The Jammings at the Patch

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T20:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has been quite a bit of time since we have written but I am hopeful the new year wil change that. I will try to post more often and to share with you the goings on at the Patch. Yes, we are participating in the "Sketchbook Challenge" and we are excited to explore our creative side. Perhaps you are interested and the badge will take you to the info. Have a very happy new year! Joey

OMG, Paducah is the Queen

2010-04-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, everything we have done and the whole trip has arrived at the cresendo....Paducah. The quilts are fabulous, the crowds so much fun to be with, the vendors so helpful in helping you spend your money and the quilting celebrities are too numerous to mention. The white bubble as I refer to the Pavilion is full of quilts, vendors and friends at the LizzieB booth. The lighting is terrific. The quilts are QUEENS. Everyone is better than the one you saw next to it. The runner ups are as wonderful to view as the winners. Each one is so special and the hours the maker has put into it is so visible. Okay, Chicago was lovely and the quilts wonderful but we definetly saved the BEST for LAST. I will get some pictures on tonight. Last night the camera and computer refused to sync and so no pictures. We saw chums from Florida and we thank Carolyn S. for the tip to go to dinner at Patti's 1800 Homestead. The pork chop was terrific and the area lovely to view. The mile-high pies were a sight to behold but not as good as they looked. Here are a few pictures of the sights and flowers of Spring in the Illinois area.

Chicago and what we thought!!!!!

2010-04-22T22:25:00.002-04:00

Hey to all,

Yes I have been remiss in blogging but I have tons of reasons why. Chicago, Chicago, Chicago was probably the main one. I do have some very exciting news about one of my travel mates, Judie. About a month or two ago, she began a class at the Patch on a Jacket. Susan was her teacher and her's was the brightest by far with Kaffe, Amy Butler, Batiks to name a few of the fabrics. The ultimate topper was the three different colored buttons on the front of the jacket. She, of course, brought it with her and as it always happens Chicago obliged her with COLD weather. (That is another tale.) We proceeded to any early breakfast on Sunday morning at the hotel's restaurant. As luck would have it, we were placed next to Liza Prior Lucy and Kaffe Fassett. We were not your usual groupies as we didn't speak (or stare, or ask for an aurtograph or hug a complete stranger.) But lo and behold before breakfast was over, they spoke to US!!!!!! Okay, to Judie!!!!! (Thus as we now refer to him as Kaffe and Liza.) Her jacket was a hit. They spoke of her wonderful quilting and color choices. They especially liked the three different buttons. Judie is quoted as saying, "Color works, oh ye of little faith." Later that day in downtown Chicago a mannerly gentleman in the elavator admired the color and buttons. He wasn't even a quilter. The jacket has been a hit. Kathy and I are merely the jacket tag-alongs. Judie has promised to hang the jacket at the store....with small donations accepted to touch the fabric that Kaffe touched. Okay, so did Lucy. Here is a picture of Judie wrapped in it on the Architectural Tour of Chicago. (Did I mention in 30 degree weather we were boating around Chicago on the top deck. It was glorious, but a bit chilled.)

Getting back to our attendance at the IQA Show in Rosemont, we had quite a pleasant last day in a Sunday Shuffle with four teachers and hand ons project. But as Kathy stated, we have more UFOs. Here is sample of the work.

As we reflect on the Quilt Show, we are left with the following thoughts.

1. Always good to go to a Quilt Show for the inspiration it gives you.

2. Beautifully hand-dyed wool was sprinkled through out the show.

3. We all agreed on our favorite of the show being a beautiful path through the woods in a mind boogling array of green. It is called "Blazing his Own Trail" by Ann Crowl Mewer and is pictured here. We felt like this is what we had seen on our way north. The most beautiful shades of green. We kept returning to the place to view it and photog it.

4. New fabric lines from different sources and patterns to thrill our quilting minds.

5. The unusual use of stretcher-barred quilts placed together to make a beautiful wall hanging from our friends to the north.

6. Hyper quilting is still the rage. Look at this beauty.

7. There appeared in our minds to be an equal mix of traditional and art quilts.

8. Frieda Anderson of the Chicago School of Fusing made me want to DYE fabric.

We particiapted in two luncheons with two wonderfully charming presenters in David Taylor and Pam Holland. David is exceptionally talented artist who now uses fabric as his canvas. You might remember the beautiful Chickadee with the Christmnas Light on a fir branch, the Goat with a sunflower in his mouth, the girl at the window and this year's Pig.

His awards are numerous for someone who has been quilting for 9 years. He lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado but was headed to the France after Chicago. His technique is totally done with fabric, blazing his own trail with no assistance in shading or highlighting from paints, pencils, etc. His designs are done using the applique needle turn technique and totally manupulates the fabric while quilting on his domestic machine or HG 16. Not in a frame would describe his quilting and his style. He would be wonderful to have for a seminar. His quilt artwork will be on display this summer in Colorado, at his town in the local Art Museum.

Pam Holland is an Aussie to a Tee. She is exuberant in her love of quilting and quilts. She does quilts of extreme detail and without notice she will leap into whimsy at the drop of a hat for the next quilt. Her current project is a quilt of the Bayreuth Tapestry that is housed in Ireland. She is also while traveling doing a quilt-a-week. As she states a quilt can be any size, big or small. She suggested we live outside our boxes and try new techniques to keep our loving of quilting a continuous growing experience. Her growth will never stop as she will never let it stop. Her prize winning quilt is The American Gothic. Judie was asked to be a quilt assistance and her response was "Then do I get to take it home", the room roared but she helped anyway.

The Sunday Shuffle consisted of an African Food Protector, beaded; Shadow appliquing; a Paper Purse and painting on fabric. We have two begun projects and two not yet opened projects so we are fifty-fifty in UFOs.

The next three days were spent in beautiful, welcoming Chicago at a fabulous hotel thanks to Sam, Judie's daughter. We were in the heart of everything. The city was gorgeous as the cool or should say COLD crisp air made in even prettier. Goosebumps were the size of mangos and Kathy firsts (of many like first time in Kentucky, Illinois, sun-rise, etc.) was she travel the very stylish city of Chicago in two jackets at the same time. Judie, the native Chicagoan, was still in flip-flops but long pants. Joey had to buy socks at Target to make it through the cold as well as two blouses and a leather jacket. As Kathy said, donning her knee highs, now only our thighs are cold.

We all are returning with a new appreciation for a strange neck adornment, SCARF. We almost bought some but got a grip on it. I believe cocktails were needed to bring us to reality...scarfs and Florida do not mix. Unless silk and flimsy. But do you know, there were no gloves to be found for purchase. Afterall this is Spring in Chicago. Our days were spent on tours admiring the fabulous architecture that so many have left us in Chicago, hours in the Art Museum, visits to the original Crate and Barrel (5 stories), etc. We feel both the Boat Architectural Tour and the Mini Bus Tour of the Chicago environs were equally great and we would recommend it to all. We froze on the boat but our fingers were still able to snap approximately 300 pictures among us. There was some discussion of the fact that Joey should pet a Canada Goose but thanks to Margy, I was spare a bitten finger. Just a week before she told me they are nasty birds even though they look so pretty. We have pictures to prove how close they were. Now what do you think we have left out but believe me we didn't leave it out in our visit.....the FOOD OF CHICAGO. WOW! the pizza, the Chicago dogs and Harry Carrey, flourless chocolate cake. We ate well!!!!! Uno you still number one in our books.

We are traveling today to Springfield and Judie's daughter.....then it is PADUCAH here we come!!!!!

Quilts, Quilts and Quilts

2010-04-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

As promised more pictures of the quilts here at the show. This is the last year here in Chicago. They are going to Cinncinati next year.

This is all in silks and done in the 1890s. The shimmer was fantastic. It is courtyard steps, a log cabin variation. I took many pictures of log cabins I saw as this is our Martin County Challenge.

Here is one from the 1930s. No this not reproduction fabric.

It was quite effective. Everyone likes this one.
I am sorry I don't have all the info on any of these but I do know we like pictures.

This is a Carolina Lily pattern. What an effective use of color. Or is it I like Red and Green? This is one of the Canadian exhibits. Knocked our socks off as so many different techniques were used.

A pretty floral that reminds us of spring and it is bursting here.

The SHOW is HERE!!!!!!!

2010-04-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

Okay as promised....pictures of the quilts. There are some beauties. We have decided to do a presentation on what we have been learning on the trip. So keep in touch, so you can come and see more. Here is David Taylor's piece that won on Honorable Mention.

We will share his process at the presentation. It is unreal. Would like to take some classes with him!!!!

Best of Show went to some tree frogs.

More to come but I am getting tired.......see ya tomorrow.

The Journey Continues

2010-04-16T23:26:00.013-04:00

The time in Paducah was both fun and inspiring. Just when you think that you are not interested in a particular quilt form…BAM!!!! It hits you in the face; you do want to do it. That is what the Quilt Museum does for you. It brings you to all forms of quilting and hits you in the face with why am I not doing that? I spent my time walking and thinking what is it that makes us want to make a quilt this style or that style? My answer and I truly mean my answer is that often over used but still the perfect one…..CREATIVITY. Our desire to do creative things makes for different avenues to the finished project. What do you think?

Upon leaving the quilt museum I walked the grounds and then across the parking lot and looked at the river and all the beautiful murals that the city of Paducah is doing along the levee. Hope you enjoy them.

My traveling companions thought I had gone to the fabulous but not tried Pie shop on Main Street in Paducah. But it was CLOSED and I wasn’t hungry. They are upset that I have not told you of the little mishap that happened to me….I lost the camera. Left it at the restaurant we had lunched in and when we got across the street at Hancock‘s…no camera. Judie bolted out the car to get into the store and left Kathy and I to find the camera. It was located. I thought what a nice thing for Kathy to do, until I heard her say she should have just let me take the car so she could go into Hancock’s. It is hard to separate addicts from their addiction….FABRIC. Here is the picture I took with the almost lost camera.

I believe, I forgot to talk about the fantastic display of Hollis Chatelaine and famous photographers. She does the most unbelievable pictorial quilts of people and places. The exhibit is called "Imagine Hope"AND THE PICTURES DO NOT DO THE WORK JUSTICE.

Hope for Our World

Imagine Hope strives to touch its viewers, inspiring them to get involved and make a change in the world. This quilt exhibit is comprised of 12 monochromatic textile pieces by Hollis Chatelain.

You sit in the room and feel her work, see her work and since the main emphasis was the value of water in the world you felt parched. She is able to capture in her work the feeling of the people and subjects she selects. Kathy has taken quite a few classes with her and telling me that she quilts in some instances using bright, neon thread from Superior was amazing. I think my favorite one was the forest of 4 or 5 trees which in some areas of the world is the FOREST. It made me appreciate the beauty we saw of this country from the car window. But enough about Paducah, we shall return.

The next morning we headed to Judie’s daughter, Kim and family. She lives in Springfield. Her daughter and Judie’s granddaughter, Sydney, who many of you have met (She attended a Guild Meeting and played BINGO.) was so excited to have us come that it made us feel quite special. Kim has a lovely house where we stayed for the night. She served a fabulous meal and we got to meet her boyfriend, Mike. Lance and Amy, Judie’s newlywed grandson and his wife, were there as well. They are White Sox and Cardinal Fans. Games were on but the conversation was lively. But before we got there, we had Antique Shops to visit. We got off for a bit more coffee at a McDonald’s in Perry, IL and saw a sign antique mall. It was ten or twelve miles away certainly not around the corner. The finds were wonderful and we are glad we went. The plains of Illinois were out our windows with farm after farm. The fields appear to be ready to plant or perhaps they are planted. It was 85 that day. In fact we have been in warmer weather than you have had in Florida.

Our last stop at an antique shop and I use that term loosely was

on Route 66. Kathy got to be besides her pink elephant,

Judie got her spaceship,

and I found a candy gazebo.

How fitting. The stuff inside made my junk look like treasures. Thank God no one purchased there.

The next morning it was early rising…we had to leave Springfield by 6am. Chicago here we finally come….Kathy saw a sun rise. She wasn’t quite sure what it was but Judie and I assured her…this
happens every day.

It was uneventful except for another lesson learned. Garman’s do not necessarily change time zones when you do. We thought us not going to arrive because the Garman said arrival was 11:10am and our class was 12noon. But low and behold the Garman was wrong and we arrived at 10am. Oh, that is because we are on Central Time and it is on Eastern Time.

Hotel checks in was good and easy. Car checks in was not. Apparently parking is a valuable commodity here in Rosemont. We decided to park at the convention center for $13.00 versus the hotel at $27.00. We decided to ask the man taking your money if it was okay to park over night. Well, it wasn’t the car had to moved and without some quick talking at the front desk, we would have paid $40.00 for that day of parking. The Front Desk Clerk helped us….we will know for sure when we get our bill. Our first lecture/lunch was fantastic with David Taylor. His work is unbelievable but that is minor compared to how he does it. The next posts will be pictures of quilts. Forgive me, if these are unaligned. The systems are not working correctly and WI-FI area are hard to find.

Paducah...here we are

2010-04-14T07:41:00.001-04:00

Good night's sleep and I can now reflect on the visit to Paducah...better known as Quilt City USA. We are staying here in one of the numrous hotels and experiencing the town as it gets ready for the onslaught. The Manager at the front desk told us he just arrived a few months ago but he is learning the hotel scramble that Paducah experiences. He was funny. But getting back to the day..a pleasant lunch, gas fill-up at $2.66 a gallon. A quick but brief stop at Hancock of Paducah as it readys for the arrivals. Interesting their whole system of yard cuts, etc. They will not cut less than a half yard. Friendly but not helpful as everyone had their assigned task. Cut, cut, cut. But we are not shopping for fabric,,the museum calls. A pleasant drive there with all the flowering trees. The dogwood is beautiful. As you can see. The buildings are so charming.

The Museum is awesome. No pictures are allowed but it is a must for anyone traveling near this area. Th quilts are awe-inspiring and ye thjere is a feeling the swells inside you....can I be that good. I believe all of us can!!!! We just have to work at it. There was a Sunflower Exhibit of their challenge. Beautiful. A book is out that we will have at the store. Orange Peel is the challenge block for next year. Now we who live with orange groves should be entering this one. I have the paperwork.

Hollis Chatelaine's Special Exhibit was unreal. I will blog about this specifically later. Must get ready to go to see Judie's daughter...Kim in Springfield. The trek to Chicago begins again.

Paducah for the first visit

2010-04-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

Today was fantastic in both weather and happenings. We were up and out earlier than expected because we are excited. The hotel was fantastic and we fell in love rugs and their coloration. The rugs that were all over. A quilt is building in our minds and here is a snapshot....what do you think???

The hotel was so cheerful that we just kept admiring the decor. Judie and I also enjoyed an addition that was on our bed. I am sure you will be seeing and hearing about it. We are calling it a bed runner.

Breakfast was good and we headed out on I-24 to Nashville and then to Paducah. We made a promise to ourselves yesterday that the next display of Wisteria seen, we were stopping and taking pictures. Kathy was at the wheel and we were barreling down the mountain on a curve and low and behoild...there is a massive display of Wisteria. We exit stage door right on to the shoulder for our pictures. Another lesson to be learned do not stop in a curve, on the downside of a mountain with large tractor trailers on the road. This was one of those moments when you feel like the trucks are going to lift you off the road and toss you. The pictures are worth it or at least we think so.......

One of the trucks.........oops.......

The pretty Red Bud tree.

As Judie stated, "Well, we have survived today." thank goodness an uneventful trip after this near miss and we arrived in Paducah all in one piece. More to follow...have to get some sleep and wash hair.

Quilt Shows, here we come

2010-04-13T05:59:00.000-04:00

Hi to all,

Where do I begin. I guess as with all good things at the beginning. Myself and two good friend Judie and Kathy, decided to do the Spring Quilt Show in Chicago and Paducah, KY. Now you say to yourself how do you do this...well, by car, of course. We decided to leave on Monday and head to our first stop in Chattanooga, TN for the night. So you would think this would be easy, well, there were a few humorous if not hysterical deviations from this plan. It began quite simply, we pulled away from my house at 6:20am. We proceed to the Florida Turnpike and we sped down the highway. As we left the house I said, gee, all we need to have is our wallet, credit cards and money and we are set. This would become prophetic as the morning continued. My cell phone rang and it was Mom, alias Betty, asking if any of us were carrying a gold-yellow handbag as it was here on the kitchen table. Immediately, I said, Judie your purse is at my house. Of course, we had already passed the Ft Pierce exit, next place to turn around was Yeehaw Junction (always wanted to blog that one) a mere 40 or 50 miles up the road. Quick thinking Judie called Earl, her hubby who earned big thank yous from us to meet us at the Ft Drum rest stop and bring her purse. He graciously agreed. To say we laughed would be putting it mildly. The tears were blurring our vision. It got even funnier when Earl went to FT Pierce first, of course, with his cell phone left at their house, no way to verify where we were. On the word of a rest stop worker, Earl headed to Ft Drum and the purse was given to the owner. Now, of course, poor Judie has to tell us her purse location at every stop.

Okay so with breakfast eaten at the Ft Drum rest stop. No stopping at Ocee and the Perkins as planned, we were on the road again. Florida became a dream as we crossed the Georgia border. Gas was procured, thinking it would be less expensive in GA, that 5 cent saving was worth waiting for. We exit I-75 and based on a now proven faulty premise we chose the Shell, thinking nice Bathroom. Kathy can attest to that being a false hope. The store and bathroom left lots to be desired. Outside of Atlanta, we believed again and were led down the primrose path. A word to the wise, bathrooms at gas stations are worse than exoected. Lunch at Popeye's and their cold slaw with pickles in it was a goodie. More on that later in the trip

Two stops in the greater Atlanta area, made out arrival at the hotel at 10pm or so. The stops were well worth it. A lovely Quilt Shop and yes we found things to buy. We stopped based on a billboard. Ran into a sales rep but we were not there as a shop owner but rather a quilter. He was surprised of our quest to hit Chicago and Paducah. But the best stop was to visit Kristy. Big hugs abounded and Kathy and Kristy had a much needed hug. We got to see her work place. Quite impressive printing equipment and her boss, Sterling, was so gracious in making us feel welcome. We went to downtown Roswell and had drinks and chips (also, known as dinner.) New drinks have been tested and are a find - Mango Mojitios. Thiis stop could not go without a bit of driving with a Garman fun. A word to the wise, "Never believe that when someone has on her blinker that it means she is turning. You need to yell, turn." But have no fear, we did a Stuart U-turn in front of all the gracious Atlanta drivers and laughed until we cried again. When the crew wakes up, we are headed to Paducah, to see the Museum sans crowds, then to Springfield to visit Judie's daughter and Thursday eta CHICAGO. Bye for now...pictures tomorrow.

Martinique Arrives at the JaM Patch

2010-04-07T15:33:00.000-04:00

Now some exciting news, we have finally received in Martinique by Three Sisters for Moda and it is wonderful. It is perfect for our area of the country.

http://www.unitednotions.com/fcc_Martinique.pdf

Imagine a romantic island retreat with lush tropical flora, cool island breezes, warm sunny beaches, and beautiful fabrics surrounding and covering comfortable rattan, Old World furnishing in deep dark mahogany, and cool patio furnishing. Now doesn't that sound like where we live and enjoy life. The hand of the fabric is great. The colors make you feel like a Caribbean retreat on the par with Tommy Bahama. It is the fabric line for us. The have a fabulous feature floral and an outstanding passiflora sundress fabric pattern in a category all its own as it boasts sophisticated botanical toile feature. There are coral branches that dance across the fabric. The tone on tone beauties with a vine pattern make for quite a unique fabric line. Earlier we received the pre-cuts and still have them available in jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm packs. We have cut fat quarters from the twenty-six bolts of fabric. We also have pintucks, chenille and a multi patchwork fabric that match the luscious colors. We have the Martinique Project sheet where one regal flower blooms in a field of muted color. The pattern is included for free with the purchase of the fabric. The quilt is 80" x 90".

Also, there is a pattern appear in the new McCall's Quilting magazine there is also a beautiful triangle quilt by Lissa Alexander of Moda using the line. That is pictured right below on a wrought iron bed. Are we excited or what!!!!

Out of Africa at the Patch

2010-02-16T08:57:00.001-05:00

This is the company that always make us stop and stare. It is Bigfork Bay Cotton Company with their exquisite realistic looking wall hangings. We have carried them in the store for going on to three years and each year we think how can they out do last year and they do. Well, this year is no exception. we are lucky enough to have Tracey get us another wonderful Trunk Show and so they are here LIVE. Here are some of the pieces that we have in the store for you to see the actual work.

His ears and trunks are separate from the background which makes him look more alive. His ears feel so cool being seperate from the backgrounds.

Everyone loves this one. What Mother doesn’t understand this look. On this piece the leaves are lifted off the background. This technique adds such a unique look to the piece.

Now I feel like I should say lions, tigers and bears, oh my. Except I should be saying and zebras.

He is regal looking yet you can see him sitting on the Serengeti and look over all that he rules. He has a knowing look as to his position – King of the Jungle.

His colors are so beautiful and the look in his eyes are like “dinner is being served.”

His stripes make you want to but stripes. But the piece we are drawn to as Americans is the Eagle called Spirit. Don’t you agree he is something to behold.

One Million Pillowcase Challenge – Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

2010-01-25T11:31:00.001-05:00

Okay, this past five days we have been in the midst of our fourth birthday celebration and we decided that the happiest things to do is to help others, so we set up our first sewing day for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge for Saturday, January 23rd at 11 am to 4 pm. We thought it would be great if we completed 100 pillowcases but the volunteers were sewing wizards and completed 245. Here are some shots of all the activities.

Here is the store at the beginning of the day with a few pillowcases out for display.

The Classroom Annex was full with sewers and pillow cases were flying.

There were pressers.

There were cutters and runners, oh my!

Here is the formal shot of most of the workers…what a great group. We are so lucky to call them customers!

The shop really looked quite festive with all the pillow cases flapping in the breeze.

There were other activities here at the shop for our Birthday. A few shared projects they had done here at the store during the year. Here are some to share. We hope you enjoy them.

And they came in many ways to the Birthday celebration. Wheelchair and crutches didn’t stop her.

But could we have had a birthday party without…….

Thank you for reading. We are now beginning our fabulous FIVE!!!!!!!!

Our website is UP or LIVE as they say

2010-01-21T10:04:00.001-05:00

Well, it took awhile….but we have a new, fresh and alive website. We are so excited to be able to list our schedule and show you pictures of the various classes we offer. This is the address www.jampatch.com. Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think. I know each and every blog needs pictures and so here are some of the samples we are taking to the Crazy Quilt Show in Port Saint Lucie on February 5th and 6th. There are purses, panels and kits, oh my!!!! Oops it is missing it’s button but you get the jest…it is a Newport bag using Mary Englbreit fabric.

This quilt makes us happy so we have it by the register. It is a Buggy Barn pattern but done in bright Florida water colors. Oh we wish we were sailing today. It is glorious!!!!!

One of our favorite classes from 2009 is “Bling” and here is one on the wall before it was sewed together. Well, bye for now.

What’s New at the Patch

2010-01-06T15:03:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is already 2010. What a cold wave we are undergoing and it feels wonderful. We are trying something new….we are putting our class schedule here. We hope this will be convenient for you. We will soon be making an important announcement.

Schedule of classes and events:

JANUARY 2010

1 & 2 Closed for the New Year 4 Mon 9 – 12 Civil War Tribute BOM (1 of 12) 5 Tues 10 – 3 Open Sewing 6 Wed 10 – 3 Open Sewing 7 Thur 10 – 3 Beginner Machine Quilting with Kathy $40 8 Fri 10 – 3 Beginner Free Motion Quilting with Kathy $40 9 Sat 9:30 Patches Monthly Sampler 9 11 – 4 Northern Lights Bargello with Nancy Smith VISITING TEACHER $75 (1 of 2) 11 Mon 10 – 3 Machine Quilting Background Fillers with Kathy $40 12 Tues 9 – 3 One Block Wonder with Margy $45 (1 of 2) 4 – 7 Minnesota Road Show Open House - free 13 Wed 9 – 12 Patches Monthly Sampler

1 – 5 Minnesota Road Show Open House -free

5:30 – 8pm Beginning Piecing with Jackie (1 of 3) $50 14 Thur 9:30 – 12 Beginning Piecing with Jackie (1 of 3) $50 15 Fri 10 – 2 Thimbleberries Club 16 Sat 10 – 2 Thimbleberries Club 18 Mon 10 – 3 Machine Quilting FEATHERS with Kathy $40 19 Tues 1 – 4 Americana Modern (1 of 8) 20 Wed 5:30 – 8 Beginning Piecing with Jackie (2 of 3)

21, 22 and 23 Celebrate the JAM PATCH BIRTHDAY

21 Thur 9:30 – 12 Beginning Piecing with Jackie (2 of 3) 22 Fri 9 – 3 Study the Masters with Michele CEZANNE $30 plus $5

23 Sat 9:30 Saturday Sampler

11 – 4 Join our Pajama Party “Pillow Case Challenge”

25 Mon 1pm Saturday Sampler 2010 repeated

27 Wed 9 – 3 Memory Quilts with Michele (1 of 3) $120

5:30 – 8pm Beginning Piecing with Jackie (3 of 3)

28 Thur 9:30 – 12 Beginning Piecing with Jackie (3 of 3)

29 Fri 9 – 3 Flower in Vase with Michele $30

30 Sat Green Bag Day

Happy New Year

2009-12-29T09:16:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it is almost 2010!!!! We here at the Patch have been quite busy getting things ready for the new year. We all seem to have had a wonderful holiday and valued our time with family and friends. It is something I noted during the holidays that overall everyone was kinder and more helpful than I remember pass holidays. I saw loads of random acts of kindness and generally a feeling we are in this together so let’s make the best of it. We hope your holidays were special as well. We have an exciting new class for January. Nancy Smith who has a beautiful new Bargello pattern is coming to the store, or rather I should say our Classroom Annex.

Just as an aside, if you haven’t noticed. We have rented the store next door as our classroom annex. It is spacious and roomy for classes and so far it is a thumbs up from our students. We are having her here on Saturday, January 9th from 11am to 4 pm and again on Saturday, February 13th from 11am to 4pm to finish the class. They are “WOW” quilts. Here are some pictures.

This one is called “Northern Lights” and requires 17 fabrics. We are getting quite good at picking fabrics for this one. You can chose to do this one or you can do this next beauty in your class.

This one is called “Diamond Jubilee” and needs 11 fabrics. This is not a beginner quilt. But, boy when you are done…..look at what you have. Here are a few more pictures, we thought you might enjoy.

Okay, now don’t delay. There are just a few spaces available.

Weekly Newsletter

2009-11-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

Hi,

Before we all get too involved in our holiday plans, we here at The JaM Patch, would like to extend our warmest holiday wishes for a Happy and Joyful Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all of you and thank you for your support and business. In these trying economic times, it is wonderful to have all of you to support us and to help us stay here. We are so excited to have a larger classroom for you to enjoy. We hope you are as excited and tell us by taking classes or participating in our various activities. If you haven't seen it yet, wait.....you will be excited, too.

Because we know we are all too busy we thought we would send this out early this week so you can sit and enjoy our newsletter before the holidays. We have some wonderful gift ideas. There is the fabulous new cutting system called Accu-Go. This will make your cutting easier and more accurate. Our demo system is in our old classroom for you to take a look at, even take a turn or two to try out the cutting. It is not inexpensive but it is worth the money. And if you get a system, there are easy gifts for the rest of the family to buy-----more dies. We will be happy to assist you in selecting gifts for Guild exchanges, we have some great ones from $10.00 to $15.00. We also have lots of little "stocking stuffers" for those sewing friends and family. We also have any denomination gift certificates, what better gift to give or receive.

Just wanted to let you know we will be open our normal hours during the Thanksgiving Weekend. We will be closed Thanksgiving Day. We will be open on Friday, November 27th from 10 to 4 and Saturday, November 28th from 9:30 to 4. Remember Saturday, is Saturday Sampler day to flash your completed block. We are holding the presentation at 10 AM in the Classroom Annex. There will be no noon (12 o'clock) presentation. There is plenty of room for the entire group to meet.

If you have a little time to spare before the end of the year we do have several classes offered by our great teaching staff. We have a few that you and friends can spend the day sewing, giggling and actually getting a project done. "A girls day out!!" We have included the November and December calendar in this email. The 2010 offerings will be sent in the next email.

This is a picture of “Strip Tubing” that is available December 7th and is taught by Jeri Ferguson. It is all day and costs $35.00.

If an article of clothing is what you want than Susan Shaffer has the class for you “Noelle Jacket”. It begins on December 1st and runs for 3 Tuesdays and you will have a wonderful jacket. Susan has worn hers all over the world. Here is a picture from the pattern designer.

Kathy is doing a class on Kaleidoscopes and how to use the computer program. The sample is a wonderful table runner done with botanical pictures.

What a fun day to learn this!!!!! The program is $39.95 and the class costs $40.00.

Kathy will also be offering “Banana Leaf”, her original pattern. The class includes the pattern and is $30.00.

I will add so more as soon as I take the pictures.

Again, Thank you to each and every one of you, our wonderful customers!! Joey and Margy

Back from Market

2009-10-15T14:28:00.001-04:00

It is always so great to go to market. We come back so enthused but tired. We left on Thursday, October 8th, and rented a car to do a tour of the Quilt Shops in Houston. We had a lovely time and we enjoyed each and every shop. But then it was time to get to our hotel and start our work. We arrived without too much trouble (thank goodness for the GPS), checked in and found out we didn’t have to return the car to the Hyatt, National and Enterprise would work it out between them. That is something good to know. It was a beautiful day, so we headed off to the George R. Brown Convention Center. It was a brisk walk of 8/10 of a mile but there were loads of things to look at. Houston has undergone quite a building boom and loads of new buildings and shops. We arrived and registration was a breeze. The workers on the floor below us were setting up their booths. We stood and watched them through these gigantic port holes. We watched Brian and Frank Cox who rep for Hoffman do their work which was great fun. We returned to the hotel and attended a fun evening with FabShop Network. Margy and I were quite lucky and we won some wonderful gifts which we will pass on. The evening was great sharing ideas time and our table mates from New Zealand were a hoot. Oh, did I mention hoot is something you will be hearing and seeing a lot of….there is something about OWLS. They were everywhere!!!!!

Sandy Gervais’ new pattern cards in her NEW line.

A cutie at the Alexander Henry Booth with spooky stuff!!!

One of our favorites at the IQA Quilt Show. The detailing was magnificent.

The next morning we were up bright and early with breakfast in our hotel and a bus trip to the Convention Center to pick up our schedule book for Schoolhouse and off to Starbucks for our annual cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte. We settled on our schedule and began sharply at 10 AM. For those of you who don’t know about schoolhouse, it is a wonderful day of 15 classes, where you have 10 to 12 choices per time slot, being run simultaneously introducing new products, methods, etc., etc. Margy and I only attend the same ones if we are already committed to it for the Patch and so we participate in probably 25 different sessions. They are terrific and we are so excited with what we learned about. You will be hearing loads about it as the time goes along. Here are the some pictures to share.

The designers from Possibilities.

The Snack Attack Quilt and guess what there are candy corns on it!!!!! Hurrah!!!!!

Can you think of anything cuter than a snowman quilt done in batiks. Okay, this might make us think that

it is cooler here in Florida!!!This quilt definitely makes you smile!

This made quite an impression on us. The pattern is due in and we already have the fabric. Could a quilt be too far behind.

Amy Butler was there and she shared her new line “LOVE” from Westminster. It is fantastic. We were so impressed with the vinyl's, wait till you see and feel them.

Okay, do you want us to call you when it arrives?

We were excited to see and hear what Heather Bailey had to say. She is so very creative and her fabric line is a winner. Here are a few shots from her presentation. Sorry I didn’t get any of her MIL in picture, Eleanor Peace Bailey? What do you all think?

Our personal favorite was Henrietta the turtle, pin cushion. She made everyone smile. Did I tell you the other trend we saw were pin cushions and more pin cushions. I think we might be collecting them.

Random shots for your enjoyment:

Appliqué work done the Piece o’Cake way.

These pictures are from the “Skinny Table runners II”

Remember this picture…you will be hearing a lot about. This was our last class and they had cookies….boy, were we happy.

Dinner was at the Hilton as we finished at 6 PM and have to be back for Sample Spree at 8 PM. We met a new quilt shop owner and her long arm friend who were from Oklahoma. We had a nice time.

Now, how do you describe Sample Spree. I guess it would be the Filene’s annual basement sale; David’s bridals $99.00 dress day and any other free for all that you can think of. The doors open and everyone runs to the Moda booth. We do not, we head to the other end and try to maintain some air of decor. It is a place where we can get patterns with samples pre-done, early releases so we can do samples. No pictures are allowed. So sorry!!!!!!

That was the end of day one!!!! More to come!!!!!

Updates from the Patch

2009-10-01T10:08:00.001-04:00

Well, Fall is here and we are so excited to soon be seeing our Winter Visitors. We call them Snowbirds. They leave their homes up north and spend the winter with us just like our feathery friends. We love to see them again and to see all the things they have done over the summer. This is our first official WELCOME!!!

The Patch currently smells a little like a candy corn factory and I won’t tell you how many bags we have already consummed here. I think there are secretly more candy corn lovers out there than are willing to admit to it. I have not sworn them off for the season yet because I am pacing myself. Hurrah!!! for candy corns and mellow pumpkins.

The excitement here is what our teachers are presenting for various classes this fall.    We have dedicated the month of October to Quilting and we are offering quite a few classes on the technique of quilting. We decided that while the quilting world is in Houston, our little corner of it will be at the Patch learning about quilting as a beginner and then expanding your knowledge as you get more antsy to improve your skill. Okay, now many of you might be thinking “Oh, I just give them to my Long Arm Quilter.” But there is always that special one that you want to do yourself. Well, this is the week to come to the patch…..October 12th – 15th. Here is the schedule:

October 12 – 15 QUILT EDUCATION WEEK   at The JaM Patch

Oct 12- 10 – 3 Free Motion Fillers with Kathy Rentz $35 NOT A BEGINNER class

Oct 13- 9 – 3 Beginner Machine Quilting with Kathy; thread, needle, batting and straight line quilting $35.00

Oct 14- 10 – 3 Basic Free Motion Quilting with Kathy $35

Oct 15- 10 – 3 Feathers & Fillers with Kathy $35

Here are some samples for you to see the various styles.

Do stop by and see them.

Saturday Sampler Blocks

2009-09-27T13:00:00.001-04:00

Okay, We have been remiss and not been on the blog. I don’t know where all the times goes but here it is almost the end of September. My favorite season is upon us and I am too busy to enjoy it. We didn’t want to go another month without putting pictures on the blog of the Saturday Sampler blocks. So here they are. We hope this will help you with fabric placement.

This is the Black and White. Margy has already completed all the blocks and has done a really neat quilt top with just the twelve blocks. You have to come to the store to see it.

Earth is certainly a color way for this season – Autumn. Wait till you see the border and all.

Ocean is quite the beauty. Everyone asks about this beautiful batik blocks.

It’s warm here in Florida

2009-08-21T15:11:00.001-04:00

So how are things going with all of you. We are “HOT” here in Florida but it looks like it is hot in a few places. Sorry we haven’t been in touch but Joey was gone on a quick little vacation and Margy is being the MOG (mother of the groom) to her eldest son and the wedding is tomorrow. It will be at a beautiful outside setting so pray for NO rain and a little bit cooler. We are busy with preparations for the Fall and the holidays. Can candy corns be too far behind!!!!!! Lots has been going on in the shop and we are really happy our air conditioning works so well.

This will be our class with Tonya R. on Tuesday, August 25th. It is part of our Summer School Series. It will be all day from 9 to 3. We are looking forward to the class.

The new fabrics are starting to arrive. We received over 25 bolts of new batiks that they are marking in. We also received a lot of pre-cuts from Moda. One of them was from the new line called “Authentic”. Here is a sampling of one of the quilts done with the fabrics. The bolts will follow in about one month. We bought the whole line. The fabric with the words all over it is so neat. Oh, I can’t believe I said that “neat”. I guess the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock is bringing out the old slang. We were taken with this line.

Margy before she left for the wedding celebration did the cutest quilt using this panel from Sandy Gervais called “Gobble, Gobble”. It will be the project for the September Holiday Club on Friday, September 5th.

But I am most excited about the arrival of “Lantern Bloom” from Michael Miller Fabrics. It is terrific. Here are a few pictures to show you.

This is the free pattern that is available on their website. The colors are great.

The Chinese Lanterns are three-dimensional and the quilts just makes you stop and gaze. It was entrance to their booth in Pittsburgh at Spring Market.

Well bye for now. I promise next week to be better.

What we have to offer

2009-08-05T09:14:00.001-04:00

Sometimes you sit and think everyone knows everything about what you love, well after a few questions we have had from customers, I guess everyone doesn’t. So I think we will take the time to share with you some of the happenings at the JaM Patch. We are always working on new stuff and we do forget that perhaps you haven’t seen it all. Did you know that we have a group that is working on “The Queen and her Court” quilt? It is stunning and here is what it will look like when everyone gets done.

It is hard to describe the colors but I will try. The background in the floral print is brown with mauve, mossy green and cream. It is done with piecing and appliqué. Margy has fused our store sample and is in the process of stitching all the appliqués down. We still have kits available and the fabric is now on the floor for purchase. Stop by and see it.

We have been doing a new program this year called Summer School. It is to encourage participation in classes and for you to get to know our teachers. The classes are all day and cost $20.00. When you have completed your class you are awarded a $10.00 gift certificate for fabric valid the day after your class. A pretty good deal!!! Here are some of the samples that are of classes yet to come. Maybe you want to think of joining one.

This is “Halloween Booquet” by Tonya R. and it is slated for August 25th from 9 to 3 and is part of our Summer School so the class is $20.00.

Margy is doing this class for the Rug on August 12th and could the bean bag be very far behind……….

We borrowed this picture from the Lizzie B blog. This is the cutest “new” idea we saw at market. What do you think? The class does required the purchase of “Whimsyland.” You will be thrilled to own this book as it is great. It is fun reading and the chocolate

cookie recipe is fabulous. The quilts are cute and different. There are a lot of great ideas for that college freshman heading to their first dorm room for an easy Duvet Cover. Anyone can sew this one! I love all the words they use on quilts and wall hangings. This is a keeper book.

Michele S. is having sessions on Mondays during Summer School that are called “Studying with the Master.” She is using famous paintings as inspiration and duplicated with thread play, embellishing and piecing to complete some rather unique pieces. Stop by and see them. She does discuss a lot about color and value. It is quite a learning experience.

Patch’s Monthly Sampler Announced

2009-07-28T14:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, on Monday, July 27th, we announced the Patch’s Monthly Sampler to our customers and now to you. We refer to this program as PMS and any chocolate or candy eaten that day does not “count.” It began three years ago as a historical perspective of Quilt Blocks. We discussed where they came from and how long there was a record of the varying blocks. We learned that the Log Cabin had been around a lot longer than the pioneers. And we even watched Margy’s family’s farm video for “Corn and Beans.” Each month on the second Saturday, the group would receive a block pattern for FREE and they would use their stash to complete a quilt. The quilts were great and the group kept growing….. Everyone enjoyed it and so we now begin the fourth PMS program. It was designed for us by Susan Shaffer on E-Q 6 and is called “Home and Hearth” with a sewing and South Florida flair. Each month the group will meet on the second Saturday at 10 AM or on the following Wednesday morning at 9 AM for our session. There you will receive your free block pattern and we will discuss its construction, value, color etc. You are still able to use your stash but we ask that if you purchase any fabric, it be purchased at the Patch. Here is a picture of the quilt…..This quilt’s only limitation is your creativity. There are so many different ways to complete it. We are sending out the sign-up sheet in our weekly newsletter, so if you aren’t getting our email, send us one at info@jampatch.com and we will send it to you.

Here are a few of our favorite close-ups. The Halloween cup is for Margy and I who adore Halloween and even more we LOVE candy corns. So she did this one for us…..

See, there are even candy corn buttons from JABC on the saucer to really make it us. A lot of the blocks are paper pieced so we will be having paper piece demos to help you with that.

We have Herons and fish and birds, oh my. There are easy blocks and harder blocks but an Advance Beginner can easily do this quilt. There are Bonus blocks and the center is in a medallion style with a home and log cabins. Here is one of Margy’s interpretations…. The log cabin blocks at the top are our sunshine and sky and the the lower ones are surf and sand. The house is Margy’s green with a tin roof. The palm trees are her design which I bet she will share. This pattern will be available for sale separately for anyone who chooses to own it. This makes for an easy and quick house-warming gift and since house sales are up…guess we better get busy. Here are the first block designs; the star is the FREE pattern and the sunrise is the BONUS.

Saturday Sampler Weekend

2009-07-24T14:08:00.001-04:00

This is the fourth Saturday and so it is Saturday Sampler Weekend. You can “flash” your block for your FREE block on Saturday and Monday. There are presentations that would be quite helpful to attend at 10 AM and Noon on Saturday and on Monday at 1 PM. We have decided to help everyone with placing the blocks monthly on this blog so you can refer to a color picture as you are working on them and Margy has also finished the Medallion Centers for “Ocean” and “Everything is Black and White”, which is also pictured. The completed “Earth” Medallion with its full complement of pinwheels is also pictured. Enjoy!!!

Ocean better known as Batiks Inner Medallion.

This is Block 8, completed. This is the block you will be receiving at the end of July. The picture looks as if there is a pink background….it isn’t. It is the original “Air” Batik.

This is “Everything is Black and White” completed Inner Medallion for those of you doing the black and white Saturday Sampler. Block Eight is below.

Love the center block with a flower.

This is “Earth” Inner Medallion along with the pinwheels. This has some great areas for some “Design Quilting.”

This is Block 8 that you will be receiving in July for August finish.

The Winners for the Flamingo Run

2009-07-22T15:43:00.001-04:00

Well, today is the day that we all meet to chose the winners of the Flamingo Run. The Grand Prize is a Bernina Sewing Machine and that is chosen when all the completed passports are placed in the bag. Then each shop chose one at a time their $100.00 gift certificate and so on. We have our gift certificates with us and an envelope and they will be mailed right after we chose the winners. They are listed below.

Shop Basket Winners:

Sharon Sweet, Okeechobee; Patty Elcert, Coral Springs; Ingrid Bischoff, Jupiter; Marie Aldrich and Karen, Boca Raton.

The Bernina 230 PE was won by Karen Lungar of Boca Raton.

$100 Gift Certificates

Jane McPhilomy, Ft. Lauderdale; Janet Brouchaert, Ft. Lauderdale; Jean Simmons; Kim Rowland, Okeechobee; Jennifer Collins, Jupiter.

$50 Gift Certificate

Jeanine Webster, Palm City; Lynn Margaris, Parkland; Shelia, Monan, Missouri; Marlene Vanderhoff, Okeechobee; Betty Buffum, Hollywood, FL

$25.00 Gift Certificates

Jerome Lundy, Plantation; Kathy McKinney, WPB; Jayme Speiss, Stuart; Chris Dean, Port Saint Lucie; Madonna Arnold, Okeechobee

Sorry for the delay. Couldn’t get this up last night. Again thank you for your participation.

Here is our basket winner, Sharon. She looks happy!!!!

The Flamingo Run is coming to an end

2009-07-18T15:09:00.001-04:00

As we stand here with three and half hours left in the Flamingo Run, we ate a real lunch and are having fun visiting with each other. Kits that have been requested are being cut and we are readying the full passports to take to our meeting on Tuesday. It is funny how much you anticipate this and then it is over too quickly. We would like to thank all of you for coming and seeing our store. We love to hear your comments and we are thrilled to be a quilt shop you like visiting. I wanted to finish out our Flamingo Run blogs with some up-close pictures of the sailfish and the “Glitter” thread detailing that Margy did in the Sailfish banner. Hope this helps you.

This detailing helps to make the sail fin look like it is flashing, as they do in the wild when they are clearing the water.

Margy did what she refers to as water effect in quilting. It really brings the strips into a cohesive background.

Now here is the last pictures of our store with the return of the JaM Patch Bus. It looks as if everyone had a great time. Natalie sure did a fabulous job as a Bus Coordinator. the report from everyone was a thumbs up.

We tried to keep everyone cheerful with wine and cheese and hopefully the line moved quickly. The stupid credit card machine was the slow one. A big thank you to all our staff of Jackie, Annie, Judie, Kathy, Karen, Betty and Natalie. They are terrific. Goodbye Flamingo Run for another year!!!!!

The Flamingo Run is in its second day!!

2009-07-17T14:45:00.001-04:00

Yes, day two of The Flamingo Rub, our shop hop, began with a bang. There were people in the parking lot at 7 am. More arrived with each passing minute and the crew worked like busy little bees and at 7:45 am, breakfast began for the bus trippers . Joann and her son provided the coffee for the morning and we served danish, muffins, cinnamon rolls, Nutri-Grain bars and yogurt with granola as a topping. The bus left at 8:35 AM and they all looked prepared for the journey. We, Margy, Joey, Jackie, Annie and Betty sat for a moment and the bus from Quilter’s Choice arrived. It was so good to see our neighbors from the south. They were a lot of fun and then each and every opening of the door brought more quilters on the quest. Here are the pictures to show you some of what was going on…….

Guess what line they are in!!!!!

Better before the bus then on the bus!!!!

A view of the group on the bus.

The classroom was breakfast area and people were enjoying the treats.

In tThe background you can see is the Holly Tree quilt that Jackie did. We are planning a class in the autumn to do this quilt. We have a sneak peak at the Shoebox Wall or that famous line “What’s in your Shoe Box?????

Couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of the store looking so good.

The play of the morning sun on the quilts across the shop makes an interesting view.

Flamingo Run begins with a BANG!!!!!

2009-07-16T14:13:00.001-04:00

Yes, here I sit (hurrah, I am sitting down for the first time today) and wow what a great start for the Flamingo Run. We had our first group of quilters at 9:05 and they were friends we knew from Palm Beach Gardens. Here is them arriving…….they were already having a good time.

They then proceeded to the Registration area known as the Mitered Corner where my Mom, Betty, gave them their packet and they registered for the drawing. Here is Mom and Felice at the table with the packets and drawing jar. We were jammed a few times because of the various arrivals but all in all it worked well. The Bus coming from Once Upon A Quilt had a little detour and arrived later then expected but that worked out great. Here are some random shots of the store with a group from as far away as Miami. It was great fun. It is going well, we will keep you posted.

Could it be true we are ready for the Flamingo Run…….

2009-07-16T09:12:00.001-04:00

As we stand here twirling and reading all the lists you could possibly imagine that two people could do, we quietly say to each other…are we ready and our responding answer was YES!!!! We do have to thank our two helpers who have stuffed and stamped our Flamingo Run packets, Steffie and Felice. They helped make this situation possible. We, also, have Jackie who is plodding along on all the last moment things we can think of and completing them. We are now able to enjoy the next three days in seeing our friends, also known as customers, and the friends who just come every year on the Flamingo Run.

Thought you might enjoy some of the pictures I have been taking of the Shop prior to Flamingo Run. We hope to keep you updated on the Run as it is happening.

The two sailfishes face each other and are done the same way. Here is a picture to help with placement of all the pieces. This is to help Runners who have the free pattern but not the fabric kit. The top fin is done by the fabric, Margy chose. The yellow and blue strips are cut from fabric and fused. The entire fish is a fused project.

Here is the rug from the book “Whimysland” by Lizzie B. We love this book. A class is schedule for it in September. Our classroom is undergoing a renovation for the Run.

Here is our Christmas corner with the original quilt by Jeri Ferguson for “Believe” by Nancy Halvorsen. We also have done two other projects to show you as well. We have turned the classroom into a display area of quilts and other projects.

Here are a few examples of some items we are

highlighting. Did we tell you, we are carrying wool now? A personal favorite of Margy and I, we held out as long as we could. But it is here now, with more to follow.

Several of our Halloween picks and all. We are in love with the wonderful Embroidery blocks, with the patchwork additions. They are great “carry along” projects . Now here is a glimpse of our Shoe Boxes Corner. What is coming out of your “Shoe Boxes”? We will talk about this more later.

Just a few shots of the store and we will say bye for now. We will keep you posted!!!!!!!!!

Flamingo Run begins Thursday,July 16

2009-07-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

How is everyone doing? Yes, we have been terribly remiss in not blogging. But in our defense since returning from Spring Market, we have been swamped and sitting down to write has not been on the “To Do List” We promise to be better. We have so much to share, that we hate not doing it.

We are so excited that the 10th Anniversary Flamingo Run is finally here. It is this coming weekend and we are so happy that it is that time of year. It might be hot and muggy outside but you can bet it will be nice and cool at the JaM Patch. We will have a fresh look to the classroom walls with wonderful new things to see; and, of course, there will be treats for everyone to enjoy. We have the fabulous "Dream Catch" Sailfish designed by Margy Merle in many different samples-----a banner (wall hanging), a table runner and the row in the 10th Anniversary Flamingo Run Quilt. Ackfeld, the wire hanger maker, has a wonderful wave designed holder for the Sailfish Wall Hanger that completes the look. We hope you are all aware that Stuart, where the JaM Patch resides, is the "Sailfish Capital of the World" and so we had to honor it in our row. It is, also, our contribution to you for a quilt for a man in your life. However, to catch a sailfish is a "DREAM" for anyone. There is a fabric kit available for your sailfish row as well as the other projects.

Now here are some pictures to entice you and also if you have the patterns and to kit to assist in making your sailfish. It is raw edge fused. This is the Flamingo Run Quilt called “Row to the Beach 2009. We have a completion kit that includes the borders and the rows that seperate each shop’s row. The border is great and you will see it better in the subsequent pictures. We have used the fabric that made the decision to do the sailfish even more important. It is scenes of old Florida in the perfect shades. There is a sailfish jumping, the fresh catch on display, and a typical Florida house to name a few. And, yes, you are saying to yourself have they lost their minds...no, it is quite tastefully done and will surprise you as to how wonderful the fabric is. It reminds me of old family photos of the trip to downtown Miami and the docks. We have used this fabric on the outer border. In the quilt, hanging by the cash register, the second inner border is the shades of a Florida sunset and we have provided the lengths necessary to have it run the right way on your quilt. Margy has taken wonderful metallic thread, "Glitter", to make the sailfish "flash" as they do in the wild when they leap from the water once hooked. The quilt also has button sunglasses, flip flops, etc. to embellish it even further. These are also available at the Patch. All in all, it is a great quilt to behold and to own.

This is the table runner that can be made from the row. We have kits for this that includes the fabric for the row, the border and eyelash fabric. This picture affords you a better look at the wonderful border print.

Here is the Banner that has been designed by Margy as well.

You can still purchase passports and attend the run on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Our bus is full and if any of the Bus Runners have not received their information, please call us. We sent out the e-mail this past week.

You should see the classroom. Our special "Believe Quilt" is on display and other wonderful projects with their kits! The patterns and kits will go on sale on Thursday. Don’t delay. It is so special this year.

These pictures are just teases. More will follow as the quilt is fantastic. Jeri Ferguson designed it exclusively for the JaM Patch and we are so proud of it. This is the third in the series she has done for us. We will share pictures of the other ones at a later date.

On the Road to Pittsburgh

2009-05-13T17:11:00.001-04:00

Margy and I were up early and headed to PBI at 4:30 AM and arrived there quite quickly. It was amazing how little traffic there was but then as we thought about it there was more traffic than we thought there would be. We ate quite an expensive breakfast at the Airport Burger King ($12.00 for two French toast sticks, one small coffee, one medium diet coke and a bottle of water.) and now we sit by the window watching the activity in Newark, New Jersey. We earlier thought another quilter was on the plane but upon closer inspection of his t-shirts it was “Rehab is for QUITTERS not QUILTERS.” But you can see how easy that mistake would be at 5:30 in the morning. Margy is busy stitching while watching and listening to an I-Pod video on quilting from Debbie McCaffrey. We will be happy to share how you can get these FOR FREE on I-tunes. Thank goodness we have a tech person in Margy’s son Jake. He loaded it for her yesterday. I thought we could share some pictures that I have that perhaps you haven’t seen. Margy has been working hard on our row for the Flamingo Run. Stuart is the “Sailfish Capital of the World” and we thought it would be fitting to do something for Flamingo Run in that vain. Here he is. You will be seeing lots of him. He part of our Row for the Flamingo Run Quilt, he is a table runner and there will be more projects using him or should I say them in the future. We have found the perfect border that reflects Old Florida. We are excited about it and we hope you are too. The Flamingo Run Shop Hop is ten years old this July and we are planning to have a wonderful three days. The dates are July 16th, 17th and 18th. The shop is sponsoring a bus trip on Friday, July 17th. Stop by and sign up for the Run. The passports are $8.00 and the bus fare which includes your passport is $30.00. We will be sending as many blogs as time will allow from Spring Market and the shops and all that we will be visiting. We are even more excited when we share our trip with you all at Market Review on Thursday evening, May 28th from 4 to 8. There will be presentation at 4:30 and 6:30. Don’t miss out on seeing and hearing about all the new stuff.

Catching UP

2009-04-29T13:44:00.001-04:00

So much to catch up on that I will just begin and hope I hit it all. We have been wonderfully busy and happy here at the Patch. The class with Tonya on Wonky Houses was terrific. Did we have fun and what a wonderful way to use little scraps.

Here we are at the beginning, listening and biting at the bit to begin…..there were four of us doing Halloween, several doing Florida and others doing their own thing. I promise to post pictures when we see some of their finished projects. It was such a wonderful two days. Tonya is such a pleasant teacher and we are already making more wonky houses with our scraps as we finish a project. Then we will have a quilt of everything we worked on for a year.

Margy did a fabulous job quilting “Crazy Squares” and if you go to our friend, Natalie website www.americanmadequilting.com and proceed to her blog which is right on the front page. Hit older posts and you will see Margy quilting it. Here are some of my vain attempts to capture how cute this quilt really is.

The quilt is now located in the store by the cash register area. Close-up of one of my favorite boats.

The water around each boat is definitely So. Florida born. It looks like the water in the Florida Keys. Don’t forget to sign up and join Margy in this fun filled day. It is Thursday, May 22nd. Call or stop by and register.

Crazy Sails – Florida Style is done

2009-04-16T12:07:00.001-04:00

We are so excited. The JaM Session’s top for May 22nd is pieced and is being quilted today. Wow! did it turn out GREAT. Here are some pictures of it. Registration will open on Saturday at the store. Margy, one of the owners, will be teaching this class. We do have a kit of fabric as it appears in these pictures. The book called Those Crazy Kids by The Buggy Barn will be included in your class fee. This is a fabulous technique and once you are familiar with it, the wonderful world of their books and style will be open to you.

Here it is draped over bolts. Yes, now it is backing time. A 108” Blue with a star pattern was the one chosen . But we have found with wide backs a pre-shrink washing is definitely a good idea. So home to wash was Margy’s next stop. The next picture shows it hanging over the Free Spirit/Westminster area.

Okay, it is not small. The quilt is 71” x 87”.

Here is a close up and I wish blogs had sounds so you could hear the oohs, and aahs that were heard in the shop when it was opened up and shared with the quilters here. As you can see the water is definitely South Florida’s ocean shades. The whole quilt just makes you smile and is for the sailor in your life. We sure hope that

May 22nd can be a day you can come and sew at this latest JaM Session. Have a great day quilting.

Classes, Classes and more Classes

2009-04-14T13:47:00.001-04:00

Even though school is winding down for summer recess, that certainly isn’t affecting The JaM Patch. Our teachers are out doing themselves in new projects, new techniques and beautiful samples. The JaM Sessions are going strong with April 20th and 21st set for Wonky Houses. Here is a picture just to remind you of what a neat class this will be. There is space still available.

It certainly goes along with all the fabric that is arriving. We got the precuts from Moda in their Christmas fabrics this week and boy are they great. We got an entire bake shop full of items. We receive jelly rolls, sweet rolls, layer cakes, and charm packs. Honey Buns and turnovers are yet to arrive.

Margy is planning a great session on May 23rd to teach the Buggy Barn style of piecing. It is a neat quilt of sailboats. It is in their newest book “Those Crazy Kids”and is called “Crazy Sails”. I have placed a picture of the original piece, however, the class sample and available quilt kit will feature a more Florida flair. After all our waves are not shades of gray and darker blues but rather beautiful blues and greens.

Margy is working feverishly on it and the sailboats are done. They are so cheerful. A picture will be posted as soon as it is completed.

June will find the JaM Session as a two day and one evening Thimbleberries Camp. The projects are being designed and pieced and we will share them as soon as they are available. It will be Friday evening, June 12th; Saturday, June 13th and Sunday, June 14th. The projects will be up on the web in our blog as soon as they are completed. Joey and Jackie are working on the camp. We promise a good time will be had by all.

Carol G. will be offering this beautiful quilt as a three class session. It is called Bodacious Applique a La Carte by Margie Engel. The parrot will be featured and this is hanging in our classroom for your perusal. The book is published by the American Quilter’s Society and here is what they had to say about it.

“Bold and beautiful, these appliqué designs leap right off the quilts! Here's a unique menu of simple appliqué patterns, ideas, and techniques. A variety of fusibles enable separate construction of the appliqué units, which are then stitched to your quilt. A banquet of 10 complete small projects and a dozen `a la carte patterns allow you to pick and choose from a variety of subjects and moods. Flowers, both realistic and imaginary, and creatures, such as parrots and geckoes along with a whimsical cat, can be used for projects ranging from elegant to definitely bodacious. Simple but effective embellishing is the key to making easy designs look more complex. Presented with a variety of faced and fused appliqué methods, you'll soon be on your way to creating exciting and original projects.”

The Piec-lique project “Susie-Q” is being taught again by Kathy R. She is offering it on Wednesday, April 29th. She also has several sessions of her Machine Quilting Class. So………….. why aren’t you at the Patch taking a class.

It’s April and Christmas Fabric has arrived!!!!!!!

2009-04-08T10:41:00.001-04:00

Okay, it is only April and we are happy to announce the new Nancy Halvorsen ‘s “I Believe in Santa” has arrived from Benartex. We are so excited. It is absolutely adorable. This will the third year that we are having a very creative lady design a quilt using the panel in a new and unique way. Her name is Jeri F. She is quite the quilter. Here are the other two quilts that she has done using the yearly panel from Nancy. This is the Twelve Days of Christmas quilt. The quilting that Natalie C. of American Made Quilting (www.AmericanMadeQuilting.com) is spectacular. This picture doesn’t do it justice. In the large courtyard steps areas, there are quilted ornaments in various shades of thread. At the bottom, where there are packages, many people have personalized them with their grandchildren’s names. The have turned out so adorable. We still have kits and patterns available. I am afraid we do not have any panels that can be sold separately.

The first year, Jeri began this project she did a wonderful quilt called “Bethlehem Star” from the 2007 line. Here is a picture of this one. We do have one kit available for purchase and the pattern can be purchased separately. It was another show stopper and one of our customers did three; one for each of her grandchildren.

Again, the photo doesn’t do it justice. The website, which is broken and can’t be updated, has a better picture on it. www.jampatch.com

We will post the new one as soon as it is ready. The panel and fabric is marked in and ready for purchase.

Okay, and now what you have been waiting for the panel and here is a picture of it. And here is what they say about it

“We believe that just one look at this charming new collection will make you believe in Santa too! There's something about Nancy's fabrics that make people remember the important things in life-family, laughter, dreams, hope. These are just a few of the heartwarming themes of her new Christmas panel. With warm colors and loads of rich textures and plaids of rich garnet red, amber, loden green or teal, “I Believe in Santa” is the perfect choice for all your holiday projects.” Benartex Website

Do stop by and see the wonderful collection.

2nd JaM Session Scheduled

2009-03-26T10:19:00.001-04:00

Yes, April 20th and 21st we will host “Wonky Houses” at our second JaM Session. We are so lucky to have gained a new neighbor, Tonya from Lazy Gal Quilting in the South Florida area. She has just written for the “Quiltmaker”, Mar/April edition a tutorial on free form piecing and on those two days she will be sharing her expertise with us. We have chosen to offer two days so that you will also have the opportunity to learn her wonderful alphabet. It will be a fun-filled two days spending time with a great instructor and quilters. The other day was a blast so don’t miss out on this one. Here are some wonderful pictures to share with you on these beautiful quilts. There is the original one a few posts ago in pink.

Now we have one for you blue lovers. Does this look like fun or what…no seams to match or points to care about. You just free form the house blocks and away you go.

This is a great shower or wedding gift for that younger crowd. These pictures are thanks to Tonya and her blog lazygalquilting.blogspot.com

But my favorite is coming up and I think I will be doing this one. After all if there is one fabric season that only pales to Christmas and that is Fall and Halloween. What a hoot this one is.

Now this has to make you smile. What else but a spooky wonky house quilt to make you smile. Personally, Halloween is a favorite. What could be wrong with a holiday that allows you to get candy as a treat and produced candy corn, the perfect food. In addition, you don’t have to buy people presents, you can just have a party and eat worms (candy ones, of course), dress in something you would never ever wear and did I mention eat candy. Oh boy, this should be a fun one. Okay, I was all settled on Halloween until I saw this one. Oh, Dear Santa will you make one for me?

Okay, now can you resist this one? This should be a creative two days. Stop by or call to sign up.

Queen and Her Court Arrive

2009-03-25T14:54:00.001-04:00

The JaM Patch is proud to announce the arrival of “The Queen and Her Court” Block of the Month. The unveiling was today, March 25th, and she is stately in her beautiful Marie Antoinette fabric line from Timeless Treasure. Margy has done a fabulous job reproducing the pattern to perfection. It is in warm browns, beiges, mauve with touches of burgundy and a yummy sage green. Below is a picture. The designers from A Wing and a Prayer Designs have done a wonderful job with the beautiful block patterns and use of a checkerboard completing the inside design area. The Appliqué is fused and then stitched in place. Margy has chosen to do a finished vine and it really makes it look special. It really adds to a quilt to do piecing and appliqué together. The colors are so special. You can purchase it as a whole quilt or per month. If you are interested just stop by, take a look and sign up. Or we can send it to you, just email info@jampatch.com and we will send you the information.

JaM Session ----a SUCCESS

2009-03-25T10:31:00.001-04:00

From the general consensus we heard, our first JaM Session was a wonderful success. The group started arriving as early as 8:20 AM and class officially began at 10 AM. The room was a buzz with joyful conversation and wonderful direction from the maestro, Kathy Rentz. She is quite the teacher and was ably assisted by Natalie Carlton, our local long arm quilter and proud designer of a new blog and website (www.AmericanMadeQuilting.com.) The projects were beautiful and I am sure you will enjoy the pictures that follow. After all pictures speak louder than words to a quilter. We are quite the visual group. Thank goodness!!!

Here they are hard at work with irons, freezer paper, starch and then glue to make their coneflowers.

Kathy was busy helping a student during the day. We hope you can see how wonderfully roomy the Session room is. No one felt cramped. They sure look busy. Everyone was so hard at work and now you will see their projects. There are not two alike and everyone’s was so fantastic. One even had a mountain in the background. Most used Batiks but there was quite a few non-woven materials. Also, some used different textures which made their piece look even better. There were several black and white. We can’t say one color dominated in the room.

Okay I may not be a photographer but the projects are great.

Here is the last one. We will be offering this class again. It maybe in our small classroom depending on how many people are interested. But you don’t want to miss learning this great new technique. Thank you Kathy for a great day here at the Patch.

Announcing JaM Sessions

2009-03-11T09:15:00.001-04:00

It is finally here. We have a new special classroom, two doors down from our door at 940 Central Parkway, that allow us to have bigger sessions, special quilt camps, mystery classes and visiting teachers. We are so excited. The first session will be March 24th and Kathy Rentz has graciously agreed to be the first teacher and does she have a class planned for you. Kathy has traveled distances to take classes with Sharon Schamber and she has chose a very special project from her. It is called Susie Q 1 Day Project.

This is a picture of her sample and it certainly doesn’t do it justice. We have tested this class with Kathy and, yes, the top can be completed in the day session. The eight ladies who took the class completed it. Her sample has been placed on stretcher bars, so “NO BINDING”. I have added a close-up picture as well. This is a technique referred to as Piec-lique’ It may look like appliqué but it ISN’T. It is pieced…..come and see

The quilting is so fabulous. Kathy is a teacher you will enjoy and learn so much from. The class is all day from 9 AM to 4 PM on Tuesday, March 24th.

Here is another example. This sample was done completely in Batiks, but others in the room used country colors, hand-dyed and such a variety that this pattern looks good in any choice of fabric. I have, also, shown the backside so you can get a good look at the construction. The seams have not been trimmed. You will learn about a wonderful product called Quilter’s Choice Glue. The class will require the purchase of a pattern for $14.00 and the class fee of $50.00. Arrangements can be made at the shop or over the phone. There is prep work that needs to be done in order to assist you in completing this project.

Come and have fun and learn a wonderful new technique at a JaM Session.

JaM Session 2 will bring to us a “new” visiting teacher who is well known in blog land. She is Tonya R. of Lazy Gal Quilting. She has written the fabulous tutorial for “Wonky Houses” in the Quiltmaker March/April edition. She will be here on April 20th and 21st teaching us this style and her lettering style. Here is the sample we have available here in the store. It is so cute. We want to take it. The sample is in pinks but this is a great scrappy quilt and a way to use you stash. The letters are so cute that we asked her to do two days so you can learn how to do them as well. The class will require the purchase of The Quiltmaker Magazine and the fee will be announced later. Here is another picture, but please stop by and see them in person and sign-up.We hope you will participate in these classes and let us know what else you would like. Plans in the future are a Thimbleberries Camp, Mystery Class and a very special National Teacher. This year we have dedicated the shop to Teaching new skills and here is a real good starter.

Halloween Baltimore Quilt Unveiled

2009-02-25T13:52:00.001-05:00

Have you ever seen something and knew that you had to possess? Well that is how we are with the Quilt we are about to show you. It is the "Halloween Baltimore" designed by Pearl P. Pereira of P3 Designs. It was the talk of Houston and we searched for it. Thanks to FabShop Network we located the designer, we called and couldn’t wait for the patterns to arrive. The fabric choice took close to three days. The next question arrived as to whether we should do it as the designer had needleturned or fuse it.

Time constraints made our decision easy and fuse it was. We wanted to have it for our show season. Margy traced and fused the original design on parchment paper as we awaited the backgrounds we chose from Kaufman fabrics. As they grew on the paperwork we were thrilled with the look. Here are a few close ups for you to view. The owls are too cute and we love the fabric that makes them look feathery. This next one is the most difficult but it was done perfectly, if you worked on it one step at a time. Sometimes we overwhelm ourselves when it is totally not that bad. Just sit down, fuse and sew. Margy is good at that.

There are also easier ones that help in getting this project done for this Halloween. The center is completed at the end and by that time, you are so experienced, it comes easier. The next to last picture is of one of the easier blocks and the last one is of the center. We do have kits available and it can be purchased as a set or a set of the patterns alone. Or you can purchase it as a BOM (Block of the Month) Just give a call or stop by and see it in person. Yes, I am afraid this is on my list of things to do. It is a quilt I must do and own. We are happy to share with you the tips on how we did it. Margy, also, did the quilting and she hit it on the nose.The center appears to be a large snow dome with bats and witches and our personal favorite candy corns floating around. Pretty cool addition to our Halloween stuff, wouldn’t you say.

2009-02-24T14:30:00.002-05:00

Visitors were last week's excitement. Yes, we are located in Florida so visitors in the winter are something we are experience quite a lot. They add so much to our daily happenings that they couldn't go unnoticed. The Lady to the right is Margy's sister, Karen, who visited us from upstate New York. Karen is not a sewer but over the years she has developed quite a style with Paper Bags and Duck Tape. Here is her newest design including a pill box hat and monogram purse. Even her flip flops were covered with duck tape. She had the store in complete hysterics with her stylish arrival. Karen has quite a history here. During the Flamingo Run she was our Duck Girl and in charge of the duck pond where you won prizes. That was the beginning of the paper bag outfits. Margy's Mom was also here as well as their mutual friend from New York, Theresa. That was the start of wonderful week here. We had a Quilt Designer stop by while golfing through Florida. Her name is Jamie Kalvestran who is known as "Scrap-bags" and she is from Minnesota. She called and said she was in the area and would we like to see her samples. Boy, we were glad we did. As you can see by the pictures below, they were great and we were so happy to see them. We purchased patterns from her and got instant gratification as she brought them with her. It was so much fun to be able to touch and feel the samples.

This is Margy and Jamie in our classroom. Here are some of her samples.

2009-02-10T10:24:00.004-05:00

There are times when you just don't know what to do next so I am doing what I want to do and that is to share all that is going on at the JaM Patch. We spend most of our waking hours here or working on projects at home for it. It is time-consuming but in a fun and wonderful way. This past weekend we spent with such creative groups of people and we are so excited to hear of their village plans. We have some photos to share of these activities and we are really looking forward to next month when we will be start a building, the church in fact. Margy is finishing up today the "One Block Wonder" class. We have some samples to show you as well. The first and second one are done by Rozann. The First one is a Hexagon which she has incorporated cubes into. The second one is an Octagon and has set in triangles and uses a Henry Alexander fabric called "Aruba." The original fabric is in the border. We are testing our new camera and so we hope our pictures will improve.

The third one is a hexagon done in Laurel Burch fabric. It is bright and happy. And finally a wonderful poinsettia Christmas print was used by Jeri. The white flowers weren't working in the main design area, but never fear a quilter can come up with a way to use them. The piece was cut and green fabric was insert and another small quilt section was added. It is stunning in person.

2009-02-04T09:05:00.006-05:00

Well, is it our imagination or did January just fly by. We are so surprised that it is already February. Where does time go...and don't remind us it goes faster as we age because we could swear we heard a young child say that January had flown. We are busy with so many things going on that is hard to settle our brains and start sharing all that is happening. The store is busy with all our friends from up north who winter here (just in case you aren't aware we are in Florida) and our friends who stay here. Lots of new programs are in full swing and we are excited at the great response. We have a full plate of activities this weekend, beginning on Friday with our monthly Holiday Club. We are doing the sweetest project from Cheryl Haynes of Prairie Grove Peddler called "Carrot Top." It reminds us of Dedham Pottery and see if you agree. It is 38" x 38" and you can chose to do the bunnies in wool or cotton fabric. There is still space so send us a post and we will sign you up. Friday afternoon we will be working on our "Village Stash Project" and we plan to share pictures as samples are brought in. Here is a few more pictures of the projects, we are doing. The Key West or as some refer to as the Shabby Chic is definitely a crowd pleaser. See if you agree. The project is so much fun and we are personally having a ball doing it. This month the group will start working on the Alternative Block and next month they will start work on the buildings. We guess a lot of us are really frustrated architects and this quilt is fulfilling that dream. The Designer of a Village, isn't it great what quilting can do for you?

There is one trend that we are noticing and Saturday Afternoon will be our answer to that--The Clutch Party. It is a monthly session devoted to things that you clutch. Purses, totes, scarves, anything other than driving a car.

More work to do so please check in later.

Our First Post

2009-01-28T15:58:00.001-05:00

Hello to all!

Well, we are finally entering the world of blogging. We hope you will find it interesting to know all about the goings on of a quilt shop in South Florida. We are lovers of quilting and all things that you can do with a sewing needle. We plan on sharing loads of pictures and anything we see that is new we think you would want to do. We would enjoy hearing what you would like to know.

We have begun the year with lots of wonderful monthly groups and below is one of them. It excited us so much in Portland for Spring Market that it has been hard for us to not talk about it and do it. Stash is being used. Your mind can be whirling with all the ways you can make it yours. The group meets every month and the first class was a wild expression of what everyone is doing. We have Snowman, Fall, Key West, Victorian as Cape May, and even a Greek village. We will be sharing their work with you.

Here we are in sunny Florida and we are working on a wintry snowing scene for Christmas but, what the heck, we are using our stash.

Thanks for reading our first post. If you are in the area, stop by and visit.

Bye, Joey and Margy