April 2008

Winter Hours:
Mon-Fri  10-5
Sat: 10-2
or by appointment anytime – not a problem to open earlier or stay later-just call and let me know when.

April Showers (in this case snow showers instead of rain showers!)  Can’t believe that while I am writing this we have a snowstorm going on outside.  I would say that March went out like a lion….  I think we are all anxious to get outside and enjoy some warm weather.  Looks like we still have to wait a while for that to happen.  In the meantime, you still have plenty of time to get some quilting done.  Never too early to start those gifts for the year.  I got my first shipment of Christmas 2008 fabric last week!  It is called “The 12 Days of Christmas by Nancy Halvorson.  I put it in the back room….

Directions to the Country School House Quilt Shop 
(1) Coming N or Hwy 2/53.  See McDonald’s & Culver’s—turn left, 3 blocks to stop sign.  That is E. 5^th St.  Look diagonally across street.  I’m in the DeSmet Insurance building—has a big insurance sign in the parking lot.  My sign is on the building next to the door. 
(2) From Mn—take Blatnik Bridge.  Follow the Hwy 53 South markers which goes under the bridge.  Going along the lake, past Perkins, Fairlawn Museum.  At Culver’s turn right.  Go 3 blocks to stop sign which is E. 5^th St.  Look diagonally across street.  I’m in the De Smet Insurance building – has a big insurance sign in the parking lot.  My sign is on building next to door.
(3) Coming N on Hwy 35 (Tower Ave).  Turn right on N. 28^th St (Mall Drive)—go past mall and over railroad tracks.  Turn right at the stop lights on E. 5th St.  Go 3 blocks and I am on the right side at 21^st Ave E in the DeSmet Insurance Building.  It has a big sign in the parking lot.  Remember, I am only 3 blocks from Lake Superior.  So if you find the lake, turn 3 blocks away from it and that is E. 5^th Street.  I am on the corner of 21^st Ave E and E. 5^th Street.

Special Offer: 

May will be our 5^th Anniversary—watch for your newsletter with a very interesting Anniversary month special that will last through the whole summer!

Club Notes: 

Nickel Club meets the 2^nd Monday of the month at 5 p.m and will meet for 6 months.  Moda Madness meets the 4^th Monday at 5:30 p.m. (except for May which is the 3^rd Monday due to Memorial Holiday), and will meet every other month starting in Jan.  Thangles Buck-A-Block started in Sept. and is in the 8th month.  Remember to pick up on time or you pay!  Thimbleberries 2008 –2^nd Thursday of month at 1:00 p.m.  

Spring Fling 2008

April 11^th 9-5 and April 12 9-3 at Marshall School for the 2^nd year.  This year we are featuring quilts from our customers.  Each shop is allowed to bring 10 quilts.  I would love to have you volunteer one of your quilts that we could display—they will be hanging and we promise to take very good care of them and will have signs to not touch them.  People attending the show will be given a ballot to vote for their favorite quilt.  That person will win a nice prize from us.  Please see me for more details….I’d love to see one of my customers win!!!  I will need the quilt by April 8^th and will return it to you by the 14^th.   This should be a really fun show and the shops will have a special display of their own along with demos going on during the day.  The shops will also be set up to vendor (6 of them) and we will have coffee and donuts, etc. available during the day.  We won’t be having a lunch this year.  There will be lots of great door prizes (valued at $20 each) with a drawing nearly every hour.  Sandy Will is our featured “LongArm Quilter” this year and she will have a display of her various types of quilting. She also quilted our Show Quilt which is donated to Marshall School at the end of our event.  We will also have a little gift for each person when they register.  Cost is only $3.  If you are out of town, plan a little get away for you and your friends for that weekend.  Don’t miss this quilt show and while there, get the “heads up” on a brand new shop hop (Northern Lights Shop Hop) that is taking place in June which involves 13 shops and is a scavenger hunt with finishers able to win great prizes—among them a new Quest quilting machine from Baby Lock, a Janome machine, retreat packages, sewing machine tote with wheels, etc. and registration at each shop for a basket of quilt goodies that each shop is giving away to a person who visited their shop during the hop.

New Products

New Fabrics  right now I have so many new fabrics I can’t keep track.  New samples are Mary Engelbret panel with some funky borders, CS designed a Natural Garden quilt that uses the panel and the little extra pictures all in one quilt, Giggles is a cute flannel baby quilt – one for boy and one for girl, Elegant Floral is done in a gorgeous floral with black background and uses coordinates in a second block with gorgeous borders; and Cat’s Meow is a great panel with borders…..I’m almost done with “Under the Rainbow…and just started a “Wee Play quilt with pictures and jelly roll.  I’ve got lots of ideas, but not enough hours!!  During March we had a new shipment of something every day and it will keep up like that until part way through April.  I’m going to the Spring Market in Portland in May—this is where I order for fall and winter of 2008-09.  Anything special you are looking for that you think other people might like also—let me know and I’ll put it down on my list.

Baby Lock   If you are interested in trying out any of our new Baby Locks, just give me a call and I will set up the machine(s) you would like to try out with small samples to sew on or quilt on.  You can always try one when you are at the shop too—it’s just that we tend to get interrupted by customers.  They’re all up on display and can be plugged in very quickly for you to try – the new Quest has come and I also have a new mid-line computerized machine that is a great beginning or extra machine with a lot of convenience for a reasonable price.  Stop and see it.

Classes:  

It’s A Wrap – Learn the method for using clothesline, fabric strips, and your sewing machine to make a bowl.  Then see all the other things you can do after that.  Linda will be teaching this class and you should see the samples she dropped off!  We already filled the classes we have posted on  April 3^rd, 10^th  and 17^th  (Thursday) at 5:30 but are adding another class on April 24 (Thursday) and May 1 (Thursday) at 5:30.  Cost is $18 and includes a kit with the clothesline, fabric strips, and needle you need to make the bowl.  You need to provide your sewing machine with neutral thread and you must know how to do the zig-zag stitch on your machine.  Also bring the usual sewing kit with scissors, pins, etc.  It will take a couple hours to make the bowl.  Then you will be an expert.  I also have copies of the book It’s A Wrap for any of you who will want to go on further with making vases, covered bowls, baskets, purses, etc.

In May we will be offering a class called “Cards to Go by Mo”.   Mo has come up with another new pattern – stop in and see the samples.  You will be the first ones to make this new pattern—we will offer more than one class if needed.