Thanksgiving is in sight...

Veteran’s Day has past and Thanksgiving is in sight.  For many of us, Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday.  Maybe it’s the great food but more likely it’s time spent with family and friends.   We start on the pies first thing in the morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Are there bands or cloggers from Nebraska in the parade?  After the feast, there is the walk around the neighborhood, the card game, left over turkey sandwiches, and a car ride in the evening to see the first Christmas lights. 

It’s a Beck tradition to save Friday after Thanksgiving for Nebraska football.  The Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes will meet in Lincoln for the first Heroes Rivalry game.  Even though I’m both a University of Nebraska graduate and a University of Iowa graduate, I’ll be pulling for the Cornhuskers.   Other staff members of I Love Sewing, LLC spend Friday shopping and shopping and shopping…so we will be closed on both Thursday, November 24^th and Friday, November 25^th.   We will reopen with regular hours (9am – 5pm) on Saturday, November 26^th. 

If you need a break away from home and from shopping, join us on Sunday, November 27^th from 1 – 4pm for the “Screen Play” Tote bag class.    Check our website or call our store for additional information. www.ilovesewingonline.com

New fabrics, patterns, and projects were ordered at the Houston Quilt Market and are now starting to arrive to the store.  On the horizon is our move into the new addition. We hope to be settled in by the end of the year.  Come in for a sneak peak.

Have a safe Thanksgiving.

Marcia and Dee

It’s happening again…we go from Halloween to Christmas with minimal thought of Thanksgiving.  Already the retail stores are in full Christmas mode…trees and trim, layaway plans, and “coupons” to use at the store every weekend.  This year I’m going to continue to celebrate fall, harvest, and Thanksgiving.  It’s to beautiful to stop appreciating the tall colorful grasses, the leaf colors, and the crispness of the morning and evening.  And Nebraska football keeps us grounded into fall.  Each football Saturday is an opportunity to share some chili, hotdogs, salsa, caramel apples any fall favorite food of choice. 

Dee and I rode Amtrak to Denver last weekend to celebrate the grand opening of La Momo Mae’s Bakery in Longmont, Colorado.  The bakery is owned by a high school classmate of Dee’s.  She was truly surprised to see us.  The trip to Longmont resulted in an excursion to the YMCA Camp of the Rockies in Estes Park, home of many family vacations in the Beck Family.  And of course, we visited many quilt shops in the Denver area.  We left Omaha on Amtrak at 12:30 am and arrived into Denver at about 8:00 am.  Both Dee and I slept fairly well in the coach area where the seats stretched into recliners.  We returned from Denver at 9:00 pm and arrived into Omaha around 7:00 am.  We slept in a “roomette” where the chairs turned into beds.  It was a great weekend!

I Love Sewing’s November and December classes and events are posted on our website.  http://www.ilovesewingonline.com/

We hope to see you soon.
Marcia

{Nebraska Memorial Stadium}

Thanksgiving Table Runner

{La Momo Maes}

Fall Joy

It’s been a while since our last blog but Dee and I are still sewing and quilting. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers over the last few months.  We miss our mother but know her life continues with God.

Every October I’m reminded why fall is my favorite time of year.  And that seems especially true this October.  The Colors are brilliant and intense.  Who doesn’t like stomping on leaves?  We have sedum in our backyard and butterflies have been congregating on the plants for the past few weeks.  Our New England Asters are reaching new heights but blooming beautifully.  Penny, our dog, loves the butterflies and the bees.  A big pumpkin is at the top of my shopping list.  It’s handy to have template material around for carving the pumpkin!

If you have stopped by our shop you have noticed our building project.  We plan to move into the additional space in December.  Dee and I have been very happy with the quality of work on the building.  All of the craftsmen have been extremely careful in keeping the premises clean and respecting everyone who have come through our doors.

Take Care, Marcia

I don’t know about your dog, but our dog Penny, is so happy to hear the end of the fireworks.  Our neighborhood was really into the Independence Day activities, lighting the sky for a 10 night period.  Penny finally retreated to the closet, occasionally peaking her head outside.   But then, I can’t feel too sorry for her, considering her wonderful life.  She loves her fenced in backyard with a flower garden to traipse through, an occasional rabbit to chase, squirrels who constantly tease her,  and an abundance of birds.  

More and more fabrics are being labeled “organic”.  But what does “organic” fabric mean?  Organic cotton is derived from non-genetically modified plants and grown without any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides.  The National Organic Program, a division of the USDA, determines the practices allowed by the farmer, certifying the label.  Also the fabrics are certified by GTOS, Global Organic Textile Standard, requiring low – impact dyes and a functional waste water treatment plan.  Dee and I think Organic Cotton feels and sews great...especially for children.   

Check out our new Organic Cottons by Timeless Treasures and Robert Kaufman.

http://www.ilovesewingonline.com/shop/Fabric/Organic-Cotton.htm

 

It’s been a year since I Love Sewing, LLC has opened its doors to anyone who loves fabric.  WE have been overwhelmed with all of the community support for our store.  Thank you… Thank you.

College World Series is in full swing, kids are at sports camps, and 4-H Country Fairs are on our calendars.  Bring in 4-H identification until July 18^th and receive 10% all items in our store.  We just saw a great quilt made by a 4-H’er ready for the fair.  Youth equates to creativity!  And genetics is a big factor too.  Thank you to all grandmothers and mothers who help the children sew and quilt.

TGIF is on Friday, July 8, 2011 from 5-9pm.  It’s a lot of fun to paper piece so join us for “Christmas Star” wall hanging from Kate Mitchell Quilts.  We will precut this 36”x36” quilt with Stonehenge Holiday fabrics.

Hope to see you soon,

Dee and Marcia

"Christmas Star" Paper piecing by Kate Mitchell Quilts

Boyscout Quilt

Baseball Fabric

Spring has slipped by and Summer is coming in with thunderstorms, humidity and some heat.  Dee and I spent Memorial Day in Minden, Nebraska just like all of our Memorial Days.  The story of honoring all of the armed force veterans is never old and all of us are truly grateful for the servicemen and women who guard and protect our freedoms.  The U.S Flag waved proudly in the various cemeteries and on the city streets!!!

New fabrics and patterns are arriving into our shop.  The May Spring Market was a treasure chest of great ideas.  Creativity has no limits…maybe only a shortage of time.  It is difficult to determine a trend but there is definitely a return to solids in quilts.

We are having a BARN BURNER event next week.  We hope to see you soon!

Wow…we had a great shop hop!  Because it was our first year we definitely had the jitters.  But quiltists seem to always be of the friendly and nice persuasion as proven again at the shop hop.  We hope to see you on April 30, 2011 with your NIFS bag for the fifth Saturday.  We will be starting our Beginner Quilt of the Month block that day.  It consists of twelve 12 inch classic quilt blocks with templates that can be cut with the rotary cutter or scissors.  The cost for the each block is $6.50.  A sashing, outer border, and binding kit will be available for purchase after January 1, 2012.

“Three Little Pigs” Huff and Puff fabric from Timeless Treasures has arrived into our shop. So now it’s a decision between, Seuss, Spot, Hungry Dinosaur, and Three Little Pigs?  See you soon!  

Nebraska State Shop Hop 2011

Nebraska State Shop Hop 2011 is coming to a close.  This is I Love Sewing’s first year in the shop hop and it’s been a blast.  We have made many new sewing and quilting friends and have had the opportunity to learn a lot from everyone who has visited our shop.  The charms from the various stores are great!!! If you have questions about what is a “Shop Hop”, give us a call at 402.727.7869.  It ends on Sunday, April 10^th at 5:00 pm.

New fabrics are arriving to our store.  So take a look at the “Fifi & Fido” collection from Anna Griffin.  Andover’s “Spot” and Kaufman’s “All About Seuss” are precious.  New patterns include the “Clothespin” Apron and “Soft Scarf” with Anna Marie Horner’s cotton voile.

Okay, I don’t like to dust.  But this morning I looked at the kitchen china closet and seeing excessive dust I found the dust cloth.  I am particularly attracted to teapots in the cabinet and my collection is varied.  I have teapots from favorite vacation spots and teapots given to me as gifts.  I love my Scotland teapot with its national flower, the Thistle.  Can you believe a Thistle, basically outlawed in our farm fields, is the national flower of Scotland!  The artwork is very detailed with each tiny Thistle appearing very wispy.  A teapot set from Germany has an Asian feel to it.  And my Humpty Dumpty teapot and tea cups are perfectly painted in pastel yellow, green, blue, and ivory.  In fact, all of the teapots I collect seem very detailed and precise except for one, painted and glazed by Nancy at a Girl Scout meeting.  My teapot collection is really no different than my favorite fabrics in the store.  I like precision and detail.  I love florals.  And of course, I think baby nursery fabrics are so perfect…But I am attracted to the abstract and free form, similar to my teapot from Nancy.

New Fabrics are arriving into our shop.  Free Spirit Anna Marie Horner’s “Innocent Crush” and Denyse Schmidt’s “Greenfield Hill” are outstanding.  We hope to see you at the Nebraska Shop Hop from March 31-April 10, 2011. 

Check our website for extended hours. http://www.ilovesewingonline.com/