Trunk Treasures

A Woman’s Work is Never Done & The Bread ‘n Butter Society

Isn't it wonderful to have this beautiful weather? We've loved welcoming so many "winter visitors" in the past few months to enjoy it with us! And our loyal "locals" understand how fabulous it is to be able to have the door sit wide open in the middle of winter. We were especially grateful for the Valley climate last week when the new shipment of Best Press Starch Alternative arrived from Minnesota - FROZEN - that's right each and every bottle had at least a small iceberg in it, some almost solid. It had been on the truck for 3 or 4 days, but was still THAT cold!!

We've had some exciting new adventures this past week. Our first Civil War History group began this weekend with: A Woman's Work is Never Done: Civil War Women Quilt Block of the Month. Are you interested in learning more about women's lives during the Civil War and enjoy sewing? Please join us at Zoe's Trunk in Chandler, Arizona as we explore the daily life of women in 1864 and how the war and society impacted women's lives.

 

A Woman's Work is Never Done

Designed by Roberta Bowen

 

The story will be developed using a series of letters between a "typical" wife and her soldier husband, based on letters, diaries and literature from that time. We'll make a quilt that helps tell the story using period appropriate patterns and reproduction fabrics. We'll learn about the fabrics and the quilt patterns in use at that time, the receipts and literature, and the resourcefulness of the women as they strove to keep their families intact. Cost is $20 per month for the class, pattern & fabric kits. We meet the 4^th Saturday of each month at 10 AM, pattern and fabric kit. For additional information please contact Zoe's Trunk (480) 857-4833, quilts@zoestrunk.com.

 

We held our first of 6 events, a social gathering for Ladies who would like to make small 19th century era projects. The B&B Society will meet every other month at 9 AM before the Civil War Women BOM class. These two classes will showcase one of the treasures we have here at Zoe's Trunk. Our facilitator, Roberta Bowen, LOVES to research history, civil war history, women's history, American history, just ANY history.

 

Jelly Stars & Peanut Butter Bars, by Kaye England for The Bread 'n Butter Society.

Our 19th Century fabric section is one of the largest and most varied in the Valley and our awareness of the time period is without question the best informed through our constant study.

Cotton – The Perfect Storm

Quilters know cotton! Quilters love cotton! Quilters buy cotton, almost exclusively!!! The renewed multi-million dollar quilting market has put quality cotton on the map. But there is a "perfect storm" that has come together affecting every consumer on the earth today, especially our quilting world.

In a recent article in the American Quilt Retailer, Jim Salinas, Sales Associate for Moda Fabrics, provides some interesting insight for retailers and consumers. Please read the entire article here.

 

Basically, there are three or four issues converging that will have a strong effect on our quilt world.

• Extreme weather conditions in the major cotton producing areas, including Texas, Pakistan and China.
• The weakening economic conditions of our US dollar plus the increasing value of currency in China and India.
• Increased prices on import tariffs, fuel and labor.
• Speculative markets that have such a strong influence on goods such as cotton (as well as cattle, grain, and other important necessities.)

   

We don't need a George Clooney movie to see what the convergence of these factors as well as several more (political issues) are doing to the cost of our beloved cotton.

 

 

http://beckisbobbins.com/textile_mills.php

 

While these conditions are going to increase the price for fabric, batting and thread, there are some good things to bear in mind. The price of printed fabric over the past 20 years has been held to a 44% increase as compared to the 284% rise in the cost of a loaf of bread or a nearly 400% increase for a gallon of gasoline. Another point, one that we quilters have taken a lot of heat for in recent years, is the fact that we are the original recyclers! We have built fabric stashes, including scraps that would make our ancestors proud and will certainly help us adjust to the increasing costs of creating our beautiful quilts. These stashes are seeds for more creativity and we love the challenge of incorporating fabric from your stash with new fabrics for your projects!

 

We also encourage you to read this article with statements from our fabric sources, so that you will have a better understanding of our position as a retailer.

Kaffe Fassett’s Quilts en Provence

Kaffe Fassett's Quilts en Provence, © 2010, is the latest in a long line of books by Kaffe Fassett, showing off his latest collection of 20 beautiful new quilts. The quilts are a study in geometry and wonderful color set against the narrow streets and vibrantly hued buildings in the South of France. Based on Kaffe's line of Rowan fabrics, the quilts have been designed by him, along with some of the world's finest quilters, including Liza Prior Lucy, Roberta Horton, Mary Mashuta, and Brandon Mably.

"Enclosed Four Patch" by Roberta Horton. Roberta's strong quilt, full of exuberance, certainly packs a punch. This tiled entranceway frames it perfectly.

When Kaffe first visited the magical countryside of Provence, France, he was overwhelmed by the stone villages with their cobbled streets and sumptuous lavender fields. The village was entirely red and ochre. Those words reverberated in his head over the years as he became more and more obsessed with color. With "red and ochre" in his head, Pauline Smith, his editor, Debbie Patterson, his photographer, and Brandon Mably, his assistant, headed to Provence to photograph the quilts to their best advantage.

"Game Board" by Liza Prior Lucy. The powerful structure of Liza's contrasting quilt is complemented by the theatrically painted door and carved stone.

 

The rich cliffs of blood red and gold ochre in the Provencal landscape and the gorgeous village of Roussillion provided more color than Kaffe imagined. Those reds went from the softest shell pinks to deep chestnut; the ochres ran from chamois leather shades of buff through to dark ambers, all set off by shutters of soft green, lavender and sky blue. Color so saturated and varied, coupled with ancient buildings and winding streets on a hill made a rare combo. The quilts come to life in these elegant settings.

 

The Fabrics: Kaffe fabrics take inspiration from Caucasian Kelim carpets with their dense repeating patterns and interlocking contrasting colors, Oriental carpets filled with handsome motifs, Persian carpets with their use of rows of small flower forms to create an intense field of detail, and the bold, upscaled embroidered flowers on Chinese and Spanish shawls.

"Secret Forest" by Pauline Smith. This joyous child's painting of a quilt looks very much at home on this bench in front of a village house. The sharp cobalt and magenta shades are enhanced by the Kelly green bench and eau de nil shutters.

 

Brandon Mably's fabric designs add freedom to the Kaffe Collective. Organic, wavy stripes do not need matching; a free-form circle motif suggests doughnut shapes; "straws", a little like shirt striping or jaunty ribbons, makes wonderful sashing or works anywhere a soft stripe is needed. Klimt, the Austrian painter, inspired a leaf-like design, while a small triangle geometry was inspired by many cultures from American Indian to ancient Egyptian.

 

Philip Jacobs has a passion for floral fabrics. Blossoms explode with joy, foliage seems to be doing a tipsy dance, huge anemones combine well with more abstract circular prints, opulent roses work well with both traditional and more contemporary quilters, and fruit trees filled with birds from the classic Arts and Crafts period add a rich addition to the Kaffe Collection.

"Tunisia" by Kaffe Fassett. These monumental stone arches make this quilt look luxurious indeed.

 

Instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating each quilt are included along with tips and techniques that Kaffe has gathered in his 30+ years of experience. In the spring, Lynnita Knoch, will be teaching a class from this wonderful book. Watch for her quilt to by hanging in the store this coming spring.

"X-Factor" by Kaffe Fassett. The way simple diagonal striped blocks create such a complexity of shapes never ceases to astound me. The bold Picasso-like palette is so at home on these warm tones.

Happy New Year 2011

We want to send all of our friends the Happiest New Year wishes for 2011. If you are a numerologist, then we hope 01/01/11 brings you luck and joy for the rest of the year. If you are just a happy-go-lucky kind of person, then we know you will have a great year.

Let's talk about a few resolutions on this first day of the new decade. Probably the first resolution on every quilters list, every year is "FINISH the PIPs (projects in progress) and the UFPs (unfinished projects)". No matter what we call them we are still determined to make this year the one it will get done in.

The next resolution we hear a lot of is "reduce my stash". If you are a true quilter and your love for beautiful fabric is equal to or higher on your list than chocolate, Starbucks, or both, then skip this resolution. It just isn't going to happen. There is too much great new fabric on the way to the stores right now that will melt your resistance to liquid butter and you won't be able to add to your supply. Let's re-word this resolution then, how about "Use up or circulate the old stash and make room for the new fabric".

Another quilter's resolution has to do with the scraps. What quilter (besides my friend, Shirley) doesn't save the other half of the half square triangles, the leftover binding strips and any piece of fabric larger than a 1 ½" square. Scrap quilts are the soul of quilting. They are the foundation of the Great American story. Let's do it then! Let's make scrap quilts. Here is a challenge for all of you to make at least one scrap quilt this year.

2010 Scrap Quilt

How about learning a new technique or piecing method, is that on your resolution list this year. Sign up to take some great classes. Learn how to sew curved pieces or perfect points. If you think hand appliqué is too time consuming but love the look, take a class or two to learn new or different appliqué methods. There is more than one way to skin that cat! How many of us love redwork quilts? Join a Redwork group. It is amazing what you can do when you work with several other quilters towards the same goal! Challenge yourself to move to a new level of machine quilting. Even if you send your full size quilts to the great long-arm quilters in our area, you can learn to machine quilt your table runners, tote and hand-bags, and wall hangings with something besides stitching in the ditch!

 

There are so many more resolutions we could add to our quilting list. Charity quilts, new tools, Quilt Guild or Chapter related goals, or organizing our sewing rooms…. The list is endless. Let's make this decade the "decade of resolution and growth".

2011, here we come!

A Thank You on This Day to Remember our Veterans

 

New Books Are Here

We have new books on the shelf. Let’s take a look…

Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott published by D & C Publishing

 

The 4^th book from Pam & Nicky (mother & daughter) is a collection of

18 Designs to Make Your Fabric Go Further.

If you have a “jelly roll” sitting in your stash and can’t make up your mind what pattern to use, this may be the answer to your dilemma. Each pattern uses only one half of a Jelly Roll along with background fabric. This is a great resource book for your quilt book library.

Here is a link to a review of Two From One :

 http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-two-from-one-jelly/

You can follow this creative duos  blog here:

http://quiltroom.typepad.com/the_quilt_room/

 

Stash Books has another great book out. Simplify is a collection of projects using precuts and left over fabrics for projects for your home.

 

 Camille Roskelley grew up in a creative and quilting environment. Now she is taking her heritage and talents to new frontiers of fabric design and projects.  You can follow her work on her blog here:

http://www.camilleroskelley.typepad.com/

 

From Spain With Love by Roberta Cardew from C & T Publishing is indeed a love story of quilting, of Spain and using color to create memorable quilts. Roberta’s love of the Mediterranean culture is evident in her photos and stories as she gives the reader her personal connection with each quilt featured. She also shares 5 great recipes from Spain.

 

You can visit Roberta’s website and blog  here and see more of her quilts, her home in Spain, and her recipes.

 

 

Maison De Garance

Moda’s French General has done it again! We are in love with their newest fabric line and it’s in the shop now. Maison de Garance is Here!!!

 

 

According the historical records, the House of Garance (Maison de Garance) was one of the only dye houses in France to cultivate all of the shades of the garance flower, a primary source of the madder (red). The walls of the Maison were covered in painted leaves which were hand-shaded colors of the plant to show off all of the hues.

 

 The garance plant - touches of red on some of the leaves.

 

 
These images of 18th and 19th century prints reflect the variations of the red dyes that were produced by the early design houses of France.

 http://www.musee-impression.com/gb/collection/indiennes.html

Maison de Rail – a free pattern from Moda

 

 

And We Have Winners...

 
Drum roll pleeeaasse…….

We have an important announcement to make.

 

 
Stephanie Koop (one of our newest staff members) and Miss Lauren drawing the names for our 10th Birthday Celebration.

Thanks to these two lovely young ladies, we have 10 winners for 10 very wonderful prizes.

And these are the names that were drawn:

LouDawn Hall

Sheila Vanderlook

Leila Johnson

Janet Perry

Christine Walker

Linda Griffith

Sally Walby

Luella Wolfer

Carol Callahan

And the winner of the Featherweight is

Elaine Hansen.

Congratulations ladies.

 

C*E*L*E*B*R*A*T*I*O*N

 
It’s our big 10^th Birthday Party… 

A celebration so big, we’re taking the WHOLE MONTH!!!! Each time you come into the shop and purchase TEN dollars

or more in regularly priced merchandise,

 

you will get a slip for the prize drawings.  Yes - TEN of drawings!!!

The more you shop, the more chances for YOU!!

 

This Friday and Saturday (October 8 & 9) is the party part!!

All merchandise in the store (excluding wool and consignment items) will be 26% off.

 To make room for the wonderful new things on their way to us, we will be having a special clearance event in the classroom area – all bolts there will be $4 per yard.  We ask a one yard minimum and these be paid via cash or check only.

See you soon!!! It won’t be a party without you!!!

Mary & the gang at Zoe’s

There's a New Thread in Town...

If you are like me, you have become very particular about the thread you use to make your beautiful quilts and other sewing projects. At Zoe’s Trunk we only want to provide you with the highest quality and the best color selection available. That’s why we are excited to bring you the new Rowan Threads from Westminster Fabrics.

The thread is made from the finest Egyptian Giza Cotton, 100% Extra Long Mercerized. The modern processing of this thread results in a consistent, strong product with virtually no lint.

 

And the best part, this thread comes in 4 sets of 9 exceptional colors selected by Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett to provide the best color match to the wonderful fabric lines of Amy and Kaffe.

  Amy Butler Fabrics

 

  Kaffe Fassett Fabrics

 No more standing at a thread display, trying to find the best color match, the correct thread weight and the right type of thread. Each spool is 200 yards in charming and glorious colors.

Look for “Stone”, “Soul Blossom”, “Circus” and “Love” collections on your next visit.