Trunk Shows Galore

We will have a few treasures on view over the coming months - mark your calendars now so you can make time to see these in person.  We'll have a few samples from Quilts Remembered March 12th - March 24th, we have a few of the patterns available right now, and more will be available during the show.  You can check out more of Annemarie's work on the Quilts Remembered website and while you're at it you can check out her blog happenings.   http://www.quiltsremembered.com/index.html

We have two samples on display right now for Primitive Patchworks, and a few of Nancy's patterns are currently available.  We will have more patterns and samples to view beginning February 9th through March 9th.  These projects combine piecing and applique and work well with a bit of stitchery and wool added to the project.  Most of the projects are small quilts, but a few are larger wall hanging size.   

We apologize for the photo quality of some of these projects - we're working on better pictures and will update the blog as soon as we have them....but we wanted to give you a sneak preview of what is to come!

We hope you'll have a chance to visit the shop during these two exhibits...

And don't forget the Civil War Sampler challenge quilts will be featured March 20th through mid-April...and that show will feature work by our talented customers!  

Happy Stitching!

January Progress Report

We have some talented and productive customers!  Look at this finished quilt from the recent Morris Meadows block of the month project we offered...I've seen one other finished top, so let this be an encouraging word for those of you still in process!  The colors are more vibrant in person and the details in the applique work are not for the faint of heart.  Congratulations!

Completed Customer Quilt!

While you may have been busy with holiday celebrations, traveling to exotic destinations and enjoying quality sewing time....we were buried in fabric!  Follow this little series of pictures - and you'll  only see the same piece of fabric a couple of times...

Why is this lady still smiling?

We are celebrating SCRAPS in 2013...and we have some great ideas to help you get your leftovers under control.  And as you can see, the pictures above give you a HINT of the depth of our experience with this type of situation.  Sign up for one of our "Scrapping it Up" lectures in February and we will load you up with great ideas, to help you manage and store and USE those sraps up.  We'll be featuring sticks and bricks and a variety of projects and construction methods ranging from specific patterns, to grab and sew!  Come join the fun and and you can stop hibernating under your scrap pile!

Scrapping it Up!  Lecture with Leslie

Tuesday February 12th   OR   Saturday February 23rd 

11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Cost $10.00

We'll be sharing some of our projects and progress so watch our blog for updates!

Happy Stitching!

Warming up to January

Calendars have been refreshed and daily schedules are settling back to 'normal', which may mean more or less quilting time for some of us, but I am happy to have the New Year underway....lots of goals to be more organized, plan ahead, have more time to sew, etc.  Sound familiar?!

Here is our 'pincushion' for January.  It is a wool needle case and I can't claim much creativity on this one as I pretty much liked it as designed (by Crabapple Hill http://www.crabapplehillstudio.com/).  It has a great vintage pearl button combined with a few beads and stitchery to add some fun.  We are delayed with our pattern shipment, so don't rush in and we'll have them next week!!  (Or, we can reserve one for you too just send us a quick email).    We plan to offer a kit with all the trimmings or the pattern alone.

Janette Needlecase

We are busy restocking shelves and making Christmas disappear - but wow do we have lots of red and white and hearts all over!  Not to mention some great new brights; orange, gold...royal blue and kelly green...a few kids prints - Les Amis by Michael Miller and a fun whale and fishing boat print.  I have some new candy too, in case you're thinking of your stitching sweetheart already - beautiful french needle sampler packs and thread cards by Sajou.  These are a treat!

25th Anniversary Judie Rothermel 

And the latest civil war reproductions, a few odds and ends from the Tavern Collection by Paula Barnes, and ten bolts from the Judie Rothermel 25th anniversary collection (26 pieces in all).  

Enjoy the rain and finish a project or two, then stop by and stock up on some of latest treasures... 

P.S.  We have seen our first completed Civil War Sampler top....no pressure, you've got til March to get those quilts all finished! 

Happy Stitching

Celebrating the New Year!

Latest and Greatest Items

A couple of our latest creations...no more sleepless nights trying to remember all the reindeer names, these festive pillow cases can do the work for me!

reindeer names pillowcases

And this fun little project may be perfect if you have a little one on the way or a small one that needs an extra quilt to snuggle up with! 

ric rac bunny panel and quilt kit

We have some new books in time for the gift-giving and receiving season...Jo Morton has a new book "For All Seasons", and we also have Barbara Brackman's new "Civil War Sampler" book that includes 50 quilt blocks and stories from history.  

Jo Morton For All Seasons

Happy Stitching!

Quick Gifts and Fabric Wrapping

More fun with felted wool balls, this is just a 10 inch styrofoam cone, covered in colorful wool!  We also created a festive garland that includes wooden spools, peppermint candy and of course bits of fabric all tied on a string.. if you look closely at our tree below - there's a wreath for our partridge to wear or hang on the tree, and an acorn ornament...we also have a fabric yo-yo garland...stuffed yo-yo tree ornament, etc.
...lots of fun stuff to get the creative process underway!

Giant Ric Rac trim

We are also thinking of gift wrapping - reusable fabric gift bags, snowflakes and ric rac stitched and glued onto brown paper bags....and fabric scraps create colorful gift tags.   A box of wool pennies stitched into a row would look festive draped across the mantel as well!

If you are still in need of some unique and quick gifts...we have fun ruffle fabric for a festive scarf (10 minutes tops!), and pillowcases are great for anyone, pick a theme or personalize your creation to suit any decor...fabric napkins are easy to stitch up and so are these fabric shoe bags!  We think a shoe bag is perfect for anyone who travels, heads to the gym, or carries their dress shoes to work!  These are fun to personalize too, and only take about 3/8 of a yard of fabric (maybe something from your stash will do?).  Here is the quick tutorial - I modified our version a bit to create a small ruffle at the top edge, and the opening for the drawstring is enclosed in the side seam.  Stop by and we can show you the details.  P.S. Fancy red shoes don't come with the bag!

Shoe Bag

We have tag-its to add a special touch to your creations!

Happy Stitching!

Projects to start, Projects to finish

We are busy playing catch up and wanted to share our pin cushion for December...something bright and wooly, featuring some of our latest Sue Spargo ribbon trim.  This pillow style pin cushion measures about 4 x 6 finished size.  We have kits ready to go and of course, you could create something similar if you have treasures in your sewing room!  These are fun easy projects to accomplish for yourself or a sewing buddy if you still need some gift ideas!   

Finishing up ...or is it wrapping things up?  Here are the final products from the diligent efforts for a few of our Farmers wives....We had a great show and tell for the reunion that met last week, and here are just a couple of the quilts that were shared.

The crazy continues with the efforts to race to the finish with the civil war sampler blocks...here is a sneak peek at a couple of recent submissions...we have one or two completed tops out there, and a handful of participants have finished ALL their blocks...Congratulations everyone on their progress to date!!!  Just a reminder that the quilt show for finished quilts will be in March, and the last monthly deadline for blocks in order to receive the last fabric allocation is January 15th.