Whew, we survived, but.....

Okay....we survived the Fabric-Etc Anniversary Sale for 2012! But....look at some of our fabric racks!! OMG....you guys bought a LOT of fabric this week!! I'm afraid we are very good at squishing as many bolts as possible into our racks. And, usually, after one of these sales, we always remark at how much fabric we sold, but the racks are still full. Not this time!! I've got a serious mission this week to order some batting, white-on-whites and a few other things. Not to fear, though. I've gotten bills for quite a few bolts of fabric that will be coming through the doors any day now. It surely was wonderful to see so many of you in the last few days and to help with your projects and stash building! We were very busy Thursday (first day of the sale). But, our Emily managed to keep many of the shoppers waiting in line happy by passing out truffles (with a napkin, of course!)

Well, needless to say, I am pooped. Finished some of the bookwork just now and hallelujah, it balanced!! Going to take it a bit easy tonight and then work on my end of/beginning of month "stuff" tomorrow. Once I get caught up again, I can't wait to sew!! Hope you all have a super Sunday. More on the new fabrics coming as they arrive next week!

Dear Comcast -

These nice customers really asked me to send this update. Really. I am not spam to them.

Sorry guys, I'm going to keep on trying, but everyone with a Comcast e-mail address "bounced" when I tried to send you the update last night and still today.

Everybody else on the e-mail list can skip this post 'cuz you already got it!

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US......
HAPPY SAVINGS FOR YOU!

Did you get your postcard yet? Fabric-Etc is having its...

Anniversary Sale
Thursday, January 26th thru Saturday, January 28th!

Plus. we're open until 8:00 on Thursday the 26th (regular hours of 10-6 Friday and Saturday).
This is always the biggest sale of the year - the only time we put EVERYTHING on sale. Yup....

EVERYTHING 25% off*
*minimum fabric cut 1/8 yard

That means fabric, notions, batting, books, patterns, etc. It's limited to "stock on hand", so the only exclusions are
class fees, gift certificates, Expo tickets, special orders and sale items.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We don't usually do a "mid-month" e-mail, so I'll keep this short and to the point!

WHAT'S NEW SINCE LAST TIME?
We got some new wide backs both batik and regular cottons. Did you get an e-reader recently? I did! Sew....we have got a few different patterns for e-reader covers to choose from. We've made up several so you can see them. And....we just got in the Soft and Stable that works very well in these patterns. It's a "cushion-y" product that gives bags and these covers a nice body and protects the e-readers. I made a few projects from another great new fabric. It's a faux leather look in a few different designs, with three or four more to come. Easy to sew with and gives a professional looking finished project. Cottons? New chickens; some new Lakehouse prints from Pam Kitty Morning; new red/white and black/whites; as always, new batiks. There are a couple of Quiltmania left and some other new books from Martingale. Didn't get a calendar for 2012? We've still got a few of them. Oh….and I took the plunge and started a Fabric-Etc Facebook page ~ you can access it from the website or blog ~ “like” us, okay?!? And we do still have some of our Nifty Notion ~ Hugo's Amazing Tape....more info on website!

SEW EXPO 2012 * MARCH 1-4
Just a quick note to let you know that we have received our Expo tickets. The event is in Puyallup March 1-4. The tickets are $10 advance and $12 at the door. We try to have them available through the event dates.

CLASSES
We've scheduled a Lemoyne Star Ruler class for February 16th. Diane made a "stellar" sample in batiks! Velina's teaching a two part class on making a Kwik Sew nightgown scheduled for February 11th and 25th. We're offering the Mitered Borders class on February 28th. There's also room right now in the Beginning Handquilting class in February, as well as the Postcard Cuties. Our Just Takes 2 get together is full, but give us a call or e-mail if you're interested because we may set up another group if there are lots more folks wanting to do it. Diane has offered to teach either of the "Spelling Beasts" ~ CAT or DOG! That's slated for March 8th. I also wanted to mention that Joan has told me there are openings for kiddos age 10 and up in her 4-H sewing group that meets at the shop two Fridays/month. If you know someone that might be interested, give us a call and we can get you the contact information. There are other classes on the back burner, so check the website every so often to see what we're up to!

FAT TUESDAY * FEBRUARY 21st * 6am to 6pm * 20 FAT QUARTERS FOR $25
It only happens once a year and it’s always on Mardi Gras which is Tuesday, February 21st this year. At 6 am that morning and you’ll be greeted by smiling "Fabettes", coffee and donut holes and thousands of specially rolled and selected first quality fat quarters. We cut these all year long and have nearly 30 boxes awaiting you! You can purchase 20 fat quarters for $25 ~ that’s only $1.25/fat quarter ~ half of what the regular price is! Only catch is that you must buy 20 to get the special pricing and then after that, each additional fat quarter is just $1.25. So, put it on your calendar for next month....you’ll want to shop early for the best selection!

CAROL'S COMMENTS
Boy....am I glad I didn't have the Anniversary Sale scheduled for last week! Can you say snow ~ wind ~ cold!?! But it looks like the weather is going to cooperate for the sale this year. How did you fare in the weather? I know we heard of lots of you just hunkered down and playing with fabric. I came to work every day in case any of you *needed* something.....and a few of you did! I thought I'd get a lot more done last week, but didn't. Oh well, there's always another day ~ right? And for that, I am, as always....

Sew thankful -

Carol
Fabric-Etc
1633 Birchwood Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225
360-671-5277
http://www.fabric-etc.com/

Black and white and red all over....

Look at this great fabric! I LOVE black and white with some red thrown in for good measure. It's called Paparazzi. We found a home for it last week up by the front door with the rest of the black and whites. I really want to use it in something. But I already made an e-reader cover out of black/white/red. But does that really matter? Maybe after the Anniversary Sale? Speaking of which.....watch your inboxes...I'm sending out an e-mail tonight as a reminder.

Sew....wasn't it just a wonderful day today? No more snow, not much wind and some sunshine thrown in for good measure. It was a great day @ Fab-Etc too. Diane and I got some little projects done, including rolling another box of fat quarters for Fat Tuesday next month. Our fantastic UPS guy in brown delivered some Creative Grid rulers ~ even the yardsticks! Woohoo! I love mine...they're worth every penny and they'll be 25% off Thursday-Saturday.

Okay....going to finish that e-mail update tonight. Then, tomorrow, Jan and I will have some fun thinking about what models to put where and maybe working on that 30's project we started together before the snow flew! Have a good night!!

S'no wonder.....

Well....it's pretty well all gone, except some of those large lumps that were plowed in parking lots and streets. Guess I'm glad. Although, I realized that the snow kind of helped me slow down a little bit, and that was a good thing. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the "have to's" that I don't take time to enjoy the moment. Sew....I slowed down enough to finish reading a book or two; sew a little bit; enjoy the beauty of the Pacific Northwest under a blanket of snow; even played Scrabble via iPhone with my daughter the teacher, who didn't have school last week (fun, even though I think she won more than I did!). Of course, had this been happening this week, I would not have been so calm. Most of you on the mailing list probably have gotten the postcard announcing our Anniversary Sale at the end of this week (Thursday-Saturday). Yup, I would not have been too pleased with the snow under those circumstances. Sew....I guess you know what my week will look like: setting up at the beginning of the week and cutting LOTS of fabric at the end of the week!

Now....about the picture. This is the sample for Diane's class in February for the Lemoyne Star ruler. It's similar to the Hunter Star ruler in that there are no Y seams involved. Of course, Diane did hers in batiks....isn't it gorgeous? Info is on classes page of website if you're interested.

Speaking of Diane...we worked together on Saturday. We were BUSY. The Applique Society was there in the morning and folks just kept coming by ~ glad to be out of the house and able to fondle the fabric =)

Hope your Sunday is going well. The wind's starting to pick up here as forecasted. I'm off to the kitchen to fix some dinner for the retired guy and me! Hope to see lots of you later in the week for the sale!

Snow days.....

Hey, guess what? It snowed and it's bitter cold out here! Oh, I guess those of you in Whatcom County already knew that, huh? I thought that since some of you are stuck at home, you might like to see some *virtual* fabric for a quick fix! This is a rounder we have by the counter with the Fantasia grouping. It's bright and cheerful in lime greens, grays and blacks. It's been pretty popular. We have a few ideas for using it, but haven't done anything yet.

Speaking of not doing anything....I've been at the shop the last two days without any of the staff there to play fabric store with =( I certainly didn't want them driving in the kind of weather we've been having this week, since a few of them live out in the county where they have even more snow than we do at the shop. Some of our wonderful customers have come in and shopped for things to keep them occupied during the "weather event".

What have I been doing? Well....waiting on customers, opening some freight and playing with e-reader patterns. Yup, been testing some of the new patterns we got in last week. I re-made the zipper case and made the Kwik Sew foldover pattern and then yesterday, I made the Indygo Junction pattern. Jury is still out on which is my fav. BUT....we got in the Soft and Stable foam that I used in the last three that I made. Works great!! I'll have to get some pics.

Okay, that's all for now, but I do have some pictures of a couple of classes we have coming up and a few other things, so stay tuned for updates on the website and here. Please stay warm and safe out there. Oh....and I'll probably be closing at 5:00 again tomorrow if the weather is as they predict. But feel free to call if you need anything and I'll stay open until you can get there ~ okay?

Congrats, Emily.....

Yesterday afternoon was a fun one @ Fab-Etc. As some of you have noticed, Emily is back from college. She is a full-fledged RN! All of us Fabettes are so very proud of her. We've been trying to find a time to celebrate, but everyone's schedules....you know how that is?!? Sew, yesterday afternoon we surprised her with a little party. Most of us were there, and Mrs. Haggen was so proud of her she baked her a German Chocolate cake =) We gave her a set of those cool decorator Gingher scissors in 4"/5"/8" sizes. She'll put those to good use in her sewing endeavors we know. We're all keeping our ears to the ground in case we hear of anyone needing an RN to work for them. We've been telling her that she can only work within a 10 minute radius, though, so she can come and see us during lunch =)

Otherwise, it's been a great week around the shop. Sharon taught her very popular beginning handquilting class this morning to rave reviews again. She does an amazing job of imparting lots of great knowledge and tips in a short amount of time. Thanks, Sharon! Linda and I kept really busy all day long with folks coming in to get what they need in case they are snowed in this week! And I managed to find the top of the file cabinet and the top of my desk again...hello, old friends!

Personally, it's been a tough few days. Our grandson, Lukas, had 29 seizures from Wednesday to Friday. It culminated with a trip to Children's ER yesterday. But after checking him out, changing a few things and adjusting his meds, he was back home last night and has had only 2 seizures today. We are grateful to the docs at Children's and once again in awe of our daughter and grandson. They are my heroes.

Hope you have a good Sunday. What do you think? Will we get snow up here this week? What a super excuse to slow down and sew a bit. I have some houses up on the design wall at the shop that could use some TLC! Night all.

Love is on the wall....

Wait a minute....isn't that supposed to be "Love is in the air"? Well, at Fab-Etc it's on the wall right now! This was the project that Emily and I started playing with on Saturday. As I mentioned, we obsessed over the background especially. I had wanted to do these polka dots for all of the backgrounds, but then we weren't too sure. Sew....we auditioned any and every thing in the shop that might remotely work and finally decided to just make one or two blocks "to see" if the pink/white dots would work. Well, we loved them! We each made some blocks and then today, Emily finished putting this together. I had made something similar a year or so ago, but we put our own twist on this one. Plan is to turn it into our newest Dollar Menu Pattern. It's not huge, so it would work for lots of fabrics and occasions.

Whew....good thing there were three of us working today! It was BUSY!! Lots of folks popping in and then we got some freight ~ batting and notions. Got most of it put away and Jan worked some more on the 30's print project we have going. I made the side blocks Sunday and now she's putting down the leaves and flowers in the center. Going to be pretty cute!

Okay....I'm going to work on that Dollar Menu, do a little paperwork and a little sitting. What are you up to tonight?