Abundance Grows
These past few weeks we've been working away on our new pattern, Abundance. We couldn't wait to share the progress. This beautiful fall quilt is full of the splendor of the season. A warm palette of soft pumpkins, fern greens, pastel pinks and rich browns set the mood for this lovely heirloom. Fall flowers, pumpkins, gourds, and a vintage scarecrow are just a few of the images included in this pretty quilt. We hope you'll enjoy a peek at these few blocks. Our estimated time of release for this new design is early Fall of 2009.
Fall Gathering News
We are excited to announce that the Fall Gathering sign-ups were a great success! The event is now at full capacity. Thank you to all who signed up. Due to the tremendous interest in the event we are trying to reserve spots for a few additional students. We have started a waiting list. If you are interested in being added to this list please e-mail Verna at verna@thevintagespool.com. We look forward to seeing you all in November.
An Autumn Attraction
THE VINTAGE SPOOL
Invites You To Attend
A FALL GATHERING
WHEN: November 13, 14, & 15, 2009
WHERE: Alamo, California
WHAT: Three days of small group applique/quilt instruction with Verna Mosquera
- A new Vintage Spool autumn pattern design, Abundance
- An additional small retreat project
- Mini autumn boutique
- Show-and-tell harvest luncheon with door prizes
- Private quilt store field trips
- And much, much more.
For registration information go to products/retreats. Space will be limited to 40 students so early sign-up is strongly recommended. We are already working on all of the special details, you won't want to miss this wonderful event!
Forget-Me-Not
Several months ago I was asked by my friends at Crabapple Hill Studios to be a part of something special. Meg Hawkey and Cyndy Peterson had organized fabric companies and fellow designers to donate fabric, time and their artistic talents in order to create a one of a kind quilt. This beautiful creation would then be raffled off to one very lucky winner. Each $10 donation supports the fight against breast cancer and enters you in a raffle to win this Forget-Me-Not quilt! The winner will be drawn on December 1, 2009. This block is my personal contribution to this very worthy project. If you'd like a chance to contribute and possibly win this beautiful quilt go to www.komen.org/quilt to view great photos of the entire quilt and purchase your ticket today!
Save The Date!
Due to the overwhelming response to our first Vintage Spool Retreat this last Spring, we are excited to announce that we are planning another one. Please save the date Nov. 12th-15th, 2009. More information is coming soon. Mark your calendars, we promise this event is not to be missed!!!!
In The Press In 2009
We are excited to announce that Vintage Spool patterns and Verna Mosquera will be featured in numerous publications this year. Please look for us in the following magazines:
Quilter's Home, Quick Cuts - Verna Mosquera
April/May 2009
McCall's Quilting, Bridemaid's Bouquet pattern
June 2009
Quilter's World, Romance In Bloom pattern
August 2009
Australia's Homespun, Rose Cottage pattern
September Cover 2009
A huge thank you goes out to Mark Lipinski of Quilter's Home, Beth Hayes of McCall's Quilting, Sandra Hatch of Quilter's World and Catherine Sanchez of Australia's Homespun for sharing our work with their readers! You won't want to miss these fun articles and patterns. Look for them at your local quilt store.
Annual Murphy's California Retreat
ThimbleCreek is once again planning the annual Murphy's, California retreat with Verna Mosquera. Students can work on the Vintage Spool pattern of their choice during this fun filled weekend in this charming California town. It will be held at the Murphy's Suites from Thursday, August 6th-9th, 2009. For more information and to sign up contact ThimbleCreek at www.thimblecreek.com or (925)676-5522. Come join the fun!
Celebration Of Spring Was A Huge Success!
What a fun filled weekend we had at our Celebration of Spring. After so many months of planning it was a joy to see this terrific event come together! A huge thank you goes out to everyone involved in making this awesome weekend possible. We are already planning the next Vintage Spool retreat so stay tuned for dates, trust us you won't want to miss it!
Easter Wishes is Now Available!
Cheerful Spring shades are mixed with adorable Easter images in this lovely wall hanging. Our newest pattern Easter Wishes is now available, order yours today!
It's Great To Be Home
It was an amazing show at Road To California. We had such a warm welcome from all the wonderful Southern California quilters we can hardly wait to go back next year. Thanks to all who made it a great success! After a much needed rest it's great to be back in the studio designing again. Stay tuned for an Easter Wishes preview coming soon.
Happy 2009!
We just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a safe and wonderful New Year's holiday and a very prosperous 2009. The new year is something we approach with great excitement. As always we have great things in store and plan to be busy, busy! We'll be sure to keep you posted.
With Love Now Available!
This is our new With Love wall hanging. We just couldn't wait to the New Year to show it to you. You can order it today it is ready for shipment. Just in time for Valentine's Day, hooray!!!! For more info go to our products/patterns page.
With Love
We can hardly wait to show you the new Valentine's Day pattern release for January of 2009. With Love is an adorable wallhanging and will debut early next year. Here's a sneak peek at some of the pretty fabrics we've used. Check back for a release date.
Happy Holidays From The Vintage Spool
We wanted to take a moment to wish all of our wonderful customers and friends a very joyous holiday season. May you be safe and merry as you celebrate with family and friends. Happy Holidays from The Vintage Spool.
Sparkle!
Christmas is my favorite time of year. I just had to share a glimpse of the wreath that will adorn my home this holiday season. It's the newest addition to my vintage decoration collection. The theme is ever changing each year as I seek something special to inspire me. I had been eyeing this wonderful piece all year long and finally gave in. I'm so happy I did, doesn't it just SPARKLE!
Jardin De Roses Now Available
We are so excited about this brand new block of the month. It is classic and romantic, perfect for quilters of all skill levels. It uses 12 fabrics from our brand new line Savon Bouquet for FreeSpirit Fabrics. It is now available on our products/block of the month page. Order yours today!
Jardin De Roses - Coming Soon!
We are so excited to share a glimpse of our upcoming block of the month, Jardin De Roses. This lovely baltimore style applique quilt is a must on your to do list. It is so vintage we can hardly wait to release it. The design is made exclusively from our new fabric line Savon Bouquet for FreeSpirit Fabrics. Take a peek below at a few of the fabrics we have used. Stay tuned for a pattern release date.
Nosegay - Milk
French Ticking - Grapefruit
Delicate Birds - Verbena
Rosebuds - Milk
Flowers & Lace - Geranium
Delicate Birds - Rose
Paisley Stripe - Grapefruit
Pin Dot - Milk
Savon Bouquet Coming Soon!
We are so excited to announce that our new fabric line Savon Bouquet for FreeSpirit Fabrics will be in quilt stores as early as November of 2008. It is bright and cheerful, full of delicious pinks, blues, yellows, creams and so much more. As promised here's a peek . . . see our gallery page for a larger view. Stay tuned for our latest block of the month design made exclusivley from the line.
Finally, The Secret Has Been Sprung. . .
THE VINTAGE SPOOL
Invites You To Attend
A CELEBRATION OF SPRING
Now for the when, where and what:
WHEN: March 20, 21, & 22, 2009
WHERE: Alamo, California
WHAT: Three days of small group applique/quilt instruction with Verna Mosquera
- An egg-citing new Vintage Spool holiday pattern design, Easter Wishes
- An additional small retreat project
- Mini spring boutique
- Tea time show-and-tell with door prizes
- Fabric store field trip
- And much, much more
Registration information will be available on The Vintage Spool website. Space will be limited to 40 students so early sign-up is strongly recommended. Please stay tuned for official sign up dates.
We can hardly wait to see you there!
New Pattern Distribution
In an effort to make our patterns more readily available throughout the United States and internationally we are proud to announce that our designs are currently being distributed by the following companies: United Notions, Starwood Pattern Company and Thimblefaire. For more information on contacting these distributors or for ordering direct please see the Wholesale Section of our website.
Savon Bouquet
Many have been asking about future fabric lines. I am excited to share that my next line Savon Bouquet is currently in production with FreeSpirit Fabrics. I have just made changes to the strike offs and now I wait. Savon Bouquet is a yummy combination of fresh florals, playful polkadots and vintage inspired stripes. The colors are clear and fresh. Delicious shades of pinks, yellows, blues, greens, lavendars and creams. Savon Bouquet is inspired by vintage french soap labels and a funny story about my husband. I promise to share so much more about it in the future. If all goes as planned the line will debut at the International Quilt Market in Houston this October, 2008.
Finally Ready to Frolic?
Thank you to all who have been so patient in waiting for our latest pattern release. The quilt is complete and currently being photographed by the wonderful Gregory Case. The pattern is being printed this week and we hope to have it ready for release by June 16th. I hope you love it as much as I do! This one is just too darn cute.
Spring Market, Work or Play?
Portland Spring Market was so much fun it was hard to believe I was really working. It is always so wonderful to see all of the new fabric lines, patterns, books and notions. One can't help but feel inspired to create after spending the weekend with so many incredibly talented people. Some terrific things happened while I was there and I can hardly wait to share about them . . . please check back for more info.
Fabric Kits Now Available!
Your eyes are not playing tricks on you! After years of requests we are finally able to offer kits for some of our quilt designs. They are made out of our Sweet Escape fabrics. To order yours today please go to products/fabric kits.
International Quilt Festival Long Beach
We are so excited to announce that we will be a vendor at the International Quilt Festival this summer in Long Beach, California. Please stop by and visit us during this awesome event happening July 25-27, 2008. This will be our first retail show. We'll have new patterns, kits and other fun treasures. We can't wait to see you there! For more information on the show go to www.quilts.com.
Sew Very Pretty!
I just had to share this lovely handbag and belt made especially by Bari J out of my very own Sweet Escape fabrics. For sometime I'd been hearing about her wonderful designs. Finally I sought her out and requested she make me these beautiful things. If you haven't seen her items you must visit www.barijonline.com and see all of the treasures made by this fabulous designer! There are fun handbags, patchwork belts, key fobs and these gorgeous french ribbon brooches. You'll have so much fun shopping!
Don't Miss Camp Watch-A-Patcher
Don't miss Camp-Watch-A-Patcher where Verna will be teaching four classes at this years event at Concordia University in Irvine, CA. July 6-10th, 2008. Her top selling new design, Strawberry Baskets is just one of the many classes. Come for the day! Come for the week! The program features national teachers, evening programs and more. Verna is so excited to be part of this awesome event! For more info see www.orangecountyquiltersguild.com
Pretty Places, Smiling Faces
I've just returned from the loveliest weekend in Chelan, Washington where Rose Buhl of Woven Threads Quilt Shop holds an annual quilting retreat. It was such an honor for me to be this years instructor. I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with a wonderful and very talented group of ladies. A special thank you goes out to Rosie for all her hard work and dedication in order to make the event so memorable for all of us!
Isn't It Romantic . . .
Just had to share the latest addition to The Vintage Spool studio. This lovely manequin was puchased with a gift certificate given to Verna by some of her favorite students when their 10 year weekly drop-in class came to a close. It's now a daily reminder of just how very special this group of ladies is, and the wonderful things they accomplished throughout their time together. Isn't it romantic. . .
This We Like!
What a treat it was this month to see our debut fabric line Sweet Escape for FreeSpirit Fabrics in the This We Like section of Mary Englebreit's Home Companion April/May 2008 issue. For years the editors of this terrific publication have featured their favorite picks from the market place. It is so much fun to have our fabric swatches right there on page 16! Thanks to Kathy Curotto who produces this wonderful section of the magazine.
Snowfriends
Many of you know that Verna balances running a business with raising her 2 boys, Milo, 6 and Nico, 3. This could not have been more evident than these last few months when Verna volunteered many design hours to create Snowfriends.
This quilt is a special design made by Verna and her son Milo's kindergarten class. Each child created his/her own snowfriend out of precut paper shapes. Verna then made her interpretation of each child's art in fabric and stitched the child's signature on their block. Snowfriends will be auctioned off this coming Thurs. Feb. 21st to raise money for Green Valley Elementary School in Danville, CA.
The quilt is so darn cute we just had to share it with you. For those wondering, sorry this will not be a pattern for purchase. For more photos please visit our Gallery under About Us.
Sweet Escape Arrives In Stores
To much surprise and delight our first fabric line Sweet Escape for FreeSpirit fabrics arrived in stores across the country this week. To purchase your yardage visit your favorite quilt shop or online source today!
Fall Market Success!
We are back and taking a quick rest from an extremely busy 2007 Fall Market. The debut of our first fabric line "Sweet Escape" for FreeSpirit Fabrics was a great success! From all accounts the fabric and the patterns we designed from it were very well received by the industry. We also take great honor in our Second Place award in the single booth category. For more fun photos taken by the acclaimed Gregory Case please go to our gallery page.
New Patterns Now Available!
Our 2007 Fall Market releases are now available for shipment. Go to our patterns and block of the month pages for more info. Don't miss Amelia's Rose Garden our newest block of the month. It is oh, so romantic and completely irresistible!
New Beginnings
It's been an emotional week here at The Vintage Spool. My Sweet Escape yardage arrived, hooray! My Milo started Kindergarten, boo, hoo!
While surviving this very hectic week, we've both had many changes. We woke up alot earlier, met many new people, tried lots of new things and missed each other just a little bit extra when we weren't together.
He's now tucked into bed, I've just prepped some applique and I'm about to sit in my comfy old brown chair to take the first stitch on my very own fabric. . . what a week of new beginnings.
Can't Hardly Wait For A "Sweet Escape"
We've just received word that our "Sweet Escape" yardage is on it's way from the mill. We can hardly contain our excitement! We will be very busy these next few months as we prepare to debut the line and it's quilts at Fall Market. We wanted you to share in the fun, so here's a little peek. For more photos please visit our Gallery page under About Us.
A Glimpse Into Our Creative Space
We are so excited to announce this new section of our website. We have added a gallery of photos. Just click on About Us and select Photo Gallery to view photos of our new Vintage Spool studio.
Best Single Booth At Fall Market 2006
We were so excited to receive the honor of Best Single Booth at this years Fall International Quilt Market. Our theme was garden inspired with a vintage twist and so much fun to put together.
An enormous thank you goes out to Meredith Harbaugh for all of her great ideas and decorating experience. Also to Nireko Ohira for loaning us her beautiful version of Floral Medallion. It looked so romantic in the booth.
Share in our success by viewing the photo shot by Gregory Case at the show.