Taupo’s Newest Sewing Centre

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Hello Ladies It seems like only yesterday that I sent out my last newsletter and its amazing to be counting down the weeks now until our weekly classes finish for the year. I'm in the process of putting together class options for 2021, so if anything grabs your attention in this newsletter it's best to get your name down early to avoid disappointment. We were delighted to be associated with the Taupo Quilt-Maker's Exhibition in October - what a feast of inspiration there was, and a fantastic turnout for the organisers. Thank you to all of our new subscribers who visited us in the shop - we had an awesome team of ladies working hard on our behalf that weekend, and it was certainly a worthwhile event for everyone involved. URBAN OWLS BLOCK OF THE MONTH Our Urban Owls Block of the Month will be launched on Friday this week. It’s not too late to sign up as I still have a few patterns and kits left to dispatch. The pattern for each month will cost $5. The (optional) kit is $15 per month for 12 months. If you have plenty of scraps in your stash you could use these instead of buying our kit... the resourceful me would say use your scraps - but as I was choosing fabrics off the shelf (not from my stash!) I had such fun coordinating some of the gorgeous brights colours that we have in store. There are lots of new skills to learn with this BOM, including how to sew embroidery stitches on to felt, how to make Flying Geese, Medallions, Ohio Stars and more...We will have an introductory class to get everyone started on the first centre block which has lots of felt flowers and fabulous stitchery. As each block is released around the 10th of each month, we will have a Friday morning class to go over the next lot of skills required for the next block. THE SANTA, THE TREE, THE TURKEY & ME I am still waiting on some background fabric to arrive so I can start Block 1 of my sample.Those of you who have signed up for this BOM won’t need to wait much longer. I anticipate getting this BOM underway before the end of this month and will be in touch with all those of you who have signed up in a separate email. CHRISTMAS FELT DECORATIONS Caroline has been busy creating some very simple, funky Christmas decorations using a combination of felt, hessian, buttons and assorted scraps and threads. We thought you might like to create your own decorations too! All you need to do is book your spot - $20 to attend the class and $30 to use the supplies that we put out on the table. You will have the chance to make up to 6 different decorations - patterns and inspiration supplied, or make up your own - all with simple stitching and embellishments designed to adorn your tree or Christmas space. Classes will be held from 10am - 2pm on Saturday 21st November, Saturday 28th November and Friday 4th December. If you would prefer to make your own Christmas presents, then here’s a cool gift idea... make a By Annie ‘Under Cover’ sewing machine cover for that special sewist in your life. This sturdy quilted cover comes in 3 different sizes with a variety of pockets to store manuals, pedal, cords and more. It also has 2 options for a back pocket opening either on top or at the side. Our ByAnnie classes are always very popular and spaces fill fast. If you want to get this made for a Christmas gift then get in quick to book your spot. The class will be held from 9:30am - 4pm on Friday 11th December and Saturday 12th December (2 separate classes). We will repeat the class on Tuesday 12th January and Thursday 14th January. Please note that all fabric and notions need to be purchased prior to class from The Eye Of A Needle. Some quilting and cutting preparation before attending the class is also necessary if you want complete your project on the day. Class fee for this class will be $50 + your pattern and fabric requirements. We had a huge order of new ByAnnie zips, mesh and foldover elastic arrive last week, so we have almost every colour in stock at the moment. KID'S HOLIDAY PROGRAMME I am hopeful we will be able to hold another Beginner’s Kids Holiday Programme on Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st January. This will be dependent on whether we are able to supply the Bernette Sew & Go 3 Sewing machines which are an integral part of this course for the Kids. Unfortunately sewing machines supplies are one of the victims of COVID-19. Most of our sewing machine sales are on a 2-3 month back order system with the majority of machines unlikely to arrive in the country before January. However we have 6 x Sew & Go 3’s on back order due to arrive mid December - so here’s hoping! We will also hold an Advanced Kids Holiday Programme the following week on Tuesday 26th January and Thursday 28th January. This Programme will be open to any of the Kids who have previously attended a Beginner’s Class. Details on this still to come but the usual details will apply. QUILT-AS-YOU-GO CLASSES 'My Redwork Garden' BOM is in full swing and those who are completing their blocks each month are doing so well! The last block for this BOM will be in February. Once the 12 blocks are completed, we realise there may be a need to hold some Quilt-As-You-Go classes, so that all those gorgeous pieces of work can be quilted and stitched to their full potential. I have asked the very talented Julie Brunton to help me with this. We plan to hold a Quilt-As-You-Go class once a month starting in March. The first class will be with the My Redwork Garden ladies in mind, but with the anticipated arrival of some beautiful fabric from Moda 'Maryland' by Kathy Schmitz around April, this Quilt-As-You-Go' technique could also be applied to any quilt block or panel. The dates for these classes will be Saturday 13th March, Saturday 17th April and Saturday 8th May. Please in the first instance register your interest in store and mark the dates in your diary. This class will be especially useful if you own a BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) that comes with some Bernina sewing machines - but you may not know what to do with it. We also hope to have our own Bernina Q16 in store by then, which is a slightly larger version of a BSR, so I may need lots of practice myself! This is the Moda 'Maryland' panel by Kathy Schmitz due to arrive in store in April in 2 colourways - black on cream 'Linen' (pictured) & wheat on black ''Nightfall'. This would be the perfect block to practice some free motion quilting and to then Quilt-As-You-Go. Just before lockdown I had the opportunity to do a class with Deborah Louie - one of Bernina's fabulous tutors in Australia. We talked about Deborah coming to Taupo to do a couple of classes with us, and had pencilled her in for April 2021 to tutor her 'Hearts & Lollipops' Quilt. Obviously with border controls at present this may not happening in April. However, I would still like to run a class for all those folk who have bought Bernina sewing machines from us in the past year. If Deborah is unable to come, we need an alternative project which I am working on at the moment. This will be a great opportunity for you to get to know your sewing machine better. The project will be based on a Crazy Patchwork kind of theme using all of the stitches on your machine that you don't know what to do with, and will end up as a bag... more details in December once I've finished my sample! This class is best suited for those of you with Bernina machines; it isn't exclusively for those who have bought machines recently, but if you want to learn more about what your machine can do, then this will be a great opportunity to learn some new techniques. If, in the meantime the border opens and Deborah is still able to come, then her class will take priority over mine. If you are interested in either of these options, then please let me know and pencil in April 12-13 as potential dates for this class. ‘SUGARIDOO’ BEGINNERS PATCHWORK BLOCKS Some of you who follow the Bernina Blog, may have come across the 'Sugaridoo' project which was launched last November online. Here is the link: https://blog.bernina.com/en/2019/09/sugaridoo-bernina-qal-kickoff/ It is a row-along-quilt-along project, where you sew a new row of your quilt in each class. The rows have different heights, so the elements in the rows also vary in size, with mostly geometric shapes in different colours. Some of the rows are made out of blocks, some of them are more like a continuous pattern. The finished size of the quilt will be 70 x 90 inches. If you want to go bigger you can add a border around the quilt when it’s finished. At this stage I am taking expressions of interest to do this class on a monthly basis. The 2021 calendar is starting to fill up fast. I have had a lot of requests recently for a new Beginner's Patchwork class and I think this would be a great project for Beginners (but not limited to Beginners) to try. Each month we will make one of the twelve rows for the quilt. I don't have a firm date at this stage, but if there is enough interest, then we will look at starting this early in February. DMC NOVA VITA RECYCLED COTTON Last week we received our first shipment of DMC Nova Vita Recycled cotton. I am often asked if we stock macrame supplies - up until now the answer has been NO! This range of cotton yarn is perfect for macrame projects and comes in a gorgeous range of colours - also suitable for knitting and crochet. The 250gram balls retail at $19.00. Macrame especially is one of those crafts having a real resurgence at the moment - I'm pleased to say the colour options are a lot nicer than what was available in the 1980's when it was last on trend! It's great to see so many 'crafty' people coming out of the woodwork', so keep those great creative ideas flowing and dont leave it too long if you want to sign up for a class or two! Happy Stitching Kay ============================================================ ** (http://www.facebook.com) ** (http://www.twitter.com/) ** (http://www.instagram.com/) ** (http://mailchimp.com) Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|LIST_ADDRESS|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can ** update your preferences (*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*) or ** unsubscribe from this list (*|UNSUB|*) . *|IF:REWARDS|* *|REWARDS_TEXT|* *|END:IF|*

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Hello everyone! As we head out of September and in to October it's so lovely to wake up and hear the dawn chorus. I always get very motivated in the Spring and I have lots to tell you today, so make yourself a cuppa and prepare for a wee read! We are excited that the Taupo Patchworker's Quilt Exhibition is going ahead this weekend from Friday 2nd October through until Sunday 4th October at the Great Lake Centre here in Taupo. We are anticipating a huge weekend, as the majority of exhibitions of this type have not been able to proceed this year. This one is actually happening! We have been busy for the past month collecting wares to sell at our merchant table at the exhibition, including a lot of new product and prepacked kits not seen before in the shop. The exhibition will be open from 10am - 4pm for the 3 days; we will also be open our usual trading hours as well as Sunday from 11am -3pm - just in case there are out-of-towners who need to shop with us over the weekend. If you go to the exhibition you will receive a voucher offering you 10% discount off fabric on the bolt from our store for this weekend only. You will need to present your voucher to get the discount. This doesn't apply to Fat Quarters, or fabric already on special - but you may find something in store that you simply must have! We are pretty well stocked at the moment (still waiting for a new elastic shipment however!) so I hope we can meet all your quilting needs. We are also very privileged to have Barrie Ashton form Wonderfil Threads in store over the weekend. Barrie missed out on stall space at the exhibition, so I invited her to set up a stall with us in the shop instead. There haven't been many opportunities for Barrie to set up shop this year due to so many cancellations, so this will be a good opportunity to stock up on all the threads that we don't stock in the shop. We will have the Sue Spargo Eleganza and Ellana stand at the exhibition, and Barrie will bring everything else to the shop.That's TWO good reasons to come to the Exhibition AND visit the shop as well! This morning I have put the finishing touches on my 'Lord-a-Leaping' and ádded some extra hearts as the last chapter in our 12 Days Of Christmas story. We have been creating this lovely family for the past 12 months and now its complete. David is making the trees to display the characters and can make one for you for this Christmas for $100 if you order during October. This now makes way for some new hand stitching projects which have been advertised in the last 2 newsletters so we can set some new dates now to start those. THE SANTA, THE TREE, THE TURKEY AND ME This BOM designed by Anni Downs from Hatched & Patched will start at the end of October. I ordered 10 kits and one is waiting for me to assemble after the Exhibition is over. There has been huge interest in this wall hanging both in NZ and internationally, so those who got their name down early will receive information about starting this in the next couple of weeks. Sourcing the background fabric has been a bit of a mission, but I have enough to at least start the first sample, so I'm looking forward to that being my new evening hand stitching project. URBAN OWLS by Wendy Williams We will start Block One of Urban Owls after Labour Weekend on Friday 30th October. For this BOM you can collect your own fabrics and I will supply the pattern to you each month for $5.00. If you would prefer me to make up a kit each month for you, that will be an additional $15.00 and may take the pressure off choosing your own felt & fabrics. You will pay $15 for a kit each month, taking the total to $20 per month over 10 months. We will meet once a month on a Friday when you can collect your Block and receive tuition on how to make it up - or I can post to you if you're from out of town. This is a lovely way to use up your scraps and our lovely selection of merino wool felt colours are perfect to make your own unique Urban Owls quilt. I am also waiting on some new woven felt to arrive from Moda, which will also be suitable for this project. I still have a few booklets available if you want to sign up for this 12 month BOM. Our ChiaoGoo knitting products are selling well. Those who have bought have returned for more.The word on the street is that once you have tried ChiaoGoo products there is no going back to other brands. DMC Hollie yarn and patterns are proving to be very popular. We have received our first range of knitting patterns by 'Truly Myrtle', and plan to expand our range of yarn and patterns next year. We will continue with the Knitting Club on Thursday afternoons from 1:30-3:30pm in Term 4. Jenny has helped out several ladies with knitting issues over the past few weeks and I am thankful this is one area that I can delegate to a knitting expert! 'BY ANNIE' HOLD EVERYTHING SATCHEL The class for our 'Hold Everything' satchel is filling up but there are still a couple of spots available on Saturday 17th October from 9:30am - 4 pm. ‘Hold Everything’ is like a little fabric lunch box - perfect for storing all your sewing bits and pieces (or other collectable items which need safe storage) The cost of the class will be $50 for the day plus your fabric and bag making requirements. Bernina are hosting an 'Experience the Q16' workshop in 4 locations around the country in October. The nearest one for us will be in Rotorua on Thursday 15th October. If you have been considering purchasing a Bernina Q20 or a Q16 quilting machine, this is an opportunity to truly experience the Q16 under the tuition of an experienced tutor and Bernina staff. The workshop will be 3 hours in duration and most materials, project, thread, ruler and Q16 machines for use in class will be provided. There is a maximum of 10 people per class. I understand there are still some vacancies on Thursday afternoon. If you are interested, please contact me at the shop in the first instance. The cost to BERNINA NZ will be $50. KID'S HOLIDAY PROGRAMME We will be holding an Advanced Holiday Programme in the second week of the school holidays. On Tuesday 6th October & Thursday 8th October some of the kids who have done a programme with us before will be making a Wall Hanging with Storage Pockets. It's always pretty full on when we have kids learning to sew in the shop but it's so nice to see these girls improving their sewing skills every holidays and they are making some very cool things! The class costs $50 for the 2 days + fabric requirements. Due to the worldwide shortage of new sewing machines at the moment, we will be unable to hold another Beginner's Sewing Programme until January next year. We are hopeful that the demand to buy cheap sewing machines will settle soon and that normal production will resume before the end of 2020. JOLIE PAINT ARRIVING THIS WEEK!!! FINALLY, we have some very exciting news! Tomorrow are expecting our very first shipment of JOLIE home based paint. The timing of this delivery isn't great with the exhibition being our main focus this week, so unfortunately all the stock that arrives will need to be stored out the back until after the weekend. As of next week though, we will start to introduce you to our favourite JOLIE paint products for upcycling furniture and more. David and I trained with Jolie in Melbourne this time last year, and we have been keen to bring in some upcycling furniture projects to the shop ever since we opened - but the timing just hasn't been quite right. With COVID and lockdowns we have had a few delays with our plan, but over the next few months we would like to show you a beautiful paint brand which we absolutely LOVE! We hope to be able to hold some paint workshops and simple upholstery projects in the future, but we will start slowly and do a bit of painting and planning before we bring too much in to the shop. We will probably start with some small summertime workshops at home. If you have tired old wooden coffee tables/chairs that need resurrecting, then this paint will work wonders on your old furniture. You can either learn to do it yourself, or we may be able to do it for you. Here's a snippet from the Jolie Home crew: It's your life - make it beautiful! Jolie Home understands the positive impact a quick home transformation can have on your life. We want you to feel the joy that comes along with creating something beautiful, something personalized, and something you want to share with others. The quality and versatility of Jolie Paint is like no other. You can attain a variety of finishes using just Jolie Paint and Jolie topcoats. You can learn techniques to create common finishes for furniture, floors, cabinets, accessories and more...* BASIC * SMOOTH * TEXTURED * DISTRESSED * DRY BRUSHED * WASHED * Watch this space - there will be more to come on this exciting development! I look forward to seeing many of you at the Exhibition over the weekend Happy Stitching Kay ============================================================ ** (http://www.facebook.com) ** (http://www.twitter.com/) ** (http://www.instagram.com/) ** (http://mailchimp.com) Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|LIST_ADDRESS|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can ** update your preferences (*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*) or ** unsubscribe from this list (*|UNSUB|*) . *|IF:REWARDS|* *|REWARDS_TEXT|* *|END:IF|*

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Greetings to you all! It is so satisfying for me to see people walking out of the shop with finished projects. It gives everyone such a great sense of accomplishment! Our Beginner Adult Sewing classes on Thursday mornings have yielded some great results - classy aprons, cushions and Needlecase samplers. The Westalee Ruler class with Barrie was inspiring for those wanting to improve their ruler skills, and this week we’ve had the kids in completing their projects from before lockdown. HOLIDAY PROGRAMME - BEGINNERS CLASS Tuesday 14th & Thursday 16th JULY (2nd week of holidays) 10am - 2pm NEW BERNETTE ‘SEW & GO 3’ SEWING MACHINE INCLUDED! This class is aimed at our young sewers in the making. Each student will receive their own brand new Bernette "Sew N Go 3" sewing machine that they get to keep and take home. We will teach students the basics of how to use their new machine and then work with them to make their own tote bag. Class Fee: $299 (includes full kit and a brand new sewing machine) $150 deposit is required to secure a place in this class Maximum class size 6 students age 10+. Bring your own lunch. We are up to Number 10 in the Twelve Days of Christmas felt decorations class, which meets on the 4th Friday of each month in the shop. The ‘Piper Piping’, ‘Ladies Dancing’ and Lord’s-a- Leaping’ are the last characters to be completed, so I’m on the look out for a new Christmas project once this set is complete. It’s not too late to start making your own felt decorations - the last 3 dates are Friday 24th July, Friday 28th August, and Friday 25th September. The ‘My Redwork Garden’ BOM girls are up to Block 4 and it sounds as though everyone is enjoying the variety of each block with some hand stitching, hexagons and free motion quilting all new challenges for some. The next refresher class for My Redwork Garden will be Friday 17th July. With the Tannenbaum BOM finishing this month as well, it’s time for a new cycle of projects to tempt you with! MODA 3 SISTERS - LA RUE 1800 - HENRIETTE QUILT I have almost finished the sampler for this lovely vintage quilt. If you love soft vintage florals and Ohio Stars, that is what this quilt is all about. Lots of repetition in soft pinks, ivory and aqua colours. We be selling this quilt as a kit at the beginning of August. Please let me know if you would like me to put a kit aside for you. The quilt measures 72” x 72” (the top of a Queen Bed). The cost of the kit will be $50 per month over 6 months, or $300. QUILT-IN-A-DAY CLASS The Quilt- in- a Day Colourful Hearts Quilt was a hit last Saturday - most of our ladies went home with almost completed quilt tops and cushions. Due to the popularity of this class we have set another date on Saturday 1st August 9:30am-4pm to do it all again, so if you weren’t able to make the last class, perhaps this next date might suit you better. You will need a good collection of 6-1/2” blocks - the brighter the better. If you don’t have a stash of your own, we have some precut kits available for sale. The class will run from 9:30 - 4pm and will cost $60 for the day. If you work hard you should be able to go home at the end of the day with a finished quilt. URBAN OWLS by Wendy Williams We have recently received a big selection of patterns designed by Wendy Williams, which will complement our wool felt collection. Urban Owls is another BOM which I initially advertised before lockdown. I don’t have a sample made up yet, but if this photo sparks your interest please let me know. We will look at starting this as a Block Of the Month in October. You have 2 options: * Choose your own fabrics and each month pay for and receive the pattern for the month. * Let us choose the fabrics for you and each month you pay for the pattern & the fabric. I still need to do some costings for this BOM but I am taking expressions of interest at this stage so I know how much fabric I need to order. HAND - PIECED PINCUSHION There is always real joy sewing hexagons together using the English paper piecing technique. Have you ever thought about using diamond templates? We will hold a workshop showing you how to hand stitch a pincushion using diamond templates. These pincushions make such lovely gifts - and you can’t have too many pincushions! Come and learn this technique on Friday 31st July from 10am - 2pm. You will need to buy a packet of diamond templates and your own fabric. Class fee $40.00 With a most successful series of SOCK KNITTING classes with Jenny on Thursday afternoons over June, and with the recent addition of WOOL to our shop supplies, we have decided to open up Thursday afternoons to a KNITTING CLUB in the shop. You are welcome to come and sit around the table on Thursday afternoons from 1:30pm - 3:30pm and chat with other knitters and share patterns and techniques. There will be a class fee of $10 each week and Jenny will be available to help you if you have knitting issues! You will need to prebook your place around the table each week. My only stipulation is that you purchase your knitting supplies from us at The Eye Of A Needle. With a worldwide resurgence of knitting during lock down, some knitting supplies have been hard to source recently, but we are slowly building up our range of wool, patterns and knitting needles and hope to be able to supply everything you need going forward. At this stage we have a good supply of Merino Double Knit and our next shipment will be a lovely range of baby wool as well as some gorgeous new patterns, so watch this space! THE SANTA, THE TREE, THE TURKEY & ME Hatched & Patched have recently been advertising their new Block of the Month - The Santa, The Tree, The Turkey & Me. This is a quirky Christmas wall hanging with 7 blocks to be made over 7 months. Each block has a Christmas theme with simple woven wool applique and stitchery on a linen background. I have ordered 10 packs and Block 1 will be available around mid August. Please register your interest if you would like to do this BOM. It is proving to be extremely popular so the packs won’t last long. The BOM will cost $42 each month for 7 months; this will include the wool packs, the linen background fabric and DMC threads. MARIA'S ROSE OF SHARRON FELT STITCHED CUSHION Saturday 22nd August 10am - 2pm Maria will take a workshop where you will make a stitched cushion using various stitching techniques and wool felt. You will need to piece the background of your cushion prior to the class, and Maria will show you how to embellish your cushion top with embroidery stitches using different types of thread on to wool felt. The fee for the class will be $50 + your fabric requirements. 'BY ANNIE' HOLD EVERYTHING SATCHEL If you didn’t already know, I’m a bit of a fan of By Annie Bag patterns. I’m keen to make up the ‘Hold Everything’ bag next. By the time I’ve made it, we will be into Spring, so we will aim to hold this bag class some time in October. Expressions of interest will be taken now as these classes fill up so fast. If you love making By Annie bags, book early to avoid disappointment. A sample will be available shortly. On Saturday August 29th, we have been invited to be guest merchants with the ‘Busy Fingers on Hyne’ Quilting group in New Plymouth. I am busy gathering supplies to set up a shop for a day for the wider Taranaki Quilting community. We are really excited to have this opportunity to travel over to Taranaki to sell some of our wares. If you are from the area reading this newsletter and have any special requests of what you’re like us to bring over your way, please let me know in plenty of time! I do have a special project I hope to launch while we are over there, so start saving your pennies as we think you will like what we will bring to tempt you with! With the Taupo Quiltmakers Bi-annual Exhibition at the Great Lake Centre in early October, as well as a club night in the shop in mid September, the next couple of months look to be very busy for us both in and out of the shop. If you have been in to see us recently, you will notice some new products in store - more wool, more buttons and more zips, and there is always more fabric! We are finding some products quite difficult to get our hands on at the moment, especially those coming out of China and India; freight charges out of the US seems to have skyrocketed! Factories in some parts of Europe are still closed, which may affect some supplies coming through in the next few months. It’s hard to know quite what to expect, but from what I have been told by my suppliers, there may be shortages for a while until the world gets back to ‘normal’ production. As fast as some products are coming in, they are gone again, and crafts in general (like knitting, crochet and macrame) seem to have become increasingly popular during lockdown! You can expect shortages in Olfa Blades, knitting needles, and some DMC products over the next few months. Happy Stitching Kay ============================================================ ** (http://www.facebook.com) ** (http://www.twitter.com/) ** (http://www.instagram.com/) ** (http://mailchimp.com) Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|LIST_ADDRESS|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can ** update your preferences (*|UPDATE_PROFILE|*) or ** unsubscribe from this list (*|UNSUB|*) . *|IF:REWARDS|* *|REWARDS_TEXT|* *|END:IF|*