Gum Valley Patchwork

Christmas in July

I would like to thank everyone for the great response to my new Christmas in July event that will be held in just over 3 weeks time. For those lovely ladies who have already booked in, the payment is now due. I will be contacting you today to let you know how you can pay the $65. If you have been thinking about attending (or forgot all about), please let me know asap if you would like to join in the fun. I still have a few places left......but not many.

Sunday 22nd July, 2018

10am to 4pm

at the Simpson Community Hub,

Recreation Reserve, Simpson

Cost : $65 per person

Includes  :  2 course meal (Roast lunch & dessert); morning and afternoon tea with tea / coffee all day;  two three small Christmas themed  projects; a goodie bag; lucky draws; plus more!

The shop will there for some retail therapy. You can make the projects included on the day or bring along your own hand stitching to do. Either way, spend a great day with friends and fellow stitchers.

To book your place, please contact Linda @ Gum Valley Patchwork 0427 943 201

Note: there will be no machine sewing on the day, so you will just need to bring along your basic sewing kit......scissors, pins, needles, thread, hoop etc.  

Linda :)

Flash Sale

The end of the financial year is fast approaching so I have decided to have a very special one day only flash sale. There will be 25% off bolted fabric on Saturday 30th June.

It only applies to bolted fabric and includes the extra wide backing fabric, specials ($12/m will be $9/m) , hanky linen and barkcloth........plus of course the 1,000 + bolts of fabric on the shelves. Remember one day only!

Sorry.....in store only.

Linda     :)

'Guilty' trip

The first few months of the year have been very busy for me. In the lead up to AQC I promised myself that I would go away for a few days just to have a break and get away from the shop. Well that didn't happen as there was always something keeping me here and things that needed to be done. Then last month as Russell was talking about his impending trip to Sydney for the Rotax ProTour......go karts of course......I checked out the dates for Craft & Quilt Fair and found that the events were on at the same time. What are the chances! So I booked up Jodie for the Shop and Russell booked our flights and last Thursday we headed to sunny Sydney. Our accommodation was booked out at Eastern Creek, very close to the go kart track on the very aptly named Peter Brock Drive. This meant a bus and train trip for me to get into Darling Harbour which suited me fine as I didn't have to contend with road traffic and parking. A lot of people think that I am a very confident person but in reality I don't like unfamiliar things and not being in control (yes a control freak!) so having to navigate the Sydney transport system on my own was a big win for me. Friday was my day at the Quilt Show. The NSW Quilt Guild had 405 quilts on display of all shapes and sizes. Jenny Bowker's quilt, After the last sky was awarded Best in Show. It was truly magnificent. You can read about the quilt on Jenny's Blog. And for any local people who might recognise the name, Jenny is Matthew Bowker's (Kangaroobie at Princetown) aunt. I remember Matthew telling me quite a few years ago that his Aunt sewed things.....lol!

On leaving the quilt show area the very first person I heard.....and then saw.....lol!.....was my friend Sophie. An ex Melbourne girl now living in Sydney with her young family. Sophie has gone ahead in leaps and bounds with her sewing and is now designing under her Sew Swish Designs name.

I was also lucky enough to help out Lenora on her Elm Grove Patchwork stand for a couple of hours over the lunch time so that she and Amy could have a break. I know that I was meant to be having a break from all things shop related but this was different........all the fun and none of the worry......lol! Later on the charismatic Donna aka Chooky Blue popped by to say hello. It was great to meet up in real life and not just via our blogging.

I was also delighted that Ros aka Bloom stopped by for a chat. Ros has the most beautiful garden.....it puts mine to shame. She very kindly sent me some bulbs when she was moving properties and they remind me of her every time they bloom. I forgot to get a happy snap but you check out her blog here.

After mastering the skill of public transport in Sydney, I decided to 'pop' back into the city on the Saturday and check out the 'Lady and the Unicorn' Tapestry Exhibition at the Art Gallery. Long story short......no buses past the motel on the weekend.......25 minute walk to the bus stop.......one hour train trip stopping nearly all stations........20 minute walk to the Art Gallery......queue for tickets.......tickets sold out........disappointed.......25 minute walk to Darling Harbour........catch up with Lenora and Amy.........walk to the train station.......sore knee.........back to Eastern Creek. On the plus side........lots of steps for the day! Athough somewhere in the middle of it all I was thinking that I should have just stayed home and not bothered going away.

Sunday it was sleep in and then a short walk up to the Eastern Creek Raceway.

Russell was the Race Director for the meeting so was busy all weekend.

The racing went smoothly and we were all on our way back to the airport by about 2.30pm. We had a few hours to kill before our 6.15pm flight.........I spent it stitching and Russell spent it snoozing.

We arrived home and were all tucked up in bed by 11pm. While I did have an attack of the guilts half way through thinking about all of the jobs that I had waiting for me to do at home, I did really enjoy the time away, and meeting up with friends from afar. Oh and my knee is better too :)

Now off to play catch up.

Linda    :)

 

 

It's almost done........'Flowers for me'

I have been a little bit preoccupied this last week and a bit. You see I have been working hard on getting my new quilt finished for the upcoming Victorian Quilters Quilt Showcase next month in Melbourne. A couple of months ago I was actually thinking that it wasn't going to be 'good enough' to put in the show. I feel enormous pressure at times that my next 'show quilt' has to be bigger and better and more impressive than 'Elenor Jean', and that people will be disappointed in my next entry..........I'm not sure that I will ever top the dizzy heights that she took me to. And then came the April edition of the Vic Quilter Magazine. An article from Linda Steele, Showcase Co-ordinator changed my mind........this part nailed it for me: 

"We have many visitors to our show and not everyone is a quilter but they could be in the future. Sometimes a very basic quilt is the very thing that could inspire a new quilter. We all know that those magnificent, prize winning quilts are wonderful but they can also be discouraging to the less experienced. Let's have a display of quilts that will appeal and inspire everyone this year"

So thanks to Linda, I filled in my application form, took the photo, wrote out my cheque and posted off my envelope, and a few weeks ago I received my acceptance letter. I have stretched and tied my quilt, trimmed and bound my quilt, one hanging sleeve is on and another to go, then it just needs the label (and a cover for the label) and a quilt bag to keep it safe and clean. And while I have been asked a few times to show the quilt, I hope that everyone understands that I am not ready to show the finished quilt. Deep down I guess that I still have reservations about it, and that by not showing people prior to the Quilt Showcase I won't see disappointment. Please understand. I will post photos and blog about it after the Quilt Show late July.

It is also one of the very few quilts that I have made just for me.

Linda    :)

Over and Down Under

Sometimes a pattern just jumps out and grabs you. This has happened a few times to me and sometimes it's the pattern that sells the fabric to me. One of these is the 'Over and Down Under' pattern. As soon as I saw it I knew that I wanted it for the shop......and me!

The fabric rolls, black herringbone flannel, and the patterns arrived on Wednesday.

Kits are available and include the pattern, strip roll, and fabric for border and binding. Kits are $125 each.

Linda    :)

 

Wintery blast

As I am sitting here typing this blog post the rain and hail is pinging against the corrugated iron walls of our home......it can get quite noisy at times. Earlier in the week I took advantage of a few fine days, as I knew the rain was on it's way, and I hit the garden once again. On Sunday afternoon we planted a new Lime Tree in a raised garden bed.

This method has worked well for our Lemon Tree so we are optimistic that we might have some limes to use in a few years. Coupled with some mint from my garden, ice, rum and soda I will be all set for Summertime refreshments!

We also took the opportunity to plant some potatoes. I hate planting them in my vegetable patch as I get them popping up for years to come. We tried cut off drums one year but they dried out too much and produced very few potatoes. As we had some excess soil, we decided to plant them into a row of mounded soil on the lawn.

Not the straightest of lines.....lol! We really have no idea whether this will work, I'm guessing only time will tell.

Monday's mission was to clean up the unruly garden bed that is at the front of the shop. The bed extends around the corner, and underneath the kitchen window. It has been neglected for quite a few years, with the roses around the corner being unpruned for about 7 years. So this was what it started like.......the rose scented geranium had really taken over.

And by 5pm it had been transformed into this.......pruned, mulched and a few Seaside Daisies planted along the edge.

I've got some Foxgloves growing in pots in the hot house, along with some Larkspurs and Poppies, which will fill this area up nicely.

So while I wait for the next bout of fine weather I am going to stay inside and get my quilt finished for the Victorian Quilters Quilt Showcase in July. It's on the stretching frame......so that's a good start!!

Linda    :)

Cosmo threads

Back in April I blogged about stocking the full range of the beautiful Cosmo threads.....both plain and the newly arrived Cosmo Seasons (5000; 8000; & 9000 series).

A lot of my customers love these threads and that is why I am writing this blog post. Some of you might have read that the Australian distributor, Charles Parsons, has decided to shut down the craft side of their business. This means that from the 1st July, I will no longer be able to order replacement stock via Craft Project via Charles Parsons in Melbourne. I am sure that another company will pick up the Lecien (and Cosmo) distribution in Australia, but this might take a little while to sort through. I have ordered as much stock as I can to see me through but please be patient if I cannot completely fill orders. Worst case scenario is that I will import them from Japan but I really would prefer not to do this. On a positive note a new fabric distribution company has been set up in Melbourne to take on some of the other fabric companies, so it will be business as usual for those brands.....which is great. 

Linda   :)

Count with Me......1,2,3.....

The car park has been very busy with delivery trucks coming and going this week. There have been threads, fabric and kits arriving and I thought that today I would show you a new fabric book panel that is new in. I have just finished stitching my shop sample up and it went together very quickly.

I used fusible Parlan as the batting in the 'pages'.

It would make a great little gift for someone with a new baby.

Our Georgia is learning to count and she can make it to 12.........I think that she will love this! There are limited panels available and they are $22 each.

Linda    :)

While the sun is shining

While I should have been inside putting the shop back together after being away at Craft Alive, the last two sunny days have drawn me outside and into the garden. I have had a new strawberry patch on the drawing board for about 18 months and yesterday was the perfect day make it a reality. I have grown strawberries for a number of years and have during recent years frozen the fruit to use in my daily breakfast smoothies.

I grew quite a few last season and have enough frozen fruit to last me just another week. Not too bad for an 'out of control' strawberry patch. 

I had ear marked this patch of lawn near my hot house for my new patch.

Yesterday we made a quick trip to Warrnambool to visit one of my favourite shops......Bunnings!....to gather the supplies needed. In the afternoon I started work......

We then set up the watering system using weeping hoses and a three way tap controller.

The plastic went on, and then this afternoon I dug up and planted 94 strawberry plants from the ones that I had propagated last year. I still have about 400 plants but I don't have the room to replant them.

Now to sit back and hope that my new strawberry patch will be productive and provide us with enough fruit for 12 months. I have a feeling that we will need to make a cover to keep  the birds out..........oh and Georgia can't wait to come and pick strawberries!

Linda    :)

New small projects

When I attend Quilt Shows and events I always like to make sure that I have some new projects to take along with me. Although I was battling a cold since the Friendship Frolic, I managed to make up not one, but two different colourways of a new Snap Bag. The first is a red version using the lovely 'Farmhouse Reds' fabrics by Minick & Simpson.

And the second is a Pastel version using the pretty 'Home Sweet Home' fabrics by Stacy Iest Hsu.

Both kits come complete with everything that you need to complete the project.....fabric, lining, parlan, epp papers, spring strip and the pattern......and are $18 each.

Another new project is this large pencil case.

This kit is just $14 and comes complete with everything as well. The fabric is from the gorgeous 'Garden Delights II' fabric range.

I usually don't remake projects but this Dresden Pouch kit has been so popular that I decided to make up a new sample. I had run out of the original background fabric, binding and lining, so this version has gone green.  The kit is $20.

The next show is in just 4 weeks, so I will be busy stitching up some more new projects prior to Adelaide.

Linda    :)