Common Threads Quilting - for reproduction fabrics, quilts and kits in Waxahachie, Texas

Newsletter January 24

Sunday, 24 January 2010 20:13 |

January 24, 2010

Happy New Year! We hope your year has gotten off to a good start. Now that the excitement of the holidays is over, the reality of winter is starting to set in. But don't let the cold get you down. We have plenty of things to keep you busy and warm.

All Aboard the Patchwork Express

I'm not a shopper. In fact, I really actually dislike shopping most of the time. The big exception is when it comes to fabric. I'll go miles out of my way to shop for fabric. If you like shopping for fabric as much as I do, then the Patchwork Express is for you! The North Texas Patchwork Express is a two day trip full of fun and shopping with a group of other quilters to visit eight wonderful quilt shops. For more information about this fantastic weekend, click here!

Wildflower Trails Shop Hop

Mark your calendars. The Wildflower Trails Shop Hop is March 25-27. It extends from Georgetown to Cedar Hill and involves 8 shops. The theme this year is Vacation Destinations. Common Threads destination is a Ranch (and our quilt will be western). Hours are 9:00AM-8:00PM all three days. Each shop will offer a gift certificate to one lucky person and there will be two grand prizes of gift baskets valued at $350 and $500. You must complete your passport to be eligible for the prizes, so make your plans now!

New Fabric

Old Glory V by Windham - Windham's Old Glory series captures the embodiment of stars and stripes as a theme by sharing with you some all time favorites. Old Glory V offers a particularly eclectic mix of bombs bursting in air, liberty bells, eagles, and an interesting picotage design ca. 1840. The flags of freedom design offers an interesting glimpse into the varied history of the flags that helped shape a nation. To see the entire line, please click here.

Sally Rose by Eileen Jahnke Trestain for Windham - The colors used in the Sally Rose Collection illustrate that rich, glowing, brilliant colors were the norm for the mid 19th century, before the dark era of the economic collapse of the late 1850s and the years of the Civil War. The fabric selections for Sally Rose were inspired by a grand floral stripe. The original stripe was taken from a whole cloth quilt in Eileen's collection. The top of the quilt was made of two lengths of fabric and were an obvious reuse from the skirts of a dress: an illustration of 19th century recycling at its best, saved for us to reproduce! To see the entire Sally Rose line, click here.

More Pink & Chocolate by Windham - Late in the 19th century brown as a color in printed fabric started moving to the forefront of European fashion. The idea is perhaps copied from hard to find Indian hand painted cottons. In the early to mid 1800's these Indian fabrics using rich colors painted on top of dark grounds were rarely seen in Europe. However, as a result of these beautiful imported fabrics, it is then that we began to see brown combined with the lively colors of red and pink emerging as a trend in Europe. Windham's More Pink & Chocolate Collection commemorates several of these stunning European designs ca. 1875. Click here to see the entire line.

Liberty by Windham - Included in this fabric collection is an English toile, printed about 1785. Named "America Presenting at the Altar of Liberty Medallions of Her Illustrious Sons," the printed scene shows George Washington being guided by Peace and crowned by a trumpeting Fame. Other figures include Liberty, Minerva, and Commerce. All patterns in this line are inspired by textiles from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's collections. To see the entire collection, click here.

Block of the Month

We have new blocks up online for the Farmer's Wife Sampler. If you're doing this block of the month program, you should go to the page and see all the blocks we have up. If you've been thinking about starting the program, there's still time to join it. The book has templates for the blocks, but we can also offer it foundation pieced, if that is your preferred method.

Don't forget that Common Threads can now be followed on Facebook. If you'd like to get immediate notification of our new fabrics, patterns and kits, as well as notifications of sales that don't always make it into the newsletters, consider becoming a fan of the page.