Cow Paddocks Patchwork

Free Projects

Hello Ladies,

well things as always are busy with visitors to the shop, travelling to Taroom etc etc.

I just thought I would post a couple of great little projects for you to try!

For instructions go to http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=740

And now who wouldn't want their own personalised mouse pad to use up those scraps

Just click on http://funkyanddelightful.blogspot.com/2008/07/quick-craft.html for all you need to know!

 

Now who would have thought - thongs from fabric!!!!!!! That is some serious trend setting! http://www.ladyharvatine.com/2007/06/summer-slippers.html

Thankyou to Di one of my fabric reps for these little delights!

We now have expanded our shelving in the shop so the layer cakes, jelly rolls etc are much easier to access and yes there is more fabric!!!!!

Til next time - keep stitchin in udder chaos!

2009 Clubs - Choose Now!

Ok ladies we have the clubs organised for 2009 and there are lots of new ones for you to pick from.

All you have to do is email/snail mail me with your names, address and which club/s you would like to take part in. All clubs will run for 6 months and then you can choose to continue on for another 6 months, cancel, swap to another club - whatever you like. You can also choose to give a club as a gift to someone - a great pressie as they get a little parcel in the mail each month!!!!!! invoices will be send out with each parcel and payment is required by cheque or money order within 14 days.

So here they are -

Batik Club – yes they are becoming more and more popular – you will receive 4 fat quarters per months of gorgeous batik fabrics for only $23/month  including postage & packaging

Fat Quarter Club – Standard – receive 4 fat quarters per month with a colour theme for each month for only $23/month including postage & packaging

“Stacked” Fat Quarter Club – receive 8 fat quarters per month with a colour theme for each month for only $44/month

Jelly Roll Club – receive a fresh new jelly roll which is made of 40 x 2 ½” strips(2.5metres)  in a range of themes each month for only $60 including postage & packaging

Layer Cake Club – receive a pack of 10” square co-ordinated fabrics (2.5metres) from Moda each month for only $60/month including postage & packaging

Charm Pack Club – receive a pack of 5” squares – numbers vary upon ranges but for only $16 including postage & packaging

Clover Club – we meet the first Wednesday of each month for a social sewing day at the Cow Paddocks Shop. Membership is free and clover club members are the first to see the latest arrivals, the newest specials and sneak peaks of things to come- plus a free fat quarter on their birthday!

Machine Thread Club – Each month you will receive a new spool of machine thread to add to your stash. Only top quality Rasant, Signature or Madeira thread is included and for only $8/month including postage & packaging it is a great way to try new threads and increase your stash.

DMC Club – Now this is the perfect way to start collecting those gorgeous threads! With over 465 standard colours, 36 light effects, 36 satins, 36 Variegated & 36 Variations there are so many beautiful threads to choose from. Each month you will receive 10 new threads each with a colour theme in mind. Each month you will receive 9 standards plus a surprise of  one of the more decorative threads for you to try. The monthly cost is $13.00 including postage & packaging

Decorative DMC Club – for those of you who haven’t many of these gorgeous threads on hand then this is the club for you. This allows you to expand your thread stash and try threads you may not have in the past. You will receive 10 threads per month of the decorative threads for $26/month including postage & packaging

Starter DMC Club – for those of you just wanting to increase your stash of standard threads a little – then this club is for you. You will receive 5 standard threads & one surprise decorative each month for $9/month including postage & packaging

So be quick we will start our mail outs in the first week of March! There are plenty to choose from to suit all interests and budgets!

PS - WE HAVE HAD 120 POINTS (30MM) OF RAIN!!!! (42mm) out the back paddock

Ok so it probably only washed the muddy water off the leaves of my plants in the garden but - they definately look better - now we just need an absolute cracker of a storm to fill the dams - and then some more for the paddocks to fill the melon holes!

Keep stitchin in udder chaos - I know I am - and now to stop procrastinating about a "pink" project I have cut out in the shop that I have designed isn't exactly how I pictured it - but anyway here goes. I will show a sneak peak soon!

Taroom - Here I come!

Hello everyone - had a quick phone call yesterday from Rita wanting to know if I could "pop up" to Taroom on Saturday - yes Saturday the 21st Feb - and after a very hurried phone call to Johnsons Nissan at Dalby -to beg that my car pleasssssse be ready by Thursday - they said no problem!!!!!!! It arrived this morning and once the necessary accessories are put on - priority - 1  - Bullbar!!!!!!!!!!!!  It will be ready Wednesday afternoon for me to pick up Thursday - do a litle shopping, head home, kids to school Friday, pack car and off I go Saturday morning.

So Taroom ladies - I can't wait - it seems so long since the beautiful garden day at "Boggomoss" and I have sooooooooooo much to show you all!

Til Then

Congratulations Injune

Just a quick one - I just want to comment on how I think we are all feeling about the devastation of the southern bushfires. It is just an event that words cannot describe how our hearts go out to these people in these terrible circumstances. No matter whose fault it is in the end unfortunately lives have been lost and I cannot imagine the physical and emotional distress any of the families and their loved ones are going through. It seems just too inconcievable that such a tragedy can happen and in such a large scale.

then on the other end of the country we have huge floods and loss of property which too will be a huge burden on families and communities. It is just such a time of extremes and we are in the middle nearly to the point of being grateful that we are only battling the drought of a lifetime. It seems nothing in comparison - and it is.

So while thinking of how everyone is being so generous and praying for all those involved in both disasters the group of ladies at Injune are doing their bit for a local family who lost their home in a fire recently. I mentioned this before but I just think that this is typical of Australians and quilters who are always willing to help each other. I received a phone call this morning to say that yesterday with 9 women they were able to finish the top for a queen size bed quilt and a large single bed quilt all in one day! So well done ladies! PS KEEP THIS QUIET BETWEEN QUILTERS SO THE RECIPIENTS DON'T FIND OUT JUST YET!

Lets just hope the rain from the north subsides and heads to the Bushfires.

New Products/Arrivals

Yes I've been at it again - buying goodies for all of the lovely ladies out there to keep up with the latest trends - just because we live out here doesn't mean we have to be left out now does it?

 

This is the wonderful madeira rayon embroidery thread gift pack. It comes with a variety of colours as you can see and not only is it lovely for embroideries but more and more people are using to machine applique with. This box is $75 and is great value per spool price. Each has 200m.

The extra large funky buttons are a great addition to any project - bright & funky $13.20.

 

This is the large gypsy gripper and there is also a single sunction cup smaller version. I saw Julie F with one of these at the Chinchilla workshop the other day and so while I had seen them I had never had the chance to "play". And well yes I am converted. They have suction cups which can be released with the little levers and if you are one of those people who shift your hand along the ruler as you cut (yes I am) and then the ruler has a tendancy to shift - well fret no more! These give you a much better grip and you can put a more even pressure on your ruler with it much less likely of slipping. The large is $44 and the small $22.

 

This is the latest design from Me & my sister at Moda - Oh Cherry Oh - and it is soooooooo yummy as you can see - there are about another 4 yardages to arrive so that everything will blend perfectlyyyyy!

You will see in this photo there are the layer cakes, jelly rolls and yes the new rage - sweet rolls or "honey buns" if you are in the US. These are similiar to the jelly roll except they are only 1 1/2" wide! There are also "turnovers" - pre-cut triangles but unfortunately are not available at present.

Be quick if you are chasing a "pretty girly range" as this one will not last!

 

These are the X-Blocks - sounds sinister doesn't it? Well not really this is what I have been making the criss cross blocks with and what one of the classes will be using. If you cannot attend a class these are available for purchase from the shop.

We have also ordered lots of new novelty fabrics lately with boyish prints such as black spiders and webs, plus some beautiful butterflies, black on black, white on white (which are soooo hard to find sometimes) plus chooks - yes we looooooooove chooks!

Til next time!

 Keep stitchin

Converging at Chinchilla!

Yes the Chinchilla ladies have been converged!!! We had a lovely weekend in Chinchilla and what absolutely amazing results they achieved! The Chinchilla ladies (as I'm sure I have mentioned before) are a wonderful group always keen to learn new things and experiment! So here are a few photos from the weekend and I hope I have included everyones as they were all so amazing!!! There were a few unexpected outcomes - and well that is all par for the course with this "random" art quilt.

Thankyou again to the ladies for having me and I look forward to seeing at least a few of these completed for display at the Craft in the Country day in May!

  Andrea's

  Anne's

  Barbara

  Glenys'

Julie's (not mine) Julie F

  Jean's

  Joy's  Rel's

  Terri-Anne's

  Terri-Anne's Bargello

As you can see they all did an incredible job with their quilts - and such a huge variety. Terri-Anne's Bargello at the bottom is from the Bargello class I did in Chinchilla last year and I think you will agree that it looks wonderful!

I must say though that the photos do not do any of the quilts justice. They are much better "in the flesh/fabric"!

Enjoy!

New Arrivals & New Products

Yes more is always dropping into the shop. I did give you a sneak peek of this project a little while ago and now I will show you a little more and the wonderful squares I used to do it!!

These are "X-Blocks" they come in 4 different sizes 3 1/2", 4 1/2", 6 1/2", & 7 1/2" and extremely easy to use and give a whole new look to using strips!!! They also provide a chance to make quilts that could quite easily be used in more "blokey" looking quilts - which are always difficult to find.

The possibilities are endless with these wonderful squares.

  This is using just 2 fabrics from the wonderful Moda "Bistro" range. This would suit a modern wallhanging, a "blokes" quilt, or just when you don't want a quilt that is too "feminine" - maybe for the spare bed! Obviously these aren't all joined together yet but you get the drift!

And these are the little critters that all make it work! I used the smallest square for this one. (3.5")

 

We will also be holding classes in using these and a few different projects!

Prices are $31.50 for the 7.5", $27.80 for the 6.5", $21.40 for the 3.5 & 4.5" squares.

AND we had some of the gorgeous Bali pops (batiks) arrive the other day - these are just 4 of them but they come in a variety of colourways and are super yummy!

They consist of 40 x 2 1/2" strips across the width of the bolt and are great for a range of projects - including quilts, Jelly Roll style quilts, wrapped clotheslines projects such as bags plus much more. They come pre-packaged and coordinated for ease of use and are super popular.

This weekend I am off to the wonderful ladies of Chinchilla  - and a convergence workshop. The years teaching schedule is filling fast so be quick if you would like the Cow Paddocks Shop to visit your group for either the shop visit or a class too!

I must also put a little note in this post (and I hope they don't mind) I want to congratulate the Injune Creek Patchworkers group on a few projects they are undertaking shortly for a family who lost everything in a fire in the area. Quilters are a very caring giving group of people and they should be congratulated on their compassion, kindess, enthusiasm and sense of community spririt. So ladies you are doing a wonderful thing and I commend you for it.

Til next time 

Keep stitchin in udder chaos ! 

But wait there's more!

Yes school has started back and unfortunately more turmoil in our little ones class with their teacher being away on the first day of school - quite ill and will be away for some time - so we now have substitute teacher number?????????????? After the continuing on from last years list of substitute teachers.

Anyway moving on we have started on the 120km round trip swimming lessons which go for 30 mins, homework!!!!!!!, tired children, tuckshop etc etc. Our school centenary was a big hit with many many people travelling back to attend. Little H was the youngest enrolled student so she got to cut the cake with the oldest living past student. And got her picture in the local paper - so she thought she was pretty special.

We have also been in the hunt for a new car - and believe me after 2 weeks of back and forth negotiating and getting told many many lies, being harrassed so that I would "do the deal today" - to the point of nearly "or else" . I have had it with car dealers. However there were 2 fellows that were absolute gentlemen who were a pleasure to deal with. So I hope Karma is working so that all of the ones who lied, renegged on deals, pressured etc etc get their true "deal". In the end I fortunately had DH who came to the rescue and did the final negotiating on the last 2 days and sorted them all out!

I would really hate to be a single female trying to do this. I have some vehicle/mechanical knowledge - but not a lot but I know plenty of females with less than me and I'm sure these fellows would take advantage. And even though I know we did save thousands of dollars I feel like the past 2 weeks have been a huge waste of my time!

Needles to say - not a stitch has been sewn, the 3 items started for the gallery exhibition will not be finished and I have had far from a pleasant car purchasing experience. But oh well - hopefully it will be here soon and I can forget the bad and enjoy the good!

It is extremely dry here now to the point that it really is past a joke - we have sold any cattle we could bar our base breeder herd and have shunted them around, shut them off troughs to utilise dams so as to put less pressure on my house dam, etc etc. I am trying to "wean" my garden a little and watering a little less so that I am maintaining to survive rather than watering to grow and prosper.

So this year at the Craft in the Country - I am going to try and have some green around - even if it is just the gift bags!

Til then we are still praying for rain!

More on Craft in the Country

Hi everyone,

just a little update on the Craft in the Country - we have been fortunate enough to gain some sponsorship for the day - plus of course we are also giving away lots in appreciation to our customers ongoing support. But the goodies are arriving already and I'm sure everyone is going to looooove the sample bags, lucky door prizes, early bird draws etc etc

I have started posting out the hard copies of the brochures but be warned the day is nearly half booked out already - so if you are thinking of coming and haven't booked your spot with your $10 deposit please do so as I would hate for you to miss out!!!!!!

I know there are many of you out there working on your quilts of love for the day and I can't wait to see them!

There will be lots of new things for you to see & try so I am getting very excited already!

More to come!