Upcoming Events: November is looking busy!

It is time again to share the events that are coming up in our Shop in the next few weeks.

This Friday is already the last Friday of the month, which means it is also Fat Quarter Friday, we will have a basket of assorted fat quarters, and each one in the basket will be $2.50, or pick 12 from the basket for only $25! If you like to make little Christmas Gifts, there are a lot of patterns out there that use Fat Quarters and to get them for only $2.50 each is a great deal. Remember the deal only applies to the basket, and goes from 10am-5pm Friday, October 25.

Friday, October 25 is also the first session of PhD Club. This club is great in that you get to come to our classroom and work for a full day on whatever project you choose. At the end of the day you set a homework goal for the next month, and if you finish your homework you get $10 of your commitment fee back, if not you forfeit the cash. It is a great motivator to finish some projects and without the distractions of housework, laundry and cooking you can accomplish a lot. You can sign up for this fun relaxed club here.
Esther leaves soon for Florida and will be gone the full month of November. For the full month of November any purchases over $25 will receive a bonus gift of a mini charm pack, while supplies last.

Also in November we are going to be doing our Pillowcase Challenge again. We did this last year and it was a great success and we donated over 300 pillowcases the the Pediatrics Ward of the Chinook Regional Hospital. This year we would like your help to sew 500 pillowcases, which we will than donate to the Coaldale Food Bank for their Christmas Food Hampers and again to the Hospital.
So how does this Challenge work? We are busy cutting kits for the pillowcases and we ask that you sew them for us. Their is no charge to participate, we will just record your name, phone number and how many kits you have signed out. When you return the finished pillowcase(s) we will make note of that as well, any kits not returned by Saturday, November 30 will be getting a phone call on Monday December 2. There are a number of tutorials to sew the pillowcases, and we do not mind which method you use, as long as they are neatly finished. The kits all contain a Main Fabric, a cuff and a little zinger piece as we like to call it, that goes between the cuff and the main fabric. Some of the fabrics may need to be squared off before sewing. You can sign out as many as you like as long as you get them finished. We encourage you to challenge your friends and or guilds to join as well.
This Challenge will start on November 1 and we ask that all pillowcases be returned by November 30. We want this to remain a 1 month challenge so no kits will be handed out before November 1. Let's see if we can hit our goal of 500!

Just as Jelly Roll Day occurred in September, we will be doing a Charm Pack day in November. This will take place on Saturday, November 16. During the week leading up to it, I will post inspiration photos on Instagram and Facebook. On November 16, Moda Charm Packs will be 25% off for the day, we will have a couple different free patterns available in store, as well as purchase patterns.

On December 4 at 7pm we will be hosting a Christmas Party. There is a $5 registration fee to attend which will be donated to the Coaldale and District Emergency Services. We will have snacks and drinks, and we ask that everyone brings a $10 gift to exchange, it can be quilty themed or not. You can sign up for this party here. Please note there will be no shopping available that evening, it is just a party, and Carrie, Esther and I will be joining in as well. There is limited spots available so sign up soon.
Have a Great Week, next Tuesday the second block for the Follow Your Heart QAL will be posted.
Kayla

Fat Quarter Friday

We are starting up Fat Quarter Fridays again. We did this a couple years ago in the shop as a summer event and it was a big hit.
The last Friday of each month we will have a large basket of individual fat quarters for you to peruse. Each one in the basket will be $2.50, or you can buy 12 for $25.00. Fat quarters regular price are between $4 and $5 so this is a good bargain. We normally will cut fat quarters from yardage for you, but on Fat Quarter Fridays the sale will only apply to those fat quarters that are in the basket. 
For those of you who are unsure, a fat quarter is a piece of fabric that measures 20" x 20" (sometimes it might be more like 21" or 22" but width of fabric varies so I always just count on 20") It is a half meter of yardage that is cut in half in the middle parallel to the selvage. It is equal to a 1/4 of a meter of fabric but because you have a 20" square to work with rather than a long strip 10" wide it is sometimes more useful.
There are many, many patterns for quilting that call for fat quarters, actually as I think through the pattern designers that we carry in our shop, the majority of them have at least one pattern that is fat quarter friendly if not more. The patterns range from easy, beginner friendly to difficult and advanced. Some are big easy blocks and others are full of tiny intricate pieces. For patterns that have little waste 6-8 fat quarters generally gets you a big baby quilt while around 12 makes a nice throw size, for a queen figure on about 30-40.  Of course the more you cut the fabric up the more is going to be lost in seam allowances, so if a quilt has a lot of little pieces you will need more than a fabric that is all big blocks.
Fat quarters are also good for making small pouches, zip bags, baskets, stuffed toys and more.
And if all else fails, you can cut your fat quarters into other common precut sizes. I have a few bundles that I have cut into 10" squares, 5" squares and 2.5" strips.
Our next Fat Quarter Friday will be Friday, September 27. We will have some patterns out for inspiration as well on this date as well.
I recently made a queen size quilt for my bed using 36 fat quarters, the pattern is called Turning Twenty Again and the fabric I used is Pollinator. What is your favorite use for fat quarters?
Kayla