Wednesday, October 19, 2011

ruby in reverse...

ruby is in the house!!! i simply never tire of the fabrics brought to us by the super darling mother daughter team of bonnie & camille. some days, i pretend i am just like them.  the only problem, i can't decide who i would rather be, mother bonnie or daughter camille. i guess i will just have to settle for enjoying their talents. 


and speaking of talents...along with ruby is this sweet creation appropriately named in reverse. just another one of the perfectly engineered designs by crystal over at frivolous necessity. the paper pattern is in stock. if you are not in the area, hop on over to crystal's etsy shop to purchase your pdf version which she will  deliver directly to your email account. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

a sneaky peak upstairs...

there was a vision...we just did not know it at the time. i suppose that is what faith is all about. a few years ago, the space on the second floor behind our medical billing company became available. we did not really need the space...but just like fabric...need was low on the list for getting to "yes." 

the former tenant owned a hair salon.  before she moved in, a renovation was completed that included installing extra water lines for the shampoo bowls. those water lines did provide us the opportunity to create a kitchenette, complete with the cutest little dishwasher, for all of us to use...


as you can see, i've already found a great place to set up an ironing board too:)

it also provided a place to move sarah's futon and television for the days when she was sick and unable to go to school, which was often back then...

over the years, i moved in with a desk, a computer and printer. and we've slowly been moving sewing machines and fabric projects up there too.  and with that combination it became apparent and fitting that this become the new home of Sarah's Sewcial Lounge. a true lounge of sorts, with machines and cutting tables, large creative boards and design walls.

it is going to take a few weeks.  we had to ask one of our billing employees to move into the front room, which she graciously did last week...

next i need to empty out the file drawers. this should be an easy task. however, the contents are as priceless as can be...twenty plus years worth of girl scout memories.  and a resume or two from my twenty plus year career in the non-profit world.  stay tuned for our progress. it's sure to be exciting...

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

finding terrain....



guess what?  we have the same lovely print in a 45" coated/laminated roll and a bolt of pre-quilted fabric. 

Monday, October 10, 2011

bowls and bowls...

of thread...


mettler metrosene is now in the house.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

sunday sweetness...

meet parker...


everytime he comes into the store, we melt. he is just that sweet. he loves our dogs and the little blue chair.  hi parker:-)                                 

Friday, October 7, 2011

she quilts scarlet & gray...

our front window is stopping traffic. so i must hurry and introduce you to the creator of the quilts you see...

meet darlene gerber and brutus:) darlene graduated from the ohio state university's college of agriculture and home economics majoring in agricultural education.  she first learned to quilt in 1990 and then found a renewed enthusiasm in 2007, when she started quilting in scarlet and gray and hasn't stopped since.  her quilt tops have been in the good hands of long arm quilter jennifer mccann of galena, ohio. you can follow darlene's passion on her blog. www.iquiltscarletandgray.blogspot.com
  
we sincerely thank darlene for allowing us to showcase her beautiful quilts, which will be on display through next weekend.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

scarlet & gray...

from one buckeye lover to another...


...quilts by darlene gerber
and mary coffey

Monday, October 3, 2011

the state fair...

have you been following the moda country fair blog hop? i've loved seeing all the pictures and hearing about how fairs have been such a part of so many lives. as i was reading all month long, it brought back memories for me of one of my favorite trips with my girl scouts...


the year was 2001. the ohio state fair has a large parade each day where one girl scout troop was selected to carry the flags. to be selected you had to apply in march, which we did. and then sarah got sick. really sick. by june, the doctors had sent us home with very little hope of her survival. i truthfully wasn't sure she would make it to her birthday, let alone the fair.  but sarah and her higher power had other plans.   


and there she is, walking in the parade carrying the gold and brown flag representing brownie girl scouts. she had a smile plastered from ear to ear. 


i had never seen her so alive. and having so much fun.  later in the evening, we had gotten caught in a torrential down pour. the girls didn't care. i think it even made it more fun. we always had a wheelchair with us, just in case sarah needed it, but she rarely used it.



the next day was just for fun. rides and fair food. sarah loved the french fries and i'm a sucker for fresh squeezed lemonade and elephant ears.


even i got in on the ride fun. although sarah tells me i screamed louder than she did. and she's probably correct on that.


i will never forgot that experience at the ohio state fair. good times had by all. such an amazing week full of miracles. for which i'm so thankful.  if you'd like to see more pics of our trip to the fair, click on over to sarah's blog.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

like the hurricane...


there comes a time when one must realize they need help.  this is a good thing of course, for it means we are busy.  if you have been in the store recently you might have had a chance to meet some of our newest creative souls at the cutting counter.    


meet katrina. like the hurricane, she often jokes, to help others remember her name. i assure you though, she is nothing like a hurricane.  kristen ann kirton first brought katrina to our store. she had been googling the internet with the words bone marrow transplant. not the type of search most of us do, yet the dedication katrina has to her job and her patients, had her doing just that. katrina was a staff nurse in the bone marrow transplant unit at university hospitals when i first met her. she recently was promoted to a patient coordinator in that same unit where she now follows the patient and family through the entire ordeal from diagnosis to transplant to post op. not an easy job to say the least, which is one reason she turned to quilting.  we are so lucky that katrina also enjoys spending her saturdays with us.  please join me in welcoming katrina to our team.

Friday, September 30, 2011

jingle bell hop winners...


...we have some great gift bags filled with treasures. the lucky winners who selected to pick up at our location are: 
Patricia Arnwine
Sally Hawks
Carolyn Baker Jenkins
Myrya Johnson
Helen Masino
Barbara McDowell
Debbie Messer

please come in any time during shop hours to pick up your goodies.  congratulations and thank you to all the shop hoppers.  we hope to see you again for the next hop in the spring.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

the spain effect...

i heard there was product from a new designer recently at target, that sold out in a few hours. well...missoni has nothing on our kate spain. do you like this fabric...


well...unfortunately you won't be seeing it in our house of fabric. it. sold. out. in forty minutes. two bolts in fact. i ordered an extra just in case. the first one was basically gone before i even had the plastic off. the second within minutes of it going on the floor.  not the display. the floor. as in leaning up against the wall behind the cutting counter floor.  kate has surely outdone herself with terrain. it is a must hurry kind of situation.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

no rulz art...

love the name. love the mission...


and now we love the fabric!!!  the crew over at no rulz art, llc are happy to announce they have started to hand dye fabric in addition to their socks and headbands. and we are so happy to tell you it is in our store!!  

if you're not familiar with this creative group of young adults, click here and read a story sarah wrote on her blog last year (wow the store sure looked empty then:) the fabric is cut into pieces approximately 18 x 18 and sell for two dollars each with 100% going directly back to no rulz art to help keep their program rolling.  the fabric is moda bella solid pfd (prepared for dyeing).  no two pieces will ever be the same.  

Sunday, September 18, 2011

sunday sweetness...

i'm so excited to share this next photo...


meet kirill and his brother clayton. the journey for kirill to reach his forever family was not easy. his new mom and dad were tenacious in their fight to be sure he lived a life full of love and hugs away from the orphanage he resided. you can read more about sarah's work on kirill's quilt and pillowcases here.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

hop til you drop...

going into this shop hop, we had no idea what to expect...


today as i looked about around two thirty, i was thankful the fire marshall didn't pay us a visit. even more thankful everyone was able to enter and exit without incident. goodness, i never thought we would fill three parking lots and get that many customers into the store at one time.  thank you so much to all who stopped in during this jingle bell hop. we appreciate your support and hope you will return soon.

i could never have survived this week without the help of a great group of women, aimee, diane, katrina and penney.  mucho gracious!!! 

the shops will be meeting toward the later part of this month to hold the grand prize drawings. we will announce winners here. stay tuned...

last call...

it's the final day of the jingle bell shop hop. haven't started yet?...


...not to worry. we've had several shoppers complete the hop in one day. just grab a friend and start early.  if you find you're getting close to the end and need a little more time, just give us a call at 440-684-9830 and we will be happy to stay and wait for your arrival. 

Friday, September 16, 2011

hopping treats...

have we mentioned there are snacks waiting for you along the route...


at jellen's we have a sweet treat hunt for you. you'll have to look throughout the store displays to discover your treasures.  here we have some bulls eyes among the max & whiskers...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

the colors of the hop...

together they form a beautiful rainbow. all twenty seven...


...shown here, cut to be featured as ohio stars, our block for this hop.  are you participating in the challege? i hear there are some great prizes to be awarded to the winners. there will be many different categories and the rules are simple...utilize all 27 colors on just 1 block or all the blocks in your design. be sure to check with any of the shop owners for greater details.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

shop hop quilts...

...i am fortunate to be sharing in the splendor of some extremely talented shop owners.  if you are traveling around on the jingle bell shop hop, you have likely already seen the quilts hanging in the other shops. if not, you can click here and scroll down to see the photos.

so that you may make your own quilt,  each shop has available a kit of fat eighths for your purchase. i'd like to send out a warm and sincere thank you to...


...sister maughan and sister manwaring for volunteering to package our kits up for us. they did such an amazing job and i think they enjoyed doing it. both of these young ladies are serving their mission in the cleveland area and we love when they stop by.

be sure to come get your kit while the hop is in full action for $5.00. after the hop they will increase in price to $8.00

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

chapter two...

our shop hop is in full swing.  have you been able to start hopping yet? if you're new to the jingle bell hop, you might not know there is a complete story being told.  each store has a chapter to this tale...


we have chapter two.  the story is all about being snowbound at grandma's.  and reading about her wonderful quilts.  guess which quilt block she talks about in our chapter?  you'll have to come get it to find out...

Monday, September 12, 2011

come play blocks with us...

on our interactive design wall.


we are into day three of the jingle bell hop. if you haven't come to visit yet, we have some fun waiting for you.  just how fast do you think you can build an ohio star? come give it a try. ladies, there are some pretty quick husbands out there. i think they might be practicing in your sewing room when you're not looking:)

i was thrilled to be assigned the ohio star as jellen's contribution to the 2011 jingle bell quilt. you can read more about my enthusisam for this block here.  as you can see, i chose to make an apron with my block. there are some great quilts out there too.  you just need to start hopping to see them. you can start at any store, hurry though, before it's too late.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

monday, monday...

so good to me...monday, monday...it was all i hoped it would be...


...ok, so now that i've got that little jingle made famous by the mamas and the papas singing through your mind...let me just tell you that yes, Yes, YES, we will indeed be open this monday, september 12 from 10:00- 5:00 for all you jingle bell shoppers who are hopping about this first day of the week. 

we will also have diane wantz, queen quilter at longarm legacies, in the shop all day long. she has graciously agreed to help us out during the shop hop, so should you wish to discuss your long arm quilting needs, monday would be a good day.   

Saturday, September 10, 2011

it's time to hop...

if you've had a chance to read our vision over on the website, one of our dreams on the wish list is to be in a shop hop.  a month or two ago i received a call asking if we would like to participate in the quilters fling 2011 jingle bell shop hop.  of course i said, YES!!!


the time has come to start hopping. september 10 seemed so far off yet it has arrived. and so have we, i'm pleased to say. please join us and all the shops participating. we've all been working hard to make sure the blocks are well thought out and the story of being snowbound at grandma's is a must read. we hope to see you this week.  for more information or to print out a copy of the map, click here.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

beauteous batiks

my love for batiks seems to expand with each delivery...


...this day it was not on bolts, rather wrapped in creativity and mutual love of the fabric.  quilt in montego batiks by moda and designed by libie at livin4prim. fabric art on side wall by marlene of karmacreations 

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

thank you suzy...

a few months back sarah and i had the pleasure of speaking with a delightful woman who writes a column for quilts inc.


we were not sure when the article was to publish, so it truthfully went to the back corner of my mind.  then i receieved word it went live.

as i first read the story, i cried. it was as if i was reading the tale of a stranger. then i blinked twice at the picture and realized that truly is sarah and sari standing there. in our store. this really is our story. it still doesn't seem real for some reason when i see it in print.  yet, we have so many wonderful new friends, i am quickly reminded that indeed it is real. still, i pinch myself every so often. 

thank you suzy for capturing our mission so perfectly. (click the picture to read the story)

Sunday, September 4, 2011

dear sophie...

by chez moi has arrived...  


every group from this talented artist is masterfully hand painted using classic watercolor technique. she uses her traditional training to compose highly stylized and surprisingly contemporary landscapes. it is exactly this juxtaposition that sets chez moi apart.

sophie which means wisdom, is done in beautiful aquas, rose, pinks, olive green and chocolate brown along with cream.  the charming quilt by libie of livin4prim.  the pillow comes up from atlanta, georgia by warm'n'fuzzies.