BoxArtists First “Holiday Open House”

November 18 & 19, 11am - 3 pm, one of Rochester’s newest art colonies will be having our first annual “Holiday Open House.” There will be food, guest artists, live music and lots of holiday gifts. Come see all of the new studio spaces, many who have recently opened.

We are located at 100 Boxart St. in Charlotte. Just turn off Lake Ave. at the light at Boxart St. and go to the bottom of the hill. At the stop sign, drive straight into the parking lot. There is lots of parking, especially on the weekends when other businesses in the building are closed.

I will be open both days of the weekend, with guest artist Monica Simpson who has created gorgeous string lights and night lights from empty beer cans. These lights are absolutely gorgeous and not just for holiday decorating. They would make a nice accent on you front porch, deck or backyard patio.

I have lots of new potholders, the perfect gift for everyone. Who doesn’t need a new potholder to replace the dirty burned ones? And new this year are artist potholders: Frida, Van Gogh, Monet and Da Vinci. Also, lots of different RBG designs, pot leaves and gummy bears. Of course, I still have the popular pinup oven mitts. And lots of table runners, lap quilts and quilted holiday stockings.

If you are making your own holiday gifts this year, I just got in tons of new fabrics including 28 bolts of Tula Pinks’ Besties, Pom Pom and Tiny Dots lines. And Clothworks line Cheers! which is wine glasses, wine bottles, wine drops, grapes and corks. If you haven’t checked out my fabrics lately, I have about twice as much as I had at the Hungerford. Also, I have what I call D.I.Y. kits to make cork purses, embellished tea towels, wine gift bags, oilcloth tote bags and placemats.

So if you are out and about this weekend, stop by 100 Boxart St. and visit all of the new artists studios. Shop locally handmade this year! Keep art alive in Rochester.

Invasion of the Amazons

Every day, all day long, delivery vans go up and down our street. Some neighbors get several deliveries a day. And Quilting with Margaret has jumped on the cyber bandwagon as well, with a virtual shop online.

Even though I don’t have a Quilting with Margaret van to deliver last minute gifts, yet, I am offering free, touchless pickup. Place an order at QuiltingWithMargaret.com and it will be ready for pickup within 2 hours (with exception to facemasks which are made-to-order and need 24 hours).

So if you are looking for some last-minute Christmas gifts that are handmade, and you want to shop local, check out my shop here.

I just added a bunch of new potholders, the perfect holiday gift. And only $9 each until Christmas during Potholderpalooza. They are lightweight and easy to send through the mail with a card. The loop fits easily around a bottle of Christmas cheer as a bonus gift. They fit well into Christmas stockings. And who can’t use a nice new and clean potholder without burn marks?

Choose from new happy hour designs, Buffalo Bills and other Rochester-themed designs, and some new Pop Culture designs including David from Schitt’s Creek. In my newly added potholder category “Speak Out” you will find designs featuring Dr. Fauci, several RBG designs, Biden phrases like, “Will you shut up man!”, and a couple of Nasty Woman designs.   

It’s only 5 days till Christmas. Hope you have a merry one and enjoy the intimacy of this year’s holiday. Stay safe and let’s get ready to celebrate the New Year and all of the promises of a better normal it brings.