Each Day

Another beautiful day here in Charlevoix.  What a great run of good weather we are having and I will take another 3 months of this but I think Mother Nature may have something else in store for us so will just enjoy each day as it comes.

We (Hearts To Holly) will be celebrating our 4th anniversary next weekend.  Can hardly believe that it has been four years since we opened the shop - things have progressed quickly and we have grown from  having about 800 bolts of fabric when we opened to having over 2500 bolts now and we put them in every nook and cranny of the shop.  When people stop in they comment about having to look everywhere - every corner to see everything and it takes them ahile to go through the shop.  Don't you just love old houses?  They have so many corners that make things interesting!

Well enjoy today - make the most of it - live it to its fullest!  Happy Quilting!

Fall At Its Best

Fall is here but we are getting a bit of Indian Summer this week and it has been absolutely beautiful!  Sunny days and crisp cool nights - what a great place we live in.  And we still have some roses!

Hearts To Holly is bustling with lots of good things - Mystery Weekend (October 7-9), 4th Anniversary Celebration (October 14-15) and so many great classes - Spicy Spiral Tablerunner, October's bag of the month, Sew Simple Pineapple (great technique - no special ruler), It's A Wrap, and many, many more.  If you don't get our newsletter that has all of the classes listed, go to http://www.heartstoholly.com/ and sign up.

We have started a new fun thing at the shop - Fat Quarter Lotta - buy a fat quarter, we put your name and phone number on it, wrap it up and put it in our Fat Quarter jar.  When the jar is full, we will pull out one lucky fat quarter and the winner will get all of the fat quarters int he jar.  We don't know how many fat quarters will fit in the jar but think it will be close to 100 - just imagine getting 100 fat quarters (25 yards of fabric) for just the cost of one fat quarter.  Do you feel lucky?

Well guess that is it for now - hope to see you at the shop - in the interim - Happy Quilting!

Here Again

Well time certainly seems to get away from me.  Here it is the last of September.  Fall is definitely in the air - pumpkins are everywhere and the honey crisp apples are ready for eating.  The shop has been busy.  We were up at Sault Ste. Maire MI this past weekend vending at a quilt show and the quilts were beautiful.  I am always in awe with the amount of creativity and talent that surrounds us.

Last night our Moda salesperson - Mark - was here to show us the new fabrics coming after the first of the year and there are some great ones.  One line in particular that I liked - and those that were with me - was the "Stitch In Color" line.  It is bright and fresh looking - really some different designs in the fabrics - just really great looking.  This is a picture of the panel or "cheater" fabric.  Mark actually had a large tote made out of it and it was cute!

There were lots of other lines that caught my attention too - Minick and Simpson are bringing out Prairie Paisley II - lots of nice fabrics there!  I was trying hard not to over spend and to some extent I did okay but probably ordered more that I thought I was going to - but that just means there will be more for everyone to oogle over. 

We are doing some fun things at the shop over the next few weeks - a Mystery Weekend, October 7, 8 and 9, our 4th Anniversary celebration, October 14 and 15, Demo Daze, December 1, 2, and 3 and lots in between as well.  We have lots of classes - Chenille Applique, our Bag of the month, Spicy Spiral Table Runner - something for everyone.

Well guess that is it for now.  Take care and Happy Quilting!

Beautiful days, cool nights!

Wow have we been having beautiful weather or what?  The days have been absolutely wonderful and the nights have been cool making it really good sleeping!  However the days are getting shorter which only means one thing - fall is just around the corner and the really good quilting time is upon us!  It is time to get down to business and get those quilts going.

I am going to make some peach jam this week with the last of the peaches.  Haven't they been good this year?  And the apples - they are so crispy and good.  I love this time of the year.

We are starting two new Blocks of the Month this fall.  One of them is Aunt Grace's Garden Party.  It is so fresh and pretty.  It's a row quilt and is just a six month program.  Has some piecing and some applique - so something for everyone.

The other one is General's Wives.  This is a beautiful quilt - lots of blues - just gorgeous.  This is a 12 month program and will begin in November.  Mostly piecing - just a little applique (or not).  We are expecting the fabric anytime - can't wait to get it.

Hope your days are filled with fabric and quilting and aromas of fresh apple pies!

Shop Hop and more

Well here it is August 20th and I am just getting back to my blog.  We have been going 24/7 first trying to get ready for shop hop and then actually "doing" shop hop.  Today is the last day and we have had a lot of fun at the shop.  We have seen lots of quilters and have had some enjoyable conversations with them. We only do shop hop once a year which is probably a good thing because when the last Saturday rolls around we are all ready to sit with our feet up and relax for just a bit and this is that Saturday!

When a little one comes into the shop for the first time, we try to remember to give that future quilter a fat quarter to start their stash.  Here are two of those future quilters - aren't they cute?

Well guess I better head down to the shop.  Looking forward to seeing the shop hoppers!



Fun Time

We've been having a great time at Hearts To Holly.  This past week we had "Fright Night" and several of our quilters came in costume to give us all a little entertainment.  We had balloons that contained either a trick or a treat and each quilter got to choose a balloon, break it and find out if they were tricked or treated.  Those that were tricked were really good sports - some had to sing a song before getting their % discount, others had to skip thru the shop.  It was a really fun time.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  Pictures coming soon!

We are also getting ready for Shop Hop and that always means a good time.  We get treats provided by Vivian as well as we get to see lots of our quilters.  We have some really good demos planned too.  And then the best is that we get to see our Wisconsin friends.  Nicci and Roxanne will be joining us this Thursday.  They help us with samples and just some really great ideas!   Can't wait to see them!

Beautiful Place

It's the beginning of August and here in Charlevoix it is an absolutely perfect place to be.  We are surrounded by water and beaches and the weather although a little hot and sticky has been giving us blue sky and lots of sun and beautiful sunsets!

This past week Shelly, one of our four daughters and one of two that lives in Las Vegas, has been visiting us and she went to Lavender Hill Farms to check it out.  Lavender Hill is just a couple of miles from us and is just beautiful right now.  They have lots of lavender varieties and make some really interesting things from the lavender - cookies, lemonade, soap, sachets, etc.  It is a great place to visit.

Things are really getting busy at the shop.  We are preparing for our annual Shop Hop which we do with five other quilt shops and it is getting close - less than two weeks away - and so much to do but we will get it done - I know I can I know I can!  Demos, quilts, new fabrics, new patterns and books - so much fun - can't wait!

So take care and happy quilting!