Upcoming Quilt Shows

We're sew excited to be participating in 2 quilt shows in May! Clare and Helen go on the road to Columbus for the Columbus Metropolitan Quilt Show May 4th & 5th.

This looks like a very fun show! And Spring is a great time for a road trip...
Click here for details.
   

May 12th will find us a little closer to home at a one day show in Transfer, PA. Sponsored by 2 guilds - Where the Corners Meet and Peaceful Pursuits. Lots of quilts on display!

And don't forget Corey Yoder's presentation on May 2nd for Ohio Star Quilters Day Out. Corey has a great trunk show and will be vending, call Lori for more information... 330.979.1120.

Lots of classes coming up... and new Blocks of the Month. Betty is offering Marbella as a Take & Go or Stay & Sew...

Our latest Lynette Anderson project, Kiss Me Quick is just 6 months. And, speaking of Lynette, she's planning another visit this November! Can you believe it's been 3 years? We had a wonderful time when she was here and are working on another fun project for this visit. We're taking names for advance details, call the shop to sign up!

Our 4th Anniversary!

March 17th marks our 4th Anniversary as Village Quilts. We are so blessed to have been able to expand our love of everything quilty into this shop and share and learn with each of you. And to do this with my sister is sew amazing.

We would like to mark this anniversary by giving something to each of you - and to our community. So - for 4 days, Wednesday, March 16th through Saturday, March 19th, bring a canned good or non-perishable food to the shop and you'll get 4 yards for the price of 3. That's right, a free yard of your favorite fabric for every 3 you purchase. Half yard minimum, please, not to be combined with any other offers or discounts.

And - we will match all donated food items then donate everything to Operation Blessing. You can learn more about what Operation Blessing does by clicking here.

We still have 7 kits available for Anderson's Farm, an adorable mystery Block of the Month from Lynette Anderson... click here to see more. It's just $20/month.

Another mystery Block of the Month offers 2 different color ways in 2 different sizes... click here to see as much as we can show...

And we're in love with Kim Diehl's Whatnots Club. There's a different pattern each month - just $20. This month combines a scrappy pieced project with a simple flower appliqué. Combinations that we just love to stitch!

It's a very special feeling to be able to do what you love - we are both humbled to have this amazing opportunity, to step into this calming, colorful, textured historic home and draw and cut and stitch so many beautiful projects. And we're very glad that you step into this place with us.

So, stop in and visit - bring your projects with you, we love to see what you sew. And, above all else, Thank You.

Spring Quilt Market 2015

If it's May, it must be Spring Market - and we're in Minneapolis, Minnesota. What a beautiful, very friendly, city! Betty enjoys taking me on a forced march every where we go. We discovered Loring Park in Minneapolis. It's so beautiful!

Enjoying the scenery was nice... but we're here for a reason!

There is so much to see! Market can be overwhelming, so we have developed a plan. We spend the first 2 days walking the floor, trying to see everything. We might purchase patterns and notions that catch our eye. But fabric buys are made on the last day. It's a system that so far has worked for us.

So this was just day 1 - we were able to visit with Lynette Anderson and Gail Pan, 2 of our favorite designers - both of whom are going to visit us in Canfield! Lynette is planning on stopping by this November and Gail next May. So excited! We'll have more details over the  summer, watch for shop samples showcasing their talents!

We found a great little tool for piecing fun fast projects, it's called Basix and you can make lots of different looks, like these:

We'll have a demo ready by the end of May!

Tomorrow's another Market day - can't wait to see what we find then!

Our 3rd Anniversary!

We are so blessed to have been able to celebrate another anniversary! If you haven't stopped by the shop lately, you're missing lots of additions...

Kelly works Tuesdays through Thursdays, Susan joins us on Mondays and Fridays. On our late days, Tuesday and Thursday, you'll find Erin straightening all the fabric and helping customers. And on several Saturdays a month, Catherine is a welcome addition to our staff. Our daughters, Katie and Helen, are also recruited to help when not in school.

We discovered a wonderful pattern designer, Gail Pan and added several of her patterns and books.

I grabbed a pattern from this book for a baby quilt we recently finished:

So cute...

And now Gail's latest Christmas book is on its way!

I'm so looking forward to this!

Welcome Autumn!

Fall is definitely my favorite season - the vibrant colors on the trees... the crisp feeling in the air... the quiet after a busy summer... all things I look forward to in October. And, even though I quilt year round, this time of the year I just seem to immerse myself in the colors and textures I love the most - deep browns, greens and golds. I find myself planning projects with more traditional blocks and settings. Of course, it also helps that pumpkin spice lattes return to my favorite coffee shop :-)

One of (the many) projects I'm working on is definitely traditional... Threads of Time is a gorgeous scrappy quilt with 9 different blocks surrounded by Flying Geese sashing. Love the colors and the fabric designs.

 

When I compare this quilt to one of my summer projects, J'aime Paris, I can definitely see a return to tradition!

So, I'm ready to say goodbye to summer and wrap my arms around Autumn. What about you? Are you ready for Autumn chills? What projects do you turn to at the end of Summer?

 

New Year, New Website

Well, I have already started work on one of my New Year's resolutions - keeping our website up to date! We have completely renovated our site… and added the ability to actually purchase fabric and merchandise - and sign up for classes - online. It's a major overhaul, one that has taken a lot of effort, but the upside is, it is forcing us to become better organized. Watch for more classes, and more variety! Speaking of classes, let us know what you're interested in! Stop in or email us, we'd love to hear from you.
I always seem to have 5 our 6 projects I'm working on - using different techniques. I'm in the middle of working on the January block of Bertie's Year… something about this project is just adorable. I usually blanket stitch my wool appliqués, but Bertie's designer, Bonnie Sullivan, suggested whip stitching the edges. And I like it.

Hoping to finish this one tonight… so I can start on February. I'll post it once I start.
Check out the website when you have a chance - let us know what you think.

How Blessed

The idea of opening our own quilt shop germinated for several years until the very real opportunity slapped us in the face a year and a half ago. I reflected on the past 18 months as Betty and I flew to Houston for Market. How amazing that my sister and I are able to realize this dream. How even more amazing that it's all I had hoped for - and more. We look forward to seeing each of our customers and hear the stories of the projects they are working on. Visiting with everyone in the store has proven to be very inspiring for me. As I pull fabrics together for a customer, I start seeing even more possibilities.

There will be many changes coming in the next few months - changes that, hopefully, simplify the way we do things at Village Quilts. Some you may notice, some may be invisible to you, but a time saver for us. There will be a new website… with an online store… an improved calendar and newsletter… and a new point of sale system. Please bear with us as we implement these changes.

To help make the transition a little smoother, we have a couple special days coming up in November. November 16th is our first annual Customer Appreciation Day, we'll have demos on things we learned at Market, a few refreshments and a discount on fabrics for our favorite people, our customers. Then, on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving we'll have discounts on all Christmas, Autumn and Halloween fabrics. I hope you'll join us!