Did you ever secretly think about having an affair? Come on now, be honest. Well, we just finished our first affair....Quilt Sampler Affair that is. Friday and Saturday we hosted the first Quilt Sampler Affair with the other 5 quilt shops in the greater Kansas City area who are also Quilt Sampler Magazine shops. What a fun time we had.

Friday the weather was the pits. It was cold, rainy and windy to beat the band but that did not stop ya'll from coming out in droves. Each shop served refreshments and we all offered a free pattern for one 12" and two 6" blocks and kits for only $8 for all three. Each shop did a great job of creating a beautiful quilt for you to enjoy with kits available.

Saturday turned out to be a much prettier day with sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Of course, I am prejudiced, but I think ours was the best. We call it Christmas In Times Square. It is hard for you to see in the photo but we put Swarvoski crystals and buttons on the quilt to add some Christmas glitz. It is so well received and we are taking orders for both the pattern and the kit.

The grand prize was one $100 gift certificate to each shop and each shop had one basket holding well over $200 in merchandise. Needless to say, we had some very happy people after that.

We have our next one planned for October of 2010, hope you can join us at that time.

Christmas Advent Quilt

I cannot believe that before we know it, Christmas will be here.

Do you remember the wonderful Advent calendars we had as children? Each day you could open the little door and you would receive a treat. It would be either a piece of candy or maybe a small gift or an ornament for your tree.

With that in mind, we have decided that you can still enjoy that fun with our Christmas Advent Quilt. Beginning on December 1st, you can receive one block each day for 24 days of this darling quilt. The blocks are 6" and the finished quilt will be a nice lap or children's quilt.

Our quilt will be all red and white so you can actually finish it and also use it for Valentine's Day in February. A dual duty quilt.

We have kept the price at a very low rate of $3.00 each (including postage). How fun to receive a little gift each day for 24 days prior to Christmas?

The sign up fee will include your book "Sylvia's Bridal Quilt" and it will arrive with your first block that will begin arriving in December.

We have included a picture of the first block. We hope you enjoy this little treat (and who knows what else we might put in your gift?).

Just-Shy-Of-A-Fat-Quarter ?

Would quilters notice 1/2"?

If you go to the quilt shop and ask for a fat quarter, would you notice if it were 1/2" shorter than before? 17 1/2" instead of 18"? Of course you would when you got ready to sew with it. Can you imagine the quilt shop giving you 17 1/2" and saying they were "Just-shy-of-a-fat-quarter"? Yeah, that would work! Or worse, NOT telling you the size?

We are used to receiving what we pay for. Quilters are always willing to buy what they need. We do not expect the quilt shop to give us fabric for free, we pay the full price. Most times when you get home and measure what you bought, you are surprised to see that it is a bit more than you ordered. That happens because each shop adds a little bit for straightening your edges. You are not charged extra for that, it is just something shop owners do to help you with your quilting.

Now why am I telling you this? This weekend I was putting groceries away and noticed something significant and it had the word "quilted" on it. I prefer Quilted Northern bathroom tissue and have purchased it for years, even when the commercials showed the quilters using knitting needles to make it. As I was stacking the double rolls of tissues I was instantly struck by the fact that they are now a full 1/2" more narrow than the last ones I purchased. (see photo).

Now that may not seem like much, but when you see that the packaging says it has 2 1/2 times the number of tissues as a single roll and nowhere does it say that it is more narrow, and you pay the same price as before, you have to wonder. It says that they have donated over $500,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and that is GREAT, how did they donate it? Are we now paying for that donation by smaller rolls of paper?

Now seriously, I do not care if my toilet paper is more narrow than before, it will not stop me from buying a product that I prefer. I just want to point out the value that you are receiving from your local quilt shop and small businesses in general. This just would not happen.

Small businesses could never get away with this type thing. You would raise Cain with us if we shorted your purchases. Especially if we did it without tell you.

So next time you go to the quilt shop, think about the value of the product you are purchasing and the quality and honesty of the small business person with whom you are dealing. October is Small Business Appreciation Month. We thank you for your patronage of our shop and I am certain that all other small businesses appreciate your support as well.