I LOVE MY JOB

It's always a great morning when one of the Block of the Month groups comes to an end and almost everyone has their top done to show off.  Recently the "intermediate" group that was doing the Country Gatherings quilt finished up.  Are these great, or what?  Keep in mind they are all the same blocks, just a few different settings and, of course, different fabric choices.  Just try to decide which one you like best!

These quilters started in my Beginner Block of the Month in the fall of 2008. That must be a really good foundation because look what they can do a year and a half later!

Here's Debbie's:

Joni's:

Linda's:

Mary Lou's:

Sue's:

And Maura's

Lois'

BEGINNER SERIES FOR THE SUMMER

Summer's coming, and the many school teachers among us have more time to quilt.  So..... I am offering the Beginner Block of the Month as a Block of the Week over the summer.  This would be good for anyone who is self taught and wants to learn more, about everything.  Each different block was picked to teach a different technique.  We will meet on Wednesday mornings at  9:30 for 9 weeks from June 16th to August 11th. See our website under Classes for a lot more detail.  Did I mention that it is $40 and other stores charge $177?

I would greatly appreciate you passing this on to any teacher friends of yours.  For inspiration, see the pictures above made by some teachers (not every one is a teacher) who started with this weekly Beginner class in the fall of 2008.  If this isn't inspiring, I don't know what is.  Plus, I think I might be a good teacher ;-)

ELECTRIC QUILT SEVEN

The newest version of Electric Quilt has been announced.  The retail on the upgrade from 6 to 7 is $89.95 BUT if you order it in May from us, we have a special price well below that or any I have seen on the internet.  I am not saying here, you'll have to contact us.  The retail on the whole new package is $189.95, and we have a special offer on that as well.

SPRINGTIME - NEW BLOCK OF THE MONTH

Bobbie has done it again!  Announcing our next APPLIQUE BLOCK of the MONTH, called SPRINGTIME.  We are talking Fusing here, not needle turn.  It's easy (think basic trace, cut and paste skills from the good old days).  In fact, with one of the new products we have, you don't even have to trace anymore, just feed it though the copy machine!  This type of block of the month is done on your own - you just come pick up your fabric and pattern each month (as opposed to the beginner one above that has a lecture and demo every month).

I'd like to point out that these blocks have no where the number of pieces that the Roosters had, or the tiny pieces that the Nutcrackers had.  It is very do-able.  Bobbie will hold a class on Sunday June 13th for those of you who need a little confidence to get started on it.  That will be from 1 - 3 pm $15.

The Springtime block of the month will be $35 to sign up (the pattern for this one is not as expensive) and $25 a month for the fabric (there's a lot of different fabrics in "filler" blocks).  We want to start in June, so, please, get in here, take a look and sign up.  You can sign up on our website, too.  Look for it under Blocks of the Month under Online Shopping.

Here are a bunch of close up pictures.  You really should come in just to see all the details that Bobbie quilted in, like flowers coming out of the pots in the wheelbarrel:

Hello Quilters!

Does anyone know where the expression "May Day, MayDay"  for a ship in distress comes from?  Seems strange that something that conjures up very pleasant pictures of May Poles on the one hand also is used for distress. 

OK, so.  We have lots of new things worth mentioning.  Such as:

This quilt was in a magazine in 2006 and Karen and I never forgot it.  Timeless Treasures reprinted very similar fabric so we bought it and decided to kit it up.  Then I couldn't get back issues of the magazine, but I tracked down the designer of it, Mabeth Oxenreider in Iowa and she gave us permission to type up the pattern.  So we are thrilled.  This quilt was loaned to my by Geri Chapman who made it when the magazine first came out.  The squares are navy and white and the background is very white.  You can make it any size from crib to king.

BLUE UNDERGROUND

This is a quilt design company local to us who has been getting more an more attention nationwide.  We are lucky to have several of their quilts on loan so we can feature their patterns and make kits.  They love batiks, we love batiks, it's a natural combination.  Here are a few, but not all of what we have now.:

HUNGRY CATERPILLER AND BROWN BEAR BROWN BEAR

Look who's back and he brought some friends.  We have kits again.  We also finally got the fabric that just has the big dots all over it.

GOT BABIES?

Or more specifically, babies to make quilts for?  We have it all from regulare to flannel to Minkee (aka Oh So Soft).

GOT STRIPS?

Here's the latest "Strip Club" quilt.  BTW, the next session of Strip Clubs will be June, July and August on the 4th Saturday of the month at 9 am.  Try it, you'll like it.  This one is extrememely easy, called Transitions.  Actually 70% of the strip club quilts are extrememly easy. 

NEW FABRIC

That Jo Morton is so talented.  Here is some of the latest fabric by her for you reproduction, or just more traditional, fans:

NEW TECHNIQUE  - FRACTURED

People have been quite taken with this technique.  You take LARGE prints, chop them up, and put them back together (using the gridded fusibale ifyou want to) and voila:  We have the perfect flower prints to do this with.

LANDSCAPE QUILT FABRIC

Look!  About 40 different fabrics with landscape prints in quarter yard cuts.  Think what you could do with this pack!  Rocks, roofs, stones, water, leaves, grass, etc, etc,

TOMORROW

The unveiling of the newest JANOME (Ja KNOW me).  This is a great new machine.  It still does not cook for you, however.

Hello Quilters!

Valentine's Day can be a big disappointment for some of us.  This year I thought it would be nice to do a little something for you.  So how about this?  A free fat quarter with purchase on Valentine's Day.  That's this Sunday in case you were not paying attention.  Fine print:  By fat quarter, I am referring to any fat quarter that is pre-cut in the store, not to be confused with our thousands of half-yards.  We also have chocolate.

LONG ARM QUILTING UPDATE & SPECIAL

This is exciting news.  The Autopilot on our large INNOVA by ABM International is working perfectly and we now have about 20 allover patterns for you to choose from.   Maybe you didn't realize that we are now accepting quilts from customers for quilting.  The price is 2 cents per square inch.  On a huge 100 by 100 quilt that would be $200 but on a 72 by 86 inch it comes out to $124.  I will waive the set up fee of $30 for the rest of the month of February.  That means your total price is 2 cents a square inch including thread. 

Advantages to the Autopilot include that takes out the human error, and the designs can be scaled up or down to the density that suits the quilt.  So say we have a design that you like, but it's really dense, and you prefer a more airy look, we can do that by enlarging the design.

Requirements for quilting:  Bring the top in pressed, the back pressed, and the back must be four inches bigger all the way around.  For example, for that 72 by 86 quilt the backing needs to be 80 by 94.  You can bring your own batting or buy it from us for convenience.  Right now there is very little wait.

GREAT CLASSES ADDED

STORM AT SEA  Here's a class on one of the classics - the Storm at Sea.     Usually you see these quilts done in shades of blue, but here are two models that give it a bright batik twist.  You can see why it is called Storm at Sea, though, can't you?

This one has repeated one of the shapes as a pieced border.   Who did these wonderful quilts you might ask?  Schley Brandt is back to teaching quilting and we are very happy to have her teaching here now.  She did these models and the following class description:

This intermediate level class for one of my favorite quilts, is simplified by the use of the Trimplates developed by Wendy Mathson! Don’t worry! These are not templates, but are actually uniquely designed rulers that you use to accurately trim each segment of your block after you piece it, so they fit perfectly together! A challenging block is constructed in a practically fool proof way! You will be so pleased with the results! This is a two part class – in the first part you will learn how to make each of the 3 segments of the block from fabrics that I have pre-cut for you to use in class.  Do NOT get your fabric ahead of time.  As you see the possibilities during the first class, it might change your mind about what you want to do for your quilt.  There will be time after class to look at fabric, although you can bring anything from home that you are sure you want to be included in it.

 Then you will have time at home to make your own sections using your fabrics before we meet for the second time. During the second class we will spend time putting together your blocks segments into a quilt top. If you want help with color placement or fabric choice, please bring your own fabrics to the first class – but if you prefer not to lug them to class you do not need to bring them until you come to the second class!

2 sessions – the first is 2.5 hours, the second is 4 hours for a total of 6.5 hours.  Fee is $50  Teacher is Schley Brandt.  First date is Saturday February 20th at 1 - 3:30 and the second meeting is from 10 - 2 on Saturday March 6th.  Please see our website under Classes for the supply list, etc.

And not only that, they can be used for some other patterns, too.  Check out these stars:

TOTAL BEGINNERS CLASS If you have been lurking, waiting for a class that starts at the very beginning, this is for you.  Or if you have a friend who would like to start quilting, tell them about this. 

We have not done a Total Beginner's Class in a long time since we have our DVD of How to Make Your First Quilt, but.......Schley Brandt is such a great teacher (did I mention that she won Teacher of the Year from Professional Quilter?) and she has a beginning class that she loves to teach.  Like me, she loves to get quilters started.

MARINER'S COMPASS Brenda Henning is in from Alaska to teach at two guilds, and here.  The Mariner's Compass class is Sunday February 21st.  There are a few spots left.  Please see our website under Classes for the supply list, etc.  Learn more about Brenda Hennings at www.bearpawproductions.com

OCEAN WAVES  Brenda Hennings is teaching this one on Monday February 22nd.  Again, please see our website under Classes for the supply list, etc.

Hello Quilters!

Those of you who live far from Chicago can just delete this now, and my apologies for the inconvenience.

Sewing machines are wonderful gifts to yourself. I have some "awesome" deals on poor leftover machines from our PFAFF days. Only one is a trade in. The others have never had a real owner before. See the red tags? I'm almost to the "make me an offer" point on most of them. Lets start at 50% off MSRP. Don't they look sad? They've all been gone over by Jim the repair guy and are ready for you. Actually, there are two discontinued Janomes in there, too.

You know how they say "while quantities last"? Well, you're lookin' at the quantities.

CLASSES

For those of you who do live near Chicago, but are not getting the (almost) weekly emails, I wanted you to know that all our upcoming classes are on our website! This is very unusual. Take advantage of it. When you find a class you like, you can register there with a credit card.

In particular, I'd like to draw your attention to the Beginner's Block of the Month that I will go on about below, and the Triangles class that will teach you many ways to make your quilts sparkle. There are weekday Intermediate and Advanced groups, the Weekend Advanced group and our Strip Club.

Embroidery fans, we are doing the new Embroidablock Block of the month in a Sunday group and a Thursday evening group.

FYI - If you are self taught, never had a class, or just want to expand your horizons, this class is the way to do it. A few years ago, I made a list of the most important things a beginner quilter needs to learn in order to then go off and tackle any quilt they liked. Then I picked a block to teach each of those things. We originally were going to call it See What I Can Do. That name didn't stick, but it is an accurate description of how you feel at the end. Just look at these shining faces.

Consider signing up. It's on the website under classes, or call or come in the store. It's dirt cheap for all you get. $40. Some stores charge over $150.

OK, that's a lot about the Beginner Class because i love moving beginners along, but there is more description of each class on our website www.quiltfabric.com under Classes.

One more thought for the new year... if you live in the northern suburbs and miss being able to get batiks at Barrington Sewing Center, or Prints Charming or Quilter's Pallette, we have more batiks now than any of those ever did. I know. We just counted for inventory! Come on down.

Hello Quilters!

We have our long arm quilting machine set up and ready for you to try, and buy. 

It's called Pinkie but you can also get champagne color.  It is wonderful and we are very excited about it.  Here are some things that I think are important to know about it:

• The company, ABM International, has been making commercial quilting machines since 1947.  That means the huge machines that run 24 hours a day quiltling comforters, and bedspreads, and fabric, and Kevlar vests, etc, etc.  They even made one for NASA that sews together 27 layers of something with ceramic thread that makes a part of the heat sheild or something.


• A couple years ago, they found out about the home quilters, went to a Houston Festival, and thought "Gee, we could make those", and since trade laws changed in 2003, a lot of their US business was going overseas, this gave them something to make for here.  They still make the big machines, they just have to go sell them in Pakistan, instead of North Carolina!.


• The technology inside the machine is newer than many other long arms (and they sure didn't take a regular machine, cut it in half and stretch it ).  What this means to you is that there are no moving pieces that are getting a lot of friction and need oiling all the time.  In fact , you never need to oil it except down in the bobbin area.  They use ball bearings instead of bushings if you understand what that means.  I now know, but I won't bore you here, besides, it requires hand gestures for me to explain.


• The "head" or front of the sewing machine will swivel 90 degrees.  Makes it much easier to get at the needle area when you need to, take bars out, or take your machine off the frame.


• It is a very, very sturdy frame.  It is not made of bicycle tubing like some of them are.


• The stitch regulator is awesome.   It has to do with the type of motor in the sewing machine.  I know now about Servo motors vs. regular motors, and why that can make the stitch regulation more infinite and smooth.  Plus it stops when you stop, not idling and making more stitches as you pause in a corner.


• It uses King Tut thread and Rainbows, both by Superior, very well.  The same cannot be said of all brands.


• It is very reasonably priced.  OK, it is all relative.  Yes, $8999, for the 18 inch or $11999 for the 26 inch is a lot of money, but not campared to $15,000 for the same thing by other manufacturers.  And a Statler Stitcher-like attachment is here, for about $14,000. Compare that, plus the first price, to $35,000 for a Gammil with a Statler Stitcher. Hmmmm. $26,000 vs. $35,000.   Shipping to Chicago area is about $300.


• The company has admitted that it is not going to stay this reasonably priced, so jump on it.  They enjoy some price advantages due to the bulk in which they buy parts, but they also have just priced this reasonably to get into the market.   The above prices include everything you need.  It's not "oh, you wanted a frame with that?"  You get the frame, the machine, the stitch regulator, a bobbin winder, and an extension table to rest rulers on.


• We have someone to set up in your home ($425 or you can do it yourself), we have someone to do training classes here at the store, and we have repairs covered (although I am not expecting many).


• A big revelation to me was that it is actually easier to do little tiny stippling on this long arm than on a regular sewing machine.  That explains some of the quilting I sawin Paducah and Kansas City.  Come try it.


• There are only three dealers in the country so far, and quiltfabric.com is one of them.  Please spread the word to any friends, anywhere who are thinking about a long arm. 


• Financing is available!!

Chris Sass
quiltfabric.com
888 75th Street
Willowbrook
www.quiltfabric.com
open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 - 5,
Friday & Saturday from 10 - 4
Sunday from 12:30 - 4
Closed on Mondays
(630) 321-9051

Table Caption

Table Caption

STANDARD FEATURES:
Extruded aluminum construction
Front & rear adjustable handle bars with start-stop, needle up & down, and speed control switches
Programmable to position needle to stop up or down
Bearing driven needle and presser bar for long term oil-less operation
Spring action large (patented) hopping foot to overcome problems of quilting uneven fabrics and batt and for ease of applying appliqués
Portable high speed bobbin winder so you can be winding different colors and different thread while quilting
Miniature PLC displaying speed from 0-3,000 RPM and needle stop position
Rotary thread tensioner
Gearless belt drive for top and bottom shaft synchronosation (no lubrication - no adjustment)
Belt drive (not gear drive) on hook for less maintenance.
Utilizes large bobbins "M" (to order bobbins: click here)
Non-engaged easily accessible handwheel
Practically silent timing drive belt
Heavy duty, long lasting DC motor (4 pole)
Easily adjustable PL fluorescent work lamp conveniently mounted on sew head
Laser light stylus for following pattern designs and aluminum stylus for following templates

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT:
Electronic stitch regulator for perfect control of stitching at all times
Micro handles (see below)
Commercial pro series frame (must ship by freight - not UPS)
Installation, however, our detailed set-up instructions are fantastic!
Electric lift table
Overhead 8 foot flourescent light fixture

Hello Quilters!

I thought you might like to see some smiling faces with their very first quilts. They completed their class here this summer. This class (formerly called Lucky Stars) is now on DVD (cleverly called How To Make Your First Quilt). I think would make a great gift for that friend of yours that you would like to start quilting. You can only get it from quiltfabric.com. $20

They all made exactly the same pattern but they look different based on the fabrics you pick.  Look at those happy faces!

MACHINE QUILTING CLASSES
After a long break, Valli Schiller, of increasing fame, and award winning-ness, is scheduled to teach on Saturday afternoon November 17th. She will be teaching her "Amazingly Easy Free Motion On the Line".

Love the look of traditional hand quilting, but don't have the time? Learn how to achieve an heirloom look with your home sewing machine. You'll learn about the best threads and batting for heirloom style free motion quilting, where to use fancy quilting designs and how to mark them on your quilt top. You'll have hands-on time to practice. Some machine quilting experience helpful. Requires darning or free motion foot for sewing machine. 3 hours.

Before you can take Valli's class, you must have taken another one, or taken my Machine Quilting Overview which is offered next on Saturday morning November 3rd from 10 - 11:30ish am. This is so rank beginners at machine quilting can ask any questions, and I will show you the tools that make machine quilting possible even for me. Then Valli can spend her valuable time on the things that she does best, not the basics. Sound fair?

APPLIQUE ROOSTERS BLOCK OF THE MONTH

These roosters are incredible, thanks to Bobbi Butler's color sense and workmanship. This will go for 10 months (9 roosters and the setting). Starts in January. I don't have the monthly fees worked out yet but the registration will be $25.

The really brilliant thing about this program is that the pattern has "complicated" and "simple". Our sample is the complicated, and each rooster might have 43 pieces. But in the simplified version each rooster has about 20 pieces. You could use any method of applique. The sample is fused. Here are some pictures.

TIP FOR EVERYONE
Buy a GOOD surge protector for your machine, and do not have your iron and machine on the same circuit if you can help it. I don't mean the same plug, I mean the same circuit. Irons draw much more power than machines and can affect the electronic machines. Embroidery machines seem to be the most suspectible to power surges blowing the boards in them. Replacement is upwards of $200. You may not even know you are having surges, but with ComEd, trust me you are. We have a stereo that goes on by itself every time and that is about every 6 weeks at least. As an extra credit tip, put your refrigerator on a surge protector, too. We had the compressor blown on one and that was an $800 part. Got a new refrigerator instead.

FABRIC FABRIC FABRIC
We have the most realist vegetables you have ever seen.
The cutest (and most) coffee fabric
Tons of sports including lacrosse
We are fully stocked on Minkee and Flurr in baby colors and also some brights like red and lime green and some darks.
Lots of white on white and cream on cream, etc., up by the batkis where you can see them in the sunlight
We put all the "boy" fabric together in the same place
So many basic brights that they are overflowing onto the floor right now
Three racks of black and whites (I don't know how that happened)
Lots of Christmas and Fall and a little Halloween left.
Hundreds of bolts in the "sale corner" at 40% off (they gotta move out to make room for what I'll be buying at market
Many, many new batiks. September is one of the big delivery months for batiks.

SEWING MACHINE TIP
Please don't plug your sewing machine into the same outlet, or even circuit that has your iron. Irons draw three times the power of your machine.  That draws down the power available to your machine, and can cause surges or brown out type things which can fry the board of your machine.  We just had such a machine brought in this morning. It happens more often than we would like, so I am telling you about it again.

Also, always thread your machine with the presser foot UP, not down.

Chris Sass
quiltfabric.com
888 75th Street
Willowbrook
www.quiltfabric.com
open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 - 5,
Friday & Saturday from 10 - 4
Sunday from 12:30 - 4
Closed on Mondays
(630) 321-9051

Hello Quilters!

This email is for school teachers or friends of school teachers. Please pass this around to teachers you know who have expressed an interest in quilting, or have just done a little bit. 

Quilting is fun, relaxing, creative,and is chance to be with women of common interests. It's also great for showing grade school children some geometry.

I know how busy teachers are during the school year and what a good job they do for the children in this area.  My kids are in District 203 and are certainly getting a good education. Thank you.

I just put some beginner classes on the schedule specifically for teachers. They can learn to quilt quickly, and early in the summer, so they have time to enjoy it.  One is a particularly "fasttrack" class, over only two weeks in June. The other is once a week for 4 weeks.

The class is called Lucky Stars and the project looks like this in bright fabrics:

If you like more traditional fabrics it might look like this:

Here it is again in some contempory colors:

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
The first meeting teaches how to cut using a rotary cutter, mat and ruler, and how to get a good quarter inch seam. The homework is to cut the required pieces.  The second session the students learn about piecing, pressing and some tricks.  Homework is to make as many of the blocks as possible. The third session continues the piecing, and demonstrates machine quilting.  The fourth session continues with machine quilting and wraps up with binding.  Most students finish their quilt by the end of the class or shortly there after.

The "fasttrack" Lucky Stars will be Wednesday and Friday mornings June 13,15, 20 & 22nd from 10 am to noon.

The regular Lucky Stars will meet on Wednesdays July 11, 18, 25 & August 1st also from 10 to noon.

The class fee is $60 and some supplies and fabric are required.  Students do not need to get anything ahead of time!  We will discuss all that at the first session.  A discount on supplies will be offered as a token of our appreciation.

STASH BUSTERS

I have heard a bit of moaning about how big those stashes are at your homes.  So I am going to help out.  I am starting some occasional classes that will have a good, fast quilts to help you use some of it up.  This is the first one.   It's a super, super easy and fast one.   All you need is a yard of each of 4 fabrics that go together and you will be able to make the size shown.  We'll give some cutting directions, and preliminary sewing directions when you sign up, so you can come ready to sew, sew, sew, and a little cutting. One weekday and one weekend.  Thursday April 26th from 1 - 4 and Saturday April 28th from 1 - 4.  $20.

Louise made up a new Lucky Stars model out of the Cornucopia fabric and we have kits for that.  Well, really it just takes a bundle and some background fabric:

MORE NEW FABRIC:

This picture is of some new fabric that I think is so typically quiltfabric.com

PERSONAL

The Janome Academy two weeks ago went very well.  I had two very gratifying experiences.   As it turned out, everyone who signed up had an embroidery machine.  So they were not all quilters.  My part of the teaching was to do Free Motion Machine Quilting.  Some of them did not want to learn it.  When I was finished, a few still didn't want to do it, but some people had found out that it can be fun.  And all of them were surprised at all the tools and tricks to make it easier.  All those designs to not have to just come up out of your head.  So I realized there is proabably a need for a very basic overview of machine quilting class for those who have never tried it at all.  This will be a prerequisite for Valli's classes if you have no prior experience with machine quilting.  Then Valli can spend more time on what she does best - showing you how to actually DO it well.

The other unique experience was teaching someone who thought quilting was hard, a few tricks of the trade in about ten minutes, and watching her jaw drop and the light bulb come on.  I love turning on that lightbulb.

Chris Sass
quiltfabric.com
888 75th


2. Then there are the snowmen. One for each month. You would not have to make them into a quilt. They would make cute individual decorations. Here's the whole set and then January:




3. There are the monthly Nutcrackers. Please just look at the Nutcrackers, not all the blocks around them (as I may or may not be able to get those patterns. I made one of them using the fusing method in no time.


4. Then there is one called Yuletide that I don't have pictures of the individual pieces but it is all cute Christmas-y things. Check out the exhauted Santa in the bottom right corner.



5. Last, but not least, is the Monsters quilt. The saying around the outside is pretty funny:

Big scary monsters live under the bed, and every night they must be fed.
They love to eat fabric, it's their favorite food.
It puts them in the very best mood.
So the lesson is clear - consider your plight.
Keep buying fabric, or be dinner tonight!








Jan 18, 2007

I accidentally slighted the Thursday BOM quilters by forgetting to send their quilt top pictures out in the eamil. So I am going to put them up here where even more people may see them and hopefully be inspired to take the Beginner or Advanced Block of the Month classes that are starting this month. There is also an Electric Quilt rendering of the blocks of the Advanced class in the class descriptions.


Hello Quilters!

Jan 2 2007

Happy New Year! Broken any resolutions yet? Me neither, but then I don't make as many as I used to

.BLOCK OF THE MONTH PROGRAMS - The Block of the Month program that we called "See What I Can Do!" went very, very well, and I have proof. Here are pictures of some of the completed tops. Keep in mind that for some of the women this was their very first quilt. I must be a decent teacher afterall ;-). Take a look. All are the SAME blocks, but because everyone picked their own fabric, they all look different.This went so well we are doing it again.

It is educational - each session's block requires you to learn something new. It's the second Saturday morning of the month at 9 am or 10:30 am. If that fills we will add more sections. The fee is $30 and you must buy the 5 yards of fabric here. That 's dirt cheap for 12 classes.

If you would rather take a crash course and do it weekly, instead of monthly watch for announcements.

Enjoy the pictures.
The first 6 are from the weekly evening group, then the next ones are from the monthly groups. Thank you so much. This was very rewarding for me, and I think for the students, judging by the smiles.


Chris Sass