Clubs and More Clubs

The Michael Miller Clubhouse wrapped up last Saturday- hard to believe it's been one year since this club started! As you can see, our customers made some serious progress on their quilts, and seemed to have fun with it! Club members have been earning 'Club Cash' throughout the program, and on Saturday we had lots of fun 'stuff' for them to purchase. Of course, treats and coffee were an important part of the party. What a great way to end up with a finished quilt!

Our clubhouse teacher, Jyl, finished up the sample quilt in time to hang on the day of the party. Didn't it turn out gorgeous? Jyl did a great job. Although the club meetings are over, we still have kits available for this project- either as a whole quilt or in monthly installments. Let us know if you are interested- remember, each month includes bonus patterns for throws, pillows and other projects that would be great to outfit a whole room in your house!

As promised, here are a few pictures from the second meeting of the Prairie Women Sewing Circle group that met on Tuesday. As you can see from the second photo, there was plenty of show and tell. There was definitely lots of room for creativity in this project - some chose to follow the applique route while others chose to piece a Sawtooth Star block instead. There was also a new history lesson, and an unveiling of the Month 2 project- you'll have to come in or watch the blog to see that one! Although our morning session is full, there is still room in the afternoon session, so if this just looks like too much fun and you want to join in, please let us know and we'll get you caught up!

Happy Stitching!

Sneak Preview

It's always fun to be surprised by new fabric that arrives in the store every week. This is a combination of a couple new lines from Marcia Derse- one is called Line 5 and the other is Modern Textures. We've JUST put these out, and this is only a couple of the 8 new bolts - you'll have to come see the rest! There are a variety of prints from circles to crosshatch, and the colors range from raspberry to chocolate brown to mossy green.

The group below is from a new line from Quilting Treasures, called Animal Magic. There is a darling panel and fun coordinates, in deep indigos and bright oranges with some teal thrown in - could be great for that baby quilt that you've been putting off making, waiting for the perfect fabrics?

About a week ago we held an English Paper Piecing demonstration class that was a lot of fun! There was a little movie-watching and lots of hands-on experimenting. Keep watching our blog if you missed out, we may hold this one again in the future!

Suz Litzsinger taught a Crazy Quilt class here a few days ago, and although we missed out on picture taking opportunities, I can tell you that there were some crazy designs going on! Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Happy Stitching!

So Excited for Gwen Marston!

Drumroll please...we've got our class offerings chosen for the Gwen Marston workshops in May! For those who don't know, Gwen is a well known artist who has taught both nationally and internationally, and we hosted her last May for two very popular workshops.

This will be a great opportunity for those of you who missed Gwen the last time she was at Two Thimbles, and for those who have taken classes from her before...there's always more to enjoy! The Saturday workshop will focus on small studies based in traditional pieced block designs, and Gwen will have a number of her small quilts with her as inspiration and example. The two day class will be based on Gwen's take on a Medallion quilt. She'll have some samples for this workshop too, and there will be a lot of room for personal viewpoints and inspirations!

Pictured below is a take on the Liberated Medallion. She will be drawing concepts from her not-yet-published book, so we're incredibly excited that she's agreed to teach it for us!

Here is a quilt from a customer who took Gwen's Liberated Log Cabin class here last May - she's combined concepts and blocks from that class with other ideas and inspirations... it's turning out pretty great, isn't it?

If you'd like more information on Gwen, please visit her website. For more info on class details at Two Thimbles, don't hesitate to give us a call or email. Class will run from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 10 am to 4 pm on Monday. Each day includes catered lunch. Space is limited so don't wait too long!

Happy Stitching!

Stories in Cloth recap

It's always such fun to take chances and come up with your own designs, isn't it? We had a great group of stitchers here on Saturday, working on small hand applique projects during a class taught by Kellie Sammon. Participants shared thoughts, ideas, and creative inspirations as they created their own works of art. There was a lot of laughter and chatting as these quilters got a good start on their own 'Stories in Cloth', and Kellie was a fantastic inspiration. Thanks for a great class, Kellie!

Hard at work!

Sharing thoughts

One stitcher's work in progress...

Fun with scraps

Apparently February is 'class month'...we've got English Paper Piecing techniques with Lee on Friday, and Crazy Quilting in the 21st Century with Suz Litzsinger coming up on Saturday. Still room if you want to be a last minute participant. Looking forward to new projects!

Happy Stitching!

Pocket Full Of Love!

Time for another pincushion! This one has two parts...a darling burlap pocket and a cute little needlecase. The pocket design came from the Handbehg Felts website and is a great size to hold a little something for your valentine? Or fill it with scissors, pencils, a needlecase...or chocolate! We added a stuffed wool heart to the front, in place of the flowers the pattern suggests, to go with the Valentine theme...and it's perfect for holding a couple of pins! This simple matchbook needlecase is the perfect complement. We've got some kits all ready to go for this one.

New fabric, coming in all the time! This line is called Urban Cowgirls, from Moda. We've got charm packs and eight pieces from this lovely collection, in shades of red, brown, taupe, and aqua. Stop by to see the rest...

Now for a sneak peek! We just put out a new shipment of Civil War reproductions from Blue Hill Fabrics, in two different colorways...here is a sample of the blues. There's also a stripe, and a couple more basics. You'll have to come check them out- photos never do justice to fabric, wouldn't you agree?

Happy Stitching!