This You Tube video was produced by the AccuQuilt GO! people. It’s hilarious…and just might be effective too. If you want to find a GO! under the Christmas tree, this might be the way to achieve your goal. Just leave the video up where your significant other can see it. Maybe put the phone number for Betty’s next to it (352-9362). Our helpful staff can take care of the rest.
Here’s hoping Santa brings you what you want!
Note: All the patterns mentioned below are available in the store at Betty’s.
As a Girl Scout leader, it’s only natural that some of the activities I plan involve something I am passionate about. Quilting is no exception. I had a couple of girls in the troop interested in doing a quilting badge. Lucky me!
Barb Sackel
One of the requirements was to meet with a quilting professional. Again, lucky me! Barb Sackel, one of the busiest designers for QuiltWoman.com, lives just 5 miles from Betty’s Quilting Etc. and was willing to talk to the girls. In fact, she offered to give us a tour of her studio and home of her business, Rose Cottage Quilting. I was so there!
Four of us (2 Girl Scouts and 2 leaders) visited Barb on a sunny Saturday morning. Her studio is housed in a sun room addition on the back of her house. Let me restate that, the majority of her studio is in the sun room. Not unexpectedly, as with any endeavor, it has flowed over into other areas of the house.
Exterior of Barb's studio/sun room
We started with a tour of Barb’s lovely home. Quilts were everywhere. Some of them I recognized as being the cover models for some of Barb’s patterns, such as Trophy Case, shown below. Others she showed are samples for upcoming patterns. I can’t divulge much, but I can say a companion quilt to her Batik Diamonds is in the works!
Barb Sackel and her pattern, Trophy Case
Barb showed us her painting area. Huh? Painting? It’s in a corner of her living room under a window with tons of natural light. The girls were a little confused as to why Barb was painting. It was then that we discovered she is designing a fabric line for Blank Quilting. Wow! I didn’t know she was up to that. And the girls had no concept that fabric lines were designed.
Barb's Painting Station
Barb showed us some of proofs and let me say, they were stunning. Sorry, we can’t show you pictures. But Barb is hoping the fabric line will be out in 3 – 4 months if all goes well with the processing. It is bright whimsical flowers with black, (14 flowers to be exact that you have never seen before) and it includes a panel showcasing the flowers. She will also have 3 new patterns ready that are designed just for this collection. A second colorway will also be available, (spice colors with mahogany).
Barb then showed us her embroidery workstation. Yes, this too wouldn’t fit in her large studio. It was in her dining room. She has a Bernina Artista 730. Barb has been sewing on Berninas her entire quilting journey (NOTE: Betty’s Quilting Etc. now carries Bernina Sewing Machines!) She relies on it for all decorative stitching, quilting, and embroidery. Not to mention the walking foot is killer! This machine gets a real workout when Barb makes one of the quilts from her 4 in 1 series (read a blog post about that series). Next to it, she has her AccuQuilt GO! That’s another product she has designed patterns for. We did say she was a busy lady, didn’t we?
Bernina and the AccuQuilt GO! An unbeatable combination!
We then moved on to the studio itself. The first thing that strikes you is the view. All those windows look over Barb’s extensive gardens. Gorgeous flowers surround you everywhere.
A studio with a view
Entertaining us was a squirrel getting into the bird feeder with the birds watching!
Squirrel raiding the bird feeder
As for the studio itself, Barb uses a Commercial Juki sewing machine. This machine only has a straight stitch, but it is set up to go extremely fast. Barb stated “I use this machine as my workhorse.” She has it set up centrally in the studio with a view of the gardens. What a great environment to work in.
Barb at her sewing machine
Taking up one wall was a 14 foot Gamill Long Arm Sewing Machine for her machine quilting. She also has a design wall she couldn’t live without, cabinets full of fabric, and a futon. I understood the reasons for everything but the futon. It turns out her husband, Grant, likes to takes naps in her studio. Awwww, isn’t that cute?
The Girl Scouts had never seen a long arm before. Barb didn’t have a project on it at the time, but she turned on the laser and let the girls try following a design from a panagram. They discovered it is s not as easy as it looks.
Barb demonstrating how to use a longarm
Barb sat down with the girls and explained what goes into designing a pattern. She explained coordinating colors, defining shapes and incorporating texture. Barb pulled out a sample from Blank fabric and explained how fabrics inspire the design of the quilt. Barb also readily admitted that she does not use a computer to design her patterns. She uses graph paper.
I always imagined a quilt designer’s studio would be full to the rafters with fabric. But Barb’s wasn’t. All she had where two cabinets like this.
One of two cabinets of fabric
Why Barb? Where is all the fabric??? I called her back after our visit to ask.
“Other than the 2 cupboards in my studio that houses fabric for my basic needs, I do have a bedroom upstairs that houses all my quilts and fabric that I don’t use on a regular basis, like my collections of 30’s prints, civil war prints, batiks, flannels and all my backing fabric. I really don’t have an extensive collection of fabric because of the number of quilts I make. Between the quilt patterns and quilt books I have made 70 to 80 quilts, bags, wall hangings etc. in the past two years. That took a big bite out of my stash. Oh well, guess I have to go shopping!!!!”
Can we come and help?
We ended the studio tour Barb giving each scout a quilting kit and challenging them to design a quilt around it. Then we had a tour of the gardens. One of the Girl Scout’s other interest is gardening. Barb and the scout started cooking up ideas on how the scout could use some of Barb’s gardening skills and excess plants on an upcoming service project. What a perfect ending. This Girl Scout Leader says “Thanks Barb!”…for the studio tour and the promise of plants!
Ending the tour in the gardens
The Betty’s Quilting Etc. staff are back from Quilt Market for Spring 2009. We’ve had a chance to soak our tired feet, unpack our suitcases, fondle our new fabric treasures, and get back into the swing of things. We thought we’d share with you what the hot new trends are and a behind the scenes look at Quilt Market.
CONTEMPORARY is all it!
Amy Butler style fabrics were in every fabric booth. We didn’t see much of anything else. There were very bold large prints in quilts and everything home decor.
What were the main colors that we saw?
Black & white with one of the above bright colors was very popular.
AccuQuilt GO!Critters Bib
Bags, bags, bags – this trend still going strong!
Still lots of dots!!!· · · · · · ·
We’ll do out best to bring you what’s hot! Stop in and see what’s new or our shelves.
AccuQuilt GO!™
There are a series of new dies for the AccuQuilt GO!™ Fabric Cutter. You can see them below. And check out this cute bib made with the Critters Die Set. We will have the dies in the store for purchase soon. And keep your eye on our pattern wall for new AccuQuilt GO!™ Patterns that will use these new dies.
New AccuQuilt GO! Dies
Fun at Quilt Market!
As a final treat, we’ve put together a slide show of some of the fun we had at Quilt Market. The show starts with a river dinner cruise sponsored by FabShopHop.com. You can see the convention center floor and our booth as they come to life. And then check out all the quilting celebrities. Keep your eyes open for Fabio.
We had a great time at Quilt Market (as always). We’ll be attending the Fall 2009 Show in Houston too.
AccuQuilt GO!
The quilting world has been all abuzz since the introduction of the AccuQuilt GO! Fabric Cutter at the October ‘08 International Quilt Market. The staff of Betty’s was fortunate enough to be at the unveiling of the GO! and the creative juices have been flowing ever since.
Among the earliest to see the creative possibilities of the AccuQuilt GO! was one of our teachers/designers, Barb Sackel. Before she even left Quilt Market, she was bursting with ideas. And Barb didn’t let us down. Between the end of October and mid November, Barb conceived,
Barb Sackel
documented, and stitched up eight brand new quilt patterns that can use the AccuQuilt GO!. If you are not lucky enough to have a GO!, don’t despair. You can use the one in the store for a nominal fee. In addition, these patterns also have templates that you can use to cut out the necessary shapes. Or just do what I’m considering…buy one of the patterns and then tell your family that you must have an AccuQuilt GO! to accompany the pattern. As Barb puts it, “The AccuQuilt GO! is any quilter’s next great gift. My patterns are just the frosting on the cake.”
One of the first patterns to come into the store was the Rag Star Quilt. Made out of soft flannel, this quilt made us want to crawl under the cutting counter and take a nap.
Rag Star
Hard on it’s heels were two wall hangings. One was Seasonal Sunflower Skinnie. How innovative! You use the Rag Square die to create the petals or snowflakes (your pick the season).
Seasonal Flower Skinnie
Seasonal Flower Skinnie close up
The other new design was Dahlias. The creative use of the Round Flower die gave us these lovely flowers using Barb’s Snip and Clip Method.
Dahlias
We barely had time to get those three designs in the store when Barb showed up with a couple of more Skinnies. This time it was Pixie Dust and String of Beads. How does she do it? We added these to the wall of patterns for sale.
Pixie Dust Skinnie
String of Beads
By this time, I suspect Barb was sleep deprived. The next two designs to arrive were Comfy & Cozy and Cabins & Posies (say THAT 5 times fast).
Comfy and Cozy is more of a traditional quilt. The great part of using the AccuQuilt GO! to create this design is that you don’t have to spend hours with your rotary cutter and ruler. Just crank and go…the resulting piece will be accurate cut after cut after cut. But remember, you can cut this pattern out in the tradition method…if you want.
Comfy & Cozy
Cabins & Posies is a whimsical traditional quilt if you will. Again, the Round Flower die is used, only this time in a more conventional way.
Cabins & Posies
Finally Barb gave us the “Crème de la Crème” of her GO! inspired creations. She set a challenge for herself to create a design that used as many dies available as possible for the AccuQuilt GO!. Yes, I said AS MANY AS POSSIBLE!!! Here is the result, the Let’s GO Sampler. If you are one of the lucky individuals to own every die available, this quilt will be a breeze. Can you pick out the die that is missing? No, we couldn’t either.
Let's GO Sampler
Well, that was quite a bit of work on Barb’s part in just a few months. But knowing her, I was betting she had something new in the works. So I just gave Barb a call to see if she had anything cooking. Sure enough, she’s been busy in her studio, and some of her latest designs are for the GO! once again. Barb hinted at something called “Aspen in Bloom”. Hmmm, I wonder what that could be about. Another new design is “All About Glitz” which has turned out to be a favorite of her pattern testers, they were fighting over it! I’m sure there is no glitter involved. Also coming along are two more Skinnies. Barb said one looked like fantasy flowers in a pot and another was a sampler of sorts called “I love quilting”. I haven’t seen any of them, so I am as much in suspense as you. But knowing Barb, they are sure to wonderful. The minute we get them, I’ll be sure to give you the scoop!
Just a final word….all these patterns are available at Betty’s Quilting Etc. or on-line at QuiltWoman.com. But you had probably already figured that out.
Betty’s is pleased to be among the first in the country to carry the AccuQuilt GO! It won’t be here until January, but the staff can’t stop talking about it. It’s time to share our excitement with you!.
The AccuQuilt GO! is a portable Fabric Cutter. You heard that right…PORTABLE! It’s for those of us who love to quilt but hate to cut. It’s fast, precise, and best of all, affordable. We could go on and on, but the best way to see what it is about is watch the video below that we took at Quilt Market.
When they say “A picture is worth a thousand words,” they could have been talking about the AccuQuilt GO! You can now cut fabric as much as 90% faster than scissor or rotary cutting. You can cut an entire quilt in minutes! It’s patented, revolutionary, portable design allows you to carry and cut wherever you go—to classes, retreats, guild meetings and quilting bees. It weighs only 15 pounds!
The AccuQuilt GO! closed so you can take it with you.
The AccuQuilt GO! comes with a great value die plus a cutting mat so you are ready to start quilting right out of the box. The die offers three shapes (Square-4 1/2″; Square-2 1/2″; Half Square-3″ Finished Triangle) that work together for a multitude of projects. Imagine the possibilities with just this one die! Two half square triangles sewn together match up with one 2 1/2″ square. Four 2 1/2″ squares match up with one 4 1/2″ square. Any combination works! You can make 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ blocks… any finished size that is divisible by 2″. Add other square and rectangle dies that are divisible by 2″ and your quilting world has expanded even further. Die packaging includes directions for projects using the three die-cut shapes.
The AccuQuilt GO! open and ready to do the work.
Watch for our special introductory offer when they arrive! You won’t be disappointed.
These 17 dies can be yours!
Betty’s is going to have a kick-off demo when the AccuQuilt GO! arrives in January. We’ll also be starting up a monthly AccuQuilt Club for GO! owners. Betty’s AccuCut Club members who currently use our AccuQuilt Studio Cutter are invited to join us too.
If that’s not enough to get the juices flowing, Barb Sackel has been working on designing quilt patterns that really take advantage of the AccuQuilt GO! It’s amazing what Barb designs when she is inspired. And believe us, the GO! has really inspired her. Below is a sample of what she’s created thus far. Update…these patterns and more for the GO! are now available at QuiltWoman.com.
Barb Sackel's new designs - all made with the AccuQuilt GO! Click on the image to see a larger version of the picture.
So we know it’s only December and the GO! won’t be here for another month or so. But wouldn’t it be great to find a gift certificate for an AccuQuilt GO! under the Christmas tree. Print this blog out and leave it where your significant other can find it. GO! ahead (pun intended). Or treat yourself and put in your own pre-order…you deserve it.
We were enthused when we first saw the AccuQuilt GO! at Quilt Market in October, and we are still enthused. If you see us running around the store shouting “GO! GO! GO!,” you’ll know why!
GO!
