Erica's Quarterly Newsletter - September 2011

Er i ca ‘ s

Happen ings

Erica’sCraft & Sewing Center

South Bend, Indiana574-233-3112

Where You’ve Come to Expect the Besthttp://www.ericas.comhttp://blog.ericas.com

September - December 2011

HOURSMonday, Tuesday,

Wednesday & Friday9:30-5:30

Thursday 9:30-8:30Saturday 9:004:00Sunday 12:00-4:00

C e l e b r a t i n go u r 3 7 t h y e a r !

page 1Happenings at Erica’s

pages 2 - 3Winners the Fairs

page 4May Sew-ers of the Month

page 5Email Testimonials

Erica’s Gift Cards

pages 6 & 7Guilds come to visit!

pages 8 - 13We Love to See What You Make!

page 14Kids Sew, too!

page 15 & 16Staff Quilts and Sews, Too!

page 17Knitters’ & Crocheters’ Notes

page 18Northern Indiana Shop Hop

pages 19 & 20Crafter Kitties

page 21Watch for an Email from

Nancy and Erica’s

pages 22 - 27New & Noteworthy Books & Patterns

pages 28 - 30New & Noteworthy Fun Stuff

and Cool Tools

pages 31 - 33New & Noteworthy

Machine Embroidery

page 34Some of My Favorite Things on Sale!

pages 35 - 55Local New and Events

Watch fo rour nex t news le t te r i n

January 2012

Nichole Perkins is one of the usual winners at thefair. Her dress won Reserve Grand ChampionOverall and went on to the State Fair to win aMerit Award. Her coat won Champion in construc-tion and at the Fashion Review, Final 15 at theState Fair, and second place in the Senior Divisionof the in the Indiana “Make It with Wool” Contestthough she was the youngest in her division.

Whitney Rice is also a winner each year. This yearshe won 1st place in the Formal Division in theCounty and placed in the top 15 at StateCompetition.

We’re so proud of these young ladies and allof those who enter projects in the Fairs!Congratulations!

2 W i n n e r s f r o m t h e S t J o e C o u n t y I N F a i r

W i n n e r f r o m t h e B e r r i e n C o u n t y M I Yo u t h F a i r

W i n n e r s f r o m t h e S t a r k e C o u n t y I n d i a n a F a i r

Kasey Clear, the 20 year old brother of our Sewing Machine Repair technician,Kimmy, (seen in the photos), is a great quilter! He brought in his fair quilts and causedquite a commotion in the store. We were all in awe of his machine-piece, hand quiltedprojects. His Braids on Parade variation was the Grand Champion Hand Quilted Quilt.He also won Reserve Grand Champion with his Pink & Purple Quilt. Here you can seeboth, but Photos don’t do them justice!son!

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and here’s Kimmy’s own Blue

Ribbon quilt.

It’s our Zippy Strippy. I love

how she quilted it!

(There are three other sisters

who entered and won ribbons,

but we weren’t able to get their

photos in time for the newslet-

ter. This is one very talented

family!)

Again, we couldn’t get photos, but want to congratulate our ladies in Hamlet.Norma Shively received Grand Champion for her hand quilted quilt. BettyPflugshaupt received grand champion for her blue table runner. Nancy Reevesreceived grand champion for a machine embroidered banner and butterfly.

MaySew-ers of the Month

We had a special presentation from Northcott’s Vic Dadika in our evening ses-sion. There were so many treats- both fabric and food, that we set aside our nor-mal Sew-er of the Month to have time, so we’re expecting lots for our Septembermeeting! Since Vic couldn’t be here for the morning session, we had our regularshow and share. Winner was Ruth Wagner from Mishawaka. Everyone wasdefinitely charmed by Amy Bradley’s adorable Quilt Diva shopping for fabric. Judy Felty’s granddaughters continue to be beneficiaries of her love of sewing,and made her runner-up with one of the many dresses. Those girls are growingup so fast!

Great job, ladies!

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It sure is nice of people to take time to tell us

they appreciate us! We all love a pat on the back,

and sometimes it even makes our day!

Thanks, ladies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for adjusting the shipping charges down-ward, based on actual weight, etc. I LOVE shop-ping with Erica's, not only for the cute patternsI've purchased in the past, but for your shipping

policy. You guys/ladies are wonderful! Pat Vogel, Apple Valley, CA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You are wonderful!! It's nice to find a business

that takes care of its customers. You could have

easily charged me the higher price and I never

would have been the wiser, since I needed the

items in a bit of a rush. Thank you for your good

business practices - I'll keep you in mind for future

shopping! Kate Stuart, Huntington, IN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hello! Just wanted to let you know that I received

my order today. Thank you so much for yourpromptness for both correspondence of emails and

mailing. I love the fabric! Roseann Kemp, Red Hook, NY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thank You very much for the fast reply, I really

appreciate it. I have been ordering various itemsfrom Erica's for a while now and greatly appreci-

ate the wonderful service. Some places I orderitems from, communication and resolution of

issues becomes a real hassle, Not so with Erica's.It is a pleasure doing business with you. When

needing supplies, your website is the only one goto order from, for the very reasons I stated. Infact, you should consider bottling and selling toother companies selling on line your formula for

being so good, people friendly, helpful and respon-sive. I hate to tell you how many companies that Ihave ordered items and medicines from that com-municating with and ordering from become anexercise in frustration, patience and a generalnightmare Margaret Janousek, Live Oak, FL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. I think Erica’s has the best customer service ofany company I’ve dealt with for any type of mer-

chandise. Keep up the good work! NancyLandset, Lee Center, NY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thank you soooo much. Very happy you find a

cheap way to mail the patterns. Looking forward

to future business.

Randi Lynch, British Columbia, Canada

E m a i lT e s t i m o n i a l s

can be purchased or redeemed atErica's Craft & Sewing Center in SouthBend and on our website.

can be purchased for any dollaramount.

have no expiration date.

have no fees of any kind at any time.

are used on one or more purchases until the balance is used up.

can have any dollar amount added regardless of current card bal-ance.

can make someone’s day brighter!

Erica’s Gift Cards

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6 L i n c o l n L a n d S e w i n gG u i l d

We love to have visitors, from near or far!Thanks for coming!

7 T h e P i e c e a b l e Q u i l tG u i l d a l s o c a m e !

The bus arrived from Zanesville, Ohio. It wasn’t such a nice day outside, but definitely brightened up once they got inside!

Darleen loves to makefriends with our guests!

Even the bus driver made a purchase!

The new license plate says, “Obsessed

Quilter will brake for fabric.”

And the happy ladies got back into the bus

with our famous purple bags!

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My neighbor Gail Mc Guirre came over and I showed her how to make pillow casesfor her girls, Stella and Fiona. The Fiona had picked out the fabric and both girlshelped with pinning. We had a good time! You can find instructions for our Hot DogPillow Case on our blog!

Eugene Warner from Galien Michigan madethis Bargello quilt for a close friend’s luckygranddaughter.

Jeanne and Michael Kovatch from NewAlbany, IN, made this quilt for their new grand-baby, Hannah. Michael designed it andJeanne hand embroidered and hand quilted it.A wonderful heirloom!

By the way, they love our shop and our selec-tion of hand quilting thread!

John Twichell from Elkhart made thisbeautiful Sleepy Hollow Cross Stitch project(47569). It took him 3 months to completethe project.

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Karen Lindley from South Bend (right) poseswith Nancy, who taught Karen's first quilt classonly FOUR years ago. This is her BlueberryConfetti quilt which she pieced and quilted herselfon her Handi Quilter Fusion. She even pieced thebacking! She has come a long way in 4 years.Way to go, ladies!

Katie Wantuch of SouthBend made this, her firstquilt, for her Busia’s 90thbirthday. Her grandmaundoubtedly love it!

Gwendolyn Holman fromGary, IN, brought in several things to share. She madethe black vest for herself. It has enough pockets insidethat she no longer carries a purse!

The dress with matching purse is a Christmas gift forher granddaughter. The bodice was sewn on theBabylock Evolution with rolled edges and bartackedand hot-fix pearls attached. She made the GuayaberaShirt for her grandson to match a shirt of his father’s.He will be wearing it on his first birthday.

Gwendolyn is a very talented seamstress!

Jeanette Barden (Goshen, IN)made the T-Shirt Graduation quiltfor her niece Rachel Scheffers’June 2011 graduation.

Rachel, from Middlebury, made thefloral quilt as a 4-H projects andwon Reserve Grand Champion. It’s a wonderful gift for her mother.Congratulations, Rachel!

Sondra Kalwitz is oneproductive lady!! HerTwister Tool quilt is for hergrandson’s wedding.Another time she broughtin the Flower Pot quilt shemade for her granddaugh-ter. She also does a lot ofcharity sewing. Sondranever has idle hands!

Virginia Thomas from Culver, IN, made this quilt just for fun.It’s the Floral Bouquet quilt from the Jelly Roll Quilts Book.

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Elaine Kolaski and Celeste Decker (fromMichigan, near Detroit) were in town to visit their sisterAnnette Featherstone of Mishawaka. They love tovisit us too! Elaine and Celeste brought in their alteredMisty Pines (Jeri Kelly Design) that they made usingtheir Shop Hop free fat quarter that they got from us! Itwas perfect for the northern light sky in their projects.

Kim Branum from Fishers Indiana madethis T-Shirt quilt for her best friend’s son’sgraduation. He’s certain to love it!

Unfortunately we didn’t get photos ofher, but Linda Thews of South Bend

made embellished these jeans jackets fora church craft auction.She zig zagged around the pooches, thenpainted over stitching to make the back-grounds the same color. The outlinesstitched pooch is her own Westie!

Lynn Leipold from Cassopolis, MI, made this beautiful Antique Rose quilt for hergranddaughter, Isabelle Kennedy. It has a beautiful wavy border. It was quilted bySally Roll.

Lisa Houston (Niles, MI) showed us this wonderful “Flightof the Dragonfly.” It’s one you should really see in person.It’s exquisite! She did bobbin work for part of it, and threadpainting. The moon is Angelina. The dragonflies are madeof fabrics and threads.

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Marcia Reynolds’ first class with us was in 1989. Shereminded me that, feeling overwhelmed, she was going togive up on tole painting after the first session and I talkedher out of it. This is her first project way back then! Shecontinued painting and now is alsoin embroidery club with her Topazand in Stitcher’s Garden. I’ve seenprojects where she has combinedher painting and embroidery, andit’s a great combination. She’s avery creative lady!

F r i e n d s a r e f o r S h a r i n g12

Ramona Minnie from Mishawaka broughtin her hand embroidered State Birds andFlowers quilt.

Another Fair winner, Dolores Tresemerfrom Hobart, IN, brought in her PinwheelsAplenty quilt that she entered in the LakeCounty Fair. She won ribbons!Congratulations, it’s beautiful!

T w o S p e c i a l M e m o r y Q u i l t sThis is Barbara Keelean with the quilt she got from herdaughter Annette Blaschuk, (Niles), for her 80th birthday.Annette showed us the blocks in Handi Quilter Club and wewere in awe of what she’d done, so I wanted to share moreof the story.Her mother saved Workbasket magazines from 1950 and1951 because there were a boy and a girl for each month ofthe year to embroider. She was always going to hand embroi-der them but didn't have the time. Annette doesn't handembroider, but she has her 5D software and a DesignerDiamond, so she digitized the copyright-free pictures . Sheembroidered them on bleached muslin and used the 30'sreproduction fabrics as her mom was born in 1931. Afterdesigning and piecing the top, she quilted it on her HandiQuilter. What a wonderful gift to give her mother!

Carol Hiss, from Leesburg, IN, intended to give her daugh-ter this quilt. However, she loved it so much, she decidedto keep it, and made her daughter a different one!This is Carol’s “African Memories” quilt, which featuresphotos from her trip to visit her daughter in Africa. Thephotos are all captioned and show villagers fishing, choirmembers dressed in white for midnight mass, family andfriends. She shows the quilt back, which is a limited edi-tion African fabric made for their 2005 equivalent of ourIndependence Day. This is certainly a great way to keepher memories. Here are some close-ups.

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14 O u r K i d s S e w, t o o !

Kayla Fleisher from Bridgeman,MI brought in her Bug Quilt.Kayla's grandma Janis Fleisherguides her with her sewing andquilting. and she's really doingwell! She entered it in the 2011Berrien County Youth Fair and gothonorable mention. Good job!

Lucas Hernandez, from South Bend,came in and bought a skein ofMarshmallow yarn. He asked for help ingetting started making a scarf and ourGinny helped him. He went home and fin-ished a scarf for his aunt Isa and brought itin for us to see, and went home withanother skein. He’s repeated that severaltimes. He obviously loves it! Great job,Lucas!

2nd Grader Kerri Easton from Wakarusa brought in her very 1stcross stitch project to share!

Kami (Rolling Prairie), Anna (Mishawaka) and Gabby(Plymouth) show off their newly made Owl Pillows that theymade in Becky's Kid's Sewing Camp!!!You can see the two sides of these students in the photos!

15 O u r S t a f f Q u i l t s & S e w s !

Becky Adams, also in ourSewing Department, shows herappliqued coneflowers wallhang-ing.

Diane James from our Sewing Department, “doesn’tdo small.” Or even medium, very much. Every one ofmy classes she’s been in, she did the largest size orenlarged the project! On the left you see her mysteryquilt. Below is “Just Hitched,” All the blocks are horseor farm subjects. It was for her niece’s wedding.Diane's niece trains

people to ride horsesand loves farm life.

Kim Wilson, who works at thefront counter, made this quilt forher lucky daughter Alex, usingFrolic fabrics.

Melodye Drake, also of our frontcounter staff, shows her version ofthe popular Bow Tucks purse usingfabric’s from Moda’s Lovey.

This pretty quilt was the combinedeffort of Suzanne Stone in our ship-ping department, and her daughterRae! It is stunning!!

M o r e S t a f f P h o t o s

Sharon Beaudin, from our Order Department, madethis cute little camera bag. She said it was super- easyand only took her 45 minutes. It’s called Fun andFlirty, by This & That, #A11588

Nancy Koski (Receiving Department) and LindaUllery both made “Miss Mary’s Pinwheels” quilts.They’re both so pretty, and look so different.That’s one of the things I like about quilting!

Kimmy Clear, our Sewing Machine Technician, not onlytakes card of machines, she uses them! And she does agreat job at both! Here she is with the our fun ZippyStrippy quilt that she sewed and quilted. It won a blue rib-bon at the fair and they, as I, loved the innovative way shequilted it.

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Change i t UpWe're all guilty of it. We see a sample

made or a picture in a book/magazine and think“That's exactly what I want to make!”. The wehead to the yarn department to find the exactyarn that was used. This is where the “fun”begins.

Sometimes the designer used a yarn thatwas provided by the manufacturer, sometimesthey used something from their stash. Andsometimes we fall in love with an item from twoyears ago, and the yarn is no longer being made.Your favorite store (and we're hoping that'sErica's) can't carry every yarn that's out there,but we do carry a range of fibers and everyweight. You may have to go with plan B – espe-cially if you want to get started right NOW!

It's ok to choose a different yarn thanthe original. Sometimes,when the original is nolonger available, it's necessary. Please remem-ber, we're here to help! We can suggest greatsubstitutions and help with your choices. Ifyou're shopping online, you can still ask ques-tions and we'll do our best to get the answers.It's not as difficult as you think, as long as youremember a few simple rules.

First, check the gauge of the original.Notice the number of stitches per 4” (not surewhere they came up with 4”- need to researchthat) and the size needle used. Then check outthe yarns that have a similar gauge. This is usu-ally noted on the label. European labels tend toshow a small square with numbers around thesides- the number on the bottom of the squareis the gauge. Take a look at the suggested nee-dle size also. If the pattern calls for a 24 stitchgauge with a size 7 needle, then the yarns youconsider should be close to, if not exactly, that(for example, a 25 stitch on a 6 or a 22 stitch onan 8 should work, with a bit of adjustment).

Next, consider the fiber. If the originalwas done in wool, the stitches will look a certainway, and the fabric will drape a certain way. Ifyou choose cotton instead, remember the drapewill be very different (much softer), but thestitch appearance should be similar. If the origi-nal yarn had a bit of fuzz, the item will look dif-ferent if you use a smooth yarn. Sometimes dif-ferent is great, sometimes not.

Third, watch your yardage. If the origi-nal requires 1000 yards, be sure you purchase atleast 1000 yards. I prefer using the yardagerather than the weight as this is a more exactway to compare. 100 yards of a wool mayweigh differently than 100 yards of cotton , but

100 yards IS 100 yards.See, you can change it up and create a one-

of-a-kind item! If you're thinking about startingsomething new, here is some information on thetrends for Fall. Colors, styles, and itemschange from season to season and year to year.While it's great to be in style, remember you'reknitting/crocheting to please yourself or someoneelse, so choose what you will use and enjoy.Having said that, it's still fun to see what's hap-pening out there.

Colors for Fall will be a bit more subtle,slightly grayed. A pale grey, a soft blue/grey,beige, and light brown are the neutral range.The colorful side of the scale includes teal, cedargreen, a rich purple, a strong pink (rose), rosyorange and greenish yellow. You can see therange at http://www.pantone.com/ (select Fall2011 Fashion Color Report under “Features”).

As for what yarns will be “in”, we're see-ing loads of mohair (often used for shawls, butreally lovely as sweaters or scarves) as well asbulky yarns, especially roving types. There are avariety of bulky “chain” yarns- these look like thestrand is already knitted, making them supercozy and super light. Novelty yarns are also eas-ing back into the mix, adding a bit of fun to proj-ects. We've seen ruffling yarn, beaded yarn anda little metallic.

As far as fashion styles go, big sweatersare being shown almost everywhere, from fash-ion runways to knitting magazines. These lookSO cozy, and when they are done with a bulkyyarn, they knit up quickly. Please remember, ifyou can knit it, you can crochet it too! You'llneed more yarn for a crochet version , but thecolors and style thoughts work for either craft.Lace is also out there, not always in a fine yarnas we normally think of it, but often done in abulky weight, for scarves and wraps. Cableswere big last fall, but I'm still seeing them inmany magazines. I really like the simple tunicstyle pieces that are beginning to show up –think two rectangular panels attached at theshoulders and part way down the sides- too easyto knit and a great place to show off a specialyarn, interesting stitches or fun texture. Thesepanels would be great in crochet too, either sim-ple rows or done in squares or other shapes.

Be trendy, be classic, be creative! Andremember, it's ok to change it up a bit!

b y C a t h y M a r k

K n i t t e r s ’ a n d C r o c h e t e r s ’ N o t e s17

Thursday, Oct 13, 10am-7pmFriday, Oct 14, 10am-7pm

Saturday, Oct15, 10am-5pm

R e g i s t e r N O W,i n o u r s t o r e o r o n l i n e !

We hope you’ll be joining usfor our fourth Northern

Indiana Shop Hop!

N o r t h e r n I n d i a n a S h o p H o p18

Participating ShopsErica 's Craft & Sewing Center , South Bend , IN ( Iceland)

Stitch 'N Time Fabrics , South Bend , IN (Hungary)Needle and Thread , Valparaiso , IN (Jamaica)

Cal ico Point , Goshen , IN (England)Just Plain Annie 's , Winamac , IN (Ecuador)

C o m e “ t r a v e l i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y "w i t h u s .

Vis i t 5 d i f ferent "countr ies . " Have your "passpor t " s tamped in each country andyou’ l l be e l ig ib le to win the fabulous pr ize baskets

f rom each s tore! ! ! You’ l l get a g i f t a t a l l the s tores and a f ree pat ternre la ted to the country they represent . You’ l l see

the f in ished sample made up when you v is i t . Therewi l l a lways be food to re f resh you f rom you t rave ls .

Food, gifts, fabric and fun -- don't miss out!

R e g i s t r a t i o n i s $ 1 0 . 0 0 . F o r r e g i s t e r i n g y o u w i l l g e t : A Commemorative Bag

A booklet with all the store information(maps, hours, etc) and Passport.

A free gift from each store when you visit. A free pattern for a project from each store.

Iceland

L o c a l C r a f t e r K i t t y

Our Cra f t e r K i t t y

Kim Wilson, one of our co-workers, made aquilt for her husband’s friend who likes theChicago Cubs. As you can see, she had helpfrom 3 year old Mrs. Snugglesworth. Like allgood feline quilters, she adorns any fabric shesees. In her spare time, she loves to tease herdogs and Kim’s grandson!

This is the help I had when Imade my first Zippy Strippy!

Tchaikovsky helped me press thestrips I had sewn together.

Ask for your free pattern when youbuy any Jelly Roll, Tonga Treat,

Building Logs, etc. Or if you live inour area, join us for the day and make

your own Zippy Strippy! (See infor-mation in our class section.)

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Sign up for our emailupdates at

www.ericas.com/signupand our blog updates athttp:\\blog.ericas.com

Did you look at these pictures and think, “MY cat’s a sew-er (or crafter),too! He (or she) should be in Erica’s newsletter!” If you have a kittythat shares your love of crafts and sewing, and you catch him in theact, email a picture (with good resolution) and a SHORT (you knowhow we feline fanatics can go on and on!) paragraph about it. Send it

to me at [email protected]. We use kitty pictures in our online newsletter and in thelocal paper newsletter, and we’re so happy to help show off these delightfulfelines for their human companions. So get out your camera, and catch yourspecial “fur-purrson” crafting!

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Normally we just show the crafting side ofkitties, but this one is of Mr. Peepers afterhe got ejected from the sewing room! “Hewas being very naughty in the sewingroom. So I scooted him out. This is whereI found him !!! He was just soooo rottenthat day. I have had pieces of fabric miss-ing and found them scrunched up in hiscat bed...He is spoiled rotten !!!” CarolScott lives in Bloomington, IN, and I’msure she knows that cats are made to bespoiled rotten!

M o r e C r a f t e r K i t t i e s

Leila Salo from Kawkawlin, Michigan, intro-duced us to Kitty. “She was a stray. At 6months old she came to our home crying,starving, and skin and bones. She turned 3years old last February. When I start sewing,she’s right there. She makes sure that myquilts don’t fall off the table as I sew. Sheenjoys a sauna when I press my fabric withthe iron. She chases the end of my measur-ing tape, elastic and what ever else she can.She is so much company, I don’t know what Iwould do without her!

b l o g . e r i c a s . c o m

W a t c h f o r a n e m a i l f r o m

N a n c y Z i e m a n a n d

E r i c a ’ s C r a f t a n d S e w i n g C e n t e r

i n v i t i n g y o u t o w a t c h

N a n c y Z i e m a n T V.

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Be sure you “confirm” when you get that email! It willallow us to send you an email the second Tuesday ofOctober and each month after, to let you know thenewest program is available. In that email you’ll alsoget a coupon which we can honor in the store or online,for something she shows that month.

I got to see some of the projects she has planned, andthey’re really exciting! There’s nocharge for getting the emails or watch-ing the programs. All you need to do is

confirm the email, so don’t hesitate. Confirm as soon asyou see it.

Starting in October, if you come into the store, you’ll seeNancy in the Sewing Department with a display of theproject for the month. Sewing Consultants will be able toanswer any questions.

As of September 1st, people in 4987 differentplaces around the world visit our blog!

Are you one of them?

N e w & N o t e w o r t h yB o o k s & P a t t e r n s

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Ho Ho Ho, Make a beautiful stocking

for someone special with the kit

Santa and Toys. The needle-

point kit includes the pre-printed

canvas, wool yarn, cotton thread,

felt backing, needle and instructions.

Get started now on this treasure.

A12884 ($29.99)

Try something new with

Winner's Bouquet. This

new pattern from Atkinson

Designs makes creating a

stunning quilt with curved

pieces simple. There are

templates as well as a pat-

tern with easy-to-follow

instructions. By changing the placement of

light and dark fabrics you can change the look

of the quilt in a stunning way. Expand your

skills with this fun quilt. A12863 ($30.00)

Let's do lunch! Tote

your own with a stylish

new bag from Lunch

Bags. This book

includes patterns for 25

sacks and wraps that

range from range from

something that looks

like a handbag to a lunch sack or clutch.

Many patterns include accessories, like the

lunch sack with a sandwich bag or the lunch

bag with a placemat. The patterns are

straightforward and simple, so you can whip

something up in no time (maybe even make a

different bag for every

Hillside Travelers is a charming cross stitch

pattern that features a

sweet saying about

traveling and returning

home again. The tall

houses and stylized trees and flowers will keep

you smiling while you stitch. A12855 ($9.00)

For those who enjoy antiques and cross stitch,

A Stitcher's Journey from Blackbird Designs

offers a selection of samplers

and sewing items. Images of

antique sewing items add a

lovely feel to the book. The

soft tints of the floss make

your modern-day work look

vintage. A12815 ($27.00)

For those who enjoy little

quilt projects, we now have a series of patterns

called Quilted Pictures.

Each pattern has instruc-

tions for four 10” square

pieces. Piecing and

applique designs are

included in each pattern.

What a value! A12875,

A12801 (shown here),

A12880 ($9.00 each)

Get your children involved in crafts with

Crafting with Kids. This

“Teach Yourself Visually”

book offers step-by-step

instructions for 75 projects

ranging from paper crafts

to fabrics, from craft sticks

to pipe cleaners, from mak-

ing toys to making gifts.

There is so much in this book! If you have

children, you need this book! A12826

($21.99)

And if you have (or

know someone with) a

baby, you'll need

Making Baby's

Clothes. Inside are 25

great patterns for cloth-

ing for children up to 3

years old. Full-size

patterns and illustrations

for details make these projects fun. The styles

are classic, and you can change the feel of a

favorite piece by changing fabrics. Make them

a wardrobe, all with one book! A12814

($19.95)

the embellishment pack (one for

each set) that contains all the lit-

tle bits that make these charac-

ters so perfect. Alice A13519-

A13521, Circus A13516-

A13518 ($9.99 each)

We have a beautiful new selec-

tion of wool/wool felt patterns

from Wooly Lady. These floral designs are

traditional with a bit of modern flair. Gladioli

and lilies are given a fresh look with rich col-

ors and decorative

arrangements. And the

Fresh Flowers Candle

Mat is a stunner!

Choose over-dyed wools

or select the easier-to-

work-with wool felt.

A13060 (shown here) -

A13064 ($9.00 each)

Put your patchwork skills to a new purpose

with Quilted Bags with Style. Inside are 25

purses, totes and bags, all created using patch-

work techniques. The bags

range in a variety of shapes

and sizes, all with simple piec-

ing, using a variety of fabrics.

Embellishments add a special

touch to the projects. If you

want one source with lots of

fun bags, this book is it!

A13090 ($19.95)

If you like the clothesline based

bags and baskets, Indygo

Junction has a new pattern just

for you! Quick Clothesline

Carry-Alls has a secret tech-

nique that makes their bags go

together so quickly. (I'm not

telling here, you'll need to get

the pattern.) You'll need clothesline, fabric

strips, and thread to make these bags that can

also stand in as baskets. Choosing the colors

will make them all your own! A13510 ($9.99)

Lynette Anderson Designs offers some very

charming hand embroidery/patchwork projects.

Two of my favorites are the Welcome Home

Pillow and the Birdhouse Bag. Both projects

include basic piecing for the pillow body and

I love history, so I enjoyed

looking through Knitting

America. This wonderful

book, which includes 20

historical patterns, offers a

look at the history of knit-

ting in America. Loaded

with photos, this book cov-

ers colonial times through the present. Travel

through time and discover interesting informa-

tion and historic designs. A12819 ($24.99)

Another look at history, this

time of quilting and the

movement west. Home on

the Plains describes and

illustrates, through photos

and period documents, the

movement west to life in a

sod house. The stories of

various women, their thoughts on their new

lives as well as the quilts they made are

described here. The book includes patterns

based on their quilts. A12816 ($26.95)

Beautiful indeed! Beautiful

Botanicals is one gorgeous

book! Here are 45 applique

flower patterns as well as 14

quilt projects using those

flowers. There is basic hand

applique information as well

as full sized template pat-

terns. Just looking through this book is inspir-

ing. A12813 ($23.95)

We've added loads of new pat-

terns to our wool department!

And many use the less expen-

sive wool felt, which is SO easy

to work with because you don't

have to worry about fraying.

Indygo Junction has two new

fun series: Alice in

Wonderland and The Circus Collection, of

little figures that are shown as ornaments. Use

wool felt to make the bodies, and then pick up

New & Noteworthy

Books & Patterns

(continued)

23

Luxury Yarn One Skein

Wonders. Here are 101

small projects (my

favorites) done in lovely

specialty fibers. And

please remember, just

because they used cash-

mere doesn't mean you

can't use wool, as long as you remember to

watch your gauge. The projects include hats,

scarves, baby items, home pieces and much

more. These wonderful projects will keep you

happily knitting for a long time! A13684

($18.95)

Crabapple Hill offers

new patterns for the

upcoming holidays.

Which Witch's Boot

features an embroidered

old fashioned boot filled

with Autumn decorations and surrounded by

simple piecing which

finishes this wall hang-

ing. A13882 ($9.00)

Then for Christmas there

are the Trim the Tree

pattern, A13879, with

two snowmen finish-

ing their decorating -

so cute, and the lovely

Night Before

Christmas Pillowcase

– sure to ensure sweet dreams. A13829 ($8.00

each)

If you love applique we have

a great new book, Folk

Quilt Applique. There are

20 projects inside that

include small projects and

large as well as wool

applique pieces. You're sure

to love the charming style of

these projects! A13883 ($24.99)

The Teach Yourself Visually Series is a great

reference for the knitter/crocheter. The latest

offering is Circular Knitting. This volume

will teach everything you need to know about

New & Noteworthy

Books & Patterns

(continued)

the bag body (done in crazy patch). Then add

embroidery for the image on the front of the

pillow – a sweet country house theme, com-

plete with sheep and chickens. The bag flap is

embroidered with a cute

set of birdhouses and a flo-

ral wreath. These will

delight everyone! And

both include the iron-on

transfer sheet for the

embroidery. Pillow

A13083, Bag

A13081(shown here) ($17.60 each)

How about a new “No Sew”

method of quilt making? Pie

Plate Patterns has a new tech-

nique they call Pie to Go! that

uses a variation of foundation

work and raw-edge applique to

assemble your fabrics, then

you quilt as you go – com-

pleting the “piecing” and quilting all in one

step! Fast, fun, easy ...what

more could you ask? If you

like square blocks, see A13505,

if you prefer curves (easy with

this method) see book Pie to

Go II A13504. Each booklet

includes three quilt patterns

and the basic how-to's.

($12.00 each)

If you’re a knitter who likes

to make little things, the book

Itty-Bitty Toys will give you

plenty of ideas. Inside the

spiral-bound hardcover you'll

find patterns for 26 toys

including balls, animals, dolls

and reversible toys. Expand

your knitting skills while making something to

delight the youngsters in your life! A13685

($17.95)

There's a series of knitting book titled “One

Skein Wonders,” and we have a new addition,

24

New & Noteworthy

Books & Patterns

(continued)

working with circular nee-

dles and working flat or in

the round. By the way,

circular needles are better

for you – easier on your

joints. A13887 ($21.99)

What a cute quilt for your

little boy! On The Go! is

an applique pattern with

bold colors and trucks

and cars zooming all

over the quilt. Simple

piecing and easy

applique will make this

as much fun for you as it

will be for them. Your

little guy will love it! A13455 ($9.00)

Here's a great idea when the

little ones are sleeping some-

where other than their own

beds: Blissful Turnaround.

This pattern will help you

create a blanket/pillow in one.

A few yards of flannel and

some time are all you need to

make this useful piece – and we have a great

selection of fun flannel prints they are sure to

love! A13687 ($4.00)

Here's another Civil War his-

tory book that includes quilt

patterns. Learn the story of

Confederates in the

Cornfield, a confederate raid

into Iowa. Besides details of

the historical situation, you'll

find patterns for six quilts. Perfect for those of

you who love the history behind the quilts.

A13857 ($16.95)

Expand your knitting in the

round skills while creating

hats and mittens. Mittens &

Hats for Yarn Lovers offers

13 patterns as well as loads

of technical information on

ways to work in the round and basic patterns

for hats & mittens that you can customize. Get

started on that Christmas list with this great

reference! A13847 ($24.99)

Now one for the crocheters:

Go Crochet! This wonder-

ful volume shows how to

create 50 different motifs

and then gives ideas for

combining them into

afghans. As a beginner, I

love that the instructions are

written out as well as charted. So easy to take

these blocks with you and work as you are on

the go. What a great reference book! A13845

($24.99)

I love animals, so the new

Huggable Crochet book is a

delight to browse through.

Inside are instructions for

crocheting 19 different ani-

mals from around the world.

The kangaroo pictured on the

cover is so cute, and a sheep, cow, and ele-

phant are among the other great designs!

A13842 ($22.99)

Countdown Calendars

show that these projects

are for more than just

Christmas. There are

calendars for birthdays,

weddings, Father's Day,

chores, Valentine's Day

and vacation as well as

Christmas and Hanukkah. What fun! A13841

($15.95)

Erica’s Additions:Lynn in our Sewing Department had a

chance to take a class with Karen

Linduska, who wrote the great new book,

Your Machine's Decorative Stitches.

You can see Lynn’s sample in the depart-

ment. The book gives you great ideas on

Contributed by Cathy Mark

25

New & Noteworthy

Books & Patterns

(continued)

26

how to use the stitches that come with

your sewing machine to give your projects

design excitement. Appealing not only to

the beginning quilter, this book will

remind us all of the choices

available at our fingertips.

Written for any brand of

machine, Karen provides

12 small projects, that can

be combined to make two

larger wallhangings.

A13008 (24.95)

Another opportunity to use

your decorative stitches!

The Permission Purse

pattern from Indygo

Junction includes fun with

the stitches, decorative

threads, circular embroi-

dery attachment, and felt-

ed fabrics. Turn stitched

squares into a diamond

purse or lunch tote

A13511 (9.99)

Want still more decora-

tive stitching? Try

Cleverly Stitched Cases

and add three more dif-

ferent shapes A13512 (9.99)

An instant hit on our

site was the I-Cozy

Palooza pattern.

These booklet style

covers fit the iPad

snugly. There are

four different flap

styles to choose from

and this pattern is Fat

Quarter Friendly! What

a great way to keep your

iPad safe from scratch-

es! A13650 (9.00)

If you want protection

for your E- reader,

there’s also an E-Cozy Palooza pattern

There are two sizes, one of which will

hold any of the different new reading

devices. There are two size options and

four styles. Again, fat quarter friendly!

A13651 (9.00)

It’s been a while since we

saw a new book from our

favorite sassy fabric-manip-

ulating Brit! Jennie

Rayment Foldy Rolly

Patchwork Pzzazz, as

Jennie puts it, is “tactile

twiddling for all!” She has “twelve

blocks and related projects to entrance,

educate and entertain, from textured quilt

blocks to bags, quags, cushions and table

mats. These ingeniously simple, yet fabu-

lously folded novel techniques are ideal

for all stitchers of every ability. Full of

colour with every stage presented in clear

photographic format. Helpful hints and

useful tips abound plus lighthearted tales

of travel and daring-do!” I couldn’t have

said it better myself, although I would

have spelled “color” differently! 50440

(27.80)

In the book Custom

Curves, Karen McTavish

offers you lots of designs,

including 5 complete

wholecloth designs from

27 original elements, to

help you make truly

unique quilts. On the

accompanying DVD, Karen invites Ronda

K. Beyer, to teach her curved crosshatch-

ing technique. Together they teach a 65

minute lesson. No matter if you quilt by

hand or machine, the designs and lessons

in this book will inspire you to express

your artistic talents through quilting.

A12808 (24.95) See Rhonda’s tools inour Cool Tools and Nifty Notions section.Fans of Laura Lee Fritz will be pleased to

see 250 New Continuous-Line Quilting

Designs. These can be used with by any

machine quilter – regular machine or lon-

garm. Mix and match the unique designs

to tell a story and person-

alize your quilt. Included

are people, animals,

nature, sports, holidays,

and more.

With the exception of

Jenny Haskins’ Creative

Expressions, we had

never had so many pre-

orders for a magazine

until Australian

Homespun’s Blue

Edition with the highly

awaited Bonnie Hunter

article and

quilt pattern,

JamestownLanding. And

it’s no won-

der! The

quilt is marvelous in blue and white and

bound to be an all-time favorite! A13484

(9.95)

Splashed! is that fun posi-

tive/negative that Patch

Works Studio is famous

for. The cover is done in

Stonehenge fabrics, and

it’s stunning in any high

contrast

fabrics. Instructions are

for two sizes: 42 1/2" x

56 1/2", or 28 1/2" x 28

1/2". A13252 (9.00)

If you’re looking for a

fun Jelly Roll pattern,

take a look at Migration

by Karen Montgomery. You will need 42

strips measuring 2 1/2" so it’s perfect for

Jelly Roll and other similar precuts. Most

packages have 40 strips, so you’ll need to

throw in a few from your stash. The

motif that you use to join the ends is a

goose (?!) triangle, thus the name of the

pattern. It’s 48" x 66". There’s a great

new Creative Grid ruler you’ll want to

add to your ruler stash. (3 1/2" x 12 1/2"Quick Trim & Circle Ruler, A113002 in

our Fun Stuff and Nifty Notions article)

The pattern number is

A12994 (8.50).

Karen’s fantastic Old

Dog New Tricks

Pattern also uses that

ruler. This quilt is 52"

x 52". A13535 (8.50)

If you

like birds and applique,

take a look at Fancy

Feathers! It’s a 20” x

46” wallhanging or a 47”

x 64” quilt. The pattern

includes full size designs

of fancy feathered birds

for you to use with your favorite appliqué

technique. A13832 (18.00) There is also

a version for automatic machine embroi-

dery, in our next section.

We know you get a lot of email, but

we think you’ll enjoy our email

newsletters and our blog posts.

Sign up for our email newsletters!www.ericas.com/nl

Sign up for our blog posts!http://blog.ericas.com

New & Noteworthy

Books & Patterns

(continued)

27

F u n S t u f f , C o o l T o o l s ,& N i f t y N o t i o n s

Get a head start onthe holidays withthese cute felt kits!Each kit makes 3ornaments, andbecause they are felt,they go together SO

quickly and easily.There are snowmen

(A12965), snowmen

faces (A12968), trees

(A12967), and birds (myfavorite) A12966.

($9.99 each)

More fun with felt, thistime as purses! Each kithas a colorful felt purse,with stitching holesalready pierced, floss forstitching, handles, a dec-orative button, needle and instructions.And they are made just for kids, so youcan keep those young hands busy makingsomething useful. These also make agreat gifts for the youngster to make andgive to their special friends. Pink

A12977, Green A12979, Grey A12980($6.99 each)

If you knit or crochet, we havesomething new for you!Starting Points are suedeslipper soles that you knit orcrochet onto, creating hand-made slippers. The soles havefleece linings and include pat-terns for knit or crochet slip-pers. What a great gift idea!Get started now and give those

you love a great handmade holiday gift!Adults A13091, A13092 Baby BootiesA13093 ($11.99 each)

Make a floral accent quickly with one ofthe new Kanzashi Flower Makers fromClover. These little tools guide youthrough the cutting and stitching process

to create wonderful flowersthat are perfect for adding aspecial touch to quilts, bags,even clothing! GatheredPetal Maker A13502 ($5.75);Round Petal Maker LargeA13499 ($6.00); RoundPetal Maker Small A13498;Pointed Petal Maker A13500($5.75 each)

Get a head start on Christmas with thesepretty new kits from MillHill. The Three Wise Men

have always been a favoriteof mine and these beadedcross stitch ornaments are solovely. Hang them on yourtree or attach to a gift for aextra special touch. GasparA13569; Melchior A13570; BalthasarA13571 ($7.50 each)

There are some beau-tiful new 6” x 6” pic-tures also from MillHill. Holiday

Delivery (shownhere) features crossstitch, beads and aceramic button used

for the image of a cardinal and mailbox.A13564 Winter Woods has another car-dinal in a blue and white forest A13565and Believe depicts a special Santa.A13566 ($12.50 each)

A wonderful new prod-uct for the cross stitch-er: Soluble Canvas.This is 14 count wastecanvas that dissolves inwater! No more tryingto pull threads afteryou've finished yourstitching! You'll want to embellish allsorts of items when it's this easy. A13624($5.99)

28

the index finger and thumb

on either hand. These will

help you to hold and adjust

fabric as you press it with-

out getting burned. A13069 (5.99)

The Quick Trim Ruler

is an ingenious new tool

developed by Karen

Montgomery for Creative Grids. It features 90

degree angles that add the seam allowance

when cutting triangles, eliminating the points.

Use the eight drilled holes at one end as pivot

points to draw circles from 2" to 22" - and

every half inch in between. See how it’s used

in the Product Video section of our website.

A13002 (16.99)

We have three new Creative Grids Basic

Range Rulers, for when you just need a

simple ruler, easy to see and read, and

easy to use. They don’t have the extra

½” on one side, so you don’t have to fig-

ure out which side to use (my hint with

those is to color in the ¼” block at the

corner that has the 1” on both sides). Because

they do not have the additional 1/2″ on two

adjoining sides of the ruler, the double number-

ing system is not necessary, again making it

more simple. There are no 1/8” markings,

either. - no extra ½”, no 1/8” markings. They

have the wonderful Creative Grids non-slip

grippers around the entire edge of the ruler, so

they’re especially good for quilting newbies.

4" x 14" A12881 (16.45), 6" x 9" A12849

(17.45) 6″ x 24″ A12635 (23.95)

The Turn-it-All is a new sewing

tool that turns fabric tubes inside out

easily and quickly. For anyone who

sews, this tool is a necessity! Turns:

spaghetti straps, scrunchies, doll

parts, quilting decorations, even bag

handles! There are 3 tool sizes, and

they’re made in the U.S.A. A13878

(9.99)

If you liked Deb Tucker’s Rapid Fire Hunter’s

Star, you’re sure to like her Rapid Fire

Lemoyne Star. She’s developed a method to

strip piece the Lemoyne Star, then trim it down

for a quick, perfect block. And, as with the

Hunter’s Star there are no Y-seams and you get

What Caught Er i ca ’ s Eye

Aunties Two has moved

off her regular clothesline

technique to create these

fabulous new Kraft

Krates. The pattern

shows you how to use any

fabric, Inn-Spire and Inn-Control Plus by

Innovative Craft Products to create these sim-

ple, elegant storage cases. Pattern A12797

(9.00).

Wonder Clips are a great alterna-

tive to pins, especially when work-

ing with vinyls, piles, and heavy-

weight fabrics. They open wide and

have flat backs for easy feeding up

to the presser foot. They hold lay-

ered sections of sewing projects

such as handle connectors to handbags, piping,

even quilt bindings while sewing. Package of

10 A12995 (6.95) Package of 50 A12996

$32.95

Rhonda’s Rulers make

curved crosshatching

easy with no marking.

There are ¼” and ½”

etched lines to help keep it uniform. Karen

McTavish’s new book, mentioned in our New

and Noteworthy Books and Patterns section,

goes into detail about how to use these great

new rulers. This one is a Double S Curve. I’m

excited about using these in an upcoming quilt!

These 6 1/2" LED Lighted Stainless

Steel Tweezers have a serrated jaw on

the bent tip, no slip comfort grips on

the handle, and a button to click the

powerful LED light on and off. And

they even have three LR41 batteries

included. A12998 (10.89)

Thermal Thimbles are heat resistant finger

protectors. There are three sizes in a package to

choose your best fit. They’re designed to fit

New & NoteworthyFun Stuff, etc.

(continued)

29

beautiful results every time.

The tool makes 10 block sizes

- 3" to 12". A13261 (29.50)

this is a pic-

ture of

Snowflurries,

one of the

patterns that

uses this amazing tool.

A12853

On the new Quilt

Label Collective CD

there are 150 designs to

print, color and embel-

lish. 17 designers con-

tributed their work.

Open the designs on

your computer and add

words, or print them on paper or printable

inkjet fabric sheets, and add color and words

with Fabrico Markers. Styles range from con-

temporary to traditional to vintage. Themes

include birthdays, weddings, new babies, and

all-occasion. Certainly something for every-

one! A13924 (9.95)

I first saw FriXion Pens at

Quilt Market in the spring. I

was excited about them, but

my regular distributors didn’t

have them yet. So when they

got them, I snapped them up!

These are creating quite a

buzz in the quilting world.

The marks can be erased with the eraser end if

you’re working on paper, and on fabric, the

marks disappear with the heat of the iron!

They have a small enough tip to fit in stencils

and they make nice fine lines on fabric. There

are warnings about the pen not writing if

exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold, they

will make colorless lines, but when warmed,

they write in color again. Once you’ve marked

fabric and erased it with the iron, it will come

back if you put it in the freezer, but only until

New & NoteworthyFun Stuff, etc.

(continued)

you've washed the fabric. With these warn-

ings, I wouldn’t use them on official docu-

ments, or fine fabrics or with heirloom sewing,

but I used them to mark quilting lines and just

love them! We started with 3 different assort-

ments, but may add individual colors if we get

requests. 8 pack A13528 (23.89), 3 pack Pink,

Purple and Orange. A13526 and 3 pack Black,

Blue and Red (8.99 each).

Speaking of disappearing with an iron, I found

a new favorite chalk powder. Although I’ve

had some other deadlines come up and haven’t

quite finished my Christmas Ribbons Quilt,(A11221 9.95), when I used

the Quilter’s Chalk Line(59384) in making the quilt

and saw how easily it came

off with the iron, I immedi-

ately asked the designer,

Sue Pelland, what chalk it

was. I found out that we

could carry her Iron-off Chalk Powder refills,

and now I’m using it to

refill my “pounce” pads.

A12844 (6.99) We also

have empty pounce pads

if you want to start right

out with it. A11544

(9.95) You can also use the empty pads with

Glow Pounce Powder. The Glow Pounce

Powder glows florescent under black light.

A11545 (6.99)

What’s not to love?! The

Purrfect Points Embroidery

Scissors are ornamental as well as

practical! Unfortunately we get

them as an assortment, so we can’t

sell these by color, but we’ll pick

you a good one when you order. A13837 3.99

each.

I really like denim needles for my piecing.

They have sharp points, so they penetrate the

cotton threads instead of slipping to one side or

the other like universal needles do. Now we

have them in boxes of 100 needles, so you can

easily put in a new needle when you know you

should. A12644 (58.99)

30

N e w & N o t e w o r t h yM a c h i n e E m b r o i d e r y , e t c .

All good things come to an end and aftereight exciting years, the inspirational teambehind the magazine Creative Expressionswith Jenny Haskins have decided to moveon. Jenny will no longer be the editor ofCreative Expressions. We’ve loved all theirinspiration in the magazines, and they are cer-tainly not disappearing from the embroidery

and quilting scene. Recentlywe had Perfect Bliss, a won-derful quilt from SimonHaskins. The CD includes 106embroidery designs, all thedirections, and full-size designlayout diagrams which, whenprinted and combined are justlike having the quilt blocks and

center medallion for Perfect Bliss in your ownsewing studio, so making this quilt is easyeven for a novice. 48232 (49.99)

Just before that was 3DEmbroidery Magic (48018)that has amazing floral andquilting designs that literallyspring into life when steam andheat are applied to the embroi-dery. These extra largedesigns are embroidered overKrinkle Magic (A12290) andfabric, and then cut around using either scis-sors or Jenny's Magic Heat-Cutting Tool(44166). The quilting designs are amazingalso, by adding a layer of Quilt Magic on top of

the Krinkle Magic under thefabric, a quilting designmagically puffs up whensteam and heat are applied,resulting in a sensationaltexture for quilted blocks.Creative possibilities werefeatured in Jenny’s lastCreative

Expressions, Issue 31(48019).

The next Special Edition,available soon, if not by thetime you read this, is Sandy’sOriental Express. Jenny’sfriend, Sandy, made the

beautiful quilt on thecover. It was her firstquilt, and she made it bygetting together withJenny one night a weekfor a year. (Lucky girl!)

It is all done with Embroidered AppliqueDecoupage and is a great beginners quilt.A12639 (49.99).

Jenny’s new WebMagic Lite is a semi-permanent fusible web-bing available twoways. Use the 10" x 5yard size to adherebeautiful appliques,patches, and embellishments with the heat ofyour iron. Don't let the name fool you - WebMagic Lite feels weightless! 48250 (16.80)There’s also a 1” wide roll, about 10 yardslong, that can be used for hems and otherplaces you need just a small amount. 48364(6.22)

Lickity Stitch brings us machine embroidereddelights, from cats and dogs to monsters, SockMonkeys and Amish art. These are mostly

cross stitch designswhich don’t have agazillion colors, so theystitch out fairly quickly.Many are original art-work reproduced withpermission of the artistsfor machine embroidery

cross stitch. Sue Marsh ofWhistlepig Creek sharedseveral collections.Caterwauling and PoundHound have the sameadorable characters as inher fabric lines for 4 x 4and larger hoops.

Caterwauling A13450(46.00), Pound HoundsA13452 (48.00) She alsoshared the friendlyMonsters in the Closet,which delights children ofall ages. A13451 (42.00)

31

a detailed information pdf and designs in atleast two sizes, including some 4” x 4,” 6” x 6”and some also have 5” x 7”.

These are new and really cute, too! WinterCollection has 39 adorable designs includingthis adorable polar bear and friends, A12637(59.99) andFroggy Dayswith terrificdesigns for lit-tle boys’ andtomboys’items, or any-body who justloves frogs!There are some scrappy dogs, too. There are41 total. A12638 (59.99)

My friend Angie of Lunch BoxQuilts, has a new collectioncalled Fancy Feathers. Thesefantasy birds flaunt fantasticfeathers! Make the quilt ortable topper shown, or combineyour favorites for smaller wall-hangings. 48221 (45.00)

Posh Pincushions: In-the-Hoop FloralPincushions by Katherine Artines has 15 dif-ferent projects, from the Sassy Sunflower tothe Darling Dahlia, and these floral beautiesstitch in minutes. The 72 page book has 35embroidery designs so you can create yourown, too! Beautify your sewing studio ormake them for gifts. All it takes is some felt,thread, your embroidery machine, and thedesigns and instructions in the book!

Machine Embroidered Quilting andApplique by expert Eileen Roche will teachyou 12 techniques to create quilted and

appliqued blocksand strips all in afew easy steps withyour embroiderymachine. A13740(32.99)

Cats and Quilts from artistDiane Graebner is a combo of 6cats and kittens with what quil-ters know to be a feline favorite:quilts!A13448(38.00)Diane

Graebner is alsoknown for her Amishartwork, and we havethree different collections. (Fall scenes shownhere.) 13447 (42.00)

Sock monkeys span thegenerations! Theseembroideries depictthem with a variety ofsports. Sport SockMonkeys A13444(38.00)

Bee Unique has digi-tized some beautiful artwork! I’m working ona mini-quilt pattern forthem, inspired by CarolRobinson’s originalsample when I first sawthese at Quilt Market.We’ll be taking some ofthem to quilt shows wego to. It’s hard for meto pick a favorite! The

photo of Carol’s littlequilt shows the PlayfulDucks. There are alsoWinter’s Wonderland,Bears Gone Fishing,Turtles at Play, AngelsAmong Us and LittleAngels. Each one has

N e w &N o t e w o r t h y

M a c h i n e E m b r o i d e r y ,c o n t i n u e d .

32

We got a number ofnew collections in theDakota line in August,so be sure to check thewebsite to see all ofthem. Don’t missMaxine #3! Every“senior embroiderer”appreciates her senti-

ments and there are a lot of ways you can usethe embroideries. 50399 (69.95)

While you’re on the Dakota page, check outthe BOGO designs that are on sale throughSeptember 30th. There are five mix andmatch, buy one, get one free. Several are

Christmas designs, using a variety of tech-niques, (50394, 50380 and 50393) one is

Embossed Embroidery(50385), and there’s BedtimeCritters Applique with won-derful animalcharactersperfect forkids’ pillow-cases andPJs. (50387)

All are 39.95, but BOGO untilSeptember 30th.

N e w & N o t e w o r t h yM a c h i n e E m b r o i d e r y ,

c o n t i n u e d .

33

Go to our website www.ericas.com

and click “New Items” on the left to see what we add

as we add it!

can be purchased or redeemed atErica's Craft & Sewing Center in SouthBend and on our website.

can be purchased for any dollaramount.

have no expiration date.

have no fees of any kind at any time.

are used on one or more purchases until the balance is used up.

can have any dollar amount added regardless of current card bal-ance.

can make someone’s day brighter!

Erica’s Gift Cards

These are a few of myfavorite things!

Cutt ing Edge Str ips (85083) help you cutstrips the same size without having to follow aline all the way down the ruler to keep theedge of the fabric straight. The great thingabout them is that they go on the under side ofthe ruler, so you just bump them against theedge of the fabric. You can almost do this withyour eyes closed! (I use two rulers for cutting- download instructions from my blog post forMay 27, 2010.Regular pr ice $5.95. Save 25% at $4.46!

The handiest l i t t le ru ler I ’ve everused is our Creat ive Grids 2 1/2” x6 1/2” Ruler ! (45153) I keep one

by my sewing machine, one by myHandi Qui l ter, and two at my cut t ing tab le !

R e g u l a r $ 6 . 9 5 , o n s a l e f o r $ 5 . 2 1 . (25%off ! )

Add to the ru ler a l i t t le 8 ” R e v o l v i n g M a t(59084) for cut t ing or t r imming smal l p ieces orb locks, and you have a rea l dynamic duo!R e g u l a r p r i c e $ 1 2 . 9 9 , w i t h 2 5 % o f f , i t ’ sj u s t $ 9 . 7 4 !

Sale priced throughOctober 16th

34

Er i ca ‘ s

Loca l

Happen ings

page 36 & 37Trunk Shows

page 38 & 39Husqvarna Viking News

page 39Cabinet Sale

page 40Holiday Hours

page 41Baby Lock News

page 42We need teachers

Gently Used Sewing Machines

page 43Fun at our Fat Quarter Frenzy

page 44Zippy Strippy

Clara’s Calling

page 45We Love our Handi Quilters!

page 46Viking Foot Sale for September

Embroidery Clubs

page 47Club Dates

page 48Club Dates

page 49Special Notes about Classes

pages 50 - 55Class Descriptions

W a t c h f o r o u r n e x tN e w s l e t t e r

i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 2

Erica’sCraft & Sewing Center

South Bend, Indiana574-233-3112

Where You’ve Come to Expect the Besthttp://www.ericas.comhttp://blog.ericas.com

September - December, 2011

HOURSMonday, Tuesday,

Wednesday & Friday9:30-5:30

Thursday 9:30-8:30Saturday 9:004:00Sunday 12:00-4:00

C e l e b r a t i n go u r 3 7 t h y e a r !

35

T r u n k S h o w s

Can't youhear thebells onSanta'ssleigh asthey "Jingleall the Way"?This year'sChristmasfabric lineand bookfrom NancyHalvorsen and Art to Heart offer afun mix of color and whimsy.Santa and friends grace the fab-rics, and there are tons of greatblenders to mix and match. Theprojects in the book include giftbags, pillows, quilts, fireplacescreens, and gift pockets, manyembellished with bells! Come beinspired and get ready for the hol-idays with these quick gift ideas!

Come cel-ebrate Fallwith us aswe enjoythenewestfromNancyHalvorsenand Art to

Heart. "Bittersweet" is alovely fabric line fromBenartex that includes richrusts, deep greens, golds,browns, leaf prints and greatblenders. The book, of thesame name, offers a range ofpatterns, from table toppersto pillows to quilts. You'resure to find a wonderfulAutumn project!

from one of our

favorite designers...Nancy Halvorsen

B i t t e r s w e e t

S e p t e m b e r 1 9 ~ 3 0

J i n g l e A l l t h e W a y

O c t o b e r 1 0 ~ 2 1

36

Come see some wonderful animal applique projects from Toni Whitney.She uses Bali fabrics to make these designs so realistic And with her easystitching method, you simply fuse and sew, and the piece is done!

We carry the patterns and original fabric packs, soyou can create a masterpiece for yourself! Thistrunk show features Flo Flo, The Guardian, and

Pride & Joy, and Savanna.

37

T r u n k S h o wT o n i W h i t n e y D e s i g n

T h r o u g h S e p t e m b e r 1 4 t h

Come see the newDesigner Diamond deLuxe!

(in store only)

38

The extended sewing surface gives you more room forquilts and other large projects.

The large Graphic Display shows the selected stitchin actual size and other settings.

Dual Lights illuminate the sewing surfaceto make sewing easy

and eliminate eye strain.The unique EXCLUSIVE SENSOR

SYSTEM™ technologysenses your fabric thickness for a

perfect, even feed. The exclusive SEWING ADVISOR®

feature optimizes your sewing. More than 100 stunning stitches inspire

endless creativity.

SAPPHIRE™ 835 ~ Agreat machine at a

great price!

70% of sew-erssew

on their kitchentable.

Does that includeyou?

We can help! Come in

and see what wehave available.

If you have 3D Embroidery Software

Viking will send you a rebate if you trade up to 5D! You should havereceived an email as a 3D owner. All you need is that email, the com-

pleted rebate form, and your receipt for your great new 5D software.

5D Embroidery $50 mail-In rebate5D Embroidery Extra $150 mail-In rebate

5D Professional $400 mail-In rebate

(in s

tore

on

ly)

39

You’ll just LOVE 5D!

FootbowlWidow’s Sale

(Semi-annual

store-wide sale)

New Year’sDay

Noon-3pm

Holiday HoursClosed

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Eve Day9:30am - 2:30pm

Closed Christmas Day

New Year’s Eve Day9:30am - 2:00pm

New Year’s Day SaleNoon - 3:00pm

40

p r o u d l y o f f e r s a n ds u p p o r t s

B a b y L o c k ,H a n d i Q u i l t e r , a n dH u s q v a r n a V i k i n gs e w i n g , q u i l t i n g ,a n d e m b r o i d e r y

m a c h i n e s a n ds e r g e r s .

Stay connected!

Sign up for our email news atwww.ericas.com/signup

FOR MORE FUN STUFF GO TOBLOG.ERICAS.COM

F a l l S p e c i a l O f f e r

* There is no annual fee.* You don’t tie up other credit cards.* If you apply by October 30th and are approved, we’llgive you 20% off a purchase that day of regularly priced merchandise, using yournew Erica’s Credit Card. Easy application, quick decision. (New applications.)

Why do you need an“Erica’s Credit Card”?

~ In Store Only ~

Meet Diana , Baby Lock’s New Serger

Ready to Sew?Ready to Sew?

Owning a sewing machine is easier than ever with the A-Line Series from Baby Lock! Each machine in the A-Line Series is affordable, durable and easy to use! No matter what your style is, you’ll find a machine that’s the perfect fit!

(Dealer Name and Address)

Visit us for a free machine demo!

Select A-Line Machines starting at $199!

Diana

41

(in store only)

Free feet and inspiration book with Baby Lock’s most popular sergers!

Come into the store and see them and never worry about tension again!

We are a lways look ing for enthus iast ic , warm,encourag ing peop le to teach at Er ica ’s !

a Do you love machine piecing, English paper piecing, or crocheting?

a Do you love people who also love those things?

a Would you love to teach others and share all the satisfaction youget from those wonderfully touchable textures?

a Would you have time to work with us to developclasses?

a You might just be someone we’d like to add toour team of great teachers!

Come in and fill out an application.

We need more teachers..

Previously Loved Machines all checked out by our super technician!

These are great machines that weretraded in for higher models.

Good opportunityfor an excellent machine!

Designer 1

Sale Price $899

Platinum 955ESale Price $699

We also have these machines with full warranties:

Embroidery Pro Floor Model

Full Package total $15,719.99

Sale Price $7599

Diamond floor model

Retail $9499.99 Sale $6999

830 Sapphire

Sale Price $699

A s k o u r c o n s u l t a n t s a b o u t o t h e r s .

42

37

Fun at our

101 Sizzlin' Hot

Fat Quarter

Frenzy

We can help the women of Afghanistanlearn to sew, learn a life skill, and bettertheir lives. Join Master Sergeant ClaraVargas and her team of American sol-diers in Clara's Calling! Their mission:to teach over 4,000 widowed Afghanwomen how to sew so they can providebasic necessities for themselves and their children and begin to lift them-selves out of abject poverty.

Please bring in sewing supplies, notions, fabrics that you know you won't useor that you have extra of, and we will send them on for you. It's a chance toshow these women that Americans care, and help them raise their children toknow that also. Erica’s is proud to join these soldiers in their mission.

For more information, check in the store and online at www.clarascalling.com .

In our Zippy Strippy morning

class, you’ll put the strips together in a

special easy way of joining strips on

the bias. Take a break for lunch, then

come back for the Zippy Strippy Race

in the afternoon. You can actually

work at your own pace (no pressure)

to sew the five seams that make the

quilt! It’ll be fun to see all the different

versions.

Saturday, September 24th

9:15-11:45am, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

or

Tuesday, October 11th

9:30-noon and 1:15-3:15pmZippy

Strippy

See how quickly you can

make a quilt like Teresa did!

44

We Love Our Hand i Qu i l t e r s !

Find out why we’ve fallen in love with the new HQSweet Sixteen machine, the HQ18 Avante,

and the 24” Fusion! * You can pull out all those unfinished tops and getthem done, make charity quilts, quilt for friends, oreven start a business!* It’s nearly twice as fast as most home sewingmachines* It has a full 16”, 18”, or 24” throat depth, over 8”vertical clearance* It has long arm capabilities and optional StitchRegulator at less than half the price of other longarm systems.* It has a wide variety of the same kind of fun tools,and the ProStitcher computerized option!

Only 8 representatives in the world weregiven this award when we were! Theinscription says “HQ Way Award ~

Delivering Results through SuperiorService, Education, and Inspiration,

Erica’s Craft & Sewing Center”

We’re so proud to have earned thisaward, and I thank my students, whoseevaluations helped make this happen!

Erica’saward winning

training willhelp you really

use your Handi Quilter!

45

Kimmy Brunner, two time Machine Quilting Teacher of the Yearwinner, and author of two of our best selling DVDs (MachineQuilting for Beginners and Twirly Whirly Feathers,) got aHandi Quilter Avante a while ago, and posted a note on theInternet. I’ve taken classes from this amazing teacher andcredit her DVD with teaching me how to do the beautiful feath-ers you see on several of my quilts. I asked her permission toquote her here and she was delighted to be quoted. “I've been longarming since1998, have owned two 26 inch machines, have quilted over 3000 quilts for customers,have taught on pretty much every machine out there and I can honestly say that myAvante is the best machine I've ever laid hands on...

You might recognize RuthWagner as our May Sew-erof the Month. Well, she alsoquilts on her new HandiQuilter and Pro-Stitcher,along with Martha Grahamfrom Colon, MI, who got hersaround the same time. Theseladies enjoyed their sessionstogether and I had fun teachingthem and look forward to havingthem in Handi Quilter Club.

We have space in some of our embroi-

dery clubs! If you bought your embroi-

dery machine from us, there is probably

an Embroidery Club you can join bring

that machine to. Embroidery Club is the

best thing you can do for your machine.

We do things you might not try on your

own, like metal punch, foam, cutwork,

different types of applique, dimensional

embroidery, balsa wood, even toiletries!

and more to come! (If you have moved to

our area and have a Baby Lock or Viking,

we also invite you to join us!)

Check the “Club Dates” on the Club

page for dates. Those with * after them

have space. Be sure to get your sheet of

what to bring to the next meeting when

you sign up.

EmbroideryClubs at Erica’s!!

Join an Embroidery

Club now!

~ In Store Only ~

H u s q v a r n a V i k i n g F o o t

o f t h e W e e k S a l e

46

Week 1 – 9/6 – 9/12 ~ Specialty Feet

Week 2 – 9/12 – 9/19 ~ Garment Sewing Feet

Week 3 – 9/19 – 9/26 ~ Quilting Feet

To Celebrate

Each week there will be certain feet featured at 25% off.Our Sewing Consultants will be happy to demonstrate them for you.

Come into the store to take advantage of each week’s specials.

C l u b D a t e s

F ind your C lub and put the da tes on yourca l endar NOW so you don ’ t m iss anyth ing !

41

Check outour classes

and getsigned upnow!

E m b r o i d e r y C l u b sB e s t o f t h e B u n c h *

Wednesday, September 14, 9:45amWednesday, October 12, 9:45am

Wednesday, November 12, 9:45amWednesday, December 14, 9:45am

N i f t y N o v i c e s *Saturday, September 10, 9:15am

Saturday, October 8, 9:15amSaturday, November 12, 9:15amSaturday, December 10, 9:15am

Stitchin' SistersSaturday, October 1, 9:15am

Saturday, October 29, 9:15amSaturday, December 3, 9:15am

We d n e s d a y ' s Wi z a r d sWednesday, September 10, 9:45am

Wednesday, October 5, 9:45amWednesday, November 2, 9:45amWednesday, December 7, 9:45am

Erica’s Creative Sewing Club *September 27, 28

October 20, 21November 29, 30Skips December

Tuesdays 7:00pm, Wednesdays 10:00am

H a n d i Q u i l t e r C l u b *September 13, 14

November 8, 9Tuesdays 6:15pm, Wednesdays 9:00am

Stitcher’s Garden Club *September 22, 23

October 20, 21November 17, 18

Thursdays 6:30pm, Fridays 9:45am

Tiny Town Quilt Club *Monday, September 26, 6:30pm

Vi k i n g D i g i t i z i n g C l u b *Saturday, September 17, 1:15pm

Saturday, October 22, 1:15pmSaturday, November 19, 1:15pm

Skips December

* These Clubs have space available for new members!

I f y o u r c l a s si n v o l v e s b r i n g i n g a

s e w i n g m a c h i n e ,y o u ’ r e w e l c o m e t o

u s e t h e p u r p l e d o o ri n t h e b a c k o f t h e

b u i l d i n g .

Special Notes about ClassesAs more and more people are finding out, Erica's is a really fun place to learn!

We take a lot of pride in bringing you the best instruction,

in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

We’d like you to help us be sure things go smoothly for you.Please register early so we can be sure to have enough supplies. We accept phone regis-

tration, but paying your class fee is what actually holds your place and prevents your being

bumped when the class fills. You may pay your fee over the phone with a credit card, send

in a check, or come into the shop. If you are reserving a sewing machine, please include $3

per session to cover this service.

Some classes require advance preparation as shown in the schedule, so please be sure to

get your materials early to allow yourself time.

Class fees will be refunded if you notify us 72 hours before class. Of course, if we have

to cancel a class, the fee is refunded.

Unless listed as Kids' or Teens' class, our classes are geared toward adults 18 and over.

Many people are taking classes as a break from tending children. We thank you for leaving

your children and pets at home.

Please do not use cologne use as someone next to you may have an allergic reaction to fra-

grances.

Erica’s is dedicated to needlework, craft, and sewing education and takes pride in

providing quality classes at low fees. So that we can continue to offer classes at

fees that are as low as possible, it is required that all

students purchase class materials at

Erica’s. Thanks.

Join us and learn a creative new skill!

T e a c h i n gS t a f fT h i s

S e s s i o n

Sign up forclasses now!

48

Becky Adams, Erica Broecker, Tekla Coar, Mary AnnLienhart-Cross, Joan Duvall, Sandy Fawley, Linda

Gugliotta, Abby Gutierrez, Diane James, LynnKinney, Karen Libbey, Judy Nowicki, Mary

Parmalee, Angie Ortiz, Mary Ripple

396A Zippy Strippy * Sat Sep 24 9:15-11:45am & 1:00-3:00pm 18.00 + materials

309A Kids' Sewing I, age 8 and up Mon Sep 26 4 weeks 3:45-5:45pm 32.00 + class packSkips October 17

9387A Preparing a T-Shirt Quilt Wed Sep 28 1 class 6:30-9:00pm 10.00 + class pack

833A Hand Quilting Thu Sep 29 1 class 9:45a-12:15pm 10.00 + class pack

781A Paper Piecing For Beginners Only * Sat Oct 1 1 class 1:00-3:30pm 10.00 + class pack & materials

314A Knitting Basics * Mon Oct 3 2 weeks 6:45-9:15pm 20.00 + class pack & yarn

126A Silk Ribbon Embroidery + Tue Oct 4 2 weeks 9:45a-12:15pm 20.00 + class packSkips October 18

695A Hand Piecing * Wed Oct 5 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + class pack & materials

382A Scrap Therapy Cutting Workshop Thu Oct 6 1 class 6:15-8:15pm 12.50 See description

396B Zippy Strippy * Tue Oct 11 9:30-noon and 1:15-3:15pm 18.00 + materials

389A Making a T-Shirt Quilt + * Wed Oct 12 1 class 6:30-9:00pm 10.00 + materials

806A Northern Indiana Shop Hop 13th-15th Thu Oct 13, 14, and 15 - 10.00 See page 1

499A Pack & Go Bags * Sun Oct 16 2 weeks 1:00-3:30pm 20.00 + class pack & materials

314B Knitting Basics * Wed Oct 19 2 weeks 6:45-9:15pm 20.00 + class pack & yarn

296A Machine Quilting Basics * Wed Oct 19 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + class pack & materials

204B Quilting Basics-All You Need to Know * Thu Oct 20 4 weeks 9:45a-12:15pm 40.00 + materialsSkips October 27

835A Scrap Therapy Table Runner + * Sat Oct 22 2 weeks 9:15-11:45am 20.00 + class pack & fabriSkips October 29

277A How to Sew-A Great Beginning * Mon Oct 24 4 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 40.00 + class pack & materials

072A Knitting-Mock-Cable Wristers * + Fri Oct 28 1 class 9:45a-12:15pm 10.00 + class pack & materials

207A How To Quilt-From Start To Finish * Sat Oct 29 4 weeks 12:45-3:45pm 48.00 + class pack & materialsSkips Nov 5, 19, and 26

309B Kids' Sewing I, age 8 and up Tue Nov 1 4 weeks 3:45-5:45pm 32.00 + class pack

078A Juliet Bag * Tue Nov 1 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + class pack & materialsSkips November 8

080A Mondo Bag * Tue Nov 1 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + materials

145A Knitting-Beyond Scarves + * Wed Nov 2 2 weeks 6:15-9:15pm 24.00 + class pack & materials

303A Stuffed Animals + * Wed Nov 2 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + materials

322A Hand Embroidery Basics * Mon Nov 7 1 class 6:15-9:15pm 12.00 + class pack & materials

597A Laminated Raincoat * + Tue Nov 8 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + materialsSkips November 15

076A Knitting-Felted Bag * + Sun Nov 13 2 weeks 1:00-3:30pm 20.00 + class pack & materials

079A Underground Blues Quilt Top * Mon Nov 14 2 weeks 9:45a-12:15pm 20.00 + class pack & materialsSkips Nov 21 and 28

068A Knitting-Modular Knitting * + Mon Nov 14 3 weeks 7:00-9:00pm 24.00 + materials

833B Hand Quilting Tue Nov 15 1 class 6:30-9:00pm 10.00 + class pack

573A Knitting-Socks from the Toe Up + * Wed Nov 16 3 weeks 6:15-8:45pm 30.00 + class pack & materialSkips November 23

595A Sewing Next Step-Make a Shirt * + Wed Nov 16 3 weeks 12:45-3:15pm 30.00 + materials

205A Quilting Basics II * + Tue Nov 29 3 weeks 9:45a-12:45pm 36.00 + class pack & materials

390A Scrap Therapy Square Deal + Wed Nov 30 2 weeks 6:30-9:00pm 20.00 + materials

49 C l a s s e s & E v e n t s a t E r i c a ’ s

* These classes require selection of materials and or preparation before class meets.

+ These classes have skill level or membership requirements - Please check the individual description.

Class Descriptions(alphabetical by category)

These classes were offered for the first timethis session or last, or have not been offered for

a while.

KIDS’ CLASSESKids’ Sewing I—Becky hastaught children and loves seeingthem learn one of her favorite things

to do. We have a great textbook with basicinformation put in a really fun format, withpuzzles, sewing games, mazes, and lots andlots of fun. We’ll provide the sewingmachines, so you don’t need to worry aboutbringing one. Class pack is $28 + tax. Age 8and up, no experience necessary. 4 weeks,starting Mon, Sept 26, 3:45-5:45pm, skipsOctober 17, or 4 weeks, starting Tue, Nov 1,3:45-5:45pm

NEEDLEWORKHand Embroidery—JoinMary R as you learn the fun,

relaxing art on your choice ofa seasonal ornament. She

will teach you basic stitches on a small project,to get you started. Hand embroidery projectsare very portable, great in waiting rooms, etc.Embroidery is often beautifully combinedwith quilting. Class pack (batting, backing,and needle) is $1.50 + tax. 1 class,Mon, Nov 7, 6:15-9:15pm

Knitting Basics—Learn how toknit as you make a quick and simple

scarf. The class will teachyou what you need toget started: casting on

and off, and knit and purlstitches. Angie has patience and skill

as a knitter, so you’re sure to enjoy learning.Continental, or European style knitting istaught in this class. Class pack (book andneedles) is $10.05 + tax. 2 weeks, startingMon, Oct 3, 6:45-9:15pm or starting Wed, Oct19, 6:45-9:15pm

Knitting-Beyond Scarves—If you cancast on and knit as a beginner, this class is foryou. Angie will help you make small samplesand concentrate on learning additional stitchesand effects, other ways to cast on, increasingand decreasing, without a large project tofinish. After this class you will be ready andconfident to move onto a sweater or vest orshawl and she can help you pick out yourproject. Class pack, book, is $5.95 + tax. 2weeks, starting Wed, Nov 2, 6:15-9:15pm

Knitting-Felted Bag—Thisuncomplicated little purse will add flairto any outfit. Tekla will teach you to work inthe round, pick up stitches, increase, decrease,and felt a knitted project. This pattern is greatfor those who want to learn a few new knittingtechniques without stress since felting hidesmost minor flaws! Skills required are cast on,knit, purl, bind off. Class pack includes thepattern booklet, $8.30 + tax. 2 weeks, startingSun, Nov 13, 1:00-3:30pm

Knitting-Mock CableWristers—Like the look of cablesbut don’t want to fuss with cable stitch holdersor twisted stitches? Then you’ll love thesefaux-cable fingerless mitts. This class is a niceintroduction to working in the round, increasesand decreases, and simple gusset technique.Since they can be worked up in one evening,they’re great as quick, one-size-fits-most gifts.(If you can resist keeping them yourself!)Tekla teaches this class for knitters and theskills required are cast on, knit, purl, bind off.Class pack includes the book, $17.95 + tax. 1class, Fri, Oct 28, 9:45a-12:15pm

Knitting-Modular Knitting—You’ll want to try this fun and easy knittingtechnique! Here’s a great way to use up thatstash while creating any project, but in ablock-by-block way, making it so portable.Blocks can be joined as you knit or after, tomake scarves, pillows, afghans, just aboutanything - and you can design it as you go!You’ll need to be able to cast on, bind off anddo the basic garter stitch (knit only). Mary P

50

will teach you how to decrease to shapethe blocks. 3 weeks, starting Mon, Nov

14, 7:00-9:00pm

Knitting-Socks from theToe Up—Learn how to knitsocks this way, and you won’thave to deal with grafting orrunning out of yarn before the endof a pattern ever again. Several different toecast ons and heel techniques will be covered.Tekla will also show you how to determinewhich one to use depending on your needleand yarn choice. You need to know how tocast on, knit, purl, and bind off. The class packis $22.95 + tax and includes a fantastic sockpattern book. 3 weeks, starting Wed, Nov 16,6:15-8:45pm, skips November 23

Silk Ribbon Embroidery—Come joinMary R and learn the basics of silk ribbonembroidery. The floral project will teach youmany basic stitches and include a bit of flossembroidery as well. Must have basicembroidery knowledge. Class pack,everything but hoop and needles, is $42.75 +tax. 2 weeks, starting Tue, Oct 04, 9:45a-12:15pm, skips October 18

OWNER’S CLASSES ANDACTIVITIES

These classes areespecially for peoplewho have bought theirsewing andembroidery machinesat Erica's, as a "thankyou" for supportingus. If you've recently moved intoour area and have a Viking or BabyLock, please contact us aboutparticipating with us. Note-allother classes shown in othercategories are open to everyone.Erica’s Creative Sewing Club—Ifyou bought your serger or sewing machinefrom Erica’s, a year’s membership isautomatic for most models, and you’ll get

special discounts at the meetings. Mary AnnLienhart-Cross, the Sewing Departmentladies, and I share our excitement andenthusiasm for sewing and quilting, givingyou hints, patterns, and sewing and sergingupdates. The same presentation is given in theevening and the next morning. We have awonderful group of people who share thiscommon interest of sewing, and you canmake new friends while you get new ideas.This is an opportunity specifically for oursewing machine and serger customers, but ifyou have a Viking or Baby Lock and justmoved to our area, or didn’t know about us,please check with us if you’re interested. Seepage 15 for Club dates.

Handi QuilterClub—This is anopportunity for Erica toshare techniques andideas with our HandiQuilter Frame System owners. Each meetingwill include hints and tips, a technique or two,and a project to work on at home. Everyone isencouraged to bring along quilts they’ve done,or want help with. Club fee is $30 for 6meetings, and there will be a small charge forhandouts at the meeting. If there is space, wewill add people who were not able to purchasetheir frame systems from us. Please sign upon the waiting list if you’re interested. The feewill be $50 if not purchased at Erica’s. Seepage 15 for Club dates.

Embroidery Clubs—These are groups where youexplore more alternativesfor the embroidery aspectof your Viking, or BabyLock and try all kinds ofthings you might not have tried on your own.We have several groups going now. Memberswill tell you how much fun they’re having andhow much they’re learning! Membership is$30 for the six-month session and club packsaverage around $15, always including a fewor several embroidery designs for yourcollection. Projects feature Judy Nowicki’s

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embroidery designs especially for ourEmbroidery Club members! You get

information on project costs and a list of whatto bring before each meeting. There areopenings in some of the groups, so let usknow right away if you’re interested! (For ourmachines) See page 15 for Club Dates.

Viking Digitizing Club—This clubmeets the third Saturday of the month. Lindauses prepared projects and step-by-stepinstructions. We include Viking 3D, 4D and5D formats. It is not necessary to have a laptopto join us, but it would be helpful. If membershave taken the Digitizing Introduction class orhave tried digitizing on their own with somesuccess this will be helpful but not absolutelynecessary. You will be doing mostly manualdigitizing over Linda’s drawings. You willreceive a paper handout as well as a CD withdrawings and a video of the class as your classpack. Come join the fun! See page 15 forclub dates.

If you're one of our owners who hasn't had achance to take a basic class yet, please talk tosomeone in our sewing department aboutyour classes. Even if you've sewn all your life,there are fun things to learn about your newmachine.

QUILTINGHand Piecing—Mary P will be teachinghand piecing using theWeathervane blockpattern. This pattern hassquares, rectangles & triangles. Students willlearn rotary cutting, template making &cutting, and cutting a triangle from a square.Handwork is wonderfully portable for thosetimes you’re in a waiting room or at sportsevents, or riding in the car, and it’s relaxing atthe same time! Class pack is $17.00 + tax. 2weeks, starting Wed, Oct 5, 6:30-9:00pm

Hand Quilt ing-A great love of Mary P’sis hand quilting. In this class you’ll use apreprinted wholecloth design. She’ll also

teach you about using astencil to transfer the design,layering, basting, and therelaxing art of hand quilting.Class pack is $17.25 + tax.1 class, Thu, Sep 29, 9:45a-12:15pm or Tue,Nov 15, 6:30-9:00pm

How to Quilt-From Start toFinish—This class isplanned for beginners withno experience, but alsoperfect for those wholearned on their ownand/or would like step by step instruction.Joan will start with discussions of fabrics andcolor choice. You’ll learn proper rotarycutting, strips, and piecing by machine. Asyou learn, you’ll complete a lap quilt or wallhanging, layer it, quilt and bind it, so it’s done!For a good, basic foundation in quilting, this isa great way to go! Class pack is $12.95 + tax.(Machine required) 4 weeks, starting Sat, Oct29, 12:45-3:45pm, skips Nov 5, 19, 26

Machine Quilting Basics—In thisclass you will learn basic machine quilting onyour home sewing machine. Techniquestaught are stitch-in-the-ditch and straight linequilting using a walking foot, free motiontechniques including continuous patternquilting, stippling and meandering, echoquilting, and continuous curve quilting. Joanwill teach you some simple all-over quiltingdesigns, background quilting designs, andsome sashing and border treatments that youcan use to enhance your quilts. She’ll discussmarking techniques and preparing your quilttop to be quilted. Class pack (book) is $13.25+ tax. (Machine required) 2 weeks, startingWed, Oct 19, 6:30-9:00pm

Making a T-shirt Quilt—If you’vetaken Joan’s Preparing a T-shirt Quilt classand your T-shirts are ready to be made into aquilt, this is the next step. Joan will show youhow to cut and sew sashing for both straightand diagonally set quilts. She will discusswhere to use half square and where to use

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quarter square setting blocks in adiagonally set quilt and you will learn

how to determine what size those need to be.She’ll show you how to determine the lengthof your border strips and how to sew them.She’ll also talk about the finishing steps ofpreparing your quilt sandwich, quilting thequilt, binding it, and sewing a label for it. Youneed to have taken the Preparing a T-shirtQuilt class before taking this one. Machinerequired. 1 class, Wed, Oct 12, 6:30-9:00pm

Mondo Bag— Make thehottest selling bag in thecountry. You won’t be able tomake just one! It uses printedinterfacing for perfectlymatched seams. Quick &easy! (Machine required.) 2weeks, starting Tue, Nov 1,6:30-9:00pm

Paper Piecing ForBeginners Only—Machine paper piecingis a method that willallow even beginners tocreate perfectly piecedblocks. If you havebeen wanting to learn to paper piece, or if youhave tried paper piecing and found itconfusing, this is the class for you. You willmake a mini-quilt while learning thistechnique from Joan. Repeating the simpleblock will remove all of the confusion.Warning! Paper piecing can be addictive!(Just ask Erica!) Class pack, the book, is$9.99 + tax. (Machine required) 1 class, Sat,Oct 1, 1:00-3:30pm

Preparing a T-Shirt Quilt—T-shirtquilts are a great way to preserve memories.Recycle that collection of concert, sports, orvacation t-shirts into a great quilt, or gather ateenager’s accumulation of t-shirts to make awonderful graduation gift. Any number fromjust a few to thirty or more shirts can be madeinto a quilt. Joan will help you get started. Shewill help you plan your quilt, show you how

to prepare your t-shirts, calculate fabricyardages, and demonstrate the tools and tricksthat will make it easier. Class pack is $4.00 +tax. 1 class, Wed, Sep 28, 6:30-9:00pm

Quilting Basics II—This class is acontinuation of what you learned in one of ourbasic classes. You’ll be making a star designand learn more piecing, working successfullywith triangles-showing a couple of methodsand all other aspects of completing thiswallhanging. This three-week class is alsoopen to anyone who has completed one ofErica’s basic quilting classes or anyone whocan rotary cut and do basic piecing. Classpack, the book, is $14.95 + tax. (MachineRequired) 3 weeks, starting Tue, Nov 29,9:45a-12:45pm

Quilting Basics-All You Need toKnow—In conjunction with Alex Anderson,and taught by Karen, this well-thought-outbeginner class presumes you know nothing. Itwill cover fabrics, rotary cutting, basic piecing,layering, machine quilting and binding; all youneed to know to get started! This 4-week classproject is a triple rail design wallhanging.(Machine Required) 4 weeks, starting Thu,Oct 20, 9:45a-12:15pm, skips October 27

Scrap Therapy CuttingWorkshop—Do you feel like your stash isoverflowing and you just don’t know what todo? Scrap Therapy is the answer! It’s a two-part program that is a proven system toorganize and use your fabric scraps. Put anew blade in your rotary cutter and Sandy willhelp you brush up on fast and efficient fabriccutting techniques. You’ll cut your fabric intothree useable sizes and store them in specialsee-through storage bins. (You’ll get a binfree!) The classes that follow the workshopwill help you convert your cut scraps into funuseable table runners, quilts, and other thingsas we go along. If you have already attended aworkshop, coming to additional workshops

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gives you a set time to get your scrapsironed and cut, learn cutting tips, and

enjoy others’ company. 1 class, Thu, Oct 6,6:15-8:15pm

Scrap TherapySquare Deal—Here’s afast, fun and easy way touse up your scraps. Sandywill show you how you cantake your scraps and chop‘em, and sew ‘em and havea great new quilt in no time!Make it very scrappy or choose a colorscheme. Selecting high contrast between the 31/2" and the 5" squares will make this quiltpop. You will be cutting, piecing and sashingyour blocks. Sandy will also teach youassembly techniques. (Machine required.) 2weeks, starting Wed, Nov 30, 6:30-9:00pm

Scrap TherapyTable Runner—TakeSandy’s class to make thistable runner from yourstash! The center 15" x42" is filled with scrappysquares and striped fabricmakes a statement at theend! Class pack (the pattern) is $9.00 + tax.(Machine required) 2 weeks, starting Sat, Oct22, 9:15-11:45am, skips October 29

UndergroundBlues QuiltTop—This is a veryattractive quilt thatgoes together quiteeasily and quickly. It’sshown in blues andgreens but will be

stunning in any colors. Yardage andinstructions are given for five sizes from ababy quilt to a generous queen size. It can beconstructed by a beginner but should be funfor a more experienced quilter as well. Joansays that depending on the fabric you choose,it would be a wonderful quilt for a man, a teen,or any special person on your gift list. Of

course, you may love it so much that you willhave to keep it. Class pack, the pattern, is$9.00 + tax. (Machine required) 2 weeks,starting Mon, Nov 14, 9:45a-12:15pm, skipsNov 21,28

Zippy Strippy—This lap quilt is so muchfun to make! You join40 strips of a jelly roll orother strip collection,then sew five seams, andyou’re done! We’rehaving a morning class where Joan will showyou how to join the strips on the bias, andyou’ll get them ready for the Zippy StrippyRace in the afternoon. Bring your lunch, thenmake the quilt top in the afternoon. You’ll beamazed at how easy this is to do! And everyquilt top is different. It’ll be so much fun tosee all the different combinations. Every oneis different! It’s hard to stop with just one ofthese, we warn you. (Machine required) 1class, Sat, Sep 24, 9:15-11:45am continuing1:00-3:00pm or Tue, Oct 11, 9:30-nooncontinuing 1:15-3:15pm

SEWINGHow to Sew-AGreat Beginning—Join Diane for our Howto Sew class for detailedstep-by-step all you needto know to start sewing.From what tools are needed as basics, todemonstrations of the basic techniques insewing. Learn as you work on two simpleprojects— a quick pillowcase and boxershorts or pajama bottoms, and choose yournext project with Diane’s guidance. Noexperience needed. Bring your own machine(and manual) or rent one of ours for $3 perclass. Class pack (book) is $15.00 + tax. 4weeks, starting Mon, Oct 24, 6:30-9:00pm

Juliet Bag—It’s a fast, fun and easybag using only three coordinatedfabrics. Karen will guide you through eachstep as you add a contrast band to the top;

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attach the handles and add a contrastingtie to finish this chic look in time for the

holidays. You’ll be so pleased withyour bag, you’ll want to makemore for gifts! Class pack, thepattern, is $10 plus tax. (Machinerequired) 2 weeks, startingTue, Nov 1, 6:30-9:00pm,skips November 8

Laminated Raincoat—The perfect rainy day project! Abby willguide you through the construction of Amy

Butler’s hooded raincoat,focusing on techniques such as:darts, pleats, flat-felled seamsand attaching sleeves. Usinglaminated material, you cancreate a unique one-of-a-kindjacket for adult or child. (Basicsewing experience andmachine required.) 2 weeks,starting Tue, Nov 8, 6:30-9:00pm, skips November 15

Pack and Go Bags—The perfect accessory toyour everyday life, Abbywill show you how thesecute, simple, zippered bagsare constructed fromlaminated fabric. Add anylon zipper to create asturdy, easy-to-carry catch-all for life’s little needs. Use one as a smallhandbag on a summer day, or to keep track ofall your sewing notions when you travel toclass! This is a quick and easy project forsew-ers of any experience level. Class pack is$1.25 + tax. (Machine required) 2 weeks,starting Sun, Oct 16, 1:00-3:30pm

Sewing Next Step-Makea Shirt—This two sessionclass is for sew-ers who want tolearn to sew collars, cuffs,plackets, and button holes. Dianehas chosen the wonderful Amy

Butler “Liverpool” pattern, which can be ashirt, tunic, or dress with 4 sleeve lengths, andyou’ll learn the techniques as you make yourgarment. This isn’t a beginning sewing class.You need to know how to sew, how yourmachine works, and how to lay out and cutout the pattern. (Machine required) 3 weeks,starting Wed, Nov 16,12:45-3:15pm

StuffedAnimals-Learnto make stuffedanimals! Abby willteach you the skills needed to make any of theRumpled Quilt Skins animals. You will bereading the pattern, laying out pattern pieces,cutting and sewing. You’ll also be gradingseams, clipping curves, turning and stuffingthe animal to give it dimension and shaping.You’ll finish by closing the seam with a ladderstitch. Students need to have some priorsewing experience and know how to use theirmachine. (Machine required) 2 weeks,starting Wed, Nov 2, 6:30-9:00pm

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Doorsopen15 minutes before

scheduledclass time.

Thanks for your patience.