Feb 17

2012 St Ives Show

Posted in Events

Hobbysew are a proud sponsor of the 2012 St Ives Show’s Patchwork and Quilting Category!

Come and join us on Saturday & Sunday May 19 & 20!

Click here to go to the St Ives Show Website The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP at last years show

Below is a short message from Christine, the St Ives Show Co-ordinator.

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Northern Suburbs A&H Society Inc are delighted to have Hobbysew as the sponsor of our Patchwork and/or Quilting category for the 2012 Annual St Ives Show.

We are proud to offer quilters and other crafts the opportunity to exhibit their work to the public and compete for ribbons and prizes. Hobbysew have provided a gift voucher and assortment of products – value $35 – for our Patchwork and/or Quilting categories and a major prize of gift voucher and product – value $200. Well worth winning. Schedules can be downloaded from our website: www.stivesshow.com.au

I believe quilts have such energy. They are about history, family, community, patience and beauty and can sometimes be life changing for those who stitch them.

Some modern quilts depict events and/or disasters which stir emotion. So much so that all who see them, quilters or not; enjoy, discuss and are in awe of them. I am really looking forward to displaying your entries and I know the visitors to the show, especially the younger generation, will have many questions about them.

Since early in the 20th Century St Ives Show has had a proud history. In the early years it was held just prior to the Royal Easter Show. (see our website for History of Show) Now, however, it is one of the first to be held in the show cycle with the Royal being held in April and St Ives Show in May.

Judging the categories will be Judges from the NSW Guilds and Associations together with teachers of the craft and members of District A51 Inner Wheel Clubs (Sydney to Wollongong), who as a Community Service are assisting the St Ives Show this year. Hobbysew have also been kind enough to provide a Judge from their skilled teachers for which we are very grateful.

So get those entries in as soon as you can and I will see you at the show.


Christine
St Ives Show Co-ordinator

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Feb 13

LONGARM QUILTING

Posted in Events, Figtree, Kings Park, Quilts, Top Ryde City

I guess all our quilters are gearing up to get inspiration at this year’s shows. Check these links for some shows and competitions to put in your diary:-

Craft and Sewing Show at www.craftandsew.com.au; Craft & Quilt Fair at www.craftfair.com.au; Australasian Quilt Convention at www.aqc.com.au.

Of course your creations need to be beautifully quilted too, so why not consider taking advantage of Hobbysew’s quilting service. We have many patterns and designs to choose from at our Kings Park, Figtree and Echuca stores www.hobbysewechuca.com.au which use Gammill Statler Stitcher longarm quilting machines to quilt your tops for you. Click on the link on our home page for complete details.  Also at our Top Ryde store (and soon at Erina, too) we offer an in-store DIY service on Handi Quilter “Avante 18” machines for an hourly rate of $25.

Easy & fun to use, once you know how.

Top Ryde store runs a 2 hour, one-on-one training lesson on how to load your quilt, free motion, how to use pentographs and groovy boards. No more having to pin your quilt top before you quilt – yeah!  Bookings are essential, so phone them to set a date for your lesson.  After you complete your lesson, you are presented with a certificate and you also get a Hobbysew discount of 25% off battings and backings.  Then just book the Handi Quilter whenever you have a new quilt top to finish.

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Feb 6

ERINA IS OPEN!

Posted in Erina

What a fantastic day at Hobbysew Erina on Saturday.  A large crowd had gathered outside the doors before they were even opened and then the rush began!

Take a look at the photos to see the fun and excitement which rippled through the store all day.  So much to see and do. The store looked stunning with the weather turning out to be amazingly sunny. Everyone enjoyed receiving the complimentary handouts during the day and stock just flew off the shelves.

The best sewing machines in the shop, such as the top of the range Brother, Janome 12000 and Husqvarna Diamond’s were just snapped up.  And the fabric – metres and metres of fabric browsed by quilters who were thirsty to see and buy the best range all together in one shop.  All along the Central Coast you can hear the click of scissors and the whir of sewing machines as quilters get down to starting their latest projects using all the new goodies they purchased at Hobbysew Erina.  If you haven’t seen it yet, come along in and join the fun, or better yet sign up for a class.  Karen, our store manager is scheduling the class programme to start in a couple of weeks and even non-sewers came to our store keen to enrol in classes for the first time.  There were also quite a few enquiries about the kids classes, which is exciting and what we are all about….bringing new crafters on board.

Management would like to extend their thanks to the sewing machine companies Janome, Husqvarna and Brother for their support in having their demonstrators working in store throughout our opening day.    Thanks also to all the fabric houses for the stunning fabric ranges enjoyed by so many of our customers.

Thanks to Star FM 104.5 radio who featured our opening with a live broadcast from the Centre promoting Hobbysew on the Central Coast and thanks to Erina Fair Centre Management for making us feel so welcome.

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Feb 2

Summer Reading

Posted in Quilts

100 Things You Need To Know If You Own A QuiltThere’s nothing more engrossing than reading about your favourite pastime. Here’s a title you’ll love to flick through and keep coming back to as a reference: 100 Things You Need To Know If You Own a Quilt: A Quilt Owner’s Manual. Authored by Ann Hazelwood, quilt historian, lecturer and retailer, it is just one of the titles available at Hobbysew.com. The book has more than 100 pages covering tips on how to care for, display and store your quilts to best preserve and enjoy them. Also featured are prize-winning quilts from the American Society Quilt Show and Contest. It costs $19.95 so it’s a practical gift for quilt owners, quiltmakers, collectors and quilt lovers alike! For this and other crafty tomes, Hobbysew can post to you – wherever you live in Australia – for only $5.00. Interested? Click here

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Jan 30

Drunkard’s Path Quilt

Posted in Classes, Quilts, Top Ryde City

Classes for the Drunkard’s Path quilt with Top Ryde teacher, Irene Andrews are due to start in February.

Superb patchwork

Have a look at the picture of one of Irene Andrew’s “Drunkard’s Path” quilts to see the wonderful broken colour effects she achieves with the fabrics which she uses.  For Irene, the colours and patterns of nature are her major inspiration; the fabrics she chooses reflect the spectrum to be found in the blue and green of foliage and shadows, the glorious glowing colours of a sunset or autumn leaves, or the pretty pastels of gelato, as well as the shapes and swirls found in woodgrain, tree bark and even swirling muddy eddies.

An artist’s eye

As an artist, Irene’s passion for working with fabric has been a prominent force in her life since childhood.  She has always gravitated to the variety to be found not only in colour and pattern, but also style and technique. Her many beautifully crafted quilts are testament to this fact.

As a teacher, Irene is very popular with her students.  She has the knack of challenging the advanced student to produce their finest work, but is slow and patient in developing the skills of the beginner so that by the end of Irene’s classes every student comes away glowing with success and the proud owner of a beautiful quilt.

Join a class

If you would like the fun of learning how to make a Drunkard’s Path quilt under Irene’s guidance, why not sign up to her class at Top Ryde starting 5th February.  Click the link http://www.hobbysew.com/classes.php?classes_id=11 and select ‘Drunkard’s Path’ for more details.

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Jan 30

SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW

Posted in Uncategorized

Can you believe we are already thinking about Easter!   For all those people who are thinking of entering their quilts and crafts in this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show, the closing date for entries is Wednesday 1st February.  The easiest way to enter is to use the online application.  Just click on this link http://www.sydneyroyal.com.au/artscrafts.htm to go straight to the competitors’ information on the Sydney Royal website.

Send us a photo of your entry so we can all look out for it at the Show.  Good luck and have fun!

For inspiration, the picture above is of the quilt that won first prize in 2010.  It was made by one of our teachers, Kay Haerland. How beautiful is this!

Would like to learn how to make a quilt like this?   Kay will be running classes on “Realistic Landscapes” at our Top Ryde store in May.

Click here   http://www.hobbysew.com/classes.php?classes_id=11 to take a look at the class list for further details of her workshop.

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Jan 23

Chris Jurd’s Classes

Posted in Classes, Make It!

Chris Jurd Classes

Check out the spectacular “Mariner’s Compass” blocks made in Chris Jurd’s recent class at Kings Park.

And if you love these designs, then you’ll love her new “Lots of Dots” quilt, which is being released at the end of January as a Block-of-the-Month through Sydney Hobbysew stores. You can buy the program over 12 months, with fabric chosen by Chris. For more about Chris, take a look at her own blog at http://chrisquilts.blogspot.com/

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Jan 23

HOBBYSEW ERINA GRAND OPENING

Posted in Events, Hobbysew Stores
balloons

Erina store opening

Our newest Hobbysew shop is causing a lot of excitement with the opening planned for Saturday 4th February at Erina Fair Shopping Centre.

If you have ever been to Erina Fair, you will know it is the mecca of retailing on the NSW Central Coast. The Mall contains over 300 speciality shops as well as the majors Myer, Big W, Woolworths, Coles, Kmart, Target, Aldi and Best & Less, and is the largest single-level shopping centre in Australia. And all with FREE car parking!

The new Hobbysew store is situated right in the middle of it all, in what is known as the Hive, beside the Hoyts cinema complex, where all the lifestyle shops and restaurants are grouped.

The easiest place to park is in the Red carpark and then walk to the right hand side exit which brings you straight past Hobbysew.

One of the best things about the new Hobbysew shop is that it has combined the much-loved Janome Sewing Centre. Currently situated in the Harvey Norman Plaza, the Janome shop is being relocated inside the new Hobbysew shop. It will be greatly expanded with lots more goodies on offer, a much larger range of machines, which will include Husqvarna, Brother and Handi Quilter, and all the accessories that go with them. And sewing furniture! There will be a completely assembled range of sewing furniture on display so you can have a look at how nice your sewing room could look with everything neatly stored away in made-for-purpose drawers and cupboards.

Hobbysew's enormous range of batiks

Of course, the main attraction at any Hobbysew store is the enormous range of quilting fabrics and the new Erina store will stock one of the largest ranges outside of Sydney – over 3,000 different patterns and styles – making Hobbysew Erina the most beautiful handcraft store ever opened on the Central Coast. A quilter’s paradise and crafter’s specialist store, it will support quilting and sewing enthusiasts as well as club members. When you’re in the shop, how about joining the Hobbysew Members’ Club for special discounts on your purchase? Just enrol at the counter. Bring your friends for a great opening day on Saturday 4th.

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Jan 22

Simplicity and scraps

Posted in Make It!

Reading a blog Pleasant Home reminded us of the beauty of simplicity in quiltmaking. The blogger gathered examples of postage stamp and scrap quilts from the wonderful world-wide web! It is enough to make us dive into the fabric stash and start cutting squares. Pictures tell a thousand words so here is a selection of her examples – thanks Jodi!

Postage stamp quilt 2

Postage Stamp Patchwork 5

Postage Stamp Patchwork 5

Postage Stamp Patchwork 4

Postage Stamp Patchwork 4

Postage Stamp Patchwork 3
postage stamp quilts
Postage stamp quilt 1

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Jan 10

Tidy up!

Posted in Make It!

craftsanity_recycled_craft_organizerWith nine days gone, we’ve all had a chance to implement some New Year’s resolutions but there’s still 356 days to keep at it! If keeping your craft space organised is top of the list, here are some fantastic ideas for inexpensive or even free options. The added bonus is that re-using packaging keeps it off landfill. You can use beautiful fabrics and scrapbook papers, your children’s drawings, even glossy magazines to cover up. You can even get the kids involved in making storage for their desks. Take a look at the video here and that’ll get your creative (and tidying) juices pulsing. Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood from CraftSanity gives great tips for making handy containers from things you have around the place. And here’s two for starters!

granny-holder

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