Gum Valley Patchwork

A new target

With January almost over, and a very busy March ahead of me, I have decided that I have to set out a plan if I am going to be organised for AQC in early April. It is just scary how quickly the weeks can go whizzing by so I have decided to set some targets. My aim is to make a minimum of one new project every week and have them kitted up and ready. I have 3 new ones already which is a great start.....but as these might sell out prior to April, I have to keep the designing, making and kitting process going. It hasn't been too hard lately with the beautiful new fabric that is arriving, and due to arrive in the shop. The first project I made up a couple of weeks ago using a mini charm pack from the French General range called 'Jardin de Versailles'. The bolted fabric won't arrive until April, but I teamed it up with fabric from the 'Ville Fleurie' range.The kits come complete with everything you need to complete the project.....including the backing fabric......and it is pre-cut for you. The Mini Charm Table Centre can easily be made in an afternoon, and costs $25.

My second new project also uses the 'Jardin de Versailles' fabric. I purchased a fat quarter bundle so that I could make up some new samples in advance of the range arriving in the shop. As this (and the next) project don't use that much of this fabric, I was able to put together some kits prior to April.......that means that they are ready now.....yay! This is a cute little 'Hexagon Kisses' compact mirror, uses 1/4" hexagons to decorate the top of it. Yes 1/4".....but there are only 19 of them to make! I have kits available now, however the colours may vary from my version......this means that you personlise it to suit your own tastes.  

My third and final new project,  finished and kitted over the weekend is my new Dresden Pouch. I had a smaller, slightly different version that I made a couple of years ago which was very popular. This time around I have made it deeper, used paper pieces for the dresden flower, some beautiful yarn dyed fabric, a pretty striped binding and a sew on magnetic clasp to keep the flap secure. The fabrics for the dresden plates are the same as my sample.  As with all of my small project kits, everything is supplied. The kits are available now either online or call in to the shop........$20 each.

I have to admit it.....this is my favourite project out of the three new ones. So far I feel that I am doing okay with my new target..........I wonder what this week will bring?

Linda    :)

My stash

A lot of people ask me about my fabric stash and think that it must be massive. Well it's not really. Most of the sewing I do is for the shop......shop samples using the fabric off the shelves, cutting enough to stitch the sample and make up the kits. The left overs get tossed into a big tub and then when it's full I make up scrap bags for the shop (note to self......need to do this again.....soon!). I do however have one plastic tub that has my very special stash of Minick & Simpson fabric in it. This box is mine. It is used for my 'me' sewing projects.....those that aren't samples for the shop but quilts I make for me. My stash started after I made my 'Dear Prudence' quilt in 2010/11, followed by 'Elenor Jean' in 2011/14. I had lots of left over pieces that I couldn't bear to throw in the general scrap box, so I started my own stash box and added to it whenever I could. You will rarely find a Minick & Simpson on my Specials rack and never find them in my 'End of Bolts' box........they always end up in my stash. I currently have three four 'me' projects that I am working on.

The first is a second version of 'Elenor Jean'....just the centre part in 1/2" hexagons. This has been on the go for a number of years......it usually only gets stitched when I go on holidays........easy to take on the plane.......looks like I need more holidays so that I can finish it!

The second project is my Yo-Yo Quilt....also started a few years ago. I am over half way through the yo-yos but have set myself a deadline for this one......hopefully it will be enough motivation.

The third 'me' project is my Farmer's Wife Quilt......or should I say my Lazy Farmer's Wife Quilt. I have chosen to make the smaller version so won't be making all of the blocks (I am giving the hard ones a miss!). I started this 2 years ago when I started a Farmers Wife Stitch-along group at the shop. I only ever work on this quilt on the days that we meet.......once a month......so progress has been slow......particularly if I am busy in the Shop on the Stitch-along days or if I talk too much! We met on Thursday and I only managed 2 blocks for the whole day and one of those was altered because I cut some of the pieces too small!

After Thursday's get together I decided that it was time for me to sort out my stash box. It was getting very messy from the digging around in it so I tipped it all out and collated the fabrics into their colourways.

It was then I decided that I was never going to use all of my fabric on my three existing 'me' projects, so I thought......why not start another one! This new project won't use a lot of fabric either and it will be an ongoing project that I will continue to build on to as I add new Minick & Simpson fabrics to my stash. It's the 'Circle a Day' Quilt. The idea is to stitch a  circle onto a background square of fabric every day. Easy? Yeah right! These little buggers are so addictive that Thursday night I stitched ten of them and Friday night I did 6!

I guess that means that I am ahead of my target! I think it's time to get the yo-yo's out again.

Linda     :)

 

Guess how much I love you?

Two weeks ago I spent a couple of days in Melbourne babysitting, and during that time I became quite accustomed to  watching ABC Kids TV. We watched everything from Play School (and I remembered some of the songs!) to Sesame Street and Telly Tubbies to the Wiggles......I even watched Big and Little Nut Brown Hare from The Guess how much I love you books. I ordered this fabric range last year and was a tad excited to see the characters brought to life for television viewing. I have since been hanging out for the fabric to arrive in the shop and it was delivered on Tuesday.

There are 14 prints all up.........dots (4 colourways), stars (4 colourways), and 2 different prints (3 of each pattern). They are all unpacked and set up on the 'new arrivals' table near the front counter. 

I have some Fat 1/4's cut, with some bundles also available. I decided on Wednesday to whizz up a quick and easy small quilt (97cm x 111cm) that little ones could snuggle under.....I know that it isn't the weather for snuggling but one has to be prepared! It is a simple squares and border quilt using some of the new flannel with a couple of others for some extra colour........I have tied mine with embroidery thread to make it even quicker to finish.

I have kits made up and they are listed on my website here for only $45.

The fabric is flannel and is also listed on my website and is priced at $25 per metre.

Linda    :)

Roses are red.....and white

Over the past six months I have been slowly replacing some plastic garden edging with rocks. It really wasn't working very well at keeping the mulch in on the garden bed, and I knew that I would have to do something to improve the situation. I was able to get a big ute load of rocks from Jodie.....she was ripping all of hers up, and I volunteered to take them off her hands. I have been on the lookout for more, and when I saw a notice on one the Facebook Buy, Swap and Sell sites on Saturday, I quickly said that I would take them. On Monday we collected the smallest of the rocks, and although I would've loved to have taken more, they were just too heavy for us to load into the back of the ute.

I was determined to get them into place asap, and not leave them on the lawn to grow grass through and house any wayward snakes!

I was able to finish edging one side, go around the corner and started to make my way back up the front. It is the garden bed that everyone sees from the road, and it is where I have my red and white roses planted. The trees are Manchurian Pears and in between I have planted flowering Purple Crab Apples......of which I need 2 more.

The roses were stunning last year and are putting on another good show this year. The red is called 'Apache' and the white is called 'Silver Ghost'.....a good match I think! I bought them all from Treloars Roses in Portland, Victoria (where I get all of my roses). Unfortunately I have had two of the white roses....either side of one of the red ones......just die. They shot out in Spring but slowly just faded away. I have got absolutely no idea why they died, but I will have to replace them come Winter time. I have been told that if a rose dies, you must dig out the soil and replace it with fresh soil otherwise the new plant may die as well. I can vouch for this as I have had a replacement rose in another garden bed die 12 months after it was planted......I gave up and now have a bird bath in it's place!

Now I just have to track down another ute load of rocks to finish the job......I have a wedding booked in and I need to have it all just right by November.

Linda   :)

Stitch in Spring.....part two

As announced yesterday Gail Pan will be rejoining us at the 2018 Stitch in Spring in September. Joining Gail will be the talented and lovely Clare Horsman from 'Clare's Place'.

From a young age Clare has enjoyed designing and making things. Clare's Place is the creative outlet where she is able to do just this. Clare loves pattern and colourand draws inspiration for her designs from her children, striving to create things they will love to wear and use. Clare's current pattern designs include quilts, bags, softies and most recently clothing. It will be exciting to have Clare join us and I can't wait to see what she designs for you all.

It will be Clare's first visit to our Stitch in Spring and I am sure that you will make her very welcome.

So there you have it......our two tutors for the 2018 Stitch in Spring......Gail Pan and Clare Horsman.

Registrations for the event will open at 9am on Monday 12th March.......yes the Labour Day holiday in Victoria........I will release more details closer to the date.

Linda   :)

Stitch in Spring 2018.......part one

This year will see me hold my eighth Stitch in Spring event on the 22nd and 23rd September in Port Campbell. Ladies from all around Victoria and interstate travel to enjoy a day of stitching and friendship with two guest tutors designing special SIS projects to work on. We have lucky draws, Show'n'Tell, shopping, fun and of course food. The first two years saw the event held in Simpson, but it quickly outgrew that venue and we moved it to the beautiful Sunset Room at the Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club. I'm sure that a lot of the ladies spend quite a bit of time looking at the sea instead of their stitching.....lol! It is around this time every year that I announce which tutors will be making the special trip to the seaside town. I am thrilled to announce that Gail Pan will be returning this year.

This will be Gail's fifth Stitch in Spring, she attended my very first one back in 2011......then again the following year in 2012, and in 2014 & 2015. Gail will have a new book launching in May and there is also a whisper of a new fabric line which is very exciting. Gail and I have been friends for many years, with her patterns being some of the first that I stocked in my shop all those years ago in 2007.

I will pop back tomorrow with who will be joining Gail as our second tutor.

Linda    :)

Border Security

I am always on the hunt for different bits and pieces to stock in the shop, and this search often leads me to dealing with businesses based in China. Usually the biggest issue I have is the language barrier, and I have found over the years the best thing is to keep the conversation basic and not over complicate the message. I have also found that they are extremely keen to do good business and will bend over backwards to make the purchasing process great so that they will receive a favourable review. Sometimes I even receive extra little gifts in my parcels.......like stickers......which is cute. So imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago when I decided to bag up the rest of my sew-in magnetic snaps........I tipped the parcel out and in the bottom was my free gift.......not one but two packets of seeds!!!!

Oh My Goodness.........direct from China!!!! It was obvious that they don't know about our customs rules.....and that my parcel wasn't scanned when it entered the country. If it was it might have ended up on Border Security. Now I have to dispose of the seeds.......think I will take them into the DELWP and see if they can get rid of them for me. I wish they had just sent me some stickers!!!

Linda    :)

 

If you snooze you might lose!

I am making room for three new quilts to be put on display in the shop, so have reduced the price of a couple of existing samples. The first is this cute 'Bunnies in Teacups' quilt. I have reduced the kit price to just $50 (down from $70). I only have two kits left and once they are gone that's it. You can pop over to my online shop and place the order there or contact me direct.

The other kit that I am reducing is the 'Holy Snowballs' Quilt kit. This kit has been reduced to just $70 (down from $98). Again there are only 2 of these kits available so if you are interested pop over here and place your order.

Details of each quilt are listed on my website.

Linda    :)

Sopwell Ladies Basket Society Quilt

I am always on the lookout for new Block of the Month Quilts to run through the Shop. Sometimes I design them myself and sometimes I select them from other designers.....but usually always I like to make up a sample of the quilt that I will be offering. I like to do this so that those who sign up for them know exactly what my version of the quilt will look like. I have heard so many ladies say that they sign up for Block of the Months (from other Patchwork Shops) and when they get the packs, the fabrics look nothing like the sample. I know how disappointed I would be if that happened to me, so that is why I always like to cut/kit my block of the months as I make my sample up. This way you get exactly the same fabric as I have used in my sample. I also sometimes include either extra instructions or photos of my blocks to help with the fabric layout and selection. I will even replace fabric (if I can) when someone makes a cutting mistake. All of this will apply to a new Block of the Month that I will be running in 2018.........Gail Pan's new Sopwell Ladies Basket Society Quilt. I started making up my sample on the 16th December and in just one week I had made the first 2 blocks.

With a little break over Christmas, I was straight back into it and this afternoon I finished block 6.

I still have a little bit of ribbon to put on one of the baskets in Block 4, and then I will take the photos of the individual blocks (for the extra instructions). I will stitch them all together and add the borders, but I thought that I would share with you what it looks like so far.

The block sizes range from 20" x 20" to 20" x 22", with the finished quilt measuring 54" x 72". It is a six part Block of the Month, and will be $28 per month (plus postage). This price includes the pattern and fabric for each block. The borders and binding will be available as an optional extra at a reduced cost. I will also be offering it as a pattern of the month for those who have a stash of fabrics that they would like to use. This cost will be $15.50 per month (plus postage). Both options will commence in early February, but I am currently taking names for those wanting to sign up now. I do have limited kits available so please let me know asap to avoid missing out. I have not listed it on my online shop yet.....I will do it once the borders go on!

Linda    :) 

And it's finally done

I love my garden and spending time in it. I don't like hot weather and being out in it. So when the Summer weather forecast for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week was for cool days I decided that it was time to finish pulling our vegetable garden back into shape. You might remember my post from back in October when the Timboon Garden Club came to visit and how I was embarrassed about the state of some parts of my garden.....in particular the vegetable garden.

I accepted that I couldn't get it all done prior to their visit, but we have worked on it since and planted out 4 of the 5 beds with vegetables. The paths were still a mess, the hedge patchy and I still had the bed with plants from Mum's garden to transplant.

A number of years ago, over one very dry Summer, about half of the plants in my Oz Box hedge died. Quite unusual as they are pretty tough plants. I took a heap of cuttings and put them in five plastic pots.......and that's where they have stayed for the last four years. Yes in the pots.....not growing but not dying.......just green with roots. I would water them when I remembered and thought that if they died I would just grow some more. Well they didn't die and yesterday I pulled them out of the pots, cut them apart with a knife and filled in the gaps. They will probably die now......lol!

I wed the paths and the final garden bed. The 2 new compost bins that Russell built were soon full to overflowing. But given a week or two they will compact down and give me more space to start on the next gardening job.

Russell had also made me an outdoor sink stand so that I can wash any vegetables harvested outside and not bring them inside covered in dirt and leaves. He was going to weld up a stand but decided instead to use some old timber he had lying around.

It still needs a little clean down and I hope to have some hooks along the from to hang some of my hand tools on.

Gareth was being his usual unhelpful self......getting in the way and not wanting to move. In the end I had to pick him up and move him away so that I could finish off the weeding.

So after 3 days it is almost finished. I still have one plant left from Mum's garden in one of the beds, and 2 roses and a Green Gage plum tree in another. The roses were free gifts from Treloars and the Plum tree is meant for my orchard.......they were bare rooted......you know the idea......."I'll just pop them in here for the time being"......and bam! 5 months later they are still there!

I've had the sprinklers going on it this morning.....a good soaking before the heat arrives on the weekend.......40c on Saturday.......ouch......it will definitely be a non-gardening day!

Linda    :)

PS. The big green mass of plants that are overflowing from one of the garden beds aren't weeds but strawberry plants.......just couldn't bring myself to pulling them out of the track just yet.