Newsletter January 2008

Hello All,

Thank you for your continued support.  Mary and I have found that you are more than customers, you are friends.  This was so evident when I had my accident last September.  I want to thank all of you for your well-wishes and help.

We had an exciting year with guest teachers, Carol Doak, Robbi Joy Eklow, and Diane Gaudynski.  Everyone who attended had a great time while learning new techniques. 

This year, we have another 3 teachers scheduled:

Toby Lischko, an award-winning quilt and fabric designer, will be here in early April to teach her “unfoundation” piecing technique and a mystery quilt class designed for all our new quilters who want to improve their skills. 

In June, we will have Kathy Kansier returning for a hand-appliqué class and art quilt class. Kathy will also be available to do quilt appraisals while she is here.   

In October, Debbie Bowles of Maple Island Quilts will be joining us for a couple of days of classes and a lecture.  Her work is innovative, fresh, and fun. 

A sign-up sheet will be available in the store.  Payment is required 6 weeks prior the class to guarantee your spot.  Class descriptions are attached.

Join us on Super Bowl Sunday for the Big Game Sale.  This has become an annual tradition.  All fabric will be discounted

40% off            8:00am – 10:00am
30% off            10:00am – 11:00am
20% off            11:00am – 12:00pm
15% off            12:00pm – 5:00pm

All day, notions, books, thread and patterns will be on sale as well.   Buy 3 of one item and get the 4th (lesser value) free.   Ask about our Bernina sale prices, valid all day on Super Bowl Sunday.

You can pre-shop one week before the sale, but your discount will be determined by the hour you arrive to pick up your purchase on Super Bowl Sunday.

Bernina has increased their prices effective the first of the year.  We find it necessary to increase our prices as well.  However, we will sell our floor merchandise at the current prices less a 5% demo discount, unless marked otherwise.  This would be a good time to bring a new machine home.  First come; first served.  New merchandise brought into the store will be subject to the price increase. 

Remember, if you recommend us to a friend and they purchase a machine, you will receive a $50.00 store credit.  Please remind your friend to mention your name when they purchase. 

Happy New Year!!
Jane & Mary

CLASSES - WORKSHOPS - CLUBS.....

Bernina Activa 210 Winner

Congratulations to the winner of the Activa 210, Kathryn Degeneffe of Carpentersville, IL.

 
The block of the month uses the Pieceful Nights pattern by Lori Smith.  Each month you will receive the pattern and fabric for a block using Jo Morton’s Hattiesburg fabric line.  Your pattern will include the directions to finish your quilt as displayed.  A finishing kit will also be available.

Thimbleberries Club

$30 a month or $85 a quarter*

*Includes fabric for the Big Club Quilt (backing too), pattern for the Big Club Quilt as well as the quarterly project patterns.
Meets the second Friday of the month at 9:00 a.m.

This year we are getting the fabrics for the Lodge variation of the Big Club Quilt.  We will also have available the patterns for the quarterly projects, if you choose not to join us this year to make the Big Club Quilt.

Come and choose your fabrics for your topper at 50% off (backing not included) and get a head start at decorating for the seasons.  The book contains 12 simple quilted table toppers, and we will be doing one per quarter.

Embroidery Club

No Charge ~ Open to all makes and models of embroidery machines.

Meets the second Saturday of the Month at 10:00 a.m.

Get helpful hints. Share experiences and projects with show-and-tell.  There is no fee, but we request that you purchase your embroidery supplies for your projects from us.  There is a 20% discount on your supplies purchased when you attend the meeting. 

Interested in machine embroidery, but not yet an owner, join us for a club meeting.  Test drive a machine.  For a $10.00/hour fee, you can use a store machine to complete an embroidery project.  Your rental fees can be accumulated up to $250.00 to be used as a down payment on a machine.

Have you mastered your embroidery machine and are ready to go onto the next level?  The Bernina Embroidery Software is an easy-to-use but very powerful tool for your creativity. It can be used with all embroidery formats and machines.

You will need to bring your laptop with the embroidery software installed.  These lessons go beyond the guide lessons you receive with the purchase of the software and is a great venue to learn all the tools this software has to offer, including the lettering options, auto-digitizing, photo-snap, cross stitch, the quilter program and the portfolio management tool included in the software.

Beginning Quilting 1

If you’ve never made a quilt or if you want to review the basics, this class is for you.  During this class, you’ll learn all the steps in construction of a quilt:  rotary cutting, piecing, attaching borders, straight-line machine quilting and binding.  At the end of this course, you will have a completed Rail Fence wall quilt from the book “Start Quilting with Alex Anderson.”  Supplies to be purchased at Phat Quarters.  There will be a 10% discount on all class supplies.

4  sessions                                                                                                                 $50.00

March 6, 13, 20 & 27 Thursdays, 10am -1 pm OR
April 6, 13, 20 & 27  Sundays, 12 pm – 3 pm  
            
Cheri Washburn, Instructor

Beginning Quilting 2

Once you know the basics, it’s time to expand your quilting repertoire to blocks with ‘points’.  Using the book, “Quick Quilt Tricks” by Billie Lauder, you’ll learn to make some of the basic building blocks of quilting:  half-square triangles, flying geese, and square-in-a-square.  These building blocks will be combined to make 5 different traditional quilt blocks.  By the end of the class you’ll have finished the top for a sampler wall quilt with an unusual setting.  Supplies to be purchased at Phat Quarters.  There is a 10% discount on all class supplies.

3 sessions                                                                                                                  $40.00
April 1, 8 & 15 (Tuesdays) 10am – 1 pm OR
May 4, 11, & 18 (Sundays) 12pm – 3 pm                                 

Cheri Washburn, Instructor

Scrap Therapy

Enough already!  Are you up to your ears in fabric scraps?  Have you had it with bags and boxes of twisted pieces of fabrics stored away to collect dust? Imagine the stunning scrap quilts you can make…If only you had a plan!...You need Scrap Therapy!

Cutting Workshop

Get ready to get organized!  Join us for a hands-on cutting session aimed to get those tangled scraps under control!  Sign up once or several times.  Each time, receive a free stackable storage bin, chosen specifically to get your fabric scraps in check.  Sewing machine not required.  The Cutting Workshop is the pre-requisite to any Scrap Therapy quilt project session.

Class Fee:  $15.00/session
Dates:  Saturday, February 16, 1:00 – 3:00 pm    
Instructor: Jane Michals

or

Sunday, March 2, 12:00 – 2:00 pm  & Thursday March 6, 2:00 – 4:00pm,   
Instructor:  Cheri Washburn

Scads and scads of dark and light mid-sized scraps are transformed into this generous lap-size quilt.  Let your scraps dictate the color scheme.  Add a single focus print to tie it all together in sashing, borders and binding.  A cozy, scrappy quilt to give away or keep for yourself!

Class Fee:       $25.00
Class Times:   Saturday, April 19, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
                        & Saturday, May 3, 1:00 – 3:00 pm  or
                        Wednesday, April 30, 11:00am – 1:00 pm &
                        Wednesday, May 14, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

                                                                                                                                               
Want to use up your small scraps in a hurry?  Choose an adorable border stripe fabric; add an accent border and your scraps, and TA-DA!  Tell everyone your leftovers are in the centerpiece instead of the meal!

Class Fee:       $15.00
Class Times:   Saturday, April 26, 1pm – 3pm &
                        Saturday, May 10, 2pm – 2:30 pm or
                        Wednesday, May 7, 11am – 1pm &
                        Wednesday, May 21, 11 – 11:30 am

National Teachers 2008

Toby Lischko

Toby Lischko has been quilting since 1985 and teaching since 1995.    Her specialties include paper piecing, miniature quilts, Seminole piecing, and using mirrors to enhance fabric designs, circular flying geese, eight-point stars, lone star and sewing curves.

She designs her own quilts and has her own line of patterns, Gateway Quilters and Stuff, Inc.  She is also a commissioned designer for P&B Textiles, RJR fabrics, Timeless Treasures, and Marcus Brothers Fabrics.

Her quilt patterns have been featured in “Quilter’s World”. “McCall’s Quilting”, “American Patchwork and Quilting”, “Quilt”, “Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine” special editions, “The Quilter”, and “Miniature Quilt Magazines.”  Her quilts have graced the covers of “Miniature Quilt Magazine”, “Quilter’s World” Magazine, and the “Better Homes and Gardens Quilting” catalog.

We will be hosting Toby for 2 workshops, Geese on the Loose, and Mystery Road to Oklahoma.  Visit our store in March to see and enjoy her trunk show.

This class was developed from Toby’s prize-winning quilts.  Learn “unfoundation piecing” on circular flying geese and New York Beauty blocks.  Toby will help you take the fear out of sewing curves using only three pins.  You can use one of Toby’s original patterns for the class or you can design your own. 

This is a technique class and is not for beginners.

$45.00 plus a kit fee of $15.00

Learn to improve your piecing techniques with one block that has flying geese, half-square triangles, four patches and a stretched nine-patch.  Quilt is table runner size and you may be able to finish the top by the end of the class.  Finishing instructions are included for a variety of binding techniques.  Optional mitered border and instructions for easy miters. 

$45.00 plus kit fee $9.00

It’s easy to get stuck in a personal rut in quilt making.  In this lecture Debbie will provide you with ideas and examples about teaching yourself to take small or large risks, from fabric to design, in your quilt making.  Debbie will show 2-3 quilts of many of the patterns from Maple Island Quilts, demonstrating how fabric, value and block orientation can easily change the entire look of the project.         

$30.00

Choose your free pattern, Eureka or Pagodas, and have fun creating a quilt that is truly yours.  These patterns are full of design fun as you control the look of each block and the look of the final project, while you learn the basic Cutting Curves technique—inventive rotary cut and machine-stitched curves. 

$60.00

Do you have a great fabric that you just can’t cut and want to showcase?  Do you have an orphan quilt block, an embellished project or even a T-shirt you would like to showcase?  Create a border worthy of them by weaving raw edge strips onto a fabric base.  You will create a border that is as fun to look at as it is was to create.  After weaving, you will finish your border with fancy threads and/or those wonderful decorative stitches on your sewing machine.  Bring buttons, beads, and other embellishments.  

$35.00

Come in and visit both of our locations!!

Quilt Shop
303 South Commerce
Galena, IL 61036
815.776.0034
pqquilting@aol.com
www.phatquartersquilting.com

Gift Store
313 South Main
Galena, IL 61036
815.776.0001
phatgiftstore@aol.com
www.phatgiftstore.com

We look forward to seeing all of you over the next couple of months. If we didn't offer a class you'd like to take, please let us know - we'll do our best to accommodate you. We also look forward to suggestions, comments, etc.

It is the policy of Phat Quarters, Inc. to protect the privacy of members on our mailing list. We will not share your information with any other merchant and/or company. If you do not wish to receive communications from us, please e-mail us pqquilting@aol.com