Thursday 29 May 2014

Weekend Road Trip.


There is lots of activity and busyness at Threadbear this morning as we get the shop ready for a weekend visit to the Waverley Patchworkers Quilt Show.  We are having a great time selecting lots of beautiful fabrics, patterns and books to take along.


The quilt show is open from 9.00 to 5.00 on Saturday May 31st and from 9.00 to 4.00 on Sunday June 1st.....Corliss will be there with all the fabulous Threadbear goodies we are packing today.

If you are looking for a fun outing this weekend come along and say hi to Corliss at the Mt Waverley Community Centre, Miller Crescent, Mount Waverley.
Of course Threadbear will still be open all weekend and Kurt and Sammy will be there to greet you.

We have gorgeous new little fabric rolls in the shop, and we also have some packed for the trip to Waverley....12 fabrics in each roll, 4" x 21".....in lots of great colour combinations, perfect colour selections for appliqué, hand piecing or any other purpose that takes your fancy when you want more fabulous little pops of colour...they are $15.00, and it sure is hard to stop at one.


It is great fun when we take the shop out for a visit but as you can imagine, there is a bit of work involved, so all hands on deck makes for a quick and easy job....however, this morning Sammy has decided the bustle is just too much for him....he has turned his back on it all and is having a very pleasant morning looking out the window....with an occasional glance to make sure we are all working hard.


Have a wonderful weekend everyone....we hope that you all get plenty of time with your favourite project(projects), and maybe some wine and chocolate as well.

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Last Chance to Win.

Oh good grief, just look at this quilt. Many of you have probably seen this amazing,gorgeous quilt before but it is certainly worth another look, it is an absolute stunner.....and can you believe that it is a raffle quilt.....and it is not too late to buy a ticket for a chance to win...so...Don't miss out.
Attend the Celebration Dinner where the winner of this glorious quilt will be announced. This Sue Garman design was lovingly made by a group of twenty one women organised by Rose Piper & Robyn Falloon.  Their aim was to raise thousands of dollars for the Caroline Chisholm Society and that's exactly what they've done.   There is still time to purchase a ticket to win the quilt and to attend the celebration dinner.  Enjoy the night with the quilters, a special guest speaker, terrific door prizes, great food & drinks. Hope to see you there!
Here are the links:

Now as we always say...who dosnt love a toile, and.....who dosnt love a good script...and we have a fantastic script in the shop right now....it is a light pretty script on a background of soft taupey grey...it is soft and subtle and would make a cracker of a background fabric.


And also in the shop, two new toiles....now the rule with toiles is get them when you see them because sometimes there is a positive toile drought and that is always the very time that you need one...they are very handy fabrics to have in the stash, and also.....they are just plain gorgeous.


These two toiles are "Williamsburg, Hennessy"  by Windham  Fabrics....as you can see, the colours are rich and very very pretty.



As you all know, Sammy is a loyal Kanga supporter...and you can tell by the look on his face that the Kangas had a loss last week.....but Sammy still flys the Blue and White colours....a win next week for sure.

Friday 23 May 2014

Rainy Friday.

Can you imagine living on an island...sounds so exotic dosn't  it...until you need to buy fabric that is...we had a call yesterday from a customer who really does live on an island....she would like to make the stunning "Gracedale Doves" from the Max & Louise pattern company, and just look at this beautiful collection of fabrics Megan has put together as a kit for this pretty quilt...isn't that going to be a beautiful parcel to get in the mail. 


We have copies in the shop of another great Quiltmania book...."Country Quilts for your Soul" by Jan Patek.


Most of you will already know Jan Patek for her wonderful quilts, full of whimsy and naive
charm....if you have a little spot in your heart for a bit of country fun well you will love this book...the patterns are full of joy and one look at these quilts makes you dream of cosy days at home, on the sofa or curled up in front of a fire.



It is a beautiful rainy day here in Castlemaine today...so nice to be cosy and warm inside and enjoy the sound of rain on the roof.....perfect conditions for sewing.  No matter where you are we hope you all have a wonderful weekend and no matter what the weather we hope you all have a great weekend of stitching....Sammy says have a great weekend everyone.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Fat 1/4 Love.


We had such fun in the shop this morning with a customer looking for some fat 1/4 packs in different colour ways specifically for fussy cutting....Megan put together some absolutely fantastic choices and the final selections in blacks, madders, greens, burgandys and blues looked so delicious and so good we thought we would share them on the blog.



We were so excited by these fat 1/4 packs that we all wanted to take them home as well, there is so much fussy cutting fun all those fabrics...fat 1/4s are $6.00 each as a single purchase and the fat 1/4 packs with 5 1/4s in each are $30.00

Have you ever wanted to join our Reproduction Fabric Club but not sure what the fabric selections will be like...well now you can try a one-off sample pack of 13 pieces of reproduction fabrics, 30x37 cms...for $32.00 plus postage.


No obligation to join fabric club, but if you do decide that you like the idea of getting a lovely bunch of new reproduction fabrics in your mail box approximately every six weeks, then you can join in at anytime.

We are still busy in the class room with our folding and as always the best part of the job is having Sammy with us to keep us company and check on our progress. There are times when Sammys big brown eyes just get the better of us and we just have to have a cuddle.....we love cuddles, lucky Sammy does too.

Friday 16 May 2014

Could Be Red...Or Could Be Raspberry.

Oh good grief, just look at these reds....they just arrived and we are already head over heels in love with the dusty rich colour of these fabrics....they may be red or maybe even a deep dusty rich raspberry.....and who does not love small spots and fabulous ticking stripes. 


These beautiful reds and their cute little floral companions come to us from Spain...they are very nice quality and they are 145cm wide and $31.00 a metre....they are more expensive than most 110cm wide fabrics but you do get all that extra red goodness with the extra width.

It must be the day for gorgeous things....just look at this absolutely sensational new pattern from the Max and Louise Pattern Company...."Gracedale Doves" is a stunner.


Lisa And Louise from the Max and Louise Pattern Company are two very talented young women and this latest pattern definitely proves that...this pattern comes with its own acrylic templates for those beautiful Dove in the Window blocks that surround the brilliant appliqué centre.


Just a quick look at this patterns will make us all want to add it to our "must do" lists.

And look what just arrived this morning....Quiltmania #101 (June/July)  has just walked through our door...full of lots of great projects and part 3 of Di Ford's Mystery Block of The Month, that has the most beautiful border for everyone to be going on with...another wonderful edition from Quiltmania. We have plenty of copies available for sale at $16.95 each.





Sammy is with us in the classroom today so he will keep us entertained as we finish of all our folding and get ready for a great weekend in the shop.  He is looking extra cute this morning, but that could be because he has just seen the yummy Anzac biscuits we have for our morning tea.


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and as always, we hope you all get lots of sewing time....because there are always so many projects waiting to be done.

Tuesday 13 May 2014

Oh.....Dear Jane.

We are busy busy busy in the shop this week....everyone that is eagerly awaiting their Quiltmania magazine with the next instalment of Di Ford's sensational Block of the Month will be excited to know that those lovely parcels are on their way.


After all that mail, it is now time for us to do some folding....Megan has been busy selecting and cutting lots of beautiful fabric for our Dear Jane packs...they are such scrumptious little bundles of colour...20 fabrics in each pack, ideal for those of you doing a Dear Jane project but equally ideal as a selection of small fabrics for appliqué or paper piecing projects...

All that folding will keep us occupied for the rest of the week.

We have Petra Prins and Nel Kooimen stunning Pomegranate Chintz back in stock....last time we had this fabric it disappeared in a flash, so if you missed out last time you will be pleased to see it back again.



If you are free on July 26th we have one place remaining in Di Ford's Fussy Cutting class....we now only have that one free spot and as you can imagine it will be a fantastic day.  Just think of all the great new skills you will take home with you after a day spent with Di Ford....you can call us at the shop for all the details.



It is a beautiful autumn day here in Castlemaine...mild weather and sunshine....we do have the heater on to take the autumn chill off the air, so it looks like we are going to have to do our folding with out Sammys company....hhhmmm, sit in the classroom while we work, or snooze in front of the heater....the heater has won, hands down.

Friday 9 May 2014

Midday to Midnight Fun.....With Snacks.


We have had such a wonderful response to our winter Midday to Midnight...and we just can't wait...we are going to have a heap of fun on Saturday July 19th.  Twelve whole hours of stitching...warm and cozy with lots of lovely sewers...yummy homemade food and snacks and fun fun fun.  In the shop we are all busy creating our special small projects for Midday to Midnight and every one will receive our three patterns and a starter pack for one of the projects...you can work on your own projects or try your hand at one, or all three of the patterns you will receive on the day.  We still have some spots remaining and we would love you to join us for twelve hours of really great stitching fun.  Tickets are $60.00 and you can call us at the shop to book.

We have a sought after book back in stock this week.  "Layers"..unfolding the stories of Chester County Quilts is a fantastic book for lovers of quilt history and we are happy to have it back in stock...not only great photos of some beautiful quilts, but also a great read if you love to know the history behind the gorgeous photos.




Fabric to feast our eyes on today and  is all very pretty.  "American Bouquet" has a beautiful floral print and some added blenders.....get your fussy cutting fingers ready.


And more pretties,  "M for Mystery", once again, some really gorgeous and pretty paisleys....more to get your fussy cutting fingers twitching, and some great small prints and colourful blenders....check out our website to see them all.



It is very chilly here in Castlemaine today, you would think Sammy would be happy to stay curled up in front of the heater...but he is ready and waiting in the passenger seat of Kurt's van, looking forward to day with his dad.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone....stay warm and cozy inside and enjoy some perfect weather for stitching.