ADORABLE BUG DOLL PATTERN NOW RELEASED!!!

Mary Smith came up with this adorable crochet Firefly bug that is based on my "Snugly Bug" quilt pattern. I simply screamed with glee when I saw it for the first time.  Mine will have a place of honor in my studio.  I just love it!  It is even more adorable in person.  I took it to a family reunion and they all loved it too.  She took my two dimensional drawing and came up with this three dimensional darling doll.  It just makes me SMILE!

If you know how to crochet and would like to make one for yourself go to :http://www.ravelry.com/designers/mary-smith.

You can get the pattern for 50% off using the code: BRADLEYFAN.  The code will be good through July 10.

The "Snugly Bug" pattern is retired now but you can still buy two individual blocks in our sale section.
http://www.amybradleydesigns.com

Camping Inspirations!

I don't know if you heard but we came out with a new pattern, "CAMPERS".  In the last twelve months 41.75 million people went camping!  It is growing more and more as families get the camping fever and hotel rooms get more expensive and eating out for a family is harder to afford. There are even TV shows now about camping and RV's.  I watch "Flippin' RVs". http://www.gactv.com/gac/shows_hrlgd/  I suddenly want to restore a old airstream trailer. This will have to happen in my next lifetime but I like to dream.

 I had so much fun designing campers that I went a little crazy and designed 10 family members, two pets, a tent and some trees. You can even change the hairstyles on some of the family members to customize your family into a wall hanging. You can add your name to a sign to personalize your campsite.  You could even make one block and turn it into a pillow.  Let the fun begin!  Check out my website. http://www.amybradleydesigns.com/dp/B00RY997JK

This summer I took these photos of toy campers at this big antique fair in Minnesota.

Below is a store sample of a tent that you could buy.

Barbie doll size.

Below is a home made camper that someone made to pull behind a pedal car.  I would have loved this behind my blue pedal car when I was young.

Me ....a long, long time ago.

I even dug out the old Fisher Price toys from my kids for a photo.

All folded up and ready to roll.

I hope you all our keeping warm this cold, cold winter and of course quilting!  Amy 

Thanksgiving is coming!

Thanksgiving is coming and it is always fun to find new (old) decorations to decorate with.  These are my new decorations this year. I found all these turkey cookie cutters in a antique mall and used some ticky tack to keep them standing up in my kitchen window.  You could do the same with Christmas, Valentines and Easter cookie cutters.

I found all these old turkey candles above in one antique store booth last week.  Score!

These candles are new too.  They originally sold for 35 cents.

My Mom gave me this set.  Most of the candles are from the Gurley Company and sold in stores like Ben Franklin. I have wonderful childhood memories of spending my allowance at our local Ben Franklin store.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurley_Novelty

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Amy 

What did I buy in Minnesota?

The winner of a pattern of her choice is Gale!

I bought three new doll buggies.  I don't know how or why this collection started.  Probably because I loved playing with dolls when I was young.  They will join the three below.

I bought three new doll irons.  Three must be a good  number to buy.  I like whimsical sewing stuff.

They will join this bunch of irons.

I got super excited when I came across the garage for my metal doll house.  I love that the garage door goes up and down. I have most of the furniture now so I am buying the accessories. The smaller the accessory the more expensive it is.  They said those were the pieces that were lost or swallowed. I passed on the $10.00 dust pan and the $15.00 trash can but  last year I splurged on the $20.00 telephone. (Don't tell my husband!)

The game room was what I bought last year in Minnesota.

My granddaughter Rowan hasn't come over yet to play with me.  I can't wait until she see the new garage.  What a great excuse for a grandma to still play with dolls!!!

I couldn't pass on the toy Smith Corona typewriter and matching toy red phone.

I also couldn't pass on a new wheel barrow for my collection.  I loved playing with a little one that my Grandma Bess had when I was young. I now have four glass ones in different sizes.  Perfect for filling with different candies.


I bought several gifts for family members but I can't post those photos.  I think they might actually read my blog.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

My son-in-law John is a great cook and always trying new recipes.  I tried this and I loved it!  You can go to http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/crispy-cheddar-chicken-4.html

It was so simple. It bakes in a 9" x 13". I used what I had on hand.  It called for chicken breasts but I used boneless chicken thighs.  It called for cheddar cheese and I used Colby cheese.  It called for Ritz crackers and I used Club crackers. It tasted just like his recipe. Delicious!  I can't wait for the leftovers.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Amy

Antiquing in Minnesota

We just drove 7 1/2 hours to Oronoco, Minnesota this last weekend to go to Gold Rush Days. Hundreds of dealers from throughout the region fill over a thousand booths located throughout the community.  We did Oronoco on Friday and Rochester Gold Rush on Saturday.  The fairgrounds (52 acres) in Rochester, Minnesota was the same wonderful thing.  Oronoco was all outside but Rochester most of it was in all the fairground buildings. It was heaven to me!  My husband and I had so much fun.  We split up and used our phones to send photos back and forth that we thought the other one was interested in. Then we would meet up in the shade and trade stories.  You need really comfortable shoes, sunscreen, a hat (for Oronoco) and cash. A lot of them will take checks but very few took credit cards. We drove through Iowa and enjoyed the rolling hills of corn fields.

I took photos of things that made me smile. There were so many unusual things.  You see a little bit of everything!  Next week I will share photos of the treasures that I bought.

Very patriotic slippers

Remember these phones?

Barbie size metal kitchen. Price was $68.50.

Kid size stage coach

Lawn furniture made from signs



A plant stand made up of ax handles, a saw blade, a chain and a shovel blade.

Do you remember this? Its a Show and Tell Phono Viewer that was priced at $ 185.00.

I have never seen one of these and I saw three this last weekend.  This one was priced at $595.00.

I probably saw at least twenty five spool cabinets.  This one was the biggest one. 

This one was priced at $895.00.

This one was priced at $2258.00.

The food vendors do a great job too. One vendor has been making home-made ice cream sandwiches for about 30 years. They are so popular that customers will buy them in bulk and stockpile them in their freezers! I managed to eat two of these. I wanted to try the fried cheese curds but never got around to it.

You can stay away from antique stores all year and just hit these two shows and see everything at once.  I felt the prices were good too.  There is so much competition between booths that they price things reasonable.  The fun part is the haggling to get a better deal.

We are so excited that we have a brand new website. 

My daughter Ashley and I  have been working on it for awhile with my daughter doing 90% of the work. To celebrate this big occasion make a comment about the last antique or flea market find you bought for a chance to win a pattern of your choice.

Come Join Me In St. Charles, Missouri!

Join me next month in St. Charles, Missouri. Its going to be Fun!!!!!

http://www.roundbobbin.com/

Friday September 19, 2014    9 am – 10 am    Class #405
Amy Bradley on Designing Quilts
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $20
Amy will show lots of quilts! She will talk and share a presentation about how she got started as a quilt designer. Amy will share stories from over ten years of growing a quilt pattern business.

Friday September 19, 2014    10:15 am – 11:15 am    Class #430
Amy Bradley Gets Ready for Market!
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $20
Amy will show lots of quilts! She will talk and share a presentation about the process of getting patterns ready for quilt market.

Friday September 19, 2014    11:30 am – 12 pm    Class #450 
Stage Demo:
Choosing Colors & Selecting Fabrics in Quilts
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Free Stage Demo
Amy has a fine arts background and will speak about how she chooses colors for her quilts and makes her fabric selections.

Friday September 19, 2014    1 pm - 4 pm    Class #475 
Amy Bradley's Applique Workshop
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $40    Kit fee: $30 or $33 (Pre-order your kit online)
Supply list - see below.
Limit 25 students
Choose any fusible appliqué pattern and learn Amy Bradley's fusible appliqué tips! She will give an introduction about herself. She will hand out a tip sheet for buttonhole stitching and a practice block. Then she will give a short demonstration of a block and a demonstration of machine buttonhole-stitching. Amy will personally help each participant work on their fusible appliqué blocks.

Saturday September 20, 2014    9 am – 10 am    Class #505 
Amy Bradley on Designing Quilts
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $20
Amy will show lots of quilts! She will talk and share a presentation about how she got started as a quilt designer. Amy will share stories from over ten years of growing a quilt pattern business.

Saturday September 20, 2014    10:15 am – 11:15 am    Class #535
Amy Bradley Gets Ready for Market!       x
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $20
Amy will show lots of quilts! She will talk and share a presentation about the process of getting patterns ready for quilt market.

Saturday September 20, 2014    1 pm- 4 pm    Class #580
Amy Bradley's Applique Workshop
Instructor: Amy Bradley, Amy Bradley Designs
Class fee: $40    Kit fee: $30 or $33 (Pre-order your kit online)
Supply list - see below.
Limit 25 students
Choose any fusible appliqué pattern and learn Amy Bradley's fusible appliqué tips! She will give an introduction about herself. She will hand out a tip sheet for buttonhole stitching and a practice block. Then she will give a short demonstration of a block and a demonstration of machine buttonhole-stitching. Amy will personally help each participant work on their fusible appliqué blocks.

Come take one of my workshops.  I would love to meet you!!!!

Nebraska Fun!

I just got back from Nebraska City, Nebraska.  I was invited to speak at the Heritage Needlework Guild.  I hope they invite me back....wonderful ladies!!!!  I don't think I have had so much help setting up and taking down. They no how to impress the speaker! 

Sheri on the left and Rosie who does 90% of my quilting.

My friend Rosie (quilter extraordinaire) made the 6 hour round trip with me. Her husbands cousin Sheri belongs to the guild.  I put them in charge of selling patterns and catching up with each other.  We had fun driving except for the near death experience of a *%#&! car passing five other cars coming right at us in our lane. Other then that shaky experience it went smoothly.  Thank goodness I was up on my defensive driving.

Quilted needle cases opened up

Sheri was working on these sweet quilted needle cases before guild.  She has made 89 of them!  She cut up an old quilt that needed a new purpose to make them.  I should of taken a photo of one of them folded like a book. She added embroidery, felt for the needles and a binding. This is my kind of recycling!

Jill brought her Quilt Diva to share with me and the group.

This is a close up of the background behind the Diva.  She quilted the names of her small quilt group in the background.  I have never seen that done on the diva. It makes it so much more personal.

They had to die for treats.  I guess it is always like this.  Last month they had a ice cream sundae bar!!!

I hope you are all staying inside cool and quilting!  Amy