What a Lovely Day.

We all had a wonderful day on Saturday at our Castlemaine Appliqué Group meeting..thank you so much to everyone that came and helped to make the day such fun...lots of happy people together always makes for a great day, and we were treated to the most the most sensational Show & Tell..wow CAG members are so talented, and so generous to share their amazing work with everyone so we can all enjoy these beautiful quilts and go home full of inspiration and renewed enthusiasm to work on our own projects.  CAG's first exhibition will be fabulous!  Mark your diary: March 15 & 16, 2014.

Joan's Quilt

Alita's "Georgetown Circles" pattern by Michelle Yeo

Felicity's "Abbeyville County" pattern by Michelle Yeo

Dorothy's "English Baskets" pattern by Corliss Searcey

Ellen's "Phebe" pattern by Di Ford

Merri's "Civil War Bride" pattern by Corliss Searcey

We are already eagerly looking forward to our next CAG meeting planned for October 5th. It promises to be a huge day. Not only will we have the pleasure of getting together with all our regular members but we are also to be joined by Petra Prins, An Moonen, and Nel Kooiman from Holland...Petra and An will be talking to us about their latest book, " Promenade in a Dutch Garden" and Petra and Nel will have their brand new fabric range of Dutch Chintz to show us...everyone has agreed to bring something special for Show & Tell to share with our visitors, as well as our usual sit & sew, so it looks like being a fantastic day from start to finish...if you are not already on our CAG list and would like to join us for this fantastic day just email us and let us know that you would like to attend and we will contact you with all the details.

We are always saying how beautiful the Quiltmania books are so we are happy to have this title back in stock.

Scrappy quilts(mania) by Linda McIntyre Koenig sold out quickly last time we had it in stock..

It is another lovely Quiltmania publication, beautifully photographed and it has lots of great projects for scrappy quilts, great for using up all the leftovers.

Sammy also had a fantastic day on Saturday, we don't think he was as inspired by the Show & Tell as we all were, but he had a great day in the shop, he got to catch up with so many of his friends and got more pats than he could count on all his paws.  He also got to spend some quality time with his friend Di Ford and was happy to help her with her book signing...even had some advise on what she should write. {or was it a big secret!}

Shop tour

"Antique Applique Sampler" by Corliss Searcey

After all the excitment of the show we are happy to have all our quilts back home and hanging in the shop so we thought we would take you on a shop tour so you can see the our new quilts hanging in their new home

"Heartfelt" by Margaret McDonald

"Miss Matty's Parlour" by Megan Carroll

"Worthing Downs" by Megan Carroll

..and we have more of our quilts, now happily hanging in the class room...

"Mrs. Williams" by Corliss Searcey

"Hertfordshire" by Megan Carroll

"Civil War Bride" by Corliss Searcey

If you are regular visitors you will see them when you come to the shop but if you live too far away for regular visits we hope you enjoy our mini guided tour?

We have 3 of the fabrics from Jan Pateks new range for Moda, "Crossroads", in the shop this week and if you are a fan of dusty teals well you will absolutely love these prints.

And another larger range to tempt us is "New Colonies" by Nancy Gere.

These are all reproduction prints, 1830 to 1890, with a combination of great colours. More sought after purples and some vibrant yellows, reds and greens...

Great colours to herald spring, only a few weeks away now.

Now..take a look at this fantastic book..."History Repeated" Block Exchange Quilts by the 19th Century Patchwork Divas by Betsy Chutchian and Carol Staehle..

Just this little sneak peak is enough to excite, it is a beautiful book and it is full of great projects, with added inspiration if you are looking for patterns to help you achieve a scrappy look.

Sammy is resting up for his big day tomorrow at CAG..he will busy greeting friends all day so he has decided on an easy day today, curled up on a chair, but still in the doorway so he can see everything that goes on...he doesn't want to miss out on any pats...have a great weekend everyone.

Too many bags are never enough.

Well look what we have now....we have just got over the excitement of Di Ford's gorgeous "Phebe" bags and now we have these great "Dear Jane" bags as well...but you know the rule...you can never have too many bags.  If you are one of the many "Janiacs" out there, or if you just love pretty things, well you will surely love these bags....contact us by phone or email if you would like one, they are $10.00 each

We are always excited about something here at Threadbear and this week we are getting ready for our next  CAG (Castlemaine Appliqué Group) meeting, this coming Saturday, August 10th.  We always look forward to CAG, it is a great day of fun and inspiration...it brings friends together from far and wide and everyone leaves full of inspiration from a day spent sewing together, sharing ideas, and enjoying the amazing show and tell.  We always book out early for CAG but this month we are thinking of adding a few extra chairs so if you are free on Saturday and you would like to join us, just email us or phone us at the shop and come for a sit and sew, yummy sandwiches and the best show and tell around..it is $15.00 for the day, with lunch provided.

Sammy looks forward to CAG more than anyone else, it is a huge day for him as he gets to welcome so many of his friends to the shop..he likes to catch up on all the news...and is very happy to receive all those extra pats.
And in breaking news, the sheep dog trials came to Threadbear this week as Sammy broke his way through the fence and ran next door to play with Lamby....and he came back with very muddy paws indeed.

Sammy's escape route

Visitors

We are back to freezing cold days in castlemaine this week, but why complain when it is the perfect weather for being inside for a sit and sew.  It has been a great day at Threadbear today with visitors a plenty...this evening we will have our 6.00 to midnight group coming for a great night of sewing, chatting, laughing and chocolate eating with a lovely meal to share, and today we have had a visit from the fabulous V8s..

The V8s are fantastic group of stitching friends from Melbourne who booked our classroom for a day of sewing fun. The V8s came to Castlemaine by train and after sewing for a while in the morning went off to a local cafe for lunch and then back to Threadbear for more sewing...can you think of any nicer way to spend a day.

New fabric for today is this pretty one off print...such a pretty fabric, gorgeous colours and lots of happy Edwardian ladies smiling and twirling their umbrellas.

Also new in the shop this week are these cute as cute tins. They are the perfect size to fit in a sewing box or carry bag and they are big enough to hold a couple of threads and some needles and a small pair of scissors....or even a 30cm piece or a fat 1/4 for a gift...but really, the best thing about them is that they are so darn cute.

Sammy knows the only thing to do on cold days is find the nearest quilt and snooze, but he has woken up because he wants to say...."Have a great weekend everyone".

Back home, and stuff everywhere.

Well it is always the same after a party isn't it, first you have all the fun and then it is time to clean up...so we are back from the show and it is time to unload the van and pack away all the goodies. Thank you to everyone who came to visit us at the show, it is your visits, continued support and smiling faces that make the show so much fun for us.

Sammy helped us with every single load we carried from the van, he walked backwards and forwards so many times  he was completely puffed out and ready for a big drink of water. The supervisor always has the hardest job.

And then there were more boxes....while we were busy carrying boxes in through the back door we had a delivery man bringing boxes and boxes of beautiful Quiltmania books in through our front door so we will have some new books for show and tell soon.

We also have some extra copies of Quiltmania magazine...no.95 and the newest edition, straight from France, no. 96.

Issue no.95

Issue no. 96..Feathered Mariners Compass by Michelle Yeo

As with all editions of this wonderful magazine, these issues are both full of beautiful projects to tempt, and articles of interest including some great photos of Di Fords House at Pour L'Amour du Fil in France, earlier this year.

The magazines are $15.95 and have not made it to our web site yet,but just phone us at the shop or send us an email if you would like a copy.

And now, Look Look Look, what we have..

Beautiful gorgeous "Phebe" carry bags, featuring the centre applique panel from Di Ford's "Phebe" Quilt, these bags are also from Quiltmania, so they are beautifully printed.
These bags are $10.00 each and if you didn't get one of these gorgeous bags from the Quiltmania stand at last weeks show, well, once again, just ring us at the shop or send us an email and we can arrange to send you one...We all have ours already, and really, can you imagine carrying your work to your next sewing day in anything but this seasons "must have" accessory.

You never know who is likely to turn up at the shop for a chat and a play but today's visitor took us all by surprise...

Meet lamby, in town with his dad to do some repairs on the shop next to Threadbear..cute, but those curls just don't compare to Sammy's.

All the Fun of the Fair.

Greetings to all from the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair.  We have already had the chance to catch up with many of you and are looking forward to more time to catch up and chat over the next few days.
Kurt and Corliss achieved wonders on Wednesday, turning empty walls and a pile of very heavy boxes into Threadbear's completed stand full of tempting goodies.

Looks like hard work

And still hard at work.

The stand looks great....and.....a fanfare for Corliss, Megan and Margaret please...don't the new quilts look fantastic.

"Antique Applique Sampler" by Corliss Searcey

Can you imagine all the work and effort that has gone into having these four quilts finished in time for the show.

"Heartfelt" by Margaret McDonald

We would also like to say three huge cheers and a mighty thank you to Susan Campbell, of Rowdy Flat Quilting for the amazing quilting on all four of our new quilts. Susan's quilting is absolutely beautiful and we would like to thank her for all the creativity, care and attention to detail that goes into her work.

"Worthing Downs" by Megan Carroll

It is so good to finally show you some photos of the new quilts, we hope you will get to see them all at stand D18 over the weekend, but if you miss out on the show or live too far away to travel, all the pattern details are now on our website and the quilts will be back, hanging in the shop when the show closes.

"Miss Matty's Parlour" by Megan Carroll

If you missed out on this fabulous Mary Koval print from the "Gabrielle" range we have just received more of the bird print in both colour ways.

Our first delivery of this print sold out so quickly, but we were lucky enough to get more...birds are always handy in the stash because you never know when you will need a bird print, and that is always the very time there are none available.

Sammy is a little miffed, and could not believe that he was not permitted entry to the show.

Lots of visitors to to the stand sent back a special hello to Sammy, and in return Sammy would like to send a big hello and best wishes to all of you, with a special cheerio to Colin.

Well we are in for a busy weekend at stand D18..if you come to the show we hope you have a great time and if your are not going to the show this weekend well we hope that means you are at home sewing...have a great weekend everyone.

Lost treasure revealed

There has been lots of lifting, carrying, & moving things around this week at Threadbear as we pack for our trip to the Melbourne show, and....low and behold...look what has revealed itself amongst the mound of boxes.  Do you remember this fabulous John Hewson panel...no longer available, so this is a very rare find indeed...and we found nearly a full bolt that we didn't know we had.  It won't be on our web site but if you would like some just ring or email us at the shop to reserve a panel..a panel consists of two prints. 60cms in length and it is $10.80 per panel.

Kurt and Sammy have been working so hard all morning to get everything packed and we are now ready to head off to the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Fair...we have cut and packed loads and loads of fabrics and we have four new quilts that we can't wait to show you so we hope that you will all come and say hello to us at stand D18 from Thursday 25th through to Sunday 28th July.
Catching up with so many of you makes this such a fun event for us....so see you all there.

Are we there yet..are we there yet???

And if you can't make it to the show, well don't worry because Threadbear will still be open all weekend and we will make sure that we take lots of photos of the show to share with you, so no one misses out on the fun.