Hi Fashion Fabrics, Inc

Happy New Year!

2012 begins with changes. As you can see, we have gone “paper-less” for The Stitchin’ Rag. We have sent it out to your email and it is posted on our website www. hifashionfabrics.com. We will have “some” hard copies at the store.

I started a new monthly event; “Breakfast with the Boss.” Three customers are invited to The Egg and I to share insights, observations and comments about the store. The previous meetings have been very informative and enjoyable. If you are interested, we have a sign up box at each register.

I see the need for a Computers 101 class. This is for those of you who love to embroider but struggle with computers. The class will teach skills needed to enhance your embroidery software experience. See the calendar for dates and times.

As always, thanks for your support!

The holidays are over for another year and we can settle back into our quilting projects again. Winter and Spring are a perfect time to finish old projects or better yet, start a new one!!! Come in and see our wonderful selection of Spring fabrics. They will surely give you Spring Fever.

We would like to solve a mystery that has been around for years. Hi Fashion Fabrics welcomes all skill levels and ALL BRANDS of machines in their project classes and clubs. We do have classes that are for New BERNINA owners and therefore only BERNINA machines. They are called the MY BERNINA classes. Those are the ONLY classes that are machine specific. So, come and join us for some of our upcoming project classes this spring.

Speaking of classes… We have a bunch of new classes and clubs that will sure to inspire and delight you. Even a few that you can FINISH the project in! (We all love to go home with a completed project.) And we have a NEW Block of the Month starting in March. New techniques will be learned with this quilt. Check out the info about this in the newsletter.

For our wool lovers, we even have a stash builder club and project classes for you. More about that under the Wool Gathers Club in the newsletter.

We look forward to having you explore your class options with us. I know that you will not be disappointed.

Happy Sewing!

Hi Fashion Fabrics is very proud to have Cindy Needham from Superior Threads for a very special One Day Event. Come and join us on February 9, 2012 for an Open Thread Bar and Thread Education. All skill levels welcome. All BRANDS of Machines Welcome.

A little bit about Cindy….

I have been a quilter for 40 years with the first 25 devoted to my first love of hand quilting and the last 15 to my second love of machine quilting. I first fell in love with quilts while my family was stationed in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and Virginia and it has been a complete obsession since then!

Passing on my love of quilting and design through teaching is a dream come true. I left my full time job in the medical field over 6 years ago to teach and speak nationally for Superior Threads. My love of design has led to unique opportunities to design stencils for Quilting Creations. I have had design features in Quilters Newsletter Magazine and had articles in the American Quilter magazine, Machine Quilting Unlimited and The Quilter magazine. My book, Wholecloth Linen Quilts, was released four years ago by AQS and features a wide variety of linen quilts as well as a large selection of my quilting designs. I am now self-publishing and selling my class handbooks on CD’s . I am also very proud to have received the national Machine Quilting Teacher of the Year award at MQX in April, 2011.

Open Thread Bar - Thread Education

This is a very popular class and one-of-a-kind! This was designed for my work with Superior Threads and fills a large void in the quilting community: thread education. The morning session teaches the student about thread quality, weight, tensions, needles, working with decorative threads and how to use different threads in design. The afternoon workshop treats the students to an “Open Thread Bar.” Five cases of Superior Threads are available while the students learn how to use all types of threads at different tensions settings on their own sewing machines. A panel is created which they will use for reference at home.

Although this is a Superior Threads sponsored class it is NOT a commercial. I come strictly to educate students on how to use any and all kinds of threads in their machines, regardless of the manufacturer.
Seating is limited to this very special Event. Sign up early as this will sell out!

Date: Thursday, February 9th
Time: 10:00am- 5:00pm (1 hour lunch break)
Fee: $50.00 plus $10.00 kit fee due on class day
Instructor: Cindy Needham of Superior Threads

Featuring Giselle by Marianne Elizabeth of Classically Home

Hi Fashion Fabrics, in conjunction with RJR Fabrics and Marianne Elizabeth of Classically Home, is pleased to introduce Amaretto Cottage Block of the Month. Come and join us monthly and be whisked away to the serenity of Amaretto Cottage!

Amaretto Cottage features a medallion setting that replicates a garden maze. With 3 different focal areas, the design creates the illusion of depth of field. The focal block is surrounded by three different blocks, basket, stars and English Ivy, setting the stage for an outwardly spiraling design. The center medallion is then crowned by the use of the Garden Trellis border stripe. The second design area is created by the background blocks, the Log Cabin and the Kansas Troubles. Lastly, the design is framed by a series of five blocks, repeated around the quilt, in tile format, followed by framing with the full repeat of the Garden Trellis Border stripe.

The skill level is is advanced beginner to intermediate. Quilters will learn strip and paper piecing, mitered borders, angled seams and half square triangles. The king size quilt finishes at 112 inches square. There will also be the option to make this a queen size which finishes at 103 inches square.

This is a 12 month program that starts in March 2012.

The Kit includes all fabrics for the top and binding, all patterns instructions, a storage box for fabric, and free instructional classes.

Total cost for the program is $350.00 plus tax. Payment plan available. See store for details.

Amaretto Cottage Meetings: The first Friday afternoon of each month from 2:00pm- 4:00pm Starting March 2, 2012

Wool Gathers Club

Join us in a great way to build your wool stash! This is like a Block of the Month program, only each month you will be building your wool stash. With a 12 month commitment you will receive a variety of 8 different textured or mottled hand dye wools. Wool Gathers Club will meet for a fun stitching time while showing new patterns products and techniques. You can bring any wool project to work on to the meeting times or participate in the wool project for the month. We will also have kits available for the projects. Wool Gathers Club will have day and evening meeting times available. As a member of Wool Gathers Club you can take any of the Wool project classes with no class fee. (Kit fee or additional supplies may be required for class.)

Dates: Thursday, January 12, 5:30pm-7:30pm Thursday, February 16, 2:00pm-4:00pm Thursday, March 8, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Instructors: Heather Lofstrom and Kari Harvey
Fee: $25.00 each month

See how I managed to work the season into this?

In my service column I didn’t want anyone who owns a serger to think I was neglecting them. A serger is a great tool to have in your sewing arsenal. Everyone should have one. It’s the sports car of sewing, small and fast. A serger can expand what you can do, and do it faster. It doesn’t limit your creativity, rather, it expands it. There are even quilt patterns that can be made entirely with a serger.

90% of all problems with sergers come from threading mistakes. If your stitch isn’t right odds are you need to rethread it. I suggest if you are new to serging or have a new serger you’re not 100% familiar with, thread it, unthread it, thread it (repeat, repeat). Practice, practice, practice. Do this before starting any projects. It will cut down your frustration level in the future.

The other 10% of serger problems come from trying to “help” the fabric. Be One With Your Machine. Let the feed dogs do their job. Don’t bend, jerk, pull, push, or do sudden turns with your fabric. Just guide it through. Bending the needles in a serger, at these high speeds, can cause havoc.

Maintenance is similar to a sewing machine with one notable difference. I tell you NOT to use canned air on a sewing machine, but on a serger it’s fine. After every project, open the front door and the left door (most machines have one) and blow all that lint out. Then oil the upper looper bar, put in new needles, and you’re good to go. If you’re not sure on cleaning and oiling, please come see me.

Some other serger tips:

Make sure your needles are inserted all the way up. We sell a needle holder that makes this much easier.

Change needles after every project. You’re going much faster so there’s more friction to dull them.

Remove pins! The knife blades really don’t like them. You may think you can keep ahead pulling pins but these machines move fast!

Practice with different colored threads. Learn which tension control effects what part of your stitch.

Use thread designed for a serger. You’ll get better results.

Have fun with your serger!