Newsletters

2010-

August 9th, 2010

Good Afternoon all you busy Sewers and Quilters,

I am sure some of you are busy, busy, busy getting ready for the upcoming Austin Quilt Show on Sept. 17-19^th. We will be there as a vendor ready to support you and celebrate with you on all your well deserved ribbons and awards. We have a very fun busy month putting all our show samples and new products together to show you at the show.

July was a great month at The Cotton Cupboard!!!! We turned 1, raised $500 for Thepajamaprogram.org, with the wonderful help of Crafting Comfort and Choice fabrics we will be making more than 150 pairs of PJ’s. We have added more fabric and just simply had a fun time building new color combinations, teaching, and sharing with all you wonderful customers and friends. As you know a customer today is a friend tomorrow at our shop.

We are still working on our online store so please be patient. However, all our items are posted and ready for viewing, we are not however taking online orders at this time. Please feel free to call the shop and place a phone order. We will be more than happy to ship same day if phoned prior to 2pm. You may also place your order and pick it up, we would love to see you.

Polly’s dance card is starting to get booked up, we are currently booked a min 2 weeks out. She had some minor tweeks a week ago and is quilting better than ever, one might even say “purring”. Come on in or give us a call to book some time with our Perfectly Purple Polly the Longarm.

As I had mentioned before we will be having monthly specials in celebration of your being in our second year of business. So, since it is Aug. it is time for a new SPECIAL. From the 9^th – 14^th we will be giving away a spool of Aurafil thread with every purchase of $25 or more. This special is for the 1^st 100 customers during the 9^th – 14^th. For those of you who have not yet discovered this wonderful thread, it has less lint (more fits on a bobbin), is 50wt (same as you use now), 100% cotton, comes in great colors and the cost is the same or less than most of the other 100% cotton threads you are using. Sound too good to be true? Come give it a try and you will be amazed that you hadn’t heard of it before now.

We have also started our new Quilters Boot Camp. This is a beginners class that will make a basket quilt in a day. This is an all day class, yep can you believe it, I said yes to an all day class, well this one is a bit different than most. You will start and finish your quilt in one day but you must stay on task to learn all you can about the basics of quilting. The Class is scheduled when we have a min of 3 people interested and will be scheduled around the schedules of those signed up. Quilters Boot Camp is $70 plus supplies, pay in advance and receive 10% off your supplies, is from 9 am to 4:30 pm and is taught by our very own wonderful, talented Ellie. (believe it or not I am not sucking up I really do like her a whole lot.)

Our calendar is full of some great upcoming classes. Take time to check them out and don’t forget, like any of us could, that school is about to start, so be watching for the new series of kids classes and adult sewing. I am here Thursdays ‘til at least 9p.m. if you are needing help or just want to sew with a great group of people. Bring a snack, plug in and enjoy yourself, those of you who have come on Thursdays know I am never in a hurry to pack up and leave. J

Sorry to be long winded but it has been a whole month and I know you know how much I can talk. So summing it up in a couple of paragraphs is doing good for me.

Have a great week Quilting and Sewing and Thank You for all your continued support,

Jessica

The Cotton Cupboard

1503 N. RR 620 Ste. A

Lakeway, TX 78734

512 294 2776

www.thecottoncupboard.com

May 14, 2010

Good Morning,

It is a beautiful, perfect day to quilt & sew in Lakeway, TX. The sun isn’t shining and rain is falling, Ahhhhhhhh! We have many new things at the shop to help with this beautiful sewing day. The Gypsy cushions are amazing and really do help you keep your posture, or you simply fall off : ) I know I tried it. We do have in the Transfer Eze paper to make your handwork a bit easier. This is amazing stuff, you copy right to it, remove the backing, stitch through it and then soak in cold water to remove, Viola no more tracing upside down and backwards. You know what I mean.

Our class schedule just keeps growing with our wonderful teachers, Thank you Ellie, Cheryl and Wendy. Be sure to check the calendar regularly so you don’t miss out on the class you want. Also be sure to give us a call if you need a different time for a class. The teachers are very good about adding classes if needed, when possible.

I have been promising pictures of the band quilt and serene hills quilt, I will get them posted and put them on the home page of our site over the weekend and also on the blog. You can call me a slacker, I have, if you like, however hmmmm how many finishme projects does the average quilter have???? Takes too long to count and there are more projects to start.

Summer is almost here so my girls, Abby & Elly, will be back to working in the shop. Terry and I Went to Denton to bring MY Elly home from college yesterday, so glad to have her back with us. However, anyone who has sent a child off to college and then brought them home for a bit can understand if by Aug. I have grey hair. As you get the time, and as they decide to wake up at a human hour to grace our shop, please stop in to say hi. You may even find Abby working on her first quilt. As with all things with my wonderful Abby he never starts easy. I know she will welcome encouragement. Max, was even asking if he can come hang at the shop again for the summer. Maybe he wants to spend time with his Mom??? Really don’t think that is the motivation but I will take it none the less. Pray for Ms. Wendy during sewing camp, Max, and all his adorable fun humor, will be there sewing with her.

Speaking of camps and classes here are some dates to remember.

5/15 – Challenge bags are due in. Remember when you incorporate The Cotton Cupboard into your bag you get 5% off all future purchases when you shop with the bag. Excluding classes and long arm services. It isn’t too late.

6/1 - Hours will be changing 9:00 – 5:00 Monday – Saturday, Thursday ‘til 9pm (also cupboard finish me night) & Closed on Sunday.

7/1 – The Cotton Cupboard 1 year anniversary- Party in our future for sure. Ribbon cutting, time to be announced with flip flop party to follow. This will also be the kick off of our customer appreciation program. Watch for more information coming on this.

Polly (purple Longarm) rentals

Certified Machine repair and servicing

Classes- Everyday we are open. Check the descriptions for photo links to the project you are interested in.

Mondays Sew Basic 1-4 (check calendar for class topic)

Tuesdays 10-1 Quilt Basics (check calendar for class topic)

Finishme night Thursdays 5 – we get tired

Special orders always welcome (we will do everything we can to accommodate when possible) We all Appreciate everyone of you so much, have a great Sewing and Quilting week, Jessica and The Cupboard Girls

February 24th

Good Morning Quilters and Sewers,

Spring is in the air, not… I cannot believe here in Lakeway, TX we played in the snow yesterday, Feb. 23rd. It was a great day to be inside quilting and sewing. I, once again, have so many things started and need to finish a few. We have some wonderful 30’s fabrics that I am using to make a picnic quilt with removable back, so cute. But anyway here is what is happening at the Cupboard that we hope you will come be a part of.

Challenge: 1^st Challenge ended Feb. 15 and all the entries are up in the store and on the blog. Be sure to vote for your favorite on line through our blog. Wish you would have gotten in on this fun way to show off your talents? No worries we will have another Challenge starting April 1^st. You will be able to come in to the store to pick it up or download it from our website.

Civil War:Everyone will be able to pick up their 3^rd block on March 1^st. Bring in your finished February blocks on March 1^st and get your March Pattern FREE!!!! We still have a couple of sets left if you interested in getting started on this beautiful quilt. Each month is dedicated to a battle of the civil war and comes with the history of that battle. This is perfect for the history buff in your life and fun for you.

Classes:

We have a new teacher to add to our mix. Cheryl Dore will be offering classes in quilting techniques and quilted apparel. Cheryl comes to us from Chicago with years of quilting experience. She is a “gadget” girl so if you like your gadgets or have a few you are not sure what to do with J, come in and talk to her.

Be sure to check out the current class listings, we are constantly striving to improve and add classes.

Fashion show and quilt expo:

April 17^th we will be having our 1^st annual Fashion Show and Quilt Expo. We will give all our hard working students a chance to show off their projects and all of you a chance to show everyone what you have been working on. I am continually impressed with the wealth of talent that blesses our little shop. We want to show you how proud we are of each of you and give you a day to share your talents. We will also be having a certified quilt appraiser on hand, $40 per quilt, to give you an idea of the history of your quilt and the monetary value it has. If you are like me, all my quilts are invaluable however, with a certified appraisal you are able to insure your quilts against unforeseen lose.

I haven’t even mentioned fabric yet… We received over 100 new bolts of fabric in Feb. and are anxiously awaiting 200 bolts in March. The fabrics are beautiful and range from soft and subtle to fun and whimsy. Keep your eyes open for our online store coming soon.

Last but certainly not least. Help me welcome Loretta to our family. Loretta will be starting March 1^st and will be helping me with the daily duties of the shop, even a shop owner needs time to quilt. Loretta has worked, taught, purchased for, the list goes on and on, quilt shops for the past 17 years. We are so fortunate that she found our shop and is willing to share her knowledge and skills with us. Please make her feel at home and introduce yourselves as you can.

Happy Quilting and Sewing,

The “Cupboard” Girls

February, 7th:

Good Morning Quilters,

We had a great time in Brenham, TX meeting new people and welcoming several of our wonderful store customers to our booth. Thank you so much to Wendy, Ellie and Dawn for doing a great job looking after the shop while I attended the show with Terry and Max on Friday, what a hoot to have Max doing tax, change and helping the customers. Abby came with me on Saturday and I couldn't have made it through the day without her. Not only did she take over Max's math duties but she drove us back after the show. If you know what it is like to have a teen drive you will appreciate my relief when we got home. :)

While I was away the Cupboard Girls surely did play, over 60 bolts of fabric from more than 6 new lines of fabric arrived on Friday. What a treat it will be to open the store on Monday with so much new fabric to inspire us all. There are some great lakeside prints, Kaffe Fassett fabrics, bright flannels (finally), and so, so much more. The fat quarters are already cut so come on in and get your bundle built first.

The 1st Cupboard Challenge is coming to an end, with all entries do to be turned in by Monday the 15th of Feb. We have seen some wonderful creativity. It is not to late to get involved. The winner will receive in store, and online recognition as well as a wonderful prize. Be sure to have all your friends and family vote. You will be able to vote online and in the store. Store voting is with purchase only, however you may vote online as often as you like.

We have a new event planned April 17th, . We will be having a fashion show and quilt expo. There will be demos and quilt appraisal opportunities. Be sure to call ahead and get a time for your quilt to be appraised. This is also during the Blue Bonnet Shop Hop. We were not able to get on the hop official for this year but we are working hard to be involved next. We are on the route non the less so be sure to stop in and have some snacks, look at all the beautiful quilts and support our new sews in the fashion show on your way.

Be sure to check out our class list for upcoming classes. Calendar

Wendy and the kids are working on getting ready for spring break in the kid classes. She is also has a beginner sewing class on Wed. nights from 6-8. This is an on going class with all topics covered in 8 weeks.

Dawn has wonderful Hand work classes coming up, including hand quilting, hand applique and so much more.

Ellie is one week into the beginner quilting class. This is a build on skills class and makes a quilt from beginning to end in 8 weeks. It is not to late to get involved. If this is not for you be sure to check out her other classes as well.

I am sure I am forgetting something, Oh Yeah!! A huge congrats to everyone doing the Civil War block of the month. Your blocks are just beautiful and I am continually impressed, and inspired, with what gorgeous work you all do. Thank you everyone for your continued support of each other and our little shop.

I also remembered that we are ready to start a Saturday beginning quilting class with Ellie, but need just 1 more person. We are looking for a total of 3 people to hold this class and the class will begin when we have just 1 more person sign up.

Happy Quilting and Sewing,

The "Cupboard" Girls

Jessica, Wendy, Ellie, Dawn