Open House is on Saturday!

This Saturday is our summer Open House. 

We have this event twice a year to launch our class season and we celebrate it with a big sale! 

25% off Store Wide! 

The sale includes fabrics (1/2yd cuts or more), notions, thread (stock up!), batting (who wants to pay full price for something you don't even see!), rulers, patterns and books!

Here is a nifty photo blast of SOME of our classes!

 For a complete list click HERE

Botanical Art taught by Susi Looney

Botanical Art taught by Susi Looney

Sew Together Bag taught by Joan Corson

It's a Sweatshirt! taught by Patsy Mosby

Beginner 9 Patch taught by Patsy Mosby

Gemini taught by Joan Corson

Margaret's Shopping Bag taught by Margaret Grice

Garden Rose Scarf Pins taught by Yvonne Wilson

Coiled Trivet taught by Venetta Morger

Fab 5 Remix taught by Joan Corson

Cosmic Twist Bargello taught by Kathy Ryan

We can't wait to see you all on Saturday!

Remember, parking behind the store accessible by the driveway that runs along the Gloyer's side of the building and there is even a door to the store open back there for you to use!

Teachers do not take credit cards for classes so bring cash or checks for class payments. 

Supplies are bought through the store and we accept credit, cash, debit and check!

There will be a line but we have upgraded to 2 check-outs so it should not be as bad as last time!

Refreshments are available in the classroom.

Come on in and be inspired!

Gift Card winner

Congratulations to "Bingle's Mom" for winning our $50 gift card.

 Please stop in to the shop and pick it up at your convenience! 

And thank you all for all the kind words and for following the blog!

100 Blog Followers Giveaway!

Hey everyone! We were notified today that we have exactly 100 blog followers! 

Thank you everyone who takes the time to read our little blog here! 

As a thank you, we would like to have a drawing for a Gift Card! The card will be for $50 to the lucky winner. 

Redeemable on merchandise he or she chooses at the shop! 

The drawing will be pulled from the list of people who leave a comment on this post. 

Here are the specifics:

You must post your comment to this post, before August 1, 2016. 

You must be able to come in the shop and pick up your gift card.

Drawing will be held on August 1, 2016 and we will post the winning person on the blog.

One entry per person please.

Now aren't you glad you read the blog today!

Shop News and new fabrics!

We are about one month in to Row by Row and we have already sold over 225 kits for our row! Thank you everyone who has stopped in and made us a part of your Shop Hop! We are continuing to make more kits in response to the increased participation! You still have more than 6 weeks left to participate in the Row by Row shop hop which is now WORLD WIDE! There are shops everywhere! Check the Row by Row website here for more information!

Our shop has had its winner but there are many local shops that haven't! Here is Charlotte with her Row by Row winning quilt:

Congratulations Charlotte! 

Edyta Sitar has come out with a beautiful line of colonial blues mixed with creams and tans. This is definitely an up and coming color combination. We are seeing it in several fabric lines and designers. Very home decorator friendly and mixing prints with batiks as Edyta has taught us all to do! 

Next we have this beautiful skyline panel. The colors are so happy!

After several requests by customers we are carrying a couple of Tula Pink Wide Backs! 

 AND Drumroll please: Kaffe Fassatt has started to print some WIDEBACK fabrics! 

Bendy Bags and Sweet Pea Pod sets

A couple of years ago Lazy Girl Designs came out with the Bendy Bag pattern. I made and enjoyed it though frankly felt it was a little wasteful because in making it you cut out and wasted a couple of large hunks of fabric which goes against the grain of most fabric connoisseurs (hoarders) like myself!

Then more recently, (and brilliantly) Wah Lah!: Sweetpea Pods pattern was born, which uses the exact pieces you were cutting and throwing out of the Bendy bag pattern! Perfect! Now you can make adorable and coordinated little sets with NO waste! 

Notice the mix and match zippers? In the Sweetpea Pod pattern she teaches you how to swap out the zipper heads for a more fun and funky product! You can make one set with 2 zippers, one extra zipper head, 1/4 fusible fleece and 1/2 yd of fabric! If you want to play with some zipper colors Atkinson made that possible too:

Now you can buy extra zipper heads to mix and match!

They even use the extra zipper length in the bag:

Bendy Bags: Perfect for storing CD's, make up, school supplies, a sewing kit, phone, and accessories.

Sweetpea Pods: Great for storing Wonder Clips, loose change, make-up, candy, bobbins, beads, and more!

These make great gift sets!

Great rainy day project too! Quick to make and take!

Pattern Review " Girly Bubble Romper" by Little Lizard King

Jody made an adorable little romper this week out of some of our cotton lawn fabrics. For those who are unfamiliar with cotton lawn:

Lawn cloth or lawn is a plain weave textile, originally of linen but now chiefly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

 Jody feels the lawn fabric is a great choice for summer wear in Houston heat, very light. It is advisable to sew with a smaller needle size like a 75 or 80 (topstitch). If your machine gets hungry and tries to eat the lightweight lawn use a single hole needle plate in your machine throat. A little leader fabric (scrap) folded up and loaded in just ahead of your project fabric can also be used to fend off the machine munchies.

With the fabric scraps Jody was able to fashion a little hair accessory!

 The romper pattern is "super duper easy" in Jody's rating, only 2 pattern pieces. Brilliant pattern tip: Instead of cutting your pattern pieces out, trace them onto Pattern EZ or tracing paper so that you can use them repeatedly in different sizes without sacrificing a copy of your pattern! Especially helpful with children's clothing since the little munchkins grow so darn fast!

 Tips for pattern success: Here is the one we all know and summarily ignore: Read the pattern instructions before starting. Ummm this may save you a lot of time-- like the inordinate amount of time it took Jody to find the shoulder tie instructions, which are on page 7 she says! :-)

The big intimidating part of this pattern is the elastic around the leg holes- no problem: the pattern doesn't even use a casing- it is just stitched on with a zig-zag stitch, couldn't be quicker. If you have a serger a rolled hem around those leg holes would look great-- maybe in a contrasting thread??? 

Wouldn't that be cute?

So who is ready to try making some baby clothes????
Thank you Jody for the adorable sample!

Touring Baltimore

Patsy teaches a course on handwork applique in the Baltimore Album quilt style. Her work is absolutely gorgeous and so, as you will see, is the work of her student's!

 Morning group.

 

Afternoon group. 

I mean really! Will you look at those TINY, PERFECTLY ROUND Grapes????? Amazing. 

Great work ladies, I can't wait to see these quilts in the local shows!

Quilty Fun Progress

Here are some shots of the Quilty Fun Class from Thurday. 

They are really coming along! 

Some of them are even all the way out to the border stage! 

Apples! 

Sherry is peeking at us from behind her coffee mugs!

Paula is all set for the outer border.