April June, 2017 Volume 2, No. 2 10 Elwood Street Frankfort, IL 60423 (815) 806-1694 www.topshelfquilts.com Hours Sunday 12:00-4:00 Monday Tuesday 10:00-5:00 Wednesday 10:00-7:00 Thursday 10:00-5:00 Friday 10:00-5:00 Saturday 10:00-4:00 We will be April 16th, May 14th and June 18th Inside this Issue Ron s Corner 1 2 April Activities 2, 4 May Activities 3, 5 June Activities 3, 6 Scrap Bag Challenge Block Winners Sew Together 7 BOM Dates 7 Other Important 7 Dates 7 Email: topshelfquilts@yahoo.com What s Happening at Top Shelf Quilts? Ron s Corner February Anniversary Sale A big Thank You to all who helped us celebrate during our Anniversary Sale in February. It was Great to see you! The sale was a big success for us and with all the customer smiles that I saw, I think you felt the same. It s been a wonderful year and a half and we are looking forward to many more to come. BERNINA has Arrived! For those of you who haven t been in recently, Top Shelf Quilts now carries Bernina Sewing and Embroidery Machines and Bernina Sergers. We also carry Bernette Sewing and Embroidery Machines and the Bernette Serger. In addition, we have a full range of Bernina feet, parts, and hoops. Come on in and take a look at the latest Bernina models, take a test drive, or find the perfect accessory for your next project. Stay tuned to your emails for promotions on Bernina machines, accessories, and Bernina Credit Card financing deals. As we move forward we will also be offering classes to advance your skills with your sewing, embroidery and serger machines. The creative possibilities are almost limitless whether you sew garments, quilts, or even do thread art. So Why BERNINA? It s Simple Quality. Quality from the inside out. It s the Precision Stitch A hallmark of the BERNINA machine. Because of their quality solid construction, a Bernina will maintain its stitch precision whether you are quilting a bulky quilt, heavy canvas for a hand bag, leather for a jacket, or 9 layers of denim just to see if it can do it. (It can, I ve done it.) It s a Family owned Company The focus isn t short term profits to keep stock holders happy. The focus is research and innovation that will carry Bernina forward years and even decades into the future. Research and innovation costs money and reduces profits in the short run. Claude Dreyer, CEO of BERNINA International, is planning for the company his children will take over in twenty years. Top Shelf Quilts is proud to be a part of the BERNINA family and looking forward to a long future with them. We now offer sewing, embroidery, and serger machine cleaning and repair. John Supan will be in the shop on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month from 10am 2pm. John has 35+ years of repair experience and can service most all makes and models of machines. You can drop off your machine at any time for John to work on. Note: Warranty service is on BERNINA machines only. Other brands can be serviced if no longer under warranty. When was the last time you had your machine cleaned? If you aren t sure, or it s been over a year and you use your machine on a fairly regular basis, it s probably time. Bring your machine on in and let John make sure it is ready for another year of sewing. Ron 1
Are you ready for a little adventure? Beginning June 3-4, 2017 We are excited to introduce our new adventure a new mystery quilt scheduled to begin in June. If you haven t ever done a mystery quilt before, you are in for a treat. If you have done one, you know how much fun it really is. Our mystery quilt is a six part series. Each monthly step will contain instructions for cutting and machine piecing. For five months (on the first weekend of the month) you will make blocks, or pieces of blocks, to a quilt that you have no idea what the final pattern looks like. In the sixth month you will receive the final construction steps, revealing the mystery. The final quilt will be 67 1/2 x 84 without a border. Adding borders could make it full to queen size. Just a little clue: this quilt requires 4 fabrics with much contrast (different color values). Large prints and directional fabrics will not work well. The TSQ staff can assist you in selecting fabrics for your mystery quilt. April Happenings Operation Care Package (OCP): Shower/ Gift Bags/Christmas Stockings w/pam S Join Top Shelf Quilts in helping Operation Care Package by sewing draw string Shower and Gift Bags and Christmas Stockings for our troops. Operation Care Package will then fill them with personal care items which will be shipped to our deployed troops. Complete kits are ready for you at the shop. Kits will include instructions and materials to make two bags or stockings. Kits can be completed on your own OR you are invited to a Shower & Gift Bag/Stocking Sew Day at TSQ. Bring your machine and sewing tools, stay a couple of hours or stay all day. We will have kits, mats and irons, etc. for your use those days. We will be serving snacks, lunch and Chocolate! Join us as we have fun together and say Thank You to all those serving our country. Dates: Thursdays, April 20, 2017 OR May 18, 2017 OR June 15, 2017, 10:00-5:00 Cost: Free (Please call to reserve your space). Edyta Sitar s Eldon Quilt w/ Joanne S This quilt (made from two different blocks) looks much harder than it is and yet it is sure to impress. The pattern looks great made in reproduction fabrics as well as in batiks. Feel free to use jelly rolls, fat quarters or scraps. This is an 86 x 86 quilt. However, if you are just interested in making a bed runner, Joanne will show you how to adapt the pattern. Sundays, April 23 AND 30, 2017, Cost: $50.00 Ryan s Case for Smiles Pillowcases w/paula M Ryan s Case for Smiles is one of the few volunteer organizations dedicated to Help Kids Feel Better to Heal Better. Please come and join us! Donate just a little bit of time to sew a few pillowcases for kids in the hospital!! Bring your sewing machine and sewing supplies; we will have pillowcase kits here for you to sew into pillowcases. Dates: Saturday, April 22, 2017, 10:00 4:00 OR Thursday, June 8, 2017, Cost: Free (Please call to reserve your space) Tools & Techniques: Quick Curve Ruler Demonstration w/pam S The Quick Curve Ruler from Sew Kind of Wonderful is made by Jenny Pedigo. Join us to see this remarkable award winning ruler. Cutting curves and sewing them together is now easier and more precise. Using this ruler is a real confidence builder. The ruler also serves as a square -up ruler. One ruler with multiple patterns and endless possibilities. Attend the demo and receive a $5.00 coupon for attending. Dates: Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 1:00 2:00 OR Saturday, April 29, 2017, 1:00 2:00 Cost: $5.00 Too much fabric? I think the phrase you re looking for is too SMALL of a sewing room. 2
May/June Happenings Urban Runner w/pam S Make the Urban Runner by Sew Kind of Wonderful. Create this outstanding modern runner with the Quick Curve Ruler. You will be cutting and sewing curves with ease. Finished size is 14" x 52". Wednesday, May 3, 2017, 1:00 3:00 Cost: $20.00 Cosmic Twist Bargello w/nicole L Have you always wanted to try out a Bargello, but felt intimidated to do it on your own? Now is the time to sign up for our Cosmic Twist Bargello class, learn the ins-and -outs of how to successfully pick out fabric, follow a Bargello chart, and create your beautiful, Cosmic Twist masterpiece. Before you know it, you ll be a Bargellomaking pro and ready to take on any Bargello pattern that you want! Sundays. May 21 and 28, 2017, Cost: $50.00 Urban Abacus Quilt w/ Nicole L Sew Kind of Wonderful s patterns are some of THE best patterns to work with curved piecing! If you have had negative experiences with curved patterns, fear no more, because this class will help you to conquer that fear using a Quick Curve Ruler! Even better, you do NOT have to pin your curves while you sew. So, come join the fun, learn a different technique and use a new ruler in this class that will have you wishing you would have started on Sew Kind of Wonderful s curved patterns sooner! Wednesdays, May 31 AND June14, 2017, 6:00 8:-00 Cost: $40.00 UFO Sew Day at TSQ Do you have unfinished projects at home that you started in a class here? Maybe one of the following BOM s - Storytellers, Holloweenies, Asteria, Christmas Wool BOM? How about other UnFinished Objects that you ve been meaning to get around to working on. Pick out two or three UFO s and join us for some sewing fun! Bring show and tell! Wednesday, May 10, 2017, 10:00-7:00 Cost: Free (Please Call to Reserve your Space) Operation Care Package (OCP): Shower/Gift Bags/Christmas Stockings (Thursday, May 18, 2017, See Page 2) Lotus Quilt w/barb H This is another fun JayBird pattern that features the Hex N More ruler (or the template included with the pattern). You will be able to create a beautiful Hexagon block with depth and detail using just one shape. This beautiful quilt contains only one block, but can easily be made in four different sizes. Saturday, May 27, 2017, 10:30 2:00 Cost: $35.00 Disappearing Pinwheel Quilt w/gloria H Who s ready to learn a new trick? We are offering a Missouri Star class called the Disappearing Pinwheel This technique is so much fun and has many different outcomes. It all depends on how you place your squares back together. The sky is the limit with this block. We will teach you a unique way to make a large pinwheel, then we will cut it up and move the squares around until we find the block that you want to complete. It is loads of fun and goes together quickly. Thursday, June 3, 2017, 1:00-4:00 Ryan s Case for Smiles Pillowcases w/paula (Thursday, June 8, 2017, See Page 2) Cost: $30.00 Operation Care Package (OCP): Shower/Gift Bags/Christmas Stockings (Thursday, June 15, 2017, See Page 2) 3
April 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Sunday Sew 11:00 5:00 3 9 10 4 11 5 6 7 8Asteria 12 13 14 Good Friday Beginning Patchwork Quilting #5 10:00 1:00 Your Choice 5-Yard Quilt #2 2:00-4:00 15 Midnight Clear BOM 16 17 Easter/ 18 19 20 Operation Care Package 21 Friday Madness 4:00 10:30 Saturday Sew 22 Ryan s Case for Smiles Pillowcases 23 Eldon Quilt 24 25 26 T&T: Quick Curve Ruler Demo 1:00 2:00 27 28 29 T&T: Quick Curve Ruler Demo 1:00 2:00 30 Eldon Quilt 4
May 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 Urban Table Runner 1:00 3:00 4 5 6 7 Sunday Sew 11:00 5:00 8 9 10 UFO Sew Day 10:00 7:00 11 12 13 Asteria Saturday Sew 14 Mother s Day/ 15 16 17 18 Operation Care Package 19 Friday Madness 4:00 10:30 20 Midnight Clear BOM 21 Cosmic Twist Bargello #1 22 23 24 25 26 27 Lotus Quilt 10:30 2:30 28 Cosmic Twist Bargello #2 29 30 31 Urban Abacus Quilt #1 6:00 8:00 5
June 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 Pick-Up #1 4 Pick-Up #1 Sunday Sew 11:00 5:00 5 11 12 6 13 7 8 14 Urban Abacus Quilt #2 6:00 8:00 Ryan s Case for Smiles Pillowcases 15 Operation Care Package Disappearing Pinwheel Quilt 1:00-4:00 9 10 Asteria Saturday Sew 16 Friday Madness 4:00 10:30 17 Midnight Clear BOM 18 Father s Day/ 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 6
Sew Together Dates Sunday Sew, Saturday Sew, and Friday Madness will cost participants $5.00. Call ahead to reserve your space. (There is a door prize and all purchases are 15% off.) Sunday Sew (11:00-5:00) - April 2nd, May 7th, June 4th Saturday Sew (10:00-4:00) - April 15th, May 13th, June 10th Friday Madness (4:00 10:30) - April 21st, May 19th, June 16th Every Tuesday () No fees, discounts, food or prizes provided just the fun of sewing and socializing together. Everyone welcome! Scrap Bag Challenge Block Winners A total of 61 scrap bags were purchased. Of those, 46 blocks were returned. Voting for the best blocks took place during our Anniversary sale. The results are: 1 st place: Block 31: Sallie Vloedman; 2 nd Place: Block 17: Joyce Valone: 3 rd Place: Block 36: Gloria Hansen: 4 th Place: Block 32: Bobbie Hunley. 5 th Place: Block 51: Gale DeStafano. Prizes: 1 st - $50 Gift Card, 2 nd - $25 gift card; 3 rd - $15 gift card; 4 th 4 Free Fat Quarters; 5 th 1 free yard of fabric. The next step is to turn those blocks into a quilt(s), which will be raffled off to the public. Each person turning in a block will automatically receive a raffle entry for each block returned. Additional raffle tickets will be sold once the quilt is completed by the TSQ staff. Support a worthy cause, The Children s Heart Foundation, and join the fun at Top Shelf Quilts. In the quilt of life, friends are the stitches that hold it together. Block of the Month Dates Asteria April 8th, May 13th, June 10th, 9:00-10:00 Midnight Clear April 15th, May 20th, June 17th, 9:00-10:00 Other Important Dates Operation Care Package Sew Days April 20, 2017, May 18, 2017, June 15, 2017, Ryan s Case for Smiles Pillowcases April 22, 2017, 10:00-4:00 June 8, 2017, UFO Sew Day May 10th, 10:00-7:00 June 3rd and 4th Instruction/Pick-Up Machine Cleaning & Repair by John 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month To Our Customers Taking Classes Classes with less than three participants may have to be canceled. It is also imperative that you have: a sewing machine in good working order, a 1/4 foot for your machine or very accurate marking for the 1/4, a good working knowledge of how your machine operates and a copy of your machine s manual, if possible. 7