Sweet Home Quilt Co.

One of our favorite finds at Spring Quilt Market was an ingenious product called Swatch Buddies™, and we’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our order…and it’s finally here!

Swatch Buddies™ are reusable fabric swatch cards with adhesive labels, which allow you to create a flexible and portable ring of your fabric swatches. The adhesive labels have space to note yardage, designer, fabric collection, and even the quilt shop where you purchased the fabric! The cards are reusable (we also have the refill kits in stock), and are available in 12, 24 and 48 piece sets.

How many times have you bought fabric because you were sure it would be a good match, only to get it home and find out that it wouldn’t work with your other pieces? Think about it…if this product saves you from buying just one yard of mis-matched fabric you will easily have paid for it! Besides the obvious use, these little kits have all sorts of possibilities!

-Easily shop for multiple projects at the same time by creating a ring for each project.

-Is your stash stored in plastic bins or boxes? Attach a Stash Buddies™ ring to easily see the contents at a glance.

I’ve already started a couple of rings for myself and I’m sure there will be more in my future! What other uses can you think of?

Melisa

Order here

We’re busy busy busy getting everything ready for our Christmas Preview Party this Thursday – we hope you’re coming! If you haven’t already called to get your name on the list, you’d better do it today…space is limited and you don’t want to miss out!

Enjoy some of the new books we’ve gotten in this month, and the new Astral Summer collection from Paintbrush Studios, which has me dreaming of early Fall days and cooler temperatures!

A Baker’s Dozen: 13 Kitchen Quilts from American Jane
by Sandy Klop

Fruitful Hands
by Jacquelynne Steves

History Repeated: Block Exchange  Quilts by the 19th Century Patchwork Divas
by Betsy Chutchian and
Carol Staehle

Welcome Home: Surround Yourself with Country Warmth
by Cheryl Wall

Astral Summer by Paintbrush Studios

Visit the webstore to check out these and many other great treasures!

Happy Quilting!

Melisa

One of my favorite market finds was this Season’s stitchery series from Sherri Falls at This & That. The stitchery patterns are packaged with matching notecards and envelopes, and Sherri is offering the complimentary finishing instructions on her website. Collect all six stitchery patterns and dig into your stash to make the scrappy 40” x 54” quilt. The notecards are an added bonus…send a note to a friend, or tie up all six notecards with a nice ribbon for a cute gift. Patterns/notecards are available individually or as a set of six on our website.

Happy Stitching!

Melisa

I love it when I come across a new product that makes my quilting life easier and comes from a quality company…hot off the Big Brown Truck today:

In a nutshell, Lapel Stick is a glue stick for fabrics; no messy tips to clog up and completely portable. It’s a temporary non-toxic fabric adhesive that goes on quickly and dries clear for Quilting, Sewing, Crafting, and Embroidery – no need for basting stitching, pinning, tapes, spray adhesives, and stabilizers. My favorite part? It won’t gum up your needles or machines! I’ve tried other fabric glue sticks and always end up with gummed up needles and sticky fabrics.

Since it is non-staining and safe for everything from leather to cotton to silk, I can think of dozens of uses right off the bat. Perfect for applique – I can’t wait to try it on my wool applique. Use it to tack down the binding on small projects to hold it in place while you stitch it down, and think about how rick rack twists while trying to stitch it – a little Lapel Stick will hold it in place, too! I know you can think of dozens of uses, too!

Lapel Stick has been all over the blog-o-sphere as more and more people are discovering its many uses. Here’s another plus, Sweet Home Quilt Co. is the FIRST shop in Georgia to have this new product! And besides the fact that I think the product is worthwhile, I was impressed with the company’s philanthropy, too. For every Lapel Stick sold, the company donates 30 cents to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation!

The Lapel Stick was recently featured in Canada’s Quilter’s Connection magazine (the product is made by a Canadian company) as a Favorite Find:

and I “sew” agree! Stop by and grab a stick or click here to order online. I’m taking a stick home tonight myself…I plan to do a little wool applique!

Melisa

Stafford County by Jo Morton for Andover Fabrics arrived this week! Check out the fabrics in detail on our website. Wonderful reproduction prints!

We have long been fans of Quilters Dream batting at Sweet Home, and this week we received a shipment of Quilters Dream Angel, which is made of specially engineered fibers created to be flame retardant. There are no chemical additives, and you cannot rub or wash off the flame retardant quality – the fibers are inherently flame retardant.

One of the fibers is designed to char when in contact with flame which forms a char barrier; the other fiber also chars and also helps to draw the oxygen from the flame (i.e. self-extinguishing). The batting does not melt when in contact with the flame and will not help to support the flame either.  Dream Angel has been tested extensively and has met all international flame retardant standards.

Quilters Dream Angel batting is soft, drapey and breathable. It has the appearance of a soft wool batting, but it washes and quilts very similarly to Quilters Dream Cotton.

While there are no safety guarantees, this batting is an excellent choice for children’s quilts, teen & college quilts, nursing homes, and quilts for smokers. And don’t forget Christmas tree skirts, too!

When you’re ready to quilt some of those Christmas gifts for children or maybe elderly parents or even a new Christmas tree skirt for your decorating, give the Quilters Dream Angel batting a try. I think you’ll be really pleased!

Another new product we’ve received from the folks at Quilters Dream, and just in time for your Christmas quilting is Dream Runner. Perfect for table runners, placemats, miniatures, strip quilts and many other crafts, this poly batting is 18″ wide and is sold by the yard. No more cutting up a packaged batt for a small piece – buy only what you need! We have the Dream Poly Request Loft, a thinner batting made especially for those smaller projects where you don’t want much bulk or weight. Ask for it when you come in.

We also stock Sweet Dreams 100% Cotton Stuffing from Quilters Dream. A crafters dream for stuffing, pot holders, pillows, padding, upholstery, bumper pads and trapunto, Sweet Dreams cotton stuffing is 18″ wide and 120″ long when unrolled. Protective paper divides the soft layers  of cotton, making it easy to separate and cut.  Sweet Dreams cotton stuffing has a myriad of uses – just ask us and we’ll give you some ideas!

Kits for Moda’s Collection for a Cause – Alliance have shipped and should be arriving at Sweet Home any day! This kit features reproduction fabrics from a circa 1830-40′s nine-patch chintz quilt from Pennsylvania. I saw the original quilt hanging next to the reproduction quilt at Spring Market, and it was difficult to tell them apart! The original quilt is in the Howard Marcus collection of Mark Dunn, owner of Moda Fabrics.

Sales from the Alliance fabric collection will help donate funds to the Alliance for American Quilts, which is a non-profit organization devoted to protecting and preserving our quilt industry and our art form.  AAQ is dedicated to education and the documentation of American history through the collection of quilts and quiltmakers’ stories. For additional information about The Alliance for American Quilts visit their website at www.allianceforamericanquilts.org.

The Alliance quilt measures 92″ x 92″ and the kit includes fabrics for the quilt top and binding. After pre-orders are filled, we will have a very limited supply available. Call soon to reserve yours! We also have jelly rolls, charm packs, and yardage from the Alliance collection in the shop.

OK, Mr. Brown was VERY good to us today – it’s like Christmas morning when he rolls in the big MODA boxes! So many of you have been asking about some of these, I thought I’d better get the word out right away – and don’t start calling me ‘Bad Melisa’ – I’m just doing what you asked!  There were lots of goodies in those boxes! Take a look – -

Rouenneries from French General is here, finally! Well, the pre-cuts are here at least – the fabric won’t be here for about another month. We have fat quarter bundles, layer cakes and jelly rolls.

New from Minick & Simpson – Wiscasset. Hey, Pat, are you listening??? I am wishing I had ordered more of this line – it is soooo gorgeous!

We have fat quarter bundles, layer cakes, jelly rolls and charm packs of this yumminess!

Here’s another one that surprised me – Aster Manor from 3 Sisters. Soft, soothing colors in pinks, browns and creams with a POP of red.

We got the full Monte here – fat quarter bundles, jelly rolls, honey buns and charm packs are available.

The latest in Moda’s Collection for a Cause series – Alliance, supporting The Alliance for American Quilts. This collection is a reproduction of an antique quilt dated 1830-1840.

Again, the whole shebang arrived – fat quarter bundles, honey buns, jelly rolls and charm packs.

Wonder of wonders, I have already uploaded all of these to the website, too. Check under New Arrivals-Moda. Now you all know how it is with Moda, I can’t re-order and I probably should have ordered more than I did. Nonetheless, when they’re gone, they’re gone – at least at Sweet Home. WOW, that rhymes! Can you tell it’s been a loooonnnggg day?!?!?

Our UPS guy has been on a TWO-WEEK vacation, and today was his first day back. Look what he brought us (I wonder if his sub saved all this up for him to deliver???)

The new Quilt Sampler magazine actually arrived a couple of days ago, and I haven’t had time to do more than just thumb through it! Can’t wait for a couple of hours to savor all the shops included. If you want one, better hurry, they are flying out the door, as always!

New today from Michael Miller:  A few bolts of Whimsy by Pillow & Maxwell (above left). Several pieces of this line are on backorder so there will be more of it soon. I’ve already got a cute sample picked out to make! Also, six bolts of Mezzanine by Patty Young (above right). I am so enamored with her fabric collections, and the reds/lime greens from her last collection, Andalucia, actually coordinate quite well with this new line. I’m thinking a new bag sample out of this yumminess!

Fourteen bolts of Diamond Brights Tonga Batiks from Timeless Treasures arrived, too. The addition of these few bolts really brightened up our batik section! Love, love, love the red design on the right!

I saved the cutest for last – Animal Party from Robert Kaufman. This fabric will make the most adorable kids’ quilts and pillowcases ever! It has everything from turtles to lions to monkeys to funky little dogs in fun, non-traditional colors. This line is designed by Amy Schimler, who lives locally I believe.

We also received a couple of kits for this line (which I failed to take pictures of, duh!!!) with the cutest names – Monkeys on the Bed, Dog Days of Summer and Bark Park! More samples to make – oh man, I need another 24 hours in every day! I’ll have all of these new yummies added to the website by tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait to show you!

I guess that will teach our UPS guy to take a TWO WEEK vacation, huh?!?!

A large selection of new books arrived this week from Kansas City Star Quilts, with something to appeal to everyone’s taste and skill.

Pick of the Seasons: Quilts to Inspire You Through the Year

by Tammy Johnson & Avis Shirer

This book celebrates the entire year in quilts with wonderful projects in seasonal motifs and colors.

Click here to view inside pages from the book.

Just Desserts: Quick Quilts Using Pre-cut Fabrics

by Edie McGinnis

This is a re-order of this book title – it has been very much in demand by those who enjoy using the ever-popular pre-cuts. Grab your favorite Charm Pack, Jelly Roll or Layer Cake and whip up one of these quick desserts.

Click here to view insides pages from the book.

Christmas at Home: Quilts for Your Holiday Traditions

by C. DeArmond, E. Lang & K. Spitzli

Delightful new designs for your holiday traditions.

Click here to view inside pages from the book.

Making Memories: Simple Quilts from Cherished Clothing

by Deb Rowden

Preserve your treasured memories by stitching them into keepsake quilts!

Click here to view inside pages from the book.

Wedding Ring, Pickle Dish and More: Paper Piecing Curves

by Carolyn Cullinan McCormick

Take paper piecing to a new level! Curved patterns are suddenly made easy.

Click here to view inside pages from the book.

Flora Botanica: Quilts from the Spencer Museum of Art

by Barbara Brackman

Another re-order for us, this book features five new quilt projects drawn from the Flora Botanica collection at the Spencer – gorgeous pieced and appliqued projects!

Click here to view inside pages from the book.

Quite a Stitch: A Year of Mrs. Bobbins – A 2010 Quilter’s Calendar

We’re starting to see 2010 calendars already, and Mrs. Bobbins’ is one of the cutest I’ve seen yet.

Quite a Stitch: A Year of Mrs. Bobbins offers a Mrs. Bobbins cartoon for each month of the year. The cartoons of her wacky projects – a quilted swimsuit, Halloween costume, and Valentine’s quilt will keep you laughing all year long. Hang this calendar where you can see it when you sew – it will feel like your own crazy quilting friends are right there with you!

I’ll be adding these to the website tonite, or you stop by the shop when you get a chance and take a closer look – you’re sure to find one of these new arrivals that is right up your alley!