growing like a...

...yard of fabric. meet rowen...

he is measuring about 2/3 of a yard long on his recent visit.  we've been known to use our olfa cutting mat for many different purposes, but never to measure a cute bundle of joy.

 

these two adorable sisters and grandma make our day every time they come in. they are just the sweetest. we sure do love our quilting families!!

a sunday blessing...

this next photo just warms my heart so much. when sarah made jaxson this quilt from sweetwater's make life collection, he was just a little peanut. we first met his family online when the docs were recommending the placement of a trach. this electronic world we live in sure makes connecting with others experiencing some of the same challenges as you much easier than when sarah was tiny and so ill. we then had the pleasure of meeting him in person while we were in salt lake for quilt market.

 

 

fast forward to this week. despite having many medical challenges, our friend jaxson is growing like a weed. look at him now inching off the edge of his quilt! a perfect sunday sunshine!!

the many faces of lucy...

oh my. the cuteness just never stops. meet lucy. she is a whirling ray of non stop sunshine.

 

and soon to be my counter helper.

baby in the basket

we have just the perfect sunday sweetness for your holiday enjoyment...

 

meet cora. she has been coming into the shop since the beginning of time. her time that is. oh my she is so lovable! don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?  the lovely holiday quilt was made by her momma jill. wishing cora and her family and all of you a very merry christmas.  

multigenerational stitchers

such a wonderful story we have to share...

 

meet reese. she came into the shop to bring us a bundle of pillowcases to add to our collection to take to the kiddos in the hospital.

 

she has been making them with her grandma cindy. oh how it makes my heart happy to see grandmothers arrive with their granddaughters. and when they come with pillowcases they have stitched together to help with the one million pillowcase challenge, my heart melts. what a great way to teach the next generation to sew.  thank you reese and cindy.

little boy love...

...no words necessary

 

 

one of the greatest rewards as a shop owner is seeing your babies grow up. we first met lucas when he was just a baby. this week he arrived all the way from nebraska. his hugs. oh my. there are just no words to describe them! a huge thank you to his momma debbie for making time in her very busy schedule to come see us. he simply melts my heart!!  

 

girlfriends...

it was a melt my heart moment...

 

two little girlfriends meeting in the quilt shop. they quickly found the book basket where they sat reading the entire time their mommies looked about.

a triple miracle

we had a little visitor in the shop this weekend. her grandmother marcy and i have been friends for a very long time. we were girl scout leaders back in the day when our girls were young. sadly her daughter had some medical issues as a teenager and was told she would never have children.

surprise!

during the pregnancy, they discovered that sweet bella had a tumor growing on her stomach the size of a fist. she was whisked away immediately after birth for surgery. and now look...

 

a triple miracle!!!

 

on a side note...marcy is also the realtor who was combing northeast ohio with us to find the perfect setting for the new home for sarah and her grandparents. life sure does come full circle in a beautiful way.

when baby stars align...

i have such a wonderful story to share...one saturday afternoon a young woman came in inquiring about creating a baby quilt. she had come across the idea on pinterest but was not sure how to go about it.  i made a few suggestions. after talking for a few minutes, she shared that i might know the baby mama because she has a sister with down syndrome. well...not only do i know her and her family, she was in the first girl scout troop that i agreed to lead shortly after sarah was born, so i've known her since she was seven or so. 

the plan was for the participants at stephanie's baby shower to each create a message on a square. then they would be brought to us and we would take it from there. the blocks arrived and immediately they went onto our design wall...

 

we did not know the gender of the baby, but we did know that stephanie loves polk-a-dots. we quickly stitched it up, diane wantz our long arm gal did her magic and soon...

 

 

sarah was putting the binding on.  oh i should probably mention that stephanie is a special ed teacher. which just makes the connection even greater.

i must admit i was blown away with the creativity of all involved. just look at some of the blocks.

 

the quilt is done and happily presented to the waiting parents.

 

at the request of the inspirer...believe it or not her name truly is sara joyce...we created a label on the back...complete with our sarah's infamous four legged "e." 

 

 

we did have one extra block and decided to use it to create a "baby's first rag quilt."

 

we are now just patiently awaiting the news that baby carroll has arrived. a perfect kiss is waiting for him/her.

buckeye love...

our sarah sure does love babies.  and when they are little buckeye fans...

 

well, they just warm her heart.  and that melts mine.

 

there sure is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby in your arms.  thank you mason and your momma and grandma for sharing. you sure made our sarah a happy gal. 

noteworthy by sweetwater...

we are so proud to be able to feature our very own katrina in the front window this month...

 

noteworthy by sweetwater for moda is the perfect collection for spring.  the colors are refreshingly sweet. exactly like katrina! 

 

when we were at quilt market last fall, katrina fell in love with the patterns by cluck, cluck, sew.  she utilized "scout" for this quilt.

 

as we traveled to market together, i filled my time on the plane by piecing one inch hexagons. at first, katrina was not so sure about the hand stitching involved. until a few weeks ago that is, when she found herself traveling to salt lake city for a convention with bone marrow transplant docs and nurses. just in case you don't know, this amazing young woman is a nurse coordinator at the seidman cancer center at university hospital during the week.  during her time away she created this very clever pattern with her hexies.  it's the perfect size for a european pillow sham insert. and with that, i think she is hooked on paper piecing!

 

you can find katrina in the shop every saturday. her creations will be on display through the end of march.  and on this sweet sunday, i would sincerely like to thank katrina for all she does for our little shop. she was indeed sent to us by the creator of our master plan and we are most grateful. 

scrap basket diving...

the sweetness sure continues.  how do you keep an active boy busy while he sits in his stroller waiting for his mama? let him dive into the scrap basket...

 

it kept him happy for a really long time.  he even found a few cherished pieces to take home.

sweet reading...

i was so bummed that i left my camera at home the day roxy came in. fortunately her mom came through for me...
 

 

is this not the sweetest? she stayed there reading for a really long time while her mom shopped. made my heart so happy.  hi roxy. hope we see you again soon!

hugging a friend...

there is something magical about this laptop i type into late every night. i connect with like minded people. we converse back and forth, we follow each others blogs and facebook pages. we share creativity on sites like etsy. somehow we become friends without ever meeting. and then life serendipitously brings us together in a hotel hallway...

 

...and it's like we've known each other since birth. this is crystal and her very handsome little man. sarah loved him!

 

she is also the brains behind frivolous necessity and the creator of many of the quilts hanging in our store. i do not believe i have every shared ahead of time the fabric that we have ordered. yet somehow, crystal just knows. she gives the extra special touch to our walls and displays.

 

katrina too was so happy to get to meet her. they share the same compulsion for perfectly matched corners and spot on color coordination.

 

we decided to walk over to guadalajara for lunch. it's been a long time since sarah and i have dined with a toddler and how fun it was.  

 

 

meeting crystal and kayson made our trip to houston all the more perfect.  so thankful for the sweet memories.

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.

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!! 

little crabcakes...

my little man is back...

...the one that nearly gave me a heart attack during his last visit.  his smart mama came with the paci this week. it helps keep our buttons out of his mouth...

 

...oh who are we kidding?  he bee lined straight for them the minute he thought we weren't looking:)