New Range,New Thread, New Stand and Quilt Festival.

Hi Everyone,

My apologies, I haven’t been very efficient with the blog this past week, but we do thank all those who have visited us despite this. As you can see from the above picture we have another lovely range of fabric, it is ‘Celebration’ by Lecien I don’t feel the pictures are a true representation of the beautiful pink/terracotta, you really need to see it to appreciate it.

We also finally have our new threads, these were originally coming from Australia, but due to so many delays we spoke to the CEO of the company at Houston and they were sent direct from Canada, anyway we now have Invisafil,  it is a 100 weight, this thread is beautiful and recommended by many of our regular visitors to Sawmillers, it can be used for piecing, quilting and applique, it has an invisible quality to it and hopefully I shall have a shop sample alongside to show you all what it is like, we also have Mirage in variegated colours this is 30 weight and can be used for quilting, thread painting and applique and also have Deco Bob, which you can use in your bobbins as well as a top thread.

Kevin has also been really busy and has made a super notions stand, so no more rummaging around in the baskets, everything is on display, it is surprising what we have, apart from the stand we also now have a window display, so you will see fabric on display as you go past.

We have also been busy with classes, Adrienne Nelson was with us yesterday teaching a ‘Stack n Whack’ class and Dianne Barnden is continuing with her ‘Christmas Capers‘ class.

Last but not least is the 2nd Annual Stonestead Outdoor Quilt Festival, this is being held again on Sunday 7th February 2010, we shall be calling for registrations shortly once the Stonestead Blog has been updated, but if you require details now just phone Sawmillers on 04 526 2517

 

 

It’s Halloween, Our New Welcome Banner and Cooper.

Hi Everyone,

It is almost Halloween and to celebrate we have our carved pumpkins and lights along with our window decorations. In the northern hemisphere it  means that the winter weather has arrived, with snowfalls already in many places, in New Zealand it is a way of welcoming the spring weather and the temperature getting higher. Unfortunately, this year that isn’t the case and we are still feeling wintry blasts and rain, but it will be nice and warm soon, I hope.

This range above has just arrived and is on display in Sawmillers, ideal for a garden trellis quilt, and we have just heard that our new thread Invisafil has arrived in Auckland from Canada, so I can’t wait for it to arrive and unpack it and display it.

These fabrics from Kaufman are wonderfully rich with golds, reds, greens and a delicious cerise pink, these would look great in an asian inspired quilt.

We hope you like our new Welcome banner, we bought this in Fredericksburg, Virginia from a shop full of all type of flags and banners, this particular one is classed as a vintage banner as it was the only one left of it’s kind and we thought it ideal for our visitors to make them feel welcome.

Last but not least here is Cooper, isn’t he a delight? this is newest member of Samantha and Lance’s family in USA, he is full of vitality and there is somewhat of an uneasy co-existance between Cooper and Olive the cat, like all toddlers he still requires a degree of guidance in his general behaviour and potty training, I am sure you, will along with us, send him huge hugs and look forward to hearing about progress in the coming months.

Until next time,

Happy Quilting.

Barney is Back in Residence.

Hi Everyone,

Well Barney Official Greeter and 2nd Assistant is well and truly settled, he has really enjoyed seeing everyone again, and has just found out that he has a little cousin in USA, a Jack Russell named Cooper, he has just been collected from Fredericksburg and is now in his new home with Samantha and Lance.

We are slowly putting the stock we bought whilst in USA into Sawmillers, for those who have filled in the Survey Forms entitling them to attend the Post Houston Info Evening we have kept some goodies for you to have first pickings, we have patterns, kits and natty notions!! So if you haven’t been up yet to fill out a form, you only until the end of October.

I shall be posting pictures of the latest fabric arrivals in the next posting.

Until next time,

Happy Quilting

Labour Weekend Hours

Hi Everyone,

A very quick posting to say Sawmillers shall be open over the Labour Weekend including Monday, so if you have time call and see us look at the new fabric we have and perhaps have a Devonshire Tea too.

Until next time,

Happy Quilting

Back Home Once More and Sad News from USA.

Hi Everyone,

Well we are back home, and what a wonderful experience it has been, we are frantically unpacking the goodies that we mailed over and these will be available for you to see shortly, firstly to those who have filled out the survey and attend the Houston Info Evening and then the remainder will be going into Sawmillers, so don’t forget to come and register, Barney Official Greeter and 2nd Assistant and Archie 3rd Assistant ( Unpaid ) will be with me as from tomorrow Thursday.

This posting is very brief as we have our Beginners Class commencing tonight and there is preparation to do for that, but I can’t finish this before telling you all that Arnold, Barney and Archies cousin in USA has unfortuantely passed away, as I said in a previous posting he had been unwell when we were staying at his home, and the vet was very good but thought that perhaps Arnold’s age was against him, so it was with great sadness that Samantha and Lance lost Arnold last Friday night, we are thinking of them and how quiet life will be at the moment and we send lots of love and positive thoughts to them.

I look forward to seeing you all soon, so until next time

Happy Quilting.

Almost Home and Finding The Panorama Button on the Camera!

Hi Everyone,

Well these are the final pictures from Houston, but I do have lots more and hopefully we can show these at the Post Houston Info Evening.So this picture of the floor is the result of a panorama facility which I found on the camera.

The next two pictures are a sample of some of the beautifully decorated booths.

Below is another panorama ( I said I had found the  button on the camera!) this time of the view from the convention centre where the market was held, as you can see the weather was far from ideal, very misty in the mornings and so windy as the mist cleared, so different from our previous visit two years ago, when it was very hot.

This final picture is looking down on the floor from the second floor, it gives you a birds eye view of the vastness of this event,

So, don’t forget to call at Sawmillers and take part in the very small survey and your name will go into the draw for the Houston Goody Bag, as well as being able to attend the Info Evening and perhaps win a spot prize too. Don’t forget this is a free event.

So until next time, and my reunion with Barney Official Greeter and 2nd Assistant and Archie 3rd Assistant (Unpaid) will be from Sawmillers.

Happy Quilting

Our Last Day at Quilt Market

Hi Everyone,

Well today is the last day of Quilt Market so everyone is rushing around to get in last minute orders with distributors, pattern makers and  fabric manufacturers, at the end of the day, those booth holders who are leaving will be packing up overnight so that the new booth holders can move in and set up to prepare for Quilt Festival. This picture is of the award winning booth from Alexander Henry, as you can see the theme is Halloween with the agents wearing black and the booth decorated with spiders, bats etc. very effective and well deserved.

Kevin and I bought patterns at this booth, these jackets are really easy to make, we have some with us and another order being mailed out.

As you know from previous postings this is Arnold, who is the cousin of Barney Official Greeter and 2nd Assistant and Archie 3rd Assistant (Unpaid) Arnold is my daughter and son in laws little Parsons Jack Russell Terrier, he accompanied them from New Zealand to America eight years ago and is a lovely little man, unfortunately he has been unwell since we have been over here and I have just heard that he is going to the vet this afternoon for a check up, so can we channel good thoughts for a speedy recovery for him? thank you.

So until next time

Happy Quilting

Day 3 at Houston

Hi Everyone,

For all of those visitors who either purchased the Flowers For Emma range of fabric that was so popular or the Sweet Sixteen pattern which uses this range, pictured above is Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs who designed the fabric range, she was lovely and had no objections to us taking photos of her, she has a new BOM in a fabric we are trying to source for Sawmillers.

Also above is our Sawmillers Pin, we have these made especially for us by this pin company and we were very thrilled to see they had used ‘our’ pin to advertise the type of pins they are able to make.We have collected our new shipment of pins along with another pack of assorted pins & charms for the Sawmillers.

This is the new Gail Kessler quilt pattern designed for the Beautiful Choir fabric designed by Gail for Andover, we spoke to Gail today and told her we had visited her shop Ladyfingers, she was very aware that Sawmillers stocks a considerable amount of Andover fabric and was most grateful that we did, so pictured below is a picture of Gail.

I have spoken to DH today and all seems well in Upper Hutt, Barney Official Greeter and 2nd Assistant is fine as is Archie 3rd Assistant (Unpaid) it seems my son James is making up for their lack of exercise whilst I am away by walking them each day! The only drama we have had is Kevin mislaying his wallet along with his credit cards!! We have spent the evening phoning New Zealand and canceling the cards.

Don’t forget the Sawmillers Survey, we are planning a great Post Houston Info Evening, with the main prize and Spot Prizes too as well as the latest news from Houston.

So until next time

Happy Quilting

Day 2 at Houston

Hi Everyone,

Well, it is Sunday here at Houston so it must still be Quilt Market, above is a picture of  Eleanor Burns, I expect there are many of you who recognise the name, Eleanor has  Quilt in a Day online store and is a very well respected tutor, Kevin and I had a hilarious time in her schoolhouse, she is full of vivacity and a bundle of energy, the quilt below is also one of Eleanors.

The two quilts pictured are the samples that the very well known artist Jim Shore and his wife have designed, I expect you can recall that we stocked Jims ornaments at Sawmillers last Christmas, they all sold very quickly. Anyway after much persuasion he and Jan his wife have written a book featuring patterns inspired by his angels and other ornaments he has designed, we were very lucky to speak to Jim this morning, a lovely man who like so many other people here are very keen to come to New Zealand.

Kevin and I have spent all day selecting patterns and new notions for Sawmillers, we have also bought some lovely kits for wallhangings, as well as the butterfly head pins and some very natty pins with covers for quilt basting.

Until next time,

Happy quilting

Day One at Houston

Hi Everyone,

Well this is what the George Brown Convention in Houston looks like and this is just the first floor, the ground floor houses the exhibitions and the market booths, and the third floor is where the Sample Spree is held, as you can see it vast, so much so that employees use motorised scooters to get around on.

The above picture was taken at our network pre market dinner, as you can see it was very popular with almost a hundred attendees, as well as the meal we were also given talks by designers and an English ruler designer ( we are ordering these natty rulers tomorrow, you will love them)

I have posted a picture of the Maisie Mouse quilt, as this fabric is due in Sawmillers very soon we have ordered the entire range, I shall be posting more pictures over the next few days so keep coming back to see them.

This is part of the queue for Sample Spree, this is a tradition at quilt market, where retailers have an opportunity to purchase fat quarters, jelly rolls and small quantities of fabrics only at a reduced price, the US shop owners then have the added advantage to make their shop samples and put them on display for their customers whilst waiting to receive the fabric for their shops, it is rather like a stampede as they all want to get as much as they can, unfortunately it isn’t of much advantage to us as we don’t know what fabrics our distibutors have ordered until we see the samples when our agents call with them, but is a great experience non the less, unlike roller suitcases are not allowed, so you see lots of ladies carrying huge bags of fabrics hardly being able to stagger back to the shuttles or nearby hotels, I was lucky as Kevin acted as a baggage porter for me for the few things we got.

So until next time,

Happy Quilting.