Connecting People with the Joy of Quilting

Hi <%[First]%> <%[Last]%>,

Hello, my Quilters in Paradise!

You can certainly tell that fall is here with the drop in temperatures ... just makes you want to snuggle with a nice soft quilt! For snuggling and staying warm, flannels are hard to beat, but the question we were faced with (back in the searing heat of summer) was: what to get? The answer actually turned out to be simple ... people have liked the Stonehenge line of fabric so much (which was selected by those of you who attended the "Fabric Buyer for a Day" event we hosted last January), that we just had to get the complete 14-bolt, earth-tone line of Stonehenge flannels. They make great mixers and complements in quilts and just have that warm, homey look that you just want to touch.

With the economy showing signs of improving, yet continuing to be challenging, I'm sure many of you are looking for ways to stretch your dollar ... and we've got several ways to help. First, you can turn those unwanted portions of your stash into cash by participating in our bi-annual Cash for Stash event which runs Saturday, October 17th through Saturday, October 24th. Just collect your scraps (fat quarter size or larger), bring them to the shop and, "Abra Cadabra", convert them into Quilter's Paradise Dollars that you can use to purchase any merchandise in the shop! We, in turn, donate the fabric to several organizations in the area who make charity quilts. Who says everybody can't win and alchemy isn't possible?

If you're like me, many of us are stretching our dollars by making gifts for friends and loved ones for the upcoming holiday season. If you know what you want to do but just need a little help and a nudge, we have two inexpensive classes held every week where you can come as often as you like and get the personal help you need from the teacher. First is Ongoing Quilting with Pat Wetzel which meets every Wednesday from 9 - 1. The second class is brand new and has been scheduled to serve those of you who have work and/or commitments during the day. Called Open Sewing with Cat and taught by Catherine Wilson, it meets every Thursday evening from 6 - 9. To top it off, every month there's Pizza Night which occurs on the 3rd Friday evening each month from 6 until midnight. You not only get time for yourself away from all the constant noise, demands and interruptions to work on whatever, but you also get to enjoy great pizza and the cameraderie of many other quilters. Plus, this Pizza Night on October 16th, by popular request of recent attendees, we're going to play a movie so you can watch while you sew. (My husband, Mark, said that unless the movie stars Clint Eastwood or some other action hero, he'll be off doing something else at the shop. Rest assured ... he'll be doing something else!)

Now, I'm sure there are those of you who want to make something for the holidays, but just aren't sure what it should be and need some inspiration. If this describes you, we have plenty of diverse classes for you to choose from. To start with, we've had a number of requests to do a tote bag class and so we're delighted that Carol Kaplan will be teaching the popular Charm Party Tote. Additionally, she is teaching Holiday Napkins. Plus, in addition to the classes that are offered on an ongoing basis throughout the year, we have