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Ties that Bind
Volume One,
Issue 1
Volume One, Issue 2
Volume One, Issue 3
Volume One, Issue 4
Volume One, Issue 5
Volume One, Issue 6
Volume Two, Issue 1
Volume Two, Issue 2
Volume Two, Issue 3
Volume Two, Issue 4
Volume Three, Issue 1
Volume Three, Issue 2
Volume Three, Issue 3
Volume Three, Issue 4
Volume Three, Issue 5
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TIES THAT BIND
Volume 1, Issue 2, December 1999
Greetings to all of our friends!
Have you ever had the experience of having a greatly anticipated event in the far future, and then wake to find that you are on the eve of that event? I have attempted to sit down and produce this missive since returning from Market in Houston back in October, but life has gotten in the way. Here is a brief synopsis.
We came back from Houston after running for two days from vendor to vendor. Katie and I scouted while Rita made contact, listened to the pitch, made the decisions, and signed on the dotted line. This was not shopping at the Mall! I bought some beautiful enamel pins in quilting motifs. Katie found a line of batiks that are exquisite, and Rita scored a suitcase full of books and magazines from Australia. (Anybody out there want to guess at what a "chook" is? I know, and the pattern is quite interesting too.) There were several quilt artists from down under working the Patchwork & Quilting booth. What a bunch of great gals.
We also discovered a dandy little seam guide that attaches to the bed of your sewing machine with either screws for those machines with tapped holes to the right of their throat plates, or non-destructive adhesive for those machines without holes. Rita is using both types, one with screws on my 1954 Featherweight, and one of the adhesive backed types on her Viking 500. She reports that both are easily adjustable for all seam allowances, and promote straighter seams, and ease of sewing. Rather than a merely visual guide, these plastic 1/8" thick guides give a physical edge along which you guide your fabric. (Sort of like a rip fence on a table saw.)
We also discovered a wonderful new product by our friends at QuiltSmart. They have printed interfacing for a number of patterns including the double wedding ring, grandmother's flower garden, drunkards path and a two-inch grid for watercolor quilts. Rita made a wallhanging in the double wedding ring pattern and she said it was so easy‹no curved seams. Soon we will offer classes for the double wedding ring and watercolor.
We foolishly scheduled one afternoon to order fabric. It took two hard days. We have 1608 bolts on the way. 150 bolts of Maywood are on the dining room table. The rest will be in by February. We have the entire line of 30s reproduction prints in the Just Makin' Conversation line including several coordinating plaids and polka dots. We also have a full line of Beautiful Backgrounds and blenders in the Simpatico group. I have to keep reminding myself they are cotton because they have such a silky feel.
Shortly after returning from Houston, we set up the Gammill in what was once my office and computer repair shop, above the garage at our home. We couldn¹t get the long parts of the table up the stairs, so I shoved them in the window, where Katie held them while I ran up and drug them in. After setting it back up and performing some needed maintenance, the Gammill is up and running. Lots of ladies have been over to use it, many first timers and several old hands. Come give it a try-it's a lot of fun.
The Uncommon Threads Guild held its fall retreat in Memphis at St. Columba in November. All the wonderful classes were so full they had to bring in several extra generators to power all of the irons and sewing machines. We were allowed to set up a table and had quite a successful weekend. We want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement as well as all the great ideas. Our guild is truly running over with creative and talented people.
As many of you have urged us to hurry with our retail location opening, we have advanced our timetable, leased a great space deep in the heart of downtown Cordova, Tennessee, and plan to open with what stock we have on hand December 16th. YEAH! Since this is ten weeks earlier than we expected or planned, most of the activity will be a limited class schedule and the Gammill operation. (This time I chuck it out the window.)
Personally, we are having a great time putting this all together. Katie works hard at being an 11th grader, and she is also busy gathering projects for teen night at the shop. Our oldest son moved back home after two years in Houston, and is busy with his new responsibilities at a local restaurant. We especially miss Dana, our oldest daughter who is working as a skin care consultant for Clinique in Santa Ana, California. My work is frantic, as is normal, and Rita's company was bought out and is moving to another state. The worry of how to operate the shop while we both work at "real" jobs was solved handily. And of course, Thanksgiving came and went and now Christmas is coming quickly.
I would like to close with a word about the market survey that so many of you were kind enough to fill out. I know that it was longer than most single requester surveys, and I appreciate the fact that you would all rather stitch than answer multiple choice questions, but we learned a great deal, and have adjusted our planned inventory accordingly. (Deleted one line of fabric, added three more.) This type of feedback is what we need and want. Let us hear from you anytime. We value your opinions.
Our new address will be 8553 Macon Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38018. Our new phone number is 901-624-9985. We will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. December 16-24th. We will be closed Christmas Day and the day after Christmas, but will open again at 10:00 a.m. on December 27th. If you are not a football fan, come to the shop January 1st and stitch with us. We are getting in new fabrics every day, so check with us frequently. We will try to keep all the new fabrics and supplies listed on our Web site, but things are coming and going so fast it is hard to keep up. Let us know if you need a particular item and we will try to locate it for you.
May God richly bless you all this Holiday season!
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