Quilt Shop Hop Part 1

The Theme for the Wasatch Front Quilt Shop Hop for 2010 is Celebrating 10 Years, it's hard to believe it's been 10 years. I don't think I've missed more than 1-2 years of the 10 years. This year each shop picked a celebration and made a block and then also made a quilt to showcase their celebration.

Shop Hop came upon me quickly this year and I wasn't quite prepared for it. What I mean is that with the wedding I didn't have as much money to spend as I wanted to have but, I had fun with my $100 budget and was able to collect some wonderful fabric for a new quilt I'm making this summer. I'll talk more about that in another post later where I'll share the pattern and show pictures of the fabric I bought.

(Picture taken at Quilts Etc.)

Diana, Jackie and I started our Shop Hop Day at 8am and drove to one of the furthest Shops and worked our way down through the Salt Lake Valley.

Here is a list of the 10 shops we visited along with links if they have them:

1. Quilter's Haven located in Bountiful, Utah
2. Piper's Quilts & Comforts located in Historic Sugarhouse in SLC, Utah
3. Whimsy Cottage located in Holladay, Utah
4. Mormon Handicraft located in Deseret Book in Midvale, Utah
5. Elaine's Quilt Block located in Cottonwood Heights, Utah
6. Pine Needle's located at Gardner Village in West Jordan, Utah
7. Material Girl's located in South Jordan, Utah
8. Quilt, Quilt, Quilt, Etc. located in Sandy Utah
9. Thimble & Threads located in Draper, Utah
10. Broadbent's Quilt Shop located in Lehi, Utah

Shop One:
Quilter's Haven
Located in Bountiful, Utah

This is a view of the front of their shop. I loved the Halloween quilt made using Riley Blake's Halloween collection called "Boo to You". I bought the majority of my fabric from this shop.

The theme for Quilter's Haven's quilt is Cinco de Mayo.

I loved the Tool Minder's as seen in the picture below.
I actually have a tutorial in the works that I have planned for next week sometime.

Shop Two:
Piper's Quilts & Comforts
located in Historic Sugarhouse in Salt Lake City, Utah

Jeannette is the shop owner and she has a wonderful flair for quilting, crocheting, knitting, and applique. I'm quite certain those are just a few of her many talents. Her shop also has the most beautiful garden and her hollyhocks are so gorgeous.

You must click on the picture below to get a closer look at all of these darling handmade baby shoes. I just want to make them and line them up on a shelf or hang them in the window. They are just that cute. The picture doesn't give a clear picture of just how precious they are.

These Hand Smocked Dresses have been a favorite for years and I have yet to take one on. I should've bought a kit to make and frame at least one of them. I just couldn't decide which dress I wanted to make. Each kit comes with a pre-gathered piece of fabric for smocking.

I love this yarn display and love the quilt on the door too.

Jeanette has many wonderful crochet and knitting books along with quilt books and patterns. I wished I had had more time to peruse her book shelves.

Shop Three:
Whimsy Cottage
Located in Holladay, Utah

This shop is small but full of great fabric. I'm not as keen on their present location but it's wonderful to have them in the list of Quilt Shops to visit. Last year they had one of my favorite quilts.

This is an inside look at Whimsy Cottage.
We ran into some of our American Quilting Retreat Buddies here and had fun visiting with them.

Whimsy's Quilt Theme: Mardi Gras

Shop Four:
Mormon Handicraft
Sorry NO Pictures taken here.

This Quilt Shop used to be one of the premier places to visit when in Utah and they have since moved from downtown Salt Lake City to "This is the Place Heritage Park" and Pioneer Village in SLC and now they are located in a corner of some of the bigger Deseret Books in Utah. I don't know about every quilter but, I think we all miss their previous locations, especially the Pioneer Village. That was a great place to visit.

Shop Five:
Elaine's Quilt Block
Located in Cottonwood Heights, Utah

This is one of my favorite shops that I'd love to visit more often than I get too. It's not terribly far away but just far enough with all of the summer road construction that it makes it difficult for me to get too as often. Their shop has a great variety of fabric with lots of fun things to look at.

Elaine's Quilt Shop Theme: Happy New Year

Shop Six:
Pine Needles
Located at Historic Gardner Village in Holladay, Utah

I'm so happy this shop is so close to home and it's in my top five favorite quilt shops to visit. The location of this quilt shop is also very fun with lots of other shops each in their own little house. Gardner Village is actually a little village of old and historial houses that have been brought to the site and given a new home. Gardner Village is a delightful place that you'll have to put on your must visit places when you come to Utah.

A view of Pine Needle's from the bridge you walk over when parking on the north side of the building.

Pine Needles theme: Baby Shower
Click on the picture to see the darling bibs and baby shirts.

I love this crib and the darling things displayed inside.

Look at this darling baby carseat/carrier cover. It's an actual quilt, not just two pieces of fabric sewn together and I loved the extra attention to detail on this carseat cover.

Well, that's it for today!

Tomorrow: Part Two
Quilt Shops 7, 8, 9, &10

I hope you enjoyed a peek at some of our local quilt shops.

David Archuleta

Summer is finally here and the fun has begun. Last week just disappeared and this week is going just as quickly. I do get to sleep in each day and I've really needed it and enjoyed it.

Tell me you remember David Archuleta from American Idol. Good. I'm glad!

He's definitely a local favorite here in Utah.

Well, yesterday he came to Deseret Book in Orem for a book signing of his new book that's just been published called "Chords of Strength" (published by Celebra , an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group). If you're interested in checking it out you can find the book on AMAZON. I've started reading it and I'm fascinated and inspired by the road he's traveled thus far in his life, quite remarkable. It's been a great read so far and I'm really enjoying it.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday...

The event started at Noon.
We arrived at about 10:30am.

My sister is very smart.
She brought camp chairs and umbrella's.

The girls are nervous, yet excited.

The girls showing me their books.
They are way excited.

While we were getting near the front Kenna and her cousins were interviewed by a news reporter from the KBYU Local News. They were there to report on the event.

(Note: Today we got to see all three girls on the Local News Channel 11 KBYU)

My niece is being interviewed too.
She is a HUGE fan of David Archuleta and she is often found writing his name over and over again in her notebook. She also has several pictures of him on her bedroom wall.

My other niece was interviewed too.

We made it to the front of the line where we got to see David Archuleta close up and get his signature. Kenna had fun meeting him and hearing him sing before the book signing started. We all had a really fun day together.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer.

Covered Button Tutorial for Crocheted Flower

I want to thank you for your interest in the Crocheted Flowers I've been making and many of you expressed an interest in knowing how to make the actual crocheted flower part. I was actually just suggesting that I show you how to make the covered buttons in the flowers. I could do a video tutorial but, I have to admit that I'm a little bit afraid of making a fool of myself on video because I'm still so new at crocheting. I'd probably use the wrong crochet language and give you the wrong or confusing directions but, if you don't hold it against me I guess I could make an attempt at making a video tutorial on making the actual flower part. Let me know if you would still want me to make an attempt at it.

The Products:

Well, here's my little secret... On the left you will see a newer product called i-top by imaginisce and on the left you will see the conventional Covered Buttons by Dritz.

Note: Here's a great online source for the covered buttons (with a button shank) go to Covered Buttons.com That's where Nanette and Nedra have bought their covered buttons in bulk.

Another Note: The i-top buttons on the left are what they classify as their medium "Brad Daddies" and the traditional 7/8" Cover Button Kit by Dritz is the same size as the medium "Brad Daddies".

In this tutorial I will be using the i-top product (on the left) but not the tool (on the right).


Before I get started I'm going to send you over to Lori Holt's Blog for a wonderful tutorial on making covered buttons using the i-top covered buttons and tool. You will just love her most recent creation. She gives you a very detailed look at the i-top products and the tool for making the covered buttons with a brad.

Hurry...

Go check it out...

You can pop back over after you have a look see...

Trust me. You will LOVE it...

Especially if you LOVE covered buttons like we do.

Step One:
Making the Covered Buttons

1. Here I'm going to use the pattern and the tool from the Dritz Button Cover Kit.

2. I cut out the pattern and traced it onto some clear vinyl.

3. Then I took the top part of the button and traced around it to create a viewing area for previewing your fabric placement.

4. Cut out your fabric.


5. Take out the button tool.

6. Place fabric over the white cup.

7. Take the metal disc and place it over the fabric.

8. Press the metal disc into the cup. This will gather up the fabric and make it nice and snug.



9. This next step is certainly optional but I tend to make things secure. If that makes any sense.

10. I place a small amount of tacky glue around the metal where the fabric will touch. This makes the fabric more snug and nicely gathered around the metal disc.



11. As you can see the fabric is nicely gathered and ready to go.

12. Just add a small dot of glue before putting on the button back. Again this is optional.



13. Now place the brad backing over the back of the button.

14. Gently press down and you will feel when it's been securely placed.



15. Holding on to the brad shank remove the covered button from the plastic cup.

16. Your covered button is now ready to use.



Here's a picture of the back of the button I just made along with the back side of a traditional covered button.

Here's a look at the front of the two buttons.

Step Two:
Putting Together the Buttons & Flowers

Here are the items I used to attach the crocheted flowers to a clip to make a magnet brooch.

Left to right:

1. Binding clips or hair clips.
2. 1/ 8" x 1" Fender washers from the Hardware Store.
3. 9/16" (Smaller) Fender washers from the Hardware Store.
4. Strong magnets from the craft store.

Option 1:
Crocheted Flower with Hair Clip

Here is the placement order of the crocheted flower with a hair clip.

Left to right:
1. Covered button with brad.
2. Previously Crocheted Flower #1 (any color)
3. Previously Crocheted Flower #2 (white or any color)
4. Hair Clip



Here's a closeup view of how to attach the brad to the hairclip.

1. With pressure on the button from underneath push the brad up through the opened hair clip.



2. Open the brad and spread metal prongs across the hairclip.

3. Once the brad is secure you can slide the clip and adjust it so the back of the clip will close.

4. You can certainly cover the brad with a piece of ribbon and some hot glue but I like the flexibility of taking it off and changing the buttons or the flowers.

Option 2:
Crocheted Flower Brooch with Magnet

Here is the placement order of the crocheted flower with a magnet.

Left to right:
1. Covered button with brad.
2. Previously Crocheted Flower #1 (any color)
3. Previously Crocheted Flower #2 (white or any color)
4. 1/8" x 1" Fender Washer
5. Strong Magnet



Here's a closeup view of how to attach the brad to the fender washer.

1. With pressure on the button from underneath push up the brad up through the center hole of the fender washer.



2. Open the brad and spread metal prongs across the fender washer.



3. Once the brad is secure you can pop on the magnet.



The magnet version is great for wearing on the lapel of a jacket or on a blouse. To wear it all you have to do is place any fabric in between the magnet and the back of the flower. So that means you put the flower on the outside of you blouse and the magnet on the inside of your blouse.



I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial on making crocheted flowers.

Flower Power

I've been working on the crocheted flowers for the winners of the Celebration Giveaway and thought you might like to see them before I mail them off.

The first crocheted flower that my daughter is wearing is a pretty purple with a light polka dot center. The flower is attached to a hair clip that can be used in quilting but is commonly called a binding clip.


The next flower is a red and white with a black and white polka dot center. If you know me, you know that this is one of my favorite color combinations. I just LOVE polka dots.


This flower is pink with a multi color polka dot center. It also has a clip on the back.


This blue flower is the same one that is seen on the crochet clutch. I used a stripe for the center button. I've also attached a clip to this flower.


This teal flower has a monochromatic look with a teal on teal floral fabric for the center button. I've also attached a clip to this flower.


Here is a look at the back of the flowers. Some of you may have questions if you look closely.


They are NOT the traditional covered buttons you're used to using.

Are you wondering where I got them?

Does anyone know what they are called and where I might have gotten them?

Would you like me to share my best found secret tip?

Hmmmmm......

Should I?

Are you interested?

I'd be willing to do a whole post about them this week.

Just let me know if you're interested and I'd be happy to do that.

I could do a whole tutorial about them.

They are the coolest little product I've found.

Very versatile too.