Debbie's Recipe Box: Stuffed Pasta Shells

Mindy of FQS shared this little recipe for those Italian nights when you want something simple but different than your run-of-the-mill pasta. Rich and baked with lots of different flavors...yum!! Thanks Mindy!

Click on the recipe for a printable version!

Oh-Cherry-Oh by Me & My Sister Designs

Show of hands--who's ready for spring?? Without a doubt, this new line by Me & My Sister Designs, Oh-Cherry-Oh!, will give you the dose of color you've been missing that will last you through the year. That's probably why the name has an exclamation mark ;) Fat Quarter Shop has all the cuts, bundles, and mini-bundles, and kits to boot, including one named Emma... Our beloved Barb & Mary are back with us today to talk about their new collection and patterns!

Hi Everyone!

We are so excited to be “Jabbering” again!

Our newest collection of cherry infused prints reflects our bright and whimsical style and may make you crave something good to eat that's full of cherries!

The inspiration for this group started with a shopping trip. You know, one of those where you are not looking for anything in particular, and something wonderful just shows up! Well, we found a wonderful red and turquoise apron. It sounds like an unlikely color combination but it had possibilities.

We immediately started to brighten up the color scheme and decided to add some additional colors along with cherries. A few cherries turned into a lot of cherries, and before we knew what happened, most of the prints in this group were covered in cherries! (Oops :)!)

All our fabrics groups have a panel, and there is always a free project using that panel on our website. This time the panel contains individual cherry inspired handkerchiefs!
The free panel project will give you step-by-step instructions on how to make our simple and very cute Cherry Tablecloth.

The patterns that we have designed to accompany this group all have Moda precuts in mind, including the newest Turnovers and Honeybuns.

In fact our Cherry Turnover pattern is so easy to sew using Turnovers and Charm Packs--that you can just sit and start sewing! You will not need your rotary cutter until you trim your blocks!

Simply Sweet uses a Honeybun and a Jellyroll, Center Of Attention uses a Layer Cake and a Honeybun, and Spin Cycle uses a Honeybun!

We had a bunch of fun designing all these sweet prints with cherries in mind!

Hope you like cherries!

Barb and Mary
Me and My Sister Designs

Atelier Akiko by Lecien Fabrics

This has been an easy collection to love, Atelier & Akiko by Lecien Fabrics. I looked up the title of the collection, and it may refer to Akiko's studio...who Akiko is, I have no clue, but this collection is pure loveliness! Bright pinks, purples and teals balanced by warm browns, grays on ecru, decorated with French-inspired prints of Eiffel Towers and chapels, wine glasses and pastries, and even cute scrawled phrases -- "Bonjour!" As if drawn by a girl dreaming of Paris. Dots and stripes and bows finish off the line. We've invited Elizabeth Scott of Late Bloomer Quilts to help us describe the line, since she used it in her sweet pattern, Weekend in Paris. Alsoooo, she has a little giveaway of fabric going on at her blog... and don't we like giveaways?

I think we can all agree that there are few things more fun than seeing new fabric! I have always loved Lecien's offerings -- especially their pretty florals. When I was shown the Atelier Akiko collection, it was love at first sight.

The panel is so cute -- I don't know which square is my favorite -- the Eiffel Tower, maybe? Or the basket?

The colors are dreamy as well! I knew I'd have to design a quilt for it, and that's how Weekend in Paris came about. It combines the Atelier Akiko panel with a super simple block made with some of my favorite prints. I had to finish it off with that wonderful sateen dot with the little bows. I think it's one of my favorite quilts and I hope you enjoy it, too!

Elizabeth Scott
Late Bloomer Quilts
The Late Bloomer Blog

Teatime with Holly Holderman

Holly Holderman has brought the antiqued feel of tea-staining back into our store with her newest line, Teatime Floral for LakeHouse Dry Goods! In cream, rose, and misty blue, it is muted, sophisticated, and fanciful with swirling florals, elegant butterflies, and traditional dots, stripes and checks that go with anything. Holly writes on how Teatime came to be, and if you are a LakeHouse enthusiast, we also have the kit for her cute girlish quilt design, Rosy Checks, in the April issue of McCall's Quilting! Also also, Holly has a generous giveaway! Details below :)

My new Teatime Floral collection of fabrics that is just out was inspired by my love of old fabrics, and tea-stained textiles in particular...

I’m just crazy for the warmth that tea staining gives fabrics and quilts. And practically speaking, they are perfect for homes with kids and animals who have free run of the furniture. Paton and I share our homes with three cats and two dogs, so I love it when my furniture and quilts stay fresh looking with very little care.

After collecting hundreds of tea stained fabrics (both old and new) from shops and flea markets in Paris and London, I realized that while I loved the nostalgic feeling that they gave me, they were for the most part just too dark for my own personal tastes and needs. My tiny New York City apartment would look even smaller if the furniture and accessories were dark, and Paton's mostly wood paneled lake house is already too dark for my tastes and needed to be lightened up. So last year, after the success of the La Belle Rose collection in 2007, I set off on a mission to create my own version of a traditional tea stain collection of fabrics.

At the local hardware store, I bought an extra large enameled lobster pot, rubber gloves and some long handled plastic spoons. First I tried dying with several types of teas (most of them gave off funny colors), then I used a bunch of different liquid Rit dyes, which I mixed in a teaspoon full at a time (it’s strong stuff). After weeks of making potions in the basement, and then drying and ironing my new “over-dipped” samples, I realized that my new swatches coordinated beautifully with one of our best selling fabrics "3035 Champagne Frosted Dots". It was the perfect background for my new Teatime color palette. All of the other colors in the collection followed suit, as I had my factory modify my favorite colors (called “marrying the colors”) by adding a tea-like tint to all of my colors.

Hope that you too will love the results as much as I do, as it was a labor of love for me. Unfortunately I have found that most of the pictures that I have taken of the new Teatime fabrics haven’t done them any justice...the colors are a little more subtle than usual...and my camera and scanner keep doing odd things to the colors.

I have uploaded some larger pictures up to the new Teatime Floral Projects page of our site, to show you how they look together. You can get to them via the LakeHouse website, by clicking on the word Projects on our homepage, or by clicking the "H" on my blog’s sidebar. You will also be able to see the same Teatime Floral project page with free pattern fronts for all of our new projects, and 5 new free quilt patterns we’ve recently added.

We’ll be adding new things to the Teatime Floral collection for spring market, and I’ll be blogging about the new additions just as soon as soon as they look good.

Meantime, I hope you’ll come by and see us at HOLLYBLOG soon. Every tenth commenter will receive a free Teatime Floral fabric gift. We’ll have up to ten gifts to give away. Just make sure that your post is linked to your email address so that we can contact you for your mailing information.

More soon,

H2
Holly Holderman
LakeHouse Dry Goods
HOLLYBLOG

Free Quilt Pattern -- What Do You See?

Yay! We are so excited to debut our first original Fat Quarter Shop pattern, What Do You See? designed by our own Debbie Taylor!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear fabric, inspired by Eric Carle's timeless children's book for Andover Fabrics, decorates this whimsical little panel quilt that finishes at 44 3/4" x 55". Perfectly sized for little ones learning to read, and tons of little critters for them to enjoy.

Simple enough for beginners, everyone can enjoy making this illustrated gem. The pattern is available for free at our Free Quilt Patterns Page and the kit and backing is available for purchase exclusively at Fat Quarter Shop!

Let us know what you think! TGIF!

Dow Jones Giveaway Winner

Hello all! Many of you commented on how today's prize, the Dow Jones Quilt Kit (from a Schnibbles pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. and Tradition from Moda), sums up the situation these days. At least today, the Dow Jones is someone's good news -- here's our winner for the Quilt Kit giveaway!

Kathy A. said...
WOW!! Glad to know that others are as addicted to charm pack quilts as I am. I buy stacks of charms having no clue what they will eventually turn into. So hard to stop once the wheels start turning...cranked out six projects in two weeks with charms!! Dow Jones looks like a fun project to tackle...thanks for the inspiration to keep stichin'!

Congratulations, Kathy A.! Please e-mail Jocelyn to claim your prize!

New Patterns from Miss Rosie's!

The vivacious Carrie Nelson is back with us on the Jolly Jabber to jabber about her newest Schnibbles patterns for Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.! They are so awesome, they made our kit list. And WOOHOO--post a comment on this entry and you'll be entered to win a Dow Jones Quilt Kit (that would be the quilt you see to the left right there)! Winner will be announced on Wednesday, *1/20!

Happy New Year, Jolly Jabberettes!

Can you believe it’s already the middle of January? Yikes! I think this means I’m already behind schedule for Spring Market… especially since I just finished packing and shipping the new Fall patterns! At least the new Schnibbles are done!

I have to tell you about how the Schnibbles came into being because you know the lady responsible, Moda Lissa. Until I started doing these about two years ago, I had only made three or four small quilts. And two of those were small because I ran out of fabric and couldn’t make it bigger! But I kept getting pestered by someone to make something with charm packs. (I know you all think she’s a very nice lady, but really, she’s kind of a pest about things.) Anyway, she kept asking if I was going to make something with charm packs. She even suggested re-doing one of my larger quilts with charm squares which didn’t make any sense at all.

I mean, really, that would take 10 or 12 charm packs… fat quarters would be so much more efficient. Thinking small wasn’t part of my mind-set yet, but since I really wanted to get Lissa to stop mentioning it, I started racking my brain to come up with ideas for charm square quilts. A few days – and a couple of stripped gears – later, I sat down to make two quilts. Two. T-W-O. A week later, I had made six quilts and I couldn’t stop. After making two more quilts, I had to put my new playthings away! Don’t tell anyone – especially you-know-who – but these little quilts have become my favorite things to make.

These new Schnibbles are some of my favorites as all eight of the patterns will work with any charm pack! I would love to make Open Season with Twiggy, Nouveau or Love is in the Air. And I almost made State Fair using Fig & Plum, and Dow Jones was almost a Gypsy (Rose).

As for what’s going on in my workroom, I’m finally cutting up my Aviary fabric! I had an idea for this fabric as soon as I saw it, then I changed my mind… a couple of times. It was the dark pink fabric that kept messing me up. I love it but I want the rest to be scrappy and random and pretty and soft and not too fussy looking. After figuring what I needed for everything, I made some cutting notes for the prints and I should be able to finish cutting this out by next week. I’ve made my cutting notes for the prints and I made these this morning…I’m also pulling fabric for a scrap quilt that will be a pattern for Spring Market… if I like the way it turns out, of course. The pink fabric at the top is from Civil War Crossings and will be the background ~ I’m using 12-gazillion yards of it for my quilt. Okay, not really, I think I’m going to need 5 ¼ yards. Everything else is a “dark” and those are going to be scraps – lots and lots of scraps. The fabrics in the picture are some of what will go in the quilt. I need 2” wide strips, so I’ll cut at least 1 strip from each of these fabrics.And just the other day, I ordered these Bella Solids from the Fat Quarter Shop for a new quilt. A very long time ago, when I was first starting to quilt, I made several quilts using all solid fabrics and I’ve been itching to do one again. The only piece missing is the red border. What do you think so far?

Rosie sends wags and sloppy kisses!
Carrie Nelson
La Vie En Rosie
Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

Something New Giveaway Winners

Thanks for all the feedback!!

As many of you commented, there are several bugs still being worked out on the new website. If you have had any trouble with the shopping cart -- for instance, your items are not saved in the cart when you leave and return to the site -- or anything else unusual, please e-mail Kimberly about the issue you are having.

Also, we're still adding more themes and functions to the site, so keep your eyes peeled!

Now, for our three winners! The random numbers of luck fell upon:

jlk said...
I love the new look! As soon as I saw it, I thought it was a perfect fit for my favorite fabric webshop!

Jennifer said...
I also saw the new site before reading the post and I love it! It looks so fresh. I wouldn't have thought it possible to improve on the site, but you've done it! Good job!

SarahB said...
Love the site makeover! It's so easy to navigate and find just what I must have!

And our prizes are a Hartfield Charming Jelly Cake, a Nature's Chorus Charming Jelly Cake, and a Harmony Charming Jelly Cake! Email Jocelyn to claim your prize!

TGIF, and have a great weekend!

Sandy Gervais on Zippity Doo Dah

No need for a double take -- Sandy Gervais is back with us again with her SECOND line just out, the celebratory Zippity Doo Dah! (Wonderful for you Sandy G. fanatics out there ;)) Shifting gears to that time-honored American holiday, she's transformed the usual Americana tones of deep red, deep navy, and antiqued white with her pop of contemporary -- fun florals, trailing stars, scattered jacks, and gusts of confetti, with the added zing of teal! Make sure to leave a comment before we announce our giveaway winner tomorrow!

Zippity Doo Dah! I love how that rolls off your tongue. This is the name of my “Americana” line for 2009. Although the panel shouts America, the rest of the fabrics are great no-nothing prints, plaids, stripes and polka dots in a color palette of red, cream, navy, teal, and khaki for anytime of the year.

When our kids were little - they are now 29 and 27 - we would always celebrate the 4th of July in a big way. Families would gather at Phil and JoAnn’s farm, which happened to have a man-made pond complete with a homemade pontoon boat.

The kids could run wild – and that they did. They swam, fished, pushed each other off inner tubes, and paddled around in the pontoon boat. The adults just pulled up a lawn chair on the beach and relaxed all day constantly eating the various potluck picnic items that everyone brought, stopping only occasionally to slather on some sunscreen.

Joann always had something for the kids – 3-D sunglasses to make the fireworks even more awesome, snap bracelets (remember these?) in red, white, and blue. There were tons and tons of sparklers, water balloons, and a never ending supply of ingredients to make S’mores.

After a big day of frolicking by the pond we would have a huge fireworks show. Our friend Eddie was always in charge of setting off the fireworks. We thought he was the best choice because he was one of Algona’s volunteer fire fighters. Don’t really know why that mattered as we were in the country with no fire truck, no fire hose, or fire hydrant??? But, we felt safest with him. In the many years that we celebrated we never had a mishap.

After the fireworks we would drag our tired butts home. Everyone always slept the best on that night – all that fresh air and activity made everyone tired.

We no longer celebrate in such a big way. The kids have grown, Phil has passed on and JoAnn has moved away. Maybe someday in the future, when we have grandchildren, we will celebrate in a big way once again. I’m looking forward to that time of my life, although I do not think it is in the near future.

It is not exactly picnic weather here today. We are having a blizzard. No, not the kind that you buy at your local Dairy Queen, but the kind that has 25° below zero temperatures with 50 mile an hour winds. It is snowing sideways, and you cannot see across the street. This is a good day to hunker down and get some quilting done.

If you start now, you can have all the projects completed by the time warm weather rolls around. I have designed 8 patterns for you to stitch up using this line of fabric. There is a pattern for the panel and each of the pre-cuts. You can buy all of these patterns and kits right here at Fat Quarter Shop. Order now and get your stitching done early.

From My Heart,
Sandy Gervais

P.S. I forgot to mention! – check out the vinyl coated cloth to use for picnic cloths, rain coats, tote bags or anything else that you might want to create.

Something New with a Giveaway

Looks like a few people have caught on to the Something New mentioned in our last post! It wasn’t a puppy or a kitten as some guessed (that was a bit out of the blue??), and any other day it probably would have been a new BOM.

We are very excited to show you Fat Quarter Shop’s new look! As much as we enjoyed our old website, it was getting up there in web years. We hope that this fresh look will make your experience even better than before. Read on for a little tour, and comment to enter our giveaway!

Besides being prettier, we’ve added a ton of new features to make shopping even easier. The pages now load faster, and we’ve got these nifty dropdown menus at the top that automatically get you to the collection you're looking for.
We've also added a Shop by Theme section. Wanting something Americana, or is your friend having a new Baby? Or maybe you're just Hungry.

On the bottom of the home page, you can easily see our newest patterns, updated daily.

Click on a fabric swatch, and the details now include a Collection Description and other helpful information, like the scale of the fabric. It also shows Related Departments for the product so you can see where else it is found on the site.

And you'll love this new page! It's our brand new Fat Quarter Shop Guide & Glossary. The Guide to Specialty Cuts showcases the pre-cut fabrics we carry and describes the size, number of pieces, common uses, and even other similar cuts! No more confusion about whether this is a fabric shop or a bakery ;) There's also a Glossary of Quilting & Quilting Fabric for when you come across an unfamiliar term while shopping.

The Free Quilt Pattern Page is still there and constantly updated with free patterns from all our manufacturers.

Finally, take a moment to get to know the staff.

We are not nearly done, folks... keep coming back to see what else we're adding!

And now, the giveaway... we've got a mystery prize! Just give us some feedback (questions? comments? criticism? lavish love? :P) and comment on this post and you're automatically entered! We'll announce the winner on Friday, 1/16/09!

Hello Betty and Something New...

We would like to welcome a "newcomer" to Fat Quarter Shop... Hello Betty! (Sure, wave if you want. Just imagine someone waving back!)

Ok, so it's not really a person so much as a...fabric line from Moda by Chloe's Closet. But it's still full of personality, and we couldn't let Miss Betty slip by unnoticed.

Hello Betty is a rather large line of sixty (count 'em, 6-0!) Retro and 1930s-inspired prints, reminiscent of diners, ice cream trucks, and the Jitterbug. The colors range from bright pink, teal, mint, and cornflower blue to rusty oranges, blacks, browns, and red. The prints have everything, from ditsies to dots, so you're covered, whatever you need.

If you're hesitant about mixing the two eras, they are also available in separate Retro and 1930s Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Honey Buns, and Fat Quarter Bundles. (Haven't tried a Honey Bun yet? Try one, they're cute!)

Need ideas for Hello Betty projects?

Here's a great classic halter apron called Daily Spice from Heather Bailey. Always flattering and in style, and it screams retro!
And hmm...doesn't that fabric in Thimble Blossoms Dainty table runner pattern look awfully familiar? ;-) Thanks for making it easy, Camille!


Check out Hello Betty, and let us know what you do with it! Better yet, SHOW us!

I can't help but be reminded of a certain someone when I look at these fabrics. I can hear him now:

"Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"
And finally finally finally! We've got something else that is new around here, and we can't wait to show you what it is!!! (Once again, it's not a person.) Anyone care to guess what it is??

Candy Kisses by Sandy Gervais

Goodbye 2008, hello 2009! We hope you all had a cozy New Year, and now our next holiday of Love is approaching. Sandy Gervais has just the right new line, called Candy Kisses, to get us in the mood! Cute hearts, candies, dots, stripes and floral berries adorn this line in true reds, bright pinks, and light creams, accompanied by two panels. We've got it in Charm Packs, Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, Kits, and Charming Jelly Cakes! What do you fancy Candy Kisses will inspire you to make?

As a child Valentine’s Day was always a favorite holiday of mine. Not because I received valentines with a stick of gum inside, but because I loved making the valentines and “The Box”. This was typically made from an old shoebox. I would first cover it with construction paper. I would then cut out as many construction paper hearts, in all shapes and sizes, as I could possibly fit on the box. Lastly, a slit was made on the top of the box for receiving the Valentines.

Back in my day we did not have “scrapbooking” stores that had endless amounts of papers, doodads, glitters, stamps, markers, punches, etc. We were pretty much limited to red, pink and white construction paper, a pair of scissors and that awful Elmer’s school paste. Remember this? It came in a jar with a stiff plastic wand, for spreading the pasty white stuff. Remember how you usually ended up just spreading it around with your fingers?

Every year I also made Valentine people. They too where cut from construction paper with their head/body (it was all one) being a big heart and their legs and arms skinny strips of construction paper accordion folded and attached to the head/body with gold brads. Eyes and a big smile where added with crayons. I usually added a big construction bow at the “imaginary” neck. Do you suppose kids these days even make these characters? – I’m sure not. Can they even take Valentines to school anymore? – Probably not.

My Valentine’s line of fabric is always a relatively easy line for me to design. The colors and motifs are pretty much predetermined – mostly hearts of reds, pinks, and creams. Although this line has plenty of hearts it also features some great no-nothing prints, dots and stripes that can be used any time of the year.

The popularity of Moda’s pre-cuts, aka Charm Packs™ Jelly Rolls™, Layer Cakes™, Honey Buns™ and Turnovers™, made me think of cakes and cupcakes. Large heart-shaped boxes filled with candy are also a big part of Valentine’s Day. With these ingredients I had the beginnings of the panel, which is the first part of the fabric line that I paint, followed by the painting of the companion prints and stripes.

I have designed a pattern for the panel and one for each of the Moda pre-cuts. Using the pre-cuts you can whip up all of these projects in very little time. (Almost like using a cake mix.) My favorite is the pattern using the Charm Pack™ called This Takes the Cake. This pattern features a cake with rick-rack for the filling. The rick rack is included in the pattern. You can purchase this pattern and the kit to make it here at Fat Quarter Shop as well as other pre-cuts and any yardage your heart desires.

I hope you enjoy making the projects using this fabric as much as I enjoyed designing the fabric.

Now I must go. I suddenly have a craving for cake.

From My Heart,
Sandy Gervais
Pieces From My Heart

P.S. Moda will be introducing a new pre-cut this coming spring. They will be called Dessert Rolls™ and consist of ten 5” x WOF strips. Look for these in my Christmas line Crazy Eight due out in May 2009.

Vicky's Tale of Good Cheer

There is always that one dear friend in life who always fills you with warmth and love every time you meet. Reading this piece about Vicky McGee's friend Jane made me think of mine, and for that I'm thankful! Doesn't Jane just look like a lot of fun?? Enjoy this last tale of Good Cheer for FQS's Good Cheer Giveaway '08!

VICKY'S TALE OF GOOD CHEER

I’m thankful for a lot of things this year, but especially for my friend, Jane Vaughn. Jane is an awesome lady. We have a lot of fun together going on adventures. Because I’m “geographically challenged,” she has become a great co-pilot. Jane can figure out when I’m driving in the wrong direction, and knows where all the legal U-turns are located! I dare say there’s a single freeway in Southern California that we haven’t been lost on at one time or another!

Jane has been such an inspiration to me on quilting things. She has the most wonderful sense of color, knows how to help me out of quilty pickles, and isn’t afraid to tell me very diplomatically that what I’m making is ugly. We are total opposites on the kind of fabric we like, but she’s introduced brights into my life, and I actually catch her buying florals every now and again. And she always finds the neatest notions!

Jane has hauled me to the emergency room, and then made me laugh out loud with her take on the vomit bag! She’s smuggled food into the hospital when I swore I was starving. She listened to my drug-induced babbling about Yellow Brick Road patterns, and never mentioned it once - except to everyone we know! LOL!

We have a gift bag that has been passed back and forth between us for a few years now. Jane’s birthday is Christmas week, and then she’ll have custody of it for a few months. Such a silly little thing, but we always smile when the bag comes out!

Jane and her sweet DH are such wonderful folks. I am so thankful that they are my friends. I love you, Jane!

Vicky McGee
L.A. Quilter

Sally's Tale of Good Cheer

How many times have you opened up the paper and felt so moved, you had to act? (Or, if you're like me, you watch Good Morning America and fight back tears every morning)! This is Sally's story of good cheer, being thankful for the ability to give to people she has never even met.

SALLY'S TALE OF GOOD CHEER

I am thankful for the opportunity to help a family of ten -- a grandmother, uncle, mom, dad and six children who have fallen on hard times. The family was featured on a news segment involving what the economy has done to people who have lost their jobs but are willing and ready to work.

I contacted the journalist, who called me from New York and gave me the particulars. I am no longer working but could surely share what I had, and our five children and four grandbabies were taken care of by Fall for Christmas. What better way to share than to give the same to those who would not see presents under their tree.

The dad has been out of work for many months, and unemployment just covers the mortgage. I was told that they fill the kids up on rice and noodles. The youngest is just six weeks old. They were featured in the quick clip -- five blue-eyed giggly blondes and the newborn.

I had inquired about their needs, and they included formula, hats, mittens and coats! No toys?! I will surely be blessed over and over by the opportunity to share rather than receive, and if I were a little mouse I would crouch in the corner, under their tree, to see that just a small token of friendship went a very long way!

Merry Christmas and thank you for this opportunity,
Sally Caldwell