May 2008

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 Snow Showers bring May Frozen Flowers…..can you believe the weather we have been having?  The storm of April cancelled our Spring Fling Quilt Show…all packed up and then turned right around and unpacked it all!  Really disappointing after working so hard on it….it is rescheduled as “Spring Into Fall” and will be held Sept. 20 and 21 which will be a Sat. and Sun.  This will take the place of our Fall Shop Hop.  We will still be using our customers quilts for our display so hang on to those quilts and make more to enter in the show.  I had 16 gorgeous quilts that were all packed up and ready to hang…please enter them again and I would like another 16 to enter also.  Don’t be shy!

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: 

2008 is our 5^th Anniversary and We Have Something Special For You!

As many of you know, 5 years is a major goal for small businesses.  The stats are that only about ½ of the businesses that start out, manage to last 5 years.  We are entering our 5^th year of business this summer so to celebrate and to thank our wonderful, loyal customers we are doing something Very Special…..We have had special “Red” Country Schoolhouse Quilt Shop bags made—200 of them.  They will be handed out during the month of May.  How do you get one?  When you make a purchase(s) during the month that add up to $50, you will get a bag.  That can be done with 1 purchase or with several smaller ones.  Everything you buy will count toward that $50 target including our sale trunk and our sewing machines!  Why is this bag so important?  In keeping with our original goal of having a quilting/sewing shop that does everything it can to keep prices within the reach of all of our customers and knowing that these months of rising fuel prices have been hard on all of us…..any time during June, July, and August that you bring your red bag with you to shop, you will receive a 15% discount on all regular priced items and your card will also be punched!  You are getting double savings.  I can’t think of a better way to tell you “Thank You.” There are a few exclusions on the 15% which are sewing machines, frames, Nolting Fun Quilter and can’t be combined with any other discounts.   Classes are also excluded.  We only have 200 bags and when they are gone, they are gone.  Now is the time to stock up with some of those kits and fabrics you want to make for birthdays, graduations, births, and Christmas.  All summer our new fall things will be coming so you will have 15% discounts on brand new items.  This program will only happen every 5 years—so don’t wait.

Club Notes: 

Moda Madness meets the 4^th Monday at 5:30 p.m. (except May which is the 3^rd Monday, May 19,  due to Memorial Holiday), and will meet every other month starting in Jan.  Thangles Buck-A-Block started in Sept. and is in the 9th month.  Remember to pick up on time or you pay!  Thimbleberries 2008 –2^nd Thursday of month at 1:00 p.m.  This month it is May 8^th and we play Bingo!

If there are people who didn’t get to sign up for Thimbleberries, but would like to purchase the quarterly kits—you can do that as I have both the Lake and the Lodge.  See me if you want to reserve a certain one ahead of time.  Bear Paw Table Runner is this quarter’s kit. 

Northern Lights Shop Hop
June 13-23

Reserve some time during these dates to go shop hopping with a group of friends….there are 14 places for you to stop, shop, get stamped and see if you can find the item on the scavenger hunt…we haven’t done anything like this so it should be a fun time.  All the shops will be open the same hours and that includes Sundays too.  Great gifts such as a Baby Lock Quest machine, Janome machine, quilt retreat package, sewing machine chair, ironing station, and some other prizes too will be drawn from all those who finished the entire shop hop and found the items in the scavenger hunt.   Each shop will also have a basket filled with goodies that will go to a lucky person who stopped in that shop.  You don’t have to do the whole shop hop to win a basket.  You will need to buy your bag (I have a sample hanging in the shop) which will have your passport, a pattern, 2 fat quarters and a stack of coupons – there may also be some other goodies too….I always think you need a little chocolate to keep you going!  The cost of the bag is $10 and after the shop hop you can use it for grocery shopping—it’s that big!  I will give you more specifics on this after we have our May 10^th meeting where we are finalizing everything.  I’ll do that as a May update.

New Products

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.  I’m off to school again in June for 2 days of training on the Espire and Quest.  Should learn some of the more advanced features that I never have time to read up on.

Stop in and see our new kits, new fabrics, jelly rolls, etc.  I’ve done a couple new patterns that I think are really fun and quick.  One uses a jelly roll and a pack of charms and 1/3 yd of fabric.  The other has a kit, but the pattern can be used for so many other things too. 

I go to Quilt Market in Portland May 14-18 so I’m hoping to come back with lots of great ideas to kick off in the fall.  For sure one of these will be a “Strip Club” that will meet monthly except for Dec.  It will start in Sept and we will be using a book with it.  Lots of smaller projects—nothing too big so they should be able to get done quickly.  I’ll have more info available in July on the various clubs and groups for fall and winter.  I’m thinking of doing a Mystery Club too – you won’t know what it is until you come other than the theme.

Classes:  

Mo will be teaching a class on a new pattern she has designed called “Cards to Go” which is a darling fabric envelope that you can store some of your treasures in such as note cards, greeting cards, pictures, 20 carat diamonds, etc.  This class will be May 12 at 5:30.  Cost including the kit will be $20.  There is no quilting on it, so it should go fairly quickly.  There is interfacing, but it is fusible and of course a cute closure to finish it off.  You will need to come in earlier to pick out your fabric or you can leave it up to us!  I guarantee that once you make one, you won’t be able to stop and what a cute gift to give all your friends.  Christmas gifts can be done in May too……