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Re: Looking Forward to the Move: Part One
My husband will be looking forward to the certification class on the longarm. He can't wait to get
--Dragonlily
i went thru west concord last week and thought i saw a 'moving sale' sign... rechecked it today and
--sandy
Re: I never finish anythi...
A couple of years ago, my daughter gave me a pattern and a tote bag all cut out.i never finished it.
--Marsew
I'm definitely NOT the Queen, maybe a minor princess or duchess in UFO's. A few weeks ago, I was loo
--Linda
This pillow made me laugh out loud! I am happy to hear about your move... no worries about parking
--Cynthia
Loved your blog entry, reminded me that I am not alone! In the UFO category. Congrats on your weddi
--Lee
I'd probably be in the running for Queen of the Unfinished Projects (though that's not saying I'd ac
--Deb
Re: Laminate Allows You to Get Messy!
Oh, and also, we do not have an exact move-in date yet. The new space requires a build-out, which re
--Valerie
Patty, I'm going to email you about the colored bar. And thank you! We're excited, though, I'm sorry
I was wondering why there is a colred strip in the middle of each page.. On a psoitive note I love t
--Patty
In the Shop
In case you do not receive our newsletter (you really should! You can sign up for it on the home page), below is all of the information you could possibly need to know about our upcoming move.
Our last day in West Concord will be August 17th. We will re-open in Acton on August 23rd. We are closed August 18-22.
Our new address is 340 Great Road, Acton, MA 01720, which is at the corner of Rt. 27 and Rt. 2A. The phone number at the new location will be 978-635-1177.
We will be closed the following Mondays: July 30, August 6, 13, and September 3 (for Labor Day).
The hours at the new location will be:
We continue to bargain away--the more you buy, the less we have to move! Come on in and see what we have on sale this week!
When customers come in and pick out fabrics for a quilt or talk about a project they are working on, we always tell them, "Be sure to come back and show it to us when you finish!" Those who do get showered with "Ooooo"s and "Ahhhhh"s, and a photo of their project on our Flickr page and potentially the blog! So, always bring your finished projects in--they are the highlights of our day!
Each month's Saturday Sampler session begins with show and tell. Quilters bring in projects at all different stages to show off, get accolades, and also get encouragement. Below are the Saturday Sampler quilts shown off at June's session. Three of them are completed versions of Skies over Paris, the 2011-2012 Saturday Sampler series. The first is the Spring quilt from the Four Seasons series. Aren't they stunning?
Other projects shown off at June's Saturday Sampler.
We often get sneak peeks of quilts in their many different stages. The quilts below are just about completed; all they need is the binding! We hope the quilters bring them back for complete photographing and storytelling when they are all done, because they need to be fully shared!
We have a running joke at the shop. Donna, who manages our inventory, insists on a two-week turn-around policy on samples for the shop. Jane (the owner) and I are not so good about following that policy. As a matter of fact, Donna likes to say (to everyone) that we never finish anything. At Christmas time, Jane made this gorgeous topiary and left it at the register to be a constant reminder to Donna that she does, in fact, finish things.
December must be as good as January for resolution because I decided that I needed to assert my ability to finish things. In keeping with our "never finish anything" squabble, I found a pillow embroidered with "I never finish anythi." Perfect!
I quickly managed to finish the embroidery portion of the work. As soon as I finished it, I set it down on a table at my friend Sandra's house and left it behind. She let me know she had it, and mused that maybe this is why I never finish anything. I picked it up the next month, and set it aside to finish.
By this point, I was knee-deep in preparation for my April wedding. So, it continued to be set aside--probably 10 different places. With the wedding joyfully complete, I finally felt like working on something creative. Actually, what I felt like doing was finishing something. The "I never finish anythi" pillow popped into my head. It was sooo ready for finishing.
I set up the ironing board, cleared off my sewing table and went looking for the pillow stitchery. I checked where I thought I'd left it. It wasn't there. I checked another pile. It wasn't there either. I ripped apart my sewing room and my guest room looking for it. 45 minutes later I gave up, laughing that yet again this may explain why I never finish anything.
I was determined, though. I was going to finish this pillow. So, I printed out the design again, and went to re-trace. I had set some Kona Snow on the ironing board when I was setting up, so I grabbed that to cut it into the right size. Guess what was mixed in with the fabric? Yup, I found the finished stitchery.
With my determination re-energized, I added borders and the back to the stitchery. I stood up to turn it inside out, only to realize that I had sewn the stitchery on inside-out. Part of me really wanted to leave it that way. I mean, it would have been perfect. But, I knew it wouldn't last. So, I took my trusty best friend, and ripped those seams right out.
More determined than ever, I re-pinned back and front -- double-checking to make sure that I had RIGHT sides together. When it was complete, I actually said, "Ta-da!" to my dog, Toto. He didn't seem that impressed, but, some days all you really need is to actually finish something, and I did! Now it will live at the shop to be a source of laughter and inspiration to all who can relate.
Have you ever had a project like this? That just seemed to not want to be completed? What was it? We'd love to hear about it! Did you ever finish it, or did you give up and move on to something else?
We've been getting great, positive feedback about our move to Acton Woods Plaza, so we thought we'd wet your palette a bit more.
Below is a photo of Acton Woods Plaza, noting our new location.
Our classroom space will be larger AND expandable. This means more opportunities for our community, including inviting guest teachers from out-of-town to come for lectures, trunk shows, and classes. Stay tuned, because we'll be announcing our first guest teachers soon. They are quilters you won't want to miss!
We'll also be introducing a longarm rental program, complete with a certification process where you can learn to quilt your own quilts on a longarm! The store will feature a Gammill 30" longarm, as well as the Statler Stitcher (see an example below)--the computer-operated quilter. Further details about certification classes and rental will be posted shortly on the website. Having the Gammill (she's going to need a name! Interchanging Gammill, longarm, and Gammill Longarm is getting boring!) will open so many possibilities for the quilters in our community. You may have thought you'd never get the opportunity to quilt your own quilts on a longarm, since you'd never have the funds or the space for your own. We can't wait to see all of the beautiful quilts that are finished in our new space!
We're also looking forward to the new friends we'll make at the shops in the plaza. So many possibilities all the way around!
The last week was dark and gloomy with lots of rain. It's times like these where a working in a quilt shop is quite a joy--there is no lack of color surrounding you! In the middle of all that grey and rain, we pulled out some past Batik Club packages and spread them out for a full color fix.
Each fan consists of 10 fat quarters that you could be receiving on a monthly basis! This club is ideal for all of our batik lovers who want to increase their stash (and let's be honest, who doesn't?!).
Want to learn more about Batik Club? See the Batik Club product page and sign up today!
Wondering what you could do with your Batik Club collections? See the quilt below, which was made by Mary. The only fabric she purchased outside of Batik Club was the brown. Isn't it fabulous?
Some of you may have noticed that we have expanded the sale area at the shop. This is because we've been preparing for a big announcement--we're moving!
We are so excited to announce that after ten years at our current home in West Concord, we're moving. We've loved our corner spot, right across from the train (and Teacakes!), but we've outgrown it. It's time to move so we can offer our customers more fabric, services, classes, and space. While we'll be moving our location and updating our look, though, don't worry; we'll still be the friendly, helpful Quilter's Way you've come to know and trust. And the best part? We'll have free parking!
We are moving the the Acton Woods Plaza at the corner of Rt. 2A and Rt. 27 in Acton, MA. We will be two doors down from The Woolpack, so you can consolidate all of your crafty shopping in one great swoop. Our exact move date is still to be determined, as the landlord has to do a build-out in the space. But, as soon as we have a date, we will let you know.
You will also want to stay tuned for information on sales as we prepare for the move. It'll be time to clean shop, so we can make room for more great stuff (and have to move less!). Check the blog, Facebook, and your email newsletters frequently to be sure you have the most up-to-date information on what is happening.
We hope you are excited about this opportunity as we are. It has been hard to contain ourselves since we finalized the details.
Our moving sale will start tomorrow, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Select fabric will be discounted from 10-50% off. It's going to rain all week, so come on in and help us clean shop!
On my first day as director of an after-school program, one of the kindergarteners was making an absolute mess during snack. I looked at her and told her that she should only make as much of a mess as she's willing to clean up. She looked right back at me, and without skipping a beat said, "My mom says, 'If you didn't get messy, you didn't have fun." In the last five years, or so, I have completely embraced that phrase as a life philosophy.
In order to embrace that kind of philosophy, though, you have to be willing to make certain changes in your life. The first and probably most obvious is that you have to be willing to clean UP the mess. I tend to know just how much fun we've had in an activity at the shop, or in life, by how long it takes me to clean up. My best dinner parties aren't fully cleaned up for days. If I have no clean-up, people must have been bored out of their minds.
I have also, though, learned to love certain products that make my messy life easier and slightly faster to clean up. One of those is laminated fabric. Last week we showed you some great bags that you can make out of laminated cotton. This week, though, we're going to talk getting messy. Laminated fabric protects you, your children, your furniture, your car, and so much more! It's also easy to clean. It can be wiped clean, or it can be thrown in the washing machine. Laminated fabric couldn't possibly make your life any easier unless it grew legs to walk itself to the washing machine.
When people see the rolls of laminate, they often think of making little rain jackets. But, what about something even simpler? Mary has whipped up a couple of rain poncho samples for the shop, one for the kiddos, and one for the adults--because why should only the kiddos get to jump in the rain puddles?
Our young friend Rin is modeling Fig Tree Quilts' Raindrops Rain Cape made in Wildflower laminated fabric by Dear Stella. Aren't the cape (and Rin) darling?
And don't you wish you had your very own rain poncho, modeled here by Jeanne? It's made using the Partly Cloudy Poncho pattern by Indygo Junction and Kaffe Fassett's Plink laminated fabric.
We also have a sample laminate table cloth (made with Teardrops laminated fabric by Dear Stella) in the shop right now. These are so easy to stitch up for both indoor and outdoor use, and they really brighten up any table. And for quick spills? Just wipe them up! No need to throw in the wash each time!
Be sure to check out all of the messy-repellent laminate tutorials we found. Now the tough part: which project should you start with?
As we have been overwhelmed with new fabric the last several weeks, we have been lax in mentioning the new laminates that have also arrived. These new laminates are soft, very wearable, and fun to work with. We currently have four new laminates in the shop:
We have gotten the impression, though, that many people can be a little fearful of working with laminate. We're here today to assure you that it's not all that scary to work with. As a matter of fact, Mary discovered, while making some samples that you'll get to see next week, that even the serger can be used! There are a few tips we give to people in the shop when they are considering laminate.
Amy Butler has written a wonderful tip sheet for working with laminate (click to see). Check it out for much more information, including care info, suggested notions and tools, and sewing tips.
For those who like face-to-face instruction and assistance, Jane is offering a laminate class on Tuesday, May 29 (click to go register!). You'll make a fabulous and fun beach bag that will be the talk of the boardwalk this summer!
With all of the new fabric that has come in, we've had our working bees making fabulous samples and wanted to share some of them with you. Today, we'll showcase the Dear Stella fabrics.
Sew Liberated's Schoolhouse Tunic in Dear Stella's Orange Stained Glass.
Izzy and Ivy Design's Macy Giggles Dress in Pink Sunburst Stripe and Peony Basketweave by Dear Stella.
Laminated Teardrop tablecloth, Peacock canvas tote bag, and blue and white polka dot and Sunburst Stripe with white linen miter-bordered napkins.
The UPS man has visited frequently the last several weeks with massive deliveries of new fabric. Even knowing what is coming, there is nothing more exciting than opening those boxes and seeing the new fabrics for the first time. Each time a delivery is made, we rearrange the shelves to make room, and goodness has there been a lot of rearranging! Let me tell you a little about the fabric that has arrived recently.
Aneela Hoey's "A Walk in the Woods" for Moda Fabrics is an absolutely darling interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. We have many bolts of fabric from the line, as well as charm packs and layer cakes. Moda offers a free pattern to go along with this fabric line.
Clematis is a stunning new line designed by Cedar West for Clothworks. Trust me when I say that the pictures of this line just do not do it justice. The florals just pop, and the coordinate fabrics are just luscious. Clothworks offers a free pattern to accompany this line of fabrics.
Denyse Schmidt's highly anticipated return of Flea Market Fancy by Free Spirit does not disappoint. This reprint's hues are refreshed and include some new colors of favorite patterns. Be sure to get yours today! We don't expect these favorite bolts to last long.
Joanna Figueroa's latest fabric line designed for Moda Fabrics will certainly make you want to get outside in this surprisingly warm weather and fly a kite, go fishing, or toss a ball with your favorite child. California Girl embodies all of those things in Figueroa's signature style and colors. Playtime Toile, the signature fabric, is just absolutely precious.
Last, but not least, we are thrilled to be carrying fabric from Timeless Treasure's new endeavor, Dear Stella Designs. This new manufacturer promises to have coordinated, fresh designs, which we think our customers will love. Along with the many bolts (about 50!) of quilting cottons we currently have, we also have four canvases and two laminates
As you can see, we really are busting at the seams with new fabric. Come on into the shop--either online or in West Concord--and start a new project for Spring. You won't regret it!