| | | The Pine Needle Newsletter | Almost Spring
March 2009 |
| Greetings!
Spring is on its way!
Despite some lingering freezing nights and occasional daytime sleet, here in the Northwest the trees are budding, daffodils and crocus brighten the landscape, and best of all, it's still light as we leave The Pine Needle in the early evening.
In a few weeks the new grasses and young leaves on trees and shrubs will present a full pallet of bright green shades. It's an intense, awesome green experience.
With this issue of our newsletter, we introduce our new feature called Trends. Geri, our owner, keeps her finger on the changes within the quilting community and through Trends she will share her insights.
To quote Geri, this month's trend "--It's all about COLOR!"
Many of the new fabrics, available this spring, zing with bright bold color. Our Green Space Quilt uses bright green batiks, emphasizing the brightness by contrasting them with black and white printed batiks, making the whole quilt pop with color. If you're thinking of a new quilt project, consider using some bright, bold color.
At the request of many of our on-line customers, we have added more fabrics to our website. To see our new additions to our on-line fabrics, click here.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Don't forget our 17% off sale on the 17th!
See our coupon at end of newsletter
| Colorful Batiks
 Although we apply the word "batik" to a type of fabric, it actually is a term describing the wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. The origins of wax application and dyeing is unknown but the process was widely practiced throughout Southeast Asian as both a craft and an art form. It is estimated that the process dates back 2000 years with examples of silk batik from the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618) still in existence. The island of Java is considered the area in which batik reached its highest level of accomplishment. The Dutch imported both the cloth and the dyeing technique into Europe around 1835. Today, machines and computerization, designed to lay the wax patterns and dyeing of the cloth, make the batik fabric affordable for the quilt maker.
See some of our new batik collection here.
| Rocky Road to Kansas Class
March 28 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
 Looking to add to your quilt making skills? We have a few openings in Peggy Gelbrich's Rocky Road to Kansas class, March 28th, 10 am - 4 pm. This is an exciting, traditional pattern, which shows off well in Peggy's red, white and black quilt.
Peggy says about her class, "The Rocky Road to Kansas pattern dates back to the late 1800's. It was most likely named for the arduous journey the settlers made during their trip west. Make your quilt in fabrics representative of the time or celebrate the present with something new. The new quilting methods of freezer paper, paper piecing make this quilt an easy project."
Click here to visit Peggy's Gelbrich's website
| | Recapping Puyallup The Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA was a HUGE success. "The best show yet" per Geri. She noticed many new trends at the show, which we will share with you in upcoming issues. Along with Trends, we've added another new newsletter feature: "Learning from our customers". Combining Trends and Learning from our Customers, check out The Bendable Bright Light. It flew off the shelves in Puyallup! Our own Pine Cone, Janet P., formerly a Home Ec. teacher, loves this light. She likes the way she can wear it around her neck for hands free lighting. The Bendable Bright Light mounts on any machine, and never gets hot to the touch.
Bendable Bright Light
Puyallup Show Special Continued
$39.99  | Learning from our Customers We are constantly learning from our customers. It is one of the many pleasures of working at The Pine Needle. Through our newsletter we want to share what we learn. This month we shared Janet P.'s innovation of hanging the Bendable Bright Light around her neck to provide light for evening lap projects. We like to share your ideas too.
If you have tips you want to share, we want to hear them and use our newsletter to pass them on to our readers. We think this is a great format for both sharing and learning from our customers. Email us your tips, succinctly written, please, and let us know if we can use your first name, last initial to share. Send to:
| A Recipe Just for Fun!
We love new recipes, so we decided to share. Julie's Favorite Childhood Chocolate Oatmeal
Drop Cookies
- no bake 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 cube butter (1/4 lb.) Pinch of salt 3 cups uncooked Quaker oatmeal 1 cup chopped nuts (or use 1/4 cup plus or minus more oatmeal) 1 teaspoon vanilla Measure oatmeal and nuts into large mixing bowl. Set aside. Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and salt in heavy sauce pan, stirring often; bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Pour over oatmeal and nuts, add vanilla and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on to wax paper. Let set until cool and firm. YUM! (soft and gooey is yummy too) | | Quick As A Wink
Placemats and Napkins
From Linda H.'s original design pattern, you'll whip out gorgeous traditional, batik and contemporary sets of 4 placemats with 4 napkins in the wink of an eye! Stop by the store and check out the variety of kits we've packaged just for you! You can also order by phone. Just give us a call at 800-655-5632 or 503-635-1353. With our wide selection of color and fabric styles, we can help you find the perfect placemats and napkins for your table arrangement.
| The Pine Needle's
Girls' Get Away Retreat
Looking for a change of pace? A few openings remain for our Summer Retreat, and you won't want to miss out on the FUN. Treat yourself (and maybe a friend too) to the beauties of Washington's Puget Sound and the majestic Olympic Mountains.
Geri and Sandi Ray will be your camp counselors for this June 12th - June 14th, 3 day event of sewing, quilting, learning, hiking, games, and pampering. What could be better than a relaxing get-away with friends, quilting and great dining?
Call now to join the fun. 503 635-1353 800 655-5632 | Mimi's New Jumper Our Mimi, whose Aunti Woo's Bib Overalls have been a mainstay of CUTE in our shop, is at it again with this darling girl's jumper in our new black and white cotton with cats and fish.
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| Happy St. Patrick's Day
Don't forget the 17% off Sale on Tuesday, March 17
Geri, Patsy, Julie and the Pine Cones The Pine Needle Quilt Shop | |
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