Sauder Village
22611 St. Rt. 2
Archbold, Ohio 43502
In Northwest Ohio
1-800-590-9755

Click here...
Rates. Dates & Hours

Dear Quilting Friends,

What a beautiful spring day! As I write this letter on Saturday afternoon, the sun is shining and it is warm enough to enjoy being outside without a jacket. Therefore, I procrastinated writing to you until I had spent several hours outside picking up sticks in the lawn in hopes of being ready to mow the grass when that time comes. We have lots of very old trees in our yard, so there were plenty of sticks to keep me busy for a long time! But the daffodil and tulip leaves pushing through the soil, the greening grass, and buds on the trees are all hopeful signs of warmer weather ahead and I, for one, am cheering them on! I’m sure you are too.


Quilt Fair Coming Soon!

Another sign of spring is the fact that our Annual Quilt Show is only three weeks away. It promises to be another great show, featuring the creative and careful work of many of our quilting friends in this region. We have room to hang about 400 quilts, and as April 3rd, we already had more than 350 registered. If we haven’t done so already by the time you reads this, we will need to close registration very soon so that we can actually hang all the quilts that are brought for the show. That’s a good problem to have, but I always hate disappointing the quilters who are still hoping to register at the last minute. So, if you still haven’t registered your quilts, do it today and I hope we will still be able to accept your quilt for this year’s show. If you have a Challenge quilt that isn’t registered, be sure to send in a registration form this week. We will not need to cut off registrations for the Challenge or youth quilts because those quilts are hung in the lobby, not in Founder’s Hall itself.

Every year we hold a drawing for free passes to Quilt Fair. Everyone who purchases a Challenge kit is eligible to enter. Each of the three winners receives two free one-day passes to attend Quilt Fair on the day of their choice. This year’s winners are:  Karen Kerr of Cygnet, OH, Nancy Scott of Berne, IN and Chris Olwick of Swanton, OH. Congratulations and we hope you and a friend have a fantastic time at Quilt Fair 2008!

Volunteers are preparing to demonstrate a variety of skills and projects for your enjoyment. This year we will be featuring the following demonstrations: piecing the curves of Serenity Circles, piecing techniques for “Sallies Quilt”-- a Civil War reproduction, sewing clothing from Quik Sew patterns, needle turn appliqué and using the Clover Yo-Yo maker, broderie perse techniques and hand quilting on our fantastic Snake River Log Cabin quilt. Volunteer demonstrators are always happy to show you what they are working on and to answer any questions you may have pertaining to their project. And, of course, supplies and kits for all these projects are available at Threads of Tradition!

I’ve been in communication with Sharyn Craig and I’m sure that anyone who takes a class from her will have a great time in addition to learning a lot! Former students of hers say that her classes are a “riot” and they would love to take another class from her. We’ve had a good response to the classes we have offered, but there are still a few spaces left in all of them, so it is not too late to join the fun. You can easily register for classes on our website or print out a registration form and mail it in... I’m sure you won’t regret sharing a day or two with Sharyn and the other eager students in class!


Spring Retreat... Fun for All

On March 14 & 15 twenty-two quilters gathered in the Homestead Room of the Sauder Heritage Inn for two days (and late nights) of sewing, quilting, laughter and fun. All reports indicate that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the time set aside to sew, the companionship of all the other quilters, the sharing of ideas, the plentiful good food, the hot tub and other facilities of the Heritage Inn, the friendly jokes, the laughter and the late night stories which helped us all get to know each other better while we stitched on our chosen projects. In fact, we had so much fun that we’ve decided to add a third day to next year’s spring retreat which will be held on March 6 - 8, 2009. At this point the fall retreat will remain a two-day event, pending input from those who attend the retreat that is scheduled for October 3 & 4, 2008.  So... mark your calendars for one or both retreats and when we are ready to take reservations for these events, you’ll be the first to know via this e-newsletter!


Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Along with spring comes Mother’s Day and the opportunity to show our moms how much we really do appreciate them, even though (if you’re like me) we don’t always say it as often as we should. Unique ideas for Mother’s Day gifts include our new spring purses by Donna Sharp in great summer colors like Sweet Melon, Grape Patch, Sophie Patch and the blue and white Lighthouse pattern. We also have several new puzzles with quilts in the scenery that moms will enjoy, or... what mom who sews wouldn’t love to own the Perfect Sewing Chair? Check out the special promotional bundle in the sale ad and then stop at Threads of Tradition before May 11 to test the chairs yourself. We will be happy to order one specially made for you or your mom with the custom fabric of your choice.
 


New Books to Expand Your Quilting Skills

New from Ricky Tims, Feathers and Urns, expands the possibilities of Rhapsody Quilts. This companion volume to Ricky Tims’ Rhapsody Quilts book contains a full-size freezer paper pattern for Viva Violetta, plus 9 bonus pattern ideas and a collection of Ricky’s favorite appliqué patterns. Sign-up for our Rhapsody Quilt Class with Sharon Moore scheduled for June 14, and use this new pattern for your class project to make your own one-of-a-kind heirloom quilt.

Roberta DeLuz wrote Terrific Tees, I Can’t Believe It’s A T-Shirt Quilt to change the way we approach making these popular memory quilts. Each quilt should be as unique as the T-shirts used and reflect the subject matter of the shirts. This book will help you find your way in making your quilt as special as your tees and the memories they inspire. Most of the quilts in this book use very traditional piecing and block patterns. The relationship between the subject of the tees and the quilt design is what makes these quilts so successful. Your tees will help you design a T-shirt quilt for real quilters.

For a totally new, creative experience, try your hand at creating dazzling quilts with precut fabric strips and eleven amazingly easy weaving techniques. Simply Stunning Woven Quilts by Anna Faustino teaches construction methods using easy fusible appliqué and stitching in the ditch with no seams, no corners or points to match! Step-by-step lessons teach the basics of fabric weaving and then move on to 8 more techniques for weaving and combining fabrics. Avid quilter Sandra Samaniego says “Don’t be intimidated because weaving quilts is so different from anything you may have attempted before…The concept of weaving is easy and the results will simply astonish you.”  Treat yourself to this amazing book and your life as a quilter may never be the same again!


Fabric, Fabric Everywhere

In order to stock up for Quilt Fair and the spring season, new fabric has been arriving almost daily, so much so that we are again having trouble fitting it all into the shelving units! New fabrics include everything from sweet and very delicate pink and white Mary Rose Collection 12 prints, Zoom Zoom boys flannels, Moda’s colorful Posh line, and Zen--a group of taupes from Andover (pictured to the right), to new contemporary Amy Butler prints in spring colors. These and several other groups are pictured below but they are so much more beautiful in person, so be sure to get a closer look at these new lines when planning your next quilt or clothing project. 


Posh


Meadowsweet


Amy Butler


Zoom-Zoom


Hannah


Mary Rose

 


Just for Fun

Valda Short, one of our volunteer quilters, shared the following poem with me and I thought you might also enjoy it. My husband can probably relate to the feelings of the author of this poem, although I haven’t gone so far as to teach the lady who cleans my house how to quilt. I’m afraid I’d have to go back to cleaning for myself!

Ode to My Wife the Quilter
Author Unknown

She learns to quilt on Monday.
Her stitches all were very fine.
She forgot to thaw out dinner,
So we went out to dine.

She quilted miniatures on Tuesday.
She says they are a must.
They really are quite lovely,
But she forgot to dust.

On Wednesday it was a sampler.
She says stippling’s fun.
What highlights! What Shadows!
But the laundry wasn’t done.

Her patches were on Thursday...
Green, yellow, blue and red.
I guess she was really engrossed;
She never made the bed.

It was wall hangings on Friday,
In colors she adores.
It never bothered her at all,
The crumbs on the floor.

I found a maid on Saturday.
My week is now complete.
My wife can quilt the hours away;
The house will still be neat.

Well, it’s already Sunday.
I think I’m ready to wilt.
I cursed, I raved, I ranted,
The MAID has learned to QUILT!

I think I’ll leave you with these thoughts about setting priorities and making time for what really matters in life... J


If the prediction of warm, dry weather is true, we’re planning our first real motorcycle ride of the season for Sunday afternoon and I’m definitely looking forward to that!

I’m also looking forward to seeing all of you during the week of Quilt Fair at Sauder Village and celebrating the good, creative work of our quilting friends.

                                                                                       See you there! Linda


Threads of Tradition @ Sauder Village
22611 State Route 2, Archbold, Ohio 43502
800.590.9755  or 419.446.2541  ext. 3011
www.saudervillage.org
send email inquiries to: lrufenacht@saudervillage.org


If you wish to receive this newsletter, subscribe here