Stitchin’ Heaven Howdy

We want to see YOUR sewing room! Ok, so I check over our web site stats every other day to monitor things like our most visited pages or keywords searched…Well, did you know that sewing room (s) is the most searched key word  for our site? Yeah, who knew? Although, I’m not suprised so many are searching…( I know what my sewing room looks lik & could use some help with organization) So, since I know you all have perfectly spotless & super organized & very creative sewing rooms….I wanna see! We all want to see! So, in May and possibly longer, we would love to showcase your sewing room!  Please send pictures along with your name and state to nichole@stitchinheaven.com! 

Can’t wait to see!

Oh, right, tomorrow is the last day for entries in the April Giveaway for the Scottie Turns Twenty Quilt! So, get to it! We want to hear from you and of course, want you to win!

Edyta’s love for fabric began at a very early age when she cut her mothers’ drapes to create her first fabric project.  Her mother recognized Edyta’s passion for fabric and she taught her the skills required for sewing.  Creating beautiful gowns initiated Edyta’s journey into creative textile design and was a building block into the quilting adventure that lie ahead of her.  Edyta considers her marriage to her husband Michael one of her biggest blessings.  She not only fell in love, but she built a close relationship with her mother-in-law Carol and grandmother-in-law Anna; two women who introduced Edyta to their family tradition of quilting. Edyta has always possessed a desire to express herself about the objects or occasions in her surroundings and now quilting design is the avenue she chooses to release this passion. The combination of inspiration, a love for fabric, a keen eye for color, and her family teachings blended into the recipe for developing a thriving talent for designing quilts and quilting patterns. 

Edyta’s latest adventure was creating her new book, Hop To It. Through the beautiful and inspiring pages, she will guide you on a journey

that will fill your world with color as she shares her techniques for selecting and combining fabrics. The book is filled with eight wonderful projects that any quilter would cherish. We are offering this pattern as a block of the month that will begin in June! Please join us for the fun…Mention HOPTOIT as the coupon code and receive your sign up fee  free!

“My children and my husband are my greatest motivation; this is like a Cinderella dream for me, being able to do what I love and sharing this love with others is the greatest feeling and reward I could imagine!”

We asked Edyta what her favorite T.V. show was and she tol us: ” My favorite TV show is “Amazing Race”, I just love the thought of travelling to faraway places.”

It’s getting close to the end of the month! But it’s not too late you get entered for the April Giveaway for the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! All you have to do is comment on the blog during the month of April to be entered. Thanks for all of you loyal commentors and blog readers! You’re the best! You still have more chances to enter, though, so go for it!

April Giveaway! Scottie Turns 20 Quilt

This week is our third Sew ‘N Spa retreat where our lucky attendees get  to enjoy 5 days of sewing and spa treatments at the Brookhaven Retreat Center located in Hawkins, Texas.  Not only is unlimited sewing available, but you’re surrounded by friends!  Deb went out to visit the girls yesterday to see what they were up to and came back with these great pics to share!

Looks like they’re having a lot of fun! If you missed out on this one, we have another Sew N Spa scheduled this fall from September 15 -19th!! There’s plenty of room still, so if you would like more information you can visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-841-3901! Hope to see ya there!

 Don’t forget about the April Giveaway!  Leave your comments during the the month of April for the chance to win the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! 

Jan & Joan make up this mother daughter design team who has just awed us with their Luv ‘N Texas block of the month quilt that we just had to offer!  I remember Jan (daughter) coming into the shop with this quilt and asking if we’d be interested in offering it as a block of the month.  We called everyone up to the front to enamour over this awesome detailed quilt. It was a no brainer. We knew we were going to offer this.  The embroidery work done by Joan (mom) is flawless. You look at it and are just sure it’s done by machine, but no, she hand embroiders and designs all of the embroidery work!

Joan,  an Ex Realtor and Jan, a Manufacturing Operator decided that shortly after Jan’s father passing away that her mother needed to be closer. Rather than have mom move in they both sold their houses, moved and put a house on some land in Burnet , Texas, where dad had bought land several years ago! These two, decided that with thier combined passion for quilting and experience that they wanted to get into the pattern business. They talked to their local quilt shop owner who have them a book and asked the girls to design a quilt for her shop and now, here they are….Meme N Me! they have an awesome time working together and being able to work together. Neither one said they would change a thing!

I asked the girls what their favorite childhood memories were and here’s what they said:

Jan: “ I have been told alot of funny stories about my childhood, but alot of them I don’t actually remember them on my own.  Something I can remember that I loved was being at my Grandparent’s house in Vivian, Louisiana.  I can remember my Grandfather (Pampa) raking the leaves, and me jumping off the porch into the pile.  They had tons of squirrels in the area, and I can remember calling them “Pony Tails” instead of squirrels.  To this day I still call them Pony Tails.  Then I remember while I was there visiting, in the evening after supper, my Grandmother (Pamma) would say “Who wants a Coke Float”.  I don’t ever recall saying “Not me”.  They were the best.  She would chill the mugs, and the cokes were in those little bottles and so cold.  Oh Man did I love those Coke Floats.”
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Joan:  ” In 1945 I was 12 years old.  That September WWII was declared over.  My brother had been in a prison camp for nine months.  During those months we lived with heavy hearts at our house.  One evening in Sept I went to the movies with the family who lived across the street from us.  My memory is etched in my heart.  After the movie as we were turning into the neighbors driveway, I glanced toward my house, through the window I saw a big pair of trouper boots proped up on my mother’s coffee table.  I think I jumped out of the car before it stopped. What a celebration to have my big brother home safe & sound.”

Their quilt Luv N Texas is  a 12 month blockof the month program began in March and consists of peiced and hand embroidered blocks. The detail is amazing! You can click on the image to get a closer view.

Stay on the look out for new designs by Meme N Me!

Ok, and I’m not going to let you guys/gals forget about our April Giveaway for the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! All comments made during the month of April will be entered to win this adorable twin sized quilt! Comment! Comment!

Oh!…..And Happy Earth Day! I’ll be planting some pretty flowers after work today, what will you be doing?

Today, April 21st is Holocaust Rememberance Day. We wanted to take the time to honor the men, women & children who died, survived and  who risked their lives to saved others from this horrific event in history.  The term Holocaust or Shoah in Hebrew, refers to the murder of 6 million men, women and children of a consequence of the national policy of Nazi Germany to murder all Jews under it’s control.  The Holocaust represents the transformation of historic anti-Semitism and sporadic, undisciplined mob violence into a relentless, systematic, nationally organized hate and murder machine.  There are many graphic details to this peice of our history, that I will leave up to you to read on about, but found it interesting how quilting has a pieced itself in thispart of  history, as well.

The rescue of children before the outbreak of World War II from Nazi Germany, Nazi occupies Austria & Czechoslovakia, has become known as the Kindertransport.  Approximately,10,000 Jewish youth between the ages of 4 months and 17 years were rescued from Eastern Europe and taken in sealed trains and boats to Great Britain, who opened its doors to them.

Kirsten & Anita Grosz, wife and daughter of Kindertransport participant Hanus Grosz, came up with the idea of creating Kindertransport Memory Quilts.  The concept was to provide the “Kinder” with an avenue to express their experiences.  10″ squares of the fabric were sent to the “Kinder” and they were asked to complete the patch reflecting their experiences

and to provide an explanation of their square. Kirsten, a quilter herself, agreed to put the blocks together.  The project resulted in the creation of the quilt, which in their folklore format, tell the story of survival and also, honor the Righteous who provided them with safety and gave them life.  The quilts are a testament to the power of art to heal. (sited from: http://www.holocaustcenter.org/kinderTransport/index.html)

When you visit this site you will be able to view the blocks from 5 quilts.  You can click on each block top see a close up view andhear an audio description of the block and whose memory it is in… Very dramatic and heartfelt site. Please take the time to check it out.

If anyone has a story they would like to share concerning the holocaust, we would love to hear from you!  Thank you all, for taking the time to read our blog and send us comments! We love you all!

Don’t forget about or April Giveaway! This month, ALL month, any comments you post to the blog will be entered to win the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! What are ya waiting for?? Comment, already!!

Scottie Turns 20! ~ April Giveaway!

It was 1986, in a guild meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Linda Jenkins and Becky Goldsmith met for the first time. Linda had just sold her beauty shop of over 20 years and Becky was new quilter fresh out of class. Their friendship grew through their love of quilting and being active in guild activities. Since then, these two have become partners in Piece O Cake designs. Although, they live apart, one in Texas and the other in Colorado, that doesn’t put any complication in their endeavers together. The girls have several books, patterns, a DVD, and an awesome Quilter’s Reference Tools quide….Plus some….If you have any projects made with their designs, please send them in, we’d love to see them and share them on our blog!

You may also know a little something about Aunt Millies Garden, a block of the month we are offering here at the shop. A gorgeous quilt! They have several new designs, too, including Aunt Millies Roses which is featured in the newest issue of American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine…You’ll have to check out their site and see their show and tells for all of the different versions made of their designs.

I was able to catch up with Becky & she informs me that they are both very busy, so lets hope they’re working on some fun new stuff for us all to enjoy!!

I also, got to ask her what her favorite time of year is. She replied “ My favorite time of year is right now – Spring. The plants are well on their way to looking good. Some have already flowered, lots more are coming. Hope is in the air!”

Don’t forget about the April Giveway for the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! All comments made during the month of April will be entered to win this adorable quilt! So, comment away!! We will announce the winner May 4th!

Scottie Turns 20 – April Giveway!

Don’t forget about us on Facebook & Twitter!! We’re having a ton of fun on there!! Join us!

Well, sorry for the lack of posts this week, my computer got sick so was at the doctor’s…I had over 100 viruses!! Can you beleive that!!?? It’s all better now!

We’re so happy to have this opportunity to feature Leanne on our blog. She is an amazing artist, designer, teacher and DVD host!! I went searching for fun stuff to write about her on here and got mesmerized on her blog. Have you guys been there?  It is so colorful and fun….Now, Leanne is a resident of Australia so has some amazing pictures posted of the greenery and beautiful flowers that we don’t get to see her in the US.  She’s quite the photographer, too! Oh, and did I mention she is an animal lover and also draws pet portraits?!

Right now our shop is offering her Block of the Month, Butterfly Garden! It consists of soft colors in pinks, yellows, greens & more…Such a whimsical quilt. It’s shown behind her here in the picture. We just started it and still  have room for more, so if you want to join us, it’s not too late!

I asked Leanne one question:  What did you want to be when you grew up? She answered: “Everything! I just wanted to be so many different things when I grew up! I wanted to be a Fashion Designer, a Chef, a Nurse (which I did become), a landscape gardener, a photographer, oh the list goes on!
I have had many interesting jobs from being a nurse to working in the plumbing industry! I was Sales Manager for a company that sold bathroom products – including toilets! I’m much happier these days standing up infront of people talking about stitching rather than toilets!
I think life is just an adventure and there’s so many interesting things to do for a living! I have yet to fulfil my dream of being a photographer!

My mission in life is to show women that with even ten minutes a day you can have a life full of creativity. It doesn’t matter if you have your own studio or a portion of the kitchen table to be creative – you can do it!  Follow my journey and have a giggle with me and get inspired too…

So creative and just a neat person!! Thanks for the intereview, Leanne!

Now, you guys do know that this month all comments made will be entered to win the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt, right?? Well, some of you are already on it, and if you haven’t joined in, start commenting now. We all love to hear what you have to say about our posts and the featured designers, projects, events and everything else we have to talk about!
 Scottie Turns 20 Quilt

April Giveaway!

In the last few months we have become quite active in the Facebook community! We have our social page where all of us here can login and post stuff and then we have the Stitchin’ Heaven Fan page! Deb’s gone crazy with this and for the first 200 fans she gave away a free pattern….Well, now once we reach 500 fans (we’re just about 77 away as I write this) she is going to giveaway fabric!! Yeppers! Fabric!  We will giveaway a fat quarter to each one of our 500 fans! And…..when we reach 500, not only do you get a free FQ you will also be directed  by a link for an extra treat!  So, if you’re not already a fan….what are you waiting for!?  Hurry up and join us on our Facebook Fan page!

Just in case you are just now joining us…For the month of April, all comments made will be entered to win the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! So, please read through the blog.  We’ve got some fun things going on, then comment and tell us what you think!  We’re always open to suggestions, too!  If you want to hear about something or someone, please feel free to email us at nichole@stitchinheaven.com and let us know!

Scottie Turns 20 Quilt

April Giveaway!

Hello, thank you for inviting me to be a guest writer here on Stitchin� Heaven.

Ok, so where should I start??

My patchwork interest started after the birth of my first son, David in 1981, baby David may have looked sweet and angelic but he sure could wreak my fancy knitting in a moment! I decided I needed a hobby that was very portable and easy to pick up and put down so I took a night class and made a traditional sampler quilt which I thoroughly enjoyed stitching entirely by hand, I was totally hooked!

By now I was the mother of two gorgeous boys and in 1984 my family moved to the Channel Islands, UK. I started teaching from home as there was no quilt store on the island, we had to get all our supplies mail order and there was no internet to make our shopping easy, we had to trust the wonderful lady at the quilt store on the mainland to send us things we would like. I was also able to sell some of my handmade pillows and small quilts at the local craft centre. I organized the making of several quilts for charity with the help of all the wonderful ladies in my classes.

Now the proud mother of three sons, I moved to Australia in 1990 and in 1995 I started designing and producing my own patterns under the label Lynette Anderson for The Patchwork Angel, the name angel was chosen as my Dad always called my brother and I his angels! I am very fortunate as my patterns were popular immediately; some of those early patterns are as popular today as they have ever been.

In 1997 with the help of my Mum, Ruth we opened a quilt store, The Patchwork Angel in an old church, on Queenslands Sunshine Coast. Many people would be forgiven for thinking that the trading name was chosen because of the old church that now housed the quilt store but in fact that name had been chosen two years prior when I released my first patterns.

After almost ten wonderful, busy years I decided it was time to focus full time on my designing and I sold The Patchwork Angel.

These days I live by the beach and I am very lucky as all four of my boys and my parents live here on Queenslands Sunshine Coast, so we get to spend lots of time together.

The inspiration for my designs comes from everyday life, whether it�s a memory from my childhood, where I grew up in a small country village in Dorset, England or from something that�s occurring in my life today. My newest block of the month quilt, �A Kittens Tale� was inspired by our dog Hugo and Felix an unweaned, tiny, fluffy kitten who was found in a tree at the end of our street. Hugo and Felix took to each other straight away and are totally inseparable, whether they are bug hunting, sharing a bowl of food, playing in the garden, helping me put the binding on a quilt or just sleeping snuggled together.

Give me a pencil and paper and I am one happy girl, of course that then leads to needing fabrics, needle and threads! The end result could be a simple design for a pillow or ��.. something bigger.

Besides patterns and books I also produce handpainted wooden buttons, you will find these adorning and enhancing several of my designs. The buttons are created by Leanne a friend of mine, she works from my drawings and then paints them in a style that suits my work, I just love them and I hope you do too.

This year I have had the extra excitement of working with Henry Glass &Co producing two fabric lines. It has been a wonderful experience, from posting off my little paintings to seeing how their design team interpreted them and now I am trying to be patient waiting to see the fabric! The team at Henry Glass have made me feel so welcome and although I am a bit bias I think you will love the fabrics.

I love coming to the US and have just had the most wonderful time at Quilt market, catching up with old friends and making new ones. Thank you to everyone who once again who made me feel very welcome.

You can visit me on my blog www.lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com, don�t forget to say hello.

Talk soon,

Don’t forget, all comments during the month of April will be entered into the drawing for this adorable Scottie Dog Quilt! Keep those wonderful comments coming!

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Pat, first through Facebook, where I joined in on her OP Challenge in February.� It was so much fun and it was my first time to do an online class/challenge type event like that!� Did anyone else join Pat for that�challenge? Anywho,��she was so gracious in my endeavers to blog that weekend!! I really learned a lot from her! She’s such an awesome coach!� We keep in touch on Facebook and Twitter and I make it a point to check out her blog often! You’ll have to check it out : Pat Sloan’s Place.�

Did you know Pat used to be a computer programmer? Yeah! From programmer to quilter extraordinare!�That’s probably how writing patterns comes�so easy for�her. �Pat is known throughout the quilting world as a designer of patterns & fabrics, a lecturer, teacher, you can find her in several magazines and in several online quilting groups, on YouTube…hmmm…what else? I know you can find her just about anywhere on the internet and when you google her there’s page after page of links on where you can find her or read about her. She recently posted to her blog about where you can find her.� So, check her out!

Pat’s style is mostly of the folk art style and is inspired by anything from fabrics to flowers! Pat usually has a theme in mind when designing like with ‘Ma Ma’s Garden” wanting the feel of her great grandmother’s gardens and ‘Cottage Rose’ that began from one�of her favorite traditional quilt blocks!

I found this neat video from Pat on YouTube. There are many more where this came from! Hope you enjoy!�

Don’t forget about the Drawing for the Scottie Turns 20 Quilt! All comments made during the month of April will be entered in for our drawing of this totally adorable quilt!