Moda Sunkissed

Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics is just a fresh breath of spring around the corner! I'm picturing ruffledy sundresses & pinafores ... aprons & new kitchen curtains. Maybe a new throw pillow for the bed.
How about you?



Check the website for more cool summery prints.
www.calicomermaid.com

Fairy Frost!

Michael Miller's Fairy Frosts are in now. Boxes & boxes of luscious frosted colors, perfect for blending with your favorite prints or combining together. There are darks & lights, pastels & deep, rich tones. All have that silvery dust that makes them absolutely sparkle!

Camelot

Camelot, designed by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics, has rich, deep colors & patterns. There are beautiful shades of blue, green, & red. Don't these remind you of kaleidoscopes?
With 27 different prints in the collection, the possibilities are endless.

Cool New Tools

We have some great new tools to make your quilting & crafting easier!


Pinmoors are perfect if you usually pin baste, but safety pins are hard on your fingers. Use them with your favorite straight pin & see how quickly & pain-free that chore can be! Use them to top off your needles in the pincushion so you can locate them among the pins.






Cling Onz are wearable magnetic holders that come in lots of colors & attach easily to your clothing to keep pins, scissors & small tools handy.
Great for any crafter, teacher, or your favorite fix-it man! They are surprisingly strong, yet light weight. Use them to hold nails, screws, thumbtacks, paper clips, needles, or seam ripper close by. How many times have you spent a lot of valuable time backtracking to see where you last placed a small item like that?




These tools & many others are available now on our shop website:
www.calicomermaid.com

300 Books & Patterns

How many boxes does it take to ship 300 books & patterns?

Here are just a handful of the new books - but then there are a bushel of patterns, too. I tried to choose all the newest designs as well as some tried & true favorite authors. There are some for beginners & some to offer new challenges or techniques.
There are new designs & experienced authors.

And ........ the answer is...
7!!!!!!!

There are seven boxes bursting with patterns for everything from aprons & wall hangings to checkbook covers, pretty little dresses & wheelchair bags...all waiting for me to get off the computer, stop rummaging through the box & get them inventoried & organized. But every time I start, I have to stop to admire all the cool new ideas.

OK
Back to work.

2011 Hoffman Challenge fabric is here

This year the Hoffman Challenge is celebrating its 23rd Anniversary! The Challenge started with 94 enthusiastic quilters, but the number of entries has grown to more than 700. In addition to the three quilt categories (pieced, appliqué and mixed technique), new categories include clothing (wearable art), accessories, and dolls. While the majority of the entries come from the United States, a wide variety of international entries are received. Each year, the top entries are grouped into traveling collections and visit quilt and fiber shows, seminars, quilt shops and quilt- and doll-makers guilds nationwide and in Canada.
For entry forms, rules, and more information, check the website:
Hoffman Challenge
You can see 2010 winners here:
2010 winners What amazing work!
We have some beautiful coordinates from the Hanami Collection to enhance your piece. Check them out in our web store. www.calicomermaid.com
Are you inspired yet? The fabric is gorgeous - let your imagination run wild! Anything goes.
Let me know what you come up with, whether you enter the Challenge or not, then email photos of your project to me. I'd love to see!

Moda has my UPS man hopping!

The latest boxes on my porch from Moda included Chrysalis by Sanae. She travels through the cities of her native Japan to find inspiration. Sanae can never predict where her inspiration will come from but it yields beautiful results every time. Both natural and modern, this stunning collection is sure to take flight.

Big news!
We finally have a lease in our hands.
Our new address will be 122 N. Main Street, Porterville, CA.
For many years, this location was the Porterville Hardware Store, which closed up around ten years ago. It was divided down the middle. One side was the old fashioned hardware store, while the other was china & gifts.
I'll have the china shop side on the south side of the building.
We're really excited about this location. The front entrance will be changed to match the north side, the ceiling will be lowered, air conditioning & restroom will be added.
One of the best features is the back entrance. Downtown parking can be a challenge sometimes, but we have a nice, level, well lit back parking lot.
There will even be plenty of space for a classroom area.
And, of course, lovely front windows so the mermaid herself will have a nice place to be on display!
We can hardly wait for construction to be complete. The fabric is really stacking up around here. We came home yesterday to 17 boxes from Moda!

We're drowning in new fabric!

Boxes of fabric & patterns are being delivered daily! We're finding it a little frantic around here. My techno wizard/stock boy/bookkeeper is staying very busy, I'm learning so much about the merchandise my head is spinning! The delivery guys arrive with a big smile because I always meet them at the door with a squeal of delight. I have to tear into the boxes as quickly as they can carry them in.
There's so much fabric on the website we divided it according to price. Notice there's New Fabric & Sale Fabric now.
This is a pretty collection, Flight of Fancy by Spectrix. I love border stripes & panel prints. You'll find this group at a great price under Sale Fabric.











Keep checking the website,
www.calicomermaid.com for new additions. We're posting it as fast as we can!

Who's thinking about Spring?

These pretties are Elizabeth Anne from P & B Textiles. It's been mentioned that I don't select very many blues, so here's my answer to that accusation!
Don't they just whisper, "Spring is right around the corner?"
My goodness. I don't even have my Christmas decor all taken down yet, & it's time to start thinking about & planning spring projects!
We're anticipating several shipments this week, so watch the website for new fabric & patterns. We'll process everything just as fast as we can.
But Christmas can stay a little longer. It's really okay.