Gum Valley Patchwork

I have a confession

........ I have been away on holidays for 10 days and was very sneaky by scheduling some posts to pop up while I was away. We left on the 4th February and returned home last night so the head is still a little bit fuzzy and I am trying to get back into the swing of things. There is a mountain of washing to do and I will have to 'learn' how to cook, clean and make my own bed again....lol! I have lots of photos to show you and things to tell you, so over the coming weeks I will work through my journal and post all about our time away........I hope that you won't get too bored.

I would like to thank my good friend Jodie for looking after the Shop while I was away. She always does a fabulous job! Jodie also unpacked the 'Rouennaries Deux' range by French General which arrived last week......the precuts are on back order so I am not sure when they will be in.

Finally apologies to anyone who has rung, emailed or messaged me since the 4th February.......I will try and catch up with the back log over the coming days........or give me another call.

Linda  :)

Happy Valentines Day

Russell is certainly not what you would call romantic......however today we will be spending the day together and somewhere very special. I will spill the beans very soon.

Linda     :)

New product

Last week a new product arrived in the shop......Buckram. What on earth is Buckram I hear you ask. Some of you may recognise it as a stiffening used in making the pinch pleats in curtains. Kay Whitt from Sew Serendipity has an excellent post titled Making Bags: What the heck is Buckram which explains it all. The only thing is Kay talks about how it is non fusible........but the Buckram I have in stock is a double sided fusible Buckram. I haven't as yet had a chance to use it but am looking forward to playing with it in some new project ideas. It is 100cm wide and sells for $10.50 per metre. Maybe you too can have a play.

Linda     :)

 

Hubby's new hobby

For several months we have been working on a special project. It is actually Russell's little 'baby' but I help out when required. First of all we sprayed out the rows .....17 in total......in the 'paddock' just below the shop garden.

This photo was taken last June.........which is quite obvious by the amount of green grass in the paddock. In July we travelled to Beaufort and collected 250 apple trees. 

And in August Russell planted them.....with a little help from Lister.

The varieties included Kingston Black; Michelin; Yarlington Mill; Breakwell's Seedling; Improved Foxwhelp; Bulmer's Norman; Reines de Hatives; Pink Lady's and Cox's Orange Pippin. Most of these varieties will be unfamiliar to lots of you and that's because they are cider apples........and why are we planting them.......well Russell is going to make apple cider. I'm sure that there will be lots of testing, tasting and quality control before we will be able to market the cider....that's if there is any left....lol! In the meantime while we wait for the trees to grow and start fruiting it is my job to mow between the rows.

So for all of those who have been wondering what we have been up to and those who have been worried about what Russell will do will we sell the farm - it's apple cider ...... making, drinking and selling....... hopefully.

Linda    :)

A hexagon sneek peek

I know that a lot of you have been waiting very patiently for the next photo of my new Hexagon Quilt. My last update was back on the 19th December and I am still working on the next border. I made a promise that I wouldn't take it to the shop to work on as I had too many other things to stitch.......like BOM's and class samples.......and I know if I take it I will be tempted to work on it. I also have to work out the pattern which takes a little extra time. So today I wanted to just give you a little peek.....just to prove that I am still working on it.

All the while thinking and planning what the next border will look like.

Linda   :) 

Mass production

Well maybe not quite but I was certainly on a roll the other day when I made 3 new skirts in about 3 hours. Mind you it would have taken a lot less if I didn't have to put 3 zips in. For some reason they were not behaving themselves......grrr.

The first is made from a pretty floral from the 'Swanky' range by Chez Moi. It's a couple of years old but I still love it.

The next is from the 'Verna' range by Kate Spain. There isn't much left in the range but I thought that this one is a little different from my other skirts.....and I have a red t-shirt that looks very nice with it.

And the last one is from the new fabric by Art Gallery Quilts.

Although I only have the basics in stock at the moment I am expecting the 'Poetica' range into the shop in March / April. I can't wait as this skirt feels so nice and hangs beautifully. I can see some more made from 'Poetica' when it arrives.

Don't they look lovely.

 

Linda      :)

New specials

A quick post to let you know that I have added some 'new' bolts of fabric to the $8 / m Specials basket and I have also reduced the price of the remaining bolts of the 'Swanky' range by Chez Moi to just $12 a metre. Don't forget that the 'Aster Manor' range by 3 Sisters is also $12 a metre. They would make absolutely great backing fabrics and there is no minimum cut either!

Linda   :)

Yes I do

make mistakes when I'm stitching! A lot of people say that I wouldn't make mistakes but I certainly do.....it's just usually when I make them I am on my own. Today however I had an audience......... I decided to finish off a bag that I started last week.......but I wanted to put a zippered pocket on the inside. All went reasonably well until I turned it out and found the zipper back to front.....grrr. It was the way I put the lining into the bag outer so I had to unpick it. Take two......yep that looks right.......stitched it in place and turned it out again. Now the zipper was right but there was no lining in the pocket.........grrrrr. Out with the upicker but this time I pinned it in place.......and voila.......third time lucky.....yay! So now I have a nice new bag with a secret pocket that works!

Linda     :)

Boys and their toys

We have been waiting for a couple of weeks but the excavator and dump truck finally arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Their job was to clean out the effluent pond at the dairy and relocate all of that 'goodness' to our big pile of compost that will be turned into fertiliser for the farm (and maybe I can sneak a ute full for the garden......). I won't show you the 'goodness' ........ way too yucky........ but here is the mean machine before it started work yesterday.

Russell would have given anything to get in and have a drive of it.......he was literally salivating as he climbed up for a closer inspection. And you should have heard him talking about the size of the hydraulic pump.......yeah yeah.......lol!  We were quite amused at the SWL (Safe Working Limit) that was painted on the 'arm'.

2,999 kgs not 3,000 kgs.......that extra kg makes all the difference.

Linda   :)