Country Traditions Quilt Shop Talk

Country Traditions Visits United Notions/ Moda Headquarters in Dallas, Texas

2008-09-04T11:10:00.007-05:00

Arriving early in Dallas for the Pfaff Convention, Leslie and Kevin took the opportunity to tour the United Notions/Moda headquarters to see how all those wonderful fabrics arrive to our shop's door.

Article contributed by Leslie Main.

The property consists of three large warehouses, with two more currently being built. Our tour started with the offices of Moda where we met some of the designers and Moda executives. Moda's fabric designers often gather at the head office for designing and planning meetings. In the Archives Room one can find a 3 yard sample of every fabric Moda has ever produced! Wow! Rows and rows of filed fabrics. What a great stash! (Sorry, they will not part with any of this fabric, even if you really, really need just a little more to finish that masterpiece quilt. I tried!) The designers and artists use the archives to compare colors for existing lines and as a spring board for new ones.

Next we were taken to one of the warehouses where the fabric arrives in shipping containers on large tubes. It is organized by lines, then each tube is folded and rolled onto the bolt boards in 15 yard cuts. The bolts are wrapped and tagged, then stored until the whole collection line arrives.
When the collection is ready, it is moved to a third warehouse where it is organized by line and style number, waiting for the order fillers. Rows and rows of beautiful color, as far as the eye can see. Just about any quilter's idea of heaven! The order fillers, with orders in hand, roll carts up and down the aisles, picking just the right pieces to fill each order. The order is then boxed and labeled at the box machine and picked up by the UPS truck at the end of the day. Finally, it's on it's way to Country Traditions' back door!

As everyone does, we brought back a few momentos of our Moda tour! Be one of the first 10 individuals to come in the shop and mention that you read about our Moda Trip on the Blog and receive one of our special Moda momentos!!

Pfaff Convention Prompts Country Traditions "German Fest"

2008-09-04T10:48:00.005-05:00

Article contributed by Leslie Main.

Pfaff Convention opened in Dallas with a German Country Fair theme. In honor of Pfaff's German heritage the company hosted the Fair, reminiscent of the Oktoberfest Fairs hosted in Germany. There was German polka music playing in the background, German food and drink to be tasted and midway games to be played.

The Country Traditions Creative Center specialists got their first look at the "new" machines as the main attractions of the night.
Kevin and Scott played all the midway games, winning Pfaff treats and useful machine accessories throughout the night as they learned about the new machines. Some of the funniest midway games were Ring Toss, Spin The Wheel (and answer a question) and, of course, the Machine Races, where each won their race! There was a Dart Shoot that proved harder than it looked. Hitting the targets in the different embroidery hoops was a real challenge for Kevin and Scott. The Penny Toss, using bobbins, and, of course, the cotton candy were Leslie's favorite things of the night.

Your Creative Center specialists had so much fun during this event that we decided to bring a version of the evening to you at Country Traditions!

Join us on Saturday, October 11 from 11:00am until 4:00pm for the Country Traditions German Fest Pfaff Fair. Meet the new machines, play a few fun Fair games and win a prize or two. It should be a "Great" Afternoon of Fun!

August Kit and Fabric Pack

2008-08-17T15:30:00.002-05:00

Don't miss out on your Country Traditions complimentary "goodies" in August. Leslie has designed a wonderful kit for her Calendar Banner for September's use. It's great fall leaves in green, gold, red and rust. The Banner Block is 12"x12" and can be used on the Calendar Banner or alone as a small wall hanging. This Kit (pattern and fabric) is FREE with any in-store purchase of $25 or more.

The August Online Newsletter Block is now posted. It's for the month of August and is meant to give the feeling of sunshine and sunflowers as summer is in full force. Enjoy this free pattern in the Month In, Month Out quilt we're building or in any other project you wish. You can sign up for the Newsletter or read past issues by clicking here.

Holiday Recipes

2008-07-22T04:19:00.006-05:00

What is a celebration without food? We're celebrating Christmas In July in the shop right now and I thought this would be a good time to share some of our favorite celebration recipes - foods that we make when we have a get-together. It's a perfect time to collect some new recipes and try them out as we enjoy summer picnics or reunions. And get a head start on our menus for Christmas parties. I thought I would start the ball rolling with a very simple recipe that I received from my sister. For many years our family would get together at Christmas and have a hors devours table as a simple but delicious fare after gift opening. We cooks each had our traditional favorites we would bring. Among my sister's specialities is a Crab Dip that is simple and delicious. I hope that you enjoy it.

Crab Dip

1 8oz. package of Cream of Cheese
1 can Crab Meat
Cocktail Sauce*
Assorted Crackers

Use a small bowl and soften the cream cheese by gently stirring with a spoon until it's smooth and softened slightly (you want it to be easily spread on a cracker but still firm enough to hold it's shape. Place cream cheese on a serving plate and form it into a round, dome shape (your preference to shape but I usually make it about a six inch circle about 1-1/2 inches tall). Open can of crab meat and drain. Gently flake. Cover the cream cheese with the drained, flaked crab meat. Cover the crab meat with a light coating of cocktail sauce. Serve with crackers.

* I personally don't like pre-made cocktail sauces. I make my own. This is one of those recipes that I don't measure, but I usually take about 1/2 cup of ketchup with a 1/2 teaspoon of bottled horseradish. This is adjusted to taste - I like a little "zip" to the sauce but not overpowering. You may wish to double this to 1 cup ketchup to 1 tsp horseradish, depending on the preference to how much sauce you prefer.

John C Fremont Days Parade

2008-07-14T11:54:00.002-05:00

Downtown Fremont was the hub of activity the weekend of July 12-13th with John C. Fremont Days. Country Traditions enjoyed the festivities and welcomed all visitors Friday and Saturday with Cool Deals on the Mezzanine on Pfaff machines and served up "Creative Juice" (bottled water) and homemade cookies to visitors. On Sunday we had our "Picnic and Parade" with hot dogs and watermelon while we enjoyed watching the annual Parade go by. It was a fun-filled weekend and we encourage everyone to come to Fremont during John C. Fremont Days and stop in and see us!

Sew Much Fun! Kids Classes Great Success

2008-06-30T12:05:00.002-05:00

June brought Kids Sewing 101 and Sewing 102 to Country Traditions. Scott was the instructor and he had a class of 4 for Sewing 101. They made 4 projects (pillow case, duffle bag, FlipFlop pillow and table topper (shown) and watched five "Let Me Show You" demos given by him during the course of a week. They also took home their very own sewing machine! Everyone enjoyed the class so much they all went on to join another student in Kids Sewing 102 the next week! Kids Sewing 102 was for the more advanced student and over the course of a week they each made a quilt. From chosing the fabrics, learning how to rotary cut, design layout, piecing and then layering and quilting, each one did a beautiful job of designing their own quilt. The photo shows the students wrapped in their quilt when it was in the layering process and just ready to be quilted.

They were all excellent students and we hope they all go on to make many more quilts! Great job, guys!

Kids Sewing 101/102 is available every summer for kids 12 years old or older.

Class Date Changed

2008-06-25T16:27:00.003-05:00

Due to a conflict in schedules we've had to reschedule the X-Block Excitement class to July 31st. This is a fun class with a unique spin on making an easy block/quilt look quite complicated. With the use of an

X-Block ruler you'll take a simple nine-patch and put it on it's ear, so to speak. It will look like you spent hours cutting various shapes and stitiching them together. And the remnants of cutting the blocks are used in the borders so there is no waste at all! Sign up today for this fun class. $19.99 And remember, during the summer months we are giving DOUBLE Class Cash for taking classes. This "cash" can be used at our Holiday Affair Auction on December 13th. Class Cash is only for class participants, so your "cash" will be worth a lot during the auction.

This Just In!

2008-06-24T10:38:00.003-05:00

I've added a new feature to the What's New page on the website. It's called "This" Just In! and will feature all the new books, notions and fabrics that come in. It will give you a quick place to check to see what's the latest and greatest. All the books/patterns and notions will be available in the store and in the webstore immediately. The fabric lines will be in the shop and eventually online (as time permits). If you can click on the item, it's available online now. We've changed the look of our online store, too. Books and patterns will be catagorized by Publisher. And I'm taking the time to list if the books/patterns are Fat Quarter, Charm Pack, Layer Cake or Paper Piece Friendly. This should help you when you've purchased some of these new fabric cuts and looking for projects to use them on. I hope you enjoy the "This" Just In! feature and check it out often. You can get to it from the What's New tab at the top of the website menu. Enjoy!

PFAFF Creative Vision Takes Top Honors

2008-06-11T14:14:00.004-05:00

SVP Worldwide, owner of PFAFF, has announced the PFAFF CREATIVE VISION sewing and embroidery machine has been awarded the prestigious internatinoal 2008 Red Dot Design Award - The Best of the Best. The state-of-the-art machine offfers unprecedented sewing precision, brightness and more sewing space and is easily recognized for it's pioneering design.
I,personally, can attest to the beauty of this machine. I have been a PFAFF owner since 1994 (Creative 1475) and knew that when I got a new machine it would be another PFAFF as I use the IDT feature all the time. This feature is like a built-in walking foot - another set of upper feed dogs integrated with the lower feed dogs to push the fabrics through at a perfectly even pressure. Plaids and stripes don't move. When I stitch in the ditch I never get a pucker at the end of the seam because the layers aren't moving at the same time. I finally decided to jump into the wonderful world of Embroidery and bought a CREATIVE VISION. I didn't sell or trade my 1475 in, I'll piece quilts with that while the new "baby" is stitching out embroideries. I'm totally spoiled by the new machine. Not only does it do commercial quality embroidery (on the largest embroidery field in the market) but it's a wonderful sewing machine in itself. A bright, adjustable light field, huge workspace and light, colorful screen. I can see why it received the prestigious Red Dot Award. I've always enjoyed the bobbin sensor on my older PFAFF (tells me when the bobbin is running low) and the needle threader (makes threading the machine a 4-second operation) but now I can't live without the thread cutter. It not only ties off and cuts the threads, it draws the top thread to the back! I can use the foot pedal to raise and lower the needle and pressure foot (that has come in handy while I'm working on some clothesline bowls) ... how spoiled can you get! If you have a chance, do stop in for a demo on the creative vision. All the sewing and quilting features can save you all kinds of time piecing (you never have to fumble for the pressure foot lever again!) and you can do some gorgeous "embroidery" quilting along with free motion quilting to make your projects a dream to make ... and so professional! Excellent job, PFAFF!

Jelly Rolls Meet Strippers!

2008-06-07T13:12:00.004-05:00

If you have not used a Marti Michell template or ruler you are in for a real treat - and a great aide in making precision quilts. Marti is a math wizard and lives to make precise piecing as easy as possible. Her templates are not only notched at the end, but "smart " cornered - no more dog ears and perfect matching. They are perfect for rotary cutting multiple layers at once, 1/4-inch seam allowances are already included and they are laser-cut acrylic so you can easily see your fabric under the template as you cut.

Marti's latest templates are called Strippers and are made specifically to cut shapes from 2-1/2" strips (or "Jellyrolls") that are not already available in the B Template Set . There are 3 templates and they cut 7 shapes: Hexagon, 60-degree Diamond ,45-degree Diamond, Equilateral Triangles, 60-degree Conehead, and Small Triangle that matches the hexagon for another "I Spy" size. These can be used to make some of the following blocks.

What makes your sewing so precise is the fact that Marti has placed precise marking points at each intersection. They are pre-drilled holes made to fit a sharp pencil lead. This makes it much easier just to sew to the 1/4-inch seam allowance for all set-in seams. You'll be impressed with the accuracy you can achieve!

Bonus! You can also use the Strippers templates with Set B and 2 1/2" strips to make 4" x 2" finished Flying Geese units and 9 5/8" finished size 8-pointed star blocks!
Extra Bonus! The Log Cabin Ruler #8038 is perfect for Jelly Rolls, too - just place it on 2 1/2" strips and cut "logs" to perfect lengths!

Beat The High Cost of Travel!

2008-06-07T12:13:00.008-05:00

Join us for a fun-filled mini-Shop Hop June 27 and 28th and leave the driving and travel plans to us! We're working with 7 other Quilt Shops in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota to bring you a little summer trip at a great price. Visit 7 shops in 2 days for the inclusive price of $139.99. That includes the bus trip, lodging at a brand new Holiday Inn Express in Sheldon, Iowa (shown in photo), AND meals. How can you beat that? Call a friend and sign up today before it's too late. We'll have a little Bon Voyage Party (7:15AM)at Country Traditions before you leave on Friday (8:00AM departing time) and you'll be back Saturday night around 7:00PM. Come and enjoy the fun, comaraderie, and shopping experience with us! Click on title for more information and to sign up. Or you can call us at 402-721-7752 to book your passage.
P.S. You can come along on the trip even if you don't have a roommate for the lodging. You can book a single room for an additional charge.

Give the Gift That Lasts A Lifetime

2008-06-07T11:58:00.003-05:00

Do you have a teen boy or girl that has shown an interest in sewing? Then this is the perfect opportunity to start them on the road to learning a skill that will last their lifetime. Our Kids Class 101 will teach them the basics in a week long workshop. And they will have 4 completed projects PLUS a sewing machine to take home! If they have taken 101, or know how to sew a seam, they can take 102 and learn how to make a quilt, start to finish. What a rewarding way to spend some time this summer. Check out the details of these and other classes by clicking on the headline above.

May Block of the Month Posted

2008-05-24T10:16:00.006-05:00

My goodness! Where did this month go? Although, as a farmer's wife, I should know that this month always flies by. It's been no different this year. Dear hubby has been burning the midnight fuel getting the crops in and his diligence paid off as everything was planted before the rains came. Having him so busy has added extra chores back to me that he usually takes care of. I also took the next paper newsletter to the printer's this week, so writing my pattern for the May block took a back seat, I'm afraid. I tried to take a little more time to write some of the steps in construction this month. I want to make sure you understand the rulers/guides that I've suggested you use to make piecing easier. I hope you like the block this month. I've tried to add some whimsy and color to the block to reflect the beginning of summer. It should be an easy block to make, too! I hope that you enjoy. (You can get to the pattern by clicking on the title of this posting).

Quilt Sampler Spring Summer 2008 Issue In Stock

2008-05-09T02:21:00.006-05:00

Better Homes and Gardens selected 10 great shops for their Spring Summer issue this year. The closest shops to us are Tea Time Quilting & Stitchery in Breckenridge, Colorado and Lillie's Classic Quilts in Indendence, Kansas. There's a diverse collection of quilt patterns in the issue, too. Be sure to pick up a copy on your next visit.

There is also a great ad for Clothworks Laurel Burch fabric, Bountiful Blessings Christmas line. If you have a thing for cats and bright and cheerful fabrics you're going to love! You can download this wall hanging from Clothworks right now.

Welcome Two New Staff Members

2008-05-02T16:19:00.002-05:00

Country Traditions is happy to have two new members join our staff! Denice (left) and Cathy (right) have joined us recently and they fit right in. Next time you are in the shop be sure to say hi to them. They are both going to be great assets to the shop.

Viewing the April 2008 Block of the Month

2008-04-28T22:57:00.004-05:00

Oh, my! The world of website programming is about as easy as designing a quilt with 1,000 pieces. Every once in a while the site throws me a curve and I do my best to decipher and conquer. This time it was the link to the April Block. I copied the February Block and Button and then changed the name and link to the April one. Well, I did something wrong and it kept changing back to the February link. I must have cloned instead of copied. I finally solved the problem and corrected the link, but some of you still can't see that it's corrected. Your web browser might "cache" the page. This means the browser stores copies of frequently accessed pages in the cache. By doing this the browser doesn't have to retrieve the page from the Internet each time you view the web page. But it also means that it might not update that the page links have changed. So, if you still cannot get the link to the file, just "Refresh" or "Reload" your web browser and you should be able to see it.

Beginning of Country Traditions Sew What's (News)

2008-04-28T22:40:00.001-05:00

Hello to All! I've really enjoyed working and building our website. But I find that we need an area that we can communicate. If you've been working with me on the Block of the Month you know that we have had some technical difficulties. This blog should be a perfect answer to "get the word out" when I need to let you know something about the Block download. It will also be nice to have an area where I can let you know of things in a more current timetable. It's also a place for you to ask questions or make comments. I hope that you enjoy this feature to the Country Traditions web site and stop back often for a visit.