He Is Almost Here!

 

Hi Everyone,

Well, the news is very exciting, we have just heard from our supplier that The Very Hungry Caterpillar is being packed ready to be sent out next week, so hopefully I shall be contacting all those who registered in advance towards the end of next week to say he has arrived at Sawmillers.

The other fabrics pictured are some of the supporting range we shall be receiving, we are hoping to assemble some kits in the range too, enabling those who just want to make the quilt fairly quickly to have the fabric selection and pattern done for them.

Sawmillers has been very lucky to be able loan Sharon Perrys’   ‘Dozens of Memories’ Quilt, this is the one that is featured in the latest issue of the NZ Quilter, I can say with all honesty that my skills as a photographer are very limited and I really haven’t done the quilt justice in this newsletter, as the colours are beautiful and the design breathtaking, if you would like to see this quilt come and visit us at Sawmillers and take a closer look and appreciate all the work that was involved in constructing it.

We have received numerous queries about the illusive 3rd assistant at Sawmillers, well here he is, with the weather being positively spring like today, we decided that Archie should be out in the fresh air and be part of the welcoming party with his boss Barney, they have been more than happy to greet our visitors and the visitors in turn have been most kind to them.Thank you.

Anyway, it is time to finish this latest post, for those who want to reserve a Hungry Caterpillar panel, to ensure you have one, contact us and your name will be added to the wait list so that once the fabric arrives those panels will be cut and put way for the advance registrations..

Have a good week and Happy Quilting.

The ‘Take and Make’ Experience and New Binding Service.

 

Hi Everyone,

Firstly, we hope the retreat for Capital Quilters went well and lots was achieved.  It seems a common thread from our beginners that they are unable to complete their projects once their course of lessons have been completed, we, at Sawmillers have decided to hold ‘Make and Take’ morning and afternoons, this means you will complete the ‘Take and Make’ Tote, which is self lined in either the morning or afternoon and the same applies to the other ‘Take and Make’ Self Lined Draw String Bag. These projects are easy to do and would suit those who are beginners, the tote is ideal to fold and put in your bag, ready to use for those unexpected purchases, ideally suited to fabricaholics.The other bag can be made to the size shown, just right for a bottle of wine for that special person, if made smaller can be used for chocolates or perfume etc. These can all be made in festive fabrics or any of the other increasing range of fabrics available at Sawmillers. for enquiries and registrations contact Yvonne at Sawmillers 04 526 2517

Pictured is the Imperial Collection by Robert Kaufman, this display is in the jade shades, but the range also has golds, pinks and blues, this is a lovely Oriental range.

We are offering a new service here at Sawmillers, we all know that there are quilters who loath sewing the binding onto and stitching it down on their finished quilts, we are happy to sew and hand stitch the binding for you, the charge is $3.00 per foot.

Well, the weekend is almost over, we hope it was a good one for everyone, and we look forward to seeing you when you next visit Sawmillers, until then Happy Quilting.

Sawmillers Strips aka Jelly Rolls.

Hi everyone,

The fabric pictured above is the lovely Savannah range, this is designed by Michelle Blackhurst for Windham Fabrics, the range is really lovely in pinks, blues and lemons, not just flowers but lovely stripes and spots. The exciting thing is that we have cut the 2.50″ wide Sawmillers Strips in this range, they are all rolled and tied ready for you to come and have a look at, we also have 5″ Charm Squares cut in it too. Ideal to use with the patterns we have in Sawmillers. 

This range is designed by Nancy Gere for Windham Fabrics it is called Plantation and is a reproduction range dating from 1815 – 1850 you can almost see the ladies sitting in their drawing room hand sewing the original fabric in these designs, these are also available as Sawmillers Strips and 5″ Charm Squares.

Don’t forget, if you are having difficulty finding more of a fabric you are using, come and see me and I shall see if I can find it for you through the tracing service we belong too, we have already been able to source fabric and quilt shops are great the world over for helping fellow quilters. We have more fabric gauges in stock along with the quilt bicycle clips, our rulers are increasing in variety so if you are looking for a certain size ruler, we may either have it or can get it for you.

It is that time again and I had better think about closing the shop, it was great seeing those that visited this weekend and hope the retreat at Silverstream went well and lots was achieved.

Happy Quilting and have a great week.

Just Arrived Beautiful Autumnals

Hi Everyone,

We hope are managing to keep warm and completing some of your projects,I had intended to upload more pictures of the latest fabric we have at Sawmillers, but I just had to show you the Autumn Leaves range by Wilmington which arrived just before lunchtime today. The colours are glorious rich russets, golds, greens and sludgy cranberry shades,the designs on the fabric are maple or they might be sycamore leaves as well as sunflowers and a landscape print too, we also have a few accompanying patterns for a quilt as well, utilising the fabric range.I am just about to make a display of the range so if you can, call and have a look at it.  

Also pictured is the Makower Advent Calendar, this was so easy to make and reasonably priced, the pockets are large enough to put at least two treats in, so you won’t have any arguments if there are two or three little or even grown up people after the treats.We have also just received the Olfa Rotating Self Healing Cutting Mat, we have them in 2 sizes 17″ x 17″ and 12″ x 12″, the larger of the mats is at a special reduced price.

Before I finish this entry I thought you would like to see a small example of the Anna Griffin “McKenzies Christmas” this is a lovely retro style Christmas fabric we have six of these as part of our Chrismas fabric display. I also wanted to mention that for those who didn’t see the item in The Upper Hutt Leader Stonestead Devonshire Teas was nominated in the Best Cafe section at the recent Upper Hutt Business Awards, Well Done, Kevin

Anyway, Happy Quilting everyone and we look forward to seeing you.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Xmas Applique

Hi Everyone,

Well we hope you are have all recovered from the terrible weather we have been experiencing this last week or so, arriving at Sawmillers on Thursday was such a shock, the wind had wreaked devastation throughout the garden and Kevin was patiently clearing the debris in the pouring rain. Fate must have been looking kindly on me, as the place where I usually park my car with Archie the ‘sleeping assistant’ inside, is beneath a macrocarpa tree, which the high winds had battered resulting in large branches being torn from the trunk and laying where the car would have been, poor Archie would have been very squashed.

The interest in The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been huge, we have quite a list now and it increases daily, it is an ideal method of being able to gauge the interest and it means we can tell our distributer approximately how many panels we shall be requiring, as well as the supporting designs we shall want too. The latest update is that there is not a panel in this range available in New Zealand at the moment, and Andover have just ordered a reprint, so I shall keep you informed of the progress, it is looking like late September at the moment. I have seen the sample swatches and it is really delightful and we shall be running a promo when we have the fabric in store.

The sample cushion cover above is made in the Kaufman ‘Holiday Flourish‘ we have at Sawmillers, this range is lovely with clear festive colours.

This Christmas Stocking sample is also in the same fabrics along with some Hoffman Christmas fabrics too, we have the pattern for this at Sawmillers, it was relatively easy to put together, and would look lovely in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve.

This sample lap quilt is the latest one to be displayed, it is Terry Atkinsons ‘Yellow Brick Road‘ this size only takes 12 Fat 1/4 ers plus the border and is very easy to construct, ours has been quilted by Sue Burnett in Island Bay, and looks fabulous, we are so pleased with it, so come along and be inspired to have a go at making it.

We still have new ranges of fabrics at Sawmillers, so we shall endeavour to give you more information and pictures over the next week or so, don’t forget those who are interested in classes to enrol, there are only a few places remaining.

So until the next time when the 2nd Assistant will have had his beauty treatment, Happy Quilting.