Wish Upon a Quilt Blog

If you sew or quilt, you are going to have leftover a.k.a. “scrap” pieces of fabric. What to do with them? Well, most of us can’t bear to throw away any fabric so we save it until it starts to overtake us. I swear it grows overnight in most sewing rooms!  I love it when quilters turn these scraps into handmade works of art. These two quilts made by Cynthia, a fabulous Wish Upon A Quilt customer, started out as leftovers…can you believe it? So, grab those piles of scraps and start stitching! Not sure what to do with your scraps? There are many online resources and one of my favorites is Bonnie Hunter’s quiltville.com. Bonnie offers free scrap quilt patterns and lots of “scrap management’ advice.  So what are you waiting for? grab a free pattern  and start creating your next dream quilt!

I wanted to share with you what the Sew Sweet Shop club did this month. Laura and Luann both brought in their versions of February’s Cheery Cherry Pie quilt blocks.  They turned out fabulous!

We had a raffle for the door prize and Laura won! Laura, your pack of Fat Quarters is waiting for you in the office at Wish.

Next month is Coffee Cake and we will be trading yellow and/or pink fat quarters. Each member try to bring five each for swapping. I can’t wait for the fun to begin next month!

It’s still not too late to join in the club. You can still get February’s and March’s patterns online at the Sew Sweet Shop Club page or you can register in the store.

You asked for it so here it is. The menu for the Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap Club. Check out the delicous quilts we have planned for the club. Each month you will recieve a pattern for the scrap friendly quilt and a recipe. There will be a demonstration of how to assemble the block. Wendy will also provide fun tips and additons to the pattern.

Those participating in the store will get yummy treats to nibble during the club meeting. Wendy will also organize a scrap swap.

Online participants will recieve a copy of the pattern, the recipe, Wendy’s notes, and exclusive access to a demonstration video and additional comments on that month’s club meeting.  I look forward to seeing you all in March. Don’t forget to sign up to reserve your spot and some glazed chocolate chip bars!

We kicked off the Sew Sweet Shop Scrap Club last week. It was a great success. The cherry pie Cathy made was delicous. The sample quilt is now hanging in the shop. Come on in and check it out.

We’ve decided to continue to offer two sessions of the Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap club. One Thursday evenings and one Saturday mornings. This program is just too much fun to limit it to one session. We are also making it available to online participants.  In-store particpants will get to sample yummy treats each month while I demonstrate how the block is assembled and lecture on a relevant topic. They will recieve a copy of the pattern, recipe, and a password to access the online subscription post.  Online particpants will be emailed the password to the subscription only post on the blog. The subscription only post will have a link to the pattern and recipe that club members may print for thier own use. The post will also have several demonstration videos (approximately 4 minutes in length due to size constraints). One video will demonstrate the block assembly and the other will be an abreviated form of the lecture/demonstration.

This month in Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap Club I demosntrated the Cheery Chery Pie pattern and how to use the Omnigrid Half-Square triangle to make the most out of your scrap stash. I also offered two other color variations of the same block and showed how it could be adapted to Jelly Rolls, Charm Squares, and Layer Cakes using the Omnigrid ruler. Next month I will be demonstrating the Chocolate Peanuttier block.

We will also be trading scraps at the in-store sessions to help each other build our stashes. I have a lot of fun ways to turn this into a game so I hope you all bring scraps in to trade. In March please bring fat quarters or 2 1/2 inch strips (width of fabric) in Charcoal colors (from black through brugandy browns down to creams and whites) to trade.

 Cathy will be offering door prizes for those who bring finished Sew Sweet Shoppe projects in to show and share. So be sure to bring in your versions of the Cheery Chery Pie quilt to share with us so you can get a chance at the door prize. Online participants can email Wish Upon a Quilt photos of their projects and we will post them on the blog and enter their names into a door prize drawing as well. The winner will be shipped the door prize for free.

The neat thing about the online aspect of this club is that if you can’t make an in-store club meeting you can register for online particpation that month and still participate!

I’m very excited about the new Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap program that Cathy has published. This is a brand new scrap program that was introduced at the fall Quilt Market. I love scrap quilts. Scrap quilts just sort of found me. I couldn’t afford to buy all the fabric I wanted but I was usually happy with just a fat quarter of it, especially if I didn’t have a specific project in mind for it.  So a typical scenario at the quilt shop would be I went to buy fabric for a  specific project and I’d fall in love with a new fabric that didn’t fit that project at all. So I’d grab a fat quarter and sneak it home. It was the fat quarters sitting off to the side that would inspire the next projects. (And encourage me to finish the one that was in progress.) The thing was that when I started planning the next project I’d realize that a fat quarter wouldn’t do.   I needed more. Sound familiar? I became a fan of scrap quilts because they allowed me to use the fabrics I loved with out the agony or worry over how much to get. I don’t have to worry if I’ll have enough for a project because I can just use it as an excuse to go get more lovely fabric.  And there are so many lovely fabrics calling to me – scrap quilts are definitely the solution.

But it’s not just the need to use up fat quarter and half yard cuts that make scrap quilts appealing. I often get to reuse fabrics left over from other projects like my brother’s wedding quilt, a friends baby quilt, a baby quilt for my own children, a purse, or tote project. Those scraps have sweet memories and are still a joy to handle and use.  Scrap quilts can also be a journal of sorts of all the quilts I’ve made and given away.

Scrap quilts often have a deep richness of pattern and design because it’s the piecers use of value and color that is noticed not the fabric designers art. All of those pretty pieces of fabric come together to make a beautiful new whole. Whenever I find myself thinking a piece of fabric is too pretty to cut I just remind myself the joy it will bring me when I find it again in my scrap bin.

I also have a sweet tooth and love bakeries and baking. The sweet shop theme of the program just tickles me pink. (Which happens to be the colorway of the first quilt.)  The first session of the Sew Sweet Shoppe is Thursday, Feb 12 at 6pm. The second session will be Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:30am. Both sessions will be the same. There will be a $15 charge to reserve a slot, and you will receive a free quilt pattern, a demonstration of the how to construct the quilt presented, a yummy treat and recipe to take home! I will also give tips on how to adjust the pattern to accommodate jelly roll strips, charm squares, and/or layer cakes.

If you would like to exchange scraps please bring precut strips of 3 1/2 inch width or 2 1/2 inch width, 5 inch charm squares, or fat quarters. We will trade like for like. Looking forward to seeing you on the 12th! What will your scrap quilt look like?