Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Mary Ellen is a featured guest Blogger... did someone say GIVE AWAY?

Mary Ellen is the featured Quilting Gallery Guest Blogger today!  Click the link to read her post.  It should be up on the Quilting Gallery Blog today or tomorrow for sure!

The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming... Spring is in the air over here and we're in the mood for a GIVE AWAY!  Share with us your Spring projects and you'll be entered to win an autographed copy of our "Wildflowers" booklet by Little Quilts and a Spring Towel Kit which comes with a towel, fabric and ric-rac to make an adorable kitchen towel!


Leave a comment with this post and share with us what Spring projects you're working on!  Our winner will be selected (at random) on Sunday, April 4th so make sure you post your comment before then!

Anonymous entries are not eligible.  International winner will pay shipping.  Winner will be notified by email so if you do not have a blogger profile, please leave your email address in your comment so we can contat you if you win.

Friday, March 26, 2010

And the Shop Hop Winner is.....

The Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop concluded at a gathering at the Intown Quilters shop in Decatur.  Here is a picture of Mary Ellen preparing to read the name of the grand prize winner whose name was selected by a visitor from Nashville on Wednesday.  The grand prize winner from Alpharetta won a $100 gift certificate from the 11 participating shops.  Plans are already underway for the Quilt Shop Hop in 2011...  Mark your calendars for March 24-27, 2011.  If you've never attended a Quilt Shop Hop weekend, you need to plan to come next year.  And for all of you out of towners, it's the perfect excuse for a "girls road trip weekend!"

SAVE THE DATE MARCH 24-27, 2011
We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Shop Hop 2010 was a grand picnic of a time!

Well, we can't belive it's actually over but we had such a fantastic time at this year's Shop Hop.  Our theme was "As American As..."  We thought: What is more American than a good ole' fashion picnic!

Shop Hop took off on Thursday and our picnic table was all set up -- too bad we couldn't find the time to sit down and eat! Things were really "hopping" around here. We were just hoping Yogi Bear and Pooh Bear wouldn't run off with the pie.......

The store was packed with happy shoppers everday (Thursday through Sunday) and staff member Linda Rice was worried about where we were going to put everybody!

Valerie volunteered to be our Vanna White stamping everybody's passports.


Customer Marshall Dewell brought Show & Tell along to Shop Hop. He pieced the beautiful star blocks as part of a block of the month and set them with alternate log cabin blocks. Great quilt, Marshall!


Mary Ellen had fun visiting with everybody at the register. We stayed very busy throughout the weekend, but our picnic was set and Yogi Bear and Pooh Bear didn't run away with the pie after all!

Thanks to all of our hoppers for stopping by and shopping with us!  We hope you enjoyed your stay and will come back and see us again next year... well, please don't wait a year to come shop with us :)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

It's time for Show-N-Tell...

One of our customers brought in these beautiful appliqué blocks made from patterns in the book "When the Cold Wind Blows" by Barb Adams and Alma Allen. Very soft and chic!

Looking at this Benjamin Bunny baby quilt, it's hard to believe Josie Riesel just finished taking Muriel's beginner quilting series. Good job, Josie!


Christine Schardt loves making 10-minute table runners. Come into the shop if you haven't seen how to make these - they literally take 10 minutes or less. At that rate you can make a new one every day!


Remember the Bow Tie block swap we did last year? Here's a quilt that one of our customers made with part of her blocks.


Carol Pope just finished her Primitive Garden quilt from last year's Wool Appliqué BOM and it's amazing! Carol plans to hand quilt her masterpiece and will use a wool batting. What an achievement!


One of our Second Saturday Sampler BOM customers liked the February 2010 block, Jacob's Ladder, so much, she made a whole bunch of them in her own fabrics and turned it into this spectacular quilt! I'm guessing she didn't wait until midnight the night before second Saturday to get her blocks finished!



Come show us what you've finished!

March Sew in

If you haven't already done so, you're going to want to whirl right into Spring by signing up for our Sew-In on March 30. Bring your own UFO to finish or let the March wind blow some of those scraps out of your stash and make this cute "Whirlybirds" quilt. It's going to be a fun day with free patterns, games, prizes and lunch. We'll also be showing you many ways to make half-square triangles. So, don't miss out on the fun -- sign up soon!

Elizabeth Frolet... Embroidery Master

Elizabeth frolet teaches our Embroidery classes and she is a master! These are some of the projects she is currently working on.


One of Elizabeth's students in the Embroidery & Crazy Quilt Stitches class brought a feedsack fan block to practice her stitches on. We thought it was so cute!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Whimsical & fun home decor is here, from some local Atlanta original artists

These pieces are truly unique, wimcical and full of life!  They would make such a great addition to any home. 

V. Originals is the unique result of a blend of talents from some hot Atlanta chicks!  Each piece is hand worked, hand painted and individually detailed with love.  Theese talented artists hope their art makes you happy... it sure made us Little Quilts ladies smile!



The magnets feature cute whimsical phrases and will make a great little gift for a friend, neighbor or teacher!

These would make adorable mantle or window sill pieces!

Stop by the store and see these in person!  You will be happy you did!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Bar Harbor... Picnics... and Watermelon! We can't wait for Shop hop 2010!

The "Bar Harbor" fabrics designed by Minick & Simpson for Moda are here! We have the entire line of beautiful florals, stripes and prints in red, cream, blue, and black. The line also includes several solids, some great woven plaids, and panels with anchors. The user friendly fabric (formerly known as cheater fabric!) will have everyone thinking you made hundreds of half-square triangles -- it even fooled some of our staff!


We received the Bar Harbor trunk show from Minick & Simpson using these fabulous new fabrics.  Patterns are available for all these quilts along with a limited number of kits for Stars & Bars. Wouldn't these quilts look great at a beach house?

Cabin on the Shore

Nautical Flags

Ships Ahoy

Stars & Bars
We have a limited number of kits available for this quilt.  Call 770-578-6727 or email the store if you would like one.

Shop Hop is just around the corner and we're busy getting the shop ready. The theme this year is "As American As. . ." and here at Little Quilts we're celebrating Picnics. What's a picnic without a great basket? We're so lucky to have this great basket quilt here in time for the shop hop! The large quilt is a trunk show quilt from Diana McClun and Laura Nownes from their pattern "Going To Market". The wall size version was made from their pattern by our very own Barbara Barnes. Pick up a pattern during shop hop or, better yet, grab a kit for the wall size version!

We're so excited about our picnic theme for shop hop. You can't have a picnic without watermelon and you're going to want one of these watermelon quilts for all your next picnics! Simple log cabin blocks are all you need to finish this quilt in a hurry. Kits are available so stop by the shop or call 770-578-6727 or email us to reserve one.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Show and Tell: Wedding Gift














Denise Techmeier brought in this queen size nine-patch variation quilt that she made for a wedding gift.  What a beautiful gift!

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Brenda Papadakis Visits Little Quilts

Yes, the delightful Brenda Papadakis of Dear Jane fame visited Little Quilts last Saturday, along with her granddaughter, Hannah, the subject of Brenda's book and CD Dear Hannah:
















Brenda had lots of visitors, some of whom brought their Dear Jane books to be signed and/or their Dear Jane quilts, some in progress; Cindy Mickley brought her completed Dear Jane quilt, below:



















Isn't that a beautiful quilt? Cindy hand-quilted it, using a lap hoop, and has it displayed on a 1700s bed.


And look, here is Mary Ellen with Brenda; they are friends from way back:














They are holding Karen Mowery's Dear Jane quilt top, which has been in progress since 2008; the center portion is completed.  What a treat it was to have Brenda visit!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Time for some Show-n-tell

With so many wonderful customers, it's no wonder why we've seen some really great projects coming in for show-n-tell lately!  Take a look at some of these...

Marla Hutton brought in this beautiful blue and white quilt.


We get a lot of visitors from all over the country. Mary Seager and her husband from New Hampshire stopped by this week and shared this beautiful quilt top from a Jinny Beyer pattern. Stunning!


Joyce Challis has been very busy!  She just finished this beautiful batik sampler quilt.


Joyce also finished a Halloween table runner. She found the pattern in an old Fons & Porter magazine.


I told you Joyce has been busy... here's another one of her beautiful finished projects!  Thank you Joce for sharing all of these with us!


Rosie Stalit brought in this beautiful quilt to share. She used the "One Block Wonder" book -- hard to believe this is one simple block!  I am a huge fan of Amy butler (Laura is writing this) and I really want to try one of these quilts with one of the beautiful Amy Butler fabrics!  These are so unique and beautiful!  Great job, Rosie!



Trish Wys just finished this beauty last night! Pattern in Coastal Lilies by Minnick & Simpson and fabric is from the Minnick & Simpson fabric line, Wiscasset.


Here's another great quilt by Trish, this is a snowball quilt in beautiful pinks! Way to go Trish!



One of our favorite customers, Ursla, is now known as the ""queen of the scrap basket". Every time she comes in she buys a bagful of scraps from the $.25 basket and goes home to make absolutely fantastic scrap quilts like this one. No one can stuff a scrap bag like Ursula!  This is her original design, too! Keep I'm coming, Ursula!


And now for a wool show n tell....
Beginning rug hooker, Chris Johnson, brought in this recently finished hooked rug. Chris loves the pelicans in Florida and designed this pattern herself!  Way to go, Chris!

Thanks ladies!  They're all so beautiful!