Clear number stamp set

A clear set of numbers  which need to be mounted on a block.
Approximately 20mm high.
Price: $6.95 which excludes p&h.

Teddy Stamp

A delightful teddy stamp which needs to be mounted on a clear block. Use your colored pencils, copic markers or paints to decorate for Christmas, birthday or some other celebration.
Price: $2.00 excluding p&h.

Chipboard 31

Suitable for card making and scrap booking.
These delightful buckles and frames can be used as far as your imagination goes.
Price:$2.75 for the set, excluding p&h.

Chipboard 26

Suitable for card making and scrap booking.
These delightful buckles and frames can be used as far as your imagination goes.
Price:$2.75 for the set, excluding p&h.

Dear Santa

A fabulous doll for the Christmas table centre piece or sideboard?
Approx 16" (40cm), Santa is all rugged up (not that he needs to be here in Aus !!!)
 Pattern: $16.50 Kit: ......... Kit includes all fabrics with the exception of the filling.
 Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card or paypal  only.

Friendship Braid

This Friendship Braid quilt is  approx 56" x 63".
Pattern: $15.40 
Kit: I suggest you go per the requirements  list, which is one jelly roll, 1.1 metres for borders then 50 cm for the binding.
Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card or paypal only.

Rosalie

This  sewing card shows instructions for the quilt to be made  in two sizes: 56" x 77" or 78" x 86" if using the larger hexagons.
The piecing is deceptively simple.
Pattern: $11.00 
Kit: price to be determined
Kit includes all fabrics for quilt top and binding.
Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card or paypal only.

Nine Betseys

This design has 9 beautiful little dolls to be stitched and applied to a simple stripped quilt made from a  jelly roll. Use one jelly roll or enough 2&1/2" strips to make your quilt the desired size.
The pattern comprises nine iron on transfers with excellent instructions, and colored photos showing you the thread colors Brenda has used.

 Transfer Pattern: $ 17.60
Some of dolls shown below. 
Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card or paypal only.

Itty Bitty Gingerbreads

 In stock soon with more details !!!

 Pattern: $16.50
 Kit: price to be determined.
 Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card and paypal only.

Itty Bitty Raggedies

 In stock soon with more details !!!

 Pattern: $16.50
 Kit: price to be determined.
 Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card and paypal only.

Gingerbread Tree Candy

 In stock soon with more details !!!

 Pattern: $16.50
 Kit: price to be determined.
 Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card and paypal only.

Melbourne Cup

Yes I will be open tomorrow (November 6th) from 10-4 although it is the Melbourne Cup.
Whilst Melbourne will be practically shut down, I, in Bendigo will be available to provide service both via mail order or retail.

Twins

Twins: This truly wonderful pattern has 15" dolls with wording on their bodices: "I was planned", "I was a surprise" and the painted duck has "I was hatched" on the tag around his neck. As with all of Gini's patterns, the instructions are easily understood and  construction  is relatively simple
Pattern: $16.50 
Kit:  price to be determined when the shop sample is made.
Postage and Handling included within Australia.
Overseas: credit card  or paypal only.

Bendigo Cup shop closure

Shop will be closed on October 31st for Bendigo Cup Day.

Birthday Sale

Last days for birthday sale!!!

My 12th Birthday Sale will finish on October 30th as the shop will be closed on the 31st for Bendigo Cup Day.

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

...........................................................................................................................................................

             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 ".

Elegant Quilts, Country Charm

Elegant but easy are the many projects using wool appliqué to add depth and texture to your projects. Even beginners can create these cozy, antique-looking quilts. Choose from 11 traditional projects that combine reproduction fabrics with felted wool appliqué designs, or use cotton if you prefer. This book includes quilts, table runners, pillows, and more.
Price: $44.45
Postage and Handling to be added .

Overseas: credit card or paypal only.

Making and sharing- last days for competition entries

Freya's drawing

Well I had the most delightful letter this week from a gorgeous 5 year old girl named Freya. I had made her Mum (now 40) a raggedy Ann in 1975 which was much loved and played with and now passed on to Freya who is also getting pleasure from her. The doll was just the Mc Calls pattern of a very simple Raggedy Ann. In the pattern Anne (and Andy) were provided in various sizes. Freya’s letter was accompanied by a photo of her with that old raggedy Ann (who now has new clothes made by her Grandma.......Freya’s grandmother and I were bridesmaids for each other).  Included with the photos and letter, was a photo of a 5 year old’s beautiful drawing of the doll in question (see above), as she took the original drawing to her kinder.

Over the years, I have made many many dolls to sell and more particularly as gifts. I have often worried "how will this home made gift be received?" "Will they like it ?" 

Do you wonder "Will the time and love you have put into it be appreciated?" 

You do hear some very sad/disappointing stories of unappreciated gifts that have been made so lovingly ( and often with much expense) that it is gratifying to hear the good stories.

Would love to hear from you re the experiences you have had in making and sharing your home sewn projects. The best story will receive a $30.00 voucher to Li'l Bloke's.

Please email your story to:

 lynettehyland@gmail.com

closing date 28/9/2012

Le Jardin

A lovely quilt in beautiful fabrics...so clean and fresh. Made from 21 fat 1/4s and 4 more  light ones for the "spacers" between blocks.
This quilt measures 168cm x 215cm ( 66" x 84&1/2")
Pattern: $7.90
Includes p&h within Australia.
Overseas: paypal or credit card only.