We are thankful!

At this time of year, we like to pause and be thankful for the many blessings in our lives. As a small company, Through the Needle's Eye has so many things that fill us with gratitude. Our cornucopia overflows with thanksgiving! 

THANK YOU TO . . . 

Our many blog readers. Since we began our blog in 2015, it has received over 321,000 page views. We have over 1500 readers who receive our blog by email, and we aren't sure how many more through Bloglovin', Quilters Blogs, other blog sites, social media, or other means. But we are so grateful for the support of all of our readers, especially those who leave comments or send us emails. Stitching is our passion, and we love to share it with you!

Our social media followers. Did you know that you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest? Some weeks we are more active than others, but it is a fun way to interact and see what we are stitching. Check us out if you are on any of those sites! You can click the link in the captions below.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/needleseyestories/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/needleseyestories/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/needlese/

Our local quilt shops. There is no place like home, unless it is a quilt shop—a home away from home for anyone who loves to work with fibers. We are thankful that Jackie, the owner of Patches Quilting and Sewing in Mt. Airy, MD, took a chance on us five years ago and helped us to get into our teaching groove. We are also thrilled to be able to work with Kathy, the owner of Primitive Homespuns Wool and Needleworks in Frederick, MD; we teach classes there, and Kathy kits many of our wool patterns. We love our shops!!

Patches: https://patchesquilting.com

Primitive Homespuns Wool & Needleworks: https://www.phwoolandneedle.com/
And we are grateful to have our designs featured on the shop's homepage! 😊

The Baltimore Appliqué Society. Our first lecture was scheduled with BAS, at the very beginning of our partnership. The encouragement of the members of this group went a long way in giving us the confidence to move forward with our business. We have taught several workshops for them, primarily focusing on embellishing appliqué blocks. What a fabulous organization, promoting the history of appliqué quilts and acquisition of skills as well. 

BAS: https://baltimoreapplique.com/

Past workshops taught for BAS

Future BAS workshop, to be taught in June 2020
Patterns in this series taught with permission of Elly Sienkiewicz, from Baltimore Elegance

The Academy of Appliqué. When we first decided to start our business, it was a dream to be able to teach at a venue like the Academy. It has been a humbling honor to be able to be a part of this magnificent experience, and we are indebted to Barbara for inviting and supporting us. And of course, those who have enrolled in our classes—who have stitched and laughed with us—have proven to us that dreams do come true. March of 2020 will mark our fourth year teaching there, and we have loved every moment of our adventures in Williamsburg. We might have a seat or two still open. We hope to meet you there!  

The Academy of Appliqué: http://www.academyofapplique.com/

Our class in March 2020 is from our new quilt, Woodland Reverie, with an option to choose a spring or fall block, or both.

Baltimore on the Prairie. Another venue on our teaching bucket list has been this appliqué conference in Nebraska, so we were delighted when Tresa invited us to teach our wool and ribbon designs next September! The conference comes highly recommended, and we are looking forward to being part of the faculty there next year. We are so grateful to have this opportunity. Thank you, Tresa, and thank you to all who have already enrolled in our sessions. If you haven't yet decided, we hope you might join us!

Baltimore on the Prairie: https://www.baltimoreontheprairie.com/

 

Our Baltimore Fraktur class, in two colorways 

We are currently designing a couple of settings for this center medallion.

Our Floral Elegance class expands on our mix of fibers, combining wool appliqué and ribbon flower techniques.

Quilt guilds, near and far. It is always a pleasure to receive an invitation to speak at a guild and share the stories of our quilts with fellow stitchers. We have lectured in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York—and Germany. Every quilt has a story, and we love to share the tales of our quilts, and often to hear some of your stories, as well. Thank you to those who have reached out to us and invited us. Someday, perhaps, we might pay you a visit!

You! The best way to learn something is to teach it. We have both become better needle artists because of the opportunities we have had to teach you, whether it be at a class, Academy, conference, lecture, or writing our blog. You make us better stitchers, and you are the reason we love what we do. 

So THANK YOU!