calling all teachers...

have you clicked on the latest announcement...

 i know... unbelieveable, in more ways than one.  it's been a long time coming so we are more excited than ever to show off our new space.  please note: the classroom is on the second floor, therefore stairs are involved.   

reunion by our very own...

...have you met katrina yet?  she is a nurse coordinator in the bone marrow transplant unit at university hospitals during the week.  on saturday's we are lucky enough to have her share her day with us.  recently, she took home a layer cake of reunion by sweetwater...

..and returned with this well constructed, awesome quilt. it was an instant attraction for me, i fell in love and knew it must hang on our wall. there was a slight problem. she made it to donate to a fundraiser for a fellow nurse who recently had a stroke. so we had to bid on it. in the end it was a win- win situation. we won the quilt and we were able to provide funds for a very deserving young family. did i mention katrina has only been quilting for a short while? kudos to you my friend. we are so proud of you!!!

p.s. the pattern is from corey of little miss shabby and is on the moda bakeshop blog.

the circle of life...

there is absolutely nothing sweeter to present this sunday than miss kiarra...

she came to visit us today in sarah's new sewcial lounge.  as i was admiring her pretty purple dress and chatting with her about learning to sew, i was struck by the richness of it all. you see, i would not be in cleveland if not for kiarra's grandfather.  he convinced me this fine city is where i needed to plant my roots once grad school was complete. that was just the first of many opportunities he granted me. a few years later, i was fortunate enough to hire kiarra's mother to be on my team. she in turn hired me the following decade to work as a consultant to a project she was involved with. and now, one day soon i will sit down and share my sewing knowledge with this beautiful child.  the circle of life.  oh how i appreciate the splendor of that concept the older i get.  

bundle it...

we've been having so much fun creating new fat quarter bundles this week...

here we have mini ginghams by michael miller.  each bundle is unique in color selection and they are built with different price points in mind.  if you are in a hurry or just wanting to build your stash, bundles are an easy way to check out quickly.

optic white...

there's white. bleached white. prepared for dying white. off white. and now optic white muslin...

optic white is a very white white. it is hard to get a good picture. i have the optic white sitting atop the white muslin.  it is nice and crisp. perfect for showing off your colors. we have it available in 45" wide and 120" wide 200 count. 

too cute for words...

every now and then something magical happens at the store. it reminds me of a good movie.  you leave the theater feeling fresh and rejuvenated.  remember this guessing post? the $50 answer was chosen by ella.  104 is her number at school. i found out when she arrived with her family this week, 10/4 is also her grandmother's birthday...

it is so exciting to me when young girls are interested in fabric. add to that a dad who has a very good knowledge on the subject. and a mom who is super encouraging and a sewer.  it was simply a great afternoon...

...for the little brother too.  just tell me you didn't say ahhh...when you saw that sweet pic.  thank you shannon and family for making our day. 

going mobile...

when you're out and about and need to find us...

or simply need to chat, we are only as far as your phone.  our website has been enhanced for going mobile. meaning you can simply hit "call" and as soon as your mobile carrier can snap a finger, we will be on the other end of the line. the same feature works with the map and hours too. just hit "map" and up comes a map to find us. of course you can still connect to the full website by simply hitting home.   

my valentine

i've never met crystal stanworth in person.  i've never been able to wrap my arms around her in a loving kind of way. i'd like to though. her designs are simply amazing...

my valentine is no longer hanging on the barb wire fence in the heart of texas (i love her photos too). it is now on display in our house of fabric. the pattern is available as a pdf at frivolousnecessity or in hard copy at our shop.  wishing all our readers a happy valentine's day.

love is in the air...

red, pink and aqua. the colors of this february season...

i love how this one turned out.  the quilts, the table toppers, the pillows, the little girls dress. all just perfect for the season of love.  an eye catching vision for those driving down the street, especially at night. 

i wish to acknowledge that window displays like this are only possible with the talents of many... 

quilts from left to right: Twinkle, Twinkle Nickel Star by Jude Spero of Little Louise Quilts, In Reverse by Crystal Stanworth of Frivolous Necessity, Color In Motion by Sue Pfau of Sweet Jane. 

table toppers from left to right: Kerry Mero of Modern Material Girl, Michelle Nickolson of L7Quilts, and Libie of Libie Peterson Designs.

little girls dress by Bonnie Pelikan of BonBon Originals, mini tote sack by The Smith Ladies of Cotton Berry Quilts,  fabric garland by Jenny of Paisley Handmade, and pillows from Warm N' Fuzzies.

thank you all for sharing your creativity with us. 

oh happy snowy day...

it's been a strange winter in northeast ohio.  unusually warm with lots of rain.  i smiled as i awoke to freshly fallen snow today...

makes for a nice touch to our valentine's window. i didn't realize how much i liked the white stuff until it's existence has been scarce.  how's the snowfall in your area?

midnight intrigue...

our next grouping is from another new designer to our shop, sandi henderson.  her newest collection is aptly titled secret garden.  it has three colorways and the one we chose is called midnight garden...

sandi decribes this colorway as "pops of moonlight here and there which can also make for a lovely stroll through the garden." we couldn't agree more. you can read more about secret garden on sandi's blog. 

lush...

the one thing i have failed to mention the past 48 hours is this...the first 183 pounds of michael miller fabric was followed the very next day with an additional 77 pounds.  that means there is more fabric on the floor right now than up where it belongs.  i assure you once it is all on display it will be like pure sunshine in our house.  and speaking of that big yellow ball in the sky, our first reveal today is the sunny colorway...

of lush, by patty young.  please hop on over to patty's blog and surf around for a while. what a fun, fun family. and they are all in the business of designing fabric + patterns + accessories for michael miller.  sarah and i had the pleasure of meeting patty and her husband at market (unfortunately no pics as the camera card was full) such nice people. and the fabric...oh we will have sunshine in cleveland everyday of the week now.

33 is the magic number

183 pounds = 3 boxes = 33 bolts = 486 yards.  for this shipment at least...

and we had one winner... sarah anney...who guessed it correctly.  do you want to see what was in the boxes?  stay tuned. it's good. very, very, very good.

 

183 lbs = 3 boxes

so far, we know this much.  183 pounds of fabric arrives in...

three boxes. very big. heavy. boxes. oh just a little hint. i do know we have a winner. just one winner. who guessed spot on.  stay tuned to see if it's you...

a word about michael...

...steiner and kathy miller.  i so often hear michael miller fabrics referred to as him. when in fact, it is a him and a her. not to be confused with she and him, the popular music duo. oh never mind... back to michael and kathy...

yes, michael miller fabrics is actually a combo of michael steiner and kathy miller. i just noticed they have a thing about lower case letters too.  anywho, you can read more about them here.  and while you are on their site...check out how they have the fabric grouped in color stories. those little rainbow groupings sing to my heart.  i've been in a cocoa berry and sorbet mood lately. maybe just maybe that's what's coming in the morning.

oh that reminds me...have you made your guess for some free michael miller fabric? if not, jump to this post pdq...

making room...

...for 183 pounds of michael miller fabric.  have you placed your guess yet to win 5 free yards of fabric?

if not,  you will want to click here to enter.   

time for a give-a-way...

we just received notice that 183 pounds of michael miller fabric has shipped...

...and is due into the store on tuesday.  can you guess how many bolts that will be?  the guessing begins now and will end as soon as pete, our favorite ups man arrives on tuesday 2/7.  simply leave a comment with your answer on this post.  the winner will receive 5 free yards of michael miller fabric of their choice.  yardage does not need to be from the same bolt. should there be more than one correct guess, those names will be entered into a drawing for final selection.

katie and her family...

THANK YOU!!!!  sarah and i made a trip to the "big green cash machine" to help us count the rest of the coins today.  katie's family is about to travel so we need to get their funds to them. in all...you our generous customers...have donated...

$541.15 toward helping to make one little girls life so much better. thank you so much.

i know we talk a lot about reece's rainbow. i can't imagine my precious sarah being sent to an institution to live simply because of her extra chromosome. a few weeks ago abc did a special report about a family that we were fortunate enough to have met while we were in utah for quilt market. i think it will help show why we are so passionate about this cause...