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more than a quilt store,

it's an experience

February 2022 Newsletter


February, 2021




FEBRUARY...
SHORT MONTH, LONGER DAYS




Are you ready for spring yet?  The days may be grey, but they are getting longer!  Here at All In Stitches, we have lots of new fabric for your spring projects.  We also have some great classes coming up for you and/or the children in your life.  As always, we offer one-on-one instruction or you can gather a bunch of friends and come in for a sew day in our space.

As many of you know, when you spend $50 or over, we give you a free strip set and an entry into a bi-annual drawing for a bag of goodies as a thank-you.  In order to show our appreciation to more of you, we will begin doing a monthly drawing for a $20.00 gift certificate when your purchase hits that $50 mark.  And you will still get that semi-coordinated strip set!  We LOVE our customers and February is the month to begin this new reward policy.

Another way to get some extra love is by shopping on our new website.  You will get 20% off your entire purchase the first time you shop online.  You will see the code you need when you check out.  Visit allinstitchesmt.com today to get your discount!

Final bit of new news...  AIS wants to welcome Kat Douma as the newest member to our team!  We are so excited to have her creativity and expertise added to our mix.  




Upcoming
Events


First Friday 

February 4

5:00-7:00

We will be staying open late on First Friday.  And we will be having a Soup and Sew.  Grab your project, your buddies and join us for a fun evening with hot soup and February friendship.






 Valentine's Day Sale
Monday, February 14
9:30-5:00
All things red and pink will be discounted by 20% all day to help you celebrate Valentine's day.








Classes
Call (406.883.3643) or sign up on our website ( allinstitchesmt.com )
today to hold your spot.

Quick Turn Potholders Make & Take
Saturday, Saturday 12
10:00 - 11:00  or 1:00-2:00  $5.00 includes demo and kit

Join Susan Hartman for a demonstration of making the popular Quick Turn Potholder.  With the demo you will receive a kit with all the components to make and take your new favorite potholder.




Applique Class
Monday, February 14

10:00-4:00, $20.00 + supplies

Is applique your thing?  Are you wanting to learn a new skill?  Sign up for this class to make Gnome on the Range or Under the Big Sky.  Please come in ahead, get your pattern and Steam-a-seam so you can have all your pieces traced before class begins.  Plan on scheduling a second session to complete your project.







Kreative Kids St. Patrick's Day Project
Monday, February 21
10:00-1:00, $20.00 (includes all materials)

Come spend your day off from school sewing a St. Patty's Day project with Mary Jamison.  Bring your lunch, a machine and an extra bobbin.  Or call the store to sign up for one of our machines.  Everything you need to make your creation will be provided.



It's Not Hard Beginner's Blocks
Weekly on Wednesdays, January 12- March 9
10:00-4:00, $20/session

New to quilting? Haven’t sewn for years? Like a variety of blocks? 
There's still time and room to join!

This quilt combines a base of eighteen Irish Chain blocks with seventeen other blocks that either have a name related to gambling/gaming or salvation. (For example: Roulette Wheel and Bright Morning Star).  If you join us weekly, you'll have enough blocks to create a unique quilt designed by Mary Jamison which will include Irish Chain blocks and other classic designs.








 NEW FABRIC



From Anita Jeram for Clothworks:

From the Heart  





From Art Gallery Fabrics (AGF):

Shine On



From Elizabeth's Studio:

Fruit Ladies





From Moda:

Effies Woods by Deb Strain









Carolina Lilies by Robin Pickens



Sister Bay by 3 Sisters







From Timeless Treasures:

Butterflies



From Riley Blake Designs (RBD):

Littlest Family's Big Day by Emily Winfield Martin


(this panel makes a softbook)



From Hoffman:

Makena Ryan (kits, FQ bundles and coordinates)





Palette of the Season Spring Sherbet






Susan's Musings

 

We missed January’s touch of winter while we were in South Carolina but it sure looks like we are going to get a hit of it today. Seems each year the weather gets crazier and harder to predict. Weather in South Carolina was cool and rainy while we were there and then they had 4 inches of snow a few days after we left.

We had a great time seeing our daughter, son in law and grandson. Their new farm and lake property is so different from what we think of farm land and lakefront. The lake is a dammed river that has 900 miles of shoreline. To get anywhere it seemed we crossed the lake 3-4 times. It is muddy with a reddish tint from the color of the surrounding clay.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville. They had an exhibit of some of Ken Burns’ quilt collection. Most of the quilts were from the late 1800s. Hand pieced and quilted. I can’t imagine the hours that went into making them. I took lots of pictures of the quilts but was more intrigued with the narratives that Burns had provided. He is well known for his documentaries on PBS (The Civil War, Country Music, The Vietnam War, and many others). Here are a couple of quotes that really stuck with me:

                         Ann Lee, who founded the Shakers, said,

         “’Do all your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as you would if you knew you                  would die tomorrow.’ 

         The things we leave behind-our children, our land, the environment, but also these made                     things, the art-will commend us to posterity.”

Very few of us make scrap quilts anymore (which as a shop owner I am glad about). Quilting started as a way to make bed coverings out of the odds and ends of any fabric that could be found: a dress that no longer could be altered to fit anyone, scraps left over from curtains, old uniforms from a past war, pieces of blankets and feed bags. These were diligently seamed together, layered with batting of some sort and often times a pieced back. If time allowed there might be decorative stitching added to the quilting but often they were basically utilitarian. Burns recounts a quilt made by his grandmother.

            “My grandmother, when I was a little boy, made a big, huge, heavy quilt for me out of post –                World War II sweaters and blankets and fabric. There’s no quilting in it, but she pieced it                      together, and I lived under it until it started to fall apart. My grandmother would say, ‘That was              your father’s this, and that was your father’s that, and that was your grandfather’s this, and                  your uncle’s that, and this was my this.’

            In some ways it was my trip around their world.”

The quilts we make may come from new fabric, kits we found on our last trip out of town, or gathered from remnants in our stash. We don’t always think about the stories that they tell but they are a reflection of us and our desire to pass on a piece of our art. Share them generously with love.