My New Obsession

I have recently become a tad bit obsessed with French General. For those of you who don't know what French General is, they (Kaari Meng) design fabrics and write books, among other things, that are based on vintage, French textiles and notions. Their books "Home Sewn" and "Handmade Soirees" have become two of my favorites! The former because of the adorable patterns and interesting facts about vintage textiles, and the latter just because of the pictures : )

I'm telling you all of this because today we are finally getting in the new fabric collection from French General called 'Maison de Garance.' I worked on getting the pictures ready to put up on the website yesterday so that they would be ready to upload as soon as the collection arrived, and let me tell you, I already love these fabrics! Unlike their last collection we carried, 'Rural Jardin,' which I also loved, this collection is a bit darker, with beautiful shades of red, brown and cream. Here is a small taste until I can get the pictures onto the website:

Jusqu'a la prochaine fois (until next time)...

This One's for the Kids

If you're looking for a great gift to give a baby and/or child or if you secretly long for your very own minky quilt, we have the perfect solution(s)! We just received these adorable kits! The ones in the boxes make up simple strip quilts made from minky. They are available in either kid or adult sizes. The ones below, wrapped in just the bow, make up a blanket(the solid color minky) with just a binding(the minky wrapped around the solid color). They really are cute!!

(minky strip quilt kits for both kids and adults)
(minky blanket kits for kids or kids at heart)

If you're looking for something for a child or teenager, but think the minky may be too juvenile, we also just received 'Happy" from Me and My Sister. The collection is full of bright colors and fun patterns!

Finally, don't forget about this month's fat quarter drawing! Put in first quality 100% cotton quilting fabric, rolled and secured with a rubber band, with your name and phone number included, in the designated basket at The Shoppe. For every fat quarter dropped in the basket by customers, The Shoppe will add another fat quarter. Add as many fat quarters as you like. At the end of the month, we will draw three names and divide the fat quarters equally amongst the winners. Good luck!

Until next time...

New Fabrics!

The UPS man had a very busy week! We got lots of boxes the last few days, all FILLED with new fabrics!! I kind of feel sorry for him since it's so hot and he always looks so tired when he leaves, but not sorry enough to distract from how excited we are about getting in new stuff! That NEVER gets old! This weeks arrivals included: 'Remembrance' by Jan Patek, 'Annandale' by Jo Morton, and 'Colorful Christmas' from Riley Blake.

Aside from staring at and fondling the new fabric, we did get some work done. We cut kits for all of the patterns picutured below, using fabrics from Jan Patek's 'Remembrance' line.










We also plan to make adorable pillowcase kits with Riley Blake's 'Colorful Christmas' fabrics. They would make great gifts for kids! Here's a sample:


We would also like to congratulate Margie Keller, Julie Miller and Sigrid Wilcox! They are the September winners of our monthly fat quarter drawing. October's drawing has now begun. Bring in as many fat quarters as you'd like, with your name and contact information attached, and at the end of the month, we will match however many fat quarters are in the basket. We will then draw three names and those three people will split the fat quarters evenly. Good luck!

Finally, check out the class schedule. Whitney has added some new classes/clubs.

Until next time...

Post Shop Hop

The 2010 Shop Hop (or the 'Sock Hop' as my grandma referred to it as all week) is over and boy was it fun! This was our first year participating in the event, so we really didn't know what to expect. Every day was BUSY and non-stop. We really enjoyed seeing many of our loyal customers and meeting tons of new ones! I will say, though, that that much excitement can be EXHAUSTING! This was especially the case for my grandma. We couldn't have gotten through last week without her help (she was the demo lady for all of you who came through), but it really wore her out. I managed to sneak in a picture of her 'break time.' She claims she was just "resting her eyes," but she was in that same position for quite some time.

For those of you who participated in the Hop, our version of the mystery quilt is now available to see in the Shoppe. Our friend Lin Ochs did a fabulous job piecing it! Thanks Lin and thanks to all of you who visited us : )

In other news, we want to congratulate Cheryl Arnold for winning the "Two in the Bush" pattern by correctly pointing out Whitney's mistake. Good eye Cheryl!



Also, Whitney will be adding a few more classes to the schedule in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out. They are filling up fast!

Until next time...

Whitney's Been Busy

Since Whitney is by far the best piecer out of the three of us, she is usually given the task of making store samples (around here, if the other two find out you're good at something or at least better than them at doing it, then that something becomes YOUR job, so the trick is to just be 'OK' at everything - obviously Whitney didn't learn that lesson in time). Over the past couple of weeks she has pieced and quilted two quilts. The first is just a big block quilt using Holly Taylor's 'Classics' collection. The best part of the quilt is what she put on the back. She used some of Moda's fireside fabric. If you don't know what that is, the best way I can describe it is a blend of minkee and flannel. It's not quite as soft as minkee, but it's definitely softer than flannel. It would be great to cuddle up with as soon as it cools down around here!


(notice the unfinished binding - that's a Whitney AND Dee trademark)


(this is the fireside backing quilted with a fly fishing pattern)

The second quilt she made would be just as nice to cuddle up with. It is Bonnie Sullivan's 'Two in the Bush' pattern, using various flannels. It's really pretty and Whitney did a great job matching up all of those points, but she did make one mistake. If you think you know what error she made, let us know, and one lucky person with the right answer will get the pattern for free, compliments of Whitney. Contact us (come in, call us, email us, or comment below) by September 18th to be eligible to win the pattern.



Kits are available for both the big block quilt and 'Two in the Bush.'

We have also received a couple new collections since I blogged last. 'Warm Woolen Mittens,' a flannel line from Maywood Studios and 'Spice Chest' by Jo Morton both arrived last week! Pictures of both are up on the website

Until next time...

Look What We Got!!

I can officially go home happy today and it's only 10:30! We received a box from White Bear Lake, Minnesota first thing this morning full of BEAUTIFUL wools : ) It really is sad how excited we get over such a thing. Here's a sample of what we got(before the three of us and Cheryl and Lin combed through it):





Until next time...

Sample Mood

Something came over me sometime around the middle of last week, and I was suddenly in the mood to make up some store samples. Nothing too big or complicated, just quick and easy. I decided on some new tea towels. We have had the same ones hanging up by the register for awhile now and we recently got in some cute tea towel patterns by Primitive Gatherings, so how could I resist? Each pattern contains instructions for six different tea towels, so I picked my favorite from each. They are not yet stitched down, but I figure that since I picked out the towels and fabrics, traced the designs onto Steam-a-Seam, and ironed everything down, it's only fair that my mom or Whitney do the stitching. That of course means that they will never get done, but this should give you a good idea of what they're supposed to look like:



We also decided late last week that kits for the Diamond Delight table runner would be a cute idea and since we now have the Holiday Flourish 3 collection, it worked out perfectly! Now we have these:



Which make up a version of this:



Until next time...

P.S. Perfect timing! The UPS man just came in and delivered the 'Punctuation' line from Moda. It's an adorable collection of 1930s reproduction prints. Check the website for pictures.