Wintergreen for Winter Days

Winter arrived this week with a nice soaking of rain and cool days.  So it was appropriate that Wintergreen by 3 Sisters for Moda fabrics should arrive this week also.  As soon as we opened the box we sighed with relief "some birds ~ at last!".  We have three prints with roses and birds......

birds and roses - choose from a cream, red, or forest green(not pictured)  background

Plus, three drop dead gorgeous paisleys.....a raspberry red criss-cross tone on tone print, and a forest green tone on tone of the birds and roses again.

But the show stoppers are really the border pints.  Because this is a Christmas range (yes it is only 7 months to go!!)  there is trail of holy between the floral borders. We only have one bolt of each and sadly there is no more to be had from the supplier.  So when it's gone, it's gone. 

Now you will note that the photography on this post is not up to the usual standard.  That is because our lovely Annabelle (Blog Mistress) is on retreat with her sewing buddies so I have fumbled my way around an ipad to get these sorry excuses for photos. And as for our darling Sammy, I have it on good authority that he is enjoying a holiday romance with Meg the Australian Terrier from Castlemaine.!  Lucky Sam.   Have a lovely wintery weekend  and happy stitching..........

Fusty cutting frenzy

Before we even begin to tell you what fun we have been having in the shop today we know everyone will be on the edge of their chairs waiting for the next instalment of Sammy's holiday adventures...we have had more photos from Sammy and he is having a wonderful time.

Just chillin with the boys...no holiday romance to report but just a very relaxing time hanging out with his new friends.

Now to tell you about our afternoon of fussy cutting fun.  We have had lots of questions this week about choosing fabrics that are suitable for fussy cutting so Megan grabbed a few of the many examples from our shelves and put together a selection for some fussy cutting show and tell.....

and how gorgeous does this look..

It just makes you want to grab some fabric and start cutting..the possibilities with these fabrics seem endless.

Mayfair 4061-72

Floral Bouquet C1125

The Union Forever 4968-0111

Thanks to Megan, using only these three fabrics she has inspired us all...and such a pretty block, ready for some Broderie Perse or needle turn appliqué. We were lucky to have a delivery of Aurifil thread and Jeana Kimball needles today, just perfect for some lovely hand sewing.

Thank goodness for some cold nights, perfect for hand sewing in front of the fire...well maybe in front of the telly too.

What a find!!

Look at what we found.

We were having a quick tidy up and we found a whole bolt of this fantastic fabric...Winterthur Cadet Paisly.  We thought we had completely sold out of this fabric because it is such a great fabric for fussy cutting, and lo & behold, a whole bolt rediscovered.

With this fabric we can all fussy cut up a storm, and look...how handy is this fabric..a great find indeed.

We are surprised we can concentrate on our work at all, we miss Sammy so much.  His chair is empty for another couple of weeks so there is no one to cuddle and pat...and the poor customers, well they only have us to chat to.

Resort chairs..very comfortable

Drinks on the terrace

This week we received some holiday snaps and a postcard to share with you, so we are all happy knowing Sammy is having a great holiday.

Sitting by the fire with my friends

It will be a great holiday for us too if Zanny keeps up this magnificent effort, just one of the million reasons we love working with Zanny.

Have a great weekend everyone..happy sewing.

Sammy welcomes Zanny

Welcome to Zanny

Zanny has come to work with us in the shop for a few weeks and Sammy was very excited to welcome her.  He was also on hand to explain all the Threadbear rules to Zanny.....no.1 rule...we always share our lunches.

Sammy is off on a holiday for a few weeks, he has packed his bags and his new cushion and he is off for a well earned break...but he has promised to send us emails and some photos of his holiday...he claims he can use a computer and an iPad so we look forwards to some holiday pics.

So many books for us to look at this week.

Another delivery from Quiltmania brought us Yoko Saito's new book "Des Paniers en tissu"..Basket made from cloth.

Yoko always does the most intricate and beautiful work and  this book is full of baskets, bags & purses using all the soft Japanese taupes and pastels she is famous for.

 The gorgeous projects in this book make us glad that we have a range of "European Taupes" in the store at the moment, perfect for the projects in this book.

We are always so thankful when someone brings some show and tell, it is so generous to share your projects and it is a great inspiration to all to see another finished quilt top ready for a borders, backing and bindings...so thanks so much to Janice Perry for letting us snap a photo of her "Farmers Wife".

Good grief, how absolutely stunning is Janice's quilt. Her colours are beautiful and the dark sashing makes the whole quilt sing...a really fantastic version of the "Farmers Wife".

We love deliveries.

Yay...more book excitement for us all......today's delivery brought Petra Prins' and An Moonen's new book, "Promenade dans un jardin Hollandais" to our door.

Our first delivery is already sold out but if you feast your eyes on just a few sample pages from this beautiful book you will surely want to put your name down for a copy.

It is yet another stunning publication from Quiltmania, always so beautifully photographed and printed.

There are 19  projects that Petra and An have produced for this book...well...just wow....you will all want a copy of this book.

Fabric new in  today,  The Merchant's Wife $21.00m....great stripes, always so handy, and a couple of really colorful feature prints..very exuberant prints indeed..and really asking to be cut up in lots of interesting and fun ways.

Thank you so much Kim for letting us take a photo of your amazing applique to share with everyone.. Kim came to visit us this week to find the final border for her quilt, "Tribute to Ann Daggs"....nearly finished, and isn't it really really beautiful.

Sammy is not nearly as excited as we are by our new deliveries but he is pretty excited when there is a spot in front of the heater with his name on it.

Wishing you all a great week end, maybe like Sammy, cosy in front of a heater....and as alway we hope you all have time for lots of sewing.

Patterns and Pins

This week we have been folding,folding,folding, making lots of new fabric packs for the shop.It is always a fun job to fold  these lovely packs because they are selections of gorgeous fabrics, always nice to enjoy as we fold.

Sammy has been sitting up at the table on his favorite chair to help us although he did seem more interested in our morning tea.

Morning tea anyone?

We have added lots of new patterns to our web site this week, lots of new inspiration with something for everyone and the temptation to add another quilt or two to your  "must do" list.

Solomon's Garden

"Solomon's Garden" is new from Margaret McDonald.  We are lucky enough to have this quilt on display in the shop at the moment.  It is machine pieced with raw edge machine appliqué, and Margaret's pattern also gives the option of hand piecing and hand appliqué.

We have 3 new patterns from Robyn Falloon, at Bon Bon Designs.....and all three are beautiful

Gypsy Jazz

Bronte's Garden

The Blessings

And then three new patterns from the "Max & Louise Pattern Co.

Cherry's Hall

Autumn in the Valley

Tessellate

"Cherry's Hall" and "Autumn in the Valley"are both collections of small quilts. "Tessellate", is a larger quilt that comes with options for two colour ways....and once again, all beautiful.

Thank goodness our Little House pins are back in stock, the absolute best pins to use for appliqué, these pins sell out the minute they arrive at the shop and are a must for the sewing bag.

All that folding must have taken its toll on Sammy, time to test drive his brand new cushion....but will it be as comfortable as his favourite chair.