Newsletter April 2022

Newsletters

April 18, 2022

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Hello Lovely Ladies
Easter weekend is almost done and dusted for another year – it has been heartening to have Taupo buzzing with visitors over the weekend, and we have been blessed with pretty amazing weather for most of it. As I look out my living room window on a rare day at home, it’s so lovely to see all the boaties, jet skis and the odd yacht out on the water enjoying these beautiful Autumn days.
I have chosen to continue my regular Monday/Admin day with this newsletter – with 2 Mondays being Public holidays this month I still need to fit my Admin in somewhere!
You may have noticed if you have been in store recently on a Monday that Donna Johansen is now my Permanent Part Time Monday lady (or Thursday if Mondays are a holiday). Donna moved to Taupo from Taumarunui late last year and is very gifted with her sewing, in particular with doll making. I hope to be able to twist her arm at some stage to take a doll making class- the ladies we have met so far who Donna has created are exceptional works of art with personalities to match. Something I have always wanted to make, so watch this space…we will try and lock in a class sometime later in the year.

Having Donna and Carol in the shop on Mondays has released me to spend Mondays in my office. Our newly revamped website is now LIVE, and we have several hundred products loaded and available for you to now buy online. I am expecting a huge shipment of Grunge to arrive this week and I’m halfway through loading all the colours and codes on to the shopping platform. Once I have this perfected, fabric will also be available to purchase online as it comes in.

KID’S HOLIDAY PROGRAMME – 2nd week of School Holidays
Tuesday 26^th April/ Thursday 28^th April 2022
With two short weeks over the School Holidays this month, we can only offer an Advanced Class next week, for those girls who have previously attended a Beginner Class with us.

Even kids need UFO days, as sometimes projects don’t quite get completed in class – there is nothing worse than trying to rush to get a job done – but also to then throw it in the cupboard because it didn’t get completed in the time frame available is a bit rough. We’re all about encouraging the kids to finish what they started, so will be offering a UFO option as an aside to our usual Kid’s Holiday Programme, which means instead of starting another new project, any unfinished objects can be completed!
Alternatively we have a couple of other projects which may be of interest…

1. A lunch bag made from Laminate fabric – the girls can choose their own fabric, and we will laminate it, before they make their lunch bag. This is quite a simple pattern, so should be completed in one day.
The class fee is $70 and includes fabric required for the bag.

2. A patchwork cushion. We did a class a couple of years ago which was really successful – the girls made a simple cushion with hearts sewn into each square. A great way to use scraps and also to perfect a ¼’’ seam as all the squares are sewn together. I have some precut squares if this appeals or the girls can bring their own fabric.
The class fee is $70 and includes a fabric pack – or $50 if you bring your own fabric

Please let me know this week if any of these options appeal, and when you register, let me know which option you would like to choose. Hopefully if we can complete some of these small things, then in the July holidays, we will be all caught up and ready for a brand new project!

A DAY AT THE ZOO PLAYMAT

We have now released the first kit for ‘ A Day at the Zoo’ playmat and have ended up with 2 extra full kits.
If you thought you might like to give this project a go, now is your chance to grab a left over kit!

The construction of this interactive playmat will be a great way to master your applique and quilting skills.
The BOM will cost $45 month which includes the pattern and kit. Postage outside of Taupo will be extra.

WANDERER’S WIFE SEW ALONG

For those of you doing the Wanderer’s Wife Sew Along … our FINAL Sew Along will be on Friday 6th May.
This will be a perfect opportunity for you to get your quilt top completed and ready to enter in the Taupo Quiltmaker’s Exhibition at the end of June.

BY ANNIE CATCH ALL CADDY
Friday/Saturday 29th/30th April

Places are filling up fast for this 2 day class at the end of this month. The Catch All Caddy is one of the easier By Annie projects I have made, and after completing one caddy to store all my shop bits and pieces in, I now want to make another one to bring my homework in each night. It’s such a lovely light bag to carry and also a nice way to showcase some of your favourite fabric.

You will love this sturdy over-sized caddy with lots of easy-to-access slip pockets and dividers to hold and organize all your supplies.

Six slip pockets on the exterior provide easy access to tools and supplies and a zippered pocket on one end keeps personal items safe and secure.

Expanding dividers on the inside open to organize a multitude of supplies or collapse to fall flat against the interior of the caddy affording a wide-open interior for plenty of storage possibilities.

Comfy padded fabric handles make carrying easy. They attach with rectangle rings which allow them to fall flat against the front or back of the caddy. The finished caddy measures 7″H x 13½”W x 6½”D.

Our workshop will run on Friday/Saturday 29th/30th April from 9:30am – 4pm. The class fee will be $50.
I highly recommend choosing your fabric and having all your pieces cut out and quilted before starting the class. It saves so much time and means you should manage to complete your bag by the end of Day 2.
if you have registered already, but haven’t yet chosen the colour of your hardware, this will need to be done this week so I can order more if necessary please.

THE EYE OF A NEEDLE ‘MYSTERY QUILT’

Carol has been beavering away for the past 2-3 months on a quilt top that is a little bit different. We gained inspiration from Bernina’s blog ‘The Old Block Sampler Quilt Along’ which has been posted and added to over the last 12 months. There are some really unusual but highly effective blocks in this sampler quilt top, made up of traditional blocks all measuring different sizes. At the end of the project you get given a choice of at least 6 different layouts for your blocks, so no two quilts will look the same.
The challenge will be in learning some new techniques, including how to stitch Y-Seams, and some foundation paper piecing.

This is how it will work – you sign up for the Mystery Quilt, and each month for the next 12 months, we will supply you with TWO block patterns, which you will need to complete before you get your next TWO patterns the following month. This means you will need to complete your blocks to show us before you receive the next pattern (either in person or by screen shot). You get to choose your own fabrics. You will need 18-20 Fat Quarters, which ideally we would like you to buy from us at The Eye Of A Needle.

We will launch the first pattern for our MYSTERY QUILT on Friday 3rd June. The cost will be $10 month. We are happy to send the patterns to you each month, or you can pick up in store – but we will need EVIDENCE that you have completed your homework each month!

BERNINA SALE STARTS TUESDAY 19TH APRIL

It’s that time of year again when Bernina have their annual Mother’s Day Sale. The sale starts TOMORROW and continues until 22nd May. It’s a great opportunity to buy those extra feet and accessories for your Bernina sewing machine, with a 20% discount.
There are also some very good deals on some Bernina sewing machines which are in stock in the warehouse at present and on all Bernette sewing machines which are more readily available right now.
Check out this latest Bernina release – a brand new B735 reduced by $1000 in this sale – now $5499!

TERM TWO EVENTS

We have several big events on our calendar over the next couple of months.

The weekend of 13th – 15th May, David and I will travel to New Plymouth and I will be teaching a class with some of the ladies from the Hine St Quiltmaker’s group. The class will be based around a Bernina project, and while the ladies are sewing, David will hopefully be able to do some quick sewing machine servicing. It’s also a lovely chance to catch up with family who live there.

TAUPO QUILTMAKERS have their bi-annual Quilt Exhibition at the Great Lake Centre from 24th – 26th June. This was a huge event 2 years ago, and we look forward to being a merchant at the Exhibition as well as having the shop open all weekend as many quilters will travel to Taupo for this long Matariki themed weekend.

It has been lovely to have a nice relaxing Easter weekend, even if today has been a ‘work’ day writing this newsletter. Last weekend we celebrated the wedding of my second son Willie, who married Amelia, his love of 12 years at The Olive Grove by Black Barn in Havelock North. We had a splendid Hawkes Bay autumn day! I’m hanging out to see some decent photos – the happy couple have just returned from their honeymoon in Tasmania and will be back to work tomorrow in Sydney after a month away in NZ. I am so looking forward to their permanent return to New Zealand at the end of this year!
I hope there is something in this newsletter that has inspired you to start a new project, or finish an existing one

Happy Stitching!
Kay

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