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!

It's Potsticker Time Again!

The newest set in our series of plant decor is the Christmas Potstickers! 

Joy

Gingerbread Cookie

Holly Wreath

Wednesday, 11/17, and Thursday, 11/18, only—free digital pattern using the coupon code JOY.  Be sure you have the DIGITAL pattern for Christmas Potstickers in your cart, and then add the promo code JOY during checkout to receive the pattern free.

We have kits available, which include everything you need to complete the potstickers: wool, flannel backing, threads, and embellishments. You only need to supply the dowel or bamboo skewer to place them in your pots.

Or perhaps you will choose to make them as ornaments! Options are fun. 

And, as always, if you purchase a kit, there is a bonus pattern—this time a Christmas Tree Potsticker. There is enough material in the kit to do all four potstickers. 

There just might be a special treat included, as well.

Christmas Tree

To order, click HERE.

An Inspirational Walk Through Liechtenstein

At this time of year, for Teri and me (Kara), our dining tables have disappeared under copious amounts of threads and ribbon as we put together kits for the Academy of Appliqué. 

While Teri is diligently working on kits, I had to get my end of things finished a week earlier, as my husband and I would be heading to Bavaria for a work conference this week. Needless to say, putting a blog post together for either of us was going to be a challenge. With that said though, I thought why not bring our readers along, through pictures, on our trip to the Alps—specifically Liechtenstein!

Our daughter flew in to join us on the front end of the trip. She lives in Bangladesh, so it was a long flight and a very drastic change in climate for her. One of the things we wanted to do while she was with us was to visit Liechtenstein. Kaitlin had participated in Model UN in high school, and the country she represented was Liechtenstein. It had always been a dream of hers to visit, so off we went. 

We chose to go to the capital, Vaduz, to take a hike, view the castle, and see the state museum. All three things on our agenda did not disappoint, and hopefully you will enjoy our trip as well!

A view through one of the castle gates

The Prince of Liechtenstein and his family still live in the castle, so we could just view it from a distance.

A storybook view!

A beautiful stone carving along the trail!

It was 50 degrees on our hike, and these snowdrops were a glimpse of the coming of spring.

After our hike, we went to the Liechtenstein National Museum. Unfortunately, we arrived there with just an hour to go through the museum, but we made the most of it. It was definitely worthy of a trip back. I love being inspired by other cultures!

A beautiful national hat

Another hat with some fantastic embroidery!

A decorative handbag.

Crocheted lace collars

This wonderful example of filet crochet has many Liechtenstein symbols and crests.

Close-up

A stunning tapestry depicting the life of Christ

Close-up

A collection of religious jewelry

Not quite a quilt, but this certainly qualifies as appliqué!

A close-up of the coat of arms

I fell in love with these wooden hearts used to decorate the cows
as they come down from the mountains.

The "IHS" is in thanksgiving to He who has preserved the cows and kept them during this time.
They are called Apabfahrtsherz.

A block used for fabric printing

Last but not least, a beautifully preserved Kingfisher. I think this may be the next bird we stitch!

We hope you were inspired by our quick trip to the little country of Liechtenstein. While it may be small, it is big on beauty and inspiration! 

Happy Birthday...to us!

We can't believe we started this blog two years ago! Time certainly has flown, and we have come a long way in those two years. Here is a peek back at our humble beginnings:

Once upon a time, there were two friends who loved to quilt. They set out for a weekend away from their families to take some classes at a quilt show in Gettysburg, PA. Sadly, they waited too long to reserve a room, and upon check-in were a bit disgruntled with the accommodations. Not to be discouraged, they decided to stay in the humble lodging rather than return home to the kids. (Even though they loved them dearly.)

Kara, the perky one, got into her pajamas and leaped through the air onto her bed in excitement. Teri, the cautious one, was lifting the covers on her bed and closely examining the wrinkles and strange fibers on the sheets. 

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed," cried Teri.  

"What do you mean?!" chirped Kara.

"There are hairs in my bed, and they aren't mine!" Teri exclaimed.

"Really? Are you sure? ...Oh, ewww! Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too!"

Thus began our adventures stitching together. Suffice it to say that we got clean sheets, stayed the night, had a great weekend of quilting, AND learned to make our reservations early. It may not have been Goldilocks in our beds, but we have been blessed to combine our creative energies, and working together has been just right.

We have learned and experienced so much since our Gettysburg adventure. Here are a few of our highlights:

• Teaching at the Academy of Appliqué in Williamsburg
• Having our quilt, A Fairy Tale Album, accepted into the Houston International Quilt Festival
• Going to Houston to see the quilt and experiencing all that excitement
• Going to our first Market
• Meeting other quilters from all around the world
• Designing our first pattern (Marcia's Flowers)
• Lecturing at the Baltimore Appliqué Society and other guilds
• Teaching at the Baltimore Appliqué Society and various local quilt shops
• Having almost 90,000 views on our blog in our first two years
• Launching our website

Speaking of websites . . . we have been meaning to catch up on a few things that we had to put aside while preparing for the Academy. On the list of things to do was to add a few items to our website. If you pop on over there, you will see what is new in our shop. We started our store with the Marcia's Flowers wool patterns in two palettes, and now we have the wool kits to go with them. Each kit contains enough wool to complete the project, which you can then use to top a wooden box or turn into a pillow.

Marcia's Flowers Pattern bright palette

bright palette

warm palette

Marcia's Flowers warm palette

As we promised in our Pansies post, we now have pansy ribbon kits available. Each kit makes four, five-petal pansies, with a little bit left over to make a violet or two. The how-to directions are in our pansy post (linked above). Our students in Williamsburg were all amazed at how realistic these pansies are and how easy they are to make! You can buy the kit in two different sizes: 1" wide and 5/8" wide ribbon.

5/8" pansies

5/8" pansy ribbon kit

1" pansies

1" wide pansy ribbon kit

Also in our shop, we have a limited supply of kits for our Floral Wreath block and our Secret Garden block. The Floral Wreath kit comes with everything you need to create this beautiful and realistic wreath of flowers—even the background is included! In the kit you will find River Silks and Hanah silk ribbon, French ombré wired ribbon, Gentle Art threads, as well as detailed directions.

Floral Wreath

So many beautiful ribbons in this kit!

While you provide the background, the Secret Garden kit contains all the appliqué fabric, ribbon, and threads needed to create your own garden. There is River Silks, Hanah silk ribbon, French ombré wired ribbon, and sari silk for the wisteria tree not to mention all the threads needed for the embroidered garden. The kit also includes a comprehensive set of directions to help you as you complete this block inspired by children's novel, The Secret Garden.

Secret Garden block

Ribbon, sari silk, and threads—oh, my!

We couldn't have achieved our milestones without you, our readers, so what better way to celebrate our two-year birthday, then to have a GIVEAWAY! The winner will receive a Marcia's Flowers pattern and kit in their choice of colorway. All you need to do to be eligible for this giveaway is to leave a comment on the blog below telling us which of our posts over the past two years is your favorite—and why. That's it! (If you are reading this in email, hop over to the blog by clicking here.)

 Good luck!

We thank you all for traveling with us on this journey as we tell the stories of the many different ways we, and others, use a needle. Our love of stitching binds us together, and it has been our pleasure and honor to share these stories with you. Here's to many more years of stitching and storytelling!

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Colonial Stitching in Williamsburg

Last week, I (Teri) took you on a tour of the wreaths which decorated Colonial Williamsburg. This wreath on the left, full of bows and spools, sets the stage for today's stops along the cobbled road. This week, I'd like to show you the many stitching-related gems I encountered during our walk. Enjoy!

Our first stop was in the Prentis Store, which sells wares made by the trades- and craftspeople of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Just inside the door was this display, at which I lingered for quite a while. Of course, I bought a few skeins of wool. 

Hats, hair, woven fabrics, yarn, baskets...

Don't you just love these brilliant colors of yarn?

Warm colors...

...and cool colors.

As we were walking, we saw these ladies making buttons. I was intrigued, and I asked if I could watch and take a few photos. They kindly obliged, and told me how they were making the buttons, using simple sewing thread and a buttonhole stitch.

The button in the foreground, as the ladies stitch.

Such fine work!

These kits were found in one of the merchant's shops, introducing a variety of crafts.

Further down the road, the Mary Dickinson Shop—the Historic Millinery—had shelves of kits for embroidery, samplers, pockets,  cord-making, and books about tatting.

And beneath the kits was fabric sold by the yard. So many temptations!

They sold a different kind of hand-crafted button than what the ladies were making earlier.

The Weaving, Spinning & Dyeing building was across the street, adorned with a swag bedecked with spools, woven material, and skeins of yard. 

These young ladies were teaching the young man how to make a pocket. He was turning the edge down around the rectangle of fabric and using a backstitch to secure the edge. He had been stitching all day and was on the last edge. I was amazed by his tiny perfect stitches and had to ask how he had managed to get such small stitches in such perfect uniform size. He used a stab stitch method of backstitching, with perfect results. Such patience he had! I was impressed, indeed.

So, today I thought it might be fun to try to make one of those buttons I watched the ladies make and decided to give it a try. I was somewhat surprised by how easy it was. Of course, the fact that I used a perle cotton #8, rather than sewing thread, may have helped to ease the job. Here are my results. 

1. I wrapped the thread around a pencil to get the base shape of my button.

2. I secured the loops of thread by tying them.

3. I went around the loops, securing them with a simple buttonhole stitch.

4. I pulled each stitch tightly, and made sure they were close together.

It seemed a bit unruly at first, but the loops stayed in place as I went around the circle.

5. When I got halfway around, I took the thread across to the other side and caught the stitches on the back of the button. Then I took a few buttonhole stitches on the center thread to get back to the other side again. At this point, I just continued doing the buttonhole stitch the rest of the way around, ending it by taking the thread through a few stitches on the back. 

My finished colonial-style button, made with thread. 

Wouldn't it be fun to play with different sizes of buttons, with various threads? Perhaps adding some fun, decorative stitches around the outside, or even beads, could make some great crazy quilt embellishments. My thanks to these lovely ladies who taught me what they were doing. What a fun job they have!

Happy New Year!! We wish you many blessings in the coming year. May your days be full of stitching and beautiful stories that you create through your needles' eyes.