Just a quick note to say we are at the Crowborough Quilt Show tomorrow and Saturday. It is well worth visiting – lots of quilts on display, traders and rather lovely ploughmans lunches!
There are workshops happening each day – full details are on the website here…
http://wealdenquiltshow.wordpress.com/
The shop is open as usual, and we have our quilt surgery/drop in sewing session on Friday morning as usual.
We are really pleased to have the gorgeous new range “Summersville” by Lucie Summers now in the shop, a lovely mix of vibrant prints and colours, perfect for contemporary quilts, bags, children’s clothes and accessories.
Available online and in-store, we have fat quarter and fat eight bundles, metreage and charm packs.
If you fancy a look at Lucie’s blog (well worth visiting!) , here it is www.blu-shed.blogspot.com
this quilt!
Made by the lovely Carolyn it uses a Fig Tree and Co Moda charm pack and 1.5m of plains to make a generous size baby quilt. The pattern is from Moda Bakeshop and can be found here http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/02/line-dance-baby-quilt.html and is by http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/ Carolyn’s feedback was is is an excellent pattern, and quick to make. The fabrics are so so pretty – my photo’s don’t do it justice.
The front…
a close up…
the back…
You can find the charm packs here http://www.quilty-pleasures.co.uk/products/california-girl-charm-pack
Nearly at the end of the first week back at school and I am getting my working mojo back. Things have been busy at Quilty Pleasures. I did a sewing party at a house in Beckenham on Saturday for a group of London ladies. It was a lot of fun, and they all ended up with some great looking cushions. Last night I ran a workshop at Pebbles in Rottingdean where we made hexagon pin cushions and was so relaxing it did not feel like work! Michelles shop (website here http://www.pebbles.me.uk/ ) is a treasure trove of lovely bits for the home and she also offers cream teas. The first thing which hits you when you walk in the shop is the gorgeous smell from Heyland and Whittle ( http://www.heylandandwhittle.co.uk/ ) which is maybe why I was so relaxed – all that lavender.
A big box of new stock came in today, which is alway exciting! I have listed some of the charm packs online tonight. They are £9.75 each. We have…
Californis Girl from http://www.figtreequilts.com/
Ten Little Things by http://www.jennski.com/about.php
and Friendship from Howard Marcus – one for the traditionalists it features fabric from an antique quilt as well as raising money for good causes http://www.unitednotions.com/un_main.nsf/howard-marcus!OpenPage
All online and in store now.
Hope you had a good Easter. Ours was great, lots of goings on such as Easter egg hunts in the garden, cooking for the family and of course the obligatory chocolate breakfast on Easter Sunday! One of the places we visited was Arlington Woods http://www.bluebellwalk.co.uk/ . Unfortunately the changeable weather meant there weren’t many bluebells, but it was still a lovely walk, and we may try to go back to see the blue carpet in a few weeks time. (I loved the way we went to the middle of the countryside and managed to bump into an old school friend, 2 separate work colleagues of my husband, someone my Dad used to work with and a quilty customer!).
In the shop we have been playing about with the Half Moon Modern fabrics. We are now selling this pattern by Jane Czar which uses a charm pack and 2 fat quarters to make either a baby quilt (which we did) or add in a border to make a lap quilt.
My friend (and long arm quilter) Carolyn offered to try it and made up sample. She was really enthusiastic about it – said it was easy to follow and great for a beginner or for a quick quilt idea. Here is her quilt…
and a close up of the lovely quilting
If you would like to buy the pattern, charm pack and 2 fat quarters to make the top we are doing it at the special price of £20. Email me if you would like the kit – we can make it up from any of the charm packs and yardage we have in stock.
…and finally playing about with the Half Moon Modern range – alternating a charm and a plain square.
The lovely Cassie has a couple of Easter workshops planned…
First off we have our Vintage Bunny workshop. This sample is the bunny I made at the course last year for my daughter so has been well loved (used!). Cassie’s samples are so much better, using old embroidered tablecloths. If you have any damaged/stained old cloths bring them along to transform.
It is all hand sewn and on Sunday (1stApril), 1 till 5.30 Makes a perfect heirloom for a child. Should be a lovely relaxing afternoon. £30 and the price includes trimmings. You get the pattern to take away with you so if you sew quickly then you can make several and use them in an Easter egg hunt!
Children’s Workshop
Tuesday 3rd April, 2 till 4. Drop the kids off and we will entertain them with some Easter themed sewing activities. £10 for the session, including materials. Perfect for you to pop into town or the supermarket to run a few errands (or maybe have some peace at home before the chocolate fuelled weekend starts!)
Easter Egg Cosy Workshop
Tuesday 3rd April, 7.30 till 9.30. £15 including materials. Come and make some of these very cute egg cosy’s. They are hand sewn and make lovely gifts, as well as decorating a domestic godess kitchen.
Bunny
Humpty
and we also have a very cute retro duck…
I had to go down to Devon for a meeting last week, so decided to stay by the coast. Being a Brightonian I love seaside towns out of season, and until Easter all coastal towns are “off” season. (I am qualified to tell you this, I spent a few years at sixth form college selling bright sticks of rock to daytrippers on Brighton seafront!). The first impression of Torquay was how quaint it looked, and how lovely the beach is especially as it has sand. It felt like a smaller prettier Brighton – on the plus side good restaurants and hotels, and on the negative lots of street drinkers and seagulls fighting over stray chips.
Check out how lovely this view is…
and there are Lanes, just like Brighton’s Laines!
a bit of hexagon inspiration along the promenade.
..and stopping for a treat…
I have a bit of a thing about this technique. I think it comes from a brown Cathedral Window cot quilt in one of my much-loved 1970s books. It has yellow fabric inside the squares which makes it just so Seventies!
Thankfully for those who don’t share my love of retro combinations there are some lovely examples of modern versions of the technique out there. Check out the gorgeous work in the Cathedral Window Flickr pool http://www.flickr.com/groups/cathedralwindows/pool/with/6947012197/
Sara will be running a Cathedral Window workshop at the shop on Saturday 24th March, 2 till 5.30. It will cover the background to the technique, how to sew it, and ideas for further work such as cushions, bags and quilts. Samples from the day will be made into a pin cushion so students will have a finished project to take home. The workshop is £20 for the afternoon – email quiltypleasures@hotmail.co.uk to book, or call on 01273 563032.
We have our hand sewing evening at the shop tomorrow night. It is a relaxing evening, just bring along some sewing. We are on hand to help you with your projects, have a selection of magazines and books out, and have the kettle on! call or email if you would like to book in. It starts at 7.45 till 10 and costs £6.50.
Last week we had a delivery of some conversational prints from Timeless Treasures. Piccies below…
Click here to read the pdf of our March newsletter… QPMarch2012
Course News…
Sampler Course: We have 2 spaces on our sampler course which starts this Monday morning, 10 till 12 (evening course is full). It runs for 11 sessions, fortnightly, and is a good introduction to quilting or a course to hone your skills.
Machine Quilting: This has been very popular and we have just 1 space left on part 1 and 3 spaces on part 3.
Cathedral Window: We have just confirmed this course. It is with Sara Cook on Saturday 24th March, 2 till 4.30.
Right, off to pack for the Region 2 Quilters Guild day in Chichester tomorrow!
Happy Sewing Liz
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