The Quiltzette

October 5, 2015

New Arrival

We have a new line of basic fabric in. It's called Shadow Weave and includes 19 colors. The subtle woven pattern makes this a great blender.

This would make up perfectly as placemats, a table runner, a wall hanging for the kitchen, or a throw quilt for your favorite chicken lover. There are four coordinating fabrics that go with this one.

These pretty redwork bolts came in last week. They're a nice addition to our large collection of red/black/white prints.

Calling All Denver Broncos Fans

We received jelly rolls in Broncos colors the other day and Emily quickly whipped up this great wall hanging (could also be a table runner, but you'd need a pretty good sized table). Isn't this fun?! The pattern is FREE with the purchase of a jelly roll ($26.99). Hurry in . . . these won't last long.

Upcoming Classes

The Strippers
Friday, October 9, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Class is free with purchase of a jelly roll at CQC; otherwise $29
Book required

Join The Strippers and make a Jelly Roll Quilt from the very popular book Jelly Roll Jambalaya on the second Friday of every other month. We will work our way through all nine quilts in the book, but you don’t have to attend every session. Pick and choose or make them all. This great book also includes illustrated Le Petite lessons and helpful tips related to the projects. In October we’ll make the second quilt in the book.

Bali Squared Bag – With Guest Instructor Patti Curtis
Saturday, October 10, 2015
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
$35, pattern required

Guest instructor Patti Curtis has made no fewer than a dozen of these great totes and has many tips, tricks, and shortcuts to share. The Bali Squared Bag can be made with a jelly roll, yardage, or even from long skinny scraps. A great bag for everyday use or as a travel tote.

Check out the full class schedule here!

New: The BERNINA 570 Quilter's Edition

This little gem is the most recent addition to the BERNINA sewing machine line. The 570QE replaces the 550QE that was, for years, a favorite among quilters. The 570QE is sure to be the same. It comes with a 1/4 inch foot and the BERNINA Stitch Regulator (BSR). This machine features total stitch control (a BERNINA exclusive), 12 LED lights, 1,000 stitches per minute, free hand system, 11 needle positions, stitch memory, 642 stitch patterns, and much more.The 570 is also embroidery module capable, so if you decide now or in the future that you'd like to do machine embroidery you're all set.

We've also added the BERNINA 530 to our inventory. It features the free hand system, 12 LED lights, 900 stitches per minute, 11 needle positions, stitch memory, 395 stitch patterns, and more. You can add a BERNINA stitch regulator to this machine.

If you click the links above to check out these machines further, note that our prices are LOWER than the MSRP shown on the BERNINA website. With these two additions to our BERNINA department, we now proudly carry every model in the 2, 3, 5, and 7 series machines. Come by this week to see these two new additions, as well as two gently used machines that we have available.

BERNINA Club: Software Club
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Time: 5:15 – 8:00 p.m.
Free

Join us on Tuesday, October 13, for an excellent 45 minute presentation from BERNINA’s software expert, Debbi Lashbrook, explaining how to design a personalized in-the-hoop bag for storing supplies. We will begin with “show and tell” so bring any embroidered items you have been working on. Come watch the presentation if you want to learn about BERNINA Software 7 and if you already own the software, bring your laptop and stay to create the project. Don’t forget to bring a USB flash drive to receive a copy of handouts and designs. Please call 970-565-7541 or e-mail Cindy no later than Monday, October 12 at 6 p.m. to reserve your space.

Job Opening

Interested in a career change? We have an opening that needs to be filled before the end of the year when Emily takes off for college. The job involves providing superior service to customers in both the fabric/notions and sewing machine departments. The ideal candidate will: be happy, energetic, have a positive attitude, and enjoy people; learn quickly and have the ability to multi-task; be organized, self-directed, possess a strong work ethic, and have good computer skills; be confident and have the ability to listen well and communicate clearly; be respectful and committed to the success of our business; have basic math and color skills. Retail, sales, and/or sewing experience is helpful but not required. We will train the right person. This position is full-time (35-40 hours per week) including some Saturdays and occasional evenings. Benefits include paid time off, a bonus program, employee discounts, and a pleasant work environment. If you meet these qualifications and are interested in being considered for this position, please bring your resume and complete an application at 40 West Main Street in Cortez. We are open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. No phone calls, please. If you have applied in the past we have your resume on file so there is no need to re-apply. Thanks!

Halloween Fabric is 25% Off!

We have several of these cute panels left along with coordinating yardage. Come in this week to take advantage of 25% off. You still have four weeks until Halloween to whip us a wall hanging, throw quilt, pillowcases, or trick-or-treat bag for the little ones.

Cleaning House

We've been cleaning out stuff from storage over the past few days (you wouldn't believe how much Emily delivered to Methodist Thrift today!). We decided to hang onto these quilt stands, however, and offer them free (first come first served, one per person) to our customers. If you'd like one of these to display a quilt in your home, pop on over to the shop. No phone calls, please.

Lost & Found

Two items have turned up that need an owner - one bobbin case and one point turner. If you're missing one of these items please stop in. Thanks!

Survey Results

We had 63 total responses to our survey about quilt binding. Not everyone answered every question. Here are the results.

Do you . . .

Always hand stitch your binding? 43%
Always machine stitch your binding? 19%
It depends on the project/quilt. 38%

Which of the following projects do you always or usually machine bind?

Everything: 32%
Adult quilts: 17%
Baby quilts: 36%
Charity quilts: 26%
Wall hangings: 23%
Placemats: 45%
Tablerunners: 21%
Potholders: 28%

If you machine bind, which technique to you most often use?

Bring backing fabric around to the front and machine stitch down: 20%
Sew binding to front of quilt and machine stitch down on the back: 31%
Sew binding to back of quilt and machine stitch down on the front: 49%

However you do your binding, how wide to you usually cut your fabric?

2 inches: 8%
2 1/4 inches: 27%
2 1/2 inches: 58%
More than 2 1/2 inches: 7%

And here are a few of our favorite comments that were submitted.

• Hold unsewn binding down with wonder clips . . . they work well!!! (Several people actually mentioned the Clover Wonder Clips and we agree - they're great.)

• I use an edge stitch foot to stitch in the ditch from the front of my project.

• I hold my binding as taut as possible without stretching it. Doing this and always using a walking foot when attaching binding helps eliminate waves and puckers.

• To be very accurate at the mitered corners stop exactly at your quarter inch mark. As I approach the mark, I set the stitch length to a very short stitch so I can stop and turn at the exact spot.

• When machine stitching the binding on the back slant off the edge 1/4 in from the corner, then when you fold the corner over it makes a nice clean miter.

• I got nuthin'. Bindings are a pain.

Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey!

Tip of the Week: Machine Binding

Since quite a few people do machine bind on at least some of their projects the tip this week is a simple one: If you've never done machine binding, give it a try. Obviously you wouldn't do this on a quilt you were planning to enter into a show or give as a special wedding gift, but for a baby quilt that's going to get washed constantly, potholders that you plan to use for more than decoration, or for a seasonal wall hanging or tablerunner that's only out for a few weeks each year, save yourself time (to work on other projects) by speeding up the binding process.

Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. ~ William Penn