The Creative Quilters

The Store has been decorated...

2007-12-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

The stockings have been hung....by a Marine at the Mall in the Toys for Tots booth and are for sale... But the Christmas Tree is lit in the store and the garland is up. The hot tea is on, so is the cocoa is that is your prefered beverage, or flavored coffee. (We have an awesome coffee company!!! www.thecoffeelady.com) Yummmm....
The kids are winding up the semesters of school, finally. It will be nice to have them home for a few days. They come and go quite quickly. Trey will be home just a couple of weeks and then back to school Sandee just a couple of weekends, since she is working at school. Kit is still finding himself.
We have sales going on at the shop until the end of the year on our Berninas! What a great time to get one! (can't mention prices, sorry ladies it's against my contract with Bernina) Ask Santa for one. I sat on Santa's lap just the other day! We went on a TOY RUN-via motorcycles-here in Savannah and it was so well done! Kudos to the Abate club that put it together. They did an excellent job!!! Thanks to the Savannah-Chatham Police that assisted they were awesome as well and to the Wingmen's Club that allowed us to land on their clubhouse-it was great and the band was really terrific. I just wish I knew the name of the band. I'd love to catch them around town. The really were that good. Bikes as far as the eye could see-we had Abercorn blocked from Armstrong to Victory Drive on a Saturday Morning!!! What a hoot!
What good things are all of you up to doing?

Paula is gearing up for her stint managing the H & R Block office just down the street. If you have a Non-Profit Organization, you need to talk to her!!! She has an awesome way for you to raise money. Bette has been working feverishly on machines and is right on track to have them all home by the holidays. Doesn't that make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside???

I have a group of Brownies coming to CQ on Saturday to make purses out of fabrics that we dyed a couple of weeks ago. They are so enthusiastic. What a great group of girls they are. We had such fun and made such a mess!

The Holidays Are Coming! The Holidays Are Coming!

2007-11-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

Ok it's official. The turkey carcass has been hauled off by the city, but not before being picked so completely cleaned by by brother and husband that even the dogs didn't know what to do with it. Thanksgiving was truly a time in our home for giving thanks. There were 21 of us at dinner in the dining room-albeit at 3 tables. We had extended family, I met Crawford's cousin and his daughter, friends and it was a blast. After a generous meal to which everyone contributed, everyone in attendance signed a box of Christmas cards to put in the basket here at the shop. These are the cards that will be sent to Our American Heroes recovering at Walter Reed Hospital during the holidays. How blessed are we?
Paula is bringing some cards in and Crawford is donating some for the cause too. The more the better-we are hoping to send quite a box full of them to the hospital. In fact I am hoping to recruit a Marine or helicopter pilot I know to help out a bit. It's good to know folks, huh?

Our Toys for Tots toy drive is going quite well-we donated more than a dozen Christmas stockings and one wall hanging to be used to decorate their booth in the mall and to be sold (with the proceeds going to TFT).

I hear the distant sounds of tin soldiers and nutcrackers marching our way...I think they are getting closer....my shopping has not begun! I have started my sewing though. I guess everyone is getting handmade for the holidays.

Sew Creative Club

2007-11-12T18:36:00.000-05:00

The long weekend is coming to an end and now that I have 'recovered' from Auburn's loss to Georgia on Saturday. It was a blast to go tailgating with everyone. Chris and Crawford took their boys (Champ & JH) to the game-the boys had been to a game before but they got 'rained' out so that really didn't count. Sandee, my daughter, went with me. Fortunately we sat in the visitor's section with lots of orange and blue.
Tuesday I will be presenting Sew Creative Club and we are making simple yet elegant or fun napkin rings. What a fun way to dress up the holiday table or just the everyday table. Sometimes it's nice to dress up the table because it is your favorite day of the week. ;-}
Sew Creative Club is fun since it brings together sewers of different levels and experience (and many different machines). Marcia and Bette will be in the shop on Tuesday as will Carole (after doing 'Mom Duty'). Paula is in Atlanta for the week. We will certainly miss her calming and focused influence (I bet she is laughing while she reads this!), but mostly her infectious laugh this week.
Jennifer met with the teachers last Friday evening and cracked the whip-we are working on developing classes that are fun, challenging and will be appealing to consumers. We are also looking for our guest instructor for the first quarter of 2008. There are so many talented people in the deep south, it is truly amazing. Stay tuned and we'll see who we will have visiting CQ.

Don't forget the Toys For Tots toy drive-I understand that there is a motorcycle poker run coming up in a couple of weeks for it as well- at the shop.
Be sure to sign a holiday card and drop it off at CQ and we will be sending them to Walter Reed. Everyone wants to be remembered at the holidays, especially those away from home and recovering.

Hammond for Hope Foundation

2007-11-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

My brother, Chris Hammond, accepted the award for the Hammond for Hope Foundation as it won the Philanthropic Foundation of the Year! I am so proud of him! Debra Arnold, who is without question, a organizational force of nature did an amazing job with Chris this past year. The foundation was nominated by the Savannah Speech and Hearing Center and it is such and honor.
If you didn't know our little brother, Sean, was born profoundly deaf. That handicap has brought alot to our lives including many amazing experiences. Sean, Crawford (my sis-in-law) and myself were there from the family to 'cheer' Chris on-we all knew in advance that he had won.

This year Colonial Quilts is putting together a cookbook of recipes that we've collected at club meetings, via web submissions, and from the staff. This cookbook will be published at the beginning of 2008 and sold online and at the shop with all proceeds going to the Hammond for Hope Foundation. We hope to put a little more in for the hearing impaired children.
HFH is a local foundation that developed an outstanding library at the SS & HC, www.savannahspeechandhearing.org ,the only one of it's kind in the region, has awarded college scholarships to deaf students from the Savannah area, donated money to the Oral preschool at the SS & HC assisted with replacing hearing aides after Hurricane Katrina, assist hearing impaired children with supplies in school when needed, support a summer camp for hearing impaired children and so much more. It is a Non-Profit organization (501-3c) so feel free to donate money or your favorite family recipe for our cookbook. Just email us your recipe at email@colonialquilts.us with your name, city and state. If you'd rather not have your name listed just tell us, that's ok too.

We are also look for a catchy and meaningful title for that very same cookbook.....

We are doing TOYS FOR TOTS too! www.toysfortots.org
There is something for everyone at CQ right now. We received our TFT box in the mail and when I opened it I was quite disappointed to see that I did not get a Marine to go with it. I understand that they are quite busy at this time, but still. I did call the contact person, a very nice staff sgt and he and another marine dropped around with posters and what not. The SSGT offered to leave the other Marine (I think he was worried!) when I inquired about my missing Marine. We are having our 2nd Annual Christmas Stocking Challenge and this year you can opt to donate your stocking to be donated to the TFT booth in the mall where it can be sold and the money used to purchase additional toys-or filled and given to a child. Just make a stocking from fabrics purchased here at CQ and return it to us by the 16th of November. They will hang around the store and then go to the wrapping booth in the mall with our Marines. How cool is that!?

Well, if that isn't enough....one more option. We are all getting ready for Thanksgiving. I know I am. I also know that I have to send out Christmas Cards. So, this year sign an extra one or two or a box of ten. ( I personally am just buying an extra box of cute cards and my family and I are signing them together after eating that big Thanksgiving Dinner together while we watch football) Bring them into us and we will bundle them all together and on December 17th I will take them to the post office (or ups) and send them en masse to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. Just address it to "An American Hero" or something else positive for these young men and women who have done what was asked of them and been injured and as a result will be spending the holidays in the hospital. If you know me I've come close to spending a couple of holidays there myself-not too much fun and my family was close at hand. After all it is the season of giving-giving love, hope, of time. It is the little things.

The Holidays Cometh!

2007-11-01T10:02:00.001-04:00

Well, it's that time of year and it is sneaking up on all of us at the quilt shop. We are planning the Annual Christmas Stocking Challenge-that's always alot of fun and we always have great results. This year we've hooked up with the US Marines and Toys for Tots! (http://www.toysfortots.org/)and how cool is this. We will be gathering toys for kids throughout the season. We also will be using the stockings from our Challenge to decorate the USMC wrapping booth in the mall. That will be fun. I've already made one, and may make others, that they can sell and use the money to purchase additional toys. ;-}

We are busy busy busy planning the Christmas party for our customers...aka the Customer Appreciation Party. We have it each December. We invite the customers that are involved in our clubs, block of the month programs, who have purchased a new machine and thing such as that. We create projects and enjoy each others recipes (they bring the snacks and the recipes that go with it)

Hard to imagine that we are planning for Christmas and beyond when only yesterday was Halloween...

Just another day in...the Quilt Shop

2007-09-26T15:24:00.000-04:00

Goodness! with coupons for a discount on class supplies flying around the internet (via our Weekly Thread) classes are filling up and people are having a blast! Marcia is teaching a class called Brickworks and it seems to be turning into a fav!

Carole is working on a beautiful quilt on her Gammill longarm machine. It is in holiday colors. Marlene just finished up two twin sized quilts for a client too. Very 30's and scrappy.

We found out that a dear friend of the shop's mom is quite ill and is facing possible brain surgery. She's a tough lady and has been through quite alot this year with her family. Our thoughts and prayers are with her...

All the shop grandkids are growing like weeds! Bette's youngest grand-girl Kathryn is having a birthday in mid-October. They grow up in a blink of an eye.

Me? The hubby is out of town and I am scrapping ceilings, priming and painting.... I have some sore muscles! Can't wait til he gets home! Just another week.

Embroidery Club Meets at the Quilt Shop

2007-09-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

With Bette out of town Paula ran Embroidery Club last night. Normally they tag-team the club but this was one of those times. Bette has a dear friend that is terminally ill that lives in Ohio that she wanted to see. The club did the coolest Patchwork in the hoop!!! If only I had a few more hours in the day!
I would love to do it.
The club meets on Friday afternoon again with a different group of gals and they will do the same project. I really want to do the one in October....it is too cute! It is called a dangler. It is Mrs. Clause and she is jointed-all machine embroidered and really and awesome project. Depending on the hoop size you can do it in 5 hoopings. When she is all put together she's like 13" tall or something.

Christmas is just around the corner.......time to start making those gifts. I am going to start embroidering kitchen towels for my family. I always love to do homemade for my husband's family they really seem to appreciate it-there was this one member that didn't get it...she's gone now and peace has resumed....lol

Quilting and College Kids

2007-09-17T10:33:00.000-04:00

Today is the 17th! 6 months ago today our first grandboy was born to Kit & Katie. He's precious and has the best parts of his mom and dad. His mom is sweet and laughs easily and is generally a happy person. His dad, my son, was born a nose and grew into it-Jonathan got Katie's nose-whew!!! Jonathan laughs and laughs, he is a happy little guy that is growing like a weed! Kit & Katie are in different colleges and doing what seems to be a good job of co-parenting and are working things out between themselves. That is a tough job at their young ages. I am proud of them both-Katie works, goes to school full time and has Jonathan. Kit is in the National Guard, goes full time and helps with Jonathan. God bless them all.

I'm sending not 1 or 2 but 3 commissioned quilts to Marlene today to be quilted. 2 are Minnesota Hot-Dish quilts done in muslin/30's fabrics and scrappy and one is a UGA/sorority t-shirt quilt. Pretty cool if I say so myself. Carole is out of town and this kind of custom work isn't really her favorite thing. She told me the other day she sure was glad I didn't have any more kids-she was finishing Trey's t-shirt quilt.

It was the smallest (96 x 108) of the 3-smallest being a relative term mind you. I was supposed to go see him this weekend at college but he is going on a pledge retreat so we'll stay home. But, now he's away from home and sick for the first time-His older brother survived being sick and so did his sister. He will too. Just the first time is always hardest on the moms I think.

Embroid-A-Thon & Pillow Pals

2007-09-15T15:11:00.000-04:00

WoW! What a day at CQ. Paula and Bette had an Embroid-A-Thon at the shop today and they have made the most amazing stuff. It was a full class and they laughed and laughed while they sewed up project after project.

Brandy P came in today and reminded me to get my ducks in a row for our upcoming Janet's Pillow Pal event that is on Sept 29th. Janet was Jennifer's mom and thus named in her memory. We will be making comfort pillows for ladies that have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and have just begun their treatments. Jennifer is heading up this group. She recently lost her mom to a battle with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (www.ibcresearch.org) and of course everyone in our staff has been touched in some way by breast cancer.

Friday-our First Blog

2007-09-14T10:54:00.000-04:00

A friend, Jamie, has a scrapbook store and a blog and just loves it. It sounds like fun so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm Sandi. I am a quilt store owner. We have a great shop with a lot of stuff going on all the time. Paula, our manager, really keeps my ducks in a row and makes me look good. Bette, our technician, has been working on Bernina sewing machines since the 80's and has possibly forgotten more about general sewing than I ever will know. lol

Jennifer is getting ready to teach a Photo Transfer class as I type this-she also works on Fridays. Marcia, my mom-and the co-owner, works a few days per month and really keeps us all straight-if we get a bit messy. Sidney maintains our webpage and all things computer. Patricia works the floor and the Quickbooks (ick)-she also coordinates one of our several charitable events each month. Libby runs our Thimbleberries club and has done it for several years. Marlene, who has a 'real' job, teaches software for us and does some custom longarm quilting. Carol S teaches smocking and does pleating as a service. Carole W does longarm quilting-her machine lives in our shop-it's a blast to see what is on the machine each day when we go to work. We have so many wonderful people that work with me that I am worried that I will forget to 'introduce' someone. You will meet us all. Stay tuned... the fun is just starting.

Jennifer, Paula and I all do commissioned work-so you will get to see that here too!