Join Us on Thursday, October 6th!

Just a reminder that our last Sit 'n Stitch with Deb will be this Thursday, October 6th, 6:00-8:00 p.m.  We hope you'll come in and join us, or at least stop by and say "hi"!  Bring a redwork or another hand embroidery project to work on, anything you like for Show 'n Tell, and enjoying the fellowship. 

Time To Close The Shop

A couple of weeks ago the partners of Always In Stitches met to discuss the future of Always In Stitches. We all love the shop very much and enjoy being in the shop and working. We talked about how many new quilters have come into the shop and gotten hooked on quilting. We talked about the great relationships we have formed over the past six years and what we have accomplished, and how proud we are of those accomplishments. We talked about our industry and the cost of cotton and fabric and our customers' buying habits. We talked about the state of the economy and the volume of  fabric some of our customers have.

We then started talking about how tired we are, how some of us have some medical issues that need to be addressed, and how we have some traveling and family visits we would like to enjoy. We talked about how we want to spend time with our families on the weekends and in the evenings. We even reflected on our good friends that are our age with ill husbands and how short life is. This is when we decided that it is time to take a break. It is time to slow down a little bit and enjoy life while we have the opportunity. Unfortunately, in order to do these things we realized that the time has come to close the shop.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to meet so many great quilters and make so many new friends.  We are so proud of the number of quilters that have emerged from our shop. We appreciate the patience you've shown over the last few months while we tried to transition into a partnership. We apologize if we offended any of you for that was never our intention.

We know that we will continue to see some of you as we will now have some time to sit and quilt and we look forward to those times.

Beginning Saturday, September 10, 2011 everything in the store is 25% off. We need to sell all of the fixtures and furniture, including tables and chairs. Any samples that are not owned by our staff or customers will be sold. Over the next couple of weeks we will continue to mark down our merchandise while it lasts, but I have a feeling that it will go fast.

If you are participating in one of our block-of-the-month programs, don't worry -- we are cutting all of the blocks so that you can get the rest of them when you come in. We will be here until the end of October and will continue to host the various groups until then. Our last Block Swappers Club swap will be due October 10th, and distributed on the 15th along with suggested layouts for your use.

If you are a member of the book club, fat quarter guild, free motion quilting group, etc. don't worry for we have plenty of time to make arrangements for future meetings.

Over the next couple of weeks we will keep you posted as to what merchandise is still available.

Thanks so much for the last six years!

Mary Clark and the staff at Always In Stitches

Deb's Sit and stitch - Thursday night September 1. 2011

Wow, September already!
Missed this reminder in yesterday's blog.

Deb will be hosting the sit and stitch tomorrow evening, Thursday from 6 - 8. And on Friday she will be demo-ing the crayon and embroidery technique at the Goodtime Quilter's show in Circleville at 11:00 on Friday! Stop in and say hello!

Free Demonstrations at the Good Time Quilters Show

Faux Piping (in white)

We have been very busy getting ready for our booth at the Goodtime Quilters QuiIt show. We are focusing on smaller kits for quick gifts and small wall hangings for instant gratification. We will have all kinds of kits, patterns, and other you-know-you-gotta-have items.

During the show there is a constant stream of free demonstrations by guild members and vendors. All of the demos sound interesting, some of the titles include 30 minute table runner, continuous prairie points, template free appliqué, twisted bow tie, no pain quilt basting, charm quilts, quilter's caddy. On Friday Deb will be showing the CrabApple Hill coloring and embroidery technique. On Thursday I am going to demo the quick casserole carrier, and  if you have not seen or made faux piping binding, you will be amazed by how easy it is to do. KyleAnn Williams and Karen Lane will be demonstrating this technique at the upcoming Goodtime Quilters Quilt Show in Circleville this Thursday at 1:00. No registration is needed - just come to the quilt show at the Trinity Lutheran Church, 135 E. Mound Street, Circleville, enjoy all the beautiful quilts and other items made by Guild members. most demonstrations will include a handout with step-by-step pictures. Did we mention the guild members have a great sale room. They are getting rid of their old fabric so that they can buy new stuff. Great place to get a lot of good deals.

KyleAnn has been very busy, too, creating a blog for an online quilt-along! Click here for details. The book she is featuring right now (Country Threads Goes to Charm School) is available through the shop for a limited time. We also have charm square packs similar to those featured on her new blog.

Even with all the activity in Circleville, we are open Friday 10 - 5 and Saturday 10 - 4. We are going to be closed Sunday and Monday  for the holiday! Be sure and stop in and see us!

Have a great week and a great Holiday weekend!

Mary and the staff at Always In Stitches

See you at the quilt show!

The Goodtime Quilters of Circleville, Ohio are having their annual quilt show on THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY (September 1-3).

9-5 THUR.&FRI.

9-4:30 SAT.

$5.00 DONATION

There are a handful of vendors at the show and Always in Stitches will have a booth there with many fun kits, patterns, and other you-know-you-gotta-have items.

Master quilter for 2011, Nellie Wright, will have a special display of her quilts.

There will be nearly 200 beautiful quilts for you to enjoy, including other small items and accessories. For those who arrive early (because it all goes quickly!), there is a sales room where you will find various things for sale, such as fabric pieces, books/patterns, and completed items. Throughout each day there will be various demos, including how to make faux piping binding; painless, pinless quilt basting, and much more.

Their 2011 raffle quilt was entered in the 2011 national Quilting Association Show and received an Honorable Mention ribbon! Raffle tickets are available at the show for $1 each or 6 for $5. You do not need to be present to win. Several other quilted items will also be raffled.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Here is the beautiful raffle quilt!

Labor Day Weekend Hours!

So that everyone can enjoy this holiday, the shop will be closed on Sunday, September 4 and Monday, September 5. Play safely!!

This weekend (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, August 26, 27, and 28) you can bring in one Joann's coupon for up to 40% off. All restrictions printed on the coupon apply.

We will soon have kits for all the darling Patchabilities wall-hangings. See them at our booth at the Goodtime quilters, Circleville, quilt show!

Getting ready for quilt show!

Hey Everyone,
We are very busy getting new samples and kits ready for the Goodtime Quilters Quilt Show. The show is Labor Day weekend and there are some of the most beautiful quilts on display there. We are focusing on christmas and fall with smaller items that are quick and easy. Here are a just some that we are working on. Visit us at the show to see all of the fast and easy kits.

We have a busy weekend coming up here at the shop. Stop in and say hello!

Mary

Third Saturday Fun!

Block your calendar now for next weekend's "FREE SEW" weekend!  Bring your own projects to work on, bring a snack to share, and socialize to your heart's content Friday, Saturday and Sunday:

Friday, August 19th:  10-5
Saturday, August 20th:  10-4
Sunday, August 21st:  12-4

Additionally, the Free Motion Machine Quilting club will meet Saturday morning beginning at 10:30.

At 1:00 Vicki will share the art of "4-Patch Stacked Posies" for a mere $20 per person!  Call or come by the shop to sign up; patterns will be available and Vicki's provided a sample of one variation that we'll have hanging up.  Curious about what a 4-Patch Stacked Posie is?  Here's a picture of the pattern:

In my opinion, the picture on this pattern does not do the quilt justice.  There are countless variations of quilts you can make using this technique, and Vicki will walk you through several of those.  This is a fun, easy & addicting way to create uniquely beautiful quilts -- hope to see you in class next weekend!