I'm a little overwhelmed by all of the blessings from our quick two day trip to Anchorage! Amazing weather, stopped in FIVE quilt shops, and met lots of people, including my fabric angel! She loaded my car to the gills... This isn't even everything. The pile of fabric in front of the tubs is some of what I bought, mostly for card kits, but the pile is 10 yards, so that means the tubs contain probably hundreds.... wow... And a 'teeny' bit of card stock too! I might be busy for awhile....
And I'm willing to share, I'm still planning an open house next Tuesday, the 18th, 6:30-8:30 pm, for the Colorplay craft nights I'd like to start! I will have samples and a sign up sheet for the first few sessions. Age 12- adult to start with, we'll see how it goes. Stop in and bring friends!
​If you are in Alaska, these are the 5 shops I stopped at: Twisted Sisters Quilty Pleasures and Quilt Cache in Eagle River, (I'm doing two days of classes and a trunk show there next month!), Seams Like Home and Quilt Tree in Anchorage, and Two Friends in Wasilla. Three of those were new to me, so fun!
​Now I'm in the mad rush for bazaar season, but boy do I have fabric to play with...
Remember, these fall Polychrome table runners are only available this month or while they last! Click the 'shop online' tab.

God's plan is always better than our plan, right? I have had a dream for years to have a cute classroom with matching sewing machines. (Photo below is NOT mine, stole online... And the 'matching' is not just for looks, more in a bit...) MY plan was to do a fundraiser involving the table runner kits shown here, starting today. But yesterday was my birthday, and my mom surprised me by funding 6 machines, which is how many I wanted! Oh my! I'm a bit of a sewing machine snob, because I want sewing to be pleasant and not frustrating for beginners, and the new brand called EverSewn is connected to Bernina somehow, but in a much lower price range, perfect for classroom machines! Matching machines don't just look nice; I would like to be able to say, "turn this knob", and everyone has the knob, especially for kids. Eventually I will have them use their own if they have them, but it would be less frustrating for everyone this way. I still plan to do most adult classes at the quilt shops, but may do some here too. Also, people who don't have machines can try them without the investment. Soooo exciting!

So, these fun table runners will still be a limited time offer, because I don't really plan to get large amounts of the leaf fabric. They will be up soon... $48, which is about 20% less than our other table runners, and will probably still go at least in part to other classroom expenses. Available through September only, or until we run out, whichever comes first! And, I finally managed to do a kit that has NO applique or free motion required, all straight stitching. I did free motion quilting on one sample, but you don't have to. Stay tuned for pics of MY new classroom, woohoo!
UPDATE: Table runner kits, called Polychrome, are now available, click here! 

Local people, especially home schoolers, let me know what good times for classes might be. Everyone else, which table runner do you like best, teal (need better pic) or orange?

Well, we went from hot to rainy pretty quickly! But it was right on schedule, since our local fair is this week, and it's traditionally rainy then! I hope it holds off during the Little River Band outdoor concert we are planning to go to! We have family visiting this week, so a trip to Denali Park is in the plans too.
I didn't get anything made for the fair this year... I almost finished an art quilt but ran out of time. I did get a quilt done for the Quilt Alaska show though, and then forgot to post it here! It was a fun one to do, since I'm obsessed with Inktense pencils lately. That's how I made the flower. The background was just improv pieced, I kept adding pieces until it was close to the right size, then squared them up. For someone who doesn't mind math and measurements, I sure have a lot of tricks to avoid them! The quilt is a single fireweed blossom, and the quilt is called Beauty From Ashes, since fireweed is one of the first things to come back after a fire.
Also, did you know that most of our patterns are available in downloadable form? This is great for anyone outside of the US, because it's economical and instant, or anyone, like me, who can't wait to get started! A few are not available this way for various reasons, but most are. Here are a few of them! Happy sewing, Beret

It's been a hot week here this week, I've been very thankful for the AC in my studio! I even stayed over one night, I'm not a fan of the heat... It's cooling off now, and starting to get a bit dark during the night, so fall is coming!
We to do our first (and maybe last!) 'buy one, get one' sale on kits. Buy any kit (not all pictured) and get any other kit of equal or lesser value free! And free shipping in the US too. If there isn't a comment box when you order, either send an email to me at beret@onthetrailcreations.com, or a message with the 'contact us' page here with which kit you would like. Then I hope you will also join our On the Trail Creations VIP group on facebook, and share photos of your creations!

I'm kind of double booked for tonight, but I will make it work! First Friday at That Old Sew and Sew quilt shop, and opening night of the Quilt Alaska quilt show at the Bear Gallery! Local people, I hope you will be at one or both :-) I will probably just pop in to the Bear Gallery at the beginning, and be at the quilt shop the rest of the time...
I took a couple of days off this week and we had a nice 4th of July with friends over. My dog Tundra got to see her brother for the first time since we got her 18 or so months ago! He's much bigger than she is! Now it's back to work... I just finished this batch of cards, quite a bit different from my normal ones. I made the quilt part smaller, so I could do some embossing on the card stock... The flower was done with the sewing machine, I think I will need a video for that one! And a separate post...
​If you haven't joined our On the Trail Creations VIP facebook group yet, I hope you will! That is the place I post the most about special offers, and the first place to see new designs for patterns and kits. I have several swirling around in my head right now!

Yikes, I forgot to post about this today, and I still have gobs of these, so I'm going to extend the offer through the 4th of July! (unless they run out) Any order of at least $59 will receive one of these gorgeous handmade glass pendants, $20 value! (Thanks to a generous artist who gave them to me 😊) I thought it would be fun to wrap them too, who doesn't like unwrapping presents? 😁 Remember we have new Teresa Ascone panel kits now, but anything counts, kits, patterns, even downloads, as long as it adds up to at least $59. (If you do downloads you will have to email me your mailing address!) The last photo is from That Old Sew and Sew, they've been selling lots of our kits this summer!

Oh my!! Thanks to a very generous Alaskan artist, I have acquired a BUNCH of these amazing handmade fused glass pendants, so I'm passing them on to you 😊 Get one free with any order of at least $59, through the end of the month (Saturday) or while supplies last! (Photo is just a sample, $20 value!) Of course I snitched one for myself first 😁 Ready, set, go!!

One of the interesting things about living in Alaska is the long summer days and short winter ones! Since we are about at our longest day, I decided to make a quick science lesson for anyone who doesn't get why this happens and would like to! It's all about the tilt of the earth... in the summer the north pole is tilted toward the sun, so we get it all the time, it's still light even when it has set for 3 hours during the night. And in the winter it's the opposite, tilted away. And the southern hemisphere gets the opposite, that's why it's winter there when it's summer here. Where do YOU live? 

I have been pretty quiet on here lately, too much going on! I'm determined to get better though, and thanks to my youngest going to camp for the summer starting tomorrow, I should have some time... I hate having my kids gone, because they are lots of fun, but I will enjoy having some extra time in my studio! Our middle kid is still home, but working a lot. We have also been just a little busy getting ready for our oldest daughter's wedding, which was two weeks ago. It was all very nice, and the weather even cooperated for the time we needed it to; big rainstorms before and after though! I did lots of wedding sewing... bridesmaid and wedding dress alterations, table decorations, and I made my dress. It was great to have plenty of room, my new studio was perfect for all of that! But I'm still glad to get back to art quilting and pattern designing :-) 

In honor of our 31st anniversary last week, we are having a sale! 31% off your total purchase, and free shipping, now through Monday, June 11. No code required, it will be automatically applied! Click the "shop online' tab to see all of our products. Also, please join our On the Trail Creations VIP facebook group!   https://www.facebook.com/groups/614962188849895/
​I am much better about updating that. And if you post a photo of your project made from one of our designs there, you can get a free PDF version of the pattern of your choice! Happy sewing!  
​Beret