Sweet Home Quilt Co.

One of my favorite finds at Quilt Market is the Heartfelt Home collection by Wing and a Prayer Design and Timeless Treasures. The primary focus of the collection is two printed word panels, Heartfelt Celebration, focusing on the home and family, and Heartfelt Inspirations, with a focus on blessings and inspirational quotes. Each panel includes multiple project panels that can be worked into unique projects, which would be perfect for wedding gifts, housewarming gifts, or for those times when you want to give someone an uplifting gift…just because.

We have the panels available separately so you can create your own unique designs, and we also have kits available that include the individual panel and the companion pattern with project instructions from Wing and a Prayer Design.

Individual panels available here, and Kits are available here.

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

….or else my sewing machine was possessed by aliens overnight! Yesterday I was wrestling with some thoughts/decisions, and decided a little bonding time with my sewing machine was in order. Usually when I’m besieged by demons or dilemmas, a little quilting therapy works wonders!

I started this VERY simple quilt sample, which was already cut out. All I had to do was sew, which is what I needed – mindless sewing so I could think about other things. The top went together without a hitch, but because I was running up and down the stairs (I sew upstairs in the classroom) all afternoon dealing with issues and helping customers, I didn’t have time to get the borders on before I went home last night. No biggie, I thought, I’ll just come in early and get the borders on, give the top a good pressing and get the backing ready so it can go to the quilter. I estimated a half hour at most – the borders were already measured, cut and ready to stitch on.

Well, that estimated half hour of work turned into almost three hours! I swear I ripped those borders off no less than two times (each one!) and I still wasn’t entirely happy with them when I finally got them all on. It was as if my sewing machine had a mind of its own, and its mind wasn’t on sewing those borders! I couldn’t keep the machine threaded for one thing. You know how sometimes you’re stitching along and then realize you’ve been out of bobbin thread for a while? That’s what would happen only it was the top thread, not the bobbin.  And then the feed dogs were pulling to the left so I had to sew very slowly and pin, pin, pin just to get a reasonably accurate 1/4 inch seam. But it is finally done, now that I’ve used up half the day trying to sew four little seams!  My sewing machine has been admitted to the hospital, but no diagnosis yet. Pat’s advice was to just go buy a new machine! I can assure you that is not going to happen!

Sorry for the yucky photo of the sample - it was cloudy here this morning and the lighting upstairs was really bad. It really is straight, but I just threw it up on the wall to quickly snap the picture. The quilt also looks more mint green in the photo than it is. The fabric line is Kiwi by Timeless Treasures – the slide show below is a better representation of the colors.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The pattern is “Fresh Vanilla” from the BHG Quilts and More, Summer 2009 issue.  We have the Kiwi fabric collection in stock, as well as a few remaining copies of the magazine. This would be a quick and easy quilt to whip together to send off with a college student to brighten a dorm room. (Without the issues I had, it realistically could be made in 2 or 3 hours!)

After wrestling with the sample, I promptly poured a box of cereal in the floor while fixing my ‘delayed’ breakfast…I think I’ll go back home and crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head until this passes! Hope you’re having a better day!

The latest fabric collection from Karen Montgomery is called Counterpoint by Timeless Treasures. Soft and contemporary in soothing tones of blue and white, the patterns are mirror images in just the two colors.

We also have a quilt kit from these fabrics that just may be my most favorite sample we’ve ever done!  The quilt itself is so fresh and clean looking, and our sample has been beautifully machine quilted by local longarm quilter Ardis Young. Reflections is 60″x80″ with a gently scalloped border. Kit is $69.99, available here.

This time of year I feel real empathy for our UPS man. All of the orders I had on hold until after the dreaded year-end inventory have started to pour in, and he’s definately feeling the strain! I thought I’d give you a look at some of the newest arrivals just to whet your appetite!

First up are new additions to our Black & White selection. Several of these are fun motifs – musical notes and keyboards and even recipe cards! – while others are more graphic and elegant. See the first one on the left? It reminds me of flocked velvet and you don’t realize it’s even cotton until you reach out and touch it! Not shown is a black and white floral that we’ve added to our wide backings selection (just one of several wide backings we’ve recently added.)

Hello Betty is a well-done 40′s retro line from Moda. I see some really cute aprons and totes from this line. We also have jelly rolls and the all new Honey Buns in this line. What’s a Honey Bun? Moda introduced these at Fall Market – little cousin to the 2 1/2-inch Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns are strip rolls just 1 1/2 inches wide. A terrific new sample is in the works with the Hello Betty Honey Buns!

A favorite find from Fall Market  is a new fabric company, StudioE. This premier collection is called Enchantment and it is much softer and more feminine than this picture shows. Beautiful paisleys, florals and stripes in soft pastel colors – can Spring be far behind???  More fun (and different!) samples are in the works using this line.

Just in today (and still in the boxes!) is a fun new line from Sandy Gervais for Moda called  Zippity Do Dah! Reds, blue and cream prints in fun geometrics, florals and funky stripes with a great panel, too. Jelly rolls, Honey Buns, Layer Cakes and charm packs, too, plus two wide backings with this group.

We’ll be working hard in the next few days to get things rearranged in the shop to make room for these new lines, as well as the many others that are due in at any time. We’re moving things around and changing out samples after a thorough cleaning after inventory was done, so the shop is in somewhat of a disarray at the moment. But the fabric is just as beautiful! So overlook the mess, and come see the new stuff!

As Gretchen would say “Bad Melisa is at it again!”