Saturday, January 31, 2009

Our 100th customer.

YEA!!!!! Our 100th customer, holding her "yea you're our 100th customer gift certificate" As, usual I didn't plan ahead enough to have horns, or balloons, or confetti or anything too exciting, but she did seem thrilled to have a gift certificate.
I was thrilled to have a 100th customer!

Yea, kids in the kids area.

My friend Tammie from MCG came into today and brought her girls with her. Yea, it was fun to have kids in the kids area. Here they are playing with the legos.
They wanted to pose as the knights. They made me smile.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Wow, it is amazing how word is getting around.

I got an email today for Margaret Hunt that is in my guild. She got a comment on her blog from Pat Sloan, because her book was pictured on the NBC Augusta interview. It is a little confusing post, but fun fun fun none the less. Check it out on Pat's blog.

http://www.patsloan.typepad.com/

A wonderfully busy day at the quilt shop.

Some, of our first customers today were a couple, where the husband told his wife about the quilt shop because then he could get a few hours on his motorcycle.....it was fun to get to talk to him about riding. I really enjoy being a quilter that also rides a motorcycle.
Here he is sitting on the "husband bench" reading one of our motorcycle magazines.


I asked Marie if she would kindly make a curtain for my office. I am really tired of the card board that had been up there. This is part of the "Rise and Shine" retro line. It makes me smile, it is good to have color in the office break room, because the walls are white.

Hard to tell in this picture, but the back is the chicken wire from the same line.


The sign guys were back today to paint the frame of the sign black. It turned out well.
One of the other things I got done this morning was to clean up my Mom's old sewing machine and move the thread to its new location. It is another thing that I am glad I have and can use in the shop.




Thursday, January 29, 2009

New fabric.

Here's some of the new fabric we got in today. I ordered this at quilt market honestly I don't really remember ordering it, but I do love it. I must have been in a retro mood while in Houston. One of the jokes at the shop is how much pink I have in the shop. It is funny because pink IS NOT my favorite color, but I sure have a lot of it.
I need to have a "you're in the pink sale" or something.
I know you have seen the new sign, but here it is in the sun shiny weather.

NBC Augusta

Hey all here's the link to the segment on NBC Augusta.

http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/38580422.html

I was so nervous I wasn't smiling at all. :-( Bummer.
I really do like owning and working at the quilt shop.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The new sign is here.

The new sign came today, the poor guys that put it up had to put it up while this storm started to brew. It was windy and again made me nervous to have guys on ladders with a big plastic sign....(at least there was no pickup truck involved)
Here's a peek from the window.
Look it is a quilted sign for a quilt shop.
Pretty bright at night.



Creative head wear.


Sami, being the creative girl that she is, made a rain hat out of one of the bags off of new bolts of fabric we got in today.

Hey check out the article in the Augusta Chronicle.

I tired to cut and paste the article, but it didn't really work out. So here's the link.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/01/28/bus_509352.shtml

The scrap bins.

The old wash tub has turned into a great place for housing scraps and sale items. It has been fun to watch people dig through the scraps for treasures.

The wash board was a great find that Beth and I picked out the same day we picked up the grocery baggers cart. I love the "sign" is held on by clothes pins. It's the small things that makes me smile.


On Saturday Marie and I went through some of the inventory and rolled some fat quarters to add to the right side of the tub. So, all rolled fat quarters are $1.00. As in the scrap side there is a variety of FQ's Happy hunting!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Choosing to look at the blessings.

Here's some good news and some good news.
The shop is going fine. We have sold something every day except one. Last week was better than the week before. But, we are not where we want to be to be able to continue to increase our inventory and buy fabric. And, we all know how much I like to buy fabric.
So, we came to the decision for me to go back to the cancer clinic a couple of days a week. Monday and Tuesdays, which are the busiest days in the infusion room. The shop is closed on Mondays and Marie is available and willing to cover Tuesdays. Going back to the cancer clinic is the wise thing to do. And, I am thankful that it is an option to keep things going the way that we hope and are planning for. I spoke to a lady last night that had a quilt shop that was only open for eight months, I do not want that to be me as well. So, back to the routine of going to bed early to be up early a couple of days a week.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

You might work in a quilt shop if....



You can't find a spoon, so you stir your coffee with a ruler!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Amy Butler comes to the quilt shop.

Or at least her fabric is at the quilt shop.
Look the Amy Butler fabric, books and patterns have arrived. This is bold and beautiful. Which I will admit is a little step for me, but a BIG step for Marie. I am excited to see what people will do with these prints.

We then moved some of the Studio E around to the other side of the case. They are along the same vein color wise, but the print is not quite as big.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Our first sold out bolt of fabric.

We have finished several bolts of fabric from the inventory I bought from Ann's needle and hook.



Today we sold a whole bolt of fabric from a full bolt. It is from the Benartex Flower Mart II. The light green basket weave. It is lovely and it is sold out! (but another bolt is on it's way) yee ha!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Who would have thunk it.

My daughter bought this quilt pattern and fabric to make a quilt. What?!?! That's right Megan is going to make a quilt. Woo Hoo!
Here she is using the window as a light box to trace the trees.

A shot from the outside.


Now she is fusing the trees and elephants to the sunset. She did a great job picking the fabrics. Sewing the long straight seams almost did her type personality in though. She did a great job. I can't wait until she gets to sew down all those branches. Good job Megan way to step out and try quilting.



Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Changes in the shop.

Here's the baby quilt I got pieced while hanging out in the shop on Saturday. Now, I can add it to the pile of quilts that need to be quilted.
Here's some of the Moda fabrics we got in yesterday. Dots and more dots and stripes and checks oh my. We moved some stuff around and rearranged again. Then we sat down at the table and chatted a little while. We also got in some tone on tone, blacks, whites, and naturals. We are making room for the Amy Butler fabrics and patterns which I think will be in last this week or early next.

We also repackage these three kits and moved them out to so they could be seen better. I'm telling you while we opened and repackaged them I fell in love with these fabrics all over again. They are lovely.
Some new additions to the "sewing room", a new ironing board and iron, complete with a rack on bottom for hanging stuff. The ironing board is a little wider, but not quite as long as a regular board, so we'll see how it works.



The middle of the night.

Robert, heard our handy motion detector go off in the middle of the night, but it is in the living room so it didn't really wake him up. (it didn't wake me up at all) So, finally at about 5:00a.m. he got up to discover our shed had been broken into and our lawn mower was stolen. He did get dressed and drove around the neighborhood to see if he could see someone pushing a lawn mower around, but thankfully he didn't find anyone.


Lessons learned, put you handy motion detector in where it will wake you up in the middle of the night. So, you can all the police and not go looking for your lawn mower in the wee hours of the morning.

Hold stuff with open hands as someone may think they need it more than you.

Monday, January 19, 2009

aaah....


Is she a bear or a corgi?
I don't know, but she is fluffy!

Look, more fabric came today.

While I was working downstairs there was a knock at the door and it was my second favorite man was there...the UPS man. (favorite is Robert, but he had to work today.) He brought,
five boxes from Moda, one from checker, one from thimbleberries and one from warm company. We have lots of fabric and notions to mark and put up tomorrow. Then there was another knock at the door...and these three ladies had driven from somewhere between McCormick and Lincolnton about an hour away so I let them in. They were warned that they had to run the gauntlet of my dogs and around boxes, but they didn't seem to mind. So, they came in and shopped and then they went on their merry way. I didn't open the door and Then I finished up and took the dogs tot he dog park.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Some miscellaneous stuff from the weekend.

Got a little fridge for the office. Also of note my corgi magnet board is up as well as some cork board. Almost looks a little like organization.

And a coffee maker.
Since the shop is done, Robert went back to working on some stuff that needs to be done in our apartment. Yea, for flooring.


Friday, January 16, 2009

More fun fat quarter baskets.

Beth gave me this great basket for my birthday. As, I was headed downstairs this morning I thought that it would be great for holding the batik fat quarters. And sure enough I love it! It's not a huge basket, but I don't yet have a huge selection of batiks, so it works out well.

Here's where it sits in the shop, not with the batiks, but close. It makes me smile.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Baby Geniuses Grow Up!


This fun baby quilt was in Quick Quilts magazine in the bright Baby Geniuses Grows Up fabric. My friend Sharron from Pieceful Hearts Quilt Guild offered to piece some shop samples for me as she is a talented and speedy quilter. So, I took her up on her offer and she brought the quilt top in today. Now, I just need to get it quilted.
Yea!
Thanks Sharron.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Let's do lunch.

I made a couple of table runners this weekend from the book "Let's do Lunch". This one is made with some retro looking fabrics. The second one is more a little more formal, but not quilted or bound yet, so you'll have to wait to see it until I get it done.
Anyway, I brought the table out of the office/break room area and set it up in the shop. So, if you get a minute come on by and sit and look and some books and touch some fabric. It is fun to have it set out with some of my Fiesta ware on it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

God of this city.

At the Well we have been singing this song. It stays with me all week and I find myself humming it. Jeremy started a series this week, " For the love of the city: Study of Nehemiah." This Sunday was fantastic, the message stirred my heart. It is close to home especially since we made this move to downtown Augusta and now have the shop open. I want to love God and love this city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

I like this version as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqQhZKpZVCo&feature=related

Monday, January 12, 2009

Look at how much room we have in our bedroom.

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but we have a lot of room in our bedroom now that the HQ 16 is in the shop. You can actually walk in our room without having to dodge cutting tables, poles from the HQ and the chair. Woo Hoo!

Here's a "before" picture to give you some prespective.

Pendleton King Park "bark park"


I read on facebook about a dog park in Augusta, so I took the dogs this afternoon. Man did they have fun running and chasing the ball and other dogs. I was a little worried, because they have lost some of their manners around other dogs when we are on walks, but they did fine. This is the result of a good run, a good nap on my bed while I was quilting.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Blue and Yellow scrappy heart.

My friend Debbie made this quilt for the shop. You know how I like to make things in more than one color option. Well, Debbie love blue and yellow, so I gave her the fabric for the hearts and she did the rest. As a Christmas gift to me she also got fabric for the back and borders and quilted it for me. It looks great!

In the yellow borders around the corners she quilted "Quilt shop on the corner". Very clever thanks Debbie.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Check out the Verge article.


verge / january / 15


to bee or not to bee/ a quilter’s question
kathy & rob mullis answer with new quilting store on telfair

Kathy Mullis has not forgotten how cotton feels in her fingers. Unlike most of us who put it on each morning, dry our hands on it, wipe our mouths with it, and lay our bodies down in it at the end of the day, Mrs. Mullis touches her cotton like it’s a new silk from the Orient. “All quilters are that way,” she protests. “We need to feel our fabric.”
Kathy Mullis and her husband Robert are opening downtown Augusta’s first quilting shop. The old EatCetera building at Fifth and Telfair Streets has been incubating a transformation for the last year and a half. In preparation for its opening in early 2009, the Quilt Shop on the Corner is already stocked with the beginnings of a quilting inventory. It now has the requisite cutting table, notions racks, and a beach mural in the bathroom.
“Quilt shops notoriously have fun bathrooms,” says Mrs. Mullis, turning on the light to reveal palm trees, sand, and a bather caught unawares. Mullis laughs at the accomplishment of her muralist friend, Beth.
The Mullises want to create a place for the community. Situated in a central location, the shop will serve as a needed outlet for creative people. But Mrs. Mullis quickly admits how challenging it will be to cater to all the needs of the diverse immediate neighborhood.
Historically, people have always connected over quilt-making. Beginning in the mid-19th century, women would gather together to help each other finish their quilts. Some people, including those involved with the recent African-American Quilt Exhibition at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History on Phillips Street, claim that quilts also served as roadmaps to freedom for a community of runaway slaves before Emancipation. Among the upper class, crazy quilts displayed the wealth of a family in strips of luscious material. Nearly all quilts were relational as well as utilitarian.
Kathy Mullis began quilting in 2002 when her daughter graduated from high school. Mrs. Mullis gathered together all her grade school memories and stitched them into a t-shirt quilt. Still, at that time she dabbled only reluctantly.It was after her mother died in 2003 that Mullis began what she calls “fabric therapy” sessions with a good friend. Quilting became her comfort, a way to see something fragmented come together into a beautiful whole. As a former nurse—she officially retired at the beginning of December to work on preparing the shop—Mrs. Mullis knows better than most people how deeply the world needs consolation.
“I used to tell Robert that quilting is cheaper than therapy,” she quips, “but (renovating) the building has sort of messed that (theory) up.”
The two have had to laugh a lot over the last several months. The Mullis’ only previous experience in retail was running a cottage business making t-shirt quilts. When they decided they were ready for a larger entrepreneurial challenge, the old building in downtown Augusta, which is Megan now lived as well, was the perfect place to build the store they had in mind. They and their teenage son moved from Alpharetta in the summer of 2007 and made their home in the apartment above the shop.
But there has been much to learn in starting a business like this. One necessary complication is in renovating their historic building according to the Olde Town Neighborhood Association’s stipulations. The structure was originally built in 1894 as a grocery store, which it remained until the 1970s when it became the sandwich shop EatCetera. Then the downstairs have sat empty for the last eight years after the exodus of last resident, a short-lived Chinese restaurant. Financial help for the Mullis’s preservation efforts is coming from the Mayor himself in the form of a façade grant, which will eventually allow the Mullises to restore the front and sides of their building to its past glory.
Beyond these large-scale concerns, the Mullises needed to purchase the actual goods to sell in the shop. At the 2008 Houston Quilt Market in Texas, they sat for hours with fabric distributers deciding on fabrics and fabric lines to stock the store. They ended up buying $25,000 worth of all kinds of material—Civil War reproductions, some African prints she hopes will be popular in the downtown population, and even some silks.
But their move was difficult for other reasons. Changing communities was a hard thing to do. Had the Mullises not gotten involved very quickly in a downtown church and the neighborhood of fellow small-business owners, they would have grown very discouraged. But it’s been a communal effort from the beginning. Members of the North Augusta quilting guild, Pieceful Hearts, have come offering their labor and expertise in areas of quilting that Mrs. Mullis doesn’t know as well. These ladies vary in ages and backgrounds. Mrs. Mullis hopes that some of these well-practiced quilters will also help fill the classroom space in the store with new generations of quilters.
In the end, Kathy Mullis loves quilts and other fabric arts. She and Robert want to share that love with anyone who will learn. And maybe all their new neighbors will be a little warmer this winter as a result.
by Charlotte Okie • photos by Elizabeth Benson
The Quilt Shop on the Corner is located at 428 Fifth Street. The shop will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays: 10 am to 6 pm, Thursdays: 10 am to 8 pm and Saturdays 10 am to 4 pm. Learn more at http://www.quiltshopcorner.com/ or call 706.721.1298.

Open three days and already we have moved stuff around.

The new Valentines display. Love the pinks and reds. Display complete with a couple of new fat quarter displays Beth found while bargain hunting. As she says she loves to spend my money. Now I know how Robert feels.

One of the cool lamps she found. A purse lamp, right by the purse patterns.
The tea pot lamp from my house moved down to the shop. And the cool wedding present mixing bowl to help give it some height.
I do just have to tell you that Beth, Jennifer, Marie and I cut some fat quarters tonight. We cut a whole line of fabric in 20 minutes, laughing and joking the whole time. That makes me smile I want the shop to be a warm place full of laughter.