Just memories, and projects ahead...

Thank you to all the customers who visited Quilters' Quarters in its final week of retail. The fabric that remains will be put to use for charity quilts. I've returned this week to making child-sized comfort quilts for the Georgetown Police cruisers, Fire Department trucks and our local ambulances.  

I will also continue to make Centenarian Quilts for our town residents who reach the age of 100 years. And if the need returns, I'll have plenty of fabric on hand for mask makers who give these important covid mitigators away to hospitals and schools as well.

 I'll probably keep the town certificate for Terry's Thoughts and Threads renewed, but will let the two for Quilters' Quarters and Rick's Wooden Toys and Gifts expire. The signs for both of those small businesses will then go away, but will be replaced by the former one for the quilt lessons and book writings (T.T.T.) ...  that will allow the sole proprietor zoning exception in this residential area to continue uninterrupted, and will encourage me to dedicate time to holding sewing lessons here in the back of the shop. If I don't charge any fees for lessons, I think I'll be free of filing quarterly tax returns, which will be another relief. 

I will miss the happy exchanges with fellow quilters, but can always be reached by phone or email if there are questions or need of advice or assistance. And I will continue to welcome beginner and experienced sewists and quilters at the Georgetown Senior Center's Sit 'n Sew sessions on second and fourth Tuesday afternoons.

The Google and Yelp online pages may take some time to reflect the permanent closure of the retail shops, so if you can help spread the word that I am no longer a shop, I would appreciate it. I don't know where else the shop may be mentioned ... but if you see it online perhaps you could let me know so I can advise whoever of the closure.

Wishing a better (healthier) New Year ahead for all of us!

~Terry (and Rick, who is always with me in spirit.)

The Final Weekend

Quilters' Quarters will be closing in three days ... Saturday December 18th will be the last day for retail sales of fabric and notions.  I spent a day finishing up the free motion quilting on this Santa Quilt for a neighbor. I still have a few of these panels left in stock: $8.00 retail before your 40% discount ~ and lots of others, and blenders, and such.

Final hours are , Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 16-18, 2021  from noon to 5pm. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and happy quilting!

~ Terry

HANNUKKAH BEGINS TOMORROW, AND CHRISTMAS IS FOUR WEEKS AWAY!

 We had our first snowfall yesterday!

Hannukkah fabrics and blenders that coordinate. A few years ago one of my young students made a table runner with some of these for her family. 

And, Santa is checking his "Nice" list: are you on it?

The Santa panel is bordered with blender fabrics from Henry Glass's Folio line. Panel is 28" x 44" and sells, before your discount, for $8.00. It makes a quick and easy lap quilt with 8" borders, totalling 44" x 44".

Remember, Quilters' Quarters is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 5pm.      See you soon?   ~Terry

The Holidays Approach

 This quilt will be included in the raffle basket offered by the Georgetown Peabody Library for the HOLIDAY ON MAIN STREET in Georgetown Massachusetts on the first weekend of December. The tea pot and Cozy, along with an assortment of books, perhaps some cocoa mix, tea bags, and other surprises will also be in the basket. For more information on other attractions, see Lisa Scala at the Scala Art Center on West Main Street. 

Another Panel To Simplify Your Work

 

This panel measures 27" x 44' so I widened the design with 6" x  8" blocks bordered with sashing that matched the binding ... made a very easy  lap quilt / floor mat. I added a few matchbox cars and had a nice Christmas quilt for my youngest  grandson. This was  few year ago, but I still have the panels in stock and some blenders that work well with this design. Panels are priced at $9.00 each, before your 40% discount :)

Here's another 27' x 44" $9.00 panel I featured on Facebook last weekend ,,. three of these sold yesterday; at the 40% discount they were reduced to $5.40! This is called "AWAKEN" by Timeless Treasures, but I call it the Rainbow Butterfly :)

Come in to see this panel, and several others which I will feature here on the blog now and then. Looking forward to seeing you!

~Terry, at Quilters' Quarters

Another 'Twisted Ribbon" Quilt

 

This is a "Timeless Treaures" panel, bordered with the Twisted Ribbon pattern of Henry Glass's Folio line of colors.

Fabrics and templates, rulers and batting ...

 I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more fabric, anticipating the December 31 closing of Quilters' Quarters. But last night I did order more solid blue from Kona to go with the twisted ribbon border for  this Silver Jubilee Maywood fabric. I love the illusion the solid sashes provide to the border, and plan to teach it at the Senior Center next week. See more of this quilt at my 2021 Quilt Journal page.

Templates and rulers are flying out the door with the 40% discounted prices, as are favorite panels and sometimes partial bolts of fabric yardage. One customer bought the nearly full roll of 45" Warm and Natural Batting, and as that is a staple for many quilters, I will order more batting to meet needs. (Her kind husband carried the bulky roll out to their car.)

Remember, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 pm. Cash or Checks, please, as the Credit Card Square and its Chromebook are  not cooperating :)

Quilt Show in Newburyport This Weekend!

 

The Final Season

 Everything 40% off now through the end of 2021.

Quilters' Quarters is re-opened, Thursday Friday and Saturday of each week from noon to 5pm, through the end of this calendar year. This will be its last season of retail sales.

Pretty Kitty will be watching from her window seat as customers return to the shop to take advantage of these final sales.  Beautiful panels, bolts of quilt quality cotton fabric, yards of batting, threads of all sorts and notions galore ... all will be discounted to each shopper by 40%.

44" panels will cost only $7.20 rather than $12.00 ... Creative Grid Rulers of all sizes will be similarly marked down, which is a rarity in quilt shops.

27" wide panels will sell for $5.40 instead of $9.00 

Blender fabrics typically priced at $11.00 a yard will sell for $6.60, as will the collection of batik fabrics. And Charm Packs and Jelly Roll strips will be reduced as well.

Believe it, there are only 12 weeks between now and the end of the calendar year, which will be the final closing date for Quilters' Quarters retail shop.

Looking forward to seeing you soon, and sending you off with happy bundles of beautiful fabrics and wonderful notions!

Time to say 'The End'

 

Quilters' Quarters is presently closed for the rest of Summer (and contrary to meteorologists on television, Summer does not end on September 1st, but on the real Autumnal Equinox in late September.) The shop will re-open on September 23rd.

When that happens, all fabric will be sold at 40% discount to all customers. Checks and Cash please, as my Credit Card reader is inconsistent at best. 

Thursday through Saturday, noon to 5pm, will be the hours for the Fall Season. And when Fall ends (Winter Solstice is the third week of December,) the shop will begin closing down, with the end point on New Year's Eve of 2021.

Quilters' Quarters began as a subset of Wooden Toys and Gifts, Rick Palardy's workshop. For five years, from my retirement from Andover Public Schools in  2011 to Rick's sudden death in 2016, Rick and I worked together in the shop, expanding the building to accommodate the shelving and cabinets that Rick built to hold fabric and notions in the front of the shop, and lumber racks, stock and machinery in the newer back of the shop where he continued running the toy workshop he had begun in 1995. He began with wooden ornaments, battery-free wooden toys, doll houses and doll furniture, child size rocking motorcycles, wooden sleighs with bentwood runners,  toy boxes, and eventually quilt racks, sewing machine cases, custom furniture and public display cases as seen in the main floor of the Georgetown Town Hall and Police Station.  He then began more intricate pieces of wood art, including scroll saw art such as his Plaques Honoring American Heroes (military and public service awards.)

When Rick died suddenly on Christmas Day of 2016, we lost our toy making Santa, and the love of my life. I've done what I could to continue his legacy, but five years alone in the shop is all I can give. I appreciate the patience of all of our friends who have supported the shop, often contributing spare change and dollars via the shop to the Public School Lunch Program, the Friends of the Library, the Rick Palardy Scholarship Fund for high school graduates seeking careers that benefit the public good, and other charitable organizations. 

I look forward to seeing many of you again this Autumn, for our last season in Quilters' Quarters / Wooden Toys and Gifts. 

~Terry

Changes Ahead: closed for the rest of Summer

 

I'm working on another centenarian quilt for a resident of town who will turn one hundred at the end of August. I will add two borders before backing, quilting and binding. I'll add more photos to my quilting journal page for 2021 as it evolves.

And this is the activity that keeps me going ... making quilts for people who have no expectation of receiving one ... our elders, our youngsters, our fellow citizens' children who witness a trauma or have a sudden need for an ambulance ride ... it brings me peace to meet the needs of others.

The fabric and notions in Quilters' Quarters are abundant and will last for many more years of quilting. I will be closing the retail shop at the end of this calendar year. Until then I will continue to offer discounts to all quilters.

I have done my best to continue the shop's existence, but it is not bringing me joy as it did when Rick and I worked it together. I miss not only his company, his warmth, his companionship and his love, but also miss his ease in meeting and helping customers, and in  reminding me to rest, to walk and not run, and to enjoy choosing fabrics for our customers.

Health issues have closed the shop for the past two weekends, and for the next one or two as well. But come September the shop will be open again Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 pm. And the quilting workshops at the Georgetown Senior Center at Perley School will continue on second and fourth Tuesday afternoons of each month. 

Thank you for your patience during my recent hiatus. I look forward to seeing you again when my strength returns.

~ Terry

New Beginnings

 I'm happy to share that Quilt Workshop meetings will begin again next week at the Georgetown Senior Center. I will be there with machines and will welcome small gatherings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The hours will be different this year: noon to 3:45pm, which will give us time to pack up and be out by 4pm, when the center closes.

The Senior Center director asks that quilters call the center to reserve a place each time, as she would like to limit the number of people in the room to 5 guests. The phone number is on the town website.

I am currently working on a pattern that begins as a simple rectangle of 6 rows of 12 charm squares, which is then cut into three triangles and then becomes an even square with blocks on point. I learned this technique from Jenny at Missouri Star Quilt, and will share it with interested quilters on Tuesday the 13th of July. You can go to my 2021 quilt journal page for a sneak preview of this pattern. 

I look forward to re-connecting with old friends and meeting new ones~

Completing the First Month Back

Hard to believe that the shop has already been re-opened for a month. I was happy to accommodate small groups of customers, happier to hear that all had been 'double-vaxxed' and pleased to make new friends among first time visitors. Shop hours are Thursday Friday and Saturday, noon to 5pm. Please ring the doorbell on the left of the shop door so I know you are there 💙

I'm also now able to say that the quilt get togethers at the Georgetown Senior Center will resume on second and fourth Tuesdays, beginning on July 13th. I'll be there from noon to 3pm and will stay a bit later to help anyone finishing up ... we need to be cleared out by 3:45 for the center's 4pm closure. The director has requested that we limit group size to 5 per session, which will allow safe social distancing in the allotted space. It is suggested that you phone ahead to reserve your spot. The staff telephone number is 978-352-5726. Masks will be required in the common areas (reception foyer, corridors) but may be removed within the quilting room by those who have been vaccinated.

As before, I will gladly share current projects in process, and occasionally provide fabric and patterns for sampler blocks. I invite participants to share their work, their successes and their questions, as we all learn by helping each other.

Here's a wall hanging I finished in June, for my daughter:

You can read details and how-to for this expanded star pattern on the 2021 Journal page.

I look forward to seeing you this summer at Quilters' Quarters, and at the Georgetown Senior Center (in the Perley School annex, just two driveways south of my shop.)

AC will be on in both settings!

~Terry

Good News!

 Quilters' Quarters again accepts Credit Cards!

Credit/Debit card purchases have fees that are charged to the shop, and some shops inflate prices to cover these fees ... Quilters' Quarters will not do that. But while you will still receive the regular discount, I will add the sales tax to your net total (gross total minus discount.) Taxes ARE NOT charged on your discount total.

Cash and Checks are also accepted ... in fact, cash and check purchases are so valued that your 6.25% Massachusetts Sales Tax will be paid by the shop when you buy with cash or check.

This way, I am not penalizing credit card users, but instead am offering a reward to cash and check users.

As a retired school teacher, I understand the importance of sales tax in supporting our communities, and will honestly pay them FOR cash and check customers each quarter, and will forward them to the state with the sales tax revenue collected from charge card customers. No worries, and my thanks!

Post-Vaccine Reopening May 6th 2021

 It's been a few weeks since my second Corona Virus Vaccination shot, so I will re-open Quilters' Quarters on Thursday, May 6th, 2021. Thank you to all who have been patient with my abundance of caution. As social distancing is difficult in small spaces, I will ask that customers continue to wear masks, and I will have hand sanitizer available in the shop. 

I am also asking that any customers who have not been vaccinated yet please continue with curb side pickup (call to order ahead) and I will do my best to help you.

As I have not been able to replace my credit card reader, Quilters' Quarters is functioning with cash and checks only. I am looking into PayPal as a third option.

Scroll down to the January 19th post to read about a special re-opening sale!

Looking forward to getting reacquainted with you~

~ Terry

Last Week of Winter

 

Winter began early (Halloween), left for a while but then came back, and plans to stay through this last final week. 

I've had the first of the vaccine shots this week, and in a month I will have the second.  By the end of April/beginning of May, I'll be ready to open the shop to those who have also had their full vaccine doses. I will continue wearing a mask to protect both you and me. I will ask you to do the same, until the CDC advises it is safe to go without.

The shop has about half the inventory I had at this time last year, and I won't be buying anymore this season. The newest fabrics in stock are the Maywood Silver Jubilee blue and whites ... There are plenty of others that I'd bought for last year, and then gave about half of them away to the mask makers.

I'll be in the shop on the same days as 2019 ... Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, noon to 5pm, beginning the first week of May, 2021. I look forward to seeing all of you!

Be safe, be well, wear your mask~

Terry

Winter has arrived!

The shop space is nearly two hundred years old, and has surely survived larger storms than this week' Nor'Easter ... We received about 15 inches of light snow, and have more due to arrive over the next few days.

I had the front downstairs window replaced last summer, as it had age-related water damage ... this photo shows how that can happen over time. By the way, this is a color photograph, shot through the house window. Other than the overhead wires, one might mistake it for a vintage photo, circa 1835...

There won't be any scheduled visits in the shop this weekend ... Spring will eventually find its way here, though some say the groundhog who dared to poke out of his burrow yesterday may have seen his shadow, and so we may be in for more snow in March... our seasons seem to be shifting ... can we all say "Climate Change?"

Be safe, be warm, and be happy that your mask will at least be a welcome addition to your winter outerwear!

~ Terry

Special Fabric, Special Offer

 Almost a year ago, I saw a special blue and white fabric line from Maywood Fabrics in celebration of their 25th Anniversary, and I pre-ordered five of their Silver Jubilee bolts, with some of their fat quarters and 5" charm packs.  They have now arrived at Quilters' Quarters .

To celebrate the beginning of a new year, with a vaccine on its way to most of us, I'm going to set these bolts of fabric aside and use them as a reward for those customers who do accept the Covid-19 vaccination. I will sell this fabric AT MY COST (50% discount off Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price)  to quilters who bring proof of innoculation (you will receive a validation card when you are vaccinated.) 

Fat Quarters will be sold separately, @retail $4.50 each.

Charm Packs will be sold retail, $14.00, includes 42 pieces

This is a bolt of a 'center panel' for this Silver Jubilee line: the panels measure a bit less than a yard, and will be sold for $10.00 retail.

And these are the four prints from which I will cut reward yardage for those quilters who have received the Covid-19 vaccination: MSRP $12 per yard (special reward cost: $6.00 per yard

This special reward for vaccination sale will end at the end of the "vaccination season" or December 31, 2021, whichever comes first. Regular Quilters' Quarters discount percentages for this special fabric will then resume. (20%, 40%, 50% for charity purposes.) If for a medical reason you and your doctor agree that the vaccination for Covid-19 is not permissible for you, a note from your doctor will be accepted rather than the vaccination validation card. And as the vaccination is not yet proven to prevent person to person transmission of the virus, masks will continue to be required until the CDC declares them no longer necessary indoors. 

Another Year, Another Giveaway.

 Wishing all of Quilters' Quarters customers a Happy New Year. As the pandemic continues, so does the free fabric offering for all who are making Covid-19 face masks for charities. Just call the shop and let me know what amount and color/style of quilt quality cotton fabric you need, and I will put them in a bag and hang the bag on the shop front door for contact-free pickup.

I have started a new page here at the blog, for my 2021 Quilt Journal, and you are welcome to view it at this link.

You can also scroll down in the right hand margin of any page to find Quilt Journal pages dating back to the shop's first full year, 2014. Many of the fabrics shown in the quilts are still in the shop, though some of the earlier years' bolts have been depleted.

As always, everything at Quilters' Quarters is sold with a discounted price.  Fabrics, Threads, Warm and Natural Battings, Needles, Pins, Rulers, Cutters, Olfa rotary blades ... if there is something specific that you need I can probably order it and have it delivered to the shop within a week after ordering.  I usually order once ever eight to ten weeks, or when I have an order of more than the required minimum of $150.00. 

Visit the blog, and scroll down to read the December 2020 entry that explains how the shop is operating during this pandemic.

I encourage all to take the vaccine when it is offered ... to follow through for the second booster shot, and continue wearing your mask until the CDC tells us they are no longer needed. No one knows yet how soon and how long you will be immune to Covid-19 after vaccination; please be patient and keep us all safe.

Quilters' Quarters will not be fully open to the public until it is fully safe. 

Thank you for your patience and cooperation with the CDC.

~ Terry