Bernina Sewing & Design Center -- Las Cruces NM

It's great to be back at the Bernina Sewing & Design Center! I was here for a couple of days in May and the weather was pretty warm; now, in November, it's getting to the mid-60s by day, but in the mid-30s at night -- yikes!

Jim and Marsha Cowan have had the quilt shop, including the Bernina dealership, for about five years. The shop definitely has a Southwest influence in its decor; some of the fabrics offered are of the same style, but there are also a large number of batiks and large scale florals here as well as some stripes and other geometric prints in bright colors that I hadn't seen elsewhere. Marsha definitely loves color and it shows!

Marsha has reading glasses in every single color of the rainbow, plus some wild prints, to go with every outfit she owns. When she isn't actually reading through them, she drops them down on her face -- had to get this picture! She said that people have asked her if she is reading through her nose!!


Here are some pictures from my two day Fluff & Stuff workshop......

...the quilts on the classroom walls are gorgeous!

Here are three more students in front of a really fun quilt made from fabric printed with large scale vegetables and fruits -- ooh, ooh, a food quilt!


A display of Halloween and harvest quilts, many of them made of wool.

Of course, this was my favorite because it has BATS on it....

More fall decorations enhance the beautiful Southwest style clay fireplace....

From fall to Christmas in the blink of a wall?

A closeup of that Christmas quilt in the center -- the snowman border really makes the quilt!


Some of the ladies in my workshop brought quilt tops made from the pattern "Love That Print" that the snowman quilt is made from. It really shows off those larger scale prints and we discussed ideas for how to quilt them.


Pieced chile pepper Christmas stockings!

I couldn't stop ooo-ing and ah-ing over this ruffly purse.....

Even the ironing board is way fun in this shop!

Bernina Sewing & Design Center is located at 1601 East Lohman Avenue in Las Cruces NM (phone: 575-523-2000). To visit their website and learn more about the quilt shop, click here.

Tomorrow we are doing "Trapunto by Machine" here in Las Cruces and then Thursday I'm back on a plane on my way to Tucson AZ!