Necessity Minders - we love them

What a fun time Darlene and Kay had at the show in Kansas City.  Of course, when they're out together something "unusual" always happens.......once Darlene's insulin froze and they had to drive all over Dallas to find insulin and needles.......once they left Wichita with 1/4 tank of gas thinking Joplin was only a few miles away - they made it to the only gas station for miles around running on fumes.......once Darlene got pink eye and they googled home remedies - ran all over town looking for raw honey and goat's milk......this time they went out to start the car Saturday morning only to find the battery was dead.  As luck would have vehicles were parked on both sides with a fence in front of the car so the nice motel man and Kay had to push the car up an incline and into the driveway so he could jump the car.  Note to self:  if Darlene or Kay offer to join you on a trip, politely decline.........laugh, laugh, laugh. Welcome to all the new subscribers.  Thank you for wanting to join us every Thursday for our weekly newsletter. We were very excited to receive our shipment of Simply Vintage.  We're convinced this is one of the best quilting magazines on the market and it's only $17.99.  It's a magazine but we view it more as a coffee table type book of inspiration.  If you're on automatic to receive the magazine, Debby has your order processed. If you're not on auto ship and would like to be, please e-mail info@sewgracefulquilting.com.

We have a few back issues available (beginning at the left Summer 2016, Autumn 2016, Spring 2017, Winter 2015).  Let us know if you'd like to reserve any (or all) of these.  $17.99 each. We also received our shipment of Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher.  It's filled with 13 inspiring projects - all for only $8.99.  If you're on automatic to receive the magazine, Debby has your order processed.  If you want to be sure you don't miss an issue, please let us know by e-mailing info@sewgracefulquilting.com. When we find a super handy gadget we can't wait to share it with you.  Our friend Michael D shared Necessity Minders with us before we left for Kansas City.  Of course, we have to test everything before we offer it for sale.  This gets a thumbs up. The Necessity Minder is worn around your neck and will hold a variety of objects.  We used ours to hold our cell phones in Kansas City (simply insert the flexible holder around the phone protector).  It also would be handy for holding a small purse which would leave your hands free for shopping, keys while you walk on the beach, scissors so you're not searching for them, and so many other items.  When you need to use the item, simply press the silver button to release the clips. At $6 each, they make a great gift for yourself and all your pals.  When you order, let us know what color you'd prefer:  orange, blue, black, light pink, purple, white, dark pink, green, brown, red, gray, or yellow. Before we close we must share a project with you.  We love Kim Diehl's primitive look and adore how Jane H put together Kim's "Sprigs & Twigs" quilt.  It finishes 60" x 60".  Your $76.95 kit includes fabric for the top, borders, and binding. The pattern is in Kim's book "Simple Appeal" and is sold separately.  $28.99 The Row by Row shop hop officially began yesterday.  We hope you'll make plans to include us when you're mapping out your journey.  See you soon. Darlene and Debby

New kits and new books

Yesterday was special - we saw our first baby deer of the season.  He'd just been born and mama was cleaning him while he nursed.  We also recently saw our first ladybug of the season.  It's those little things in life that cause us to smile. This week we have a couple of new things to share with you.  Kay's newest design "Floral Elegance" finishes 67 1/2" x 81".  Your $104.95 kit includes the pattern, all fabric to make the top and binding.  The shapes are large which makes this a quilt that will be quick to finish.

We can certainly relate to the sentiment expressed on this next design.   If you or someone you know feels the same way, this would make a sweet piece to stitch.  We've finished ours as a small wall hanging; your $18.95 kit includes the background sandcastle fabric (which is prestamped), a needle, embroidery floss, fabrics for borders, and binding. Let us know if we can reserve an "I can't handle" kit (or two). We are putting together another Quiltmania order and wanted to share several of their new books.  If you'd like to reserve a copy of any of these, please e-mail info@sewgracefulquilting.com. Dawn Heese's book "From the Linen Closet" is filled with applique and pieced quilts.  Many of you are probably familiar with Dawn's work as she's visited several local guilds.  $51.95 Hat Creek Quilts by Dierdre Bond-Abel's book "Hat Creek Quilts" is filled with lots of beautiful applique projects.  We're showing a sampling of them below.  She tends to use bright fabrics.....and you know we would use our beautiful primitive fabrics.  We'll be happy to put together kits for any quilt in the book.  $49.95 If you like art type quilts, Segalaine Schweitzer's book "A Trip Around the Wool Continues" is for you.  Instructions are in both French and English.  $45.95 We're putting the finishing touches on several new projects we'll unveil at the show in Kansas City next week.  Darlene will have our newest block of the month "Simply Vintage" quilted and we'll share photos next week.  Until then, we hope you get to see something magical in nature. See you soon. Darlene and Debby

Block of the month updates

We've been keeping our noses to the grindstone preparing for the Kansas City Regional Quilt Show June 15-17.  Vending is not anything new to us -- we've been to many shows -- but we've never been to a show where attendance was over 7000 in 2015 with hopes of doubling attendance this year.  We feel like the tiny fish in a great big bowl.....but it'll be loads of fun. We plan to take our blocks of the month that have openings to the show.  If you're on the fence about whether to join, you may want to make your decision before June 15.  Rather than give complete details about each program, we'll refer you to our website http://sewgracefulquilting.com/ for details about each program. Community Sampler

Pretty Petals Spooky Hollow Seaside Town Simply Vintage - still a work in progress but very close to completion When we cut a block of the month, we always set aside some fabric in case someone miscuts.  We had enough fabric to make a kit of our very first block of the month "Friendship's Gift".  The book is required and is not included in the kit.  We are out of the book but can refer you to a source so you can buy your own copy.  Kit is $225 and will be sold first come, first served. With July 4th just around the corner, it's time to start thinking of patriotic type kits.  "Choose Ye Liberty" could be displayed all summer long.  Your $26.95 kit includes the pattern, background fabric, wool for the applique, and binding.  Let us know if we can reserve a kit for you. We'll be back next week with some new projects we're itching to share with you.  We hope as you make your summer travel plans you'll include plans for a trip to Sew Graceful.  See you soon. Darlene and Debby

New block of the month

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the shop last Saturday for our Open House event.  We know it's a hectic time of the year with graduations, yard work, and planning for summer travels so appreciate your taking the time to stop by. While we were tidying up the shop we ran across a couple of patterns we're no longer able to get wholesale (for some reason the designer decided to sell only on a retail basis) so we made kits for them.  We don't have a sample so you'll have to use your imagination but we think they'll be very cute. Both kits include the pattern, background fabric, wool for applique, and binding.  The sentiment on "Best Things" - "The best things in life are not things at all" rings so true.  Kit is $12.95

"Trust" would make a great accent piece for the place where you spend most of your time thinking.  Kit is $10.95. When we look at the quilt Cake Mix quilt Jane recently finished we can't help but want to curl up under it with a good book.  The quilt is made using Moda's cake mix papers.  In case you're not familiar with the papers, you get a pack of 44 paper "recipe cards".  You layer two fabrics together and sew the recipe cards creating blocks which will ultimately create the quilt.......hope this is making sense......if not, feel free to stop by or e-mail (info@sewgracefulquilting.com) and ask questions. Here's our quilt.  It has many possibilities:  send it with that special child as they begin college or give to grandma to use as a summer throw or how about gift to a friend for their road trips or how about you just keep it yourself......you get the idea......it's a versatile quilt.  It finishes 56" x 72".  Your $79.95 kit includes the cake mix papers, all fabrics for the quilt top, and binding.  We're very excited with how our newest block of the month, Simply Vintage, is looking.  We sometimes hesitate to share photos of works in progress because sometimes they don't look very appealing but we love how this is looking.  Kay's adding lots of stitching to help bring the motifs alive. We anticipate a July start for the Simply Vintage block of the month.  The program will run for 9 months and you'll receive all background fabrics, wool for applique, borders, and binding.  The pattern has been reduced and you will be responsible for reducing the pattern (we will give you the percentage to reduce).  We've also made changes to the pattern and will provide those changes to you. Cost is $26.95 per month.  The quilt will finish somewhere around 60" x 60".  We can't give a definite size because it's a work in progress. The pattern can be found in Blackbird Designs' book "Simply Vintage".  The book is out of print so will be available only if you sign up for the block of the month.  Cost for the book is $26.95. Please e-mail us (info@sewgracefulquilting) to reserve your spot.  If you've never participated in our block of the month program, please call Darlene at 479-372-7403 and she will get you signed up.  Before we close we want to share a couple events with you.  Vicki Hardcastle is hosting the 12th Annual NWA Hook In June 10, 9:00-4:00 at the Berryville (AR) Community Center.  In addition to vendors and lots of hooking inspiration, she is hosting several workshops.  Admission is $25 and includes lunch and a souvenir -- you must preregister to attend.  Please contact Vicki at hardcastlefolkart@hotmail.com or 580-235-2279 for more information. Image courtesy of Hardcastle Folk Art. The following week, June 15-17 we'll be vending at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival in Overland Park KS.  This is the second year for the festival and if it's anything like the first year, we expect we're in for a real treat.  To get more info, please visit http://kcrqf.com/ Of course, we'll remind you of the show as time draws closer.  If you plan to visit the show and would like us to bring something for you, please e-mail us before June 13. See you soon. Darlene and Debby

Great new books coming this year

Spring quilt market opens this evening with the wild and crazy Sample Spree event.  While we will miss visiting with our favorite designers, we won't miss the hectic pace of the 3-day market event.  We've spent our time preparing for our open house this Saturday, May 20 9:00-3:00.  We hope you'll plan to join us.  We have several new projects to share including a preview of the work-in-progress newest block of the month.  We will also have some specials throughout the shop. We're sure many of you remember the fun of anticipating holidays when you were younger.  We've put together a list of books that won't be released until later this year in hopes of bringing back that feeling of anticipation.  If you'd like to reserve any (or all) titles please send an e-mail (info@sewgracefulquilting.com) and Debby will get your name on the list. Kim Diehl has never disappointed us with any book and if the cover is any indication of the contents, we feel sure this will be a great book.  "Simple Harvest" is due out the end of October.  $28.99

We'd know the author of "Stitches from the Heart" even if it wasn't printed on the cover.  Kathy Schmitz' books are always filled with such beautifully photographed projects.  This book is due the end of September.  $24.99 Jen Kingwell has taken the modern quilting world by storm.  Her newest book "Bakers Dozen" is due late July and appears to be filled with all sorts of pieced goodies.  $28 Last but certainly not least is a new booklet by Blackbird Designs.  "A Little Flower" contains those great motifs so common to Blackbird Designs.  It is due out late September.  $12 We can't close without sharing a project.  Our "Little Lamb" pincushion is a great take along on vacation project.  Your $9.95 kit includes the pattern, wool for the front, wool for applique, wool for the back and a button in case you don't want to stitch the flower.  We'll be happy to put together a thread kit if you need threads. Please note the wool in your kit may vary slightly from the sample. Hope to see you Saturday. Darlene and Debby

Mark your calendar

If you keep up with the quilting world, you're probably aware the spring quilt market is just around the corner May 19-21 in St Louis.  We've thought a lot about whether we should go and decided to sit this one out.....instead we plan to have an open house party on Saturday, May 20 (9:00-3:00).  We will have refreshments, several new projects to share with you, Kay will be available for her Apliquick demo and we're planning to have some items on sale. We'll also be sharing a preview of our newest block of the month......it's looking really pretty and we're so excited you'll be the first to see it.  Hope you'll mark your calendar and plan to stop by.

If you're anything like us, you'll fall in love with the tins we recently received.  These would make a great gift for your Mom, grandma, your child's crafty teacher, your Sunday school teacher, your stitching pal....you get the idea......they're a fun little gift.  Give them empty or give them filled with chocolate, hard candy, paper clips, sewing pins, or......you get the idea.....they're just a fun gift. Tins measure 2" x 3" and each is $2.25.  At that price, you may want to buy a set for yourself.  When you order, please give Debby the tin # (or #s) and she'll reserve them for you.   We love the sentiment expressed on the "Heart and Home" tablerunner:  "May your heart and home be filled with peace".  Your $24.95 kit includes the pattern, fabric for the top, wool for applique and binding.  It finishes 12" x 26". Please note your fabrics may vary slightly from our sample. We received our shipment of Robin Vizonne's new book "Peculiar Primitives" and haven't been able to put it down.  It's filled with 12 unique projects that scream primitive.  You may remember our cute sheep $10 block of the month last year -- Robin designed that project.  The book is 80 pages with pull out patterns.  $25.95  Let us know if we can reserve a copy for you. We have more to share but better close and get back to sewing and cutting kits.  See you soon. Darlene and Debby