Are you Valentine ready?

Here are a few quick sew projects to decorate your home or the home of a loved one.

This little love hanging measures 6" x 14". The red hearts are wool felt, raw edge, dimensional so they give the hanging a little extra flair. It comes in a kit (shown below) including all the fabrics for the front, back, applique and binding plus the pattern for just $12.95

And here's another small project. Measuring 12" square, this fits nicely on a desk stand or on a wall hanger.

This kit comes with all required fabrics for the front, including a mini charm pack for the border.  The kit also includes a sheet of printable cloth and instructions on how to print this poem on your home computer. Need help with printing? Just give us a call.

January Quilt Circle Party

In Quilt Circle of Friends, we have a tradition of postponing our December meeting until January and having our holiday potluck party then. 

Following a soup and salad potluck, we shared our 2016 Archive Get Er Done Challenge Quilts. Members declared one old project at the beginning of the year that they really wanted to complete. Here are the quilts that Got Done!

This is a block of the month from several years ago, Baskets of Blohms, finished now by Jackie Orton.

Margaret declared this Farmers Wife quilt and she got it done!

Deb finished this Strip Quilt project, Morse Code - on the right. She had enough leftover parts and pieces to make her fur friend a quilt to snuggle on.

Another Baskets of Blohms finished - - This one by Lorna Christensen.

And Theresa finished up this Strip Club project quilt.

Above are little pinwheel quilts Nancy made for her sisters.
Below is a quilt Nancy helped one of her sisters to make. It turned out to be a bit of a challenge for her sister's first quilt. Looks great, though.

This is a challenge Marti is entering. The rules state you must use black and white with 3 accent colors and it must include a flower and a log cabin block. (I think I have that right). You may not notice the log cabin block immediately. The white background is pieced in log cabin blocks. This is what you call Sew Creative!

Above is Nancy J's row quilt, completed from a row of the month published in a quilt magazine. Below is a block of the month she made from Quilt Block in WDM.

Lately, Bonnie has been making place mats. Very pretty.

This is a block Bonnie made for our fall Ladies of the Lake retreat. Guests were each given a piece of ombre fabric with instructions to create a 12" block.

She also shared her little chickie quilt, now finished by hand quilting. A close up below shows the chicken tracks stitch she used for some of the quilting.

Bonnie's last show and share quilt was this one made from a block lottery through the Perry quilt guild. She won the blocks made by members and put it together. Now it will be gifted to one of the guild members who is recuperating from a bad accident.

Love these smiles! Margaret above and Trish below are showing the blocks they made from our Barn Quilt BOM.

Trish shared two quilts she has already gifted by showing us a picture of them. Above was gifted to the family of a friend that recently passed. Below is a Fidget quilt for a friend in a nursing home.

Fidget quilts are kind of new to me but such a great idea. If you have made one, please send me a picture.

This is Trish's quilt from the Sisters of the Cloth block exchange. I really like the clam shell machine quilt design on this square block quilt. Nice.

Theresa made this quilt for her stash. Maybe a good Strip Club Project down the road, right?

Done and ready to hang, Lorna's winter window quilt.

and her wreath. Nice.

Jackie O. is really knocking them out, using a New Years pledge to spend at least a few minutes every day in her sewing room. Above is for a quilt challenge through Iowa Quilters, an online group. Below is a comfort quilt ready to go for the ADM Alumni.

This one was completed for her kids,  Hawkeye fans.

and this one for her son, a fan of Big Foot. You know he loves this one!

Deb has decided to make good use of leftover parts and pieces by making them into doggie quilts. Very creative!   

After show and share, we played a new game, new to us anyway. Each brought a pair of socks stuffed with little gifts like candy, sewing notions, lotion, etc. We passed our gifts around the circle, following a story about the Right family and all of the things they had Left to do. After our exchange, we each donned one of our socks for this fun photo.

It was another really fun evening with my Quilt Circle of Friends. Thank you, Jackie O, for documenting our evening with these pictures!

Super Day!

Max is in position and ready for the game to start!

Clover Leaf Rolls

Cloverleaf Sweet Rolls

These were always a favorite at our family holiday potlucks. My Aunt Doris made them from scratch. The following is her recipe, but using frozen roll dough.

1 # frozen bread dough, thawed

3 doz pecan halves

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, divided

Allow thawed bread dough to rise about 1 hour or until double in size. Grease a muffin tin. Place 3 pecan halves in the bottom of each muffin cup. Add a rounded teaspoon of brown sugar and a pat of butter (about 1 teaspoon). Cut the dough into 3 dozen small rounds, Roll in your hands until smooth and tuck 3 into each muffin cup.  Let rise again, about 30 minutes. Bake 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until desired brownness.  Brush tops with melted butter. Invert onto waxed paper. Makes 1 dozen rolls.

Option - make the dough from scratch.

1 pkg active dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 C warm water

1 C milk, scalded

1/4 C shortening (I use cooking oil)

1/4 C sugar

1 t salt

3 1/2 C flour

1 egg

Add sugar, shortening and salt to scalded milk. Let cool slightly.

Add 1 1/2 C of flour and beat well

Beat in yeast and egg

Gradually add remaining flour to make a soft dough

Placed in greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.
Cover and let rise until double. 

Punch down and make small rounds, about 1"
Follow recipe above, using 3 small rounds in each muffin cup.
Makes 2 dozen Cloverleaf rolls so you will need to double recipe for pecans, brown sugar and butter given above. 

Strip Club Sample

Here is a sneak peek at more of our new Strip Club project.

This is just a tease to show more of the pattern and colors.

Customers may choose brights as shown here or black and white prints featuring your choice of accent color.
The quilt top shown here is about 1/3 the width and a little under half the length of our project quilt which will finish 72" x 84".

Register now and start picking up pre-cut strips March 1. For just $15 a month, includes binding.

Add a border to make this a queen size.

We hope to post a black and white sample soon.

Pre-Game Starts tomorrow!

We will be closed on Super Bowl Sunday BUT, we will have Pre-Game Specials Thursday through Saturday this week.

Score big on our Fat Quarter Special:

5 FQ for $12.50 (regularly $16.25 or more)

10 FQ for $20.00 (regularly $35.00 or more)

PLUS if you are a Purple Bag holder, take an additional 25% off of your purchase - February 2, 3 and 4 only.

New Quilter Feature

Learn more about the quilting escapades of Theresa Hane, on the website now .

Pre-Game Specials!

We will be closed on Super Bowl Sunday BUT, we will have Pre-Game Specials Thursday through Saturday this week.

Score big on our Fat Quarter Special:

5 FQ for $12.50 (regularly $16.25 or more)

10 FQ for $20.00 (regularly $35.00 or more)

PLUS if you are a Purple Bag holder, take an additional 25% off of your purchase - Feb  2, 3 and 4 only.

Comfort Blocks

I was so surprised to receive these blocks from my Quilt Circle friends at our January meeting. I just love them! Now I need your help. Which fabric should I use to set these blocks together?

I am planning a small sashing, about 1/2" finished. Above, the blocks are just laying on top of different pieces of fabric. Do you have a favorite?

Jenny's gift

My friend, Jenny O, is a very creative quilter. From what I know of her siblings, they are a very creative family. Above is a quilt painting her sister created for her, featuring her dog Cooper on the bow. Look at the close up below to see the "stitching".

A couple of customer requests - - -

Name: Marsha Boender
Phone: 515-979-5689
Email: marshaboender@gmail.com

Comments:
I am looking to have a T-shirt quilt made for graduation. 

--------------------------------------------------
Name: Becky Smith
Phone: 509-429-0277
Email: beckysmith024@gmail.com

Comments:
Good Morning, Is it possible that you have a bulletin board that I could post a flyer for my Longarm quilting machine for sale? I have a 18" Nolting on a 12'steel table and a TON of accessories. I am no longer able to use my machine and would love for someone who could love it as much as I have.
Thank you for your consideration.
Becky Smith 

Show and Share

Sue R. brought this quilt in to show us. Looks like a spring flower garden, doesn't it? This is her Archive Get Er Done quilt for Quilt Circle of Friends. Pretty.

News from the Iowa Quilt Museum

January 26th

Opening of “Art Quilts of the Midwest”, with additional exhibits of antique Log Cabin and Tony Jacobson quilts

January 28th

Exhibit Opening Reception for “Art Quilts of the Midwest”, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

View our newest exhibit while enjoying Drinks, Hors D’oeuvres and Live Music, tickets $10

Check their website for more info.

Cake

The best way to warm up your home on a chilly Iowa day is a cake in the oven. Try this:

Pumpkin Cake

29 ounce solid pack pumpkin

4 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

1 1/2  C sugar

2 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

1/2 t nutmeg

Beat all together and pour into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.

Over the top, sprinkle 1 yellow cake mix. I have also made this recipe with spice cake mix with great results.

Melt 2 sticks of butter and drizzle over the cake.

Sprinkle 1 c chopped pecans on top and bake 350 for one hour.

Spring Quilt Retreat

Are you ready for a spring getaway? Join us for our Spring Retreat at Lake Panorama, March 23, 24 and 25. 

As always, our retreat guests are invited to work on their own projects or work on a project we will be introduce.

This spring, our retreat project will focus on T-Shirt quilts, just in time to get your graduation quilts put together. 

We will be demonstrating all our favorite techniques for prepping shirts or pictures for a quilt, piecing with style and the biggest issue of all - - - after you get it all put together, how are you going to quilt it! We'll show you how.

Call now (515-993-1170) to save your spot with a $35 deposit. We are limiting this spring retreat to just 20 guests so don't tarry!

Click here for all details.

Strip Club

A brand new Strip Club starts in March for just $15 a month.

Choose to do this quilt in either brights with yellow accent (shown below) or in black and whites with your choice of accent color.

Shown here is just 1/3 of one row. When the rows are connected, you get a yellow zigzag between the rows. 

If you choose the black and white option, you pick your accent color. For example, you may choose solid black or maybe something with more punch like turquoise, hot pink or red.

Come in each month on whatever day works best for you and pick up pre-cut strips and instructions to build this quilt. The price includes the binding.

The quilt finishes 72" x 84" and can be up-sized to a queen size by adding a border.

All the strips are pre-cut and there is no other fabric required to set this quilt together.

Call soon to register. This project is also available by mail. 

Have Yaktrax, will quilt!

I have had one brave soul in today who walked from a couple blocks away wearing her Yaktrax.

Funny side note here, - - - my kids bought me Yaktrax for Christmas. Wonder what motivated that idea?

Icey Forecast

Here comes the ice! Our Monday eve Quilt Circle holiday party will be cancelled and rescheduled. Time to hunker down in our sewing rooms, right?

How cute is this?

Both Lonnie doing her Wilson immitation and her Cabin Rules quilt.

This is a panel with a couple borders. So cute.

Calendar Marks

Get out your calendar and mark the dates for Open Sew 2017! See the dates in the left column here and on the Events Calendar at our website.

Join us next Thursday and Friday if you can! This free event is always fun. We meet at the Adel Library, just south of the shop, starting at 10 am and ending when the last stitch of the day is made.

Cutting and pressing stations are provided along with ample sewing space and a mini kitchen.

Applique Tips

It's finally here! Time to kick off our new BOM, My Whimsical Flower Garden Quilt with our own original finishing/border kit. 

The pattern book offers a unique method for hand applique. There are several other techniques out there as well. Everyone seems to have their favorite. 

We have prepared a page of tips on both hand and machine applique, using our favorite techniques.

If you are signed up for this BOM, ask for a copy of our applique tips sheet in the shop or ask us to send it to you by email.

We plan an applique seminar for some time in February so, be sure to let us know if you are interested.

Pick up 2 blocks each month for just $10. This can be done with either machine or hand applique. It's not too late to register.

Are you a winner?

It's time to draw for more Purple Bag Winners!

Our January winner is Mary Jude Lyon.  She got to pick 2 yards of fabric for her prize.

As promised, we have kept all of the prize drawing slips all year and combined them to draw 10 names yesterday. We have a whole selection of offerings for these winners to choose from:

• Cyndi Craigmile
• Kimberly Scott
• Renae Godberson
• Mary Secress
• Janet Volz
• Deb York
• Sud Denny
• Barb Gronwald
• Kathleen Schultz
• Pat Backsmeier

If you have not already, stop in soon to pick out your prize.

Want to join the fun for 2017? Just purchase one of our Purple Shopping bags - $4.95.