We gave ourselves a Facelift!

Well, not our actual faces, although....hmmmmm...now that I'm thinking about that :)

Michelle here!  In case you missed the big announcement yesterday, we shared our updated website news with everyone and the launch was a big success!  We experienced no glitches - which is a HUGE feat in technology, so we are very happy.  Our new baby skipped crawling and walking and went straight to playing hopscotch and chasing rainbows!

I thought I would post a blog today to share with you some of the improvements on the website.  I will apologize up front for the poor quality of the photos in this post, but the only way to get photos of the website was to use my phone and take shots of the screen.  If you've ever done that, you know it takes grainy photos with poor lighting and wavy lines.  But, at least it will show you where to find many of the new things we've added to the site.

The very first thing you will notice when you log on is how we've designed it with a fresh, clean, happy, bright layout and color scheme so it would be a cheerful place for you to browse around.  We made it much more user friendly and intuitive.  We added many features and new pages to give you as much information at your fingertips as we possibly could.

We also made the site mobile friendly - easy to shop from your chair in your jammies from your smart phones and tablets now!!  After all, that really is the best way to shop!

Now for a more detailed look at the site, and here comes those grainy pics!

New Home Page

As you know in 2014 we officially changed our company name from FriendFolks to Turning Twenty, but our website still had our old name and logo.  On the new Home Page, you will see the fresh, clean, cheery look and you will see our logo and Turning Twenty company name.  Finally!!

On the top right of the Home Page you will see all of the ways you can connect with us on Social Media.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, this blog, and our e-Newsletter.  We LOVE to see your photos and love interacting with you all.  If you don't Like, Follow, Tweet, and Pin with us already, please join in!

You will also notice we added your Account and Login here so it is quick and easy to find.  For Shop Owners, our Wholesale Login is right below in the navigation bar.  We also added an adorable little shopping cart that keeps track of items as you add them.  When you are ready to check out, just click your little cart and you are all set.

The next section you come to is the Left Navigation Bar where we have added a Search Bar for you.  Looking for all fabric by Moda?  Just put Moda in the bar and hit Go!  Looking for everything Strips Ahoy?  Put Strips Ahoy in the bar, hit go, and you will see the pattern, the kit, and anything else having to do with that beautiful pattern.  Below the Search Bar are the Store Categories.

You can see the entire list, but if you put your mouse over the Category names, you will see any Sub-Categories pop up.  For instance, here you can see I moused over Tea Towels, Gifts, and Home and you can see there are Categories for Tea Towels, Hailey, and Home.  Speaking of Hailey, you may have noticed we added some new categories for you.  Hailey is one of them!  There is more on that later.  If you look through the list you will also see two other new categories: Remnants and The Sample Room.  Remnants are various cuts of fabric that we have that we are selling as a single cut as it is all we have left.  So, we could have 3/4 yard of fabric left and you will find it in Remnants.  You'll want to check in each time you visit the site as this category will be ever-changing.  The Sample Room...that one is tons of fun!  Here is where we put all of our samples that we made to test a pattern, for photo shoots, etc.  You may find completed quilt tops that just need the border and backing added, or completed quilts, etc.  Everything will be in excellent condition as it was just used for photo shoots, display, or simply as a test.  They just need to find a new home.  These will also be One only items, so if you want something from The Sample Room, it's best to grab it when you can!

The center of the Home Page is where you will find all of the Newest Books, Patterns, Machine Embroidery Disks, and Kits.  You will also see those on the Right Navigation Bar throughout the entire site.

  

Don't forget our feet!!  The footer of the site has TONS of great information.  It will always take you back to the Home Page, you can also click and read About Us, Another place for Wholesale accounts to log in, a new FAQ page is here and it will be a changing page as we will add new questions as they come up, so if you are wondering about something, check the FAQ and you just may find your answer.  If you are looking for our Distributors, policies, or to contact us, those are all there for you.  Another item we added to the footer is current Job Openings we have.  We are always looking for talented and self-motivated people for our team.  If you are interested, check there and see if anything speaks to you!

Want to see who we are and what each of us do?  Click the About Us link and you will see photos of each of us along with a short bio.  One of the new things we are going to start doing is sharing with you some on each of our passions.  You will notice that although we are all one family, each of us are very different and have very different hobbies.  We thought, why not share that with all of you?!  Many of you share some of our other loves in addition to quilting and it would be fun to build a community around everything we enjoy!  You will start to see things from me on Scrapbooking (any Scrappers out there?!), maybe some organization tips or ways that I use my planner.  Hailey will pop in to share her love of crochet, fitness, healthy eating and recipes, and some awesome mom hacks! Here is where I will circle back to Hailey's Category in the store.  She will be selling many of her beautiful crochet creations, so if you are looking for something handmade with love to give as a gift or spoil yourself with, check out her category.  Right now she has the most adorable baby booties (perfect for baby shower gifts!), but she will be adding more things all the time.  Lily will even jump online some and give you her perspective as an almost 5 year old learning to quilt and sew.

We have an amazing, talented team that works with us.  It takes a village to make things happen and we want you to meet the women who help and support us.  We are so thankful to have these wonderful friends.  They are a blessing to all of us.

The last area I'll share with you today is in the Fabric section.  We have added the wording
"1/2 yards" next to the quantity box to make it easier to choose the correct quantity when ordering.  1 = 1/2 yard, 2 = 1 yard, etc.  You will notice two other things in the picture, though one is hard to see.  Right above the Quantity Box and price throughout the website, you will see how many of that certain product we have in stock.  The other thing you will notice from this photo is Kaffe fabric!  We have almost 100 bolts of different Kaffe, Brandon Mably, and Philip Jacobs in stock just waiting for you to take home!  Be sure to come check it out!

That's a quick walk through of some of the changes, but to see it all, just log onto: TurningTwenty.com and look around.  We hope you enjoy it and please leave us a comment and let us know what you think!

Happy Browsing,

Michelle

Hi there!  Michelle dropping in to let you know there are some exciting things happening around here!!  We can't let the cat out of the bag just yet, but we have 4 big announcements coming very soon.  One of those announcements will be any day!

The past 9 months have been crazy around here.  Gary (Daddy) has had 3 surgeries, Stephen (Hubby) and I both had emergency surgeries, and poor Tricia (Momma) has been taking care of all of us!  We all pulled together and kept orders going out, but there hasn't been time for much else.

We are all finally getting strength back, getting rested, and now LOOK OUT because we've had a lot of time to make some changes and we are just about ready to let you in on a few!

Be sure you are keeping an eye on your inbox, watching your Facebook, and checking your Instagram so you will be the first to know.  If you are not on our newsletter list, or if you don't follow us on Facebook and Instagram, click the links above and join us!  Exciting things are coming and our Customers, Fans and Followers are always the first to find out (it's also where we post any coupon codes, sales and specials!)

Be sure you forward this to all of your friends, family, guild members - anyone you know who enjoys quilting, embroidery, machine embroidery, and fast - easy - fun patterns.  Help us get the word out!

See you soon!

Michelle

Look What I Got In The Mail!

    I've been digging through my scraps for the last eight months gathering up 2.5 inch squares of assorted, tiny, tan and cream prints. Yes, I'm cutting hexies!  Because I don't want to repeat so much, I asked sweet Julie to share some of her scrap squares with me.

    Look what I got I'm the mail today!! A big stack of background print squares, an amazing wooden box with pin cushion lid, a yard of red print fabric, and a cute little doggy notepad. 

    Julie is the most amazing RN you'd ever want watching over you and she also rules in her own special Quilt Scrap Kingdom. I just had to share my excitement today. Click here to check out Julie's wonderful blog! Juliekquilts.blogspot.com 

You'll love her quilts!  

Thanks Julie...I owe you <3

Julie is an amazing RN, and she also rules....

Blessings,
Tricia

Lily's New Brother and Her Pizza

Hi!!

Lily Grace here :) I was able to sneak onto the blog today to talk about two new family members! 

We just welcomed my new baby brother a couple weeks ago! It took forever and seemed like he was in Jenn's tummy for a long, long, long time, but he finally decided to come out! Probably because I told him about all my toys I have and that I would share them with him. He got so excited to play with me I guess he decided to come on out! I thought, "It's about time!"

I had to stay in a big place with all my family and we had to wait all day and finally he was here! 

I was about to go into his room and get him out myself! 

When I saw him for the first time, he was all wrapped up in a baby blanket and all he was doing was sleeping, he wouldn't even look at me. How rude?! But my Daddy said it's because he's a baby and babies have to sleep a lot. I'm okay with it now because he doesn't cry when when he's sleeping and I don't have to share my toys right away :) I wanted to play with him as soon as he came home from the hospital, but he just lays there, sleeps, eats, or poops... 

I think he's really cute though. Don't you? Jenn and Daddy named him Caedmon :)

Daddy, Me, and Caedmon

As much as I love being a big sister, I also got a Pizza!! I can't eat this pizza though, because he's my new puppy dog!! 

Jenn found him outside and we got to keep him for a while until his owner came looking for him. I was so sad when they came :( But then they said we could keep "Pickles" if we wanted too! So now he's my new puppy!! But then I thought, "Pickles?! What kind of name is Pickles? I think he looks more like a Pizza to me! Yes, Pizza is a good name!"

Speaking of pizza, I think Im going to ask Daddy if we can have pizza for dinner tonight. I hope he doesn't think I want to eat my puppy though!! Boy, this might get confusing. 

Smiles and hugs,

Ms. Lily Grace 

Hailey's "These are actually really good!" Clean Wraps

Hi, Hailey here :)
  So, for the past week I have been trying to get my family to eat more "clean". When I say clean, I mean eating more of the healthier options in each food group. We have been embracing foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains and ditching the processed, sugar filled, and refined foods that have had all the nutrients taken out. We have been very good this past week having a meal plan everyday that looks something like this, for example- 

Breakfast- scrambled eggs in whole grain wrap

Snack- trail mix and fruit

Lunch- whole grain spaghetti with light marinara sauce

Snack- homemade (or store bought hummus) with whole grain crackers

Dinner- turkey burger with sweet potato fries

Well, for tonights dinner, I forgot to thaw the frozen chicken breasts. :( 
So I had to improvise but still keep it clean and toddler friendly. No pressure, right?

As I was frantically searching Pinterest for clean and healthy ideas, I seemed to be missing at least one ingredient from each recipe I found. That is always the case! Although my sweet husband offered to run to the store for 1 simple ingredient, I was determined to not have to either-

1. Get the kids in the car and drive all the way to the store for one thing, argue about why we can't buy candy at the checkout line, and trying to convince our 3 year old that all the games and 50 cent horse rides in the store are all "sleeping." 

Or...

 2- Have my husband go to the store allowing me stay home alone with both boys leaving me extra "on my own" parenting time. I'm a stay at home mommy so you can see why once my husband gets home, he his home for good!

I went into the kitchen and started grabbing ingredients like I knew exactly what I was going to make and start cooking like I was on an episode of Top Chef, (even though I was in my pj's and a messy braid), and this is what I came up with!

If you tried my, "These are actually really good!" Clean Wraps, let me know! I'd love to hear your take on them :)

Ingredients- 

Whole grain tortillas

2-3 cups of shredded chicken 

1 cup of brown rice 

1/4 cup of cilantro

1/3 cup of white onion

1 can of black beans (drained)

1/3 cup of shredded cheese (not clean because its processed but hey, I was in a bind!)

1/3 cup diced Roma tomatos 

Shredded lettuce

Seasonings to taste-

Onion Powder

Chili Power

Cumin

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Instructions-

Cook your rice. I use the microwave kind that cooks it on 7 minutes. Put cooked rice in a deep skillet and turn on medium to low heat. Add cooked shredded chicken, onion, cilantro, black beans, tomatoes, and spices. Let that simmer together for about 5 minutes then turn off heat. Add the cheese and stir until it is all melted. 

Add a heaping spoon full to tortilla and top with shredded lettuce and extra diced tomatoes if desired.

Wrap your tortilla up and enjoy! My 3 year old even ate a whole wrap, definitely toddler approved :)

Fort Worth Quilt Guild Lecture

   Last week we were blessed to spend two days with the ladies of the Fort Worth Quilt Guild and I have to tell you, we had a blast! 

Gary is my constant traveling companion, but this time we had family along with us.

   Hailey, our granddaughter, is a professional photographer, so when she's able to come along, I end up with great photos for my Quilting Memories book.

   Just look at these faces, it would be impossible not to have fun with this group!

   Lucas is Hailey's high school sweetheart, husband and wonderful daddy to their three children. Lucas reminds me so much of Gary! Funny how quickly Lucas and Gary moved when the ladies invited them to the snack table!

Gary knows as much about my patterns as I do - I talk quilts, he talks details. 

I love spending time with quilters, just having fun, talking quilts and sharing my quilting journey. 

I'm always tickled to show my Turning Twenty quilts, and share the simplicity of construction and impressive results that can be achieved from my easy-to-sew patterns. 

 I especially enjoy showing my appliqué and embroidery quilts and sharing how they came about.
This is my Henfolks quilt. Fusible machine appliqué and basic hand embroidery. 
Henfolks is also available on cd for machine embroidery.

Love Covers is hand embroidery and I used heat set crayon to add color.

 Day in the Life of Mr. Bear is hand embroidery but also available on cd for machine embroidery.

In my wildest dreams I'd have never thought anyone would ask for my autograph!  I am so blessed. 

Thanks to the ladies of the Fort Worth Quilt Guild for having us!

Our first ever FREE Block of the Month - register NOW!!!

Hello from your Turning Twenty Girls!

We are excited to announce our first ever, FREE, online Block of the Month!

Our BOM begins on July 1 and goes through December 15.

This is a Mystery BOM, and if you love stars as much as we do, you will surely love this design!

To participate, you need to register before midnight on July 15. Registration closes at that time.

Here's the scoop:

On the 1st and on the 15th of each month, the free download will be available on our website.  if you are a registered participant, you will receive an email reminding you each time.  You have 24 hours to download that pattern, then it disappears. 

Each download provides the needed instructions to make one 12" and one 6" block. EASY!

Toward the end of December, you will receive a free download with instruction for setting the blocks together to finish your beautiful star quilt.

This BOM will be packaged as a single pattern and made available for purchase in January 2016. 

Act now if you want to participate because registration closes July 15, 2015.

After that date, you will not be able to participate in the Free BOM.

Credits:

Sue Carter has worked hard designing the pattern and writing the BOM instructions.

Julie Winkler and Tricia will be blogging their progress as they show their very different versions.  Julie will show us how she uses only her scrap stash to make her wonderful Patriotic star quilt, while Tricia will be sharing her bright and colorful stars made from assorted Kaffe Fasset fabrics. Be sure to subscribe to both blogs!

We will have all of the Kaffe fabrics in stock and offer a monthly fabric kit for those who are interested

Michelle will keep the ball rolling as she signs up participants and posts the downloads on time - every time!

Hailey will be sharing pictures on our Facebook page and blogging about our journey. You'll want to Like us on Facebook so you see what everyone is doing and share your own pictures as well!

More details will come to you if you register to participate.

Click here to Register

Click here to Like us on Facebook to see all the posts and pictures

Click here to follow Julie's blog as she shares her scrappy version

Share the news with all of your friends and register now!

Our family appreciates all you do and thanks you for supporting Turning Twenty®. Please let us know if we can ever be of any help to you!

Blessings,

The Turning Twenty Girls
Tricia, Michelle, Hailey, and Lily Grace

      

Rossie Peonies

   In the early 90's, Rossie Parker hired me to quilt the huge stack of quilt tops she had pieced over the years. What began as a business relationship soon became a precious friendship.
   Finishing one quilt each month kept me going back and forth to her lovely little house for years. Each spring, Rossie had the most beautiful peonies blooming right next to her front door. 

   One year as I was about to leave, she bent down with spade in hand and dug a hefty clump for me to take home. Wrapping the wet soil in newspaper, she said, "Now you plant these in your flowerbed and always remember me and all our quilting together." 
   Rossie is now gone, but each spring I'm blessed with blooms so big their stems can't support them! I think of my dear friend and recall our many visits. Today, I'm sharing a couple of photos of my Rossie Peonies! Enjoy :) 

Egg Banana Pancakes for Breakfast

Hailey here!

 I just wanted to stop by and share this amazing recipe with everyone. Now,  everyone loves those fluffy pancakes (that are actually pretty unhealthy for you) for breakfast! It's definitely a comfort food for many of us. Then the syrup, that warm sticky syrup you wind up drenching your pancakes in which makes your breakfast 10 times as sweet, tasty, and unhealthy :(

But I have found an amazing way to still get the comfort of pancakes, but without the guilt and calories later. Egg Banana pancakes!!

That's right, only TWO ingredients! 2 eggs and 1 banana. The outcome is to die for!

Here is how you make Egg Banana pancakes:

You'll need 1 ripe banana and 2 eggs (double if you are feeding more than 2 people)

1- Place 1 whole banana in a bowl and use a fork to squish it up. When the banana is all squashed, use your fork in a circular motion to kind of "froth" it up making sure you get most of the lumps out.

2- Crack 2 eggs in the same bowl with the banana and begin to mix it all together.

3- Once you have a nice smooth consistency, you can begin making your pancakes.

4- Pour some of the "batter" into a skillet over low/medium heat. When sides begin to bubble and kind of rise, it's time to flip. Flip and repeat for the rest of the mixture.

The best part about these pancakes is there is no need for syrup! The banana adds the perfect amount of natural sweetness. These are also great served cold! 

Happy eating!

  Hailey 

Lily Grace- My Hex Project!

Hi! my name is Lily Grace Barnett. Everyone says I'm the cutest Turning Twenty Girl. I'm 3 1/2 years old and I'm learning to make quilts. Tricia is my great grandmother, I call her Minnie. So, today my Minnie told me the first thing to do is clean up our mess from yesterday! I guess it's better to start with a clean room. But I just want to hurry up and get to sewing!! 

Minnie said I'm the best vacuum girl she's ever seen. I already knew that though.

I wanted to start my own hex project, so we found a big mat and put it on the floor. I got to pick out my own scrap to trace hexes into!

Did you know you can trace a design right on the template? If you use a sharpie marker it works great. Then you just remove the marks when your done with plain old alcohol and a paper towel. I think that's pretty cool. I'm using a hex template made by a smart lady named Carol. You can get your templates from her too! Minnie bought every size she makes. Her dotcom is ocaroldesigns.com

So, what you gotta do is put the template on your fabric and trace around it to make a perfect hexagon. It's easy to do and Minnie said I'm the best tracing girl she's ever seen. But, I already knew that. Then you use scissors and cut out on the lines but wait you can't use scissors unless a lady is sitting right beside you every minute. That's the scissor rule and if you are going to work in a studio you can't forget the rules!

I need to tell you too that sometimes your back hurts from quilting. Yep, Minnie said that's just part of the art and you have to take breaks and get a drink. 

That's all I know so far about hexes. I'll be back soon to teach you some more but right now I gotta take a bath and help Minnie cook supper. I hope we are making cookies!  Bye bye.