Birthday specials

My October newsletter went  out on the 11th of this month......early this month to announce my 12th birthday sale. If you did not receive it, you do not have a current working email address or you have not signed up to receive it. It is only available via email....Sorry !!!!
Should you visit the shop this month you can still take advantage of my birthday specials.

"Gift sharing" competition winner

Gift sharing competition: winner announced ! Carrolyn V from the USA; 

      Thank you to all of those good folk who sent in a “gift sharing” story. Actually, I was amazed that all of the stories had positive outcomes. Lynn

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             Here is Carrolyn’s story:-

I was fortunate to live next door to my father's parents as a child.  My grandmother is the one who taught me to sew, nurtured me in very special ways and was a part of my daily life.  I treasure her treadle machine today.

However my mother's mother died when she was 6.(back in l926)  As the youngest of 6 in a poor Arkansas family, she was passed from family to family to be raised and ended up only with a small pieced incomplete quilt top that was begun by her mother from worn children's clothing.  It was only about 3 ft by 4 ft but lovingly hand pieced crazy quilt fashion.  Obviously a labor of love and necessity.  My mother had shown it to me from time to time when she would open her cedar chest where she kept her treasures. 

When I was in my 20s, living across the country from all family and with a military husband doing overseas duty, I asked my sister to "steal" that piece from the cedar chest and mail it to me.  This was in early 1970 and well before the revived quilt craze here in the US.  But I had read an article on antique quilts, and always loving to sew....I decided to do something with that piece and try to finish it and give it to my mom as a Christmas gift. 

I scoured over whatever quilt history texts I could find and was at a loss as to how to find material to match the worn children's clothing cloth from the past.  And believe me, there was no such thing as quilt shops at that time.  Even just plain sewing was out of vogue.  But I did find a corner of a drug store with  bolts of fabric.  So I purchased  as many different little prints as I could find and tried to age them with various tea mixtures, repeated washings etc.(Little did I imagine that this would become common practice when the quilting phenomenon would hit 40 years later!)

  I ended up appliqueing this piece onto a solid navy piece (blue was a predominant color), embroidering family names around this "medallion" piece and then making desden plate designs around the outside on all sides.  Not bad for someone totally teaching themselves!  I even added a God's eye piece (put in upside down) as I had read that the Amish can't have perfection without offending God.  Little chance of that anyway, but I added it.  Then I spent that winter after teaching school in the daytime handquilting my double sized labor of love.  I knew nothing about tiny stitches, proper threads, hiding knots etc.  But hand quilt it I did, adding simple hearts, diagonal lines.  

The entire project took me about a year.  And when my mother received it, she was overwhelmed.  It hung in her room for years, and now covers that same cedar chest in the dementia facility where she resides at almost 90 years of age.  She doesn't remember much, but she can still tell me which pieces of cloth were her clothes, her sisters'etc.  That quilt will come home with me when mom passes and become a part of our family legacy.  I since have made hundreds of quilts, learned many more tricks etc.....but always feel a special rush when I touch that gift to my mom that helped connect our family with the grandmother we were never fortunate enough to know.

END NOTE:  On one trip to visit my mom, and having recently made a quilt with repro fabrics from the 30s......I decided to see how many pieces looked familiar to what was in that original piece.  I was disappointed to find nothing that looked like the 30s fabrics.  Then I realized that those were pieces of OLD children's clothing and her mom had passed in the 20s.  Of course there weren't 30-ish style fabrics.  These were authentic pieces from the teens and twenties.  Dah!!!!!!!

Well, the tears are streaming .......again.........as I am a 64 year old retired college professor sitting up here in my mountain home thinking about the grandmother I never knew.  Thanks for the memory this a.m. with my morning coffee. 

Please get in touch Carrolyn to let me know how you would like to spend your $30.00......I somehow doubt I will be getting a visit  although  quite a few do visit from overseas !!!!

 

After several requests, Carrolyn kindly sent me this pic of her Mum with
" the quilt ".

June/July newsletter

June /July newsletter has just gone out to people on my email customer list. If you did not receive it, there is something wrong with the email address provided to me. Please  email me to receive it and receive specials for newsletter recipients only.

February 2011 newsletter

Li’l Bloke’s 163 View St Bendigo 3550

Hours: Monday- by appointment, Tues- Fri 10-5, Sat 10-2, Sunday- closed

Contact: Ph/fax 03 5443 9195   For overseas customers 61 3 5443 9195

email: lynettehyland@gmail.com       Blog:lilblokes.blogspot.com

February 2011 Newsletter:- March 3rd - better late than never !!!

The big news is, after emptying out the entire shop due to the water (and mud) throughout, waiting 3 weeks for solicitors to produce a lease, much frustration hard work & soul searching, I have decided yesterday to

“relocate” back to my existing premises.

There is heaps of cleaning to do, and of course getting my stock back from several storage facilities, painting shelves etc, but I hope to be able to operate (albeit in a limited form) by Friday 11^th.

Please check my blog for any change to this date.

New.. Fabrics :-was hoping to have these on my blog....hopefully soon

Fa la la la la- fat ¼ bundles

Countdown to Christmas- available in jelly rolls and layer cakes- colourful & delightful

“Sunkissed” available in jelly rolls layer cakes and matching yardage- lovely pale summery fabrics

Masquerade- in both red/white and black/white- 3 designs- birds, ladybirds and flowers

 “Where the Wind Blows by Rosalie Quinlan:fat ¼ packs of 15 pieces@ $70.40 – to be used in Vignette 2 (now  in stock)...so put in your order. - these fabrics are quite a departure from my usual stock. Very fresh and will suit the young at heart.

New .. Books:-

“Tis the Season” great Christmas ideas

Vignette Issue 2 by Leanne Beasley :- contains more of her mystery quilt “Vignette in Stitches” ( over 8 issues) $17.95 per issue

Workshops I currently hold local workshops on Wednesday evening which are suited mostly to locals. It’s “an anything goes” type workshop with the 6 participants most likely doing 6 different things. I am prepared to take workshops elsewhere. Please contact me if your group would like me to take one.

New Mystery: “Picnic Time For Bears”  Kit price reminder:- Australian price:-There will be 5 stages each priced at $68.95 (No charge for p&h) = $344.75 overall. Overseas price:- $62.70 per stage + p&h ($313.50 overall + p&h)

Tip for this newsletter: Buying fabric:

So often people come into my shop wanting to match fabrics to finish off a project...and yes they come without a sample of the fabric they need !!!! Don’t cringe !!! You are not alone. Most people do it. If other shop owners are like me...and I am pretty sure they are...they would know as soon as they see a sample whether they stock that fabric. It’s so much easier to show it and ask, than you browsing and not seeing the fabric when it could be there after all.

Help at hand......Something I did before I had a shop was to have a little fabric journal where I kept a sample of the fabric, how much I bought, and where I bought it. Made things easy....but don’t wait years !!!

Another idea is to photocopy the fabrics for a particular project onto a sheet and take that with you when purchasing fabric.

****** Tips for the next newsletter. Interested in submitting any?*****

The best tip will  earn the “donor” a $20.00 voucher at the shop. Please submit before the end of March.

Don’t forget your Li’l Bloke’s $10.00 gift voucher in last month’s newsletter..still valid

To be used for purchase of fabric, waddings, braids, laces & trims & Li’l Bloke’s patterns only.

Minimum purchase $30.00, and one per customer only.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount.

Not redeemable for cash, sale items, BOMs,or lay-by payments.

Voucher must be presented in the shop, or emailed/sent with your order.

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Future emails: 1. Should you have a friend who you think might like to be on my mailing list, please feel free to forward this on, then if they  email me I will have their email address.

         2. If you do not wish to receive further emails please contact me also.

November newsletter progress

 I am more than a little behind with the November newsletter as I have not been 100% since coming back from Quilt Market. It is basically done but I had wanted to include some new things on my blog ( not quite happening yet !!!)Will  combine November and December, and hope to  get some blog things posted next week. Glad some hints have been helpful....thanks Raewyn for your feedback re the October newsletter.