Military Fabrics to celebrate the Armed Services

Just arrived - and more than a month early, too! - a nice little group of fabrics with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines motifs. So if you were thinking of sewing a Christmas gift for someone serving in the US Military, the timing couldn't be more perfect!

We already know what the goal is: more fabric, of course!

That won't be a problem. Our RJR sales rep stopped by to show us some of the new lines. Our favorite is "Sew Sporty", which is designed by Dan Morris. This is a seventeen-piece sports theme group which features baseball, hockey, and football. We will be carrying the entire collection!

Dan also has a wine theme group in the works, but we don't have any pictures of that to post just yet.

Got the Munchies?

Look what just came through our door! New FQ bundles of Timeless Treasures' wonderful food-theme fabrics! Eight veggies, 5 junk foods, and a dozen sweet treats in each bundle.

This is a wonderful, easy way to add to your stash of novelty fabrics... and just think of the I-Spy quilts you could make from this!

And as if these aren't enough, we have sixteen other food fabrics by Timeless Treasures. That doesn't count all the others, by Kaufman, RJR, and Fabri-Quilt.

Some days just aren't meant for dieting, are they?

Bouquet Gallery Fabrics

Once in a while a collection comes along that just stops me in my tracks!

Last week our sales rep from South Sea Imports stopped by to show us the new lines that will be debuting at Quilt Market later this month. One of the groups that he pulled out of his "magic bag" was this breathtakingly beautiful collection of floral fabrics called "Bouquet Gallery". They're realistically rendered, and the colors are rich and dreamy. The addition of the soft rosy-violet tones makes this just so much more compelling than the many groups of pink-and-green florals that have been on the market lately.

Though these won't be available until April or May of 2011, we're taking pre-orders on them now. Yes, we will be carrying the whole Bouquet Gallery collection!

There will be a free quilt pattern available, and we're also considering selling kits for use with the pattern.

Table Runner and Table Topper pattern

Moda has posted a wonderful tutorial for a lovely table runner or table topper using layer cakes. (Those are 10" x 10" squares of assorted fabrics.) You could also make this using charm packs, or even just your scraps, as it calls for 3.5" strips of fabric.

This is a great way to use up bits and pieces from your stash. The scalloped edges add nostalgic charm.

The tutorial is available on Moda's site; click here to see it.

The Doctor is Here!

Dr. Seuss, that is! We've received seventeen fabrics from "The Cat in the Hat" and "Celebrate Seuss" collections, with the remaining one (the panel) plus additional bolts of the rest due in October.

These fabrics look exactly like the books; the artwork translated perfectly onto fabric. Anyone young or young-at-heart will just love these Dr. Seuss fabrics!

Rumor has it that there will be a collection featuring "The Grinch that Stole Christmas". If rumor is correct - and if we're lucky - it might even be available before Christmas!

Temptation will be knocking on our door today!

That means that our Robert Kaufman sales rep will be stopping by... and no doubt he and his wife will have suitcases full of wonderful fabrics to look at!

We've been peeking at the previews on Robert Kaufman's site, and we already know that there are lots of designs that we'll be wanting this time.

They have a new group of military fabrics: Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force.

And a GORGEOUS new line of batiks! (Are you following us on Facebook? We post preview pictures from various makers every Thursday.)

New chicken fabrics, too, including a pillow panel. Plus a wonderful feather print!

Two new fabrics featuring Maxine are in the works, too.

It's gonna be a fun, fun day! We've been looking forward to this for a long time.

A Child's Apron

One of our customers stopped in today to show us the apron she'd made from the
"Tea and Sweets" panel fabric by South Sea Imports. We thought it was just adorable and just had to share the picture with you! Can't you just see this ... and the stuffed cupcakes ... at a tea party?

The three cupcakes are actually included as part of the panel. We're just not quite sure if you should give all three cupcakes to your favorite little girl... or keep one for yourself to use as a whimsical pincushion.

Hoffman 2011 Challenge Fabrics

Hoffman has posted pictures of the 2011 Hoffman Challenge fabric plus the coordinating fabrics. It's a beautiful group of Asian fabrics, with a large-scale floral feature fabric and smaller cherry blossom coordinates, plus gold-enhanced blenders. You can view the entire group on Hoffman's site; we're showing you a picture of the feature fabric so you can get thinking about all the wonderful possibilities!

We'd love to hear what plans you would have for this collection!

Robert Kaufman Sale at www.FavoriteFabric.com

From now through September 14th, all in-stock fabrics by Robert Kaufman are just $6.50 / yard (or less). Yes, that includes all those lovely holiday and Asian prints with gold metallic! (Sorry, fat quarter bundles are not included in the sale.) Kona cotton solids are $5.50 / yard. Quantities are limited!

It's Time for a Tea Party!

How 'bout a nice cup of tea? Diane Knott's new group for Clothworks, called "Tea Party", just came through the door. It's a lovely pastel group, and there's a free quilt pattern available. This collection is pretty but not juvenile, which is very nice!

This collection of fabrics includes a panel, a tea-theme border stripe, tea bags, teapot fabric (in two colors), tea labels, and a pretty little floral.

We spied ... some of our fabric!

Beth took a trip to the St. Jacobs Market in Ontario this weekend... and she spied one of our favorite customers, Jolanta, who used some of our peaches fabric to decorate her fruit stand! I hear the fruit was absolutely delicious... and that there is lots more to do in the area, besides the farmer's market.

Can you spy the fabric too, underneath all those baskets of peaches?

Mrs. Greenthumb - Garden Fabrics by RJF

We don't have any pictures of the individual fabrics to show you yet, but here is a picture of a kit that RJR will have available using Dan Morris' new "Mrs. Greenthumb" garden theme fabrics. This quilt is titled "Garden Therapy".

It's very spring-summery, and somehow it feels odd to be looking at spring fabrics when we're in back-to-school mode. But these fabrics won't be available until February, and by then we will be more than ready for spring flowers!

Should you "scribble" on your quilts?

Patrick Lose is designing a new group of blender fabrics for Robert Kaufman. It's going to replace his former "scribbles" lines. This collection is coming out in November and will be called "Meander". It's part of his larger "Mixmasters" group of tonal prints. Here is a picture of what Patrick calls the "summer colors". There will be 23 colors in all!

Check our Facebook page every Thursday for more previews of the up-and-coming fabric lines.

Chicken Wing Fabric - the preview pictures!

At last, here we have it: pictures of the chicken wing fabrics.

However, we have a slight problem and we need your help with it. The problem is... what should we call them? There are two flavors, obviously. But do we call them hot, medium, mild, or BBQ? Or Buffalo Wings?

Timeless Treasures has already named the flavors, but we disagree. And, being from Buffalo (where chicken wings originated) we're going to ... uh... claim a right to be opinionated on this matter. But... while we're very familiar with what the various flavors look like in our area, it's possible that wings might look different in other places.

So we open it to up you! What do you think they should be named? We've blanked out the names that the maker has them, so that you're not influenced. (Other than becoming hungry for chicken wings!)

Modern and Contemporary Fabric Sale

Sometimes we just overlook the obvious. Such as the fact that we hadn't created an official "theme" group for the more contemporary fabrics that we carry. So today we did just that, and to get things off and rolling, we decided to run a sale on them, too!

For now until the end of August, all of our modern and contemporary fabrics are on sale for $6.50 / yard (or less).

They're mostly selections by Michael Miller, P&B Textiles, Andover, and Hoffman, with a few by Robert Kaufman or other makers.

The wish list we always keep...

Did you know that we always keep a list of fabrics that our customers have been looking for, but have not been able to find? Well, we do... and on Tuesday we have a sales rep coming.

So if there's anything that you've been searching for, or that you think we should carry, by all means let us know. We'd love to hear from you!

Mr. Fixit - perfect fabrics for your favorite handyman

Looking for some fabrics to suit the guys? Dan Morris has designed an absolutely perfect group called Mr. Fixit!

This group celebrates all those really useful and creative talents such as woodworking, carpentry, painting, landscape work and grounds maintenance, plus general construction, building, and home repair trades.

Dan's designs are always realistic, and RJR has done an excellent job of translating the artwork onto fabric. This collection includes a panel fabric, a border stripe, and lots of coordinates. This particular border stripe is special in that rather than having four stripes, all the same, repeating across the width of the fabric, this selection has four completely different stripes, each with different tools/trades on it. (Wish we had a bigger picture to share, but we don't yet!) Anyway, you could start with the panel and then use the stripe to make four different borders, which would be enough for even the largest of quilts!

This group won't be available until December, but we will be taking pre-orders on it. Here's a picture to give you an idea of what's included in the collection; we'll be adding the items to our website over the next week or two.

Finally... a Chicken Wing fabric!

Just got a call from Larry today... he is the traveling sales rep for Timeless Treasures. He's coming by on Tuesday, and he's brought the good news that Timeless is coming out with some new "food fabrics"... including Chicken Wings! You'll have your choice of hot wings (Buffalo Wings) or BBQ.

I'm told that there will also be hamburgers, hotdogs, curly fries, and peanuts. Maybe even goldfish crackers. I'm getting hungry already!

If there's anything that you want us to be on the lookout for, post a comment to let us know!

South Sea Imports Fabrics on sale!

Beth - who knows all! - says that the "S" section of our store is rather crowded, and so we should run a sale on our fabrics from South Seas. Ok, Beth, we're doing it! All fabrics from South Seas, that arrived before May, are on sale for $6.50 / yard through July 14th. Panels are on sale, too. There are *lots* of fabrics included in this sale, including music, northwoods, animals, candy cane stripes, even jelly beans!

Did we mention horses, too? "Wild in Bloom" is a wonderful collection that includes many fabrics that are perfect for adding to your stash for landscape quilts.

Aaahh, summer! Days with plenty of sunlight left after work, and time to go to the beach! We're a short fifteen minute drive to the shores of Lake Erie, so we do indeed have a beach nearby.

Have you checked out our summery beach fabrics lately? We have "Life at the Beach" (pictured), plus lots of flip-flops, surfing themes, seashells, beach toys, plus sea, sky, and sand fabrics for doing landscape quilts.

Come on in, the water's fine!

Visit our website: http://www.favoritefabric.com

Too Many Fabrics!

Ah, the marvelous month of May. That's when all the new seasonal fabrics start to arrive, and we start asking each other where we're going to put them!

So... we thought maybe if we ran a REALLY BIG sale it would help make some room. What to choose? Well, how about Moda?

Until the end of May, all in-stock Moda yardage will be on sale for $6.50 / yard. (Sorry, pre-cuts are not included). There is a LOT to choose from, so be sure to take a peek!

Sales rep came to call...

Yesterday one of our favorite sales rep came to call; Larry shows us lines from Timeless Treasures, Marcus, and Free Spirit.

What's new and exciting? We'll be glad to tell you the highlights!

Free Spirit has an Easter group, a graduation group (graduation caps, diplomas, balloons and confetti) in two colorways, plus some Chanukah fabrics. They also have a group called "Los Sanctos", with a Mexican feel, featuring saints and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Timeless Treasures will be coming out with a field hockey fabric, which is sure to be a hit with sports fans. They have a new designer, Jennifer Garant, who has a group called "Another Bad Hair Day". Lots of hair salon motifs. It's been a couple of years since we've had a group like this! Goods should be here in a couple of weeks. Jennifer also is working on a group featuring fat chefs. But that is so far in the future that there wasn't even any artwork to show us yet, for that line.

Sew for Spring, with "Cherish Nature" by Moda

Moda's new group, "Cherish Nature" has arrived... and it is every bit as lovely as we thought it would be. In colors of aqua, teal, soft green, cream and chocolate brown, the color palette is up-to-date as well. We think this will be a quick seller. In fact, Moda is already out of the panel. We have ten left, as of this writing.

Fixit by Avlyn - tool themed fabrics for the guys!

We knew that this was going to be a great collection... but until we opened the box today and saw it in person we didn't fully realize the appeal of this group! Not to mention the humor in the words on the panel fabric (pictured to the left):

Miters and routers and drivers and nailers,

Hammers and saws and drill presses with lasers,

Silver steel hardware like hinges and springs,

These are a few of my favorite things!

These are perfect for a man's quilt! Avlyn already has a second printing of Fixit in the works, so we're hoping this group will be around a while.

A pattern to go with this collection is also available.

Sneek Peek - Woodland Holiday Fabrics by Moda

If you like your Christmas fabrics traditional, then you'll love Moda's 2010 "Woodland Holiday" group. Featuring cardinals, pinecones, holly and mistletoe, in red, green, ivory, black ... and aqua!

This collection is available for pre-ordering; it's due to arrive in late May. We recommend that you do pre-order as this group is sure to go fast, once it arrives.

Happy New Year!

Best wishes to all of you as we begin a new year!

To get your sewing off to a good start, we're running a sale on all of our Moda Marbles; they're just $6 / yard.

All in-stock fabrics by Clothworks are just $6.40 / yard until January 15th.

So you save about $2 / yard, on these wonderful fabrics.