Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Welcome Gen X Quilters (and Y too)!


Hello, hello quilters! Come on down and make yourself comfortable. Pull up your sewing machine and let's have some fun. Sew Fresh Fabrics is Peg (me) and Becca – friends, fabric addicts and multi-taking moms. We love bright, fresh prints as well as solids and have a deep and abiding fondness for wonky. We've got some great Kona mixes in the shop but if you want to have it your way, choose a Pick 4 (or 6 or 8...) in FQs, half or whole yards. Your Konas will always come labeled so you can identify all the yummy colors. And most importantly, we're always happy to hear what you'd like us to carry and see what you've made. Thanks for visiting. Don't be a stranger.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

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.

Friday, November 19, 2010

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.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

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!

Monday, November 15, 2010

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.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

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.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

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?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

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!

Friday, October 29, 2010

And the Winner Is....

(courtesy of random.org)

#31 - burrito who said...

I just got my first bit of organic cotton fabric - am excited to play around with it!

Thanks to everyone for their input. We're like many of you who voted, it depends on the project. But there are more and more great options out there and we will be showing you more of them before the year is out!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Are you ready for BQF Fall 2010?


If you're not already on your way to Houston, you can participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival right from your computer. Amy is once again hosting the largest online gathering of quilters and inspirational quilts. Everyone is welcome to participate. Go to Amy's blog for details. Sew Fresh Fabrics will be sponsoring a prize package of 10 designer FQ prints or 10 Kona half yards (winners choice). Starts on Friday!!

P.S. Poll is open until Friday. Leave a comment in the post below to be entered to win some Monaluna organics!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Organic Fabrics: Are they for you?


Please take a minute to take the poll in the sidebar about organic fabrics. Be sure to leave a comment below to be entered in our drawing for some organic fabrics by Monaluna coming in next week. (We are not able to count your entry if you just respond to the poll.) We appreciate your input. Poll and contest ends Friday, Oct. 29 at 5pm EST.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

New Konas, New Art Gallery!



New prints from Art Gallery's Modern Affair line. So gorgeous!!


New Kona solids in stock. 56 total now.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Our First Trunk Show


One of the many reasons that we haven't posted in a month is that we were preparing for our first trunk show. We made that great leap from behind our laptops to the real world of face-to-face customers and sales. We had a booth at a local quilting guild show and it was a fantastic weekend of meeting and talking to fellow quilters and fabric lovers. A beautiful fabric love-fest!

It was great to be able to hear the first hand feedback on our fabrics. We were pleased to be invited to a quilt show next spring and to another guild meeting. We gained a lot of confidence in our business and are eager for more! If you're in Eastern Massachusetts and want to see Sew Fresh Fabrics at your guild, let us know!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Feeling Lucky?

Tomorrow at noon (EST) will conclude the Nest/Kona giveaway we're sponsoring with Rachel at Stitched In Color. Get another entry if you blog about the giveaway yourself.

Also, don't miss a chance at this sweet Janome Horizon at the Modern Quilt Guild blog.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Presents are in order!

It was Rachel's birthday last week and mine is this week so we're feeling the need for presents. Hop on over to Stitched In Color to enter the Nest/Kona giveaway we're sponsoring! And eat some cake if you've got some.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

And the winners are....



Thanks for all the entries. Our lucky winners of the Urban Circus FQ bundles in earth and spring are...


#20 - Regina who chose sable, canary and grass to match with the collection.

and

#50 - Melissa who stayed neutral with stone and espresso for earth and white and black for spring.


Please contact us with your email address so we can get your bundles out right away.


Remember that our free domestic shipping with orders over $40 (half off international shipping) ends 8/31.

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Circus is in Town! Win some for yourself!


Laurie Wisbrun's designs have been a favorite of ours since she was creating them herself with Spoonflower. We've been in love with Tweets and now we're falling for the Circus – Urban Circus from Robert Kaufman. Giraffes and elephants, oh my!


The collection in two colorways - Earth and Spring - are now available in the shop. We'll also be giving away two fat quarter bundles of the entire collection! Visit our shop and pick a few Kona colors that you would use with these bundles and leave a comment telling us your picks. Entries will be closed at midnight Friday, Aug. 27 and winners chosen on Saturday. Good luck!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Poppy Pillowcases


We have a number of Laura Gunn's Poppy prints for sale in the store now. I've been a big fan since I made a quilt with Laura's Lantern Bloom line.

If you have any doubt about how great these luscious, bold flowers are, just take a look at what Ashley from Film in the Fridge has made with them. I could just stare at that clothesline all day! Check out her blog for the full story and link to the tutorial.

Friday, July 9, 2010

A little bird just told me ...

... that the house quilts made with my beemates from Hip 2 Bee Square and Bee Addicted 3 are being featured over on Heather and Megan's blog, Quiltstory. Have you seen their blog yet? This dynamic sister team not only has their own quilt design company, "Fresh Poppy Design" but also hosts Quiltstory as a place to share quilts and the stories behind them. Please take a moment to visit their site and "meet" all sorts of quilters and learn a little about their story.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Ask and Ye Shall Receive


Thanks to the Teeny Tiny Quilts readers and their input on favorite Kona colors, we have eight new solids in stock with heavy emphasis on pinks and purples. And yes, we have stacked up those luscious shades in an "In the Pink (and Purple)" FQ pack. Pomegranate, which was a top pick, is backordered and should join the others soon.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

A Win-Win Situation

The Castle Peeps giveaway on Liz's blog, Teeny Tiny Quilts is over and Helen from New Zealand is the lucky winner of a FQ set of Peeps in Gallant Green. The fantastic readers of TTQ gave us some good direction as to new Kona colors they'd like us to stock. The top votes for specific colors were Cerise, Pomegranate and Celery.


Great choices! We love them. For those who couldn't pick just one color, the most requested hues were purples and pinks, followed closely by greens and blues. In response, we've listed "I'm Blue for Greens" FQ and half yard packs in our shop. It's 12 fabrics in our selection of greens and blues.


A new Kona order is in the works and I'm sure the result will be a pink and purple package. Thanks for the great feedback. Happy Sewing!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Want to Win Some Peeps?



Visit our great friend Liz of Teeny Tiny Quilts, and enter the Peeps FQ giveaway we're sponsoring. Liz is great for sharing her gorgeous quilts and helpful hints (see the Cobblestone quilt, beautiful technique). She's one of the people who really helped me overcome my solid aversion. And somehow she does all of this while raising toddler twins. An amazing woman.

And go easy on the intervention folks. As a supplier of her solid habit, we think she's really got this thing under control. A girl just needs some nice fabric every now and then. It's no big thing.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Peeps are in the house!!


Castle Peeps by Lizzy House! And there was much rejoicing at Sew Fresh Fabrics! Check out the shop and stop in again later in the week for a giveaway.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sometimes all you need is a quick fix...


... of fun fabric that is. When Tufted Tweets arrived on Monday, amidst all the buzz, Peg and I knew that any thoughts of adding to our own stash were foolish. We cut 4 inch strips for ourselves and then spent the next 4 days cutting and shipping, cutting and shipping. By Friday night I was pooped – any thoughts of going near a sewing machine were non-existent. Nine hours of great sleep later, I HAD to play with what few strips I had. Based on this tutorial I made myself a belt - not perfect but oh so fun and quick (and able to be sewn while playing purple ponies with my girl).

We do have the whole line on reorder – not sure of arrival dates but we think mid-July. We'll keep you posted.

Friday, June 11, 2010

And the Winners Are....

#81 - Cathy said... Birds and chairs as cushions for chairs, oh my! I adore this divine fabric and will be checking out your store tomorrow. xo

#120 - Karen said... Love the colors and the whimsy of the designs. I see a baby quilt made from any of the colors.

#40 - Jen said... Love these fabrics. I would make a quilt like some of the gorgeous ones I've seen around.

Congratulations ladies! Please send us your address by email (sewfresh (at) ivyarts.com) and your first and second choice of colorway. We'll accommodate based on order of request.

Thanks to everyone who participated. We've really enjoyed Tweets week at Sew Fresh Fabrics. The excitement for this line has been amazing and well deserved. Be sure to check out Laurie's blog for an update on her own designs as well as her next line with Robert Kaufman - Urban Circus, due in August. We've already placed our order and will keep you posted.

We'll be putting together a pillow cover tutorial using the Tufted Tweets and Becca has made a gorgeous market tote that we'll show off soon!

Thanks again everyone.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Tufted Tweets Giveaway!!

Becca and I have been fans of Laurie Wisbrun for a while now. We've both bought fabric from her Etsy store. Donkeys in Wellies, Urban Circus, oh my! Such fun designs and vibrant colors.

Laurie's first release with Robert Kaufman is Tufted Tweets, a whimsical study of birds and chairs in three luscious palettes - Grass, Orchid and Sorbet. We'll have the entire line in our store tomorrow and have fat quarters, half yards and fat quarter assortments ready to go then.



We will be giving away three fat quarter 4-packs (four designs in one colorway) on Friday, June 11 to three lucky winners. Leave a comment and let us know what fabulous project you want to tackle with these lovelies. If you need some suggestions, Laurie's blog has some great ones.

Also become a fan of Sew Fresh Fabrics on Facebook to be alerted when other new Market arrivals come in. Thanks.

Top photo courtesy of Laurie.

Blogger has had a few hiccups. Double entries will be deleted.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Sew Fast Pillow Project



Ever get the feeling you just have to sew something? Something quick and easy, an instant gratification fix. This fun pillow cover is it. I finished in just under an hour.

I cut strips of the fantastic bikes from Erin McMorris' new line, Weekends (a good choice for the long holiday weekend!) and paired them with strips of Kona solids - cactus, bright pink, medium grey, orange and ash. I didn't even care if I sewed them that straight. A little wonky never hurt anybody. It's a simple envelope enclosure in the back. If anyone is interested in a tutorial, leave a comment and I'll get a more specific write-up for you.

All fabrics used are available in our shop. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival



It's that time again- a chance to see a variety of beautiful handmade quilts from bloggers around the world. While I always enjoy the show, I have never posted as I am not a regular blogger. This post is a great kickoff for our new Sew Fresh Fabrics blog space which Peg (of Ivy Arts) and I (be13cca) have just started for our fabric business.

These quilts are the result of two online bees I am in and will soon be living on my 7yr old's bunks. For the first group- Hip To Bee Square- I sent out an assortment of fabrics and asked for blocks any size and any design- sewer's choice. For the second group- Bee Addicted 3- I sent out similar fabrics and asked for houses- again any type - any size. The blocks I received back were just amazing!! So bright and fun and amazingly inspired! (Thank you all!). I knew I wanted to mix them together to get 2 quilts out of them - and here they are. It's a virtual I-Spy of characters and creatures and where they live. There's a mushroom house, a light house and a kooky witch hat house.


The process of putting them together was so like a puzzle- adding strips and blocks where needed to make them work together as a unit. Then I added a cobblestone border and lots of little blocks around that. One is finished, washed, and on the bed. The other still needs the binding sewn to the back and a spin through the washer and dryer for that soft crinkly goodness. I love these and even more so because the blocks were made by many women around the globe!!

Thank you Amy for hosting the festival. Now, off to enjoy the rest of the show




Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to Sew Fresh Fabrics' blog. We hope you'll find great information about fabrics, quilting and more. We are Peg and Becca, two fabric addicted women who are in pursuit of our dream of playing with fabric for a living. We started our Etsy shop in August 2009 and are learning the ropes, bringing in new fabric and having a ball.
Add us to your blogroll, favorite us on Facebook (click the sidebar box) or send us an email and we'll keep you up to date on new fabrics, projects and more. Thanks for visiting. We appreciate your support.