Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that 2026 will be a great year for all of us. Last week we had a 20% off flash sale on Christmas Day. In case you missed it, we will have one on New Year's Day as well! This sale is WEBSITE ONLY! The code to use at checkout is 4XLG4. Note that this code may ONLY be used from midnight Wednesday until midnight Thursday. We will not be able to make exceptions.

As a reminder, we are closing at 3:00pm on Wednesday, 12/31. We will be closed on New Year's Day. Regular hours resume on January 2nd.

In case you missed the news, the bag tax in Montgomery County goes up to 10 cents on New Year's Day as well.

 Happy Sewing!  

-Marianne

From In the Beginning Fabrics, we have gotten in Glorious Garden, inspired by Kathleen Winslow Gardner. It features three fabulous ombre prints.

And, Kathleen wrote a pattern!

Cloud 9 has sent us the latest Frank Lloyd Wright collection: American Bold! Its geometric patterns are inspired by Wright's architectural designs, such as pixelated skylights and stained-glass motifs. Everything is printed in vibrant, eco-friendly dyes, in keeping with Cloud9's organic mission.

Woodland Snowmen by Danielle Leone for Wilmington Prints is a charming winter-themed collection featuring a large panel, a repeating stripe, and patterns with playful snowmen, woodland critters, and delicate snowflakes all in wintry cream, red, and green colorways.

This super-cute pattern uses both the panel and the border stripe.

Classes

Sew Together has been scheduled for all of 2026. This is a virtual bee (via Zoom) where quilters gather to discuss techniques, designers, tools, and the like. Challenges are sometimes issued: mug rugs, disappearing blocks, and others. Why not join in the fun? The first session will be on January 2nd.

Registration is now open for the Hand-Piecing Club, and it will start meeting on January 5th. If you enjoy the peace and tranquility of hand sewing, come join the Capital Quilts Hand-Piecing Club. The group will meet once a month. Bring what you're currently working on or start something new. 

Registration for the 2026 Second Saturday Club is now open, and the project has been revealed: Dancing Dresdens! It will be co-taught by Jan and Betsy.

Dresden plates are such happy blocks! Not only are they fun to stitch, but they can be made into so many useful items, from full-size quilts to throws to table runners to pillows to totes. We’ll be working from Candyce Copp Grisham’s book, Dresden Quilt Blocks Reimagined, to make Dresdens with different edge finishes, plain and pieced wedges, and different sizes. These Dresdens have turned edges, so they are super-easy to machine-stitch into place. Each Dresden can stand alone or be layered for a fun, dancing effect.

To make a sampler quilt (like the example), we’ll show you how to pre-quilt a sandwich with your walking foot, appliqué the Dresden into place, and assemble the quilted blocks using the quilt-as-you-go gusset & cover strip method.

Second Saturday for 2026 starts on January 10th.

The Longarm and Prostitcher Clubs have been combined, and the first meeting will be on Sunday, 1/11. The Longarmers Club is open to all long- arm quilters, regardless of the brand of machine you own.  Enjoy a lecture each month, with either a guest speaker or a club member with expertise in the particular skill being demonstrated, Show & Tell, and a Q&A period.

There is ONE seat available in the Complete Course starting Sunday, 1/11 from 2:30-4:30. This quilting course teaches everything you need to know to start making your own quilts: 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. It's great for those new to quilting, as well as those who want to brush up on their basic skills.

The first CQ Cares: Quilt of Valor workshop is being held on the 12th. Seats are available in the afternoon session. Please come help make a Quilt of Valor to be awarded to a veteran. These quilts mean so much to those who receive them!

Sandwiching Service appointments are available starting January 13th. Let us baste your quilt for you! 

Please drop off your top, backing, batting, and spray baste or pins no later than the day before your "appointment".  (You will not be present for the actual basting.) Quilt top and backing MUST be well pressed and "square".  Capital Quilts will not iron for you. Your quilt backing and batting should both be AT LEAST 3" larger than your quilt top on all sides. We will notify you when your quilt sandwich is ready to be picked up.

The Bodobo Pucker Up Project Tote is a great bag! If you've been in one of our charitable workshops, you may have seen Linda Henson's bag. Now, she'll show you how to make it yourself!! It's a perfect bag for quilting, knitting, shopping, the pool, and more. Learn how on the 17th.

The English Paper Piecing Club has expanded! It is now the English Paper Piecing & Handwork Club, and their first meeting is on January 18th. Bring your EPP, applique, hand-piecing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, etc. to the group and spend 2 hours stitching, sharing, and learning from each other.

Betsy is again teaching her popular Walking Foot 101 on January 31st! In this class, you will: install your walking foot, test thread tension, learn to start and stop; learn several methods for marking a design on your quilt sandwich; and fill six squares with different walking foot designs: straight lines, regular grids, irregular grids, triangles, curves, and spirals.

Do you need a little extra motivation to get your UFOs (UnFinished Objects) done? The Area 51 Club is for you! Between February and December, make progress on 10 of your UFO projects (one each month), and report in by the deadline. Each milestone earns a discount coupon and a chance at the grand prize drawing (10 projects done = 10 discount coupons and 10 chances to win the grand prize). Register and submit your list of UFOs by February 1st.

CQ Cares (Community Sewing)

We have free pillowcase kits available! We donate all pillowcases to Ryan's Case for Smiles, who in turn distributes them to children battling serious illness. Pick one up next time you're in the shop, then complete it and return on your schedule. Alternately, use your stash and any of the Million Pillowcase Project patterns.

We have placemat kits available at the shop; please stop by to pick up one (or two). For those who want to sew from their stash, click on the picture for the beginner-friendly Charm Square Placemats pattern, or you can use your own pattern.

Please return all completed placemats to Capital Quilts.
Thank you for your continued support of the Capital Quilts Cares program. 

We have free small kennel quilts kits available. These little quilts are sent to shelters who take in pets displaced by natural disasters. To quilters, they are a great beginner project, a use for leftover fabric, and a place to practice free motion skills. To use your stash, visit www.kennelquilts.com