern line. In 2009, I wrote "Bits n Pieces" patterns to use up our scraps and leftovers fabrics. Now, they are an official pattern with professional graphics and directions. Lots better than my hand-drawn and photocopied originals.

Watch for more of these patterns to come out in the future. Every day we are working on getting some more out in the shelf and into distribution.

Traveling in alaska

2010-06-30T18:30:00.004-04:00

Dan and I are having a wonderful time seeing the vast wilderness of
Alaska. Haven't visited in any quilt shops yet--think that will happen when we get on the boat. I certainly have found much to inspire me here. The wildflowers and scenery just make me want to create a quilt. Lake Forest block of the month looked just like the Byers Lake area and I can't wait to finish mine. Embroidery and applique beckon to let me design a quilt. Alaska is quite beautiful and certainly a mostly untouched wilderness. Now if I can just see a moose somewhat close up...but not too close!!

Traveling in

2010-06-30T18:30:00.001-04:00

2010-06-30T18:28:00.001-04:00

2010-06-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

Art Quilt Class

2010-05-29T09:37:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday was the art quilt class with Lenore Crawford. 17 of us piled into our old storefront and listened attentively as Lenore told us how to proceed with her techniques of Misty Fuse and fabric. Then we began to cut out and fuse our fabrics. Poppies and coneflowers began to come to life. There wasn't much conversation because we were all concentrating so hard! Music would have been nice, but we didn't think of that beforehand. Towards the end of the class, Lenore demonstrated her techniques with fabric paint that added a 3-D effect to the art quilt. Some used her paints and brushes to try it out. Everybody had a fabulous time and could hardly wait to finish what they had started. Lenore had her patterns to sell....they are also available at her website: http://www.lenorecrawford.com/ If you have never seen her work, check it out! She is a resident of Midland, Michigan but travels all around teaching her techniques.

Fabric, Fabric and more Fabric

2010-04-04T19:21:00.001-04:00

Hi ladies - and gents too! This is Amy I am going to try to get on here now and then. Lately Cathy and Kathy have been bringing in more and more beautiful fabrics. I told them the other day to stop it, I want it all!!!!! As I sit here and look out the grass is getting greener by the day. I can see little green sprouts starting to show in my flower bed. I am getting inspired to want to work with light and bright colors again. Winter and bog us down and perhaps that helps make spring time even better, it is a time of renewal. Did anyone else make a quilty lent promise this year? I did, I gave up the piecing process. The result, I have quilted 6 lap quilts in 6 weeks. I actually have one more king sized one to go that has to get done by the end of the month. Another idea I heard about was making charity quilts only. Let us know if you made a quilting promise this year and how it went.

SPRING!

2010-03-16T23:45:00.002-04:00

Has spring really arrived? Saturday is the 1st day of spring...snow is gone, at least for now, and warmer weather has been felt. This past weekend I saw crocuses beginning to bloom up in Petoskey, Michigan!!

Spring brings in lots of new fabrics. We've received shipments of this really neat new Jinny Beyer fabric and Pam Kujawa stitched up a great new pattern with the fabric. 2010 Christmas fabric will begin to arrive within the next 6 weeks. Hard to believe, isn't it? Every day UPS arrives with a box of beautiful designs. Our fingers itch to stitch!

March also brings the planning for our next newsletter. What classes do you want to take? We'd love to hear from you. We try to guess what might interest our customers, so any ideas are well received!

2010-02-27T05:36:00.002-05:00

Have you had enough snow? This weekend is the OH-MI shop hop and we quilters sure are a hardy lot. It started snowing Friday--only 1-3 inches expected.NOT! At last count we have 7" on the ground. Did that stop the hoppers?? Not on your life. One hopper was heard to say we should call it the "Shop Slide"! It is so much fun to meet all kinds of quilters. We share so many ideas and there are so many fabric collections out there that no shop can carry it all. The variety is a spark to our creativity.

We've begun designing our Cross Wall hangings of the month. The patterns and kits will be available soon for purchase and mail order. I've included a picture of the first one-"FAITH".

2010-02-11T16:05:00.003-05:00

Fall, Christmas and the Superbowl have come and gone.....I'm just getting back to blogging. My knee is great, the shop is warm and cozy. Are you quilting? I organized my sewing area over the past two weeks. It's still not the way I want it but it is SO much better! I can actually find things!

We've begun the pillowcase challenge sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. Today I logged in 106 pillowcases donated. I have been hitting my stash of fabrics for pillowcase kits to share with those who have time but no fabric. I've got fabric that needs a home and what better way to share!!!

We finished our 2009 Bible Study Block of the Month and are starting the 2010 one. We had to cancel Tuesday's class due to the snow. Look at the quilt we made in 2009 . We are making a cross wallhanging each month this year. Watch for a picture of it too!

2009-09-22T14:30:00.002-04:00

I must begin with an apology! I cannot believe it's been a month since I wrote! In that time, I have had arthroscopic knee surgery (which went quite well! ), got the newsletter out, celebrated my 38th wedding anniversary and have been sewing on the projects which will go in our new book! Open House was a big success. It's always good for us to have a deadline for us to have OUR projects done! Did you miss it? There are still lots of classes which have room in them. We have filled up 2 of our Beginning Quilting classes.Saturday is still open and we are taking names for at least one more class we are opening up. Call us or email us if you are interested. It would start some time in October. Don't delay!

The newsletter is on its way!

2009-08-16T21:18:00.003-04:00

Yippee! The fall schedule is planned, the newsletter is written and should be in your mailbox within this next week. We have tried to offer a wide variety of classes for beginners and up. Amy is offering a whole new set of stripping classes, Kathy has a few new purses to teach as well as some new classes and Lois is starting a new block of the month. That is only a bit of what is going on at Sonflower Quilts.

Summer of fun

2009-08-07T14:06:00.002-04:00

We have had a fun filled summer. Last week we hosted 8 young women for a quilt camp. The colors and concentration were amazing! We could have hosted another week because we had so much interest. Next year we will surely try 2 weeks of camp. This is the first year we have had such a turnout.

I am enjoying a week at my daughter's up in Petoskey,Michigan. The newsletter is almost done and my graph paper is full of new Bits'n Pieces ideas. My granddaughter, Isabelle, and I made her a crown with Fast 2 fuse. It's awesome! What a great Halloween idea. She also helped me with the Scrap Mania blocks. 2 1/2 year olds can count to 3 and pick out different colored squares. I'm working on a quilter! Tomorrow we are going to try to make an Indygo Junction pattern dress. Pictures will be on display.

See you soon....Cathy

2009-07-24T15:51:00.002-04:00

Did you get to the Kaleidoscope of Quilt Show last weekend? It was wonderful to see all the quilts. It gets me inspired to FINISH things!!

Kathy and I started working on the Fall newsletter this week. It's like a gigantic puzzle, trying to fit classes in, wonder what you'd like to work on or learn, and what new things to teach ourselves! Look for your newsletter around the middle of August.

We've had inquiries about another daytime beginning quilting class.....It will start on Friday, August 7th at 11am. It meets also Aug 14, 28 and Sept 11. We need at least 2 students to run the class.It's exciting to have so many new quilters in our midst.

Next week is our kid's camp....it's full of excited campers ready to sew Yellow Brick Road!

Youth Project Camp

2009-07-09T00:16:00.002-04:00

If you stop by Sonflower this week, you will see a roomful of young people creating some beautiful journal covers, honey bun bags, pillows and framed fusible art. They are hard-working and great at following directions. It can get very quiet as they concentrate on their creations. We certainly enjoy watching them learn new skills and meet new friends.

Stained Glass Creations

2009-06-27T08:29:00.002-04:00

My work is evolving. It's been a long time since I've had this much time to work on my creations. I have learned so much about constructing the windows I am assembling. Color choices and values are so important. One window just wouldn't come out right until I found a different shade of purple. This should really help me pick your colors even better! I have included a picture of my first 2 pieces.

Creating at QSDS

2009-06-23T21:09:00.002-04:00

I'm in Columbus, Ohio this whole week at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium. The class I am taking is "Master Class". It is designed to help you further develop the subject or style of work that interests you. I am working with a liturgical focus. I have brought my pictures from Israel and Jordan and am using the stained glass windows from Nazareth to design wall quilts. Today I finished my first top and started the 2nd!! I am so happy to be soaked in the creativity around me. There are many people in my class that have and have had quilted pieces in famous national exhibitions.I feel so fortunate to be trading ideas with such experienced artists.

Kathy is coming Friday evening and taking a class on construction. We know that both of these classes are going to add pizzazz to our class offerings and boy, do I have ideas for ART Quilt Society!!

2009-06-16T14:43:00.003-04:00

What beautiful weather we are having! Lots of sunshine and warmth....finally!

Looking for quilt shows to attend? My daughter, Heather, sent me email about a show in Petoskey, Michigan this weekend. It is being held in the Knights of Columbus Hall on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20. If you are heading up North, you might give it a try.

Don't forget Kaleidoscope of Quilts. It is being held on Friday,July 17 and Saturday, July 18. Registration for quilts has been extended until June 30. Check out their website for info:
www.gcqc.org/

2009-06-12T14:17:00.002-04:00

We've just been organizing our panels. Lots of instant gratification projects...baby quilts...holiday decor...just for fun! Hopefully you'll be able to see the panels and find them easier. My knee is hurting so I've been sitting and creating a baby quilt panel with the adorable barn and animals. The instructions will be in the panel so you can create it too.

Andie had a tonsillectomy last Wednesday and is recuperating well. She'll be out of action at the shop until around the 22nd of June. Guess who is helping out with the kids????

New Honey buns and turnovers arrived on Thursday and I'm designing a pattern for placemats and matching tablerunner using those 1 1/2" strips.