Happy Halloween!

We’re in the new shop!

If you’re in the area, come Trick-or-Treat at the shop today,

we’re giving out free Moda “candy” with every purchase!

Tops and Bobbins Quilt Shop

15550 Main Street, Ste B-6

Hesperia CA 92345

I’m sorry the blog has been so quiet,

I’ll be updating the blog with some pics really soon! :)

In the meantime,

We’ve been posting on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TopsandBobbins

Shop Update: Coming Soon!

We’re excited to share the latest Shop Update!

Things have been moving along;

We now have all of our licensing and keys to the new shop!!!

We are going to have the shop open by the end of October,

even sooner if we can!

We’ll update you with the address and

the date of our Grand Opening soon :)

*hint*

It’s in Hesperia, California on Main Street :)

In the meantime, you can shop on the website while you await 

our Grand Opening.

We have fall goodies on sale for 15% off this week! 

Posh Pumpkins, Monsters Bash, Boo Crew,

Chateau Rouge, Tapestry, and Honeysweet!

 Make sure you sign up with your email so you'll receive our weekly newsletter. This is how we keep you informed of 

our great special offers each week!

Green Fairy Quilts Charity Trip

Green Fairy Quilts annual charity trip to Romania!

Many of you follow Green Fairy Quilts, but for those of you who don't, I wanted to post a little bit about what they do there each year. You can go directly to their site here, or read a copy of their post below:

Hello everyone!  We received an e-mail last week from Gica in Romania who helps us coordinate our charity effort in Bucharest.  Gica let us know that they are really in need of food right now and asked when we'd be able to come back.  We just booked our flights and are leaving in a couple weeks.  We are hoping to raise some money to buy food for the street orphans and those in need.  Of course we always pay 100% of our own travel expenses and we use 100% of your donations in Bucharest to buy food and other necessary supplies for those in need in Bucharest.  We have had some of you donate with your online orders which we appreciate.  For those who don't know, you can choose to add $1 or more to your cart for the charity when buying fabric from our site.  Here's a picture from a previous trip showing some of the food we purchased in Bucharest with your donations - 

We visited street orphans living in underground utility holes, sewers, abandoned apartments etc and were able to give them each a couple weeks worth of food.  Thousands of Romanians live on less than $1 a day, and together we can make a huge difference. 

We have chosen to not take quilts with us on this trip, and to focus only on buying and handing out food.  We hope to raise enough money to buy extra food to leave with Gica so he can continue to hand out food after we leave.  

If you'd like to help, please visit our Charity page here and click on the donate button in the middle of the page.  You can also watch videos from our past 5 trips.  100% of your donation will go towards this cause.  You can also help buy sharing this page on your blog or facebook account.  Thank you so much everyone!!

(p.s. - an example of some of the food items your donation will purchase will include rice, beans, sugar, corn meal, potatoes, milk, bananas, yogurt, oranges, cheese, bread, meat, juice, chocolate bar, noodles and more.)

This is such a worthy cause, if you can help, please do. We have sent quilts with Judi and Clint in the past and they are just the nicest people. Quilters are so generous, they are the best!  I've never seen such big hearts as I do within the quilting community!

Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13^th!

I’m not superstitious so no big deal to me… 
in fact, I’m having a great day!

This is good news because

I had a little meltdown a few days ago.

Ok, it was a big meltdown and resulted in 
consumption of chocolate.

Not regular chocolate either, I had to get into the dark stuff to

suffocate the whimpering worrier in my head.

So stress is nothing new. Neither is homework. 

Yup, school is back in session and it is kicking my butt.

I’m tired, stressed and whiney... my poor family is sick of me,

I think they’re ready to kick me out!

So what’s so good about today??? My homework is done!

That, and I got some business-y things done so

we can get into our new shop space (hopefully) soon!

Oh! The new website is up @ TopsandBobbins.com

If you haven't had a chance, go check it out... right now, I'll wait right here...

Isn't it gorgeous! I just love it! 

A big shout out and thank you to my hubby and the 

wonderful people at Like Sew Websites for making it 

exactly what I didn't know I wanted... 

I hope you love it too :)

To celebrate, I’m going to dust off my sewing machine and

start cranking out some bindings on a few charity quilts

that have been patiently waiting their turn.

Next, I might even cook dinner…

okay, well not let’s get crazy,

someone else can cook tonight, I’m quilting! :)

gratuitous Friday the 13^th black cat pic... Enjoy!!!

Changing Seasons

The end of the Summer is coming. It’s hard to tell with the heat and the ridiculous humidity that we are experiencing in the High Desert of Southern California but it’s coming all the same.

The kids just went back to school. Usually that would mean that I’m going back to work at the elementary school.

But not this year.

That, too, is another change that is happening.

When I started quilting I was so excited to learn something new about sewing. I had been sewing clothing for years; wedding dresses for friends and family and then cute, ruffled dresses for my own sweet little girls. 

What a joy to see those I loved wearing things I had made for them!

I started quilting back in 2001; that is when my hubby bought me a Bernina embroidery machine.

A gift for our 10 year wedding anniversary.

Some girls want another ring… I wanted a fancy-schmancy sewing machine!

Classes came with this amazing machine.

(First, how to turn it on and make all of the computerized stuff work!)

One of these classes was a quilt class. 

I thought “Oh great, cut up a bunch of perfectly good fabric just to sew it back together and then tie it up with yarn. Fun.”

(The “fun” was thought with a great deal of sarcasm.)

But I was eager to learn something new so those classes were a must.

What began as a learning experience became a wonderful new hobby and then a passion.

That passion has brought me full-circle to where I am now.

For our 20th wedding anniversary I wanted yet another fancy-schmancy sewing machine. This time we didn’t shop at Bernina, we went to the Gammill dealer. 

(Shout out to Cranberry Quiltworks… even though you have changed I’ll always remember that’s where we met Gina!)

The long-arm quilting machine we bought then has given me the opportunity to push myself and learn new skills and turn this obsession hobby of mine into a business.

That’s why I can’t be at the elementary school anymore...

We are opening a quilt shop!!!

We’ve had a website for a few years and realized that our small business is taking over our home. The time has come to move Tops and Bobbins into its own space and reclaim the square footage it has taken over!

The website makeover I’ve been blogging about has been taking a bit longer to launch than we first thought it would. We decided to integrate the website and retail space so it has taken some extra adjustments and adding a POS system to keep inventory all straight.

I’m excited and nervous and excited (I think I said that already) but I know that change can be a good thing. 

So while I'll miss working with the awesome staff at the school (and even some of the students ;P ) I can’t wait to get this new plan rolling. 

I’m still going to finish the degree I’m working on at the college but I’m switching gears to business management instead.

Hopefully that will help me not screw it all up!

I'll keep you all posted of progress and a special, heartfelt Thank You to all of my cheerleaders out there... you know who you are! :)

Just think... all of this because I wanted a new sewing machine a few years ago...

Framed...

This last week has been slow-paced and relaxing.

I’ve managed to piece a few small tops

Fabric is "Lovely" by Sandy Gervais

"Cotton Blossoms" by Bonnie and Camille 

...and sew the borders on one that my sister pieced.

"Tapestry" by Figtree

Can you tell that I'm crushing on Moda fabrics and these amazingly narrow ( 1/2" ) inner borders? I love the way they frame the center and play off the outer borders :)

Backings are ready to go and now they just need to be quilted!

(I'll take better pics with a real camera- not my phone, to share when they are done!)

Halfway through Summer

There’s so much to talk about!

Summer is moving pretty fast-paced around here!

I’ve had visitors; my sister and her family, my mom over the 4th of July, and a special guest from Canada came to pick up her custom quilt in person! I’ve made several quilts for her and we’ve become friends in the last few years of messaging back and forth so it was a thrill to finally meet her in person!
It was bittersweet though, I had to let this go...

Matching pillowcases were a must :)

I love how this quilt turned out! 
The fabric is Petite Odile by French General for Moda.

The quilting was very simple; 
just right for this quilt. 

We used two layers of Hobbs 80/20 so this will be nice and toasty in the Canadian winter!

I have also spent quite a bit of time sprucing up the flower beds and clearing weeds… my yard has never looked better. 

It still needs a lot of work but I’m ashamed to show I didn’t take “before” pictures so you’ll just have to trust me… the “after” is way better!

Any ideas on what to fill this space with?
Other than the space where the dead bush was. 
(Note to self: Acquire new, live bush.)
I have irises on one side and day lilies on the other. 
I live in zone 8 so it has to handle heat and cold...

I'm also reaaallly excited that one of my offspring has been infected caught the quilting bug! She's piecing this darling Take 5 quilt from Pirate Matey's by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs. Pretty soon I'll have her doing applique and binding!!!

Anyone else have a ridiculous cat that does this? I'm afraid he'll fall!

I’ve relaxed so much over the Summer that I finally feel re-energized and motivated to take on new classes! I’m picking classes for next semester tonight and I feel really energized… hopefully I get into all of the ones I want. 
If not I'll just sleep on the stairs with my cat ;P

Happy Independence Day!

Vacation and Cake!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Summer so far!

We've been enjoying BBQ's and time with family and friends.

We even made a fun trip here:

  

We had an adventure filled time with roller coasters and log rides...many times on the log rides because it was HOT!!!

We kept hydrated with lots of water and yummy, ice-cold lemonade; the food was delicious, too.

Being a berry farm of course they have berries!

I love all kinds of berries but especially boysenberries...

so of course I had to have a piece of pie!

It was like an all day party and we had so much fun together.

My sister came and brought her kiddos, too!
The kids all separated into groups depending on the level of thrill-seeking desired... I'll admit I was in the tamer group!

Bumper cars were a hit!

My niece, nephew and my girl, Kathrine :)

My nephew on his favorite ride!

We've had a ton of excitement and kind of started our 
Independence Day festivities early. We've also been doing all kinds of 4^th of July crafts that I found on Pinterest.

We’re not done yet though, we're still planning on celebrating our nation’s birthday with cake…

No, not that kind of cake…Layer Cakes!

All Layer Cakes are just $33.15 for this week only!!!

Use Coupon Code JULY4 during checkout to receive this great deal!

No limit, buy as many as you like :)

As always, you’ll still receive 

Free shipping when you spend $50 or more!

(pre-tax, US orders only)

This offer is good July 1^st – July 7^th 2013 

so hurry and get ‘em while they last!

I don't put every special on the blog, we usually do that through our weekly newsletter. 
Make sure you have signed up for our newsletter so you never miss out on our really great deals. 

Also, don't forget to tell your friends so they can sign up, too! 

Sewing away...

Been a long week of sewing but a happy one!

I’m in my element doing what I love :)

The binding is going on the Star quilt, slowly but surely.

I love the look of hand binding… 

it's time consuming but so worth it!

Have you tried these little clips? They're "wonder"ful! 

I seriously don't know how I did binding before without them! They are making the job so much faster and easier. 

I’ve also made time for some quilting in the last few weeks but as usual, I forgot to take pictures before delivering them :/

I did remember a pic of this little beauty… 

I LOVE a Minky backing! Perfect for snuggling.

Of course I also made time to start my version of Metro Rings. 

Haven’t had too much time to work on this but I couldn't resist! I've managed to get in a few sessions of chain piecing. The curves did slow me down for the first few blocks but after that I was zipping away! I’m having sew much fun that I’m already planning my next Quick Curve project!

(I just noticed that I spelled “sew” instead of “so” but I think I’ll just leave it in :)

New look!

The new look for my blog is just one of the many steps to the new website... I LOVE how it is turning out!!!

An (almost) finish and a new start...

Getting ready to start a new quilting adventure!
I'm just about finished with this beauty...  only needs the binding! I'm doing the binding by hand so it'll take a bit of time but it will be well worth the effort!

 While the Star quilt was being quilted...

I was busy cutting little piles of curved pieces!

It's so cute already I just want to dive on in!!!

I'm making the new Metro Rings by Jenny Pedigo of  Sew Kind of Wonderful. If you don't have her ruler yet boy you are missing out!!! 
I can't believe how fast I cut this quilt out... or how fun it was!  Usually I'm not much for the cutting part, I'd rather skip ahead to the piecing.  This wonderful ruler is magic and it makes the work fun as you amaze yourself with cut after perfect curved cut!!!
After the binding is done on the Star quilt, I'll be piecing away... I'll let you know how it goes!
btw... schools out, grades are in and it looks like I got a 4.0 for the semester!!!

All about May

May has been a memorable month… so much has happened!

At the beginning of the month, my hubby and I drove to

Southern Utah to see my twin sister graduate with her

Bachelor’s Degree in Education (go Joyce!!!)

Me and my twin

It was wonderful to spend some time without the kids and just relax and have some fun :)

Little did I know that while I was letting my guard down my boys were plotting against me…

Kids being kids, they decided to roll around in germs and get sick. Like really sick.

(I’m sure they planned it to make me feel bad for leaving them at home… that’s what my “mom guilt” is telling me anyway.)

Well some tender, loving care and one of them was all better.

The other one was not.

Several trips to the doctor resulted in lots of advice, but no cure.

We had a miserable teenage boy on our hands.

He went from eating his own body-weight three times per day to not eating anything. Which resulted in a 12# weight loss.

(Which resulted in the desire to get the stomach flu by all of the ladies in the house ;P )

After missing school for three weeks, we decided to pull him out for the last week-and-a-half of the school year. 

He has pretty good grades so he won’t have to repeat anything next year.

Of course, a few days later he was starting to feel better.

Which led us all to believe that he was just sick of school.

Well everyone is on the mend now.

(The girls got it, too, but were regrettably too healthy for it to take much of a hold; they were feeling better in just a few days and no weight loss was recorded.)

My school work and laundry have kept me busy but I was finally able to finish piecing this quilt this past weekend. 

Finally all pieced! 

We made up for everything else that we missed this month by having a three-day marathon quilting event that finished off with a trip to the county fair.

We had the privilege of helping out at the fair in the Quilts of Valor booth on Memorial Day… it was wonderful to be able to share the message of such a worthy cause.

Oh, the new website is coming along great! It won’t be too much longer now…