Common Threads Quilt Shop and Design Studio

Stash Bash 2012

2012-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard yet, we are preparing for the biggest event we've ever attempted to organize. We are SUPER excited for Stash Bash 2012!

What is Stash Bash? It's an opportunity to clean up your stash and win prizes for doing so! Everyone will win if they reach their personal goals. The registration for Stash Bash also includes meals and snacks. The fee is $200 per person. A portion of the proceeds from the weekend will support the American Cancer Society.

We've sent out invitations to all of the quilt guilds and quilt shops in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We want to make it the largest retreat in Minnesota. We're so excited for this event that we've decided to lower the price to reach our attendance goal. If you register before March 15th, you will save $50!!! Click here for the registration form:

http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/Events_images/Stash%20Bash%20Reg%20Form.pdf

If you have any questions about Stash Bash, click here for the flyer and frequently asked questions:

http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/stashbash.html

Blog readers: Share this event on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. Comment below with a link to your "share" and you'll be in a drawing for a FREE ticket to Stash Bash!!! We will draw on March 3rd.

EChatter - Februrary 2012

2012-02-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

Our first What's New weekend of the year was great, thanks to everyone that attended! We also had the first meeting of Quilt Circle and we had a BLAST!!! We served breakfast and talked in little more in depth about what it means to be a modern quilter and what the difference is between modern quilters and modern quilts. We also talked about how to find inspiration for a quilt project and how to turn that inspiration into a finished project. We will be presenting the same program on February 23rd at 10am. If you're interested in attending please just let us know so that we know how much breakfast to make. Email us at common@gctel.net or give us a call at 320-834-2563.

Here are the items we featured at this month's What's New. Everything will be available for purchase online on February 15th at http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/store.html.

Books

Bags - The Modern Classics
Turn your favorite fabrics into a fashion statement! From chic wristlets to functional carryalls (and everything in between), each project includes a full-sized pattern, easy-to-follow instructions, and inspirational photos. All the sewing basics you need are here, and you will learn some more ambitious techniques such as stitching hook-and-loop tapes, making darts and pleats, and attaching magnetic snaps or zippers.

Singular Sensations
It doesn't seem possible! See one simple block—Squares within Squares—morph into an astonishing variety of completely different quilts. Barbara Douglas rotates, resizes, and rearranges this block to create a dozen stunning projects.

Foundation-Pieced Quilts
Discover some of Quiltmaker magazine's most creative foundation-pieced projects from an impressive list of designers. With 14 quilts ranging from whimsical to pictorial, from geometric to floral, this value-packed collection has something for everyone.

Primitive Quilts Magazine - Spring Issue
There is so much in this magazine, we can't list it all. Click HERE for details.

Notions

Poke-a-Dots
The surface is textured to prevent needle slipping. Made of polyurethane so they can grip the needle, too. Use for stitching on binding and hand applique, embroidery, etc. (We apologize, this item is not available for sale online as we completely sold out during the weekend. Look for it online in the future or give us a call to hold one for you when they come in.)

Kits

Funny Hunt/Fish
This funny outdoorsmen show what really happens out there when they are hunting and fishing. Each block is has a different funny hunting/fishing scenario using the Slideshow pattern by Terri Atkinson.

Rockets
A fun kids quilt featuring rockets and planets using "Launch" fabric from Robert Kaufman. We had a lot of fun making this framed square quilt using the Slideshow pattern by Terri Atkinson. Perfect for the astronaut in your family.

Fall, Leaves, Fall
This quilt was made for us (to show you) by Jim Cavers and quilted by him as well. The kit comes with fat quarters for the leaves, you choose how to arrange them.

Smokey River
Made with the Stonehedge fabric, this quilt is supposed to resemble granite. I just can't stop looking at it!

Just Stroll with It and Growing Fast
Minnesota designer, Katie Hennagir, designed the "little one" fabric Kaufman . The colors are bright but cool, perfect for the modern baby nursery. She also designed two patterns using the ribbon quilt idea.

Flannel Seuss Pillowcase
We had some fun with Dr. Seuss since his birthday is next month. The flannel pillowcase is perfect for those cold nights and great for a kids room!

Events

Polar Plunge to benefit The Special Olympics - Feb. 26th, 1:00pm
Common Threads is supporting the Ice Angels in this year’s Polar Plunge to support The Special Olympics. They will be jumping into a frozen Lake Carlos. The team consists of Katie, Holly, and a friend, Erika Berglund. Show your support by joining the team, donating to the cause, or cheering us on February 26th.

If you would like to join or donate, go to:http://www.plungemn.org/team/iceangels.

There will be a Sunday brunch and burger bar prior to the Plunge in the Lake Cafe at Arrowwood Resort. Join us at Rafters Lounge at Arrowwood Resort after the Plunge! There will be a free chili bar with goodwill donations to Special Olympics Minnesota.

Relay for Life Auction - March 24th, 4pm - 7pm
For every dollar you spend from January 18th to March 23th you will get two Quilt Bucks. You can use these Quilt Bucks along with money to bid on different items on the auction. The auction will have quilting items as well as other items. Everyone is invited to this event and the proceeds will go to our Relay for Life team. The auction will take place from 4pm - 7pm. To donate directly to our team, the Polka Dots, click here: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12MW?team_id=1106832&pg=team&fr_id=38896

Stash Bash 2012
Click the flyer for more information on Stash Bash 2012

Super Sew 2012

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone that participated in Super Sew 2012 on Sunday. We had a great turn out, way too much food, and a ton of fun! Unfortunately I completely forgot to take pictures so I can't show you what you missed. :( Congratulations to Linders who won the half time score guess, Gabrielle Roers who won the final score guess, and Gabrielle again for winning the $50 Common Threads Gift Certificate with our Super Bowl trivia/prop questionnaire. Here are the answers for those of you that didn't stay for the whole game:

How long will the national anthem last? We timed it at 1 minute 36 seconds

How many aircraft will fly over during the national anthem? We don't know if there were any, they didn't show them.

Will Kelly Clarkson be wearing NFL gear for her national anthem performance? No

Will Kelly Clarkson’s bare midriff be showing during her performance? No

Will the coin toss be head or tails? Heads

Which team will win the coin toss? Patriots

Will the team that wins the coin toss win the game? No

What company will be in the first commercial after the beginning of the game? Budweiser

Which team will score the first point(s)? Giants

Will there be points on the board within the first 6 min 30 sec of the game? Yes

Who will have the highest score at halftime? Patriots

Will Madonna wear NFL gear during her halftime performance? No

What color will Madonna’s hair be? Blonde

Which team will score last? Giants

Which team will win? Giants

What will the winning score be? 21 - 17

Will the winning coach get a Gatorade bath? Yes

If so, what color will the Gatorade be that is dumped on the winning coach? Purple

We hope that you all had as much fun as we did and if you missed out we will be doing it again next year!

Just a little reminder, we have What's New this weekend. We have a lot of new things to show you, don't miss it! Click HERE for details on the times. Here's a sneak peek. :)

Back to Business

2012-01-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

Mom, Holly, and I are finally buckling down and getting some things done around the quilt shop. If you missed our huge sale it was an amazing success. We cleaned out everything we wanted to and more! Thank you everyone who came by to add to their stash and thanks for all of the questions. There are still a few urban legends floating around about "exactly what do they think they're doing"? If you're still unsure of our motives, just take a look at what we've been up to:

The first step after removing the fabrics that would go on the sale was to organize. The shop looks so clean and open! People keep commenting that the shelves look so empty....but don't worry, we have fabric in the storage room just screaming for a place on the shelves.

Our color wall made a move to the area you see when you first walk into the shop. Along with the color wall we will feature our new modern and funky fabrics (my favorites). We will be hosting "What's New" in this area as well.

Our couch is coming back! It's not here yet, but for those of you that remember, it was the hangout spot for all the men that get dragged along to the quilt shop. We are hoping to always have a little "home" set up complete with decorations for your kitchen, living room, and bedroom. This is a work in progress, I will post photos as soon as it's done.

Batik's stayed in the same place and Civil War fabrics join them behind the cutting counter. Our purse collection found a new home under the cutting counter. It's WAY better than the coat rack we had overflowing with bags.

Our children/baby fabric made a move too. Don't worry, we still have 30's fabric, they just have their own area now right around the corner from the kids.

I REALLY wanted to give you a sneak peak into the "design studio" but alas it is still in shambles....pretty curtains though, right? :)

We can barely walk in the design studio but that doesn't mean that we haven't been sketching.

The antique hutch made a move, but the coffee is still always on and the cookie jar is ~~always~~ sometimes full.

The notions wall received a much needed make over. You will find all the rulers and purse accessories on the wall in front of the classroom.

You will find all other notions and thread on the wall near the register.

Holly added a small gift area with her "Razz-Dazz Boutique" featuring Paparazzi hair accessories and costume jewelry. She's always running around with something cool in her hair and now you can too. Everything is $6.00!

Our biggest accomplishment this month is getting Stash Bash invite mailed to every Quilt Guild and Quilt Shop in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. If you are a member of a guild or shop owner and you don't receive one by next Monday, and would like one, please email me at commonthreadsmn@gmail.com.

For more details on the event click on the Stash Bash logo above!

As you can see, we've been busy bees and we haven't slowed yet. Keep checking back for all the fun things we have coming up. Don't forget, every dollar you spend from now until March 23rd turns into two Quilt Bucks for our Relay for Life Auction on March 24th. Also, we still have a few spaces available for Super Sew for Super Bowl. Email common@gctel.net to reserve your space.

Pieced love and comfiness,

Katie S.

EChatter - January 2012

2012-01-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

First off, we want to thank everyone that joined us for our Inventory Reduction Sale. It was a great success! Now we have room for all of the new fabrics that are already taking up space in our store room. :)

We didn't have "What's New" this month because of the sale, but here are a few reminders:

We still have some room in our Minglewood Block of the Month. We meet every 4th Friday of the month to work on this project. Cost: $25 per month.

EVENTS

Super Sew for Super Bowl - The shop opens at noon on Sunday, Feb. 5th for an all day sewing event. We invite you to come watch the game with us (and most importantly the commercials) and work on any unfinished projects. We will be giving away prizes too, including a $50 Common Threads gift certificate! We have limited space so be sure to email us at common@gctel.net to reserve your sewing area. Cost: Your favorite game day dish to share with everyone. (We will be making chili.)

Leap Year Sales Event - It only happens once every four years so we're doing something crazy. Get 29% off any cut of fabric or double punches on your punch card! Play Leap Frog for even more discounts!!! We're open 9am - 7pm.

Relay for Life Auction - From now until March 23th any money you spend at the quilt shop will turn into Quilt Bucks that you can use at our Relay for Life Auction. Use a combination of Quilt Bucks and real money to bid on items at the auction. We invite EVERYONE to this event, we won't just be auctioning quilt stuff! (If you or someone you know would like to donate an item for the auction please email Katie at commonthreadsmn@gmail.com)

CLUBS

Card Club - If you like Paper Piecing this is the club for you. If you've always wanted to try Paper Piecing (without having to make an entire quilt) this club is for you. If you like creating cards and quilting this club is for you! We will be making Paper Pieced blocks that fit into framed greeting cards. You can also use a picture frame to display these fun blocks. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Cost: $25 for the year which includes "50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks" and 1 pack of (4) specially designed frame cards with envelopes.

Quilt Circle - Breakfast and quilting?!?! Who could ask for more! Our Quilt Circle will meet once a month to dive deeper into specific techniques, books, or notions. We don't have time during "What's New" to share all the details. There is no fee to attend however there may be special projects and/or make-n-takes that you can purchase the day of. We meet the 2nd Saturday of the month before "What's New" at 8:30am or the 4th Thursday at 10am.

Row by Row - These fantastic patterns were designed by Ruth Gess, local designer and Common Thread's original creator. We will gather every 4th Thursday and Friday of the month. Cost: $60.00 for the year which includes binder for patterns and club handouts, additional projects patterns.

For more details on any of these events and clubs, please go to our website www.commonthreadsquilt.com. Don't forget about our blog commonthreadsmn.blogspot.com.

To sign up for any of the events or clubs email us at common@gctel.net or call 320-834-2563.

Inventory Reduction Sale Sneak Peek

2012-01-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

We've been working so hard to get ready for our big Inventory Reduction Sale that we almost forgot to publish a sneak peek. Here it is! Yes, all of this is on sale!!! Don't forget we start the sale on Thursday with 40% off, continue Friday with 50% off, and end Saturday with 75% off. We will be open 9am - 7pm on Thursday and 9am - 5pm on Friday and Saturday.

Last minute project - Cold Weather Ear Warmers

2011-12-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...I should have worked on these a month ago, but the weather was so unseasonably warm that I was ignoring the fact that I'd need to break out gloves, hats, and ear warmers. When I did open up the dusty boxes containing all of my cold weather wear I realized that nothing I owned matched my cute new jacket. What to do? Well of course I scoured the web for items I could purchase, when I came across something I could make myself....thanks Pintrest. (If you're not on Pintrest yet, don't do it! You'll never get anything done, you'll just sit around wondering "why didn't I think of that" and "I could make that".)

Through Pintrest I found a young woman's blog in which one of her posts explains how to make these fun and easy ear warmers. You can find it here: http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/12/adorable-diy-ear-warmers.html#more

I'm not kidding you when I say that I made two in less than an hour. You can buy the wool felt to match your own jacket and even make them for gifts. Here's how mine went:

1. My jacket is maroon and unfortunately we didn't have any maroon felt here at the quilt shop so I decided to match the colors to my scarf which is multi-colored with blue, yellow, maroon, and cream.....blue and mustard yellow were my favorites.

2. Next I made a template out of freezer paper so that I could recreate the same design for another one later. I also made templates for my flower layers (this will make more sense in a little bit).

3. I ironed the freezer paper onto my felt and started cutting.

4. After my headband was cut out, I made a 1/4" seam around the entire thing. This prevents it from stretching too much. I also used the button hole setting on the machine to create buttons holes big enough for some fun wood buttons.

5. I cut open the button holes and hand sewed a button on the opposite end.

5. After I created the basic headband it came to the fun part....embellishments. I decided to do layered flowers. I also chose to use another button and make it the middle of my flower. I hand sewed these embellishments on...and tad-ah a cold weather ear warmer.

6. After I made the first one I wasn't sure how I felt about the width, so I made a smaller one. I decided to do a bow embellishment for this one using both colors.

If you're interested in making these for yourself or others, I have the templates for the wide headband, narrow headband, and layer flowers saved on a PDF (the bow I kind of made up as I went along, just strips of felt folded into a bow). Send me an email at commonthreadsmn@gmail.com and I'll email the PDF to you.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

2011-12-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Usually I'm not a huge fan of the snow (unless, of course, I'm skiing or snowmobiling). This year, however, I miss the snow. It's two days before Christmas and there isn't any snow on the ground....almost unheard of in MN. So, since there isn't any snow outside I thought I'd make it snow here. So, when you're dreaming of a white Christmas just click on our blog. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

EChatter - December 2011

2011-12-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

At this month's Thrifty we talked a lot about whats happening in 2012. We recapped what we published in the newsletter that was emailed this weekend. Most of you have already read the newsletter, if you haven't, click here: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/winternewsletter20112012.pdf . There are a few things we want to specifically bring your attention to:

Holiday Hours/New Hours: Don't forget that our new hours start Jan. 1st. We will not be open on Christmas Eve, Monday the 26th, or New Years Eve

What's New - Our Thrifty weekends will be replaced by "What's New". We realized that we have changed from the original concept of "Thrifty" and wanted to give it a name that reflected what the weekend is more about. What's New we be on the 2nd weekend of every month. (To see the calendar, click here http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/Calendar.html). We want to invite you to bring show and tell, just like Thrifty, and you will get a special coupon you can use until the end of every month. PLEASE NOTE: There will not be a What's New in January because....

Inventory Reduction Sale - We need to make room for all of the fun stuff we have coming in 2012 from Fall Quilt Market. We thought about adding on, but there's no room to grow. :) The sale will be January 12th - 14th with discounts on select merchandise. Thursday will be 40% off, Friday 50% off, and Saturday 75% OFF!!!

Card Club - This is a BRAND NEW club that will be starting January 18th at 10am or 5:30pm. It's not your traditional card club, we're not going to play Bridge. If you like paper piecing, this is the club for you. We will be using the "50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks" book to create greeting cards. For more details about the club, including the cost, click here: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/clubs.html

Row by Row Club & Block of the Month - As most of your know, Darlene Zimmerman's Clothesline Club has ended. We loved her work and wish her all the best in her future adventures. We needed a club to take the place of one of our customer's favorites. With the help of Ruth Gess we will have the Row by Row Club. Ruth designed the patterns that we will explore during the club. For more information click here: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/clubs.html

We've decided to use Ruth's designs for our Common Threads Block of the Month. You will receive the patterns each month...what you do with them is completely up to your creativity....make them into a sampler, recreate the block for a quilt, use them for a wall hanging...the possibilities are endless! For more information about the Row by Row Block of the Month click here: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/blockofthemonth.html

Cattails in the Meadow Class - Judy and Brad Niemeyer designed the Cattails in the Meadow for foundation paper piecing. A collection of fabrics designed by Hoffman Fabrics were used to make the quilt and we have the exact fabrics for this class. The class will be taught by a certified Judy Niemeyer teacher, Catherine Erickson. We need at least 8 people to sign up. For more information, click here: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/classes.html

Events

Click here for details about any of our events: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/events.html

Super Sew for Super Bowl - The first Sunday of February every year is reserved for beer, food, and football.....but not this year!!! We invite you to join us sewing AND watching the Super Bowl. There will be games and giveaways including a $50 gift certificate.
Leap Year Sales Event - It only comes once every 4 years, so we're gonna make the best of it. Join us for open sewing and Leap Year discounts including 29% off or double punches on your card. Play Leap Frog and get even more of a discount.
Relay for Life Auction - We have officially started our own Relay for Life team. Our team name is "The Polka Dots" in honor of our father/grandpa who passed away from pancreatic cancer....he LOVED Polka music! To help raise money we are having an auction in March. The reason we are telling you about it so soon is because for every dollar you spend at the quilt shop between January 18 and March 23 you get 2 Quilt Bucks you can use during the auction. You can also use real money, but your Quilt Bucks are just a valuable. PLEASE invite everyone you know because we're not just going to be auctioning quilt stuff but gift certificates to area businesses and other fun things. More details to come!

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Enough of the "public service announcements"...on to the new stuff! If you're interested in purchasing any of the following items, go our online store. (We apologize, the fabrics are not available through the online store yet. If you are interested in purchasing them please call us at 320-834-2563.) Click here for the online store: http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/storefront_whatsnew.html

Kits

We know we're getting quite close to Christmas, but we couldn't help but show at least one Christmas project. Using the Square-agonals technique (featured in last month's Teaching Thursday) we created kits for a table runner out of the Countdown to Christmas line. We used the Accu Quilt to cut each piece so there's not much cutting needed, just sit down and start sewing! The kit is only $14.99 (you will need to purchase the book as well - $24.95).

Using the same technique we created one with Hometown by Sweetwater so you can make one to display all year round!

Curio uses the Kaleido-Ruler (our only new notion this month - $17.00) to create the illusion of circles in this pretty quilt that reminds us of Paris, France. Holly used the Statler to create individual patterns for each block and the borders, it was her first time trying this intense technique and it turned out beautifully, she can do it for you too!

Fabric

We added some more pieces to our color wall...it was looking kinda sad. We filled it with "Tic Tac" and "Dimple" by Andover Fabrics.

Hoffman has some new, rich Batiks so we had to show some of them as well.

Holly Taylor is back to designing with "Birch Bark Lodge". The line has patterned pieces and Batiks. Mix and match for a modern rustic look.

Books

Square-agonals is a new method of creating diagonal set quilts without the complications of sewing setting corners and triangles. The method is based on a well-known branch of mathematics called dissection. $27.95

Jelly Roll Quilt Magic introduces an entirely new design sense for Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, and Turnovers. It really is a magical approach to using precuts. She also introduces a 'shopping' list concept to make prepping for sewing a snap. 13 colorful projects give readers the opportunity to grasp her vision. $26.95

Reasons for Quilts showcases incredible quilts and touching stories about the inspiration of quilt making. Edyta Sitar opens he personal trunk of handmade heirlooms. This album goes from coverlets that capture childhood innocence to quilts that embrace the love of family. It includes a disk for your home computer that can be used to print nine of the featured quilt patterns. $27.95

The new kids on the block! Today's most talented modern quilts put a fresh and fun spin on 99 traditional block designs in Modern Blocks. Chock full of step-by-step instructions, how-to photographs and helpful hints, this collection of inspiring projects makes it easy for any sewer, no matter what level of expertise, to quilt in a modern style with impressive results. $24.95 (Katie will be writing up a pattern to enlarge one of her favorite blocks, we will post it here first!)

Just a Quilt? is a delightful story about six-year-old Chase and his imaginative uses of his prized quilt. This tale celebrates the wonderful creativity of children. In this story, his quilt is so much more than a quilt. Whether his quilt is a superhero cape, a dark cave, or a magic carpet, it still provides the security of home. Share this beautifully illustrated book with your child and imagine the possibilities. $16.00

Patterns

Shenandoah is a pattern designed by Deanne Quill of Creative Solutions. It is a great pattern for fabrics in which you want to showcase the design of the fabric and don't want to cut up too much. The finished quilt measures 54" x 70".

Big, beautiful flying geese weave a whimsical trail through this simple striated quilt top in Come Fly With Me. The great contemporary look is equally effective with and without borders. Size options: 55" a 75" without outer borders (large throw) and 69" x 89" with outer borders (twin).

Short Circuit certainly isn't short on style or pizzazz that's for sure. The only "short" in sight is the short amount of time it'll take to make the blocks. Use craps, charm packs, jelly rolls, anything goes in this fun bright quilt. Finished siza 49" x 49".

Just throw the Potato Chip Bag over your shoulder and you're out the door. With pockets on the outside and lined with pockets on the inside too. Named because they're small and addictive, bet you can't make just one. Finished size 6" x 7" x 2".

The Little Twister Tool is a lot of fun and when your projects are complete it looks as though you've spent hours working on these small projects. "Patriotic Twist" and "Twisted Christmas".

Christmas time is here again

2011-12-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to deck the halls and trim the tree. We've been busy putting together stocking stuffers for the quilters on your list. Our favorite new products this year are the Frixion pens - $2.65 (ink disappears with heat) and the Handi Iron - $35 (great for retreats).

If the quilter on your list has everything or you just don't know what they like you can get a gift certificate. Check out today's Echo Press for a gift certificate coupon. If you buy a $25 gift card you get $5 free!

We have gifts for everyone on your list, not just the quilters. Shannon Cuddle will no longer be making the Cuddle Critters - $8, so come in and get one for the little one on your list before they're all gone! You can even make an attachable blankie. This project can be finished in a couple hours.

We love the idea of giving a gift inside a gift by "wrapping" your presents in a pillowcase...it's also green friendly, no wasted wrapping paper here!

Web Store Update: What's New

2011-11-30T08:50:00.000-08:00

Everything that you saw from November Thrifty is now available for purchase online. The "What's New" section of the website will be updated after every monthly What's New meeting (previously Thrifty). You will be able to purchase all fabrics, notions, book/patterns, and kits that you see from What's New. Check it out:

http://www.commonthreadsquilt.com/store.html

We're Taking the Plunge

2011-11-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

The Polar Bear Plunge that is.

"The Polar Bear Plunge — presented by Minnesota law enforcement as part of the year-round Law Enforcement Torch Run® events to benefit Special Olympics — is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations and businesses to support Special Olympics athletes by jumping into frigid Minnesota waters. It consists of 15 different events that take place across Minnesota during the coldest months of the year. From January through March, our Plunge crew will be traveling around the state to 15 different communities with one goal in mind: raise funds for Special Olympics Minnesota!" (quoted from the Polar Bear Plunge website)

Holly and I, along with a friend, are excited (and nervous) to be the crazy girls that make up team Ice Angels. Common Threads has offered to be our main sponsor. We need at least $75 a person to participate, but our team goal is $400. If you would like to help us out and donate, click here:

https://www.plungemn.org/team/iceangels

Click on the plunger (not the bathroom kind...lol) that you want to donate to and follow the steps from there. If you would like to participate in the insanity and become an Ice Angel, click on the "Join Our Team!" button from the same link above.

If you know of any businesses that would like to sponsor us, please email me at ksatterlie@gmail.com

Thank you everyone for your support.

Small Business Saturday, November 26th

2011-11-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

As we all prepare for visiting relatives, huge turkey dinners, and of course the busiest shopping day of the year we hope that you will take a moment to support a local business. In cooperation with American Express we, along with thousands of other small businesses, are participating in Small Business Saturday on November 26th.

Of course you've all heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday but this is only the second year for Small Business Saturday. As a small business it is impossible to compete with the big box names and well established online retailers. We are excited to be a part of a special day dedicated to us...a small local business.

American Express is giving all of their card holders a bonus for participating too! Just simply register your American Express card online, click here: https://sync.americanexpress.com/sbs2011 . When you spend at least $25 at a participating small business, you will get a one-time $25 credit on your American Express.

Along with the American Express special, we are offering 25% off notions (under $25) and 10% off any cut of fabric (not including sale fabric). Also, if your family is looking for the perfect gift for you, have them stop in and purchase a gift certificate. For every $20 gift certificate they purchase they will get $5 free!!! On top of all of that you will be registered to win a $50 gift certificate with any purchase made on Saturday. All specials are available in store only. Store hours are 9am - 5pm.

Whether you choose to shop with us on Saturday or another small local business, we really hope you participate in Small Business Saturday. We will be waiting with hot coffee and cookies. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

EChatter - November 2011

2011-11-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

We were amazed by the attendance for this months Thrifty weekend, obviously everyone wants to know what is going on here at Common Threads. If you weren't able to attend here's a review of some of the new things we introduced from Quilt Market. We did talk a little about the changes we are making in the store, but all of the information we talked about you can find in the blog.

One of our favorite products from Quilt Market was the Handi Iron. If you were at the retreat you saw them in use. These stow-able irons get very hot for a tiny iron. They do not have a steam feature, so if that's something you must have this iron might not be your best choice. However, if you do a lot of little piecing this iron is perfect. Retail $39.95. Our special price $35.00.

My personal favorite find from Quilt Market are the Bloc Loc Rulers. I saw them in a demo during the Minnesota Shop Hop and have been on a search for them ever since. We purchased the ones that help square up half square triangles, but they have others like the flying geese and diamond rulers. The ruler features a beveled edge that literally locks onto your seam for perfect trimming. We have them in a three pack for $44.00 (6.5", 4.5", and 2.5")

My mom's favorite find was the Primitive Quilt magazine. This magazine is $10, but has close to $50 worth of patterns in it every month. Not only that, but it is wonderful and it's not overflowing with ads (as some other quilt magazines are). This magazine is only available in quilt stores and we are proud to be a new carrier.

We have just a few new kits to share. Just in time for Christmas is "Flight North" and matching pillowcase. We used the Wing Clipper tool for this project (feature in a previous Thrifty). The flying geese go around the entire project, the focus fabric is a fun winter-time fabric with black labs, sleds, and snowmen.

This super cute bag is created from a Wallet and Grommet pattern so that is what we call it. Its the perfect size for keeping your most important things in one place. It can also hold books, a nook, or iPad.

Bella Flora is a "finish in a weekend" project. Great for first time sewers or maybe a project with the grandchildren. The fabrics are from the Bella Flora line (featured in last months EChatter) and are pretty and giddy just to keep Spring in your mind.

A last, but not least...we did the Celtic Wave as a class last year and ended up with a couple extra kits. If you're a Judy Niemeyer fan, this ones for you!

Happy Thanksgiving, have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Web Store Update: Sulky Thread

2011-11-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

As we continue to add more and more to our web store we will update here when things are available. As of today all of our Sulky Thread is available for purchase online. Next goal: rulers. :)

(click on the picture of the web store to go directly there)

The Cereal Tower

2011-11-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

We had great turnout for our two retreat weekends and most of the ladies brought cereal to donate. I am proud to announce that we donated 100 boxes of cereal to the Douglas County Food Bank. Holly and I had some fun at the retreat and built the "Cereal Tower"...modeled after the building with a similar name, the Sears Tower.

We hope that all of our retreaters had as much fun as we did. We can't wait for our next retreat in the spring. Thanks to everyone that attended and The Lake Geneva Christian Center for another successful retreat.

A New Adventure Begins

2011-11-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

"Do what you love, and love what you do". This is the quote that everyone should live by and is a continuous motivation in everything we do at Common Threads. The sign on our building says Common Threads Quilt Shop and Design Studio, in the spirit of doing what we love we are excited to be making the "design studio" part of our name a reality. The economy and peoples immersion into the internet and technology has created a very different quilt shop for now and into the future. It is our desire to not fall into a "have to change" but a "want to change" mentality. Now don't think for a second that we are going out of business or leaving the quilt world - in fact, that is totally the opposite of what we are doing. We are offering a new and exciting quilting experience!

The first change will be our shop hours. We will be open every Wednesday from 9am to 7pm and every 2 and 4th Thursday (9am - 7pm), Friday (9am - 5pm), and Saturday (9am - 5pm). See sample calendar: (actual January calendar will be posted online with clubs, classes, and other events in the next few weeks)

We will also be open on days that we hold classes, these days will be marked on our calendar online and in our quarterly newsletter. We will offer the opportunity to have a private shopping adventures for retreaters, quilting groups, or a group of friends that want a special shopping experience. These will be based on availability and through reservations.

In addition to your shopping experience will be the expansion of our online shop to include every piece of fabric, sample, kit, book, pattern, and notion that our retail shop carries. We know that many people love to "touch and fill" but remember our shop will be open. The online shop will allow you to shop at your leisure 24/7 if desired....even in your PJs.

You may be a bit confused about this seemingly radical change, however we feel in our hearts that we are on the right track. As we stated in the beginning, the quilting world has changed and we want to continue to be on the cutting edge and stay relevant. We LOVE to share our passion of quilting with you and want to share it with the world not only through the internet, but by traveling. We will be taking our shop on the road to shows and guilds as a "quilt shop on wheels"....look for us in your town!

Our passion of quilting will extend into creating fun events to celebrate quilting and fabric crafts, encourage our dreams of pattern and fabric designing, and compliment our clubs and classes with innovative and exciting new ideas for you to become a part of.

These are the things we promise to you:
* Top quality quilting fabrics and supplies.
* Computer guided machine quilting with literally thousands of patterns to choose from.
* Existing clubs - Civil War, Buggy Barn, Stitchery
* NEW clubs - English Paper Piecing, Traditional Paper Piecing, Wool Adventures, Quilt Circle, and Blossom Club (we will be releasing more information about each of these in the months to come)
* Best for last....What's New - our new version of Thrifty. By attending What's New you will be in the fore front of the latest and greatest that is on the market to excite you in quilt land. We will share techniques in demo form before and after each What's New presentation. You will have a hands-on idea of how the new products can work for you. We will be having drawings for those who attend and giving gift certificates to those who bring show-n-tell.

In order to make these most wonderful things happen we need to clean up shop. There are going to be items we will no longer carry and they need new homes. These items will be on close-out at a 75% discount the weekend of January 12th -14th. This will enable us to set up for our new shop. We will continue to carry our favorite items including, but not limited to batiks, Civil War, cuddle, fresh new fabrics and MUCH MUCH MORE.

It is important that all of our customers know what is going on so please keep up to date with our blog and website. We will email you the newsletter every quarter and let you know when the monthly chatter is posted, any other updates or blog posts are viewable at your own leisure. We are thrilled for our new adventure and thank all of you, our customers for your support.

Cutest Tiny Buttons EVER

2011-11-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

I love getting mail from other countries, the post marks are always so interesting. Yesterday I received a package from Incomparable Buttons.

Incomparable Buttons provides jobs to woman in South Africa by creating clay buttons. They are so adorable, I just had to share them with you! Now I just have to figure out what we're going to do with them. Any ideas? Want some of your own? Let me know!

Fun with the Twister Tool and Betz White's New Fabric Line

2011-11-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

I was able to hang out at the retreat for a little bit and get some things done last Saturday....ok, one thing done...and it was only for fun. Don't judge. :) I got a pack of 21/2 inch squares of a Betz White's fabric from Quilt Market and they were so cute I knew that I had to do SOMETHING with them. Mom even got a picture with Betz.
(Her blog: http://blog.betzwhite.com/ ...... Her fabric: http://www.robertkaufman.com/fabrics/stitch/)

As most of you know, I'm a new sewer/quilter so I polled the ladies for an idea. The best one was using the Twister Tool to create a frame-able work of art. First, I sewed each square together in even rows and columns and then sewed a 21/2 inch boarder around the entire thing.

Then I used the Twister Tool to cute out tiny 11/2 inch squares. As I cut a row I sewed them together so that the pieces didn't get mixed up.

Here is the finished work of art. I think I'm going to do a thin dark brown board and then boarder it again with the orange to fit inside a glass-less picture frame. It will look so cute in my apartment!

P.S. If you LOVE this fabric and want to see more of it, let us know....we haven't placed an order yet.

Finish Your Projects - 2011 Fall Retreat

2011-11-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the official beginning of our FYP - Finish Your Projects Fall Retreat. We hold it every Fall at the Lake Geneva Christian Center (http://lakegenevacamp.com/). We went out yesterday to set up, it was my first time out there and it is gorgeous! It's a wonderful place to hold retreats of any kind, but perfect for quilting. We utilize the front room of the dining hall which overlooks beautiful Lake Geneva. All of the retreaters stay in hotel-like accommodations and all of the meals are included. Who could ask for more? If you missed out signing up this year, don't worry...we have a spring retreat too! Check back to our website for more information after this winter.

Fall Quilt Market - Houston, TX

2011-11-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Mom and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Fall Quilt Market in Houston, TX. I was super pumped because I had never been to Houston before and I was done with helping Dad on the farm. I had no idea what to expect, I was nervous and excited. We drove down to Minneapolis the night before and ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Chino Latino. I even convinced Mom to try eating with chopsticks and she dared to try sushi. She decided it wasn't so bad and that she was wrong in assuming all sushi was bad after trying it on a cruise ship.....TIP: Don't eat sushi that's not fresh. We both tossed and turned all night in anticipation of flying to Houston the next morning...we were too excited to sleep!

We saw a friendly face while waiting for our plane to board. Roseann Meeham Kermes of Rosebud's Cottage in White Bear Lake (check out her blog, it's awesome...http://rosebudscottage.typepad.com/). She's always on the cutting edge of whats new so we had fun tossing around some ideas with her. We also met up with the ladies of Eagle Creek Quilt Shop in Shakopee (http://www.eaglecreekquiltshop.com/) after landing in Houston. Stepping outside, the weather was almost the same as back home...maybe a little warmer.

We checked into the brand new Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Houston and were VERY pleasantly surprised to find that it was half a block from the convention center. We used the night to compare notes of things we needed to look for at market and reviewed our market booklet for interesting classes and booths. We did treat ourselves to a night out at McCormick & Schmick's (best Lobster Bisque EVER) and a couple drinks at Pete's Dueling Pianos (I requested Lady Gaga and the GUY played a compilation of a few of her songs!).

The first day of Market is dedicated to business building classes and product demos, they call it schoolhouse. We started at 8am, took a short break for lunch, and continued until 6pm. It was mind numbing, but a lot of fun. The classes with Kizer and Bender (http://www.retailadventuresblog.com/) were the most valuable for me. That night we went to Sample Spree. We decided to show up fashionably late because we didn't want to get run over by everyone looking for a good deal. Don't worry, we did pick up some goodies for you!

Saturday was when the real fun started...they opened the doors to the HUGE exhibition hall and let us ladies go nuts. It wasn't like the running of the bulls or anything, but I'm sure you can imagine hundreds of quilt shop owners rushing in to see all of the vendors.

We spent Saturday and Sunday meeting with fabric reps and checking out each of the booths. It was extremely overwhelming for me, I didn't know where to look...at the rich batik projects, the ornate applique patterns, the time saving tool demos...and then I saw him....the Cat in the Hat! I had to take a picture with him and my heart skipped a beat when he handed me a flyer that said that Shannon would be making Cat in the Hat cuddle.

It was amazing to see some of the designers including the famous Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover....yes, if you didn't know, he designs fabric (that's his booth to the right). I also talked with Amy Butler and her husband (who now has is own fabric line)...more on them in another post. I met pattern designers as well, like the ladies that wrote Sweetwater's Simple Home Quilt Book (we featured it during August Thrifty). Mom met Carol Doak (picture on the right) and got a signed copy of her 50 Little Paper-Pieced Blocks book.

We found so many treasures that we filled our suitcases full and had to ship two boxes full of things. While waiting to ship our finds, Mom talked with Julie Stewart of Keepsake Cottage Fabrics in Bothell, Washington (http://keepsakecottagefabrics.blogspot.com/). They attended a retreat together. It's so much fun to see other quilt shop owners that are as excited as we are about the profession!

Before we knew it, it was time to head home. I was sad for Quilt Market to be over, but the most rewarding part hasn't even started yet...sharing all of our finds with you! Over the next few months we will overload you will all of the things we found....are you ready?

Pieced love and comfy-ness,
Katie

EChatter - October 2011

2011-11-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog and the new home of EChatter. Our blog will be updated weekly (maybe more) with the goings-on at the shop and new products. We are gearing up for some changes at Common Threads and this is just a small step in the right direction. With this blog we will be able to share more photos with you, create online demos, and provide links to some of our favorite quilt related blogs and videos. This blog also allows you to comment directly on what you see...and please do! This blog is for you and we want to know what you want to see.

We apologize for the delay in posting the latest EChatter with all of the new and fun things we talked about in Thrifty last month. Harvest took up most of our time and then we went to Quilt Market in Houston (look for the next blog with photos from that adventure). Without further adieu, here is what you missed at from October Thrifty...

Kits

We only have a couple kits to show from October...like I said early, harvest kept us quite busy this year.

<---- Blossoms comes in three different batik color ways and is a really simple and fun quilt.

<---- Boardwalk used the Wonky Block technique and comes in beautiful blue and yellow batiks.

<---- Jovial uses a gorgeous cream background with three dimensional trees and pinwheels. This is a quilt that really must be seen in the shop, the picture does no justice. Come check it out and see why this is one of our favorite Christmas quilts.

Fabric

We added three new printed Shannon Cuddle Prints to our collection...monkeys, cows, and dinosaurs. If you're looking for a cute backing to your kids quilts these are PERFECT!

We also added some fun modern/floral prints. The line is called Bella Flora. We are working on a kit with these fabrics that will be introduced during the next Thrifty. These fabrics are great for bags too!

Not pictured - We added some more batiks and 30s to our collections.

Books

Slash Your Stash - Choose from 16 attractive pieced and appliqued designs from the pages of McCallas Quilting.

Spotlight on Neutrals - If you think neutral fabrics are only for backgrounds and blending, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. See what can happen when sophisticated taupes, warm browns, rich creams, and contemporary grays take center stage.

Urban Country Quilts - You’ll be thrilled to find quilts and other comforts in the chunky, funky appliqué style for decorating all year long!

Inspirational Appliqué - This book contains 11 designs that inspire and encourage. The projects include wall hangings, table runners, a table topper and a pillow.

Sew the Perfect Gift - Quilters and sewists alike will enjoy this fabulous—and amazingly varied—collection of stitched and quilted projects.

Another Bite of Schnibbles - Quilters will find 12 beautiful pairs of small and large quilts made from convenient precut 5" and 10" squares.

Patchwork Among Friends - Patchwork Among Friends by Judy Martin is a book of patterns, recipes, and ideas for enjoying your quilt making more--among friends. The book has 10 original quilt patterns, each in 2 sizes, and 12 recipes for potluck supper dishes.

Stellar Quilts - Complete patterns for 13 star quilts. Each quilt is an original Judy Martin design.