A relaxing, fun and creative environment for quilters of all ages and skills
News
NEWSLETTER
Hello Everyone,
Happy Spring! The warm days have been so nice and just knowing warmer days are coming makes me smile (actually it’s knowing that sandal weather is coming!)😊 The mini quilts from the fat quarter challenge are amazing! Vanetta, Michelle and I are awestruck at the creativity in the designs. No two are alike! It is going to be very difficult for you to pick a winner. The voting starts Thursday, April 1st and will run until Saturday, April 17th. The winners will be announced Wednesday, April 21st. You can vote in the store and/or on-line. Though the on-line photos do not do the quilts justice. To really see the beauty and craftsmanship you need to see them in person. Feel free to share the on-line link with your family and friends for voting.
While you are on the website to look at the beautiful mini quilts take look at some of the new additions. There is a page for the past spotlight quilters, a new gallery look and on our News page we now have a Tip of the Month from Michelle. If there are other things you would like to see on our site let us know!
This past year has seen significant changes in the way the whole world does business. Our vendors are being hit with increased inbound freight and hefty mill cost increases of over 5%. Not to mention Covid has provided its own unique set of impediments to normal business operations. All of our vendors are increasing their prices so, unfortunately, we will need to increase the price on new product/fabric lines.
Our April spotlight quilter is Nancy Lewis. Nancy grew up on a farm in Lyons, NY and started out in 4H learning how to sew at age 8 or 9 and has sewed ever since. She made most of her clothes as a child and young adult as she was very petite, and stores did not sell clothes to fit her. She was excited when petite clothes showed up and quickly turned to quilting. Nancy has not looked back except for the occasional Halloween costume for the grandkids. The first quilting class she took was at Betty Means shop in Webster in 1970. For her second project she made a queen size quilt! She has taken many classes over the years and her favorite style is appliqué. It is slow, peaceful, and relaxing. She also loves to hand quilt. Nancy’s favorite thing about quilting is finishing a quilt/project. In fact, she spent the pandemic finishing 15 unfinished projects. Her next goal is to take scraps of fabric from all her past projects and make a baby block pattern quilt for each of her four children. Nancy’s advice for new quilters is to try classes for all different types of quilting and she emphasize practicing how to use color to your advantage in projects. Here are some pictures of some of her beautiful work.
Here are some pictures of some of her beautiful work.
We are so proud of The Village Quilt Shoppe and look forward to sharing the dream with you.
Vanetta & Monique
Michelle's tip of the month
If your machine starts skipping stitches it could be one of two things.
1. Your needle is dull. Change your needle to a new one and your skipped stitches will most likely stop.
2. Your needle is too small for the number of layers you are sewing or the thickness of your layers. If you are sewing heavy fabrics (like denim or upholstery), sewing through multiple layers (as we do in bag making) or even if you are machine quilting or sewing on a binding you need a larger needle. A needle that is too thin will struggle to get through the thickness and will cause skipped stitches. Switch to a larger needle to eliminate the skipping. Also remember, sewing through heavy fabrics or many layers will dull your needle faster so you will need to change it more frequently.
April Class Highlights
April classes consists of 2 bag classes, a table mat and One Block Wonder. And a new block of the month program, Welcome Home. The second Thursday of the month is Demo Day (noon and 3pm)
Plus April 30th - May 2nd is our in-house retreat.
Welcome Home BOM - Welcome family and friends to your home with this year-long collection of mini quilts. Each month you will receive the pattern, fabrics and embellishments to complete the 10" x 14" quilt. (If you prefer to use your own fabric you can purchase the embellishment kit). Techniques used will include machine piecing, wool applique. pencil shading and hand embroidery.
Kits will be available the first Thursday of each month. Additionally, for $10 you can reserve sewing time on the first Thursday of each month to work on your Welcome Home mini quilt with Michelle.
Bag Classes
- Pocket full of rulers - a great bag to bring to classes, it will hold your 24" ruler, cutting mat and there are plenty of pockets for other rulers or quilting tools.
- Bevy Bag - a perfect Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift. It can hold 2 bottles of wine(or beverage of your choice) and has a pocket for an ice pack to keep your beverages chilled.
Table mat: Persuasion - A Gentlethread Needle Art Design pattern, by Michelle. This beautiful table mat can be made in any color scheme to be used daily or for holidays. It uses the 15 degree ruler and is machine pieced so goes together quickly.
One block Wonder - Come see what wonders you can produce with one fabric that has a pattern that repeats. In this class you will learn how to cut your fabric to create hexagons. The second class ( May 27th) we will help you with the layout of the quilt.
Pictures below, details can be found on our calendar page.
