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Quilt Play, Inc.
Newsletter
Back
to School
Early
fall, 2009
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A couple of scheduling changes to note:
Quilt Play will once again be open every Sunday beginning August 30th
from noon to 4:00 pm.
Regular hours for the rest of the week remain at 10am to 4pm daily,
with a 7pm closing on Wednesdays. The shop will also be open some
Tuesday evenings until 8:30, while Learn to Quilt is in Session. Dates
are Tuesday, 10/13, through Tuesday, 11/10.
Block of the month will be changed due to the Labor Day holiday and the
Madison quilt Expo. Block of the Month will meet on Monday, September
14th, and Saturday, September 19th.
We will be holding a ConKerr Cancer pillowcase sew-in on Wednesday,
October 28th. Details to follow on the website and in the shop.
See you soon!
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| New merchandise
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Funny how with quilting fabric
releases, Halloween and Christmas arrive simultaneously. Over the past
few weeks, we have received Silent Night Batiks, Glace' from Three
Sisters, and Jingles Flannels from Moda. Other Moda arrivals
include Spooktacular, Vine Creek from Kansas Troubles, Barnyard
Buddies, Goodnight Monkey, and September, a lovely fall foliage line.
From Sheri Berry for Northcott, we have Trick or Treat Street and the
Christmas line Have a Sheri Berry Holiday, each featuring a cute panel
and a plethora of coordinates. Chloe's Christmas from Red Rooster has
prints with retro greeting card designs, trees, ornaments, and one with
Siamese cats. Other Christmas lines feature snowmen, children, and
forest animals in snowy woodlands.
There are dozens of new batiks, including Christmas with metallic
accents and Autumn prints in luscious shades of rust, wine, greens,
caramel, and the perfect blue of a fall sky. Just in also are
quilter's sateens in black and assorted pastels - they'd be great for
those of you with embroidery machines or pieced into quilt for textural
interest.
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| PSA and Soapbox
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PSA in this case is a Personal Service
Announcement - I want everyone to know that a quilt was stolen from the
shop sometime between August 3rd and August 15. It was the shop sample
for Iced Mocha by Henry Glass. It is about 50" x 60" made of the Henry
Glass Iced Mocha fabric line, in browns, creams, and blues. It is
quilted in a small stipple with blue and brown variegated thread, by
Joni Baumli, was pieced by my mother, Maxine MacGregor, and had an
embroidered label on the back with that information.
Since the label was sewn on by hand after the quilting was done, it may
have been removed. The original quilt design can be viewed online at
this
link. Our version was six by five blocks rather than nine by nine.
My
daughter wanted to take it to school with her this fall. We'd love to
have it back.
Customers have asked about preferred payment methods and also shared
their spending plans with me. Of course we happily accept any of the
following: cash, checks, debit cards, and credit cards. Cash and checks
are nice because they are "Free" for me to accept. Debit cards carry a
small flat fee of .25-.30 per transaction - that's how the banks pay
rewards to us for using them! Credit cards cost the most to process -
there is a flat fee plus a percentage of each sale that go to the
processing company and the bank. These fees add up to hundreds of
dollars a month. The advantage to me is that the money is in my account
within two or three days and credit card payments can't "bounce." On
the other hand, I've only had one bad check in eleven months... One
customer told me that she uses credit cards for larger purchases or
chain store purchases, and tries to pay with cash or check in
independent shops. I hadn't thought of that myself, but have begun to
implement that when I have time to shop! Anyway, pay as you like, and
I'll be happy!
One last rant on
theft from the store, and I'll be done. I have spoken
to police officers, sales reps, and store owners, and they all tell me
the same thing. As much as I and we all want to think that shoplifting
is done by random strangers who sneak in, grab something, and sneak
out, I am told that the majority of items are stolen by "people who you
think are your friends, people who walk in, smile to your face, and
call you by name. They are the ones who know where the merchandise is,
what the employees' routines are, and where the blind spots are." So,
on the off chance that any of you who have walked out with fabric,
books, thread, kits, bottles of Retayne, and cans of basting spray are
reading this, let me tell you something. You aren't stealing from "a
store." You are stealing from me. I have paid either a manufacturer or
Colleen for everything in the shop. You might as well come to my house
and take the clothes from my closet or the food from my refrigerator.
It's the same thing as far as I am concerned. Is that how you treat
your friends?
According
to pretty much everything I
read on running a business, I'm never supposed to say anything
negative, but, oh well, sometimes I have to go with what feels right.
So for anyone who was in the shop last week when I had just discovered
that the quilt was stolen, and spent the better part of two days
tearing the shop apart because I didn't want to believe it, well that's
my "excuse" for my mood. I do realize that 99.9% of you are great
customers and wouldn't dream of taking anything, but unfortunately, it
only takes a couple to really wear down someone's resolve. I've been
writing that last paragraph in my head for a long time, and now I can
drop the subject. Quilt on!
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| Contact Information
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Quilt Play 62 Center Street Grayslake
IL 60030
(847) 548-4967
www.quiltplayshop.com
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For the month of September
Save 20% on Christmas and Halloween fabric
**half yard
minimum cuts**
** kits and fat quarters NOT included**
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You do not need to print the coupon! Save your paper!
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