Laurie Shifrin Workshops

We're really excited here about the upcoming workshops later this month with Laurie Shifrin. If you been in the store lately, you've probably seen the samples of her quilts. On Saturday, April 25th, Laurie will be here for a hands-on, all-day workshop making her Mango Tango quilt from her new pattern line. Laurie told us she's done this workshop many times and it's one of her favorites. Plus, participants will learn how to add curves to their quilt blocks without curved piecing! (And just to keep it interesting, there's a little work with bias and lots and lots of fabrics!) On Sunday, April 26th, Laurie will be conducting another hands-on workshop on the Queen Charlottes quilt from her newest book, Batik Gems and offering the participants her views on color and pattern choices. Both of these workshops are a great opportunity to work alongside Laurie and get some insight as to how she comes up with such gorgeous quilts! Laurie will also have available during the workshop copies of her first two books that have been discontinued--Batik Beauties and More Batik Beauties. And participants will get a first hand look at some of the quilts from her new line of patterns. Her newest quilts combine Oriental fabrics with batiks and they are bee-yoo-ti-ful! There's still some openings available--but don't wait! Call the store (631-589-4187) or come in to register.

Walter was here!

Walter Floriani, that is!

During two information packed sessions, Walter amused, informed, educated and helped bring clarity to that sometimes murky world of embroidery stabilizers. Walter also spoke about his family's intimate involvement in the history and development of machine embroidery going back 5 generations! (Attendees were able to get a hands-on feel for the history when Walter let us actually handle some of the gorgeous Floriani lace.)

A step-by-step review of the many stabilizers offered by Floriani came next. Walter was able to clear up a lot of misconceptions, misinformation and misuse(!) of stabilizers and show how easy it is to get fantastic embroidery results with your machine. (One really interesting tidbit is the use of a "topper" stabilizer with all embroidery, not just high pile fabrics such as terry cloth or velour.) One of the great things about Floriani stabilizer is that it is fiber based (no paper to dull needles) and uses silicone to assure smooth needle glide.

Walter finished the presentation with a demonstration of the Floriani software. His message to the attendees was this--don't assume that the reason your embroidery isn't working out is because of something you have done! If you hooped correctly, stabilized correctly, used the right needles, thread, bobbin, etc. then the fault could very well lie with the embroidery design. That's right! Those designs you get on your software may be incorrectly digitized! Walter is a master digitizer and he used his Smart Sizer Editing Software to show how to look over a design to see if it's correctly done and, even better, how to fix it! And with the "Save to Sew" feature on his software it was incredibly easy! The embroidery samples were soft, supple, PERFECT! And even better, Floriani provides free (yes, that's free!) support! Just doesn't get better than that!
All in all it was a morning and afternoon well spent. Everyone came away with good information and we all had a wonderful time! Thanks to all who attended and thank you, Walter!

Happy Holidays to All!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a joyous holiday season and to thank you all for being part of Patchworks' family! Best wishes for a happy (and stress-free!) time with family and friends!
We look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Where did the time go?!

I'm sure we're all asking ourselves the same question! Wasn't it just Halloween?...was that Thanksgiving last week?...what, Christmas?! Already?!

Okay, let's not panic (yet). On the positive side, the class schedules for January, February and March are now available on line and you can sign up via the website or by calling the store. The newsletter, however, is still a work in progress (any day, now, I promise!) Part of the problem is getting completely distracted by the deliveries. If you haven't seen them yet, stop by and check out the absolutely adorable Santa, Snowmen, and Christmas ornament kits and some of the great new patterns for handbags and quilts. We've also been working on the Thimbleberries 3's Company quilts (Light and Traditional colorways). And then there was the delivery of the Hoffman 2009 Challenge Fabric, McKenna Ryan's Willow line, Sachet Floral II from Marcus (finally, flannel!), and a very cute collection of baby fabrics, Moonbeams in a Jar by Elizabeth Miles. You know, it's a little hard to stay on task when these deliveries keep on arriving!

We wish everyone a healthy, happy, and stress-free holiday! Don't forget to take a little time for yourself and sew!

A few tips:

If you pour that second glass of wine you might want to consider moving away from the rotary cutter;

If your machine starts arguing with you at 2 in the morning, it's probably going to win, so step away and try again in the daylight hours;

When you've finished that second glass, remove the remote from your significant other, plop yourself in the recliner and put on a good chick flick;

If the holiday project doesn't get done for this year, consider yourself ahead of the game for next year!

Just a reminder--Patchworks will close at 3pm on Christmas Eve and be closed through January 1, 2009. We'll reopen on January 2 at 10am!

What a week!

What a week it's been! Tuesday Club 2008 finished up and we're really looking forward to seeing some of the completed (or almost completed!) quilts when we start up again in February 2009. You can view our Tuesday Club quilt on our website--just click on the link for Tuesday Club 2008 in the purple column on the left.
And what's more exciting? All the new stuff from Quilt Market that's arriving daily OR our new line of sewing, embroidery and quilting machines from Janome?! We feel like kids in a candy shop!
Gotta go now, time to play with the new toys! Hope to see you soon!

To market, to market...home again, home again!

We (Ingrid, Debi and Marie) set off for International Quilt Market last Thursday evening armed with our sensible walking shoes and ready to prowl the aisles in search of the latest and greatest in quilting paraphernalia. Of course, we didn't get off without a hitch. The plane developed a leak in the hydraulic brake fluid ("Smokin' like a barbeque" was how the pilot described it.) After an hour or so delay, we were put on another plane, flew to Orlando, landed in a lightening storm, switched planes (again!) and finally arrived in Houston around midnight. At least the airline gave us free drinks. We met up with Donna at the hotel and promptly passed out. (From being tired, not from the free drinks.)
Friday started with Quilt Market Schoolhouse. That's where you run around like a headless chicken trying to cram in as much as possible in 15 to 30 minute sessions throughout the day. It was hit or miss but fun. Debi and Ingrid made out the best getting the most free stuff, followed by Donna, then Marie, who always seemed to be one classroom away from the people having fun. Friday night was Sample Spree, where Quilt Market vendors offer their merchandise at bargain basement prices. Let's just say that the WWF has NOTHING on quilters at Sample Spree.
Saturday marked the opening of Market and we spent the next two days going through every vendor's booth. We found fantastic new pattern designers and great new patterns for wall hangings, handbags, quilts using Oriental and batiks, handbags, holiday, handbags, adorable baby quilts, machine embroidery and handbags. We met Pat Sloan, McKenna Ryan, Marie Osmond, M'liss Rae Hawley, Deb Tucker, Cindy Taylor Oates, Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, just to name a few! We ordered some fantastic kits for holiday decorations that will blow your socks off! And, of course, we ordered some new batiks.
Saturday night found us faced with the dilemma of having to decide between two dinner invitations--one at the Hilton and one at the Four Seasons, Naturally we went to both. At the Hilton, we attended a cocktail party given by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. We didn't stay too long. Ingrid got up to revisit the buffet and the president of Kaufman Fabrics sat in her chair to say hello to us. Ingrid gave him the boot when she returned to the table and we left the party soon after. On to the Four Seasons, where Timeless Treasures was hosting a dinner complete with live music. Very nice!
Sunday night we attended the Bernina Fashion Show, showcasing wearable (and not-so-wearable) art. Back at the hotel it was time to pack up all the goodies we had collected. Thankfully, Debi had packed a few extra pieces of luggage!
Monday found us on our way home (no airline glitches this time) and Tuesday we were back in the store, wondering if we had ever left at all!
Stay tuned to find out when all the goodies from market begin to arrive! There's a few items in the store already but we're expecting loads more!