Dog Bandannas

                         (Sadie)

Lately, I have gotten the doggy bandanna bug and have made an unbelievable amount of dog bandannas. 

Why?

Because look at how cute they are! 

                                   (Ally)

A year ago one of our fabric reps gave us a bag of last seasons sample fabric and I have been racking my brain for what to do with it since. 

Finally, I decided that some of the fabrics would look cute as dog bandannas and would be fun to sell in the store. 

So while listening to Rhys Bowen's "The Royal Spyness" series (I recommend if you like a posh female by chance detective in the early 1930s) I hashed out a ton of dog bandannas. 

I even designed my own label to add to them.

These bandannas are cool because you can slip your dog's collar through them, ending your worry about them falling off. 

The dog bandannas are available for purchase at Bloom, 724 Main Street Margaretville, N.Y.

Let's make this the bee's knees.  

Trout Tales

Last year as a benefit for the little village of Margaretville, BAM (Business Association of Margaretville) hosted a garnished trout event.

The premise of the event was that different local artists could apply to get a wooden cut out fish.  They would then decorate the fish any way they sought fit as long as it was appropriate.  The fish would be put on display all over Margaretville for the summer.  At the end of the summer, they would be actioned off and the majority of the proceeds would go to BAM to help fund the village-wide events they put on every year and the village decorations.

Last years theme was trout and I was lucky enough to be able to paint a fish.

I was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh and painted one side of my fish using him as my inspiration.

But then I got bored and couldn't possibly recreate the opposite side of the fish to be the same.

So I went in a different direction and painted it with flowers since it was going to be displayed outside of our fabric shop, Bloom.

At the end of the summer when the fish were being auctioned off, I was asked to be the Vana White of trout and help sell off the fish.

Lisa Scalf, the genius that she is, gave me a mermaid costume she had made in the '80s while she was studying at FIT to wear.

Let's make this the bee's knees.

Embroidered Jean Jacket

Over a year ago I became inspired by Susan Daniels, to follow in her footsteps and embroider a jean jacket.  Susan's jacket was embroidered with garden flowers and little bugs.  She decorated the back and sleeves to create an awe-inspiring, fashionable jacket perfect for springtime.  It was truly inspiring. 

After seeing Susan's, I was set on embroidering a jacket of my own. 

I couldn't help myself, I had to do the same thing.

Embroidering has been a love of mine for a long time.  It's incredibly relaxing and satisfying. It's also an activity that doesn't take a lot of concentration...meaning I can watch a lot of English murder mysteries while I do it.

I decided on a Turkish inspired flower design for the back.

And added a little to the collar to give it a pop on the front.

Let's make this the bee's knees. 

Bloom Fabric, Art & Retreat

Want to know about the best-kept quilting secret of Margaretville?

Hint hint, people mistake it for the flower shop all of the time because of its cute name that inspires growth and beauty.

Tired of guessing?

I'm talking about Bloom the local quilt shop and retreat that my mom and I opened up in August of 2017!

Why create a fabric/art supply shop and quilting retreat?

Because why not?  You see, I had just graduated from Denison University with a BA in Studio Art and was now home racking my brain on my next life move.  I had decided that I would try teaching English in South Korea for a year to pay off my student debts and bide myself some time on figuring out my next life goal and how to use what I was taught at Denison.  But then I started subbing in Margaretville and quickly decided that I Did Not want to become a teacher.  Teachers deal with WAY too much crap, from kids, parents, and administration.  Seriously how are they not paid more?  

My mom is a teacher and a quilter who has had the dream of owning her own quilt shop/retreat for years.  Where I, on the other hand, had always dreamt of owning my own art supply store.  So, we said heck with it and opened up our own store.  

And that is how Bloom was founded. 

Let me tell you about Bloom.

Besides being a really cute, little shop with 100% cotton fabrics, sewing notions, yarns, knitting and crocheting supplies, and some basic art supplies, we also hold classes.  

We offer classes on learning to quilt, advanced quilting, applique, tree skirts, rope bags, fascinators, wall hangings, and many many more. 

Every 3rd Sunday of the month we have a knitting and crochet circle where you can work on your projects or learn the craft. 

Not only that but we can teach you how to sew in a private lesson!

Lets talk Retreat!

First off, what is a retreat?

A retreat is where you can get the heck away from your family and responsibilities to spend time with your friends.  It's like the ultimate slumber party for crafty adults. 

Retreaters bring their own projects to work on whether it is quilting, scrapbooking, or knitting our workroom has space for it all.  

Retreaters are also responsible for their own meals.  We have a small kitchen but it has everything you would need to prepare meals and a dining table to eat them at.  If you're not much of a cook, there are some fantastic restaurants in Margaretville, walking distance from the store.

The retreat can fit up to 6 people at a time with a policy minimum of 3.  We have three different rooms.

                           The Coral Room

                        The Periwinkle Room

                           The Aqua Room

The retreat is located at the back of the store so you don't have to worry if you forgot your thread or scissors.  

We hope to one day be able to create a bigger retreat space on our second floor with the support and love of those around us.

For more details down to the nitty-gritty and to book a retreat with us check out our webpage bloomquilts.store. You can also follow us on Instagram or Facebook. 

Lets make this the bee's knees. 

Row by Row Experience 2018

Catskill Cats

The Row by Row Experience is basically the ultimate scavenger hunt for quilters. 

It's a quilt shop program where stores can drum in new business and quilters to their area.  

How it works is that each quilt shop designs, creates, and writes up a pattern for a specific sized row.  A picture of your row and a little blurb about it are then posted to the Row by Row Experience website and facebook group.  During a set time during the summer, quilters can then travel to your shop and pick up your row pattern for free or buy your row kit.  It takes 8 rows to make a quilt.  The first quilter who makes a quilt with 8 different rows can then submit the quilt to any shop who doesn't have a winner yet and get a prize.  

      "Quilt made by our winner, Ruth"

Once fall hits, shops can start to sell their patterns.  Our pattern is available for purchase at my Etsy store KonversingKate or in our store Bloom, located in Margaretville, New York. 

Last year was our first year in part taking in the Row by Row.  The theme was Sew Musical.  In honor of the Catskill Mountains and bluegrass, I decided that our row would be musical cats playing in the mountains. 

Get it cats in the Catskills?!

I've never tried my hand at quilting with solids before I started this project and thought that it would be interesting to make the majority of the row out of solids.

The fun thing about doing the Row by Row is that quilters can use whatever fabrics they want to make their row. 

I wanted our row to contain different sewing techniques.  I came up with a background that is simply sewn together to give the impressions of mountains.  On top of this, I added appliqued cats with instruments and garments.  Then to give a little extra Catskill advertising, I embroidered "Create in the Catskills" above the cats. 

Let's make this the bee's knees. 

Fabric Hair Clips

You know when you go to the hairdressers and they pin your hair up with those magical alligator clips that don't hurt and hold your hair out of the way while they are cutting?  If you don't that's ok, because I have pictures! 

These aren't the alligator clips they use at the hairdressers (at least not that I know of) but they are the alligator clips that are excellent for everyday use. 

These clips are great for keeping your hair out of your face and accomplishing it quickly.  But they're boring looking and not very stylish undoctored.   

So I Covered Them In Fabric!

And now they go with almost all of my outfits and are easy to use, not to mention cute.  All you need is fabric, scissors, a glue gun, and patience.  A good TV show to watch while you're working on them helps too.  I watched Agatha Christie's Marple.

Let's make this the bee's knees. 

Showy Sheep Quilt

This quilt is my first officially finished, officially designed by yours truly quilt, that I've ever made.  It was incredibly easy to make and gave me a good beginner boost.  The pattern is available for sale at my Etsy shop, KonversingKate or if you would like to take a trip to Margaretville, NY and see one of the cutest fabric stores around, it is located for purchase at Bloom!

Being surrounded by beautiful fabrics and avid quilters every day at work can take its toll on a person.  In my case, that toll has gotten me hooked on creating my own quilts.

Quilt designing is a frustratingly, fantastic disease.

On the one hand, it is fun creating your own quilt and pattern but, on the other hand, you actually have to create your own quilt and pattern.  I have a build-up of ideas for quilts but not enough time or energy to make them all right away.

A quilter is an artist and a mathematician.

My biggest hurdle when putting my pattern into practice is all of the math.  Why math?! Why?! First, there is the figuring out what size you want your blocks, strips, triangles, squares, etc. to be.  Then, there is the remembering to add a 1/4 inch to each side for the seams.  Once you have that solved and your blocks are sewn into strips then you have to worry about all of the strips lining up to where they are suppose to be.

As I'm sure any inventor will tell you: it can be a real headache at times.

That's why my Showy Sheep quilt tricked me.

It was incredibly easy and fast to make that I thought all of my quilts would be like this.

I was initially inspired by a cat quilt designed by Kaffe Fassett, who is one of my favorite fabric designers.  It was a simple quilt design like mine except with appliqued cats and hearts. 

I thought, oh that's cute but sheep with bow ties would be hilarious and is way more likely to make me smile. 

As an homage to Kaffe Fassett, I decided to do my sheep in his fabrics.  To complement it, I placed them on batik backgrounds. This had the desired effect of being bright and colorful; placing an extra smile in my smile bank. 

To give my sheep a little more life, I embroidered eyelashes on them.  I love embroidering, I find it to be more relaxing than quilting and it's easy to do while watching TV. 

I had a fantastic time making this quilt.  It brings me goofy joy just looking at it.  I hope that it offers others the same feelings it gives to me. 

Let's make this the bee's knees.