Archive for the ‘Quilt Shops’ Category

…Revealed! Sounds like a great title for a book!

I recently worked with Seacoast Sewing Center in Portsmouth, NH on a Summer Mini Mystery Quilt – what fun! The premise of the mystery was:

• Quilters use their scraps or a pallette of their own choosing and SSC provides weekly backgrounds and instruction kits;
• Simple weekly blocks - shorten length of time between new tasks and allow brand new quilters to participate;
• Five weeks (thus the “mini” title)  to build a quilt top to keep quilters interested!

I think this was a winning concept for Seacoast Sewing Center! We had loads of fun last Saturday admiring all of the results!

As you can see we had scrappy and planned quilts, quilts with borders and quilts without, quilted quilts - check out that gorgeous closeup!! We had blue quilts, pink quilts, black quilts…we even had a first-time quilter – and you won’t be able to guess which one it is….

We experienced a few bumps in the road and after those, smooth sailing on the Seacoast! Many thanks to Jeanne, Cheryl and Jill for logistics, patience and attention to detail! What a great experience!

If your quilting group is interested in a Mini Mystery, contact me here!

-Kris

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of teaching the On Tour Bag Workshop at Sew Creative in Beverly, MA.  I have to say, we had a ball! Phyllis Vray, the owner of Sew Creative and my gracious host, has a beautiful shop with a knowledgeable staff. (Thanks for all the cutting, Bonnie!). The shop is chock-full of great samples, patterns and books, and fabrics ranging from Kaffe Fassett to batiks to everything in between! I couldn’t help but notice that Phyllis has a thriving repair business also. Sew Creative is the North Shore’s Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff Dealer.

My students had me in stitches all day – here they are hard at work on their On Tour Bags! What a welcoming group! We had loads of laughs while making our bags.

Sew Creative is located on the North Shore in the busy town of Beverly. Beverly is a vibrant small town with loads of things to do! If you are in the area, stop by Sew Creative - you’ll be glad you did!

Happy Quilting!

-Kris

I recently visited The Sewing Basket which opened this past July at 86 Main Street in Plaistow, NH. How could I have missed that?

If you happen to be in Southern NH (maybe doing a little leaf peeping?), don’t miss this great little quilt shop! Patty, the owner, has a delightful collection of fabrics, gifts and sewing notions all tucked into a charming Victorian.

Are you ready for the tour? When you enter The Sewing Basket, you will find an entryway filled with seasonal gift items.

The front window, as you can see at left, is filled with pretty batiks.

There are vignettes of fabric, wreaths, quilts all around you, yet the shop does not feel crowded. The fabric collection is a nice mix of seasonal fabrics and traditional to modern fabrics. The colors are bright and cheerful.

For those not inclined to sew, there are aprons, doll clothes and other handmade crafts for purchase.

If you’d like to spend a pleasant morning shopping for fabric, head for The Sewing Basket. Say hello to Patty!

Keep quilting! -Kris

P.S. The center of Plaistow is very pretty this time of year; check out the clock tower on the town hall!

Today we are going to Salem Massachusetts to visit Marketplace Quilts on a virtual shop hop! After we pass the House of Seven Gables, we come to the waterfront and park in the South Harbor Garage located at the corner of Derby Street and Congress Street. From there, it’s only a short walk (click here for directions).

Maureen Clark started Marketplace Quilts 9 years ago with a friend. This quaint shop is located on Front Street in Salem MA.

Her shop carries a good mix of contemporary and traditional quilting fabrics, and an abundance of current books, patterns and pre-cuts. There are displays galore to inspire you.

Marketplace Quilts specializes in customer service. Maureen is friendly, energetic and ready to help you with all of your quilting projects! She has small classes in her shop so that everyone has one-on-one time with the teacher! My mother Jean and I really enjoyed meeting Maureen and we know we’ll definitely be back!

If you are going to Salem, this shop is very close to all of the attractions. My kids and I have enjoyed re-enactments at the Town Hall, the Peabody Essex Museum and Pickering Wharf for ice cream! There is so much to do in Salem – do stop by Marketplace Quilts – we think you’ll enjoy it!

Keep quilting!

-Kris

Nancy’s done it again! Here is Nancy Dey’s twist on the Crafty Tote from Sew and Go Totes! She uses traditional fabrics in such a thoughtful way! (Check out Nancy’s other interpretation of a Sew and Go Tote in this previous post.) Nancy- thanks for sharing!

Isn’t it great to be a quilter these days? We have so many beautiful fabrics available! We have the internet to share our quilting adventures on and take a peek at others’. Wow – what a great time to be a quilter!

Please share your adventures with Poorhouse Quilt Designs patterns with us here – email me at info@poorhousequiltdesigns.com.

Keep quilting! -Kris

I had the pleasure to teach at Stitched in Stone in Kingston NH on Tuesday nights during the month of March – a fun class! The students made Tidal Totes and we sure had a lot of laughs along the way! I have to show you their totes, because they really are beautiful:Clockwise from left, we have Nancy, with her starfish tote – she used the batiks with fairy frost; the fairy frost gave the bag a water effect! Next, we have Cindy – she added quilted pockets on the inside of the bag – that’s a great improvement to the bag! Caroline with the gorgeous royal blue starfish tote is next, she’s donating her bag to charity. Last but not least, we have Linda, with her beautifully quilted lobster! Linda has already been asked to make more by her coworkers.

Thanks ladies for a great class!

There is such a kind community of quilters at Stitched in Stone – carefully cultivated by Tammy Rommel! If you have a chance, stop by and say “hi” to Tammy and Glenn.