Shop ’til You Drop — One Stop Quilt Shop Hop!! We’re totes gonna be there.

1501697_240538886137917_1637939927_nThirty + Quilt Shops will be in attendance for the annual event and we are gonna be one of them!!  We’re putting wheels on Crimson Tate (I like to think of those wheels as roller skates) but nontheless, we’re making this girl mobile and heading to our friend Nancy J’s house in Kokomo for a fun event to be shared with quilt store around Indiana and Ohio.

 

You can join us for the good times by heading north (or south as the case may be) Friday July 25 or Saturday July 26 to shop at all the shops.  Wanna know who will be there besides us?! Head to here to see the complete list and to get more information!!

 

Who: Thirty Quilt Shops

What: Fabric, fun, games, prizes, lots of shopping

When: Friday, July 25, 2014 — 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Saturday, July 26, 2014 — 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Where: Kokomo Events Center; 1500 N Reed Road; Kokomo, IN 46901 — easy access just off of IN 931

How Much: $5.00 admission

 

 

A Big Old Thank You Annual SALE! Happy Independence!!

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25% off everything in the store! 15% off bundles!! If you shop in-store, we’ll offer you 30% off fabric when you take what is left on the bolt. For our on-line lovers, we’re giving you free shipping on orders over $100. Yay!! Thanks for being such faithful friends and customers! We crazytown have so much love for our community! xoxo

Hip Hop Hoooray! New Class Schedule is HERE!!!

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We are super dooper excited to announce the new class schedule!  We’ve got lots of Sewing 101, Beginning Quilting, and Beginning Garment sewing classes.  Head over to our class schedule page and take a look see at all of the classes we are offering this go round.

 

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve got a few new instructors, too.  I think you’ll enjoy Sarah Sharp of No Hats Quilts and Amanda Castor of Material Girl Quilts will be joining us.  Of course, Lindsay Lefevere of Ellesquare and David Barnhouse of Circle City Quilter (crimsontavid) plus a crowd favorite Deb Martin of D.A.M. Designs will be returning.

 

Let us know what other kinds of classes you’d like to see us host.  We’d love to entertain your ideas.

 

xoxo

Heather

Staff Fat Quarter Bundle Challenge

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This winter, mother nature came in like a wrecking ball — or whatever.  And truth is, while we’ve enjoyed the cold quilty months, we’re ready to put our sandals on and hang our quilts outside to dry or picnic on top of them instead of burrowing underneath these dudes in search of heat.

Being inspired by spring, the staff of Crimson Tate created their own bundles to beckon spring through the doors.  It’s time to dust off the gray and welcome color back into our world.  Here are the selections we came up with.  Let us know what you think and certainly let us know whose spring-time mix is most appealing to you.

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First up: David http://circlecityquilter.weebly.com/

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This is what he has to say about his bundle.

Check out these bad boys!! This stack of eye-catching fat quarters is the ideal mix for your next quilting project. From the more masculine blacks and grays, to the black and steel colored essex linens, this bundle has a little bit of everything. The Echino Decoro bees and funky woodland animal print are just the icing on the cake. Edgy, springy, and cool, you’ll be all the rage at your next quilt bee meeting (and David will throw in a big bonus hug if you choose his bundle!!!)

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Second Up: Melissa http://www.melissaneeshauger.com/

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This is what she has to say about her bundle.

Welcome spring with this fresh, bright bouquet of colors! This lovely bundle features beautiful fabrics from Echino Decoro, Amy Butler’s Hapi, Lizzy House’s Pearl Bracelets & Catnap, Lotta Jansdotter’s Mormor, and Ellen Luckett Baker’s Garden. These colors will surely brighten your next sewing project!

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Third Up: Heather https://www.crimsontate.com/

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This is what I have to say about my bundle.

Eclectic, vintage, Japanese. Many of these fat quarters are cotton linen blends and of Japanese design with a vintage kick. Currently, I’m obsessed with teals that turn into blues. What you’ll find in this mix is a range of values from deep saturation of color to incredible low volume as evidenced in Lizzy House’s Catnap fabrics. I gave this a pop of hot pink to welcome in the spring and the return of color in our landscape. C’mon in warm weather, we’re waiting for you.

Which bundle do you like the best?  We’d love to know whether you’re down with blues and grays with a masculine slant.  Or if you prefer a saturated rainbow of color explosion.  Or if you’d like to ride on the tranquil seas of blueish greens.  We’re curious your opinion.

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That brings us to, we are looking for some extra staff.  Wanna join our team?!  Drop by Crimson Tate at 845 Mass Ave and perhaps the next post will be a photo of YOUR staff pick bundle.  Get in here enthusiastic, positive, smarty quilters.  We need your help in our store!!

Yellow Brick Road Class started at Crimson Tate last night!

So, making a quilt that will forgive you for your first project is fairly important.  Often I’ve recommended and taught the Yellow Brick Road Quilt by Atkinson Design as a perfect first quilt.  It will forgive if you don’t cut, iron, and sew with absolute precision but to an observer, the quilt has a bit more sophistication. During our first class, we focused on best practice of cutting fabric and achieving a 1/4″ seam.

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These girls are champs.  I can’t wait to reveal what they’ll be creating for their first quilt ever.  Let’s be inspired!

 

xoxo

Heather

Is Lotta Jansdotter the New Solid? And other thoughts about Houston Quilt Market 2013

Seriously.  She’s kinda brilliant.  That Lotta Jansdotter is Freshy McFresherson.  I am so happy that Windham Fabrics wooed the queen of Swedish design to their line-up of stellar cast members.  Of course, Lotta Jansdotter is not new to the world of sewing and textile printing.  She has been making handprinted textiles for years.  As a fellow printmaker, I’ve admired how simple her techniques and results are.  In her third line for Windham, she gives us a soft palette perfect for late winter early spring wearings.  Take a visual tour around her booth —–>

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Lotta Jansdotter gives you something to think about.  The roughness and sometimes crude nature of the printed surface is very pretty.  I like that her designs retain that hand printed quality, even though they aren’t hand-pulled prints. (Although all of my favorite printmaking teacher Kathy Reeves would tell you that spotty surfaces is shotty printing, but I like it in this instance.  Sorry Kathy.)  Here’s a closer view of one of those spotty fabrics, this photo taken from Windham’s website.

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The happy news is that this collection is set to be shipped from Windham in early February and obs will be living at Crimson Tate.  If you can’t wait to see it in its entirety, check out both collections on Windham’s website.  One is named Mormor and the other Sylvia.  (Sylvia is Lotta’s granny–her mormor).

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Sylvia is a fantastic range of black and whites which we’ve ALL been waiting for.  Thank goodness.  You’re gonna like it.

xoxo

Heather

If you’d like to use any of the photography seen here, please email me at photouse@crimsontate.com I’m sure we can work it out!

Tula Pink’s Acacia is LIVING Downtown Indianapolis

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I’ll tell ya.  Remember when I drank the Kool-Aid at the Portland Quilt Market Spring 2013 and I said “I finally get why so many people are obsessed with Tula Pink!”  If you don’t remember, you can read about it here. (I was able to capture some good photos while there, I think it’s worth taking a look at). Well.  Two days ago the child of that Kool-Aid-induced-decision-making-funtime showed up.  Twenty-five bolts of Tula Pink’s newest line called Acacia is here.  Yesterday we (David, Melissa, and I) spent a goodly amount of the day cutting, folding, bundling, kitting, petting these newest fabrics.  I took WAY too many photos of the collection and have been thinking WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL OF THESE PHOTOS?! But I couldn’t stop.  So, here is a lil’ photographic journey of the bundles and kits we’ve put together.  I’ll meet you at the bottom momentarily.

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ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageWe call this one above the Amelia colorway.  Pretty pinks turning coral.   ImageWe  call the one above the Pauline colorway with its unexpected color combinations that work together seamlessly.ImageWe call this dominantly purple bundle the Bernice colorway.  All good Bernices claim purple as their favorite color.

We have kits of the Peaks & Valleys Quilt which I thought was the best quilt at the show.  We put them in cute lil’ plastic zipper bags that our friend Ashley at Nurture gave us.  She’s trying to purge.  It seems we are always trying to hoard.Image

Here’s what the quilt looks like:

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And of course we have the English paper piecing kit she created called Diamonds in the Sky.

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It seems we are now officially armed with enough beautiful fabric to make some pretty spectacular things.  I’ve got to get to work on my Peaks and Valleys quilt!

If receiving Tula’s fabric wasn’t enough, on Tuesday we’ll receive Birch Organic’s Fort Firefly and Alexander Henry’s Ghastlie Christmas fabric.  YOU GUYS! It’s go time.

See you downtown, soon!

xoxo

Heather

De-Stash Bash :: Sewing for a Cause!!

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It’s time to DE-STASH! And let’s give to our community while we’re at it.  Crimson Tate is partnering with our dear friend and fabric rep Laurie Voggenthaler to present DE-STASH BASH.  The gang of Crimson Tate and Laurie have cut through our years of stash building and assembled kits to create pillowcases for members of our own community at the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children. 

How can you get involved?  Here are the deets:

  • WHO: You and all your sewy pals are encouraged to participate.
  • WHAT: Sewing pillowcases to be donated to the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children.
  • HOW: Come to Crimson Tate and make a $12 donation to Wheeler Mission CWC to receive a pillowcase kit.  Each kit includes three coordinating fabrics and a pillowcase pattern. OR Use fabrics from your own stash and  make a suggested donation of $12 when dropping off the pillowcase.
  • WHEN: Return your completed pillowcase donation to Crimson Tate by Tuesday, October 1st.
  • NOW WHAT: Then, join us Friday evening October 4 to celebrate your generosity.

First Friday in October, Crimson Tate will feature

  1. Your cutie-tootie pillowcases lining the cultural trail (weather permitting).
  2. A very VERY important chili cook-off competition between me (Heather) and my sister Tana.  We need the public to decide once and for all WHO MAKES THE BETTER CHILI?!
  3. Beer.  Beer. Beer. YESSSS!!!
  4. Celebrate on Mass Ave with Harvest of the Arts and other retailers and restaurants featuring local artists.
  • WHY: Our dear friend Laurie Voggenthaler came to us with an idea of how she could clear out leftovers in her stash AND make a difference.  100% of your donation goes to the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children.  What a lovely way to touch lives as we head toward the holiday season.  And how wonderful that we can hand them not only a generous stack of pillowcases but also cash to support existing programs.  This is gonna be good.

Get down here and gather-up some stash (or get to digging through your own)! And get to sewing.  We’re excited to see what you will create.

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Is that Liberty of London Lifestyle cotton in that kit?! Why yes it is.  We’re not holding back the good stuff in the kits we’ve created!!

Hello Friend. Hello Double Gauze.

Have you met double gauze fabric yet?  Let me introduce you.Image

Japanese artist Naomi Ito has designed a luscious line of fabrics using the name Nani Iro.  What you see here is a sub straight of 100% cotton called double gauze.  Double gauze is just that, two layers of gauze that are intermittently woven together on the loom creating a light, lofty essence to the drape of the fabric.  Image

Gauze is more loosely woven therefore breathes easily.  One layer of gauze, however, is not enough for most of us to construct a dress unless we’re interested in creating a scene.  The Nani Iro double gauze is the perfect solution for a lightweight garment that has a little bit of hang and movement.  It’s super soft and buttery when sewn.  You’ll want your world to made from this magic fabric. Image

In the store we have a great example of a Washi Dress made from double gauze.  Many of you have witnessed it when you’ve visited.  Of course, I can’t find a photo of it right now but will amend my post once I have one to show you.  It’s fabulous.  And it’s time to start making some simple clothes.  I know what you’re thinking “I’m a quilter.  I’m not a garment sewer.”

 

The truth is, with simple patterns like the Washi Dress or the Staple Dress, you don’t need a lot of experience in garment construction to give it a go and have success.  It’s time, yo.  It’s time.Image