Show and Tell from Second Saturday Sampler June 2011

Madeline with her first sweatshirt jacket project.

Gerry’s finished Sampler quilt

Staff member, Janice, with the button bouquet she made for her daughter to carry at her wedding rehearsal this week-end. The cutest bouquet ever!

Doris with three miniature sunbonnet sue quilts. She bought the fabric preprinted. Papa bear’s quilt, mama bear’s quilt and teeny-tiny baby bear’s quilt!

Doris with one of the bears she makes. The head comes off this bear to reveal a wooden cylinder-type needle case.

You can sign up now for the September International Sue Block of the Month

Don’t forget to sign up for the International Sunbonnet Sue Block of the Month! It starts in September and will include Sues from 25 countries including these two from Egypt and France. Cutest Sues ever! Check the website or stop by the shop to sign up.

Newest Trunk Show

Stop by the shop to view these two great quilts from Nancy Mahoney. The quilts are both in her new book “Treasures From the 30’s”.

Sue Spargo Atlanta Visit - wrap up

We enjoyed having Sue Spargo in town! Mary Ellen was lucky enough to get into one of her classes and this is her class project so far. She had so much fun embellishing that she has plans for a lot more! Use any bits and pieces of trims you have at home, or stop by the shop and check out the Sue Spargo trims we have available if you’d like to try this project yourself.  Picture in previous blog post.

Mystery Quilt Show and Tell

Alysia joined a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt project and this is the stunning result. The mystery pattern is named Roll, Roll Cotton Boll and includes 600 Half-Square Triangles. Good thing it was offered as a mystery quilt – no one would have tackled that many Half-Square Triangles otherwise, right?! What a great quilt, Alysia!

Pixels and Quilts

We were blown away by this quilt made up of tiny little squares. Jane made it for her granddaughter, Lexi. What an accomplishment!

Stars Around the Garden Quilt

Susan brought in her Stars Around the Garden masterpiece. Gorgeous!

Last Call for Friendship Strip Swap

How long would it take you to raid your stash and cut a 2 1/2" strip from forty two fabrics?  FOREVER! and what a mess.  How long would it take you to cut 42 2 1/2" strips from a 3 yard piece of current reproduction style fabric?  Less than 30 minutes, no mess.  If you participate in the Little Quilts Reproduction fabric Friendship Strip Swap, that is exactly what you will get.  Strips are due in by Friday June 24th.  You can do as many sets of 42 as you like.  You can swap them yourself on Tues. June 28th at the swap party, drop in between 10AM and 8PM or let us know you need us to swap them for you.  It is a do-it-yourself jelly roll.

Sue Spargo visiting Marietta

Sue Spargo will be an instructor and offering a lecture to the East Cobb Quilt guild this coming Thursday night, June 23 (evening meeting) and Friday June 24(day meeting). Details about times and place can be found at www.ecqg.com. Guests are welcome for $5. Don't miss out. We have all manner of Sue's books and the type of trims she uses to embellish her work to give it her signature style. On the table, as you enter the store, we have collected these great items. Books, and linen rick rack (how cool!) as well as trim with embroidered colorful designs on them. Don't miss this great person and teacher, if you are local. She has teaching engagements booked through 2013!

Hand-Piecing at its Best!

These beautiful blocks were hand pieced by one of our customers, Kathleen. She used Cindy Blackburg’s Mariner’s Compass stamps and Jo Morton fabrics. Hand piecing allows perfect accuracy in your stitching so that even complicated blocks like these come out perfect every time. And, if you’re not convinced about hand piecing, it only improves your hand quilting technique! We have a great hand piecing class if you’d like to give it a try.

Antique Two Color Quilt

 Staff Member, Linda Rice, brought in this quilt that she brought back from her family home in Maine. Beautifully done in pinks and in excellent condition, it’s an album quilt, circa 1853. What a treasure!

All Day Apron

Lynda has made a precious apron from the Indygo Junction pattern "All Day Apron".  Such an appropriate name.  She looks adorable.
Then we check her accessories.  Oh goodness.  She has on beaded Sunbonnet Sue and Bill.  One of a kind.  Wish the picture was better.

Blue Star Service Quilts - Panels Available

Blue star service quilts were introduced in WWI as a symbol of a child in the service and the tradition continues today! One of our staff members, Amanda, stitched two of these panels to honor her father-in-law who served in the Army and her husband who served in the Navy. They were both 19 years old in these pictures!   Karen, another staff member, stitched the panels in honor of her son Timothy who is serving in Afghanistan. Customer, Sue, made in honor of her son, Tyler, who is an Air Force pilot also serving in Afghanistan. Sue’s quilt is actually a “button” quilt which will allow her to change out the center panel and hang other seasonal panels making this a quilt for all seasons, but not until Tyler returns home safely!

If you’d like to make a blue star quilt, stop by the shop and pick up a panel which features the stars and the text for all the branches of service and we’ll give you a free “Light in the Window” pattern to make wall hangings like Karen’s. What a great way to honor loved ones serving on active military duty!

By Amanda

Karen's Quilts - pattern available

Sue's Creative Quilts

Blended quilt - show and tell

One of the four FINISHED (!) quilts Carol Ann brought in to show us. We love the blended look of this quilt and finished is SO GOOD!

Little Quilts - the place for swaps!

Look what a great job Anne did with her Bow Tie blocks from the Bow Tie exchange we did several months ago. Love that border!

New Little Quilts Swap - Friendship Strips

Buy three yards of a reproduction style fabric from Little Quilts.  Cut it into 2 1/2" strips.  Bring 42 strips (you may get 43, then keep one) back to Little Quilts by June 24th.  For each set of strips turned in, you will receive a ticket for the swap party, to be held 10AM - 8PM on Tues. June 28.  At that time you will collect forty two 2 1/2" strips, assorted, for each ticket you have.  Perfect for making scrap quilt projects.  You can make projects from any pattern designed for jelly rolls.  Laundry Basket Quilts has published a book called Friendship Strips and Scraps.  Most projects in this book use 1" or 1 1/4" strips.  You can cut your 2 1/2" strips in half and get 2 for one!  Here is a quilt, for inspiration from the book  We have it on display in the store now.

June Sweet Sixteen Applique Block

This is the fifth block of our Applique Block of the Month program.  Ahhh! lovely as usual.
If you are wishing you had signed up, you can still order the pattern and the last five months worth of kits to get on track.  The blocks get prettier and prettier.

Customer Show and Tell from May 2011 Second Saturday Sampler

 It was a cloudy day, threatening storms but that did not deter these talented customers. Enjoy.

Saturday Sampler block patterns made from the quilter's stash.

 Clever adaptations to the 10 minute table runner.  You too can get the pattern with purchase of fabric to make one.

 A quilt for the Quilts of Valor project.

 The quiltmakers first quilt!  Made from Moda Layer Cakes.

We sell the laminated fabric (great to wipe off spills stains etc) on the exterior of this bag.

Star Spangled Celebration

We are open our usual hours this Memorial Day weekend.  Saturday 10AM - 5PM, closed Sunday and open Monday May 30, 10AM - 5PM.
All patriotic fabrics are on sale at 20% off.  This includes the Liberty Ridge fabrics, including the flag panel print and the kit to make the quilt shown below. 
Also, please treat yourself to come and see us before Tues.  We have this quilt, "Star Spangled Celebration", designed and made by Silver Thimble Quilt Co. on display.  Pattern available for $20. 

This is a great time of year for thinking about Americana, flags and patriotism.  We owe our freedom to many.  Thank you to all who "Protect and Serve".

Star Spangled Celebration

and the very popular Liberty Ridge Quilt Kit

Fan Favorite

Karen came shopping with this fantastic bag. We had no trouble telling where her loyalties lie! Stop by and check out all our college fabric – make a bag for your favorite school.

Quilts Inspired By Mosaics

Janice's quilt is a stunner! Quilts are so much more beautiful in person than a photo (sorry) in a book.  The quilt came from a pattern in the Bella Bella - Stunning Designs from Italian Mosaics.

Patriotic

A gorgeous use of a wide row style directional print.  This fabric adds so much to this already beautiful and well executed quilt.

May Blocks of the Month

the beautiful Sweet Sixteen Applique Block of the Month

and the Second Saturday Sampler Block

Green Thumb?

Muriel loves it when mail order customers come into the shop – she can put a face with a name! One of those customers, Denissa from North Carolina, was in the shop this morning trying to find a border for this beauty. Of course, we had just what she was looking for! She picked a large Kaffe Fassett floral and now we can’t wait to see the finished project. For those of you who participated in the Cinnamon Stick exchange, Denissa said she and her friends are still exchanging Half-Square Triangles among themselves. Denissa made the “Tree of Life” quilt with part of her exchange blocks and she invented a basket block using more of the blocks. We’ll share those pictures with you when Denissa gets them to us.

The Good News and The Bad News

The good news is that Mary Ellen snagged some photos of new quilts coming up in Jo Morton's new book - Banner Day - AND that you can pre-order it with us so you get a copy hot off the presses.  $27 (call and ask to be added to the customer list).  The bad news is that she is using her iPhone and the quilts were moving dureing a Schoolhouse presentation at Spring Quilt Market.  Blutrry photos may be better than none at all.

Good Deed, Girl Scouts!

Nine year old Meghan, of Girl Scout Troop 2638, brought in 17 pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer.  She made 10 of them herself.  She will get her Sew Simple badge and her Bronze Award.  Her six year old sister, Sarah, is pictured with her.  Cute and generous.  Applause.

If you would like to follow her example, here is a link to the information.  We are a collection site for the pillowcases.

Second Saturday Sampler Show and Tell

Second Saturday Sampler is THE place to be for great show and tell.  April was no exception.

A completed English Pathwasy Buck A Block quilt with a variation of two.  Julie confessed she wanted to make it queen sized, thought she had it all planned but had to make some last minute adaptations and add some fabrics.  Sound familiar?

A quilt made by .  The picture shows a stunning quilt.  If you can, zoom in on the picture to see how interesting the Australian aboriginal prints really are,  You can make a stunning quilt with big bold prints.  The outer border is cool the way she cut it.  It makes a swag without having to applique it. Genius!

A happy quilt and a happy quiltmaker.  Darlene made this quilt using a pattern for jelly rolls in the book,  Scrap Quilt Surprises by Kim Brackett.  

A very clever addition to an Eleanor Burns' Irish Chain.  Look closely in the center for an embroidery clover which adds someting so individual.  Great idea.

Grandma's Pride and Joy

Aren’t these the two most gorgeous models ever?!! Vanessa and Helena are wearing dresses made for them by their grandmother, Joan, from Little Quilts fabric. So cute!