Dearest Friends, hope you are all enjoying our beautiful spring and that everyone benefited from the good rains this past weekend.  Seventh Heaven is honored to be ask to help with a request for “Operation Trauma Quilts.”  (TQ)  A lovely lady named Rosie Bolenbaucher, a civil servant with SAMMC Joint Trauma System Staff  approached me with this request.  The group endeavors to present a  lap size quilt to non-commissioned officers, physicians and nurses who have been on the front lines on their return to the states from the war zone.  Many groups have graciously made quilts for wounded warriors which is right and good.  But we seem to forget the stress upon the caregivers on the battle field.  They endure others pain and suffering every day.  The group asks the quilts be red, white and blue in any pattern about 60×60″.

Two sewing days are scheduled in Seventh Heaven class room on Friday, June 15 and Saturday June 16.  You may make a quilt “on your own” or come sew with us on these two days.  ”Ms. Rosie” needs 10-15 finished TQs in July.  If you would like to help with this worthy cause, you may bring red-white-blue fabrics to sew on at the shop and enjoy the company of other quilters.  Seventh Heaven will donate the batting for the quilts and offer a discount on fabric purchased for these quilts.  Bring a pattern if you like or we will help with a design also bring your machine, rulers, etc.   To make it a really fun day, bring FOOD!  There is no better way than to spend your day making a charity quilt, sewing with friends and EATING.  It will be summertime, so bring  a salad, desert, etc.  cool things to share with everyone .  Paper goods will be provided.  Store opens at 9:30 – stay as long as you can.  If you will offer your quilting service for a quilt, that will be needed also.  I know our customers will help with this request, because I know you!  (I well remember the 1,400+ pillow cases you made for children’s hospitals last year.)  Give us a call to sign up for June 15 or 16.   (822-9980)

 New Classes

A new Beginner Piecing class is scheduled for Tuesday evenings, 6-9 June 5, 12, 19, 26 and July 10.  If you or someone you know wants to learn the basic of quilt piecing, this is a class for you.

Saturday, June 23, Liz Graham will offer a class using panels.  The design she has found is a free download using 3 panels.  Samples of two quilts are on display in the shop, with a limited number  of these two quilts.  (They are really nice, cutting a little tricky, Liz will help).

A new Jo’s Club is starting this month.  A few openings are available, give us a call.  This Club uses Jo Morton fabrics and patterns.  The patterns are available only to people in Jo’s Club groups held in a shop.   New session begins May 24 or May 26.

Next Tutor Times are scheduled for Tuesday, May 15 and 29, 5:30-8:30, Katie Reed will help you with starting a project, problems or just for fun with other quilters.  $15 per session.

This is Book Club quilt week, Thursday or Saturday.  New Book Club quilt will begin in the fall, with sign up in June and July.  We are going to Kansas City this month with one of our searches being the best quilt for Book Club.  If you don’t know what “Book Club”  is, we don’t read or review a “story book”, we make a quilt from a “Book” or pattern.  Come visit a session and see what it is all about.  Rain or shine, 10, 1:00 & 5:30 Thurs., 10 or 1:00 Sat.  Don’t forget your “Show and Tell”.

A few staterooms are still available on the Alaskan Cruise June of 2013.  Give us a call if you want more info.

Please mark your calendars that Seventh Heaven will be closed on Monday, May 28, Memorial Day Holiday and Wednesday, July 4th, Independence Day.

Don’t forget we love to take care of Mother’s Day gift problems with handy Gift Certificates or how about suggesting you want a brand new fabulous Baby Lock!  Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful ladies!

Howdy to all!  If you missed Bluebonnet Trail Shop Hop 2012, you missed out on a lot of fun and new and exciting ideas.  Nearly 700 people visited all 12 stores.  Seventh Heaven had over 1000 come in Thursday – Sunday.  That’s lot of nachos and lemon-pineapple punch!  The winner of the Grand Prize Basket was a visitor from Colorado – Warrell Mouton. Congratulations!

All twelve shops each awarded a basket to one lucky person:  Seventh Heaven-Etta Kay Nickel, San Antonio; Los Colchas-Marjorie Evans, Georgetown; Gone Quiltin’-Kelly Howell, Pipe Creek; Honey Bee-Patricia Calder, Crosby; Creations-Linda Lewers, Oregon City, Oregon; Sew Special-Cathy McConnell, Austin; Cotton Cupboard-Martha Moretich, Corpus Christi; Quilt Haus-Carolyn Self, Hewitt; Ready to Sew-Eileen Foster, New Braunfels; B & B-Jamie Jones, Boerne; Memories By the Yard-Rebecca Cook, Helotes; Fabric ‘n Friends-Nancy Wilson, San Antonio.  Congratulations to all the winners.

Make your plans now to participate in Bluebonnet Patchwork Trail Shop Hop for the 15th year April 11, 12, 13 & 14, 2013!  Maybe 2013 will be your lucky year to win a basket over $1,000 value of quilting goodies!

We have visitors from all over the world.  We were honored to have Irene and Margaret from Australia visit us.  They came to visit their friend Sherry Cook (left) and are on their way to the Paducah Quilt Show.

You don’t have to wait a year to come to Seventh Heaven Quilt Shop to find some wonderful quilt kits, beautiful quilt shop quality fabric, books, patterns, samples and a friendly, knowledgeable staff to help with your quilting and sewing needs.

Hello to everyone!  The clock is ticking – 14th Annual Bluebonnet Patchwork Trail Shop Hop is almost here!  Thursday 9:00 am Seventh Heaven will start our “Fiesta” dishing up our famous NACHOS!  Have you ever had nachos for breakfast?  Sounds OK to me!  New fabric galore, lots of new quilts displayed with kits for you and demos of recommended products.  The ‘”shop hop” quilt is already hanging.  This year every participating shop will have the same fabric in the blocks.  Each store has their own setting idea.  A “block kit” for each shop will be available for purchase at that shop for $5.00.  You will receive a free pattern at every store with the option of purchasing the fabric kit.  You may purchase a setting kit that you prefer or do your own setting idea.  A limited number of James Avery charms designed for Bluebonnet Shop Hop only will be available.

Please visit  www.bluebonnetshophop.com for all of the 2012 Challenge Block winners under the Photo Album tab.  Congratulations to all of the winners.    You will also see driving suggestion on this site. Also visit our own Shop Hop page!

 Extended hours Thursday – Saturday – 9:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Every visitor will receive a warm welcome, free fat quarter,  block pattern, refreshments and again Mary Jo will be doing her wonderful back massage – all FREE.    Also Alice will be in SH some of the time to provide information regarding our 2013 Alaskan Cruise.  Everyone may register to be in the drawing for ten $25 Gift Certificates from all 12 shops.  Remember to get your FREE Trail Pass at the first store visited, get it stamped at every store, turn it in at the last.

Everyone who visits all 12 shops will be eligible to win the Grand Prize Basket valued over $2,000 including $1,200 in gift certificates at participating shops.  Also 12 more baskets  filled with all the quilting goodies minus the gift certificates will be given away!

Our prize basket – this could be yours!

Visit as many shops as you can and have fun!!!

Our challenge block prize winners! Jackie of Universal City,  1st prize Pieced and Pam of San Antonio – 2nd prize Combination – congratulations!

Happy Spring!  Are not the wildflowers the prettiest we have seen in a couple years?  I just love to drive slow and take in all of God’s beautiful world.   One of the things I love about living in my little town of LaVernia is the open green fields now adorned in their beautiful  spring colors while new born goats and calves enjoy the green clover.  I think I am a country girl for sure!

Shop Hop is just a “hop” around the corner!  April 12 – 15, Bluebonnet Patchwork Trail Shop will be a fun time for all.  Please click on www.bluebonnetshophop.com for complete info on participating shops and a suggested driving route.  All shops will be open extended hours for your convenience.  CHALLENGE BLOCKS MUST BE TURNED IN TO THE SHOP BEFORE 5:30 TUESDAY, MARCH 27 TO BE ENTERED FOR JUDGING ON THE 28TH.

Because of the conflict, BOOK CLUB will be one week early in April.  Thursday, April 5 or Saturday, April 7 – regular hours.  This is for April only.

Because of Book Club schedule change and Good Friday April 6, there will not be A First Friday day or evening session in April.

Because of Shop Hop, there will not be a 2nd Monday Christmas Club morning or evening session in April.  However, you still have an April kit that you may pick up at your convenience.

Because, because, because!   All of these changes because of Shop Hop!  But, Shop Hop is soooooo much fun!

You don’t have to wait for Shop Hop to come in to see all of the WONDERFUL new fabric collections arriving almost daily.  Jo Morton collections, Bernstein Bears from Moda, beautiful Peacock panel with coordinates, Numbers from Moda (for a book or quilt), new Stonehenge, GEORGEOUS Purple or Brown tones with gold metallic – (this is going fast!) and more beautiful fabric coming every week.  Many new kits are  out (some even sold out already), so don’t stay away too long – you might miss something.

The Alaskan Cruise is a sure thing June 3, 2013 on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas.  Reservations may be made with Petry Travel, Alice our travel agent at alice@petrytravel.com.  Alice will be in Seventh Heaven during Shop Hop or you may contact her direct and tell her you want to be in Seventh Heaven’s group to Alaska.  We had a fabulous cruise to the Caribbean a few weeks ago and Alaska will be 100 times better!  Cruising is a wonderful, safe way for women to travel.  You do not have to worry about anything.  Even if you are going alone, you will be paired to room with another single lady. However, spouses are certainly invited and welcome.  We will again offer OPTIONAL hand projects on the cruise.  But if you are with your “honey” and want to be alone, that can happen too, (as alone as you can be with 3,000 people on board!)   Cabins for 2, 3 or 4 are available.  Alice can give you all of the information.  I have been on an Alaskan cruise similar to this one and it is definitely one of the highlights in my life.  This trip includes a few days on land including Denali National Park.  So, make your vacation plans for 2013 to have  a memory you will cherish forever.

Fabulous Baby Lock sewing machines and sergers will have a price increase in April, so come in soon to get your Baby Lock!

Will I see you soon?

Click on the Book Club page for more information!

Did you know that you can click on the blocks to open the image on its own page, and then click on THAT image to open it full size?

Hello to everyone !  Just returned from a week cruise on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas!  What a great time 49 of us had!  The biggest decision we had to make for a week was what to order at meal times!!!  I have told my children don’t put me in a nursing home, put me on a cruise ship.  We had a wonderful time and many of the 49 are making their plans to go with us summer 2013 to Alaska!  More information on that adventure a little later when definite plans are in place.  The date will be sometime in June 2013.  You may make a tentative reservation by calling or dropping by the shop.

When you come in to reserve your cruise spot be sure to check out the “Peanuts” fabric featuring Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and all the gang – really cute – just  arrived today.  Also  16 beautiful black and white fabrics from Maywood Fabric.  Not to leave out the soft pastel Easter egg fabric from VIP Exclusive for quilt shops.  So pretty with a little gold metallic to make beautiful table runners, napkins, etc.  Like I have told you before new fabric arrives almost daily – don’t miss anything!   Great new “reds” from Jo Morton recently in.

Book Club people – this is the second Thursday and second Saturday this week.  You still have time to get your February block made so you can get March block FREE!  We have lots of wonderful new things to show you – don’t miss out.

Hello to everyone!

We are extremely fortunate to have very talented quilters in our area. One of these ladies fairly new to us, Sherry Cook. She will be presenting a Quilt Lecture and Trunk Show in Seventh Heaven on Saturday, March 17, also designated as NATIONAL QUILTING DAY! Sherry has been a quilter most of her life. She will be talking about quilt history and showing some of her family quilts. Sherry is a member of ASQSG, NQA, AQS, CCQ, CRGQC, AAQ and QHF. (Wow! You should be impressed already). She is also preparing to test for Master Quilter! She is a delightful lady and I for one, am excited to have this opportunity. She has taught hand quilting, hand piecing & hand applique the way she learned from both Grandmothers and a wonderful Mother-in-law.

There is a $10 fee and you must make a reservation thru the Shop. Limited seating available. If necessary, an afternoon session will be scheduled. Call the shop 822-9980 or come in to reserve your space. We ask that you pay your fee upon registration.

Lots and lots of wonderful new fabrics are in the shop. Many new great kits are already prepared and more or in the making.

If you are one of the 25 folks in Book Club making the pieced Blended Rose center, you may be short 2 fabrics. We are now aware of this and deeply apologize for the inconvenience. You may pick up the fabrics the next time you are in or at the March sessions. Also on this same block, you need to reverse fabrics 3 and 12 on your pieced center kit only. 3 should be 12 and 12 should be 3!

Can’t wait for spring to really get here for our beautiful fields of bluebonnets – they should be spectacular this year! But until then, come in and gaze at the new Texas Wildflower fabric from Moda. It is really, really pretty this year. Also Laurel Burch butterflies and hummingbirds, gorgeous colors. Many bolts of both lines – I know you will love them both.

See you soon?

Hello everyone!  Lots of new fabric has arrived in Seventh Heaven this week.  Laurel Burch FLYING COLORS II from Clothworks is absolutely beautiful.  Butterflies and hummingbirds in beautiful “Laurel Burch” style and colors.  These will go quickly.

Also new from Moda, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS is one of the prettiest bluebonnet collections ever!  One design is four wide rows, i.e. borders or rows across a quilt.  This line will be fun to work with so don’t wait too long to come in to get yours.  Beautiful colors will make any bed or wall proud!

Just today darling CUPCAKES and APRONS in the line BAKE from Makower UK with coordinating stripes or dots came to SHQS.  Think of aprons, children’s quilts, table runners for a special day, etc.  New fabric arrives weekly, so don’t miss out on new stuff!!!

Bluebonnet  Patchwork Trail Shop Hop 2012 is just a few weeks away, April 12-15.  Maybe this year we will actually have bluebonnets to enjoy along our Texas highways.  Aren’t we thankful for the wonderful rain we are still receiving.  If you have not purchased your fat 1/8 of the brown dot fabric, it is not to late.  This is the chosen fabric to make the Challenge Blocks that will be incorporated into quilts for children of warriors  from Fort Hood.  The blocks need to be child like and cheerful, 12-1/2″ unfinished.  They will be judged and nice prizes awarded.  The block fabric and entry may be purchased for only $2 and returned to the shop before Tuesday, March 27 to be judged the next day.

Remember we close on Saturday at 3 pm, closed Sundays, open M-F 9:30 – 5:30.  Hope to see YOU soon.  Don’t forget to bring your “yellow tag”.  Don’t have one?  Ask how you can get $25 off of your purchase!

Happy early Spring to everyone!  Isn’t this weather crazy. But we are very thankful for the rain.

Please see our new classes posted on the Class Schedule page!

Most of the classes will have a list of supplies which you will be given at the time you sign up and pay a $5.00 NON REFUNDABLE deposit.  That will be applied to your class fee.  We are having too many folks sign up for a class and then not show up which many times keeps someone else from being able to participate. We understand unexpected things come up, if you cancel at least 2 days before the class or have an extreme emergency happen, all but $5.00 will be refunded. Your place will be reserved with $5.00 with the remainder of the class fee due before the day of the class.  This can be done by phone or in person. You may put your name down without the deposit, but if someone else pays the deposit and the class is full, then you may be left out. Thank you for understanding this new rule, we want to be fair to everyone, including the teacher leading the class.  90% of the class fee is paid to the instructor.

FYI we are excited to tell you CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS fabric will be in the store in June.  Most of us or we have children who have grown up with Peanuts!  The fabric is wonderful.  Kits will be made and a soon as we have a picture of the quilt we will show you.  Reservations for kits will be taken.  Don’t miss out on this!

THE SHOP IS PACKED WITH NEW FABRIC – COME CHECK IT OUT.

A reminder to Book Club – next week, Thurs, Feb. 9 or Sat. Feb. 11. You may attend even if you are not participating in BC – a great chance to see new stuff!  Times are on the Book Club page.

Check out our Book Club page to see the latest blocks!