Chatbug Karen

Have you ever looked at fabric and been inspired to create something? There are many beautiful fabrics that cry out to be made into slipcovers. A few fabrics are produced with fancy dresses in mind. I searched to find fabric to make a purple and green handbag. I hoped to walk into a quilt shop and be drawn to the exact fabric I had in mind. The thing is, there was nothing on my mind! I could not get an idea for this bag. So, I took a chance by mixing fabrics from my stash with fabrics I purchased. Here is what I came up with.

My sister thinks I am panel crazy! Now, I am not talking about electrical supplies here. I am talking about fabric panels. I just bought two Pumpkin and Spice fabric panels made by Red Rooster. I love the colorations of soft oranges and tans. I cannot wait to start sewing.

I received a phone call from the fabric shop where I ordered the two panels, Creative Quilt Kits because there was a problem with one of the panels. The nice sales clerk who called me, explained that there was a portion missing on one of the panels. Here is a picture:

While I do agree that there is a portion sliced off the side of one of the squares, it is very minute. I am still thrilled with the panel and cannot wait to start making a table topper or something with each of the squares. Everything was above and beyond what I expected. I would also like to say thank you to all their staff.

I am so pleased with this product. I spent so much money on fabric yesterday! It is a good thing that I sold this today:

I was able to get up on time yesterday morning, see my previous post, and made it to the bus with a few minutes to spare. Being a few minutes early allowed mom and me just enough time to not be relegated to the seats next to the bathroom Puuuwwey!

I was able to catch a few winks that made the rest of the day much more enjoyable. I love and need my sleep. I am so glad I wore my comfortable Dansko shoes because we walked and walked on cement floors. I have never been to a quilt show as big as the one in Chicago.

We headed straight for the vendor’s booths in case there was that one special fabric we needed to grab before someone else did. It was exciting and so much fun to wade our way through the crowd, and believe me when I say crowd. We only saw a third of the booths before we decided it was time to eat lunch.

We had our choice of eating at the fast food line or going to the restaurant at the convention center. We chose the latter. The restaurant was a cafeteria that had full meals as well as sandwiches and burgers. Mom and I each ordered a cheeseburger. It was one of those that tasted like you would cook at home. Very yummy. We savored each bite of cheese and were careful not to miss any since that slice added 50 cents on to the price of our burger.

We headed back out to the show and checked out booths of fabric, sewing machines, patterns and anything having to do with quilting. There were booths of sewing machine furniture. I drooled over the beautiful oak cabinets. We saw booths selling the perfect chair for use at your sewing machine. To be honest, I didn’t check those out. I walked on by the booth that was selling some type of ergonomically correct shoes. My feet were fine in my Danskos.

It was a fun day that flew by. Check out my Winding Threads blog for more about our day.

I just got home from one of my favorite places. Yep, the fabric store. I had to buy some clasps to finish a purse I made. I was so tempted to buy more fabric! What is it about all the different colors and designs that makes me want to buy more? They have all niche and promotional products displayed right next to the things I need. I can’t help but see and then want the newest quilt book and accessories to make another quilt. Tonight it was all the fall and Halloween fabric that beckoned. I wanted to buy fabrics of gold, green and rust. I have seen the cutest table runner pattern that would be perfect sewn in those colors.

Have you ever been involved in a Shop Hop? A Shop Hop is a great way to visit new fabric shops. The ones participating in a shop hop will often have a kit for a quilt block that will include the block pattern created by that individual shop as well as three fabrics. You begin by purchasing a passport that is stamped at each shop. Manufacturers often donate fabric to each participating shop. Some shops may have finishing kits available for you to purchase. Your passport is your entry for great prizes. Some shops have been known to give away sewing machines as their grand prize! Shop Hops are a great way to get motivated to make a quilt, see new fabrics and find new quilt shops.

Today was such a great day. The alarm went off at 6 am and it didn’t make me grouchy. That was because I had to be at the fabric store at 7 am. The store was having a sale and if you arrived between 7 and 9 am you got a 50% discount off all your purchases. My checking account got a good workout today! LOL It was like the I Love Lucy episode where all the ladies are in Macy’s department store rummaging through all the goods. Everyone was very polite and courteous as we walked over each other. This particular fabric store is tiny and the fabric displays are very close together. At the urging of the store clerk, I put my bolts of fabric on a bench where she said she would keep an eye on them. I continued to look through the rows of fabric and when I came back one of my bolts was missing. Luckily, I noticed it and retrieved it after another lady made her cut. Yikes!

Mom and I made our purchases, looked for Greg’s wallet (we were at this store around the time he lost his wallet last weekend), and went to breakfast. I made it home and worked in the store until noon.

I found a great place for our lunch today. Mom, my friend Tina and I were out and about after a quilt class we took this morning. We had chicken salad croissant sandwiches at a little coffee shop not far from the fabric store. I had the day off and I felt so free! LOL I could have spent the day looking for used cisco or computer equipment and been just as happy to be able to run around on this beautiful day. We had a great class this morning but after 1 pm I was so hungry that I couldn’t concentrate and knew if I didn’t eat soon, I would have a headache. I had no idea this little restaurant and book store even existed. It was so wonderful that when we opened the door to the business, the smell of coffee engulfed us. I don’t even want to tell you about the display case full of cheese cake. Now we have two places to visit when we shop for fabric.