What's new at the Shoppe!

Just a quick note to let you know that we received the full line of Blessings.

What a gorgeous line it is! I can certainly think of many patterns to make with those delicious fabrics!

Enjoy!

The story of our Oak...!

A while back, I mentioned that I would tell you about the story of the Oak wood used for building our shoppe furniture. The wood comes from our wonderful neighbour by the name Dr. Southwick.

Dr. Southwick is/was, as he is retired, a real life country doctor. You know, the kind you see on TV. lol Wonderful man! I've spoken with nurses that worked with him and they have nothing but kind words to say about him. They told me lots of stories of how patients would bring tires or whatever as payment for services rendered. lol Oh.... as a side note, Dr. Southwick's hobby is collecting old cars, and a fine collection he has. I made him blush one time.... but I digress....!

So Dr. Southwick owns a couple of farm lands and he had this old oak tree that needed to come down. Being the kind of individual who likes to do things himself, he decided to chop it down using a chain saw. Yes sir, Dr. Southwick was on a ladder, chain saw in hand, attempting to cut this huge oak tree (you've seen some of the wood/furniture that came from it). And by the way, 2 (two) book shelf units were made by Stephen for the local library using wood from that tree. You can just imagine how huge that Oak tree was!

Of course, he admitted to me, after he told me the story, that it really was not the wisest thing he's ever done. He did injure himself as he lost his footing, chain saw in hand, but he was fortunate. As he would say, "it was not one of his best decisions!" The things we do in our youth!

Being such a huge majestic tree, he had it milled. These oak boards had been sitting in one of his barns for close to 25 years. As a matter of fact, some of the wood was used to make pins for our barn, but I'm digressing again..... Dr. Southwick gave the wood to my husband in exchange for some labour on his old cars. You see, one of his trucks has needed a wooden bed/siding (I think it dates like in 1920's).

There you have it, the story of Dr. Southwick Oak! Cheers!

How time flies....!

I've been keeping pretty busy thinking of quilting projects for all the new lines of fabrics that have been delivered!

Jennifer and I have been working on our newsletter as well as classes that will be offered in the fall. We have quite the interesting line up of classes.

Since it's been a while, I thought I would give you a preview of some of the fabrics that have entered our door since the last time I blogged. The Shoppe is filling up nicely!

Here you have some bolts from the Indigo & Pewter collection by Marcus Brothers, along with other reproductions. Pictures do not do it justice, the colours are so rich!

I must admit, we are getting quite the sweet collection of reproduction fabrics. It makes it very hard to walk out of the Shoppe empty handed!

Since we will be hosting a Monthly Jo's Little Woman's Club, voici some of our delicious fabrics for the projects.

I found it difficult to restrain myself! Jo' Morton has some really sweet fabric lines! I did managed to keep it at 28 bolts of fabrics. It wasn't easy!

Some Bonnie Blue Basic as well as Neutrals from Marcus Brothers.

As you can see, lots of gorgeous reproductions.

I've always wanted to make a blue and white quilt and the Paula Barnes collection makes it extremely tempting to get started. But.... I have way too many projects going at the moment. ;o)

Some of our "Americana" fabrics. We are getting quite the patriotic collection!

So that's it for now!

Fabric lines are coming in every month, I still get excited when they finally arrive. I really am a fabricaholic! LOL

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Come in ... have a look around.....!

So much has changed at Fibre Junction. The shoppe is slowly filling up with fabrics.

So, I thought I'd give you another tour!

As you enter the shoppe, this is the view you will have!

As you see, it has filled in quite a bit from our first pictures taken May 1, our opening day.

If you were to turn slightly to the right, you would be greeted by the "big sister", our newest addition.

Stephen built the unit not too long ago. It is identical to the first one but much wider!

Yep, still with the oak from that one tree!

In the corner you will find our old washing tub!

We've filled it with fabric care products! You'd be amazed at how pretty bubble wrap looks in a tub! lol

This old tub continues to be a conversation piece!

It seems to bring back lots of childhood memories! ;o)

Not far from the old tub and the Big Sister, is this comfortable rocking chair! It's a favourite place for tired quilters .... and husbands that have come along! ;o)

The little hand embroidered pillow was made by my friend Wendy from Snippet of a Quilter. Our first sampler!

She also made a cute little cupcake pin cushion. If you look closely on the front counter, you will see it. My dd made one too! Wendy's is on the left! Oh... help yourself to some candy while you're checking out those cute pin cushions! Thanks again Wendy!

Now, turn to your left, and you will see another part of the shoppe. That's also where our classroom is (Sorry, no pictures).

These shelves were empty when we first opened! My, how quickly they have begun to fill with batiks!

This is our little notion corner!

I just love that little giraffe! What a lucky find that was!

Notice Cottage Garden? Yep, quilted and hanging in the store!

The Notion Hut is right there!

I did want Stephen to make a thatch roof, but I guess I was asking for too much! lol

As you can see, we pretty much have the basic quilting necessity! It really is difficult to figure out what inventory you ought to have as a quilt shop!

If you were to lean against the batik wall, you'd be peaking into the main/entrance of the shoppe!

The classroom is from the quilt on back!

Oh my, I forgot to mention our Needle Shack! I love that little shack!

That's located in entrance/main room towards the back!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the tour! I do hope that when you'll stop by, you'll feel quite at home!

Please, sit and rest a bit in that rocking chair ... it is quite comfy!

Thank you for your visit!

New fabrics and a blogging buddy....!

It's so nice that fabrics are finally coming in. The Shoppe is slowly filling to capacity. We receive shipments at least once a month. It's like a monthly birthday, you know, the way Sharon Celebrates her birthday but the Shoppe does it all year long! lol

Last week I had a customer from blog land visit Fibre Junction. Denise, from the blog Denise (Noor) , who came all the way from Saudi Arabia, stopped by. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me! It's awful, but since I no longer study photography, I just don't remember to bring it with me. There was a time that I never left home without it! Anyway.... I'm digressing...!

It was wonderful to meet a fellow blogger. She came with her mom. We talked about other places she could shop hop in New York!

Thank you Denise for taking the time to stop by! It was great chatting with you!

On another note.....

The Moda Glace by 3 Sisters came in on Friday. What delicious fabrics!

I've already planned a quilt using those sweet holiday fabrics!

It's all so exciting at Fibre Junction! Fabrics that we ordered months ago are finally being shipped! Yahoo.....

Thanks for stopping by!

Buzzing along.....!

Business is moving along nicely at Fibre Junction. People are finding us despite the fact that we haven't done much advertisement. As Stephen would say, no sense advertising vaporware! lol That's a geek term for things that aren't, like a whole lot of talking with nothing to back it up with. Learn something new everyday! lol

Now that new fabric lines are coming every month, it would be a good time to place some ads in local newspapers. There is just so much to think about.

Speaking of fabrics coming in.....

The Moda holiday line, Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey came in last week!

What a delicious line of fabrics!

We loved it so much that we ordered the whole line! Yep, 40 bolts of fabric were delivered to the Shoppe last week!

What I like about that line is that it doesn't scream Christmas! The colours are just so sweet!

If you want to see the various fabrics in the line, you may check the Moda site here.

Aside from new fabric lines coming in, not much is going on! The Shoppe keeps me busy, that's always a good thing! Keeps me out of trouble! ;o)

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabric Shopping.....!

You know, fabric shopping for the shoppe is very different from a Stash Enhancing eXperience. I mean, it's not about you and your stash, but the shoppe's stash.

We met Cindy today and looked at all the new lines from Spring market. I must admit, I do enjoy it! However, I find it overwhelming at times.

Once we've gone through all the formalities, she starts with one textile company and Cindy lays everything down, line by line. Batiks and Moda's are separate from this pile.

This is what the table looks like with a couple of textile companies!

So, you slowly weed things out. A pile of what you like and don't like. Sometimes you buy a line, at other times you buy bolts that work well together.

Moda alone is overwhelming. The table is full of new lines and you work your way through!

All are so delicious! It's difficult to stay within our number of bolt quota. What I mean by that is that I do not want to become an over crowded shoppe. I like things tidy! ;o)

It's important for me to choose fabric that work well with what we have while staying with our Shoppe theme. Jennifer is the contemporary gal, and I'm the repro and folk art gal. Despite our difference in style, we have very similar taste! Makes for a great purchasing team!

Thanks for stopping by! I do hope you enjoy my journey as a Shoppe owner!

New Fabrics.......

The Shoppe is coming along nicely! I love my job! You know, I just enjoy being in the shop!

We did receive some new fabrics.

Kansas Winter is our newest line. I call it Moda's Thimbleberries. It does have that country flair but with those Moda burgundies and greens.

We also received bolts from the Clara Barton (1820-1912)line of fabric.

Gosh, are those sweet repros?!

Just in case you're wondering what's on the other side of the shop....

It's our old washing corner! That's where we do our laundry! Just kidding!

You'd be surprised how often we hear customers comment on that old wash tub!

They love it! They start reminiscing about their childhoods! Memories!

I always enjoy listening to their stories.

It's quite the attraction in the shop!

We had to move the Batiks to the other side/room. Here you have our Batiks and Kashmir IV, a soft pastel line.

I'm enjoying spilling over to the other side of the shop. Receiving new fabrics is always fun! Let's just say that we like our delivery person! ;o)

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

How time flies.......!

When you're having fun....! It's been way too long since I blogged. I somehow always seem to put off till tomorrow what can be done today! Sounds familiar? ;o)

The shoppe is moving along nicely. People are finding us, that's a great thing! Since our opening day, we have been receiving some new fabrics.

Firstly, our batiks!

These beauties came in a few weeks ago! We ordered 30 bolts of what I call the designer ones, you know, the ones with the wax designs, and 25 bolts of the essentials.

Essentials are the hand dyed ones, what I call the blenders! ;o) Gosh, I'm going to have to learn the terminology! LOL

That was a sweet shipment to receive. We are still waiting for 17 bolts of the designers batiks from Hoffman and 25 bolts from Island Batiks, which should arrive in July.

I just love the smell of batiks. They have that strong smell. I used to think it was incense, but someone told me I was smelling the wax they used to create the designs! None-the-less, I like it! ;o)

We also received a new shipment of reproductions from Windham Fabrics/Baum Textile Mills!

Worn & Loved and Valley Forge 1869-1880.

I have made a quilt using both lines of fabrics that I will show you once I've completed the machine quilting on it.

You know, one thing I find difficult with this shop owner business venture, is figuring out what to order when it comes to patterns, books and notions. I mean, what do your customers need/want? The other thing is that you do not want to tie up money in inventory that will sit still! So in the past couple of weeks, I've placed many orders for items that I feel are the 'staples" of quilting, as well as patterns and books that are in line with the shoppe's style. Time and experience will make it much easier for me. So much learning..... and I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Train day...!

Hum..... I forgot to press the button on this one!

A bit of history... Rouses Point is a village that is close to the Canadian border, along the shores of Lake Champlain. It's a village with a lot of history, train history!

Today was "train" day.

On Pratt street, there's this old, old, old train stations.

Pratt Street intersect with Lake Street. From where the shoppe is, we can see the train station.

It's so nice to hear the train whistle!

Anyway...... the good news is that the Historical Society, for which I am a member, has received a grant to restore this old, old, old station. Did I mention it was old? lol

They had an exhibit in the old train station. It was nice to see a female uniform! ;o)

As you can see, even the inside is in need of some tender loving care!

The Rouses Point station is one of the few historical stations still active today!

It will be turned into a train museum.

Chooooo... Choooooo!

I love trains.

We did ask our fabric rep to look for train fabrics! In a train town, you've got to have train fabric!

Choooo.... Choooo....!

Opening day....!

We opened on May 1. Jen thought it would be an easy date to remember. Our first customer was a man. Yea, you read right!

Collin came a tad before the official opening time; that's because I invited him in. No sense having him wait in his van. He wanted to be the first customer in our shop and he was! Do you know what he bought? The Church Lady Apron pattern by Mary's production. It's a cute pattern! He looked for the newest dollar bills to pay for his purchase. What a kind man!

In all fairness, his wife Nancy wanted to be the first customer in the shop, but she was called into work. So, she sent her husband and told him what to buy!

We had another friend, Cathy, who stopped by to encourage us. What a sweetheart Cathy is!

Kitty came in at the end of the day because of what she saw on my blog:

This wall!

She was in town and had to stop by even though she had no time. It's that need to fondle fabric! lol She loves reproductions.

The day went by quickly!

Five minutes before closing, I get this phone call.

"Hello, I just noticed that you're a new entry in the phone book. Do you sell fabrics?" I'm thinking wow, this lady studies the phone book! So I answer her questions... blah, blah blah...

I close the shop and leave for the launching of Rouses Point's new web site and meet up with our landlord Jacquelyn and her friend Mary.

So here I am telling Jackie about how this lady phoned and noticed that I was a new entry in the phone book. I'm just baffled! She studies the phone book for new entries! Jackie on the other hand is wondering why she hadn't gotten her new phone book. So we're going on and Mary says something about how she read about JR's retirement in the telephone company's newsletter insert and perhaps that's where the lady found the info. So, I remembered that I had the shop's phone bill in my purse, pull it out and guess what? On the back of the small quarterly newsletter they list all the new listings. Living in a small town does have it's advantages.

I'm still laughing from this! I mean, I really thought this lady studied the phone book. Of course, I've never lived in a small town before. You'd never see that in Montreal, heck they'd have to publish a phone book every month! lol So, of course, I'm telling the story to Jennifer Saturday morning and I couldn't stop laughing! lol Still am...! lol

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

The shoppe.....!

Tomorrow, May 1, is our opening day! It will be a soft opening as we are still waiting for lots of new lines of fabric to come in. In the mean time, I thought I would take you on a small tour of the shop.

As you come in the front door, you will be greeted by hopefully Jennifer or myself behind these gorgeous counters that my husband, Stephen, custom made for us. As a matter of fact, all of the fixtures were built by him.

If you were to glance to your right, you would see another unit full of fabrics.

These are mainly repros from the civil war era to early/mid 19th century . I love how the fixture looks against that brick wall.

The building, I am told by Jacquelyn our landlord, is quite old, well over a century. As a matter of fact, this very place used to be a car wash many many many years ago, as well as a gas station. The history is amazing!

Here is the view of the shoppe as a whole.

The left side of the shop is the classroom. It's a cosy classroom. ;o)

All of our fixtures are made of oak, as a matter of fact, very old oak with a history of its own. I'll have to tell you the story.... another blog entry. ;o)

Thanks for taking the tour!

Moving along....nicely!

Shoppe stuff has been moving along nicely. There's just so much to think about besides fabrics when you're opening a quilt shoppe!

My sweetie has been busy building the furnishing that will grace our quilt shoppe. I am so grateful for his many talents!

Voici our counters!

Aren't they sweet?

The front section is the cash area and behind that, extending a bit forward is the cutting area.

Stephen has to remove the saw dust and apply the finishing. I just love them au naturel! I can just imagine what it will be like once the finish is applied. Of course, a picture never seems to do justice!

Jacquelyn, our landlord, has been busy fixing up the retail space. We now have a news ceiling! The doors will be replaced on Monday! As for the painting of the exterior trim, that will have to wait until the weather warms up!

I'm just so excited! Next week, Jennifer and I will be painting the walls.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Fabric, fabric, fabric..... and more fabric....!

Yesterday, my business partner and I met the Moda sales representative and bought our first batch of bolts. How overwhelming!

When we arrived at our appointment, we were greeted by a bag lady! lol You should have seen the bags filled with samples of the various lines available. We began with Moda, which as you know I am such a Moda girl. Next was Island Batiks, RJR, Henry Glass, Maywood Studio and finished with Windham Fabrics. There were lots of fabric fondling! lol

There is much to learn when you open a quilt shop. Firstly, you're always buying ahead and never for the now, which means, that many of the collections will only be arriving in July onward. We did purchase some bolts that are "now" deliveries, but nothing that will fill our shop to it's capacity. As Jennifer said, "we'll just do some creative decorating!" lol

Of course, spring market it coming, which means that we will meet again with the Fabric sales rep to purchase future lines of fabrics.

This meeting lasted close to 5 hours. It certainly didn't feel like it! Time just flew! But gosh, were we mentally exhausted in the end.

Thanks for stopping buy and for accompanying me on this new journey! Cheers!

The place....!

I managed to write a site plan, something I had never dreamed I would need to learn to do in my life! lol It had to be submitted last week, in time for the Plattsburgh zoning board meeting. Because the shop will be located on a "State" highway, we must have the authorization from the County. Anyway, the meeting was attended by members of the zoning board of Rouses Point and all is in order for that part. Next step, the Rouses Point Zoning meeting!

I thought I would share with you a photograph of where the shop will be located.


Meet the future site of Fibre Junction - A Quilt Shoppe.

We are the middle part of the building, ground floor. We're occupying 2 (two) spaces.

As you can see, the building is quite old, as are most of the structures in that area.

Before our lease begins, major exterior work will be done. All the trims and doors will be repainted or replaced. The building will have a fresh new look!

I just love that lamp post!

Our landlord, Jacquelyn, is quite supportive and a beginner quilter herself.

The town is just buzzing with the news of a quilt shop, which makes it so much more fun to plan.

Thanks for stopping by and accompanying me on my new adventure.

New Blog... New Venture....!

I want to share with you some exciting news. You know how I have been saying that I just cannot seem to get much quilting done and where does the time go... etc? Well.....I have been pre-occupied with a future project along with other things I might add!

I am making the plunge and opening a quilt shop along with my business partner and friend Jennifer. It's quite the undertaking and we have yet to settle on the legality of it all. Who would have known the numerous steps required for such a venture.

And while there are still many steps before the doors are officially opened, we are slowly climbing them , one step at a time.

I enjoyed reading Anne Heidi's adventures into opening a quilt shop Lappe Mor and I hope you will enjoy reading about mine!

Stay tune for news about Fibre Junction - A Quilt Shoppe.

Thanks you for accompanying me on my new venture! Cheers!