Gum Valley Patchwork

It's Show time again

I literally only have 5 spare minutes to write this post before I have to get back to Show stuff. I just wanted to let you all know that the Shop will be closed Friday 28th and Saturday 29th February. It's Heytesbury Show time again, and while I usually get Russell to run the shop for me while I am at the Show, this year will be different. I have stepped up to take on the role as Secretary of our Show Society so that we could have a show this year. I am still Chief Steward of the Homecraft Pavilion (my 14th Show), and have been Treasurer for the last 3 years, so you can see why I am just a wee bit busy at the moment. Russell is coming along to help. So apologies for the inconvenience, but the Show is important to our local community.

I will be open again on Sunday 1st March.

Linda   :)

Mackinac Island

Just a little top up of my blue, white and red fabrics with some of these new prints from Mackinac Island by Minick & Simpson for Moda Fabrics.

I selected 14 of the prints from this new collection to add to the other Minick & Simpson fabrics currently in stock....Polka Dots & Paisleys; Grand Traverse Bay; Farmhouse Reds; and Crystal Lake. They all work beautifully together, and some might just end up in my rather large M&S fabric stash!

Linda   :)

Change can be good

Over the Christmas and New Year break I  took the opportunity to have a big shop rearrange. I had grown tired and uninspired by the layout. I see it everyday, and I was ready and looking forward to a big change. 

At 4.01pm on the 22nd December as I closed the shop for a 2.5 week break, I started dismantling the shop. I pulled bolts from the shelves, packed up kits, took samples off the walls and moved as much as I could into the classroom.

The tape measure came out as I tried to plan the new layout.

I really wanted to utilise the floor area better to accommodate the new fabric that was due to arrive in the first few months of 2020. I also wanted to move the long church pew, which had been in the same position since it was purchased in 2007, and also the pigeon hole hutch that also hadn't been moved for a long long time.

This also meant that I HAD to go to Ikea to buy some new furniture.......not once but twice! The first trip was on Boxing Day, and then I realised that I needed another 4 'tv' cabinets to complete the layout......so off we went again.....lol! Without the shelving the cabinets are the perfect height for fabric bolts! Russell is a whizz at flat pack, so I put him to work.....he says that he finds it relaxing!

Another area that was in desperate need of a tidy up was my storage space under the stairs. This has been incredibly useful over the years, but has been a total mess for probably the last 4 years. I told Russell that if I ever went missing, to look under the stairs as I have probably had an avalanche of stuff fall on top of me and I was trapped underneath.  This is the before shot.....after I had removed a few things though. (It also goes around the corner to the right).

On our first trip to Ikea we purchased 2 bookcases for $39 each and put them in to help with organising my stock of kits etc. Oh my goodness......why did it take me 12 years to do this! Jodie is now game enough to go in there......lol!

There were only a couple of bookcases that I wasn't able to move, but on a whole I am very happy with the changes to the shop.    

I have had lots of lovely positive feedback from customers so far.....even if they have had trouble finding things.....lol!

Linda    :)

Thatched

With all of the social media that I have going at the moment, I often forget what I have posted and on where! I realised the other day that I hadn't let you all know that the new Thatched prints by Robin Pickens had arrived in the shop.

These prints are fantastic when you are looking for something more interesting than just a plain fabric for your project. There are 34 different colours available and are $24 per metre. They are all listed on my website HERE.

Linda    :)

'Tealicious' is Delicious

One of the newest fabric arrival at Gum Valley Patchwork is the beautiful new collection called 'Tealicious' by Anni Downs from Hatched and Patched.

As the name suggests, Anni has created a colorful and whimsical representation of an ode to tea.

Now I have a confession to make......I am not a tea drinker. Yes I know it's shocking, but I don't drink coffee either, so I am at least impartial! But I am married to a tea drinker......and proper tea too......none of that tea bag stuff.....lol! Russell has drunk tea for as long as I have known him. Along with his brothers they would drink tea with their mum and dad as they were growing up. I guess the difference is that as a teenager we never asked/wanted to drink tea, so as a result only one out of four of us is a tea / coffee drinker. But I do have Jodie who educates me on all things tea. Jodie is an avid tea drinker.......all sorts of different teas with fancy names and fancy ingredients........who knows maybe one day I will try it......oh who am I kidding......no I won't!

So with tea drinkers in mind, I have created two new projects using the 'Tealicious' fabric.

The first is this 'Tea for Two' Table Centre. The tea cup prints are fun and the words made a fun border to finish it off. Kits are available for $28 each, and this includes everything that you need to complete the Table Centre (yes even the backing and binding).

The next project is my 'Bring a Mug' bag.

Ideal for taking your mug, and maybe fancy tea bags, along to your stitching day. The kits are available for $16.50 each, and again includes everything that you need to make one bag. 

The full collection of 20 fabrics is available on the bolt for $25 per metre. As with all of Anni's fabric ranges, the small prints are good everyday basics to pop in your stash.

And as a little advance notice, I have ordered Anni's Christmas range called 'On the 12th Day'.

But you will have to wait until May for those to arrive.

Linda    :)