Minnesota, Here We Come!

We are beyond excited to announce that we have been invited to teach and lecture at the 2022 Minnesota Quilters Annual Quilt Show and Conference in St. Cloud, MN. Registration opens for the general public on February 1, so you have time to plan. We would love to see you at the show! Take a look at what we will be teaching. And then click the link above to see what this great show has in store for you!

Floral Elegance

Class: Wednesday, June 15, 2022; 8:30 AM–4:30 PM

This elegant vase of flowers is a wonderful introduction to basic wool appliqué and ribbonwork. Your friends will be in awe of your skill when you show them your block, but you can decide whether to tell them how easy creating these exquisite blooms really is. The class will begin with the basics of wool appliqué, as we prepare the vase and leaves. And then we will become florists: using only three new techniques, we can create all these beautiful blooms. You will be amazed how a simple running stitch can be used in different ways to create petals for our pansies and chrysanthemums, and wire-gathering does the trick for our roses. A couple of basic embroidery stitches for stems will add the finishing touches. And all the while, fun will be the focus!! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete the block: background fabric, wool for vase and leaves, all ribbon in colors pictured, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Floral Elegance

Potstickers

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 8:30 AM–11:30 AM

Potstickers are not just for dinner anymore! We designed these plant ornaments to add some fun to our potted plants, but you could just as easily create any kind of ornament with these sweet patterns. Who doesn't love having a quick and easy project to do? In this class, we will learn the basics of wool appliqué, as well as the simple embroidery stitches needed to complete your potstickers. You will have a choice of three different sets for your class project. Are you ready to add some patriotic pizzazz, fall flair, or Christmas cheer to your potted plants? They will thank you—and we will have a lot of fun in the process! Which set will you choose?

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen set of potstickers: wool for background and designs, embellishments, embroidery floss, flannel backing, and pattern. You need only provide the bamboo skewers or dowels for display.

Patriotic Potstickers

Fall Fun Potstickers

Christmas Potstickers

In the Garden

Class: Thursday, June 16, 2022; 1:30 PM–4:30 PM

Join us for a walk In the Garden as we learn the basics of wool appliqué and embroidery. Again, you have a choice of which project you want to do. Whether you choose to create Cornflowers or Violets, we will begin by appliquéing the leaves with wool. Simple gathering techniques magically turn ribbon into stunning blooms, and a few basic embroidery stitches become stems, leaf veins, and flower centers. We will have a fun time discovering that there is more than one way to grow a garden! 

Full kits will include all material needed to complete your chosen block (Cornflower or Violet): flannel for background, wool for leaves, ribbon for flowers, embroidery floss, and pattern.

Violets

Cornflowers

The Stories In Our Quilts

Lecture: Friday, June 17, 2022; 10:30 AM–11:30 AM

What do quilts and stories have to do with each other? Everything, actually! Have you ever had a piece of needlework passed down through your family and wondered who made it, how they made it, and/or why? These are the stories of our families—part of our history. So often these gems are tucked away in a chest or put on a closet shelf. But there is a wealth of information within those stitches, if only we knew their stories. Our quilts give us opportunities to tell our stories. Enjoy an hour of storytelling as we share some of our favorite quilts (old and new) and the tales they tell.

🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵🧵

Do you have that week in June planned yet? What a great opportunity to have some fun stitching. Vendors, a variety of talented teachers, lectures, seminars, and of course QUILTS! What more could you ask for? Hope we might meet you there!!

Minnesota Quilters, Inc. 43rd Annual Quilt Show and Conference

River’s Edge Convention Center

10 4th Street South

St. Cloud, Minnesota

www.mnquilt.org/mq2022

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Blue Jar Medley Mystery Stitch-Along

We are happy to announce the  Blue Jar Medley Mystery Stitch-A-Long.  

Mark your calendars and tell your friends about this FREE event: you don’t want to miss it! Beginning January 31, 2022, and each Monday following, one participating designer will  feature their “Blue Jar” with a FREE downloadable pattern available during each designer's  spotlight week! After each spotlight week, digital patterns will be $5.00 for the remainder of the program. Complete the project with a Finishing Pattern available FREE, April 25th-May 2nd 2022. Fabric kits, threads, printed patterns, and more will be available to help make a beautiful quilt! Kits will include wool, fabric, and embellishments. Follow the schedule below and visit each individual designer's website/social media to order or download the free pattern...for a limited time!

Preorders are being accepted now! 

• Jan 31 - Feb 4 Calico Patch
• Feb 7- 11 The Woolen Needle
• Feb 14 - 18 Red Button Quilt Company
• Feb 21 - 25 Linen Closet Designs
• Feb 28 - Mar 4 My Red Door Designs
• Mar 7- 11 Blueberry Backroads
• Mar 14-18 Sew Cherished
• Mar 21 - 25 The Cottage Rose
• Mar 28 - Apr 1 Traditional Primitives
• Apr 4 - 8 Yellow Creek
• Apr 11 - 15 Through the Needle's Eye
• Apr 18 - 22 Rusty Crow
• April 25-May 2 Calico Patch: Finishing

Remember that it will be a tad different this round: the digital pattern will be free for the designer's spotlight week only, and then revert to the low price of $5, and all printed patterns will be only $6 for the duration of the stitch-along. So follow along, and tell your friends about it, so you call all join in from the beginning. This will be a fun one, for sure!

For more information and links to each designer's website, click HERE. And if you haven't yet joined our Woolie Friends Facebook page, hop on over and join us!

Be Mine, Valentine

We are back after our holiday break and have started the new year off with a brand new pattern—Be Mine,  Valentine.

This heart-shaped box of chocolates stitches up rather quickly and would be a great way to add a little Valentine's Day decor to your home, or maybe give it to someone you love. The stitching and embellishments really bring this project to life, so we thought we would show you a few tips and tricks that you can use as you create this box of confections.

You can use your favorite method of cutting out your wool pieces, but the assembly is a little bit different because of the organza ribbon bow. Before you fuse your hearts, you need to mark the places on the pink heart where the bow band will go using pins.

Once you have placed your pins, you can fuse your hearts, carefully 

avoiding the pinned spots, and stitch down the red heart.

Pin your ribbon in place and then tuck the edges underneath the pink heart.

Stitch down the pink heart making sure to stitch the ribbon as well.

Now it is time to do a little embroidery! The chocolates and chocolate-covered strawberry are embellished with simple stitches—even the Pekinese stitch is not difficult.

A chain stitch in #8 pearl for the strawberry
leaves 

The Pekinese using #8 pearl for the backstitch,
and 3 strands of floss for the weaving.

Small Xs for the left chocolate, and a
small heart button for the right.

Half-wagon wheels around the red heart
and a stem stitch for the bottom chocolate.

French knots with beads and a backstitched spiral
complete your box of sweets.

The words "Be Mine" are embroidered using our favorite Press and Seal™️ embroidery technique. We used a #12 pearl cotton by Valdani and created the words with one stem stitch for both words, and then went back and added another row where the lettering was thicker.

Press and Seal in place.

All stitched up!

The final stitching was to do a stem stitch with two strands of darker pink floss around the box and a stem stitched line to define the corner. Add the bow and your project is complete!

We turned this block into a little wallhanging with a simple red, striped border. The quilting was done with a #12 Valdani pearl around the box and then with quilted hearts scattered in the background. This was what we did, but you could finish it in whatever way you choose. While we still have kits available, this will be a limited edition kit so when the kits are gone, we won't be kitting it again. You can find it all on our website HERE

We hope you enjoy stitching up this box of chocolates almost as much as a real chocolate box!