Fresh Fabric!

A little more enticement for you!  These are some fresh new fabrics on our shelves, just looking for a good home with you!

Please don't disappoint them!

I might be highly influenced by the hexagons in this group, I seem to be drawn to that shape!  But this is just the right blend of traditional and a little more contemporary influence.  That makes it just about right!

Beaujolais by Sue Daley for Penny Rose Fabrics

And another traditional group designed by Sue Daley, reflecting some civil war-era influence in both the colors and the style.

The Era of Jane Collection by Penny Rose Fabrics

And some bright, fresh prints for all kinds of uses!

Butterfly Garden by Dena Designs for Free Spirit Fabric

Do you know Cotton + Steel?

This is an off-shoot of RJR Fabrics, long known in the quilting fabric world back when they were all about Thimbleberries.  Now there's a blast from the past!  And, the good news is that Lynette Jensen, aka Queen of Thimbleberries, is coming out of retirement!

In the meantime, a new small group of gifted designers have combined talents to create some great new updated fabrics.  Please visit their website to learn about them!

We have had a small collection of fabrics from Cotton+Steel, and the plan is to expand that.  The bolts shown below are our newest acquisitions---

I love the fact that there is a range of blue in the picture, and I would love to put them all together in a quilt!  They have brought back some metallics in a tasteful way, the stripe that is second from the bottom is gold metallic.  What would you do with Cotton+Steel?

A Little Temptation!

I have spent a little time working on some new bag samples for the store.  These are actually supposed to be part of the "Bag Window" that will be displayed for June and part of July.  Normally, I would be doing these at the last minute.  For some strange reason, I'm making them now!  Must be a sign of the apocalypse!

Anyway, instead of stashing these away until June, I wanted to show these pictures now because these would make some cute gift ideas for Mother's Day.  They take minimal time and minimal supplies.  The key element is the mesh fabric.  This is not the stiff stuff mesh like a window screen.  This is the soft mesh like that used in some athletic items.

Peek A Pouch by Sisters' Common Thread
8 1/2" x 6" x 2"

Jiffy Bags-Tall by Sisters' Common Thread
8 1/2" x 7" x 2 1/2" and 10" x 9" x 3 1/2" 

The Peek A Pouch requires just one fat quarter of fabric.  The zipper for that one is just the standard 14" zipper that we have in many colors and use in many little bags.  I did diverge from the directions just slightly, I used Soft & Stable instead of fusible batting in my sample.  I will probably make another one with the batting for comparison.  The Soft & Stable worked out great, but do remember to use your walking foot.  It stands up on its own and has room for all kinds of necessary items.  

The Jiffy Bags require only the mesh for the body of the bag, making it entirely transparent.  My adult kids love this kind of bag for packing in their suitcases.  They will put their underwear in one, socks in another, cords in another.  The pattern does call for a sport weight zipper for these, and that's what I used, but that could be replaced by the lighter weight zipper as used in the Peek A Pouch.  I used pretty ribbons to make the handle and grip at the ends of the zipper, but you could also make your tabs of fabric folded and topstitched.  These don't stand up on their own, I have them stuffed and propped for their picture.

If these look interesting to you, just ask us for the patterns.  We have some mesh packages in a couple of colors, and we will look for more colors, too.  And in June, look for these samples in the display window, along with more ideas.

The Big Book of Feet

Let's talk feet.

Lots of feet.

Have you ever heard the phrase "Use the right tool for the job"?

In our world, that means "the right foot for the job"!

This book is like the encyclopedia of Bernina feet.

Individuals of a certain age still understand what encyclopedias are good for!  

Besides stacking them up for a booster seat, that is!

If you are looking for an excellent reference tool chock full of information about feet, their uses, attachments and tips for getting the most out of your sewing arsenal, then this is the book for you!

It is loaded with color pictures to help you make sense of what's going on with those odd looking but precious attachments for your Bernina!  The Sew Center has books on hand, and you can ask any of our staff about the book because we were all gifted one for Christmas.  It's just that good!

The book is $99.99 and worth every penny!  
Call 651-429-6500 to purchase your own copy.  
Make it #1 on your wish list for birthday, 
Mother's Day and Christmas in 2016!

Employee Trunk Show

We have some fun things to share with our customers, mostly things that you have not seen before because they are from our own private collections!  From different times in our lives, for different reasons, these are some of our favorite things!

This photo slideshow created with Smilebox

Our Retreat in Review

As explained in our last post, we had a wonderful employee retreat to attend, and lots of stitchin' was accomplished!  Even knitty stitchin'!  Here's a fun group picture--

From the top left:  Anne, Diane, Pam, Eileen, Kristina, Karen,
Jeanne, Tammy, Nancy, Linda E., Linda P., Sue, Sharon and Barb

Missing from that photo are Debbie and Laurel (hiding behind the lens!) and Beth and Marlene, both out of state in warm climates!  

Some pictures of our works-in-progress--

Modern Logs by Christa Quilts.  This is Debbie's quilt for the next Easy As Pie class.
It's way outside her box!

During our fat quarter game, we were very focused!  

Karen learned how to use the serger, thanks to Jeanne's help.
Receiving blankets, which means the Karen will soon be receiving the title of grandma!
And possibly dreaming of owning a serger?!

This is a quilt that Linda E. was making, it uses flannels that look "suedeish", probably not a real word, but it is a really cool quilt!  We have coordinated packs of the flannels for purchase, and I will find out where her pattern came from.

This little doll reigned over the sewing room, staring down anyone within range!  And Jeanne, who is hiding behind the machine, made a fabulous little backpack for her!  She also made a little ruffly skirt for her granddaughter and one to match for the doll.

Sharon showed us her embroidered quilt top, a pattern by Crabapple Hill.
 Sharon is a pro at embroidery, and teaches our classes.
There are a lot of ladies who love embroidery!

Laurel worked and worked and worked on these blocks!  And the result is fabulous!  Soon to be a class, I am told!

Barb worked on some beading, look at that neat and tiny little chain she made!