Wow - has it really been that long?!?  Sorry to those of you who had given up on us, sure don't blame you!  I just had to show you all these wonderful lucsious batiks that just walked in, it was like Batik Christmas at BJ's today opening boxes of 48+ batiks!  It's the new line from Moda called Over The Rainbow!!  Come by to take a peek - they will go fast, as they are only 5-7 yards each - a nice sampling!

Well - today's update, if you need a backing, or just some inexpensive fabric you should be here!!  I just filled our sale area plum full today with more than 150 bolts at 40% off, and more that 250 bolts at 25% off!!  I had a new shipment come in from  Free Spirit and needed space!  We have some wonderful new flannels, and many new wonderful florals from them - you have to come see!  Also, I got some of these at a nice sale price & have passed on the savings to you best I can - if you dig enough, you will find that some of my regular priced fabrics are only $8.99, and $9.99, which in today's prices is good!  See you soon!

How Time Flies!

Wow - how time flies when you're having fun!  Well - it is nice to say that I'm beginning to have fun again after learning to live without my best friend!  There are still those hard days - but they are coming less often.  Thanks to everyone who came last Sunday to help me celebrate my birthday & spent money with us - it made for a very fun birthday!  Since then we've been hopping around here like bunnies trying to get ready for our Shop Hop coming up in April, and there is lots to do!  We are in the process of kitting my quilt which I recently finished (quilted & all!).  I call it "The Light Within" in memory of my dear mother.  I had worked on that a lot during her sickness, and since she is my light within now, it made sense!  I used mostly Kaffe & Brandon fabrics which are so beautiful in their color hues, and help to just MAKE the quilt - don't you think?!

The Light Within

I will try to keep you posted here - please forgive me for taking so much time off of the blog - need to get back to it, and to life!!!  See you soon at BJ's - it's the quilting place to be!!  Vicki

The ups and downs of life...

It has been awhile since last we posted... Some of you undoubtedly already know what has kept Vicki away from not only this blog but also the store for a while. Vicki's mother passed away about two weeks ago due to lung cancer.  I know she has appreciated all the cards and prayers during this difficult time for her and her family.  Thank you all!

In the way of things, life has to move on after tragedy and what better story to share with you now than that of Laura?  Laura is a young local woman who came into the store a while back, looking to make something special for her fiance as a wedding gift.  She had never sewn before and was borrowing a machine from a friend.  With a little help from the girls here at BJ's Quilt Basket, she settled on an easy but pleasing pattern, Take 5 Gets the Point.  She told us her fiance liked to fish and enjoyed the outdoors- but did she settle for the traditional fish prints? No!  She headed straight for the batiks!  And didn't she do a wonderful job of picking colors?

 Laura continued to astound us all as the beginner sat down at that borrowed machine and with a little help, powered through block after block- with perfect seams no less! Truly, it comes easy to some it would seem. Now keep in mind that this was a gift to be given to her husband at the wedding- he could not know about this endeavor before that day. So not only was she starting on a large, unknown project, she was also having to keep it a secret! As the days and weeks progressed, we looked forward to visits from Laura as she got the blocks done, laid them out the first time, finished the quilt top, chose borders- then learned how to miter them! 

Then it came time to finish the quilt- and with some assurances from us, handed her precious work over to Sandy, our quilter. 

Stunning, no?

Last but not least, when the quilt was returned, with beautiful leaves and vines holding it all together, we gave Laura another quick lesson in binding- which she had to hurry through as the wedding was only weeks away at this point!

A labor of love!

 She was able to get the quilt on time for the wedding and we understand he loved it.  Who wouldn't?  It's beautiful!  Thank you, Laura, for sharing your enthusiasm and and journey with us- it was really fun to help you along!  Congrats to you both!

Lindsey

Summer Lily

The Festival of Classes is over and life is slowly getting back to normal here at BJ's Quilt Basket- though we do have a couple exciting things to share with those of you who didn't venture out into the craziness last week.  :)

We are lucky enough to be the temporary home of Jinny Beyer's latest marvelous creation, a quilt entitled "Summer Lily."

Isn't it amazing?!

We had several complete kits available for purchase during the Festival of Classes and they sold so well, we're getting a couple more!  We invite you guys to come into the store and check out this stunning quilt- it's really remarkable up close and personal.  If you've ever wanted to do a Jinny Beyer quilt- this is your chance!  The kit includes all the fabric you need- enough for the quilt top, binding, and borders- in addition to a full-color pattern and templates.  Doesn't get any easier than that, right?

And speaking of kits- if you wanted to take our batik BOM in 2010 but were unable to, you now have the option of buying the whole quilt as a kit!  We're waiting for one fabric to come in and then we'll have kits available for purchase.  Two of these beauties are already spoken for, so if you want one of these kits, do let us know soon and we'll set one aside for you!

Vicki

Joyful hints for July BOM!

Summer has finally arrived!  And aren't we all thankful!!  This last Saturday was the First Saturday for July and in case you were out enjoying the sunshine, we've posted some pictures in a slideshow below of helpful hints for those who are enrolled in "Joy."

We do apologize for the lack of updates on here as of late but the run-up to the Quilt Show and our own Festival of Classes has taken up all of our waking time!  We've been checking in lots of new fabrics, cutting new kits, and getting organized for the fun!!  If you're local, come on by this week in order to check out all of the nifty new things without the crowds! 

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Fun and Fabrics!

And the fun continues!  The last couple of days have been fun and busy around BJ's- we got to meet our Shop Hop Basket winner- Kayleen!  She is obviously a young sewer- so inspiring to see the kids getting into quilting.  She was particularly excited to get the Shop Hop bag that was tucked into the basket.

Congratulations to Kayleen, our Shop Hop Basket winner!

As if the sale isn't enough to keep me busy cutting jelly rolls, a new shipment of batiks prompted us to do some relocating...  The modern graphic section is now in the corner, all arranged beautifully by Wanda.

The Modern section in it's new home..

 And the batiks moved to their own aisle in order to make room for FOUR NEW BOXES of fabric!  So colorful, no?

Yumm!  And that's only one side of the new Batik aisle!!

 In addition to the boxes and boxes of batiks, we received a curious little box with the following lineof fabrics...we're pretty sure they're not terribly common, at least in recent memory.  :)

What is it?  *Hint* It's NOT Asian...

It's EGYPTIAN!  How fun is this?!

I apologize for not posting the pictures of the new tools Vicki has been texting me...they're not loading to a size that makes them visible  :(  Never fear!  We'll be hosting a small event to familiarize you with these nifty new gadgets when they get back!
Lindsey