Quilting
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| Annie London's Designer Stitches
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| Butterflies in the Heart, a romantic 36cm design from Annie London’s Designer Stitches, forms part of the Shades of Baltimore series and is worked in the yarn-filled technique of shadow trapunto. The finished hand-washable 22in block can be made into a cushion or quilt top or even framed.
The kit comes complete with all notions, colour guide, easy-to-follow illustrated instructions and examples of all 12 blocks in the Shades of Baltimore series for $75. The full series of kits is also available as a Block of the Month. The pattern is also available as a single design for $25 or all 12 in the series for $77. A 6in fabric and batting practice block is also available for $2 with any kits or patterns.
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| Bernina
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| Embroidery Foot #39 and #39C with the clear sole from Bernina make embroidery a cinch. The cut-out on the sole runs from the needle opening through to the back of the foot, so that both dense stitches and thin couching threads can be fed evenly.
The clear sole offers a good view of the work area and the small hole in the centre of the foot serves as a guide for oversewing a thin couching thread. Foot #39 is especially suited for appliqué, decorative stitches, couching perle threads or thin smocking elastic, sewing off-the-edge scallops or for corded satin stitches. Foot #39 also has cross marks at needle height, shown in red at the front and sides of the foot, which makes the exact joining of designs significantly easier.
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| Caboolture Sewing Machines & Patchwork
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| reaming, the latest addition to the Around the World range, was designed by Joanne Wearing for Caboolture Sewing Machines & Patchwork. This Around the World quilt (below) is only available while stocks last and features the latest Moda fabric range and appliqué work on the borders. Pillow Fight at the OK Corral is a new design by Blue House Quilts.
This boy’s quilt (left) has been designed using a combination of appliqué and patchwork blocks. The pattern also includes templates for a girl’s version. Both kits include quality fabric to make the top, borders and binding. They each retail for $195, including p&h within Australia. Enquiries for the pattern only are also welcome. Mail order available and international orders accepted.
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| Creative Quilts
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| When it comes to gift giving, quilters of all skill levels are known for their generosity, creativity and, above all, an ability to whip up something special at the very last minute. For an easy, fabulous quilt that would make a perfect last-minute gift, it’s always an advantage to have on hand an adaptable pattern that can be arranged to create a new look every time
it’s made.
Creative Quilts has a wonderfully versatile pattern called Squares That Sing, which can be constructed as a pieced top or in the Quilt as You Go style. It includes a quick-reference quantities guide for double, single and cot-sized quilts, as well as ideas for different focus fabrics and colourways. You can easily apply this pattern to use those special fabrics you only bought a small amount of, as well as those ‘rainy day’ fabrics that are a part of your stash.
This is a great pattern for whipping up beautiful last-minute gifts for all those people in your life – from a favourite niece to a nephew and special teacher to the ‘hard to buy for’
in-law. Considering the possible combinations you can
make, the pattern is great value priced at only $19.95 including p&h.
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| Deezigner Quilts
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| Deezigner Quilts stocks a wide array of wonderful Christmas projects and gift ideas and Peace on Earth is no exception. This is a fun, yet traditional, wallhanging that evokes the peaceful, loving spirit of Christmas. Four tranquil panels are surrounded by colourful patterned squares, which give the wallhanging a playful, joyous air.
It measures 18in x 24in and is a great way to use up all your fabric scraps or, if you prefer, start afresh with new fabrics. The pattern retails for $20 and includes p&h within Australia.
It comes with buttons for the three wise men carrying the gold, frankincense and myrrh as birthday gifts for the newborn Jesus.
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| Janome
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| Welcome in the New Year with a new machine that will advance your sewing skills beyond belief! The Janome Memory Craft 6600P is a machine with the speed, precision and power to get stunning results for all your quilting, garment and home decorating projects, all at a
professional level.
It has the largest arm and bed space of any household sewing machine in its category (5in x 9in) plus a huge bonus extension table that makes even the largest projects easy to handle. You’ll plough through all those rows of quilting in a trice, using the blazing 1000 stitches per minute straight stitch capability, and there’s always the speed control lever for those intricate pieces that need a little extra care. The MC6600P also has an excellent selection of decorative stitches to choose from, plus monogramming and seven built-in buttonholes. Packed with all the features to make your New Year’s sewing resolutions a breeze to fulfil, this machine also boasts Acufeed, a dual-feed system (built-in walking foot) ideal for super precise and accurate quilting. What are you waiting for? To find out more information and locate your nearest retailer, contact Janome today.
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| Material Obsession
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| Sue Spargo and her three new books are all the rage at Material Obsession. Greenbrier, Mercer Lane and 12 Pin Keepers all feature projects made in her quirky, modern folk-art style and she has even packaged up some tin embellishment shapes to complement the projects, which are available for $35.
These projects are perfect for using up all those wool scraps you’ve been saving or for getting creative with a variety of spots and stripes, patterned, Kaffe Fassett or any other designer fabric. Not sure where to start? Sarah and Kathy will be happy to put together a kit especially for you.
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| Moon Shine Designs
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| For half a decade, Monica Poole of Moon Shine Designs has been coming up with bag designs that inspire us and teach us, and many that make us drool!
To celebrate five wonderful years in business, Monica has just launched two brand new handbag designs, which are sure to knock even the prettiest socks off – the Bella Bag and the Queen of Hearts. These bags have everything a girl could want, fashion and style, without compromising on practicality. Both bags are available as patterns retailing at $18 each. You can find the patterns for Monica’s latest designs on her exciting, new-look website, which also features her new quilts and all her other bags.
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| Nature's Selection
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| The Nature’s Selection Young Chefs baking range has been designed especially for kids, perfect for helping them develop their creativity and learn essential kitchen skills. These products are a great idea for weekends, school holidays or any other time kids want to be let loose in the kitchen.
The only thing more fun than eating a cake is decorating it. This is your opportunity to channel your inner artist and adorn the cake with whatever takes your fancy. The Young Chefs Cake Decorations range is perfect for getting kids involved in all the fun. The latest release of cake decorations includes a cake wrap and comes in three varieties: Ocean Friends, Jungle Friends and Racing Cars. They provide mums with a fun and trouble-free themed direction for kids’ birthday cakes. All you need to do is get your little rug rat to choose what colour icing they want. They’re great fun and a prefect excuse to get kids involved in decorating their own cake.
The Gingerbread Man Baking Kit is a fun and easy-to-use kit that contains everything you need to make scrumptious gingerbread people including baking mix, a cookie cutter and icing pen. Follow a few simple steps to bake a whole family of gingerbread men and then have more fun decorating them with the funky gel icing pen.
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| Patches Indooroopilly
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| If you’ve always hankered after a stained glass window quilt, but it just hasn’t been possible to find one for your home, then you’ll be thrilled with the latest pattern design release from Patches Indooroopilly. Native Birds and Flowers of Australia, designed by Helen Godden, measures 250cm x 270cm and will surely attract many admiring comments.
There are limited copies available for the quilt as a Block of the Month – $45 a month over 14 months. Each month you will receive two full-size pattern sheets, comprehensive instructions, all fabrics and adhesive bias tape to make up 28 stunning stained glass blocks, sashings, borders and binding. Two payments are required the first month and there is no charge for the final month. Pattern designs only are available for $120, including p&h within Australia.
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| Pfaff
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| The new Pfaff Creative Vision is a sensation, in every respect. It looks different to any other sewing machine and that’s because it is. Just like the Pfaff brand itself, the extraordinary minimalist design originated in Germany.
It is perfectly designed, down to the smallest detail. The Pfaff Creative Vision sets new standards in the world of quilting, sewing and embroidery. No other machine offers
as much space, as much creative potential and as many quilting features:
• Spacious
The most generous sewing space, the longest free-arm and the largest embroidery area of all time (360 x 350mm), so you can unleash your unique creative potential.
• Bright
The perfectly illuminated sewing space – customer-adjusted LED lights illuminate the entire work area with no shadows. Adjust the intensity and colour of the light for your room and fabric colour.
The brilliant Pfaff High Definition colour touch screen with high end resolution displays stitches in actual size and embroidery designs in 3D true colour.
• Precise
The original IDT guarantees absolutely even fabric feed from both the top and the bottom. You can even sew in reverse with IDT engaged.
Precise positioning is the easiest, most accurate means of connecting sections of large embroidery creations.
• Select from over 500 stitches including 200 brand new stitches.
A big variety of beautiful stitches including 9mm wide decorative stitches and up to 52mm wide Maxi Stitches can be combined and/or edited. Plus, there are new stitch types such as Pearl and Edge stitches.
• Transfer embroidery designs between your Creative Vision and your computer with the USB embroidery stick or USB cable for unlimited memory.
With the Pfaff Creative Vision, the more you want the more you get. You’ve never experienced anything quite like
it before.
Experience the Pfaff Creative Vision live by visiting the website.
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| Picture Patchwork
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| Anyone who has been sewing for awhile will have seen a wide variety of pincushions but could they possibly be anywhere near as cute as this delicate high tea pincushion? Tasmania’s Cynthia Martin is renowned for her beautiful novelty pincushion designs and this one doesn’t disappoint.
The adorable teacup and saucer set measures 3in x 6in when finished. It is an ideal hand-sewing project and comes as a pattern only for $10.50, including p&h within Australia. It is available from Picture Patchwork, where you will also find Cynthia’s other pincushion patterns along with her beautiful handmade quilts, cushions, bags and coathanger patterns.
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| Quilter's Barn
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| Julie Wallace’s patchwork books have proved so popular that Issues One and Two have already sold out so don’t miss out on Patchwork Book 3. The book comprises 17 original projects, from quilts to bags to floormats.
What differentiates Julie from other designers and helps make her designs uniquely her own is that they regularly feature fabric ranges that she has designed herself. St Croix, French Indigo and Grace Street were designed for and are distributed by Japanese company Yuwa. Julie’s book and her fabric ranges can be purchased from Quilter’s Barn. The book retails for $34 including p&h and you can also order kits for any of the projects featured.
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| Quilters Bazaar
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| The best way to learn new quilting techniques is to ask the experts. This isn’t always possible but with the new At Home With the Experts DVD series from C&T Publishing, the experts will be available any time you need them. The series features popular, well-known quilting teachers showing you how to skilfully master their special techniques.
Learn paper piecing with Carol Doak, create dynamic art quilts with help from Katie Pasquini Masopust or let Joyce Becker teach you the secrets of landscape quilt making. Six of the region-free DVD titles from the series are available from Quilter’s Bazaar, where they retail for $36.95 each.
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| Red Paisely Patchwork
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| Red Paisley Patchwork is an online store bringing texture to patchwork with original designs that incorporate an exciting assortment of quality fabrics including silk, cotton, velvet, taffeta, chintz, damask, linen, flannelette and wool.
All designs use contemporary techniques with easy-to-follow instructions and come as either a kit or pattern. Aunt Grace’s Quilt, inspired by an 1880s quilt, is machine-pieced and incorporates Japanese silks, German velvets and embossed cottons. The pinwheels have a red square centre and are made up of 10 different Japanese silks, trimmed with coloured velvets. There are 30 blocks, all offset on the diamond and sashed to create a quilt for a double bed. The pattern retails for $20 and there are limited kits available.
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| Sewco
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| Sewco Sewing & Patchwork Centre at Mt Gravatt in Brisbane is encouraging its customers to become strippers! Wear your Ima Stripper Badge at the bimonthly MAD Strip Club, where you work on great quilt kits featuring fabulous pre-cut fabric strips.
Each MAD Club will showcase different colour ways, sizes and styles. MAD Strippers must wear their membership badges to receive the Stripper Kit at a greatly discounted price. Sunday Strip sessions cost $15 for tuition and Strip Club Pre-cut kit costs vary, from around $65 for a quilt top. Mail order is available for strippers who cannot attend the classes. Ideal for beginner and experienced quilters alike, they make great gifts.
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| Southern Australia Wool Products
419 | Durable, hygienic and fire-resistant, wool is nature’s most comfortable fibre. Nu-Wool Quilt Wadding provides a high-quality filling for quilting, its soft and inviting texture making it a pleasure to work with. A unique blend of 60 per cent wool and 40 per cent polyester, the wadding is suitable for both hand and machine quilting.
Ultra-Fresh treated for effective dust mite control and lasting freshness, it effectively keeps your body warm and cosy in the cold and adjusts to a comfortable temperature in the warmer months. Produced by Southern Australia Wool Products and available from all good patchwork and quilting shops in widths of 1.5m, 2.1m and 2.4m, ensure you get a good night’s sleep and wrap yourself in the wonder of wool.
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| Southern Cross Needlework
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| Japanese art is imbued with an intrinsic elegance and now you can enjoy some of that elegance with this exquisite Japanese Dragonfly Bag. Designed by Kay Sternbeck exclusively for Southern Cross Needlework (formerly Barrington Quilting), this practical yet stylish tote bag is large enough to be used every day and chic enough to impress. Featuring beautiful bold red fabrics against a solid black background and delicately detailed with a beaded dragonfly, this bag will stand out from the crowd.
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| The Daylight Company
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| Daylight™ introduces two new stylish versions of its popular 13w Portable Lamp. This classic portable lamp is now available in a sleek new design and in two contemporary colourways – ice white and matt black. It is lightweight and compact, the perfect lamp to take with you wherever you go.
It is mains-operated and folds neatly together, making it conveniently portable. The lamp features a low-heat 13w Daylight™ tube and retails at $99.95. A dedicated Carry Bag is also available. The bag is padded to protect the lamp against knocks and scratches in transit and features an adjustable shoulder strap for comfort. It retails at $24.95 and can be purchased separately or together with the lamp.
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| The Home Patch
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| Cherie Saffiote-Payne’s books are a lot of fun and great for both crafters and quilters. My Country Season is one for the quilters. It’s a pattern book that gives you step-by-step instructions to make the quilt featured on the front cover, which is in Cherie’s inimitable primitive style, complete with plenty of appliqué. Blessings in Stitches is a book for both crafters and quilters. It is chock-full of black and white images, which make up over 50 different designs for you to stitch, appliqué or stencil. Both books are available from The Home Patch for $25 and $28 respectively.
Cherie uses felted woven wool in many of her projects as it is great for appliqué, giving your work a tactile finish. A “country” felted woven wool bundle, which contains 11 squares 8 x 8in, is available for purchase for $43. A fabric starter pack is also available. It contains 100 per cent cotton fabrics similar to those gorgeous warm colours that Cherie uses. It retails for $55 and comprises 20 fat eighths (20 pieces of fabric 10in x 21in). The fabrics may vary due to supply but every endeavour will be made to choose fabrics as close as possible to those pictured. These prices all exclude p&h.
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| The Parsonage
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| The Parsonage, located in historic Maldon in the Goldfield district of Central Victoria, is the perfect place to hold your next quilting retreat. Owner Rita Bosaid, herself a keen quilter, has restored this building and decorated it in the French provincial style. Hand-hewn bricks, tuck pointing and coining, 12ft ceilings and original thatching grant you a glimpse of another era. An extensive conservatory housing a 10-seat work table provides a gorgeous and well-lit workspace for patchwork and craft retreats. Here, all your sewing requirements are provided – from standard and tabletop ironing boards to a choice of cutting boards and a lightbox. Accommodation consist of four bedrooms (containing eight separate beds), each with their own fine linen, French beds, coordinating fabrics and accessories.
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| The Patchwork Heart
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| The Patchwork Heart proudly stocks Monica Poole’s ever-popular range of Moon Shine Design bags. Here you’ll find the patterns as well as all the necessary haberdashery items required to make Monica’s original designs. The Queen of Hearts is her newest design. It looks like a pretty, giant heart decorated with ric rac trim, measuring 8½in x 14in. The kit, including fabric, Pellon, stiffener, boning, button, zipper and the pattern, retails for $75. All the Tea in China – The Bead Bag measures 18cm x 28cm and is a cinch to make. Create your own unique variations of the bag by your selection of fabrics and trims. The pattern retails for $18 and a kit, including fabrics, boning, Pellon, ric rac, beads, button and the pattern, retails for $53.50.
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| The Purple Patch
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| A is Adorable is a book of charming gift and nursery designs that take their inspiration from whimsical animal illustrations. It contains more than 20 different patterns that would look right at home in any nursery. For that personal touch, it would be lovely to decorate your nursery with handmade items such as cushions, height charts, mobile cubes, nappy keepers, kids’ hats, picture frames, storybooks and lots more.
The quilt pattern pictured comes straight from the book. It provides the perfect canvas for embroidering a child’s name by either using the embroidery alphabets on your sewing machine or hand embroidering the blocks. This quilt was made from the new Peter Rabbit fabric range, Garden Tales and was embroidered with the name ‘Benjamin’ in reference to the character of Benjamin Bunny, but you can embroider any name you choose. The kit is available from
The Purple Patch and contains enough fabric to complete the quilt top, which measures 44in x 53in, as well as the book, which features all those other adorable projects you’ll want to make. The kit includes the book, fabric to complete the quilt top and p&h and retails for $125. The patterns in the book look great in conjunction with the new Peter Rabbit fabric range Victorian Nursery, which is also available from The Purple Patch.
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| The Quilter's Blessing
0 | The Quilter’s Blessing in Townsville is popular with both locals and travellers, who drop in to browse, say hello to owners Jo and Carly and stay for a coffee while they discuss their latest patchwork projects. It stocks fabrics, patterns, haby and wadding. Its exclusive designers supply the store with a range of patterns and kits that you won’t find anywhere else.
The stock is constantly updated with exciting new products and fabrics and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, Jo and Carly are more than happy to get it in for you or point you in the right direction. Classes are running regularly and the buzz of sewing machines on workshop days is exciting and inspiring.
These scrumptious cupcake cushions are an example of what you’ll find in-store. They are absolutely delightful, almost good enough to eat! Designed by Jo-Ann Johnson from Mini Blessings, using iron-on transfers from Thimblestitch, these cushion patterns include your iron-on transfer, so there is no need for colouring or tracing. Just start stitching straight away. They make great little presents for someone special or fantastic keepsake cushions. The large cupcake cushion measures 18in square. The pattern retails for $12 and a full kit is $34. The small cupcake cushion measures 14½in square and its pattern retails for $10 with the full kit $22.
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