When we were.....

40% off!!!!

(No I am not talking about when I was 40... although I believe the party went for a month....)

Going.... going...not yet....

No..not yet

But our last day will be September 13.

At the moment all stock is at least 35% off (some are already lower).

Come on in and grab a bargain.

Some of our fixtures and made items are also available to purchase.

Hope to see you soon

Time to say goodbye

Hi there

I hope that when you have walked in our store that I have had the chance to say that to you....

Unfortunately I won't be able to say that to you for much longer as we have decided to close during September of this year.

We began Threadneedle Craft about 7 and a half years ago and have enjoyed our time immensely.

Now it is time for us to regroup as a family and enjoy some time together - the boys are getting bigger and it won't be long until they fly the coup!

So... what does that mean for you? Well, I would love you to come in and say goodbye... we will begin our closing sale on July 27 (closing on Sunday 26 to prepare) with everything at 25% off (unless already reduced further).

At regular intervals this amount will drop by 5% until our complete closure on Sunday September 13.

All fittings and fixtures that are for sale will also be marked at a fixed price so come in and grab a bargain.

And before I sign off I would just like to thank you all for your support during our time here and for your cheery selves popping in the door.

We wish you all the best in craftiness

Merrilyn & David Sim
Threadneedle Craft Daylesford

Away (just for a little bit)....

Just a quick message to let you know that Threadneedle Craft will be closed from

May 20th and will reopen as usual on May 27th

(Off to a wedding.... in Fiji)

Ottoman - Large size

Given it has been a long time between posts I thought I would give you a quick update on the Ottoman exercise...

Started the one for home making the "pattern" 20% bigger. This is the back of our old couch that had never seen the light of day and was still in good condition (the front was fraying to shreds and had that decidedly grubby look of boys growing up with it...)

This one also has some seriously heavy duty interfacing (ie swear inducing sewing was required as the stuff became so stiff I could barely move it) to keep the shape.

Stuffing - I think I mentioned that I used clean old cushion inserts so that I didn't have all the "air" in them.  Well this one has on complete old couch feather and foam cushion insert in it with a few more feathers.

Yes I had to open the bag and yes I am still finding feathers in the back of the shop.

It also has about three cushions to get in to all the corners.

But its done - I think I made it firmer than it needed to be but I am happy with the result.

The only thing now is to stop the boys throwing it around (v. heavy) and using as a weapon!!!

Another large size is getting made for a friend... sigh... after my fingers recover.

Cushions and Christmas

It’s been a long time between blogs but I thought I would share with you my efforts with octagons!!!

While away earlier this year we saw in an amazing shop some octagon shaped ottomans.  They looked great and as we have some old couch fabric at home we thought we might have a go at making them…

So I started with a couple of prototypes – not quite as big as the final one will be but a decent size.  My shapes were taken from a computer program and then printed off (I did the octagon shape first and then broke it into the triangles).

Then it is a matter of cutting out and stitching together (sides then tops with a bit unstitched in one of the top bits. I have used heavy fusible interface on the sides and as one whole piece I have put a piece of bag batting on the top and bottom. This lets it keep its shape.  I slit one in the centre as this is where I fill it and then hand stitch it up.

To stuff – I am sure you can get heavy stuffing but I have yet to source this – what I have done is used old cushions and pillows (clean!!) that have lost their oomph but are quite dense. I shove a lot in!!!

Finally to close hand stitch the opening closed and then stitch the octagon in the middle on.

So I have made 2 so far with the biggie cut out as my January project…

In the meantime...

Threadneedle Craft wishes you all the best over the festive season. Be safe and happy and enjoy your families.

Our shop will reopen on January 8 with our school holiday program commencing on the 12^th.

The Quillow... and ... wait for it ... a family holiday!!!

I know it has been a while - months are definitely missing and I am sure they were there when I last looked!!!

So apart from the usual faffing around that I do, I decided to make a quillow.

I am not sure if that is the correct term but it is the one I have heard. We were given one when our first son was born and initially I was thinking …what will I do with this???

Then we started walking to the park and the pocket was great for a nappy or two, some wipes and any other things that you seem to need with a baby.  It would get chucked under the pram and away we would go. It also was thrown in the car as a back-up pillow or blanket while driving

So I thought I should have a go at making them…

The size is about 1.1m x 0.7m. It’s a sort of not too big, not too small size that seems to work. (These are all finished sizes).

The cushion pocket should be wide so I use about 0.40m by 0.30m. Any leftover fabric I use for another smaller cushion pocket – and a handle if I have enough. (I attach the handle to the inside of the large pocket.

I use a thick sort of polyester wadding - it is going to be washed a lot!

And really then it’s a bit of putting the small pocket on.  Right sides together with wadding. Sew around the whole thing leaving a turning gap.

Turn it through and machine all the way around which should close the gap (yes I am lazy and try to avoid hand stitching).

I then quilt it doing straight lines up the quilt from the small pocket. Then add the larger pocket (with the handle on the inside) to the quillow over the smaller one. (Trust me it works!!). Again quilt straight up the quilt to sew the large pocket on.

And its done!!!

There are more detailed patterns on-line if you look here but when you start you sort of work it out (and I tried to make a very easy one).

And the fabric is available at Threadneedle

Now, on another note, Threadneedle will closed for ten days until Thursday 25^th September. We are about to go on a family holiday!!!

See you during the School Holidays and yes we do have a school holiday program.