Don't Wear White Shoes After Labor Day

Labor Day is the official (unofficial?) end of summer.  School for my g-sons starts tomorrow; football season has started
(Boy has it ever....I'm the foober* driver for Wednesdays and Thursdays...) and I think we can squeeze in one more quick trip.....

Tomorrow Miss Ellie and I will board a Southwest flight for Nashville.  Off to see my baby sister and the B-I-L in their new home "in town." (My dad is now living with them instead of next door.)  She asked me to bring my sewing machine to make curtains for their new home.

"Really, sis?" 

Miss Ellie.  1953 Featherweight.

     But, this is what we do for those we love. 






      So last night I gave Miss Ellie a spa night and she is now all de-fuzed,
      oiled up and shined up... ready for her trip. (I will admit, I did have to watch a few 
      video's from The Featherweight Shop on how to un-assemble and 
      reassemble a Featherweight.)



     (I have flown with Miss Ellie in the past....no one blinks.  
     She may get swabbed for bomb dust.)







I will get my quilting fix, however.... their new house is only a few miles from Hancock's of Paducah! 

 And The National Quilt Museum.

My April 2019 Kentucky Trip.
The official sendoff...breakfast at Cracker Barrel

*foober = football Uber

Row, Row, Row Your .... Boat?

The internet is a WONDERFUL tool, no?  You can find and order just about anything on the internet from Aurifil thread to Zippers and everything in between.  If Amazon doesn't have it, it will be out there...somewhere.
(FYI, Amazon sells Aurifil thread and zippers.)

With all the internet shopping going on, there is understandably less traffic in the shops.

How to get quilters and sewists back into the shops..... hummm ... By jove, I've got it! 

Make a game of it.... have a contest .... win prizes!

Row-By-Row Experience.  

What IS it?  Row by Row was started 8 years ago.  The purpose is to get people off their computers and back out to the quilt shops and fabric stores.

Every year there is a theme.  Individual quilt shops pay a fee to participate and they design a row according to the theme. Beginning in June and running until sometime in September, when you visit a participating shop you'll see a display of that shop's row and you can pick up a free pattern.  Often the shop will make up kits  for purchase with all the fabric and embellishments you'll need for their row.

You then rush home and sew up all your collected rows just as fast as ever you can (neglecting hubby, house work and and all other distractions.) When your R X R quilt is completely finished....quilting, binding and labeling ... be the first to take your finished quilt to any participating  shop and win lots of prizes.  That's it.  It's fun and exciting.

This years R X R is in full swing and the theme is Taste the Experience.  It is not too late to get started.

Here is one winner from Washington State.

                              The creativity of people still amazes me.

Find participating shops in your area, click HERE.

Check out the Inspiration page for more fun, quilty stuff and pictures of other winning quilts.

The last couple of years a R X R Junior has been added to encourage our younger quilters.  And don't stop there.... check out the supplemental patterns for young quilters.... I'm tempted to try some of these, myself.

For the curious folk who would like to see rows and blocks from past years, I found this website, Seams to Be Sew.  Grab a cup of Kicking Horse (or a nice red, depending on the time of day) and take a tour.  There is a lot of stuff on this site.....

If you can stand just one more link, Row by Row Studio on Facebook.  What fun!