Ok...I'm not big on resolutions at all. 

But I do love to write. I just need more hours in the day. If anyone has a secret method to create a few for me, message me 😃 

To that end, I am recommitting to attempting to write here more frequently - sharing thoughts on piecing things together. 

It's a snowy, cold day here in Central Virginia and I'm about to begin work on invoicing our Thursday Sip 'n Shop and our Sunday Fabric fun day sales. 

If you've never joined us for a live, please do. We have a great time and we go to a lot of effort to put together a fabric show that brings you fabulous Quilt Shop Only fabrics, notions and the amazing Quilters Dream Battings.

We try to create a personal shopping experience where you can see the fabrics unrolled from the bolt and get a "feel" for the drape and luxury of high quality cottons. 

These cottons are NOT just for quilting. But for sewing and crafting projects of all types.  

We put hours and hours into our quilts and projects. It only makes sense to create with the best possible fabrics, battings, and notions we can to ensure the longevity of our handwork. 

We offer fantastic pricing on our Facebook Live sales and bring the newest fabrics to life, even through a screen! 

Join us- we're live Thursdays@7PM ET for Sip 'n Shop Night and every other Sunday for Sunday Fabric Fun Day!

Find our calendar at: (1) Seaside Quilting Supplies, LLC | Facebook

Visit our Etsy shop at: fabricsbythesea | Etsy

 Happy Monday Y'all!! 

The shop is bursting at the seams with new things! Every day is a new shipment it seems! 

This weekend I was thinking about all of the newness that the coming season brings. New flora and fauna, new longer days and maybe this year, new (yet familiar) freedoms again!!

Use this time to stretch yourself! Try a new block, dabble in some free motion quilting, try some applique (I'm gonna!). And save up your questions to ask on our lives. We have some really talented piecers, and quilters who are always happy to help!

This warm season also brings new outdoor activities and fun in the sun!

In that vein, we will have a new Warm Seasons Live Schedule until Fall. 

Every Thursday will be Sip 'n Shop Notions Night Live @7PM EST where we will get to see all the new gadgets and quilting/sewing accessories in the shop. 

Every other Sunday @2PM EST we will see all the new fabrics that have found a home here! 

Be sure to join us and share the times with your crafty, quilty, sew-y friends! We look forward to meeting you all!

The new season is also bringing us new friends here at Seaside! Welcome to all of you! 

One of our newest friends is a talented sewist named Carol! Please visit her on her lovely site: 

Sew Many Memories Embroidery  

Move a little slower and go a little further.....

 Some weeks are just longer than others...You know what I mean? 

This has been one of them for me. I am always "doing". Always. 

And I am reminded today, as I am forced to "do" a little less this week that sometimes our quilts try to slow us down too. When things don't seem to be working with a pattern or a design. Perhaps a day or two off would offer a new view. 

The struggle to push through the "to-do"  list is not always the most productive path forward.

 Occasionally, that push forces things that then have to get ripped out with either the figurative or the literal seam ripper. 

I am learning, even at this stage of life, that a forced slow down can be a good thing. 

In that vein, remember to slow down when things get hard-when that pattern gets frustrating, when the tension is fighting you. Take a breath, step back, make a cup of tea. Then try again. 

All of this talk of slowing down has turned my thoughts to my free motion quilting skills, which I am  in a hurry to learn. 

But there are so many reasons to do the opposite of that. To practice a little bit at a time, to let the fabric and the thread and the music (I quilt to music) move me. To play with the threads and the tension and not fight them all the time in my effort to hurry up and master a task. 

So, I'm gonna play with some new thread later. These gorgeous new Cosmo Lecien colors that just arrived!!

Batting 101 !

Time for a batting primer..To help with all the wonderful batting choices. Read on....

This photo is of the amazing Cotton Stuffing produced by my friends at Quilters Dream Batting. They do not sell directly to consumers but through quality quilt shops both online and storefront.Having used all the battings available here in the US, they are, hands down, my favorite. The quality is ALWAYS there and they have the most amazing customer support staff.

On to the useful information-I am often asked which batting to use for a given project. The choices can be overwhelming. There are cottons, polys, poly blends with cotton, silk, wool, recycled green battings, and midnight black poly battings. These days there are even battings with fusing attached to make projects super easy.

People often believe that the choices reflect the quality of the batting. With Quilters Dream Battings, this is not the case. Rather, the choices represent the weight of the lofts.

Each of the battings listed below is connected to a link on the Quilters Dream site that may have additional information you may find useful.All of the quilters dream products can be purchased on my site through this link: Quilters Dream Battings.

Options are:  Cotton  in 4 Lofts:

request-this is the thinnest loft available. This weighs about 3 oz/square yard and is 1/16" thick.

select-this is the mid loft batting. This weighs about 4 oz/square yard and is 3/32" thick.

deluxe-the loft becomes noticeably heavier here. This weighs 6 oz/square yard and is 1/8" thick.

supreme-this is the thickest of the cotton lofts and weighs 8 oz /square yard and is 3/16"thick.

Polyester Battings~ Available in 3 lofts:
request-same thickness and weight as the cotton request.
select- same thickness and weight as the cotton select.
deluxe- same thickness and weight as the cotton deluxe.

Quilters Dream Puff Batting-A fluffy light batting. This batting comes in only one weight 3.5 oz/ square yard and is 1/3" thick.

Quilters Dream Midnight Poly Batting (Black)- one loft-select and weighs 4 oz/square yard and is 3/32" thick.

Quilters Dream Angel Battings-100% flame retardant fibers-This is available in one loft~select-which is 3/32" thick and weighs 4 oz/square yard

Quilters Dream Orient (a personal favorite of mine)-this is available in only one loft-select and weighs 4 oz/square yard and is 3/32" thick.

Quilters Dream Wool(this is AMAZING wool!)-this beautiful wool weighs 3 1/2 oz/square yard and is 3/8" thick.

Quilters Dream Fusion-This wonderful product is available in an 80/20 Cotton Poly Blend and
in one loft~Select. This is a solvent free fusible batting!

Quilters Dream Green Batting-This batting sometimes strikes fear in people. (totally unnecessarily i might add ). It is made from recycled green plastic bottles and it is so soft you will be totally stunned. It is the palest of green shades and works so nicely in any project. Its weight is similar to the request
cotton, as its thickness.

Quilters Dream Blend Batting-This is a 70% cotton, 30% poly blend of fibers and is a delight to sew on. This comes in only one loft and weighs 5 oz/square yard and is 1/8" thick.



Last, but certainly not least, is the fantastic Sweet Dreams Stuffing! This product, made from luscious 100% cotton fibers is 18" wide and 120"long when unrolled. 

And so concludes today's lesson on battings :)

Happy Quilting and Sewing!


Barb

Custom Kits

Here at Seaside, we often do custom quilt kits. For the past two weeks I've been working with a great customer from Texas. She's a beach lover like I am. So we spent some time planning a quilt for her from the White Sands Fabric Collection just released by Northcott. Then she asked to see some other beach collections  that we could make some kits out of. We ended up doing 3 kits and some extra yardage. 

She was so pleased with the way we package our kits.I thought I'd share the photos with you. 

Each part of the kit is separated and labeled. We can also cut kits down to sewing size pieces for a fee. For years now, I have had customers ordering custom kits. Several will just call me and say, "Hey Barb, I want a kit with purple flowers as the theme". And we exchange a few photos and we're done!

So, if you are one of those quilters (and there are many) who don't relish the work of choosing focal sizes, scale, color, and compliment, etc., drop us a line. We're happy to do the planning work with you.

Happy Tuesday,

Seaside 1

White Sands

White Sands

      

 

White Sands

White Sands 

                                                   
                                 





I am reluctant (sort of kidding) to even post these photos of this new collection! It is called White Sands by Northcott and I don't even have it at the shop yet (arriving tomorrow) and it is selling like crazy. 60 yards already gone. 

I love beach fabrics. Almost all of them. But this one is different. It is the very essence of the beach to me. It's tone is soft, yet unyielding in its commitment to conveying that feeling that the beach offers. It is rich in the most humble, gentle way. When I visit the ocean (as I will do soon at my mom's) I am reminded of the smallness of most of the things I fret over. The ocean is enduring, unrelenting, and ever present. This collection of fabrics reminds me of that feeling. Sadly, I think it will sell out long before I get to set aside enough for my own quilt. 

I think part of what I love so much about this collection is the sheer number of pieces that all work together. Colors that you may not have thought would suit each other. Like life really. So many different things compose a life that is rich and full of meaning. Not necessarily always perfect, but made richer by those moments that we all live through. The darker mottled pieces in this collection remind me of those "stormy" moments or seasons. And the lighter softer pieces reflect the easier times. You may think I read far too much into fabric lol, but that's what us empath, fabric junkies do. Fabrics speak to us. They call out to us. "Make me for this person. Or for that person". " Do this with me and not that." 

Here at Seaside, we are happy to "kit up" any fabrics you like. We'll send pictures til we get it just the way it needs to look. As far as this collection goes, we can do one or two more complete quilt kits before pieces are sold out. Message me and we'll talk while we dream of the sea. 

Happy Quilting,
Seaside 1

On a much cheerier note..... Too Cute to Spook has been in stock for a few weeks, but this weekend I sold a ton of it. If you are still looking for a GORGEOUS halloween fabric, check this out. I have some free patterns to give away for orders over $75.00 too!

So visit our Ebay Shop To get yours!

Epic Failure! How many days did I skip?? Ok, well, I did go to my moms for almost a week to help with some chores, so I get a little bit of a pass.

Back at it.  I started a project this week that was born out of love too. But unlike the last one that just melted together with ease unimaginable, this one is trying me. My little Pfaff workhorse is being difficult. She'll sew any layers of a sample piece I put in with no effort, but put this quilt in and she rears up like a mad horse.

And I press on. I have ripped out, resewn, ripped out and resewn. With little progress. So I stepped away for a day or two. And it's had me pondering why some are easy and some are hard. And that thought applies to so many things. Quilts, work, relationships. Sometimes it all just falls into place and other times, even the simplest piece is fraught with angst. I have a relationship like this quilt in my world. It is one born out of love, but often so challenging. And it's  not the other person's "fault". It is my own. It is the way I approach this relationship. With expectation of ease when I know that has not been the path with this person. The parts that are "easy" are so precious, but we have this long history that has been full of love and yet,  complicated all at once. We have ripped stitches out and resewn ourselves a thousand times. And I keep expecting this resewing to be the one that holds and makes it all come together. And much like this quilt, it seems to not be the case. But I am expecting things that are likely not to be. This relationship is just as it is. Complicated, rich, maddening, sweet...If it were not for  my applying my expectations to the situation, I would be content with it as it is. You know, you be you and I'll be me sort of thing. But I keep wanting them to be like me...So unfair of me.

Makes my love so conditional just like my love for this quilt. So I will continue ripping out and resewing until the pieces come together as I know they will. And I will do so without the hope that it is today, this hour.  Rather, when the moment is right and the attempts I make to correct the issues are done with patience and love instead of demanding and frustrated.

Wishing you easy stitches in all you do,

barb

Focused day #2.......

You know that fabric that just doesn't quite "fit" the quilt but you feel like you have to use it. You bought it, it was supposed to be in the quilt. The manufacturer had it in the collection and yet it still seems "off" to you. 

Often times we get hung up on the way the quilt was "supposed" to be. Just like the picture, just like the vision in our head. When in reality, the light may be a little different, the flow may not be just as pictured. And I, like you, can get stuck on that. And generally it creates nothing but unrest. In me and by transference, in the quilt. I once did a quilt for a fireman. He had worked at many stations in his young life and had MANY t-shirts from different stations. He wanted a t-shirt quilt that would use all the varying patches on the t-shirts from all the fire stations. And I diligently went about putting this quilt together, having never done a t-shirt quilt before. And NOTHING about it seemed right. I couldn't get the frames around the patches the way I wanted. Couldn't find the perfect frame for each patch. Couldn't get the frames to look good next to each other.  Couldn't stop the quilt from growing into a monster size. I fretted and fretted. 

And then...One morning I came down to the sewing room/quilt shop and it was laying there on the cutting table with all it's pieces laying there waiting for me to start playing rearrange the puzzle again. I stood there looking lovingly on this mess, which represented a lifetime of memories to this young man. I wondered why am I fighting with this quilt so much? I wondered this aloud. Then I stood there just waiting for an answer.  And after an eternity it seemed, the quilt said to me, "This is so hard because you are fighting what I want to be. A big, complicated, busy quilt. Just let me be what I am." 

(Now before you get all worked up that quilts talk to me, it didn't actually say words lol. But I'll bet some of you know what I mean about a quilt talking to you.)

And in that instant, I understood why I was struggling so.  I wanted this quilt to be other than it was. Other than it was trying to show me. I wanted it to be my way. And I knew to stop fighting and let the quilt be who it was. 

So it is in life I have found. Often we wish things were other than they are. And in the wishing is suffering. Sometimes the acceptance is difficult too, but far less so than wishing something that wasn't.  So let your quilts teach you. They will if you listen. So will life. Sometimes the thing just needs to be as it is. The "solution" to your dilemma isn't in the thing causing the trouble, but in our unwillingess to sit with what is in front of us. 

Happy Sitting and Sewing Today,

barb

UFO's

As is my habit, I have neglected this blog. I'm not sure why. I love to write. But like the pile of UFO's in, on, and around my sewing table, so remains this blog-unattended to. So here goes another effort to refocus. It may stick, It may not. Time will show us I suppose. 

I've been pondering friendship lately. As I get older, the number of friends seems to be shrinking. I'm okay with that. Friends seems to show you who they are over time and some stay and some go. As is necessary with most things in life. There are people that no matter the time and space between you, things go on as though those parameters do not exist. Love flows without expectation or clingy "need". Just companionship, even from afar. A listening ear, a warm heart, a soft hug.

This occurred to me as a quilt appeared, suddenly completed, on my sewing table. It was as though, there was fabric for only a moment, and then it was a quilt, within hours. And I wondered how that came to be. And yes, I was the one that did it, but it seemed to happen of it's own doing. It has dawned on me slowly over the last couple of weeks that the quilt came to be so easily from a magical place. A connection formed long ago that despite years and distance, needed an affirmation of its existence. And so, literally, fabric was chosen (although I swear it chose itself), and a top was ready in hours. And then the backing was done and in another day the whole thing was quilted with absolutely no fighting from the machine. And now it lays bound and ready to be given. 

Seems to me, it's like that in life. We think we chose people, whether friends, loves, even "family". But in reality, they come as we yearn for them . Appearing at the moment most perfect, leaving, if they must, at the moment most perfect. Perhaps not a seemingly perfect moment, but perfect nonetheless.  

And so do quilts. Some come easily, falling together effortlessly almost. As though you are watching them happen. Some we struggle with. Fabric not quite right. Pattern not quite right. "Feel" of the whole thing not quite right. It's then that we most often, need to lay the fabric down for a bit. Whether the "fabric" is actual or not, you know what I'm saying. Just lay it down. Walk, breathe, move away from it for a period of time. Come back and see if clarity finds you and the quilt. (or whatever). When we "force" quilts together, they often leave us wishing it was different when completed. It is similar in other areas of life too. I am learning to just lay it down for a while. Come back later. See whats there to really work with. Perhaps it'll reveal where it needs changing. Perhaps it'll reveal a do-over. 

Perhaps it'll reveal that it's perfect as it is. I just needed to see with new eyes. 

Happy Sewing,

barb

" Free Motion Quilting"

"Free Motion Quilting"

The title is actually a little play on words. I was thinking about being flexible when we are working on our quilts as a result of a conversation with a customer a couple of weeks ago. She found herself short of a "critical" fabric. Haven't we all done that? Been in the quilt shop, gathering fabrics and wanting to spend only what is absolutely needed. Even as the salesperson gently reminds us that manufacturers, more often than not, do not reprint fabric collections, leaving us in a quandry at the point where my customer was.


Beth was looking for a fabric that she was using as framing around some hexagons she was making. She claims to be a beginning quilter.  She sent me a picture of the quilt while we were chatting on the phone and I laughed when I opened the file. Not disparagingly, but out of awe. Beginning quilters don't often take on such quilts. When confronted with her dilemma, she was not deterred by the small bump in the fabric, so to speak. She simply kept moving forward. 

We all could take a lesson from her lesson: to not be sidelined by our little bumps, but to quilt, and even live, with the imperfections and find new ways to move forward.

Thanks Beth for the reminder! You are one amazing "beginning" quilter. 

I often have good luck finding hard to find fabrics-if you are stuck, feel free to email me and I'll gladly look around for you.

I also often buy the last bolts in the warehouse, so we often have pieces that are no longer generally available.

Remember, it's time to get moving on those holiday projects! I look forward to helping you bring them to fruition. Fabrics, Quilters Dream Battings, Starr Hand Dyed Quilt Kits and Fat Quarter Bundles, and patterns and notions-we have it all. 

Happy Friday!

barb