It’s been a busy week! Ten days ago a building owner was in our office for a meeting about a really cool event happening here in June, and on his way out he said something about quilts. Since I was 5 feet away, hearing the word “quilts” made me perk up my ears. (Metaphorically. I can raise one eyebrow, but lifting my ears is beyond me, LOL!) Come to find out, he offered a storefront space to a local quilt guild for a few weeks, free of charge, and they didn’t have enough interest from the members to do it. I told him about our little quilting group and – now we’re doing a pop up quilt share!

So what’s a “quilt share?” We wanted to show our quilts, but more than that, we wanted to share our passion for quilting. In addition to displaying quilts and unquilted tops, we’re setting up a sewing area where we can work when we don’t have visitors, and maybe do some demonstrations when people stop by. We’ll have coloring sheets for kids, English paper piecing tutorials with little practice kits, some beginners instruction sheets, scraps to play with, and other fun things. If you’ve followed this blog you’ll recognize some of these quilts, as well as several incredible quilts by Jeanne at Grey Cat Quilts (here’s her blog and her Instagram). I love seeing Jeanne’s bright, bold contemporary quilts next to my mom’s more traditional creations, with my stuff bridging the two.

My sister-in-law paints signs and she has all sorts, some quilting or sewing related, some not. I have some dot painted mandala items for sale – mugs, books, canvases – as well as plush winter scarves, some little monsters, and keychains. Who knows what all will appear.

We’re located in south central Wisconsin (Janesville), and we’ll be open Saturdays and Sundays through mid-March. Click here to see our Facebook event. If you’re in the area and looking for something to do, we’d love for you to stop by! Saturday, February 23 is Flannel Fest, a craft beer experience with home and craft brewers, games like life-sized beer pong, contests (can you hold a growler of beer the longest) and a Lazy Man’s Run that’s a whopping 0.1 mile long. (That’s a city block. A Janesville city block. Which is short.) Check it out on Facebook – it’s just a couple of blocks from our pop up shop. On March 1 & 2, there’s a Vintage Shop Hop that covers all of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, with over 500 vintage and boutique shops participating. We are not on the list, but there are a number of stores in Janesville that are, including Velvet & Tulle Boutique right next door.

If you’re thinking about visiting and you aren’t familiar with Janesville, check out the Janesville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau website, or give them a call at 608-757-3171. I’ll probably answer, and I’d be happy to make suggestions. Or just drop your question in the comments below.