Changing with the times

Phew... it has been a long time since my last post and for that I apologise!!

What can I say.... the holiday that wasn't.... then school..... then work ......

I only feel like we are now getting organised and into the old routines to make sure that everyone gets out the door with the right lunch, the right sports equipment, the right musical instrument..... I am just tired thinking about it.

During the holidays that amazing and talented girly called Jodie decided to come for a quick visit... Amongst the stories and gossip that inevitably happens - she has given to me her latest creations, namely one Arthur Cabbage... and here he is...

 Such a handsome looking bloke - I definitely have to make Elsie as she keeps looking at me as if to say ... Well.... what are you doing, hurry up...

By the way - take a look at Jodie's amazing Red Nose Dolls and the amazing ladies that have made this possible - of course the dolls have their own blog as well

That said I have been playing with some wooden bag handles that I have had for a while and make a quick little bag that uses them quite nicely.  (if would like to find out more about the handles just send me an email)

The fabric is Nancy Wolff Elephants by Kokka that is a sturdy cotton canvas and lovely to use....

And inside just some homespun and a little leftover fabric pocket (mind the threads - as usual not quite finished!!)

On another note, my husband and erstwhile partner in crime setting up Threadneedle has decided to return to the workforce and now travels daily.

So we had to think about how we could manage.  Our new hours are....

Monday          10.00am - 5.00pm
Tuesday          Closed
Wednesday     10.00am - 5.00pm
Thursday         10.00am - 5.00pm
Friday             10.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday         10.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday           11.00am - 4.00pm

Hope to see you soon

School Holidays

We always have a range of school holiday activities running and this year is no exception.

This year we have opted for some advanced sewing classes as well as a series of craft beginner classes that included, beading, papercraft and stitching...

Whilst my beading photos were - lets just say dodgy! I am happy to show you some slightly better ones of the placemats and coasters done in our papercraft class. As you can probably see bling is an essential element of any papercraft activity! These are very talented 6 and 7 year olds!!

And the last one is beginner cross stitch utilising the Make It wooden cross stitch frames from Leutenegger.  Small and achievable and they can look amazing as a brooch or necklace... This is the owl I did but there were mushrooms and ladybugs getting worked on during the morning.

As to the more advanced sewers - there was a number of owl posts made with an assortment of letters to go in the pouch. Jodie - this pattern is an absolute pleasure to make up.


And as for me, I am working through some Apples to Oranges from the Straight Stitch Society.  Love making these - and of course I had to make both the Orange and the Apple

Hope your holidays are going well ... we are about to have some time with our boys!! Yay

Threadneedle will be closed for the final week of January.

Its that time....

So.... progress.... if you want to call it that... (more like why do I keep adding things to the to do list???)

Managed to finish the Christmas bunting and hang it at Threadneedle before the actual day!!! The "Merry" portion will have to wait for next year (loved doing it but... not sure if I am mad enough yet).

Therefore, we wish you a Merry...

In between working out what decorations to make for teachers, what to take for the family Christmas dinner and of course Christmas shopping we of course decided to do a bit of renovating at home....

I am proud today to say my washing machine is back inside and working (goodbye laundromat!!!).

So out of the chaos that is Christmas at our house a few things have been created and have come into Threadneedle.

Jodie's Owl Post has arrived and it is amazing.

One of my sisters has loved owls for a very long time - so I think the white one on the right is going to be hers ... The brown one is a model for our School Holiday program that commences in January.

Jodie's is the beautifully finished one whereas mine still needs a bit of work (tummy feathers etc).

I have also been playing with one of Melly's bag patterns - namely The Sleepover Bag after one of our local quilters decided to make three with great results. 

This picture frame fabric from Kokka is awesome, so I had to make it (for the shop of course I said)!!!

This is a great bag - it is not for the absolute beginner but the end result is amazing - I am really happy with how it came out

So, be good and I hope Santa comes and brings you all you wish for. Stay safe and well over the festive season.

XXX

Making/(nearly) Finishing

Like most I have a mountain of WIPs.... And as usual after our Retreat if I haven't already made the items I promise myself that I will do so.... with mixed results (and confidence).

This year however something has happened and I have been like someone possessed for the last couple of weeks and working on a heap of things at once.

I have already done Jodie's Robots with some kids during the School holidays - they had a ball and the results were amazing... 

We also did a class making Chubby Birds - I suspect that they might become and addiction as they come together so beautifully.

The Stacks on Robots and the Cafe Bag patterns have just arrived - am in the process of making the Cafe Bag in our Strawberry Seed wool.

Then of course I had to complete Natalie's stitcheries for the quilt.

For the Woodland Quilt we decided to use the Woodland range and it really looks great...  We had the multi coloured option

Or the red/grey or aqua/grey

 

(You might notice the pins and the lack of small stitcheries in the multi coloured - Yes still not finished - backing made but not quilted or bound!!! That is next week)

Then I had a go at Natalie's Butterfly Dreams patterns - the needlecase is almost done....

Mind you in that time I have also finished another quilt top (will show you next time) and am in the process of making a whole bunch of rosettes for the Hepburn Swiss Italian Festa.... 

(I now notice that less than half of these are truly finished.... sigh.....)

Back down to earth

We managed a mini-holiday last week just before the School Holidays. It was lovely just to have a few days as a family at Port Fairy after a busy term culminating in our DCE weekend.

Of course before we set off I had to make sure that or School Holiday program was up on the web and bookings are going along nicely.

One thing I needed to do and didn't was provide some more photos of our weekend and thank some of our supporters for the event.

First, our goodies bags....



Tea from Jodie at She-Tea - they offer an amazing organic range of teas and they have recently introduced a Daylesford range.  Also our friends at Sweet Decadence created those amazing marshmallow/caramel/chocolate yummies. 

Something that wasn't in the bag but is a mainstay of our craft experience is the giant smarties.  The Hepburn General Store orders them in for me and they are simply ... well delicious. 

On to some suppliers. There were an assortment of items from the SSS Sewing company, Birch Haberdashery and Leutenegger that were in each bag. 

You also would have received a knitting pattern from Rare Yarns designed by Zoe Bradshaw. Along with that some vouchers for Simone Perele came with our door prizes from Homespun.  Hope you get a chance to use them.

As for door prizes, we were lucky enough to get some things from some very generous suppliers for you.  Thankyou to Charles Parsons/Craft Project, PK Fabrics, Victorian Textiles, Homespun Magazine, Ristal Threads and Rare Yarns.



Then there are the "toys" that I showed you.....  The iron is a one and only in Australia at this stage and Birch Haberdashery were very kind in letting me have it for the weekend (out in November).  I just thought you might like to see that and a few other things that are coming into the crafty market. Lets face it... I like toys!!!



So I hope you had some fun this year  - I certainly did ...

 

 

What a weekend it was!!

It came and went in a flurry ...

We had a smaller group than usual but it meant I could have our "shop" inside which meant I didn't have to keep disappearing and missing out on the fun.

And then there is our amazing designers!!!
First Natalie with her amazing stitcheries and quilts - and just for us, Butterfly Dreams.....a bag, a canvas and a needlecase option.

Then Jodie with Robots, Christmas and bags all using wool or felt....

Then Kate came along in the afternoon and showed us some of her stunning crochet as well as answering our questions about all things yarn.

 Instead of me showing you about your homework - some of our talented ladies got to demonstrate their button making skills.....

And then there was the large quantities of food .... all day (all YUM!!!)

That was just Saturday!!!!

More photos to follow - along with many more thankyous!!!

Nearly There

Now that all the fabric and threads have arrived - there is a flurry of activity at Threadneedle Craft...

There are kits to cut and pack... Felt ones

Fabric ones...

Also there are goodies to put together for prizes on each day... (Yes there are prizes!!!)

I have picked up the giant smarties already and the chocolates have been ordered.

And there are some new gizmos that I will pick up on Wednesday to show you....

Jodie and Natalie have been creating the most amazing designs....

I cant wait........

Are you coming to the Daylesford Craft Experience??? There's still time....

Wool

It was exciting when it arrived....

 

I quickly raced some into Jodie so she could play with it for the Daylesford Craft Experience... she has some fantastic plans.

Then I kept looking at it...

And remembered this pattern, the Melford Messenger Bag by Charlie's Aunt, that I have been in love with for some time...

So on Tuesday, I started making it... thinking that I could finish it at the shop over the week.
 

But I had to keep going... the wool is so lovely to use and sew with....so... well... I finished it....
 

We have put all the wool and pattern in our online store....

Enjoy.... I know you will

A little bit of Tranquility

We are getting quite busy (ie FRANTIC!!) here at Threadneedle. 

Ordering and planning, sending tickets and homework out (what is it with 38mm???). 

Checking out the designs for the retreat. Jodie and Natalie are amazingly creative and each are doing very different things.  You might see some sneak peaks on their blogs or facebook if you wander over there.

But sometimes we get some fabric in that well is just... lovely....

Introducing Tranquility.... there are a number of pieces in the range that we have in our online store and here are a few of them....

The colours are soft but it is quite simply pretty - and calming.

In addition to a panel there is a lovely border fabric that is begging to become a skirt (although I reckon I am too much of a grub for that really - maybe a panel in a skirt).

So when I am getting a wee bit FRANTIC... I look around and realise how much lovely fabric there is out there....  And yes I will take it to the Daylesford Craft Experience... I promise. 

Ticket time

The mailman has come and take some of these away...

As you can see there might be a little bit of homework...

So... are you coming to find out what mischief Jodie and Natalie can get up to??

And then there is Zoe and Kate creating "yarnage" in the afternoon

Me.... I'll be a model of decorum, snorting in the corner....

Daylesford Craft Experience

So the end of the School Holidays - our last class has finished with amazing results. 


One of the new and improved versions of the Satchel Bag.  This time with Bag Batting so it stands on its own.

Now back to the school routine.  Our routine will continue to be a bit more involved for a while longer but we are getting there....


Now on to Daylesford Craft Experience!!

What can I say....

We have two great designers that are already creating amazing designs just for you!!!  One of our designers will be bringing something pretty precious with her as well (don't worry Natalie I will make sure there are chairs for you to relax into everywhere!!) as well as her amazing Woodland Fabric to play with (and maybe a viewing of her new range with any luck??).  You might have seen a little hint at Jodie's as well.. (we are working on the wool at the moment so stay tuned)

And then...

Kate from Foxs Lane will bring in her amazing crochet and knitting for you to see and ask questions about.

Zoe, who designs for the fabulous wool company in New Zealand, Rare Yarns, can also talk to you about yarn, design and felting. (check out the free pattern pictured below at their website)

Finally...

You know that RicRac girly is going to tell us how she came from being someone who likes making stuff to a bona fide designer (mind you I reckon she is the only one surprised - you only have to look at her work.....)

And just because I like gadgets, I will show you some of the things that I have tracked down in the craft world that you can play with. 

Am in the process of hoarding some things just for you right now.  Hope to see you there.....