Love To Collect

In case you haven't noticed one of my favorite things to do is collect things and you'd never guess my favorite color is PINK. A forever fan of Mickey Mouse I just couldn't pass up my little friend on a recent trip to Disneyland for my son Milo's 8th birthday celebration. I recently found the perfect spot to enjoy Mickey in my studio.

Stitch In Heavenly Peace Retreat is Full

We are excited to announce that our Stitch In Heavenly Peace Retreat is now full. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list for this event please contact us at verna@thevintagespool.com. We have had cancellations in the past so it is always a good idea to get on our waiting list. Our retreat project is our new block of the month, made exclusively from our new fabric line, Heavenly Peace for FreeSpirit Fabrics coming this spring. Please take a peek at some of the blocks below.

Retreat Sign-ups Start This Week!

Hurry! Hurry! We are so exited to announce our next 3 day applique retreat, Stitch In Heavenly Peace. This event will feature a brand new holiday quilt project made from Verna's new fabric line, Heavenly Peace for FreeSpirit Fabrics available Spring of 2010. The dates for this fun filled event are April 23-25th, 2010. Sign-ups start January 23rd, early sign-up is suggested. Go to http://www.thevintagespool.com/retreats/ for more info on how to sign up. We hope to see you there!

A Successful Road Trip

What a wonderful time we had at Road To California this year. Thanks to all the great quilters and friends who stopped by to show support for The Vintage Spool! We hope you'll enjoy a few photos of our booth at the show. We are excited to be home and will be jumping right into the studio to start new designs from our latest collection of fabrics, Heavenly Peace. We promise to share details as they progress so please check back.

It's Heavenly!!!!

We are so excited to share our latest fabric line, HEAVENLY PEACE for FreeSpirit Fabrics. The colors in this gorgeous collection were inspired by Pink Poinsettias, Noble Firs & Silver Bells. The 24 prints combine vintage inspired florals, a paisley, a plaid, a stripe, a very unique diamond print and a toile that is so delicious you'll want yards & yards of it!!!! This collection will help create Verna's vision of HOLIDAY in 2010. This will include numerous romantic holiday patterns. We hope you'll enjoy a peek at some of the swatches. Fabrics will be available as early as late February, 2010. We plan to have a few fat quarter bundles available to you, so please check back.

Hitting The Road, So Soon?

Hard to believe the holiday decorations have been down for less than a week and the studio is already full of boxes preparing for our departure to Road To California. We are so happy to return, this show is so much FUN!!! As usual we have numerous treasures in store. Verna will be demonstrating hand and wool applique techniques throughout the show and sharing many of her favorite notions. We have new patterns, wool bundles, Cosmo floss packs & hand made pin cushions. Best of all will be a sneak peek of Verna's gorgeous new fabric line Heavenly Peace for FreeSpirit fabrics. Stop by and see us in booth #1708!

A New Year, A New Calendar

Happy New Year! 2010 is full of exciting events at The Vintage Spool. Here are a few to make note of:

Road To California
Ontario, CA
January 14-17, 2010

Heavenly Peace Fabric Collection
by Verna Mosquera for FreeSpirit Fabrics
Available late February 2010

Stitch In Heavenly Peace Retreat
Alamo, California
April 23-25, 2010

International Quilt Market Spring
Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 21-23, 2010

International Quilt Festival
Long Beach, California
July 23-25, 2010

More information on all of these events will be coming soon.

Merry Christmas To All!

We here at the Vintage Spool wanted to wish all of our loyal customers and all of those we do business with a very Merry Christmas and the most prosperous New Year! We feel so blessed to do what we love everyday and thank all who make that possible. 2010 holds fun and new inspiring fabrics, patterns and retreats. We'll be working away here in the studio and will be sharing everything with you soon. Happy Holidays!!!!

Snow In California???????

After an exhausting weekend celebrating my son Nico's 5th birthday I awoke to an amazing view of Mt. Diablo covered with snow! My dear friend Cyndy Rymer has been wonderful enough to share this gorgeous picture with me. It is such a rare thing to see temperatures drop below 50 degrees, so snow is a welcome treat in my neighborhood.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for here at The Vintage Spool. We just spent an amazing weekend with so many fun women at our recent Fall Gathering. The ladies were such a joy and the room was filled with so much creativity. Our Abundance pattern has been so well received by our customers, thank you to all who have supported us and our newest design. We are also so very thankful for being able to do something we so enjoy on a daily basis. Here's wishing you all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Abundance Debuts At PIQF

Here's a small glimpse of the highlight of our booth this year at Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. Our newest pattern Abundance, had a wonderful debut and the show was an amazing success! It was so wonderful seeing so many awesome quilters I have met along my quilting journey, many of whom I hadn't seen in years! Thanks to all who stopped by to wish us well. Of course a huge THANK YOU goes out to my awesome team Pam and Laura Stipic, I could have never done it without you!

Sadie Rose Is Unveiled

Yes, here she is in all her glory. Sadie Rose greets the ever adoring crowds at Pacific International Quilt Show. What fun we had with all the amusing reactions attendees of the show had at her presence in our booth. She was a kid's favorite as some small visitors even stopped back by a second time to bid her farewell. Thanks to Laura Stipic for this awesome creative idea. We had so much fun creating her. Sadie Rose even plans to join us at our upcoming Fall Gathering in November.

That Just Doesn't Look Right!

What is hidden under that disguise you ask? We had a special friend accompany us to Pacific International this year. She was the first thing we loaded into the van and the last thing we unloaded. Shocking she arrived with her head on straight, literally! She would have had a great view of the scenery on the way if it wasn't for the plastic bag over her head. No, it's not the unknown comic, it's the unknown scarecrow.

Sunny California???????????

Here is the dreary California day when we loaded up the van for Pacific International Quilt Festival. It is utterly amazing that everything stayed dry and in arrived in one piece!

Fabric, Fabric, Fabric

I have just approved the final strike offs on my latest line of fabric. I'll be sharing all about it very soon. I'll just say I am so excited to work with it and my creative juices are already flowing. More info coming soon!!!!!

So Much To Do, So Little Time

I am off to The International Quilt Market this week to debut our newest fall pattern, Abundance. As soon as I return we are off to Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California. We have so many wonderful treasures to sell. Some fun things include our favorite and newest patterns, fabric kits, wool bundles, Cosmo floss, applique notions, handmade pincushions and even a great pattern sale section of soon to be discontinued patterns. We will also have signed copies of Australian Homespun, Volume 10 Number 9, featuring our adorable wall hanging, Rose Cottage. Stop by and visit us in booth 727! We can't wait to see you there.

Abundance Now Available!

Hooray our new fall pattern Abundance is complete and now available. We love the way this quilt turned out. It is such a romantic twist on autumn. Estimated ship date is October 9, 2009. This one is a must have!

Australian Homespun Magazine

We are so excited to announce that along with a designer profile on Verna, our design Rose Cottage will be featured on the cover of Australian Homespun, Vol 10 No 9. This magazine is a must have, this wall hanging is so darling! We will have the issue for sale in our booth at Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, CA this coming October as well as a few copies for sale on our website. No pre-orders please. We promise to let you know as soon as they are available. Photography courtesy of Australian Homespun, Vol 10 No 9. For a closer peek check our gallery page.

We're Back!

What an amazing vacation I had with the boys in Whistler, British Columbia. If you've never been, put it on your list of must places to visit. What a fun filled, yet relaxing time we had. I'm feeling a renewed energy and I'm excited about all of the fun things ahead on our Autumn/Winter calendar here at The Vintage Spool.

Pacific International Quilt Festival

We are so excited to announce that The Vintage Spool will be vending at this years Pacific International Quilt Festival, in Santa Clara, California. We are already preparing fun treasures for the show. The dates are October 14-18, 2009. As soon as we have our booth number we will share it with you. If you are in the area we do hope you'll stop by!

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.

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!

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.

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!

Nosegay - Milk

French Ticking - Grapefruit

Delicate Birds - Verbena

Rosebuds - Milk

Flowers & Lace - Geranium

Delicate Birds - Rose

Paisley Stripe - Grapefruit

Pin Dot - Milk

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.

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!

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. . .

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.

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.

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.