A Quilter Waits for Santa

Dolores, our sales rep from Blank Quilting, has shared this poem with us:

Twas the night before Christmas,
I’m glued to the tree.
I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?
Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that’s when I heard him. “Hi Santa,” I said.
“You know….good little girls should be in their beds.”
“I know I should Santa, and now I’ve got caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought.”
“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work.”
He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear:
“You’ve got enough stuff, I’ll see you next year!”

Oh, dear! I guess that means we'll have to buy our own fabrics for another year!

Merry Christmas!

"Love U" by Moda - fun new kids' fabrics!

Introducing "Love U" ... a new group of nursery fabrics that are fun, trendy, and utterly charming! They feature letters of the alphabet (so your quilt can be educational, too) and also owls, snails, turtles, and trees. We've been told by Moda that this has been their most popular juvenile collection in years, so these will go fast! Moda already has a reprinting in the works.

Also... our second sale for December features all in-stock fabrics by Alexander Henry at just $6.40 / yard. That's $2 off our regular prices. This sale runs through the end of the month.

Quilting Treasures Fabrics just $6 / yard!

Now through December 15th, all of our in-stock fabrics by Quilting Treasures are on sale for just $6 / yard.

This includes all of the wonderful "Pink Ribbon" breast cancer awareness fabrics by Karen Neuburger, Norman Rockwell, Julia Cairns (African tribal theme fabrics including "Joyful Days" and "Sunset Safari"), Peter Rabbit / Beatrix Potter fabrics, Kari Pearson's fun kids' designs, plus lots of others.

Stock is limited on many of these fabrics, so be sure to shop soon for the best selection! Hint: it's a good time to stock up for your after-Christmas projects.

It's back! Ivory Hydrangea and Raspberry Fabric by LakeHouse

We're so pleased that LakeHouse decided to reprint this lovely colorway of their perennial favorite floral fabric with hydrangeas and raspberries on it. With luscious shades of periwinkle blue, lavender, mauve, cranberry, plum, and purple, along with sage green leaves, you might as well call it irresistable to anyone who is fond of purple. The background is overlaid with pearlized scrollwork on an ivory background.

We didn't think that it would be here before January, so it's nice indeed that it arrived in time for you to sew Christmas gifts! Or add it to your stash now, to use after the holidays for spring decor.

As is the case with all LakeHouse fabrics, when a design sells out, you usually have to wait a long time for it to be reprinted. Don't let this one slip away!

Hydrangea & Raspberry Fabric

Moda Marble Sale - $6 / yard

On sale for the whole month of November, we have our Moda Marbles for just $6 / yard (regularly $7.96). They are a great basic blender fabric, and come in a wide, wide range of colors, so they will come in handy for all your holiday gift projects. Nice fabric, nice price, nice timing... what more could you ask?

Vintage Trailer Travel Fabric - retro by Michael Miller

For most of us it's not the season to think of camping ... unless you're one of the lucky folks who gets to winter someplace warm!

In that case, you may be thinking of outfitting your travel trailer for the season. We have four very fun retro fabrics that would make perfect curtains for your RV! Think fifties... think Airstream trailers... or just think about collecting some of these novelty fabrics to add to your stash.

There's the fabric pictured (Trailer Travel), plus a Trailer Stripe fabric, Vintage Trailers on an aqua background, and a fun companion fabric that's simply called Lawn Art. All are by Michael Miller fabrics so you know they're top quality.

Back to Nature - lovely leaf, pinecone, and berry fabrics

Have you seen the new "Back to Nature" group by Timeless Treasures? We think it's very timely (no pun intended) that this collection has come out in the fall, with its lovely leaves, berries, and pinecones. In shades of soft sage green, beige and brown, with little bits of burgundy and blue for accents, it works well for seasonal projects or as a companion for traditional country decor. We even had a customer show us her burgundy and green plaid wallpaper, and these fabrics were just perfect with it! And we're certain that you'll find many uses for this lovely fabric group too... whether it's a quilt or curtains or table linens that you have in mind. Go ahead, be creative!

Moda Marbles Jelly Rolls - in half portions

Something new... let us know what you think!

We're offering pre-cut 2.5" fabric strips of Moda Marbles, in specialized color groupings that we hope you will like! These are our own color combinations, so they're not something that you'll be able to get elsewhere. We've bundled them in groups of 20 strips, which is half the size of a traditional Moda "Jelly Roll", and also half the price. 'Cause sometimes you only want a half portion, just a little bit to play with or add to your stash.

This grouping is called "Autumn"... inspired by the hues found in fall leaves and the landscape this time of year.

View them all: http://www.favoritefabric.com/cgi/commerce.cgi?search=action&keywords=GRPCUT&template=PDGCommTemplates/sr_pre-cut.html

Major Buying Spree!

Oh, my! So much fun but really very tiring! Two days in a row, two sales reps came to call, LOTS of new lines to choose from!

Just some of the new fabrics that we have on order include "Children of the Sea 2", with more wonderful ocean creatures (sea turtles, dolphins, and seashells) featuring the art of Christian Riese Lassen. Also a new buffalo scenic print and an eagle pillow panel, all by Elizabeth's Studio.

New groups from Moda that we'll be carrying include: Love U (November arrival), Lamour (December), Spring Fever (January), Lakeside Resort and Make Life (February), Cherish Nature and Frolic (March).

Also new: we'll be carrying some of the pre-cut fabrics from Moda to fill out these collections: charm packs and jelly rolls.

So you have plenty of time to plan ahead!

New Dogs from Makower UK - Woof!

Yes, "Woof" really is the name of the collection! Fun, bright colors, and a variety of different breeds makes this a light-hearted group that's perfect for any age. There are several general-purpose blenders included (Tivoli Scroll) that you're sure to find lots of uses for. Come and take a look!

The Cows are Coming (Back)!

Good news... the wonderful "crowded cows" fabric that Makower UK has made in the past is going to be reprinted! This time it's going to be part of a new group called "Buttercup Farm". In addition to the cows, there also will be sheep and pigs. I confess to being confused about the name of the group, though, because though it does contain a yellow floral fabric, the flowers are definitely not buttercups!

Upcoming Quilting Treasures Fabrics

There are several new groups by Quilting Treasures that sound very interesting! They will not be available until January 2010, so ... remember that patience is a virtue!

Gone with the Wind - this appears to be the first in a series, as it features Scarlett and Rhett but no other characters. There will be some "photo" prints, plus stripes, damasks, and magnolia florals.

Veggie Tales - you know these characters, need we say more?

There's No Place Like Home - the final Wizard of Oz group.

Girl Scout Fabrics

Robert Kaufman is coming out with a line of Girl Scout fabrics that should be available starting in October. Here is a sampling of the ones that we will be carrying:



View all six of the Girl Scouts fabrics that we will be carrying.

Mist Blue and Cloud Hydrangea and Raspberry Fabric

We have pictures of the lovely new blue hydrangea floral fabrics from LakeHouse. They're calling these colors "mist" and "cloud". The leaves are a khaki-beige (not green) so these fall in with today's blue-and-brown color scheme. For realists, they also have a beige all-over packed blossoms print which is the color that fresh hydrangeas will dry to.

LakeHouse typically doesn't print a lot of fabric at one time... and it so often happens that with their popular fabrics, we sell out and are stuck waiting (and waiting!) for them to reprint a design. So for that reason, we suggest that you pre-order these fabrics. That way you won't be disappointed! Visit our LakeHouse section to reserve a cut of these beauties!

Monopoly and Gone with the Wind

Just found out that Quilting Treasures will be coming out with two interesting new groups: Monopoly and Gone with the Wind. No pictures are available yet; I *hope* they will be posted by September.

Backyard Bandits - animal fabrics

I've heard it said that life imitates art... but life imitates fabric? That's what it felt like this week! Fabri-Quilt's new Backyard Bandits group just arrived... and it contains a rabbit fabric, an absolutely adorable raccoon fabric, and a skunk fabric.

And... last night I finally saw who it is that's digging little holes in my lawn. It's a skunk, looking for (and finding!) grubs. He was more white than black, with an absolute fountain of a tail. And he was quite a vigorous digger, not at all disturbed by three onlookers plus a cat!

Have you seen the new "Pink Ribbon" (breast cancer awareness) fabric collection by Marcus? It includes quite a few coordinates that are not "cause-related" and can be used in many ways... including the patchword-style block pictured here:



And here are some of the selections with the pink ribbon loops:





Did we mention there are butterfly prints in this group?

View the entire "Close to My Heart" Pink ribbon collection.

Young Patriots - Americana fabric collection

Just in time for last minute 4th of July projects!


"Young Patriots" by Quilting Treasures

Back From Quilt Market...

We're all back from Quilt Market now, even Beth, who of course brought pictures of beautiful baby Brooke.

And I must say... Market was everything that I'd hoped it would be, and more. All the fabric manufacturers were there, plus pattern companies, with all their samples. In addition, there was a wonderful art quilt display. My favorite quilt was a huge decorative dahlia in peach with white petal tips. It looked so dimensional that I was SURE it was 3-D.

Anyway... we have some exciting new collections coming. I'll post them here, as they are added to our website. The first group of fabrics we've added is "Bear Meadow" by South Sea Imports, a superb new nature/wildlife group. Check out our "arriving soon" page, or type "Bear Meadow" into the search box at www.favoritefabric.com.

Happy sewing!
Nancy

Becoming a Grandmother at Quilt Market?

Beth, Ginny, and I attended our first Quilt Market this weekend (in Pittsburgh). While it was a wonderful experience for all, it was particularly wonderful for Beth, because she had to leave early. But wait, it was for a good cause! Beth's daughter Laura phoned to say that she had just gone to the hospital to have her baby. So Beth was able to stay at Market for about four hours, while her husband drive down from Buffalo to pick her up, and then head on to Columbus Ohio to the hospital. She phoned us later to say that Brooke Elizabeth made her entrance into the world around 5 pm, at 8 pounds 9 ounces. Both mother and baby are doing well, as is the first-time grandmother!

Nancy

Farmer John's Market

Just arrived! Farmer John's Market - a wonderful group of fruit and vegetable fabrics by Fabri-Quilt. You can view it here:
Farmer John's Market fruit and vegetable fabric

New Website!

Our new website is ready for you to take a test-drive! We're still in the process of adding all the pictures, some of the coordinates and descriptive text, so please bear with us.

http://www.favoritefabric.com/

We have been hard at work creating a new website, with features that you have been asking for, such as a search box. You will be able to search by item code, the name of a product, a color, the manufacturer's pattern number (with or without a color code), and pretty much any descriptive words that you can think of. We'll also tell you how many yards come on a bolt, and how much we have in stock. For brand new fabrics which are still on order, we'll tell you when they are coming in, so you can plan your projects.

We're also excited about the fact that this website is smart enough to calculate New York State sales tax, and also compute shipping charges for both US and international shipments. Yippee!

You will also have the option of becoming a registered user. This means that you can store your billing and shipping addresses, so that you don't have to type them in again each time you make another purchase.

We're looking for people who might like to take the website for a "test drive" and tell us what you think. The layout is a little different, and the colors are different... we know what WE think of it, but would rather hear YOUR opinion.

It should be presentable enough to look at by the weekend.

If you'd like to take it for a spin, please send us an e-mail at favoritefabrics@hotmail.com .

And thank you!

- Nancy

Oh, how we hate windstorms!

We really do hate windstorms! Every time we get one, the power goes off to our shop. We are able to run a long extension cord from the building next to us, which allows us to power two computers, a pair of printers, the fax machine and a light bulb. Wow. But no heaters.

The cutting table is by the window, so we can make use of the daylight. We have a battery-operated lantern that we use to locate the fabrics in our darkened warehouse.

So we're able to still ship orders, but we sure are hoping that the electric crew comes soon! It's getting COLD! Brrr.....

Sale of the Week!

This week's sale group is the "Sweethearts" collection by Benartex. This is a five-piece group with hearts and flowers that would appeal to tweens, or would make a nice springtime quilt or decorating project. These multi-colored prints are $6.96 / yard this week (that's a dollar off regular price per yard).

View the Sweethearts Collection

Brown Bear, Brown Bear ... just arrived!

We've just received the three feature prints from Andover's new "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" collection! These feature artwork from the beloved children's book by the same name. There is a panel of squares, an animal toss, and a print with childrens faces. We will have them up on the website in a day or so. Till then, here is a picture of the panel:





Around each square are the words "What do you see?" You could use the panel whole, or cut the blocks apart to incorporate them into a larger quilt. What fun!

Something Old, Something New...

It's a new year... and so we've resolved to shake off our mid-winter lethargy and try something new... a blog!

Our hope is that it will be a way for us to connect with you, our customers, and find out what it is that you would like from us. We hope to get your input, so please DO comment on our posts!

With all the wonderful fabrics that are out there on the market, we have a really hard time making up our minds about what to buy. (Oh, yes, we know you have the same problem too...)

So from time to time we will toss up a post about our fabric dilemmas and ask your help in choosing. We'll also post when new fabric collections have been ordered, so that you can get a "sneak peek", which hopefully will be helpful to you, as you plan your future projects.

For today, for starters... pop in with your comments and just say "hello"!

Happy sewing,

Nancy