Dear Quilting Friends,

The heat of summer has certainly arrived in Northwest Ohio. We finally turned on the air conditioning at home but the poor plants in my garden (and my husband’s fields) are withering in the hot, sunny, very dry conditions. So, at Threads of Tradition we are thinking cool by celebrating this month with a Christmas in July Sale. For the entire month, all regularly priced Christmas fabric, books and patterns as well as Jim Shore Santas, Nativities, Carolers and Christmas Angels are all 25% off. New Christmas fabrics have been arriving since early June, so right now the selection is at its peak including Christmas plaids by several Moda designers, the entire collection of Santa’s Got the Goods by Clothworks, a Nativity panel and coordinates by Nancy Halvorson plus more! Stop in, cool off and think Christmas with us!

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Fabric

Not only is Christmas fabric arriving, but LOTS of other fabric as well. There are too many to give a description of each one but some of the new groups include...

·        Mirage by Timeless Treasures

·        Fancy Cats 2 by Makower UK

·        Follow Your Heart by Kathy Schmitz for Moda

·        Eclectic Wovens  by Moda (stripe, plaids, jaquard) 

·        The entire collection of Leaves by Maywood

·        Little Blessings by Andover Fabrics

      See our new sample, it’s just too cute!      

·        Moroccan Pottery panel and coordinates

·        Fun Novelty prints

·        Many batiks

·        Blue and white fabrics

Mirage		Fancy Cats 2		Follow Your Heart		Leaves
Little Blessings		Moroccan Pottery		Novelty

On hot summer days, it’s nice to have a small handwork project to work on while you are trying to stay cool. Embroidery work to be framed or made into pillows, quilts and other home décor can be the perfect solution. Donna Wyse has been stitching up some samples for us to display and we should have them finished soon. There are lots of charming patterns available to be stitched in our Presencia floss that would make wonderful Christmas or any occasion gifts for those hard-to-buy-for people on your list.

Purses and bags are a hot accessory this season and the variety available in truly incredible. Exciting new summer and fall colors and styles of purses by Donna Sharp have arrived. Choose from Candy Apple, Toffee, Lincoln Star, Marilyn and Bear Walk as well as many other patterns that are still available. With a multitude of purse styles, we have something for everyone!

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Upcoming Quilt Events

Locally, there are many opportunities to nurture your creative quilting spirit. The bi-annual Kaleidoscope Quilt Show will be held on July 21-22 at Lourdes College in Sylvania Ohio. This event includes the quilt show and classes as well as numerous vendors from the area. We will be setting up a vendor’s booth at the Kaleidoscope Show and hope to see you there. Be sure to stop in and say hello!

Our current session of Saturday Sampler will be wrapping up soon. The last regular session will be on the second Saturday in August. A class in which Glora Belle will be helping participants set their quilts together is offered in September, and then the grand finale - the Saturday Sampler Reunion at 9:00 AM on Saturday October 13. If you have any Saturday Sampler quilt that has not been shown at a previous reunion, we encourage you to bring it on October 13 and share it with the group.

If you have never attended a Saturday Sampler and are interested in what it is all about, come to the Reunion to see the variety of possibilities that this program provides. We will begin a new series on January 12, 2008 with three different color scheme options: black and white, 19^th century reproductions and sherbet colors. With that wide variety, you may want to stitch more than one each month!

The months just seem to fly by, so when you are flipping the pages of your calendar, remember to save Friday and Saturday, October 19 – 20, 2007 for our Fall Quilter’s Retreat at the Heritage Inn. The relaxed format will include lots of time for sewing on one or several projects of your choice, plus door prizes, demonstrations, good food and lots of fun with other passionate quilters. Registration forms are available online at http://www.saudervillage.org/Hospitality/Quilt_Retreat_Reg.asp or call Jan Nofziger at 800.590.9755.

Another opportunity for fun and learning will be available on September 17-21 as Anita Shackelford and Sharon Stroud present A Quilters' Retreat at Sauder Village. 

You are invited to join Anita and Sharon for a time of instruction and relaxation at Historic Sauder Village and Heritage Inn. The special project for this retreat will be both pieced and appliquéd, and set together strippie style. Pieced blocks include star and basket patterns and the appliqué will be designed to fit the mood of your quilt. They will help you figure yardage and set your quilt together as a wall quilt, lap quilt or bed quilt. Working in the beautiful Heritage Inn, you can sew all day, interrupted only by delicious meals. There will be evening programs, door prizes, lots of fun and laughter. For more information visit Anita at www.thimbleworks.com

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Tip of the Month

While many dedicated quilters enjoy collecting and working with fat quarters, new or future quilters can be confused and/or amused by the term. One of the most common questions we answer at Threads of Tradition is “What’s a fat quarter?!” I’m sure all of you know that a fat quarter is a half yard of fabric that is split at the folded edge and measures approximately 18” x 22”. But, do you know how many squares of various sizes can be cut from one fat quarter? I’ve included a handy cutting chart by Sue Penn that will save you the work of figuring that out for yourselves.

One Fat Quarter Equals:

90 - 2" squares
56 - 2 ½” squares
36 - 3” squares
25 - 3 ½” squares
20 - 4” squares
16 - 4 ½” squares
12 - 5” squares
9 - 5 ½” squares
9 - 6” squares
6 - 6 ½” squares
4 - 7”, 7 ½”, 8”, and 9” squares

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Books

When July really heats up and it is too hot to do anything requiring physical exertion, be ready with a good book that you can read while sitting in the pool or in front of a fan. My recommendations include three novels by author Emilie Richards that I read while on vacation a few weeks ago. The Wedding Ring, Endless Chain and Lover’s Knot are all a good, easy reading fiction that center around a quilt as well as a historical social issue. We have them available in paperback so you can be ready to read whenever the notion strikes.

For quick and easy summer projects, Fun with Folded Fabric Boxes includes a bounty of boxes to fashion from fabric or paper. Fat quarter friendly, no-sew techniques make beautiful origami boxes with easy-to-follow how-to illustrations and photos. Make a variety of sizes and have fun embellishing them to express your own creativity!

Create stunning traditional quilts - and get perfectly pieced results every time with the new book Showstopping Quilts to Foundation Piece. Use easy, accurate foundation piecing to make even the most intricate blocks. Choose from 13 quilts featuring feathered stars, pinwheels, medallions and more. Tame even the trickiest shapes with step-by-step lessons on foundation piecing.  Stitch quilts fit for a family legacy!

Speaking of quilt shows, what does it take to win? In her new book Quilting For Show, Karen McTavish, an award winning quilter, gathers advice from "best of show" winners, talks to show judges, queries an AQS certified appraiser and teaches you some key quilting concepts to help you compete in shows. Thirteen well-known quilt artists add their collective advice to Karen’s instruction on what it takes to quilt for show. The DVD included with the book adds instructions on blocking, adding a sleeve, burying threads, quilting feathers, rope and cable, crosshatching and more.

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So... there are many ways to indulge your quilting passion with summertime projects, good books and quilting events even in the heat of summer or on those much anticipated vacation days.

Stop in to see us for a warm welcome and lots of cool ideas to keep you stitching!

                                                                              Linda

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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

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