Quilting shop opening Thursday

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 
    
A Copperas Cove woman is opening the doors to her new shop, QIY - Quilt It Yourself, located at the corner of F.M. 116 South and Willow Loop, a stone’s throw south of the Copperas Cove city limits. 
Ann Slanis, a Copperas Cove alum of the class of 1977, said attending her class reunion last year started her thinking about opening a quilting shop. She has become an avid quilter over the last four years and realized there wasn’t a place in the Copperas Cove area for stitchers like herself to get together. 
Fast forward after months of planning and design, and QIY - Quilt It Yourself - will officially open its doors on Thursday, February 1 at 10 a.m. 
In addition to having plenty of space in the 1500-square foot shop for quilters to work on their projects, QIY offers a selection of fabrics that will continue to grow. 
“I’m starting with a smaller supply, but I plan to offer more fabrics, depending on what my customers are looking for,” Slanis said. This will be a boon for those looking for fabric, as the only other place in Copperas Cove that sells fabric is Walmart. Beyond that, the nearest quilters’ workshop is in Salado.
Slanis’ vision is for QiY to be a gathering place for quilters to enjoy some time completing their projects, whether that be piecing new quilts, cutting out and stitching quilt blocks, or gathering ideas from one of the pattern books on the shelves that customers can page through. Coffee and soft drinks will be available for purchase on the honor system. 
QIY welcomes all needleworkers, regardless of experience. 
“Come, hang out, work, socialize and learn new things,” Slanis said. “Pick out a pattern, we’ll help you choose fabric, you can get started.”
On Thursday, she invites all to come out at 10 a.m., enjoy some cake and see what the shop has to offer. Also, a Houston-area quilter who creates appliqued art quilts will be paying a visit to QIY. 
The name QIY came from the idea of DIY – do it yourself – with Slanis’ husband having built two of the work tables in the shop and also fitted an old table with a new worktop and attached wheels to the legs to create a rolling table. The cutting table also has cutting mats and an overhead lamp. 
For the ambitious quilters, Slanis has a Q’Nique mid-arm quilting machine available for rent on site, for $50 per day. There are also sewing machines for those stitching quilt tops, and a digital embroidery machine that Slanis said is available for embroidering items like towels, bibs, shirts and such for a nominal fee for each piece, which includes thread as well. 
In addition to the long-arm quilting machine rental, use of sewing machines, Slanis has notions, templates and other supplies on hand for use by quilters, who are also welcome to bring their own supplies and use the space available for working. 
As a quilter, Slanis is very fond of “jelly rolls,” which are long narrow strips of fabric just the right size for cutting and piecing into quilt tops. In the future, Slanis would like to host a lineup of classes at the shop. Presently, a sewing class which was held down the road at Refuge Ministries Church will now be meeting at QIY. 
QIY’s regular hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.