Common Threads Quilting - for reproduction fabrics, quilts and kits in Waxahachie, Texas

Newsletter July 16

Friday, 16 July 2010 17:18 |

July 16, 2010

Summer is fully on us now. For most families that means vacations and relaxing fun. Common Threads employees are no different, and many of our employees are taking a few days off here and there to spend some time with their kids while school is still out. This means, however, that those of you who have signed up for block of the month programs may have to wait until mid-month to receive your blocks until school starts back up. We still make every effort to get our blocks out as quickly as possible, but we hope you understand if things are slower right now than they usually are.

In other news, Denice's daughter, Laura, is now working full time for Common Threads and has taken over all of the web responsibilities. She has reorganized the webstore in an attempt to make fabrics easier to track down, or to just browse if you have the time. She has uploaded all of the Common Threads Original Patterns to the site, as well as adding a number of patterns from other designers. This category will continue to expand as she gets more things uploaded. She has also added a "Notions" category. Currently we have thread packs and pre-wound bobbin packs in that section, but we will also be adding many of our tools that we find especially helpful for quilting. Next time you shop with us online, take a few minutes to look around, and if you have any suggestions feel free to let us know. We may not be able to implement all of the suggestions, but Laura is always happy to hear new ideas.

On July 31st we will be having our blowout Summer Clearance Sale. Hundreds of bolts of fabric will be marked down to half-price - some even lower! But plan to get here early. This sale will be for one day only, and the fabrics will be flying out the door. Don't miss out!

New Block of the Month

My Renaissance - We're very excited to be able to offer this beautiful arts and crafts William Morris design block of the month program, My Renaissance. This quilt was inspired by some of the architecture and design of the Renaissance era in Europe. For more information on this program, click here.

New Kits

Penguin Holidays - This adorable quilt is a quick and easy project. It uses the Penguin Happy Holidays fabric line to create a quilt that is 60" x 60" when complete. The pattern is from Turning Twenty book #5, Simply Sashed. The book is required and is sold separately. For more information on this kit, click here.

Snow Flurries - Snow men are always fun, and so is this kit. The finished size of the quilt is 38" x 38". The kit includes fabric for the quilt top and binding. For more information about this kit, click here.

Lumiere De Noel - This lovely quilt measures 78" x 86" and uses the Lumiere De Noel fabric from Moda. The kit contains the pattern and fabric along with binding. For more information, or to purchase this kit, click here.

Boo Who? Throw Quilt - Ghosts aren't scary when they're this cute! This throw quilt measures 51" x 57" when complete. Kit includes fabric and pattern. For more information, click here. We also have a cute door hanger from the same fabric. You can get information on that here.

Gettysburg Memorial - This gorgeous quilt uses the new Gettysburg Civil War VIII line from Windham. The quilt is approximately 64" x 64" when complete. For more information on this kit, click here.

Angels on High Wall Hanging - This wall hanging measures approximately 41" x 54" when complete. The center image is a single panel, which makes this kit go together quickly. For more information on this kit, click here.

New Fabric

Snow Flurries - Snowmen and Snowflakes and little Robin Redbreast. This Christmas line from Clothworks will definitely make you smile. See the entire line here.

Toy Box II - Even if you don't usually gravitate to 30s fabric, you should check out this line from Blue Hill. There are so many adorable fabrics here, especially if you have a special little girl in your life. See the entire line here.

Paper Doll Christmas - We know many of you have been waiting anxiously for this line, and here it is. The clothes for the dolls this time reflect the winter season, and the coordinating fabrics will look wonderful in your Christmas quilts. See the entire line here.

Sale Fabric

Clara Barton - Our Clara Barton line from Windham is currently on sale at just $4.50 a yard. It's going fast, though, so get it while you can. You can see the line here, or you can also find all of our other sale fabric here.

Web Sampler Celebration

Web Sampler Celebration has begun! This year Web Sampler runs from July 15th through September 15th. For more information, and to order your block, click here. To see all the blocks, visit the Web Sampler Celebration site.

13th Annual North Texas Quilt Shop Hop

September 9-11, from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm

The North Texas Quilt Shop Hop is back! This year's theme is "Rock Around The Block." Each shop has chosen a song and will hand out a block pattern that relates to the song. Daily drawings will be held in each store for a $50 gift certificate. Grand prizes are 13 gift baskets valued at $300 each. You can find a list of the shops, and maps to each one at the North Texas Quilt Shop Hop website. Hope to see you then!

Common Threads Quilt History Trip to Nebraska

On Day 2 of our bus trip we will stop at Lawrence Kansas, to spend some quality time with Terry Thompson. She will be setting up a lecture area which will include a focus on quilts from the 1840s to the 1900s and follow a time line of her most interesting appliqué and pieced quilts. We will leave for the Castle Tea Room for lunch by 11:00. Terry encourages everyone to bring their interesting quilts to show and share as it only enhances our time with her and the others on the tour. Don't be shy, the belly of the bus is large. For those that have met Terry and perhaps attended her Fabric Camp you know what a caring and sharing person she is and we are delighted to tell you, she will just be hanging out with us all day, so we can all have one on one time with her. This in itself is a rare treat to be able to have time with a person of her many talents and love for the art of historical quilt making.

Lunch at the Castle Tea room will be another step back in time since the Castle was built in the late 1800s. Our host will be preparing a lovely lunch and also taking time to tell us about the history of the Castle. We are allowing time for you to stroll through the Castle to enjoy what all it holds for us before we move on to the Spencer Museum on the campus of the University of Kansas to view the famous Rose Kretsinger appliqué quilts and her friend, Carrie Hall's pieced block collection. The museum is also proud to own the 1700 Adam and Eve Bible Quilt.

We will have a light supper at Jason's Deli before we rejoin Terry at her studio. We will be enjoying a relaxing evening of shopping and again visiting with Terry. If you wish to check out Terry, here is her website for your pleasure at www.terrythompson.com.

You can find all the details of this trip as well as the registration instructions here.

In-Shop Program

Prairie Women Sewing Club - Common Threads has a new club that will be held in the shop called Prairie Women Sewing Club. Each month there will be a project that is a duplicate of an antique quilt created during the time frame from 1840-1890. These projects are called Make-Do patterns. The women on the prairie could only use what they had, and if they ran out of fabrics in their color scheme, they put in something that would "make do" with the rest of the fabric. That's what we're going to do. Participants will exchange pieces of fabric with other members of the club for their projects.

Projects are small - wall hangings or table runners or pin cushions. The final project is a lap quilt. Meetings will be at the shop, where stories and discussions will take place. The dates for this club are set for the fourth Saturday of the month starting on September 25th. We are also planning to offer this club over the internet for those of you who would like to join the fun, but are too far away to make it to the shop. If you're interested in participating in this club, please contact us for more information.

Don't forget that Common Threads can now be followed on Facebook. If you'd like to get immediate notification of our new fabrics, patterns and kits, as well as notifications of sales that don't always make it into the newsletters, consider becoming a fan of the page.