Quilting
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Twice a year, the fabric industry gathers for Quilt Market International, a show devoted to all things quilting and more. This is a wholesale only show and our buyers attend each time to find you the most wonderful things available, then order them for your shopping pleasure in our stores ... |
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I just finished pattern-testing the Jelly Roll Race quilt, and it was so much fun! I made this whole beautiful lapsize quilt in less than two hours! Click on the picture to see it closer.

If you haven’t heard about our
Jelly Roll Race, it’s during that other ... |
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Are you panicked? Did you forget about Easter, too? Well, I didn't exactly forget - it's just that it's VERY early this year! What to do, what to do?! We have some great things in our stores that will make your Easter marvelous, even if it is at ... |
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I love this little "sleuthing" thing I get to do! This time, I got a sneak preview of the
Quilters Anonymous Show last night, by volunteering to deliver something to our booth after set-up. Tricky of me, eh? So, I'll share a little with you. And if you need ... |
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by Jennifer Leach, guest blogger
Choosing the right fabric for a photo shoot can be tough. With thousands of fabrics to choose from, where do you start? In today's post, I'm going to answer that question by sharing some lessons I've learned working as a photographer for ... |
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I thought a great way to finish up an exciting week of news from QuiltCon would be with a giveaway. BUT... before we get to that I want to share one more special quilt from the Modern Quilt Convention.
A few months before QuiltCon the Modern Quilt Guild put a ... |
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One thing that I was really excited about seeing at QuiltCon was all of the incredible quilting! It is one skill that I still need to work on and am always looking for inspiration. The more I see something, the more I want to try it and QuiltCon had really ... |
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Today I wanted to share some of the quilts from one of our favorite modern quilters, Elizabeth Hartman. She is a local girl, from Hillsboro, Oregon, and has written 2 amazing modern quilting books.
She had a 3 quilts entered in the quilt show and an extra quilt to be ... |
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Day 2 of the highlights from QuiltCon, the Modern Quilting Convention in Austin, Texas. Today I thought I would share with you a few things from the amazing quilt show that was a large part of the convention.
The show had 228 quilts from all over the United States. More ... |
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I kind of dropped the ball last week after I returned from the Modern Quilt Convention (QuiltCon) in Austin, Texas. We were almost immediately off to the Sewing Expo down in Puyallup and I wasn't able to share the rest of my highlights from the show.
To make up ... |
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Recently, I just had a blast playing around with the fun projects in this All Sewn Up Book by Chloe Owens.
The design of this book is just fabulous. The colors, the details, the little cartoons of her cat drawn on the pages-I LOVE IT!
So of course I had ... |
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ONE MORE DAY!!! The
Sewing & Stitchery Expo opens tomorrow morning and our crew is down at the Puyallup Fairgrounds putting together our fabulous booth right now!
So, let's talk pillows . . . (Click on the pictures to see a larger image!)

Eileen, who works in our office, took home some of ... |
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You know how excited I was about the things I showed you in the first two sneaky previews? Well, I am over-the-top-uber EXCITED now. Just when I think it can't get any better, something else comes in and I'm swooning again!!! Our
Sewing & Stitchery Expo Showplex Booth #728 ... |
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Hello y'all from Austin, Texas! I'm here at the inaugural
QuiltCon (think ComicCon but for Modern Quilters) ready to share all kinds of great ideas and beautiful quilts over the next couple of days. The
Modern Quilt Guild started about 3 years ago in Los Angeles and since ... |
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It's the end of my day, but I've just got to get these pictures to you! I've been "sneaking" again and I have more awesome things to show you from our
Sewing & Stitchery Expo Booth, #728 in the Showplex. Many of these things will eventually be in ... |
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Oh, how I LOVE this time of year! Just before the
Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup WA each year, I get to "sneak" around our offices and backrooms and find little previews for you. Soooo - here we go with the first preview of what you'll find in Booth #728 ... |
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We call it the Paycheck Recycling Program around here. That's the part where we all get paid, new fabric comes in, and everything we earned just goes right back into the store - 'cause we've GOTTA have that fabric. And we LOVE it!!! We're all fabri-holics and there ... |
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| Welcome to our last day of Christmas giveaways! I must say that we saved the best for last, its a BIG book.
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day. Watch our
Facebook page
, our
Pinterest
pins and our
blog
to find out what ... |
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Did I capture your mood?!
To make it quick, here are some CRAFT-A-RIFFIC last minute ideas for gifts.
Okay, if you're really, really, really in a hurry OR if you just want to get something any crafty friend will absolutely LOVE, we have two words for you:
GIFT CARDS ... |
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| Today's giveaway is for our quilters, this book shows you how to do EVERYTHING-start to finish to make fabulous, professional quality quilts.
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day. Watch our Facebook page, our Pinterest pins and our blog to find out ... |
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| Do you make quilts for pretty much everyone in your life but have trouble deciding what to make for your dad, brother, hubby, son, or any male person in your life? Then this is the perfect giveaway for you!
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite ... |
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We all procrastinate sometimes and for us crafters, sometimes there's just not enough time in the day to get everything done but these projects are here to save the day!
Anyone can go to the store to buy something but to make a handmade gift for someone means you ... |
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Get ready!!! The book we're giving away today is a MUST have for anyone who quilts!
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day. Watch our Facebook page, our Pinterest pins and our blog to find out what the book is, then leave ... |
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If you have a kitchen or know someone who has one - you'll LOVE this book! (That includes everyone, right?)
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day. Watch our Facebook page, our Pinterest pins and our blog to find out what the book ... |
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Oh, we're Ho-Ho-Having fun now!
Through December 24th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day. Watch our Facebook page, our Pinterest pins and our blog to find out what the book is, then leave a comment on the blog, Pinterest or Facebook and we will ... |
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Let's have some 12 Day fun!
Starting today, December 13th, we will give away one of our favorite books each day until Christmas. Watch our Facebook page and our blog to find out what the book is, then leave a comment on the blog or Facebook and we will ... |
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I've never been much of a Holiday Seamstress, nothing really caught my eye, things get too busy, I run out of time-but this year has been very different. There are so many cute books, choices of fabric, easy patterns, I had a hard time choosing which project I would ... |
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I must admit that I've never thought about where my thread comes from.
I know how important good thread is to the quality of my end product and my sewing experience. You know - things like, cheap thread frays and breaks and balls up in your sewing machine, go with ... |
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This
Divided by 3 Table Runner
was created by some super crafty teamwork. Wendy from our
Northgate
store used stencils to make one-of-a-kind blocks and Audrey, our manager from the
Bremerton
store, pieced and put together the runner. The stencils are avaliable in all of our stores but the Martha ... |
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We're very proud of all our hard-working, creative staff members, but when one of them steps out and goes the extra mile to enter a competition, our buttons are just bursting!
Loretta Ockwell, staff member at our Everett store, teamed with Krista Moser (one of our former teachers) to ... |
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I just LOVE the Christmas Holiday time, don't you? The hustle, bustle, shopping for hours and hours, fighting the crowds, wondering what to get Aunt Sue and Uncle Johnny and staying up all night to finish making my presents. WOAH! Wait a minute - that sounds awful! And that, my ... |
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As seen in our stores this week!
From whimsical, local designer, Julie Paschkis, comes the
Chickadee
collection - a bird lover's delight! Julie's talent for combining rich saturated colors with black and white creates stunning bold prints, borders and panels for fabulous stitching.
Click here
to download the pattern ... |
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Sometimes we see a collection that not only takes our breath away, but captures our hearts at the same time.
BFF
(Best Friends Forever) from Elizabeth Studio is that kind of collection. But "block" prints are not always easy to use, so what does one do when a collection captures ... |
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It's just a matter of weeks until summer officially begins, but I bet the invitations for graduations and weddings are already arriving and, of course, Father's Day is just around the corner on June 17th. Sooo, I thought you might be coming down with "Gift Overload Flu". The ... |
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The idea of capturing my vacation memories or favorite places in fabric and stitches has long captivated me. The actual execution of my dreams, however, has always seemed beyond me. That is until I found Karen Eckmeier's marvelous book,
Accidental Landscapes
. Karen understands that even if we sew and ... |
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By jove - I do believe it's the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend! (How's my British accent?)
With all the excitement surrounding Queen Elizabeth's 60th year as Queen of England, I find myself inspired to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime celebration. That, of course, means a little sewing and ... |
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In July of 2012, the City of Seattle will begin a new phase of shopping. One-time-use plastic bags will be banned by law and owning a reusable tote will take on a new urgency. For a crafty-quilty type, supporting the "no plastic bags" initiative is a great way to take ... |
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We have gorgeous quilting fabrics on our site, but gorgeous fabrics are not quite as gorgeous in a quilt without good basic fabrics for blending! In the last few weeks, we've added a lot more of these to our web site, so you can shop at home for more ... |
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There's nothing more precious to a mother's heart than something made by her child! So, if you're making Mom a gift this year, I've found a few other things to tuck in with your handmade gifts for the Mom who sews. Take a look!
E-Reader Covers ... |
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Earth Day 2012 has just passed, but I know we all want to take care of our "home" all year long. At Pacific Fabrics, we come from a long-standing tradition of recycling and thinking about ways to give back. Our roots date back to 1917 and a horse-drawn wagon that ... |
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I have a couple of fun "child" fabrics for you this week. Although, the second one is so lovely that you'll want it for yourself. Click on the pictures to see a larger image! You'll find these at most of
our stores
and on our web site soon ... |
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Click on the pictures to see a larger image. Then
click here
to find your nearest store!
Hoffman's Coming At You 3D fabric collection has just expanded! In addition to the first three prints, they've now added Fireworks, Flowers and . . . (drum roll, please) DINOS! So that everyone can ... |
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It's not too late! We still have lovely fabrics in our stores and you can still make something wonderful for Easter Sunday. Table runners, toppers, pillows, basket liners - all quick projects that will have all your favorite bunnies smiling. We've got just a taste of what you'll ... |
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I had the extreme pleasure of attending the Quilters Anonymous Quilt Show at the Monroe Fairgrounds last weekend - such a treat! It was a beautiful, well organized show full of amazing quilts, interesting vendors and helpful QA Guild members and, of course, a fabulous Pacific Fabrics booth.
These days, we ... |
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The 2012
Sewing & Stitchery Expo
in Puyallup WA has come and gone, but OH, what a show it was! We had so much fun meeting so many of you from near and far (even our Australian customers!) and the inspiration just never stopped.
Our booth was full to the brim ... |
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Crafty Chris has turned into Chef Chris for the weekend and she's serving up terrific tools and tips at our Sewing & Stitchery Expo "Diner" booth in Puyallup this weekend. Click on the pictures to see a larger image and take a look at her fresh cooked demonstration menu!
This ... |
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I DO not know how it happens, but this weekend's Sewing & Stitchery Expo at the Puyallup Fairgrounds REALLY is better than ever. For instance, you can UPS your purchases back home right from the show - isn't that brilliant!!
There's more, too, but of course, I'm here ... |
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It's me again! Now known as Sneaky Nette, I've got more pictures for you!!! This time I found some gorgeous things that will be on the Fashion end of our Sewing & Stitchery Expo booth next week. Oh, my goodness, it's coming so quickly - next week - wow!!!
I ... |
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Okay, sewing buddies - so, the samples that will be in our
Sewing & Stitchery Expo
booth next month have started to arrive and . . . (shhhh!) I sneaked into Debbie's office and took a few pictures for you. You MUST see these - they are so cool! If you like this, leave me ... |
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Roses in bloom, sweet violet posies, warm breezes and skies of blue. Rumpled pillows poised for comfort, soft peaceful hues and creatively vintage style. These things and smart thrify finds make up the comfortably imperfect world of Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic.
This week as the cold weather makes us ... |
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We're in the midst of a severe Winter storm here in Western Washington and I can't get out to a store - or anywhere else for that matter! But . . . I have internet access, so I can still shop and plan and dream. Nothing holds down a creative spirit, you ... |
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I admit I am not a snow person. Despite being born in Buffalo, NY, I am a Seattle girl, perfectly content with a ... |
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There's just nothing like the warmth that handmade touches give to a home, is there? Sweetwater's Simple Home book offers 35 lovely projects that are beginner as well as experienced stitcher friendly and simply quick to make. Designed by Sweetwater's creative mom and daughters trio, you'll ... |
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It's December 22nd and we're down to counting the hours until Christmas morning. But, yes, Virginia, you CAN still make some fabulous gifts! We'll be posting ideas on our Facebook page and Twitter while we're counting down, so keep watching. Here's a little immediate help ... |
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We received a wonderful picture from Helen, one of our customer friends, last week and we thought you would enjoy it. Helen lives in New Jersey, but shops in the
Everett
store once a month when she visits her son and daughter-in-law and the staff all looks forward to seeing ... |
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If you're like me, sometimes when you sit down to sew a new project, you're just not sure which needle would be best. There's a vast array of choices out there these days, so I thought a little needle-cation might be in order. I turned to our ... |
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If you haven't been into one of our stores lately, plan a trip for the weekend! We have gorgeous new things for you to see, but you know how it is - the more gorgeous they are, the faster they sell - so hurry in to get yours soon. Here's ... |
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Downtown! For your favorite urbophile, P & B Textiles has given us the perfect expression of all things city. Marvelous buildings in appealingly industrial colors to put together or coordinate city style with bright colors. A VERY exciting collection! Available at our Bellevue, Northgate and SODO Seattle stores or order online ... |
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Jemima Puddleduck has come to play! Beatrix Potter's delightful characters prance across these sweet prints and inspire nursery furnishings, charming dresses and darling quilts. This wonderful collection from Quilting Treasures is available at all our stores.

September Light from In The Beginning is designer Lida Enche's (one of ... |
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I love crafting! Creating things by hand gives me a feeling of accomplishment and pride. I have only recently embraced technology in crafting and I have found it helps me to get more time for the hobby I love.

This month at Creative U, I am having so much fun ... |
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Okay, drop everything and call or go into your nearest Pacific Fabrics store. If you're not already signed up for An Inside Look - Quilting Fabric From A to Z with Jason Yenter - you NEED to sign up now!Our SODO Seattle (former Outlet) store had the honor of hosting ... |
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I am demonstrating at the Evergreen State Fair this week showing new quilting gadgets and some “quick quilting” techniques. I was very surprised to hear many of the people I talked to had never heard of Fusible Fleece.
This is an iron-on batting that I fuse to my quilt backing ... |
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Oh, MY! We have the most GORGEOUS fabric coming into our stores right now!!! Here's a little peek at just a couple of fabrics from a few of the collections. You'll see find these at most of our stores and online soon. Keep watching!

Cook from Andover Fabrics ... |
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This week I am having so much fun with a new tool!

It's called the Leaves Galore Ruler by Sue Pelland Designs. It has curved sides and comes in three sizes for cutting shapes for fusible applique. You can cut leaves, feathers and petal shapes in various sizes with ... |
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I love being able to walk into my sewing studio, look through my fabrics and start designing without having to leave the house. This is only possible, of course, if I continually feed my fabric stash!
Here are my 5 hints for keeping a "well-fed" stash:
1. When you see ... |
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My friend's daughter wanted a quilt and when I asked her what she liked, I got quite a list! Colors: neon green, hunter orange, hot pink and turquoise. And a few of her favorite things: hot dogs, hamburgers, dogs, chickens, cats and she'd like a horse someday. Plus ... |
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I made a quilt from a new pattern called No Sew Pie to Go by Pie Plate Patterns. This is a “raggy quilt” where all the block edges are left unfinished creating a raggy effect after washing.

Instead of sewing all of the quilt block pieces together, the instructions have ... |
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Thanks, Janice, for letting me know the Catkin fabric by In the Beginning is finally here - I've been saving my fabric dollars and waiting anxiously! Yum, it's so "purr-fect"!

And, you know what else I've been waiting for? Yes, it's Dazzling Doodles - Machine Quilting on Your ... |
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Well, we thought we'd seen everything - but we now have a dimension of quilting fabric that has never been seen before!

Imaginative Hoffman Fabrics has just released Coming At You, a collection of 3D fabrics. These fabrics are amazingly fun on their own, but when you don special 3D ... |
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It's here! says Janice, manager of our SODO store on 4th Avenue in Seattle. Tell them - IT'S HERE!!!

Catkin, designed by Seattle's own beloved Julie Paschkis for In the Beginning has indeed arrived! Even a devoted dog lover will be delighted with the fanciful frolicking felines that ... |
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Earlier this month, I had a chance to try Frixion Gel Pens from Pilot. I used them to mark the quilting lines in a project that I was machine quilting. They wrote so smoothly and clearly!

After I was done quilting instead of washing or rubbing with a damp cloth ... |
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I love "cutting corners" - don't you? Anything that involves a shortcut that gives me more time to make wonderful, creative things is OKAY with me!

The Cutting Corners Ruler designed by Sharyn Craig promises to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary with a ruler that works wonders. The 16 ... |
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Don't be shocked, but - if you're going to get your quilts done in time for the holiday gifting season, you need to start NOW. The big C day and all the jolly Christmas fun is just 5 months away. Maybe just the cutting needs to be started, but ... |
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Crafty Chris has morphed into Chris Claus for Christmas in July this month and she's very busy corraling elves, so I thought I'd do a tip for you today. It's pretty simple - go to one of our Christmas in July events, plan your gifts and start making ... |
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Many of my inspirations come from fabric. I LOVE fabric - good thing I work in a fabric store! I am always looking for reasons to buy some new print that I've fallen in love with and lately my eye has been drawn to the repeating stripes often featured in ... |
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Although, I have been sewing clothes for many years, I have only sewn whole cloth or "cheater" quilt panels before. But, when our latest granchild was about to be born, I wanted to make a pieced quilt. Being the over-acheiver of the family, I picked what I loved and thought ... |
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Many years ago I worked for a fabric store that sold sewing machines and our most common complaint was: "My thread keeps breaking!" I learned to ask a few basic questions and found that the machine was rarely the actual problem. Since I know how frustrating this can be, I ... |
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We seem to be having February over and over again in the Pacific Northwest, so I went looking for a little fabric sunshine to brighten the rain. My Sunshine from In the Beginning quickly lightened my outlook with it's perky Sunflower panel and fresh, happy coordinating prints. It comes ... |
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I'm a little late because of the holiday, but I've got a great thrifty tip for you this week! While working on table runners this month as I was preparing for our June Creative U, "Table Top Treats", I tried to use up bits of quilt batting I ... |
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When a soldier comes home, we all celebrate the joyous occasion. But how do we let wounded soldiers know just how much we appreciate their sacrifice on our behalf?
Quilts of Valor is an organization with a mission that is all about people . . .not politics. Knowing the wonderful comfort and ... |
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Itchin' for some new stitchin'? It's a great time of year to show your USA-proud colors and I found some highly fun patterns for you to try! Take a look:

I've always thought that Jeri Kelly designs the coolest wall hangings, so I was pleased to see this ... |
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Eileen waltzed into the office with her first quilt this morning - made from Hoffman's Bali Pop Batik Strips. It's a gift for her sister-in-law who is very ill. She's sending it instead of flowers and I think the patient will love it - don't you?!

Regina, our ... |
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If you're looking for a little texture for your sewing or quilting project, I highly recommend Texture Magic! I've been working with Texture Magic for quite awhile now and I really love it!

Simply sew the Texture Magic fabric to the back of your fabric, steam it and ... |
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Whip up a batch of quilting as yummy as cherry pie with this darling new collection from Henry Glass! Cherry Fizz brings to mind all things summer and here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, it's a very welcome site.

Plan your own cherry-licious project or click here to download ... |
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Ellen, an extraordinary quilter who works & teaches at our Everett store, stitches up gorgeous McKenna Ryan quilts that we all covet! The picture above is Home Tweet Home, one of McKenna's newest designs. So new that Ellen hasn't made one yet! So that you can make gorgeous quilts ... |
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In March I teased you with a post about my venture into a new area of sewing. It is now done and ready for publication!

To carry on a tradition begun at my wedding, I vowed to make a quilt for each of my children when they married. One small ... |
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Some fabric came into my house not long ago and was washed, dried and carefully folded and stacked.

Then I got busy cutting and matched up pieces in combinations that I liked for something I've never made before.

Next, it was time for a bit of late night and ... |
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I fell in love with this yummy collection at our Sewing & Stitchery Expo booth a couple of weeks ago! Central Park from Moda is a fabulous Spring Time blend of clear colors and modern style. Your plans could include a young girl's dress, a simple nine-patch quilt or new ... |
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Is Spray Starch one of those quilting "tools" that you have a love/hate relationship with?
 Dodi Poulsen
At the Sewing & Stitchery Expo a few weeks ago, I picked up a great tip while attending one of the seminars presented by Dodi Poulsen of Two Sisters at Squirrel Hollow. You ... |
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