Easter Egg Hunt

Lipinski Mania!

Well everyone in the GTA has been all abuzz because Mark Lipinski is in town! Check out his blog for the agenda ... you might still be able to catch him! As soon as we were invited to Tea With Mark up at Northcott I knew that I wanted to bring him a great big thank you gift!

Mark has contributed so much to the world of quilting that it is just amazing. He is a designer, writer, publisher and all-round cause célèbre! I asked Cheryl Smith if she would accept a commission to make a jester for Mark and she was thrilled with the plan. Cheryl and I are both big fans of Mark's writing and outlook. Cheryl came up with the unbelievable Marquis de Pickle .

Mark loved the doll as much as I did. We had a great afternoon listening to Mark's stories ... I think I was blushing the whole time but my cheeks are still aching from smiling so hard. Of course before we left we had filled the cart with more of Mark's Krakow line ... the colours just shout spring and I have a great in-store plan for them so stay tuned ... tomorrow I will write all about our first ever Easter Egg Hunt which will take place on April 11th.

Goodies Galore!

The store is just chock-a-block full of new fabric and other goodies...all of our new fabric for the spring shows is arriving! There are oodles of new batiks, thimbleberries, blenders and tone on tones as well as the following groupings.

There is a gorgeous little grouping of blue and white English China prints...perfect for tablerunners and placemats! Besides the focus print shown we have several pretty blenders to accompany it!

Also of interest are 6 spectacular ombre prints which are extremely usefuly for applique and small piecing.



If Tea Time isn't your thing we also received this exquisite collection of oriental prints from Hoffman ... black, gold and red and highlighted with metallic gold. They have a gorgeous hand with a sateen finish!






Also, we have several more jelly rolls on sale for 25% off!

1. 

The jelly rolls on sale are:

• Charisma ... a retro style grouping in muted shades of raspberry, blue and green
• Moda Fig and Plum Jelly Roll ... lovely collection by Fig Tree in greens and mauves
• Heritage Collection ... 19th century reproductions
• American Primer ... red, white and blue ... a classic!
• Moda Marbles Brights Jelly Roll ... red, royal, cream, purple etc.
• Moda Marbles Warm Colours Jelly Roll ... navy, forest, burgundy etc.
• Moda Portobello Market Jelly Roll ... muted florals in country tones
• Moda Tranquiltiy Jelly Roll ... funky modern florals by Sandy Gervais
• Moda Wildflower Serenade Jelly Roll ... saturated florals in country tones.

New on the bookshelf:

Easy Striped Tablerunner

Link To The '30s (Quilts we Didn't Inherit)

Elegant Santa Buck A Block Ready Now!

Our new Buck a Block Program...Elegant Santa has just begun!
This lovely quilt is made using Debbie Mumm's Elegant Santa collection and co-ordinating country Christmas Colours. It features an applique Santa medallion surrounded by twelve pieced blocks of the month.

If you have never done a Buck A Block Before...here's how it works:
Pay an upfront registration fee of $7.00. For this fee you will receive a package of thangles and your registration kit. For the next 12 months you will visit the store at any time in the month and purchase one more block kit. Each kit contains the fabric and pattern to make one of the twelve pieced blocks in the quilt for only $1! You can choose to do just the pieced blocks or if you want to make the quilt exactly as shown you can purchase a finishing kit (available now) for an additional $29.99 ... that includes all assembly instructions, the fabric to make the Santa medallion, the sashing fabric and the outer border.

There are limited quantities available on a first come, first served basis. In Store Shopping only please.

Hey Little Kittens .... Have You Lost Your Mittens?

Earlier this week my mother-in-law and I were walking out to a parking lot when she noticed she was missing her glove...we walked back inside where we quickly found two other single gloves (one on the reception desk, one on top of a garbage can) but neither were hers. That started me noticing all week all the single gloves hanging out in the city. They are everywhere ... on the ground on mailboxes, on fences, just look and you will see them too. And that got me to thinking ... this is the perfect time of year to knit up a couple of quick pairs of mitts for yourself or your favourite kiddies.

Why not grab a ball or two or Universal Chunky and make up a super easy pair ... it will only take an evening (or two at the absolute most)! Here are a few good free pattern links...

The Forty Five Minute Mitten

Chunky Weight Mittens

Gifted Mittens

Naturally once I got on my mitten kick I started cleaning out our hats and mitts basket at home and found a rather large collection of single mitts there too. I have been on a tear making mittens for the whole family...including the bears!

If you need more help than that I highly recommend calling super teacher Liane Schwartz down at Knitomatic and registering for her mitten class on Tuesday Mar 24 & 31, 6:30-8pm. She's a marvel!

A Bit of Local History on Display

Yesterday we had a visit from one of the Historians at the Pickering Museum Villlage. The museum recreates a pioneer village and we are very honored that they come to Sew Sisters to acquire some of their 19th Century reproduction fabrics. It is always such a pleasure and education when the museum folks drop by! I wonder if we looked carefully if we could see any dresses made from them in this picture?

Also of interest to quilters is a display of Quilt Treasures from the Collection of the Wellington County Museum & Archives which will be running all spring

Quilt Treasures from the WCMA Collection
March 7- June 7, 2009

For more information please check their website at http://www.wcm.on.ca/ or phone 519-846-0916. Wellington County Museum & Archives is opened weekdays - 9:30am to 4:30pm and weekends & holidays - 12:00pm to 4:00pm

Lover's Knot, Some Basics and Spectacular Orientals.

Hector, our friendly neighbourhood UPS guy has been very busy bringing in new deliveries. Of particular interest Is Eleanor Burns book Lover's Knot. This is one of the most often asked for books as it is very popular for weddings, anniversaries, engagements and so forth. In Lovers Knot Quilt, Eleanor has perfected the pattern using her signature 2-1/2in strips. Eleanor offers step by steps illustrations & instructions to direct the quilter to a successful finish. Included are 5 quilt sizes, border & binding options, a dust ruffle & 2 table runners.

Also brand new in the store is this gorgeous grouping of Orientals from Marcus Brothers ... aren't the Peacock Feathers Spectacular?

While they don't make for good pictures I am very happy to announce that we have tonnes of new white on whites...some from Northcott, some from Marcus, some from Japan ... it's a great selection.