Important Shop Updates & Information

...And after all that, we're back!  Today was our soft open. We're about 75% finished with the move, but most of everything is out and ready to go! Another tremendous THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us along the way with this move.  I mean it when we say we could not have done this without you.  

So let's get down to business - there's a few important things to know now that we're open again!

1. Address - Our address is now 128 Chemawa Rd. N, Keizer, OR 97303 in Baker Plaza.  This has been changed on here, our Facebook, our website, and on Google.  There are a few ways to get to the shop, but the simplest way is to turn West on Chemawa Rd. at the light at River Rd and Chemawa.  Our shopping is the first left - Good Times is on the corner. We don't have our sign yet on the shopping center marquee - it still says "Lakepoint." Just know if you pass Good Times, you're too far.  Here's the map again for reference:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Signage - We understand that it's a little hard to find our new place without the correct signage...definitely wasn't part of the plan to open without it!  Our signage is in progress with the vendor and will be installed soon. 
   
   
3. Parking - While we are lucky enough to have more spots in the parking lot overall, we now share the lot with more businesses than we did previously.  So far it hasn't been a problem, but it's something to consider if you find the lot is busy - the businesses don't have reserved parking.
   
   
4. Cutting Counters: We have separated the cutting counters.  The smaller counter is in the back of the shop, and is credit/debit/gift certificate only.  The larger counter at the front and accepts cash, credit/debit, and gift certificates.  
   
   
5. New Registers: We have transitioned to a new point of sale system, with a register at each cutting counter (two is better than one!). While this wasn't expected quite this soon, here we are.  It's pretty slick and does a lot of cool things, but we are all still learning.  Please hang in there with us while we learn the new system.
   
   
6. Rewards Points:  Because we had to move to the new system sooner than we planned (read: 10pm Friday night...open 10am Saturday morning), we have not yet transferred rewards points from Five Stars to the new system which is a manual process.  Your points and rewards are not lost, however we are currently unable to confirm points, check rewards status, redeem rewards, or create new accounts from the register.  We can add new points for you manually on the old system by way of the computer, but the points won't be available for use at the counter.  It is a priority for us this week to get the new rewards system running and the old accounts transferred over.  We will keep you updated, and apologize for any inconvenience.  
   
   
7. Classes: Classes are currently on hold while we finish getting the classroom cleared of moving and construction materials, and get the new tables set up.  This, too, is a priority and we will keep you posted.  A new class list is in progress and we have some awesome stuff lined up!

Finally, for those that don't already know...Dad (Lee) received a donor heart (and got the call on his birthday no less!) and is in recovery.  We can finally breathe, as can he.  He is being moved out of ICU within the next day or two.  He's already started physical therapy and in typical fashion, he is absolutely excelling with it.  We are so grateful to the donor and their family, to the phenomenal surgeons and medical staff at St. Vincent's, and to each an every single one of you who have reached out.  He has a long road in recovery ahead, but he is already making amazing progress.  

It's late and I'm sure I'll think of something after I post, but those are the biggies.  We are so happy and excited to start this new chapter in so many ways and we have a lot of great things coming. Thank you for coming with us on this wild journey, and we can't wait to see you soon. 

The Big Move and Re-Opening Update

First of all...

We made it, but WOW, what a ride!  The last few days have been insanely busy, but we're all moved out of the old River Rd. place and into the new Chemawa Rd. place.  

First of all, I want to thank everyone who came out to help us, and on a holiday weekend no less!  You all are AMAZING for stepping up and bringing your tools, carts, and time to make a big job go fast and smooth.  

...goes to Mychal, John, Robbi, KJ, Aaron, Janice, Fred, Judi, Gabe, Tonya, Cheryl, Mary, Debbie, Sue, Sheila, Molly, Matt, Gabriel, and Zac for all the help the last two days.  An extra special shout out goes to John, who went over and got an early start to surprise us.  He did a LOT of heavy work to get us ahead of the curve on Saturday morning.  Another extra special shout-out goes to Judi, Gabe, and Tonya for tackling the move of the cutting counters.  Turns out those babies where built inside the building and wouldn't fit out the door!  They spent a lot of time troubleshooting, labelling, documenting, and breaking those down so they could fit out the door and get rebuilt. A last extra special shout out goes to Janice for getting some great pictures for us - something I wanted to do, but wasn't managing to get done - she saved the day!  

When I say we couldn't have done it without these amazing people, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. We have had so many people offer their help too - we tried to reach everyone but it was admittedly short notice.  THANK YOU SO MUCH for everything.  

In less-great news, we had high hopes to be able to open on January 2nd and really start the New Year off with a bang, but that's not going to happen.  When we started this process, it was a realistic goal.  This funny little thing called Murphy's Law decided to act up on us, and things didn't quite go according to plan timing-wise (hence moving on New Year's Eve/Day...that was definitely NOT in the original blueprint). 

Do we have an exact re-opening date?  No. We have some more work to do to get fabric placed and fixtures up, and a little more logistics work to do. But what I can do is commit to keeping everyone updated on our progress, and as soon as we have a Grand Re-Opening date in hand I will blast it out there! 

Our Last Open Day & Some Important Reminders

Well...here we are.  It's crazy how fast this month has gone, but it is upon us - we are TWO days away from our last open day at our River Rd. location.  

Our last open day at the River Rd. location is Friday, December 23rd, 2022.  

It is absolutely bittersweet to reach this point.  Moving to the new place is absolutely exciting, but Saturday wasn't without a pang of sadness to know that was the last Saturday I'd be working in this location.  Definitely a "whoa" moment. But enough of the sentimental, squishy stuff...onto the stuff you need to know!

A few important reminders for the transition period:

It is our every intention to be up and open for business on January 2nd, but delays are possible and not always predictable - we have a family member in the hospital (Lee, as many of you know), possible inclement weather shortly, and some updates (like cleaning and new flooring) being completed at the new place.  No move is 100% flawless regardless of preparation, and we think we've done a pretty good job of it and everyone is working hard to get to the finish line, but if there are any delays we will communicate them ASAP on Facebook (www.facebook.com/keizercottonpatch).   

After 12/23/22, you must coordinate with your longarmer directly to drop off, pick up, and pay for your quilting. They are still working and ready to take your quilts as always! This is only a pause in our shop as the pick up/drop off point.  We will resume this activity after we move.  

No Backing Day this month - we will be in the throes of moving stuff from one place to the other by then.  We will resume Backing Day in January.

No Tuesday Open Sew at the shop on 12/27/22 and possibly 1/3/23 depending on how fast we can get everything set up and settled in the classroom.  We will resume Tuesday Open Sew in January.

Inclement Weather Reminder:

Winter is here with a quickness!  We might be in for a couple of icy days, and if you live in the valley here you know how fast a maybe can turn into something big or nothing at all. Always check our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/keizercottonpatch) for the most current information on closures due to inclement weather, as it is how we quickly reach the most people.  Please consider if we cannot safely get to the shop to post one, there will be no sign on the door - check the Facebook page first.  We are a public business page so you don't need your own Facebook page to view it.  

Thank you everyone for your love and support.  We couldn't do this without you (yes, YOU specifically).  See you at the new place soon!  We hope you're just as excited as we are. 

Need help finding the new place?  Check out this handy-dandy map:

Reminders for the Upcoming Store Move

 

I guess there's some truth to that ol' adage about time flying when you're moving having fun. Right now, we're looking at the big move days being some time between the 16th and 31st, but we'll keep you posted on the exact days to look out for. 

So what's been happening in the mean time? We have been doing a lot of prep work at the shop to move our actual move as fast and smooth as possible. Just like when you move house, there's a whole lot of purging and clean up to do before leaving.  It's amazing how much stuff accumulates over thirteen years!  We've tidied up and donated a whole lot we don't need anymore, and have been working on what we do need for the new space. It's been insanely busy, but it's time well spent.  

  

There's only 24 hours in a day right...right?!

Meanwhile...they are working on some building updates for us before we get loaded in - we're looking at refreshed carpets, new bathroom floors, paint, etc. It's getting real!  We're looking forward to seeing all of the cool improvements they're making for us.  Just a reminder...here's the map to the new place so you can find us!  It's only actually two stop lights north of where we are now.  Easy peasy!

Don't forget:

• You can still pick up and drop off quilts for Christmas for your longarmer(s) that currently use our shop as their pick up/drop off site - as always, please contact them before leaving your quilt so you know their turnaround time for the holidays. 
• We will not be accepting any more Linus Project drop offs through the end of the year (we will resume after we move)
• Please pick up any holds or Block of the Month kits you may have still with us. If you can't make it in, please give us a call so we can coordinate getting those to you. 

After we get settled in, we will continue to be a pick up and drop off point for the longarmers we do this with today, and we will still be a Linus Project drop site.  

Please keep looking to look to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KeizerCottonPatch) for the most up-to-date information on our hours and activities.

Thank you to everyone for your support and flexibility while we move - we can't wait to see you in the new place.  

We're Moving! (and Other Important Information)

Yes...you read that right...After 13+ years at our current location on River Rd., we are moving just up the road to Chemawa.  Why?  Well, we've grown.  This was a great spot when we were still a fledgling operation, but we've outgrown the building - more classes, more fabric, more everything!  It's been on our minds for a while, but the right place didn't come up...until now! It's of course bittersweet - we will miss our friends at Copper Creek (and the taco truck! Seriously, if you haven't paid him a visit, please do - the chorizo tacos are amazing) but this will be really wonderful!

So first off, you might be wondering where exactly is the new place?  Here, let's have a lookie at this handy-dandy map:

See?  Not too far...a whopping 0.6 miles north!  So what's the new place like?  For starters...it's nearly double what we have now. We will have a large retail space, a very large classroom space that divides into two complete rooms, two bathrooms, an actual, for real, no joke office, and plenty of parking. It's hard to pin down what we're most excited about in the new space itself, it's all good news.

What we are the most excited for in the new chapter at The Cotton Patch, is our new partnership with Rich's Sew and Vac.  For our long time folks, you'll recall that Rich's was over on Market St. for a long time until they moved solely down to Albany.  They're under new ownership now, and part of their new chapter is opening up a Rich's Annex here in Salem - with us!  We will be a pick up and drop off site for repairs, with a few familiar faces from Rich's joining us on-site.  More to come on this - but Rich's will be back in Keizer very soon!

So what can you expect for the rest of this month?

• You can still pick up and drop off quilts for Christmas for your longarmer(s) that currently use our shop as their pick up/drop off site - as always, please contact them before leaving your quilt so you know their turnaround time for the holidays. 
• We will not be accepting any more Linus Project drop offs through the end of the year (we will resume after we move)
• If we are holding something for you, please make arrangements as soon as possible to pick it up, or let us know if it can be taken off hold.
• We have some blocks from recent Block of the Month programs that haven't been picked up.  If you have not picked them up yet, please make arrangements to do so or contact us to have them mailed.  

After we get settled in, we will continue to be a pick up and drop off point for the longarmers we do this with today, and we will still be a Linus Project drop site.  

As always, please look to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KeizerCottonPatch) for the most up-to-date information on our hours and activities. This move of course falls around the holidays and inclement weather so...

Whose idea was it to move in December again? Ours? Oh, right.

Just a reminder - Our Facebook is a public business page so you don't need to have your own Facebook account to view the page, you just won't be able to react to or comment on our posts. We will communicate any changes to hours there as we get closer to our moving days.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and support!  

Backing Day is Wednesday, November 30th!

Here's a reminder from your friendly neighborhood Cotton Patch that Backing Day is this Wednesday, November 30th!  

If you're new here and don't know what Backing Day is...

Bring in your finished quilt tops (100% complete, no more borders to add, done) on the last day of the month and receive 25% off your backing of choice, even Clearance!

The usual rules apply:

• If the last day of the month falls on a Sunday when we're closed, then Backing Day is the day before (Saturday). 
• Discount valid on single-fabric backings only.  Sorry, this is not valid on several cuts of different fabrics for a pieced backing.  
  
• Sale prices not combinable with any other offer (this includes deals from Five Stars, redeeming points, and coupons)
• Sale prices good in-store only on the sale day and limited to stock on-hand. 

We can't wait to see what you've created - see you on the 30th! 

Quilt Market and Upcoming Trends

Well it's that time again!  International Quilt Market has come and gone and we get a sneak peek at what's coming up in the next year.  Sure, we are already making those orders, but we did see some cool stuff come out of Market we wanted to share.

Creative Grids, our ruler brand of choice here at the shop, is really making a strong effort at making their tools more accessible - they had a slug of new rulers made specifically for left handed quilters.  Diane and Lauren aren't lefties, but Myke here at the shop is and I'm sure he can tell you all about the frustrations of being a lefty using tools designed by righties.  Keep an eye out for those for your favorite southpaw quilter!

Everglow from Tula Pink is getting pushed hard.  If you haven't seen Everglow yet - WOW.  

The picture doesn't do those neons justice - and yes, we will be getting it! 

Last year we saw quilted themes re-emerge in popularity for clothing.  Target had a range of cottage-core dresses serving very much Little House on the Prairie + quilts:

Did I see this actual dress with the quilty stars on it?  Yes. Did I buy it and modify it?  Yes. Fight me.    

Some loved the trend, some hated it, but regardless it really took off.  From the looks of it though, it's not going to slow down one bit.  Quilted jackets were featured at Schoolhouse at Market so we expect to see more in the way of wearables to make it over into the quilting world in the coming months.

The statement this year has been clear - modern isn't a niche anymore and it is definitely here to stay.  What's been really great though is we are seeing more in the way of modern patterns and prints that are more "useable" and translatable for more traditional quilters.   

Interestingly, there are a lot of vintage vibes coming too.  Look for this to come out in retro holiday prints (yep, that kitschy pink will make an appearance for both Halloween and Christmas), calico-esque small prints, and flower child throwbacks.  

Mauves and plaids will be coming in strong, but it also looks like farmhouse chic (think Chip & Joanna) is starting to find its way out.  I'm not gonna lie, my heart isn't breaking there (for the love, save me from wainscoting and shiplap).  For kids, forest animals are a big theme again. 

I can hear mom groaning from here, but y'all...gadgets and gizmos were hot as usual.  It looks like bag construction is making a comeback so we saw a lot in the way of utilitarian tools more specific to bag making and that kind of sewing projects.  Moda is really trying to make those jelly roll rugs happen again, and it looks like they're still going to be a popular technique over the next few seasons.  

Love them or loathe them, digital prints are here to stay.  Fabric companies that have been a little slower to adopt digital printing are now starting to feature some digital lines and it looks like the industry is really throwing support behind digital printing overall.  One of the benefits of digital printing is the sharpness and clarity of the designs, and this is really shown off by the growing number of lines featuring photorealism.  I realize that's not for everyone, but digital prints will be harder to avoid as the months go on. 

Last of all...prices.  We have been singing the same sad song for months and unfortunately, this didn't change with Market.  Prices continue to rise, and they don't appear to be stopping.  Some manufacturers are rising higher than others, but we're seeing increases across the board.  As always, we remain committed to keep prices as reasonable as we can (without violating the various MSRP rules we now must follow) to keep the art of quilting accessible in our communities.  

I encourage you to check out all of the social media accounts for the major companies - Free Spirit, Moda, Art Gallery, Creative Grids, etc. - where you can really get a good (and free!) look at what they have coming.  The only things that won't be super accessible and behind a login/paywall will be from the event itself (since it's not open to the public at the time).  It's always so cool to hear the designers themselves talk about their new lines.  

What are you looking forward to seeing in 2023?  Share in the comments!