From One Holiday to the Next

We are now at the point in the year when we are moving rapidly from one holiday to the next. How much fun is this? Can we not do this all year long? You know, the part about gathering with friends and family to enjoy the company of each other. We could do that more often, don't you think? I watched my family (at least half of them) interact with their Uncle Bob and his family this week in great jovial exchange with each other. Once a year is about all they can manage to be with most all of the "clan". It really is too bad because they have so much FUN together. This is something we will work on for sure at our house.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week:
Inventory Reduction Sale
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature our Inventory Reduction Sale. What that means is that we have identified items that can be drastically reduced in price to you. This includes an unbelievable number of items from our regular stock that have deep price cuts. You may find just the item you have been waiting for in this sale. Items are from all departments in our shop. Once again this is so unbelievable that you just must come in to find out what is included! Values range up to 75% off.

Last Week for Special Financing
Special Financing with GE Money ends on December 31, 2010. Not only that, we have special prices on many models of Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines. We cannot publish the prices because they are so low, but we can tell you that they are definitely worth your investigation. Come to Heirlooms & Comforts to test sew on these models to find out which is best suited to you. We are happy to pass the savings on to you!

Winter Class Schedule is Posted
The Heirlooms & Comforts Winter Schedule for Classes is now posted on our web site ready for you to choose the classes you wish to take. Sign up and complete your registration/payment by January 8, 2011, and get 20% off class supplies listed by the instructor of your chosen class. This is a great saving for you when you complete your payment by January 8. We are ready for you.

Heirlooms & Comforts Holiday Hours

• December 30: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• December 31: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
• January 1 & 2: Closed
• January 3: Return to regular hours

Thinking of Others

This is the time of year that those who are economically and personally "ill" have difficulty coping with the customs and habits of our society. There is depression and despair among persons who feel inadequate in the Season of Giving to their families and friends. This is a time when we who have comfort and plenty can aid those who are less fortunate. We have, for some years now, recognized a quilter among us who plies her art/craft to try to supplement her disability income to make her life more comfortable in her aged years. She sells her handicraft to get "spending" money. We can bring into the shop her quilts, which include African-themed models, for you to purchase; or we can take donations at the shop to be delivered to her either at Christmas or at her 86th Birthday on December 27. She always has a need of some sort that her income does not cover and is always grateful for contributions. It is amazing how good you can feel about making this kind of donation.

It is always a sad time when a quilter friend passes away. Word has come of the passing of a wonderful quilter and friend, Lucille Kriegle. Lucille touched many lives in her 79 years. She made many beautiful quilts and passed them on to others who found comfort and cheer in their warmth. She will be missed by many of us across the upstate.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: 25% off One Item of your Choice
25% off One Item of your Choice this week at Heirlooms & Comforts
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will continue the 25% 0ff any one item of your choice.

Exemptions apply: Sewing machines, sergers, software suites, and cabinets. Tell your personal Santa to check us out for holiday savings on your wish list.

Special Financing Available
Designer Topaz 30, Designer Ruby, and Designer Diamond are available with special terms with the Home Design card from GE Money: 36 or 48 months no interest (special conditions apply).

This special will end on December 31, 2010. These machines are in stock and ready to go. Be among the first to commit for these! We can assist you with the application to GE Money if you don't already have a Home Design Card.

Winter Class Schedule is Posted
The Heirlooms & Comforts Winter Schedule for Classes is now posted on our web site ready for you to choose the classes you wish to take. Sign up and complete your registration/payment by January 8, 2011, and get 20% off class supplies listed by the instructor of your chosen class. This is a great saving for you when you complete your payment by January 8. We are ready for you.

Click here to see the class listing.

Heirlooms & Comforts Holiday Hours

* December 24: Close at 2:00PM
* December 27: Open at 10:00AM
* December 30: Close at 2:00PM
* January 2: Open at 10:AM.

How Do the Others Celebrate?

Not 24 hours before I am writing this letter, Bobby and I returned home from a trip to Hungary, Slovenia, Austria and Bavarian Germany. To see how the populations of those areas celebrate winter and the Christmas season as compared to what we do here is a study in contrasts. First, winter is just winter. It is darker earlier and longer. It is cold. It is one of the seasons that they live through. There are down-filled coats and buntings for the babies; there are hats of all descriptions especially with ear covers; there are gloves and mittens; and there are boots to keep out the cold snow and water. Then you just operate as usual. The strollers for the babies are equipped with sleeping-bag-like covers for the babies who are suited up mittens and all so that only the eyes and nose are visible under layers of blankets. The entire family is out-sometimes all six or seven members-in the dark at the Christmas Market shopping, eating and being neighborly with friends. Food is in abundance---cooked in full view on grills and wood-fired stoves and in woks too big to get onto one of our stoves. There are sausages of all varieties and BIG; sauerkraut; potatoes; and breads and pretzels you wouldn't believe! Hot mulled wine seems to be the drink of choice after beer in the markets. And to my surprise, the cups are ceramic, not Styrofoam. There are those whose job it is to collect and clean the cups and wheel them back to the stalls to be used again. How's that for being "green"? Family, from the youngest to the oldest, seems to be a theme in these cold countries.


Christmas is a religious holiday and the churches are central in this celebration. Then the theme of the nativity is carried out into the community. In Passau, Germany, there are 29 crèches or nativity scenes on public display in the city with a map of where you can find them. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated separately from the Christian celebration of the nativity in many places. St. Nicholas was a Bishop who delivered treats to the children; so, that is not totally an a-religious event. It was an impression that the religious event is far more emphatic than we hear in this country. I suppose that can be a personal choice for us who have the freedom to choose our traditional celebrations as we wish. This is not to say that persons in those countries can't choose how they celebrate. It is, to this tourist, a more general public dedication to the religion than I observe in the USA. Do you suppose that those who at some point in their history almost lost their religious freedom are more likely to punctuate it? I am grateful for where I am!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: 25% off One Item of your Choice
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature a 25% discount on one item that you choose that is not already reduced in price, nor a machine or cabinet, nor an embroidery software suite. Now is the time to send your Santa in to purchase that larger ticket item that you have wished for. Let him know that machines and software are often priced specially and carry special financing through GEMoney and Home Design Card of 36 to 48 months not interest. Special terms of purchase apply to these financing options and we can explain those when you are in the shop - worth listening to! Special financing ends Dec. 31, 2010.

Reminders

• Visit the Heritage Museum House in Central on Church St. where the Second Graders decorated two trees.
• Visit the shop on Madden Bridge Rd to see how festive we can be!
• Look for the new Winter Class Schedule coming soon on www.heirloomsandcomforts.net
• Look for special deals coming with Winter Class sign-ups.

Got Hot Flashes?

We are rapidly moving toward the closing of the tenth year of this century; can you believe it? Do you remember how time just crept from one birthday to the other when you were seven or eight? Now a year passes at "mach" speed - so fast that you suddenly realize that this is the last page on this year's calendar. So much has gone down the track this year. Start thinking about all the wonderful ways you have been fortunate during 2010. Make a list of the good things you have seen, learned, and done. See if there is something left on your list of resolutions that you can still accomplish in these last few weeks of 2010. Then work at getting it done so you can look back to a completed list. That always feels good - a completed list. I'm working on mine!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Fat Quarters at Show Special Prices
At Heirlooms & Comforts our Feature of the Week this week is Fat Quarters at Show Special Prices: $2.75 each; or 6 for $15; or 12 for $25; or 24 for $48. Make your selections for a beautiful scrap quilt or a fantastic Tuffet or a warm patchwork jacket. Fat quarters combine well with Jelly Rolls to make wonderful quilts, too.

Hot Flashes
At Heirlooms & Comforts our block-of-the-month quilt for the next year is called Hot Flashes and our sample is constructed using the Shades ombre fabrics. Come to see the sample hanging in the classroom that Kathy made using black as the background color. How gorgeous can a quilt be! You can use other colors for the background with equal success. The group that has already had one class has decided to do two blocks each month in order to not postpone the completion of the quilt for so long. You can still join in the class; just call to get details. Kathy is in the shop on Tuesdays and Fridays regularly. Other associates can also help you with details.

Special Financing Available
The 36 to 48 Months no-interest financing through GEMoney Home Design Card system ends with the end of the year. We have models to qualify for these special terms still in stock waiting just for you. Have you ever sewn with a Husqvarna Viking machine, any model? You will love the features that were designed by sewers for sewers. Come in for a demo to see which suits your needs better.

Leftovers? What Leftovers?

You have leftovers? Wow! There were none at my house after Thanksgiving dinner with 18, including three teenage boys. Oh, I had forgotten how the teenagers can consume food. Those guys can do a blitz on a heavily laden board. Well, you know that is why we cook all that food, for consumption, and the big, growing boys can put it away for you. It seems that our world at the Ballentine household is populated with boys in the next generation, and for us that is a great thing. Grandpa can have his ball teams now; Grandma will have to be the cheerleader since we seem not to be acquiring a girl in the group.

Hopefully you have this big event taken care of and are ready to work toward the next one on the calendar in December. Those 25 days will zip right past us and before we know it, we will be filling the table again for more gatherings that warm the heart. In the process of readying for the season of giving, don't lose sight of the less fortunate among us. Locate through your church or a community organization a person or family that could use some cheer and help with the holiday. Give to them something of yourself and your resources to make their lives better. Choose with consideration for best impact on the need in those lives when you are giving - make it count for the good, not just a handout.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Clean Off the Bolt
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week our feature is Clean Off the Bolt. Buy all the fabric that remains on a bolt and get 25% off the original price. If you buy all the fabric remaining on a sale price bolt you get 10% off the last sale price. Shop early so you don't miss the pieces you have been watching.

Remember the Four Special Classes This Week
This is the week for the four special gift idea classes. The only change that we are aware of just now is the time for the class on Thursday. The new hour is 1:00 to 4:00. Because of Thimbleberries meeting in the morning we must make this change. This also gives us a chance to sew pillowcases and to embroider the Angel border design. Call for any other details after you look over the schedule on our web site. Go to this link to view the list.

Special Financing Available
Designer Topaz 30, Designer Ruby, and Designer Diamond are available with special terms with the Home Design card from GE Money: 36 or 48 months no interest (special conditions apply). This special will end on December 31, 2010. These machines are in stock and ready to go. Be among the first to commit for these! We can assist you with the application to GE Money if you don't already have a Home Design Card.

Pricing Specials
At Heirlooms & Comforts we are offering pricing specials on the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire machines and the Emerald machines. You must come into the shop to see these great deals awaiting your inquiry about them. Sew on one of these machines and you will be forever grateful for such wonderful operation and terrific features. You can read more about them on the Husqvarna Viking web site under Machines.

Pre-Thanksgiving Specials

A great deal of our Pre-Thanksgiving specials are the prayers of thanksgiving that life is so good and precious. Look around you and see all that is good - life, health, family, friends, memories and recollections, and the means to achieve the level of comfort we all wish for. Participating in a weekend of 50th high school class reunion has made all of this even more poignant for me. I look around at all my classmates who have survived the events that life hands us and have come through in flying colors to the age of ease and retirement. Very few of our 110+ numbers have passed to their reward as the count goes and very few of us are uncomfortable in our mature years when life slows to a snail's pace in comparison to the years of active work and production. To what do we attribute that much "success"? Is it the parenting that we received as youngsters, or the mentoring that was offered to us by those great (most of the time) teachers who stood before us in the classroom? Is it the genetics (ha!) or the environment (ha!) in which we grew up? Is it the inbred and/or learned determination to achieve? Who knows!! Therefore, for all that is good and comfortable in my life I give thanks and credit to the Divine, the genetic pool, and the wisdom of those who had the responsibility for raising me. And don't forget that I have a spouse who is perfect for me. My additional prayer is that I can somehow impart to those with whom I spend my time a large portion of what has been my good fortune for having achievement, great relationships, good health, great friends, and fantastic family. Today, tell someone close to you how important they are and that you are thankful for them.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Three Days of Special Prices
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week our feature is Three Days of Special Prices:

• Husqvarna Viking machines:
• Sapphires from 32% to 36% off
• Emeralds from 27% to 38% off
• Designer Diamond, Ruby, & Topaz 30 - Sale prices on all three plus 36 Months to 48 Months no interest financing (qualifications apply).
• Sale Fabrics all $4 per yard (Minimum cut: 1 yard)
• Selected Children's patterns 75% off 
• All Heirloom laces and trims 75% off
• Selected Machine Accessories 75% off

• Selected Books $1 each

Holiday Hours

• Close at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, November 24
• Closed Thanksgiving Day, Friday and Saturday
• Re-open Monday November 29
• Close at 2:00 PM, Christmas Eve
• Re-open Monday, December 27
• Close at 2:00 PM, New Year's Eve
• Re-open Monday, January 3, 2011

Family time in very important to those of us at Heirlooms and Comforts and we feel that this schedule provides time for our associates to have good visits with their respective families without interruption. Our hope is for your happy hours and days of fun and fellowship with family and friends who are important to you.

Mark Your Calendar
Look at the list of special classes on the four days just after Thanksgiving when we are offering a different class each day for enhanced gift-making ideas. Sue, Cheryl and other members of our staff are going to guide you thru construction of wonderful special production projects that allow you to give that "made-just-for-you" gift. Go to this link to view the list; then call or come in to complete your registration because the class size will be limited to our space.

Autumn Again

This past week, four days were spent with colleagues and friends at a retreat in Toccoa, GA as they taught and learned various methods of quilting. Some of the group were sewing their unfinished projects instead of taking a new class. All were happy and delightful to be with in a setting that Mother Nature decorated with a lake and vibrant fall foliage. Maybe you wish to attend next year. This event is always a signal of the approach of the fall holidays and the Yuletide season. It always brings a feeling of nostalgia and a time to reminisce.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: 
Holiday & Christmas Fabrics
At Heirlooms and Comforts this week we are featuring Holiday and Christmas Fabrics at 50% off. Get a free holiday pattern (while supply lasts) with the purchase of holiday fabrics (one yard minimum cut please). There are still great Christmas selections available to spice up the home where your project goes. Now is the time before the rush begins with everyone else to get items completed. We have some great suggestions for what you can do to be creative. These are racked with the sale fabrics.

By the way, the variety of sale fabrics has changed since the trip to Toccoa. Many styles have been moved to the sale area since last week. Our Sale Corner is full and running over!

Pre-Holiday Sale
At Heirlooms and Comforts we do not observe "Black Friday" in the shop. Our Thanksgiving Sale is the three days before Thanksgiving. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 22, 23,and 24, we will enjoy our Sale Days with specials that will rival anything you can find in the malls. Specifics will be listed in next week's email. We announce it here so that you can plan some shopping time those three days and not miss this event. Notice our announcement of store hours for the holidays as well.

Holiday Hours

• Close at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, November 24
• Closed Thanksgiving Day, Friday and Saturday
• Re-open Monday November 29
• Close at 2:00 PM, Christmas Eve
• Re-open Monday, December 27
• Close at 2:00 PM, New Year's Eve
• Re-open Monday, January 3, 2011

Family time in very important to those of us at Heirlooms and Comforts and we feel that this schedule provides time for our associates to have good visits with their respective families without interruption. Our hope is for your happy hours and days of fun and fellowship with family and friends who are important to you.

Mark Your Calendar
Look at the list of special classes on the four days just after Thanksgiving when we are offering a different class each day for enhanced gift-making ideas. Sue, Cheryl and other members of our staff are going to guide you thru construction of wonderful special production projects that allow you to give that "made-just-for-you" gift. Go to this link to view the list; then call or come in to complete your registration because the class size will be limited to our space.

Tie Up Loose Ends

Now that the weather is colder and the leaves are almost off the trees (Ha!), it is time to tidy up loose ends and snuggle in for the indoor activities. At Heirlooms & Comforts we are doing that in several ways. The racks are being rearranged and the quilts are being changed and the class schedule is being polished to offer you some bright alternatives for a winter of fun with friends learning new patterns and techniques. Preparation time is in full swing. Tomorrow we go to Quilter's Rescue Mission Retreat in Taccoa - always a sign of the holiday season approaching. The shop will look funny with all we take away for four days, but it will look really good the next week when we have finished our "neaten-up" process. There's no way to know what kind of fun the ladies who are left behind to run the store might create while I'm out for four days. Check in to see.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Clean Loose Ends
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature the Loose Ends:

1. Holiday fabrics remain at 40% off. There are still several groups that have some of almost all the included prints remaining. You can stock up for wonderful holiday sewing.
2. Several free-with-the-purchase-of-the-fabric patterns are remaining. Get your free copy of the pattern when you buy the fabric to make the project. Ask for specifics when you are in the shop.
3. Miscellaneous items.

Pajama Pants

Special Days Ahead
At Heirlooms & Comforts on Monday thru Thursday after Thanksgiving from 10:00 to 1:00 we have set aside time to have instruction for holiday preparation. Registration fee: $10/day.

Monday, Nov 29: Pajama Party. Buy your fabrics here and we will provide you with the pattern to make flannel (or not flannel) pants for anyone or everyone in the family. Susan Wainscott will lead you through learning how to quickly construct these wonderful "fashion fun" lounging/pajama pants.

Tuesday, Nov.30: Embroidered Tea Towels. How can an ordinary tea towel become a great hostess gift or fun addition to your own kitchen? Sign up for this class and Cheryl Keith will teach you to make dazzling, darling, and decorative tea towels. We have quite a few beautiful towels for you to choose from at a great price point. Bring your embroidery machine and your collection of embroidery thread to make these under Cheryl's watchful eye for perfect results. If you don't have an embroidery machine, talk to us!

Holiday Tea Towels

Wednesday, Dec. 1: Monogramming for Christmas. Learn the finer points of monogramming for that special Christmas gift. Cheryl will also spend some time reviewing the Monogram Wizard software that allows you to create unique monograms and borders. The software can handle multiple formats.

Thursday, Dec. 2: Hot Dog Pillowcases. Everybody loves something special just for them-especially kids. These pillowcases make wonderful gifts and are easy to make. The pattern is free when you purchase your fabric here and you can use our sergers to construct the pillowcases allowing you saved time to monogram or embroider the gift. Bring your machine and sewing supplies. To make it faster for you, we will have sergers set up for use.

Capture the Season

My yard is so covered in the beauty of nature that I just oooooh and aaaaah every time I look out the window.  The maple trees are so rich in color and the red of the dogwoods is deep and gorgeous!  How the mums can be that brilliant is beyond me.  Some of our wonderful fabrics at Heirlooms & Comforts have pretty much captured that beauty.  How that happens so well is also a mystery to me except that the artists make their reproduction of nature to be really authentic.  Come in and let us show you what I mean.

Sara

Feature of the Week:
Clean Off the Bolt
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature Clean Off the Bolt days. That is when you can get 25% off the fabric original price when you buy all that we have on a bolt.  When you clear of sale price bolt we will take another 10% off the sale price.  At the end of the week we will be preparing to load up again for the trip to Quilter's Rescue Mission Retreat at Toccoa.  That means that if you have your eye on some of the sale price fabrics in the shop you need to get them before we go to the retreat.  Usually they don't come back.  Save big this week with Clean Off the Bolt.

Special Financing
Beginning November 1 there is special financing available when you purchase a Husqvarna Viking Machine. For example, if you purchase a Designer Ruby with your Home Design Card you can get 36-months financing. (We can help you make the application for this card if you don't already have one.)  If you purchase a Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond with your Home Design Card you can get 48-months financing.  This is also interest-free financing.  Come in and talk to us about exactly how this works.  Start thinking about what your special Santa needs to do to make your sewing and embroidery dreams come true this holiday.  This financing will be offered until the end of the year.

Australian Prints
At Heirlooms & Comforts we have received a shipment of M&S Textile Australian Prints that is fascinating and beautiful.  There is hardly any way to describe these prints other than to say they are unique and tell a story.  These have wonderful color that is bright and the juxtaposition of various colors is intriguing.  These prints combine well with other fabrics in a project to add interest and fun.  Look these items over for a new perspective on the Australian experience.

Bargain Hunters Listen Up

There are two tables placed in Heirlooms & Comforts that hold reduced price items: one is general merchandise and the other is sewing machine related. Starting on Monday October 25 these items will be at 75% off the original price. There are children's patterns from designers of fine clothing for kids, French laces and Swiss embroideries, pre-made quilt binding by the yard in various colors, books, patterns, remnants, tote bags for Sew Steady tables, wools, and other "stuff" on the one table. The second table holds hooping aids, accessory kits for H-V machines, miscellaneous generic feet, handbooks and notebooks for specific sewing operations, a few closeout embroidery packs, etc. Bargains, ladies, bargains!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Hot Flashes BOM Class Kit

Sign up and complete your registration this week for Hot Flashes Block of the Month class and get an extra 10% off the kit price - that would be 20% off the kit for the class. Kathy has completed the blocks for the class sample and found that only one or two will present a challenge for construction and that is with the process of keeping up with where you are in the assembly procedure. You know Kathy; she has a solution to offer you for that. No instruction in the world of quilting is more thorough than what Kathy offers you. The class is a true value for the students. Come by to look at the samples and be dazzled by the stunning blocks from Hot Flashes! Class starts November 2 and is scheduled for 5 PM to accommodate working people. Look at the schedule on our web site. When the class is assembled, adjustments can be made if we need to.

Machine Bargain
Really!! We have at Heirlooms & Comforts one Husqvarna Viking Platinum 950-E Sewing and Embroidery machine to sell at the closeout price of $899. That's a $2899 original price machine for a $2000 savings. $899! $899! I can hardly believe that - it's a no-brainer, folks. What a terrific second machine or beginner machine or just-to-have machine. (For those who might be concerned, Bobby is normal; I checked to see.) One only to go at this price. It is a full warranty machine that has been sitting on display for a while and was only demonstrated a few times before that.

Sapphire Deal To End This Week

The terrific $800 saving on the Sapphire 875Q will end at the end of this week. We need your commitment now for this great machine in order to save you this amount of money. This machine has the great extended sewing surface with auto tension and Exclusive Selective Sensor System. Love to quilt? You'll love the Sapphire 875Quilt and you'll love the great price.

Plan Ahead

A rather busy time of year is moving in on us faster than it did ten or fifteen years ago, don't you think? Why is that? Could it be that those important ten or fifteen years have elapsed for us? Well, buckle in tight, friends. The ride can be great with a "plan ahead" scheme. Let us be part of your plan ahead details for your sewing projects! We can help with the décor items and with the soft goods gift items. We have ideas and lots of them; they are as diverse as the personalities of those of us whom you see behind the cutting tables at Heirlooms & Comforts. Give us a shot at helping with suggestions.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week:
Kids' Motif Fabrics
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature kids' motif fabrics at 40% off. There are cute "girly" prints with beautiful soft to medium tones and there are "dirty boy" prints with space ships or trains. The prints we offer are suitable for clothing and/or craft projects or quilted projects. In addition we have several microfleece pieces for you to choose from as well as kids themed flannels. Remember seeing is believing; so come see!

Special H-V Machine Offer
At Heirlooms & Comforts we can help you with your plan ahead projects by offering the Husqvarna Viking Emerald 116 mechanical sewing machine at a very special price of $299. This is a terrific basic sewing machine that uses the same feet as the popular electronic H-V machines. It is a wonderful introductory machine for beginners or it is a really great "take it to class" machine or second machine for owners of the H-V sewing/embroidery machines. Having one of these allows sewing at the same time that you are doing machine embroidery on the other machine. For those who have much older machines in need of repair consider that a repair job at least is already about ¼ of the price of this machine. When the repair is complete you still have an old, used machine. The H-V Emerald has a 10-year warranty too. Check out this great Husqvarna Viking jewel - the Emerald 116.

Squirrel away stash!

Sitting in the easy chair beside the open window to use my laptop to write this letter allows me to see nature at work outside the many windows of my "porch". The chipmunks are so busy scurrying around the yard. The oh-so-prolific squirrels are everywhere scratching up nuts and bulbs to hide away. It reminds me of quilters who love to squirrel away stash as fall and winter near us so that IF there is bad, cold weather we can continue to sew and create beautiful projects to make people around us happy. Have you gotten your recent collection? The choices are pretty good right now; so plan ahead.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Holiday and Christmas Motif

At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature holiday and Christmas motif fabrics at 40% off (1/2yd minimum cut, please). It is less than a month until the next trip out to a retreat with fabrics and notions to sell. We want our local customers to have the advance chance to get this group of fabrics before they are whisked away to the retreat. Now is the time to get the best choices of these motifs before they get picked over. Come early; choose well.





Special Values for Special Customers

Two GREAT Husqvarna Viking models are being offered to you at unbelievable prices at Heirlooms & Comforts. These models, the Designer Diamond and the Sapphire 875Q, have just become available at super savings prices: the Diamond is at special price and with a free 5D Professional Embroidery software package. The Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875Q is offered at a tremendous $$ value. You must come in to the shop to get these prices since they are below what we can legally advertise as the price for these models. Hurry, while supplies last.

The Blues Have It

We have for a limited time a sample of the Hungarian Blue quilt on loan from Clothworks Textiles for you to see. So, in reference to that sample we are offering a kit to make this gorgeous quilt complete except for the batting and the backing. Come by right away to see this quilt and pick up your kit (including the pattern) to make it. If blue is a favorite color for you or someone you know this just might be the quilt for you!

A True Sign

A true sign of the times is the completion of Quilters of SC Pieceable Retreat. When that event is past it means that around Heirlooms & Comforts the time has come for preparation for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. So just today the retreat ended where 290 ladies and two gentlemen spent the weekend sewing and quilting and having a great convivial time together. As for us at Heirlooms & Comforts, here we go headlong into fall holidays!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Holiday Fabrics
At Heirlooms & Comforts the week we will feature holiday fabrics at 25% off original price (1/2 yd minimum cut, please.) There are wonderful harvest and pumpkin motifs ready for your use. The Christmas and winter motifs are truly beautiful this year. There are many different types of prints to suit all tastes in the shop now. Actually, five new ones arrived recently. You'd better watch out, better not risk a pout, and get your choices before they sell out!

Table Runner Extraordinaire
There is a pattern called Easy Striped Table Runner by Karen Montgomery that has the most potential for beauty depending on the fabric you use to construct it. Kathy White has made soooooo... many of these and there are some on display in the shop now. The pattern requires a striped border print to make the runner. Kathy's samples in the shop are stunning and illustrate well how choices can change your view of something. We have a few of her models to show you and many striped fabric choices to suggest for holiday runners and holiday quick gifts. Come see them!

Fall Cuddle Time

As I write this on Sunday, the cooler weather with the renewing rain makes me think Fall and cuddle time. When I look out the window in my den I see a tinge of color in the trees (not looking at the ones that have dropped the dead brown leaves already). Nature takes care of it all without our having to interfere, thank goodness. This all makes me want to SEW and QUILT. How about you?

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week:Clean Off the Bolt
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week our feature is Clean Off the Bolt. October 1 and 2 are at the end of this week and we will give you the opportunity to clear bolts all week because on Thursday, September 30 we will load the trusty trailer and head for Winnsboro for Pieceable Retreat 2010 with the Quilters of South Carolina. That means for you that lots of skinny bolts as well as others and all of the Sale Fabrics will be loaded up on Thursday after lunch and may never come back again. So, if there is some fabric that you have need for or that you have had your eye on, you need to be sure to resolve your pursuit before Thursday noon. Remember the terms of Clean Off the Bolt: take all of a regular price fabric and get 25% off; take all of a sale priced fabric and get another 10% off the original price (1/2 yard minimum cut). We're looking for you early this week to satisfy your needs (spelled "wants").

Interested in Our Classes?
If you are interested in knowing about the classes we offer at Heirlooms & Comforts, look at our web site. Here you can find the list in several formats including on a calendar. The list has photos of most of the projects to help you know what we are talking about in our descriptions.

Do you want a special class or a class offered at a special time? Cissie is the scheduler and registrar for our educational efforts. She can take your call for requests on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. You can email Cissie at hc@heirloomsandcomforts.net. We love hearing from you.

Creative Inspiration

How great it is to see the cooperative efforts of like-minded persons who produce such a nice event as the Lake and Mountain Quilt Guild 2010 Festival of Quilts over this weekend. You have done marvelous art and craft that is so well received by those who view your work. To see several organizations in the world of art cooperate along with the retail establishments of the community to showcase the talent of the area is to have a renewed faith in the ability of persons to be co-workers in the world. Congratulations!

We have a list of ribbon winners on our web site. Click on this link to check it out. We are extremely happy to see the number of patrons of and instructors at Heirlooms & Comforts who grace this list. That gives us great pride in knowing and serving those talented individuals.
Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Orange Batiks
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature Orange Batiks at 20% off original price with a half-yard minimum cut. There is an entire section of these fabrics that are "citrilicious" - how about that new word. They really are "orange crush" beautiful and can spark a palette of color in a flash. You'll feel like you've had your RDA of Vitamin C pretty quickly when you choose several of these pretty batiks.


Reminders
Redwork class is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23 from 10 to noon. This is the take along project that you need to have to keep your sanity while waiting -you know, as in doctors' offices, while hubby is in the hardware store, in an airport, for your turn at the hair dresser's place, etc. Barbara is sooooo...good at this and is happy to share her experience with you. Call Monday to be sure to not miss this opportunity.

Also, Woodland Holiday Table Runner is coming soon. You get a free pattern for this class when you purchase our Christmas fabrics to make the runner. The class is Monday, October 4 and 18 from 10 to 1. Let us help you choose these fabrics.

Improvements Afoot

In the name of progress and upkeep, the area around the shop is a bit messy and inconvenient for a few days. We are sorry, but the Town of Central is updating the infrastructure including the fire hydrant at the front of Heirlooms & Comforts. We hope you can with us endure the intrusion on our convenience for the prospect of greater convenience and safety later. Also, later in the fall we will have to adjust to the refurbishing of the sidewalk along our side of the street. Included in that improvement is the prospect of more on-street parking that will be good for those of us who frequent Heirlooms & Comforts. We are "business as usual" as best we can be while progress is in motion. We are grateful to the Town of Central for its forward thinking!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Legacy Batting

At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature Legacy Batting by Pellon in both the Soy blend and the Poly-Cotton blend at 20% off your choice of Craft size or Crib size. Look at the descriptions of these two battings on our web site to see the benefits of using these great products in your project. Great product - great price!

Riley Blake has Arrived

Last week at Heirlooms & Comforts, we received several pieces of fabric in several collections from a new vendor for us. These are fresh and appealing. Several styles have already been selected by our customers numerous times since they arrived. There seems to be an urgency to getting your share now before they are picked over for sure. From Riley Blake Fabrics, we got Summer Song, Rainy Days and Mondays, and Wheels. It is difficult to know which is the cutest fabric. There are free downloadable quilting patterns for these prints, too.

Lessons Learned

Having never considered myself an expert on any significant subject, I am now arriving at a point that I think that I can give some pretty useful advice in the area of gathering the extended family without a full week of preparation. Corner me in the shop some time and ask me about it. I have some very specific ideas about how to get things done. What I observed today is very interesting: families can cooperate in the preparation and serving of food; older children can look after the younger ones and play in the yard having fun just being "cousins" with each other; more hands make lighter work in the cleanup; and there is great fun when the special uncle can make the best fresh peach ice cream you ever ate. Life is good!

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Coupons
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we are featuring coupons available on our web or through our weekly email. Cut them out to bring in for redemption.

Ruby Has Arrived
At Heirlooms & Comforts we have received the first shipment of Designer Ruby machines ready for our customers to purchase and take home.  This is "Love at first touch" for sure!  Come in and sew on Designer Ruby to see how close to the Designer Diamond it really is.  Fill out an entry to win a Designer Ruby package worth about $8000.



Reminder: Labor Day Holiday
At Heirlooms & Comforts we will be closed Monday, September 6 to enjoy the final summer holiday with our families.  We will be in the shop again at 10 AM on Tuesday, the 7th of September.  We hope you have a fun, safe holiday.

What a Fun Day!

Last Tuesday with Barbara Moore was such a fun day. The twenty of us who visited with her that day learned quite a lot about our machines and the feet and accessories that we can get for our Husqvarna Viking machines. Oh, the techniques that you can employ in your sewing projects. How about that sheered or ruched piping /cording/welting for home dec items? Easy with the proper tools! Next time we have one of these daylong programs I hope you can attend. It is fun!

Many of you remember Robbie Benjamin from when she worked at Heirlooms & Comforts. We want to offer her our collective sympathy at the death of her mother who lived a beautiful life of 93 years.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Clean Off the Bolt
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature our Clean Off the Bolt program. All week you can get the 25% off any regular priced fabric when you clean off the bolt. If you clear a bolt of sale priced fabric we offer you an additional 10% discount off the original price. Quite of few of the sale fabrics have the pink 50% off mark - get 'em while they last!

Recently Acquired Previously Owned Machines
In the last few weeks there have been some really nice Husqvarna Viking machines traded in for new models. That means that customers at Heirlooms and Comforts who wish to have these bargains should rush on in to the shop to see what great buys these are. A Rose, an SE and a Sapphire are ready to go. Just come by and ask us about these!

Labor Day Holiday

At Heirlooms & Comforts we will be closed on Saturday, September 4 and Monday, September 6 to enjoy the final summer holiday with our families.  We will be in the shop again at 10 AM on Tuesday, the 7th of September.  We hope you have a fun, safe holiday.

Got all the tools?

Fall season is just a short time in the future. Before you know it routines will be settled in and life will be on another pace. As I look out the window occasionally while writing this (to rest my "computer eyes", not daydream) I see that the dogwood trees have a pale tinge of color in the leaves. Before long we will be scrambling to get a ride into the foothills and mountains to see nature's color show. We have replicas of that show at Heirlooms & Comforts in our beautiful fabrics. Magazines for quilters have featured fall leaf patterns and there are books and patterns with the leaf motif. Embroiderers have all the wonderful Robison-Anton threads to choose from for stitching their versions of the coming season, not to mention the holiday motifs for fall and winter. Sew and stitch a little and pretty soon, you can have the color inside and outside your home. What better feeling than to have such surroundings. It is coming folks! Keep an eye out.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Coupon
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we feature the coupon included in our weekly email. Print it and bring it in to redeem for 20% off an in-stock notions item of your choice. That could be a ruler (basic or specialty), or scissors, or an iron, or a cutting mat, etc. What have you wished for lately in the notions area?


Classes for Fall
Remember that at Heirlooms & Comforts we have begun to take registration (sign-up and payment) for fall class offerings. Some of the classes have begun to get quite a number of registrants and we don't want you to miss the classes that you want. So, look on the web site for the list (with photos) and choose what you want to take. Then contact us with tuition payment to hold your place. Also remember that supplies listed by the instructor are always at a 10% savings when purchased at H&C. You can print out the list of classes with the photos or you can print the calendar format so that you have a reminder for the dates and time of the class you choose.

Find Paradise at Heirlooms & Comforts...
The Art Gallery Fabrics group called "Paradise" has arrived at Heirlooms & Comforts. This is fresh and gorgeous. The graphic patterns are intriguing and the florals are fresh! The colorway is modern and wonderful. This is suitable for all kinds of projects from a quilt to home décor items to clothing for kids to handbags. You just have to see it to know what you want to do with it. It makes you smile and feel content.

Remember that Barbara Moore is going to be here on Tuesday to deliver her great program!