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. :-))
06:00 AM in Avonleigh | Permalink | Comments (0)
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.
05:33 PM in Avonleigh | Permalink | Comments (0)
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.
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.
08:28 AM in Avonleigh | Permalink | Comments (0)
The 3rd Marg Low From Me to You Club project is called Stuck on You and is a collection of gorgeous stitcheries. You can glue a magnet inside for a lovely fridge magnet or add ribbon and a name for a lovely gift tag. This project uses up those scraps of fabric you don't really know what to do with, the small bits of left-over ribbon from other projects and can be stitched in an evening! It doesn't get much better, does it?
Leanne made this gorgeous little fridge magnet well ahead of time for Christmas!! Love it! And....
Beth made this cute fridge magnet too. I love little birds (Robins) on Christmas decorations - takes me right back to seeing the Red Robin my grandmother used to feed the left-over bread to when I was a young child growing up in Wales. I used to stand inside with my nose pressed against the window while she went outside in the freezing cold to feed them. The sparrows would hop down and then out would come the Robin too. So gorgeous.
08:10 AM in Classes, Marg Low | Permalink | Comments (0)
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!
03:00 PM in Avonleigh | Permalink | Comments (0)
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.
08:20 AM in Avonleigh | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sue has been attending Elizabeth Hemsley's dressmaking classes here at Avonleigh, first making the skirt and then progressing on to making this gorgeous blouse! In typical Sue fashion, this is the second blouse she whippped up during the course while the rest of us were quite content to make the one we were learning on. :-))
Sue found the fabric for this lovely blouse in the shop and rushed off to show the rest of the girls the fabric and the blouse when they arrived. Love it, Sue. It looks fantastic!
09:10 AM in Classes | Permalink | Comments (0)