TheSilverThimble

A trip to Winton....

....Congratulations to the members of the Art and Craft Group of Winton, who have a wonderful display of quilts, sewing, art, photography and silver at the Waltzing Matilda Centre.  I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the opening night on Saturday.  The venue is superb and the exhibition, which will be open for about 6 weeks, is a credit to a small band of hard working people.  I was so busy chatting and catching up with friends....not one photo was taken!!!  Maybe someone can send me a few?

The only downside of a trip out that way, is the desperate situation with the drought.  It's just heartbreaking to see it, let alone live it!

Star Quilt Competition ...  nominations are due now, but I'm sure they would still be accepted within the next few days if you're running a bit late.

Some time back, a lady came to me with some fabric that had been given to her by her sister, after a trip to the States.  My lady is a huge Elvis fan, so we had to incorporate the panels and because she had never done any patchwork before, she wanted to learn as many techniques as possible

I think she did a fabulous job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A close up of some of the quilting by Rosalie of Rose Quilting  There were guitars and music symbols everywhere.  Superb!

 

 

 

Have to have a little brag about Bronte's swimming last weekend.  Last carnival for the season and had a fabulous meet in Rockhampton.  Central Queensland Champion 9 yr old for Butterfly and Backstroke!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 swims and 9 PB's for the weekend,  Lachlan also a PB.

Ready now for netball and football - oh to have the energy!

 

For those that don't get to see the Facebook posts, a few new ranges have begun to arrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the left is "Feed" and on the right is "Block Party".  Totally different and equally gorgeous!

By the way, patterns and templates have arrived for the Rainbow Row by Row.  If anyone would like to take up the offer of 4.5m of Kona background plus patt. and temp. for $85 the lot, let me know.  Sending a few packages of to Eulo early in the week for a couple of ladies that wish to join in.

Not much done in the garden this week, however it did have a good watering!  Very lucky to have 37ml on Sat. night and a further 14ml Sunday night.

Talk soon,

Sandy.

.

 

Catch up time......

....it's been a while!

Happy New Year to all - and here we are nearly the end of January!!  I hope that those of you that haven't had rain, that it comes very soon and even more for those that have had a bit.  It's easy to get excited over that first fall, but when there's no follow up....very disappointing.  We had those lovely falls in Dec. but very little since and the hot dry wind is not being kind.

It's been a busy time, both here at Rocklea and at The Silver Thimble.  Our Christmas was quiet but very enjoyable with all the family getting together at various stages.  The children talk about their Poppy all the time, so it was like he was, and still is, here.  Bruce was known for his "one liners" so they just have to drop their voice and issue a command or statement and everyone knows where it comes from....quite funny really.  I just hope they remember all the sound advice in their later years!!

After kitchen duties, (and man, these kids can eat!) the garden is still getting plenty of attention.  Jackson (just turned 14) built me a mulch pit which is very handy and William has installed the tank and the pump for the sprinkler system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the mulch pit, Jackson has added another pit for burning weeds etc.  The cat follows me everywhere in the yard and has found the perfect spot to oversee any activity!  John got busy with the weed eater and cleaned up a very neglected corner plus other areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This area is all ready to plant and the second one is ready to clear!!  What a beautiful crop of buffel grass!  Want to bale it?  I intend to plant some fruit trees in this corner eventually. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before Christmas, I received "The Linen Cupboard", a gorgeous collection of florals, spots and stripes by Emma Jansen, one of our Aussie designers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm dying to use it in SOMETHING!  Haven't hardly touched a machine in four weeks, aside from a very little play on the Sweet Sixteen....a very little play!  There has been a fair bit of action at the shop, cleaning, painting and moving things around.  At this stage, I should be open on Tuesday 27th January, after the children go back to school.

There's a whole lot more to tell you, but I think that's enough for tonight.  I'm watering plants in between photos loading and Bronte is attending to the veges for dinner, better go and see what she wants me to do!

Talk soon,

Sandy

Spasmodic......

 

....hit and miss, from time to time?  That's the blog of late, but been just a tad busy...or tired...or both!!

New fabrics been arriving almost daily the past week and yet more to come.  Should make a great display for Westech which is nearly upon us.  Tuesday and Wednesday of NEXT week!

The rotary cutter blades have been changed and the cutting has been furious!  Packs, kits etc.  The back tables are loaded with colour.  I have two work experience students starting tomorrow and they'll be busy putting all the "fancy" touches to them, not my field at all.  Curly ribbon is about my limit.

A couple of early arrivals for you...

Some new Japanese styles, colourful panel with gorgeous co-ordinates - the coral with dragonflies is just beautiful.

Garden Romance has been on the shelves for a couple of weeks and has been really popular.  A large parcel has already made its way to Derby, W.A. for 2 quilts for 2 lucky little girls.  Colours look a little washed out unfortunately - I'll speak to the photographer about that!  Again...

A fair bit of squirrel sewing been happening at home, once again preparing for Westech.  All will be revealed in good time.  Have managed to move about 15 wheelbarrow loads of that fabulous pile of p... and still about that much to go.

Very short, but hopefully sweet tonight.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

Up and running today.......

....must have been a temporary glitch in the system last week, but all good now.  Getting an early start today, just in case.

How have your last couple of weeks been with all the extras thrown in?  Our Easter here at Rocklea was relativelty quiet after the busyness of the School holidays.  The older children had to prepare and return to school in Rocky so by Sunday afternoon, all was quiet.  Very quiet!

Just got back into the swing of things and along came Anzac Day, so another day at home to reflect and remember those who have gone.  I could almost get used to these Fridays at home - I got so much extra done around the house and in the yard, and have been able to get into some serious sewing today.  No more info. about that though - I'm planning on this to be the project for the August retreat.

Talking of retreats - it's THAT time.  Just over three weeks away, 16/17/18th May.  If you're planning on being there, best to let me know early in the week.  The chosen project, String Spiderweb, is to help clear some of your scraps!!!  Yes, I know that's a bit of a joke because let's face it, they just BREED!  I have just as much trouble as everyone else.  As is always the case, you can work on your own projects if you wish too.  I'll have some notes for the String Spiderweb in the shop shortly.

Kylie Angel has very kindly offered to co-ordinate the catering side of our retreats.  Thank you, thank you Kylie!!  I will have Kylie's contact details once I get back to the shop and will be able to pass them on when you book.

After all that chat, it must be time for some new fabrics!  As mentioned previously, there were more bolts to come to add to the Tomorrow's Promise range.  They have arrived, and by special request (!!) even more have been ordered!

These photos are a bit light, the actual fabric is darker than this.

People often come into the shop and say "oh, this fabric is just for patchwork isn't it?"  As most of you know, I always wear cotton shirts and most of them have been made by Heather of Ilfracombe, but I don't think my body shape and size does anything to convince them that it's a good idea.  Not your shirts Heather - my shape!!

Recently a young lass from Longreach has been busy making western style shirts and I think she's doing a terrific job.  These are from "Delilah and I Designs"  which you can find on Facebook and all fabrics are from The Silver Thimble.

Some photos to share of Allison's hand pieced quilt, which she has called Catch a Falling Star.  The 6 pointed stars are made from scraps from quilts she has made and given away, while the centre circle of darker blue, was a gift to her.  Lots of negative space for quilting, which Allison has done beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allison always makes a sham to go with her quilts, so that is a separate small quilt over the pillows!

My "huge hexie" quilt is spread all over the floor and has been for the best part of a week while I find a place for the flowers that I have done and make a few extra for the gaps in between.  I need to get a few more stitched in, so that I can at least fold it up and get it out of the way.  Photos next week.

This coming weekend is the Tree of Knowledge Festival so there will be NO sewing on Sat afternoon, and the following weekend is the Show.  However, I will be in for Thursday nights.

Talk soon, Sandy.

Holiday fun....

 

......there has been a bit of that around here this week! 

The horses haven't been in for months, however they were quite happy to put up with a few hi-jinx capers!  I don't think it was the most comfortable of rides for the three of them, but their were lots of laughs!!

Despite my 3.00 closing this past week, it's been quite busy and I have managed to get a fair bit done.  This is the new range called Fox Fields by Tula Pink, quite a character it seems, from what I have read about her.  One, who always manages to include some whimsical animals/birds/insects into her designs.  Sometimes very subtle, but this time easy to find.  I love all the colour combos but I think it's the aqua/grey leading into the limey green for me.

I ordered this range when I was at Quilt Market in Melbourne last year.  It was a toss up between this and Amy Butler's newest collection or the one by Anna Maria Horner.  All bright and funky, gorgeous bold designs.....unfortunately I just can't have them all (darn it!!) and this was the one that won out.  And it's been pretty popular with others since it went on the shelf.  Yaaaay!

If you're in to the more traditional styles, then you just can't go past a Maywood collection, designed by Marti Michell, that naturally includes roses.  They do it so well!  With a few Shadowplay co-ordinates, you cannnot go wrong!

Bronte has helped me frame these up nicely for you to see, and the best news is that there are a few more to add yet, and they are on their way.

Not much sewing going on around here this week, although I have finished all my stitcheries for the Best Friends Forever hexagon quilt.  Still have to put them all together yet - after I make more hexagons of course!  Just so that I have a bit of hand sewing, I've dragged out yet another hexagon quilt, the paper pieced variety I started a while back, using Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  It's already quite large and very awkward to manage!!

Next weekend of course, is Easter.  Once again, I will be closing at 3pm of an afternoon and Friday will be closed.  Sat. morning open from 9.00 to 12 then back in on the Tuesday as per usual.

I hope you all have an enjoyable Easter break and the only bunnies you see, are armed with lots of chocolate!

Talk soon, Sandy.

Advice from Pete.....

....I have passed on this advice to several people over the years, but thought it timely to mention it again, this time through the blog.  Pete Nicholson, from Pete's Sewing Machine Service, has just been on his annual visit to the shop.  He has often said that one of the best things you can do for your machine, is to choose the most complicated stitch and run it!  Doesn't even have to have any thread - just use it, to allow all the "stepping gears" in your machine to MOVE!  In most machines it is the honeycomb stitch.  If you have more than one machine, use them both at some stage.  The old saying "use it or lose it" is very appropriate for sewing machines.  There were some machines in this week, that were on the point of seizing up, because only the straight stitch had been utilised.

Quite a few people have had a busy week with Pauline's workshops.  Her final day was in Winton on Saturday, which was also her birthday! Hope you had a wonderful day, Pauline.  There were some lovely projects completed, from bags to jackets and many quilts as well.  Pauline and Rob left the West to head for Melbourne and the Australian Quilt Convention - a week of workshops, huge vendors' mall, announcements of Australian awards in quilting and lots of socialising.

 

For those, that subscribe and generally receive the magazine in the post, they have gone out.  Others are at the shop for collection at your convenience. 

I believe No 12 will be out relatively quickly, due to the lengthy delay for this one.

 

 

 

 

 

These gorgeous fabrics are by French General - all their signature colours!  Only Jelly Rolls, Fat Quarters and metreage left.  The day after I took this photo, all the Layer Cakes were sold!

There's another much larger range in as well, but I am still dealing with that one, so no photos yet.  It's a little bit "different"!  Should have it finished tomorrow and on the shelves.

 

Due to school holidays, there will be no late night or Sat. afternoon sewing this week and if it's not busy, I may just sneak away at about 3 in the afternoon.  If you plan on visiting the shop, please come earlier in the day and you won't be disappointed.  First of the grandies, arrive tomorrow!

Had a late afternoon rake up yesterday - the cat just loves to get in the wheelbarrow!  You could totally bury it under leaves and it doesn't seem to worry, only pops her head out when you go to move it.  Mad cat!

 

That's about it for me.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still cutting....

......I've been busy this week, cutting Fat Quarters from the Kona cotton solids.  All 90 of them!  FQ box is bursting and there's a lovely big stack of 1/2m pieces for a customer as well.  I also need to place another order, especially for the lights, as many metres have been used as backgrounds for projects in Pauline's workshops.

I spent the afternoon, and also joined the girls for dinner at the Cultural Centre on Saturday.  There were 3 main projects happening that day - The Gadget Bag, the Jacket and the Rectangle Rock and Roll quilt.

Note the table on the right (forefront) ..it was a picture of pulsating purple!!!!  No guesses as to whom it belonged!  Workshops continued in Barcaldine on Sunday and today would have been the first of two days at Isisford, so hello to everyone down there.

 

I've been at my own personal workshop today.  Here's a peek......just some borders to go on and it will be ready for quilting.

Just sneaking it in on the last day of March, which of course is now known as Breast Cancer month.  I have plenty of the fabric and will be able to prepare kits for you soon, if you wish.

 

 

Just one more week until school holidays, and we're looking forward to having the children come to stay. 

Then it's going to be a busy time with Easter, Anzac Day, Tree of Knowledge Festival, the Harry Redford Cattle Drive, local shows and then.......our first retreat!  Scrappy is the order of the day, and I will have several samples to show you in coming weeks.

Pete, the sewing machine man, will be in the shop TOMORROW - TUESDAY 1st April.

That's enough for me tonight - I'll see if I can remember to put in the correct link in the email this week.  Sheila was kind enough to let me know that I didn't complete the address....

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

 

 

Pauline, you're going to be busy!.........

It's been a really busy week at the shop, cutting fabric and organising supplies for those that are attending Pauline's classes next week.  She's going to be one tired gal when she finishes teaching 12 days straight as there are a lot of projects that are going to be started ?? completed??

In between customers, I managed to get another two new lines of fabric on the shelves.  For the lovers of blue, these range from quite dark to light, in the willow colourway.

There are also 4 spots that are part of this range - you can just see a peek of them, bottom RH corner of the photo.

Best of all - I got them on special, so you get them for $15m!  That's excellent value!

 

 

 

 

The second range was a 10 piece selection of batiks. 

A bit of a blokey collection, don't you think? Got a fellow in mind, that might need a quilt?

I also like some of the darker colours for a bag, and the lightest one (top LH) with words on it, how would that look like in a bucket hat?   Great, I think.

 

 

 There were a few more new ones to arrive as well, and while I didn't actually "hide" them, they were not on the shelves on full display.  I just may have been sewing something today, that is a bit different!!  I need another uninterrupted weekend!

Thank you all for the kind words about the grandies' swimming medal haul, I had several emails and phone calls.  Swimming is done now, and it's football, netball and athletics.  I was also very remiss a couple of weeks back, in not reporting that Lachlan (my little red man) had won the poddy ride at the Alpha rodeo.  He's very proud of his plate size buckle and trophy.

We've had a few hours of light drizzle tonight, and the forecast is promising  -  fingers crossed!!  How often does it rain when Pauline and Rob are in the district?  Hope everyone enjoys their workshops next week.

I must say thanks to Helen, for sending me through a picture of a block that she has done, using the curved ruler.  I'm pretty sure, the tutorial for this block is on the blog of the designer.  Haven't got the details in front of me, but you could just google Sew Kind of Wonderful and I'm sure you would find it.

Helen said that she found the instructions very clear and easy to follow which is always nice to know.  I need to get back to those rulers!!

But right now, I need to retire!

Talk soon, Sandy.

The river water is droppping....

 

...but still too deep to drive across yet, so it will be the long way to town in the morning.  A very small price to pay when we have some beautiful green grass, cattle looking better by the day and millions of flies!!!

Seeing I was in town all week, I did make a bit of progress in the shop, tidying and moving fabric.  A new range that has hit the shelves is Front Porch.  My favourite burnt orangey red, light peach and a soft olive combined with a steel gray.  I have 12 meatreage pieces and just one Jelly Roll left, but due to demand, more JR's and Layer Cakes are on their way.

The flowers are geraniums, which remind me of my Mother.  My earliest memories of Mum's garden were geraniums, nasturtiums (sp?) and cactii.  Water was very scarce...a basin was placed in the sink and after the dishes were done, the basin carted outside to the garden.  Bath water...cleanest in first and grubbiest in last, was often bucketed out as well, as was the water from the old Wilkins Servis wringer machine.  But there was always some colour in the garden, and it mostly came from red or pink geraniums.  In latter years, Mum moved on to azaleas.  Before we sold the house, we had to find homes for 92 pots of azaleas!

Recently, I spoke at length with Rob Jordan, national advertising manager for Homespun magazine.  Naturally, Rob was looking for me to take up an offer of advertising in the mag., however our conversation covered many aspects, including the drought conditions being felt over many parts of Australia.  I had said it would probably be a scrap quilt year, due to people's tight budget and even more so, limited time and inclination.  He was aware that it was indeed dry, but maybe just not how serious it was.  After chatting further, he said he was going to send out a box of magazines for me to distribute as I see fit.  I thought it was a wonderful gesture. 

I still have several copies of the latest Homespun magazine in the shop.  Come and see me and a copy could be yours.  Thank you Rob Jordan, for caring, and thank you Homespun.

Rather ironic, given my opening paragraph!!

Pauline's workshops coming up soon.  If you're coming to purchase supplies, please bring your requirements list.  I have some of them, but not all. 

Confirmation that the first Retreat at Wanpa-rda will be the weekend of 17/18th March.  Second one, the first weekend in August and the third one will be the second weekend in November.  Also, a reminder that Pete the sewing machine repair man will be at the shop at the end of March....not sure exact dates yet.

Just one more photo of my gorgeous grand children, Tyler with her brother Jackson this time.  This one's for you Aunty Edna.

Talk soon, Sandy.

 

 

Thank you Dylan.....

.....50ml or 2" of gentle, soaking steady rain over the weekend.  Thank you and I hope it travelled to yours as well.

Please note some changes to opening and closing times this week.  Tuesday and Wednesday as per normal, Thursday closing at 3pm, Friday only open from approx 12midday to 3pm and Saturday 9am to 12midday.  This is due to some family commitments and appointments - nothing sinister!!

While we're on to timetables etc, here are the dates and towns for Pauline's workshops..

• March 27/28  Aramac
• March 29/30 Barcaldine
• March 31/April 1 Isisford
• April 2/3 Ilfracombe
• April 4/5 Winton

I'll have more information for you as the time gets closer.

As promised last week, Nellie Hill is in town!  That's the latest collection of fabric by one of our super talented Aussie designers, Rosalie Quinlan.  Lots of pink, red, grey and an almost denim blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just $20m and FQ's all cut and folded.

 

The remaining specialist rulers and patterns also arrived and have created a lot of interest.

 

There's the Hex 'n' More and the Sidekick from Julie Herman, Jaybird Quilts, with patterns (a lot less than there was!), the Triangular from Heather Mulder Peterson, Anka's Treasures with a book and patterns  and the Quick Curve Ruler by Jenny Pedigo, Sew Kind of Wonderful with patterns.  I'm sorry that my link didn't work last week, it's probably just as simple to Google those names and plenty of information will come up.  Or check on the Pinterest boards - now there's a recipe for losing track of time, if ever there was!!

And the smart irons are back in stock.  These caused quite a stir over on the Facebook page when the first shipment arrived.  You may have seen these irons on You Tube tutorials - they don't need to be placed upwards when resting, just as soon as you let go, they stand on their own two feet!  Pick it up, and the feet retract immediately.

It doesn't have an annoying beep when it's unattended, if not touched for 8 mins, it will simply turn itself off.

It's not a heavy iron and I like the front part of the sole  - you can see where you're headed!  It has a fairly large water capacity for the steam function

RRP is over $200 now, but I will have my special price of $160 until the end of this month.  They are also very well packed if anyone wants one posted.

 

That's about it from me tonight - my pillow is calling!

Talk soon,

Sandy.