Still folding

This week has been all about folding...we are still folding and still loving it because the folded packs always look so,so pretty and very,very tempting.

We always have our "Dear Jane" packs in the shop but since the "Dear Jane" exhibition earlier this year we have had lots of customers taking the plunge and starting to make a Dear Jane quilt so we need a steady supply of "Dear Jane" packs at the ready in darks, medium and light shades. Megan selected gorgeous combinations for these packs so we folded and folded...and don't they look pretty.

Next on our folding list are muffins...so we have our jewel coloured fabrics piled up ready to make heaps & heaps of  delicious muffins...lots for the shop and lots for the July show....many hands make light work....thank goodness for Sammy, always there to lend a paw..except when he is caught snoozing on the job.

I will just have 40 winks..no one will notice

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,hope you all have lots of chocolate and lots of sewing time.

Folding Frenzy

We are busy this week as we make a start on the cutting and folding in preparation for the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair,...can you imagine the fun we are having folding lots and lots of our gorgeous fabrics to make the many fabric packs that will be available at the July show.

The Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair will be held this year on 25th to the 28th July and we look forward to catching up with so many of you during our four days at the show, so make sure you all have those dates in your diary. Stop by and see us at stand D18.

New fabric for today is "Tavern Blues" by Paula Barnes.  We have 17 in this range, in navy, brown and ivory..with a pop of yellow..once again a few great paisleys in a dark moody navy, 2 great stripes useful for borders and a couple of fussy cutting opportunities as well.

There are some really great small prints in this range and it sits well with the "Tavern Reds" we received earlier this year.

Also delivered this week, are just two of Judy Rothermel's delightful 1930s prints to add to our shelves. These prints are so pretty and happy, it is impossible not to like them.


Well it is still freezing here in Castlemaine but we are cozy and warm as we fold our fabric packs and we have Sammy here to make sure we get our work done.

I know you are busy folding but can someone turn the heater up please.

Sneak preview

We have started the day in the shop this morning with a sneak preview at one of Megan's new quilts.

Both Corliss and Megan will have new quilts at the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair in July.

Tomorrow Megan is teaching a class for this quilt, so it is just a sneaky peek for us today but even these tiny glimpses are enough to tell us we are in for a real treat...we better start clearing some space on our "must do" lists.

New fabric arrived this week so we are all saying.."We love Jo Morton".

This new range from Jo Morton is called Madison Manor, it is full of smokey greys, moody blacks, dark olive greens and beautiful warm terracotta..fantastic all over prints and a few paisleys thrown in for a bit of fussy cutting fun.

Madison Manor is $18.00 mt or if you would like a little bit across the whole range we have 24 fat 1/8s for $72.00.

No Sammy at work today.  It was minus 4 degrees in Castlemaine this morning when our alarm clocks went off  so Sammy is at home in front of the heater....Sammy might be cute but he is not silly.

Hawaii in Castlemaine

Saturday's gathering of the Castlemaine Appliqué group was a really fantastic day...lots of happy people and smiling faces.  Despite the cold start everyone was in great spirits and a good day was had by all.

The day started with Kerry Roe talking to us about her love of Hawaiian Appliqué. Kerry gave such an interesting and entertaining talk and I am sure she sent many of us off home wanting to find out even more about this amazing form of appliqué.

Kerry showed us examples of her work and some absolutely beautiful hand printed and hand dyed fabrics, traditionally used in Hawaiian quilts....thank you Kerry for a great talk.

We stopped for lunch and chit chat, and a bit of lunch time fabric buying, and then it was time for some show and tell.....and as always we saw some beautiful quilts...just makes you want to run off home and sew, sew, sew. Thank you to all who shared their quilts for us to enjoy.

Dianne finished her Mrs. Williams quilt

Centre Quilters Wangaratta raffle quilt from Megan's Hertfordshire pattern

Anne Mulvaney's  finished Ballarat Beauties, pattern by Michelle Yeo

We had great fun with everyone in the shop, but we think Sammy may have had the best fun of all.

He was very excited to catch up with all his friends after his time away at the luxury resort and he was there to greet everyone...but would not kiss and tell, so we are all none the wiser about his holiday romance.

Sammy also had some show and tell, as his Dad Kurt had given him a new baseball cap, all the way from the United Sates, perfect for those frosty winter mornings.

Home safe and sound

Today we are busy getting ready for tomorrow's meeting of the Castlemaine Appliqué Group.
Appliqué Group meetings are always a lot of fun, but that is because it is always good to get together

to sit and sew, eat yummy sandwiches and have a good old sticky beak at some show and tell.
Our guest speaker for the day will be Kerry Roe, speaking about Hawaiian appliqué, so we know already how inspired we are all going to be after hearing Kerry speak and seeing some of her wonderful quilts.

We have just received a second delivery of the popular book "layers", published by the Chester County Historical Society.

We have had this book once before but it sold in a snap, so if you would like to reserve a copy just email us or contact us at the shop.

It is great reference for lovers of  antique quilts, has great photos and is a really good read with lots of interesting little snippets and tales of quilt makers from days gone by.

At Threadbear today we are all very happy to welcome everyone home...welcome home to Corliss and Kurt, back safe and sound after their trip to the U.S.

Welcome home to Corliss's beautiful quilt, " A Tribute to Mrs. Williams". Corliss's quilt has been on display in Texas for six months now and it is so nice to have it back in the shop for us to enjoy.

And of course, a big welcome home to Sammy. It is wonderful to have Sammy back in the shop with us.  Sammy has been busy all morning greeting customers, so anyone coming to the shop this weekend is sure to get a fine welcome.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy sewing.

Counting down

It is a beautiful rainy day here today, perfect to be indoors and perfect for sewing. Well really, every day is perfect for sewing so hope that wherever you are you find a little time in your day for some sewing too.
We had a great long weekend in the shop and enjoyed catching up with lots of customers who had included a trip to Threadbear in their plans for the 3 day weekend.
Caitlin came in to visit us on the weekend with her Mum and her Mother in Law..and look what she brought with her..

Thank you Caitlin for sharing this gorgeous quilt...it is such a pretty quilt, so many beautiful fabrics in this quilt, gorgeous colours, and what a great pattern for using some favorite fabrics that you would like to feature in larger pieces.

We also had a visit from Tricia with some show and tell.  Wow, Tricia is very speedy because it was only a week ago that she was in Threadbear to choose this lovely collection of pretty fabrics and now it is a finished quilt top, ready to go off to the quilter.  Tricia has made this quilt as a gift for her Granddaughter, and we are sure she is going to love it.

See this empty chair...well we are counting down in days, minutes and seconds because next week Sammy will back at work...we are so excited, we have all missed him so much and can't wait for him to be back, greeting customers, and keeping us all company..lets hope he is happy to come back to work after his time at the luxury resort. It is probably a good time to mention how much we have missed Corliss and Kurt too and how lovely it will be to have them back home at Threadbear.

Greetings on a winters day

Inspired by the beautiful old photo Kurt sent us of a drapers store from somewhere back through the mists of time, we are sending you our greetings from Threadbear.  We tried to recreate the scene with more accuracy but we could not find a horse and buggy anywhere on such short notice.

A long weekend ahead means an extra day of sewing and the weather is cold & grey, just perfect for sitting indoors and sewing.
Friday is the day to gather together all your sewing supplies by the comfiest chair in the house..hopefully close to a fire..all at the ready for a lovely weekend of sewing.  Don't forget that weekend sewing supplies include chocolate, red and white wine, take away menus, and more chocolate.
And if you do need any fabric we have a nice cozy fire keeping the shop warm and Megan will be right by the door ready to welcome you to Threadbear..as per photo. We're open as usual throughout the Queen's Birthday long weekend ~ Saturday 10-4pm, Sunday and Monday 11am-4pm.

Happy long weekend everyone.

Sewing at 10000 feet

While Sammy is living it up at his holiday resort with his new love interest,  Corliss and Kurt have been enjoying a long overdue break from Threadbear to catch up with family in the States.  And for Corliss, that also means finally some time to sew... in the plane.

 Meantime, I have also been making progress with my new quilt, so, between us,  hopefully, that means we'll have two new quilts for Threadbear's stand at the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair in July.

 Finally, a gorgeous old photo of a drapers shop which Kurt sent us.   It bears a feint resemblance to Threadbear's shop front don't you think - with some imagination,... if you squint a bit, ...and ignore the tree trunk through the verandah, ...and the horse and buggy..... 

  We're looking forward to having everyone back home in Castlemaine safe and sound after a great holiday... with pleanty of holiday stories and adventures to share ...especially Sammy!

Holiday romance heats up

Well, for any one that has been wondering how Sammy is getting on you only have to look at this photo to see that he is in fine form and we need not worry about him enjoying his holiday..he is spending a bit of time on the sofa with his best girl Meg, relaxing and snoozing, exactly what we are meant to do on holiday..

Sammy loves Meg

And then after a bit of a snooze there is time for a few games with the boys..as you can see it looks like the perfect holiday.

Follow me boys

Corliss's beautiful Civil War Bride quilt hangs in the shop at Threadbear, close to our counter where we can see it and we never tire of looking at this stunning quilt.

,

We enjoy looking at it every day, but we did have some extra fun this week when Bernie and Joy came for a visit...well, they came to visit the Civil War Bride quilt really, to check out all the gorgeous colours in the quilt, and to stock up on supplies.

,

Bernie and Joy have got together to make a Civil War Bride quilt and when they finish the quilt they plan to raffle it for charity. It is always such great fun to get together with a friend each week for some sewing, as Bernie and Joy have been doing, but so generous to be doing all that beautiful stitching with others in mind.

They showed us the blocks they have completed so far and they are beautiful..We had great fun talking to them both about their blocks, and their plans for the quilt when it is finished.  They plan to come back to see us in a month or so with some more finished blocks so there will be more photos to enjoy.

We all get excited over beautiful fabric but most of us don't usually get too worked up over backing fabrics...

But this backing fabric, delivered today.....well, how gorgeous is it.  This is a wide width backing from the Wintergreen range, $33.00 mt...108" wide and it is an absolute stunner, so pretty and a really beautiful soft quality too...it is so beautiful that it almost makes you want to finish some quilts..good grief, did we say that.