Fallin'

Fallin'! So what does fall season do for you? Do you get a particular mood when the leaves begin to fall and the temperature begins to fall? Does your disposition begin to fall? I think that a study of personal moods in autumn would provide quite an interesting contrast of conditions. For me, there is an energizing force somewhere in all the color and the briskness and the anticipation of coming holidays and family times. I look forward to the aromas that come with the autumn season. Think of the odor of smoke curling from the chimneys as folks begin to warm themselves by a crackling fire. Think of the aroma from the kitchen as we bake apples, pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Add in those special breads and cakes and pies. (In the south you kinda just go with the flow when the turnip greens and collards are cooking. Instead, think of the cornbread to go with those greens.) Hot soup is soul food when combined with that cornbread. After a brisk walk, how about snuggling in a cozy quilt to read a book (or your e-reader) or to whip down the binding on that last quilt you just quilted (or received from the longarm quilter). Quilt making just seems to "fall" into fall. So we are looking for you in the shop soon to select your next projects!

Sara

Special Shop Hours
At Heirlooms & Comforts on Saturday, November 12, we will NOT be open at all because the Clemson home football game with Wake Forest is starting at noon. This game will mark 53 years that Bobby has been to every home game that the Tigers have played. Can't miss this one.


Thanksgiving Holiday Hours - Close at 2:00 PM Wednesday, Nov. 23; reopen Monday, Nov. 28 at 10:00 AM.


Special Event
At Heirlooms & Comforts on November 18 we are hosting a Stabilizer Event with Gail Dodson, Viking Educator from the west coast of USA. She will be demonstrating the use of machine embroidery and machine appliqué, and how stabilizers aide in making those designs great in the stitch-out. She will discuss which needles and the styles and uses of certain ones. If you have already called to sign up for this all-day session, which includes lunch that we serve, please send your tuition or call with a credit card payment to secure your seat in our limited space. Also, we want to have the count correct for lunch. All day November 18, 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM with lunch and a "goodie gift bag," related to stabilizers and embroidery (10 free designs) for a tuition $15. Yet another bargain! Complete your registration with payment to reserve your seat.


H&C Feature of the Week: One Item 25% Off
At Heirlooms and Comforts this week we will feature any one item of your choice at 25% off. The item can be anything in stock with the exception of machines, sergers, cabinets, and embroidery software. You choose; you save.



Fall Retreat
The other thing that autumn means locally is that Quilting in Toccoa - Fall 2011 is this week (formerly known as Quilters' Rescue Mission or R&R Retreat). That means that Sara has loaded the trailer again and made the shop look funny. We will be normal again after Thursday.

Quilting in Toccoa

A Mixed Bag

What an eye-opener a class can be when you attend one at Heirlooms & Comforts! There were 11 ladies getting their skills honed in the area of 5D Embroidery Software on Thursday. They learned procedures that will allow them to create customized embroidery designs to use on special gift items of various kinds. I am always amazed and amused at how diverse in character the "students" in these classes are. It is wonderful! A cross section of our community together in common interest is always delightful. We are so pleased to have the experience in our shop.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: 25% Off One Item of Your Choice
At Heirlooms and Comforts this week the feature is one item of your choice at 25% off. You can choose any product other than sewing machines, sergers, cabinets and embroidery software. Select from rulers, scissors, threaders, threads, or other items that you wish to purchase at 25% off. This is an opportunity to purchase a new rotary mat or other item you have wished for.

Husqvarna Viking has an offer to make your head spin! With the purchase of a Designer Diamond you can qualify for a $500 mail-in rebate. First you make the purchase at our Heirlooms & Comforts special sale price and this qualifies you for the $500 mail-in rebate. This is an offer that rarely happens in the world of top-of-the-line sewing/embroidery machines. Prepare to take advantage of this rebate. Come in to the shop to see the Designer Diamond and have a chance to sew on it yourself. You will love the ways it hums along and all the features that it presents to you for sewing and embroidery.

Class Registration
A look at the calendar of classes on our web site will reveal to you some really interesting classes still available for registrants. Carolyn's jacket class "Let's Go Out in the Cold" is designed to help you make a cozy jacket that is flattering to most figures. Susan is planning a class for teaching you to do basic paper piecing which gives you quite an edge on making quilted projects with varied motifs. Barbara is working away at preparing to teach hand embroidery and red work stitches. Go to the class page and check it all out. Then call or go into Heirlooms & Comforts and complete your registration for never being bored again!

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.