Sweet Home Quilt Co.

Moda has brought us another cute project idea for Christmas in the form of a Christmas Advent banner with little pockets for each day. The banner boxes are available in three different fabric collections: Park Avenue by 3 Sisters, 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain, and Adoring by Sandy Gervais.

This Advent banner will be so cute strung across a fireplace mantel, or maybe along a staircase, or use it to decorate a small tree for a small space that needs “just a little something something” at Christmas! Whip it up now and set it aside so you’ll have at least one new decoration ready when Christmas rolls around this year (only 196 days!!!)

We have all three sets in stock, but they are in very short supply (only ONE 12 Days of Christmas set remains!) so if you think you want one, order it soon!

Melisa

No, not fruitcake fruitcake, THIS F-R-U-I-T-C-A-K-E!

Fruitcake by Basic Grey for Moda.

If you loved Basic Grey’s Figgy Pudding Christmas line from 2009, you’re going to FLIP over Fruitcake! We have jelly rolls, charms and yardage available now – it isn’t too late to get started on those Christmas presents!

And although I am not a fan of traditional fruitcake, here’s my mama’s recipe that I make every year at Christmas and I can never get enough of it…you don’t have to wait until Christmas, though. I hope you’ll try it, too!

Icebox Fruitcake

1 box vanilla wafers or graham crackers, finely crushed

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1 box flaked coconut

1 box raisins (I use the golden raisins)

1 qt pecans, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together by hand until well combined; form into log rolls about the diameter of a silver dollar. Wrap tightly with waxed paper, twist ends of paper to secure. Refrigerate overnight until well set; slice into thin rounds to serve. (Slice off just what you need and wrap the remainder of the log with waxed paper; will keep in refrigerator up to 4 weeks.)

Tomorrow is the last day of Spring Quilt Market…I hate to see it end, but in a way I’m really glad, too, because I am soooo tired! A fun girlfriend day is planned for Monday and then I head for home bright and early Tuesday morning. Today was another very long day beginning with a business lecture at 8AM, full day on the Market floor, and a fun class tonight.  Another early morning lecture tomorrow so this will be quick…enjoy.

Bunny Hill Designs booth…so stinking cute you wouldn’t believe it! Watch for the complete Lily and Will fabric collection at SHQC in October!

Pieces from My Heart booth featuring the new Lollipop collection from Sandy Gervais…coming to SHQC in October!

Collections for a Cause-Hope by Howard Marcus for Moda. The top of the picture is the actual 1840’s antique quilt that inspired the fabric collection…it was amazing at how true the prints were – old compare to new! Sales of this fabric collection will benefit ALS.  Watch for it at SHQC in September!

Crazy quilting anyone? We’ll soon have yummy new wools, silks and linens perfect for creating your own heirloom.

Fun display at the United Notions/Moda booth!

Moda Home was under the Big Top!

I took a fun class tonight – Surface Design using fabric paints and inks – way outside my comfort zone! It was reminiscent of fingerpainting in kindergarten…loads of fun!

These were the “professional” samples…

And here we were working hard at being creative…that’s Carol beside me in the red…my “work” is at the very bottom of the picture, see my blue butterfly? It was a proud moment!

Carol is hard at work, and Joyce caught me wiping my hands on my apron! It was very messy and I was trying to get the paint off my hands…good thing they gave us aprons to wear!

Melisa

I’m a day late with this post, but let me just say that it is proving very difficult to find the time and energy to write a post every day. The days begin with business classes/lectures at 8AM  and it has been after 11PM each night before I get back to the hotel room…aahhhh, but it is so much fun!

Market Thursday was Schoolhouse day, and it is truly exhausting. I didn’t count the number of sessions, but I would venture to say there are between 150 and 200 sessions from which to choose, every half hour. The schedule is made available one hour before the opening session, and then you must be prepared to move rapidly from one session to the next. The problem is that there are so many good sessions and it is difficult to choose between those that overlap; often the decision is made for you…some sessions are so popular you can’t even get in the door! The sessions range from presentations of new product, to business sessions, to ideas for marketing the products we buy, displays, etc. There is so much information to absorb and you want to take advantage of all of it…after all, that is a really big part of what Quilt Market is all about for a shop owner.

Here Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods introduces a new block of the month program from her new book, Abundance.

A product display idea from Timeless Treasures featuring the new Tonga Treats pre-cut strips and squares (look for these at SHQC soon…hint, hint!)

Karen Montgomery, owner of The Quilt Company and fabric designer for Timeless Treasures, shows samples made with her new fabric line, Lauren.

After a full day of Schoolhouse, and a leisurely dinner back at the hotel, it was back to the convention center for the maddening frenzy known as Sample Spree, which is the suppliers’ opportunity to unveil their new introductions and offer Market Specials to shopowners. Many designers also offer pre-made models for their new designs, which gives shopowners a head start for being able to introduce the new products into their shops quickly without having to wait for a model to be made once they return from Market. People began lining up to get in at 4:30PM and it didn’t begin until 8PM!!! We (Julie, Noel and I) waited until the initial frenzied surge had ended before we went over, and we were able to walk right in without a wait!

Every year Moda has a new Market bag at Sample Spree…and I filled TWO of these with yummy stuff to bring back. So what did I buy?

Just look at all that Moda goodness! Just a sneak peek, though. You’ll have to wait for the Market Review Party when I get back to see it all up close and personal…SORRY!

Melisa

I’m in love, I’m in love, I’m in love…

Moda Marbles Jelly Rolls…choose your favorite…Citrus Brights or Pastels. And if you can choose just one, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me HOW!?!?!?  I love these, both colorways, but I’m not sure I’d want to unroll them to use them…they are just too delicious all rolled up like this!

We also have the Marble Pastel and Marble Citrus charm packs…they didn’t photograph nearly as well as the jelly rolls, but they are just as yummy! We already have a sample picked out to make using the Citrus jelly roll…what will you make?

Melisa

Win That Patchwork Place Books AND Moda Fabrics!

Don’t miss this quiltmaking contest – you won’t believe the prizes you could win! That Patchwork Place and Moda Fabrics have teamed up to sponsor a contest highlighting the publication of Schnibbles Times Two by Carrie Nelson, owner of Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company.
1st Place: 12 monthly shipments of new That Patchwork Place quilt books and current Moda fabrics (total retail value approx $2,100)
2nd Place: 6 monthly shipments of new That Patchwork Place quilt books and current Moda fabrics (total retail value approx $1,050)
3rd Place: 3 monthly shipments of new That Patchwork Place quilt books and current Moda fabrics (total retail value approx $525)
Ask us for the contest rules. Here’s basically how it works:

1. Purchase Schnibbles Times Two for $26.99. 
2. Use currently available Moda Layer Cakes and/or Charm Packs to create any quilt (large or small) from the book, and identify the fabric line(s) used on the entry form.
3. Bring us your finished quilt (bound and quilted, with label and hanging sleeve) by closing time on July 31, 2010. Attach the entry form.
4. All contestants’ quilts will be displayed in the shop for everyone to enjoy. One finalist will be selected by viewer’s choice vote and photos of that quilt will be submitted to Martingale & Co. by August 16, 2010, for the overall competition.
5. Winners of the overall competition will be selected September 15, 2010, and will begin receiving their prize shipments in September!

You could be rich with MODA fabric and books! Not to mention your 15 minutes of fame if your quilt is selected as a winner! Martingale & Co. will post all finalists’ quilts in a gallery on Flickr! and announce them on Facebook.

Order your book now and get started on your entry. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with! What a treat to have contest winners from Sweet Home Quilt Co.!

Melisa

I know, I know, I’m very very late posting today, but it IS still Friday so technically I’m not late! But really, it wasn’t my fault. It seems that AT&T upgraded my DSL service yesterday and managed to mangle not only my website and internet access, but my email accounts, too! I have resisted this upgrade for over a year because I knew suspected this might be the result. But they happened to call last week and got Mike on the phone with the promise of a “free” DSL upgrade and he said “sure, go for it!”  So that “free” upgrade has cost me about 10 hours worth of headache and frustration trying to get the mess straightened out. I so hate tech support issues!!! But in all fairness, I will say that the young lady at AT&T Tech Support who helped me was very courteous and patient, even in the face of my extreme frustration.  Did I mention how I hate tech support issues??? (For those who don’t know, that was my life for 20 years before I opened the quilt shop – I thought I had left all that behind!)

Anyway, I digress. What you’re really here for, I know, is to find out who won last week’s Friday Favorite giveaway, right? It was a backpack made from the Dandelion Girl collection by Fig Tree Quilts, remember? OK, OK, the winner is JoyP!  Congratulations, Joy, I’ll contact you by email.  You have to go take a look at Joy’s blog to see the pictures of the biggest cat I have ever seen! Fred is his name, I think! Amazing!

Moving on to this week’s giveaway, I’m still in cleaning mode around here and I ran across some patterns that were left over from our ModaU Club a while back.  There are only four patterns shown in the picture, but there are actually five in the giveaway. I found another one after I had already taken the picture and I was too lazy busy to go back and take another picture. The 5th pattern is also a ModaU pattern, and it is called Hearts Aflutter, designed for a panel but can be modified to use without a panel, too. You’ll just have to trust me – it is a cute pattern, too!

Oh yea, the pattern on the left is a “Swatches” pattern that actually includes a set of 2 1/2″ swatches from Moda’s Chocolat fabric collection – remember that one? Another one of my favorites from a while back …

Here’s how the Friday Favorite giveaway works:

• Leave a comment for one entry.
• Leave a comment and post about the giveaway on your blog and receive 3 entries.
• Leave a comment and add us to your blogroll or become a follower of my blog and receive 5 entries.

Remember to leave a link to your blog and/or an email address so we can contact you if you win! I’ll announce the winner in the next Friday Favorite post!  Good luck!

I hope you all have a fun weekend planned. I’m planning to go to a Holiday Celebration in a neighboring town on Sunday afternoon – can’t wait. I’ll share pictures next week.  Go quilt something …

Sorry I’m late posting today – I thought it was Thursday until I looked at my calendar to see what was on the schedule for today and realized it was already Friday! I lost a whole day somewhere this week! And on top of that, I had a class to teach this morning! I had to do some scrambling to catch up, let me tell you!

At any rate, thanks for ALL the comments to last week’s Friday Favorite giveaway; seems everyone wanted that Shangri La fabric and the winner is Pokey! Congratulations, Pokey, and thanks so much to everyone who commented for a chance to win!

Ready for another Friday Favorite giveaway? Remember I said I’d been finding all sorts of forgotten goodies tucked away at the shop? Well, here’s another “oldie but goodie” that needs a new home!

This is Cinnamon Stars by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda, and it is probably 3 or 4 years old! Once again, I’m sure we cut this for a project of some sort (loooong forgotten now!) but surely it will spark someone’s imagination! If I didn’t already have so many projects in the queue I’d keep this one for myself. The giveaway includes 65 – 5×5 inch charms, plus 3/8 yard of the gold and 1 3/8 of the large brown floral. If you missed adding Cinnamon Stars to your stash the first time around, now is your chance! Aren’t you glad I’ve been in a “cleaning mood?!?!?”

Here’s how the giveaway works – help us spread the word and get more chances to win!

• Leave a comment for one entry.
• Leave a comment and post about our giveaway on your blog and receive 3 entries.
• Leave a comment and add us to your blogroll (or tell me we’re already on your blogroll) and receive 5 entries.

Remember to leave a link to your blog and/or an email address so we can contact you if you win! I’ll announce the winner in the next Friday Favorite post!  Good luck!

Just in time for Halloween, the winner of last week’s Friday Favorite Spooky Ghost kit is:

1. Diana Says:
   October 23rd, 2009 at 6:26 PM What a great wall hanging. I have a wall that needs covering. Would love to ave an entire year to finish, should be enough time.

Diana, I don’t have an email for you so you’ll need to contact me with your snail mail address so I can get your kit off to you. Congratulations!

We’ve started to do a little preparation for end of year inventory, and we’re finding stuff we didn’t know we still had – great stuff, too! We never want to count more than we have to at inventory time, so I’ll be giving away some of these “finds” over the next few weeks so they’ll have new homes before we have to do inventory! Thus, the Friday Favorite this week is an oldie, but goodie!

It was a “treat” (get it, Halloween = treat – never mind!) to find a box of kit leftovers of Moda’s Shangri La collection from 3 Sisters. I think this line was from about 18 months ago and we had put aside some charm packs and yardage for extra kits that somehow got shoved to the back of the shelf; I don’t even remember what the kit was now.  Not quite vintage, just a little aged (but not nearly as old as some of the stuff in my stash!) and it blends perfectly with the newest 3 Sisters collection, Glacè, which we still have in stock.

The Friday Favorite giveaway this week is for not one, but two charm packs and a one-and-a-quarter-yard cut of the large focus print as shown above. Enough for a small project, but you could always add to it from the Glacè line if you want to make something bigger – I’m telling you the two collections are perfect together!

Here’s how the giveaway works – help us spread the word and get more chances to win!

• Leave a comment for one entry.
• Leave a comment and post about our giveaway on your blog and receive 3 entries.
• Leave a comment and add us to your blogroll and receive 5 entries.

Remember to leave a link to your blog and/or an email address so we can contact you if you win! I’ll announce the winner in the next Friday Favorite post!

What could be better than new flannel pj’s? How about a flannel rag quilt to go with?

Made with the Jingles Christmas flannel collection by Minick and Simpson for Moda, we have pre-cut rag quilt kits for $74.99, and pre-cut batting squares, too, for $18.99 – all you have to do is SEW!  Easily made in an afternoon since we’ve done all the cutting for you. Quilt measures approximately 47×68, a perfect snuggle size for the sofa! Quick to make for Christmas gifts, too!

Notice the little boy’s flannel pj’s in the picture? I do not sew garments, so I asked my mom to sew up a sample of the little boy’s and little girl’s pajamas from Indygo Junction’s Jack and Jill Jammies pattern.  Also made with the Jingles Christmas flannel, they are sized just right for my grandies, Hayden and Haylee, so they’ll get them for Christmas! While not as quick to make as the rag quilt kit, these pj’s would be fun gifts for any kid at Christmas! (click the photo at right to see an enlarged image of the pattern.) Pattern is $14.99 and includes boys and girls sizes 4 thru 12.

It’s not too early to be making those Christmas gifts. Visit the shop soon to see more gift ideas and Christmas fabrics for inspiration!