Avonleigh Country Quilting

Sea of Dreams... sneak peak!!

Shhh!  Don't tell Sharon that I'm letting you see this! ;-))  I'm supposed to be making up the kits at the back so we can get these out into the shop as soon as possible.  But I couldn't resist sharing this gorgeous children's range with you.

How fun are these fabrics??  I'm going to be taking one home to make for my cousin's first grandchild.  Do you think little Harley would like this?

The complimentary range is wonderful too - so bright and cheerful!  Yes, I sneaked a photo of that for you too! :-)))  Aren't they wonderful?

 

 

 

They'll be in the shop later today - promise!

We'll have to do it again......soon!!

was the verdict at the end of our first PPP night at Avonleigh!!  Pizzas were consumed, old friends caught up with, new friends made, ideas traded, projects admired, assistance sought and given, loads of piecing done.... oh yes, and the ocassional glass of pink champagne or wine imbibed genteelly!.... and copious amounts of chocolates simply disappeared from the tables!!  ;-)))

Sharon and I closed the doors just after midnight feeling that we are very lucky to share in the sisterhood of the patchworking world.  Thank you all for making it such a great evening! 

ps - I noticed that the rowdy crowd in Sharon's room were the early faders.  The quieter, well-behaved attendees in my room stayed the distance!! ;-)))

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to laugh at the difference in hexie size!!

Nicole takes the prize

You may remember that Nicole attended Sharon's Stack n Slash class for Juniors earlier this year.  Well, Nicole went on to finish her quilt using up her scraps to make her border..... and then entered it into the Tallangatta Show.

She took the award for "Most Outstanding Piece of Work."  How good is that??  Congratulations, Nicole!  You did a great job. :-))

And yes, the fabric and colours were all Nicole's choice and she did all the work. :-))

 

 

 

Nighty Night Owl

A gorgeous range of owl fabric, perfect for little ones, has just been unpacked!  See the full range of Nighty Night Owl by Viv Eisner in our online shop.

We'll be making up some kits in this range over the next few days too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning Sashiko Panels....

How beautiful are these two Wagara Sashiko panels that have just arrived in the shop?? Cranes, owls, fans and other gorgeous patterns for you to embroider.  They come in navy and red and we have the Sashiko thread too.  I'll have these in the online shop today so if you can't get in to Macauley Street, order them online and we'll keep them (or post them) to you.  The Sashiko category in our online shop now shows our range of panels, thread and needles.  We're waiting for the Sashiko thimbles to be delivered.

Never done Sashiko embroidery?  Not to worry - it's a running stitch - and that's pretty easy for all of us to do, even me! :-)  Have a look at this Youtube video to see sashiko being stitched.

Sashiko YouTube video

The key to the Sashiko simple embroidery that these panels use, is to keep the proportions of the stich correct - and the panel has that already marked out for you! 

Traditionally, Sashiko running stich has a 3:2 proportion with the larger stitch being on the right side of the fabric.  So if your stitch on top is 3mm long, the one underneath should be 2mm. 

None of us is perfect and it takes a little practice but you should soon have the hang of it.  We also have some sample panels if you wish to practice on them before going on to this gorgeous panel.  Alternatively, mark out your own simple design and use it to make a small bag or pin cushion.

Try something new today and make these beautiful Japanese projects - and remember - they are SO portable as you don't use a hoop when stitching.... another easy project to take in the caravan with you if you're one of the army heading off for warmer climes during our winter.

Lucky Dip bags back in stock

Our lucky dip scrap bags are now back in stock!  Approximately 300g in weight (equivalent to 4 or 5 fat 1/4's), the bags cost only $6.  These bags are perfect for applique, English paper piecing (think hexies, Pies & Tarts or Apple Cores) or just for doing a scrap project!  The bag includes smaller squares or rectangles, strips cut across the bolt, bolt ends and other larger pieces.

They sell out fast once everyone knows they're there so hurry in and pick up your lucky dip bag if you need one.  Perfect as a starter kit for the Pies and Tarts quilt or workshop!

Sorting out our stash!!

Oh yes, we have one too!!!!  A huge stash that threatens to take over the store room completely some days!!  Left overs from projects, BOMs, samples, bolt ends, half-completed projects - you name it, we've got it!!

So yesterday I decided to make some lucky dip scrap bags for the shop..... and ended up sorting out the entire stash!!  It took all day and the table looks reasonably tidy when I took these photos but at one stage I had 4 HUGE boxes out on the table with me!

3 large bags of scraps are now going to two local schools for their projects  (thanks Lynne and Lee!), lucky dip bags have been made, fat 1/4's and fat 1/8's have been cut, pupils in Wendy's class scored when we gave away half-finished projects, Wendy's teaching scrap box is full again and the stash we kept (well, we couldn't get rid of it all!!!) is
neatly sorted into: Scraps, Backings, backgrounds, wadding and Other!  There are still large pieces of fabric to be cut up into fat 1/4's or used in our samples but everything else looks pretty neat and tidy.... until we're looking for that one perfect piece to complete a project!!! ;-)))

When did you last sort your stash and how do you find it easiest to store it all??  Come on, let us into your secret! :-))  I still have to get stuck into my sewing room and stash at home too.... sigh.

 

ANZAC Day 2012

Please note that we are closed on ANZAC Day Wednesday, 25 April 2012 and re-open Thursday, 26th April at 10am.

We Will Remember them.

Our stunning little vintage prints and free pattern

We're loving the new 1930's Everything But The Kitchen Sink 2012 range and have fallen completely in love with some of the small prints and spots.  Neither Sharon nor I have really been vintage fabric lovers but this range caught our eye and it's growing on us daily! What's not to love about this gorgeous little print? - and it comes in two other colours as well!  :-)))

The full range is now in the on-line shop so you can browse to your heart's content even if you can't get into the Macauley Street shop.

 

 

Then there are the gorgeous spots in six different colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A couple of little baby prints.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 Some pretty florals

 

 

 

 

  

And others with zing!

There's a gorgeous free pattern available that would look great made in this range too.  It has 2 other patterns featuring Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Bill but unfortunately we don't have those two panels of fabric - only the fabric for the feature quilt.

A counter full of 1930's fabric!!!

Our new range of Everything But the Kitchen Sink 2012 has just arrived - check out these wonderful 1930's little prints.  No prizes for guessing what I'm trying to enter into stock as fast as my fingers will let me! :-)  Just look at the back counter! :-)))  We love it when we get new fabric into the shop..... I'm just not too sure where I'm going to put it all!!