Blast from the past

Hi all

This was forwarded on to me from Vandy (my fellow Castle worker!). It was just too funny not to share. Can you imagine...I would have been a terrible wife!

Have a great day!

Quilting Seminar

Hi all

I took some great pictures from our quilting seminar I thought I would share with you. Cheryl had tons of samples that she shared with us. So enjoy!

Welcome back Cheryl!

I love the colours of this quilt. Guess what? It was made on the serger!

I really liked this look it is the sashing of a quilt.
Just by adding a little decorative stitch what a difference.

Same idea as above. Why leave your tone on tones stark white.
Add a little dimension and zing with your decorative stitches.

This border was done on the embroidery machine. Using an endless hoop.
Everything gets lined up so nicely!

Ok I am going to stop here, because Blogger is being a little pill right now! So I am going to add the rest of the photos on The Cloth Castle Facebook page. Sorry about that. Better for me to walk away than to throw the computer out the window!

Charm bag Tote

Hi all

Well winter hit us this past weekend with a dumping of snow. I actually really love the snow. More so when I am at home with a nice cozy quilt, a pot of soup on the stove and the option to just watch it fall! I love that quiet that settles over everything with snow. Now having said that I actually had classes on both Saturday and Sunday, so it wasn't quit that tranquil! 

Saturday I taught the Charm Bag tote class, which is my favorite bag! It holds so much I love to use it for classes, travel and for everything in between! The ladies all went home with them done. Here are their color variations.

Don't they look great! I made one over the weekend as well, I forgot to take a picture! I will have to post it another day.

On Sunday I had my once a month Sunday drop in. This is a class to work on unfinished items or get a little extra help. Because of the snow it was a quiet day but from my side of things I got three quilts prepped for quilting, so a good day for me. In about a month I will be going on a weekend retreat with my quilting buddies so I have been digging out unfinished projects! Shocker I know! It will be so good to have them finished.....some are about 15 years old! Oh well better late than never!

Well I best be getting going we have a busy day here at The Cloth Castle. Today we have our guest speaker, Cheryl Stranges visiting and doing a lecture.We have an afternoon session and an evening, which I plan on attending. There are always so many little hints and tips that I get from these classes!

Have a great day!

A new home....

Greetings

   Today a batch of quilts are finding a new home! One of our customers donated several quilts that she wanted donated to a local organization. Today they will be finding a new home at Jeneece Place, a home away from home. 

Jeneece Place is a home away from home for families who travel to Victoria for medical care. It is owned and operated by Children's Health Foundation of Vancouver Island.

Here are the quilts from our customer:

These are the quilts from The Cloth Castle:

    There is something about having something soft and comforting when you are going through some of the hardest times. Recently we had word come back to us about a family getting to snuggle under one of our quilts at the Hospice center here in Victoria. It is a blessing for us that something we do as a hobby can give a little comfort.

A special quilt

Hi all

    We often have people phoning the store with stories of a family member passing and not sure what to do with all the "stuff". This past week was an example of that. A couple dropped off their Grandma's knitting supplies and tucked way down in the bottom of the box was a bag of fabric scraps....you are not going to believe what was in there! A started Grandmothers Flower garden quilt! They didn't want it! Can you believe that! 

    I couldn't believe it, all stitched with love by hand. From the colours it looks like the 70's but aren't those colours hot now! Don't worry it will have a very loving home at my house!

   I actually even love the back, the quilter used old knitting patterns to make the templates as well as paper bags. All hand basted and such small little whip stitches to assemble those Hexies!

    The quilt as it is is long and skinny but would work really well for a wide tablerunner so I plan on leaving it as is. This ladies work should be appreciated and enjoyed!

   In other news, we have only 3 staterooms left for our Hawaiian cruise. The cruise line wants those rooms to sell at a higher rate. If you are even thinking of coming on the cruise please get in touch with my sister Miriam ASAP. If there is no deposit on those rooms by Feb. 20 the price is going up considerably.

Miriam Cloutier| Travel Manager

Flight Centre Business Travel Tuscany Village

103 - 1632 McKenzie  Ave | Victoria, B.C. | V8N 0A3

Phone: 250 360 2058 | Toll Free: 1 866 420 4410 | Fax: 250 360 0268

Email: miriam.cloutier@flightcentre.ca

Have a great weekend!

Embroidered Quilt

Hi All!

    This week I have finally started my new embroidery project. It has taken me a bit to get into it. This quilt has been a bit different than others that I have done....no skipping steps! I have a confession...Hello my name is Natasha and I don't like reading directions or following rules! I know for a fact that there are more of you out there, don't worry your secret is safe with me.

     It is amazing how "routine" quilting can be. I get comfortable doing what I know and shy away from a challenge. Cutting, piecing and sewing is so second nature that it doesn't even faze me anymore. Then this quilt came across my desk and I actually started to worry that I maybe bit off more than I could chew. I had to think about it for a bit and then give myself a lecture. Natasha....baby steps, just look at this project one step at a time. First prep the hoop, next prep your fabric. Then look only at the blocks one at a time. Once I did these steps I fell right into the project and it just came. Confidence back firmly in place and just raring to go!

This quilt is called Gypsy from Sharon Schamber.

Photos from Sharon's website sharonschmaber.com.

    As you can see the quilt is stunning. I have already learned so much from just the few steps I have done. It has been a good reminder to stretch out and step out of my comfort zone. Be understanding that it is ok to make mistakes as long as I learn from those mistakes! Won't be the last time they happen.

  Here are the photos of the blocks I have made:

Have a great weekend!



PS: Watch for a Demo day on the Gypsy Quilt at The Cloth Castle coming soon.

Precut Early Release!

Greetings!

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend (In BC it was Family Day) Yahoo....extra day off for us!

This weekend I managed to make several pairs of pajama pants. I am going to a retreat with my quilting buddies in March and I plan on living in my comfy pants!

At the end of the week last week we received a few Moda Early release 2014 Christmas Charm packs (5" squares), Layer Cakes (10" squares) and a Jelly roll (2 1/2" strips).  We usually don't get any new Christmas prints until June or July so this is a treat! We have very limited stock and we are only selling them on our on line store. So get them while you can! Special pricing too!

 

Pine Fresh by Sandy Gervais
Charm Pack $10, Layer Cake and Jelly Roll $39

Solstice by Kate Spain
Charm pack $10, Layer Cake $39

25th and Pine by BasicGrey
Charm pack $10, Layer Cake $39

Be Jolly by Deb Strain
Charm Pack $10

We are just getting the last of the items on our website so just click the link below and get your early release precuts before they are all gone.....you won't see them again until several months from now!

Online store click here  

**** Don't forget if you live in the area enter NoShipping in the promo code area and you can pick your purchase up in store! When we are notified of your purchase we will set it aside at the till for you.****