We're coming to the end of our series of Luscious Little Blocks. I love how they have turned out - the fruit and veggie fabrics have been such fun to work with! It was very nice of RJR to bring out another new collection of them just as I was thinking about the setting! The lettuce and tomato prints are Barb Geary's favorites - just add bacon! I'm really fond of the strawberries (just add whipped cream?!). The new prints have inspired a pieced setting - I'm stitching like crazy so that I can share it with you when we share the last block.

     In the past two weeks several guests have asked me about copyright issues. The most often asked question is, "When is it OK to make photocopies of something?" Well, I know my mother said "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" but my 11th grade English teacher had a slightly different "view". She sent the student next to me to the principal's office when he "flattered" me by copying my work! I always love my Moms advice, but Mrs. Gibbon was far closer to the correct answer. The easiest way I can phrase this is, if the original designer can recognize your "adapted" piece as theirs, you cannot legally copy his or her work for publication, including photocopies. But, most designers are happy to discuss your options and it never hurts to ask.

     We have added additional sessions of two very popular classes from our fall schedule.

The Chickadee class is now offered Saturday, October 27th from 10:00-1:00 or Wednesday, November 14th from 10:00-1:00.

The Elegant Fabric Ornament class has openings in the added Thursday, November 29th, 6:30-8:30 session.

Stop in the shop or give us a call to be added to either class.

     Michael Miller produces some fun fabric but this time they have gone over the top! What appears to be rather ordinary toile from a distance deserves a closer look! Knitmare on Elm and That's Sew Wrong - will have you laughing out loud (or wondering how they witnessed some of your more challenging moments!) as you stitch. The brown, pink and white prints could even be added subtlety to a project so it remained your own private joke! $8.70 per yard

     Robert Kaufman's new Fusions line includes a spectacular tone on tone print. The striking roses are about 6" across - subtle shading provides the definition between flowers. Each of the six colors is gorgeous but I particularly love the beige! $8.30 per yard

     We have started to get the shop ready for our Holiday Open House (November 2nd and 3rd). Being compulsive, as usual, we've coordinated our ornament selection to match the quilts! For example, wooden cardinal ornaments compliment the new Winter's Song quilt pieced by Judy. The Prairie Grove Peddler pattern combines pieced birds in rich reds with a bit of appliqué for their wings and the branches and leaves. Crisp white backgrounds (even one printed with swirling snow) make this the perfect winter decorating accent. Pattern $8.00

     If you added the fabulous Opulence fabrics from Benartex to your stash and then wondered what to do with them... - "Cats Eye" from Toadusew may be just the pattern you need. The piecing is very straightforward - the directions are wonderfully written and illustrated. I chose to use the black, gray and green marbles as my starting point. Selecting complimentary fabrics required several trips to the shop - sometimes it takes a few tries to get things just right - but this piece was worth it! Pattern $10.00

     One of our guests from Ohio asked about joining the Jo Morton Club by mail. We realized that's a great idea if you live a distance from the shop! We packaged Jo's well-written patterns, a few notes about things we did differently and a picture of our pieces and sent it off. That should be a fun package to receive and a great deal at only $6.00 (plus shipping) per "meeting". You might consider joining the club if Jo's style is yours as well!

     Luscious Little Block- Pattern #23 is now available! We will be happy to send you piecing fabrics for the block as shown (you provide your own block backgrounds). Please send $2.00 and a SASE to the shop and we will get them in the mail so you can begin stitching.

     Each online pattern is available as an Adobe PDF. We also have archived all of the prior releases on Luscious Little Block Page so you will not miss a pattern! Once the file is open in a browser window you can print or save a copy to your hard drive. (Make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat for best results.)

     We love to hear from you! The form on our Contact Us page is available for you to ask questions or leave us comments about the shop or our website. Please make sure your email address is correct when leaving a message for us- so we can be sure and get back to you. Thank you!