Hot Off the Press

We’ve just received the three newest quilting books from Martingale & Company, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you wanted one of each.

Change ordinary into extraordinary!

The first is “Start with a Sweatshirt 2” by Nancie Wiseman.  This book is a follow-up to her first sweatshirt book that shows you how to take a plain, ordinary sweatshirt and turn it into a fabulous jacket.  The technique is shown with adult sized shirts but can be used on children’s shirts as well.  Great for making relatively inexpensive gifts.

11 Exciting Projects!

Next, we have “Fast, Flirty, and Fun” by Sarah Bisel.  This book is great for beginners as well as the more experienced quilter.  There are 11 projects to choose from including one featuring a birthday cake.  What a great way to show off your newly learned skills at the next birthday party!  The book includes information about color, value, and fabric selection as well as a variety of cutting, piecing, and applique  techniques.  You’re going to love this book!

Create stunning quilts with Fast-Piece Applique!

Last, but not least, is “Exploring Embellishments” by Rose Hughes.  This is a follow-up to her “Dream Landscapes” book which was a best seller.  Use her Fast-Piece Applique method and learn to embellish your projects using beads, fusible Angelina fibers, buttons, threads, and more.  Rose will even show you how to use nature for inspiration.  Your quilts will go from so-so to stunning after you put her techniques in the mix.

As always, we will gladly stamp a Super Stitcher card for you with the purchase of each Martingale book.  Once you have all nine boxes stamped you can send your card to Martingale for a free book of your choice.  That means your little card is worth at least $15 or more!  Free is always good so don’t miss out on the chance to earn your free book.

Busy Hands

Summer is a great time to work on projects that require little in the way of materials and are portable.  Redwork fits the bill and will keep your hands busy when it’s too hot to get outside and work in the garden.  Plus, once your project is finished you will have an item to display with pride or to give as a gift.  There’s always an opportunity for gift giving on the calendar.

Fresh Strawberries Redwork

My mother loved strawberries and this pattern just had her name written all over it.  With it you can stitch up a tea towel that will look wonderful in any kitchen, a needle keeper which will fit nicely into your purse or stitching bag, a small emery to sharpen your needles, and a large patchwork strawberry to show off some of your embroidery stitches.  If you need the tea towel to stitch on we have that as well.

Six Cute Vintage Tea Towel Designs

Another cute embroidery pattern that we just received in the shop has designs for six vintage-style tea towels.  Each little girl is holding balloons that spell out what they are to be used for, i.e. china, glasses, pots, etc.  They can be done with red thread alone or with several different colors as shown in the photo.  Again, we have the tea towels on which to stitch these cuties.

100 designs for hand or machine embroidery

 Then there is the new  book <I>Redwork from the Workbasket</I> which is a collection of 100 designs from the once popular Workbasket magazine.  These designs are digitized in multiple formats for use with your embroidery machine or as JPEG files to print out and hand stitch. 

Redwork only requires one color-red.  We have Presencia Perle Cotton in size 8, 12, or 16.  Size 8 would equal three strands of embroidery floss while the 12 and 16 sizes are much finer.  I prefer size 16 myself.  It gives a much more refined look to the finished product whereas a size 8 gives a more primitive look.  Remember, the higher the number the finer the thread.

Keeping your hands busy is both fun and productive.  Let us know if we can help.

This Old Dog’s a Learnin’

Greetings!

You have just stumbled upon the new blog of Hooked on Quilting, a southern Middle Tennessee quilt shop.  I’ve wanted to blog for a while now in hopes of keeping those who visit the shop better informed of all the newest arrivals as well as reach out to those who don’t live close by but who love quilting as much as we do.  If you are a quilter, a fabriholic, or someone who just enjoys looking at art on fabric you will  no doubt find something in the posts to come that will be of interest.  It may take me a while to learn all the ins and outs of blogging but as the title says, this old dog’s a learnin’.

While all quilt shops are unique, here are a few things that sets us apart from some of the other shops.  First, we are located in an antebellum home that was built in the 1850’s or perhaps even earlier.  The buying and selling of the house was traced to a sale in 1860 but going back farther took more time than we had so whether the seller was the first owner or had bought from someone else is still a mystery.

Second, we live upstairs.  Yes, the shop used to be on the town square, but when our lease ended there was nowhere large enough on the square to move to.  I decided if we were going to continue with the shop that it could be moved into the downstairs portion of our home because we had  more house than was needed and we were just two miles west of the square.  It’s been fun working at home and everyone seems to love it better than the shops we were in on the square.

Then there is the harp.  Yes, we have a harpist on site who will give you a small concert if you ask her.  She is our youngest daughter who has been studying for five years now.  It’s so wonderful to listen to her play several times a day and our company always enjoys it.  For many, it’s the first time they have actually seen a harp up close and personal. 

Now we’re to the fabric.  I’ve been told that one of the things that our visitors like about the shop is that it has a little bit of everything.  That’s because I have eclectic taste and what I buy tends to depend on the mood I am in when the salesman is here. 

I have a fondness of ’30s reproduction prints and do have a decent selection of those.  I also love rich, jewel-tone colors and elegant fabrics.  For that reason I have to force myself to buy the muted colors and pastels.  But, despite my personal taste I do try to buy some of most everything so that no one is disappointed.

We always have something going on here but our most recent biggest something is The Farmer’s Wife Sampler.  We have had to more than double the number of kits we had planned on putting together which is a wonderful thing.  The resulting quilt will be queen size and have 111 six inch blocks.  We didn’t want to stretch it out over too long of a time period so our ladies are doing eight to ten blocks each month.  That won’t be hard for them though as we have a schedule for them to follow and have done a lot of the cutting for them already.  They will learn some new techniques along the way and be thrilled with their finished product.  Let us know if you want to jump on the wagon and come along for the ride.   

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

As I learn how to post photos and such our blog will get more interesting.  You’ll find that I am rarely at a loss for words which is another reason for blogging.  I figure if I can say a little several times a week then I won’t have to send out very long newsletters once a month.  Everyone will be better informed and eyes less strained.  Yes, this old dog’s a learnin’ so bear with me.