It's Big Sale Time

Did you know that there is a website that lists all of the "special" days for each month - National Cookie Day, National Shoe Day, Columbus Day, etc? Paula found it and would you believe that October 15th is "I Love Lucy Day"? So in honor of I Love Lucy Day, we are going to have a BIG SALE!!

Monday, October 9th - Sunday, October 15th, 

 20% off your entire order

 www.redcrinolinequilts.com

  Enter the code: I Love Lucy

Planning this sale got us thinking about that show and some of Lucy's greatest adventures: the chocolate on the conveyor belt and the grape stomping to name just a couple.  She certainly had a knack for getting herself in some trouble. There were times when we were on the road traveling to and from quilt shows that we were channeling our inner Lucy and Ethel.  

Paula has no problem backing up the trailer into just about any space and I usually just act as a guide - someone to aim for! (Some day I am going to get the vest and those flashlights that they use at airports!) On one trip we decided to do a little sightseeing up this nice country road.  Well needless to say, we realized halfway up this hill that this probably wasn't a very good idea. We had no clue where this road was going to lead us - someone's driveway -  so we decided to turn around and get back on the main road.  You don't just turn around a truck and trailer on a narrow country road with ditches on each side; instead you back down the road and turn your tail end to the right so you can pull forward and go in the opposite direction, to that main road you decided to leave!  For some reason the trailer was not cooperating and all my "Paula you need to go to the right" screams weren't helping, in fact they were just making Paula more upset. I had visions of the trailer ending up in one of those ditches.  Finally Paula decided she just had to let the trailer go the left and we would go down this road in the opposite direction of where we planned.  We had no clue what was at the end of the road and if we would finally be able to turn the trailer around. Well as luck would have it, the road dead ended in someone's farm!!  We pulled in, smiled our sweetest smiles to the whole family that had come out to see who had come for a visit (remember Paula is a Southern gal, so she has some real skills in this department) and graciously asked them if we could turn around in their front yard!! The gentlemen assisted in directing us and we were out of there and back on the road in a matter of minutes. Lucy and Ethel for sure!!  After that we decided to just stick with the Garmin - no more adventures! I swear sometimes we are doing a standup comedy routine!

Remember, it's 20% off your entire order!!  That includes Patterns, Notions and Kits. Check out some of the kits you'll find there.

Hampton Ridge BOM complete kit

Hampton kit

Hampton close up

Hampton Close up

Banks Retreat - featuring Paula's Heritage Reds collection

Kennesaw Mountain

Kennesaw Mountain close up

Kennesaw Mountain close up

If it's on the website, it's 20 % off. Shop early, shop often!! Some quantities are limited.

Until next time, happy quilting,

Mary Ellen 

Harvey Update and Other News

 

First up - We want to thank all of you for your concern about Paula and Hurricane Harvey. As many of you know, Red Crinoline Quilts is based in Houston and both Paula and I lived in Katy, TX at one point, but now I'm in St.Petersburg, FL and Paula is outside of Houston in Richmond. I don't know about you, but I've spent the last 5 days glued to the TV as I watched Harvey destroy Houston and its surrounding towns.  I felt totally helpless. I had so many friends over there and all I could do was watch and worry.  I've been in constant contact with Paula and our friends and fortunately the majority of them made it through the storm unscathed. Next up is to see how our warehouse survived!!  Keep your fingers crossed on that one for us. -UPDATE: Paula checked the warehouse and it is dry!!!! You can uncross your fingers now!

Houston was hit with a crushing blow and it will take a long time for it to recover from this, but Houstonians are strong and they will bring it back - bigger and better - it's a Texas thing!! If you are wondering what you can do, may I suggest making a donation to one of the numerous charities that are there to help them. 

Next up - have you seen Martingale Publishing's newest book - The Big Book of Civil War Quilts?  It was just released and features 58 patterns for reproduction fabric lovers; patterns that have been in previously published books. I quickly browsed through when my copy arrived and there are some great quilts in here!! We are very lucky to have 2 of our quilts from Tributes and Treasures in this book. Wheatland is on page 36 and Plantation Road is on page 144. It's always so exciting to see our quilts in print.  Guess I'll have to visit my local JoAnn's and have my silent moment of celebrity.  Maybe I'll take my niece with me; she's very good with the whole: "Aunt ME are you in this book?  Is this one of your quilts?"  You just have to train them right!!

Wheatland

Plantation Road

Reminder - Paula is teaching 3 classes at Stitchin' Heaven in Mineola, TX.  Space is still available, so sign you!  I guarantee you'll have a great time AND make a beautiful quilt or three!
  

    September 21 - Heritage Stars - Blue

   September 22 - Lizzie's Scrap Bag

September 23 - Old City Gate 

Last up - Our newest BOM - Bristle Creek Farmhouse!  This will be coming to your local and online quilt stores very soon.  The quilt is done and now I'm preparing the shop kits for shipment next week.  Quilt stores will be sharing pictures and starting signups.  The program will begin in January 2018. Hope you will join us for this beauty!

Bristle Creek Farmhouse BOM - 95"x95"

Time to head to my sewing machine!!

Until next time, happy quilting,
Mary Ellen

We've Been Busy

So, I just sat down to write a new blog post and thought I should probably go back and reread my last post and I was just a little shocked that it was from March 7, 2017!  Wow, where has the time gone and just what have I accomplished in the past 4 months.  Honestly, quite a lot - visits with family, a new BOM, book quilts, business quilts, 3 weeks in Paris and London, quilt retreats with friends, AND a new grandson!!! I'll share details on all of this in just a moment, but I want to share an upcoming event for you to add to your calendar.

Paula will be teaching at Stitchin' Heaven Quilt Shop in Mineola, TX in September, 2017. Many of you have joined us on Deb's quilt cruises, but this time Paula will be teaching on land!! September 21-23, 2017 and for all you Texans, it's right in your backyard! Each day will be a different quilt and kits are available from Stitchin' Heaven.  What more could you want!! Check out these dates and the quilts. To sign up for classes and order a kit, click on the highlighted quilt name for a link to the Stitchin' Heaven website page.

Heritage Stars - Blue 

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Lizzie's Scrap Bag

Friday, September 22, 2017

Old City Gates

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Class space is limited, so sign up quickly!  Take one class, or sign up for all three!!

So just what have we been doing since March, apparently a whole lot.  Business-wise, Paula has designed a new fabric collection that will be featured in our new BOM program that will begin in January, 2018.  The collection and BOM are both called Bristle Creek Farmhouse and the Marcus Fabrics' sales reps are already introducing them to your local quilt shop owners.  So far the response has been fantastic.  Shops that are participating in the BOM program will receive their shop kits in September, so you will start seeing posters and sample blocks very soon after that. The first quilt is done, so here are a couple of pictures to whet your appetite!

Fortunately Paula was able to come to Florida in April so we could work on the BOM quilt. My bin of business quilts was slightly depleted before this visit, but it's back up to full capacity again. There are quilts for book #2 in there and some inventory quilts as well. Also in the design stage are some additional quilts featuring the Bristle Creek Farmhouse collection.  Watch for these at Fall Festival in Houston.

Peter and I traveled in May and June this year with a 3 week trip to London and Paris - 1 week in London, 1 week in Paris and 1 week on an Avalon River cruise on the Seine. I honestly think we walked all over London and Paris!!  My Fitbit was in overdrive.  We had a fantastic time, but were eager to get home for the arrival of our 3rd grandchild, but 1st grandson.  Adam Christopher arrived on June 16.  All 8 lbs, 2 oz and 21 1/2" of him.  This boy is long and has some big feet and definitely takes after his daddy.  Mommy, Daddy and Adam are all doing well.  I arrived in Louisville in time for his arrival and was able to spend 10 days with them.  Boy, do I miss my little man!! 

Well, it's time to hit the sewing machine!!

Until next time, happy quilting!

Mary Ellen

 

Traveling!

Paula is heading out tomorrow for Dallas and the 2017 Dallas Quilt Show. She'll load the trailer and drive to Dallas on Wednesday, and then set up for the show on Thursday. The show opens at 10AM on Friday and runs through Sunday.  Be sure to stop by and say hello. We always love to meet our loyal customers!

Dallas Quilt Show 2017 

   "It's A Charmed Life"

   Dallas Market Hall

   Dallas, TX

   March 10-12, 2017

 

Getting into the warehouse and touching the fabrics to do the inventory, sparked Paula's creativity! She has created all sorts of re-do quilts (and still has more planned)! I've spent the last couple of weeks getting some of these new quilts ready for this show, so be sure to be on the lookout for these newbies.  The pictures I'm sharing are pre-quilted and just pressed and hung on my design wall, so use your imagination!!  They have all been quilted and bound now and look absolutely beautiful!

 

Bordeaux - one of my favorite quilts and originally done in Paula's Bordeaux and Sienna collection, is now re-done in reds and browns.  I'm also sharing a picture of the yummy fabric we used in the border.

 

Pinwheel Triangles - one of the new RCQ Favs #4 patterns.  Originally pieced in fabrics from Paula's Davenport Gardens collection, is now available in burgundys and greens.  The beautiful border was the driving force behind the quilt. The original kit sold out at Festival in the Fall.  It is super easy, but looks so beautiful.

I've also completed a new version of A Quilt for Alice and Simple Star, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them.  Paula will have kits for all of the new quilts, as well as many of the quilts we showed at Festival in Houston in November - Old City Gate, James River, Charlotte and Creekside. Kits for the Festival quilts are available on our website, but unfortunately we haven't added the new re-do's yet.  If you are interested in any of the kits, please email me at: info@redcrinolinequilts.com and I can take your order.  We certainly don't want you to miss out on anything!

I'm crossing things off my To Do list and slowing emptying my 2 bins of kits (personal and business), but things keep arriving in the mail that need to be added to the business bin. (It might be time to keep Paula out of the warehouse for a little while). Look for a new version of Harriet's Baskets to be appearing soon. The new Claret quilt is done and it is ready for it's moment at the quilters.  As soon as it is available, I will post pictures too. It will probably make it's debut at Market in St. Louis this May.

The sewing machine and To Do list are calling my name, so I had better get busy!! I think today I'm working on some personal sewing - our Pinwheel Exchange. The blocks are due in September, so I'm trying to do a little each day.  I hate the total last minute rush to get things done. I did have a "shiny" moment though today when I was ready a friend's blog and she shared her Magic of Christmas quilt.  Hers is almost done and mine is in my personal To Do bin and I think it's calling my name too.  All these voices are killing me!!! LOL

Until next time, happy quilting.

Mary Ellen

 

March Events

Red Crinoline Quilts is hitting the road again.  Well, actually Paula is doing the traveling.  I will stay right by my sewing machine, working through the 2 bins of business and personal quilts!  Paula is attending 2 quilts shows this month:

     West Houston Quilt Guild Show

    "Quilting: A World of Color"

     Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center

    8877 Barker-Cypress 

    Cypress, TX

    March 3-4, 2017

 AND

    Dallas Quilt Show 2017 

   "It's A Charmed Life"

   Dallas Market Hall

   Dallas, TX

   March 10-12, 2017 

Paula will have kits for our newest quilts and other great things for you to fawn over!

Paula is the featured artist at the West Houston Quilt Guild Show, so in addition to our booth, there will be 6 of our quilts hanging in a separate booth. 

If you are in the Houston and Dallas areas, please stop by and visit Paula.

Until next time, happy quilting,

Mary Ellen

Happy Day

Yes, today is Valentine's Day and therefore a Happy Day, but I have another reason to be happy. It's a sewing day for me, but a package I received in the mail yesterday will make it an even happier day!! First let me go back just a few days: I flew to Houston for the first weekend in February so that Paula and I could spend a few days planning and doing inventory (ugh part of the whole weekend).  We accomplished so much and you will be seeing that over the next few weeks as I piece together all the great quilts we planned! Just before I arrived, Paula's fabric samples for her new collection, Claret, arrived, so we cut the fabric we need for a new quilt.  I am so in love with this collection.  The wine-colored tones paired with grays, blacks and lights are just yummy. Check out the full collection on Marcus Fabrics' website: Claret.  Paula had already planned a re-do of Harpers Ferry, so it was a matter of just getting it cut.

And here's why today is a Happy Day! 

Yes, those are individual baggies for each of the blocks in the quilt. Be still my heart!  Paula not only cut the fabric, she bagged them by block!!!!  I have been grinning ear to ear since the box arrived!  This quilt will take absolutely no time to piece and put together - which means we can have the kits on the website and available for purchase as soon as the quilt is finished!!! 

We finished the inventory in record time and spent the rest of the weekend pulling fabrics for new quilts and kits.  Watch for re-do's of Bordeaux, Simple Star, Pinwheel Triangles, and A Quilt for Alice. I also got to dine at some of my favorite places: Lupe's and Bagel Cafe!!

Cruise update: We had a fabulous time and met some awesome ladies (and some gentlemen too). Apparently we were one of the topics in the comedy show one night - "have you seen the sweatshop they're running down in the Conference Center?" There were 82 quilters and they were divided into 3 classrooms in the Conference Center. The 3 teachers were Paula, Denice Libscomb of Common Threads Quilting, and Connie Tesene of Country Threads.  Deb Luttrell of Stitchin' Heaven and the organizer of these fabulous cruises also shared the schedule of cruises for 2017 and 2018.  Be sure to check out Stitchin' Heaven Travel and book your cruise of a lifetime.

We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, the first of the biggest cruise ships.  It is divided into areas/zones and has so much to offer everyone. Paula and I decided we both like the Central Park area the best.  You're outside, but because of the trees and greenery you would never know you were in the middle of the ocean. The ship even has an outdoor aqua theater for a high diving performances!

Central Park area from the pool deck. Interior balcony rooms overlook the park area.

Aqua Theater. This was taken as we were waiting for our muster drill, so the pool area is closed.

Oh, is that the sound of the baggies calling my name? It must be time to close and head to the sewing machine!

Until next time, happy quilting.
Mary Ellen

WOW Wednesday I - 2017

I'm sure many of you thought we had totally dropped off the face of the earth, but actually we've been hard at work!  Ok, really just getting through the holidays and trying to get back on course! Fall Market, Fall Festival, WI Retreat, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's - whoa baby, that was rough! We've traveled, spent time with family and friends, and actually did some business stuff - kind of a miracle. But now it's 2017 and we're ready for a great year. We've got all sorts of things we're working on: new BOWs, new fabric collections, new quilts, new BOM, new quilts for a new book.  New BOM and new book will both appear in 2018, but we'll be working on getting them ready this year. Oh and I'm going to be a grandma again!!! Our first grandson will be making his appearance in mid-June!!  We're so excited!

We introduced WOW Wednesday last year and it seemed to get a good response from all of you, so we will be doing that again.  We're hoping that the up, close and personal pictures we are taking for these blogs are giving you a better look at the details in these quilts - fabrics, prints, colors and quilting.

Today's WOW Wednesday guest is Charlotte! Indigo was a new collection that Paula designed for Marcus Fabrics this Fall and we had a great time playing with it. Charlotte, James River, Creekside and Little Bear Paw were all designed using Indigo and they were all quite popular at Market and Festival.  Charlotte is actually a re-do quilt and we love it as much in Indigo as we did in it's original collection. Re-doing a quilt pattern allows  us to show you it's versatility.  Charlotte measures 83"x91", so it is a great bed quilt. It also features all of the fabrics in the collection - navy, blue, light shirtings and beige - and of course a pretty stripe. If you look closely at the pictures, you can see that Charlotte has an overall quilting pattern and it was quilted by Sharon Dixon of Katy T-Shirt Quilts.  Thank you Sharon.

Charlotte kits and patterns are available on our website:
     Charlotte kit                                                     Charlotte pattern

Paula sent me a surprise goodie package yesterday (I just love when she finds fun things that we both "need") and inside was the winter issue of Simply Vintage magazine from Quiltmania and low and behold our Vicksburg quilt is on page 84. I was home and not in my local Jo-Ann's when I found the picture, so I had to have my "celebrity" moment by myself. LOL! If I'm in Jo-Ann's, I get this stupid grin on my face and look around, hoping someone will ask me why I'm smiling like that.  Even better, I try to make sure I have my niece with me and she'll ask: "Aunt ME are you in any of these magazines?"

Vicksburg kits and patterns are available on our website:
      Vicksburg kit                                                  Vicksburg pattern

Vicksburg features Paula's Tavern Red collection and unfortunately the fabric is no longer available.  This is also a quilt that we have made a few re-do's and it has grown bigger over time - it now measures 80"x80". Sorry, no up, close and personal pictures on this one right now - it's still in France! Lucky quilt! Meanwhile I am totally in love with the red and white quilt on the front cover - Coronado by Shawn York for Rusty Crow Quilt Shop.  I think I need to add that to my to do list!

Don't go looking for a WOW Wednesday post next week - Paula and I will be in the middle of the Caribbean on the Stitchin' Heaven Civil War Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. Paula is teaching (I'm teaching assistant, gofer, and all-round fun person), along with Denise Lipscomb of Common Threads and Connie Tesene of Country Threads. I think this is the 3rd or 4th cruise we've done with Deb Luttrell and Stitchin' Heaven and we are looking forward to another fun week! I'll be taking pictures and posting on FB as we travel along, but I will blog about our trip when we get back home. I'll be working on a quilt for our new book on this trip.

Until next time, happy quilting,
Mary Ellen