Happenings at Sew Many Quilts

Location and Store Hours

Sew Many Quilts is located in the city of Bend in beautiful Central Oregon. We are located at 1375 SE Wilson Ave. # 170. Our store hours are

Monday - Saturday  9:30 am to 5:30 pm and Sunday 12 noon to 4:00 pm.

Central Oregon Shop Hop 2011 is coming soon!

Eight of the quilt shops in our area are busily preparing to make this the best Shop Hop ever, so make your plans to visit every shop between April 28 and May 1.

Thursday - Saturday: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

The grand prize will be a sewing machine. Also, there will be eight $50 gift certificates and eight $25 gift certificates. You must go to each shop to qualify for the drawing. You will get fabric and pattern at each shop for a mystery quilt. Each shop will display a project featuring the focus fabric and those projects will be raffled at each individual shop.

Participating shops:
Sew Many Quilts & Bernina Center, Bend
Material Girl, Redmond
Quilters Attic, Terrebonne
Homestead Quilts, La Pine
The Quilt Shack, Prineville
Stitchin' Post, Sisters
Quilt Works, Bend,
BJ's Quilt Basket, Bend

Pennies from Heaven Trunk Show

We are excited to have the premier of the Pennies from Heaven Trunk Show in our shop!

 

Can’t you just imagine this show stopper hanging in your own home? It can be yours, because this is next wool appliqué block of the month at Sew Many Quilts. Sign up now to assure that you are included on the new class list. For more information about the class go to www.sewmanyquiltsinbend.com.

 It will be on display in the back room from now until February 22^nd. We also have several other pieces from the Pennies from Heaven book by quilt artist Gretchen Gibbons, owner of Celebration of Life Designs. This is her first trunk show since the release of the book.

 

Staff Christmas Party

On December 16th Sharon and Gail hosted a Christmas Party for the Sew Many Quilts staff. Catered by Tate and Tate, it was a delightful evening - a time of sharing and fun without a lot of "shop talk."

We thought you might enjoy seeing us "off duty."

Sharon set a beautiful table and the food was delicious.

Brenda was crowned "Queen for the Day" because she sold three sewning machines that day.

We ate and visited and laughed.

 

Hollyberries Group Meets Once a Month

You're invited to participate in the Hollyberries group at Sew Many Quilts. They meet on the second Wednesday of the month from 10 am to about 11:30 am. During the year they work on a quilt making one block each month. The sewing on them is done at home. When they gather together they have coffee and goodies, bring their latest projects to show each other, and do a "sit and sew" project while they are there. Once a year they have a birthday party where everyone brings a gift and then they do a gift exchange. In December they will have a Christmas Party. It's a fun and lively group, and they welcome new members. The cost is $20 a month for their monthly block and also includes a finishing kit.

Below are some pictures from their recent Birthday Party.

 
 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 You can see from the photos that it's a fun group and they welcome new members.

Be sure to log on to our website at www.sewmanyquiltsinbend.com

 

 

Libby Lehman Comes to Sew Many Quilts

Sew Many Quilts was priviledged to have internationally known quilter and instructor Libby Lehman here for two days of classes. Everyone who attended had a great time and learned so much about decorative Threadplay. She brought some of the wonderful art quilts featured in her Threadplay book. With a down to earth sense of humor this delightful Texan lady guided us through numerous techinques for enhancing even the simplest of quilts. Here are some photos of our time together.

This was the first day of classes.

We never had to "gather round the teacher" to see her demonstrations. She used a tiny video camera and a projector that she alternated with her computer presentation for a "birds-eye" view of everything she demonstrated. It  was great!

This was the first day project. Most of our sampled looked very similar to Libby's. Using "glitzy" thread was fun!

We also practiced ribbon work with metallic threads. Ours was just a practice sample, but here's a photo of Libby's wonderful work.

Day two was a different class, that focused on more decorative techniques. Here are some samples of what we did.

The red part of both of these mini quilts were cut from the same fabric. One of them is the negative space from the other quilt. Two for One!

Most of the participants ate lunch right in front of their machines - even Libby!

Fun times were had by all.

 

 

Visit our newly revamped website at www.sewmanyquiltsinbend.com . We're adding to it almost daily. Remember to refresh your link if you have visited recently so that you can view the new additions.

Community Outreach

Recently several volunteers  gathered in our classroom for a "Pouch Party." They made mastectomy drain pouches for ladies who have undergone breast cancer surgery. We wish that they were not necessary, but the pouches are a wonderful alternative to the commercially made ones. The ladies that gathered, Elaine, Rose, Brenda, and Kay made enough for a 1 1/2 to 2 years supply. Let's hope that they last for 4 or 5 years instead of the length of time that has been predicted. Thank you to those who participated in this worthwhile project.

What a Quilt Show!!!

They've done it again!  On Saturday, August 21, the Mount Bachelor Quilter's Guild held their 27th Annual Quilt Show outdoors at Pioneer Park. The weather was perfect for Central Oregon. There were crowds admiring all the beautiful quilts and workmanship all day long. The guild members were easily identified by their blue tee-shirts. And the quilts - did I mention all the quilts? They were wonderful and so diverse. Bev Piper was the featured quilter. What a wonderful, creative job she does on her quilts. Thought you might like to see a few of them. We recognized fabric from Sew Many Quilts in many of them. We love our local quilters!

Bev Piper and a few of her quilts...

Enjoy viewing a few more quilts in a wonderful park setting.

We hope you enjoyed these photos. Next year be sure to go to the quilt show in person.

We hope to see you soon at Sew Many Quilts.

Meet Pam

Hi Everyone,

We though that you would enjoy getting to know the "girls" at the shop a little better, so we have decided to feature one of them each week. Let us introduce you to Pam, who has been with us the longest.

Pam has worked at Sew Many Quilts since our Grand Opening Weekend 10 days after her move to Bend from Santa Maria, Ca. in 2002. She has been quilting since 1986. Pam says that her style is eclectic, loving everything from African quilts and fabrics to her latest passion, wool appliqué, with a special emphasis on batiks. “I don’t have wall space and too much light in my house to hang lots of quilts so I figure that is my excuse to produce any type or color of quilt without regard to how it will fit into my décor.”

Pam shares her home with 3 comical dogs, has 3 grown children and loves to compare grand-parenting experiences, having 3 grand-girls ages 3 years through college age with one more on the way. “My younger son and his wife will be adopting a girl from China, but the wait is two more years!”

Pam is so thankful to Sharon and Gail for taking her on as an unknown to work at Sew Many Quilts. “I have meet many wonderful people and formed so many friendships it has made my move to Bend a total success.” Pam loves to help customers with their quilting needs and is always willing to render her opinion on your current project. Come in and see her………..she works Thursday, Friday and Saturdays!

We've also asked each of our staff to share one of their favorite recipes with you. There was no hesitation when Pam was asked - "It's my salmon recipe," she said, "it's so good quick, and easy!"

Salmon and Green Beans The Easy Way

 

4 six ounce salmon fillets

¾ pound trimmed green beans

12 wide strips lemon zest (takes 2 lemons)

4 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

Course salt and ground pepper or your favorite fish seasoning

4 t. extra virgin olive oil

 

Preheat oven to 400 deg.

 

Place salmon fillets in center of individual 16 inch long pieces of parchment paper. Top with green beans, lemon zest and capers. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle each with 1-teaspoon oil. Fold parchment into a “twist” or envelope.

 

Place on rimmed baking sheet and bake until packets are puffed up and salmon is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.

 

I adapt this to any serving size from one to as many people you have to serve. For a small number I use the toaster oven. I have found that the salmon often is cooked before the beans so will give them a shot in the microwave to par-cook before including them in the packets.

 

Yummy and easy!

We hope that you enjoy Pam's recipe!

Crowds, Fun, & Excitement!

Hello Everyone,

Quilt Show week is always exciting, and this past one was no exception. We were privileged to welcome so many of you into our shop. We had ladies from England, Canada, and all parts of the United States. For some it was their first trip to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and other make this a yearly event. We had many busses - sometimes two at a time. When you have that many ladies coming in all at once, there is a synergy that is so tangible and fun!

Even with extra staff to cut, answer questions, and locate items some of our guests had to wait longer than we would have liked to check out. We constantly heard snippets of conversations saying how much they were enjoying their time in Central Oregon and how mach there was to see in our shop. Wanda had demonstrations going almost non-stop for Steady Betty, the Cell Phone Bag, and a new ruler that makes squaring up half-square triangles a breeze. Brenda and Phyllis enjoyed showing how much easier free motion quilting can be by using a "Quilt Halo" to steady and move your fabric as you are quilting on your machine. As we switch over to a new website designer we will be putting these items online so you may purchase them if you didn't get a chance when you were in the shop.

Sharon and Gail outdid themselves with all the displays in the shop. The wool appliqué trunk shows from Primitive Gatherings, Buttermilk Basin, and The Wooden Spool were admired by all. A number of ladies purchased kits to try this wonderful form of appliqué. If you haven't tried it, you should. It's easy, fun, beautiful, and very portable. Because they were trunk shows they will have to go back to their creators and we will miss them in the shop. As more and more of our employes and customers make their own wool appliqué tablemats, wall hangings, quilts, etc., we hope to have more and more displayed in the shop to inspire you.

Over and over again we heard comments such as "This is the best shop that we've been in.", "Your shop is so cute.", "I love all the variety that you have in your shop.", "Everyone is so helpful and friendly here." "I love the fact that you display so many quilts and that you have kits for so many of them." We thank everyone for their kind comments. Our aim is to make it a fun experience for everyone who comes into our shop. We appreciate each and everyone of you.

If we were out of something and you placed a special order, we will be ordering more in and getting them to you as soon as possible.

Happy Quilting!!!

The "Wow" Factor

We had a number of local customers and out-of-town visitors in the shop today as we continued to put the finishing touches on displays and make a few more quilt kits to make your life easier. Isn't it great to know that you can take home the kit for a quilt that you really like and not have to wait for someone to cut all those pieces for you? All the guess work has been taken out and you don't have to struggle with color choices - unless that's your favorite part of quilting.

At 6 pm Saturday night Gail and Sharon were hanging a couple more spectacular quilts that had just come in. It's really fun to see everything come together. One local quilter came in and said "You certainly have the most exciting 'wow' factor I've seen lately!" The reason for this post is to let you preview what you are going to see when you come into the shop. Are you ready to get excited! Enjoy the photos. We hope to see you this week.

First view walking in the front door.

The view if you come in through the back door.  

Walking into the second room.

Take a peek into our 30's and hand embroidery corner.

We've expanded our BERNINA area. All the machines are on sale this week and Accessories are 25% off. If you've been thinking of purchasing a new machine or a floor model, this is the time!

This "was" our classroom. Now it holds lots of wonderful wool quilts, samples, kits, and patterns You'll love working with wool!

More wool.

We hope that you've enjoyed this visit to our shop. It's so much better in real life. Come on in and enjoy!