Connecting People with the Joy of Quilting

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Hello, my Quilters in Paradise!

"April showers bring May flowers" ... and what else? A quilt run, of course! The next Row Quilt Run starts this Saturday, May 1st and continues through Saturday, May 8th. The theme of this run is "High Tea", so gather up your friends, get some fresh spring air and visit all 8 participating shops where at each shop you get a free pattern for a row in a quilt!

Speaking of getting out, it's "Kansas City, Here I Come"! I'll be flying the friendly skies to Kansas City with my daughter, Laura, to be a vendor at the 2010 Machine Quilters Showcase (MQS) from May 12 - 15. We will be highlighting our patent-pending LeaderMate^TM Quilt Mounting System and if you are a Longarmer who may be interested in this system, you'll want to take advantage of our 2010 MQS special - even if you can't make it to the show.

May brings one of the most important days of the year ... you guessed it ... Mother's Day! If your mother is a quilter, or you know a mother who's a quilter, we're here to help. May's coupon is for the Bendable Bright Light, a gadget that I have found to be immensely helpful and indispensible as my eyes ain't gettin' any younger! And if you just can't figure out what to get the quilter who seems to have everything she could ever want, there's always a gift certificate (because we all know that there's always something more to get!).

We continue to be real busy in "Laser Land". As this newsletter is being written, we're as busy as Santa's elves getting ready for our monthly Finish It Today (FIT) demo this Saturday, May 1st at 8:30 am. FIT features laser-cut kits and templates so you can finish projects with ease in no time! Come on in, have some fun, enjoy some coffee and donuts, a free acrylic template set for this month's project ... and 15% off all non-sale merchandise. If Saturday doesn't work for you, no problem - drop in on Thursday, May 13th at 7 pm.

Next, our laser-cut with fusible attached Hawaiian-style shapes have been so popular that I couldn't resist designing a couple more shapes. Cut from a variety of gorgeous Batiks, they're versatile and attractive as embellishments for your projects!

And, with summer coming, the water beckons! After all, 'S' stands for: sun, sea, summer, San Diego, sand, and sailing! When you put all these together (with a little laser magic thrown in), you get an absolutely delightful laser-cut wall hanging kit called Sailboat Trio . Perfect for perking up any room or as a gift!

Summer is only a few weeks away, but we've been busy lining up teachers and classes to help make your summer more enjoyable. Our calendar now goes through June and includes these new classes:

Karen Cunagin is offering a series of classes under the umbrella "Artful Quilting" the first two of which are Wool on Wool Patriotic Heart Vase and Surface Design & Mixed Media for Quilters. She's also teaching her ever popular Diamond Patch Bag and Cat's Game classes,

Sharon Wilhite is returning to teach an original design called Zandra's Choice,

Wendy Mathson is offering an excellent class for those who want to further develop their quilting skills with Intermediate Quilting & Skill Building, and