Hi everyone!
Can you believe we’re already into mid-August? Time is flying by, but I wanted to pause a minute to celebrate. We actually have A LOT to celebrate! So, take a short break and cheer along with me!
Celebrate Jennifer’s Win!
Those of you who visit the shop in Appleton, especially on Wednesdays and Thursdays, have probably met Jennifer George.
Not only does she assist customers, work with renters and teach for The Quilting Connection in Appleton, but she also runs a longarm quilting business out of her home. If you’ve come in looking for a longarm quilter, you’ve probably left with her Northwoods Quilting business card.
Jen is an experienced longarm quilter. She loves to do edge-to-edge and custom quilting on her Handi Quilter Amara 20 with the Pro-Stitcher. But this past weekend, she added to her accomplishments … she earned a ribbon at the Darting Needles Quilt Show in Appleton!
Help us congratulate Jennifer on her 3rd place win for One Person – Multiple Techniques – Quilt larger than 275”! Using a mix of original and reproduction 1930’s fabric, Jen stitched all the hexies by hand. After completing the quilt top, she used Pro-Stitcher to quilt it on her longarm.
Isn’t the quilt beautiful! Three cheers to Jennifer! We’re so very lucky to have this award-winning quilter as part of The Quilting Connection family!
You can watch the full video of all the beautiful quilts on our YouTube!
Celebrate Learning Time!
A Handi Quilter van is coming to Wisconsin loaded with six Amara longarms, all equipped with Pro-Stitcher Premium. With so many machines available, this relatively rare event allows us to provide an exceptional hands-on training experience!
Our Appleton location will host the van from Wednesday, August 21st through Saturday, August 24th. Then with a day to pack up, travel and reset up, Elkhorn will host the van on Monday, August 26th through Thursday, August 29th.
And just look at the classes being offered and the educators who are teaching!
Instructor: Wendy Fuller
Date/Time: Wednesday, August 21st, 9AM - 4PM
Location: Appleton ONLY
Wendy is an award-winning quilter from the Green Bay area and a wonderful teacher! Her popular one-day free motion and ruler classes always sell out quickly. This is a special follow-up class to what she’s taught in the past.
Here’s Wendy’s personal invitation to/description of this class:
“So, you’ve taken my beginner free motion, feathers, grids and rulers classes, or you’ve taken other classes, or you have experience with free motion … and you’re asking, ‘What’s next? How do I build more skills and more confidence?!?!’
This class is the answer!
I will help you learn to use the basic skills you’re developing to combine simple designs into beautiful custom quilting designs.
We’ll work on a few more advanced free motion motifs, tackle some block ideas, deal with custom borders, and introduce mandala quilting.
We’ll talk tips and tricks throughout the whole day!
- How do you design your quilting path to reduce starts and stops?
- How do you fit custom designs in a border and turn corners?
- How do you break a large block or border into a more manageable workspace for your quilting?
- How much or how little should you mark before quilting?
- How do you tackle that large negative space?
And more!!!
Also … do you have a quilt top that you’re waiting to quilt but are stuck asking yourself, ‘How do I quilt this?’ Bring your tops along to class, and we’ll brainstorm specific ideas and create a plan so you can return home and start quilting!
Looking forward to seeing you at class, Wendy Fuller”
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Advanced Pro-Stitcher
Instructor: Angie Dugan
Date/Time/Location: Thursday, August 22nd, 9AM – 4PM, Appleton
Thursday, August 29th, 9AM – 4PM, Elkhorn
You know I love Pro-Stitcher and this is my opportunity to take your custom quilting knowledge and experience to the next level!
Pro-Stitcher is such a powerful computer system! You’ll learn how to place and stitch borders, turn a piece of edge-to-edge design into a block design, use the mark feature, stitch out triangle designs, and crop designs. If there’s time, you’ll also learn some mandala magic!
This is a hands-on class. You’ll leave with a finished project that you created with Pro-Stitcher!
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Longarm Bootcamp!
Instructor: Karen Arnold
Date/Time/Location: Thursday, August 23rd & Friday, August 24th, 9AM - 4PM, Appleton
Monday, August 26th & Tuesday, August 27th, 9AM – 4PM, Elkhorn
Karen Arnold is a Handi Quilter National Educator. She's quilted for over 35 years. Karen taught for 30 years, and as she entered retirement, she became fascinated by longarm quilting. She loves combining Pro-Stitcher and ruler work with free motion quilting.
Longarm Bootcamp is a two-day experience! This class is designed for quilters who don’t yet own a longarm or for quilters who own a Handi Quilter and need a longarm basics refresher.
The agenda for our two days:
Day 1 AM – The Basics. Learn about machine and frame elements and features, how to load a quilt, and review important facts about thread, needles and tension.
Day 1 PM – Sweet and Simple Free Motion Quilting. Create flowing designs by connecting simple design elements with continuous lines. Learn how drawing and muscle memory contribute to free motion quilting, and how you can create your own stunning designs!
Day 2 AM – Radical Rulers! If you love precision and consistency in your quilting, you’ll love using rulers and templates! Learn how to handle rulers and templates safely with a ruler base and Sure Foot, and how to achieve accuracy with the markings.
Day 2 PM – Pro-Stitcher Basics. Pro-Stitcher is user-friendly and simple to operate. Learn the step-by-step process for each function. Appreciate the elegant and precise quilting accomplished with Pro-Stitcher!
SPECIAL BOOTCAMP BONUS: Purchase a Handi Quilter longarm or Pro-Stitcher during one of our Bootcamp events and we’ll apply the cost of this class towards your purchase!
Come join us for one or more of these classes! We want to take your quilting to the next level!
For more information or to reserve your spot, visit our website!
Celebrate Our Growth!
Believe it or not, Rick and I will have owned The Quilting Connection for three years as of September 1st!
It’s been an amazing and wonderful experience! And a lot of it is thanks to all of you! (More on that in just a bit … keep reading!)
We’ve definitely grown over the past three years. Would you believe …
- We opened the Appleton shop (next to Going to Pieces Quilt Shop) in January 2022.
- We started selling Laurastar ironing systems in August 2023.
- We expanded into our current Appleton location (still next to Going to Pieces) in September 2023.
- We rejoined APQS and started selling their longarm machines in addition to Handi Quilter longarms in January 2024.
- We celebrated The Quilting Connection’s 25th Anniversary in July 2024. Cheers to three generations of longarm exploration, experimenting, experience and excellence!
And we remain the number one Handi Quilter retailer in the Midwest!
Can’t wait to see what our fourth year brings!
Celebrate Quilting!
There’s nothing like a quilt show to bring together and energize quilters. And Wisconsin’s largest quilt show is just three weeks away!
Come and join us at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show in Madison from Thursday, September 5th through Saturday, September 7th!
This three-day show celebrates the art of quilting. You can explore displays of stunning quilts, shop the huge selection of vendors and discover new ideas from leading quilt educators. (We also celebrate that proceeds from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show help support PBS Wisconsin programming and community outreach projects.) Click here to visit their website.
Stop by our huge display area. We’ll be demonstrating Handi Quilter longarm machines and the Laurastar ironing systems. And we’ll be selling our Quick Zip Zipper System™, Handi Quilter and APQS products and accessories, and Superior threads.
(Then stop by the APQS booth to say hi to Rick!)
We can’t wait to see as many of you as possible! Bring your questions and concerns so we can address them in person. And of course, we’d love to hear your success stories, too. Please stop by and say hi!
Celebrate YOU!
Yes, we’re who we are because of you! And if you happen to be in the Appleton area on Friday, September 20th, stop by the shop for our annual Customer Appreciation Day!
We hold this yearly event in partnership with our wonderful neighbor, Going to Pieces Quilt Shop! A BBQ lunch will be served from 11AM – 1PM. But come anytime from 10AM – 4PM and enjoy snacks and beverages as a THANK YOU for all your support!
We’ll be demonstrating the APQS and Handi Quilter longarm machines as well as the Laurastar ironing systems.
And of course, there will be sales and door prizes throughout the day. Plus, WHBY radio will be doing a live broadcast of the event! Please join us!
Celebrate Purchasing a Handi Quilter Longarm Machine!
If you happen to be in the market for a new longarm, Handi Quilter has 2 wonderful specials for you to choose from!
0% Interest for 60 Months
August 14, 2024 - September 4, 2024
We're making it easier than ever to buy a Handi Quilter Longarm Machine with no-interest financing for 60 months!
Buy A Longarm... And Choose Your Bundle!
August 1, 2024 - November 5, 2024
Free with the purchase of your machine, you can choose a Highlight bundle, a ruler bundle or a digital designs bundle!
If you’d like more information or you’re ready to purchase your dream Handi Quilter longarm machine, just contact us! We’ll make sure you get to take advantage of this wonderful offer.
WOW! So much to celebrate! Jennifer’s award, special Learning Time hands-on classes, The Quilting Connection’s growth, quilting itself and, most of all, YOU!!! Feels good!
And as always, if you have ANY questions or want additional information about ANY of the products and services we offer, please call us at (262) 723-6775 or email us at info@QuiltingConnection.com.
You can also visit us online at QuiltingConnection.com or in person at 21 Adams Street in Elkhorn, WI (usually M-F 9-4, please call to confirm we’re open) or 1017 W. Northland in Appleton, WI (W, Th & F 10-4, S 10-3).
Finally, check out our blog at QuiltingConnection.com/blog and our Facebook posts.
Please share your thoughts and questions. I’d love to hear from you!
Angie