Connecting People with the Joy of Quilting

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Hello, my Quilters in Paradise!

Although it looks like the summer heat has finally arrived, we have some really cool fabric and "stuff" for you! (More on the word "stuff" later in the newsletter ... read on!) First, I often hear people talk about fabric like food using such adjectives as "yummy", "delicious", "scrumptious" and "luscious". For those of you who like dessert (and who doesn't?), we have some gorgeous, "mouth watering" Tonga Treats including packages of 2-1/2 inch Batik Treat Strips and 10 inch square Batik Coffee Cakes (aka layer cakes).

And, just out of our laser bed is the latest Garden Patch cat pattern and laser-cut kit, Catus Romanus !

You can see his noble bearing and refined heredity making him a true "Aristo-Cat"!
Plus, for those of you who like table runners, we now have laser-cut kits of Jeri Kelly's September Every Month table runner .



Don't forget to take advantage of this month's coupon where you can enjoy big savings on books including all the new titles we've recently gotten in!

Next, we've been getting a number of inquiries, so it's time to announce that our next semi-annual Cash for Stash event is coming up from Saturday, October 9th through Saturday, October 16th. During that time, bring your fabric scraps into our shop and you'll get one Quilter's Paradise dollar for every pound of fabric scraps up to 30 pounds. You may then spend your Quilter's Paradise dollars for any merchandise in the shop. We will donate the fabric scraps to several local organizations who make charity quilts. (Please note that we ask that donated scraps be 100% cotton and approximately fat quarter size or larger.) Through your generosity, we've received several thousand pounds of fabric since the program's inception. It's a "win-win-win" for all, so clean out your stash and help us out!

Speaking of charitable activities, does your organization need batting for charity quilts? If so, as a distributor of high-quality Legacy batting , we can help! Pellon, the manufacturer of Legacy batting, has a special roll of 80% cotton / 20% polyester batting, measuring 60 inches wide by 60 yards, that we can sell at a very attractive price to organizations who will use it for charitable purposes. And, we will sell all other Legacy batting packages, boards and rolls at 30% off their retail price to such organizations, again for charitable purposes. If you are interested in learning more about this wonderful program, please contact us . Additionally, for any of you who have a seller's permit, such as for doing professional quilting, we can sell you the Legacy batting at wholesale prices!

It's surprising the things you learn while working at a quilt shop. Just a few days ago, my husband, Mark, recognized one of our regular customers who was born in Germany and, of course, speaks fluent German and English. Since Mark took German in school, he wastes no opportunity to converse in German. So, he greeted her by asking (in German), "What are you looking for today?" She pointed to a pile of fabric on the counter and said what sounded to him like the word "stuff". Long story short, it turns out that the German word "Stoff" (rhymes with "off") means "cloth" or "fabric". So, putting what you learn into practice, whenever your significant other asks you what you're going out shopping for or what you bought, you can truthfully say "Stoff" and they'll never be the wiser!

Mark has also performed some programming wizardry in response to some requests we've received to enhance our Online Binding Calculator to include calculations for bias binding. Well, it's now available and I hope it helps many of you. As always, feedback on our calculators (or anything to do with our shop and its products and services) is welcomed!

Back to school isn't just for kids ... check out our updated calendar and list of classes where you'll not only learn something new, but also make new friends and have fun (all in an air conditioned setting)! Don't forget that this Friday is Pizza Night and this Sunday, the Electric Quilt (EQ) club will meet (it meets once/month on the fourth Sunday from 10-11:30). Admission to the club is free and you'll have tons of fun learning EQ in a relaxed and lesson-oriented manner. And, next Saturday, August 28th, we have our next Finish It Today demo which will feature a wonderful pieced project!

Other upcoming classes include: