News and Updates from Through the Needle's Eye

Houston, here we come!

We are preparing for our trip to the International Quilt Festival in Houston this weekend. We are leaving first thing on Saturday morning and checking out Quilt Market to see what is new in the quilt world. On Monday, we will take a class, and then we have a couple of unscheduled days to see what strikes our fancy. We may see what classes or lectures are still open or check out some quilt shops. Or perhaps we'll just stitch!

We are so excited to see our quilt, A Fairy Tale Album, left, on display at the show. It will be hanging in the special exhibit, In the American Tradition: Appliqué. That will most likely be the first thing we search for when we get there! Are you going to Quilt Festival in Houston? Perhaps we will see you there!

Academy of Appliqué 2017

Have you signed up to attend the Academy of Appliqué yet? The Academy is held in Williamsburg, Virginia, from February 27 through March 4. If you have never attended, it is hard to describe the instant kinship you feel with everyone there, who shares your passion. You may meet people from Ireland, California, or even Australia, but you'll have something to talk about, as if you'd always been friends. Pamper yourself . . . or start hinting that a week away to appliqué would be the PERFECT birthday, Christmas, anniversary, or "just because" gift! We would love to have you join us in one (or both) of our classes! For more information about the classes, go to needleseyestories.com or read our post, A Floral Wreath, The Secret Garden, and a new website!

Floral Wreath, February 28–March 1

The Secret Garden, March 2-4

Marcia's Flowers

Our first class teaching our new pattern at Primitive Homespuns Wool and Needleworks was a great success. We had such fun teaching new appliqué-ers how to appliqué the wool pieces and then embellish them with embroidery. Classes are such a great way to learn new skills and make new friends! We are hoping to teach the class again soon, focusing on the embroidery, for those who already know the appliqué; we will update our website with the new date as soon as it is scheduled.

To read more about Marcia's Flowers,  click here.

We have been working on our patterns for Marcia's Flowers and are ready to sell them, with directions for either the warm colorway, like the box above, or this bright colorway, which we made into a pillow. They will be available on our website after we return from Houston, in early November. 

Block of the Month

Our new block of the month begins at Patches Quilting and Sewing in January. Each month, we will be creating a block from the Margaret Potts Quilt. Our focus will be using embroidery to embellish our appliqué, and we will learn several new stitches each month that will add real flair to our flowers. The course is set to run for six months, but the pattern has a total of 85 block, so who knows?! If you live nearby, we hope to stitch with you on the third Saturday afternoon of each month, from January to June. If not, we will post highlights here. Of course, if you are a member of the Baltimore Appliqué Society, you can follow along and stitch with us from afar, because a block pattern is offered each month in our newsletter, The Society Sampler. (We have members from all over the country!) You could send us your pictures, and we will post them here. Here is a glimpse of one of the blocks:

Well, that about covers our news for now. We will surely be bursting with news and photos from Houston. Next week, perhaps we'll give you a tour of the happenings at Market! You can follow us on Instagram or Facebook for more updates of the big events. 

What's new in your world of stitching?