Have you seen our new quilt yet?  We are so excited to unveil Wally's Route 66 quilt! 

This brand-new pattern created by Little Whiskers Designs, The Quilted Kitty's own design company!   Based on the iconic roadway and using fabrics from the USA Route 66 line by Whistler Studio, this cool quilt epitomizes the love of the open road.  We pay homage to the classic cars, one-of-a-kind billboards, and of course the open road that inspired thousands of adventurers to head west during their travels. 

We have made a kit just for our lovely Quilted Kitty fans!  It includes all fabrics, cars, and a complete set of instructions.  This quilt is perfect for the car and travelling enthusiast in your life!  Click HERE to be taken straight to the Wally's Weekender page to order the kit.

We are hosting Spring Quilt Retreat on March 22-24 at beautiful Mahoney State Park!  Come join us for another fun-filled weekend full of sewing, fun, and friends.  Sew all weekend in peace and quiet with your fellow quilters, make new friends, work on new projects, and finish all the UFO's in your quilting closet. 

 Irene Williams showed off her finished quilt at the Fall 2012 QK Quilt Retreat

If you need to get some fresh air, there are plenty of hiking trails to explore within the park.  The nearby town of Ashland has some really cute shops with a variety of items - pottery, paintings, gifts, and more!  If you'd prefer to simply be inspired, quilt, and chat with friends, we will have our own large sewing room and lots of notions and things for sale from our shop so you don't even have to leave the building if you forget something.

Forgot something?  Odds are we'll have it for you in our "store".

We only have space for 3 more quilters and will be closing registration on Monday the 18th, so hurry and sign up before it's too late!

Leah Culver-Whitcomb shows off her finished woodland quilt at the Fall 2012 QK Quilt Retreat. 

You can find more details on accomodations, activities, etc. HERE and when you're ready to sign up, head on over HERE.

We had a blast at our Visit your Local Quilt Shop Day party last week!  Between visiting with our guests, doing demos, our mini-class, a make it/take it, and of course sneaking a yummy cookie (or two...oops!) we managed to squeeze in having a great time!  A big THANK YOU to everyone who made it out for the fun. 

To give you a sneak peak of what went on, we'll give you a short photo tour of all the excitement.

Tracy, our social media director, showed people how to use our website's online design wall to match fabrics.  She also helped people register for the Quilt Shop Day Facebook photo contest.  We hope one of our customers will be the winner so please go vote for them on the QSD Facebook page HERE! 

Kara, our store manager, hosted a very popular make it/take it class.  She demonstrated how to make little flowers using batik fabric cut using the Accucut machine and then threaded together and "floofed".  Easy and super cute!

Connie showed a Little Whiskers quilt (our own Quilted Kitty quilt design company!) that uses a curvy ruler to make a stunning design.  Connie showed how to take a basic pattern and with a little imagination and basic knowledge, change it to a design of your own!

Nanci demo'ed a super cute Valentine's placemat, and showed her favorite products to use.  We all learned a little bit in this one!

Of course we had some yummy goodies....and I promise I didn't eat them all!  (though I really wanted to!). 

Thanks again to everyone who came out and visited with us.  And congratulations to our in-store drawing winners, LaJean D. and Carol B. from Lincoln!  We hope you love your goody-filled bag.  Happy quilting friends!

Wow!  We have reached 1000 Fans on Facebook and couldn't be more excited!  We are in the midst of celebrating Visit your Local Quilt Shop Day today, but we've managed to get a giveaway up on our Facebook page as a small token of our appreciation. 

We really couldn't do this without you and value the friends and relationships we've built over the years with our wonderful customers! 

We are giving away a One Jelly Roll of Riley Blake Sweetcakes Fabrics and a 10% off coupon good for  your next shopping spree at The Quilted Kitty! 

To enter, please visit our Facebook page and click on the Giveaway picture on the right side of the page.  Or simply click our mobile-friendly link to be taken directly there:  http://bit.ly/WRrmF4  You have until midnight on Friday, January 25th to enter.  Good luck, and THANK YOU for helping us reach 1000 Fans! 

The Quilted Kitty is getting a new look! We are super excited to give you a few sneak peeks into our mini-makeover this week. We'll do a full reveal of our in-store updates at our Local Quilt Shop Day event on January 24th, and post some pictures for those of you who can't visit us in person shortly after that! So without further ado, here are a few things that are going on in the midst of the chaos of a makeover.

1. New paint!

We painted an accent wall in Sherwin William's Blonde.  It's a nice, warm yellow color that brightens the space without screaming school bus (the sample looks more taupe on my screen - you'll have to trust me that it's the same color when you see it in person!). 

2. New displays!

We have a color wall to help you find the purrfect matches for your chosen fabrics!  (Note that if you can only visit us online, you can still match your fabrics with our design wall function.  It makes matching prints and colors much easier!).

3. New fabrics!

You've probably seen our Riley Blake chevrons, Heartfelt Home, and Sweetcakes fabrics in our last newsletter, but we are working on some really fun displays to show off just how cute they really are!

4. New cats!

Just kidding. We love our newest additions and can't wait until they can be in the shop more than part-time.  Molly joined us today, and of course had to check out everyone's work in progress!

We have a few more things in the works, but you'll just have to wait to see them! Until then, we'll leave you in suspense.....Stop by and visit us for more sneak peaks, or you if you're too far away you can always shop online!

Greetings Quilting friends! 

We are excited about the 1st annual "I Love My Local Quilt Shop" Day coming up on Thursday, January 24th!  There have been lots of plans and ideas thrown around, and we've settled on some really fun demos and activities for you!  I can't wait to showcase what we've been up to.  We'll be open all day starting at 10 am, and will have extended hours until 8 pm that evening to make sure that everyone will be able to visit us and join in on the fun. The bulk of the event and activities will take place fro 5 to 8 pm, so put it on your calendar now!

In addition to our mini-class, make it/take it, and demos, we will be unveiling some new fabrics and sample quilts.  We've also been jazzing up our in-store displays with a fresh new look and feel.  We hope these dynamic color combinations and pairings will get your creative juices flowing while visiting our shop!  Yummy hors d'oeuvres will be available for you to sample as you make your way around the different areas, and a drawing will be held for some sensational prizes! 

Can't wait to get in on the action?  Quilt Shop Day, the nationwide sponsor of this event, is giving away a $500 shopping spree to your local quilt shop and a Project Runway Limited Edition Computerized Sewing Machine from Brother!  They have all the details posted on their Facebook page, but the quick version of the rules is that you'll need to take a picture of your favorite local shop and upload it to their facebook page to be eligible.  We hope our local quilters are the big winner so you can shop at The Quilted Kitty even more! 

I was so excited when I came into the shop this last Saturday,  "my soldier" was here!  If you've been following us for awhile, you may remember this story that I posted just over a year ago, about how I met "my soldier".  We've kept in contact since then and he's been in my thoughts and prayers, especially when I see news of the fighting that is going on overseas where he has been stationed.  This summer, I hadn't heard from him for a few months so I emailed several times.  I didn't receive any responses and was getting very anxious that something had happened to him.  But out of the blue a couple of weeks ago I finally got an email back!  He was heading this way and wanted to stop by to visit me. 

"My Soldier" and his family when we first met in 2011.  Here is the quilt I gave him!

He arrived in the shop with his wife, mother, and mother-in-law this week and I nearly burst into tears!  He hugged me very tight, said he got every one of my emails, and felt very frustrated that his responses weren't getting through to me!  He was very proud to tell me that he used the quilt that I gave him during his deployment!  We had a very nice visit and got caught up on his transition back to the States.  He will be stationed in California for a couple more years in his current position as his battalion's logistics officer and doesn't foresee any overseas deployment on the horizons.  Which is good news for me and even greater news for his family!

"My soldier" and his wife, mother, and mother-in-law at The Quilted Kitty in 2012

I'm so thankful that he took the time to come and say hi to me - it was a shot of hope for how wonderful 2013 can be.  May you have a wonderful week, my dear quilting friends!

Stuff Your Stash is in full swing!  Each day features new games, prizes, and specials deals!  And of course our grand prize winner will receive a complete set of Creative Grid Rulers (a $150 value). 

So how does it work?  Well, each day of our Extravaganza there will be a game and a prize.  The more you play and enter the better chance you have to win our Grand Prize, which will be drawn at the end of the Extravaganza.  We will also showcase some great deals on a variety of items in our shop.  Be sure to check back each day through December 31, as the games, prizes, and deals will change!  To play now, click on the link:  http://www.quiltedkitty.com/stuff-your-stash-extravaganza.aspx.  Good luck and have fun!

The two furry sisters continue to grow and play and sleep.  And of course eat!  ALL.THE.TIME.  These girls can pack away the treats!  I thought I'd share their recent attempt to "help" me in the kitchen.  They attempted to do the after-dinner dishes, but I had to intervene as our idea of the correct way to clean the plates differed.  Let's just say they wanted to use their tongues, but we settled on the dishwasher instead. 

Getting Directions from Furless Mom

Checking to see if there are any dishes left behind...

Molly was just about to close the door on Olivia so I had to intervene again....

Done yet?  Yes, I think that's the last of them! 

Believe it or not, they actually did a pretty good job!  Next time I'll have to double check before I run the load though - I found a couple cat toys waiting for me in the bottom! 

Just a reminder that The Quilted Kitty will close at 2 pm on Christmas Eve and remain closed on Christmas and the 26th.  You can still use our website to place your order during this time!  We will reopen again on the 27th and begin our Stuff Your Stash extravaganza!  We're excited and hope you are too.  May you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas everyone! 

One of our shop helpers, Lydia, is a Textile Major at University of Nebraska here in Lincoln.  Throughout the semester she has shared her ideas, projects and excitement of her classes.  This week she came in wearing one of her "finals" for a class!  It was so cute we just had to share it with all of you!  We think she did a wonderful job on this dress, don't you?

We are also participating in The Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday Blog Hop Party!  Be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate to The Quilted Kitty!  The furry dudes & dudettes will pick a winner on Sunday, December 16!

You can also follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

Until Next time,