Follow Up

Last week I wrote from Tucson, AZ about Cheryl, Bobby and I being there for the Husqvarna Viking Convention. Now we have been to convention and our heads are spinning for several reasons, not the least of which are the great products and ideas that we discovered with Viking. Read further here to see what some of those are.

Saturday evening the three of us had an unbelievable experience at a local Mexican restaurant that was featured on the Food Network show called Man vs. Food. El Guero Canelo is a place where those of Mexican descent as well as their friends who have no Mexican heritage go for true ethnic food. One of those specialties is called Sonoran Hot Dog! There was a Spanish-speaking-only performer singing his heart out and LOTS of people negotiating the dining room; so we decided to eat outside where there was less commotion. Soon a white, well-used pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. As it cooed to a stop we heard a sound like "Maa-aa, maa-aa". Each of us looked at the other wide-eyed and then realized that we were hearing goats in the back of the truck! The additional backup music that began then was Native American drums!! Somewhere across the busy street there were Indians having some kind of ceremony or practice because it continued for the duration of our meal. We could hardly believe what was around us - great Mexican fare and personalities, goats in a run-down farm truck, and Indian drums. Live entertainment for our evening meal. We laughed heartily at our "good fortune" until tears ran down our cheeks.

Sunday at lunchtime, after having taken in the very intellectually heavy tour of Biosphere 2 (a scientific project of sustained living conducted in the late 1980's and 1990's), we decided to have our noon meal again at El Guero Canelo since Bobby missed getting the hot dog on Saturday night. Well, this time all the ethnics and their friends were coming in after Mass and Church for a quick Mexican meal. ALL the children were there too. Bobby thoroughly enjoyed the Sonoran Hot Dog, as you can see. We then rode through the desert highways until almost the border to Tubac, AZ, an artist colony, where Cheryl and I did some holiday shopping among the jewelry and pottery. We did a lot of wishful window shopping too. Unfortunately the Quilt Gallery was not open that day.

Then it became Monday and we started Husqvarna Viking Convention. Each of the next four days was filled with new techniques, new program modules, and service techniques. Now we just have to disseminate all this to you. In the next few weeks we will try our best.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Fall Fabrics
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will feature Fall Themed fabrics at 25% off original price. Think apples, leaves, acorns, pumpkins, sunflowers, etc. Make great items for accent in you home or the home of a friend or two. Fall is just getting cranked up, so you can be ready when it hits us full steam ahead with 25% off this week on Fall Themed fabrics.

From Convention
A number of things were spotlighted at Husqvarna Viking Convention for 2012.

There are three new feet for your H-V sewing machine:

• Multilined Decorative Stitch Foot for sewing evenly spaced lines of decorative stitches found on your machine;
• Echo Free Motion Stitch Foot for sewing free motion quilting around an appliqué or a motif in the fabric;
• a Changeable Decorative Stitch plate for the Interchangeable Dual Feed Foot.

We will be able to demo these when you come into the shop. They are very useful.

Software

• 5D Stitch Editor Plus is an upgrade for all modules of 5D Embroidery. Cheryl has been certified for teaching and selling this upgrade and finds it very user friendly. At class on October 18th she will demonstrate this upgrade and explain how the package is to be sold. You don't want to miss this class if you can possibly be there.
• Also there is the new TruEmbroidery for Mac computers for which Cheryl is certified to teach. For those who have or who wish to have a Mac computer, this is a powerful program for designing embroidery. She will setting up a demo on this in a few days, so be looking out for the announcement of this time.

• A third program that is available for your pleasure is 5D QuiltDesign Creator with which you can create a quilting design to be sewn in the hoop on your embroidery machine or on your longarm machine. This program takes the guesswork out of making a design proportional to your border length or block size.

Sewing Machines

• Opal 650 and Opal 670 Husqvarna Viking sewing machines are ready for shipment. We were able to sew on these models at convention, and we find them to be outstanding models. Opal 670 has a touch screen, automatic thread cutter, bobbin thread cutter, and 200 built-on stitches with an 8" clearance in the bed of the machine. This is a machine that weighs only about 18 pounds, so it is very portable for taking to class. Opal 650 has 160 stitches and has a touch pad for selecting stitches.
• Ruby deLuxe is now updated to have the Deluxe Stitch System that portions the amount of thread that goes into the embroidery stitches and the decorative stitches. The front of the machine is redesigned to be very attractive with its red frame, and there are a few new stitches added to the menu.

Okay, I will be quiet for now. But, you may find me going on and on when you are in the shop about all these new items.

End of 3rd Quarter

In many venues of the working world, life is based on quarters (not to be confused with Fat Quarters, although some managers would like more "fat" quarters). As this week is the last in the 3rd quarter of 2011, we should begin to prepare for the ending ¼ of the year. This includes Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We have at Heirlooms & Comforts fabrics that speak to all of these holiday times. We can also suggest many effective ways to use these fabrics to enhance your final quarter of this year, even incorporating fat quarters. See us. We can help you make it happen.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Fall Fabrics 30% off
At Heirlooms & Comforts this week we will continue to feature Fall Themed Fabrics, except now we will offer them at a 30% discount thru October 1 (1/2yd minimum cut, please). There are still plenty of choices remaining in stock. This will help you get ready for the fourth quarter of 2011 filled with sewing fun.

Learn to Sew
Many of you have asked for a basic learn to sew class. Susan Wainscott has agreed to teach this class. It is scheduled for this week on the 28th. Sue will teach you machine basics about threading, stitches to use, and tensions. You will have classes on how to read a pattern, how to hem, how to install a zipper. If you have special requests for specific sewing methods, you can submit those for inclusion in the course. Other sessions for this class will be on Oct. 12, Oct. 26, and Nov. 9. Call to register early in the week.

Previously Owned Husqvarna Vikings
At Heirlooms & Comforts we still have some previously owned Husqvarna Viking sewing machines that are aching to be taken into new homes. There are several Designer Diamonds, a Sapphire, a Designer II, and a #1 all polished up and ready to go. Check with us for the bargains; you'll be glad you did.

View our Previously Owned Machines

Pay Attention

It is time to really pay attention to the changes around Heirlooms & Comforts. The work on the streetscape is almost complete so that there are changes to be noticed. There is a new spot for the Handicap Parking directly across the street from the front door. DOT regulations change sometimes and the distance between a parking space and a corner is important. The curbing and the "island planters" secure the corner of Bank and Madden Bridge Rd. The new handicap space is also larger and allows for getting a wheelchair or walker out and going in a safer manner on a level surface. There is also a new ramp and a crosswalk (not yet painted in the street, but coming). This will provide safer movement for all of us from one side of the street to the other at the new STOP sign that will go into place at the corner on October 7. Now we will have all-way stopping at the corner, which will slow traffic to a safer speed and also allow us to cross more safely. Although the parallel parking spaces on the sides of Madden Bridge Rd seem to be relocated, there are now 18 spaces in our two-block area whereas there were only 8 marked before. The sidewalk is new and wide and will allow for pulling your machine cart on a smoother, safer surface as you come in for classes and lessons. You will notice new plantings at the front of the shop. Bobby gets the credit for that installation. Hopefully we can keep them alive.

We are grateful to the Department of Transportation and the Town of Central for their attention to "our side of the tracks" with this project that has improved the safety and the appearance of the area. Just be sure you are paying attention to the new stop sign that will be in effect on October 7, 2011.

Sara

H&C Feature of the Week: Fall Fabrics 25% off
At Heirlooms & Comforts we have received a number of great autumn themed fabrics from a variety of sources. We have Halloween prints that are cute. We have harvest prints that are both cute and stylish, some even with metallic gold accent. This week we will feature these themed fall prints at 25% off with a minimum cut of 1/2yd. There is one especially nice stripe fabric that is going to be great in the Striped Table Runner pattern. See for yourself. 25% off Fall Fabrics this week.

Special Shop Hours this Saturday
As we announced earlier this month, September brings some busy weekends in the lives of our employees and customers. Some of us have a habit of attending home football games at Clemson University, and for that reason we will have unusual hours when there are home games. On Saturday, September 24 we will CLOSE AT 1:00pm because the game is set for 3:30pm kickoff.

Watch our emails to know when other home games are played and what our hours will be for those days. Thanks for your accommodating our fun times!

Two Great Embroidery Quilts
We have two really good classes about to start that teach how to effectively use embroidery and machine embroidery appliqué. Cheryl Keith has designed these two classes to use your machine's capability beautifully. You can make International Sunbonnet Sue blocks and set them creatively to get a really unusual "traditional" quilt. Katagami Quilt And/or you can make a beautiful Asian motif hanging or throw using an embroidery design of the traditional Koi fish and navy/cream fabrics. These classes teach you so much about your embroidery machine you may not know yet. These classes fill fast; so don't hesitate. Complete your registration with payment right away to assure your place in class.

View Upcoming Classes