Birds, Flowers and drop-dead-gorgeous Paisleys!

More wonderful new fabrics to choose from this week ~ this time from the 3 Sisters for Moda fabrics and all 29 of them are gorgeous!  "Mille Couleurs" is inspired by antique textiles discovered and collected by the 3 Sisters on their many visits to France.   Not only are there sumptuous flowers, birds, damask prints and stripes ~ the paisleys are stunning and Corliss and I both took a little bit home that night to fussy-cut straight away.  The colours are rich yet still gentle -biscuit, mauve/purple, teal, walnut brown and a warm red.

Mille Couleurs $24.50 metre

Mille Couleurs $24.50 metre

Mille Couleurs $24.50 metre

Mille Couleurs $24.50 metre

Mille Couleurs $24.50 metre

 Today we also have the eighth in a series of just 10 of Corliss' favourite blocks from her forthcoming "Celebrating Mary Brown" quilt.  All the 10 blocks will be repeated in the complete pattern which will be released when the quilt is finished early 2016.  But for those eager to make a start or to make just a few of the blocks, the individual block patterns are all available on our website here.

Feathered Wreath Block ~ pattern $9.50

We've been busy cutting and packaging lots of new muffins this week using some of the newest pinks, purples teals, blues, reds, greens, blacks, and yellows from our shelves.

A reminder that we will be open Melbourne Cup Day Tuesday 3 November from 11am-2pm.  
But before that, Threadbear will be at the Ballarat Quilters' Exhibition this weekend and we have lots of tempting fabrics and packs, books and patterns all packed and ready to go. All the details are available here. 
 Of course Sam has been his ever helpful self this week helping in the shop,  but did manage to take a quick minute out of his busy schedule to give Gracie a big sloppy kiss!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Oohh La La!

It's all french and flowery this week at Threadbear with more fabric ranges arriving in store. There are lots of gorgeous prints and colours to choose from, fussy cutting potential, drop dead gorgeous toiles and some stunning florals.  First of all we have Loire Valley from Marcus Fabrics ~ 20 tempting fabrics in a mix of warm coral pink, mid blue, beige, golden brown, and chocolate.  All work together beautifully and would lend a very "south-of-France" feel to any project.  Or, a quick dip in some black tea would bring the colour down enough to work beautifully with many reproduction fabrics also!

Loire Valley $26.50m

Loire Valley $26.50m

Loire Valley $26.50m

As if that wasn't enough, in walked another delivery - this time with the sumptuous collection from Henry Glass Fabrics, "Roswell Mill".  We have 18 in total, including three amazing toiles, some shirting style prints, paisleys, florals, and blenders.  The colours are rich red, greyish-blue bordering on  a light teal, cream, and a deep reddish brown.

Roswell Mill $24.50m

Roswell Mill $24.50m

Roswell Mill $24.50m ~ the toile that appears "gray" is actually a light greenish teal

For Robyn Pandolph fans, this week we added  6 of our favourites from "Esprit Maison" to our shelves.  The golden/mustard and cream striped print is especially tempting and sits so beautifully with the warm vibrant pink of the florals. Despite our best efforts the photos just don't do justice to the colours in this fabric.  What appears quite purple/mauve pink is actually far warmer and more "pink".

Esprit Maison $26.00m

Then just to add more flowers to the mix,  Corliss chose her "Bluebells Block" as the 7th of the 10 "Celebrating Mary Brown" block patterns to be released.  This Bluebells Pattern is now available from our website here, or you can phone us at the shop.

As for Sammy,  he is less interested in the new fabrics being delivered and more interested in making sure we haven't piled any fabrics, folding, or sewing  on his favourite chair. So he decided to claim his chair early and he wasn't moving anytime soon!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Our Applique Group and exhibition preparations

Threadbear's Applique Group met here in Castlemaine once again last Saturday and what a fabulous day we all had.  There was such a warm friendly vibe in the room and lots of discussion about our preparations for our second Exhibition coming up on 12th& 13th March 2016.  For details, contact us at the shop.   It was great to see so many new faces in the room too as the group continues to grow.  We always welcome new members - just email Threadbear to join the Group's email list.  Meanwhile, here's sample of Saturday's Show and Tell.

Jan H's Oh Dear Mrs Thompson (aka the Burnt Quilt)

Jan M's Sampler

Fran's raw edge applique design

another completed Mountmellick

Beverly's Baltimore style applique

Margaret H's lovely quilt in mostly blues and browns

Gypsy Jazz

Corliss' newest quilt,  Celebrating Mary Brown, is getting closer to being finished and it's going to be a stunner when it's all put together.  Meantime, here is the 6th in a series of 10 of Corliss' favourite blocks from her quilt.   This Cornucopia block pattern is available from today.  You'll find the Celebrating Mary Brown block patterns here on our website.

Cornucopia pattern from Celebrating Mary Brown

Spring has well and truly sprung here in Castlemaine and the courtyard at Threadbear is looking beautiful, with the wisteria, banksia rose and flowering cherry all smelling delicious as we brush past.  And plenty of bees buzzing around for Sammy to try and catch!

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

More Mary Brown . . . and new fabrics abound

This week Spring has morphed into Summer literally overnight with high temperatures, big winds and scary bush fires.  Here's hoping Spring returns so we relax again and return to our stitching with everyone safe.   

To keep our spirits up we have a new collection called 'Kindred Spirits' by Jill Shaulis of Yellow Creek Designs.  Here we have twenty five fabrics in rich colours with interesting prints of stripes, herringbone, stars and more . . .

Kindred Spirits . .  $23.50 per metre

Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits

To lighten things up we also have a yummy new shirting range from Jo Morton called 'Mill Run Shirtings'.  You can never have enough shirtings for your reproduction stash so have a look at these . . .

Mill Run Shirtings by Jo Morton . . . $22.00 per metre

And yet another block from 'Celebrating Mary Brown' ~ the fifth in this series of favourite blocks.  If you can't wait for the complete pattern release early next year this one may tempt you ~ it's the 'Squirrel Block' with more gorgeous birds and berries.

'Celebrating Mary Brown' . . . Squirrel block

It looks like Sam was a little worried by the threatening weather earlier this week as he collected his favourite toys and stashed them near his food bowl.  All his treasures in one place ~ just what we need to do in preparation for the fire season.  

Let's see . . . my bowl, my bunny, my bone, my frisbee ~ where's my chook?

 

New fabric, spring sunshine, & a long weekend !

The shop is bursting at the seams with new fabrics at the moment with lots of new ranges arriving in store over the last week.  With lots of moving bolts and rearranging shelves, we have managed to find a home for 8 new ranges!  Here are just a couple to tempt you.   Friendship Ring is a collection of wonderful soft reds, overdyed pink, aubergine and chocolate with a smattering of cheddar accents. The prints are all small scale and so pretty in geometrics , spots and flowers. 

Friendship Ring $23.50 metre.

Friendship Ring $23.50 metre.

Have a look at THESE! New from Judie Rothermel and in a great mix of colours comes Georgetown shades of slate blue and tan, sparked with reds and neutral brown tones, mid green, pink and golden yellow.  There are some great prints in this range and lots of fussy cutting and applique potential!

Georgetown $26.50m

Georgetown $26.50m

Flying Geese  $23.50

It's Thursday today ~ so time for Corliss' next block pattern from "Celebrating Mary Brown", her current work in progress.  This is pattern number 4 ~ Flowerpot Block.  As we've explained before, Corliss is releasing just 10 of her favourite blocks from the quilt over 10 weeks while she stitches late into the night to complete this rather big and very beautiful applique quilt.  The complete pattern will be available early 2016 and will include patterns for all 80 or so blocks. But in the meantime, if you just want a head start or want to use a few blocks in a small project, you might consider individual block patterns.

Celebrating Mary Brown ~ Flowerpot block $9.50

It's the Australian Football Grand Final weekend and in their wisdom, the State Government has declared Friday 2 October a public holiday giving everyone here a lovely long weekend.  Threadbear will be open over the long weekend as follows ~ Friday 11am-2pm, Saturday 10am-2pm, & Sunday 11am - 2pm.  
 With the mellow spring sunshine here in Castlemaine this week, Sam has been out in the garden with Kurt end enjoying a game with his favourite bunny.  Have a GREAT weekend everyone.