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Tommie’s Traveling Quilt Shoppe
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Welcome Thank you for coming by and visiting Tommie's Traveling Quilt Shoppe Homebase~~ Yucaipa, California |
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We have been blessed with wonderful children and grandchildren who have helped with almost every event since we began this journey in 1997. Words cannot really express the appreciation we have for Jennie, John, Stephanie, Amanda and Mark for the countless hours of assistance they have so unselfishly given to us. There have been many times they have passed up some other events so they could make sure everything was done well for one of our events. Many people have commented to me about our wonderful family and how we work so well together. The compliments have been plentiful. It is a true joy to be in the company of our children and grandchildren. Thank you all for the blessing of your love, and for all you continue to do for us. For several years I have been blessed to have Eileen Torrence as a friend who has many times gone beyond the call of duty to make things run well in so many ways. When you admire the displays in our booth at a show, the majority of them have been designed and made by Eileen. She always has great ideas, always is cheerful and has boundless energy. She has instructed countless guests on how to use the Bella Nonna petals at our Make N Take table in several shows. Today I thank her for all that she has done in the past, and for all the things she will do until we have totally finished this journey. To Ginger, Ruth, Sheila and Vivian. Thank you for being Schoolhouse Helpers since March of 2003. Your helping hands have assisted so many attendees complete their projects. Two of the most appreciated helpers at our events are Thelma and Cami, the queens of the kitchen. They work hard from early morning until the end of the traditional dessert buffet making sure everyone is well fed and happy. To all of Schoolhouse Helpers, words seem so little to express our gratitude for all you do to make these special days a success for our guests. To prepare for these events is a huge job, especially the preparing of the countless kits that are necessary. You have always been there to spend hours making Schoolhouse samples, and to cut up yards of fabric. Many times you have rearranged your schedules so you could be there to assist with this huge job, that is real dedication. To my long time friend Betty Nicassio, a sincere thank you for your contributions to our Schoolhouse Days. We wish you continued success with your outstanding products. The friendship of all of you is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given. To Gary and Linda, thanks for the friendship that has grown from a first meeting when we met as vendors somewhere along the way. Thanks for all the times you lent a helping hand as we maneuvered all of our “stuff” in and out of those show venues. We look forward to many happy times with both of you as Jim and Gary share fishing stories, and Linda and I work on some quilting project that has caught our attention. There will be many times in the future when we share stories around a campfire in Mammoth and other places. To the countless Schoolhouse Attendees, faithful customers and supporters of our small business, we thank you for your continued support of our many events. To all of the guilds who have invited us to come and play with you either at your shows, or at your guild meetings, you are appreciated. Yes, we will miss many of these events, and the fine people who attend them and have become our customers, and many have become friends. Thank you for your positive comments we hear so often. We have been told countless times that you come to shows looking for our booth because you like our products. There is never a show that we are not complimented many times about the outstanding fabric lines we carry, along with the other tools and toys customers are looking for. We have also been known as “the place with the suitcase full of button soup”. And of course, we hear it at every show, we are the only place where people can find the entire line of Quiltsmart products. To our many distributors, especially the crew at Quiltsmart and our E. E. Schenck rep Maureen, we give a genuine thank you for all the assistance you have given so many times. We have been proud to sell the products from the companies you represent. They are just some of the finest things we were pleased to share with our customer base. We have a very full calendar during the final six months of this venture. You can see the details on our show schedule page. Many guild shows, some guild presentations, and the most spectacular event ever, our Schoolhouse Finale to be held over two days, Friday, April 28 and Saturday April 29, 2006. There will be 36 attendees each day, and the same project will be taught both days. We have been planning this event for over a year, and we wanted the final project we presented to be something really special, and Quiltsmart again is filling that need with the new Mariners Compass kit that was designed by the inventor and owner of Quiltsmart, Mattie Henderson. For this project, we will be using batiks from Island Batiks. Eileen and I have selected batiks in two color ways for the kits. It will truly be a party to celebrate the years of success we have shared with so many of you. The class fee for our Schoolhouse Finale is $75.00. That includes the Quiltsmart Mariners Compass kit, the fabric to make the compass part of the design, plus some wonderful surprises that will be revealed on the day you attend. The fabric for the background and borders of your Mariners Compass can be purchased the day of the class at a special reduced price. As always, the Kitchen Queens, Thelma and Cami will be preparing a wonderful complimentary lunch, and in the afternoon we will have our most elegant, and fun dessert we have ever had. Don’t wait to sign up, the 72 spaces will be filled quickly. The last show we will participate in is the Beach Cities Guild Show the first weekend in June. Our retirement sale is scheduled for June 30 and July 1 at the Masonic Center in Yucaipa where all of our Schoolhouse events have been held. All of our merchandise we have at that time will be greatly reduced. I will be putting out some buttons and beads there is not room for at regular shows. We will also be selling all of our display pieces to interested vendors. One of the requests we have had from Schoolhouse attendees is an opportunity to have a day to come and finish up some of the projects they have started at one of our events, and have not finished. We are working on that idea, and the final details will be outlined at our April Schoolhouse Finale. Spaces for the finishing projects will be limited to about 18 people each day, and will be filled on a first come basis. There will be a fee for this, and will include a complimentary lunch. I have always been a supporter and believer in the Quiltsmart products. I plan to be available to give a few guild trunk show presentations on the Quiltsmart product line, and instruct guild workshops using Quiltsmart during the year. This could also be available to other groups who are interested in knowing more about the Quiltsmart products and how they can make every quilter, from the newest to those who are more experienced to feel very accomplished with their completed Quiltsmart project. At this time we are still planning on having Quiltsmart available by way of our website, and telephone orders. Finally, this has not been a hasty decision. We have always had a timeline for when we would “retire” from this, and that time has arrived. It has been eleven years since Jim retired from his “other career” and now we are both ready for this final phase of being quilt show vendors. We look forward to the days we can spend at our Arizona house, there have never been enough of them to enjoy. And of course the 5th Wheel trailer is ready for lots and lots of trips to many places in this spectacular country we live in. My head is full of so many projects that have been wanting to come out for a long, long time, and soon they will be able to be released. I know that Jim has a list of streams waiting for him to show up with his fly rod and handmade flies. Life is Good! Thank you for taking the time to read this very long message. I look forward to seeing you at the final events we have scheduled for 2006. Continued Happy Stitchin' to all Fondly, Tommie and Jim also… Known to regular customers as the young man working his way through retirement | ||
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