Historic Sauder Village

We spent this past weekend, along with friends from church, at our family cottage near Hillman, Michigan. We chose the right weekend because it truly was winter at its best... not terribly cold, no wind, and inches of beautiful fresh white snow covered everything, including each branch and twig of every tree.

We enjoyed walking on the frozen lake and hiking in the picturesque wooded areas, as well as eating, playing games and laughing as friends do. I also managed to finish quilting a baby quilt I have been working on, so it was a good weekend indeed! Monday evening we came back to reality... driving through blowing snow, freezing rain, then rain and dense fog as we worked our way south. We were certainly glad to pull into our lane and be home again, but the great weekend was definitely worth it all!

At Threads of Tradition, our fiscal year ends on January 31^st, so we have just finished counting everything for inventory. In the process of weighing each bolt of fabric, we sort out fabrics to add to our sale area. This year we chose over 300 bolts to add to our existing selection of sale fabric and there are some really beautiful pieces that are now selling for 35% OFF their original price, or 40% OFF if you empty the bolt. At these prices you ought to be thinking about quilt backs and adding to your stash. So… if you want the best selection, hurry in to the shop and check out our sale area!

We needed to expand the sale area in order to make room on the regular shelves for all the fabric we expect to arrive in February! At Quilt Market last October, I asked many manufacturers to wait until February to send new fabrics, just so we didn’t have to count them in our inventory. So I am expecting lots of boxes to arrive this month. In fact, the back room is already full of boxes of fabric, batting, books and notions and this is just the beginning! Those that have arrived already this month include the Fuschia II line by Maywood, Rain Blossom by Windham, Civil War V and Water’s Edge by Moda. I don’t have pictures of these new lines yet, but we’ll unpack as quickly as we can so that you can see all the new arrivals for spring.

Other fabrics that came in during January include Big Sky Country by South Seas. The great outdoors is represented at its finest in this majestic group by Rod Frederick. This fabric line includes almost picture-quality scenic prints of animals and a free, downloadable pattern for a large lap or twin size quilt at: http://www.southseaimports.com/v2/pdf/p_114.pdf

Other new fabrics currently available are sweet children’s Beatrix Potter prints, pink and robin’s egg blue fabrics from Lakehouse featuring flowers and cherries, Fun with Sue from Little Quilts and the batik fabrics for Blue Bayou... the very popular blue and white quilt from the cover of the January/February Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine. We are cutting kits for the Blue Bayou quilt, and have everything in stock except for the plain white batik that is on backorder from Timeless Treasures, but should be arriving soon. If you would like us to reserve a Blue Bayou kit for you, place your order now and we will call you as soon as the white batik arrives.

Keep those precious wee ones warm with this quick and easy Cuddle Wrap. This adorable blanket with feet cuddles your baby with side wraps and a tassel hood. The design makes it easy to wrap and unwrap babies, is car seat safe and quick and easy to sew. In fact, I made the shop sample from start to finish in just 2 hours, including the time spent making my own bias. Our soft and cuddly Flurr fabrics from Baum textiles makes this wrap irresistible! We currently have Flurr available in both lime green and purple, while the baby pink and blue should be arriving any day.

Another idea for babies is the Nurture Nest. Purchase the shaped pillow form, and the pattern for the cover is included on the package. We covered ours with Minkee on one side and a pretty print to match the nursery décor on the other. The Nurture Nest is a versatile pillow, making a great baby support for nursing mothers as well as a secure support for babies who are just learning to sit up on their own. Sew one in your choice of fabrics and have it on hand for the next baby shower you are invited to attend!

Transform one group of strip sets into two terrific quilts using the technique taught in Quilts on the Double, Dozens of Easy Strip-Pieced Designs by two leading Australian quiltmakers, Judy Hooworth and Margaret Rolfe. Choose from 23 fat quarter and fat eighth-friendly patterns and rearrange units to create dozens of unique designs.

Back with more of her stunning

work, top-selling author Nancy Mahoney reveals the incredible versatility of a new quilt block, the Ribbon Star. Take this beauty on an exciting quilting adventure with Nancy's quick and clever techniques. Choose from five quilts that feature a traditional-style block enhanced with the illusion of woven ribbons. Streamline construction with Nancy's easy, strip-happy methods and create variations by changing the color placement, number of strips and arrangement of narrow and wide strips. All instruction is available in Nancy's new book Ribbon Star Quilts.

Exciting Events!

The OH-MI Shop Hop will be here before we know it! Scheduled for February 20-23, this annual event is always a lot of fun for everyone. With two new shops this year, free demonstrations in every shop at 11:00 AM, 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 PM, special sales for Shop Hoppers, door prizes, a wonderful progressive quilt and the fun atmosphere of Mardi Gras, you’ll want to gather a group of quilting friends and join in the fun. Passports can be purchased for $5.00 at any participating shop. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.saudervillage.org/Hospitality/shophop.asp.

In March we are looking forward to our Sauder Village Spring Quilter’s Retreat to be held at the Heritage Inn on Friday & Saturday, March 14 - 15. With lots of time to work on your current project, finish UFO’s or start a brand new project; a retreat is a great time to spend with current friends and to make new quilting friends! Register for the retreat... make your room reservations... and then leave all the details to us! More information can be found at: http://www.saudervillage.org/Hospitality/quiltshop.asp#Events. We hope you choose to participate in this retreat, but don’t wait too long to register... due to space limitations we must limit this event to the first 36 quilters.

One Block Wonder...
Thursdays, March 6 & 13, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Instructor: Linda Stuckey
Skill Level: Skilled Beginner
Class Fee: ^$30.00 / ^$27.00 Members
Class Size: Min 4 / Max 8

One fabric plus one shape equals one stunning quilt! This kaleidoscope quilt uses hexagon blocks that are joined together to create your own unique quilt design.

I Spy with a Twist...
Saturday, March 8, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Instructor: Linda Rufenacht
Skill Level: Skilled Beginner
Class Fee: ^$30.00 / ^$27.00 Members
Class Size: Min 4 / Max 10

This "I Spy" quilt is a wonderful setting for novelty or souvenir fabrics from your travels. Easier to piece than it looks, it is very effective made with either assorted novelty fabrics or a single fabric used repeatedly. This design can feature a different novelty print in each block or themed fabrics such as special fabrics from a vacation or any focal fabric that can be fussy cut into 6” squares. Fun to sew for children or in larger sizes for anyone in your life. Fabric prints featuring almost any special interest are available today, so choose prints that fit either yourself or someone special and make a unique and interesting quilt with this well-written pattern.

This year's Saturday Sampler began Saturday, January 12, 2008... but it is never too late to participate. Stop into the Threads of Tradition Quilt Shop to find out what your options are for a later entry. We would love to welcome you to Saturday Sampler! We will be making 9" finished sampler blocks in your choice of three different colorways.

§ At 8:00 and 9:00 AM, (Please note the time change from previous years) on the second Saturday of each month, we will introduce that month's block and give a short demonstration of a technique or tool that can be used to make that block. These sessions will be identical, attend only one.

§ The first time you attend a Saturday Sampler demonstration, you buy a fabric kit for ^$4.00. It contains the fabric for one block in the colorway you have chosen.

§ Each participant will need to purchase a copy of the book "Better By the Dozen" by Susan Teegarden Dissmore, which contains 12 blocks, 12 quilts and endless possibilities.

§ Go home and sew the block. Bring it with you to the following month's Second Saturday demonstration and you will get your next fabric kit free!

§ If you want to make blocks in more than one colorway, that's great! But you only get one free kit per month. You must pay for the additional ones.

New this session! To receive your free kit, you must either attend the demonstration on the second Saturday at either 8:00 or 9:00 AM OR bring your completed block to the shop anytime in the week following Saturday Sampler... up to and including the third Saturday of the month.

§ If you cannot come in during Saturday Sampler week, you can still buy that month's kit for ^$4.00 while supplies last. Bring the finished block into the shop anytime during the following month's Saturday Sampler week and your next kit is free.

Saturday Sampler is a great learning experience for beginning quilters or for anyone who wants to brush up on piecing skills. It is also a low risk way to stretch yourself by choosing to work in a color scheme that is not your personal favorite. Challenge blocks can also be a learning experience for more advanced quilters, so Saturday Sampler can be a adapted to fit many different skill levels.

For those of you who already have several sets of Saturday Sampler blocks in your stash and don’t know what to do with them, at Quilt Fair this year Sharyn Craig will be offering a class called The Joy of Sets. Let her enthusiasm and encouragement help you to find the perfect setting for your blocks. No problem is too big or too small. Bring your blocks and come prepared to have fun. In this one-day workshop, there will be no sewing, but lots of thought provoking, inspiration and problem solving. For more details, visit our website at http://www.saudervillage.org/Creativity/quiltfair_workshops.asp.

I’m looking forward to seeing you soon at Threads of Tradition. If you come during Shop Hop, I’ll be the one wearing the jester headband with bells!

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