Our News

Welcome to the October edition of our Quilt Magazine/Newsletter!

My thanks to you for waiting patiently for this issue. It was not possible to write one during the summer for several reasons, including illness and ongoing computer and Internet connection problems. Our computer underwent a complete overhaul and I thought our problems were over until I tried to continue working on and uploading this newsletter. Unfortunately, the connection problems persist and my ISP is unable to figure out the cause. My fingers are crossed in hopes of sending this off soon!

Along with our usual features, we have two new patterns to introduce in this issue and a complimentary pattern for you, too. I am very excited about our upcoming Mystery Quilt pattern! As always, I hope you enjoy this issue.

A Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian readers and a Happy Columbus Day to those celebrating it in the U.S. !

Maria

Meet Judy Baldwin and Karen Kraemer, otherwise known as the Sew-Sisters.

I first heard about Judy and Karen well over a year ago when eBay sent out a newsletter featuring their online store. Included was this cute photo of them in their childhood on their way to a birthday party.

Intrigued by their story, I immediately visited their eBay store and became a frequent customer.

Judy and Karen

Karen and Judy

In this photo, Judy describes herself as“ the victim of Karen's hairstyling efforts.” Both photos were taken in the house in the west end of Toronto where they grew up.

Karen: “Quilts were not a part of our childhood. I first encountered quilts and quilting when I got married and had small children. A group of four of us used to get together once a week with all our wee children to make quilts. We made sampler quilts and Quilt In A Day projects. I learned by working with my friends. We all figured it out together. I have given most of my quilts away and have not taken photos of any of them.”

Judy: “I did not get interested in quilting until I had my oldest son. I had left my job and had a small house that was easy to keep clean. He took such long naps that d I felt very bored and trapped in the house. Karen suggested that I make him a quilt so I bought a copy of Quilting for Dummies and got started on a sample quilt. For some reason I thought that it would be better if it was more complicated so I shrunk the blocks down to 6 inches in order to try more from the book. Crazy!”

“I am completely self-taught and my quilty friends love to tease me about my unconventional techniques. Apparently I hold needles ”funny” - I take stitches ”weirdly” - I bind my quilts ”strangely” and so on.

From time to time I get asked to teach a quilting class but always decline because I really don’t know how to do anything properly. I am the queen of unsquare quilts and strangely pieced work! However, I am happy and my techniques work for me.”

Karen likes the ”Little House On the Prairie" aspect of quilts and quilting. Quilts remind her of slower, more conservative times. She finds a great beauty in simplicity. Judy loves the creativity of quilting, the colours and the construction. She has a background in art history and has always wanted to be an artist of some kind. She finds quilting a very satisfying creative outlet. .

Judy and Karen's Dad
basting their second
I Spy quilt
on the vertical basting frame
he made for Judy.

Both sisters love to quilt. About 7 years ago, Judy decided to make an I Spy quilt for her son. It required almost 500 different pieces of fabric . Judy did a lot of shopping, traded fabrics, and searched extensively to gather everything needed.

She says, “When finished, I had both a lovely quilt and a massive amount of leftovers!” Realizing that other I Spy quilt makers were also experiencing problems gathering enough fabric, she decided to sell packets of her leftover fabrics on eBay and the Sew-Sisters business was born!

Sales were so successful that Judy decided to continue making the fabric packets and selling them. As sales continued, her sister Karen, joined her by taking over the shipping part of the business. Soon after, they were able to expand the number of products they carried and realized that what had started as a hobby had grown into a business. They registered their business name, applied for a tax number and hired their father, a retired accountant, to do their books. They now sell fabric by the yard, kits, fabric squares, patterns, and accessories, with a product range of over 300 items.

The Bingo Dabber Bag
Designed by Judy
           Their Best-Selling Pattern

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