Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Great last minute gift ideas

Many of you are probably getting into high gear for the upcoming holidays so we will get right to it.  This week we want to share some great last minute gifts.

Who couldn't use a weekly planner?  Especially when it's filled with photos of beautiful quilty creations.  We have a few Quiltmania agendas left - $9.95 each.
If the special person you're buying for is a Kansas Troubles fan, they will surely love Lynne's newest book "Cozy Quilts & Comforts".  The 96 pages are filled with a variety of quilts in typical Lynne style.  $27.99
Tins make a fun gift....especially when they're filled with a little surprise.  These could hold a sweet treat, a little sewing kit, notes of encouragement -- get creative and have fun filling them.  $2.25 each
These Moda tins are just the right size to hold a package of mini clips.  $9.20 (tin is $2.25; clips are $6.95)
If you're diabetic like Darlene, the contents of your tin could literally be life saving. 
Darlene recently completed the most adorable little Christmas wall hanging.  Your "Santa's Treats" kit includes the pattern, wool for applique, background cotton, binding and buttons.  Kit is only $15.95 - what a great stocking stuffer gift!
Last, but certainly not least, we have a few Yoko Saito signed copies of her Mystery Quilt pattern.  While Kay was at quilt market she asked Yoko to sign a few copies for us.  Please note the signature is near the end of the book instead of where we typically see signatures.  $29.95 - first come, first served
One administrative note - we will be closed from Monday, Dec 25 - Monday Jan 1.  We will reopen Tuesday, Jan 2.

We'll be back next week with a few more holiday ideas.  See you soon.

Debby & Darlene

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

New t-shirts - great holiday gifts

We had a great time at our holiday open house last Saturday - it was so much fun catching up with everyone.  We'd hoped for a crisp day but Mother Nature sent us a day in the 70s.  Here's a couple of photos from the event. 
We are very excited to share what we've been working on for a few weeks.  We now have long sleeve t-shirts and sweatshirts.  What a great unique Christmas gift for your special friend (or for yourself!)   These are not your usual t-shirts that shrink after the first wash and almost fall apart after the 5th wash.  They are comfort cotton shirts in a nice heavy weight with a stonewashed look.....perfect for these chilly days.

It was very difficult to choose colors but we thought brick, pepper and denim would best suit our look. It's almost impossible for us to get a photo with true colors so use your imagination and muddy the colors in the photo.  We have sizes ranging from medium to 3XL in both long sleeves and sweatshirts.  Email (info@sewgracefulquilting.com) or call 479-372-7403 and we'll check our inventory.

Long sleeve tees are $26.95; sweatshirts are $46.95
Our friend Jean A made us this sweet table runner.  The applique is a mixture of cotton and wool to give an added dimension to the piece.  The pattern is found in Quiltmania #98 which is included in your kit.  Your $32.95 kit includes the magazine, background cotton and cotton & wool for applique.  The black background fabric is a wonderful new fabric from Moda - it feels like wool but is cotton.

It's not too late to finish this for Christmas this year.....especially if you're staying home and stitching while wearing your new Sew Graceful shirt.......LOL.
If you'd prefer to use your own materials, we have the magazine available for $13.99. 
Ornaments obviously work well for Christmas trees, but how about tucking them in the bow on a holiday package?  They also work equally well when tied to a gift bag.  Debby made a set of darling ornaments which will work in a variety of applications.  Your $24.95 kit includes the Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine with patterns, background cottons, wool, buttons and 2 small embroidery hoops
We have more holiday themed projects to share with you.  We'll be back next week with more to inspire you.  See you soon.

Debby & Darlene

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Mary's Farmhouse

We are so excited to be able to share a photo of our 2018 $10 block of the month quilt, Mary's Farmhouse.  It finishes 36" x 36".  The background fabrics are cotton and the applique is wool (the cream background is cotton).  We are taking sign ups now and hope you'll plan to join in on the fun.  The program starts in January and runs for 12 months.  At the end of the program, you'll have all fabric and wool for the top (binding is included).

As Kay made the sample, she put together a list of optional supplies to help you as you make your quilt.  Soft Fuse to fuse the wool and cream background cotton - $19.95 per roll.  Chenille needles for stitching - $2 per pack.  Brown pigma pen for marking embroidery lines - $2.95.  We also offer a Valdani perle cotton #12 thead kit.  The first month you'll receive 2 ball and 3 bobbins for a cost of $12.90; the 2nd month you'll receive 1 ball and 5 bobbins for a cost of $9.95; subsequent month costs range from $0 - $4.

Let us know if you'd like to sign up by calling Darlene at 479-372-7403.  She will also take your order for optional items. 
Our first shipment of the winter issue of Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher magazine sold so quickly we didn't have time to announce the arrival in our newsletter.  This issue is packed with 29 projects.  Some of you are probably saying to yourself "I don't punch or cross stitch so why would I want this magazine?"......we've been known to take punch needle patterns and to convert them to applique....hint....hint.  $14.99
We love it when all the Quiltmania magazines arrive in one shipment.  So much oooohhhing and aaaahhhing.  If you're on auto ship, Debby is processing your order.  If you're not and would like to be, give us a call at 479-372-7403.

Quiltmania #122 - we are loving that cover quilt!  $13.99
Simply Vintage #25 - 20 projects for $17.99.....yeah.....that works out to less than $1 per pattern.
Simply Moderne #11  - cutest Christmas ornament quilt we've ever seen.  $17.99
In closing we'd like to share a couple more photos of the shop.  When we opened 6 years ago we were in the main building with an attached carport.  We quickly outgrew our space so had the carport enclosed. It became our classroom and storage space.....you guessed it......we quickly outgrew the storage space so had an addition added for storage.  On our corporate executive brother's advice, we now refer to our storage as our warehouse (it sounds so official).

Our carport/classroom now holds our wool, sale fabric, patterns (including all of Lynette Anderson's patterns), our last call baby crib which holds kits that are almost gone and our Ackfeld hangars on a repurposed cup holder.
Be sure to put our holiday open house on your calendar for Sat, Dec 2.  We will be closed next Thursday for Thanksgiving but open regular hours Tues & Sat (9:00-3:00).

See you soon.

Debby & Darlene

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Mark your calendars for our holiday open house

Hopefully you had a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall leaves this past week.  It seems like they were slow turning but once they began, the display was worth the wait. 
Last week we shared photos of a couple displays of our shop.  From the e-mails we received, you enjoyed a peek.....so we thought we'd share some more photos this week.  The first is a portion of our back wall; the second is a collage showing quilts on the large display wall near the checkout stand.  Before he passed away, Debby's husband hung all sorts of pretty rod holders.  We think they add to the charm of the shop.
This week we want to share one of the handiest storage tools we've found in a long time.  Have you ever spent precious time searching for your roll of Soft Fuse?  That wasted time will be wasted no more with your Super Roll Storage Box.  The box will hold 2 rolls of Soft Fuse or 1 roll of Soft Fuse, scissors, pencil, patterns or fabric strips or just about whatever you'd like to store.  It measures 24" x 4" x 4"

The storage box and a roll of Soft Fuse is only $34.90 - your quilting friend would love a Christmas gift.  The empty storage box is $14.95.  Let us know how many we can reserve for you by e-mailing info@sewgracefulquilting.com or calling 479-372-7403.
Many of you know in addition to owning a quilt shop and having a longarm quilting business that we are also pattern designers.  Several spotted one of Kay's creations in a photo last week and inquired about it.  Kits for "Pomegranates and Holly" are now back in stock.  Your $35.95 kit includes the pattern, fabric to make the quilt top and binding.  The quilt finishes 31" x 31".
Mark your calendars for our holiday open house Saturday, Dec 2 from 9:00-3:00.  We will have several new projects to share, holiday gift giving ideas and cookies. 
We have lots to share next week but will close for now.  See you soon.

Debby & Darlene

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

We've been reorganizing

We spent a fun filled day yesterday reorganizing and tidying up the shop.  Even though many would consider such an undertaking work, we consider it play.  It's always fun to rediscover treasures we'd forgotten about.  Below are some photos of our new look.
Sometimes we overlook sharing some great kits with you.  It's kind of like you may be with items around your house - items become part of the decor and you forget about them until you do fall or spring cleaning.  "Window Pane" is one such quilt.  We've had it a while but it slipped our mind to tell you about this great quilt.  It's made using Kansas Troubles fabrics so has that wonderful primitive look we love.  The quilt finishes 52" x 75" so is the perfect snuggling size for the upcoming cooler weather.  Your $72.95 kit includes the pattern, fabric for the top and binding. 
It's the season to start thinking about quick to make holiday gifts.  Debby's "Easy Tumbler Table Runner" is very quick and easy.  She used Lori Holt's Thimble Ruler but the pattern also includes a template if you prefer not to use the ruler.  Your $17.95 kit includes the pattern (with the template), fabric for the runner and binding.  Lori's ruler is available for an additional $9.95.

The runner finishes 15" x 33".
Before we close, a few words about fall quilt market.  It had an entirely different feel than previous markets.  Many of our "go to" designers were absent:  Blackbird Designs, Bunny Hill, 1894 Cottonwood House, Bareroots, Simply Put, The Little Red Hen, Briar Roots, The Birdhouse, Hatched and Patched, Timeless Traditions.  Primitive Gatherings attended but had only a little stand near Moda with none of her products; Buttermilk Basin had a single booth but it wasn't decorated in her usual over the top full of antiques and eye candy way.

Many designers opted to purchase half booths (only 4' deep).  If you followed any social media market updates you likely saw many dozens photos of bright, contemporary booths.

Although there wasn't a lot that interested us, we did find a new wool designer and have several of her patterns on order.  We also enjoyed visiting with Bits by Joan, Little Red Button Company and Heart to Hand.

We will continue in our primitive look despite what everyone else seems to be doing.......we love our look and hope you do too. 
We'll be back next week with more to inspire you.  See you soon.

Debby & Darlene