Redesigned by Quiltworx

This year, Judy and Judel came up to Heritage Park for the special display of Quiltworx quilts.  They also put on a display of their own of their Red and White quilts, many of which are featured in their Redesigned:  In Red, White & Black book.  Following the show, they very kindly lent us the quilts, which we hung in the store for the following 5 weeks.  It was a stunning display, but in case you live away or weren’t able to see them at the park or in the store, below are some pictures:

(Click on each image for a larger, crisper picture.)

Thanks again to Judith and Judel for coming up for the Festival of Quilts and for allowing us to share with you their beautiful creations!

Linda Goh
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419 or toll-free 1-877-745-6445
www.alongcamequilting.com

With a Touch of Holland

Ria Timmermans is a customer of ours from Holland.  She stays in touch with our store regularly, either by visiting or emailing with us.  When she isn’t in Canada for a visit, her sister-in-law, Riet, comes in and picks up what she needs.   Riet lives here in Calgary.

This year, both couples are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries.  For the occasion, Ria made Riet a gift using our All Around Canada pattern (our winning Trans-Canada Block Party design) and the Northcott Canadian Sesquicentennial fabrics.  But she changed it up a bit, and added “A Touche of Holland”.

(Click on images for larger, crisper image.)

I think she did a lovely job, and made a unique celebration of their anniversaries and their joint friendships and heritage.

Bravo Ria for such a lovely wall hanging.  We look forward to Riet bringing it in for a personal viewing after the party!

Linda Goh
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419
1-877-745-6445
www.alongcamequilting.com

What a Winner!

Customer Josée Element came into the store a couple of weeks ago with a big surprise!  But before I reveal it to you, I want you to know the background.  So here we go!

2015 was the first year our store participated in the Row by Row Experience.  A mere eight days into the contest,  Josée  brought in her finished quilt and was awarded a 25-piece fat quarter bundle of Northcott’s Artisan Spirit Sandscape fabrics.  Below is the picture of happy Josée (on the right) and her quilt.

Along came 2016, and Josée finished her Row by Row quilt again in record time to win a fat quarter bundle from Quilt Thyme in Kingston. (Sorry, I don’t have a picture).

In November that year, Northcott held a challenge using the Artisan Spirit Sandscape fabrics.  Not one to sit around waiting for next June’s Row by Row, Josée put on her creative cap, and came up as a winner.

You can view all the winners of this challenge here on Northcott’s Facebook page.

2017’s Row by Row came along at our store, and 6 days into it, Josée came in with her finished quilt to capture another 25-piece fat quarter bundle of batiks.

So what is she up to now?  Well four wins in (that I know of), and Josée comes by to share with us the card of fabrics that she and Debra Edwards have designed for Northcott based on her winning Sandscapes challenge entry!  And so cool that her entry was made with the bundle we presented to her in 2015!  How’s that for multiplying your wins!

Here is another view of these fabrics which are shipping to stores in March/April 2018.

Way to go Josée!  We are so pumped and excited for you,  love your enthusiasm, and appreciate how you are always up for a challenge.

PS:  I know you want to see the details.  So click on the pictures for larger, crisper views.

Linda Goh
I’m the Bossy One
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
Toll-Free:  1-877-745-6445; Local:  403-253-4419
www.alongcamequilting.com

Farm Girl Vintage Sandy Style

At the last Quilts of Valour meeting here at the store, Sandy C. brought in her Farm Girl Vintage quilt to show. Each block is 6″ square, and she sashed it with the background of white, and added colour cornerstones.

Click for larger, crisper image.

Sandy started off with one of the fabric rolls we sell that give you a great selection of small, bright mini prints. Each roll has 25 different fat eighth fabric pieces measuring approximately 10″ x 21″ in a range of colours from yellow, orange, red, pinks, green, brown, teals, and blues. The price per roll is $62.99.

The white background can be scrappy as well, and a 13-piece fat eighth bundle of tone-on-tone whites will get you well on your way to constructing over 40 6″ blocks.

Once outfitted with the book and some bundles, Sandy was off to the sewing machine. Besides using the Farm Girl Vintage book by Lori Holt, she found some more fun blocks in the “Spelling Bee”. While most of the blocks in the “Spelling Bee” are the alphabet, numerals, and punctuation, there are also other blocks such as the sewing machine, dog, typewriter, and camera. Both books are chock-a-block filled with multiple quilt designs and variations. Coming in at over 140 (Farm Girl Vintage) and 190 (Spelling Bee) pages, Lori provides multiple block sizes and full diagrams for piecing each block. Thankfully, both books are spiral-bound!

Sandy loved making the blocks, and so far, has made 3 quilts.  Some customers make fewer blocks and do up lovely baby quilts.  In our store, we have a full-size hanging top, as well as a small baby or wall hanging size.

Sandy got creative with her choice of fabrics for each block. Check out who is living in Sandy’s barn, and the words of wisdom on the typewriter. We can see she had a lot of fun!

And she didn’t stop there, she quilted (yes, she does her own quilting) with a very swirly all over design that looked great.

On a side note, if anyone wants to join Sandy at the Quilts of Valour charity group here at the store, they meet at 10:30 am to 4 pm on the 1^st Tuesday of the month.

Happy Sewing!
Linda Goh

Along Came Quilting
6432-1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
Toll-free:  1-877-745-6445, Local:  403-253-4419
www.alongcamequilting.com

Worry-Free Browsing

Ok, this is not super exciting, no quilts are involved, and there aren’t any pretty pictures. But it is important work that I thought our customers should be aware of.

One of my many hats that I wear includes website work. A few months ago we migrated to a new website. A slightly different look with a few new features. And we’ve always had a secure shopping cart system on our website for customers to use without worrying about submitting their personal information when placing an order. But now, after a few magic days in front of the computer, our entire website is “https”. The “S” at the end of the “http” stands for “secure”, and it means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. It is now safer and more secure, even when you are just browsing. When you are using the internet browsers Microsoft Edge or Chrome, you will see the lock or green lock respectively.

So that’s it. Nothing flashy. But better for you.

Want to check it out?

Linda Goh
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB T2H 0G6
http://www.alongcamequilting.com
Toll-Free: 1-877-745-6445
Local: 403-253-4419

Colours, No Maps

Without a study done, I’d still bet that 80% of us can vividly recall the smell of new pencils sharpened for school.  The musky notes of the ground wood was heightened if you used a mounted sharpener, or better yet, an electric one.  That smell intermingled with the joy of a new red boxed package of Laurentien pencils.  The box was always the preference over a folded transparent plastic case as it held a larger number, and therefore, variety, of colours.  I would study each one, and try to pick my favorites, for they would be used the most frequently to colour in those dreaded maps.  For while I loved the colours, I hated colouring maps.  It’s always been about the colours for me, an obsession that continues to this day.  As does my lack of geographical knowledge.

Fortuitously, at our store, we sell fabrics of all colours, and there are no maps in sight.  To guide you through your quilting journeys, learning new techniques or patterns, we’ll teach you in our classes.  No maps are needed, with lots of colours to choose.  Sounds like the best kind of school to me.

Pick your favorite colour, or pick your favorite class.  We look forward to helping you this fall.

Linda
www.alongcamequilting.com
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419
Toll-Free:  1-877-745-6445

All Around Canada – Contest Voting has Started!

All Around Canada – that is the name I gave our store’s  #Northcott Trans-Canada Block Party block.  When designing the block, I wanted the geese flying over the entire Canada map, to show the inclusiveness of our country and our pride.

Sharon H. took my concept and with her fabulous drawing and computer skills made it come to life.  We tweaked, we culled, and by December we had it finished.  So off it went to Northcott to be entered into their shop challenge.

How incredibly excited we are that our block made it into the top ten finalists!  We couldn’t be more pumped if we were in the Miss America Pageant!  There are some beautiful blocks besides our own, and we are so proud to be included with them.

I ask that everyone please take the time to vote for your favourite block by clicking here.  Voting is limited to one per IP address.  Travel to a new place with a different network, then you can vote again.  We also have a link to the voting platform on the first slide on the Home page of our website.

Voting ends February 28 at 11:39 EST.

These blocks are designed by stores who are participating in the #Northcott Trans-Canada Block Party, and they are giving the patterns away for free to walk-in customers until September 1st.  Kits are also available for purchase.

After September 1st, stores may sell the patterns and kits by mail.

Click Here to Purchase our Laser-cut, Pre-fused Store Block Kit – which will be mailed the first week of September

Click Here to Purchase our Store Pattern – which will be mailed the first week of September

In October, I blogged about all the various challenge components of the #Northcott Trans-Canada Block Party, as well as other contests that were announced at the time.  Click here to read this blog post and get all the details.

And thank you for voting – the best competition is one with lots of votes!

Of course, feel free to share this with your quilting buddies, friends, and guild members.  You know how quilters love to hear about new programs.  🙂

Linda Goh
Along Came Quilting
http://www.alongcamequilting.com
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419
1-877-745-6445

Canada’s 150th Birthday Quilting Contests and Programs

As you probably have heard, next year is Canada’s 150^th birthday.  For this momentous occasion, a few contests and programs have been constructed for the quilting crowd.  I’ve been getting inquiries regarding the fabrics and programs surrounding these, and thought I’d provide a breakdown of the various ones I have been made aware of.

Canadian Sesquicentennial Celebration by Northcott

This program has three components all of which are based on their new fabric line of the same name for the 150^th year.  We are purchasing this entire line of fabric which can be seen (and pre-purchased if desired) on our website.  There are also commemorative pins for sale also found on our website.

Transcanada Block Party:  From January to September 2017, participating shops will provide a free pattern (or have kits for sale) for a block to customers who visit their store.  Much like the Row by Row Experience program many of you are familiar with, this is not available on-line or by mail.  Kits from participating stores must consist of only the Canadian Sesquicentennial Celebration fabrics and the blocks can range from 6” x 6” to 18” x 18”, in 6” increments.  We are thrilled to be part of this block shop-hop program which is throughout Canada, with 27 stores signed up in Alberta alone!  Northcott created a google map where you can see the participating stores and their locations.  There still is time for stores to sign up and participate, so if your city or province is a little shy of participating stores, tell your local quilt shop that you would love for them to join the fun.  Just like Row by Row, the more stores, the more fun for customers.

Canada Quilt Challenge:  Make a quilt using at least 6 blocks from 6 different participating Transcanada Block Party stores with the Canadian Sesquicentennial Collection and enter to win either the grand prize of $500 or one of the 13 finalist prizes of $250 each.

Sesquicentennial Quilts of Valour Challenge:  Donate a quilt made from the Canadian Sesquicentennial Celebration fabric line for Quilts of Valour.  All quilts are submitted direct to Northcott, from which the top 15 will be displayed at Quilt Canada in Toronto in June.  Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 viewer’s choices.

With Glowing Hearts by Trend-Tex Fabrics

Canadian designer, Grace Noel, designed a Canadian-themed line of fabric manufactured by Moda called With Glowing Hearts.  Our store has purchased select pieces of this line of fabric which can be seen (and pre-purchased if desired) on our website.  Trend-Tex, the Canadian distributor of Moda fabrics is also sponsoring a quilt challenge and the rules can be found here.

Canada’s Big Quilt Bee by the Canadian Quilter’s Association

CQA’s is putting on a giant quilting bee to be held at Quilt Canada in Toronto in June.  Donated slab blocks from across the country will be sewn into 1000 quilts to be donated to Ronald McDonald Houses across Canada.  Each slab block must contain at least one piece of Canadian-themed fabric – not specifically 150th anniversary themed.  Details on this quilting bee are found here.  If you would like to see what we have in Canadian-themed fabric, you can always check out our store’s on-line Canadiana department.

So as you can see, there are lots of programs and Canadian-themed projects coming up, and we’ll be here to help you with celebrating this milestone.  Drop me an email if you have any questions.

Linda Goh
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419
toll-free:  1-877-745-6445
Shop online, anytime at:  www.alongcamequilting.com

Sewing Machines 101 and Servicing

Psst – We know a man named Allan.  Now Allan is a very good man to know as he services sewing machines.  No matter what brand, Allan is the fixer/servicer guy-who-knows-what-is-going on.  That is his main business – servicing machines.  Sure you can also buy Babylock or Bernina machines and accessories through him, but his magic with understanding any machine is fabulous.  And since he actually sews and quilts as his hobby, he knows what you are expecting the machine to do!

Have a machine you want serviced?  Well we can fix you up with him.  He operates out of Red Deer, but has made ACQ a drop-off, pick-up joint.  You bring your machine to our store, and we will let Allan know it is here.  When he is back in Calgary, he will pick it up and have it back to us in approximately 2 weeks.  Typical servicing without additional part requirements will range from $100-$130.  And he will contact you directly with any concerns.  Your dealings are with him, and nothing goes through our till.  Have any questions you would like to ask him first?  If so, call him at 1-403-309-2774 or email him at ake2sew@yahoo.ca.

Sewing Machines 101 with Allan

Now while we are on the subject of sewing machines, I know just how few of you really know much about them.  Sure you know how to change stitches, thread it, and wind a bobbin.  But customers and students are often frustrated with their machines, complaining about their tensions, thread breakages, and multiple other “everything was fine until I came back from lunch” scenarios.  Here’s the test – if you started sewing tonight and had issues with your thread breaking, do you know what to do?  Would you just pack it in and say you have to get it serviced, resigning yourself to no more fun for awhile?

Taking 2 hours on Saturday, September 17^th and learning how your sewing machine operates and how to maintain it can save you lots of anguish and exasperation.  Consider it your “driver’s education”.  In this class, Allan will cover:

• Basic sewing machine lingo.
• How to perform basic maintenance on your machine.
• Learn how to troubleshoot problems with your machine.
• Learn the differences of needles and which needle to use for the purpose and fabric/thread being used.
• Learn how to adjust tension and bring tension back to base.

Register by calling our store at 403-253-4419 for one of the following 2-hour time slots on Saturday, September 17:

• 10 am-12 noon
• 1-3 pm
• 4-6 pm

The price is $35.  Bring your machine just the way it is – no cleaning or servicing ahead of time.  And remember, this is non-denominational – any brands, any age – we aren’t going to be trying to talk you into a new machine.

Linda
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
(403-253-4419)
toll-free:  1-877-745-6445

Can’t make it in?  Shop anytime at our Canadian Online Quilt Shop:  www.alongcamequilting.com

SEWtorials

New to our class calendar this fall, are SEWtorials – a tutorial in our classroom without the sewing machines.  Beginning September 14^th and continuing every Wednesday at 10:30 am until the end of November (12 weeks), you will be guided through a new project by either Kim, Leslie, or Linda B.  Each project will be a surprise and while a few will be Christmas-themed that you can use as gifts, others will be fun, unique items for any occasion.  Bring your notebook and friends, and the coffee will be on.  And as everyone loves show and tell, don’t forget to bring your finished (or nearly finished) items to share.  Sessions are likely to finish before noon.

Tickets for these SEWtorials are available in advance for only $3 for each date ($2.86+GST), and, if desired, may be purchased by phone at 403-253-4419 and held for you at the store. The ticket may then be redeemed on the day of the demo toward any purchase of $9.99 or more (before tax).  Please see ticket guidelines below.

Jot us in your calendar and call us today at (403-253-4419) for your tickets.

Linda Goh

• Once purchased, tickets are non-refundable.  If you are unable to attend, feel free to send a friend in your place.
• ACQ is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets.
• Ticket is only good for the date purchased and may not be transferred to another date.
• Ticket may only be redeemed on the date of the demo (not saved to use on another demo day).
• Only one redemption per customer per date please.

Brought to you by:
Along Came Quilting
6432 – 1A Street SW
Calgary, AB  T2H 0G6
403-253-4419
toll-free: 1-877-745-6445
Shop our online Canadian Quilt store:  www.alongcamequilting.com