BUSY TIMES ARE COMING

So much for blogging once a week, but we have been busy.  I know, you have heard that before.  Janice flew to Utah two weeks ago.  Her son and daughter-in-law graduated from college and the next day her daughter Nellie, our trusty helper, had her open house.  Janice stayed a couple of extra days so we could finish sewing the new quilt from Moda's Authentic collection.  It is being quilted as I write.  We love this quilt.  Here are some sneak peaks of the almost done quilt.

A lot of the fun in doing a quilt is naming the quilt.  We usually have three or four names to choose from and once in a while we let you help us guess.  The name for this quilt came easy, in fact, we thought the name was perfect.  So, here we go, our newest quilt will be called:

"PAPER BACK WRITER"

The fabric arrives in stores in September and so will the pattern.  We should have it on the website early next week.

So you can have some things to look forward to, starting tomorrow, we will be creating the illusive computer bag.  While brainstorming for that, we found a design for Laura Gunn's (Michael Miller fabric) new line Lantern Bloom.  We love this fabric and it inspired us with a great new purse.  Previews coming soon.

We are also working on new quilts with three Moda Designers, Lila Tueller, Sanae, and Momo.  Sometimes we feel so lucky to see all the great fabrics early.  We also took a peak at Sandy Henderson's new line, (Michael Miller), and it is BEAUTIFUL.  We are going to use it in our first ever, official bed spread.  Can't wait.  So much to do, so little time.

I took a break this week and we met some friends who flew into Las Vegas.  We drove up through Southern Utah and went to Zion, Bryce Canyon and Lake Powell.  We did hiking, off roading (had a tire blow out), boating and all kinds of fun things.  The good news, I took 300 pictures before my camera broke.  That is the bad news.  I wanted to share a couple of pictures with ya'll.  The scenery was breathtaking.  Our first stop was Zion's National Park.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of all the beautiful sunflowers.  I caught someone else who was also checking out the flowers.

Our next stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. 

All those little spikey things are called WHO DOO'S.  Along the drive we saw tons of them.  Here in fact is a whole family.

We put the boat in at Lake Powell and headed down to Rainbow Bridge.  You can see it peaking around the corner in this picture.  It was about a 100 mile round trip.

Lake Powell is surrounded entirely by Red Rock.  The scenery is constantly changing up and down the lake.  Here is one more picture. 

Hope you enjoyed the vacation photos.  I just had to share.

Have a great week.  Can't wait to share with you all the upcoming projects.

Janice and Marcea

WHAT HAPPENED TO SUMMER

The middle of August, kids are back in school, the sun sets earlier and the snow is coming. Ok, not in Florida, but in another month the temperature will drop below 72 degrees. The end of summer also means quilt market is right around the corner, and we are getting ready. So here is our update.

First, thanks to all the help on the blog. I am slowly getting it fixed up. I even got a counter to know how many people stop by and I was shocked. There were a lot more than I would have guessed. In the past, we only posted when we had finished products, but it looks like we will let you know more about the "PATTERN BUSINESS" and any new updates on fabric, projects, ect.

First, we have been trying to do a COMPUTER BAG pattern. The first problem is, I want to use the bag and so it has to have certain requirements. I travel on airplanes a lot and my computer goes everywhere I do. Not only do I need it to look good it has to be functional. That means great padding, sturdy handles, places for the cords and cd's and all that other stuff. So, night after night I put myself to sleep designing. Finally, I think I have it. So this week, using some great Amy Butler home dec weights. It doesn't hurt to match the fabric up with our cute green apple computers. So this is Project #2 on this week's list.

Project #3. We are redoing one of our favorite patterns, ALL TOGETHER NOW. We debating whether to do it in Batiks, a Florida favorite, or Kaffe Fassett fabrics, everybody's favorite. Kaffe won and look at the selection. It will be beautiful. It is fun and easy to make also.

Project #1 for the week. The one we are looking forward to the most. One of our favorite new fabric lines at Market was from Moda. It is called Authentic and will be in stores by September. Some shops are already carrying the small cuts of this line. It is great, sophisticated, interesting and of course, green, black, white and cream. Can't beat that color combination.

We will be using it for two projects, a quilt and a project bag. This week it is the quilt. To design a quilt, we start in our heads, then paper, then the computer. This is a couple of the computer designs for Authentic. (The fun quilt name comes last). You should see the finished top by the end of the week, and you can compare the drawings to the real thing. Sometimes changes get made as the sewing takes place.

So, we started with what happened to summer. The temperature in Northern Utah yesterday dropped to 49 degrees. Those are January temperatures in Florida. As you know, Nellie, Janice's daughter, and our trusty volunteer employee was married on July 31. I headed to Florida and Janice is heading to Utah this week. I am still waiting for the wedding photos to post a couple, but the picture I can show you is a Florida Native. Everyone went out on the boats to hunt for alligators. We found two. Yes, alligators. We were about 20 feet from this one.

Get those projects out and start sewing. We are. Have a great week.

Janice and Marcea

HELP!!!!

Attention all bloggers. We need HELP. While I seem to able to do lots of things on the website, this blog has me totally confused. So, we are looking for help with the following:

1. putting a background on, so we don't have all that white.

2. putting a counter on so we know how many people come and visit.

3. adding whatever it takes to have all you readers subscribe to our site (if we ever get this figured out, we can have contests and giveaways.

I think that is it for a start. So, if you are a serious blogger (lots of know how) please email us at info@abbeylanequilts.com or leave us a comment.

FREE PATTERNS WILL BE FLOWING TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP.

p.s. just thought i would show you a picture from my recent trip to the TURKS and CACOIS islands. when posting blogs frustrates me, i relax by looking at this picture.

IT'S ABOUT TIME

Wow, I just realized it has been almost two months since we posted a note. All I can say is, "It's About Time!

We have been busy beyond belief. We were very ambitious for market with lots of new patterns. The patterns are all written and up on the website, http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/.

Here are a couple of our holiday favorites that you can make now.

This is WOO HOO WITCHY. Grab your favorite halloween fabrics and whip it up. The pattern includes a bonus HAT PILLOW pattern.











This is STEP INTO CHRISTMAS. Use a jelly roll or scraps you have in your stash and combine it with some yardage. The big trees have three dimensional peppermint candies for a finishing touch.

Summer is in full swing and so are we. Two new designs. Here come the sneak peaks. RJR FABRICS brought us a beautiful new line that will be out this fall.

It has rich jewel colors and a little twist on traditional design. The line is called ENCHANTED ROSE. The pattern is called REMEMBER WHEN.

RJR FABRICS brought us a second line called DOTS AND STRIPES. We did a new bag for this line. It will be a great basic line of fabrics, polka dots in different colors and different sizes and a great stripe in each color wave.

The pattern is called THE ELLIE BAG and it is a great tote. The sample is done in the RJR Fabrics and you can't help but smile when you see it. Two long straps and a draw string add to the fun.

Ladies who have seen it, love it. It makes a great beach bag, overnight bag, or a big fun purse.

Another bonus also, a little cell phone or ipod carrier. For those of you like me, it makes a great reading glasses case also.

I am going to make it this week in some funky, modern Valerie Wells fabric. It will be perfect for that college student or the 25 to whatever age crowd who want to make a statement.

Both of these patterns will be available soon.

That is it for today. Ya'll have a great day.

Janice and Marcea

WE MADE IT THROUGH MARKET

Wow, what a crazy time we have had for the last month. First, Janice flew to Utah to help her daughter pick out a wedding dress and of course, to SEW. We worked feverishly, then she and I flew to Florida for seven more days of work before we left for Pittsburg. We have 10 new patterns, 2 redo's, and were in four booths in Pittsburg. Crazy, I know. We took the last quilt out of the dryer on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. the day before setup in Pittsburg. We got in the car and started driving. We drove straight to the convention center arriving Wednesday about 4 in the afternoon. We made some photo shoot stops in West Virginia and other than that just drove like crazy. When we set up the booth, we are never quite sure just what it is going to look like when we are done. We have an idea when we start, this time is was supposed to look like the inside of an old gardening shed and the quilts were our plants and flowers. I think we did a great job, and there were lots of photos by the attendees wanting to make their shops look a little like our booth. We had soooooo much stuff to show, that we were a little crowded. I am just going to post the pictures. There were a couple of shots of the whole floor from above, and pictures of our quilts that were in Lila Tueller's Booth, Studio E Fabrics booth and the Moda shop.

Check out all the pictures on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbeylanequilts/?saved=1.

I will be posting the new patterns here on the blog as soon as they are done. The first three are ready now, so you will get the first peak here.

This is MY TICKET TO RIDE. It is a redo of one of our favorite patterns. We loved the design so much we decided to update it with fresh new fabrics. The result is beautiful. You can see all the details for each of these new patterns on our website, http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/ .

This is also a redo. LADY MADONNA is now in Black and Whites. This one with green scrolls hung in our booth. And this pink one hung in Studio E Fabrics booth. They were kind enough to supply us with the fabric. It is from their Black and White basics collection. Check out all their fabrics at http://www.studioefabrics.com.

The final pattern ready right now is my new favorite. It is called OCTOPUS GARDEN. The best part about this quilt is it takes 20 fat quarters. That's it. It has a modern look to it, but any fabric will work. (even those you have in your stash)

Lot's happening in the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back. As each pattern is finished, it will be listed on the website, http://www.abbeylanequilts.com/ for purchase.

So Many Quilts, soooooo little time. Hope you enjoy all the new projects as much as we do.

Have a great week, Janice and Marcea

SHOW AND TELL

Every time I go in a quilt store I participate in a unique event, SHOW AND TELL. Either I have brought in a quilt to show, or someone else has a quilt to show, or someone needs to pick out fabric for a new project and wants everyone to tell them what to pick.

My step daughter, Mykee, wanted to make a Bungalow Bag. She went to her local quilt store, showed them the pattern and they proceeded to help her pick fabrics. Now for the SHOW part. Here is her finished Bungalow Bag. The handles were rope that she wrapped fabric around. Great Free Spirit fabric, too.

While I am SHOWING, here is another great Bungalow Bag from my friend Hiedi at Gardner's Quilt and Sew. She took leftover strips of fabric, braided them together, then secured them to the bag. Love this idea.

I am almost finished with a new Bungalow Bag. Just working on the handles. Love this fabric.

Now to TELL, we had an email from Jayme Nielsen who said that our pattern, GARDEN PARTY, had inspired her. She liked it so much, she decided to make it. The special part, it was the first quilt she has ever made. It is so amazing to think that we inspired such creativity. She sent us this picture. Thanks Jayme.

More good news. It only snowed 3 days last week, and it didn't stick. This week is supposed to be in the 70's. While this would be a little cool in Orlando, in Utah, everyone is in flip flops and shorts. I will stick with jeans and a sweatshirt until it hits the 90's.

I don't usually take pictures of food, but I made a pie for Easter Dinner that came out sooooo pretty. The best part of this pie. SUGAR FREE. Let us know if you want the recipe.

Now, for the best show and tell. Three more quilts are ready to be quilted. (As you may know, we are in crazy mode for market.) Two are the same pattern, one for a boy and one for a girl. What you may not know is Janice's oldest daughter had her third baby this month. His name is Malcom. My oldest son and his wife will be having my first grandbaby girl on Wednesday. Her name will be Genevieve. That should explain the monograms. THE QUILTS HAVE NO NAMES YET, WE WOULD LOVE SUGGESTIONS. The best part of these two quilts is that they are EASY, EASY, EASY. It takes about 2 hours to put together. Pattern will be ready soon.

Last, but not least. I think this is my new favorite. No name, yet. Suggestions? This one is also pretty easy and uses 20 fat quarters. Just pick your favorites.

So, we should have four more quilts done this week. We are hoping to have 12 new patterns by the time market comes. Any volunteers for binding?

Let us know is you have any suggestions for quilt names? Remember the "Beatles" theme.

That's it for now. So much to SHOW, so much to TELL, that even I am tired.

Thanks for reading. Let us know what you think.

Janice and Marcea

THE SUN IS SHINING

April 5th and it is NOT SNOWING. It has snowed, yes, that cold white stuff 10 out of the last 14 days. A couple more pictures, I think the last of the season. I thought it was funny how the little bulb flowers pushed right through the snow.

It is supposed to be 90 degrees today in Orlando, where Janice lives. Janice is on here way to Ohio, where her oldest daughter will be giving birth to her third child today or tomorrow. It's a boy. Good luck Carolee. I am hoping these are the last of the snow pictures this season, but they were so beautiful, I just had to share.

Nothing could chase away the snow better than a sunny ABBEY BAG. Everytime I find a new fabric collection I love, I make an ABBEY BAG. This one is my favorite yet, made out of Moda's Wonderland.

This has been a busy couple of weeks. We have teamed up with STUDIO E FABRICS, www.studioefabrics.com to do some quilts for Spring Market. Their booth was down the way from ours at Fall Market and we fell in love with their fabrics. Beautiful, sophisticated, and a touch of whimsy, just our style. The first quilt is done, actually, it is a remake of Lady Madonna. Studio E has not one, but TWO black and white fabric collections and we combined those with a bright apple green. This will be hanging in their booth in Pittsburg. We will also be doing one with black and white and red for our booth. They are just stunning. We are doing three more quilts for Studio E. We will keep you updated.

I have been working on and off for several weeks on a new bag design. I started with 3 inch squares from TULA PINK's NEPTUNE collection. I put them together to make a big piece of fabric and then of course, cut it apart again.




Side Note: I have tried to explain "piecing" a quilt before. Think about it. You take big pieces of material, cut them into tiny little pieces, then you sew the little pieces back together to make one big piece of fabric. There are a lot of men who just don't get this concept.


Back to the bag. I put it together, bound it, then didn't like the results, so I took it apart. Finally I have finished it and I love it. It is big and roomy with huge pockets on the inside and the outside. It is 15 inches high and almost 20 inches wide. We have the Abbey Bag, the Bungalow Bag, and now, the


CLARABELLA BAG.















The pattern will be available soon. Tell us what you think and we will let you know when it is ready. Thanks reading.

Janice and Marcea