Happy New Year from Little Quilts!

We hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Day!  Where were you 10 years ago when we were all so worried about Y2K?

It's crazy to look back and see how far we've come!  Little Quilts has grown so much with adding new fabric lines like Amy Butler, Michael Miller and Kaffe Fassett while keeping true to our "roots" with Reproduction lines like Jo Morton and Judy Rothermel.  We've got new hobbies like rug hooking, needle punch and wool applique.

We hope we've been able to inspire you over this last decade and will continue to offer project ideas, tutorials, classes and a friendly staff to welcome you.

Happy New Year!  Oh, and just one more thing... even though the store was closed yesterday for new year's, quilting and fabric fairies must have stopped by and given the store a makeover for 2010!

Pictures.................coming.................soon..................

Congratulations to our Blog Winner.....

Sharon won our Amy Butler bundle! 

It is so fun to read all of your comments!  I personally LOVE pinks/greens, blues/browns, pinks/browns... and anything that has an Amy butler feel to it! 

With the New Year upon us.... we hope you have some finished projects in your future so you can make room for all the new projects you'll be starting in the New Year!

Happy Quilting,
Little Qulits

End of the Year Sale 25% off

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! Our newsletter is at the printer and will be here next week. You can see all the classes and samples on the web page now with lots of new classes and clubs! Our Year End Sale goes til Dec 31st at 5pm. Everything (fabric, notions, batting, etc.) in the store is 25% off (few exceptions). Our Christmas fabrics, ornaments, gifts and kits are 40% Off. We hope you'll stop in for some of these goodies.

Mary Ellen's family has grown

LAYLA ARDEN VON HOLT

Mary Ellen's son, Chris and his wife, Megan welcomed thier 1st child December 16th... Layla Arden was the perfect Christmas gift for the family!  Liam (7) is thrilled with his new baby girl cousin!  Rylen (almost 4) is not into girls right now and said, "I didn't order a baby girl cousin, I only like big girls like Mommy & Nana!"  We're sure he'll come around.... soon maybe?

Liam, Rylen & Layla

Daddy & Layla

Brady & Layla

Rylen, Aunt Laura, Layla & Liam

Proud Grandparents ~ Grampy & Nana holding Layla

Christmas News... End of the Year Sale... Give Away?

I hope you've all recovered from the holidays!  I know I enjoyed this season and one of my favorite parts was welcoming my new niece (Mary Ellen's 1st grand-DAUGHTER!)

Layla Arden was born December 16th.  Here she is with her daddy (Chris), Mary Ellen's son, and her proud Aunt Laura (Mary ellen's Daughter.)  I am THRILLED to have girl projects to work on for her!  After 7 years of boy stuff, I am in heaven drowning in spink in my sewing room!!

Right now we're having our end of the year sale... almost everything int he store is 25% off!  We've got to make room for some great new things arriving in 2010!  Use this time to finish up some projects you've had sitting around and to organize your sewing rooms to make room for NEW projects!

And speaking of new things for 2010... on of my favorite fabrics to work with are the Amy Butler and Michael Miller prints!  They are so fun, colorful and versatile!  I am working on a laptop case from an Amy Butler pattern we have at the store.  (Don't worry, I'll post pictures when it's done!)  For all you Amy Butler fans... we're givine away a bundle of 6 fat quarers of an assortment of Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics.  All you have to do to enter to win is post a comment to this post telling us what your favorite color combinations are to work with.  I personally love blues!  I also think pinks and greens work so well together!

Good Luck!

Laura

The deadline to enter is Wednesday at 5pm...

International Winners will pay shipping ~ Anonymous comments not eligible

Alternate Colorways for Second Saturday Sampler - December

Amy Butler Trunk Show

Attention Amy Butler Fans... our trunk show just arrived and there are some great project ideas to see. The Amy Butler Software by The Electric Company has 22 unique & stylish projects for the home: 8 quilts, 3 table runners, 7 pillows, 1 floor cushion and 3 bags. Plus 9 bonus projects. All with clear, step-by-step illustrated sewing instructions for all skill levels. Print patterns, yardage charts, and sew.  We have the software for sale at the store.

Call 770-578-6727 or email the store if you are interested in purchasing this software.

Scissor clips and key fobs

What a great stocking stuffer!  My daughter, Laura, makes these scissor clips and key fobs.  The clips are perfect for your little scissors and you can wear your clip while you're relaxing working on your hand quilting or applique and your scissors will always be right there when you need them!  The clips are retractible.  The key fobs make great last minute gifts and stocking stuffers for friends, your kids' teachers or quilt quild pals.  You can view more personalized gifts on Laura's Website and Email Laura if you would like to order some.  She made these with some of our Tanyard Creek fabric.

Christmas at Little Quilts

Christmas is right around the corner!  We've been as busy as Santa's elves getting the store ready for the Holidays!  Take a look at some of the great things we have for Christmas.....

We have a large assortment of ornaments to add to your tree or buy a few for special gifts for friends and family. The stuffed bear ornaments are adorable. We also have bird ornaments and angel ornaments.

Take this Santa home to welcome holiday friends to your home. The sleds are available in several different sizes and would look great under your tree.

Need a quick gift for a friend? We have gift items that will fit the bill! We love this cute collection of notepads! And if you're looking for a unique packaging idea or a new project box, you have to check out the little "lunch box" Christmas tins. We also have gift bags with a sample of all the scents from Mary Ellen's Best Press. Just a few of the great stocking-stuffer ideas at Little Quilts!

Call (770-578-6727) or Email Us if you'd like to purchase any of these adorable Christnmas items.

Baltimore Album by Judy Gray

Judy Gray just finished her Baltimore Album quilt and it is stunning! It was hand appliqued and hand quilted (check out her beautiful quilting stitches!) and is about 90" square. Several of the blocks in her quilt and the flying goose border are her own original designs. This quilt is truly a work of art!

This is a close-up of one of our favorite blocks in Judy's masterpiece! Look closely and you'll see that this block also serves as her quilt label. Judy learned to applique from Wanda Hizer and many of these blocks were pieced in Wanda's year-long applique class.

Judy is currently in the Advanced Baltimore class where she learned the techniques to finish the quilt.

Fall Sale

Christmas has arrived in the store (pictures coming soon) and now we're having a Fall Sale!  We still have a nice selection of fall fabrics available on sale at 40% off. It's a great time to buy backings for all of those fall projects you're finishing up!

More Show-n-Tell... bring in your projects for us to see!

Carol Ann Holton was saving this beautiful fruit fabric for just the right pattern. We think she found it with the Harriett Tubman pattern from Voices of the Past series!  Doesn't this make a stunning quilt for a bedroom?!  We love her choice of coordinating fabrics that compliment the fruit fabric so well!  Great job Carol Ann!

Show-N-tell at Little Quilts

We love to see your projects!!

It's always fun to see finished quilts. Pam Wiegand from Gainesville GA shared her recently completed Kaffe Fassett quilt top. She came in to select a backing fabric. She searched and searched for the fabrics to attempt to make it with many of the same fabrics as the original in a Kaffe Fasset book. You'll agree - this is a stunning quilt made with half square triangles and set on point with sashing strips. Great job Pam! She's switching gears and came in to collect fabrics for a William Morris type applique proejct. We can't wait to see it!

And the winner is......

Congratulations Pokey!  It was so fun to read about what inspires you all as quilters.

My inspiration is looking at antique quilts and trying to reproduce them with today's fabrics.  I started quilting in 1976 after I saw Jinny Beyer's Radiant Star Quilt.  There were no books and patterns on quiltmaking at that time so I learned from reading magazines and cutting out squares.  Now we have such a wealth of information from books, patterns, and quilt shows!  I'm happy to be a quilter now with all these resources, rather than back in 1976!

Keep Quilting!
Mary Ellen

November Alternate Blocks - Second Saturday Sampler

Tanyard Creek Give Away!

We hope you're enjoying our new line of fabric as much as we are!  The Tanyard Creek line is so versatile and can be used for so many different projects.  It's time to GIVE some of it AWAY!  The winner will receive a bundle of 6 fat quarters AND a free Hospitality pattern!  Each comment enters you in our random drawing.  The contest runs through Monday (11/16) night and the winner will be chosen randomly!

Post your comment on:

Who has been your biggest influence as a quilter?

One entry per blogger ~ International winners will pay shipping ~ Anonymous entries not entered

So Many Trunk Shows, So Little Time....

This must be the season for Trunk Shows!  We've got 3 fabulous trunk shows going on now at the store.  We hope you can stop by and see these great things in person; and if you're visiting our blog from far away, enjoy the pictures and project ideas!

VINTAGE CHRISTMAS by Wagon West Designs

"Wish You Were Here" was inspired by the author's grandmother's kisses at the bototm of her cards and letters.  What a perfect quilt to make for that special someone you wish you could be with over the holidays!  This quilt measures 86"x86".  The book, Vintage Christmas, is for sale at the store for $25 and has tons of other great projects!

"Wish You Were Here" in pinks and browns

ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

Itty Bitty Quilts

The 3 itty bitty quilts in this pattern were made using the "Woolies" line of flannels by Bonnie Sullivan and Maywood Studio.  They are adorable and come in 3 different itty bitty sizes.  Flower Baskets 10 1/2 x 12 1/2, Cherries 10 x 11 1/2 and Bars & Vines 9 3/4 x 11.  The pattern is available for $9.50 and includes includes directions for making all 3 of these adorable itty bitty quilts.

Also from ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT

Needle Keeper (left) & Silhouette Pincushion (right)

These adorable patterns also from All Through the Night include directions for making these cute needle keeper and pincushion; perfect to keep by your machine so you always have a needle or pin when you need it!  The needle keeper measures 4" x 5" and it's the perfect gift for your stitching friends. Can be made from wool scraps and embellished with simple embroidery stitches.  The Silhouette Pincushion is 4" x 6" and is perfect to make from wool and homespun. Fill with crushed walnut shells to keep your needles sharp.

BAREROOTS

Candle Mats
Bareroots shares with us their mini votive candle mats that finish about 10" x 10". Make these with your wool scraps but we'll also have kits available for them.  These also make the perfect gift for friends. Easy to fuse and buttonhole stitch or tack stitch with wool floss or embroidery floss.

As you can see, we've got lots of great thinks to see and hopefully inspire you for the upcoming holiday season!  After all, the holidays are right around the corner.....

Fundraiser Quilt from Srapbasket Quilts

This quilts was made using a pattern in the book, Scrapbasket Quilts.  It was miade using 2 1/2inch strips.  Linda Wirtz made this musically themed quilt for a fundraiser at her son's school.  The lucky winner was a band parent!

Josephine's Sampler with Tanyard Creek

What a great pattern designed by Laurie Smith from My Heart To Your hands.  This model was made by Linda Rice using the Tanyard Creek line by Little Quilts.  We have kits available to purchase.

Flag Day Farm Quilt

This Flag Day Farm Quilt was made by our friend Colette for her 10 year old granddaughter for Christmas. It's so much fun when customers bring in their quilts or projects for Show & Tell. We love seeing them and sharing them with all of you. It's from a pattern from Minnick and Simpson whose trunk show we have through this weekend with quilts from their Wiscasset line for Moda.