Apron Antics

It was a great day at the shop. Here's a peek at the finished (or semi-finished) projects completed today!

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P.S. Yes, we're open today (3-27), so come join us for a snow 'n sew day!

Northern Solitude

....doesn't describe the current weather conditions outside, but it is the newest collection of fabric at the shop. Northern Solitude by Holly Taylor hints at lazy summer days on the shores of the great northern lakes with freshly blooming wildflowers, butterflies gliding on delicate wings and mysterious dragonflies flitting about the water surface. The soft muted colors of this collection would make a gorgeous quilt for any bed!

Blizzard Forecast

Blizzard conditions are forecasted for Friday in western Kansas with 5-9 inches of snow expected. Stock up on supplies for your snow day sewing plans. We have lots of new fabrics to start a new quilt project, and notions to complete the project. Stop in the shop and stock up!

It's officially spring

...and the spring flowers are pushing through the ground and beginning to grow. Just like the spring flowers, we're growing at the shop as well. Sometime during the last three months, we surpassed our original goal of having 1000 bolts of fabric. Every week new fabric arrives and our collection grows. This week, we passed 1200 bolts! Two new collections that arrived this week are Snippets by American Jane for Moda and Storybook VI by Windham Fabrics, a 30's reproduction collection. Both feature spring colors and would make a fun quilt for your favorite big or little girl.

Top Shelf Sale

This year, National Quilting Day, celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of March each year, is devoting the day to the home. In recognition of the home, Prairie Flower Quilt Co. will have a "Top Shelf" Sale on Saturday, March 21. Our "top shelf" fabrics will be 15% off. These fabric collections are perfect for your home accessory projects and feature many of our themed fabrics - chickens, cowboy/western, hunting, 30's and more. Wheather your next project is an apron, curtains, or a quilt, there will be some wonderfully fun fabrics to fit the bill!

Alpha Buddies

Sure to delight every little one in your life, Alpha Buddies by Andover Fabrics is the newest line of juvenile fabrics at the shop. This cute panel features the ABCs and comes with a whole line of bright coordinating fabrics. Click here for a free quilt pattern for this collection.

BAM!

No, we're not talking about Emeril, we're just reminding you that the next Block A Month class is this Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m. or Monday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. We'll be making blocks 2 & 3. Here's a sneak peek of the blocks in the pink colorway:

Sign of the Times

Newest arrivals...

This newest arrival at the shop is from Red Rooster. This cute collection is by Jacqueline Paton and would be perfect for a little one's quilt...or as a charming wallhanging as shown above. Download the free wallhanging pattern here.

We've been so busy at the shop, we forgot to tell you #8 arrived last week. Deb now has a new granddaughter named Jayah. Mother and baby are doing well. Congratulations!

Fun n' Funky

Vibrant citrus color and whimsical stylized compositions makes this fun and funky collection a must-have for your next project. The possibilities are endless - hand bags, children's dresses, aprons, and more! And they'll all be the 'objects of desire' among your friends! Stop in and see this new collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda today.

This & That

Here's a hodge-podge of news and reminders from the shop...

...Friday is the last day for our introductory prices on our Baby Lock machines. If your current sewing machine isn't performing up to standards; you would like to expand your creative horizons with a new embroidery or embellishing machine; or you'd like a lightweight machine to carry to quilt classes and retreats, then stop in and save!

...The Chenille Scarf class is this Saturday, so this is a reminder to those that have signed up for the class to stop in and purchase your supplies prior to the class starting at 1 p.m.

...Another new Moda collection arrived today. Stop by and see Beach House by Blackbird Designs. Relaxed and sophisticated in dusty earthen colors, Beach House is an afternoon coastal retreat. The collection inspires the senses: the salty scent of the ocean lingering in the air carried by a gentle off shore breeze; the steady rhythm of crashing waves creating the perfect sound track to an evening of creative handwork and reminiscing with close friends.

...Does your husband have plans to spend the day at Berning Auction's consignment farm sale on Saturday? If you'll be a 'widow' for the day, come spend it with us! We'll have the coffee pot on and lots of fabrics to inspire your next quilt project.

...We finally have our sign installed! Now it will be easier than ever to find us. The braces are still in place while the cement dries, but hopefully those will be gone soon.

Congratulations....

...to Marilyn Luebbers, winner of the Grace Baby Lock sewing machine! Thanks to everyone who stopped in today and joined us for our baby shower. If you didn't make it in, you still have time to take advantage of our introductory prices until Friday, March 6.

Basically Speaking

We've been anxiously waiting for a new blender line of fabrics to arrive. It was due to arrive in November, but finally made its appearance this week. Bonnie Blue Basics is a great line of small prints in a wide variety of colors. With a flair for reproductions, these will be great to mix and match with other fabrics as a blender or make a whole project featuring the line. Stop by and check it out!

P.S. ~ Don't forget to stop in on Saturday to meet our new "brood" of Baby Locks and take them for a test drive. Introductory prices available until March 6!

Moda Bake Shop Open

Our Moda Bake Shop will be open on Thursday featuring two new collections that arrived today in the store - Flag Day Farm and Harmony. Stop in Thursday to oogle these beautiful collections, taste test sugar cookies straight from the farm and pick up your free Flag Day Farm Sugar Cookie Recipe.

It’s a sunny summer morning on Flag Day Farm. Laundry is being hung on the line to dry, fresh eggs are collected from the coop and new calicoes from the Mercantile are waiting to be made into shirts and dresses in preparation for the new school year. Minick and Simpson have brought us yet another glimpse of rural American life in dusty shades of patriotism and gorgeous vintage prints.

Harmony is a collaboration of primitive ideas and classic details. Jan Patek’s traditional Americana palette of reds, blues, blacks, tans and olive greens blend seamlessly into an array of paisleys, dots, stripes and plaids. Classic color and a primitive aesthetic overflow into a coordinating collection of homespuns.

We know you'll want to take home these beautiful fabrics for your next quilting project before they're all gone! Need a few new project ideas? Visit the Moda Bake Shop for some fun and free projects!

Whew, What A Day!

We were meeting ourselves coming and going today as Deb and Belinda kicked off the day bright and early at 8 a.m. with the Breakfast Club. A shop full of ladies came for breakfast and sewing -- some stayed until we closed the doors this evening. Meanwhile, Janet and Sharla headed to Scott City to man our booth at the Scott City Shop Hop. Midday, Janet headed back to the shop to trade places with Belinda so she could give our demonstration at the shop hop on our quilted wallets. Attendance was good at the shop hop and many ladies made a day of it, stopping both at the hop and the shop. Thanks to everyone who visited us today!

As we worked on stuff this week for the shop hop, we worried about how we would display our goodies without tearing up too many displays at the shop. We didn't have a plan ahead of time, but we think it came together and represented the look of our shop well.

Eggs & Tulips & Stars, Oh My!

This week, we've all been frantically putting together kits (aprons, quilts, pillows, bags, wallets.....) and making tulip and star fat quarter bundles to take to the Scott City Shop Hop on Friday. We're also excited about our new egg carton bundles and loaves of 'Bread & Butter', they are soooo cute (in our unbiased opinion!). So stop by our booth and see our goodies!

P.S. We'll be doing double duty on Saturday, as the shop will also be open. Deb will be hosting the Breakfast Club featuring Eggs Benedict.

Shop Hopping

Our rotary cutters are flying at the shop as we are busy cutting fabric to get ready for our first "shop hop". On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, we will load up our goodies and set up a booth at the Scott City Quilt Guild Quilt Show. We'll have kits for quilts, aprons, bags and more, plus fat quarter bundles, etc. At 2:30 on Saturday, Belinda will demonstrate how to make a fabric wallet using a neat bias ruler & we'll have kits to purchase to make your own. Show hours are 7-8:30 Friday evening and 9-4 on Saturday at the William Carpenter 4-H Building in Scott City. The shop will be open from 10-4 on Saturday also, so stop in on your way and see the new fabric arriving daily!

New at the Shop

This week, the much anticipated Wildflower Serenade II by Kansas Troubles for Moda arrived! Wildflower Serenade II took root in the chance finding of a mid 1800 French Floral fabric. This fabric became the inspiration for Lynn Hagmeier's own back yard garden as well as for her next group of cottons. The collection developed along with the real life garden; the plots were planned, the soil was amended and after the ground work is laid all there is to do is sit back and wait for the blooms.

The line features the beautiful earthy colors you love but with a new addition - the color plum! Not only do we have bolts of fabric, but also layer cakes, jelly rolls and turnovers. Charm packs will be arriving soon. Stop in and pick a bouquet of "wildflowers" before its all gone!

Mason Cole

Well, I'm chalking this one up to bad cell phone reception - surely my hearing is not going like my eye sight! When Deb called to tell us that she was a grandma again, I thought she said the new bundle of joy was named Nathan, but actually it's Mason Cole. Whatever the name, we're pleased to welcome him in the world!

No. 7 & Counting

Congratulations are in order as Deb is a new grandmother for the seventh time. Daughter Karianne had a baby boy named Nathan on Saturday, weighing in at 8 lbs., 5 oz. Nathan joins three older brothers. And, No. 8 is set to arrive in about a month!

Come meet our new "Babies"

You are all invited to our Baby Shower for our new brood of "Babies".....Baby Locks, that is! Mark your calendars for our Baby Lock Baby Shower on Saturday, February 28. We'll have our full line of Baby Lock sewing, quilting, embroidery, and serging machines available for you to test drive. We'll have sales specials all day long and our drawing for the Baby Lock Grace sewing machine. Don't miss it!

A Bounty of Baby Locks

This week, Deb and Sharla are at Baby Lock Dealer Training in St. Louis, while Janet and Belinda are manning the shop with the help of Pat and Janet's sister, Judy.

We can't wait to show you all the wonderful line of Baby Lock sewing, quilting, embroidery and serging machines!

Of course, we have all fallen in love with the Espire sewing and quilting machine. It has the easiest touch screen functions and over 300 stitches. And, unlike many other machines, an enlarged table/sewing surface is included with the machine.

The Baby Lock Imagine Serger is like no other! It has jet-air threading, making it a snap to thread. And it has automatic tension....no more tension dials that take forever to get set. We have so many ideas for samples to make with both machines......now if we can just find the time!

Hearts Helping Hearts

Join us this whole month as we honor Marilyn. February is Hearts Helping Hearts month at Prairie Flower Quilts. For every yard of fabric you bring into the shop and donate, we'll give you $1 off on a new yard of fabric. At the end of the month we'll donate the fabric to a needy charity (yet to be determined) in Marilyn's honor. Marilyn's mission in life was to give of herself for others....to her family, friends, church and community. So clean out your stash closets and help us carry on Marilyn's mission.

Meet Grace & Enter Our Drawing To Take Her Home!

We are pleased to announce that we will be giving away a Baby Lock Grace A-line Series Sewing Machine. Drawing will be held on Saturday, February 28 at our Baby Lock Baby Shower. Stop in for details.

Meet our new mascot!

Stop in and meet our very own Eleanor Burns. She'll be helping us sell Baby Lock sewing machines. And just as in the photo below, she's decked out in a purple feather boa! She'll be a fun addition to the shop.

Super Weekend, Super Savings

Join us on Saturday and Sunday for our Grand Opening Super Weekend and score big savings! Our Quarterback Sale features 25% off all yard goods (minimum of 1 yard cuts) and 25 cents off all fat quarters. Buy 4 fat quarters of special group of civil war reproductions (red banded fat quarters) and get the 5th one free in our 5th Quarter Sale. We'll have drawings for goodie bags and prizes every hour and gifts for the first 25 purchases each day. Guess the combined total score of the Super Bowl game for a chance to win our Super Weekend gift bag. Enter our drawing for a Baby Lock sewing machine to be given away later in February! Don't miss this exciting event! Game times are Saturday from 10 - 4 and Sunday from 1 - 5.

New Arrivals

We have many different collections arriving on a weekly basis. Here are couple that arrived last week.....Stop in often and see what's new at the shop.

Mark Your Calendars!

Join us for our official "kickoff" on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 31 & Feb. 1 at our Grand Opening Super Weekend. "Game times" are Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 - 5 p.m. Keep checking back as we post our Super Weekend "game plan"!

True Beauty

Marilyn's daughters wrote the following poem. We thought we'd share it with all of you in memory of Marilyn.

When that little girl came into the world

She could really, really run.

From Marilyn, to Frizz, to Mom, then Grammy,

Her name would soon become.

She loved to give to others

And helped Dad out on the farm.

But her greatest gift of all was

Making quilts to keep us all warm.

Known by her outer beauty from far and near,

In trying to describe her its hard to even begin.

But to those who knew her the best

it was perfectly clear;

She was a great example that

"True beauty comes from within."

To difficult for words

No words can express the sadness and shock we are experiencing at the loss of one of our partners, Marilyn. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We will be closed through Friday in her memory. For those of our friends who keep in touch with us through this blog and would like to attend the funeral, it will be held on Friday at 2:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church.

You Think You've Got Troubles!

We've got Troubles....Kansas Troubles, that is. Kansas quilt and fabric designer, Lynn Hagmeier, has a new program featuring her Kansas Troubles fabrics called KT Stash Society. For $12 each month (or $15 if you do individual projects), you will receive a 1/2 yard of Kansas Troubles fabrics in either fat quarters, charm packs or jelly rolls, a project pattern and the KT Stash Society newsletter. These are monthly take home projects that are designed to utilize your stash of KT fabrics you already have at home. Don't have a KT stash? Then you can purchase the finishing kit also. The January project is a mini quilt.....

Don't Be Square....

Join us on the 2nd Saturday at 10 a.m. or the following Mondays at 6:30 p.m. starting in February for our Block-A-Month program featuring Jodi Barrows' Square in a Square technique. Each month you'll learn a new Square in a Square technique to make your block. Cost is $10 each month for the fabric, pattern and instruction. Taught by Belinda Oldham. Sign up today for one of these colorways:

Jodi Barrows' Abby's Schoolhouse collection in pinks and greys

Moda's Miss Jump's Scrapbag in blues and rusts

Have Breakfast With Us!

All you early risers (and those who aren't) are invited to join us on the 3rd Saturday of each month for the Breakfast Club. Beginning at 8:00 a.m., the Breakfast Club will feature a different project each month that will be demonstrated over breakfast. Then you can choose to stay for the day to work on your project (bring your sewing machine) or take the project home to complete. You can sign up for this club on a month by month basis. Deb Case will be the instructor. The Breakfast Club is $10.00 each time plus project supplies.

The first project will be a table runner. Choose from one of the following colorways:

Rust & Cream

Pink & Green

First class will be this coming Saturday, January 17th, so come in or call to sign up.

Newspaper coverage

The shop was featured in a story today in the Garden City Telegram. A nice article. The reporter always does a good job of writing positive stories. Thanks Stephanie!

(Photo by Stephanie Farley, Garden City Telegram)

Charming Tote

A new pattern arrived yesterday for this tote bag:

Stop by and pick up your "Charming Totes Two" pattern today. It uses a charm pack and some additional yardage. Start out the new year with a fun new bag! This is just one of several new quilt and bag patterns we received from Whistlepig Creek. Come check them all out!

Opening Day

Today was the opening day of Prairie Flower Quilt Co.! It seems like its been a long road to get to this day, but definitely worth it. We had a great day - the weather cooperated, a wonderful crowd came out to support us in our new venture, and we didn't have too many unexpected problems. It'll take us a few days to get into a smooth routine and work the kinks out, so please have patience with us.

Marilyn's family surprised us with an opening sign and balloons today. Thank you! And we had a lot of wonderful people stop in to wish us good luck.

Thank you to everyone who made our first day such a great success! We had a great time and hope everyone else did too. Thank you all....
Belinda, Janet, Deb, Marilyn & Sharla

the shop in still life...

16 hours & Counting!

Happy New Year Everybody! Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve is on the TV and we're all home baking up some goodies for our opening tomorrow. Please join us tomorrow to see the new shop. We are so proud of how it turned out. Hope to see you at 1:00!

Happy Birthday....

Marilyn!

FYI: 2 More Days!

Come Celebrate...

...the New Year and New Store with Us!

Prairie Flower Quilt Co., LLC

Opening Thursday, January 1

1:00 - 5:00 p.m. (CT)

102 South Indian Road

Leoti, KS 67861

• Buy 8 Fat Quarters & Get the 9th FREE
• Guess how many buttons are in the jar - Closest without going over wins a gift bag full of goodies
• Prize drawings every hour on the half hour
• Refreshments

It's Here!

Our Gammill Statler Stitcher quilting machine arrived today. We purchased it at quilt market and the company delivered it to us from Wisconsin, set it up and gave us a short lesson to get us started. In January, they will send out an instructor for 2-3 days of training. It's more than a little intimidating. Hopefully we'll get proficient at it within a short period of time. We're all anxious to try it out.

Set up of the machine took about 2 1/2 hours.

Then we had a quick walk through on the operation of the machine. In the foreground is the long-arm quilting machine. In the background is the computer which runs the machine.

FYI: 5 More Days!

Merry Christmas

Everyone at Prairie Flower Quilt Co. wishes you a very joyous Christmas. May the warmth and love of this holiday season be with you throughout the coming year.

Tick, Tock

Time keeps ticking by....

Tonight it seemed like we might see the end of the tunnel by our opening date of January 1! We got the cutting tables and check out counter finished this weekend, and the kitchen cabinet tonight (well except for the plumbing). Today we hung the slot board, and the notions and patterns hung on it. Getting those things up and off tables really helped. We also made tablecloths for our coffee area and covered the chairs for the coffee area to match.

Our 'hooky-dos" (as Belinda named them) came in today. We found them at market and they will hang from the black wood trim on the walls to hang quilts for display. And we used them to hang the new sample that Pat made for us - it's beautiful (made from Kansas Troubles' Wildflower II collection) and can't wait for you to see it. Marilyn and Janet also finished samples last week and they are now displayed also. It's really starting to look like a quilt shop!

Of course, just as we think we have all the fat quarters cut, bolts marked and on the shelf, a new shipment of fabric arrives. Today, Jody Barrows fabric line we will be using for our Square in a Square BOM arrived.

We also decided that we will carry Baby Lock sewing machines. We will be attending a sales training the first week of February (required before you can get any machines). Eleanor Burns and Nancy Zieman are spokespersons for Baby Lock. Some of us had the opportunity to sew on Baby Locks at market and just fell in love with them. We think you will too!

FYI: 10 days & counting!

New Look!

I discovered a new site for free blog backgrounds, so of course I had to jazz up this one. I picked this one because it reflected the colors of the shop. Hope you enjoy the new look!

FYI: TWO WEEKS!!!!

Difficult

Difficult is....trying to write on this blog about the shop without revealing any of our surprises for our opening on January 1. Time is ticking by and it doesn't seem like we're making progress very fast. Alan has spent days working on the countertops for our cutting tables and checkout counter. We still have to finish the kitchen area cabinet, finish the bathroom walls and floors once the plumber installs the plumbing and fixtures, finish the cutting tables and checkout counter so we can have electricity installed to the counter for the cash register, finish some of the displays..... Cutting fat quarters of all the fabric has taken - literally - hours and hours and hours. We got our bookkeeping system installed and running and now Marilyn is entering inventory into the system - which also will take hours and hours. When we're not at the shop (or, for some of us, at our day job) we're working on sewing quilt samples for the shop. I can't imagine trying to do this solo!

FYI: 16 days & counting (OMG!)

Gift Certificates

Trying to find that perfect gift

for the quilter in your family?

Give her a gift that shows her she's "sew" special...

A gift certificate from Prairie Flower Quilt Co.!

Call us at 620.375.2044 to order today.

FYI: 19 days & counting...

Moda Fabricmatcher

We all love Moda fabric at Prairie Flower Quilt Co. It is such great quality and there are just soooo many beautiful collections. Now Moda has a website where you can design projects online using their fabric. Just follow this link and get a jump on your next quilt project!

Want help deciding which fabric to use? Pick one of the collections we'll have in the shop.....Aviary, Collections for a Cause - Heritage, Legacy and Traditions, Gypsy Rose, Miss Jump's Scrap Bag, Garden Inspirations, Portobello Market, Simplicity, Wildflower Serenade I & II, Zippity Doo Day and Civil War Crossing.

And better yet, you can win a Moda quilt kit if they pick your design as their favorite! A new winner every month!

FYI: 21 days & counting!

"Sew" Much To Do!

Time is ticking away and we still have lots to do, but we took time out to participate in the downtown holiday activities by decorating a planter. Of course, it had a sewing theme!

Our gigantic spool of thread (complete with an even bigger needle!) served as the base to our trio of Christmas trees decorated with button garlands and wooden spool decorations.

Shop update: We received a big shipment today of fabrics. We may actually get all of our shelves filled yet. I think we are starting to actually visualize what the shop will look like once everything is done. Then again, this shop may always be a work in progress --- sounds like some of my UFOs!

FYI: 28 days & counting.....

Controlled Chaos?

Things keep moving along at the shop but probably looks like utter chaos from the outside. We have lots of odds and ends of building projects to be completed - both bathrooms need replumbed (and we're still waiting on the plumber), check out stand and cutting tables need countertops and sides finished, kitchen counter and sink needs installed...after we get the rest of the cabinet built, etc. In the middle of the construction, we're trying to inventory fabric and get it on the shelves. The rest of the electrical outlets were finished over the long weekend, so now we have electricity to the computer and can start entering inventory on it.

We decided to put paper up last week on the windows so that the final look of the shop will be a surprise on our opening day. Side benefit is that no one can see our chaos!

T-minus 31 days and counting until we open!