What Was In The Box?

Good Morning Everyone,

As my son in law in America would say, we have crunchy grass here at Sawmillers, the ground is white with heavy frost, but the sun is shining so all looks well for the day.

Well, the box has been opened and we have put all the goodies on display, there are Ruby Beholders, these natty little things are to help you with your fabric selection, they are used to help you sort your fabrics into different values.

We also have a selection of Machine Guides for those who have difficulties gauging the important 1/4″ seam great for beginners who are daunted by the degree of accuracy that is required.

We also have the Quilt Tac range on display, these basting guns can be used instead of basting or pinning your top, batting and backing together, I use mine all the time and it certainly saves my fingers, come in and see the Starter Kits.

The Quilt Rack pictured is hand crafted, it folds up when not in use, and can display more than one quilt at a time, ideal if space is limited and you don’t want your precious quilts hidden away in cupboard.

The Beatrix Potter draw finishes this weekend and we shall contact the lucky winner, we still have a great range of this delightful fabric including 2 panels which can be made into books or I have used them in centre of blocks, particularly attic windows.

The general news around Sawmillers and Stonestead Teas is that we have unfortunately lost one of the young doves who live in the dovecote here, we have become very fond of these lovely birds, but one succumbed to the attention of the local Sparrow Hawk who flies in from the valley, although we accept that Mother Nature has her work to do too, and as is always the case it is the survival of the fittest.

On a lighter note, Barney is well, although we are all looking forward to his forthcoming hair appointment and pedicure, this will ensure he is handsome enough for his official role as 2nd Assistant and Official Greeter.

Until our next post and more news of ‘what’s in the box’

Happy Long Weekend and Quilting too.

Queens Birthday Weekend Opening Hours

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to all those who have had a look at our newsletter, and we hope you have found it interesting, our statistics show that there is a lot of interest in Sawmillers.

We realised that we hadn’t advertised our Opening Hours for the long weekend, anyway they are the same as usual 10.00am to 4.30pm Thursday to Sunday, and also Monday too, so if you are visiting Upper Hutt why not call and see what we have in our shop and then stop by the Tea House for a Devonshire Tea.

Talking of which we have just had a delivery of goodies from USA, mainly notions, including fabric erasers and air erase fabric markers, these were a request, we are sorry they have taken so long to arrive, they will be available later today.

These gift packs of Fat 1/4ers have proved very popular, ideal gifts for a quilter, we can also make ones up for you, if you are unsure about the fabrics.

These starter kits are also available now, you get a 24″ by 18″ Olfa Cutting Mat, 6″ by 24″ Olfa Non Slip Frosted Ruler and a 45mm Olfa Cutter, wrapped in cellophane with a ribbon.

Don’t forget we also have Gift Certficates available, just ask Yvonne.

So until the next update, Happy Quilting.

 

 

The Weekend at Sawmillers

Hi everyone,

Well the weekend is upon us again, the first one for this newsletter, despite the rather bleak outlook from here ( I can’t see Mt Clymie as it is shrouded with mist) the quiltery is snuggly warm, so even if you are chilly getting here you will be welcomed into a lovely warm shop.

Kevin has got the heaters on in the Tea House too so it is just as warm over there, no point in being cold while you have your Devonshire Tea, we do have umbrellas for you to use to go from the shop to the Tea House so you don’t need to be rained on.

We had visitors yesterday from Masterton and Wairarapa as well as Levin, Otaki and Titahi Bay, great to see you all.

We have just created a new display, this is Jaipur by Bethany Reynolds for Blank Quilting, it is a small range but fabulous colours, Jade, Turquoise, Reds & Creams, there is an all over print, as well as a border and the blenders to go with the feature patterns too, I think it has a Jinny Beyer feeling to it.

 

We now have Sawmillers Threezies, these are full fabric widths measuring .30cm, we heard these were popular at Picton, so come in and see what we have, we are still waiting for the Sawmillers Quilt Pins to arrive from the USA, they should be here in about fortnights time, the manufacturers have been at Spring Quilt Market in Portland, so are a bit behind with their orders, we shall also have a new selection of assorted quilt pins arriving at the same, ideal gifts for a quilter or just for yourself.

Remember the Beatrix Potter draw is closing on 1st June, so you still have an opportunity to enter each time you purchase something from the range, also don’t forget the Suitcase Special, we change the fabric fortnightly, it is always chosen from our current ranges, this week it is Winterthur by Gail Kessler for Andover.

Anyway have a great weekend and Happy Quilting.

New Stuff

 Hi Everyone,

Thank you to all those who have visited the newsletter/blog, despite me forgetting to insert the colon in the address, as you are now aware I am not very techno minded.Hopefully that won’t happen again.

 As the title of todays issue implies we have received new fabric this week, this is Simplicity by 3 Sisters for Moda, we have it in Lemon and Duck Egg Blue, it is so pretty, all the fabrics co-ordinate so can be used in the same project, it would be ideal as a lap quilt for a senior member of the family, or a bed quilt for a  little lady, we also have the Jelly Rolls available in it too. 

This range has just arrived too, it is called Fete des Fleurs by Marjorie Post for Andover, beautiful poppies in colours that are just delicious, two colourways, bright pink and orange or mauve and purple on white or black backgrounds, we have all over prints, borders as well as large motifs that can be used to fussy cut or used in the centre of a large block. 

We have other ranges that have just arrived too, but I shall tell you about those in future posts.

One thing we do have now on display is the Block of the Month, it has been machine quilted at Quilt N Time by Juliet Mudgway and looks terrific, we have it displayed on the wall in the shop, come in and register for this project, the monthly blocks are cut out, so all you have to do is sew it together according to the instructions.

We also have a display of patterns and pattern books from Eleanor Burns of Quilt in a Day in the USA, alongside these are Pattern and Ruler sets from Kathie Alyce of Waterfall Quilts in Vermont, Kevin and I attended her promotional talk at Houston Quilt Market, she is a lovely lady and was so pleased to meet New Zealanders, having had members of a rugby team staying with her, she was most impressed with their culinary skills!

Until the next post, Happy Quilting.

The First Entry

Welcome to all who get this blog newsletter, it is an exciting innovation for us here at Sawmillers, and means we don’t ‘clog’ up your emails, this is all due to the ‘techno’ advisor Samantha in the States, who also happens to be my daughter and will act as our roving reporter over there, keeping us up to date with the happenings over there.

Sawmillers is now an established part of the Stonestead complex, those who have visited us have had the option of tasting Kevins’ delicious Devonshire Teas, with his made to order scones and choices of teas, all very scrummy, but if it is just the quilting side of things you want, then we enjoy having you visit us too, we really enjoy helping you and if you have a completed project we would love to see it.

The BOM Butterfly Kisses has now been quilted and on display in the shop, the picture shown is just before it went away for quilting, the colours are beautiful and the advertising literature issued from Andover certainly doesn’t do it justice, come in and register for the programme, it is over nine months and according to Cheryl our sample make, went together very easily.

I can’t finish todays entry without mentioning our official greeter Barney the Bichon, he has also been promoted to No 2 Assistant, he has proven to be very popular with all our visitors, but I did have to install a rule of ‘No Barking’ at the first customers of the day, he seems to have adhered to that, so he has had a ‘biscuit increase’

 

We look forward to seeing you all, and I shall post another entry very soon.

Happy quilting everyone.