Dear Makers,
We are makers of many stripes, aren’t we? Mask makers, quilt makers, dress makers, dinner makers, school makers, dream makers. I expect many of you will be garden makers this weekend. Plant a plant for the butterflies and the bees and a tree for the Earth!
Lora and Kat have been working on making our website even better. If you haven’t looked at our online store in a while, look again! There are lots more products there in many of the categories.
Need a break from mask making? The Christmas fabrics are beginning to arrive. Yes, it is that time of year again! I wonder if we will still be wearing masks when the holidays roll around. The advent calendar panel is “super cute”, as Lora said when she was cutting the panels off the bolt.
What will the next phase of masks look like? I am beginning to see embellished masks in the news, like tassels attached to the bottom of the mask. Masks are going to become fashion statements. You’ll need one for every outfit and every mood and one in every color in your closet. Kat mentioned that her mask today did not "go with" her shirt, and is fretting over which fabrics to stitch up next.
Holy Cross Hospital has asked Capital Quilts to make ICU gowns for them, and we, of course, are happy to help with this effort. The hospital feels that we are still at a critical phase of the virus here in Montgomery County, and they need more PPE. Our own Jan Wisor developed a pattern and staff and friends are cutting and sewing the gowns. Jan delivered the first gowns to the hospital early this week.
One of our customers is an ICU physician at a local hospital, and is trying to come up with ways to help support our nurses. She noticed that the scrub hat her mother made her brings a little bit of cheer into a very intense environment, and provides some personality when everything else is PPE. These aren't "necessary" medical supplies, but they're fun and they're really helpful. She added buttons to the side as "ear-savers" to hook the ear-loop masks to. Surprised how happy it made her to wear it, she soon started to raid her stash of fabric. She has made a bunch more, initially to have some variety, and then to share. Although she does not have the time to make hats for all 181 ICU nurses and respiratory therapists (133 female, 48 male), she wondered if any other customers would be willing to make some. She has been using a modified version of Milly's Tie Scrub Hat Pattern from www.brimmingwithlove.org. It's a woman's hat with enough room to tuck long hair up into; she has been omitting the lining because wearing all that PPE while working can get hot! Twelve Bees has a great video and pattern for making a scrub hat for men or women with short hair. Capital Quilts will collect any scrub hats you make and forward them on to the everyday heroes working in the ICU.
We truly appreciate your patronage and your patience through this pandemic. It is hard work and, without you here in the shop, not nearly as much fun, but we will MAKE it!
Go ‘n’ Piece, Alison
NAVIGATING THE ONLINE STORE For those of you who are computer-challenged, click here for a quick tutorial on getting to and through our online shop using a laptop or desktop computer. (Smart phones and tablet screens may vary.)
We have had a few people call to say that they are having trouble getting PayPal to work or to make a selection or are having other issues when they use the Capital Quilts online store. If this happens to you, try refreshing your browser. That often solves the problem. If you continue to have a problem, please contact the shop at 301-527-0598.
CORONA CHALLENGE DEADLINE EXTENDED Quilting will get us past this Coronavirus Crisis! Sign up for our Corona Challenge! You get a yard of fabric, free shipping, and the chance to express in fabric how you are feeling about this virus. We’ll hang the quilts in the Gallery and/or post them online, depending on how long this crisis lasts. Make them at least 20” x 20” but not larger than 60” x 60”. Use the fabric we send you along with fabric in your stash or that you buy (hopefully from Capital Quilts!). Return them to us by JUNE 30, 2020. Go online or call the shop 301-527-0598 to take on the Challenge!
MAKING MASKS We have all made a mask or two (or 50, or 200, or…), and would like to share our favorite patterns, and some tips and tricks we’ve discovered along the way. Click here for all the details! (By the way, some of our customers are now offering completed masks for sale on our website, if you aren't interested in sewing one yourself.)
Mask Kits for personal use: Kits are currently available! They contain all the materials (pre-cut fabric, twist ties for nose wires, cotton twill tape for fabric ties, and pattern with tips and tricks) required to make either 5 or 10 at a time. These kits are not intended to be used to make masks for donating to medical facilities, but are perfect for the “shoppers’ masks” now required to be worn in public in our area. Click here to order.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
Where to start? We've gotten in a few Christmas (!) fabrics from Andover, and a matching Advent Calendar panel. Bolted fabric, $12.99 per yard. Panels, $9.50 each.
Oh, boy! Are magazines starting to pile up with no one browsing the titles at checkout! Why not adopt an orphan issue today? (Note: if ordering through our website, most magazines do not have pictures uploaded. We're working on it!) Pricing varies.
Elastic is available in a variety of widths and colors, including a soft white stretchy cording similar to what is seen on commercially available procedure masks. All mask elastic is $.059 per yard. We have also restocked the aluminum nose pieces you all liked so much. $3.50 per package of 10.
Michael Miller Cotton Couture Solids have been (somewhat) restocked, as has some of our thread and needle stock. We're doing our best, but our suppliers are out of the most popular colors of fabric and thread, and of the most requested sizes of needles. Cotton Couture is $9.99 per yard.
Do you need a variety of fabrics to make masks with? We have bundles of 10 half yard cuts for only $65.00 (regular price: $7.50 per half yard). You will get a usable mix of novelty, blenders, batiks, and current lines. For the first 40 bundles sold, we're throwing in twenty 3 1/4" long aluminum nose pieces thoughtfully provided by the SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, while supplies last. (These nose pieces differ from the ones above for sale, and will need to be sanded or taped to blunt sharp corners for safety and comfort.)
Capital Quilts now sells masks on consignment! We currently have five makers selling masks through Capital Quilts. Styles, fabrics, and prices vary. Click here to shop the current assortment.
FLATTEN-THE-CURVE KITS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
ACCUQUILT Save $100 via mail-in rebate when you purchase either the GO! Big or the Ready. Set. GO! fabric cutters! If you're looking to expand your Qube library, the buy one, get one 20% off is a sweet deal! Offer ends 5/21/20.
Face Mask dies are available on the AccuQuilt website. Retailers are not being given any supply to sell in shops.
HANDI QUILTER Handi Quilter ProStitcher owners: Handi Quilter is replacing the Art & Stitch software with their own Pro-Stitcher Designer software. If you are already a Pro-Stitcher owner, you can take advantage of a limited-time offer and save almost $400. Until June 30, 2020, purchase your digital copy of Pro-Stitcher Designer for just $199.95. Visit the new www.ProStitcher.com to learn more. While Art & Stitch is still in existence, Handi Quilter will no longer support it.
JANOME Welcome Spring! Janome is offering a free Home Depot Gift Card with the purchase of selected models. Click here to see the flyer.
We are able to accept your sewing machines for cleaning and tune-ups. Go to our website and sign up for machine repair. Bring your machine to the shop. We will take it in and wipe it down with a disinfectant (safe for sewing machines). Our tech will pick it up here and take it home to work on it, then bring it back to the shop. We will let you know it is ready for pick-up and wipe it down again before we give it to you. Our technicians are working as quickly as they can, but both have essential day jobs. Machine servicing wait time is currently estimated at about 10 business days.
Meet the Janome 1600P-QC: This is a high-speed (1600 stitches per minute) aluminum body heavy duty machine. It has one stitch: the straight stitch. Think of all the masks you could knock out with this machine! It has a built in thread cutter, built in needle threader, a side loading metal bobbin, and an ergonomic knee lifter. A presser foot sensor prevents you from sewing with the presser foot in the up position. Nearly 9” to the right of the needle makes this an ideal machine for finishing quilts. A dust cover is included.
Regular price: $1,499 Capital Quilts price: $1,149 We have two in stock.
If you would like to buy a different model that we do not have in stock, Janome will ship the new machine directly to your home so you don’t have to come out to pick it up. The shipping fee varies according to which machine you buy.
CAPITAL QUILTS CARES All Capital Quilts Cares events in the shop are cancelled until further notice.
That said, we have free pillowcase kits available that you can sew at home. They are a wonderful beginner project to do with children. The kiddos will learn some sewing skills and stay busy, too! We can mail them to you or you can pick them up curbside. Return the finished pillowcases to the shop (when you can; there is no rush), and we will donate them to Ryan’s Case for Smiles.
TQPM Small Kennel Quilts is having a Kennel Quilt-a-thon on May 15-17, 2020. If you have not joined yet, visit Pattern Pastiche and click the Join Us link in the Kennel Quilt-a-thon! box. It is in left column. On the next page, click the gray button, +Join TQPM Small Kennel Quilt Team to join the group. It is near the top right. Small Kennel Quilts are also still being shipped out, most recently to southern states affected by tornadoes. If you're making them, we are happy to accept them here at the shop to send to shelters and rescues in need.
CLASSES All classes, clubs, and events are cancelled until further notice.
When we begin to reschedule classes, those of you who had registered before will be given the first opportunity to sign up for the new class.
SAVE THE DATE:
October 8 - 12: Quilter's Quest
BLUE BAG BONANZA The Blue Bag Bonanza program is suspended until further notice.
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