Sweet Home Quilt Co.

If you’re like me you have gobs of batting scraps that you feel guilty throwing away, but that aren’t big enough for most projects. I generally try to be frugal and sometimes I’ll take time to hand baste larger pieces together to use in a project. Basting is effective, but not much fun to do so the batting scraps just mostly keep accumulating in the corner, making me feel guilty every time I open a new package of batting for a project! Finally, there’s a new product available that will make quick work of those batting scraps – it’s called Heat Press Batting Together (not a very original name, I know!) and it is a quick, easy way to get the job of basting batting scraps done in record time! This is fusible tape, 1 1/2 inches wide, that can be used on any type of batting. Take a look at the video demo below and see how easy it is to use!

The fusible tape comes packaged on a 10 yard roll so you can use only as big a piece as you need to join your batting pieces together. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Melisa

I’ve had many people ask me to put together a “day retreat” that didn’t involve travel or overnight stays, so I’ve decided to combine our usual Jingle Bell Workshop with a sleep-in-your-own-bed retreat! I’ve found a great location just 3 miles from the shop – a large, well-lit space with kitchen facilities. Epiphany Lutheran Church is the meeting place for Cotton Boll Quilt Guild and Early Bird Quilt Guild, so they are accustomed to the needs of quilters and they have been super nice to deal with!

Now that I’ve secured a location, I am really getting excited! I’ve got lots of fun things planned and you will have plenty of time to work on your own projects whether you plan to finish up Christmas gifts, finish up a UFO or two, or maybe even start a new project! Check out all the details below, grab a friend and get signed up…QUICK!

Melisa

Jingle Bell Workshop Retreat
Friday & Saturday, Nov 12-13
10AM – 10PM
Epiphany Lutheran Church, Conyers

Register Online!

Instead of waiting to the last minute to finish your holiday gifts this year, treat yourself to a couple of days of fun and get the satisfaction of having your gifts ready early! Fun, relaxation, time to sew and create – all the benefits of a quilt retreat, but you can go home to sleep in your own bed! What more could a quilter want?

• Two days of fun-filled sewing just in time to make or finish your holiday gifts – Friday and Saturday, 10AM – 10PM
• Great demos and Make-It Take-It projects to inspire you
• Quilter’s Emporium on-site shopping – just in case you forgot something!
• Snacks, lunch and dinner provided
• Goodie bags, door prizes, show and tell
• Secret Santa Exchange (optional)

All for just $89

Epiphany Lutheran Church (Fellowship Hall)
2375 Highway 20 SE, Conyers, GA
(just 3 miles from SHQC!)

Pay online, download the Registration Form, or call SHQC at
678-413-1611 to register.

Be sure to set your reminders for the Fall-O-Ween Quilt Designer Blog Hop which kicks off next week. Last year’s Christmas blog hop with this group was fabulous, so I’m sure Fall-O-Ween will be even more so! Here’s the daily line-up:

Sept. 27 Gudrun: http://www.gudrun.typepad.com/

Sept. 28 Sandy: http://www.piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

Sept. 29 Roseann: http://www.rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

Sept. 30 Kari: www.newleafstitches.com/blog

Oct. 1 Terry: http://www.terryatkinson.typepad.com/

Oct. 2 Heather: http://www.ankastreasures.wordpress.com/

Oct. 3 Terri: http://www.whimsicals.typepad.com/

Oct. 4 Carrie: http://www.lavieenrosie.typepad.com/

Oct. 5 Linda: http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com/

Oct. 6 Pat: http://www.patsloan.typepad.com/

Help spread the word and then head over to Terry’s blog where she’s giving away a complete set of her zippers to one lucky person who leaves a comment telling her how you’ve shared the blog hop news.

I shamelessly poached this picture from Terry’s blog to show you what you could win! Look at those luscious fall colored zippers!!! And if you happen not to be the winner, don’t worry, we have these zippers in stock, too…36 colors and just 89 cents each.

So, here’s your assignment:

• Mark your calendar with the Fall-O-Ween Blog Hop dates so you don’t forget
• Visit each designer’s blog each day for fun Fall ideas and projects
• Spread the word about the Fall-O-Ween blog hop on your blog or emails or word of mouth
• Visit Terry’s blog and leave her a comment for a chance to win a complete set of zippers

See you there!

Melisa

I have more quilts in my collection than I can possibly display at once so I keep many in storage, rotated into use every couple of months. I don’t remember where I learned about this tip, but it has helped with my storage problem tremendously, and this is the perfect time of year to get what you need.

Recognize these?

Pool noodles! Head off to your local discount store and stock up on pool noodles now during the end of summer clearance sales…I just bought a dozen for $1.00 each at Walgreens. When you get them home, wrap them with muslin or ugly cotton fabric (what a great stashbusting idea!) then just roll your quilt around the noodle, design facing in, for crease-proof storage! Depending on the size of the quilt, I usually wrap at least two, maybe three quilts on a noodle and then I also wrap the outside with another old piece of fabric just to keep the dust off. You can either pin the fabric covering on, or even easier, pop on a couple of heavy duty rubber bands. I find the noodles behave better if stored flat, but I’ve got plenty of under-bed space so that isn’t a problem. I’ve also got a couple of those large galvanized garbage cans in the back of an extra closet that I have quite a few standing in, too. Oh, and don’t forget to pin on a paper label indicating which quilt is on the roll, otherwise, you’ll find yourself unrolling a lot of stored quilts while searching for one in particular…ask me how I know!

I wouldn’t recommend this storage method for long-term, permanent quilt storage, but since I change all of my quilts out about every 3 months it works for me! And I love that I don’t get creases in my quilts – sometimes those can be very difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

Try it and see what you think….

Melisa

A friend’s birthday is coming up this week and while I knew what I wanted to make for her, I fiddled around and didn’t get started until last weekend. I cut everything out at the shop Saturday a week ago, and as luck would have it I was using the last pattern we had in stock. A customer wanted to buy the pattern and I certainly wasn’t going to say “No!” So I had my project all cut out but no pattern. Luckily, it was one of Terry’s patterns so a quick call last Monday and I had more patterns on the way. Unfortunately, I didn’t get back to my project until Sunday and by then I was under a deadline ‘cause the birthday girl’s party is tonight! I had already made the pattern once, though, so I felt confident I could whip it out in no time flat…yea right! This is the pattern I planned to use:

Pockets to Go, Atkinson Designs

A terrific gift idea and very easy to make! The only problem was that I complicated things by deciding to use some of the new laminate fabric we’d received at the shop the week before from Andover. I wasn’t anticipating any problems because the laminates were so soft and supple, I assumed they would sew just like regular fabric (unlike some of the vinyls and oilcloths we’d had previously which were stiff and hard to maneuver) – I was partially right. I didn’t have a teflon foot for my machine so it was a little tricky sewing with the laminates…the fabric wanted to stick and thus, shift out of place…I did a lot of ripping, which if you think about it, isn’t exactly what you want to be doing with laminates! I was able to get one box done using tissue paper sandwiched with the fabric, but it was harder to see what I was doing and then I had to pick the paper out of the stitches! I finally gave in on Monday and called our local sewing machine dealer, Conyers Sewing Center, to see if they had a teflon foot that would fit my Janome; they did, and I made a special trip into town to get it. Back home and that last box was done in under an hour…I was kicking myself let me tell you! But so happy with how they turned out…what do you think?

The bindings and the inside pockets are coordinating cotton fabrics, and the zippers? No Big Deal! Terry’s instructions for inserting zippers are so foolproof it is actually fun to do them! Did I just say putting in a zipper is fun? Trust me, it is or it can be if you use Terry’s method!

I sure hope they’re a hit with the birthday girl! Gotta run, it’s birthday night with the Batty Babes…nobody does birthdays like the Babes!

Melisa

How do you explain to a 5 year old what this is?

If you’ve been in my shop, you’ve probably visited the bathroom and know that I have a fairly large collection of vintage children’s enamelware pottys on display. I have no memories of using these as a child (my collection actually began when my mother gave me her enamelware potty that she had as a child), but I love finding the pretty colors and cute pictures that made such a mundane household item a little more fun.

Today a young woman came into the shop with her very precocious 5 year old son, who was busily helping her choose fabrics to make clothing models for her business. At one point he made a trip to the bathroom, and I could tell when he came out that he was on a mission as he made a beeline for my husband who was sitting at the checkout counter. From across the shop I could tell they were engaged in an earnest conversation, but I couldn’t hear what was being said. Finally, my husband called out “Honey, could you explain to him what those pots are in the bathroom?” At this, the little boy came hurrying over to where I was and exclaimed that he just didn’t understand what Mr. Mike meant about indoor plumbing (apparently Mike had tried to explain how people didn’t used to have indoor plumbing and the little children used the pottys instead…)

The little boy’s mother just smiled and went on about her shopping, so I took off to the bathroom with the little boy to see if I could make it clearer to him. I started off by saying “You know what this is for, right?” as I pointed to the toilet. He looked at me like I was nuts, and said very properly “Of course, that’s where you do your business!” So I went on to explain how a long time ago people didn’t have bathrooms in their houses, and at night rather than have to go outside, they had chamber pots under their beds in case they needed to use the bathroom and the ones on display in the bathroom were small size for children.

He looked at me very intently for a minute or two, and then with his hands perched on his hips, he said “It is no wonder I didn’t understand what the pots were for…at our house, we have one of THOSE!” pointing to the toilet!  And with that he turned and marched off to find his mother!

What a delight that little boy was! He was so inquisitive, but so matter of fact with his questions and he had everyone around him engaged in his conversations. I’m afraid I may have ignored a couple of customers for the opportunity to talk with him…but I’m sure they understood!

Melisa