Grand Re-Opening Special

GRAND RE-OPENING - MONDAY JUNE 1

To commemorate this moment, purchase the rest of any bolt for just $10 a yard!

AISH Merch

Tote and zip bags designed to assist with your collecting while you visit all the shops June through July!

While they last, I have 3 in each size from Medium to 3X.

Gratitude Block

There's a light at the end of the tunnel! 

Please click, save and use this as an applique' pattern to commemorate this unique time we have been through and THANK YOU to all for helping us stay alive as a business! 

We also have this little wall hanging available in kit.

Coming soon - -

How cute is this? A panel of masks from Moda, I have this on order with an expected August/September delivery date.

New Fabric

Have you seen this? This is a pattern designed for us by Kathy Hamilton and it features the panel, Cultivate Kindness.

We have this panel in both the soft gray background and the cream colored background plus here are some coordinates that just came in.

And this is a new bouquet of lovely flowers. So pretty.

Memorial Day Block

This block came to me, indirectly, from Pinterest. I did not design it so do not want to write a pattern but I am sharing the cutting and block parts info here that I came up with for you to play with. This block finishes 16" square.

Cutting:

Light (background)

4 – 2 1/2” squares

8  - 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” rectangles

4 – 3” squares (for half square triangles)

Dark (blue) (center and corners)

4 1/2” square – center

4 – 3” squares (for half square triangles)

4 – 2 1/2” squares

Medium (red)

8– 2 1/2” squares (cheater corners on white rectangles) - trim to 

Flying Geese Units – finish 2” x 4”

Use your favorite FG technique.

Cutting for 3 most common ways of making FG Units:

(trim each FG unit to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2")

Cutting for Eleanor Burns FG Ruler:

Cut 7” square for wings and 5 1/2” square for background

Cutting for Flying Geese x 4 technique:

Cut  3” sqs for wings and 5 1/4” sq background

Cutting for cheater corner technique:

Cut 2 1/2” squares for wings and  2 1/2” x 4 1/2 rectangles for background

Make these units and then refer to the picture to put it all together:

4 flying geese units with white wings - trim to 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

8 flying geese units with medium wings.           "           "

8 half square triangle units - trim to 2 1/2" sq

8 white rectangles with cheater corners - 4 each in mirror image - refer to picture

That time - - -

Adel Cemetery - Oakdale

Dexter

News of the All Iowa Shop Hop

Are you ready? To help spread us all out, the shop hop has been extended through the end of July.

This quilt features some of the new AISH fabrics. New this year, in each shop you visit with your passport, you will receive  a pre-printed - 4 1/2" square. Each shop has their own personalized square to give you.  

See our square in the bottom left here? Of course, you will see lots of ideas as you travel the state on how to stitch with these little squares. We will have a pattern for this 16" block. 

Also new this year, passports and maps are not available online to download. They are only available in the magazine along with all of the articles, patterns and shop hours during the hop.

Truth

Auction quilt

Remember these blocks? It's been a minute. This is our auction quilt for the Dallas County 4-H programs that will be auctioned off at the Dallas County Fair Sponsors Dinner in July (maybe - everything is maybe now, isn't it?).

We make a quilt for them every other year. One year, we collect blocks and the next we make a quilt so some of you may remember donating these blocks last year.

The blocks are 16" making a nice big quilt with 1" sashing and no borders. It is going to be a beaut! You will  be seeing more of it.

Urban Expansion!

Kinda a big deal!

Olive lost her first tooth and her brothers assisted.

Another Covid quilt done

Lonnie stopped by to show me another quilt top she has completed from her scrap stash. Love it!

Extended dates for All Iowa Shop Hop

Dates have been extended from 1 month to 2 months to help spread us all out.

Happy Mothers Day to all Mothers

Banana Coffee Cake

I have been baking this cake since the 70's. It is very similar to banana bread but is baked in a round cake pan which makes it easy to bake evenly. 

Try this for your own Mother's Day Brunch

Banana Coffee Cake

1stick butter

1 C sugar

2 eggs

3/4 C mashed ripe banana

1 1/4 C flour

3/4 t soda

1/2 t salt

Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs and beat to fluffy. Stir in mashed bananas and dry ingredients.

Bake 350, 30 to 35 min in greased 9x9x2 pan.

Working from home - -

I'm not the only one working from home at this quilt shop! 

Lonnie has been sewing shop samples, Julia has been cutting block of the month kits and I just sent a bunch of fabric to JoAnne Schnebley to cut strips with her Accucutter for Strip Club.

We are finding new ways to get it done as we work toward our re-open date of June 1.

Lonnie's Pineapple

Lonnie stopped by to show me what she has been doing. Isn't this beautiful? Rex was working in the yard so we were able to social distance a pic.

More on finding our way - -

I made quilts for the Texas boys to help them settle in their new home together as a family. 

My original plan was to send them in car to TX for the wedding and present them in person. Well, that didn't happen!

Then I thought it would just be a couple of weeks and this pandemic would pass through and I would drive down, maybe go for Gabe's 40th bday in April. Well, that didn't happen either!

So, I finally packed them up and shipped them. I think Bradley likes his quilt.

And here is Jack all wrapped up in his.

Finding our way - - -

One thing this pandemic is teaching us is to find new ways. 

I have been Face-Timing with the grands but had not seen them since early March or maybe even February so,  - - - it was time to find a new way.

I loaded my car trunk with a bag of cookies, books, old bricks for their timber fort and a Memaw pillow.  I let it set in my trunk for 5 days so any virus bugs would have time to dissipate, or whatever virus bugs do when they don't have a human to feed on.

Then I put a matching pillow in the front seat of the car and made a plan with the grands. 

When I arrived at their house, I would pop the trunk and they could unload and, instead of hugging me, they could hug the Memaw pillow and I would hug my matching pillow back. 

It worked great and we had a wonderful time. It fed my soul. I helped them haul the bricks down to their timber and played at the fort they have been building.

That evening at bedtime, when I was back in Adel, Olive had her momma send me this picture. She says this is the pillow I use when I stay overnight at their house.

It sounds super corny but, it kind of worked.

AISH Magazines

These were delivered today! Get yours now and start planning your tour.

It is still on for the month of June and there is some strong buzz about extending it through July just to help keep the crowds down and give you a better sense of security.

Salted Nut Bars

Deanna Darrah recently brightened my day by sharing a sample and this recipe:

Salted Nut Bars

1 yellow cake mix

2 sticks butter

1 egg

1T water

4 C mini marshmallows

1 (12oz) pkg peanut butter or butterscotch chips

1/2 C light syrup

2 C Rice Krispies

2 C white salted peanuts or mixed nuts

Mix cake mix, 1 stick butter, egg and water. Spread on greased 

9" x 13" pan. Bake 350 for 10 min. Do not overbake.

Sprinkle mini marshmallows on top and return to oven for 3 minutes.

Melt together chips, syrup, 1 stick butter. Add Rice Krispies and mix well.

Spread over marshmallows and top with nuts. 

Press into bars and cool. 

Adel Strong

Toasting Fareway!

Part of my Covid 19 quilt will be a row of Main Street businesses. This block represents the grocers.

To make this block even more important to the quilt, here's a Covid 19 story - - -

Tuesday, Cory Johnson, manager of Adel's Fareway store, stopped by with a $50 gift card.  He is distributing them to small businesses throughout the community. The thought is as special as the gift.

Thank you, Fareway.   #FarewayShopsLocal

Happy Earth Day!

AISH Scavenger Hunt

Sunday Sewday

It's been a while since I posted a Sunday Sewday project. Truth is, every day is now Sewday - - - or is every day Sunday??? - - - Maybe both.

This is what I did on Sunday, machine quilted this top:

I used Moda's soft Fireside fabric for the back. Now I have something to bind!

Baby Cow Baby Cow Baby

Memaw was recently called into service to help repair a favorite stuffed animal after the new family puppy had his way with it.

This is BCBCB after the incident. One eye is completely missing and the other is detached but available for transplant. 

After a little plastic surgery, he's nearly his old self with one original eye and a button that very nearly matches the original.

Not knowing the eye could be replaced, Cal originally asked for an eye patch so I made an eye patch, too, and attached it to a scrap piece of leftover 1/4" elastic. - - - You know what that was leftover from, don't you?

Today, I heard Cal was worried about sending BCBCB without a blankie and hopes he's ok so I sent him this picture showing he is nicely tucked in until we can gather again.

Alissa's Quilt

Julia stopped by with her granddaughter to show me a quilt Alissa has been making while in quarantine at grandma's house. 

We were socially distanced and it was windy but here is a close up Julia sent later.

 I'm told Alissa was very meticulous in her sewing. Looks great!

The center of this quilt features our elephant panel. 

man masks

Here are our most popular fabrics selling to make masks for the guys. We have a special on this assortment, 5, half-yard cuts for $25 with free shipping. 

Call to order at 515-993-1170 or go to our new online shopping cart at shopadelquilting.com. Both places offer either PPU (Porch Pick Up) or free shipping.

Masks

Every customer I talk to is making masks. Isn't it wonderful to be able to contribute in some way to this hot mess we have going on?

Since there will be no family gathering for Easter, 

I thought I would share a few family pics, each decked out in masks from Adel.

In Chicago, Brookly and next is her boyfriend, Craig, with his boys.

Gabe in Texas. There were several more masks that arrived at their house this week but the faces are all elsewhere.

And the Hill clan in Story City. Family pet, Sven, is even wearing a mask for the picture.

Happy Easter to all. I hope you can spend it with family and friends, even if apart together.