Newsletter November 2020

Newsletters

November 10, 2020

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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