the PROM

Finally, finally, I came up with the final format of our new Block of the month program!

it can be quite time-consuming trying to figure out all the little details of how to start something new.

however, autumn Kept getting closer and closer and so I had to make some decisions. 

For the past several years we've had a program called the Saturday Surprise Sampler,  and while it was a really good program, I was getting weary of designing 12 inch blocks.  Plus, I think we all have at least one or two (or three or four....) sets of blocks that we have yet to so into a big quilt.  so anyway here are the details of the new program.

it is called the project of the month. That is the PROM for short.

This is how it works....

• Each kit includes the fabric and pattern for a pieced row.   The size is right to use as is for a table runner, or you can incorporate it into another project. The fabric in the kit will be the equivalent of at least 1.5m,  (so even if you don't end up sewing the project, you will have a cute little bundle of co-ordinated fabric! )  The pattern is quite detailed, with lots of diagrams.  It will also include an idea or two on how else you could modify or use the design.
• A new kit will be released at the beginning of each month.
• You can pick up a kit at the shop, or we can mail them out to you.
• There are two color options:
• 1.  "Serenity":  the colorway will be consistent through the months.  It is a combination of light blues, light turquoise, lavender,  grey and soft white.  You can later combine the rows into a larger quilt

2.. a different fabric grouping each month.  For this option, we will make the kit up with a new arrival of fabrics.  The colors for each month will change.    For the first month, I chose Country Orchard by Blackbird Designs for Moda, 

 Number of Kits: 6 (buy as many or as few as you like)
Size of Quilt: variable  (the first project worked out to be about 18" x 51" (or 56", depending on how you add borders)
Cost per Kit:

• $28.00 when you buy in store, $29.00 by mail order.
• Buy as few or as many kits as you like. If you pre-pay for 5 kits, you will get number 6 for free! (I think this is a good deal!)
• Sign-up is required only for mail order, otherwise just come in and pick up a kit. If you want to receive blocks by mail order, you can call the shop anytime! (306) 933-3072

Pickup / Mailing Dates:
September  5  (I know this is over the long weekend, but the next weekend is the Broadway Street Fair, and the next weekend is too far away!)
October 3
November 7
December 5
January 9
February 6

Well, I have both the colorway tops sewn, and I hope to get at least one of them quilted by Saturday, but who can say what might happen.   
I hope that this will be a fun project for you to do, especially if you are out of town.  We've had a group of people who have done several of the Saturday Surprise blocks, and I hope that this will be a good package to get in the mail each month!
If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know!!! you can send me a message by email at peri@sasktel.net, or in the comment box below,   Michelle

Inspiration and Exploration

(today I have quite a philosophical essay about a direction I want to take for our Block of the Month program for the autumn.  Sorry about no photos....)

I had a good time putting together the pattern for the Row by Row experience. 
At the same time that I was doing that, I was mulling over the Saturday Surprise Sampler Program at the store that runs from September to June.   We've done that for 12 years now, and we need to have a change.
I noticed that I was quite enjoying the process of designing the row for the shop hop, and started to ask myself how I could repeat that process.   Although I don't want to duplicate the idea of making a row quilt on a monthly basis, I do like the idea of creating a slightly bigger project.  That is, the project kit would be larger than just one 12 inch block, and come out only once a month instead of once every two weeks.   Also, the projects would not be cumulative, combining into a big quilt at the end, but rather, each project could be complete on its own.    Ergo, Project of the month, or PROM.  

The wheels in my mind keep turning however, and I want to tie the series of projects together somehow, to add more meaning to it, not to just create a series of projects, willy nilly. 
 I came up with the idea of exploring the whole concept and process of Inspiration.  I hope to do  two things each month.

1.  Choose a source of inspiration and explore ideas that could arise out of it.   Share those possibilities through a store display and blog posts, hopefully leading to others considering how they could use that inspiration source as well.
2.  Provide a project in kit form, based on that source of inspiration.  The person who sews the pattern might finish it as an item such as a tablerunner, or it could be a starting point for a whole different project.  

Along the way, I hope to delve more deeply into the process of how we get inspired, and how we can take the inspiration we feel and translate it into actual finished projects.
A lot of the time when I get ideas of what I'd like to make, they just fizzle out.  I'd like to be more able to harness that interest in an idea and direct it into my sewing.

so, I would like to invite you to join me on this voyage of exploration !