Did you know we are a full Janome Service and Repair Center?? We are! Jim, our repair guy, is a Janome trained technician. He's usually here to do repairs on Wed. every other week. Get your machine in any time before end-of-day on Tuesdays and he can work on it! Cleanings and repairs are $79.99. Really big repairs may cost more. Any required parts are purchased separately. Make time to get your machines in for their over-due cleanings now, before your machine starts acting up!
Jim's Scheduled Repair Days:
Jan 18, Feb 1, Feb 15, Mar 1, Mar 15,Mar 29, Apr 12, Apr 26
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|  Patti's Musings
Happy New Year! I hope your year is off to a healthy and wonderful start! I love New Years! While I don't necessarily buy into all the celebration hype - I am usually way to tired by New Year's Eve to even try and stay awake until the ball drops! Although, I made it this year! That must be a good omen for the coming year!! I like the new year because it represents a time of renewal for me. It starts in December when I am like a crazy women trying to get my store inventory numbers cleaned up before the last day of the year (we pay income taxes based on the value of inventory at the end of the year - so it is important to get it right!). You would be amazed at just how hard it is to keep inventory clean and straight - even with a good computer store system!! It is the bane of any shop owner's existence. But I regress. I was talking about new years. The inventory exercise gets me cleaning out old stuff - hence the nice clearance sale you guys have been partaking in the past two week. There will be more stuff coming to the clearance table as I continue to get the shop organized into the new year, have no fear!
It doesn't stop with the shop, however. It makes me start cleaning out drawers, and closets, and cabinets, and basements, and garages, and yes, sewing rooms too!! I can't seem to not sort and purge after the new year! All good stuff! My staff is just waiting for that bug to bite me about my office and store room in the shop! :)
What I don't do is have New Years resolutions, like loose ten pounds! (although that would be nice to have happen!) Instead, I set goals. I start reviewing personal and shop budgets. Figuring out what I want to accomplish in the next year. It is very invigorating!! And overwhelming, all at the same time! But good, none the less! And it leads me to our winter schedule for the shop. We are hoping to contribute to your goals and great start to the new year with our winter class schedule which you will find below!
This quarter we are trying something different again. We did this once before and it seemed like everyone really liked it and was successful, so we are trying it again! We will be kicking off our Winter Class Schedule with an OPEN HOUSE! We are very excited about this! We will have all the projects hanging for you (or at least most of them) on Saturday, Jan. 21 for you to see. Class registration does not open until Jan. 21!! We will only accept in-person registrations on 1/21. (Sorry, no phone registrations until 1/22 because we will not be able to answer the phone to take registrations on such a busy day!) The perk for coming into register on 1/21 will be a 10% discount in your registration fees, plus 10% off any supplies purchased for the class you register for if purchased that day!! Great discounts! But, you have to come in on Saturday, 1/21 to get them!! All block of the month fees and Janome event fees are excluded from the discount, but any supplies purchased that day will still receive the 10% discount!
And boy, have we got a star studded line-up for you this winter!! Our class schedule is almost all new for this winter, so we have been busy! There are a lot of different classes from a cute beginner applique snowman bench pillow, new landscape classes, a new collage technique class, a couple next steps for beginning quilters, and some more intermediate projects! And of course embroidery club will continue! We also have 2 Janome events to show off machines! Look for separate emails on those to follow soon, but details are in the Events section of the newsletter. Other things in planning are our Block of the Month program. I have a beautiful project picked out this time! It is called Getting to Know Hue and is traditional pieced, with some applique thrown in! It is another great design from Nancy Rink who did some of the Amish blocks of the month a few years back that were gloriously popular! We have the exact fabrics you see in the picture below coming into the shop to do this project. They are all prints and the colors are exquisite! The fabrics are here and now I just need to get some time to make some of the project so you can see it in real life, and then we will be ready to start! So, we will start in March! This class always runs the first Wed and first Sat. of the month, so if you are interested,look for all the details below and get registered soon, because we have limited kits we can make and you don't really want to be behind! It really is going to be beautiful, so if you are interested, let us know! Here is the picture for you to salivate over! .
Finally, we have Gudrun Erla coming back as a guest speaker and instructor! We are still working out details, but she will be here sometime in the March 2 thru March 4 time frame, so SAVE the DATES and stay tuned! She will be teaching classes using her newest ruler and book, Stripology Squared!
As you can see - we don't sit still for even a minute! We have a lot planned for you, so take a look below and come in for a visit! We'll be here waiting just for you!! See You soon..... Patti
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| Winter Activity and Event Schedule Details |
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Jan. 13 - Jan. 22 - The Great 2017 Stash Dash Kicks off!
If you purchased your Great Stash Dash Bag this year, the dash kicks off 1/13 and continues until 1/22. Come in with your bag and passport to get a 15% discount at any of the participating shops! (Unfortuantely, we are sold out of bags now - Sorry!)
Jan. 19 - Jan. 31 - Janome Red Tag Sale!
All our great Jjanome machines will be on special for the Red Tag Sale Come in and get the machine of your dreams. More info closer to event.
Jan. 21 - Winter Class OPEN HOUSE !
Registration kicks off for our winter class schedule. In-person registration begins Sat. 1/21 during the open house. Phone registration opens Sun. 1/22. Come see all the projects at the OPEN HOUSE! If you register for a class on 1/21, you will receive a 10% discount on class fees and any class project supplies you purchase that day! ONLY in-person on Saturday, 1/21!
PLEASE NOTE: Registration fees for our block of the month and Janome events will NOT be discounted, and will be as stated below.
Feb 3 and Feb 4 - Janome Skyline 7 Valentine Make and Take Event !
You are invited to a make and take using our fabulous Janome Skyline 7 machines! Come learn all about this machine while making a nice project and learning about all the great features of the Skyline S7!
If you have never sewn on Janome machines, or if you want to find out more about our quilting and sewing models, this is a great opportunity to learn with hands on projects! You will be amazed! Come fall in love at this special event! Seating is limited, so grab a friend and register early! We will be offering very special pricing during the event also!
Skyline S7 Make and Take Event Date:
Friday, February 3
or
Saturday, February 4
Time: 10 to 1 pm
Cost: $ 10
Instructor: Patti Dockus
You must register by stopping in or calling the store at 847-506-6410 and having your credit card handy. Registration fees will be collected at sign-up.
Seating is VERY limited. Class fee includes handouts and all supplies for the make and take Come learn all about the Skyline S7 and make a cute project at the same time!
Feb 17 - Mini Janome Quilt Away Event!
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You are invited to this all day event that will focus on the "I can't live without" features of the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP Quilting and sewing machine and the 500E embroidery machine. Lunch will be provided, followed by an afternoon of embroidering and quilting on these two fabulous machines! If you have been considering purchasing either of these two machines, this is a GREAT opportunity to see everything they can do!
Seating is VERY limited. Class fee includes handouts, lunch, all supplies for the afternoon Quilt Away, PLUS a $10 gift certificate to spend on anything you choose that day at Quilter's Destination (HINT: It can even be used on a brand new Janome sewing machine!!)
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Memory Craft 9400 / 500E Event Date:
Friday, February 17
Time: 10 to 4 pm
Cost: $ 30
Instructor: Patti Dockus
You must register by stopping in or calling the store at 847-506-6410 and having your credit card handy. Registration fees will be collected at sign-up.
If you have never sewn on Janome machines, or if you want to find out more about embroidery machines, or our quilting and sewing models, this is a great opportunity to learn with hands on projects! You will be amazed! Come fall in love at this special event! Seating is limited, so grab a friend and register early! We will be offering very special pricing during the event also!
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Tenative March 2 - 4 - Gudrun Erla returns as a guest speaker and instructor! Save the dates and watch for more details to follow!! She will be teaching classes aroundher newest book and ruler, Stripology Squared! You won't want to miss this!!
Apr 6 - Apr 8 - International Quilt Festival Quilt Show at Rosemont!
We will be vending this great annual quilt show on Thurs April 6 thru Sat April 8. It will be at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Hours are 10 am to 6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10 - 5 pm on Saturday.
Special Information
We will be closed on the following dates:
Sun, April 16 for Easter
Sun, May 14 for Mother's Day
- and hopefully, no weather closings this winter!
Just a note: If you have registered for a class and the weather turns nasty on the day of that class, we will attempt to call you if we need to cancel and reschedule the class due to inclement weather. If you have not heard form us, please call the shop if you are wondering if we are holding the class! Just in case - I don't want you coming out if we have had to cancel but could not reach you! Thanks!
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New! Whimsy Winter Bench Pillow !
This is another great project from Kimberbell!
This is a whimsical bench pillow that is the perfect beginning fusible applique project! If you have never done applique, this is a great beginning! Come learn how to trace, fuse, and actually stitch these cute applique snowman! Of course if you already understand fusible applique, come just to get it done!! Either way, you will have a great time! We will have kits available in the fun fabrics you see above, or you can choose your own fabrics!
Finished size: Approximately 16in x 38in. And we even have the bench pillow forms to complete your pillow!
Skill Level: Confident Beginner
Dates: Wednesday, Feb 1 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Instructor: Debbie Stark Fee: $ 25
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New! Flutter!
This is a cool project! This is a project from the Fat Quarter Styles book we love so much! A great "Next Steps" project for beginning quilters, come learn a little bit about cutting and sewing angles! It uses fat quarters and some background. The pattern includes multiple sizes and we made the lap
size 52" x 68
"
. We used Alison Glass's newest fabrics for ours and will have bundles, but o
f course you can choose your own fabrics also.
The picture does not do the colors justice in this quilt! So come in on Sat 1/21 and see it for yourself! Skill Level: Confident Beginners and above.
Date: Thur Eve, Feb 9 6:00 - 9:00pm
Instructor: Kristy Garceau Fee: $ 25
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Fold'N Stitch Leaf Topper ! - Back by Popular Demand!
Let your creativity soar with the nature-inspired table topper Stitch it together to reveal secondary leaves! This makes a great candle wreath, table topper, or wall hanging! Make it in jewel tones as we have, or seasonal colors and fabrics. Come join Kathy as she guides you through the construction of this beauty! And, of course, we have kits! Skill Level: Confident Beginner and above.
Dates: Tue Eve, Feb 7 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Instructor: Kathy Pizarro Fee: $25
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New! Sprinkles!
This is a cool project! Once again, Julie Herman from Jaybird Quilts has done a great job! This baby quilt uses 2 1/2 " strings and the Sidekick ruler, one of Jaybirds original rulers. Simple cutting and sewing. Wendy will show you how to use the ruler and get you started. Note, the pattern does include a paper template to use instead of the ruler, but the ruler makes life a lot easier! We made our sample in Kaffe Fasset Fabrics and it is just stunning, as is Wendy's quilting!! We cut our own fabric strips and we do have kits for you to purchase. The size 37" x 40". Of course you can choose your own fabrics also. So come in on Sat 1/21 and see it for yourself! Skill Level: Confident Beginners and above. S
kill Level: Confident Beginner and above.
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 12 12:00 - 4:00 pm
Instructor: Wendy Torris Fee: $ 32
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Have you ever made a "Rag" Quilt?? They are the easiest, coziest quilts you can make and are usually made from flannel. The great thing about them is that you make them in blocks that are simply quilted with something like a big X, and then sew them together so that the edges are exposed and fringe up! Washing just makes them softer and softer! We haven't quite finished ours yet, so I grabbed a general picture of rag quilts to show you what they are. We decided it was a nice idea for all the more decor/adult flannels we have in the shop, and we will have kits with our fabric choices shown in the small detail photo above, but you can select whatever inspires you! We do have some more juvenile or bright color flannels also to change it up from what we did! Either way, come let Suzanne show you how to make this winter cozy!! You can make this whatever size you want from baby to bed size! Skill Level : Confident beginner and above.
Dates: Sat, Feb 11 9:00 - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Suzanne Showalter Fee: $ 25
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New! Fancy Forest !
Fancy Forest is a delightful sampler quilt featuring some of the most popular animal blocks designed by Elizabeth Hartman. The quilt comes in 2 sizes, and our sample is the smaller, baby size or wall hanging. Small size is 35in x 47 in. You can choose to make the larger one, of course, and its size is 67" x 91". All blocks are sewn with simple straight and diagonal seams. There are no templates or paper piecing!! During 1st class you will learn the cutting and construction of the fox block. Then you will cut at home for the second class and complete the bunny in class. We can't show you all the blocks in class, but any new ideas for other blocks will be discussed. Kristy made our shop sample in blues and grays, and did she do spectacular quilting on it!! You really must come and see it! Patti is in the process of making this quilt as a newborn baby gift and choose more forest colors (see the block pics above). It is fat quarter friendly, so you can choose your own fat quarters, or get either set of fat quarters we show you above!
Skill Level: Confident beginner and above.
Dates: Sundays, Feb 19 and Feb 26 12:30 - 3:30 pm
Instructor: Kristy Garceau Fee: $ 48
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New! Meadow and Mountains Accidental Landscape !
This is one of the Accidental Landscape series from Karen Eckmeier! Come and discover the secrets of creating a fabric landscape using this topstitch/layering technique. These quilted scenes are surprisingly simple to create!
You'll learn how to capture the feeling of a scene in simple layers. Adopt the same easy layering technique to create gorgeous curved borders. For ease and fun, Karen's topstitched layers beat out machine applique and curved piecing by a mile. Come join Debbie as she shows you how!! Anyone can do this!! The size can be however big you want to make it, but is meant to be about 20" x 10", so small amounts of fabrics scraps, or our kit will do it!
Skill level: Confident beginner and above.
Dates: Tue., Feb 21 6:00 - 9:00
Instructor: Debbie Stark Fee: $ 25
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New! Greased Lightening Table Runner !
This runner features easy construction techniques, and the pattern is fully illustrated with step-by-step photos and illustrations including binding instructions. Full size templates are included. This project is particularly well suited for jelly roll strips teamed with a theme fabric. We used one of our new Bali Poppies - the Hoffman 2 1/2" strip packs that are only 20 strips (the perfect number for this runner!) instead of 40 strips! It is lightning fast to make!
The runner measures 15" x 60" when complete. Skill Level: Confident Beginner and above.
Date: Tue, Feb 28 6 - 9 pm
Instructor: Laura Helvie Fee: $ 25
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New ! Emerson Collage !
Remember when we were kids in grammar school and we used to do collages for our moms as mother's day gifts?? Remember how we collected pictures from magazines and pasted them all together, mishing and moshing them into one picture? Well, that is exactly what collage work in fabric is, only the magazine pics are floral motifs from fabric!! And rather than just fill a paper with pictures, we are filling in a shape - in this case Emerson the dog! We use our color and motifs to created the definitions of the shape of the object we are trying to represent. Isn't it cool?????
Come join Debbie as she takes you on this impressionistic journey through fabric collage! Learn what fabrics work well, and learn about color and value placement! The Emerson puppy collage pattern by Laura Heine is a great beginner collage pattern because it has a simple shape and clean definition to work with. The first class will be all about choosing the correct fabrics and "collecting" your floral motifs for your collage. Then during the second class you will actually start to build your portrait of Emerson. There are many more collage patterns out there once you get the hang of this cool technique, but ya' gotta' start at the beginning! Come join Debbie and get started - at the beginning!!
The finished size of the piece is 21" x 35".
Skill Level: Confident Beginner and above.
Dates: Sun., Mar 12 and Mar 19 12:30 - 3:30 pm
Instructor: Debbie Stark Fee: $48
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New! Pick Up Sticks!
One of Karen Comb's newest patterns, Pick Up Sticks is a beautiful quilt with the illusion of depth. Karen Combs was here in October to teach this, and Kathy was so inspired she decided right then she had to make it and teach it to anybody who could not make it to Karen's class! So if you could not make it, come let Kathy show you how as we reprize this great technique!! Don't let it scare you, the piecing is easy, just squares and triangles! Believe it or not, this stunning quilt is created with just one block! And NO Y-SEAMS!! The quilt is created with three colors (pick your favorites!) in a light, medium and dark value of each color. Perfect for gradated fabrics or hand dyed fabrics! And the instructions include cutting information for both gradated and traditional fabrics. At 54" x 63", it is a throw that can grow! We will show you the tricks - so come make your own Quilt of Illusion!! We will have kits for the fabrics used on the pattern cover, or you can choose your own. Skill Level: Confident Beginner or above.
Dates: Tue. Eve, Mar 14 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Instructor: Kathy Pizarro Fee: $ 25
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Living in the shadow of Chicago as we do here, we have wanted to make this quilt for a while! The hustle and bustle of the city without the noise! This clean, modern version of a classic skyline brings the excitement and wonder of the city into your home. Bold, fresh patterns keep your eye moving throughout the quilt. Cool fabrics (in color tone
and "hipness") will work anywhere. When we saw it made up in Latifa Safirs "Grafetti" line, that was all the encouragement we needed! This project is divided into four manageable sections so your city can be made-in parts. Straightforward piecing will make the time go easily by. Let's all go to the "Big City"! Laura will take you through each different section so you can learn all the piecing to finish this fun ode to the big city!
Skill Level: Intermediate
Dates: Tue. Mar 21 and Mar 28 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Instructor: Laura Helvie Fee: $ 48
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New! Dance of the Dragonflies !
This is a stunning quilt! I saw it at quilt market and knew we had to make it in the shop! The wall handing is 40" x 40" and is fusible applique! The background is a single piece of fabric that "radiates" from the center out to the edges which gives the piece it's glow! The dragonflies are all fusible applique! The black is really large piece underlays that the pieces of the wings are fused and sewn to. That is what gives it that stained glass look! Construction is really pretty straight forward, but having some help to keep it all straight makes it ideal for a class experience! Come join us as we make this one together! Skill level: Confident beginner or above
Date: Wed Eve, March 22 and March 29 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Instructor: Patti Dockus Fee: $48
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New ! Turning Twenty !
Turn 20 fat quarters into a quilt in 3 hours! (Well, maybe a little more time, but 3 hrs sounds really good, doesn't it??!). The perfect pattern if you are a beginning quilter, a dream if you are an experienced quilter! This is a great "next steps" quilt for confident beginners! Any fabrics can be used. All the fat quarters are cut exactly the same and the pieces interchanged to get the scrappy look. We used Cotton and Steel fabrics in a variety of colors. This is a great way to show off fabrics! Come join Kristy as she takes you through the construction! Skill level: Next steps beginner or above
Date: Sun, April 2 12:30 - 3:30 pm
Instructor: Kristy Garceau Fee: $25
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| JANOME Class Schedule |
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Janome Machine Classes.....
Our machine classes are designed to help you learn to use your Janome sewing machine. The Janome classes are free with the purchase of your machine. Customers who have purchased Janome machines elsewhere are more than welcome to join us, but must pay a class fee. The classes are designed to orient you to your machine. We will go over basics such as threading, bobbin winding, using your various feet with utility stitches, accessories and features of your machine. On the machines that have memory functions, we will also cover those as well as embroidery functions for embroidery machines and any software that comes with your machine. More advanced models will require multiple classes to cover all the appropriate features of your machine.
Janome 101 - Register for this class if you have any Janome model that has a normal size bed (i.e. 3160, 4120, 7330, etc.) or a Skyline S3 or MC6300. This class covers machine basics for all Janome owners. Includes threading, bobbin winding, accessories, features of your machine, tension setting, basic zigzag, edge finishing stitches, and buttonholes.
Dates: Fri Jan 20 10:30 - 12:30
-or- Thur Eve Feb 2 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Instructor: Patti Dockus Fee: $50 (free with machine purchase)
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Skyline S5, Horizon
7700 , 8200, and 8900
This class is for all our longer arm models and includes the Skyline S5, 7700, Horizon 8200, Horizon 8900 and 6600 machines. Learn to to use the unique features of your machine. This class is 2 sessions.
Dates: Tues Eve Jan 24 and Jan 31 6 - 8:30 pm
Instructor:
Patti Dockus Fee: $100 (Free with machine purchase)
Skyline S7 and Horizon 9400
This class is for our Skyline S7 and Horizon 9400 models. Learn to use the unique features of your machine. This class is 2 sessions.
Dates: Thur Eve Jan 19 and Jan 26 6 - 8:30 pm
-- or --
Thur Feb 16 and Feb 23 10:30 - 1:00 pm
Instructor: Patti Dockus Free: $100 (Free with machine purchase)
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MC 500E or MC400E Embroidery only machines
This class is for our 500E and 400E embroidery only machine owners. Learn all your features of these unique machines including the software!
Dates: Wed Eve. Feb 8 and Feb 22 6 - 8:30 pm
Patti Dockus Fee: $100 for 2 sessions (Free with
Note: You must bring YOUR machine, all the feet and hoops
, the manual, your foot control, some thread, and a pair of scissors or snips with you when you come to class!
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| BLOCK OF THE MONTH PROJECTS |
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Announcing our Getting to Know Hue Block of the Month!!
Size 96" x 102:
This is a gorgeous block of the month from Nancy Rink! The colors are brilliant, and the style is timeless! This quilt features 10 different traditionally pieced quilt blocks, an applique block, a lone star medallion center, and a zig zag border around the medallion. It also features piping around the binding! Tons of technique here for everyone!!
You have your choice of background fabric of the three looks in the picture above - light, medium, or dark. You also have your choice of which medallion center you wish to make!! We will show you all three during the classes - you choose!! We are making the dark background with the lone star center as our store sample, but you can choose what you want with thes
e choices! How cool is that????
The appliques also will be pre-cut and pre-fused, so all you have to do is take the paper off, position them, iron them down and sew around the edges! This is applique made easy, and we will also show you how to sew around the edges of those appliques as part of the monthly classes! How simple is that?????
Please note that the binding and piping are included in the fabric kit, but the backing is not. We will have some wide backing choices to go with the quilt for you to pre-order and choose later in the program, if you are interested.
So, the way our blocks of the month work are that you come to 12 monthly meetings and the cost of the entire quilt is prorated over those 12 months. The meeting will be on the 1st Wednesday Eve and the 1st Saturday morning of the month and will start in March, 2017. No worries if you are a snowbird, or take some other time off during the course of the 12 months. We are happy to hold your monthly kits and catch you up when you return! At the monthly meeting, you will receive your fabric kit for the month and I will teach you how to make it by giving you demos. No sewing machines needed at the demo! Then you go home and make the blocks! We have been doing this for years, and everyone always loves it!! You get to make a nice big quilt and pay for it over 12 months, and get instruction available all year long to help you! This is a great deal!!
So, to register, you must call or stop in the store. The registration fee is actually the cost of the pattern of $30. You will receive the pattern at our first meeting. Then, every month, including month 1 you will pay $28 for your fabric kit and instruction. But you must register early - we do have limited number of kits we can cut!!
Start Date - Wed Eve., March 1 6:30 - 8:00 pm
or
Sat Morning, March 11 9 - 10:30 am
Then, every 1st Wed Eve or 1st Sat morning of the month thru Feb, 2018.
Fee:
$30 at registration, then $28 every month including March.
Instructor:
Patti Dockus
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