Granma's Charms

Here it is....

2012-01-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the quilt A Dozen Quilters helped me make for Breast Cancer Awareness:

So now I just need to get it in the quilt frame!

And next up - the Round Robin! I've never participated in one before, so I'm really looking forward to February! (It's one month closer to summer, you know?!)

Midpoint Mayhem

2012-01-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

Whoa! Work up this morning to the middle of January! Didn't know the time could move so fast, and was sure hoping to have the shop all put back together by now. Well, we're working on it, and here is a picture of what you now see when you first come through the front door.

John and I have spent several weekends, working in stages, to get everything 'bigger than a breadbox' relocated. And of course the girls have to spend the day before packing all the merchandise to the back - it takes a lot of room to swing those big cabinets around - and then we spend a couple of days after putting it all back on the shelves in the new location!

And this time around we moved the fireplace! I was surprised at how much it weighed, compared to when we moved it in 4 years ago.

And don't you just love the little wall hanging? It's candy hearts, a monthly mini from Patch Abilities, and we have the pattern, and the kits, if you'd like to make one up in time for Valentines - quick, easy, and fun all in one! The jellyrolls stacked on the right are Deb Strain's Always and Forever from Moda, And to the far left we have the boltgoods, as well as the new Contempo Dots from Quilting Treasures. Aren't they perfect to cheer up the midwinter blues?

So now that the front is done, I'm moving my office back to what was the storeroom. The computers and desks are all in place, I just have to clear out my 'old' office, and there are lots of things to sort in there! Wish me luck! And bring chocolate!!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T14:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Celebrate Sensibly, Sleep Sweetly,
See you all in the new year,

Granma's

Stockings!

2011-12-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

Remember last year when we made up almost 40 stockings for Giving Hands of Yuma County? This year we did it again! Our goal was 60 stockings, but we came up short with just 54. Sherree furnished activity books for each one, and we bought pencils, erasers, hair ornaments and candy (lots of candy) to fill them up.
Stockings are so much fun! They are really quick to make - they take very little fabric (2/3's of a yard will make 5 stockings) if you use our pattern, and they bring such joy to little faces!

So hang up your stocking! And we hope you will find it on Christmas day, briming full with peace, prosperity, and promise for a wonderful New Year in 2012!

Kid's Day

2011-12-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

Every year in December we have Kid's Shopping Day in Wray, usually the first or second Saturday, with a free movie, lots of bargains just for kids, a Christmas coloring contest, Santa roaming the streets keeping an eye on everybody. Every year he asks me if I'VE been good! Now what's that supposed to mean? This year was bitter cold, and there was no movie???? but we had a few kids in to shop, and as always we had some cool prizes for the winners of the Kids Only drawing.

Jo is seven and won a hand decorated silver tree, beribboned and bejeweled in purple!

Austin is five and he really likes dinosaurs! Wasn't that lucky!

And Scarlet is three (almost), and was super happy to win our big Dalmatian. She wasn't sure she even wanted me to carry him to the car for her..... I wonder where he sleeps?

Now we're on to the next big project - Sewing Christmas stockings for Giving Hands of Yuma County. We're having a sew day on Saturday, Dec. 10th - and our goal is 50 stockings this year. So if you happen to be in town, we'll be sewing all day. Stop in, make a stocking, have a cookie, visit a bit. It's all fun!

And enjoy the weather - where ever you are!

With Thanks, giving

2011-11-23T16:27:00.000-08:00

It feels a little odd - this Thanksgiving. The first one in 38 years that I haven't baked the pies, made the rolls, roasted the turkey, baked the ham, and rearranged the furniture to seat the extra guests. I honestly think there are people who have never seen my house without wall to wall tables and chairs, 20+ people on the guest list and always room for one more.
We've had the unexpected boyfriend, girlfriend, college friend, some body's brother (with wife and kids), friends of friends of (relatives and/or friends).... We've invited people who said they couldn't come, and then showed up when their plans fell thru, or the weather kept them in town. We've entertained folks we'd never heard of till they appeared on our doorstep. We once invited a lady whose daughter was away, and she came, not only did she bring her boyfriend, but the daughter, a grandson, the daughter's boyfriend and his two kids. I have a picture of all these people around my table. It's a tight fit - you can't even see all the faces, but then I didn't know all the names either.
It was wonderful! There was always enough food - enough for leftovers for the ones who stayed for supper. There were always enough chairs (okay, everyone under age 6 gets to sit on the floor!). There were always enough plates, forks, spoons, (you'll have to share the knives, plastic forks for the under 6) and there was more laughter and more hugs and come again soon's than some folks have in a year, let alone a day. It truly was wonderful!
Now this year it's going to be different. Since I'm taking care of my Mother, my older daughter and oldest son have decided to come early, to bring the food, AND to prepare it in my kitchen! All I have to do is bring Mother and enjoy myself.
I feel a little weird. I know they are good cooks, I know they'll cleanup after themselves. I know I should be grinning ear to ear, but still, I feel a little weird. I know it will be wonderful, anytime you give of yourself it's wonderful, but still......
I guess what I feel like is RAH's turkey. . .

just a little . weird!

Wishing you the best of Thanksgiving - family and friends to share it, an abundance of love and laughter, and an extra slice of pumpkin pie!

Baby, baby

2011-11-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

I just love baby quilts! I just plain love babies! So one of the things I make a lot of are Baby Quilts. And I just finished this one, made from a Sleepytime jelly roll. Sleepytime is by Lori Gardner for Moda.

It's such a sweet fabric, very pastel and lots of little animals in their jammies, with lots of coordinating polka dots and tiny stripes. And jelly rolls make for really easy, quick quilts, which I really need, since my 'sewing time' is about 30 minutes a day, on a really good day!

And I love adding little bits of trim to quilts. My absolute favorite trims (can you see that pretty yellow crochet inside the border?) are from Riley Blake Designs. Bright colors, adorable designs, pretty ribbons, buttons..... And they coordinate with Riley Blake fabrics and lots of others as well!

Too Sweet!

What's your favorite....

2011-10-19T16:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm playing with my Bailey quilting machine, and I'm playing with different threads.....

And I'd really like to know
What's YOUR favorite thread?
There's so many different ones out there, and some can be difficult to work with, and some are really expensive, and some you're buying this HUGE cone and you may not like it and never want to use it again, so that's why I'm asking
What's YOUR favorite thread?

Tell me your favorite, and I'll send you a spool of mine ( brand new, never used, just for fun)

Please?

Here Lately....

2011-10-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a little busy! I really admire those people who have time to blog nearly every day, and still get tons of stuff done! We've just spent the last two weeks in the shop, moving everything, literally, EveryThing, including a wall! And when I wasn't standing six feet in the air on a ladder, hanging peg board or dismantling and re-mantling ( is that a word?) I was quilting. Which I'd rather be doing anyway!

This is my favorite pattern (currently) - it's called Confetti Cake, and makes a layer cake a quilt in very short order. It's also very handy to take with you as it is a laminated pattern card from Pieced Tree patterns. I love these little, and they are little, pattern cards because my idea of a purse is an overstuffed wallet, and these little gems slide right into the outside pocket.

The one on the wall is the Dozen Quilter's blocks. I've nine so far, and when the others arrive, this will be another Breast Cancer Quilt. The one in front in the quilt frame is almost quilted! I have the last border to do, and it has been pretty smooth sailing with my new 15'' Bailey quilting machine. Hope to have it finished shortly! Also a Breast Cancer quilt, I have quite a few scarps so the next project is turning those into Comfort Pillows, also for cancer patients. And then it will be time to start on those Christmas projects, of which there is quite a stack!

Just a week to Trick or Treat, and then the cold will come creeping in - SO not ready for it to be winter!

Headin' for a new Home!

2011-09-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the story: Katy Doke was selected Yuma County Fair Queen for 2009/2010. She chose as her theme Breast Cancer Awareness because she had a Grandmother with breast cancer. When the Queen's Luncheon came up in 2010, she asked me for ideas for table decorations, etc. using her theme.

You all know I'm a quilter, so quilt is always the first thought in my head. Well, I also own a gift shop, so how to combine the two? We ended up with little 'gift baskets', pink polka dot containers, strawberry cheesecake Jelly Belly beans, pink ribbon pins, and a pink ink pen. Ooh, and a pink square of fabric, from Close To My Heart fabric by Fig Tree Quilts out of Moda.

The deal: Each guest to sign their name, their title (these are queens, princess, and the like) and the blocks come back to me for finishing.

Thirty blocks, which went together nicely with Martinique by Three Sisters, another Moda. Now this quilt normally wouldn't take me a month to pull together, but life intervenes. Like Mom's Alzheimer's, a leaky roof, a (very) uncooperative quilting machine. Lots of little stuff, some big stuff, a little laziness on my part.

So it's taken me a year, a whole one but it's finally DONE!

And today Katy was home from college, so she and her mother posed with the quilt for a picture. And drew the name of the winner of the quilt, Emily Hartman, who was Sedgwick County's Lady-in-Waiting then, and was 2011 Fair Queen. I hope Emily enjoys owning this Memory Quilt as much as I enjoyed making it!

Downsizing....

2011-08-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I have been taking care of my mother, who is mid-stage Alzheimer's. Because she requires 24/7 companions, and hiring companions is very expensive, I am spending more and more time out of the shop in order to care for her. So the shop is suffering. I am, after all, only one person.

To make things easier for the girls who are running the shop in my absence, we are downsizing. We hope to eventually cut the space in half, so one person can manage everything effectively. I want to thank you all for your patience, kind words, and helpfulness. Bless you!

We are having a sale!

We have lots of fabric discounted up to 50% off.

We have a large selection of Mud Pie Baby, Bibi and Mimi,

Special Occassion, and others as much as 50%off

There are over 140 bolts in the sale bin, as low as $3.00 a yard,

plus kits, precuts, fat quarters, quilter's grab bags,

you name it!

SO STOP IN

Check out the sale, and while you're here, look over the new fabrics, just in!

Summer - Movin' On

2011-08-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Whoa! I just looked out the window and saw Summer flyin' by. Seems like we've packed about 3 months into 3 days!

We had a great time with Quilts of the Plains in June, largely because of our good friend Sally Parker, who brought her friend Earlene Fowler to town for the day. Lots of fabulous quilts on display, a fantastic trunk show and book signing with Earlene, good food, and lots of great people.

We barely got the quilts put away, and Melissa Stramel came to town, bringing her fabulous trunk show and a presentation on Fabric Design. Everyone in attendance had a great time: Melissa is a great presenter and very sweet to boot, there was plenty of good food at the salad luncheon, and fun shopping at Granma's after!

Hardly drew a breath and time for Wray Days, our annual celebration of Super Sidewalk Sales, Fun Night (more good food), the Parade and dozens of activities for everyone! The rubber duck race is a great benefit for the WRAC, but I have a real hard time with the idea of Mud Volleyball - to squishy for my toes!

Every year for the last fourteen, Granma's has given away hundreds of balloons at the parade. This year it was 700+, and a bittersweet year, as it will be the last one I do. My hands just can't take it anymore.

So Wray Days is a distant memory, and this week is the County Fair! We're busy making gift baskets for prize winners, and more baskets for Jr Market Buyers! And then school starts! What happened to Summer?

The girls are staying busy with Grab Bags - every year we make a 150 or so and have a big Grab Bag Sale in August. The goal is to have them all gone by September 1st, so if you're in town or passing thru, stop by, they're loaded for fun!

And we're finishing up our dresses for HOPE 4Women. Nineteen done, and they will ship next week.

So now we better get busy on a Fall project, a quilt for Breast Cancer Awareness. Last year I furnished fabric to the Fair Queen's Luncheon so that all the queens, princesses, and attendants could sign a block for Breast Cancer. Now I have incorporated the blocks into a quilt, which I hope to have finished next week. Then we will draw one of the names from the quilt, and that lucky person will take home a quilt full of memories.

Hope you have all had a great Summer. And I hope you did one something special for yourself, and one for someone else.

Melissa Stramel, designer

2011-07-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

We are so excited! Fabric designer Melissa Stramel will be in Wray, CO on Saturday, July 16th. She will be doing a trunk show and presentation on Fabric Design! Melissa is a talented young woman, mother of three young children and loves to design her own patterns, making many unique and attractive items not only for her own family, but for gifts, charity projects and for sale. Last year she turned her love of design toward fabrics, and will soon have her first fabric line for Andover Fabrics!

Area Quilters are invited to join the fun! We'll be at the WRAC for this fun and interesting program,

in conjunction with a salad luncheon sponsored by Granma's Treasures of Wray, CO.

Program time will be 11:00 am, followed by lunch at 12:00.

Please RSVP to Patty at 970-332-5556, or email her at sales@granmastreasures.com.

Please include the total number if it is a group attending.

We will need to know by July 11th, for luncheon purposes. Hope to see you there!

And the Winners are..

2011-06-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Last post I told you we were coming up on our 5000th web hit, so to celebrate I was going to give away 5 prizes to the 5 email responses.
Well, surprise, I don't know if there's something wrong with Blogger, or everyone else was out of town, but we only had ONE response.
Didn't even have to draw from the lucky ducky jar. And the winner is Tonya! Since she was the only entry, she gets all 5 prizes. And here they are:

I told you last post that Earlene Fowler would be here for Quilts of the Plains next weekend. And she will be autographing her newest book, Spiderweb, as well as previous titles. So the first winner (Tonya) will receive an autographed copy of Spiderweb! and the second prize also goes to Tonya, one yard of spider print fabric designed by Teresa Kogut, from the line Wickedly Wonderful, for Marcus Fabrics. And the third prize, yeh Tonya, two fat quarters from the same line.

Fourth prize, one spiderweb doily, complete with 4 magnetic spiders, and finally the fifth prize, one spool of Fall Holiday, 100% cotton thread from Sulky's Blendables line. So Tonya, I will ship this after Quilts of the Plains (do I have your address?).

And if any of you are in the area please stop by. You'll love the Quilt Show, the Vendors, Earlene's Trunk Show, and it all takes place on Main St, Wray CO, next Saturday, June 25th, an all day event, no entry fees, just come have a good time!

And stop by Tonya's blog and say hey! if you have time at http://hillbillyhandiworks.blogspot.com/.

See you at the Quilt Show :-D

Busy, busy, busy

2011-06-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

My apologies, there's been so much going on lately I'm meeting myself on the streets - at night - really late - and I'm not even sure where I'm going!

First off, we're trying to get ready for Quilts of the Plains coming up June 25th. It's going to be really exciting this year, with Earlene Fowler as guest speaker for the afternoon program. For those who don't recognize the name, Earlene is the author of the Benni Harper mystery series, which features quilter's and their quilts in every story. I've read them all, and several more than once, and will probably read them again some day! And she will be in the shop, before and after her Trunk Show, signing her books. So if you have one, bring it along, and if you want one, Granma's currently has all 17 titles in stock. You can even call us and we'll reserve you a copy. Or place an order online at http://www.granmastreasures.com/. Hope to see you at the Show!

Another project we have going on this month is

Pillowcase Dresses for Hope 4 Women

This is the project for May and June with A Dozen Quilters, an online quilting group I belong to, and our goal is quilting for a variety of charity groups around the world. Here in the shop we decided to expand on the theme and we are making and collecting pillowcase dresses to send to Hope 4 Women at the end of June. If you would like to participate in this project, you can find information, instructions, and supply lists on the web at http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/, plus there are lots of patterns available by googling pillowcase dress.

Our third project for the month of June

came up suddenly and was a bit of a surprise!

When our local nursing home built new quarters 10 years ago, they dedicated a space for a small gift shop on site. Unfortunately, they never quite got it off the ground, and the space (above) was used instead for offices. Well, they have a new administrator now, and she (Cindy) wanted to put the original idea in place. I had made a few proposals regarding the space and was asked to take it on. So for the last week or so we have been doing the hustle, cleaning, sorting, moving, and Sunday last we held our grand opening. We are very excited about this project, and so are the staff and board of directors. So, wish us luck, and stop by if you can......

One more thing: We are closing in on 5000 hits on our website, so we are thinking it's give-away time. If your interested in winning one of several cool gifts, here's what you need to do: Pop over to http://www.granmastreasures.com/, go to the contact page and send me an email. In the email, tell me what one item on the website YOU would like to win. That's right, your choice. You'll be entered in our random drawing, and five winners will be pulled. You can enter up to three times, just one chance per email.

It's Been a While...

2011-05-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

And not because I've been sleeping!
Things with Mom are improving though, since I've hired another companion, and I'm only spending 14 hours a day with her, some of them sleeping.
And I've taken on another project. Over at A Dozen Quilters May and June projects are pillowcase dresses for needy children, And while I haven't really sewn clothing for a number of years, this is such a fun, easy, and worthwhile project, I think I can turn out a few this month.

So, if you would like to help by contributing a dress, we have a great pattern(free) that can be made up with either fabric or pillowcase, and we have some fabric kits cut, including the instructions, for a very reasonable cost. There are also a number of cute ideas, including fat quarters, trims,etc. to be found online. Just google pillowcase dress for a wealth of information....
We will collect the dresses through the month of June, and then ship them to Hope 4Women International. And if you're interested in participating in a sew-in, just let us know. Thanks for helping!!

Looking Forward

2011-04-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I have been taking care of my Mother, who has Alzheimer's, since the first of April. Since I have moved into her house, where she is most comfortable at this stage, I've had very little 'quilt' time, family time or shop time. At first I thought I would just take one of my machines to her house and set up a mini sewing corner where I could work while she napped. Wrong!
At this stage she sorts my stuff, hides my stuff, tosses my stuff,.... So I keep my clothes in my car and have barely sewed a stitch in weeks. And I'm spending my days cleaning out closets and cupboards and drawers. Hers is not a big house, really, but it's packed tight!
Anyway, this is my excuse for not blogging much lately.
In order to take the pressure off of my girls at the shop, we are going to be downsizing. A lot of the things that have been bottom tier are moving out, so watch for upcoming sales on a wide variety of merchandise. I'll try to keep you posted as we go along.
All the best,
Granma Patty

First quilt fun

2011-04-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

This is my fun friend Kate. In real life she is an officer with the Yuma County Sheriff's Department. In her spare time she is learning to quilt. For her first ever quilt she wanted to make something special for a brand new niece - and she came to us for suggestions. She had traced off this adorable piggy, so we went to Riley Blake's fabric collection "Wanna Be a Cowboy' by Samantha Walker, and gathered up the pink and chocolate colorway of this cute kid's fabric: the cowhide print was perfect for miss pig, with borders and prairy points done up in dots, stripes, and stars. AND she got it done just in time too! :-)

Don't you agree it's adorable?!

Hard to believe May is just around the corner :O So if you haven't signed on to the May for Me, by all means click the button to find out what's happening!

Frustration!! 101

2011-03-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

I am NOT a blogger! I am NOT computer proficient! I can barely spell my own name!>>>
Do you ever get totally frustrated with the information highway? I feel like I waste HOURS trying to figure out how to comunicate via the internet - when I could probably type and send 1000 post cards in the same time period >!{ Already this morning I have spent a couple of hours reading about 'links' and 'buttons' and haven't figured out what I'm doing wrong yet!

SO - maybe my May-for-Me project should be a computer-for-dingy-little-old-ladies class :-)
Now that I've had a chance to vent - thanks for listening, I'm feeling much calmer,
AND if you want to join in the May-for-Me project the details are all over at

http://hillbillyhandiworks.blogspot.com/p/may-for-me.html

So check it out - Tonya is a real sweet gal ( she even offered to come help me clean closets!!)
And she has links to other people who are participating - So check it out :-)

St. Patty's Day Give Away - we have a winner!

2011-03-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't get a response from the first drawing, so last night we drew again. And the lucky winner is Kelly Sampson! That's lucky for me too, because she's a local gal and can pick up here at the shop....

So congrats, Kelly on winning our Lucky 13 green fat quarters!!

St. Patty's Day Give Away - we have a winner!

2011-03-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hope you are having fun today! wearing Green and sipping green tea : >)

We have drawn a winner for our St Patty's GiveAway, and as soon as she contacts me, we'll post her name!

Now we start planning an Easter / Spring Give-Away. Stay Tuned!

St. Patty's Day Give Away

2011-03-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

Way last week (month?) I said we would have another give-away real soon.

So here it is: 13 fat quarters in a wide variety of greens: If you'd like to be the lucky winner, leave a comment about your favorite irish _________________________ whatever!

And for a second chance, sign up to follow us! All current followers will be automatically entered for one chance. We'll do the drawing on St Patty's Day, so stay tuned. Be sure to leave an email address so I can contact the winner.

My personal favorite Irish is the saying: "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough!"

Pitiful, just pitiful

2011-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't stitched a thing for 10 days! I really can't believe I haven't made one - single - thing in the last 10 days!! It's pitiful!
First, I had to get the paperwork finished for my guardianship... And there was this error in the check register - which I couldn't find - for three days! Looked and looked and looked and came close to bawling.... Looked some more - finally found it! I'm way too embarrassed to tell you what a silly mistake it turned out to be, but at least it showed itself, with 24 hours to spare.
Wrapped all around that, of course, was doings at the shop. We bought new window coverings for the six main windows, big hummers, 10 feet tall and four feet above the floor. Had to bring in the scaffolding to get that high. And had to move everything (EVERYthing) in front of said windows to get the scaffolding close enough. Everything neatly displayed is nice - same stuff in boxes is a lot of big piles, stacks, layers, etc.

Husband, bless his heart, climbed the ladder ( the one on top of the scaffold) and mounted all the hardware, threaded the sheers, and hardly grumbled a word, even though he missed lunch and had to settle for a sack of mixed nuts (shared 3 ways) and there was NO DR. PEPPER in the shop fridge. My Bad. Took him out to supper as thanks/compensation - they were OUT of homemade pie! I wonder if I'll ever get him on a scaffold again?????

Then, of course, we had to put back what we moved out..... Except we decided to do a total revamp!
So-o-o- we changed the shelving, moved fabric, put a bunch of stuff in the sale section - and declared a MARCH MADNESS Sale. Furniture, Fabric, Toys, Clothes, Willow Tree, Blossom Bucket - we are cleaning out, clearing out, and getting ready for Spring!
So today it's freezing cold and snowing - I'm going home and SEW!

Do you like the new look? We hope so - and if you leave a comment and follow us, we'll enter you in our next BIG give-away - details coming soon!

Changes

2011-02-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Changes. We are always making changes. Some more difficult than others. One of the more difficult ones has arrived.

As my Mother's Alzheimer's progresses, I find she needs my attention more and more. As my stepfather plans to move closer to his own children I plan on moving into her home to care for her. And that means less of my time at the shop, already a more than full time job.

And so we must come to a decision where the shop is concerned. Do we sell? Do we close? Do we downsize - cut hours - hire more help? I wish I knew.....

At this point the future is rather like looking through etched glass - I know there's a light out there, I just need to find the focus.

So the next few months will be very experimental, as we determine what we can and can't do to make everything work together.
Thank you for being patient with me.

And the winner is...

2011-02-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

Tonya of Hillbilly Handiworks! I think she will be very happy with her Fab Fabric Bundle Give Away.
There are 3 one yard cuts of doggie prints, 9 half yard cuts and 10 fat quarter coordinates. Her bundle is pictured as it shipped out today!

Have fun quilting Tonya, and drop us a picture when your project is done!

Thank you all for entering - We'll have another Give Away in time for Spring!

We have a winner!

2011-02-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

We stirred up all the names in the bucket. We drew one out. And we have a winner for our Fab Fabric Bundle Give Away.

We emailed for an address, and as soon as we get that address, we will post the winning name and a picture of her bundle before shipping it off!

Thanks to all of you who entered - It was fun, and we'll do it again in a week or so!

Patty @Granma's

Fab Fabric Bundle GiveAway

2011-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

So you resolved to clean out your sewing room, organize your stash, and really get sewing?
I did!
Well, I resolved to, but I haven't ACTUALLY got around to it yet! I have been sewing though, working on some tabletops for Valentines', and I need to do a shop sample for Bella-Possibilities, which just came in....

Anyway I thought it would be kind of fun to have a giveaway. So we are going to give somebody a 10 yard bundle of fabrics! This bundle will include fat quarters, 1/2 yard and 1 yard cuts for a total of 10 yards, with an approximate value of $100.00, and we'll pay the shipping!. I can't show you a picture of the actual fabrics because that will depend on the winner's choice, but here is a picture of what it MIGHT look like:

SO - to enter for this giveaway, you can:
1) Comment on this post
2) Follow me, or comment that you already do
3) What color scheme, theme, or designer is your favorite? Make this a seperate comment please, and include your e-mail address. We'll do our best to include some of YOUR favorites in the bundle.

The winner will be drawn from the jar on Wednesday, February 9th, at noon Mountain Time....
You may enter as three seperate comments, but please, no more than three a day.
International entries are also welcome.
So enter often and encourage your friends to do so too!

Bugs!

2011-01-22T04:10:00.000-08:00

So sorry! It's been a mean winter. Just before Christmas, when the whole world seemed to have a case of the cruds, I picked up a scratchy throat. And you know in retail, you just CAN'T be sick before Christmas. So I got through the Holidays, and New Years, and finally went to the doctor. with a Sinus infection, which sounds pretty minor, except they put me on antibiotics, which caused a reaction.

Hives! ALL over the body! Now I've had hives before. I'm so allergic to so many chemicals. But I have never had them from toenail to hair tips before. So for the last week or so I've walked around looking like the star player in a grade B horror movie - lumpy - bumpy - scaley - and red all over. The desire to scratch will drive you right up a wall! And there's so much year end work to catch-up - I just hid in my office and tried not to roar to loud :-O

It's almost over - only a few bad itchy patches and I'm ignoring them - most of the time!

Hope you all have had a wonderful start to 2011! I hope to be back on track next week!!

And the stockings were hung...

2010-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

We thought we were really clever, hanging them all up to fill them! Except someone (: >) forgot she'd have to stand on a ladder to fill the top two rows!!

But aren't they just the sweetest! So a special thank you to every one who took the time out of a busy seaason to make stockings for Giving Hands of Yuma County. There are 38 pictured, which translates to 38 happy little people this Christmas! Thanks again, and thanks Jenny for the idea. And super thanks Sherree for donating goodies and helping fill stockings. You saved me a lot of trips up and down that ladder!

One Down, One Zillion To Go!

2010-12-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like maybe. just maybe, your 2do list is 2-2 long? With Christmas coming, I am actually keeping a list (well, of the MOST important projects at least) and trying to attack at least one of them to point of completion every day. This morning I finished two Christmas stockings for charity, AND remembered to bring my sewing machine in for cleaning. Very important, since Walt won't be back till next year.

I finished a fantastic Christmas tree skirt and four big stockings last week, done in a western theme, and I am so glad to say tha I never do the same thing twice. They are lovely, but what a lot of work!

Now all I have left are two tote bags, one large and two small tablecloths, several kid throws, and 5 tops that need quilted and bound.

OH, and my Christmas shopping to do.............

Isn't He Sweet!

2010-11-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

It's Bundles Time in Wray!

Bundles of Joy come to the WRAC every Christmas. It's a great fund raiser for the facility, and a lot of fun for those who attend. And the bundles are terrific! This year Granma's donated a pirate's treasure chest ( which I of course forgot to take a picture of before I delivered it) filled with 'pirates treasure' - books, toys and edibles any pirate would like.

Then Kyle, our Chamber director, wanted a safari theme bundle, easy enough with the wide selection of books and toys we offer, until he decided to bundle it on the back of a giraffe. Needless to say, at 5:00am I was in the sewing room, creating a 'saddle' to hold all the books and toys! It worked out pretty well, and some young adventurer will have a great pack for carting his supplies.

Coming Soon!

2010-11-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

If you have never met Melissa Stramel, you're missing out! A super sweet young lady, with three small children, it's hard to believe how much she can accomplish in any given day. She's been creating patterns for some time, and now she's designing fabric!!!
Her first line will be called Honey Sweet, and we can hardly wait till next spring to have it in the shop. In the meantime she has produced a line of greeting cards, and we will have them at Granma's Treasures - Granma's Charms just as quickly as she can ship them to us. They will also be available on our website at http://www.granmastreasures.com/! We also intend to pick up her patterns, so watch for them here - we'll be sure to let you know when they come in!
Hope you had a wonderful day Thanksgiving - our kids were all home, along with most of our grands. All but Mica, who is in Lima, Peru as an exchange student.

Holiday oops!

2010-11-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

So sorry - I may never learn to use all these tools! But I THINK this is the link for submitting your Holiday project pictures, I hope. If not - I'll try again. :)

Here come the Holidays

2010-11-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

It's a new contest!
Follow the link to submit a picture of a holiday table runner or table topper that you have recently made.
Then 1) comment on our blog
and

2) become a follower - be sure to leave an email address in case you are the winner!

Winner selected by random drawing - and winner wins a bundle of our newest fabrics! Shown plus 4 coordinates! This is Ellie's Emporium from Fine Lines

Fall into Fall Giveaway

2010-10-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Somehow (meaning something I did wrong) we got bumped from the Fall-into-Fall site. I'll see if I can improve next time around.

In the meantime, October 15th, we will still be giving away the (2) Fabulous Fall panel plus fabrics to create something Fallish with, so keep entering, and don't forget to leave your email address, so I can contact the winners (might be YOU)...

Fall into Fall!

2010-10-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

The Fall into Fall Giveaway is now closed!

Rachael and Mary Ellen each picked a winning number, which we matched to the comments,

and the Lucky Winners are

(drum roll please)

YTS Mom from Nebraska and WINONA from Missouri!

As soon as they get back to me with their addresses, I will

1)mail them their prizes

2) let you know who they are!

Thank you all for entering, commenting and following.

Our next giveaway will be announced on November 1st, so stay tuned!

Now this is a Give Away worth looking into! A whole bunch of shops and quilter/blogger are participating, with lots of goodies to give away.
You can find All the information by going to http://fall-into-fall.blogspot.com/.
Be sure to check it out.
Here at Granma's we will be giving away two prizes, each one will include a Fabulous Fall panel, and fabrics for the borders. You can make this up in less than an hour by the easy method, and a couple of hours if you like to jazz it up.
To be entered in the drawing (held October 15th) leave a comment on this blog. Everybody is welcome to participate.
Thanks! And have fun.

Back to Business!

2010-09-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

What a fun week! we have spent the last ten days 'cleaning house' after our little 'drive-in' incident. Every piece in the main showroom has been vacuumed, dusted, washed, dried, and put back on walls and surfaces that had to have the same treatment. The glass and rock, brick and mortar have been shoveled out, swept up and the carpets steam cleaned. This morning we opened the door at last - although it's not the front door, but the northwest door at the far end of the building. And we still don't have one computer up and running. There is still the brick to repair, the window to replace, and we will eventually get a new door, but for the moment we are just glad it's business as (somewhat) usual......

And because we had to close our doors for 10 days, we have extended our Door Buster Sale until October 7th, with 15% off store wide (excluding consignment items), and all Batiks at 20% off. We have added another 30 bolts of fabric to our sale room, with prices as low as $4.00 per yard. We have lots of Melissa and Doug all on sale too!

We have loads of new items in and some great new fabrics, including Punctuation, and Happy from Moda, and the cuddliest fleece ever from EE Schenck!

And much more to come!

A Clean House

2010-09-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

They tell me we are making progress. After 4 days of breathing dust, seeing dust, eating dust, wearing dust, I'm glad to say the air is beginning to FEEL cleaner.
But, OH my, I wonder if we will ever find everything! We have moved things to the back room, the storeroom, the workroom, my livingroom, the back bedroom not to mention the rolling storage, also known as my car.....

And then there's the addition: We've talked several times about adding on down the road, maybe a classroom, a larger workroom, a ground level storeroom, but I never thought we'd build a room INSIDE! But we did... It's only 6x6 ft, and it's "temporary", just until all the construction is done.
Which means somewhere down the road we will have to take it OUT again. Is that construction or destruction? And why do I feel like we're going to be cleaning up forever?

In the mean time, Holiday goodies keep coming thru the back door. It seems impossible that it's only 5 weeks until Halloween,

and then 60 days to Oh, my goodness, where did we put the Christmas trees?!

We have some really fun fabrics for Halloween - witches and spiders and bats!
And even more fabrics for Christmas, snowmen, poinsettias, glitter and swirls.

I was planning a pajama party for the first of October, but now I'm thinking we might need a new porch party instead!

Have a great weekend!

And then the phone rings

2010-09-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you wake up in the night, and your not sure what you heard, or even if you heard something. You're fuzzy headed, sleepy, not sure what woke you, - and then the phone rings. You jolt out of bed,grab the phone and realize it's 1 a.m. Your first thought is 'one of the kids', your second is for your aging parents. And then the lady says 'this is the police department, and you need to come down to the store because someone ran into the building.'
Well! That's a relief - not kids, grandkids, or parents, just a little bump on the side of a building! So you pour on some clothes, wake up the husband, and head on down. And there you find that you now have a nice new car. in front of your building. with the front bumper inside. and a pretty big pile of your bricks. ON the hood...
Call the insurance agent. Get your camera and take a few pictures. Be thankful no one was hurt. or killed. Amazing how far glass can fly. And how much dust there is in a 100 year old building....

By 3 a.m. the car has been removed, a few more bricks have rattled loose, and husband, bless him, has gathered up 2x4s, sheeting, tools, and is hard at work, figuring out how to close in a 6' by 9' hole that was once a 3' front door. 5:30 a.m. find you home, in the shower, numb. At seven you are back at the shop, trying to create an alternate enterance for your customers, wondering how soon the adjuster will arrive so clean-up can begin. 12 hours later - you're still numb, but you're going to supper and you're not going to think about it. It's just stuff!

O-O-O-H! But we are still open for business! And we are having a huge Door Buster Sale! Starts Tomorrow!

Where did Summer go?

2010-09-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Boy the air was chilly this morning! 52 in the car, and I'm thinking jacket weather! The husband says it will be lots warmer by noon (he's working on a roof and enjoying the cool!)

Me, I think Fall is here and it's time to get ready, so Tuni and I will be putting out the fall decor today! We have some beautiful wreaths, garlands, candle rings. Just unpacked a gorgeous sunflower pitcher and mugs, and the fall fabrics are just lovely!
The kids are all back in school and Mom's should get a little breather before all the sports and activities kick into high gear. Seems to me Moms are a whole lot busier now then when I was a kid, but I don't remember having near as many activities to be involved in back then. 'Course, my kids thought I rode a dinosaur to school, and you can't do much with a rock....

New fabrics are arriving daily. You saw Origins last post, this time arround it's Pure from Sweetwater for Moda. Very soft color in this grouping, pale blue, cream, milky chocolate, would make a lovely baby quilt for boy or girl. In fact, if you would like a free copy of our Easy Baby-Cakes quilt, comment on this post and I'll e-mail you a copy!
Grab a jacket - Here comes Fall!

Contests are fun!

2010-08-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the new Origins fabric line by Basic Grey for Moda. There are coordinating buttons and embellishments for this one!

Here is a great blog if you like contests: http://melissaslilaclane.blogspot.com/. With three kids, husband, house, yard, business, etc., I don't know how she does it! But she sews, and quilts, aLOT! Enough anyway that she is doing another giveaway, of boxes of scraps!
So if you love scrappy quilts, or charms, or miniatures, check out her blog, you might be a winner!

And don't forget to comment here at Granma's for a chance to win a panel from Fabulous Fall!

Room with a View

2010-08-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Jasmine has gone home! I don't know how many people knew she was here painting the back wall of my building, but for the last month it's been interesting. 300 square feet is a lot of space when you're trying to fill it with paint, and your Granma insists it look like the turn of the (LAST) century, a time period you are so totally not into!

As you can see from the pictures, she got it done, even if it involved two trips down here and some 1 a.m. painting sessions. When I pull in in the morning it's like a big smile, waiting for me. I love it, I hope you do too....
A Give Away - we've decided to send the first three people who comment on this post, a fall fabric piece. It's a gorgeous display of fall color from designer Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics, and you could use it as is (if you don't sew or quilt) or cut.piece.quilt. it into something really special!

Just got back from two days at Gift Market - Christmas, Christmas everywhere. The season starts for us in August when we buy at market, and it doesn't end until we find the last stray decoration in January (or February, as has happened in the past!)

New fabrics are rolling in the door! I love new fabrics! I love looking at them, feeling them, draping them, matching them up with others I have. I loved it before I got into the quilt shop, and I love it even more now! Is there such a thing as a fabric obsession?

One of our new lines is ORIGINS. Fabulous - and with buttons and embelllishments to match - I'm thinking great totes, maybe a wrap skirt, cool weather vest.....

Speaking of wrap skirts, we also just got in Fig Tree's new pattern for a reversible wrap skirt in two lengths. I wore wrap skirts in High School - is this my second childhood, already?

And a new adventure....

2010-07-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Busy month! This is the time of year when the grandchildren come to visit. Jamica was the first to arrive. She's headed to Peru to live and go to school for the next year, and we were going to make a tote bag. So we picked a pattern, and fabric, and we're feeling pretty good, but, well, could we make it a little taller? and a little wider? oh, and a little deeper? And could we do more pockets? and a longer strap? WELL of course. So we ditched the pattern and sort of cut as we went, and added and subtracted, and believe it or not, it's done and it's headed to Peru! And it doesn't look half bad. Only one side shows in the picture anyway. The second picture is of Jamica's quilt, which we made as her graduation gift.

The next grandkid ( these are after all teenagers, not children) arrives tonight, and we have a quilting project AND a painting project planned, so Jaz and her friend Lauren will be pretty busy while they are in town! When they go home we have a one day breather to wash the sheets and restock the refrigerator before the next two arrive. Ty will probably help Grampa build the new garage while Kenz and I take on (you guessed it!) a sewing project! THEN we'll all take a breather and attend the Fair and the Rodeo before taking them home.

Haven't heard from the last pair yet, but I'm sure we'll have more vistors later in the month!

At the shop we are busy clearing out and bagging up grab bags for our annual Grab Bag Sale - starts Monday! We have lots of stuff we want to move, so there are three sizes of bags - $10.00, $20.00, and $30.00 bags, with retail values up to $100.00. Lots of neat stuff, it just has to move out to make room for more! Cause Granma is headed to Market in a couple of weeks, and there will be lots of things to tempt!!

In the meantime, we are getting in lots of new fabrics, new gift items, and new ideas. Busy working up samples for the shop and picking up some new fabric lines! Three to watch for: Adornit, Fine Lines Fabric, Riley Blake Design........

Ooh - and the latest pic for Comforts for Kids!

2010-06-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Quilts of the Plains is almost here! Coming up Saturday, June 26th, all day in Wray CO. If you haven't seen a hundred quilts fluttering in the breeze on Main St, you really should attend this event! It's Awesome!

I know I haven't written in a while, but we've been major rearranging the shop, including moving some walls. And since we do this when the shop is open for business, it always takes longer than we anticipated. But - it gives us a whole new look, and items that sort of got shoved under a table come to light. Always surprises me the things I forgot we had!

It's hard to believe we are half way through the year 2010! I was reading an article in one of my retailer magazines this morning, and they were talking about Christmas Decor!?! I'm way not ready for that conversation.

To be honest, I'm still working on a quilt to display in the quilt show - That's this Saturday, and it needs to be turned in tomorrow night..... I'm either the greatest procastinator, or really busy!
Check out this fun new fabric we just got in! It's called Earth Blessing by Jody Haughton, aka The Sisterhood of Quilters.

Hope to see you at the quilt show!

Mayflowers

2010-05-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

And it is the month of May! I looked up Mayflowers, thinking they might be something special, and the first definition was: Any of a variety of flowers that bloom in May. Well! There are tulips that bloom in May, Lilacs bloom in May, lilies and flax, sedums and spirea, buttercups abound and dandelions are everywhere!! So welcome, welcome all you flowers of May, we're so glad to see you...

Last Post I told you we were looking for something fun to do for May Day, and we found it! It's been years since my daughters and I made May-baskets and delivered them to the neighboring houses in our little community, but it didn't take long to come full circle. Actually we cut circles of fabric, cut them in thirds, seamed them and lined them and topped off with ribbon handles, they were just perfect for a few pieces of candy. We ended up with three dozen, which we passed out to customers throughout the day. What Fun!

Mother's Day was lovely at our house this year. Not all the family made it home, but those that did had a great time, and we celebrated a couple of birthday's as well. May is the month of birthdays for us. So far we have celebrated one son, one grandson, one nephew, and two nieces. That leaves a son in law, another grandson, a granddaughter, a daughter and another son. Throw in a couple of graduations and a wedding or so, and it's a month of go-go-go.

Tuni has been working up graduation displays, so we have three fun pictures to share: the first is set off with Sandy Gervais 'Frolic', such a happy fabric, and perfect for a graduation quilt, this one is from the pattern 'Toast and Jelly', designed by My Own Path Designs.

Then there is Sweetwater's 'Make Life', also appropriate for graduation or wedding gift, and finally Deb Strain's 'Cherish Nature', just a beautiful, summery group of fabrics that I happen to be working with right now!

Anniversaries

2010-04-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well! 15 years have come and gone! We had a great time with our Fifteenth Anniversary Celebration - the strawberry kiwi punch was delicious, the cookies were store-bought, lots of people came in and signed up for the drawings. And lots of folks took advantage of our great prices on fabric, gifts, toys and all.

There were fifteen instant winners who won candles, the fragrance at the front register was cinnamon heaven. And fifteen instant winners won day maker calendars, jokes, cartoons, games and crosswords to entertain while planning the week (or day) ahead.

Brian, Sharon, and Kelly were the lucky drawing winners of five yards of fabric. Kelly was excited - she knew just what fabric she wanted - Verna - and what she was going to do with it!

And the Grand prize winner was Angela. She won the beautiful Willow Tree figurine known as The Christmas Story. We're pretty sure from the smile on her face that she will find a special home for it.

So what's next? Well May Day is this Saturday - there's surely something fun we can do with that. And the 9th is Mother's Day. We'll gather as much family as we can to honor Mom. She is a victim of Alzheimer's, and losing ground daily, but she'll recognize some of us, and the rest we'll introduce again.

And then it's the season of graduations, and weddings, and lots of garden work is peeking thru my window. Since my quilting frame is in front of a big picture window, it's pretty hard to ignore the sunshine, and tulips, and those cute little dandelions running thru the grass!

Spring projects

2010-04-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

You can certainly tell it's Spring! And not just because the robins are back and the daffodils are blooming. We have been seeing lots of travelers in the shop this past week. Whether they are snowbirds headed north, or just city folk out for a country drive, we are seeing lots of new faces in the shop. One big advantage of our location on the highway.

Today is the third and last day of our 15th anniversary sale. There are lots of bargains and give aways going on, so stop in if you are in the area!

I said last blog that I would load some pictures of current projects, so here they are. In some sort of order, a quick panel piece called Garden Song from Nancy Halverson, and a fun baby quilt made with a panel from Deb Strain's Love U. Panels are great when you are needing a super quick gift, or just a quick dress up for your entry or table. And you can stretch them with borders, or blocks, or fussy cuts... Just playing with fabrics will lower your blood pressure and put a smile on your face.

Here also is a picture update on Comforts for Kids. A 'short stack' of finished quilts. AND There are at least fifteen more tops stacked up waiting for the quilting machine. Special thanks to our 'super sewers', Julie, Jana and Rachael, for all the tops they have stitched this year. Now if the quilter would just. . . . Ooh, that's me!

Fabric!

2010-04-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, lots of fabric! Rachael and I have spent the last two days, sorting and tagging bolts of fabric. We're getting ready for our 15th Anniversary Sale, and one of the things we are selling is a lot of fabric.

I remember years ago, a store I worked in had a fabric department, and we got two (count them, 2) major shipments a year, spring fabrics in February and fall/winter fabrics in July. Plus one smaller shipment of Christmas fabrics in September.

Now we get fabric every week! Daily even... So there's lots of shifting and arranging and reorganizing, and we are a fairly small shop. So two days of sorting and tagging yeilds 100+ bolts headed for the half-price wall, another 25 or so to be cut for fat quarters, and at least 100 more to be 'marked down'. And an enormous mess that we will straighten out next week.
And of course, some of those new fabrics found their way home to my sewing room! Currently I'm working up shop samples from Frolic, Sweetwater's Make Life..., Love U, and Garden Song.

I'll post some pictures when they look like something besides, well, fabric!

I love this picture! It's my husband's great-grandmother, feeding her chickens on their homestead, and probably picking out one for Sunday dinner. When ever I get to thinking my house is too small ( or too full of stuff) I look at this and remember how many children they raised. Wow!

I hope your home is full of fun and family this Easter,

No Fooling!

2010-04-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

April, and daffodils are popping everywhere! I picked a few from the garden this morning and brought them in to work. I'm never home, so I'll enjoy them here.

Flashback.... April, 15 years ago, when I decided to apply for a state tax license. A close friend and I were sewing, quilting and crafting items to sell at craft fairs, and thought a license would enable us to buy materials at a cheaper price. Then I was thinking about saving a few dollars on fabric, paint and such.

NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think I would some day own a gift and quilt shop! A fun hobby, a few hours a week with a good friend, a little extra pocket change - sounds like fun! Never dreamed it would turn into a full time business, complete with building and inventory.

So here I am, 15 years later, planning a fifteenth anniversary celebration.

What about you? Are you living your dream of 15 or even 10 years ago? Or did you turn a corner and find yourself on a brand new path?

Comforts for Kids

2010-03-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Another project dear to my heart is Comforts for Kids. Every spring the shop, which is Granma's Treasures / Granma's Charms, sponsors several sew days to make quilts and throws for children in need. Granma's supplies fabrics, batting and machines, and we invite our sewing friends to join us. Rainbow Fabrics, a fabric store up the street, also has a sewing day each spring.

The comforts and quilts are then distributed across Yuma County through the Health and Family Services, Fire, Police, and Sheriff's departments.

At Granma's our goal is 60 'comforts'. We serge or tie fleece, border cute panels, piece patchwork, quilt and bind, and have a good time. We also accept donations from people who don't sew or quilt, but want to help out. We precut 'kits' for people who work and would rather sew at home.

This year with the poor economy and unemployment, there are more children in need then ever.

We got a call from Family Services in February saying they were out of comforts! First time we have run out, so we called an emergency sew day and pictured you can see the 23 pieces we got done. That's Rachael from the shop presenting the comforts to Robin Wiley from the county.

This Saturday March 27th we will be sewing again, so if you're in the area stop in. We'll appreciate the help!!

Our first Breast Cancer Quilt

2010-03-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Wow - I can't believe at my age I'm learning another new thing. Especially given my dislike for all things techno in the first place.

But here I am, so I'll start with something dear to my heart, and that is Breast Cancer Awareness.

Last fall we decided in the shop to create a quilt for someone who had survived breast cancer. So we picked a pattern, the Friendship Star, cut block kits, and 'sold' them. Quilters could purchase a kit for a five dollar donation to Cancer Research, and return the finished block along with the name of a survivor. Twelve blocks later we set the quilt together, embroidered the names of twelve women in the blocks, and quilted it. Finally finished last month, we drew the name of Paula, a local lady and survivor with a lot of gusto. Here's the quilt!

And now we're ready to start on the next one!