it's been a while since we last spoke.

hi quilters!

things have been crazy this past month and a half....but now we're winding down again back to normal. pat and i have been diligently practicing with the compuquilter- i've been learning a lot! since it's a different system than i'm used to, i have a little bit of an adjustment period. but it's been really nice.

we've been furiously working on our new kits, sample packs, and of course quilts! you have a lot to look forward to. if you haven't checked the website lately, i suggest you do! we've got some delicious new stuff, including sandi henderson's new farmer's market line! you gotta stop being so lazy- get away from the sewing machine and get to lookin!!

we miss you all like crazy! please drop us a line and let us know you still love us too.

happy quilting!
jessica

so this is the new year- and i don't feel any different.

hello everyone in quiltland! i hope you had a great holiday. we've been sorting thru the remaining remnants of california quiltmakers and are currently working on opening up our new fabric boxes. that's right!!! we have tons of new fabric we received, but still need a space to put it!

things have been a little crazy lately, between moving quilting machines into my garage, and deciding which furniture stays and goes.... pat and i have been patiently and tediously working like little ants. and then, of course, in the midst of the move, there was that little thing called christmas..... but spending time with family seems to be the best remedy for a stressful season.

of course, this is where i would be posting awesome photos of our new workspace....if i had remembered to bring my camera.... doh!

just know that we're thinking of you, and we're patiently working to put our new kits, fabric, and news on our website!

take care! we'll talk again soon.
jessica

I guess it's over.

Well, it's been a long road, long hours, and a long time coming. California Quiltmakers no longer exists at 621 East Main Street.

But the good news is now that we have no storefront, we have soooo much more time to manage the website. That means that you will have way more fabric, kits, and now even gifts to choose from! YAY!!!!

Thanks to our amazing extended family of quilters. I had no idea the impact that we've had on this industry. Thank you to our awesome friends, old and new. Can I just tell you that California Quiltmakers has changed my life forever? Before CQ I couldn't even turn on a sewing machine. Pat has been teaching me how to quilt since as long as I've been working for her, six years.

Even though this chapter is over, we are feeling new beginnings all around us. Expect greatness coming soon!

If I don't hear from you sooner, I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!! We love you!

Asian Invasion Continues!

We are overwhelmed by our gorgeous new fabric by Kona Bay. December is going to be Asian Invasion, with new kits and fabric going up on the website. That being said, here are some pics of some of our newest creations:


What Four and Big Spins

Big Spins Kit, available now!


the newest addition to the Asian family, a new PamCakes Kit available now!


Also, a good customer of ours came in the other day named Martha Howden. She made this quilt using one of our favorite patterns, Simply Delightful. Just had to show off the great work!





This is another quilt we received (sorry! I forgot to check who made it-if this is you, email me at jessicaislove@gmail.com and i'll give you credit!) using our PamCakes pattern! This was a Sheet Cake bundle that she bought at our booth at the Long Beach Quilt Show in July. Rock on mystery gal! Love the borders!



Ladies!! Show us what you have been making out of our patterns, kits and fabric! Email your pics to info@californiaquiltingcenter.com. Make sure your photo is a .jpeg file please!

One last thing before I work on more quilts. Quilts don't have to be patchwork, sometimes it's fun to be a little more artistic and think outside the seams. I (Jessica) made this quilt with the intention of telling a story with fabric. It's a love story, can you tell?








Have fun! Keep checking the site for new stuff, we will be updating frequently!
Jessica

The Fog is Lifting. (we think!)

As soon as Thanksgiving hits at Quilting Headquarters, two things occur:

*we panic, because we know Christmas is almost here!
*we can't see past our faces because it gets so foggy out here.

But despite the unpleasant weather we are warming our hearts. My personal favorite artist came in to the shop today to quilt and I was delighted. Lora Wheeler is an altered artist from Merced. She has inspired many of my creations and I'm always excited to bounce ideas off of her. So today's post is dedicated to Lora, her amazing quilts, and her altered attitude.

I'm not exactly sure when she started stitching and altering but as long as I've known her (six years) she has been making works of art. Here's one of her latest creations, a mini dressmaker's bust:

in fact, she surprised me with a bust of my own to alter!

She really impressed me with the cd case. This was done on her home sewing machine. She quilted it and added embellishments like ribbon and buttons. Check out the vintage brooch!



and the back:



It says "be in the moment". Great sentiment.

She also shared some of her latest altered books, which are in the process of being finished. Her half-done is still better than my finished product! To me, it's really important to have people that inspire you. Whenever I see Lora she just sets me on a path of creativity!

The latest altered book:






It's all in the details for me.




Look at the tiny dancer!


Inspiration can come from anywhere. When she was little, Lora had cupcake toppers like this.

Like us, she was also getting her Christmas quilting finished. Her Christmas quilts were astounding- I loved that she mixed non-Christmas-style green and red fabrics in with the traditional Ho-Ho-Ho jolly stuff.


Leopard and poinsettia?! Are you kidding me? Delicious!



She made this quilt using the pattern Simple Day at the Lake (available on our website!) but she altered it (of course!) and did twenty blocks instead of twelve. Ladies you can do this too. One block is equivalent to a fat quarter, so twenty fats instead of twelve.

And she made a label for the back out of a Christmas panel she bought but never used.




Today was a great day. I encourage you, reader, to seek inspiration, step outside the box, meet new friends, eat dessert, and most of all....

KEEP QUILTING!

Whew! Time to catch up!

Hi Quilters!
Things have been crazy at CQ! Between customers rushing to rent our machines before the shop changes hands and the 300 quilts that we still have to finish before December 15, you could say we're pretty busy!

But NEVER TOO BUSY for opening up new fabric lines that have come in the store!! We have debuted a couple new kits on the website too- you should be checking us out! click here to see our newest kits and our specials!

Yes MoMo, this is me using YOUR SCISSORS to cut open our fabric box! A haha....I love to break the rules.

our newest kit has this-Anna Griffin's Sierra Collection. We love the earthy tones and soothing prints. For the earth mother in all of us.

Tina Givens' line came in last week too. We are still in the process of designing kits but keep your eyes peeled!

and of course I jumped for joy when Amy Butler's new collection, Daisy Chain, hit the store! We can't wait to show you what we've come up with for this one.

Last and certainly not least....


New Asians From Kona Bay!!

Those are Pat's picks- her favorites from the new bolts.

From Valori Wells' Sole Line

Anna Griffin's Maime Collection has these great large prints. Pat shared with me that when she was a girl, her mom had rattan furniture and Grandma Pam's house was green. Everything in the house was green. (Grandma Pam's favorite color, obviously, is green : ) )This piece provided a little bit of nostalgia for Mama P and I loved the visualization of Grandma's green house.

And another print from Amy Butler. We love her so much! Amy, we just want you to know that we love you, Midwest Modern rocks and Daisy Chain is off the chain!

Before I head off to bed tonite I had one more thing I wanted to share with you. This is a purse that my good friend Fran Barret made. She took a pair of jeans and instead of cutting out the whole front and back panel, she focused on one leg and made an awesome one-front-pocket jean purse. Fran, keep on making such wonderful things.

We've Got Everybody Going Crazy.

The rumors are true. We have sold the business. Part of it is going to the gals next door at Cloth and Quilts, the other part is going to Dea from our store. She's going to be doing some beautiful freehand quilting and the gals from Cloth and Quilts will be doing computerized quilting. But don't fret, both are great places to get your quilting done and we highly recommend them both. And if you're really trippin out about this, just call us. We'll be happy to answer any questions for ya.

Alas, we will still have kits, fabric and patterns! We are moving on to a new chapter in our lives. Keep checking both the blog and the website for more details on the upcoming changes we'll be making.

So my mom got me this mustard colored hoodie shirt and I've been dying to wear it. But it just seemed really plain. So look at what Baby Girl cooked up two days ago....I posed in front of my favorite "backdrop"- our Amy Butler Triple Treat Quilt (available in a kit!!)


Here's a closeup on the shirt itself:

just a little fusible webbing, some imagination, and a kangaroo pocket!!

Remember how I was talking about people following the creative energy to my house? Two nites ago Danielle showed up and hung out. It had been FOREVER since we have hung out, probably since before Market. So I let her pick out her Christmas present. : ) I originally had started this quilt for one of my sisters. She was getting married. Well, to be perfectly honest we're not the closest of sisters and I think I got mad at her and stopped making it. Well, I hated the quilt because of the negative connotations so I never finished it. Danielle saw the blocks, fell in love with them, and suddenly my selfish heart was transformed. So I started cutting the blocks down and sewing them and came up with the center of the quilt:



Then I'm going to piece more squares around the zebra border, border it up again, and just play with it. What I love about my friends is that no matter what the rhyme or reason they will rock whatever I make. They don't see mistakes, only character. They see the love that I fused to the quilt with my hands.

I was supposed to keep going on her quilt last nite but I was just too dang tired. I did finish piecing together the blocks last nite, but didn't cut them down or anything. I DID clean up my stash though- that was a relief! The parentals are coming to visit and I rent my home from them. If it's not spick and span I feel like a bum, and they won't hesitate to point out my messy house anyway! : ) So last nite was dedicated to cleaning and a desperate longing to quilt.

But lucky me, my desires will be fulfilled when I go to work today. I am so blessed to be able to be surrounded by these beautiful quilts that you send in everyday. That's what I will miss the most.

Oh yeah, how could I forget to tell you???? I FINISHED ALEX'S QUILT!! I'm going to quilt it and bind it tonite....I think...




spin spin, spin around like she does in my heart.



I hope your day is full of love and threads hanging from your shirt everywhere. Be creative.