And the beat goes on…..it’s just past mid- January (can you believe it?!?!) and we’re looking forward to the Az. special shows and our special classes and everything that those things entail. So there is always something to look forward to, and all we have to do is jump in and participate!! How easy is that? I’ll mention the biggest events for us and then get into the weekly specials and classes so you can get prepared to jump in with us!

The Rusty Barn Show at the fairgrounds will be Jan. 27, 28 and 29. We are gearing up for our big presence there, and here are a few details: we will be in the smaller building, as usual, this year, but if you enter through the main entrance of that building, look to your immediate right and that’s where you’ll find us! We are presenting for you our Q’nique frames and machines with a representative from Grace (plus the ever-knowledgeable Lynn) from our shop, along with Lucille, Andi Stanfield and myself to demo. The True Cut from Grace products, write up orders, laugh with you and have a great time. For me, it’s like having a huge Shop Hop with a chance to meet and talk with lots of people from the valley and beyond. I choose to be in this building, since there is generally not so much of a “being herded along with the crowd” mentality there, and we have more opportunity to talk with and demo to you. Just more space to move in, I think, so we hope you’ll stop buy. We will also have some interesting items from our custom furniture line, Unique Sewing Furniture, and Lucille will be the main contact there. Andi and I will be on the True Cut demos, and I think you’ll be impressed with the products. We will have them for sale at the show, and I’m hoping we don’t run out, as so often happens. If we do, we will be taking orders, however, and the cutters, rulers and mats, plus cutter-sharpeners, are really great! All of us in the shop are sold on them and have placed orders for ourselves as well. See you there!!!!

Be sure to sign up for, and come in to view, our special Friday, February 11th  SEW SMART EVENT…it’s very educational for you, a FREE private event zoom in the classroom, lecture style with questions and answers time for you. The event starts at 9:30, lasts maybe 2 hours, and is all about batting!!! We all have questions about which bat to choose, and why, so let’s get educated. SEW SMART is always FREE, always designed to give you the facts that no one else will tell you, then allow you to make your own choices. But you will know the differences between good-better-best, or just no way, Jose! And WHY---the key to choices.

Now, on Wednesday (1-19-22) Jeri is here to teach you “how-to-do” projects with your new BERNINA Version 9 software. The monthly course is titled “Software Inspirations’ and Jeri is a software whiz! So a perfect match. You bring your laptop only, and lots of paper for note-taking, but there is no sewing in this class. For this first project, she will have a sample for you on Keyboard design collections. You can map out an alphabet design collection into your computer, then type it in however you want it to look, then sew it out. No more hunting and pecking one letter at a time! Great for labels, slogans, names, titles, etc. etc. She will also show you another way to do this by using your own handwriting, and have it come out just as if you had hand written it. Very personalized, I’d say. Each monthly class will cover a different technique now in your V9 software, so sign up, come in, and learn.

Following that morning class will be Mastery for your new software. That class is free to you if you purchased your software from us at SVQ….just another perk of buying from us. And Jeri, like I said, is a hands-on whiz-bang with software. So don’t miss the classes we offer!

Beginning Paper Piecing, with Andi, is Thursday, 9-12, and she includes the pattern for you in the class price. Check it out online at www.sunvalleyquilts.com, then click on “Classes” tab. Be sure to sign up online or with us via phone, in person, by carrier pigeon or whatever. Just get started.

Good news for Friday evenings: Pajama Mamas is back in the swing of things. This is just a friendly group, sewing their own projects, held from 5-11 pm, with ultimate shopping time if you wish. It’s a fun group who love to chat, share ideas, laugh and sew. Sewer’s paradise, I imagine.

A private group, the Northwest Valley Quilters group will be taking over the classroom on Sat., so if you’re a member of NWVQ, come join in. Hope to see you!

Monday is Part 2 of Lynn M’s Out and About Bags class. She has a monthly bag class for you, different bag patterns each month, by and large, and they’re all great. You will learn a lot, have a good time, and have a bag that you actually made to use and show off. Unsure about what fabrics to choose for your bags? See Lynn M. because hers are all so different and eye-catching. She has great inspiration and color sense.

Rulers Can Quilt is back on Tuesday (for beginners) and Wed. for those of you more advanced. Just curious about how this quilting is done? Sign up for the class, Marilyn will guide you into which rulers will get you the most bang for your buck, she’ll even let you try the technique using her rulers if you just want to see how you like it. Her classes are always very successful for beginners and more, and she loves the process so has lots of knowledge, tips and techniques for you to make the process easier, better, even professional looking. What more is there????

Just a clue—we have a fifth Monday in January, so our Cora has stepped up to teach a great Make-and-Take: rope bowls!!! These are easy once you learn the technique, can be made into any eye-catching shape you can imagine, make great gifts or look stunning when grouped together in different sizes on your patio table, or an attractive bowl to hold your sewing stuff by your machine. Cora will have a supply bag available for you to purchase if want.

Our panels of the week, for just $6 per, are pictured here, and hopefully enticing for those chilly mornings and evenings. We will also do a special fabric of the week, at 20% off half-yard cut or better, when you give us the “secret code”. The fabric will be all sports fabrics and the code is 20SPORTS !!! We have in some really great golf panels and fabrics, as well as baseball, tennis, cycling, hunting, music (not really a sport as such, but…), motorcycle and flames fabrics, and more. Just give us the code of 20SPORTS, online or in person, and let your imagination fly high into the sky. We hope to see you soon, and thanks for reading! And remember that the beat goes on, la-dee-da-dee-dee (that’s my Cher imitation, and thank goodness you don’t have to hear me sing).

Barbara and the forward looking, forward marching crew at SVQ for you

Sun Valley Quilts / 9857 W. Bell Rd. / Sun City, Arizona 85351 / 623-972-2091

To Visit our Web Site www.sunvalleyquilts.com

To Visit our Class Schedule www.sunvalleyquilts.com/classes.htm