More Samples and Christmas Gift Ideas

 Gen just made this beautiful little wall hanging or lap quilt using The Pattern Basket's pattern, Tying the Knot and Moda's Etchings line by 3 Sisters which we highlighted in the previous post.  What elegant and delectable steel gray's, turkey red's and clean aqua's this line has with images of the Eiffel Tower, architectural renderings and lovely floral's.  And this sweet little quilt has a different twist, tied corner strips!  So cute!  And you can make it with a layer cake (only one left!) or fat quarters plus 1 1/2 yards cream for the border and binding.  Fast and simple yet elegant and unique.

 This is Becky's second large tote bag using the pattern My Favorite Bag by Kati Cupcake. This roomy sashed bag with large grommets and pockets inside and out is not only utilitarian for carrying books, sewing or quilting supplies or work items but it's a show-stopper as well.  And the outer pocket fabric Isadora by Blank Textiles is a gorgeous choice for this bag.

 Expecting a new little one in the family or among your friends?  Put together this sweet little Noah's Ark panel for a quick, personalized gift.  Baby will love the colors and the cuddly comfort of this little quilt.

Jody put together this quilt in two days, it's so quick and easy and takes just ten fat quarters, 3/4 yard of accent fabric (we used an off-white) and 1 1/2 yards of border fabric for a 60" x 72" lap quilt. We used the pattern "Perfect Ten" by Swirly Girl Designs. What a beautiful quilt and these splashy, contemporary fabrics by Joel Dewberry are a perfect fit for the pattern.  Any of these patterns make great gifts for Christmas!

Etchings by Moda, Joel Dewberry Fabrics and Dear Sister

 This lovely line by 3 Sisters for Moda, Etchings has just arrived.  Besides the elegant cool gray's and blues and the classic Moda red, the fabric has a soft hand indicative of quality.  The Moda and United Notions website offers a free pattern for this line, Etchings pattern, as well as many others but Gen is currently making a Tying the Knot quilt using the pattern by The Pattern Basket with it. We'll show it off soon!

 One of our customers made this beautiful quilt using the Papillon line by Red Rooster and coordinating prints and Block Party Studio's Dear Sister pre-printed panels.  What a lovely gift this will make for her sister.

More gorgeous prints have arrived, these from the popular designer, Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit. What fresh, funky and energetic prints these are!  So many pattern possibilities come to mind including San Francisco Window Boxes by Sweet Jane's or some of the Take Five patterns. With prints like these, you don't need a complicated pattern--let the prints take center stage in a more simplified quilt pattern.

Fall is in the Air, Opportunity Quilt and Pillowcases Galore!

 Fall is in the air and it's time to work on some fall projects with luscious shades of red, orange, rust, green and brown for your home or as gifts.  And this beautiful quilt made by members of the Piedmont Piecers Quilting Guild of Spartanburg would be beautiful folded over the back of our sofa or hung on your wall. You can stop by the shop and see it while we have it hanging in our cutting room and buy an opportunity ticket to win it in the drawing to be held December 20th.  The colors are rich and the design is stunning!

 We also have just in Christmas cards by Carol Wilson Fine Arts.  These precious quilted stockings hold a bounty of holly and berries and gifts.  The set includes 15 cards and envelopes.

 For those of you who are our frequent customers, you know we have goodies here, there and everywhere. Island Batik's Strip-Tease Buns of pre-cut 2 1/2" strips and fat quarter bundles are the perfect start to a stunning fall batik project in rich shades of purple, gold, teal and green.  Need inspiration?  Look no further than Island Batik.

 Jody has been making pillowcases lately using the no-raw-seams method. They are super easy and require just 3/4 yard for the body, 1/3 yard for the cuff and an accent strip.  They make great Christmas, birthday , college or shut-in gifts and can be whipped up in a flash.  Make a strip-pieced cuff, floral or batik to match the recipients tastes and personality.  Or join the e Million Pillowcases Challenge online. We've rescheduled our pillowcase class for Thursday, October 13th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m..  The cost is $5 with purchase of your fabrics here.

 With the popularity of cupcake shops and bakeries, we have a new cupcake fabric just in by Timeless Treasures perfect for aprons, hot pads and oven mitts.

Agean Sea Quilt by Jennifer Adams

 First, a thank you to all of you who dropped by Saturday and made our sixth year anniversary sale such a success!  We appreciate our customers and your continued support!  Thank you! We're looking forward to another great year.


 New in the shop is the Fall issue of Quilts and More with, as always, great, simple and dynamic quilts, totes, seasonal projects and, as the name says, 'more'.  Be sure to pick up a copy today to get those creative juices flowing and work on your holiday gift list!

 One of our good customers and friends, Jennifer Adams, has made two of Judy Martin's quilts from her book, Stellar Quilts, Kyoto Gardens and Agean Sea.  Her version of Kyoto Gardens, shown above is on Judy Martin's website in the viewer photos section, http://www.judymartin.com/gallery/adams1.html and her version of Agean Sea which is currently hanging in the shop will be shown there soon.  Come by to check out the book and Jennifer's stunning quilt in cool aqua's and blue's and light ecru's. The photo doesn't do it justice.

Also, plan to visit downtown Inman Saturday, September 24th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the 30th anniversary of the annual Harvest Day festival.  Enjoy arts, crafts, food vendors, amusements, a Little Miss & Mr. Harvest Pageant, watermelon seed spitting contest, exhibits by the Foothills Antique Power Association, animals from Hollywild Zoo and the Carolina Panthers and Chapman Panthers mascots. The Barnburners will perform from 6 to 8 p.m. as well.  Plan to enjoy a family outing with good food, entertainment and crafts. For more information, visit The Inman Chamber of Commerce,  http://www.inmanscchamber.org/files/news/33/2011-09.pdf.

Fall Classes at Inman Quilt Cottage

 Now that school is back in session and the mornings are cooling off a bit, it's time to focus on some quilt classes.  Learn the basics or make a new project! We've had several requests for a Beginning Quilting Class so join us on Tuesday's, October 4th, 11th and 18th either in the mornings, 10 a.m. to noon or evenings, 5:30 to 7:30 to learn the basic rotary cutting, quarter-inch seams and proper pressing to launch you into the fun world of quilting.  We'll be making a traditional nine patch from Alex Anderson's book, Start Quilting.

 Now that the 2011 Shop Hop is over, we have some of our Kansas Troubles block kits still remaining.  We've reduced them to half-price so stop by and pick up a few while they last. We made a pretty pillow from our's.

 Jody will be offering a landscape quilt class Saturday, October 29th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. across the street at the Inman Presbyterian Church, one of our 'Across the Street Retreats' which includes instruction, lunch and snacks for $50.  The kits will include all the supplies you'll need, the Applique Press Sheet, Bo Nash 007 Starter kit, Wonder Under, fabrics, five spools of Sulky rayon thread, an hoop for thread painting, Sulky Solvy, a permanent marker and tulle. Bring your sewing machine with quilting or free motion foot, a small cutting mat, snips or small scissors, rotary cutter and be ready to have fun learning some basic landscape quilting techniques.

We're also offering a seamless standard pillowcase class, Saturday, September 24th from 10 to 11:30 a.m.. You'll want to make several of these for Christmas or birthday gifts, hostess gifts or a remembrance for a shut-in.  This class is $5 plus fabrics you come in and pre-select.
Also, Becky will teach the Berry Sweet Bag by Fig Tree Quilts. She's made it super easy by pre-quilting and cutting your basic bag pieces. This class will be Tuesday, September 20th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (you can look through our older posts for a photo!) and is $5 plus the kit, $22.50.
Stop by or call and sign up today!  We will also customize classes for your guild or group of friends whether you wish to make a purse, tote, apron, quilt or other project.  Stop by for details.

Campbell's Covered Bridge

 Jody has just finished a new landscape quilt based on a photo she took at Campbell's Covered Bridge in nearby Gowensville an autumn or two ago.  The inspiration photo is at the top.  She used a 'confetti' technique of tiny bits of fabric adhered to the surface for the fall foliage. We'll be having a class in a few weeks to learn landscape quilt and thread painting techniques to turn a photo into a wall hanging.  If you're interested in this class, please stop by or give us a call to let us know what day of the week would suit you.  With enough participation, we'll have an Across the Street Retreat on a Saturday at the Inman Presbyterian Church social hall just across the road from the shop.

New Books We Love!!

 Among the new books we love is 3 Times the Charm by Me & My Sister Designs, Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson and published by Leisure Arts.  If you need quick, fresh quilt designs, this little book has seven of the quickest, prettiest quilts you can imagine.

 Another new one is Cozy Modern Quilts by Kim Schaefer featuring 23 easy pieced but dynamic and modern quilts.  We've had several customers bring this book in to coordinate fabrics for one of the designs and we loved the quilts so much, we had to order a few copies for the shop.

 And last year, we absolutely loved the book 'Tis the Season Quilts and Other Comforts by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks of The Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Jody had so many pink, red, ecru, and brown scraps and has a 'thing' for black in a quilt, she had to make the quilt they call "Vintage Cherries" and we made the "Holiday Stars Pillow" with strips of red's and a pretty green holiday swirl fabric.  This year, we'll probably have to work on a few more projects from this book!

 Vintage Cherries using up brown, red, ecru and pink scraps paired with solid black!

The fused applique stars with blanket stitch around them, extra-wide red ric rac and metallic star buttons make this pillow whimsical and eye-catching.

Sew Many Pretty Things!

 Recently, our friend and customer, Beverly Bourgeois brought in these precious Zipper Critters she made with the Indygo Junction pattern by Paula Hayek Design.  Their 'mouth's zip open and closed to hide little treasures like candy, small toys or maybe a note or lost tooth!  Beverly used scraps and specialty fabrics to stitch these little funky zippered pillow pals together.  Stop by to get your pattern to create your own Zipper Critters in sizes ranging from 8" tall down to 3 1/2" square.

 We've been meaning to comment on the pretty landscaping at the Inman Presbyterian Church just across the street from the Quilt Cottage (the social hall, seen in the background, is where we hold our Across the Street Retreats with great thanks and appreciation to the congregation).  In the spring, we were treated to lovely mauve and peach tall bearded irises and now in this sweltering heat we are treated to petunias, dusty miller, Crepe Myrtles and more!  Such a nice view we enjoy!

 Just in is this colorful and whimsical line from Moda, Meadow Friends by Deb Strain.  You can find a free pattern here: http://www.unitednotions.com/moda-ss_meadow-friends_02-2011.pdf. 

 Frogs, butterflies, salamanders and other meadow critters frolic across the shades of pink, orange, aqua blue and green in this scrumptious line.

 Jody has been working on using up scraps in this quilt from a back issue of Quilting Today, Issue #78 from 2,000.  Simple 2 7/8" half-square triangles, 2 1/2" strips and squares and a light tone-on-tone background are all you need to create this fun, colorful quilt.  The Road to Oklahoma blocks come together to make the stars and four-patches.  If you're like us and have scraps galore, look for this class down the road. We may even do it as a 'scrap exchange' class where you bring various scraps to trade for an even more colorful quilt!

 Renee Dugan's Across the Street Retreat, Shooting Star by Edita Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts will be Tuesday, August 30th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Make sure and sign up for this all day retreat including lunch. Stop by or call the shop for more details and to reserve your spot!

Renee's finished quilt hanging on our mantel at the shop!  It's a stunning quilt!

Free Shipping on Handi Quilter machines until August 8th!!!!

If you have been considering the purchase of your own HQ Avante or Sweet Sixteen, Handi Quilter is offering free shipping until August 8th! Call Becky or stop by for details on this great special offer!!!! And meanwhile, watch a video on the basics of the HQ by Suzanne Hyland.

Popsicle Sticks, Berry Sweet Bags and Dogwood Trails

 Gen recently made this beautiful version of Atkinson Designs' Popsicle Sticks quilt using Moda's Fandango line by Kate Spain in rich browns, aqua's and coral's.  It is so pretty and the perfect size for a cozy read on the couch or a dorm room quilt.  Popsicle Sticks goes together like a breeze!

 Becky also pre-quilted some Sweet Berry Bag's by Fig Tree Quilts.  These are the  cutest little purses for a special little girl.

 And this lusciously lovely line from Moda, Dogwood Trails by Sentimental Studios is beautiful in sweet pinks, grass green's and dogwood blossoms.  We have a few Jelly Rolls and Cake Squares left and the bolts have just arrived.  Who wouldn't have sweet dreams curled up under a quilt made from these gorgeous fabrics?!

Shooting Star Retreat Sign Up and Shop Hop in Full Swing!

 In addition to the Carolina Shop Hop now in full swing through this Saturday, July 16th, we have some newly finished projects to share!  The little Halloween panel wall hanging is made from Deb Strain's Trick or Treat line for Moda and you get two panels in one.  We love this border fabric by Henry Glass, Spooktacular Too with little mice and colorful pumpkins on black! It's going fast so drop by and pick up a few yards while it lasts!

 Keeping with the Civil War theme of this year's Shop Hop, Jody made this wall hanging by Little Scraps from This & That, Butter Churn using various Civil War era prints.  It measures 24 1/2" square and features the traditional Butter Churn block in a dynamic setting.

 Gen put together these two precious oven mitts, Hot Cakes! by Susie C. Shore Designs.  What a sweet gift for the baker in the family and they are the perfect companion gift with the Four Corners Apron we featured in an earlier post made with Timeless Treasures cupcake fabric!


Make plans to join us Tuesday, August 30th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at our Across the Street Retreat when Renee Dugan will be teaching Edita Sitar's Shooting Stars quilt. Renee's version of this stunning quilt is currently hanging in the shop in the Handi Quilter room so stop by to see it, pick up your pattern, template and fabrics and plan to make a day of it. In addition to the supplies, the cost of the retreat is $50 which includes instruction, use of the Inman Presbyterian Social Hall, lunch and snacks.  This promises to be a fun day learning a new technique.

And, of course, if you haven't already dropped by to see us during this year's Carolina Shop Hop, please come by!  It's been another great Shop Hop and we are grateful for your patronage and your kind remarks and comments!  We appreciate it!