Giving Back

Have you ever noticed how nice and giving most quilters are? We all have so many plans for quilts for others. We rarely make a quilt that we don't plan to give away. If you are one of those giving quilters that just love to piece new blocks but don't always have a plan for them then we have a great opportunity for you. 

'My Sisters Quilts' is currently accepting donations to make quilts for "Home of the Brave", an organization that honors the families of fallen soldiers. A group of Utah Quilters lead by Pat Moseman would like to give memorial quilts to the families of Utah soldiers who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Sounds like a worthy cause to me. If you want to help there are three different things you can do:

1) Pick up a kit for just $1 at My Sisters Quilts to make a 12 1/2 in block and return it to the shop

2) Create your own 12 1/2 in block from red, white, and blue or civil war reproduction fabrics and drop it off at the shop.

3) Donate batting or civil war reproduction fabrics to go toward the finished quilts. 

Pat Moseman will pick up the finished blocks (it takes 15 blocks per quilt) and any fabric or batting donations and turn them into beautiful quilts for these amazing families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. 

This is for a national organization and if you want to learn more or download the pattern and instructions for the blocks, visit the website www.homeofthebravequilt.com . The pattern download is under the quilts tab. And if you know of a family that deserves one of these quilts, you can also nominate them to receive one on the website. 

We hope that as many of you that are willing and able will help with this project! We believe it to be a worthy cause and would love any help that you can give us!

Meet the 3 Dudes

How many of you have been to Phoenix AZ and had the pleasure to visit 3 Dudes Quilting?? 

Linda recently had the chance to visit them and had a whole lot of fun. She chatted with Jeff (one of the 3 dudes) while she was visiting the shop and came across an incredible, and simple, quilt she wanted to share with you all. Ray (another of the 3 dudes) came up with a beautiful way to use strips to make an endless variety of very interesting quilts. Check out their web site for a download of the pattern for "Lets Strip It Majestic Mountain Quilt" by Ray Steeves (its the first on this list). 

Here is a video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company demonstrating this great quilt block. It is so easy!

While your at it, check out some of the other tutorials from the Missouri Star. They have some really great, not to mention easy, tricks to help you make some gorgeous quilts. When you fall in love with one (which is inevitable) come on into the shop and we can help you pick the perfect fabric for your new project!

Linda is making the Majestic Mountain Quilt out of the Scoot fabrics from Riley Blake. 

She will display it in the shop when it is done. Can you imagine how cute that is going to be?? 

I for one can not wait!!! 

What are some of your favorite online quilt tutorials?

Sugar Cookies and the BEST frosting ever!

Greetings!

One of the things that my mother in law mentioned she loved about going into the store is the recipes the ladies share. She happened to get a recipe for clam chowder and then made it the following day for the whole family. (YUM)

So while I was pondering what to put on the blog today, I thought I might share with you one of my most favorite family recipes for sugar cookies!

Now these are the type of sugar cookies that you can roll out and decorate, not the kind you roll in sugar and come out chewy. The best part of this recipe is that there is no refrigeration required. So if you are like me and forget to prepare things in advance, this is perfect.

A word about the frosting. It really is the BEST. Its just a simple buttercream that goes well on everything, but honestly, I am not usually one who enjoys frosting, and this has me licking the beaters. So good. 

Here you go, my family's secret for awesome sugar cookies and buttercream frosting!

Sugar Cookies

8oz package cream cheese, softened

3/4 c butter, softened (the real stuff)

1 c sugar

2 ts vanilla

2 1/4 c flour

1/2 ts baking soda

Method: 

Beat butter and cream cheese together in a standing mixer (or with a hand mixer) with the paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 1-2 min. Add sugar and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add flour and baking soda and mix thoroughly. Roll out on a clean lightly floured surface to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Cut out as desired with cookie cutters and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Do not over bake~if they look done, they are overdone. Makes about 3 dozen

Buttercream Frosting (adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

10 Tb unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), softened

2 ts vanilla

1 1/4 C (5 oz) confectioners' sugar

pinch table salt

1 Tb heavy cream

Method: 

In a standing mixer with the whip attachment, cream the butter on medium high until smooth (20 sec). Add sugar and salt and beat on medium-low until combined (1 min). Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary. Add heavy cream and vanilla and beat until incorporated on medium. Then increase the speed to medium high and whip for at least 4 min until light and fluffy. Makes enough frosting for 12 cupcakes or one Sugar Cookie recipe. 

ENJOY!!

Did You Know??

Did you know that there are a variety of services available to you at My Sisters Quilts?? 

For example, though the store itself does not house a long arm quilter, there are THREE fabulous ladies that have regular hours at the shop so you can drop off you quilt tops to be quilted!

Nifty right?

On Thursday nights from 5:00-7:00pm you can drop off your quilt and choose a design for it to be quilted with Paula Everill. She has many designs for you to choose from (over 1000!) starting at $.015 per square inch and up. Look at some examples of her work HERE.

On Friday mornings from 11:00-12:30 Natalie Thompson of Nestled Long Arm Quilting Company is at My Sisters Quilts for drop off and consultations. Natalie specializes in edge to edge quilting and her designs start at just $.01 per square inch. She also has a fast turnaround, so if you are in a time crunch, she is your gal!

Then on Saturdays from 10:00-12:00 Dona Marie will be at the shop for drop offs. She also has a quick turn around (about one week), 1000s of designs starting at $.01 per square inch, and she also does custom work. Visit her website HERE to view her FAQ and gallery of work. 

You can also call the shop and ask for their contact info and call them for a private consultation :) 

So now that you know, there is no excuse to have a pile of un-quilted quilt tops! Bring them in and one of these three fine ladies will help you make that quilt a family treasure!

Open House Review

WOW

Seriously, there are some incredible classes to sign up for this year!! 

At the open house all the samples were so beautiful, I wanted to sign up for nearly every single class. 

What classes did you sign up for??

There is also another quilt on the sew and tell wall. Check out this beauty made by Kathy Wayne!

That is some beautiful applique Kathy!

We also got a few new fabric lines that are gorgeous. 

It is going to be a GREAT year for quilting!!!

Open House

It's that time again. Time for the open house and class registration and My Sister's Quilts!! 

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday (12th -14th) come on in to the store and check out the samples from all the classes and sign up to learn new skills taught by one of the many great teachers at My Sister's Quilts. 

I don't know about you, but I have been anxiously awaiting the class list to see what new fun techniques I can add to my skill set.  

Have you seen the class list??? Its HUGE!!! There are so many great classes and instructors this quarter that I can't think of one that I don't want to take. Batiks, basics, purses, applique, binding, Hawaiian quilting, lone star, aprons, a mystery quilt and more. Way too many to spotlight here, so hop on over to the website and check out all the class descriptions. There is surly something there to suit your fancy, if not four or five or six classes you are going to want to sign up for. 

Oh, and did I mention that there will be a SALE this weekend too?? Perfect.

January 9^th – 14^th SALE

10 Fat Quarters for only $20 (pre-cuts only)

Existing Pillowcase Kits – 40% Off

20% Off

Calypso Swing

Max & Whiskers

Lilac Parade

Lovely

Quilts of Valor

Come on into the store this week and sign up for classes and save up on those quilting supplies that you can't live without. We can't wait to see you!!!

Christmas Crazyness

Hello out there! It has been too long friends!
Is there anyone else out there working like crazy on Christmas presents and such??
The needle on my sewing machine has certainly had quite a work out lately. I am bound and determined to get my son's 'baby' quilt done before he is a year old, so only two weeks to go!

So many projects, so little time!

Things are a little busy all around, so I just wanted to update the blog and send out some good vibes to all of you during this great time of year.  The quilting world is quite a giving one, which I love :) It has been an absolute pleasure to interact with many of you at the store and in classes. The class I was taking has sadly ended (Cherry Tweet taught by Cori Blunt, Wow).  I looked forward to it each month and the ladies I met were GEMS. Always kind, sharing freezer paper, rotary cutters, tips, and advice. So much fun to be around.

Since I have met some of you, but not all, I thought I would introduce myself to you as well. My name is JaNean. I have a wonderful husband and two adorable children, who keep me pretty busy. I defiantly don't get as much time to quilt as I would like, but that's okay. I love to keep up with fabric collections and other bloggers who are kind enough to share their genius with the rest of us. My list of projects grows all the time and I hope that someday I will get to them all!

Linda and Carolyn were brave enough to ask me to take over the upkeep of the blog after the lovely Patsy passed away. She was amazing. I only got to chat with her once or twice, but she sure was a special person. She was the kind of gal that made you feel like family after about a minute of knowing her. I was honored to help out, though I know it will never be a special as Patsy could have done.

Linda and Carolyn are also family, literally! They are my father's cousins and it has been so great to see them succeed in their dream.  My kids prevent me from spending too much time in the store, but I would be there every day if I could. I love the atmosphere there. The fabric and patterns and notions are just a bonus. It really is a great place to be :)

My grandmother was also a big time quilter. She inspired me with all the wonderful quilts she gave us for Christmas and weddings. I always loved receiving them and I hope that I can leave such a great legacy with my family too. Grams died in 2008, but as I have learned more and more in the quilting world I feel closer to her. It was a big part of her life, and now I am following in her footsteps.

My quilt style is quite modern and I LOVE bright fabrics against white or black. I have quite the collection of patters that I can't wait to make and a weakness for Art Gallery and Riley Blake fabrics. They make me swoon.... I recently fell in love with cathedral window quilts, but my husband has forbidden me from attempting one for now, as he thinks he will never see me (which is probably true) so it has been added to my project list. Like I said earlier, so many projects so little time!

Anyway, that is a little bit about me. I hope to get to know more of you as I visit the shop and build my stash (shh, don't tell my hubby ;)

All of us at My Sisters Quilts want to wish you the very best Holiday Season for you and your family. May the spirit of the season be with you and help you finish up anything you need to get done for the special ones in your life! Remember if you need anything last minute, stop by the shop and we would be happy to help you out.

We would also love to get to know each of you better, so please leave us a comment and tell us what kind of quilts you like to make and what you might like to read about on the blog :)

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to you!!!