Hello 2011

Print This Post

Just a quick photo collage to show you some of the newest lines

here at Seams Like Home Quilt Shop. Now that the Christmas tree

is put away and winter is full upon us, the urge to sew is great and

the fabric choices are all about bright and sunny!

2011 promises to be a busy year. We are kicking it off with the

"Winter Yard Sale". Event is this coming Saturday, Jan. 15, hours are from 9-2. Stop in for $7.99 yd. pre-cuts and 20%off on cuts of 1plus yards.

Our Groovy Girls Club is the newest club here at the shop and it has been very popular. We have filled two sessions each month and have gone to a 3rd to accommodate everyone that would like to join. This is a monthly club from Atkinson Designs and it features exclusive patterns and ideas featuring new techniques for fun and quick small projects.

There is still time to register and join Chris to learn just how to utilize your sewing machine for machine quilting. Practice stitch in the ditch, outline quilting, stippling and meandering. Class is Jan. 17 from 5-8 Fee $10 plus materials and supplies. Pre-registration is necessary.

5 Yard Quilt Mania Class still has a couple of open spots. There are many patterns to choose from. Pick a pattern, 5 yards of fabric of your choice and before you know it you will have a finished project. Class is Jan. 26 from 5-8. Fee is $10 plus materials and supplies. Pre-registration is required.

Many retreats going on all over. Seams Like Home is heading to the beautiful "Linden Hill Retreat Center" in Little Falls next week. This turn of the century mansion, full of history and lovely antiques is opening their doors to us. The setting is so special it may be difficult to get much sewing done. If cabin fever has set in and a winter vacation is not in sight, call the quilt shop. Last I heard there were 2 openings left.

We are joining 8 of our Quilt Shop friends to bring you the "First Annual Friends by the Hearth Shop Hop". Dates are Friday Feb. 4-Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Call the shop for more details. Participating shops are:

Seams Like Home Quilt Shop/Sturgeon Lake

Calla Lily Quilt Shop and Gift/Blaine

Cottage Quilts and Fabrics/Elk River

Country Caboose Quilts/Wahkon

Fabric, Fashion and More/Rush City

The Noble Quilter/Elk River

Quilted Treasures/Rogers

Silver Lane Quilting/Forest Lake

Timeless Treasures/McGregor

• Participating stores each giving away $100 shopping spree
• Receive a chance to win just for walking through the door.
• Show us your completed project made from the 2010 state shop hop feature fabrics and receive an extra chance to win at each shop.
• Visit all nine shops and you'll be entered into a drawing for a Holly Taylor/Moda fabric fat quarter bundle of her current line: "A Simpler Time".
• Each shop is giving away a tasty hot dish recipe and a FREE pattern for a hot pad.
• Join us Fridays and Saturdays during the hop from noon to 4pm for samples of our featured hot dishes.

Passports available at all shops.

Shops will keep their normal hours. If in doubt, call ahead.

The winter is full of events and before we know it we will be at March 13, a day I have circled on my calender just as I do every year. It will be day-light saving time which for me signals the start of something new. This is the time of year also that my brothers and sister and our families descend on my folks house with a "to-do" list of chores. If you follow the blog you will remember that last year our "helpfulness" included a freezer full of rotten food and a visit from the fire department. This year is full of potential as we prepare to limb trees and work on the garage. Is it any wonder that my folks are saying this is their last year as Snow-birds!

Then there is this: A few days before Christmas I was meeting my husband at a store. I got there early and waited for him in my car in the parking lot. It was a great opportunity to observe people as they trudged through the snow, running errands in preparation for Christmas. Most people were preoccupied and solitary, even though they may have been with someone else. Two couples caught my attention, both for the same reason.Both couples in their 70's, possibly 80's. These couples were walking through the parking lot and they were holding hands.They were holding hands in the way that spoke of history and caring between them. When they got to their cars the man opened the passenger door, waiting for the woman to get in.

This is what I know:Some would argue that hand holding, door holding, the public showing of care and concern are all old-fashioned and outdated. People of all generations work very hard at being independent.What I know is this. At the end of everyday, life is hard. If you have a hand to hold, grab it. It makes it so much easier to find your way in the dark.

Till Next time!