Fabrics in and Wasps out

It's all about the fabric today.

Party of twelve

 

Party of twelve

We have Judy Rothermel's new range, Party of Twelve. It is a huge range,36 pieces in total so it really required some shelf shuffling.  It is on our web site if you would like to have a closer look at all those great classic Judy Rothermel patterns & colours.

Tavern Reds

Tavern Reds by Paul Barnes arrived at the same time, 13 in this range, in rich chocolates and deep reds, also on the web site if you would like a closer look.

And five more of the prettiest blenders from the Americana Collection.

We have an addition to our Aurifil threads with some new 50 weight colours in a larger size,1300 mts, a handy size to have in your sewing basket in the colours you use the most.

Yuwa florals

and more

Last but not least we received a special order of gorgeous Yuwa fabrics. There are 15 soft and pretty romantic florals, all at the sale price of $24.00 metre. We more beautiful Japanese floral fabrics on order expected mid-year but these 15 will certainly have us wanting more.

The last of the Fabric Club mail out

Hoorah  to all the fabric club members..your next mail out is on its way.  We got our fabrics cut, packed and ready to send in double quick time today with the help of Megan's son Jack. Jack popped in for a visit at just the right time to join us for a bit of voluntary work experience.

Lucky lucky Jack

We can't end the week without a HUGE thank you to our hero Kurt, who saved us all from certain peril when he dropped everything and raced down to the shop to clear a European wasp's nest we found at the rear of the shop.  Megan was viciously attacked by the evil little creatures and stung 6 times so we have been saved from further injury by Kurt's brave efforts.

Wasp fighting equipment

Lots of new fabric

Wow...how beautiful is this fabric!!!!!

Antoinette blenders

Antoinette

It is from the Antoinette range and comes with several blenders that are all very pretty..but this is just stand out gorgeous.

Busy busy

and busy

Great fun was had by all at Margaret McDonald's class on Saturday..everyone left with their heads swimming with the new tips & techniques they learned from Margaret,& with quilt tops well on the way to completion.
Our next class, fussy cutting with Di ford is coming up this Sunday...Fussy cutting is such fun and very addictive...can you imagine how much fun everyone will have.  We have one place remaining in this class, due to a late cancellation, if anyone would like to join in...just call us at the shop if you would like the class details.

what will be inside

Look at all these boxes that have just arrived..we will dive in and unpack them this afternoon so it won't be hard to guess what our next post will be about.

That is lots of fabric to put on the shelves...Sammy is exhausted just thinking about it.

Busy weekend at Threadbear

We are heading into a busy weekend in the shop,starting with Margaret McDonald's class,Railway Crossing,on Saturday. Eight ladies are in for a fantastic day as they start their Railway
Crossing quilts with Margaret's help and guidance and we are all looking forward to seeing some of the results as they progress...and  maybe some photos for our blog.

Margaret McDonald  Railroad Crossing

Our regular Sewline delivery arrived this week with some new products included ,so of course we had to dive in and trial the new pens and needle threader they sent us. We are already in love with the Sewline needle threader and recommend it as the best needle threader available..and now Sewline have added a second to their range made for larger needles,size 4-8. If you like using a larger needle this is for you,and like the one we already use,for needles size 9-12, it will take all the stress and swear words out of needle threading and make sewing days even more fun.

Highly recommended

There are two new pens, a fine tip quick drying permanent marker great for drawing on template plastic & Mylar sheets as it won't smudge or wear away.....and a great fine liner designed for marking light fabrics,it leaves a fine pale blue line & is water erasable.

We received a lovely big box of blenders today, New Traditions, 28 in total, ranging from lights with small shirting prints right though to deep browns & greys....they are lovely prints and colours and are sure to prove handy in the search for that perfect blender.

We also received three fabrics from the Vintage Rose range ...a beautiful dusty blue blender and two absolutely beautiful tiny floral stripes,one dusty pink & one in blue....Megan loves these stripes so that is a great recommendation.

Well thank goodness it is cooler today and it is a Friday so we are celebrating by eating chocolate..and plenty of it..and we encourage you to do the same. Just when we were worried sick that our chocolate supply may run out before the end of the day we received this lovely gift from a grateful customer .Thank you Elaine..yum..chocolate and an easy way to thread needles, what could be better than that.

Primarily Quilts by Di Ford

This morning we were thrilled to receive the cover photo of Di's new book Primarily Quilts ~ 19th Century Inspiriations.  And if the cover is anything to go by... we know the book will be totally irresistable.

We are air freighting our order of books in from Quiltmania in every hope they will arrive before 13 April for our Australian launch.  If you haven't already reserved your copy, it's not too late ~ we still have a limited number available for pre-ordering, so just phone or email us here at the shop.

New week

Well, we are all fresh as a daisy and ready to enjoy a new week. Well no, not really, we have decided we are all way too hot, totally over summer and wishing for some cooler weather....so much nicer for hand sewing.

It has been lovely having lots of visitors to the shop in the last week as classes and sewing days resume for 2013, and we have already had lots of new projects to sticky beak.
Our Tuesday and Friday sewing groups have both had their first gatherings for the year and at first glance it looks like we are going to have lots of really beautiful finished quilts to look at as the year progresses.

Tuesday sewing

All of our classes for first semester are filling quickly and there are only a few classes with places remaining. We have a few places in Margaret McDonald's Woven Burgoyne on May 12th, and several free spots for Harmony on June 23rd.

Woven Burgoyne May 12th.

Harmony June 23rd.

These classes are such a great way to spend a Sunday so if you would like to join us for a day of sewing, fun, yummy food & great company just give us a call at the shop and we can give you all the details.

3 titles by Jo Morton

Today we had a delivery of books from Jo Morton. These books are self published by Jo and wow...they are such nice books, beautifully printed with clear instructions for both appliqué and piecing.

They are a great price at $29.50 and best of all will be great as a gift idea for sewing friends because they have projects for all skill levels.

And most important of all...Kurt and Sammy say a big hi to all.

Something old, something french, and something japanese

We have had no new fabric deliveries so far this week, but that hasn't stopped temptation coming our way. This time from Kurt who brought in to his shop some of the new tables he has been making. Absolutely  gorgeous little side tables...just made to sit next to a favourite chair with a sewing basket for a bit of hand sewing.

Our latest delivery of Patchwork Tsushin magazines from Japan has just arrived. We received 4 editions in this delivery & each edition is choc full of beautiful projects...lots & lots of pretty little purses & bags to make as well as some real quilt inspiration...they are such visually beautiful magazines that it doesn't seem to matter that we can't read any Japanese, & thank goodness, the project instructions are always illustrated & easy to follow.

 The ladies that attended our last CAG meeting will remember this stunning fabric as the one that sold out way too quickly for every one to buy a piece..how lucky are we that Corliss secured us one last bolt that arrived in the shop the other day..we can't get any more of this fabric so if you wanted some at CAG and missed out make sure you give us a call at the shop.

And more new fabric

No sooner had we unpacked our delivery of Spice Market, than another delivery landed at our door,so once again we were quickly unpacking to see what goodies had arrived.                                          
This time we have a new range from Moda...Audra's Iris Garden. We have fourteen fabrics from this range including small background prints and tone on tones in such beautiful rich, deep colours of gold, red green and purple that you just want them all.

a new favourite background fabric!

New to our shelves...........

In walked the delivery man today with Jo Morton's newest range Spice Market.  It's always a rush to rip open the cartons and see what new fabrics we have and these ones did not disappoint.  Lots of small prints in rich tan, cheddar, rusty orange and an almost aubergine reddish-brown.
 Hard to describe, so take a look at these photos...

For a better look, click here and see each swatch close up.  

Another great Applique Group day...

We had our first Castlemaine Applique Group meeting on Saturday ~ another great day with lots of chatting and sewing.

 Rosalee Clarke of Jane Austen Quilt fame was our guest speaker and showed us many of her gorgeous quilts~ here are just a few.

Rosalee's faithful reproduction of the Jane Austen Quilt.

The centre fabric is an exact reproduction of the centre from Jane Austen's quilt.  A blog friend sent it to Rose, inspiring her to make this mini version.

another beauty, Rose used the Dutch Chintz Tree of Life panel in the centre

more reproduction fabrics and a gorgeous border print!

Fun in the shop as well as at the gathering.

Four days till CAG.

Another busy day for us in the shop today,getting ready for the first gathering of the Castlemaine Applique Group for 2013. Full house again, we are all looking forward to a great day, and don't forget to bring your shown & tell.

look at these great door prizes