Let's hear it for Quilt Camp!

Our "Quilt Camp" group took some time off to pose for a quick photo.
Melissa is displaying an autograph sampler she was presented by the
group. What a great weekend! I am always amazed by just how much sewing and projects you can finish when sewing is your priority. Quilt camp has become a
gathering of friends. We get together twice a year and we are
now as comfortable with each other as a group can be. We share
inspiration, ideas, projects and plans. More importantly though
we share stories, laughter, support and wine. We look forward to February when the group will gather again.
In the shop we are in full Autumn swing. There is something about the fabrics of Fall that speak to all of us. Those rich reds, brillant oranges, multi-colored greens and deep golds. They are simply everyone's colors.
I hope you have marked your calenders for the "Fat Quarter Scramble" it is coming up November 17th. Call the shop for details. Also looking ahead: Our Thanksgiving weekend Sale, Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th.
Again this year we support "National Tie-one On Day". November 21st. Make your favorite apron (we have many patterns in the shop for inspiration), bake a loaf of bread, wrap in the apron along with an inspirational poem handed out at the shop. Deliver to someone you know, thats needs a little support, understanding and love. If you have much to be thank-ful for, pass it along.
I must stop for now but will be back later today. I have a very important person to introduce to you. My new grand-daughter Mallory.
Till next time!

Wow, what a rainy start to fall! I was really glad to see the sunshine this morning, even if we do only get it for a few short hours!

Tomorrow is the start of the 2009 Holiday Extravaganza Shop Hop. Join is for three days of inspiration! Visit one shop or all, the choice is yours. The more shops you visit, the more prizes your have the chance to win...

Thursday, Oct. 8th: 9am-5pm

Friday, Oct. 9th: 9am-7pm

Saturday, Oct. 10th: 9am-5pm

Shop for holiday gift giving ideas and decorating ideas, along with the chance to win prizes, collect free patterns, and enjoy the camraderie of fellow quilters!

Participating Shops Include:

• Seams Like Home Quilt Shop, Sturgeon Lake
• Country Caboose Quilts, Wahkon
• Timeless Treasures of McGregor
• Fabric, Fashions, and More, Ruch City

At each shop receive a different,

• Free customer appreciation kit and
• A free pattern for a holiday project
• An opportunity to win a gift basket valued at $200.
• Register at each shop, a total of 4 given away!

PLUS, be sure to stop in at Seams Like Home Quilt Shop over the next three days to place your vote in this year's Charming Challenge! We have some adorable entries to vote on this again year.

What? It's September already!!

O.K. So while the cooler mornings, the sun setting earlier and the quietness of kids being back in school are all indications Summer is waning, Fall has still snuck up on me. August was a whirlwind of "The Minnesota Shop-Hop" followed by the "Quilter's Yard Sale" and of course one day spent at the State Fair.

Here at "Seams Like Home" it is everything Fall. The "Gobble. Gobble" wall-hanging is a pattern by Sandy Gervais-Pieces from my Heart with a fabric line by the same name from Moda. The turkey is imploring you to "eat more pie!"

Melissa has also put together from a "Gobble, Gobble" honey bun a quick project that would make a great wall-hanging , a table-topper or couch throw.

The lovely new fabric line in shades of plum, soft green and rich Burgundies and black is "Eva",new from Basicgrey for Moda. We have layer cakes, charm packs and yardage.

We are showing the ever popular "Bow Tucks" bag pattern by "Quilts Illustrated" in the new "All Star' line from Riley Blake Designs. And the last picture is the porch pillow pattern in "Mary Engelbreight" Christmas. You may remember I am lobbying for them to be a project at the upcoming fall retreat. Stop in and pick out your jelly roll, the pattern is free with purchase. The pillows are fun, quick to make, simple. Enough said.

The newsletter contains all the upcoming fall news, if you don't receive it, call the shop with your e-mail address and we will add you to the mailing list.

Block of the Month for 2008-09 is wrapping up and we are excited about the new projects for 09-10. Both new BOM's will start in the month of October. Stop in for a peek, read the rules and get signed up on the list.

Upcoming and worth marking your calender for is the "Fat Quarter Scramble". November 17,2009. Doors close at 6:00pm and re-open at 6:30pm. Scramble is one hour from 6:30-7:30pm. Fat Quarters will be $1.00 each sold only in groupings of 25. Not pre-bundled. Many other shop specials the same evening. This event has grown every year and we encourage you to be at the doors when they open for the best selection.

January of 2010 we are starting a book club. It will be a "Quilters Book club" and we will be reading and sewing with the Jennifer Chiaverini series "The Elm Creek Quilter's". The first novel will be "The Quilter's Apprentice" and the quilt blocks we will be making are from Jennifer's book "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler". Stop in and get signed up so we can place your order for books.

Don't forget: Daytime open sewing. Each Tuesday from 11-? Check that newsletter for classes that interest you and take the time to stop in and view Eleanor Burns truck show titled "El's Best Trunk Show" in the shop until the end of the month.

And then there is this:

I spent the morning meandering through our local town as they held city-wide garage sales. If you were to ask my family they would say that I have always been an auction person, a garage sale person, I like thrift stores and hand-me-downs. It is interesting to me what people save and what they sell. What they treasure and what they give away. My possessions are eclectic and varied. Although I will be the first to admit to many collections like Fiestaware that I watch for, my true passion is family memorabilia. If I have something that came from my Grand-parents or my parents it will stay in my charge until one of the kids or Grand-kids decides they would like to have it. It is one of the reasons that I find it interesting that one day a couple of years ago in a random conversation with my Dad, he felt the need to tell me that he has traps he has saved for years and although he knows they are collectible he hopes that my brothers will take them when the time comes. They were words not needed. My Dad knows that he raised children that understand when it comes to family memories we know how to care for them. I was fortunate enough today to bring to my youngest daughter, a framed needlework of wildflowers made by her husbands Grand-mother. The stitching is intricate, the coloring is beautiful, my daughter will treasure it until it is time to pass it on to her son. There is much in my life I was saving for Mike. It would have given his Dad and I the greatest joy to pass things on to him. I now care for Mike's things and it is something I give reverence and respect. You see, Mike was very much like me, a holder of tradition and it is important that I get this right. Everything Mike owned is a memory. A story from his life. We honor those who go before us, by caring for what they've left behind. Mike would want me to move forward, but he would also know that I will never let go.

Till next time.

Quilter's Yard Sale August 22nd 9am-1pm

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow, August 22nd, from 9am-1pm for our 4th annual Quilters' Yard Sale. There will be booths set up outside under a big tent, free lemonade, select fabrics in the shop for $3-4/yard and other specials. Come join the fun!

Playtime's Over

Mike and the fire guys used to have a saying "playtime's over" when R&R days were done and it was time to go back to the flames. Melissa and I and the rest of our gang just returned from spending 4 days along the beautiful North Shore. Out destination was Grand Marias but we meandered getting there. Grand Marais smiled on us with perfect weather,sunshine filled days and gentle nights. It is a hard town to leave. Our last evening up there we traveled up to "Trail Center" (30 miles up the Gunflint from Grand Marais, a must go). A local fellow, a musician was home from Nashville visiting his family. After some encouragement he opened the old upright piano in the corner and rocked the bar with "Great Balls of Fire". Perfect end to a great vacation. One of those moments where we were in the right time and the right place. His name is Tim Styles and I looked...he has a website. Take a moment and check it out.
So for us it truly is "Playtime is over" as we prepare to host old friends and new for the "Great" Minnesota Shop Hop. I know many of you are formulating your travel plans. I fielded some phone calls yesterday regarding hours etc. We have a dear and valued customer who has family come from the west coast and they travel most of the state in the next two weeks complete with 3-ring binders, with ideas, patterns and sites to remember. If you are lucky enough you may run into them somewhere, they will be the three that are just having the best time. Here at "Seams Like Home" we are ready. The welcome mat is out. The coffee pot is ready. The Minnesota Fabric is the first thing you will see as you come in the door. If you don't have ideas for a project, believe me when I say, we do.
New to the shop this week. Apron panels and embroider able tea towels on the bolt. Fabric is RJR and could not be cuter. The newest "Snap Sack" arrived yesterday and in the spirit of the new RJR fabric I chose a retro summer look for the fabrics. Sample will be done by days end. Stop in and see. The "Snap Sacks" have really caught on. Fun, Quick and everything you need for just $12.99. You only have 3 more days of "Christmas in July" hurry in and get those projects while all things Christmas are on sale.
And then there is this. When we were in Boise this past spring my husband and I were visiting with some folks from Yellowpine Idaho when the woman mentioned to me that she was a quilter. We were 48 miles up the mountain, single lane road on the edge of the "Frank Church Wilderness River of No Return", I think you can understand the remoteness of this place. I asked if I could see some of her work. She graciously said yes and took me into her sewing room. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I saw was an early model Gammill on the frame and more shelves of fabric than I have ever seen in a personal collection. This wonderful woman was well into her 80's with a passion for quilting that picked you up and swept you along with her. She gave me a "show and tell" that was beautiful and inspiring. She loved to do applique and had quilts on every bed in the house. She told me though that her eye-sight was failing and that all the corrective measures available had been tried. She was no longer able to sew. She walked through that room though and touched her fabric as though she were planning "the next project". This was the lesson. Here at the shop I so often hear, "I have so much fabric, I don't need anymore" when nothing really could be further from the truth. If it is your passion, feed that passion. There is a woman in remote Idaho we could all learn from.
Till next time!