halloween treats

featured in today's sun newspapers...

 

if you can't read the fine print it tells you that all halloween fabric is just $5.00* per yard and all halloween precuts are 50% off now thru 10/31. 

 

*sale limited to stock on hand and does not apply to previous purchases.

countdown to houston...

in less than twenty four hours our plane will hopefully be landing in houston, texas...

...for quilt market 2012.  sarah and i are so excited to have a chance to see our quilting buddies from around the world. and of course to do a little shopping for the store. this time we are so lucky to have katrina coming with us.

the real reason for this post though is to give a shout out to penney, teri and carol who will be keeping the SHOP OPEN during normal business hours while we are gone.  be nice to them...please...i need them to come back again so we can play some more.  ok see ya'll real soon. yee haa!!

westward ho...

if only i'd dropped a coin in a jar each time i heard the word west as in...i see you've come to the westside this weekend. it is such a cleveland thing...eastside, westside, southside, northside. well, truthfully there isn't really a northside unless you're a fish...

 

in all seriousness...i had such a great time at the quilter's legacy of lakewood quilt show this weekend. i had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful new quilters and seeing friends who regularly venture over to the eastside where our house of fabric is located.

 

an additonal bonus when doing shows is spending time with other shop owners. it was especially fun to get to know rosanne of anna's sewing center a little better. she and i are going to collaborate a little more to make sure your shopping experience in both of our stores is unique. 

 

thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen who worked so hard to make this year's show a success. i so appreciate being included.

stolen sadness...

this post is the complete opposite of what i usually present on sunday, but time is of the essence...this fiber creation was stolen...yes STOLEN...

it was hanging in the quilter's legacy of lakewood quilt show at the rocky river, ohio rec center this morning. it was discovered missing this afternoon. the quilt belongs to artist bev fawcett. please pass this info on to your contacts in the hope that someone brags or shows it to someone else. or even worse, tries to sell it on an electronic format. please help bring this quilt home. if found, please call anna's sewing center at 440-716-8884. 

honoring strength...

and courage.  from the day we opened our store, we have had the pleasure of meeting some very tough women. they come in and share openly their daily struggles. some are currently in treatment. i've watched hair thin. i've sold fabric to make into turbans. i've helped some out to their car, almost too weak to walk. i've high fived those who have been told they are in remission. i've felt the thrill of introducing survivors.  i've offered a shoulder to those mourning a loss. our quilt shop is a place of refuge. an uplifting environment i've been told.

this month...we honor the strength, the courage, the fight...

...of all those touched by breast cancer. our hope is with awareness...you will have a mammogram...that you will support those around you...that a cure may be found.

our creators from left to right...
think pink nine patch and mini snowball quilt on table: nancy tyrell
pink and green life quilt: lauren and jane metcalf
double ribbon awareness: design by vicki
pretty in pink irish chain on table: theresa porter

lauren's lalaloopsy...

meet our adorable new friend lauren...

she brought the cutest doll with button eyes into the shop. i had never seen a lalaloopsy before. seems i am really out of the loopy loo. this cute pink hair mermaid is coral sea shells.

lauren was so sweet to show me the lalaloopsy website and all the fun things attached to it. a few hours later patty young shares her daughter's 8th birthday party story. sew magical. sew cute. sigh. i think i need a little girl again.

mayfield village quilt show

today and tommorrow (fri & sat) we are vending at the mayfield village community center...

...located at the corner of wilson mills and som center road. hours are 9:30 - 6. there are many quilts on display as well as our new friend marty from the quilted thimble in chesterland is also vending.  hope you can join us!

help wanted

have you ever thought about working in a quilt shop?

 

we are currently looking for a few creative souls to join our team. candidates must be trustworthy, capable of wearing a smile all day long, and have some knowledge of the quilting industry. must be able to work all day saturday and occasional wednesday or thursday evenings.  if interested please send an email to jhillely@gmail.com

little pillowcase makers...

oh how magical our sunday sweetness is today...

this post picks up where yesterday's left off. you can read that one here.

it was around 3:30 or so and the happy stitchers were growing tired. you could just feel the energy in the room slowly but surely declining. then all of a sudden in walked a mom with her two boys. young boys. oh the look of horror on a few faces. no need to worry we all soon learned. beth jumped right in and started with her instructions and soon excitement once again filled the air...

 

 

and that my friends is what sarah's sewcial lounge is really all about.  fabric + fun + friendship. thank you, thank you, thank you!! 

a pillowcase party...

thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU...to all who made our one million pillowcase sewing day such a success!!! a few photos to show just how much fun we had...

 

 

click here for a look at some more photos of the day and read all about what sarah has to say...

one pillowcase at a time...

i had a post already to go today. it was going to talk about these two gals...

sarah with her blogging friend kristen

and the pillowcases sarah made for her
while she was waiting for
a bone marrow transplant

and how kristen's light shines so brightly 

in the hundreds of pillowcases sarah
and our friends in the store made
to give to kids in the hospital

in memory of kristen
who unfortunately lost her battle
with the dreaded cancer
 

 

i was going to tell you about the day kristen's mom polly and i

had a chance encounter with

jennifer keltner the executive editor of american patchwork and quilting

at quilt market in salt lake city  

 

 

i was going to mention the day that news anchor kristi capel

 selected sarah as her hometown hero

for her dedication to the

one million pillowcase challenge

 

 

i was going to tell you more about the day the television cameras

 followed us to the cleveland clinic children's hospital

 for a delivery of fifty cases

to the very floor that

 sarah spent so much of her life

following her open heart surgery

and the placement of her permanent trach

and the many months following

 because of severly damaged lungs

 

and then i was going to talk more about the excitement we feel

 that jennifer keltner is coming

 to our little house of fabric this saturday...

 

 but then i read this comment that

polly kirton, a grieving mother

 left on a facebook posting yesterday

 and nothing, absolutely nothing

i say can come close

 to defining the difference that one pillowcase can make...

 

"Wish I could come. A simple pillowcase can mean so very much. I have slept with Kristen's pillow and the blue princess pillowcase that Sarah made every day since Kristen died. She took her last breath with her head on that very same pillowcase. I will treasure it forever."

 

Please join us October 6

10 - 5

fabric and machines will be provided

breakfast and lunch too

door prizes galore

we simply need your time

and talents

whether they be sewing, pressing or packing

just come

thank you for helping us

make a difference

one pillowcase at a time

awareness...

Today begins National Down Syndrome Awareness month. From the day we opened our store, there have been so many amazing and divinely lead connections that it would be hard to articulate them all. One of the most rewarding for me though, is watching Sarah interact with the little ones also born with T21, who come in to see her...

 

 

For one it's like looking into the future, for the other it is like looking into the past. The common ground is pure joy. 

Little Delaney came in with her Grandma and Grandpa and golly does she have herself wrapped around their hearts. Thank you Carol and Jerry for sharing your precious granddaughter with us. Your enthusiasm and love for her is heartwarming for sure.  A testimony for the extra love that is shared by the presence of one additonal chromosome.