It's a Cool Yule!
Put some cool in your Yuletide festivities with Hip Holiday Quilt Kit. This ultra stylish quilt that mixes traditional motifs with modern colors features ten tremendous Christmas trees and presents with pretty paper pieced bows. The star shining on top of the tree is also paper pieced. This hip quilt kit and the fab fabric that goes into it are both designed by Quilt Soup for Henry Glass Fabrics. Get hep with Hip Holidays!
For a cool new look for your Yuletide table, we offer this Fresh & Fun Table Runner. We also offer a class called "Top That Table!" The Fresh & Fun Table Runner is just one of the easy and beautiful table toppers covered in this class. Mark your calendars for Monday, November 8 & 15 at 6-8:30 p.m. or for Thursday, November 11 & 18 from 9:30 to Noon.
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With your Fresh & Fun Table Runner topping your buffet, you need something fresh and fun to serve with it. Your guests will love this tasty twist on that cheesy old cheese ball that's been hanging around as long as the fruitcake.
Fresh & Fun Apple Cheese Ball
8 oz. white Vermont cheddar cheese, finely grated
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
paprika
stem of mint or basil with leaves
Cream the cheddar, cream cheese, garlic powder and red pepper together. Form into a ball and make an indention in the top. Roll the ball in bright red paprika to coat it heavily. Stick the mint or basil leaves in the indentation to put the stem on the apple. Serve with apple and pear slices or with crackers.
Y'all have a Cool Yule!
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We start our journey with this shining Lumiere de Noel quilt kit. In French, Lumiere de Noel means "light of Christmas". The light radiates from the rows of eight-pointed stars, like the Star that shone over Bethlehem on that holiest of nights. Most French families celebrate the light of Christmas by putting up an elaborate Nativity scene called a creche.
Lumiere de Noel is the first Christmas fabric made by French General. It has the look of antique 18th century fabric, in authentic period colors, with lush prints and elegant toiles.
In France, children don't hang their stockings on Christmas Eve. Instead, they leave their shoes out, with hay and carrots for Pere Noel's donkey. If the children have been good, Pere Noel accepts their offerings and fills their shoes with candy and presents. If you want to leave a snack for Pere Noel, we suggest this easy French recipe from glamorous Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich.
Caviar d'Aubergine
Bake an eggplant in the oven until the skin is black. Let cool. Chop half of a medium-sized onion very fine. Fry it golden brown in 4 tablespoons oil. Peel eggplant and cut in small pieces. Add to the onions and fry for a few minutes while mixing constantly with a wooden spoon. Add one small can of tomato sauce and keep on mixing. Transfer to chopping board and chop very fine. (Marlene didn't say so, but you could probably put it in your blender or food processor.) Serve cold as an appetizer. Pere Noel would probably like this with plenty of whole wheat crackers and some sparkling water.
For our Trip Around the World, Suzanne has designed an original tree skirt in bright Hoffman fabrics. It will look beautiful under your tree this year and it's easy to make. It's just one of the tree skirts featured in our class that starts November 2.
We hope you've enjoyed our trip to France. Joyeux Noel!
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The second day of Christmas in July brings two cardinals in a pine tree. With rich jewel toned fabrics of ruby and garnet, emerald and peridot set off by warm gold and obsidian black, Holidays at Home will be an heirloom quilt you and your family will treasure for many Christmases yet to come. Click Here to see this collection and enjoy your Holidays at Home. This is a 6 month Block of the Month but we decided to sell it as a whole quilt kit so you can speed along and get it made for Christmas 2010. You also save on shipping cost purchasing as a whole kit.
Cut rectangles and half-square triangles units from the Strip-It Border and cut down on piecing!
Quilt measures 62" x 62" Click Here
Each mealtime my husband and I have the joy of seeing several pairs of cardinals enjoying the bird feeders. My husband loves birds. Of course I had to make this quilt. The quilt top is done and there will be a class at the shop this Fall in September and October.
Staff member Rachel came up with this yummy cookie recipe for today. You don't have to wait till Christmas to try this out.
Merry Christmas, Suzanne
Chocolate Chip Sunshine Cookies
One 12 oz, package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large navel orange
1 box white cake mix
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Dump the bag of chocolate chips into a small bowl. Wash the orange good and grate the peel into the bowl of chocolate chips. Squeeze the juice of the orange over the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside overnight. This is so the chocolate will absorb the orange flavor.
In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, brown sugar, egg and oil. Mix them by hand and then add the orange chocolate chips and the pecans. Stir them into the batter, but don’t over mix. Drop the dough by teaspoons onto a well greased cookie sheet, leaving a good two inches between them because they spread. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Makes 3 dozen bright and happy cookies.
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I am excited to announce a special opportunity for you to learn from one of the best quilting teachers. Trudie Hughes has authored 14 quilting books, created numerous patterns and designed four quilting rulers. She owned a quilt shop in Elm Grove, WI for 36 before retiring in 2006. For many years she traveled the country teaching her techniques at quilt shops and quilting guilds. She taught in our Florida store twice and I have been to Quilt Camp at her store. She has had more influence in my quilting career that any other teacher. Trudie's rulers (Rotary Rule, Rotary Mate, Big Mama and Big Daddy) are my favorite rulers. They are the rulers I use all the time to cut many shapes. I have made quilts from all her books. Trudie taught me quilting math that has helped me write my own patterns. I use her methods in teaching my own classes.
Trudie has given up the traveling teacher circuit but she would still like to share her information to our online customers. She has put together a series of quilting lessons. You can sign up for a one time fee of $80.00 for a year. Each month you will receive a pdf file with lessons to view and patterns to print. The projects include wall quilts, lap quilts and tablerunners, designed by Trudie for practicing each month's technique. Patterns willl showcase color and layout options. Extra projects, such as a Mystery Quilt will be offered for the ambitious quilters, plus yummy recipes. For more details click here: http://www.suzannesquilts.com/documents/TrudiesOnlineClass.pdf
Sign up today at: http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=1254522111591254&Store_id=417&page_id=23&Item_ID=25994
Class starts on August 15. Don't delay or you might forget. This class is only offered through our website. You can order Trudie's books, patterns and rulers are available in our store and on our website.
Happy Quilting,
Suzanne
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On Saturday, May 15th Suzanne's Quilt Shop will be hosting yet another sewing event for a worthy cause! American Patchwork & Quilting has issued the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. Suzanne has agreed to participate, and she's inviting volunteers to help out. On Saturday, May 15th from 10:00am until 5:30pm our doors will be wide open to any and all volunteers who can come and sew pillowcases for donation to local charities. There are currently 7 pillowcase patterns posted HERE on the official website, and more are posted quarterly. We also have pillowcase patterns available to participants. You're more than welcome to bring your own fabrics from your stash, and we also have ready-to-sew pillowcase kits featuring beautifully coordinated fabrics for males and females of all ages.
At this very moment, AP&Q has collected 71,131 pillowcases (and counting)! To help AP&Q keep count of how many pillowcases you're making and donating, you can simply let us know or sign up HERE and enter the number of pillowcases in their site directly.
We look forward to this event, and we hope you can come! If you plan on making it in, even if it's only for a small time, please call or come in to let us reserve a place for you to sew. If you simply can't join in this time, no worries! We will accept pillowcases any time and happily donate them in your name for the cause. This is a great event for us to participate--Suzanne works every year to support local charities by donating when she can. Amongst other charitable events such as Quilting for ALS and Stars for a Cause, Suzanne's coupon book (still available for in-store purchase!) is always a popular product with customers--Suzanne matches every dollar from the sales of the coupon books, all of the proceeds from that go to The Serenity House, a local shelter helping local battered women and their children. A pillowcase can provide comfort for a cancer patient, hope for a foster child, encouragement for a battered woman, or beauty for a nursing home resident. We have a list of local charities in addition to Serenity House that will welcome your made-with-love pillowcases with open arms and grateful hearts.
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All of our Spring Classes have been organized and posted in the store and online! Here are just a few that we're excited about:
Four-Patch Stacked Posies
Pictured in the snapshot above is the sample of the Four-Patch Stacked Posies quilt that Tonya made. Tonya wanted to explore all of the possibilities this pattern gives the quilter, and it seemed her possibilities were endless once she got to work! Each block is constructed from the same print fabric--Tonya also used that fabric as her border on this sample quilt. Each block is constructed carefully using a smart technique that you're sure to have fun with. Call us, go online, or come in to sign up for either our morning or evening class. This session consists of 3 classes (May 6, 13, and 20) and cost is $40 plus pattern and materials. Click on the quilt image above to see class details and to sign up on our website.
T-Shirt Quilt
Recycle a drawer full of souvenir t-shirts into a quilt that will capture treasured memories. Everyone has sentimental t-shirts that they just can't give up or donate! This is the perfect graduation gift and will put to use all of those t-shirts from sports, clubs, church groups, and many activities. What a comfort quilt to have nearby! Tonya will be teaching this series of 3 classes, on Mondays: May 10, 17, and 24 from 9:30 to noon. Cost is $40 plus cost of the pattern and materials. But don't forget to bring your own t-shirts! You can click on the image or quilt title above to link over to our website for more information and to sign up for the fun class.
Fun and Done Quilt
Ever started a quilt and just couldn't seem to get it done? First, you make the blocks and everything is going great, but then there's all the sashing, backing, borders, and binding... sometimes, you just wanna have fun and be done! This quilt is the perfect quick project, because you're quilting as you go... including your sashing and binding! Suzanne will teach you these quick techniques and walk you through every step of the pattern and instructions. Consists of 3 classes on Mondays: May 10, 17, and 24 from 6:00-8:30pm. Class fee is $40 plus cost of the pattern and materials.
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A while back through Facebook, Twitter, and here in the shop, we made a shout-out for all of our Jo Morton Little Women Club members to show off their finished quilts. We got a great response! There was a total of 8 different quilters who finished 15 quilts and brought them in for us to display as one giant Little Women Club quilt installation here at Suzanne's! We have to give credit to these eight lovely ladies, so in no particular order, we are displaying the quilts of Shirley Thomas, Pat Hall, Donna Hembree, Joyce Whaley Luke, Dee Motto, Karen Cross, Rae Giddens, and Jane Rogers.
Eight different Jo Morton designs are featured in an array of Jo Morton fabrics. Each lady selected whichever Jo Morton fabrics she wanted to use for each quilt, and we now have a countless number of options to show how remarkably beautiful these Civil War reproduction fabrics can truly be. While some may be subtle, neutral, and quaint in their combination of fabric color/pattern, others are more robust with bright reds, greens, pinks, black, and blues. The combination of these two translations of Jo Morton's fabrics is incredibly striking here on our white walls, and we couldn't be happier to display these beautiful quilts made by our loyal patrons. Thanks, ladies! We love looking at your quilts every day!!! (And you should hear all the compliments you're getting on a daily basis!)
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The Nicey Jane fabric line is a Retro Chic collection of florals, geometric prints, whimsical leaves, dots, and stripes. Depending on your personal use of the fabrics, your finished project could look soft and romantic with lots of flowing flowers. It could also look chic, contemporary, and stylish with stripes and giant roses. Or, if you're in the mood for a little bit of retro influence, there are dots, leaves, flowers, and geometric designs that would get you there.
We have two colorways of Heather Bailey's charming line for Free Spirit. Here's the blue/green/gold colorway, ranging from light sage green, to lime green, to deep forest green; from soft sky blue to rich teal; and from a soft and buttery yellow to a brilliant gold:
And below we have the pink/green colorway, ranging from a romantic rose pink, to bubblegum pink, and taking it all the way to a brilliant hot pink with touches of a bright cherry red; ranging from light celery green all the way through olive green with hints of turquise here and there:
Jennifer took the blue/green/gold colorway and made something very pretty out of it--a new pattern called Nice & Easy designed by Suzanne! If you have other fabrics in mind, this pattern is available on its own as well.
Just click here to order the Nice & Easy pattern! For this project, though, it was Nicey Jane all the way. But not one of us could decide if we liked the romantic flowers, hip stripes, or retro geometric patterns best, so we mixed and matched them all to create this new sample. Our new
Nice & Easy quilt kit is available here in the shop or in our online shop, folded nicely into a sturdy plastic box--an easy and convenient way for you to store your scraps for a future project! This is the perfect collection of fabrics and shop sample to have near our front windows. It's
so airy, fun, bright, and cheerful.
And here's a close-up of all the different fabrics sewn together, only separated by long strips of cheerful, pretty teal:
Oh, but wait! We like this group of fabrics so much, Tonya sewed up another shop sample. The Mini Miranda Bag, pictured below, will be one of the great classes that Tonya will be teaching here in the shop. While you don't have to use the Nicey Jane fabrics (you can choose whichever fabrics you'd like), we just thought it sewed up quite nicely. Tonya's Miranda Bag Class will be a one-day-only class on January 30th from 9:30am until 3:00pm. Don't miss your chance to take this class! By the time you leave, you'll have a cute and functional bag to add to your collection! We're taking sign-ups now. Class fee is $30.00 plus the cost of materials.
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On the second Saturday of every month, Suzanne's Quilt Shop hosts what we call Saturday Sampler. This month's meeting was on November 14th. It's a fun, busy, exciting morning filled with the reveals of our newest fabrics, kits, notions, and other goodies as well as a bit of Show-and-Tell by quilters who come. Perhaps the biggest perk to being a member of our Saturday Sampler club is the quilt you get to make, and Suzannes hands-on tutorial on how to do it! To join, all you need to do is sign up and pay your $6 membership fee. Each month a new block is introduced, and if you show up with last month's block finished, this month's block is free! During the gathering each month, Suzanne sits at her sewing machine as quilters look on and learn Suzanne's techniques for finishing the next block.
Saturday Sampler was so popular in the past, we had to plan for two separate groups! Our first shift comes tumbling through the doors at 9:30am while the second shift starts at 10:30. We always begin with Show-and Tell.
After everyone has had the chance to show off finished quilts, it's time for the ever-exciting new reveals. Suzanne loves the reveal of our newest products. Here, we got a snapshot of Suzanne showing off one of our newest fabric collections, Covey Toile. Just look at the captivated quilters!
Now it's time to get down to business: making this month's block. This month, the quilters also got their fair share of triangles on a roll to be sure all the pieces of this block come together perfectly. This is Suzanne explaining the triangles on a roll to those quilters in the group who had never used them before. You're always learning new quilting techniques at Suzanne's!
Next month's Saturday Sampler will obviously be the last one of the year, since it'll be December. :) We will be meeting at 9:30am and 10:30am on December 12th. The 2010 (!!!) year of Saturday Sampler is planned to start in February. For event details and class information, you can always visit the calendar on our site at suzannesquilts.com!
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