Twirl!

Did you do a pirouette?
We do  - when the delivery men come with new fabric.  (or at the least a little happy dance.)

Think Spring with Moda's latest collection from Me and My Sisters - "Twirl"  butterflies, flowers and great blender fabrics in the style so many people come to love and expect from Me and My Sisters.

I couldn't resist the coolest blenders from Robin Pandolph - checks to dots!  Imagine the possibilities.

South Florida Mod

StitchCraft hosted the third meeting of the South Florida Modern Quilt Guild.  Well attended by enthusiastic quilters with modern interests.  Led by the talented Nicole, a NYC transplant, the interpretation of modern was varied but equally talented.

The group discussed upcoming area quilt shows and projects. A sewing day to create quilts for Project Linus will be at the Boca Library next month and a collaborative row quilt is underway.

Show and tell is a popular part of any guild, where we all get to see the many projects our contemporaries have created.

Shelly tool the Wavelet class with Jane Hardy Miller last month at StitchCraft.  Her color choice is wonderful, don't you think?

We see Sue peaking out from behind her wonderful quilt that showcases one of her favorite fabric lines - Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons.

Nicole is finishing up a baby quilt with a citrus theme.  We think Florida is really starting to rub off on her already!

Stunning quilt set off by the white sashing and border!

The South Florida Modern quilt guild did a Mug Rug Swap.  Smaller than a place mat, bigger than a coaster - thing coffee and a muffin.  Mini quilts for us to keep on our desks and dressers and enjoy each and every day.   Have scraps or a bit of some great fabric left over?  Make a mug rug!

For more information on the South Florida Modern Quilt guild visit their website here. 

New Fabric Arrivals this Week

The fabric designers and manufacturers are not disappointing this year (which is a relief since the price of cottons have gone up - the quality is staying high!)

Wonderful fabrics arrived from Blend (Anna Griffin), Timeless Treasures, Windham and more.

Anna Griffin's Blend division made me think - and buy - outside of my box.  They had magnificent neutrals that are so perfect in so many ways.

Windham brought us a great coffee line, Cafe Au Lait.

Great for family a family room through, placemats, runners, aprons - and anything for the coffee lover. (They have coordinating spoon fabric that is delightful!)

I chose the Walnut Hill Farm fabrics designed by Charlotte Lyons for a few personal reasons.  First, it resembles a collage or assemblage of cool vintage things - which I love.  Second, I have been a Charlotte Lyons fan since her days at Home Companion (Mary Engelbreit) magazine.  Charming!

I have been meeting with fabric reps and ordering a lot of fabrics - all the way through Christmas 2012.  Love what is coming to the shop!  Today I had the privilege to see (and order) new Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  They are fabulous - new patterns and new color ways for old favorites.    More jelly rolls and charm packs to go with them.  And lots of new buttons for the shop.

Come visit us soon for a class or at Friday Sit and Sew or Saturday's Modern Quilt Guild.

Happy quilting and sewing!  

We Have Been Featured!

We had a wonderful visit from Darra Williamson, accomplished quilter, author, editor, and blogger.  She and three other talented quilt personalities create See How We Sew.  Wonderful photography, interviews, inspiration, tutorials - even recipes.  Visit for yourself, book mark it and enjoy!

Just in Case you Missed the Newsletter...

Resolve to be Creative         in 2012 Happy New Year!  We are so excited to kick off 2012 with fresh new ideas, new classes, new fabric and other fabulous goodies and we look forward to sharing it with you!  The past year had it's excitement, especially in the move to the bigger shop and the addition of so many wonderful staff members to StitchCraft.  With them come new ideas and CLASSES! Here is a sampling of what is new for classes, clubs and events - and more will be added of course!  Details are on our website and you can sign up in person or over the phone.  Questions?  Please ask - you know we love to chat with you!! Four Patch Posy Miki came to us with a binder full of photos of gorgeous quilts she created and a list of classes that she enjoyed teaching.  It was hard to choose, but we decided to begin with the Four Patch Posy.  It is really fun to cut the fabric and manipulate the layout to create the patterns. (Okay, the photo is not great, but the quilt is!!) Classes are Wednesday, January 25 and February 1 from 10-1.  $55 Quilt as You Go Another terrific class with Miki.  You will create a table topper (or wall hanging) using a unique quilt-as-you-go method.  No wrestling with your quilts at the machine - and when you are done - you are done! Tuesdays February 28 and March 6  10-1  $55.00 Paper Piecing  Have you always wanted to know how to get those perfect points or piece those tiny pieces?  Paper piecing! Learn the technique and open up your quilting to a whole new world. Tuesday, January 24 from 2-4 $25 Another quickie with Tammie! Blocks of the Month Reserve your Block of the Month kit to create the stunning Ripples and Reflections quilt.  Created with Hoffman batiks and hand dyes in sumptuous jewel tones. $25 start fee.  $24.95 month for pattern and fabric kit. Meeting/kit pickup will be last Saturday of the month beginning in January . (Kits may be picked up after that day or shipped for the cost of mailing).  This is a 12 month quilt. Applique Block of the Month Join superstar applique quilter Dottie Levine each month to create a stunning applique quilt in delicious colors with a bit of a Southwestern twist.  Fiesta de la Talavera can be done in any of your favorite applique methods.  Dottie will teach her needle turn methods, tips and tricks.  Fusible applique with machine quilting is a good method for this pattern, too, as the pieces are not too small.  Johanna will be happy to demo how to use fusible webbing and machine applique stitches. Block of the Month class and kit pickup will begin in March on the first Thursday of the Month (March 1) and will run through the end of the calendar year. Bright batiks on your choice of a light or dark background.  Cost TBD Second Saturday?  $10 Quilt? Whatever you called it - we are going to do it!  What are we talking about?  Let us explain... Meet once a month at the shop for a block of the month (beginning in March, it will be the second Saturday).  Pay $10 and receive the fabric and pattern for your first quilt block.  Finish that block and bring it in the following month on the 2nd Saturday and get the pattern and fabric for the next block FREE!  As long as you bring the previous months' block completed at the meeting, your next block is FREE.  Bring every block in each month for the whole year and your quilt top can cost you only $10.  (I know, it's awesome.  We didn't invent it.)  Miss a month and you can get that block for $10.  Still a great deal and a lot of fun. We didn't mention the best part. Raine is going to be running this BOM program!  Some of you know her former shop and from the Gold Goast Quilt Guild.  Her creative mind and energy make for a fun little gathering each month.  Not to mention that she is an extremely talented quilter! We haven't officially picked our pattern but it will be a nice sample style.  Let us know if you are interested! Other Happenings on the Horizon We will host a Baby Lock Open House to introduce you to all of the wonderful features and creative directions you can take with Baby Lock 's sewing, quilting and embroidery machines and sergers.  Baby Lock national educators will join us for classes and demos. Raine will be adding classes to our schedule - wait until you see the samples she just completed in the shop - WOW! Do you machine embroider?  Would you be interested in a machine embroidery club? We get wonderful suggestions and ideas from our wonderful customers.  If you have any ideas for classes that you would like to take please let us know.  While we can't guarantee that we can add them to our calendar, we appreciate your input and enthusiasm. Remember that we post our class information on the calendar page of our website.Please visit us and read our blog while you are at it!

New Fabric is Fantastical (and manly, too!)

Although quilt market seems like it was so long ago, the reminders of a wonderful trip to Houston arrive weekly via friendly brown truck!  Today was one of those days!  Awesome fabrics from Benartex - and their new Canvas line, was unpacked, along with some Timeless Treasures batiks.    Finally was the long awaited Celebrate Seuss!  fabrics from Robert Kaufman (I know I said in the past that I wasn't keen on ordering licensed character fabrics, however I couldn't resist this fabric!!  I couldn't resist Yo Gabba Gabba either, which should be arriving sometime soon as well.)  Check out a sampling of what is new at StitchCraft!

Oh the possibilities!  I was planning on making my husband a quilt for his birthday (which was in November) and had been collecting fabrics that were representative of him.  When I saw the Man Cave fabrics in Houston I postponed his project until the fabric arrived.  Time for me to get quilting.  What would you create with these?