This morning I was awakened by a text from my daughter. We sent messages back and forth a couple of times. Then a horrible realization hit me, today was July 2 !!! OH MY GOODNESS, I haven’t written the newsletter yet!! For some reason I kept thinking I had another week in June. Not a good start to the morning 😫. This has been a crazy month for me. (I know, it seems like I say that every month) So much happening it makes it kind of hard to keep track of what day it is.

Last month I briefly mentioned a project that we are working on at our ranch. I have had so many of you ask me what is going on, I thought that I better fill y’all in on the mystery. Well, no mystery really and no big secrets, but here’s the nutshell version:

In 2011 we bought a small ranch just outside of Medina, Texas. It’s very picturesque, lots of topography, a couple of wet weather lakes and stands of oak trees. It was an original Mexican Land Grant to a gentleman with a large family. Over the generations, it got carved up into smaller and smaller pieces. We bought what was the original homestead parcel. Much smaller now, it had the old farm house and barn and a couple of newer outbuildings scattered here and there. It was perfect for us, we fell in love with the land. But then, the drought dried up the lakes and Oak Wild killed most of the trees. But the property is still beautiful and we still love it. When the drought broke, the lakes filled back up and greenery returned. Wonderful!!! We love it. Then we discovered all that humidity was not good for the old farm house. Over Memorial Day week we discovered black mold in the old broken down, no longer working, HVAC system. So our big unexpected project was ripping out the old unit, all the ducting connected to it and all the drywall that was contaminated. LOVELY, such a great thing to do on vacation. But it’s now history. All the mold is gone and out of the house. It’s still an old house, almost 100 years old now, badly in need of too much repair. We have patched it up and fixed what we needed to do to survive living in it for now. We always planned to build a new house on the ranch. But life gets in the way and we started a quilt shop. 😜 So it’s been a long time coming. We are finally starting on the new house. We are building it ourselves, for many reasons. We have the skills and the equipment to do it, it just makes the process slower. We are mixing and pouring concrete for the foundation footers at present. The wet weather we’ve been getting is making mud and not helping. But we are slowly making progress.

I guess that wasn’t much of a “nutshell” version. 🤭 I’ll keep you posted on the progress. I am so excited to have a new, BIG, sewing studio in the new house! Big enough for all my machines, work space, stash, crafting equipment & supplies. It will be heaven.

In the meantime, back here to the everyday, summer is here with all it’s glory. Which means summer vacations, kids and grandkids out of school, family reunions, activities galore. We have lots of fun fabrics to fit all the happenings in your summer. Think about cute summer dresses or pjs for the kiddos. Picnic table cloths or quilts with napkins to match. Bright and happy new curtains for the RV. And don’t forget that Christmas is just 5 month away so start planning those projects too. We have some fabulous new arrivals to help spur your excitement to get going. A beautiful new collection that just arrived is “Meredith” by Robert Kaufman

 Of course all the new Christmas fabrics are arriving, beautiful and fun. All the companies have done a Santa panel and we now have about 4 different, big, realistic ones and several cute “cartoon” Santa panels. Then there are Santa’s reindeer, trying to help out with the preparations, but not quite getting it right. A fun and different Advent calendar panel has just arrived and I can’t wait to get the sample made up. There are also some great new, helpful gadgets to check out.

Don’t forget that we will be closed for the 4^th of July Holiday from Wed the 4^th until Tues July 9^th.

There will be no Creative Stitchers Club meeting in July. (Our fearless stitching leader is road tripping across the country.) The August meeting will be learning new stitches. Don’t forget to put it in your calendars for August 9^th.

Our Warriors Heart Quilt project continues to bring in quilts from all over the country. Beautiful quilts from loving, giving hearts. We thank y’all so much for participating in this worthy project. But it isn’t over. It is an ongoing, continuous project. So if you are looking for a project with meaning, feel free to contribute. We have kits available for your convenience at wholesale prices or you can use up your stash if you choose. I would be happy to email a copy of the instruction sheet to any of you who do not have one. You can check out Warriors Heart on their website.  www.WarriorsHeart.com

We are also a drop off point if you are participating in the Million Pillowcase Challenge.

Valuable Info

Gifting A Quilt

I came across this article on a long arm website when I was doing a little research. I thought it had some great information to share with y’all. The poem is cute, the care label is fabulous. (I have some of those same care labels here at the shop $1.99 ea on fine cotton) However, the website mentioned with a download to print out was not helpful. I could not find any place to download a quilt care info sheet. It is a shopping website & you have to sign up for it. If you can figure it out, please pass the info on to me to share. Or you may want to print out the care label pictured below, or write up your own instruction sheet to accompany your gift.

by Mary Beth Krapil, Handi Quilter National Educator

Weddings, graduations, baby showers, and Father’s Day are all great occasions for gifting quilts! Quilters show our love and affection to family and friends through our passion. We put tons of time, thought and money into making a quilt gift. As we stitch it together, we think loving thoughts of the recipient.  It’s sharing a small part of our soul, when we give a quilt.

I’ve heard from quite a few quilters in the last weeks about how upset they are about how their gift is being treated or how it is not being used as intended.

“I can’t believe they put in in a closet!”

“They keep it in their car!”

“It went on a picnic!”

“The dogs (cats, hamsters, lizards) lay on it!”

“They washed it in bleach (hot water, with their blue jeans)!”

The Solution

In my mind, there is only one way to remedy this situation. Tell them!

Do you want the baby quilt to get used and washed and spit up on and washed and loved and washed? Tell Them.

Is the quilt meant to be used on the couch for snuggling and movie watching and reading? Tell Them.

Did you intend the quilt to be used carefully on a guest bed or to be hung on the wall? Tell Them.

Quilts can also be heirlooms meant to be handed down through generations. No one will ever know, unless you Tell Them.

Often times the person who receives your quilt has no idea how much time, money and love went into making it. These are the people who call quilts (shudder) “blankets” and it’s up to you to educate them. They may not know the best way to care for a quilt. Include a card with instructions. The Quilting Company has put together a printable Quilt Care PDF that you can download and print. Here’s another one: (its got all of those hieroglyphics that no one knows what they mean, but will make you seem sophisticated).

On the other hand, they may know how dedicated you are and how much of your energy goes into the quilts you make and my not want to “spoil” the quilt by using it. Be sure to talk with the recipient and say something like, “Please use this quilt. I made it for baby to be loved and comforted. It is not an heirloom. Use it and wash it. Put it on the floor for baby to play. If it wears out, I can make another. ”  Here’s a cute poem (sorry I do not know the author, it’s been used by me for many years):

Your Baby Quilt

This quilt is made of cloth and thread

To place upon your little bed.

It’s not an heirloom just to keep,

But to lay upon as you count sheep.

Or perhaps the floor’s the perfect place

For a doll and teddy picnic space.

This quilt can be anything you dream

From Superman’s cape to the robe of a Queen.

Pretend it’s a raft adrift at sea,

Or just cuddle up and watch TV.

So use it up and wear it out.

I promise I won’t yell or pout.

Just tell me when it’s days are through,

And I’ll make another, just for YOU.

Author unknown 

When gifting quilts, Tell Them or you are not allowed to complain!