We were thrilled to see how a seamstress friend of one of our employees has interpreted the toile print from our CIVIL WAR TRIBUTE collection. Her beautifully tailored men’s button-down shirt is modeled here by Bruce Tucker, an avid Civil War enthusiast and reenactment buff, and the friend of another Marcus employee! The shirt was presented to Bruce as a gift. The resident sewing experts in the office were quite impressed with the flawless matching of motifs along the front shirt placket – canustandit!??  A great reminder that fine quality cotton prints don’t have to be limited to quilts & wall hangings!

We’re pleased to share these photos of one of our Guild Connection members, the Ponte Vedra United Methodist Quilt Circle of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Member Marilyn Elston reports:

“On March 22, 2010 we visited Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise, Florida. We delivered 31 quilts to Pastor Denny McCullough. Along with the pictures of the quilts, I’m sending a picture of Pastor McCullough, our circle members and the quilts. As I mentioned before, we have quite a bit of fabric left, so we’ll be making quilts for the Betty Griffin Rape Crisis Center in St. Augustine, Florida…” (Photos by Marilyn Elston)

Marcus Fabrics is happy to help groups like this to accomplish their wonderful goals of community service. For details on how to receive a donation box of fabric remnants for your quilt guild’s charitable projects, see the Guild Connection FAQ’s.

We love the international appeal of quilting, especially when our of our favorite designers is featured abroad!  Issue No. 75 of QuiltMania magazine, a French patchwork publication.  The profile discusses Judie’s love for reproduction quilts & fabrics, and the many facets of her business, including retailing, writing and of course, designing fabrics for Marcus!  To order this issue, visit QuiltMania online.

Our friends at NQA (National Quilting Association) have posted this year’s free project for National Quilting Day, which takes place this year on March 20. Its theme is “Let’s Tie One On…FOR THE TROOPS”, and the site offers plenty of suggestions for creating and donating the quilts. It’s a great project for guilds and individual quilters alike, and it’s a wonderful way to use up all those scraps we’ve collected while snowed in during the brutal winter months!

Visit the NQA site for more details on how you can get involved…and Happy Nat’l Quilting Day!!

Now that we’re all settling into 2010, we thought we’d start the New Year with some ideas that can incorporate some of those favorite family photos you might have taken in recent weeks!  With some help from Homestead Hearth’s new FAMILY ALBUM fabric collection, you can create an heirloom style quilt, complete with photo transfers, hand embroidery and other special touches! Begin with their pre-printed “family tree” panel, then add pretty coordinates for a simple but meaningful wall hanging, designed by Miriam Rawson.  Then, follow her lead in creating memory art, embellished mini-album and coordinating fabric-covered keepsake boxes – free projects to enjoy and share!

We wish all of our quilting friends, associates, suppliers and their families a wonderful holiday season, and our best regards for a happy and healthy 2010!  Thank you for your support throught the seasons, and stay tuned for another exciting year of creative inspriation from Marcus Fabrics!

Love Marcus Fabrics? Visit our Fan Page on Facebook for fabric updates, tips, ideas and creative exchange with other Marcus Fabrics fans!  Of course, there will also be the occasional Giveaway, so become a fan today, and stay tuned!

We just got our office copy of McCall’s Quilting for Jan/Feb 2010, the magazine’s 100th issue – Congratulations to Beth Hayes and her staff on this wonderful achievement!

Or course, we’re especially proud to have our fabrics featured prominently in this issue, starting with Vicki Bellino’s quilt using the American Patriot Collection by Faye Burgos. If you’ve never thought of using our Strip It designs for hexagon quilts, be sure to see this project!

In the printed magazine, you’ll also find Homestead Hearth’s patriotic offering, utilizing our American Pastimes & Gallery in Red together. We love their use of the Gallery in Red Strip-It pattern. Two great reasons to quilt your way into the new year with patriotic flair!

You’ve seen the ads in your favorite quilting magazines this season…now the fabrics will soon begin to appear in your favorite quilt shops, too! The retailer response to our Civil War Tribute BOM has been outstanding, so we’re sure you’ll have no problem locating these Judie Rothermel fabrics to create your own Block-of-the-Month quilt.

The Marcus Fabrics Civil War Tribute quilt was designed by Homestead Hearth. It highlights a variety of sawtooth and star blocks, the perfect showcase for 48 of the collection’s 50 prints. Each of the quilt blocks represents a major battle fought during the war. Read more…

As an added touch of authenticity, you’ll also want to sew up a few of our Civil War-inspired Buckshot Pincushions, designed by Ellen Highsmith Silver.

Check out the Quick Quilts magazine website for a free project featuring Teresa Kogut’s HALLOWEEN DANCE collection.  It’s a witch motif goodie bag designed by Charlotte O’Leary, perfect for collecting lots of treats on Halloween night!  You might even want to stitch up a few more bags in different fabrics for year-long enjoyment!