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!