Merry Christmas Everyone!

This is our last blog post for 2016 - and what a fabulous year it's been at Threadbear with our second Applique Group Exhibition, classes and workshops with Di Ford and Katrina Hadjimichel, new patterns and fabrics, and of course our monthly Applique Group and Passionate Piecers Group meetings.  We're all looking forward to some down-time over Christmas and New Year and will be back on deck to reopen Thursday 5th January 2017. 

There are now only 10 sleeps till Christmas!  If you still need a gift for someone special, including yourself, you have three shopping days left before we close for Christmas on Sunday 18 December, so don't delay!  And just to tempt you, take a look at these utterly beautiful Yuwa Live fabrics that arrived this morning.  Reminiscent of early 20th century eiderdowns, these delicate paisley prints are soft and romantic in pale pinks or duck-egg blue.

Yuwa Live paisleys $39.00m

 Our Castlemaine Applique Group had its Christmas meeting last Saturday and we all loved seeing the quilts of Wendy Blyth, our guest speaker.  Wendy is a prolific quilter, has been a very active member of Kilmore Quilters and Vic Quilters, and is always a regular at our meetings.  Here's just a smattering of her beautiful quilts.

Pattern ~ Gypsy Jazz by Robyn Falloon

Pattern ~ Sarah Morrell Quilt by Di Ford

pattern ~ Drayton Hall by Di Ford

pattern ~ Poppies by Di Ford

pattern ~ Antique Wedding Sampler by Di Ford

pattern ~ Sarah's Revival

pattern Blessings by Robyn Falloon

pattern ~ Dutch Treat

To see more of Wendy's quilts, go to our Instagram page.  Following Wendy was a great Show and Tell.  Here are some highlights.

We wish all our customers and friends a very safe and happy Christmas and New Year.  Thanks for tuning in each week and for all the lovely cards and festive greetings.  May we all find some rest and relaxation and sewing time over the holidays.  Merry Christmas Everyone !

Christmas Pumpkin Pie in a cosy Log Cabin

By now I'm sure everyone's  Christmas preparations are in full swing.  Mine, ... not so much.  Although I have bought some exceptionally nice wrapping paper!  With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and cooking, and socialising, here's an opportunity to pause and take a  few moments for yourself.  Grab a cuppa and take a look at a few of the newest fabrics to arrive at Threadbear this week.

First up we have 5 stunners from Pumpkin Pie by Laundry Basket Quilts.  The Jacobean style feature florals are fantastically detailed and boldly coloured.  We also love the tiny delicate floral/vine stripes in blue and pinky-red. Plus the small medallion print is a fussy-cutter's dream!

Pumpkin Pie $25.50m

Pumpkin Pie $25.50m

Pumpkin Pie sitting pretty with Elizabeth's Dowry!

Next we have 2 great basics to show you from Silver Linings, also by Laundry Basket Quilts.  The first is a handy mid green with teeny tiny yellow crosses.  The second, and a personal favourite, is the ircky mustardy greenish gold with a fine black cross hatch.  It would be perfect for appliqued flower centres, pineapples, & sunflowers.  And it sits beautifully with the Pumpkin Pie florals too!

Silver Linings $25.50

 A few months ago we introduced our mini Bow Tie rolls which proved to be so popular that we have only 1 left.  This time we have our new Mini Log Cabin Rolls on offer, inspired by this gorgeous log cabin quilt created by Lynn Jenkins.  Each Roll has 50 fabrics ~ 25 light & 25 dark ~ each 6" x 14" with a FREE block pattern for this 6" Log Cabin block for foundation piecing .  Choose from 4 different fabric combinations.  

Log Cabin Rolls $60.00 ~ inspired by a quilt made by Lynn Jenkins

We hope your Christmas shopping is under control and that someone has you at the top of their Christmas List too! Don't forget we offer gift vouchers from $50 to $250 on our website so you could always send them this link as a not so subtle hint! In the meantime, perhaps we should all take a leaf out of Sammy's book and just grab our best buddy (in Sam's case his best teddy) and play in the sunshine for a while!  Have a great weekend everyone!  

Savannah Classics, Elizabeth's Dowry, and Bronte's Garden!

Savannah Classics by Sara Morgan for Washington Street Studio arrived in store this week to tempt us all.  With lots of delicate pretty prints in rich melted chocolate brown, musk pink, bone and watery green, this collection would be brilliant together or blended with your stash.  There are 21 in all and plenty to take your fancy.

Savannah Classics $26.50

Savannah Classics $26.50m

Savannah Classics $26.50m

Here are 5 of our favourite picks from Elizabeth's Dowry by Karen Styles and the Quilter's Guild of the British Isles for Marcus Fabrics.   We absolutely love the check and plaid, and they sit so beautifully with the florals.

Elizabeth's Dowry $28.00m

Elizabeth's Dowry $28.00m

Elizabeth's Dowry $28.00m

Bronte's Garden by Robyn Falloon continues to be a favourite of many quilters around the world and it was lovely to kit up the whole quilt for Melanie this week.  The rich tans, reds, blacks and greens are still a fantastic combination!

Bronte's Garden - available on request.  Pattern by Robyn Falloon.

 This week sees the start of our summer and the hot Australian sun will soon be fading the roses in our gardens, so we're enjoying the end of the spring blooms from the garden today here in the shop.

 And with lots of people travelling to see family and friends before Christmas, we've had loads of visitors to Threadbear this week, and all have been greeted by the Head of the official welcoming committee... that would be Sam!  He had an especially fun visit with Christine's grand daughter Isabella with extra cuddles and pats. Have a great weekend everyone!

Sale fabric, Gift Vouchers, Show & Tell, and letters to Santa

Christmas Hours ~ close Sunday 18 December 2016
                            Re-open Thursday 5 January 2017

Are you like many of our customers - busily finishing off quilts as gifts or  to make way for new projects in the new year?  Well have we got a treat for you.  Our extra-wide backing fabrics are now all on sale with 20% off the regular price.  They are now all on our website so check them out here. We currently have 6 different prints to choose from in red, deep green, light tan, cream, bone.

20% off all extra-wide backing fabrics

With Christmas shopping now in full swing, we've made our ever popular Threadbear Gift Vouchers available to buy on-line.  You'll find a choice of Threadbear vouchers now on our website here.

Gift vouchers are now available on our website

 What a treat it was last Saturday for our Passionate Piecers group to see all these beautiful quilts from our guest speaker, Jude Leibman. Jude is also a regular at our Castlemaine Applique group so we were treated to a mix of pieced and applique treasures! Thankyou again Jude for filling your car boot with of all your lovely quilts for us to see.

With Santa's Letterbox now open for business in our local Post Office, children and Spoodles everywhere are busy preparing their Christmas lists and writing that all important letter to Santa.  Sam might just need a little help holding the pen!  Have a great weekend everyone!