Thursday, February 25, 2010

IT'S A MAGICAL MYSTERY JOURNEY

We have had a very busy week and a half.  Four quilts, two magazines.  Unfortunately we can't show you the pictures, but summer will be popping with Abbey Lane Quilts. 

The good news, working with a great new fabric collection, HUNKY DORY, from Moda, of course.  The fabric will be in the stores in March.  We are really excited about the new pattern, it even has a name, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.  What is so cool about this pattern, is just by switching it up a little, you can make three totally different quilts from the same fabrics, and that is just exactly what we are going to do.  I thought it would be fun to show you the process that we go through to create a new project. 

First:  fell in love with the fabric at market last fall, so of course I got a fat quarter bundle.
Second:  had to wait all the way until February to have time to work with it.  I thought it would be really fun to do a sampler of some sort, these are the drawings I ended up with.  Ok, so it's not a sampler, but really cool.

























Third: Start playing around with the original design, and this is where the magic part comes in.  One pattern, three totally different looks.  Two of them use just 20 fat quarters and some yardage.  Yeah!!!

















































Fourth:  This is the fun part, arranging all the pieces into color combinations we like.

















For the first quilt, each block uses three fabrics.  Sometimes matching them up it not as easy as you would think but it is really fun playing around.  The second quilt really mixes things up.















Again, this is a magical journey.  Check it out when I use just greens.




















That's as far as I have gotten today, but next week, I will finish have finished my MAGICAL MYSTERY JOURNEY.  I can't wait to show you the rest of the construction and two finished tops.  I already know it will be my new FAVORITE.
 
I have several other FAVORITE quilts.  Quilts that like these new ones, I absolutely LOVED the fabrics.  I call them oldies but goodies.   Each quilt was featured at a different quilt market.  They were great then, and are just as great today. 

A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

UNCLE ALBERT

OCTOPUS GARDEN

Check out these quilts on the website, http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/.

It is snowing outside, which makes it a perfect day to sit inside and sew.  Have a great week.
Janice and Marcea

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

I don't normally write about things other than quilts, but this news was just way too important.  CHOCOLATE CHEERIOS!!!


















Can't wait to get my hands on some. 

I spent the last week on a cross coutry road trip, Utah to Philadelphia in a truck pulling a u-haul trailer.  My son, his wife and ten month old baby girl were moving from Vegas to Philly.  I sat with the baby, eating a lot of cheerios.  Thus, the added excitement for CHOCOLATE CHEERIOS.

The trip was 2100 miles long.  And we were lucky enough to only be behind one of the worst blizzards in 20 years by 4 hours.  I learned from some cute little old men at McDonalds in Kearney, Nebraska, that the largest quilt museum in the country was in Nebraska.  I still can't figure out why little old men would know this.  I learned that Iowa does not salt or sand their roads, and the wind blows very hard.  In a ten mile stretch east of Des Moines, we saw 145 cars and 10 tractor trailers on the sides of the road, forwards, backwards, upside down.  They also have ice on the roads, 3 inches thick.  I discovered Pennsylvania, not on the turnpike which was closed, but on all the tiny two lane, snow packed back roads at 15 miles an hour.  We made it safely, though.  Philadelphia had 30 inches of snow on the ground, and very few snow plows.  But the fun didn't end there.  Took three extra days to get a flight, then spent 10 hours in the Philly airport and had an overnight stay in Phoenix.  I did have a great time with my granddaughter though.

We got a great email this week from BEV BROOKENS in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.

Thought I would send you pictures of two finished quilts from your Baby It's For You pattern. Both quilts are awaiting baby girls due any time. I think the pattern is easy and fun to do, and will use it again often.
Bev Brookens

Here are the pics.
























They are sooo cute.  Thanks for the pics Bev.

Here is our boy version.























If you are interested in the pattern, head on over to http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/ and you can get all the information. 
It was fun eating cheerios with Baby Genevieve, and seeing all the midwest states, but it is very nice to be back home.  Hope ya'll have a great week.

Janice and Marcea

Sunday, February 7, 2010

ABBEY LANE IS IN QUILT MAGAZINE

We are in QUILT  magazine, the April/May issue which hit shelves this week




















 We actually made the quilt the week after market last October.  The did the photo shoot the first week of November, and finally in February we get to see it.  We were approached at market by the magazine editors.  She wanted to use "FEELIN ALRIGHT"

We love this quilt and you can see the details on the website, http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/.  Ok, back to the story.  We told the editor we had already sold patterns, so we decided to do a new quilt for the magazine using the same fabric.  It is from Moda, by Sanae and the collection is called "OZ" and just came to the stores a couple of weeks ago.  That means it is sitting there waiting for you to get some.  It is beautiful fabric. 
 

When we told the editor we would do a new quilt, she asked us to make a bedspread size.  That is exactly what we did, the magazine quilt is different from the original and is a full/queen size.  We did bonus pillowcases which the website for QUILT Magazine is offereing a bonus pattern on line.  Here is the link for their website, http://www.quiltmag.com/sewing-projects/quilt110-retro-flower-power-pillowcase/ .  The magazine wrote instructions in a pdf downloadable, here is the link for that, http://www.quiltmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/finalretropillowcase2.pdf .

Ok, enough of the self-promotion, hee hee, let's go ahead and just show you the pages.

Make sure and run, not walk to your local grocery or quilt store and pick up your copy.  I bought 2.  Even better, make one of the two quilts.  You will love it.
I am heading out in the morning to help my son, his wife, and 10 month old baby drive from Utah to Philadelphia, PA.  He was transfered.  Three days in the car.  Wish us luck.  I am taking the camera along, can't wait to see what we see.

Have a great week.

Janice and Marcea