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"“You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
A.A. Mine
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Dear CQ Devotees,
At last! Today is the day we offer you shopping hours without having to make an appointment…and no, this is not an April Fool’s joke! Capital Quilts is now open from 1-5, seven days a week, for come-when-you-want shopping. There are some rules, of course: you must wear a well-fitted mask (one that covers your nose and mouth and stays put) in the shop, you must sign in and sanitize your hands when you arrive, and you must please practice social distancing. Nothing new there, except the signing in part. If 10 or more people are in the shop, we may ask you to wait outside until someone leaves. We still want to be careful so that we don’t spread the virus.
We are still offering appointments for shopping from 11-1. During these 2 hours we will continue to limit the number of customers in the shop to no more than 4. If you are high risk and need to shop alone, please let us know and we will make arrangements for you to do so.
We are also reinstating the Capital Quilts Blue Bag program! Bring your Blue Bag with you and let us know that you have it when you check out. We will put your name in the jar for an end-of-month drawing. Don’t have a Blue Bag? Reusable Blue Bags may be purchased in the shop or online (type “reusable” in the search window) for $4.99.
Be sure to walk through our Gallery when you are here; there is a new show hanging on our walls. The Needlechasers Guild is displaying quilts made during the pandemic. Last fall, the show was going to be called “20/20 Vision”. That show was cancelled, of course, but the quilting challenge continued on and is now known as “Time Well Spent”. If you would like to know more about the Needlechasers Guild, go to needlechasers.org.
SEW STEADY/WESTALEE QUILTING CLASSES
If you are brand new to quilting with rulers and templates, Sew Steady has just the class for you! From First Stitch to Last is a 6-part series taught by Janet Collins. The class is on April 6, 8, 15, 20, and 22 from 7-9pm. Janet will take you through the range of patterns in her “Janet Collins Ruler Quilts Design Book”, starting from the ‘First Stitch’ to ‘The Last Stitch’. A digital copy of the book is included with class enrollment. The $80 registration fee includes the book, 12 hours of instruction, tips and tricks, and the opportunity to review the class anytime for the following 30 days.
Click here for more information and registration.
Click here for a recent Facebook Live chat with Janet.
The next day, Wednesday, April 7, 12-2 Eastern Daylight Time, is “Ribbons & Bows”, taught by Sew Steady Educator Donna McCauley. Donna will be teaching several new designs, including Ribbon Candy, designs you can make with the Bow template, Crosshatch, and a wreath. Directions for all of these are provided in a 30-page download that you will receive when you register for the class, along with a pattern for a wholecloth quilt. Win prizes and learn a lot! The class fee of $20 includes the $30 pattern and lots of information, tips, and tricks plus the opportunity to review the class anytime for the following 30 days. It’s a good deal!
• Click here to learn more and register for this event.
• See and purchase the items on the Supply List here.
• A discount code to use during class and 2 weeks following the class will be provided closer to the class date.
Due to technical difficulties, our Flying Geese class, scheduled for March 10, was postponed to April 27, 5-7pm. In this class, Donna shows us 4 ruler work designs, including Bishops Fan, for Flying Geese quilts. We will also learn amazing all over quilt designs for Flying Geese projects. Each design uses different templates, so we’ll learn how to use several new templates. Combine them with designs you already have in your library! We’ll also get a pattern for a Flying Geese quilt. Win prizes and learn a lot in this class, too! Class fee of $20 includes the pattern and lots of information, tips, and tricks, plus the opportunity to review the class anytime for the following 30 days. You also have the opportunity to save 10% on items purchased using the code below.
• Click here to learn more and register for this event
• Use coupon code FGDMQVE21 to get 10% off when you purchase from the class sales page at Sew Steady.
If the date and time of a Sew Steady class are inconvenient for you, register for the class anyway; you have the ability then to watch the class as often as you like for the 30 days following the class, plus you’ll get the discounts and downloads.
| Dia De Los Muertos Challenge! |
 Day of the Dead (Dia de los Meurtos) is celebrated on November 1-2. Google tells us “Assured that the dead would be insulted by mourning or sadness, the day celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life.” I am issuing a Challenge to all you quilters out there: $8 gets you a yard of Day of the Dead Dog fabric. Make a quilt that is at least 20” square that speaks to the Day of the Dead holiday. How do you honor the lives of deceased loved ones? Perhaps you would remember a deceased pet. Quilts are due October 15. Please be sure to put a hanging sleeve on the back, either sewn on or pinned on with safety pins. The sleeve should be at least 4” wide and one inch shorter than the width of the quilt.
Click here to join the fun!
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Shopping at Capital Quilts: Good news! We are opening up the shop starting TODAY! We will still have shopping by appointment from 11-1. Please give us a call at 301-527-0598 if you’d like to make an appointment to come shop in the store. You can usually get in the same day. This time is for those who have not yet been vaccinated and/or feel more comfortable shopping in a controlled environment. It would also be a good time to shop if you are picking out a lot of fabrics for a quilt, as the staff will have more time to dedicate to you. From 1-5, seven days a week, the door will be unlocked and we will be open to all comers. We require that you wear a well-fitted mask and sanitize your hands upon entry to the shop. If more than 10 customers enter the shop, we may ask you to wait outside until someone leaves. We must still protect ourselves against the virus; it is not gone yet, and we don’t want to have to shut down again as is happening in Italy, France, and elsewhere in Europe right now.
If you are exposed to the virus and/or get a positive COVID-19 test result, please do not come to the shop, and if you have been to the shop while you may have been infectious, please call the shop so that we may let others know. There is nothing political about this, and there is no judgment from us. We just want to do our best to help stop the virus from spreading and protect our friends and families and community.
We really and truly appreciate your continued patronage and your patience through this pandemic. Your support has been, and continues to be, awesome. You are truly loyal friends! Keep wearing those masks! Get vaccinated as soon as you can; you will feel a lot less stressed, take it from me! Stay safe.
Go ‘n’ Piece,
Alison
CLASSES and CLUBS
We are having classes via Zoom and, to a limited degree, in the shop. We will make the virtual classes as easy as we can for you, sending you a link to the Zoom class. All you have to do is add the Zoom app to your computer, iPad, or other device so that you can open the link and participate in the class.
Class size may be limited. As before COVID, you can sign up online, by phone, or in the shop if you are here on a shopping appointment. Class descriptions are found below and on our website. Each class will have a supply list; look for this on our website: click on “Calendar” in the blue bar at the top of the home page. Find the class on the calendar and click on that, then scroll down to the bottom left of the page to find “Supply List” and click on that.
For classes we may have in the shop, we require that you wear a mask during the class and social distance as much as possible. Each person will have their own table. We will also take your temperature when you enter the shop and ask that you use hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and water.
CLUBS:
The Longarm and Pro-Stitcher Clubs will meet on the first Saturday of each month in 2021. We will continue to meet via Zoom, until such time as we can once again meet in the shop. Barbara Bean and Elyse Turkeltaub have done a great job of continuing the clubs during the COVID crisis. Thank you, ladies! Members of the clubs enjoy a 10% discount on Handi Quilter items purchased in the shop on the first weekend of each month. If you can’t make it into the shop, please call us at 301-527-0598 to make your purchase. In the shop or on the phone, be sure to tell us that you are in one or both clubs.
NEW! Pro-Stitcher Design Club This new club will begin meeting via Zoom in April. It is designed for people who own Pro-Stitcher Designer and are looking for an exchange of ideas, answers to questions, the forum to ask questions, and the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques. It is open to quilters of all levels. The club will meet on the third Saturday of each month from 10 to 12. Elyse Turkletaub is hosting. Sign up online, in the shop, or by calling 301-527-0598. Members of the club enjoy a 10% discount on Handi Quilter items purchased in the shop on the first weekend of each month. If you can’t make it into the shop, please call us at 301-527-0598 to make your purchase. In the shop or on the phone, be sure to tell us that you are in the club.
QUILTING CLASSES: I am scheduling classes, both via Zoom and in-store, for March, April, May, and June. Some are listed below. To see more of what is scheduled, go to the Calendar on our website, and look through it to see what looks interesting. Click on the name of the class for more information about that class.
For ZOOM classes, you must download the Zoom app/client, and you will need a camera/webcam, microphone, and speakers as well as an internet connection. On the day of the class, you’ll receive an email with a link to the Zoom meeting. Please confirm that Capital Quilts has your current email address and phone number.
Sew Together: Ask an Expert Tired of sewing alone? Join fellow quilters for a virtual quilting bee. Settle into your favorite sewing space with your favorite Zoom-compatible technology for 2-1/2 hours of stitching and chatting. Everyone will have a chance to talk about what they’ve been working on and pose questions to the other quilters. No masks required! Each month, we are inviting a guest who is expert in some aspect of quilting and needlework to join us to answer questions about his or her specialty.
April 2: Sue Fierston, president of the Nature Printing Society, talks about leaf and fish printing on fabric.
May 14: SherriJoyce King immerses us in the world of Dear Jane quilts, where blocks from an 1863 sampler inspire classic and modern expression.
June 4: Beth Morningstar, an accomplished longarm quilter, answers questions about sending quilt tops to be quilted on a longarm machine.
July 2: Marianne Losey, one of Capital Quilts’ sewing machine technicians, provides tips to help you be your sewing machine’s best friend.
Skill Level: any
Instructor/Moderator: Betsy Kulamer
Class Size: max. 18
Cost: $8
Time and Date: 6:30-9 on April 2, May 14, June 4, and July 2.
 Flash Story Quilts In this hands-on quilt workshop inspired by the “6 Word Memoir” project, capture quick images of personal stories in quilted wall hangings. Before class, select a life anecdote to portray and write several very short word stories about it. It could be a first love, the birth of a child, the day your dog climbed the ladder to the roof, a story about a beloved aunt…whatever you would like to have quilted memory of. Fusing will allow you to applique shapes quickly. Embroidered details will emphasize essential ideas. You may choose to include found objects like jewelry or trinkets. For more information on the 6-word story, see www.sixwordmemoirs.com.
This class will be taught in the shop (not Zoom). Well-fitted masks must be worn.
Instructor: Lauren Kingsland
Class Size: Max. 5
Cost: $25
Time and Date: 1-2:30 on Saturday, April 10.
 T-Shirt Quilt Make a t-shirt quilt using beloved and/or new t-shirts. You’ll learn how to stabilize your t-shirts, determine how best to cut them for blocks, and how to put them into a design for your quilt top. Great for graduation presents or memory quilts!
This class will be taught in the shop (not Zoom). Well-fitted masks must be worn.
Instructor: Deb Ball
Class Size: Max. 5
Cost: $45
Time and Date: 11:30-1:30 on Wednesday, April 13 and 20.
The Spring 2021 Complete Course of Quilting will begin on Wednesday, April 21st. This 10-week quilting course teaches everything you need to know to start making your own quilts. This course covers the basics: getting to know your sewing machine, rotary cutting, fabric selection, and a variety of techniques for machine-piecing quilt blocks. You make a sampler quilt and learn to sandwich, quilt, and bind your masterpiece. This is the perfect opportunity to explore the quilter’s art, which is both ancient andSkill Level: beginner
Instructor: Betsy Kulamer
Class Size: Max. 8
Cost: $275
Time and Dates: 6:30-8:30 Ten Wednesdays beginning April 21, with a break on May 26.
 Walk About This is the perfect pattern for highlighting your favorite large print fabric. It is fast and straightforward, great for beginners and for making a quick gift. The darker sashing resembles a pathway set among garden blocks, or take a walk on the wild side and use an animal print. Make a child’s quilt and applique animals in the large blocks. It would also be wonderful for unusual fabrics, such as the Aboriginals. The possibilities are endless!
Skill Level: Intermediate
Instructor: Julie Taylor
Class Size: max. 20
Cost: $35
Time and Dates: 9-12, Saturday, April 24
 Delectable Diamonds Join Cathy to learn how to turn a border stripe into this lovely table runner. Make it as long or as short as you need it to be. Florals work best.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Instructor: Cathy Sullivan
Class Size: max. 5
Cost: $35
Time and Dates: 1-4, Wednesday, April 28
SOFTWARE CLASSES:
Pro-Stitcher Premium: Getting Started Learn to navigate through the screens, tabs, buttons, and tools of Pro-Stitcher Premium. You will customize an Edge-to-Edge (E2E) design on your computer using the Pro-Stitcher Simulator and transfer the design to the Pro-Stitcher on the longarm, if you have one, for accurate stitch out.
An email will be sent to you with a detailed training document and instructions for downloading and installing the Pro-Stitcher Simulator. You will also be contacted by the instructor to ensure that you have the digital designs used in the class.
Skill Level: Beginner
Instructor: Elyse Turkletaub
Class Size: max. 6
Cost: $45
Time and Dates: 12-3, Sunday, April 11
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
From P&B, we have Living Farm. Farm animals have never looked more colorful! The panel of 12" animal blocks are highlighted perfectly in the barnyard quilt project designed by Wendy Sheppard. However, you can just as easily mount the blocks on foam core to decorate in a child's room or kitchen. The coordinates can stand on their own and are great stash builders! Extra-large panel, $17.99 each; yardage, $13.50/yard, 12 FQ Bundle $45.00.
Dear Stella's American Summer is a delightful collection featuring wildflowers, fireworks, and picnic fare, with a patriotic flavor. $12.99 per yard, 11 FQ Bundle $41.25.
Also from Dear Stella: Shark Infested Waters and Pandas, $12.50 per yard.
We have a few pieces of Homeward from Free Spirit. Fun and funky, these prints are more versatile than you think! $12.50 per yard.
JANOME
Enjoy Shamrock Savings from March 1-31! Score one of these great deals:
MC 15000: Save $2,000. Includes the following gifts: Horizon Rolling Cart, Hilos Iris 100 best polyester thread, and the Janome Artistic Digitizer together valued at $2,065. Total Savings: $4,065!
Continental M7 Professional: Save $1,000. Includes the gift of an M7 table, a $699 value, for a total savings of $1,699.
MC 9450: Save $1,500. Includes the gift of a Universal table, a $599 value. Total Savings: $2,099
AirThread 2000D: Save $300. This is the newest Janome serger, with a built-in one-push air threading system an 8-piece feed dog, and a built-in needle threader. We have these in stock.
Contact the shop to purchase any of these machines.
ARTISTIC DIGITIZER: Are you the proud owner of an Artistic Digitizer? Janome has announced an update, to version 1.6. You can download the update from the Artistic Digitizer page on Janome.com.
 Highlight on the Janome 9450: This is your sewing and quilting Dream Machine! I love sewing on mine. The easily-navigated large LED screen puts 350 stitches (for quilting and sewing as well as decorative stitching), 4 alphabets, 11 buttonholes, and a myriad of functions at your fingertips. 11” of space to the right of the needle gives you lots of space for quilting and sewing larger pieces. My favorite feature is the automatic presser foot lift: when I take my foot off the pedal, the machine stops and lifts the presser foot so that I can pivot the fabric. The lighting is fantastic; it includes a high light that pulls out over the needle area and is really bright. It has a powerful motor; I’ve had no problem at all sewing over the folds in masks. Click here to find a listing of the key features.
HANDI QUILTER
Would you like to quilt your own quilt on the shop’s Amara or Moxie? They are available to rent. Take a one-on-one class with Carmen Sesvold for $50 to get certified or re-certified. The rental fee for the machine is $20/hour. Please call me at 301-527-0598 to make arrangements for the certification. If you have been longarm quilting all during the last year at other locations and do not feel that you need to be recertified, please contact me at the same number.
Tune in to the Handi Quilter Facebook page every Tuesday at 2pm EDT for Handi Quilter’s Watch and Learn Quilting Show, which features tips, tricks, and tutorials on Handi Quilter products with limited-time special pricing and a give-away to a random live attendee. They announce a special on a different machine or accessory each week. If you can’t watch the Tuesday show, go to the HQ website and enjoy the “And I Quilt” series of videos. You can still get the special pricing on the week’s product through Sunday.
April 1-4 Take $100 off Pro-stitcher Designer
See the flyer at the end of this newsletter to see what is coming up in April at Handi Quilter.
Longarm quilters: there is a new website you should check out! It’s www.quiltable.com and it is all quilting designs to view and purchase. The digital products include several file types and are intended for robotic quilting systems (not just Handi Quilter). There is an option to join a club and automatically receive new designs every month plus get a discount on other designs throughout the site.
Handi Quilter has launched a new program called Pro-Stitcher Catalog. Get it through the Handi Quilter website. The program will store, organize, and give you a quick way to find your designs. Heaven on Earth! Use the code HQ1498 to get a $10 discount. You’ll also be supporting Capital Quilts, as we will then get a commission from Handi Quilter. Diane Henry will be teaching a class on this software on Friday, March 26, 3:15-4:15.
Our Handi Quilter Moxie is now fully functional and ready for you to come try. I’ve sold one to a quilter who already owns a Fusion. She said she wants to use it for free motion quilting while the ProStitcher on her Fusion is working on another project. The Moxie is very light compared to the bigger machines and is easy to move around, with less stress to your joints.
Like the Simply Sixteen machine but don’t like the hoop frame? Get the Simply Sixteen on the Loft frame! You’ll get more quilting space and a longer frame. If you already have a Simply Sixteen and want to move up to the Loft frame, you can do that.
Also on display is the Handi Quilter Capri, a stationary, sit-down quilting machine. It is right next to the registers. This machine has the smallest footprint of the longarm machines and is most like your sewing machine in terms of feel. Rather than move the machine over the fabric as you do on the machines that have a frame, you move the fabric under the needle on the Capri. Have a seat and give it a try!
CAPITAL QUILTS CARES
The next QOV Workshop is on Saturday, April 17, 1-3:30. This is a free in-shop event limited to 5 people.
Thanks to those who have donated kennel quilts in the last few weeks! Keep them coming. If you are willing to help, please make more for us! Find the directions here. Please be careful of the dimensions of the little quilts; too big or too small and we can’t send them. We have both pillowcase and kennel quilt kits available, free. Make them at home and return the completed project to us for distribution.
BLUE BAG BONANZA
The CQ Blue Bag Bonanza is back! April’s prize is a 40-strip strip set of Carolyn Friedlander’s “Instead” collection, from Robert Kaufman. The fabrics are a beautiful group of blues, purples, grays, and coppery browns.
To be entered in each month’s drawing, bring your Capital Quilts Blue Bag with you when you shop. Make sure you show it to the staffer at the register! Upon completion of your sales transaction, your name will be put in the jar for the drawing at the end of the month. The more you shop, the more chances you have to win. Don’t have a Blue Bag? Purchase one at the shop, by phone, or online for just $4.99. We save all of the entries for the year, and at the end of the year we draw a Grand Prize Winner from all the entries.
Our thanks to everybody who shops at Capital Quilts and who participates in the Blue Bag Bonanza.
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