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

Shh!

Hello all!

This is Lindsey, the resident techie at BJ's Quilt Basket, and I've taken over the blog for the weekend asVicki  is out of town- she and our manager, Nancy, are off to Market in Salt Lake City!  They'll be touring and learning all of the new tools and techniques available to the quilting world.  Keep checkin' back here throughout the weekend to see what little samples Vicki texts back to me here! 



This is a rare opportunity here at BJ's- the bosses are never BOTH gone and the SAME TIME.  To commemorate this unique event, the employees here at BJ's are having a sale...check it out!





A detail of those beautiful fabrics we showed you last week!





The newest kit available- done in Robyn Pandolph's

Scarborough Fair line of fabrics!



May Flowers!

The sun is out and the flowers supposedly promised to us by the April showers haven't arrived yet- except in fabric!    We've just received two new lines of Spring florals we thought might lift your spirits...


"Lovely Ladies Encore" by Northcott
Not even out of it's packaging yet!




The focal panel of the Lovely Ladies line!



The second line we've gotten in is Robyn Pandolph's new floral, Scarborough Fair.  I've been experimenting with kits for this line- you'll have to check back in a few days to see what I've managed to come up with!!

"Scarborough Fair" by Robyn Pandolph

Well, we're all busy around here after the crazy fun of the Central Oregon Shop Hop.  I wanted to thank all of those who visited the shop and participated in the Hop this year- we had a blast and we hope you did too!  If you're curious who won what this year, check out the Shop Hop section of our main webpage, http://www.bjsquiltbasket.com/.



Vicki



Shop Hop preparation!

I can't believe Shop Hop is already coming this Thursday (along with my daughter's birthday!)!!  Time flies when we have SO MUCH to do!!!  We are cutting more kits yet - it's always fun to see the new kits, and new tools we have in stock!!  We also are still getting in new lines - Kathy Deggendorfer's new line from In The Beginning - "My Sunshine" just arrived & is kitted - it's gorgeous!!!  Very summery - hope that brings the sun & it stays for a while!!!  Well - better get back to work - cleaning & organizing for this weekend, see you all then!!   Vicki