Happy Thanksgiving!

My favorite Thanksgiving story goes like this.

My family really likes cranberry sauce. I mean, reeeaaally likes cranberry sauce. I remember having homemade cranberry sauce at my grandmother's house, each of us with our own portion in a little glass pyrex bowl. It was smooth like applesauce. I learned that a foley mill was key to getting the perfect texture. Later my dad became the cranberry sauce maker in the family and the individual serving bowls seemed to get bigger. I swear my brother has a cereal bowl for his.

Many years ago, while living in California, I found a foley mill at a yard sale and bought it. Not long after, I was getting ready to make my first ever Thanksgiving dinner. The 'stray dog' dinner we called it as we were all transplants who weren't going to be with family that day. We were going to watch some football and the guys were betting on who could gain the most weight over the course of the meal. (I was asked to have a scale handy for the before and after weigh-ins.) I ordered a fresh, free-range bird and planned to make all the stuffing, sides and desserts from scratch. I called my dad to get "Grandma's Cranberry Recipe." Surely this was a family secret to be passed down in loving tradition. I had my pen ready.

"Look on the back of the bag and it's right there," my dad says. "I cut down the sugar a little bit but that's it."

Seriously? My treasured family delicacy was splayed out there openly by Ocean Spray for all the world to see? My heart sank. Certainly there was nothing special about that. The only thing special about us is the way we line up with our cereal bowls to get our enormous ladle of sauce. It's really good stuff, you know.

Many happy Thanksgiving wishes to you and yours.

Pearl Bracelets Never Go Out of Style

We just received this great classic Lizzy House print from her Red Letter Day collection. It's a terrific quilting basic for any type of project.

Alexander Henry Arriving Next Week!

Brilliant! Colorful! One of a Kind! It could be none other than Alexander Henry studio prints. Simply delectable and available in the shop next week!

More Fabric Show

How about some delicious Patty Young Sanctuary fabrics by Michael Miller? They're a luscious cotton lawn, but a tad heavier almost like a pima cotton. Soft and luxurious. Stay tuned for their arrival date.

After Market market

When the dust settles in Houston, our local sales reps put on a mini show for those of us who couldn't make the Big Show. Becca and I spent the day looking over samples and swatches, ooh-ing and aahh-ing the delicious fabrics that will be coming out in the coming months. We have tons of great new lines to look forward to as well as keeping our strong commitment to solids, dots and more black and white prints. Stay tuned as we preview the fabrics and keep you updated with new arrivals.

One of the first to ship will be Melissa Averinos' Swoon line with Andover Fabrics. There was a gorgeous quilt at with this line that sold us right away. We hope it makes you swoon too.

Bold Bento Boxes

I've been wanting to do a Bento Box quilt for a long time and seeing as how I've cleared out many UFOs (finally!!), I thought it was a good idea run with it and use some of the shop's new fabrics as well as some stash favorites. I sometimes think I do more collecting of fabric than sewing with fabric. I'm so happy to finally see some of these lovelies in blocks.

The bento starts as a courthouse steps block seen below.

Before

Then, boldly slash your blocks into quarters. (It's hard at first to run that rotary cutter through newly sewn blocks.) Mix them all up and get ready to sew again!

After

I think it's kinda fun! I have 9 unsewn blocks done and am going for 7 more.

Peg

Yummy!

When these came in, we nearly started to drool. Delicious! Bright, happy new prints from Alexander Henry, aptly named June Bug, June Song and Joy of Life, will be nice to sew with as the days get shorter, the clocks change this weekend and it moves towards winter. What would you make with these?

Inspired?

The BQF has more than enough inspiration to go around. We love the thumbnail links that provide so much eye candy to click through.

If you've seen some inspiring quilts and are itching for a new project, we've launched a shipping discount to go through the end of the year! Free domestic shipping with orders over $35 and half off international shipping. Refunds will be made via PayPal after purchase.

Take a look at our "Pick your Own" listings for designer cottons and Kona solids to get an assortment of your choosing. As always, please feel free to contact us for custom listings.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Wind Your Bobbins!