Sweet Home Quilt Co. and Craftsy are making your Mother’s Day shopping easier than ever with a great selection of classes just for Mom at up to 50% off! Be sure to use our special link so that Mom gets a $5 coupon to use at SHQC with every class you give her!
The 2013 Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop is behind us, but we made so many changes to the shop in preparation that I thought we’d take a little look around …
The theme for Sweet Home was “Black, White and Red Allover” and it was evident every where you looked!
On the right, Echo and Hen and Chicks Runner from Hen and Chicks Studio.
The red & white quilt with the scalloped border above is a new version of Dreaming in Black & White from Butterfly Threads Quilting.
Jeanne made us some adorable Ladybugs … any guesses what she made them out of? If you guessed a bowling ball, you’re right! She’s so crafty!
We had lots of new samples using 2 1/2” strips … ideas for using the 2 1/2” strip packs featured by each shop in the hop.
Fun, new samples using our kids’ novelty collections … these were two of our most popular kits. On the Go (left) and Monkey Around (right).
More strip quilt favorites — Tortilla Strips by Atkinson Designs (blue background), Tic Tacs by Silver Thimble Quilt Co (brights and black) and Urban Cabin by Atkinson Designs (white background).
I went a little overboard with new reproduction samples and kits, but everyone knows these are my favorites!
New 30’s reproduction samples and kits — on the left, Cheese & Crackers by Atkinson Designs, Barn Square by Rosebud’s Cottage and Grandma’s Garden by This & That; on the right, Shadow Song by Atkinson Designs.
A super cute kid’s quilt – Into the Jungle.
The softest flannel you’ll find – Tailor Made from Timeless Treasures.
We had a couple of trunk shows hanging … this is Twinkle, Twinkle Scrappy Star designed by Connie Farland. The design is easily made using Deb Tucker’s V-Block ruler and the Tucker Trimmer. If you’d like to make one of these, we have a class coming up!
Trunk Show from Elisa’s Backporch Designs, featuring the Square Me Up Ruler. We have a class coming up soon with this technique, too!
Last but not least, our shop hop quilt … Waste Knot … made with the combined strip packs from all the shops on a black and white polka dot background. We love how it came out, and for those who have asked, we now have a very limited number of kits available!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little stroll through the shop. We had a terrific time during the Shop Hop and appreciate everyone who participated and paid us a visit!
~Melisa
This video was created by Ken Kaufman of Robert Kaufman Fabrics during a visit to their printing plants in Japan. I thought you might enjoy this fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the many steps involved in printing fabric. The video takes you from design concept to final printing and all the steps in between. It’s a wonder the price of fabric isn’t ten times what it is!
A couple of weeks ago I received this Facebook message:
Hi Melissa,
My 3 year old son and I were in your shop about 6 weeks ago for the first time. He absolutely LOVED the play room and was quite content to stay there while I looked/shopped. MANY times since, he has asked if we can go back to that "dilt" (quilt) shop and play with that "digger dactor" (digger tractor.) We are about 1 1/2 hours away so we can’t just run in and play whenever we would like. However, he has asked for a digger dactor for Christmas like the one in that dilt shop. Can you describe it for me…..color, name, approx size, etc? This is probably the first time you’ve been asked a question like this and I know you are very busy getting ready for Christmas shoppers but I sure would appreciate it if you could help me with this!
Thanks so very much,
Susan
I remembered the afternoon Susan and Nate spent at the shop … he was a delightful little boy, very polite and well mannered, and Susan was able to just shop to her heart’s content while he entertained himself in the play room.
The toy basket had several toys that I thought might be the “digger dactor” he described, so I snapped a quick photo and sent it off to Susan to help with her search. I sure hope she’s able to find a digger dactor for Nate.
It was pretty obvious that Nate is a special little guy. Susan shared with me that they have five sons … the oldest is 23 and Nate is the youngest at just 3 years old. I’m sure his older brothers dote on him! Susan also shared with me a video of Nate telling his “hunting story” and with her permission I just have to share it with you. In the story, Clayton is Nate’s 21 year old brother. If this doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you should probably have someone check your pulse!
I can’t wait for Susan and Nate to come back for a visit! I love that he has fond memories of his visit to the “dilt” shop!
Melisa
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We get calls all the time at the shop from people who are cleaning out ________ (Grandma’s, Mom’s, Aunt Sallie’s, etc.) house and have found a big stash of fabrics that they don’t know what to do with, so they call us to see if we can use them. I rarely say no to these offers because we can often use these fabrics for charity quilts or at the very least, the pet beds we make for the local animal shelters. Many times these donations are not usable for our efforts, but I have learned to check the boxes and bags even if they seem to be filled with nylon lingerie fabrics! You just never know what hidden treasure could be lurking at the bottom of the bag!
Here are a couple of “hidden treasures” from such a donation. The donated bags were filled with “smelly” (as in musty/dirty) fabrics of indeterminate fiber content…I knew we couldn’t use them even for pet beds because I’d never ask anyone to sew with them as nasty as they were…but I dumped the bags out anyway just in case I might uncover something usable. I am so glad I took the time to do that…
This full-size quilt top out of vintage shirting fabrics was stuffed into a zippered bag and buried at the bottom of one of the bags under all the unusable fabrics! A gentle wash to remove the surface dirt was all it took to bring this treasure back to life! I think it is crying out for some Big-Stitch quilting!
And as if that wasn’t enough a second bag yielded these treasures…
Three vintage feedsack fabrics! I haven’t washed these yet because they were in good condition, not musty or dirty, inside a plastic bag. They are a nice addition to my feedsack collection!
As the old saying goes “never look a gift horse in the mouth!”
Melisa
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 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
