Sew Inspired "Snips & Pieces"

It's a new year... and it's time to get that sewing room, studio - whatever you call it -under control. Our recent Saturday Sampler program highlighted some organizational products we've brought in especially to help you with this New Year's resolution! From project boxes and bags, notion bins and caddies, needle holders and cutter cubbies, we're all about tooling you up for the job. But seriously, your first step is to take an inventory of your PIGS (projects in grocery sacks) then decide what you're going to do about them. Need a tool? Visit our link on the Saturday Sampler area of our site and download a convenient tool to help you with your inventory.

Speaking of inventory, ours was a breeze this year! Guess how many pounds of fabric we have on the floor? Post a comment - if you're the closest (by Jan. 31) we have a prize for you!

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With all the not-so-encouraging news coming from the financial markets on Wall Street, wouldn’t it be nice to hear some good news from the quilt market in Houston?  Well, Viv and Heidi just got back from the Space City and after they showered and slept, I pounced on them to get the latest gossip.  So, straight from their mouths to my typing fingers, here it is!

Solids.  Everyone wants ‘em, and we’ve got ‘em.  Our ladies were accosted at by every vendor trying to peddle their lines of solid fabrics.  We’ve already got a good thing going however, with our over 40 bolts of solid fabric from P&B.  These fabrics work wonderfully with the new modern quilt patterns found in City Quilts by Cherri House and The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartmen, and we’re getting more in on a steady basis.

Embellishments are still all the rage in the quilt world: buttons, ribbon, beading, and especially flowers.  Flowers made from wool felt are popular, as are flowers made from normal cotton quilting fabric.  Attach any of these embellishments to a quilt to make it “pop” and add dimension, to bags to add some flair, or even to the lapel of a blazer to fend off the winter blues.  As with most things in the quilting arena, there are very few “right” ways of doing things.  If you ask me, as long as it makes you happy, go for it.  I would however, NOT recommend embellishing a significant other’s clothing while they sleep.  Apparently guys don’t seem to like it when you bedazzle their favorite t-shirts without their consent.  Hmm…who would have thunk it?  I thought it looked great!

In addition to solids and embellishments, more and more alternative fabrics are coming into the quilt shop scene.  Look for linens, coated and waterproof fabrics, knits, twill, and canvas coming this winter and spring…with fun patterns as well to give you ideas on how to use these new fabrics.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to mention the Quilts of Valor program.  The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to provide quilts to Armed Service members and veterans touched by war.  As of the publish date of this blog entry, the total number of quilts given to Service members is 33,385.  We here at Sew Inspired have made and donated several quilts to this program, and have purchased a line of fabrics designed by Moda specifically for Quilts of Valor.  More information will be coming on Quilts of Valor’s new program “Under Our Wings” and when the new fabric will arrive, so be sure to check back.  Until then, you can certainly read more about this wonderful foundation here.

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Hold onto your hats you krazy kids, cause things are getting wild here at Sew Inspired: We've become a Kwik Sew dealer!  Kwik Sew is a line of clothing and accessory patterns that are designed to go together quickly but still look fantastic.  We've got a good selection of the patterns at the shop already - you should totally come by and take a look!

Here's the deal: we picked our favorite patterns and have them in stock in the shop.  However, we know that our favorites may not be your favorites, so we also have a HUGE catalog that you can browse through.  If you see something you like, we'll order it up quick as a blink and you'll be sewing before you know it!  We're also in the process of stocking up on the "sewist" notions you'll need for the patterns: elastic, zippers, etc. 

The patterns themselves are wonderful: the instructions are well written, clear, and best of all (in my opinion), the patterns are printed on real paper - none of that yucky tan tissue paper of days gone by!  You can be sure I'll be writing more about this whole adventure into KwikSew in the near future, but if you're super anxious, you can check out the website here, or stop by the shop ASAP!

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Well, the gauntlet has been thrown, fellow quilters.  The 2010 Hoffman Challenge fabric is now in the shop, and it is beautiful.  Why would you not want to spend some time at your design station thinking up wonderful ways to use this fabric?  I certainly don't know.

Let's start from the beginning.  Every year, Hoffman hosts a fabric challenge.  They pick a certain fabric, and challenge quilters, doll clothiers, and accessory designers to use the fabric in an original design.  The winners of the challenge get their pieces included in a traveling show that goes across the United States and Canada and includes several hundred stops, including shops, museums, and textile shows.  So, ladies and gents, get those creativity muscles moving, and see what you can do with this wonderful fabric. 

We have the challenge fabric in the shop as we speak, along with the coordinating fabric.  To make things easier for you, we have also bundled a half yard of the challege fabric with fat quarters of the coordinates.  The official website for the challenge is here.

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The Shop Hop is over and we're gearing up for the busiest season! In just a few weeks, we head to Houston for the fall International Quilt Market to buy fabric for the next several months (do you believe we just ordered our first Halloween line for delivery in May 2010?), take classes and spot new trends and ideas. We'll be vending at the Shoreline Quilter's show (www.shorelinequilters.org/quilt_show.htm)  and the Greater Hartford Guild's Annual Gathering, too (http://www.ghqg.org/annual/annual.htm). But, you expected a recipe from the tilte of this blog post - so here are two. Margaret's Baklava was such a hit in 2007 we just had to offer it again, and here's Sandy's salsa. Enjoy! Download file

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New Block-of-the Month from Moda YOU

This exquisite 10-month block of the month quilt combines pieced blocks with artistic wool applique blocks and features fabrics from five upcoming Moda collections. The 76" x 76" quilt also uses 10 solid Moda wool colors for the applique blocks.

Each month you will receive the pattern and fabric to complete two pieced blocks and two wool applique blocks. Throughout the BOM you will also receive the fabrics for the center block, borders and binding.

 NEW GO! Fabric Cutters are Here!

Come try our demo model today.

Love to quilt but hate to cut? Now there's a new way to GO! The AccuQuilt GO! Fabric Cutter is precise, affordable and fast - cut an entire quilt in minutes!

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We've got the buttons!

We're starting our button collection with an assortment of buttons from Dill including wood, silver & gold and polyamid fashion buttons for bags and other projects. We plan to expand our offering based on your feedback so let us know what types of buttons you need! What could be next? Zippers?...

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Visit Us at the Festival!

Sew Inspired is proud to be a blue ribbon sponsor for the Farmington Valley Quilt Festival October 4 & 5 at The Hartford in Simsbury, CT. Our Portraits in Fabric class with Marilyn Belford is full, but you can still attend her free lecture on Sunday at the show. We'll have our Handi Quilter / Pro-Stitcher at the show so you can take it for a test drive. Now is the time to purchase your system - with FREE shipping on all machine packages. Want to know more? Visit www.sewinspiredquilts.com and www.fvqi.org.

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A Sew Inspired Original!

Take a look at our first original quilt pattern, designed by Sandy in EQ6 and made with a bold Alexander Henry print and high contrast coordinates. We're in the process of publishing this pattern - you can see the quilt in the shop and request your copy hot off the press! Want to design your own quilts? We can show you how with EQ6. Ask about our next class.

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Farmington Valley Quilt Festival 2008

Sew Inspired is proud to be a blue ribbon sponsor for the Farmington Valley Quilt Festival October 4 & 5 at The Hartford in Simsbury, CT. Begin your Festival experience on Saturday at an all day workshop with Marilyn Belford at Sew Inspired. Want to know more? Visit www.fvqi.org.

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Joseph's Coat

...or, what I did on my April vacation!

I know, it's been a month since I've had a chance to update all that has been going on. But, I actually had a chance to take some time off after spending a day buying fabric at a regional fabric show and several days at the Machine Quilter's Expo in New Hampshire. So what did I do on my April vacation? Well, I made the coat for Granby Memorial High's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in May. Recognize the Sherrill Kahn fabric?! And, I helped to fill a 30-yard dumpster as we worked to convert our basement to a studio for me and Gab. Yes, she will take half of the 500 square feet for her painting and collage and I'll take the other half for quilting. Here's a before picture. Hopefully the after is soon!

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Girl Scout Troop 66222 "ConKerrs" Cancer!

We recently welcomed Girl Scout Troop 66222 from Simsbury when they delivered the fleece pillowcases they made for ConKerr Cancer. Kudos to these girls for their community service! To learn more about ConKerr Cancer, visit their website. Sew Inspired is a pillowcase collection site!

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Well, March certainly came in like a lion! Though it's hard to imagine spring is right around the corner with a few fresh inches of snow on the ground, we're getting ready for spring in a big way. We welcomed a new owner and partner this week, Sandy, who is bringing a fresh studio concept to our shop. Sew Inspired Studio will be "growing" throughout the spring - first to include custom quilt finishing on Trudy, the Gammill Sandy brings with her. Next, do-it-yourself quilting, and a host of other services. Stay tuned for all of the exciting changes... and come grow with us!

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 Hand-dyed wool bundles from Wild Thymes

We received our first bunch of new wool as promised! We love these bundles from Wild Thymes Pattern Co. We are now carrying hand dyed bundles with 4 - 7x9 pieces and Bundles of Off the Bolt which contain 6 - 10x12 pieces of felted wool in beautiful colors. Our wool by the yard will be in soon.

Coming soon from Hoffman Fabrics...

We love batiks. And these clever new bundles from Hoffman are due in shortly. Each wrap is a cylinder of 40 - 7" squares, two each of 20 colors and are great additions to your stash of batiks.

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From all of us at Sew Inspired

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity in the shop - our major year-end sale, a class full of teens making PJ pants, numerous samples being completed and hung and a shuffling of fabric and displays to usher in the new year! Please pardon our appearance as we prepare for some exciting new events. In early 2008, we're revamping our wool display and adding more products for felting. We're adding wool bundles from Wild Thymes and fiber packs from Treenway Silks. Our reproduction department is getting a makeover, too. Lots of new juvenile fabrics are arriving including the Hungry Caterpillar group from Andover/Makower. Be sure to check out all our upcoming events on our website - www.sewinspiredquilts.com - and visit here often for up-to-date news on fabric arrivals!

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Classroom converted to sale room

We're making room for hundreds of new fabrics. So we moved hundreds into clearance. Sale fabrics are $2.99, $3.99 and $4.99 a yard through Saturday, December 29. Great time to buy backings!

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