TheSilverThimble

One of the girls and one for the boys......

....fabric that is, coming right up!!

 

First off, WE had a lovely letter of thanks from Angel Flight during the week.  And I say "WE" because it was definitely a team effort, to raise $1890.00!  It accompanied a couple of these cute little fellows.

 

 

 

Thank you again, to everyone that contributed.

 

 

 

 

 

The workshop with Denise Vanderlught (fabric bowls) has been cancelled.  I was hoping for next Thursday, however it had to be scheduled for tomorrow and this just didn't work out for several of the interested people.  Unfortunately, Denise has no more days available on this visit.  Maybe next time.

 

How cute is this range?  It's called "Dress Up" and is in the sweetest colourway of a pinky/purple (chartreuse??) and lime green with a touch of lemon.

Girly prints of dresses, shoes and bags, with great co-ordinates including those gorgeous alphabet letters and a great stripe.  I love stripes for bindings, but they can make great inner borders also.

I have been waiting for this one for quite a while.  The range is "Peak Hour" by Kellie Wulfsohn (Melbourne)  of Don't Look Now - link is on my sidebar, but Kellie has been really busy and hasn't had a lot of activity on her blog lately.  She's in Kansas City right now, with Spring Market just finished.  Can't wait to see what she has made with her own fabric!  Kellie does the most amazing raw edge applique and several of these designs make it so easy to use the whole shape without sacrificing any of the other pictures.  The cars and traffic signs are just right for this.   My favourite print is the Classifieds page!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orange, turquoise, avocado, buttery yellow and grey.  Great spots and once again, some fabulous stripes.

I just have to find some shelf space to display it!  The shop is bursting at the seams with some absolutely fabulous collections at the moment.

I do have to get into some cutting tomorrow though, a few of the girls have chosen their fabric for the SWOON quilt that we are doing at the Retreat, which is just over 2 weeks away.  I'm really happy with the way mine are turning out, using the Flea Market Fancy range.  If you're thinking of coming to the Retreat and haven't contacted me yet, could you please let me know?

That's about it for me tonight, just have to add "Go Queensland" on Wednesday night!!  Apologies (not) to any Blues supporters out there!

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to routine.....

...I hope you all had a lovely Mothers Day, yesterday.  I had early morning phone calls, pottered in the kitchen for a little while, watered a few plants, gave the floors a lick and a promise and retreated to the sewing room.  Perfect day.

Well, I think most of the festivities (in the short term) are over for Barcaldine.  I know there's more to come in all the other towns with the Harry Redford Cattle Drive on in the Aramac area at the moment, Isisford and Muttaburra Sheep Shows, Shearer's Reunion (M'burra) and the Longreach, Winton & Alpha Shows yet to come.

By all accounts, the Barcaldine Show was very well patronised, despite all the events we've had in the past few weeks.   The Monster Trucks were one of the main attractions, but I hear from the grandchildren that there were a couple of rides that were the flavour of the day!!

This was about as close as I got to the action (they were parked on the road outside of the shop!) Noisy, smelly cars don't really do it for me!

The shop was busy throughout the week - lots of tourists in town and quite a few quilters among them!  I'm struggling for room at the moment  (need some more shelves) but managed to squeeze these latest few prints in.  If you're looking for Australiana, then these are some of the best I've seen.  So many times, the kangaroos, platypus etc. are out of proportion and look almost deformed, but these look like the real deal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you click on them to enlarge, you will see how well they are done.  Guess where they were made?  New Zealand!!  If you need to send gifts overseas and you want to do the Aussie thing, then these are definitely the way to go.

Just one more collection "out the back" to find room for this week - one for the boys this one - little boys!

I've been working on the second scrappy mystery quilt today.  All finished as far as the directions go, but I think I will add some more to it - it's 72" square at the moment.  Plus, a couple more SWOON blocks...they're looking good.

A few of you will have heard of Denise Vanderluyt.  Denise and her husband Adrian are in Blackall at the moment, with Adrian doing an Artist in Residence term.  Denise teaches needle turn applique and fabric coil baskets.  I am trying to organise a day with Denise, making the baskets....Thursday, May 24th is my preferred date, but I still have to confirm this with Denise.  I've left quite a few messages so I'm really hoping she will ring me tomorrow.  As soon as I know, I will let you all know.  In the meantime, save your plastic bags, not the biodegradable ones, bread bags are great.  And gather your scraps of fabric to tear into strips.  No need to prepare them early, it can all be done on the day.

That's enough from me tonight, hope you all have a great week and enjoy this Spring type weather in Autumn that we're having!

Talk soon,

Sandy.

 

 

 

Outback Trailblazer / Jazz Festival

A very successful weekend folks!!  The weather was perfect, the quilts looked fabulous along the fence,

The cushions didn't last too long...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Percy Patchabull and the Sewabull Trio, were the stars of the Show!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percy was the most photographed object animal all day!  Not the most handsome (and terrible conformation!) but the most lovabull, well educated and quietest celebrity you could wish for.  Just stood there, didn't move... ALL day!!

The best news was that we raised $1000 with the sale of cushions and Sewabull was auctioned and sold for $850.00!!  $1850 to Angel Flight!!!

Sincere and grateful thanks to everyone that contributed in any way.  And thank you also to the Council and staff for providing the wonderful venue, and joining in on the "bull" theme for the day.

The Trailblazers left in the afternoon, on the first leg of their journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow....a big tidy up in the shop, quilts to be packed and returned to their owners and we prepare for Anzac Day, The Tree of Knowledge Festival and the Barcaldine Show!  Who said life in the bush was quiet?

See you next week.

Sandy.

Back to Blackall.....

Yes, haven't done it for a while, but.....I had a very enjoyable day in Blackall on Sunday.  Lots of keen ladies ready and willing to take on "the tool"!  That's Half Square Triangles and Quarter Square Triangles for the uninitiated.  They take so much of the fiddly math out of patchwork and make your pieces so much more accurate, consequently less reverse sewing!  Even Julie D. likes triangles now!!

It was a pretty full day and I didn't take ONE photo, sorry about that.  Anyone else get any that they can share?

Saturday afternoon was "fitting" day for Percy Patchabull.  His outfit now, is down to just a few large pieces, instead of a stack of blocks and scraps.  Many, many thanks to the crew that turned out on Sat. to help with this crazy project!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little more stitching through the week and by this coming Sat. he should be ready to go public!  He may even make an appearance on TV, as the Channel Seven film crew are coming into town on the Jazz Train!!

 And the first vision they will see, will be the quilts adorning the railway platform railings, so let's make it a wonderful display.  Gather up what you have at home and bring it into the shop during the week or let me know that you can just bring it down on Sunday morning.  I think we will need to assemble at approx 7.00am to put up the display, in readiness for a 10 o'clock opening.

If you could drop off your cushions through the week, that would be great so that I can get them labelled and wrapped.

The "Sewabulls" are on display in the shop.  Just wonderful textile art by Allison...

You really must click on the picture to enlarge it.  Each one of those bulls has so much character!  They look like they should be in some cool rock band!  This work is stitched on linen and is stretched over an art canvas about 1m wide by 50cm high.  Sewabull will be auctioned on Sunday afternoon at the Radio Theatre with all funds going towards Angelflight.  The Outback Trailblazer participating teams & cars will be departing from Beech St. outside the Theatre at approx. 3.30pm.

I promised you some more new fabric "eye candy" last week.  Lemon Tree is a Benartex range and is in the very popular black, white and zingy lime/yellow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A striking large print and heaps of co-ordinates.  New plain fabrics arrived during the week also, some Kona cottons, repeats and new shades, plus some Northcott plains as well.  Kona were becoming difficult to obtain and these new Northcotts are even more beautiful.  The feel of the fabric is divine!  So...the solids shelves are full once more, just how I like it!

A busy time coming up..this weekend - quilt display, cushions etc. then it will only be a short time until Tree of Knowledge celebrations, then the Show.  Not long after that, will be the June Retreat, so more on that later.

Talk soon, Sandy.

We need to get busy.....

Made it home, over the river!  It had dropped considerably and apart from a bit of a "sand dune" to climb, on our side, all was well.  Our friendly next door neighbour Steve, has now swept most of that away with the grader.  Thanks, Steve!  Travel should be back to normal this week.

It's been a pretty hectic week shopwise, with several people choosing their fabrics and supplies for workshops coming up in March with Pauline Rogers.  Pauline has been travelling through this area for many, many years and her schedule this year will be Barcaldine on Thursday 15th March (Cultural Centre), Aramac 16/17, Ilfracombe 19/20 and Isisford 21/22.  I think she will be in Blackall as well, possibly on the 14th, but not absolutely sure, so check with your local patchwork group there.

SOME of the new fabrics made it on to the shelves, but NONE of the fabrics made it to my camera yet!!  When I got the word that I could come home over the river, I think I bolted and didn't think about photos until I was half way home!  As fast as I could get them out, more were delivered, so there are still about four boxes out the back and I haven't even had a sneak peek yet.  I'm going to have to get an early start in the morning and see if I can make some headway.  "Under the Australian Sun II" that I showed you last week, has been very popular already, and I've had orders from far afield for some of the Amy Butler range.  Just amazing, what a photo on the blog can do!!

Further to the Red and White quilt exhibition that I spoke of last week and a discussion on Saturday afternoon with a few of the girls, a few of us have decided to participate.  They won't be large quilts, probably about a metre square or thereabouts, and we thought that the Friday night of our first retreat could be devoted to this project.  They could be a combination of several blocks or even the same block repeated, maybe something of your own design, but of course they must be red and white. (cream or ivory is allowed) Of course, they can be larger, but time probably limits most of us - they need to be finished by early April.  If you're interested to know more, give me a call or pop into the shop for details.  By participating in this excercise, we will be able to access all of the red and white quilts to mount our own exhibition at a later date.  All monies raised at that time will go to Aged Care in the local area.

We've also been asked to put up a quilt display at the Village Green/Railway/Tree of Knowledge Memorial site on the 22nd April.  This will be the starting point for the Angel Flight Trailblazer event and will also be part of a Jazz Festival being held at that time.  A train load of jazz musicians are coming to town!  More details on that as they come to hand.

The railway platform fence, although not very high, will be an ideal place to hang quilts.  Easily managed, visible and a delightful area with the lawns and shady trees. What do you think about a few cushions to sell as well, with money going towards Angel Flight.  Not our usual "Airing of the Quilts" numbers, I'm thinking somewhere between 30/40/50??  Please give me your thoughts and feedback on this as soon as possible, as there's not a lot of time.  There's also another "secret project" in mind, as a part of this exhibition - more details on that later when we have bulldozed encouraged a certain person to our way of thinking!!

Speaking of retreats - the first one is only a couple of weeks away now, 2/3/4 March.  If you wish to participate, please contact me from tomorrow onwards.  Remember, only taking 20!

That's enough chat from me I think, but what's a blog post without a photo?  These are some cute PJ's made for Bronte for her birthday back in January.  The fabric is Pin Feathers - a tiny little pink bird on a wire, on a pale pink background.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 

Home for the weekend....

Wow, this feels so easy to post on the "big" computer - everything in the right place, the font size as I like it and photos loading without problems.

Travelled home on Sat. afternoon - the long way.  River crossing will be at least a couple of weeks I think.  I made pretty good progress in the shop during the week, making space for the new fabrics.  They didn't quite make the shelves yet, but they WILL this week.  A couple of sneek peeks for you - a bit of Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler.  (These are just the top layer in the box!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Amy Butler fabrics are those that are going to be used in the Homespun magazine's Project of the Month, starting in March.  They have previously run a Block of the Month featuring various ranges of fabrics - this time they're switching to a complete project, all travel related, so that should be a bit of fun.  You will be able to make the projects exactly as they appear in the magazine!

Under the Australian Sun II by Leesa Chandler (Chandler's Cottage) has also arrived.  The first version was one of the fastest moving collections I've ever had in the shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the left, the main prints and the co-ordinates and border print on the right.  The colours are extremely rich - the photos look a tad washed out (that operator again!)

Last week I mentioned the red and white quilt challenge being conducted by the Mt. Isa Patchwork Group.  This link will take you directly to all the information.  I also have details in the shop. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are just some of the quilts that were hung in New York.  Over 600 quilts, all red and white!

Something else that's RED and humming!!  My umbrella tree has been a mass of flowers since just before Christmas and the birds and the bees are loving it.  The flower fronds must be really heavy as a few limbs have actually broken off with the weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talk soon, Sandy.

Westech Ready...

 

All the cutting and preparation has been completed - no, not quite right!  My good neighbour is stitching on a binding as we speak - thank you Sandra!

Have spent the afternoon setting up the exhibit - Ken Wilson Pavillion, W7, next door to the Mother's Room.  Hope to see you there.

 Talk to you next week,

Sandy.
 

We're in the news......

 

.......patchwork, that is!  It's amazing what you hear when you're on a bit of a drive with the radio on.  News, views and opinions abound.  And now we have a patchwork economy!  Does that mean "they're" ready for us to take over the purse strings?  Oh, my goodness, wouldn't we have some fun!!  But I'm sure we'd do a great job.  Investing some (in new fabric) spreading it around to make sure everyone had a fair share, as well as saving every scrap, to put to good use at a later date.  Sounds like a good plan to me!

I was on the hunt for scraps last week after seeing this quilt in the recent Homespun Magazine.

 

 
It's a Bonnie Hunter quilt, and there's not a quilt of Bonnie's that I don't like.  Not that I want to make every one, but I really like this. www.quiltville.com is where you'll find heaps of free patterns, pretty much all scrappy versions, but also pictures of the same patterns, made by other people.  You may remember a few years back when we had a Scrappy Quilt retreat weekend, when I used (with her permission) a couple of Bonnie's patterns.  This project looks great in the blue and cream/beige but I think it would look just as good in red and neutrals.  I don't have a big supply of blues so I had to go through just about every box just to see if I had enough.  Then I thought I would tidy the fabric,..... iron a few..... maybe cut those couple of small pieces...... then a few strips.  Before long, I had a nice supply of blues and creams, all cut and stacked, ready for my return from "the big trip".  If you're interested, there were still a few copies of the magazine at the newsagents last Friday, so if anyone would like me to purchase one on your behalf, please let me know.  Phone 46511999 or email.

For those people on my email list, you may have received a No Reply message today.  That was the computer technician trying to sort out my group email thingo that hasn't been working of late.  You may have noticed, at least I HOPE you have, that I haven't been sending you messages of updates to the blog lately.  Fingers crossed, it's all been rectified and IS GOING TO WORK TONIGHT!!

This is my last week in the shop, prior to our departure for the Kimberley.  Just a reminder that there will be the odd day when Terryann will NOT be open, so please ring ahead if you're coming in from out of town. 

The camping gear/tucker box is coming together nicely.  I have plenty of hand sewing prepared, just in case I get time, plus some wool and needles to teach my eldest grandaughter to knit.  I will be endeavouring to post a few blog entries along the way, but I don't think I can send a group email when I'm using the laptop, so just pop in to take a look from time to time.  If, for some reason, I'm unable to post,  then I'll see you in about a month!!

Talk soon (or later)

Sandy.

 

 

 

Winter Woollies Weather....

...the last week has definitely been feeling like winter!!  For the first time in a long time, I actually dragged out a little fan heater for the back room of the shop - made it quite cozy on Thursday night.  Cold, overcast and drizzly days are not my idea of fun!  Due to the weather last week, unfortunately, we missed out on the visit from Pauline Rogers - she got caught in Yaraka.  Of course the girls there thought it was great, they got an extra day to sew!  The rain seems to have moved on now, so we'll probably just have snappy cold mornings and lovely sunny days.  Hope so.

A couple more variations on the Four Patch Stacked Posie for you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Stacked Posie pattern works really well using a novelty fabric too.  A few different colours and different shapes are all you need.

 

 

 

 

This fabric "Rhapsody in Bloom" has been in for some time, just hadn't managed to photograph it for you.  The spots have been popular and the large rose print (bottom left) is gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

Part of this weekend has been spent preparing for the trip that we are making to the Kimberley.  I used to have a pretty substantial "tucker box" once, that contained all the necessary bits and pieces.  It has kind of disappeared over the years so I've had to start again.  Billy cans and camp ovens  -  it's been a while!!

I found this article very interesting.  The next Winter Olympics are to be held in Russia in 2014.  Just take a look at their banners for advertising.

 

Patchwork rules!!

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

THWARTED!!...

My plans to reorganise the shop with the new fittings, is just not working out!  It was all planned for Saturday morning to begin moving in some of the fixtures, but as I drove into town, I realised that it was not going to happen.  ROAD CLOSED!!

Silly me, didn't even think about all the festivities that were planned for the weekend as in The Tree of Knowledge Festival (only the biggest party to happen in Barcaldine all year) and of course, I couldn't park near the shop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were parked out the front and were one of the many features of the weekend.  It may have been one of the last photos taken of the red beast too, because I believe it was severely damaged during the course of events.  Horse races, goat races, car races, football, street parades and markets were just some of the highlights.

There was lots of street entertainment.  Music from several different artists and food stalls.  One of the lesser known types of entertainment, but v-e-r-y popular, was the pole dancing!!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These girls were very fit and more than happy to show and assist anybody that wanted to have a go!

So...no new furniture arrangements to show you this week!  Instead, I have finished a spot of painting, cut heaps more FQ's and this weekend, have been working on the project for the June retreat.  Just the borders to go now, and if the leaves would stop falling off trees and messing up my yard, then they may have been done! 

Some news from the Tambo Arts and Crafts group.  They are hosting a visit from Julie Latcham of Dulacca on the weekend of June 18th/19th.  Julie will be running a Beginners course (know your machine) and a Landscapes class with free motion embroidery.  If anyone is interested in attending, contact Jenny Donaldson on 0746 546232.

Talk soon, Sandy.