Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 2)

Of course, when we go to shows, in addition to spotting future trends, we're always looking to see what people are making with the fabrics and patterns we stock in our shop. 

We love the Australian fabrics in our shop, so we're always excited to see them in finished quilts. "Australian Clams" by Leilani Seidel organizes the fabrics (which can be a little chaotic), and ties them together with the consistence of cream colored pickle dish-style arcs in complimentary colors. 

A stunner from afar and up close.

"Aboriginal Orbs" by Christine Johnson caught our eye as well. She's chosen purple to unify her fabrics and uses a variety of traditional and "modern" batiks to coordinate with the Aussies.

A new addition to our shop is Twighlight, indigo and mud cloth inspired fabrics by Whistler Studios and Windham. We're inspired by Natalie Barnes from Beyond the Reef patterns' quilt, "Faith Hope & Love" which uses these fabrics beautifully. We've already added the pattern to our shopping list! Since the fabrics are on the heavier side, we're thinking of pillows using just four of these improvisational-looking blocks.

Finding fabrics to represent something in a quilt can be challenging. "Fresh Picked" by Hedda Wright was a beautiful reminded that when depicting something, the mere suggestion through fabric color, pattern, or shape, rather than strict pictorial adherence, is most effective. It's OK to get wild and use polka dots for grass, florals in faces, and stripes for sky as they all have the potential to make the quilt more exciting.

Check out the fun cabbage leaves in not-necessarily-cabbagy fabrics:

Customers will often ask us for help coordinating fabrics (we LOVE doing this!), and the collections are usually based around a desired color or a focus fabric. But what if a quilt were designed around a theme, and any fabric with that theme was fair game, regardless of color?! Kristin thought "Strawberry Sunday" by Marcia Aurdal was pretty fun, and an off-the-beaten-track way to coordinate a quilt. All the fabrics used have strawberries. Of course the red in the berries ties things together, but overall, it's pretty scrappy and free-spirited:

And, speaking of color, the pickle juice background color in "Morse Code" by Lynn Glidden kind of screamed "Geri would love this!" Up close, it also has the Me+You Indah batiks Kristin loves, plus a bunch of Kaffe Fasset favorites for good measure. 

Row by Row 2016

The Row by Row experience has started and shop hoppers are already stopping in to add our row to their adventure. This year's theme is Home Sweet Home, so we created a charming neighborhood of colorful homes on a lake -- our lake. Welcome to Lake Oswego!

Come on in and see our latest fabrics, Pick up your Row by Row pattern, and purchase our kit to get started right away. Post your Row by Row experience on Facebook and be sure to give #the_pine_needle a big shout out!

We're Inspired by: Black and White

It's bold. It's graphic, it goes with everything!

Like the little black dress that's a must in so many women's wardrobes, black and white fabric is a classic mixer for anyone's fabric stash.

Whether it's playful typography, low volume shirting prints, or simple scattered designs on black, there's a black and white fabric you'll fall for.

This digital print of a stunning cityscape sold out within a few weeks. We can't wait to see the projects our customers start making with it.

Spring at The Pine Needle

Spring has definitely sprung at The Pine Needle! We're re-stocking after the whirlwind that was the Sewing and Stitch Expo in Puyallup, WA and there's lots of sunny colors and cute animals just in time for spring projects.

Bunnies and birdies and butterflies, oh my!

Summer Roads is our newest kit using our Crossroads pattern. It looks great in soft, springtime colors (to include the pink chosen by Pantone to be one of the colors for 2016).

Pink paired with grey and a deeper red says spring fling! Valentine's Day may have passed, but romance can still be in the air.

We've still got Katya kits and Quick Curve rulers for this stunner of a quilt. Some new cheery retro looking fabrics fit right in to the mix.

Spring means babies, and we've got lots of adorable flannels, and self-binding baby blanket kits that are perfect last minute shower gifts.

While the Cat's Away...

While the cat's away the mice will play! Geri and crew are at the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA this weekend, and while they are working hard there, the Pinecones staying behind at the shop are having a sale!

Selected fabrics with (all these in the photo above) are a mere $4.99 per yard. We've also got Marcia Derse half yards, selected fat quarters, our Awesome Odds, and fabric by the ounce all discounted 40% to 50% off. And, for those who like to add a little texture to their work we've got a table full of interior design samples for 50 cents each.

If you can't make it to Puyallup, we hope to see you in the shop in Lake Oswego February 25th through 27th.

Super Bolt Sunday

It's Super Bolt Sunday all weekend long at The Pine Needle!

Come on in today for deals on sample quilts, select fat quarters and half yards, and more. Then you can sew while watching the game. Or, come in on Sunday while everyone else is glued to the TV.

New Year, New Fabrics

We've had a huge influx of new fabrics in the last few weeks. It seems like we re-arrange the shop every few days.

One new thing is our rainbow table of cotton half-yards. When you like a fabric, but don't have a specific project in mind, these are perfect!

Isn't this Into the Deep collection (plus some of our favorites to splash around with it) by Michael Miller Fabrics dreamy?

Modern batiks by Me + You from Hoffman are super rich, and perfect in our Illumination quilt kit.

And, for fans of ditzy prints, Small Wonders by Mary Fons is a new classic. Our Lovejoy pattern would look super with any of these world travel themed fabrics. We have bundles by country as well as yardage, and a wide backing fabric with the collection's simple drawn heart.

Stay tuned for even more fabrics as they arrive!

Join the Open House fun

Today, Friday Jan 15th was the first day of Open House and the fabric was flying! Customers enjoyed hourly drawings and inspirational demos and class samples from our wonderful teachers, Pam Raby, Rachel Kerley, Vickie Pierson, Dawn White, and more.

Coleen Barnhardt wowed us all with her Coloring Quilts class samples.

Nancy is demonstrating gadgets to help keep accurate seam allowances of several widths.

Author and teacher Sheila Snyder of A License to Quilt will be on hand. Here she's explaining her Turban Stool class to intrigued customers.

Plus, enjoy a jewelry show and sale by Kelly Forester of Kis Designs.

If you missed today's fun, there's still time tomorrow, Saturday Jan 16th. Come on in from 11 to 5 and check it out!

Batik Baguettes

We've got new fabrics coming in every day! The Stripes Collection by Anthology Fabrics is delicious and these one yard "Batik Baguettes" are calorie free tasty treats.

Winter Open House Festival

Welcome to the new year! 2016 is off to a great start at The Pine Needle with lots of fabric and events on the horizon. I'm Kristin, the newest "Pine Cone," and I'm going to don the social media mantle. I hope to keep the blog humming along with updates monthly if not more. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts will be getting more attention too.

What's coming up? Don't miss our Winter Open House Friday Jan 15th and Saturday Jan 16th from 11am to 5pm.

Come meet our outstanding staff and take advantage of their professional input and receive discounts on many items. Our instructors Pam Raby, Rachel Kerley, and Vickie Pierson will share inspiring projects and upcoming classes. Dawn White and Nancy McGuire will demo a few of their favorite products.

Meet author and teacher Sheila Snyder of A License to Quilt who will be on hand to help select fabric for her Turban Stool class. And, enjoy a jewelry show and sale by Kelly Forester of Kis Designs.

If that's not enough, we'll be having hourly drawings for great prizes too. We hope to see you here!