Catching up with Sue

Sue Daley from Patchwork with Busyfingers was down on Monday and Tuesday to film a DVD for Quilters Companion. We aught up for dinner on Monday night at a little Italian Restaurant in Crows Nest.
We had a lovely time planning for Darling Harbour. It is going to be so exciting. I have packed a bag of her latest patterns to take away to make samples for the show.

She was telling me about her latest find - sewline fabric glue. She uses it instead of tacking the fabric to the papers. We have just got them in and I have packed two away for the weekend (one for Me and one for Chris). But in the meantime here is a little tutorial from Sue (shameless taken with her permission from her blog).

Using the perspex template and a rotary cutter cut out your fabric.

Place the pre-cut paper on top of the wrong side of the fabric.

Run the glue pen along the edge of the card. The glue comes out blue and dries clear and is water soluable.

Fold the fabric over the edge of the card and press with your finger.

Repeat for the remaining sides.

If you have points make sure that you have nice crisp points and leave the tails hanging out. (Very important)

Brilliant for curved edges as you can pull them in tight eliminating points on the curved edge.

I know what the next question is before you even ask it.

How do I get the paper out now?

Don't take any papers out until you have sewn your shapes together.

Just peel the fabric edge off the card and it will just slip out.

Kayaking on the Harbour

What a wonderful day we have had today. It was just perfect for the Kayak for kids fundariaser. This day raises money for Lifestart - a great organisation that provides early intervention services for children with special needs.

Judy had put together a team with her guides. Here they are at the starting point. Can you think of anything more perfect?

There were over 700 entrants for a beautiful paddle on the harbour. Here are the teams heading off.

They paddled from near the bridge around to Clontaf.

Here is the team at the end.

We had a lovely day at the picnic at the finish line. Here is Thomas enjoying the entertainment.

Their team raised over $2,000. What a great effort!.

A Sneak Peak

We are busy at the moment gearing up for Darling Harbour. Judy and I have been busy sewing away . Above is my current project made from Mill House Inn. I love the plums in this fabrics range - so rich and wonderful. This quilt will have a mix of piecing and appliqué.
And I have two tops finished as well.

Above is the Oh so easy quilt re-made using Happy Camper. I really like this pattern and I think it would be such a cute cot quilt.
I have been lovingly wondering water to do with the Old Primrose Inn Layer Cake. It has a wonderfully soft palette. When I saw a quilt top that Danielle Tebb had made with Evening Mist - I knew that the bricks pattern would be perfect! This is definitely a make in an evening type of quilt.

Now we just have to clear off the quilting machine and start quilting!

Rural Jardin

We love the rumble of the trucks. We are located on a very quite street so the rumble of a truck means just one thing - more fabric!

Judy and I both heard the delivery truck rumbling away today and we were very interested to see what was arriving. I was really excited when the delivery guy come up bearing boxes of Moda fabrics - the new French General range Rural Jardin had arrived!

I did love the faded reds, taupes and cream of her first range, but I love this range even more. The faded reds and taupes are still there be she has added the prettiest faded blue.

The fabric above reminds me somehow of a childhood frock, which the two pieces below I think are to die for.
Anyway - be quick with these fabrics as we have very little of the first range and I can't imagine this one will be around for very long either.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

1930's crazy

We have just got in the full range of Everything but the Kitchen Sink IV. What a cute set of 1930's prints. It comes in a rainbow of colours. I love the primary colours above while Judy has taken a shine to the aquas and purples. I believe there is a raggy dresden on its way with these!

These fabrics are just perfect for our Chelsea Quilt.

This pretty quilt features appliqué and English paper piecing in beautiful Sue Daley style. We have just started it as a the block of the month . It is our most successful launch to date so if you like this quilt - join us here.
You can also get the full kit or the pattern and paper pieces.

Charities

I know many of you support charities with your time and through your beautiful creations. It is wonderful that people are so generous with their time and money so I thought I would share with you some work that we have been doing.
We are just wrapping up Quiltaid 2009 which raised funds for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. In the end we raised over $5,000 for the charity. To everyone who who participated thanks so much for your support. Keep an eye out for Quiltaid 2010 which will launch in June using the beautiful Beach House fabrics from Robyn Pandolf.

If you are a Country Threads reader (Vol 10 No. 7) you would have seen the article on the great work that NETS does (Newborn and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service). The Collections for a Cause Range Alliance supports the work of this dedicated group of people.
Our beautiful Thomas, now four years old and full of life was transported using this fantastic service as a tiny baby.
Judy and her guides will be out on Sydney Harbour next weekend with Kayak for Kids - supporting the great work that Lifestart does with children who have special needs. Lifestart provides a wonderful range of early intervention services for children with special needs. Best of all they run an open playgroup so families can receive advice and participate in training programs while they are still on waiting lists. She would love your support - you can sponsor her here.
And if you do work with a charity or community group and could use a cutting mat, we have several from the shop to give away. We have given them a good workout so they have a line along the 50cm mark (our most common cut) but otherwise they are still very useful (55cm x 87cm). You will need to be able to pick them up from St Ives as they are too bulky to ship. Just post your charity or group details here and we'll give them out.

Craftexpo

We have been busy this week getting ready for CraftExpo. It is always a lot of fun to take to unpack the shop into a stand.

If you can come and visit us at stand B21 - We would love to see you!

Judy has made some lovely quilts to showcase the pre-cut and they have been selling like hotcakes!


This is Patches of Spring. It uses the Spring Fever Jely Roll and is so pretty!

During our recent sale, we had a Grandmother, Mum and a daughter (4) visit. The daughter chosen an Eden Charm pack to make a quilt. The Grandmother told me how her granddaughter would sit on her lap while she sewed. I was so inspired by this story that I designed the quilt Oh so Easy quilt - with help from my four year old Thomas.



He chose the Odyssea charm pack with it cute fish and shells. This quilt has no matching seams so it doesn't matter how accurate your seams are (or those of your helper). Kids can help at whatever level they are. Thomas wanted to match the duplicates in the pack and sat on my lap while I sewed. He is very proud of the quilt.

Outback and a winner

Jinny Beyer has just released a new range of fabric inspired by her trip to Australia. We have only had them a couple of days and they have already been running out the door.


These fabrics are so vibrant reflecting the colours of our landscape. If you enjoy Jinny's amazing ability to blend colours you will love this range.

Judy and I have been busy deciding what we will make with it. What would you make with it?

Plus congratulations to to Sandy N our winner of the Wellington competition. I hope your brother enjoys the quilt!