We are so excited to show off all our new and upcoming collections that a sneak peek from our bustling sample room is definitely in order. Stay tuned for a new Organic collection, corduroys, groups from Hoodie, Monica Lee, Samarra Khaja and Wendy Bentley as well as several new TT designers, Norman Rockwell prints, Tonga Batiks (metallic Tongas too!), a 51-color Soho Solids line with PFD coming soon, plenty of new novelties, and much, much more! See you in Kansas City!

If a homemade brunch is on your agenda, try one of the festive recipes featured this week in Real Simple, Martha Stewart, or All Recipes. We’re particularly excited to try the Chocolate Hazelnut and Banana Crepes. They look so divine, Mother’s Day might have to be rescheduled to every Sunday!

And why shouldn’t it be? Moms deserve to be honored 365 days a year. Show her how much you care with a handmade token of your appreciation. Lap quilts, pillows, table runners and tote bags always make great gifts, and you can sew them together in a snap. Head over to our Free Patterns or More Quilts page for pattern suggestions. Be sure to check out the Border Print Place Mats and Beautiful Journey Quilt and Pillows. Karen Montgomery’s Easy Striped Table Runner is a classic, perfect for use with our many 11″ stripe prints!

Here are some fabrics we think would be perfect for the occasion, whether you’re making place settings for brunch or sewing up a special one-of-a-kind treasure that will bring mom joy for years to come. Click each one to view the full size image on our website. Happy Mother’s Day!

knit-c7587-black / Knitting Sheep

appletree-c8897-cream / Apple Pie Recipes

fun-cm9537-aqua / Fruity Cocktails

fun-c7429-black / Chicken Soup Recipes

cat-c8141-wine / Scaredy Cats

jt-c8443-ivory-multi / Beautiful Journey by Wing and a Prayer

shimmer-cm9295-turquoise / Shimmer Butterflies 11" Stripe

"Feathers in the Wind" by Caryl Bryer Fallert of Paducah, KY

"The Garden" by Helia Ricci of Sunrise, FL

"Unconventional Sue" by Cindy Williams of Olympia, WA

"Autumn Splendor" by the Prairie Quilt Guild of Sedgwick, KS

"Jack" by Sandy Curran of Newport News, VA

"My Tribute to the Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts Show" by Thelma Childers of Charleston, IL (That show took place here in NY last year, and we remember it fondly. What a fantastic homage!)

"Pineapple Trio" by Margaret Teruya of Kaneohe, HI

"Hot Africa" by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga of Kollumerzwaag, Friesland, The Netherlands

"Harmony Within" by Sue McCarty of Roy, UT

"Specimen" by Barbara Ann McCraw of Denton, TX

"Zestful Zinnias" by Sandra C. Werlich of Carbondale, IL. Our Tonga-B7800-Lollipop was used for the border!

"Bounty" by Mark L. Sherman of Coral Springs, FL (Inspired by the Lady with the Fruit lithograph by Alfonse Maria Mucha, 1897)

"Radiance" by Susan Stewart of Pittsburg, KS

"Swirling Parasols" by Christine Clark of Eufaula, OK

"Vitamin Quilt" by Hiromi Suzuki of Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

"Georgia on my Mind" by Nancy S. Brown of Oakland, CA

"Bolero 21609" by Isako Wada of Kurokaway, Miyagi, Japan

Isako Wada posing with her breathtaking creation, made entirely of thousands of tiny hexagons. It took five years to make!

Detail of Isako Wada's "Bolero 21609"

Hope your weekend is full of fun and fabric!

Now that the application period for Stitch Star has ended, we are brimming with excitement for what lies ahead!

How is your submission coming along? Have you just started? Just finished? Still brainstorming? We want to know!

Send your photos (or a link to them) to StitchStar@ttfabrics.com. Your work-in-progress could end up on our Stitch Star display board at Quilt Market later this month! We want to show off everything – your blocks, sketches, work room, design wall, fabric piles, and all that goes with them.

Include your postal address in the email, because we’re giving a lil’ bundle of goodies to the first ten people who submit their pictures!

Remember, your finished entries must be postmarked by June 1 and received no later than June 14.

Good luck to all our contestants. We can’t wait to see your beautiful creations!

Click to email us photos of your work-in-progress!

We are pleased to help kick off Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Vol. 5 Blog Tour! Here’s a peek at some of the fun you’ll find when you dive into your copy, on newsstands May 8.

In addition, leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of 100 Blocks Vol. 5! More prizes will be drawn at the end of the tour, so keep an eye on QM’s Quilty Pleasures blog this week for your chance to win big.

Tonga Batiks featured in Eileen Fowler's Whoopsy Daisy Block

Carol Hubacek combined two different blocks and used a border stripe for the sashing and border to make this elegant quilt. Fabric: Anabelle Orchard. Blocks: Five of Diamonds, #445 designed by Jina Barney and Diamond Eyes, #459 designed by Monique Dillard.

100 Blocks, 25 Winners Contest - Jennifer Eustler's Wedding Chapel Windows Quilt featuring Mosaic fabrics

This Wedding Chapel Windows quilt showcases nine blocks found within the issue, sewn up using our Mosaic collection. From May 10 to July 6, submit entries online to Quiltmaker.com identifying each of the blocks. Twenty-five winners will be selected to take home four blocks featured in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Vol. 5!

Remember to leave one comment below for your chance to win a free copy of 100 Blocks Vol. 5! A winner will be selected at random and announced this Friday, May 4th. Good luck!

For staff member Hayden, sewing is a new hobby obsession. First there was an introductory course at SewNolita in March. Then, a well-timed birthday gift of a Janome Magnolia sewing machine was followed by a steady stream of new fabric collections arriving in preparation for Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City. It was the perfect formula: a fabric addict is born!

The addict’s first quilt was a small patchwork piece made of our Tonga Creamsicle batik collection. For her second, she decided to take things one step further: why not make some half square triangles before sewing the squares together? The idea was just starting to bubble up inside her head when the occasion presented itself.

Hayden’s boyfriend’s mother, Rosa, had a birthday coming up. Jorge (aforementioned boyfriend) even suggested that it be a collaboration between them, despite the fact that he’d never touched a sewing machine before in his life. First, the easy part – they selected the new Salt and Pepper Tonga Batiks for light and dark contrast. Then, after a decent amount of seam ripping, a couple of rotary cutter mishaps (no injuries, thankfully) and a hefty dose of beginner’s luck, the quilt was complete.

Rosa loved it, and being the generous soul that she is, she’s even letting us take it to Quilt Market, exclaiming “I want my quilt to be famous!”

We’ll have this quilt on display in our booth (#3000), along with a free pattern Hayden wrote to go along with it. Despite her and Jorge’s process involving “cutting a bunch of half square triangles and tossing them around like madmen” she was able to piece together the process fairly accurately – or so she hopes! Next time, notes will be recorded diligently before the quilt is complete.

Happy Birthday Rosa! From left to right: Jorge, Rosa, Hayden

The inscription: "Made with love for Rosa Cubas - Hayden & Jorge 2012"

Click to view image credits via Pinterest

Once your lemonade stand is closed for the day, head to the sewing room and get started on this Pink Lemonade Fizz quilt using Treat Minis and Treat Strips in one of our newest batik collections.

And there’s still time to submit your application to be the first ever Timeless Stitch Star! The vibrant colors in Alice Kennedy‘s Orange Crush are right on-trend for this summer’s colors. It’s just that pop you were looking for to set your project apart from the competition’s. Applications are due April 30 and projects must be postmarked by June 1.

Have fun soaking up the sun and enjoying your cool, refreshing Pink Lemonade!

We love using festive fabrics to brighten up the scenery this time of year. Even the simplest homespun creations can pack a lot of charm, and won’t take up any time in your busy holiday prep schedule. Sew up some quick table settings or basket liners in a jiffy! Drawstring pouches (filled with jelly beans, of course) and fabric flowers make cute prizes for egg hunt winners and take no time at all. If you need print-spiration, look no further! Here are a few designs that will fit right in with this weekend’s festivities:

Clockwise from top left: Jenn-C8622-black, Debi-C7330-Multi, Food-C5554-Carrot, GM-C1068-Multi

And whether you’re hosting or attending Easter Sunday brunch, these Sugar Cookie Bunnies are sure to impress! (Who said all Easter Bunnies had to be made of chocolate?)

On four consecutive Tuesday evenings, five members of Timeless staff worked on individual projects. At varying skill levels (OK, let’s not exaggerate – mostly beginner!), we each selected patterns and fabrics, and got to work with Lori’s help.

Here’s a summary of key lessons we learned as novice sewists:

• “Ironing is way more important than I initially thought, which I learned after I skipped that step for one part of my project.” – Jessica
• “Cutting your fabric is probably the most time consuming part of any sewing project – especially projects that have repetitive steps. I was able to commit the sewing steps to muscle memory, but cutting fabric was a new experience every time.” – Amy
• “Precise cutting and preparation goes a long way in producing a good outcome.” – Denise
• “Sewing is harder then I imagined. I didn’t realize how much each little detail counted. I have a new appreciation for people who sew and quilt such beautiful projects.” – Clare
• “The seam ripper is your friend!” – Hayden

And a heartfelt tip from talented designer and seamstress Monica, our data entry manager and resident sewing mentor through all our sewing misadventures:
“The three most important ingredients in sewing are love, passion and patience.”

Clare, Amy and Denise show off fabric selections

Jessica at the machine

Denise works on her Balloon Dog pillowcases

Hayden bastes her Country Cafe place mat

Clare shows off her four reversible Orange Crush place mats

Jessica works on her England Swings reversible place mats

Amy shows off her Mod Elephant pillowcase

Jessica and Denise proudly display their finished work in the office

To see more pictures, check out our Staff Projects board on Pinterest. We’ll be posting photos of new sewing and quilting projects as we make them, too, so you can track our progress going forward.

Happy National Quilting Month!