Behind the Seams at Betty's

One of my favorite spots in Betty’s Quilting Etc. store is a cozy little corner that houses the Pattern Café and the Embroidery Take-Out.

What’s the Pattern Café? It’s a nice little corner of the shop where you can sit and relax while browsing through over 300 beautiful quilt patterns.  All the patterns are organized into binders with color photos.  There’s a binder filled with patterns for small projects, one for seasonal projects, and one with patterns for your Accu-Quilt – just to name a few.

The same corner houses our Embroidery Take-Out, which contains over 44,000 machine-embroidery designs from OESD. Any design can be downloaded while you wait onto a flash drive, cd, or media card. All designs are compatible to any machine brand.  You’ll find designs in so many motifs, including nautical, sports, and gardening.  There’s something for everyone.

We have the largest selections of patterns anywhere! And they’re all in stock, thanks to our sister company QuiltWoman.com, located right next door to Betty’s.  QuiltWoman.com is an online resource specializing in all things quilting.

Spend some time relaxing and browsing in the Pattern Café and Embroidery Take-Out. There are so many patterns to look at; you’ll want to take your time.

Scrapbook Calendar Quilt Book by Ann Dudek

Our very own author, Ann Dudek is a celebrity. Our sister company, QuiltWoman.com has many notable designers and Ann is no exception. Ann Dudek’s book Scrapbook Calendar Quilt was reviewed by Jodie Davis & Mark Lipinski on QNNTV.com.  We are honored to have them feature one of our products on the show.

Ann Dudek is also doing a book signing at United Methodist Church of North Chili, in New York, during their annual quilt show, September 17th and 18th, 2010.

Of course, you can subscribe to QNNTV.com here to see the episode in its entirety.

Betty’s Quilting Etc is proud to connect you with the best in the business.  As your Bernina Dealer we are able to plug you into the future of sewing.

Bernina has recently launched their 8-series website.  This is a site that focuses on the crown jewel of the Bernina Line, the 830 and 820 model machines.

Bernina 830 (courtsey of www.bernina8series.com)

As you may know, the Bernina 830 is top-of-the-line sewing, quilting and embroidery machine.  This beautiful machine also has a 12″ throat area, which not only accommodates larger quilts, but can also support the largest embroidery hoop on the market.

With the new Bernina 8-Series website you can take a virtual tour of the machine, learn about the unique, patented special features and watch online videos.  Most importantly, you can email the link to your hubby so you’ll know he picked up the right gift at Betty’s!

If you are considering the 830 or the 820, Bernina’s large work-horse machine without embroidery, this website will help to answer any questions you may have.  And of course, if there’s anything unanswered, please stop by the shop.  We’d be glad to help.

After winning the Make Mine a Million Dollar Business, QuiltWoman.com and Betty’s Quilting Etc, owner Nancy Dill, received quite a bit of press in various media outlets. One article she’s most proud of is her feature, on the cover page, of the local Suburban News paper. This is the paper circulated in Nancy Dill’s hometown area. With the permission of Westside News Inc, we have posted a link to the article for you.

Betty’s is proud to be a Bernina Dealer.   And as a dealer, we want you to know about this amazing resource Bernina has on the web:  We All Sew.  If you haven’t heard about it yet, you will.

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From Bernina:

“BERNINA’s microsite, www.WeAllSew.com, has made incredible strides since its November launch. The site is positioning BERNINA as a trusted resource for all things sewing, quilting and embroidery online – regardless of brand affinity.

WeAllSew is updated each Friday with the best online stuff for sewers and quilters. The site aggregates sewing and quilting blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter handles, Flickr photos and instructional videos.

The site also offers Sew to Serve – a section filled with philanthropic opportunities for visitors to use their craft to help others in need, as well as Free Stuff - a section with great downloads, patterns and tutorials.”

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As your favorite dealer, we want to share this site with all our customers.  Imagine the possibilities just with the free pattern links alone!  Think of all the fun fabric you can feature in those designs.  Take some time and go through the blog site.  It’s a wonderful source of instruction, inspiration and ideas.

Fabric Beads

Betty’s Quilting Etc was honored to host a workshop taught by Heidi Pridemore and featuring her new book, Fabric Jewelry Wrapped, Braided & Sewn. The creative juices were definitely flowing when you mix fabric with beaded jewelry.  The guests made quite a colorful assortment of accessories:

Necklaces

Of course, as with any creative art, you are only limited by your imagination.  Betty’s owner, Nancy, also made this bracelet- changing up the different beads and sizes.

Bracelet

Stop by the shop to pick up your copy of the book and sign up for the newsletter, so you’ll be notified of all the fun upcoming classes we have to offer.

You may also recognize the author, Heidi Pridemore, not only as a celebrity author and quilter, but also as one of our guest teachers on the upcoming Cruise.  See which classes she’ll be hosting and register for them and the cruise today!

In several areas of the US, old barns are finding new life as canvases for quilt designs. Barn quilts are a new expression of the traditional crafts of quilting and farming. They are public art for the country. You can follow barn quilt trails to find antique shops, museums, farm markets, and beautiful scenery.

photo courtesy of Country Barn Quilt Trail

We are fortunate to be near the Country Barn Quilt Trail in Western New York.   The Quilt Trail was actually started by Lora and friends in 2006 at Partyka Farms.  They worked together to add lovely quilt blocks to their own barns in the Kendall NY area.   Not only has this relaxing tour gained national attention from recreational enthusiasts, but also it has caught the eye of some quilting celebrities.

Partyka Farms

Our very own local Lora Partyka’s barn block is featured in Eleanor Burns’ Quilt In A Day book, Quilt Blocks on American Barns.  What a wonderful honor for Lora!  Congratulations.

Lora’s block is the Farmer’s Daughter block pictured here:

Farmer's Daughter Block

You can pick up your own copy of Quilt Blocks on American Barns at Betty’s Quilting Etc on your way through the Country Barn Quilt Trail.

The Thrifty Quilter

We are happy to introduce a new book title to you: The Thrifty Quilter by Anne Wiens. With a title like that, you know it is going to appeal to quite a lot of us who might be quilt-poor right now. Anne has taken the idea of “sewing with scraps” to a whole new level. This book describes basic tricks to organize your scraps into sizes and build basic blocks. We’re not talking about a few 9 patch blocks- we are talking over 80 blocks diagrammed and explained in an incredibly useful manner. She also provides an assortment of setting ideas for your finished blocks. Not only do you use your stash and scraps, but she empowers you to be the designer, yet you are still using an easy-to-follow pattern. Truly wonderful, and definitely a great concept that the quilting world is more than ready for.

As an added bonus, this book is completely Accuquilt GO! compatible. Take all those scraps, use the Accuquilt GO! dies and prepare for your scrap journey with The Thrifty Quilter.

About the author, from the QuiltWoman.com page:

“Anne Wiens is by day a mild-mannered announcer and program director for radio stations in Shelby, Montana, a small town almost literally “a hundred miles from anywhere.” Her mother, grandmothers and great-grandmother were all accomplished needlewomen, and between them, made sure her two sisters and she learned how to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, etc. As a result, quilting became Anne’s passion. She has been making quilts since 1974, designing nearly as long, and has been teaching professionally since 1992 in local adult education programs and through her local quilt shop. Many of her original patterns were designed to teach various tools and techniques. Visit Anne at Sweetgrass Creative Designs.”

Look for this amazing cover at at Betty’s Quilting Etc,  ask for it, or pick it up online at QuiltWoman.com. You can also peruse QuiltWoman.com for a complete collection of Anne’s quilting patterns as well.