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Hello friends,

This morning as I left the house I took a little detour past the flower beds and was excited to see a Lenten Rose bravely sporting several blooms. I’m sharing a picture below in case you wonder what a Lenten Rose is. What a cheery sight on this April morning here in Ohio where spring has been feeling more like winter. As beautiful as our late snowfalls have been, there’s something about a snowstorm in April that just doesn’t quite measure up to a nice, white blanket in December or January.

I have a feeling there’s many a winter-weary Mom who shares my sentiments. The flu bugs have been numerous and tough this season. And though my children wipe their own noses and clean up after themselves, my heart is with my daughters and the many other moms who are weary of wiping noses and rocking feverish little bodies. Jesus promised a reward for giving a cup of cold water to the little ones, and the reward for faithful service will make all weariness vanish away some glad day! Hang in there, moms!

The last year was very eventful in our personal lives. The biggest things we faced were my husband’s bishop ordination and the wedding of our daughter Charity. On top of that was my debilitating arthritic hip, which culminated in hip replacement surgery in February of this year. After two months of recovery I feel like I am almost back to normal, although I still have healing going on and some restrictions to my activity.

A song that has become so special to me is “Never Once” sung by Praise and Harmony Acapella on their newest album, Faithful God. The words are my testimony. “Never once did we ever walk alone, Never once did You leave us on our own, You are faithful, God, You are faithful.” Without God’s help, I shudder to think where I might be.

With these major things behind us we anticipate a more normal year. We hope to spend more time keeping the website updated with new fabric. It’s been exciting to see our orders growing and we especially appreciate the repeat orders that have been coming in.

A change we made to the website is removing numerous items that were slow in selling. We have also rearranged things in hopes of being more user-friendly. Instead of one drop-down tab for fabric we now have more fabric categories across the top. We welcome your constructive criticism.

A few of you have told us that you have trouble when checking out that your expiration date is not being accepted. We are working to resolve that issue although we are suspicious that it may be related more to the device you are using than an actual website issue. If you have problems, feel free to contact us, we can also take your orders over the phone if need be.

Until next time, be blessed!
Frieda, for the team at Mt. Hope Fabrics

It’s a gorgeous spring day and the perfect time to showcase our newest fabrics and give away a sweet package. The winner will receive 4 yards of this lovely pink fabric, 4 yards of lace, and the flowers and lights shown in the picture.

Here are the rules –

1. Share this post to your own Facebook page.
2. Comment here why you would like to win.
3. Tag up to 5 friends. Your name will be entered every time you tag a friend. (must be an actual tag and not just a name)
4. Contest ends and winner will be drawn on May 25, 2017.

In the meantime, browse around on our website and see all the newest fabrics in the polyester and knit categories.

Until next time, God bless!

Frieda

 

Cookbooks and Such

One can never have too many cookbooks, right? If you are like me you enjoy owning lots of cookbooks. I must confess though that sometimes my allotted area overflows and I have to get rid of a few. Cookbooks make great gifts for new brides or most anyone else on your gift list.

Today I want to introduce three cookbooks. One is my personal favorite and back in stock, the second one is brand new and hot off the press, and the third one is a specialty cookbook dedicated to cheesecake and other fine delicacies.

Stutzman’s Culinary Secrets is a fitting name for a cookbook filled with so many valuable nuggets of information. I don’t know the Stutzman’s personally but I do know a few things about them. They have been in the catering business for 20+ years and seem to be in high demand. I was pleasantly surprised at all the large quantity recipes that are included in the cookbook. There’s also a section of menu ideas and many helpful tips which I assumed would be closely guarded secrets. Not so with the Stutzman’s! They have generously shared many secrets to make all of our lives a bit easier. If you enjoy cooking for crowds or even just your own family then this cookbook is for you. It’s also a great addition to a church kitchen.

A brand new cookbook that just arrived today is called Coon Dan Family Cupboard. If you live in a large Amish or Mennonite community you will understand the need to identify people with the addition of a colorful but kind nickname. Our minds will supply the rest. Surely Coon Dan was a coon hunter or trapper and his wife became an expert cook in order to satisfy his hunger after his excursions into the woods. Cindy Wengerd, married to Coon Dan’s grandson, is the author of this large, well organized cookbook. She tells me that many of their recipes call for items that most of us have in our pantries already. Spiral bound to lay flat and contains over 900 recipes.

Last but definitely not least, is The Art of Cheesecakes. What is more elegant than a lovely cheesecake at a tea party, church potluck, or other special occasion? In case you thought cheesecake baking is too hard for you, think again! Martha Glick has shared many tips and scrumptious cheesecake recipes with a full color picture for each one. The hardest part will be choosing which one to make. Surely these cheesecakes will turn out picture perfect! Also includes hot and cold beverage recipes. A great gift idea for the cook who needs one more special cookbook!

Ahh, spring! How it lifts our spirits! Wherever you are across the United States, springtime is in full glory or just around the corner! I spied a few perky daffodils blooming this morning. Alas, their cute noses might get nipped the next few nights with temperatures here in Ohio dipping quite low again. But it’s coming, oh it’s coming, Glorious Spring!

Until next time, God bless!

Frieda

Many of us Ohioans have been growing weary of the damp, gray rainy days. This morning we arose to a winter wonderland. Several inches of snow clinging to the trees and fences made for a picturesque sight indeed.

Today was an exciting day for me, the unveiling of an office make-over. Four years ago we gave the main area of the store a make-over in the form of tearing off lots and lots of stubborn wallpaper, painting the walls, changing the floor, and adding new shelves. Our efforts back then never quite reached into my office, and I have been staring at outdated wallpaper all these years.

Thanks to our ambitious employees, the old wallpaper was stripped off and everything was painted in two days’ time. Now it’s up to me to keep the clutter at a minimum; yellow sticky notes all over the walls were not included in the décor plans.

Today we received a shipment of Tropical Breeze Poly/Cotton fabric. Charity did a great job getting those all listed on the website, as well as a few new arrivals of knits, including the popular Liverpool knit. Be sure to check out all the fabrics. We hope to be adding more soon.

Coming up next will be hair accessories and zippers.

Thanks to all of you for your orders, and for your patience. A few of you had way high shipping prices showing, but that is fixed now and shouldn’t be happening again. We are hoping that we might be able to lower the shipping slightly.

Stay warm, everyone!

Frieda