My Garden fabrics and machines

These are the fabrics we have chosen to make Lynettes new quilt in. They look great with the threads that she has used. We still have a few buttons for sale. Can't wait til they come in.

New Janome machines in the shop. I have almost opened them all now.

Here are two of the owls Kim and I have made. They are from the moda bakeshop site.

Elephants

We have gone a little mad over elephants. I asked Kim to make one for a sample for the shop and she loved them so much she made several. Then the girls in my class wanted to make some so we had a night and made one each. I even made one cos my daughter said she'd like one (don't know when she will get it though!) They are a Heather Bailey design. Kim also made a tortoise from the same designer.

My Garden

As you will see I have just added a new logo to my site. (I am feeling rather clever.)
I am participating in Lynette Anderson's My Garden BOM.
Lynette has designed a nine part BOM and is giving it away with the purchase of a button each month from our shop. I will give more info shortly.

We have Janome sewing machines

They have arrived. Our new janomes are still in the process of being set up in the shop. I have only opened half of them and I can't wait to get them all fired up. It was a big decision to take on a Janome dealership and I am looking forward to selling them.

Another re-organisation is happening and on Monday we should be fully operational.

I am still finishing quilts - and won't it be great to sit in the shop and sew? I only need more hours in the day!

French Medallion finished.

I have finished the largest quilt I have made for many years. I fell in love with the French General fabric-Rouenneries. So I just had to make a quilt for our queen size bed. Mostly I make smaller quilts or samples and many have not been quilted.

It is shown here hanging at St Helen's over Easter in the Break O Day Stitchers exhibition.
And I even got a small viewers choice prize.
I did quilt it all myself even if it did say Leanne quilted it on the tag! Just a small goof but a lovely exhibition, congatulations to the organisers.
I think I am over this range now, after two bags, a cushion and two quilts. And that's a good thing cos Rural Jardin has just come in and another big quilt is in the beginning stages.

Back to blogging

I’m back.  Sorry for the big delay in posting. My computer collapsed and there was a wait til we got the new one.  Then I had to get used to it. It’s hard to cope with new things sometimes and this one wants to do things automatically and it also hides things, very frustrating.   Then there was Christmas and a sort of holiday. and I was embarrassed cos I offered a giveaway and didn’t follow thru, so if those people that did leave a comment would like to email me a snail mail address I will post some goodies out.  I will try to get it right next time.

So what have I been doing, you ask.

Well, we have re organised the shop. A bit of a change around (seemed like a holiday!!) it has opened it up a bit and made it brighter . Started a lot of new projects, finished a couple, had a break in, they didn’t take much, just some scissors, small change and my most recently finished stitchery bag !

I had a lovely afternoon with the Dear Jane group today. A very small group, Simone, Helena and I, for the start of the year. I have been making my applique blocks using machine buttonhole stitch, I am not a traditionalist, haven’t got time for hand work, but I wanted to see if I could do needleturn by machine as well. I will post a picture and you can judge.

I still need a lot more practice.

This is bag that was stolen.  It’s an Ella and Skysie design from their  Present of the Month range. It’s going to be easy to recognise because I changed the name to Esmes Antiques and if you look closely you will see that I didn’t finish topstitching the top of the bag.  I was rushing to finish it one morning before going to the shop and the needle broke, I didn’t have time to change the needle so just took the bag meaning to finish it at a later date. I guess this will not happen now.

I have just been handed a lovely glass of  sav blanc so I had better go and be sociable.  Tomorrow I will find some photos of the shop and my new block of the month featuring the lovely Rouenneries.

Presents

Thanks to Rebecca for the lovely flowers she sent me for my birthday.  They are beautiful and still looking great over a week  later.

And here is the bag Leanne gave me.

Thanks Leanne and I promise I won’t tell anyone!