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.

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:)   

crib sweetness...

i've always felt our crib needed just a little something more...like a bundle of sweetness...

 

 

this week we found her!! meet abigail...future quilter. she is just so precious and sweet i have to share one more... 

she even let me cuddle and snuggle with her.  what a wonderful job i have!! it's just too bad sarah wasn't with me.  she loves babies. thanks to mommy erin for sharing her with us.

dear Stella, the fabric...

the newest fabric to hit our shelves...

 

just loving everything about dear stella. do you have a favorite?  i do!

dear Stella...

i've loved this picture from the first day i saw it in a quilting magazine...

and i love their branding message even more...

dear Stella is a unique fabric brand with modern style. The collection evokes an edgy freshness, combining the best of old traditions with modern influences. These beautiful fabrics will inspire both a traditional quilter and a contemporary “sewist” to reinvent their sewing style.

STELLA is an inspiring, independent spirit. She is creative, adventurous, and hopelessly romantic. She loves beautiful paper and a perfectly wrapped gift, and always sends handwritten thank you notes. Cookbooks sit pretty on her shelves for more than just cooking, and she always plates her dinner, even if it’s just for one. You may find her spending lazy days savoring coffee while pouring over her favorite magazines and blogs, dreaming about the ultimate craft room. She has a strong work ethic, and feels so much pride in making things herself. She loves flip flops and painted toes, furry friends of all shapes and sizes, making a to-do list with her favorite pen, the smell of freshly cut flowers, and the sound of a crackling fire (especially when melting s’mores). She believes brunch makes Sunday the best day of the week, and is never too full for dessert.
And she always holds the door.

dear Stella has arrived in our house of fabric.  come see it for yourself.

beautiful setting...

...beautiful quilts. sarah and i had the privilege of attending the opening reception of the willoughby hills quilt quild's show last evening...

 

...the best part of vending at such events is seeing so many beautiful friends, both customers and other quilt shop owners. thank you to the quild for a great opening reception and for inviting us.

lost your marbles?

not to worry. we have them. over 100 colors in stock and they are all on sale until this saturday for just $5.00 per yard...    

 

 

birds & berries...

by lauren + jessi jung has arrived...

 

if you hop over to their blog today and read this post...a free pattern is waiting for you. and if you like to shop, lauren debuts a useful new tool that she has in the development stage.

home days parade...

what a picture perfect day for the city of lyndhurst.  the best seat on the parade route goes to...

...the sweetheart in the white wicker chair sitting next to her own sign. talk about real life advertising:)

i know i often talk about sarah and down syndrome on this blog.  it is  partly because i am just so proud of her.  it is also because we have many readers who also have a young child with T21 and they are following us on our journey.  this is most definately not a sight that was ever in my dreams.  so many people in the parade waived to her as they went by or stopped to talk to us. we even had a few new guests come into the shop.

the story of the birds...

...and the berries.  that delightful collection by lauren + jessi jung is currently being strung in the house...

 

the fabric has arrived. it is sitting in the back hallway waiting for the sample maker to get a move on. she was making great progress until...you can read the not so perfect details by clicking here.  how about you. have you ever finished an entire project start to finish without picking up the seam ripper at least once?

shopping cart sweetness...

i had a few bankers in this week looking about the building. the one was telling the other that a quilt shop is sorta like a cult. in a good way, he exclaimed, quickly realizing that i might take offense to that analogy.

i prefer to think of it as a large, extended, happy, family.  i am like the aunt, a role i especially love because i am not one in real life. each time the little one visits, i get to gushingly say, "oh my golly look how big she is."  and i get to spoil them by giving them candy and letting them do fun things around the house...

 

...like pushing the cart with the marble bias tape along with one of our house dogs stacked on top.  remi. what. a. doll. i just want to scoop her up every time she comes in.  and pinch those precious cheeks. hi remi:)

scarlet & gray...

our newest fabrics...bliss blenders by hoffman and squiggles from moda in scarlet and gray can mean only one thing...

 

let the game begin...go bucks!!!  welcome home urban meyer.