E-Jay's Fabrics & Quilting in Taylor, TX

Our first quilting stop occurred as we were driving up to Inks Lake.  I had hoped to stop at quilt shops as we went about our road trip but hadn't really planned anything out.

As we were headed north on Hwy 95, my husband was the one who spotted this shop.  Nestled in the downtown district of Taylor, you will find E-Jay's situated across the street from Taylor city hall and a park full of benches and shade trees.

When I walked up to the store, it really reminded me of the town I grew up in.  We had so many shops on the square, that had the same feel.  Original historic buildings.  Large window displays.  I really felt like I was home.

And that feeling of home grew, when I walked in the door.

When you first walk in you see bolts of fabrics and a fair amount of them.  On the front and left side of the store, you will find fabrics from Moda, Clothworks and more.  They had a great selection of Texas material and helped me start a Texas fabric collection.  More about that in another post.  Towards the back of the front room, you will find various quilting notions.  Just past the front, you travel down a small hallway that connects to a room with a long arm and space for classes. 

The walls of the store are covered in finished projects.  Down the hallway hangs a few quilts.  One is a very old, beautiful feed sack quilt.  You must stop in and see it.  Feed sack quilts are my favorite.

The staff was exactly what I expected.  Friendly, knowledgeable and really had an interest in quilting and helping me with my project.  The clearance section along the left wall was plentiful and had a wide variety.  Besides fabric and notions, the store also offered premade items, quilt kits and quilt patterns. 

And there was a store cat.  My kids had a great time looking for the kitty.  It was hiding in the front window, probably eyeing the birds across the street, in the park.  Maybe the cat wanted an up close view of the impressive Carpenter's Star that is displayed in the front window.

Overall, it was definitely worth the stop.  In the store next door my husband found a new piece of art for our home.  Next time you're in the area, make sure you stop by.

E-Jay's is located on Main Street.  About 30 minutes east of Round Rock.  US Route 79 or State Highway 95 will take you into the heart of Taylor, Texas.

You can get more information about E-Jay's from their website:  http://www.e-jaysfabrics.com/

---

A few notes:

• I'm going to do 5 of these shop reviews total.  My goal, dream, hope is that this will encourage you to seek out either these shops or YOUR local quilt shop.  Please, head out and meet the people who share your passion for quilting.  They are the only ones who will truly get you!  ;)
• E-Jay's did not in anyway ask me or compensate me for this blog post.  These are purely my thoughts and feelings, free from coercion.  Though I am forever grateful for the whimsical Texas material they pointed out to me.

~SLBY

Stash Organization - Folding

Stash organization is really a hard thing for a lot of quilters.  I know for me, I tend to want to quilt.  I don't want to clean, straighten, organization, etc.  There are as many ways to organize and store your fabric as there are quilters. 

The main thing for me is that I want to see my fabrics.  I want them out in the open.  I want to be able to easily pull them out and throw them back on the shelf, as I compare, plan and think my way through a new project.

I want a fabric store look.

I have found that some quilters use various materials the same as quilt shops use cardboard to wrap material.  For me, I have found that corrugated plastic works the best.  Here is a quick tutorial on how I fold my stash.

Start with the corrugated plastic:

You will have to find a sign company in your area that will sell this to you.  I can get an 8 foot by 4 foot piece.  They will cut it down for me.  If you can't get them to cut this down for you, the plastic easily cuts with a box cutter.  I'm able to cut my down into 64 6in by 12in rectangles.  These easily hold a couple yards of your standard width quilting fabric.  You may need to adjust this to meet the needs of your stash.

Now it's time to start folding.

I fold selvage to selvage.  Then I fold that in half, selvages to midline.  Then lay this flat and grab a piece of plastic.

Leave a bit hanging and then hold that bit up onto the plastic.

Then start folding.  Keep it snug, flat and neat.  Fold until you have the last bit hanging over.

(I seem to have left out the frog material.)

Then fold the flap as you want.  You can do a point, like above.  You can fold one corner all the way down and wrap around.  I do both, depending on where my brain is and how much fabric I have left over.

Secure the flap of fabric as you wish.  You can buy special clips for this or tuck.  I admit that I prefer using pins.  Especially, pretty pastel ones. 

Then line them up:

Isn't that gorgeous?  I'm not finished with all my fabrics but I'm about 2/3 rds of the way there and it really has made a difference.  I can see my fabrics.  I am using what I have.  I love it.

The small boards really only work well for 2 yards or less.  If you have something larger.  Like say 4 yards of something you got cheap at Hobby Lobby:

I know.  I need a 12 step program.



You can cut the plastic longer.  That will work.  But I like to ask JoAnn's for empty fabric boards.  I have yet run across a JoAnn's over 3 different states that won't give them to me, for free, willingly.  You use the same method as above.

A perfectly folded bolt!

Prefolding, you can go ahead and square up your fabrics.  You can wash your fabrics.  Prepare them however you want.  I put the fabric straight from the store to my shelf.  Take this and make it your own, to fit your needs.

Go out and clean your stash!  Make your fabrics seen!

And let me know how you fold your fabrics.  I'm always wanting new ideas and suggestions.

~SLBY

Off we go...

SLBY and family will be spending the next week fishing, camping, cooking over open (but very small due to fire conditions) fires, and chasing small kids from the edges of cliffs, lakes and rivers. 

I will be back next week with all sorts of stories, I'm sure.


~ SLBY

♥♥♥Things I'm Loving♥♥♥

My friend Renee at East of Eden is AWESOME at crocheting.  You should check out her blog.  She also occasionally posts about the things she is currently loving.  I have been inspired to do the same.

I'm loving that spring is around the corner.  Our wildflowers and five spots are blooming.  We have a tomato growing.  The kids have been able to play outside a lot.  All of this newness and tired children have inspired my most recent project, a spring time table runner.

On Wednesday, I picked up a new product, when I was buying the fabric for my above project. 

This is NOT your mother's starch.  It is a very light starch that helps give your fabric a little stiffness.  Stiffness isn't the right word, maybe a little structure is better.  Once washed, the only thing left behind is the scent.  The scent is absolutely lovely.  I have Lavender Fields.  There are 2 or 3 scents and also an unscented.  The scent alone makes this product worth every penny. 

Best quilting marker EVAH!  It draws on blue and washes away with water.  Always test your fabric before marking up everything.  I haven't had a fabric it doesn't wash out of easily.  I have used it on flannel and regular quilting cotton.  I love that it makes lines I can actually see.  Every quilter *needs* this pen.

Enjoy!

~SLBY

Perseverance

Perseverance is defined by Merriam-Webster as:

"continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition : the action or condition or an instance of persevering".

Tonight, as a quilter, I define it as:

"Not giving up after 2 broken needles, 4 bum bobbins that resulted in the loss of a 1/4 of a spool of machine quilting thread, at least 5 thread breaks, and a fabric gathering in the back that was so bad it required stitches to be ripped and re-sewn."

Merriam-Webster goes on to give examples of perseverance:

"Perseverance is required to perfect just about any skill."

I'm well on my way to perfection.  Well, you know what I mean.  LOL!

Before quilting:

I am about 1/3 through machine quilting.  I would have finished it tonight but I've run out of needles.  Off to Joann's first thing in the morning. 

Just keep swimming...

Namaste
~SLBY

A Quilter's Confession

Now, I'm going to do my best to not generalize too much. I know there must be one or two neat quilters out there. However, for most of us, when knee deep in 10 projects, we tend to be a little messy. And heck, when aren't we knee deep in 10 projects? I have more projects now than I do life left.

So, here it is. Here is my dungeon, room of madness, laboratory, where the magic happens...

(Feel free to ask me what anything in these pictures is and how it may or may not relate to quilting.)

As a quilter, we really do stress neatness and perfection in our work. Seams must be sewn straight! A quarter inch allowance MUST be a quarter inch. We use 40 rulers and a ruler lined mat to make perfect cuts. Neatness and perfection is a MUST....except when it comes to the room in which we work.

It isn't on purpose. This mess comes by accident. There are so many loose threads, flying pieces of fabric and the 20 minutes of digging through your perfectly ordered stash because you just *know* that perfect fabric is there somewhere.

Eh, er....I never found that fabric. It is either in that other stack or I used it up.
I need to re-organize. I need to move some things around and add a few more shelves in some sort of fashion. I have quilted more in the past 3 months, than I have in years and the mess is showing just that. I have come to the point that I can no longer work effectively.

I bought some of this:


That would be two pieces of 4 ft by 4 ft corrugated plastic. I am going to cut them down to 6 in by 12 in pieces and finish up a project I already started over the weekend.


Look at how beautifully that fabric is folded. I will arrange by color/pattern, etc later. I just need to get it wrapped first. As I get that done, I can figure out exactly what my storage needs are going to be. I need to be done by next week. I have lots of projects to get started and to finish.

So, I'm on a quilting hiatus for about 5 days.  I'll try to take pictures as I go and give you more detail, as to how I ended up organizing everything.

~Namaste
SLBY

Binding, binding, binding....

What else is a girl to do when it is beyond frigid outside? This is Texas, right? Because it feels like the North Pole right about now.

So, I'm going to put in a steamy love story.

And bind my night away.

Namaste
~SLBY

Fear not, for I am still with you...

Oh loyal blog readers, please know that I haven't forgotten you. Or left you.

It started with two sick kids last weekend.

I think this one started it.

This picture was almost a year ago. She has gone with short hair, ever since. I miss those curls and chubby face. *sigh*

Anyway, she goes to school. Picks up germs and brings them home to share with her little brother.

I want to reach through this picture and just snuggle him. *double sigh*


Anyway...

Then a busy week of filling some orders. (You'll see those items over the next few days)

And now, as any good mom would, I have the dreaded plague. The kind where your skin hurts and your eyelashes are tender. It doesn't help when your husband has been working non-stop. Today is his first day off and I am spending the evening in bed. Alone with my laptop.

I plan on reading blogs, where people actually update. ;)


I have finished quilts, finished eReader covers and a rag quilt in process, to share with you over the next few days.


Namaste
~SLBY

Bunnies and Trees

Good evening!

I wanted to stop by and leave a few pictures. In addition to quilting and baking, I have a sick husband. A sick husband that has to go back to work tomorrow night. I'm bummed, he's bummed and the children were full of tantrums tonight.

Since this is a quilting blog, I will start with a Giving Tree teaser...

I did this odd lighting and angle because I wanted the gold flecks in the material to shine. And I'm not too good at photography. I love working on this quilt. It is very similar to the quilt I made, while pregnant with my son, for my son. It stirs all sorts of happy pregnancy emotions up for me. Plus, I eat chocolate for two while working on it.

The quilt is based on a Super 9 block with appliqued trees and birds. I SITD and FMQ for this particular quilt. I have already gotten my SITDing done and hope to get the free motion done tomorrow. I haven't picked out a binding yet. I love making binding. It is so freeing to break loose from premade binding. If I have a chance, I will take you all through making your own continuous bias binding and how to finish it off, perfectly.

This quilt is backed in one of my favorite fabrics of all time. Oddly enough, I got it at Ikea. You will have to wait for those pictures, when the quilt is finished.

Besides caring for the sick and quilting, I did a little baking....

At the request of Emma, I made 18 bunny cupcakes for her school birthday celebration. Her birthday is over the summer but the school encourages celebrating summer birthdays at some other time, during the school year. I love seeing what I can create with a little cake and frosting, so there is no request I haven't tackled. For her 4th birthday, I did a 3 tier, 3-D Lightening McQueen. I have no clue how I am going to top that this year. YIKES! I have to admit, it is so much fun. I get to pretend for a moment that I am Cake Boss.

Here is my first attempt to get a picture of her with her cupcakes:

Here is my 10th attempt:

And I must say, the two less than pretty cupcakes tasted great!


Two last things, Joann shoppers and iPhone users there is now a Joann's app!! I had noticed that I didn't receive any in store coupons via email in a month. Last week, I received an email that there was an app and the app has COUPONS!! I tested it out earlier this week and my purchase went smoothly. I used a circular coupon and phone coupon with no problem.

Right now, Joann's is having their winter sale. I made out like a bandit earlier this week and plan on going again this weekend.

Get to shopping!!

Namaste
~SLBY

Very busy week ahead....

Good evening!

I have finished the appliqued blocks for The Giving Tree quilt. I hope to have that pieced by tomorrow and binded by the end of the week. If I get a chance tomorrow, I will tease you all with a few pictures.

Emma will be celebrating her half birthday at school on Thursday. The school encourages kids with summer birthdays to celebrate them during the school year. So, at her request, we will be make chocolate bunny cupcakes.

I'm also gearing up for my first show in April. I am a bit nervous. Fortunately, I am too excited to be concerned about my nervousness. Lots of planning is involved. And *LOTS* of fabric shopping. I truly believe I quilt, as an excuse to buy fabric. Nothing makes me as giddy as fabric. Well nothing besides lists. I *LOVE* making lists. Which is good because I need to make some lists in preparation for the show. I love buying list making supplies. White dry erase boards, colorful Sharpies, post it notes, and on and on and on.

What is it about office supplies that is so fun and comforting? I remember when I worked, before becoming a SAHM, and we would receive our shipment of supplies. It was like freaking Christmas. Or a pack of hungry wolves being thrown a fresh lamb. Depending on your office environment. And there was always a gate keeper to the supplies, who took their gatekeeping job just a tad too seriously. It was as if their entire life built to this moment of deciding who was going to get *the* purple pad of Post-it Notes and who was stuck with the regular yellow ones. I will admit to kissing a rear or two for those damned purple notes. Pride doesn't make me quite as happy as bright, cheery purple Post-it Notes.



I digress...


Which will happen a lot around here....


Between my planning, list making, mad shopping frenzies, cupcakes and regular life, I might be scarce until the end of the week. I will try to continue fitting in blog time a little each night.


I wanted to end today with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

This quotes reminds me to stay grounded to my beliefs, regardless of the challenges and controversy I may face. And more importantly, to teach my kids to do the same.


Namaste,

~SLBY