The Greater Atlanta Shop Hop is now underway and continues through tomorrow, March 17. Come visit us at the shop where our local theme is : "Through the Eyes of a Child".  Details on all shops can be found at this link:  http://www.atlantaquiltshophop.com/

The Queen of Quilting commands your presence at this year's Shop Hop!

Scenes from our Amicalola Retreat

It was a Roaring Twenties kind of weekend as we headed for the North Georgia mountains for our fifth retreat to Amicalola Falls.  Our guest this year was noted quilter, teacher and author, Debbie Caffrey from New Mexico.  What an incredible weekend!  We all learned so much and came away with our mystery quilt solved! 

I thought you might enjoy the results of our fascinator headware contest.  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and that is certainly the case here.

We are taking sign ups for next year and hope you'll join in the fun!

We had a wonderfully busy weekend at the shop as we hosted our Sparkling Holiday Open House on Thursday.   Santa visited and so did many of you.  Thank you for coming!

We also welcomed Handi Quilter educator, Diane Henry for Long Arm classes on Friday and Saturday.  Imagine our surprise when our friend, Marti Michell came to our Sweet Sixteen class on Saturday morning!  Marti now has a machine and got to benefit from Diane and Mary's expertise!      

To make it a perfect weekend, our Embroidery Club also had their holiday party and gift exchange!  Many thanks to all of them for sharing their special lunch with us.  We were excited to have so many of you join us on Saturday.

One of my favorite days at the shop is the first Sunday of the month when we have our Farmer's Wife Club.  After over a year of learning all about the 1920's and making many wonderful (but tiny) blocks, we're decided we'd like to try something new in January. 

One of our ladies recently got us all excited about Marie Bostwick's new books.  After finishing the first one, I've been recommending them to everyone.  Marie's books, now 5 in number,  revolve around main character, Evelyn Dixon.  Evelyn owns a quilt shop in the town of New Bern, Connecticut.  The trials in her life lead her to developing and becoming a part of a community of quilters.  Why, it's just like the relationships we've developed at Tiny Stitches!

The best part is that Marie has worked with Deb Tucker of Studio 180 designs to create some quilts that go along with the books.  We decided that these quilts would be our projects for next year.  So, grab a book and read the first one, called A Single Thread.  We'll have a couple of copies at the shop so that we can have a book study/quilting group.  Don't miss it!  Come and join us!

Due to popular demand, here's our Christmas in July recipe for Cheese Straws:

1 lb.- Extra Sharp Cheese (grated)
3 sticks of  butter (salted)
1 stick of Can't Believe it's not Butter
4 cups - All purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp red pepper

Let cheese and butter reach room temperature. Blend in mixer until you reach consistency of shortening for cake. Gradually add flour and salt and pepper.  Use cookie press with star plate and press parallel strips of dough on to baking pan.  Bake for 13 min at 350 degrees.  Cut into 3-4 inch straws.  Allow to cool and .....Enjoy!

What a wonderful Sunday to be taking a class at the shop! Mary and I were excited to be providing instruction in pillow making to an eager group of ladies in our Sewing Machine Basics 101 class today.  They had a good time picking their fabrics and then piecing these great pillows.  For some attending the class it was the first time they had ever sewn!  These pictures are truly worth a thousand words!  Smiling faces say "I made it myself!"

We've just finished our first week of Flip Flop Camp and what a delight it was!  The hum of sewing machines and a room filled with young stitchers.  There's just nothing better than that!
I have to admit though, that more than once last week I thought about my friend and former teaching colleague, Janie Stokes.  It has been a few months since Janie passed away, but I will always think about her anytime children and quilting are connected.  Janie's organization, Storybook Quilts.org, along with the help of the Chattahoochee Evening Stars, sought to create quilts from children's books with a quilting theme. She wanted children everywhere to enjoy those books and quilts.  What a legacy!

That legacy will live on through Tiny Stitches as we seek to establish a Janie Stokes scholarship fund this summer for children who would like to be involved in quilting, camps, sewing, etc. Please watch for details on our website and in our emails.  Janie may be gone, but she will not be forgotten by anyone who knew her.

Janie taught me alot about living life to the fullest those last years she was with us.  Her sly smile, sense of humor and patience got me through many a challenging day.  Thank you, Janie for the inspiration you were to all of us; but especially to the children.