Friday, October 31, 2008


Happy Halloween Day! Now, I am not normally a big Halloween person, but this whole month has seemed like a trick or treat festival! Between the financial upheaval in the entire world and the election frenzy reaching a crescendo~I can't wait to move forward from this month!

I hope November becomes a month of thankfulness for all the opportunities we have in this country and in the world. A thankfulness for our health, our families, and the relationships we have with those around us.

With that in mind, I am going to get out some quick and easy patterns and quilt kits and start sewing for those I love..I can't remember a time in our history when a handmade gift will mean more. These stressful days call for something comforting. There is a long list of people I would like to comfort with a quilt~even if it's just a little lap quilt to fend off the chill as we sit and watch our favorite 5 minutes of television. Most of those I love the most live far away and I cannot be with them often..But if I get out those Just Can't Cut It , 5 and 10, and some of the other quick and easy fat quarter patterns we have, I can have something that my own hands have lovingly fused together that will create a bond across the time and space that separates me from those special people in my life.

So, today I will make a list-trying to be realistic-and begin planning which fabrics and which pattern for each of those people..Wish me luck and take on my challenge to send comfort out into the world with a handmade gift of love~a quilt!

Monday, October 27, 2008


Good Monday Morning!

This week will be a good one! We each need to choose for our week to be good, and then the collective will be good!

Once we have done all we can do to attend to the necessities of life-we need to enjoy that life as it is..So, I will embrace this week and make some plans for future projects. And begin work on that holiday list! Wow, is it close at hand.

We all know that there is talk of a much more conservative holiday season than we have seen in many, many years in this country. It helped me make a plan to give handmade gifts. Some will get aprons, some table runners, some lap quilts, and some will get tote bags. Unlike running to the store for a gift, these gifts will have a part of me in them. And I will have given something that can never be replaced or repurchased-time.

The creation of the gift turns out to be a gift to me if I approach it as an opportunity to give a piece of me with the gift. The project then is not a "thing" weighing me down, or hanging over me to be done; but a joy to create and produce.

It is with this attitude that I approach the creative gift giving season..So, grab your list, check out our site-we have lots of great, quick kits that will give you as much joy to create as it will to give them.




Happy Crafting~

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I NEED A QUILT!!!!!


Well..another day of dismal news. I am not usually inclined to have my mental state impacted by the stock market or the news in general-but days and days have taken their toll..

So what should/could I do now to distract me from this doom and gloom snowstorm? I just want to sew. I want to make a quilt and wrap up in it and forget all of this! And I think I will. The holidays are coming and we are all going to need a little comfort after the last few months and the ones yet to come. I want my family to be able to grab their lap quilts, snuggle up, and wait for the storm to pass.

Our little shop has recently done everything we can to help in these tough times-so that we can keep sewing comfort for those we love and perhaps for those far less fortunate than some of us. Most fabrics in our shop are now only $7.50/yard! With most brick and mortar shops and even most online shops pricing fabric at $9.00-$10.00/yd-we can save you some real money at Seaside!


So go get yourself a cup of tea (spiked or not..lol), grab a notepad and browse through the shop, with the Ocean Sounds on (it'll help!) and make a plan to sew until you can't remember what made you retreat to your sewing spot! I'm gonna!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Fat Cats and Quarters




Fat Cats and Quarters

This week, I’m thinking a lot about fat. I know this is not a nutrition blog, but that’s not the kind of fat I was thinking of. I began my musings while listening to the news. It’s kind of hard to escape from, here recently. There has been much discussion about those “fat cats on Wall Street” who got us into the current big mess, and who should certainly receive their comeuppance! We could muse on this subject all day, but I will leave that to other bloggers of a more feisty nature.

Hearing “fat” juxtaposed with money led me to my next fat thought – fat quarters! Are these bloated coins that are desperately trying to keep up with the price of gas? Unfortunately, no. But don’t despair! Fat quarters are indeed anxious to help out a financially thoughtful quilter. Quilting fabric, as most fabric in the US, is sold by the yard. A yard is 36 inches long, so a quarter of a yard is 9 inches long. Most quilting fabrics are 44 or 45 inches wide. Therefore, a quarter yard cut will result in a piece of fabric measuring 9 X 44 inches.

Now granted, quilters often cut their fabric into inconceivably small pieces in order to sew them back together (we’ll discuss the rationality of this process another day…), but sometimes a 9 inch width may put you in a bind. (Not to be confused with binding, which we also discuss another day…). However, you may be loath to purchase a half-yard, and end up with much leftover fabric, which is not a fiscally responsible thing to do at all! Never fear – fat quarters to the rescue!!

A fat quarter is a half yard, or 18 inch cut, which has been cut apart at the fold, resulting in two 18 X 22 inch pieces. When you buy a fat quarter, you have the same number of total square inches as you would if you bought a quarter yard, only the rectangle is a completely different shape. Oftentimes this facilitates cutting pattern pieces in a more efficient way. Many patterns are designed to use fat quarters for this reason.

At Seaside Quilting supplies, we have a large selection of fat quarter packs available. We will gladly customize a fat quarter pack for you from any fabrics you see on the site. So whether you are a fat cat or a miser, consider using fat quarters in your quilting or crafting.

"Next week's quiz: What are the dimensions of a fat eighth?"

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