Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Today marks the beginning of Aurifil’s 2012 Designer of the Month FREE block of the month program. The designer line up is pretty amazing — these are some amazing stitchers, y’all! Each month one of the designers will share a stitchery project with you with a focus on what the month is all about. Sherri Falls of This and That has designed a finishing layout and by this time next year (assuming you keep up!) you’ll have a cute wall hanging to add to your décor!

Aurifil’s focus on embroidery this year showcases their terrific 12 wt thread, which is perfect for embroidery of all types as well as big stitch quilting, sashiko and fine crochet! The thread comes in luscious colors and is equivalent to two strands of regular floss. I love it because it is spool wrapped allowing it to be kept neat and untangled!

These monthly stitcheries will be small and achievable by even the most novice stitcher, and there will be prizes involved! Participants may post photos of their completed blocks stitched with Aurifil 12 wt thread each month to the Aurifil Flickr site and be eligible to win Aurifil threads! Stitching fun and prizes…count me in!

I’m excited about doing this block of the month and thought it would be fun to gather a group to work on it together. We’re kicking off this fun year-long project with a “get started” session later this month to work on the January block. If you’re new to embroidery we’ll teach you different methods of transferring the design to fabric, basic embroidery stitches and other tips and tricks. (Check the Class Calendar for details.)  Then if you’d like to work on the projects with us each month, you’re invited to join The Stitcherhood for our regular monthly meetings on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 6PM (you don’t have to do this project at The Stitcherhood…bring any stitchery project you have in the works!) We will have the 12 wt thread kits for the first couple of months’ projects available later this month, and will continue to make the thread kits available throughout the year as they become available from Aurifil. These kits will be available in limited supply — call us at the shop if you’d like to pre-order!

Here’s the designer line up for the year and links to each designer’s blog so you can get to know a little about each of them.

January … Roseann Kermes from Rosebud’s Cottage

February … Sherri Falls … This and That

March … Victoria Findlay Wolfe … Bumble Beans Inc

April … Gail Pan … Gail Pan Designs

May … Anna … Thimbleanna

June … Pam Viera-McGinnis … PamKittyMorning

July … Sarah Fielke … TheLastPiece

August … Bari J … BariJ

September … Amy Ellis … Amy’s Creative Side

October … Amanda … Mrs McPorkChop

November … Emily Cier … Carolina Patchworks

December … Liz Hawkins & Beth Hawkins … Lizzie B girls

January Block “Snow Bird”
by Roseann Kermes of Rosebud’s Cottage
(photo by Roseann Kermes)

Let’s get this party started! Head over to the Aurifil blog to download the January block from Roseann. And while you’re there, be sure to read the interview with Roseann. She’s a very creative and inspiring woman!

Melisa

P.S. Be sure to call the shop to sign up for the “getting started” class and The Stitcherhood meeting!

I would imagine that the hustle and bustle of Christmas took precedence for most everyone during the month of December, but I do hope you were able to make some progress on your PhD project even if you didn’t pull off a finish. We had only two finishes for the month, but they are both stunners!

Doli’s Beaded Sunflower quilt…proudly shown by her husband (he tried to convince us he had made it, but we were onto him real quick…LOL!) Doli has such a great eye for color and design…you should see the fabulous combination she picked out Saturday while they were here at the shop…can’t wait to see it made up!

Leiann proudly shows off her Red & White BOM that we did at SHQC in ‘07 or ‘08…I can’t remember which. This is the second one of these she’s finished for the PhD program! I barely recognized the pattern because the fabrics made each quilt totally unique! The red & white color scheme is very appropriate following the incredible quilt exhibit, Infinite Variety, sponsored this summer by the American Folk Art Museum in New York.

Since there were only two finishes this month, I just put the names in a bowl and drew for the $25 SHQC gift certificate, which goes to Leiann! Congratulations, Leiann, your hard work is paying off in lots of ways! December’s $10 gift certificate goes to Melanie! 

Thanks, Leiann and Doli, for persevering through the many distractions of the Christmas season to meet your PhD goals! OK, everyone, only two more months to go before “graduation” and I want to see some finishes! Here’s your next assignment:

January PhD Project Assignment:   Project #6 on your list

I just looked at the project lists and there are some intriguing projects listed in the #6 slot!

Hope you’re able to start the new year with plenty of quilting time this month!

Melisa

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year with as much excitement and anticipation as we are! We are so thankful for all of your support for yet another year! We are ever mindful that without you, we wouldn’t be here doing what we love. We love you all!

Melisa and Mike

We wish you all the best this holiday season, and prosperity in the New Year. 
Thank you for being our customer! We look forward to seeing you in the coming year!

All the best to you and your family,

Melisa, Mike and the Sweet Home Quilt Co. Staff

(to the tune of “Up on the Housetop”…you know you’ll be humming it the rest of the day!)

Down to the quilt shop quilters go, Out comes the MasterCard all aglow. Out through the checkout with lots of stuff, all for the quilts and the tools and such.

CHORUS
Sew-sew-sew, who wouldn’t sew. Go-go-go, who wouldn’t go. Down to the quilt shop, click-click-click. Out through the checkout with lots to snip.

First are the UFO’s that fill the drawers, so many there that we can’t ignore. Finish them all, do them one by one. Finish them all then we’ll have some fun.

CHORUS

Next come the quilts that are in our heads, all that we’ve planned for all our beds. One for the master room and one for the guest, we’ll stitch them all and do our best.

CHORUS

Last we’ll make gifts for all our friends, quilts and placemats without end. Coasters and bookmarks, ornaments – so much! Wrap them up in ribbons and bows and such.

CHORUS
(Author Unknown)

This was recently shared in The Sampler newsletter from the Georgia Quilt Council, and I thought it was too cute not to share!

 Merry Christmas!

Melisa