50 reasons to stop at the Calico House Soon

I only had time to a take a picture of 7 of the new Hoffman batiks , but they are beautiful. We received 50 bolts and have been cutting fat quarters for days and days. If you ever look at the back side of a Hoffman ,( you will be hard pressed to tell which side that is ) the details are a little less distinct. Some of the other new designs are on browns, purples, blacks, and greens.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend . I was sewing models and cleaning my sewing room. Thanks for stopping by.

Haste makes waste

I was putting the final touches on a new model a couple of days ago and was punished for trying to take a short cut. Remember when you are ready to add borders to your quilt top it is always wise to measure for both the short and the long sides through the center of your quilt top. These are the measurements I would use to cut the length of my borders. The quilt top I was working on was made of all bias edges on the outside. It might have been wise to have stay stitched around the entire outer edge to minimize stretching. It would also have been a good idea to have cut the borders on the straight of the grain to help offset the bias edges of the body of the quilt top.

Hind site is always so 20/20. I hope this information will help you from having to rip out some time. I sure wish I would have followed my own advice. I truly know better.

Rick Rack makes everything better

We saw his happy pillow case at quilt market and just loved the rick rack trim they used instead of the little folded fabric you usually see. We have several new sizes and colors on the way. Actually we saw a lot of rick rack on quilts , pillows , and children's clothing on display in all the booths at market. I think it will continue to be popular for a long time. It's a Retro thing.

Hope you love it as much as we do.Thanks for stopping by.

Moda's exciting new Vintage looking Fabrics.

One of the lines of new fabrics I was looking forward to seeing at market was by the British

company Cabbages and Roses. The fabrics pictures above will not be arriving until September , but I thought you needed a sneak peak. The vision for this premier collection for Moda is fresh, faded and long lasting-a vintage look in a nostalgic color palette that encourages a timeless feel.

With exposure in numerous magazines including Country Living and five books published, Cabbages and Roses are the authority on the vintage chic style of English country living.

We have ordered charm packs and layer cakes and expect them to sell quickly. Let us know is you would like to have us reserve the precuts for you. I know you will be just as impressed as I was. Stop by their web site http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/ and see there wonderful fashions and bedding.

Thanks for stopping by, we are trying to work on new models as fast as we can. There just are not enough hours in the day.

YEAH A GIVEAWAY.

We are sponsoring a fun give away over at http://punkprojects.blogspot.com

You could be the winner of these fun summer fabrics. So go leave a comment because some ones gonna win and it might as well be you .

Katie has some really fun ideas on her blog so give it a look.

Sharing some of our favorites from quilt Market with you

Right now I am just happy to be home and overwhelmed by all that we saw and loved at quilt market. I will be posting some great pictures as I come up for air and get caught up with everything.

This great quilt pictured called Urban Life really caught my attention done in lovely fabrics designed by Kate Spain and from her Central Park collection. I also saw it in several color combinations and some with the skinny connecting pieces and some times with out. I loved them all. Patt who also attended market with me thought it looked like oars. We will have the pattern in stock soon.

Personally I noticed one heck of a lot of ruffles , skinny ones ,medium ones and large sized ones. They started popping up last fall at market but have really increased in use as a detail element. We saw them on pillows and purses and skirts. It' a girl thing. I heard that term a lot also.

I was really worried about the weight of my suit case when we got to the airport, but I am happy to let you all know that it weighted 49 pounds . Just 1 pound less than an over charge fee. Our fan driver wanted to know why all our suit cased weighed so much. Those patterns and books we fill our suit cases with our really heavy. We will be trying to get them out on the shelves as fast as our fingers will fly so stop by soon.

Stonehenge Fabrics by Northcott

I first saw these Stonehenge fabrics at a fun shop in Houston last fall and knew we had to have them. They are truly amazing and you need to see them to appreciate the reality of how much they look like granite, slate, copper and other minerals. We also have received some of the 2½ inch wide precuts. You will have a lot of fun cutting these up and finding that each piece is unique in color and texture.

Amy Butlers Fabric on sale starting May 9th

Aren't these fabrics gorgeous and the good news is that they are on sale for 1 week starting tomorrow May 9th. 20% off for one week only and minimum 1 yard cuts. This special includes all Amy Butler fabric in stock, not just the ones pictured. Life is good isn't it.

I found a really cute idea for a kids tote that would organize, hold markers, pens and notebooks in one fell swoop. Check it out at http://mypatchwork.wordpress.com/ leave her a comment. And Thanks for stopping by.

OOO La La, Fa La La French General

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus. And here at the Calico House we know because we received the new Christmas precuts from the French General by Kari Meng for Moda today. They are a lovely combination of green, red, cream, tan and taupe colors with a very vintage feel. These always sell out quickly so reserve yours today.

Also if you go over to http://punkprojects.blogspot.com/ we are featured on her blog .Katie of punk projects fame had a great idea for using vintage spools for buttons that we mentioned not long ago. And we will be having a give away with katie later this month so keep checking back with her.

Jar Covers Made Using French General Fabrics.

We made these fun fabric jar lid covers at the store today using some of the fabulous French General fabrics from Moda. If you are looking for a quick way to dress up some preserves to give as gifts this is the ticket. The strawberry was made from the wool felt we carry in several colors and if you put a little poly fill between the lid and the fabric they are even cuter.

When your ready to tie the twine put a rubber band around the lid first and it will make that step a lot easier.

The background for our little jar covers is a table runner using some of the other French General fabrics in stock.

Stop back soon.

Are you dreaming of a summer Vacation ?

These great new Hot Rod and car fabrics from Hoffman Fabrics arrived today. They would make great quilts and are really to wonderful to cut up. How ever we cut out pieces for a model today using some new Route 66 fabric and will post pictures as the project progresses.

They make you want to hit the road don't they .

Thanks for stopping by.