Meet Sheba

 We did get a new family member. No one stepped forward to claim this sweetie and we didn't see any fliers posted about a missing kitten. We have been trying out a few names but have finally settled on Sheba, unless the vet tells us that this one is a boy. If that is the case then the name will be Oscar - it's a long story.

She loves to sleep in a lap.

And she isn't picky about whose lap she is in.

The first vet appointment is Friday. So far she likes her carrier but all that might change come Friday afternoon.

This month you could win an embroidery machine!

  Alamosa Quilt Company has participated in the monthly online FabShop Hop for over a year now. There are always great prizes each month but this month the grand prize is an embroidery machine with a retail value of over $2200! You got to be in to win it though! All the details are lower down in this post so keep scrolling and get ready to starting hopping.

Do you like shop hops? If you do, are you familiar with the monthly online shop hop hosted by FabShop? It's a fabulous opportunity to find great independently owned local quilt shops. Alamosa Quilt Company is participating. To register yourself and start hopping, go to our website, AlamosaQuiltCompany.com, scroll down a bit until you find the image of the Hop Bunny. Click on the bunny and that will take you to the page where you can register, read the rules of the hop, how to win prizes and such.

They have a Facebook page too. Search for FabShop Hop on Facebook and you'll find it. You can join that page as well as their private Facebook group.

Looking ahead, my shop will also be participating in the December Online BlowOut Event again. That will be the last week of December 2023. I've already started loading fabrics in the Clearance Section so if you want a head start feel free to head over to the Clearance Section right now. New fabrics are being added weekly right now. If you like batiks, you should really go check it out as all of my batik fabrics are currently in the Clearance Section.

A New Family Member?

 Yesterday morning I was the only one up having my coffee when the doorbell rings - at 7:30am. I reluctantly went to the door and it was some friends who live a few blocks away on their way to work. They had an adorable little black kitten with them.

They found the kitten running in the middle of the road through traffic and rescued him/her. They put the kitten down on the sidewalk and it started following them. They were walking to work and couldn't take a kitten with them. Since we live on the way they stopped and asked if we could take it for the day.

Well, it didn't take long for us to all fall in love. The kitten was very hungry so we got him/her some food and water. Then we made up a little make-shift litter box, which it used almost immediately without me even showing it to him/her. I've posted a photo of him/her in a local Lost/Found Pet Facebook page, but so far no one has claimed him/her. So, we may have gotten a kitten yesterday!

Honestly, the only family member who hasn't fallen in love already is our older cat, Ms. Spooky Boo. We haven't tried to introduce them yet because there is no point in putting Ms. Boo through that if someone comes forward to claim him/her. But Ms. Boo does know that there is a kitten living in the garage. She is not impressed but wasn't too put out about it. The rest of us are kind of hoping that no one does come forward to claim him/her. He/She is very cuddly and friendly with a very loud purr that starts up as soon as you pick him/her up.

No name yet, but we've already started brainstorming possibilities.

The Product I Didn't Know I Needed!

 These Needle Grip-Its are fabulous for hand sewing!

You put one on your thumb and one on your forefinger, right where you pinch them together to pull the needle through. They help reduce hand fatigue by gripping the needle to help you pull it through your project so you don't have to pull as hard. They stick very well and can be used several times before they stop sticking. I'm not sure how long that is because I'm still using the first two!

For proper placement, pinch your thumb and forefinger together pretty hard like you are pulling a needle through a project. You'll see an indention or lighter colored circular area on your thumb/finger. That's where you put the dots. They are repositionable so if you get it in the wrong place you can move it. I accidentally washed my hands (with soap) while wearing mine and they stayed in place.

If you are local, I have an open package at the shop. If you'd like a pair to try before you buy, just ask me for a pair the next time you are in the shop (offer valid only while the first open package lasts). Each package contains 70 dots, which is 35 pairs so one package should last you a while.

If you aren't local, I do have these packages for sale on my website, AlamosaQuiltCompany.com.

Click right here to go directly to the Needle Grip-It product page on my website.

Majestic Mountains

 I just finished a new shop sample last week. The quilt has been sent off to be long arm quilted so it isn't currently hanging in the shop yet.

The pattern I used is called Diva 5. It's a great pattern for a panel and includes instructions for the three current most popular panel widths of 24", 30" and 36". I had to adjust the pattern just a tad because this panel has a printed border around the outside that I wanted to cut off, but it's very easy to adjust. All I needed to do was add 1/2" to the cut measurements for the inner border that goes around the panel for the top and bottom border pieces. You can't even really tell that the top/bottom inner borders are a little wider than the sides!

The panel and most of the coordinates except the light blue are all from the Majestic collection. The light blue is from the Dry Brush collection and it's the Pale Blue one. Again, the pattern used is called Diva 5. If I still have enough of these fabrics left when the quilt comes back from the quilter then I will make up a few kits. The binding is going to be the dark blue fabric used in the quilt top. This is the challenge for quilt shop owners - as soon as I make up a sample whatever fabrics I used start selling quickly and sometimes I don't get the sample completely finished before I run out of the fabrics used! So if you want a kit sooner just let me know. You can leave a comment on this post or contact my shop, contact information can be found by following this link. 

And don't forget about the chance to win a new serger from the online FabShop Hop. See this post for details of how to participate and enter to win.

Want a chance to win a brand new serger?

 Alamosa Quilt Company has participated in the monthly online FabShop Hop for over a year now. There are always great prizes each month but this month the grand prize is a serger with a retail value of over $1700! You got to be in to win it though! All the details are lower down in this post so keep scrolling and get ready to starting hopping.

Do you like shop hops? If you do, are you familiar with the monthly online shop hop hosted by FabShop? It's a fabulous opportunity to find great independently owned local quilt shops. Alamosa Quilt Company is participating. To register yourself and start hopping, go to our website, AlamosaQuiltCompany.com, scroll down a bit until you find the image of the Hop Bunny. Click on the bunny and that will take you to the page where you can register, read the rules of the hop, how to win prizes and such.

They have a Facebook page too. Search for FabShop Hop on Facebook and you'll find it. You can join that page as well as their private Facebook group.

New Pillow Cover for Me

 I shared this idea with you previously in July. Click here to read that post. I finally got it finished!

Here is what it looks like all stitched but not sewn into a pillow cover yet.

For those of you who are curious, here is what the back looks like before I sewed it up into a pillow cover.

I cut a piece of batting the finished size I needed the pillow to be. Next time I would cut the batting about an inch larger than the finished size. I added the fabric directly on top of the batting and hand stitched each piece down one at a time.

Here it is with the pillow form inside and ready to use.

It looks a little lumpy because (1) the whole thing shrank up about 1/2" from all the stitching and (2) I didn't put any fabric on the back of the pillow front, just the batting so the pillow form didn't want to slide easily into place. 

Lesson learned, the next one I will cut the batting larger to start with then trim to size before turning it into whatever it will be. And if I decide to make another pillow I will put some fabric on the back so the pillow form will slide more easily into the cover. I've been using it for a couple days and it looks better already!

The back is a simple envelope back closure, also used scrap fabric for that. Thus, in a certain sense, this was a free project! The pillow form is actually an old pillow that I keep making new covers for. Not even sure how old it is, but it still works.