The Colquitt County Arts Center in Moultrie, Ga is hosting a quilt exhibit from September 8 to November 6. The quilter's in our area have been busy getting the finishing touches on their quilts and filling out the paper work. Ms. Joyann stopped by this afternoon for some assistance in completing her paper work. Here is one of her beautiful quilts that will be showcased at the exhibit.
Her quilt design comes from the Cake Walk pattern by Quilt Country. The pattern features 12 hand embroidery designs and instructions for putting the quilt together. Everyone in the shop ooohed and aaahed over it and wanted one just like it. The quilt was hand quilted by one of Ms Joyann's daughters.
If you are in the South West Georgia area this Fall make a stop at the Colquitt Country Arts Center for this exhibit that is open to the public and FREE! Teddy Pruitt will be appraising quilts on Saturday, September 11. Featured quilt artist for the show is new Moultrie resident, McKenna Linn. More into on these talented ladies later.
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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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Quilts from this weekend's Spring Retreat just bloomed before our very eyes. The quilters all did a great job at piecing and sewing everything together, and the results are beautiful! Everyone really made Suzanne's design show beautifully. Here's a look at the finished quilt tops:
Batiks: Brights:
Pastels:
Once again, great job and big thanks to all the quilters who came out and quilted with us at the Spring Retreat! We can't wait to see how y'all plan to finish out your projects!
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Well, another of Suzanne's retreats has come and gone! This past weekend, quilters from all over Georgia--actually, from all over the United States!!!--joined together at the Gerorgia Baptist Conference Center in Norman Park, Georgia for another fun weekend of quilting. Because the 2009 Fall Retreat was such a success, Suzanne couldn't pass up the opportunity to host a Spring themed event.
This time around, just like Fall 2009, the Retreat weekend project was another surprise! Before they arrived, the only information quilters were given was the theme "Spring Brings a Garden of Quilts" and the colorways they had to choose from: Sunrise (pastels on white), Midday (brights on white), or Evening (batiks on black). Just like the retreats before this, Suzanne kept the entire project under wraps until her grand reveal at the retreat. And the grand reveal still kept a lot of secrets from the quilters! Of course, everyone was given all of the fabrics in their chosen colorway to complete the project. But the entire project was still a secret--Suzanne handed out the pattern and instructions one step at a time! So, this kept her secret going even longer. The quilters would see what they were making as they finished the project! Below, you can see the creative display of fabrics that was true to the theme of the weekend. Each colorway was rolled into a rose-shaped spiral and placed into a decorative tin flower pot. Once all the flower pot fabrics were revealed the sewing room was filled with the brightness of Spring, sounds of happy chirping from the elated quilters, and a cool Springtime breeze from their busy sewing machines.
Sunrise/Pastels: Midday/Brights:
Evening/Batiks:
Once the first round of instructions were handed out, fabrics were cut and sewn nonstop! Nonstop, that is, until it was time to take a break for more delicious food. There was also the Block Challenge to vote on. The Block Challenge was a fun extra project that the quilters worked on before they came for the weekend. Each quilter came to the retreat with a finished block and all blocks were displayed at the Retreat. Each quilter voted for his or her favorites: winner of best technique went to Jimmy Gainey and the other three awards most creative, most unusual, and most popular went to Sandy.
By the end of the weekend, everyone was full from the delicious meals served by the Conference Center Staff and happy with the quilts they had put together. Thanks to all who came to the 2010 Spring Retreat. It is because of our loyal and enthusiastic quilters that we can host such fun, eventful, and productive retreats for you all. We are already looking forward to our next retreat, believe it or not! The 2010 Fall Retreat will be held during the first weekend in November, the 5th, 6th, and 7th. Check our next eNewsletter for links to our 2010 Fall Retreat information.
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Every year's Quilt for a Cause event is a very special time for our quilters to work together as a team for a greater cause. Last year's was a great cause, and a great success. This year some of our quilters came together again in our large classroom and worked dilligently to finish six whole quilt tops to benefit patients associated with the ALS Association: Fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease. The donated quilts will be given to an ALS patient or used to raise awareness and research money for ALS by being photographed, displayed, auctioned, or raffled. The project, Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, is sponsored by Quilters Dream Batting, and their website shows the complete list of sponsors.
We snapped a few pictures of our quilters in action. Not only did these gals enjoy a relaxing afternoon of quilting with their fellow friends, but they also quilted for a great cause. And to top it all off, all quilts that are sent in will be displayed on the Quilter's Dream Facebook page! So, get ready ladies: if you were here to help us quilt for this great cause, your work will be displayed on Facebook! :) Thanks again to all of you generous ladies for donating your time and efforts for this great cause!
(Disclaimer: Yes, we realize that Shirley's hair appears to be purple in the above photo. And, no, this is not a doctored photograph! She did, indeed, quilt for a cause wearing purple hair. Doesn't she just brighten your day?)
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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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We have officially survived our Second Annual Quilt Escape! For a second year, the retreat was held in Norman Park, Georgia at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center. It's a beautiful facility with plenty of space for all 50 participating ladies to spread out and quilt their hearts out. We were fed well (lots and lots of good Southern cooking), many ladies made new friends, and everyone enjoyed the felowship.
Suzanne and Shirley were the two representatives from Suzanne's Quilt Shop just like last year, and they both had a great time presenting this year's participants with their mystery quilt kits. The theme this time around was: Making a Quilt is Easy as Pie! The girls back at the shop had a great time packaging the kits into an extra special package for each lady this year. The mystery quilt kits were kept secret from retreat participants until the grand reveal on the weekend of the retreat, so to be sure each quilter would be elated with her finished quilt, we asked: "Do you prefer Cherry Pie, Caramel Chocolate Pie, Key Lime Pie, or Pumpkin Spice Pie?" This had the retreat-goers wiggling for months in anticipation of the retreat weekend's project. (Suzanne loves to be sneaky!) Final presentation of the "pies" had the quilters elated and ready to sew, especially when Suzanne and Shirley presented the pie themed quilt kits while wearing Chef's hats and aprons!
Of course, the weekend started with a warm and friendly meet-and-greet in the grand entryway of the facility. But not too much time was spent just sitting around and chatting--these ladies came to sew for the weekend, so everyone got settled in pretty quickly:
There were a few opportunities to be distracted from "making pie" and everyone loved each chance to appreciate another quilter's work. First there was a Show-and-Tell of past projects. Quilters brought their finished projects from last year's Retreat, some brought projects they had worked on throughout the year, and one quilter even showed off a beautiful Christmas tree skirt.
Other than breaks for delicious meals made by the spectacular Convention Center Kitchen Staff, the next distraction to stop the quilters' machines from buzzing was a block contest. Each lady brought a block, and three winners were selected from the whole lineup. Everyone did a beautiful job on their Autumn-inspired blocks, and they were all so festive lined up next to each other.
After more quilting, chatting, and having an over-all good time, another contest began: APRONS! The quilters were encouraged to bring an apron they had made and model it for the contest. There were many very distinct and pretty aprons sewn--such a creative bunch of ladies! In the end, three aprons were selected as winners. What better sewing project to judge than aprons for a pie-themed weekend?
The 2009 Fall Quilt Escape was such a hit, we already have quilters signed up for the retreat coming in the Spring of 2010. With only 50 spots to fill, this 2009 Fall Quilt Escape list was overflowing before we knew it and many quilters were lined up on a waiting list. Don't miss your chance to be in on the fun when Spring comes around! Come into the shop or call us to reserve your spot now.
Cherry Pie: Pumpkin Spice Pie:
Key Lime Pie: Caramel Chocolate Pie:
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Our Customer Appreciation Auction went really well this year! We had an impressive turn-out and everyone had a fun time bidding on items they wanted. The process was simple: starting August 1st, for every $10 a customer spent in the store, he or she received $100 in our Auction Bucks. On September 19th everyone gathered together at Suzanne's Quilt Shop and used those Auction Bucks to bid on the items they just had to have!
There were plenty of quilts to bid on, from crib size quilt tops to queen size finished quilts and everything in between. There were countless goody bags filled with threads, batting, books, patterns, notions, and even soothing hand lotions. There was even a prize handmade doll, and everyone oooo'd and aaaaaah'd over her. Just take a look at all of our excited patrons: "Hey, everybody! Hold up your Auction Bucks for the camera!" And look at all the goody bags in front of them, ready to go home and be made into something beautiful.
Our very own Shirley played Auctioneer for the event, and Suzanne was surprised and amused at Shirley's exhuberant dedication to the job.
By the end of the event, we made sure to get a photo of the happy auction winners with their fresh goodies.
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Our first quilt retreat was held October 31 - November 2, 2008 in Norman Park, Georgia at the Georgia Baptist Convention Center. Cotton was being harvested in the surrounding country side and the leaves were changingIt was a huge success!!! Retreaters came from as far away as South Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina to join our Georgia and North Florida customers. Everyone enjoyed making new friends.
We had a pumpkin block challege and there were 4 winners selected for prizes. Four other retreaters won 12 blocks each to take home and complete into a quilt.
The retreat project was a mystery quilt featuring the Mexican Star. There were 3 color choices of fabric (blue/white, plum/cream and bright batinks on black). You can see some of the fantastic quilts as they developed.
Lots of prizes were given away and everyone is hoping they will meet again next time at the next retreat. Thank you to all for being such wonderful guest!
Suzanne
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