TheSilverThimble

Try again......

I did try to post last night but was having trouble with photos.....then I hit a wrong button and lost the lot! I'm sure these computers are wonderful things, just wish I knew how to drive them sometimes!!

Wonderful rain in the district, hope you've all had your share. I'm in town at present, the river at home too deep to cross, so I have been making slow progress in the shop cutting fq's and reorganising fabrics. I need to make room on the shelves for the FOUR BOXES out the back!! (I've only had a sneek peak in two of them)

Still no luck with photos tonight so will just have to tell you about those that I have unpacked - lots of new novelties, fishing, motocross, cats and cows. A few Australiana prints - great flags - several Aboriginal prints and a swag of batiks. Also some great new Bali Pops, the 2 1/2" precut strips.

I have pencilled in some dates for our retreat weekends but these have NOT been confirmed as yet, but just so you have a rough idea, the first one is for the first weekend in March (2/3/4) and will be an Anything Goes workshop. I will not be taking names until 2 weeks beforehand, 20th February, and the limit will be 20 people. The remaining weekends will be June, Sept and November but I will confirm the dates just as soon as I can.

How are you going with your scrappy Mystery Medallion quilt? I know that lot's of them have been finished and they all look great. Therese from Patchwork Pumpkin has designed another one and has very kindly allowed us all to participate again. I have finished the first block and am awaiting instructions for the second round. Same rules as before, all from your stash etc. but this time the sizing suits Jelly Rolls, Charm Paks and Layer Cakes (just in case you have a few lying around!) The quilt itself is slightly smaller than the last one.

Hopefully, by next post, I'll be able to solve the "no photo issue", so until then,

Talk soon, Sandy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR...(Chinese that is!!)...

It's   been    a     while    ...    hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and the New Year has been kind to you.  We've had the longest festive season/holiday on record I think.  We've had lots and lots of lovely family time, the second table added for Christmas lunch is still in place!  That means I've done very little sewing, or planning for the year ahead, mountains of cooking and a little yard work.  I've been UP the garden path - now that I can find it again! 

Thrown into the mix were two birthdays, which meant cakes made to order..a bunny rabbit and a bull's head if you please! 

 Mustering, drafting and branding with some lovely rain as well.  Motor bikes and swimming, plenty of food and cousins for company!  Hope you will indulge me with these family shots!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were some new fabric arrivals at the shop just before closing but I'll save that for the next post.  I've had a couple of days in there, cleaning and re-arranging. 

Pete, the sewing machine man will be at the shop on Wed/Thursday for servicing of machines.  If you haven't had yours done for a while, please think about it as Pete only visits once a year.  I'm hoping to keep those machines busy throughout the year including another scrappy mystery quilt.

Getting back to the Chinese New Year - I've heard lots of stories about the Year of the Dragon....pros and cons, good and bad. A good year for innovation and creativity was mentioned often, so let's make those a part of our quilty endeavours for 2012!

I've been up and down, in and out trying to keep an eye on Lleyton Hewitt in the Australian Open so this has taken me forever to finish!  He's not good for the heart rate is he?  Like a terrier dog that never gives up!

I did manage to work on my Vignette quilt, this time some needle turn applique for the centre square.

Looking forward to catching up with you all in the days to come.

Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 

This is it girls....

 

...the last week of trading for 2011!!  This time next week, Christmas will be done and dusted (or maybe that will be done and drizzled!) 

The Silver Thimble will be closed after 5pm on Friday 23rd December for approximately 3 weeks (maybe even a tad more!)   Pete Nicholson, the sewing machine repair man from Rocky, will be in the shop on the 25/26th January, which is a Wed/Thurs so I will be back before then to receive machines.  I will keep you informed as best as possible right here on the blog.  Do keep Pete's visit in mind, as he only comes out our way once a year now, and always around the end of January.  Ring me if you would like any further information.

Some of you, I hope, would have had some good rain during the week.  We had 190pts (48ml) on top of the almost 4" (100ml) that fell a few weeks back.  Abundant green grass everywhere!  The forecasts are telling us that we may have a wet Christmas again, but do we really mind?  Not me, that's for sure!  Family all coming home, weather permitting, so have been in the kitchen preparing bits and pieces during the last couple of days.  I know I haven't completed the Christmas shopping though, that'll be a last minute rush as usual!!

There was a trickle of new fabrics in last week but I only managed to photograph one small range.

 This is just too cute!  It's called Meet The Gang.  Just 6 pieces but lots of the plain Kona cottons match as well.  (Reminder to me to get out the iron next time!)

 There was another fairly large bundle of novelty and Aboriginal prints but these still have to be rolled on to bolts, so that will be next week's pictures.

 

 

 I was able to prepare the background and several of the applique pieces for the Vignette stitchery quilt.  This, and some more Farmers Wife blocks will be my projects over the festive season.  And I have FINISHED all the stitchery for the previous blocks!!  Woohoo!

 Not a lot else to report, so with my very best wishes to you all for a wonderful and peaceful Christmas, and a New Year that brings all that you wish work for.  My sincere thanks also, for your loyal support throughout the years.  I look forward to many more opportunities to share our love of fabric and creativity.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 

New fabrics trickling in........

 ......yes, they have started, although I think next week might be busier!

Thank you all, for supporting my Pre Cut Sale.  I think everyone was pleased with their purchases (some came back on several occasions!!) however, I was pleased too, to lower the FQ supply particularly.  This week will be a general tidy up and making space for the newbies. 

Before I left for Melbourne, this range of Legendary Basics arrived from my favourite suppliers, Lloyd Curzon of Adelaide.  This Co. is one of the nicest to deal with, nothing is too much trouble.  You may remember that I had some FQ bundles at our last retreat that were part of the multi draw conducted throughout the weekend - well now we have the metreage.

                                                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you are....42 of them!  There's something for everyone in that lot and they certainly fill some gaps that I had in my colour ranges.  And the best part, just $20 a metre!!

Vignette, Issue 5 has been posted out to almost everyone.  The next steps are half of the centre blocks and these have to be magnified by 200%.  This is not as easy as it sounds, and for those that are out of town, could prove quite a hassle.  I have "cut and stuck" lots of partial pieces together, so that I now have the complete section.  If anybody wishes to copy it, you are most welcome.  I'm hoping to get this piece prepared shortly, ready for stitching over the Christmas break.  (Not quite finished the other stitchery yet, but getting close!) 

Gypsy Bandana was a bright pink and green range, purchased last year.  Lots of people loved it but some people were not quite sure what to do with it.  Wendy found a simple but effective pattern which showcased the large prints as well as making the best of the smaller ones.  And Tanya's quilting, really topped it off!

                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

Not a lot of sewing by me this weekend (read zero actually) but lots of fun with this crew instead!

 

We did manage to do a bit of Christmas cooking but by the look of the containers right now, not sure if they will make Christmas!!

Talk soon, Sandy.

Lattice Slice

This slice has been a popular one at our retreats.  Eva has kindly given me the recipe, so you can all enjoy!

LATTICE SLICE

2 pkts lattice biscuits, 125g. soft butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 250g cream cheese, 1 tspn. vanilla, 2 tspns. gelatine and 1 tblspn hot water.

Beat all ingredients except biscuits, water and gelatine.  Add cooled galatine/water to mixture.  Line lamington tin with glad wrap.  Cover with lattice biscuits, spread mixture over biscuits and top with more biscuits. Press down to even mixture - cover with glad wrap and freeze.  Cut into fingers when hard.

Enjoy!

If you're thinking of visiting.....

......then come this week!  Make sure you read through to the end of this post.

Melbourne AQM was great and I spent waaaaay too much money!!!!  New fabrics will start arriving very shortly and continue through until May next year!  By then, they will probably be a surprise package for everyone, me included!  There will be some new Kaffe Fassett, Lark from Amy Butler, Under the Australian Sun MK II from Leesa Chandler and many more.

The weather here, before departure, was WET!  Normally, I would say wonderful, but it made things a little tricky!

Melbourne weather wasn't much different on the Saturday, only I didn't have to drive in it. Could have caught one of these....(but I didn't)
This photo was taken on the Sunday, when it was clear and sunny.....but it might have taken me to the wrong Trade Show!!

 

This was also at the Exhibition Centre, in fact side by side with AQM!  I did wonder what was in the green bags that everybody so proudly displayed on their way out of the Show.  Really, what sort of freebies do you pick up at SEXPO!  Certainly added to the humour of the weekend.

 

I met up with Kellie from Don't Look Now (link in my sidebar) and Lorraine & Leeanne from Hettie's Patch in Adelaide, for dinner on the Sat. night.  We went to a very nice, but rowdy restaurant on Southbank, right under the Crown Casino.  The Danish Royal couple were there that night, along with lots of other "well knowns" but we didn't have any brushes with fame!!

 

A lot of the quilt patterns that were on display, included lots of stitchery.  L.o.t.s. of stitchery!

I bought a bundle of patterns from Clare.  I thought she had simple and fresh designs.  A couple of nice bag patterns too.

 

 

Talking of bags, I had a long talk with Nicole Mallellieu from You SEW Girl (I have carried some of her hat and bag patterns for some time) about interfacings.  She was very helpful and explained and demonstrated the different finishes she attains with different interfacings and waddings, mostly combinations of both.

 

I have ordered Nikki's book and will be ordering more of her patterns shortly.  She has a great skirt pattern as well.

 

The next issue of Vignette magazine will most likely be in the mail tomorrow.  There was a bit of a glitch in the despatch arrangements apparently.  Those that have the book on order, I will be posting them out/contacting you as soon as they arrive.  I have seen the centre piece!!  And it's not all stitchery!!!   Woo hoo!  As much as I have been enjoying the stitchery on this ongoing project, and it does look nice, I was looking for a change of pace for the centre.  I wont spoil the surprise - it will be dealt with in the new Issue.  I am on my last piece of stitchery before the next instalment, so I'm quite pleased that there was a short delay...it enabled me to catch up a bit!

Now...why should you visit the shop this week.  I'm having a Pre Cut SALE!  That means Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Squares and Fat Quarters.  I do like the Fat Quarter drawers to decrease significantly by the end of the year, that enables me to refresh things early in the New Year.  Due to Westech back in Sept. when I topped everything up, there are still quite a few FQ's in the stand.  I did manage to reduce them to 3 drawers instead of 4, however, there's still too many there and they need to move.  All pre cuts, half price, one week only.  That's Tuesday thru to Saturday.  My normal special of 10 for $50 will mean 10 for $25 or $2.75 individually.  This means only those FQ's that are already cut, I wont be cutting any more at the moment.

This Friday night is late night shopping in Barcaldine as well.  Street vendors, ham wheels, food stalls and shops open.  The Barcy Bucks winners will also be drawn.

That's enough from me tonight, next week I'll show you the first of the new fabrics!

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

A short week for me...

The Silver Thimble will be open for just two days this week - Tuesday and Wednesday and will then re-open on the following Wednesday, 30th November. 

I'm off to Quilt Market in Melbourne to check out all the new ranges and hopefully place orders for some.  (Terrible job, but someone's gotta do it!)  I already have a bit of a list, but I'm sure there will be heaps more that will throw my good intentions right out the window!

Had a busy time with the Winton girls last week.  They made the most of their time here and completed tops to go away for quilting as well as making good starts on other projects.

This was Nea's, started on her last visit, now completed.  Inspired by a quilt that Bev was making on a visit out from Emerald last year.  Lots of novelty prints, collected over a long period of time and purchased from various places.

 

Click on these to enlarge.

 

 

 

Dell had a lovely collection of pastel, Aboriginal prints, added a few batiks which always seem to work well, to make her Stack and Slash.  Bordered by an inky midnight blue.

I'm lucky enough to have a similar collection of these prints, tucked away for a rainy day.  Is the Wet Season really coming, like they say it is?  I sure hope so.

 

 

 

Fiona chose one of the Asian prints to make her Four Patch Posie.  Just amazing, how many different blocks can come out of one piece of fabric!

I think Bargellos might be on the list for next year.

 

Not a lot of sewing on my part for this weekend.  Visitors on Sunday and a trip to Alpha today, meant that I only added a bit to the stitchery once again.  Miss Lily completed her cushion through the week - for a 6 year old, she's done a fantastic job I think.

 

 

She tells me, she wants to make some pyjamas next, and has already chosen her fabric!  I'll have to get busy with the cutting out - just as soon as I find the pattern.

OK, see you when I return from the big smoke!

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

If you're a lover of blues........

 

...then you're in luck. 

 

For some years now, it's been difficult to buy, what I call, traditional blues.  Most of the blues that I was able to access were aqua blue.  The tides seemed to have changed.  Just prior to Westech, Blue Storm arrived and now we have Blueberry Crumb Cake.  Gotta love it, just the name's enough!!

 

 

This time, mixed with a milky chocolate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All these, plus a few more bolts to come PLUS Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls (just a couple left!) and Charm Squares.  And early next year, there should be a red, white and blue range as well.

A nice quiet week in the shop after our busy weekend.  If you haven't already had a look, Peggy has a great write up on her blog about the retreat.  Just click on http://peggycreates.blogspot.com and check out her great photos.  Thanks Peggy, and we look forward to seeing you next year.

I hope everyone has been able to spend a bit of time on the projects that were started, although I know how busy it gets when you arrive home after a few days away.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Winton girls tomorrow, I wonder what they'll have on their agenda!

We've had a trip to Longreach today, my oh my, was it HOT up there!  Needed a few little maintenance jobs done on the computer plus I picked up a new Laptop as well.  Had some little overnight visitors on Saturday night, so not much sewing at this end, just a little more embroidery on the Leeane Beasley Vignette quilt.  Book 5 will be out on the 1st December and I'm striving to be up to date!

That's it for tonight folks.

Talk soon, Sandy.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoilt...yet again!

Thank you girls, for the beautiful flowers given to me on Sunday.....

 

they have a prime position in our lounge room.

We had another great weekend with a terrific bunch of ladies coming together to enjoy good company, a wonderful array of food (enough to last us another few days if we could have all stayed!) and to do what we all enjoy - sewing, especially patchwork.

Many people travelled long distances and of course my ever loyal, supportive and enthusiastic locals made it a fun time.

My thanks to you all with a couple of special mentions.  Firstly to Sandra who looked after the Magic Nine Patch group and is always helping me out with lots of little extras and to Jean, who was with us in spirit but had to spend the weekend in Hospital instead.  When I saw her this morning, she was packed and ready to go home, feeling much better.  It was more than fitting that Jean won the Lucky Number prize, was totally shocked when I told her as well as delighted.

It's always exciting to have new people join us, and as well as the girls from Emerald, Ilfracombe, Isisford, Alpha and Muttaburra, we had four Patchwork Retreat "Virgins" from down Stonehenge/Jundah way.

 

They're all new to the "game" and I'm sure we're going to see more of them.  They did a great job with their Pop Samplers.

 

Is this a new version of the "Dance of the Seven Veils"?

 

 

The Secret Santa gift swap was held on Sunday with some amazing items that had been made by the participants.  Silly me didn't get a photo of all the gifts lined up, but believe me, they were impressive!

The Show and Tell on Saturday night was inspiring and we all have new projects that we must do !  I'm hoping that a few photos will come in from others, as I was too busy looking and not snapping!

I must say, that apart from a long standing dental appointment this morning, I have been very unproductive today!  This week will be spent getting things back in place, and attending to a few orders.  The following week I will have a visit from the Winton girls.

I'm thinking there will be some new fabric arrivals about then too.  Late Nov. I will be off to Melbourne for our Australian Quilt Market to check out all the new ranges and products recently released in Houston.  Before we know it, it will be Christmas!

Don't forget to send in those recipes of salads etc. that were so popular.

That's it for tonight girls and thanks again for joining in and making it a great weekend!  To those that read the blog but have not been able to join us at our Retreats, maybe next time.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

Four sleeps and a winner...

...It's been a few weeks now since I asked for your suggestions for workshops/new techniques etc.   A few  people responded and our winner is........Kylie!!  Kylie would like some tuition in embroidery - I think we can accommodate that, however I have taken note of the other suggestions as well.  Kylie, you may choose 4 FQ's or any pattern in the shop.  Congratulations!

After making the first Hidden Wells quilt in autumn colours, I decided to do a second one with just 5 fabrics and a different setting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite a difference isn't there?  Same initial construction but set on the diagonal with some dresden plate extras added.  A few girls have already decided on this version but instead of the light colour in the centre and corners, they have chosen to have a busy print with tone on tone fabrics for the blocks.  Can't wait to see how they turn out! 

We still have about 30 people attending the last retreat for the year, which will make for a great weekend!  Due to the generosity of one of my suppliers - Lloyd Curzon Textiles of Adelaide, there will be a few pleasant surprises for you!

It's Quilt Market time in Houston - heaps of new fabric ranges being released, and emails have been coming through to check this one and this one and this one!  These will be on show at our Quilt Market in Melbourne late November, which I am attending.  Oh, to have an unlimited budget!!!  Any special requests?  Hope the airlines have themselves in order by then.  What a fiasco!

Check on Di Mills' blog (click on her name in the blog list) and scroll down to a photo she took at the recent Quilt and Craft Show in Brisbane.  A dress completely covered in Yo Yos!!  Are you up for it Jean?

Talk soon, Sandy.