Showing posts with label little quilts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label little quilts. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Let's Get Quilting - A Toile Token of Thanks



What a great sewing weekend we had - snow up and down the east coast, and cooler weather everywhere! Finally. Winter! It's time now for this week's giveaway, and thank you so much for all of your comments last week. Take a look here and see what everyone says about the "Simple  Life".

It seems we all agree, that there is wisdom to be found in slowing down, returning to some values that seem to be forgotten. Time-crunches, technology (although we still love reading blogs), and electronics have moved in and captured our sewing time!! Not to mention our time with family, friends and just plain quiet. It's a goal that we should not lose focus on. It was very nice to read all the comments, and thank you EVERYONE for taking a moment to relish the thoughts of what a simpler life would look like. Simple life reigns!



This week's giveaway is from the Roswell Mill Collection in the "Reflections of the South" series by Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts. The drawings of the toile are based on actual rendering of a typical cotton mill in the South during the 1800's. The drawings of the toile are done so well that it shows the workings of a mill from the processing of the cotton to spinning the fibers into cotton we use in our quilt making today.


This week's giveaway is kind of a 'collectors' item', because it is a part of history now that won't be back this way again, just like the cotton mills that the collection is named after. Slowing down but not out, Mary Ellen from Little Quilts has a recent release called "Savannah Garden" that will ship into shops in August 2016.

Mary Ellen has closed the retail store, after seventeen years in the brick and mortar store; to spend more time with her family and 5 grandchildren, and now will have more time to design new collections for Henry Glass. She still has the website: www.littlequilts.com, where classic Little Quilts patterns and booklets are available for purchase online.  Partners Alice Berg and Sylvia Johnson have retired. 

For over 30 years, Mary Ellen , Alice and Sylvia, through their company Little Quilts, has been a mainstay in the quilting community, designing patterns and booklets for making small quilts that were not miniature in size. Mary Ellen, Alice and Sylvia have designed for Henry Glass and Co. for 20 years, and authored books for Martingale & Company...one of which "Little Quilts All Through the House" is now an e-book; but can also be ordered along with "Patriotic Little Quilts" on their website www.littlequilts.com. When Mary Ellen teaches and lectures, quilters continue to comment in person and on the website that...."they learned to quilt with the patterns by Little Quilts"; and loved the collections from Little Quilts for Henry Glass fabrics.

In the near future, Mary Ellen plans to spend more time developing her fabric collections for her "Reflections of the South" series with plenty of patterns and projects  in support.

To win this week's giveaway, (and since everyone's comments are so much fun), let's hear if you have a favorite fabric collection or pattern from Little Quilts, that you have enjoyed working with.

Let's hear it! And win this:



Let's Get Quilting - 2016 Edition 'Collector's Item' Giveaway

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Little Quilts


Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts is retiring. She is dynamic and is always on the go so we are sure that she'll always be working on something fun. Mary Ellen says that she is not retiring completely though. She is still going to design fabric and write books. For now she is clearing her inventory and selling models. Follow her journey on her Facebook page as she winds down the last few weeks at the shop.

Mary Ellen, Alice Berg and Sylvia Johnson started designing and writing books in 1986 and opened the retail shop in 1998. They started out selling Little Quilts fabrics but soon branched out into selling reproductions, homespun and batiks. More recently their product line has included red work, wool rug and applique in addition to their original offerings. Mary Ellen's team also put on many classes that inspired quilters and sewers alike.

We want to send best wishes to Mary Ellen, her family and Little Quilts family. Stay tuned to see what Mary Ellen designs for Henry Glass in the future. Visit the Henry Glass website to see her latest collection Roswell Mills and read all about Mary Ellen and Little Quilts.  The following is a video of a Henry Glass Schoolhouse presentation of the Little Quilts collection, Roswell Mills.



- HG

Friday, September 25, 2015

Day 25: Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop



Welcome to day 25 of the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop! Jaftex is the parent company of Henry Glass & Co., Studioe Fabrics and Blank Quilting. We are hosting the blog hop here and will be posting some photographs on the Henry Glass Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook pages too.

We invited over 30 designers, quilt industry friends and bloggers to help us celebrate. Bundles of Henry Glass' Folio Basics, Studioe's Peppered Cottons or Blank's Fusion Illusion were sent to our friends and we asked them to make something special for our blog hop. They did not disappoint! Each day we will reveal the designs on the designers' blogs and today we welcome Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts and Mary Jane Carey of Holly Hill Quilt Designs.

 Mary Ellen Von Holt

Mary Ellen Von Holt is a designer for Henry Glass & Co. and is the owner of Little Quilts. Originally part of a design team that published patterns and authors of books, Mary Ellen and her partners opened a retail store near the historic town of Marietta, Georgia. Located in a restored corn mill building built in 1947, the shop has a feeling of "days gone by." Recently chosen as one of the Top Ten Quilt Shops in the country for 2004 by American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, the store attracts many visitors. Little Quilts fabrics and publications are featured on their popular website for shoppers to enjoy.


Mary Jane Carey

Mary Jane started sewing at a very young age and made much of her own clothing. She loved to work with fabric, colors and design. In 1993, Mary Jane opened The Christmas Shoppe as a means to sell her handcrafted,one-of-a-kind Santas. By 1997, Mary Jane switchedher focus to quilting. This led Mary Jane to a life on the road selling fabrics at quilt shows. In 2008, the Holly Hill Quilt Designs Pattern Company was formed and today Mary Jane designs fabric for Henry Glass & Co. 


___________________________________________

Here is the list of participants in the blog hop. Check in each day to see the special projects that were designed for the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Blog Hop. There will be other giveaways too!

September 1 - Kim Diehl guest posting @ American Patchwork & Quilting
September 2 - Pepper @ Pepper at the Quilt Studio 
September 3 - Anjeanette @ Anjeanette Klinder 
September 4 - Leanne @ The Whole Country Caboodle   
September 5 - Mark @ Mark Lipinski's Blog
September 6 - Heather @ Heather Kojan Quilts  
September 7 - Heather @ Trends and Traditions  
September 7 - Martha @ Wagons West Designs  
September 8 - Linda @ Linda Lum DeBono 
September 9 - Heidi @ Red Letter Quilts 
September 10 - Jill @ Jillily Studios  
September 10 - Dana @ My Lazy Daisy  
September 11 - Penny @ Sew Simple Designs  
September 12 - Ida @ Cowtown Quilts 
September 13 - Liz and Beth @ Lizzie B Cre8ive  
September 14 - Melissa @ Sew Bitter Sweet Designs
September 15 - Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl    
September 16 - Amy @ Kati Cupcake 
September 16 - Barbara @ QuiltSoup2 
September 17 - Erica @ Kitchen Table Quilting 
September 18 - Leona @ Leona's Quilting Adventure 
September 19 - Margot @ The Pattern Basket  
September 20 - Sylvia @ Flying Parrot Quilts   
September 21 - Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts  
September 22 - Kim @ Aurifil Threads  
September 23 - Rebekah @ Don't Call Me Becky   
September 24 - Julie @ The Crafty Quilter 
September 25 - Mary Ellen @ Little Quilts  
September 25 - Mary Jane @ Holly Hill Designs 
September 26 - Daisy @ Ants to Sugar
September 27 - Melissa @ Happy Quilting
September 28 - Janet @ One S1ster
September 29 - Jenny @ Martingale& Co.
September 30 - Teresa @ Third Floor Quilts

Another fun part of the celebrations is the contest. Winners will receive fabric of course but also some great prizes from our quilt industry friends. The first prize winner will win a Janome Skyline S5, the second place winner will win a big box of Aurifil thread and the third prize will win a lovely tin with special goodies from Schmetz Needles.  Jaftex Corp. thanks special thanks to Janome America, Aurifil and Schmetz Needles for their prizes.

Take note. We love our quilt shops and we have included a part of the giveaway where you can help your local shop win too! Here is a peek at the prizes.







Enter the contest below and good luck!

85th Anniversary Giveaway

Thank you for joining us for this celebration.

- HG

Friday, July 10, 2015

Friday Inspiration: Little Quilts


The Little Quilts shop owned by Henry Glass designer Mary Ellen Von Holt has fabulous customers. Muriel from the shop sent over this photograph of a gorgeous Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses quilt. Their favorite block is the block that features fabrics from the Pheasant Run by Little Quilts.


The customer used the toile from Pheasant Run as the background as well. Thank you for sharing this beautiful project Little Quilts.

Have a great weekend.

- HG

Friday, April 24, 2015

We Spy ...



American Dreams in Paducah. Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts reports that busy is hopping in Paducah. She tells us that this panel in particular is very popular at the American Quilters Society show in Paducah. The Pledge Of Allegiance kit is designed by Beth Logan of ArtStuff Ltd. and is part of her American Dreams collection.

Enjoy QuiltWeek and make sure that you visit the Little Quilts booth #1816 if you are there.

- HG

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Are You Ready For Paducah?


The ladies from Little Quilts are! Will any of our fans be in Paducah to see the AQS QuiltWeek? Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts sent in some photographs to show you what it's like to set up a booth from the vantage point of a vendor from start to finish. Make sure that you pop by her booth #1816 to say hi. We spy many Henry Glass & Co. goodies in her booth.

The eagle from the Little Quilts collection A Touch Of Baltimore is featured in the center and Kim Diehl's Heritage Stars is show on the right. The Crosses and Squares quilt seen attached to the bottom of Kim's quilt is a pattern designed by Little Quilts' Sampler Pattern. It is made from Kim's Heritage Hollow fabric. Here's a photograph of the adorable quilt.



The process starts with shipping the boxes to Paducah and then the delivery of the boxes to the booth. Unpacking ensues ...


They are almost finished! Muriel is working so hard.


The ladies sent in a peek at Elisabeth's Garden: A Tale Of A Thousand Threads by Elisabeth Frolet. Congratulations on the first place finish!



If you have any sightings of Henry Glass fabrics, send them to us! We would love to see them. Please forward them here.

Have a great time!

- HG

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Paducah!


The ladies at Little Quilts sent us this lovely photograph of their Heritage Stars quilt designed by Kim Diehl. They are taking the quilt and their Kim Diehl fabrics on the road to Paducah. Will you be going? If you are, stop by to see this quilt in their booth #1816.

- HG

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

"A Flair For Fabric" Blog Hop - Little Quilts



Little Quilts is the guest blogger on the "A Flair For Fabric" Blog Hop hosted by Martingale & Co. Mary Ellen Von Holt, owner and designer of Little Quilts attended Quilt Market in Houston. She was filmed at the Brewer booth and she signed books in the Martingale & Co. booth.


You can read all about Little Quilts and their latest collections on the Henry Glass website and then head over Mary Ellen's blog to see what she and her helpers have going on.


-HG

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Yee Haw!


The Henry Glass crew had a great Quilt Market. Thanks to all who stopped by our booth to see the new outstanding collections that were released last week. We are back in NYC now and there's a lot of work behind the scenes to catch up on.


One of the biggest happenings for Henry Glass was the release of "A Flair For Fabric" and all of the events that helped us launch the book. Thanks to the designers who contributed and to Martingale & Co. for supporting us with the project. Mary Burns [from Martingale], thank you for working so very hard in the past few weeks to bring it all together. Look for the book on its official publication date of November 4, 2014. If you make something from the book, let us know! We can't wait to see all that you make from this book. Meanwhile, you can read a little bit about it on the Martingale blog for quilt shops by checking out this link.


The ladies had a fun and fabulous book signing at the Martingale booth to kick off the launch of the book. From left to right: Linda Lum DeBono, Dana Brooks, Mary Ellen Von Holt, Janet Nesbitt and Leanne Anderson.

See you back here soon for some more updates.

-HG



Thursday, October 16, 2014

Quilt Market - Houston 2014



Howdy! Next week Henry Glass & Co., Inc. will travel to Houston for International Quilt Market. Stop by Booth #608 to see the latest outstanding collections that HG offers to the quilting industry.

Henry Glass is proud to announce the publication of "A Flair For Fabric" [Publisher: Martingale, November 4, 2014]. The book proposal developed in response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. This beautiful collection of projects ranging from quilts to pillows and other small projects features fabric from Henry Glass & Co., Inc. The designers are generously donating their royalties to the Red Cross.


On October 24, 2014 the HG designers will be hosting their own Schoolhouse Presentations to present you with their new product information. Also, all attending designers will be present at the Martingale Schoolhouse for the launch of the book. Please join the Henry Glass designers for these exciting events.


There will be exciting demos by the Henry Glass designers at Booth #608 at 10 a.m. each morning. They will be participating in various book signings to support the launch of "A Flair For Fabric." Drop by Booth #608, take a look at the new collections and pick up your free tote bag. There will be prize drawings for fabulous bundles of Henry Glass fabric. Just attend any demo to receive an entry ticket for the drawing. Tote bags available while supplies last and only one entry per person, per demo.

Make sure you attend the book signings at the Henry Glass booth as well as at the Martingale and Brewer Distributor's booths. See details below.


See you soon!

-HG












Thursday, September 11, 2014

It's Fall Y'all



Fall is a busy season for quilt shows and shop hops. Are planning on attending any this fall? Little Quilts Shop  sent us an update. Their shop is decked out for the fall season. Today is the start of the "Sweet Home Marietta Shop Hop." Their theme is "Halloween Treats" and the hop features a haunting tour of three of Marietta's best quilt shops. Little Quilts has gone all out decorating the shop and they are expecting a huge crowd for the next three days. They have many spellbinding quilts on display including fun towel and pillowcase kits featuring "Happy Hauntings" fabric by Gail Green for Henry Glass.


Meanwhile, we have updated our giveaway policy. Please read here. Thank you to those who have sent in photographs of your finished "Simple Whatnots" projects. It has been fun to see them. Keep sending them in.


-HG

Monday, August 18, 2014

So Pheasantly Pretty!


Little Quilts sent us this photograph of a gorgeous block that they stitched up using their "Pheasant Run" and a note. Enjoy! It is a gorgeous block.

"We’re doing a Lucy Boston “Patchwork of the Crosses” Blog Along on the Little Quilts blog.  Posts appear every Thursday.  I post tutorials on English Paper Piecing, fussy cutting, history of Lucy Boston, information about the Manor house she lived in, and, of course, the blocks I’m making.  One of my favorite blocks, see picture attached, is the block I’m featuring tomorrow which was made with “Pheasant Run” fabric line.  Gorgeous!  Here’s a link to our Blog Along if you’re allowed to link people back to our blog."

-hg








Friday, June 20, 2014

National Quilting In Public Day & Giveaway Too


GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.

Celebrate National Quilting in Public Day this Saturday June 21, 2014. It’s the perfect time to take some time for yourself and perhaps gather a few sewing projects and stitch, hand quilt, or bind one of your projects. Take it to the park, or the beach, and enjoy yourself. 

The quilters at Little Quilts love making ‘little quilts’ because they are fun and easy to work on, as you are working on your larger full size quilts. Mary Ellen’s antique doll quilt collection is quite lovely as you can see in the photograph above. We hope that the setting of the doll with an antique doll bed, toys and her vintage Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls will inspire you to head outside to play and to work on a sewing project while you are enjoying the park or sitting by the pool.

Interesting tidbit:  When Mary Ellen purchased the doll on the bed, the tag on the doll said it was found in the attic of the home in Atlanta, GA, where the movie “Driving Miss Daisy” was made.

Mary Ellen is excited to share some news with us. She is working on the Little Quilts Sewciety. Each month will feature a darling block that can be made into a little quilt. The postcard photograph above is a teaser for what is to come. We can't wait to see this darling little club. Make sure that you follow this blog or like us on Facebook to get the latest Henry Glass news. We'll let you know as soon as the club is released.

To celebrate, we're going to have a giveaway. Post a comment here and Facebook [two chances to win!] about your favorite doll you played with or if you ever had a quilt for your doll, we’ll make a random selection for two prizes. We will send the first winner some Little Quilt patterns and six fat 1/4ths. The second winner will receive a bundle of fat quarters of fabric. [Fabric is our choice. No substitutions.] This giveaway is not related or endorsed by Facebook in any way.

Post your comment by Monday June 23 and we’ll draw the names of the two lucky winners!

Have a great weekend.
-hg



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Little Quilts' Inspiration


We love to see how our fabric is used by our wonderful customers! The ladies at the Little Quilts shop sent over this photo of one of their customers, Bobbie. She visited the shop with her service dog to show off her quilt. We love it. Bobbie made the quilt using Little Darlings fabric by Little Quilts. She makes quilts and donates them to a program called "Baby Love" at the Family Resource Center & Health Department in Bryson City, NC. What a great gift for a struggling family. Quilts sure do make the best comforters. 

Do you make quilts and donate them for a good cause?



Get ready for a mini series by Little Quilts. They will be showing off some work using their most line "A Touch Of Baltimore." The collection will hit the store shelves in August. Make sure that your local shop will stock the line so that you can make your very own Baltimore Album. Little Quilts designed an entire Baltimore Album quilt [and other designs] using "A Touch Of Baltimore" for you to download for free on the Henry Glass website. Click here to see the line and the free patterns.

-hg

Thursday, June 12, 2014

A Touch Of Baltimore



Little Quilts' new collection, "A Touch Of Baltimore", is the latest addition to the "A Reflection of the South Collection" and will be available in August. The ladies just received some strike offs [large sample pieces that are printed to test the production methods and to make changes if necessary] of the fabric and sent along some wonderful photographs that document the process from receiving these fabrics to stitching a block.




Here are a few photographs from Little Quilts' Schoolhouse Presentation at International Quilt Market recently in Pittsburgh.



Mary Ellen Von Holt from Little Quilts talked about the collection and then she had Greg Fortunoff from Henry Glass Fabrics select a name for a giveaway at the Schoolhouse Presentation.


This is a quilt that is pieced from the panels in the collection. The eagle center square and the surrounding floral pieces are all part of the panels from the "A Touch Of Baltimore" collection.


Little Quilts explains the design considerations for the "A Touch of Baltimore" collection below.



Little Quilts wanted to demonstrate some of the preparation and process that they go through to stitch up a block from the quilt. The drawing of the appliqué is drawn onto the vinyl overlay in preparation to begin stitching the block. You can download this free pattern from the Henry Glass Fabrics website.



Here the ladies show off the strike offs, the large pieces that are printed to test the production methods, that are going to be used for this particular block.


Next, the block is coming along rather nicely. Some of the pieces are fused to the background of the appliqué block and it's looking beautiful. Finally, the photograph at the top of the post shows more progress on the block.


 Do you have any appliqué tips for hand or machine techniques that you can share with us?

-hg




Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Quilt Market Spring 2014: Quilt Something Beautiful


After months of planning, the Henry Glass crew was ready to set up our booth for the International Quilt Market in Pittsburgh recently. A lot of work goes into preparing the booth and then there's a lot of hard work on the days of setting it up.


Booth designer [and also fabric/quilt designer] Jill Finley of Jillily Studios did a wonderful job designing the booth and the tote bags for Henry Glass. The theme for our booth was "Quilt Something Beautiful." 




Mary Ellen Von Holt of Little Quilts helped us out by setting up the sign for the Henry Glass booth and hanging the beautiful Folio quilt. This lovely quilt is made from fabric that showcases the Folio collection. These ladies have serious handy dandy tool talent.



Jill pre-made the flowers using prints from the Henry Glass market releases to dress up the entire booth.



This special corner hosted the designers as they presented their demos in the Henry Glass booth throughout the show.









Come back for more International Quilt Market news!

-hg