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!