Last year Najelle and I floated the idea of a Managers Special. This idea has been completely embraced by our head office and is now a major happening thing!
This month when you make a purchase, you can receive a voucher. This voucher can be presented after 31 March and you will receive either 25% off your scrapbooking purchases over $50 OR when you buy three metres of fabric we will add a 4th one for free!
Watch this space to hear what the offer will be in following months. Let us know if there is something you would like to see on our list!
Monday, March 17, 2008
March! Already Half Over!
So Much is happening, I have not found time to drop in and update the blog! Tsk Tsk!
Classes are well underway but there are a few spot left is a couple of the classes so please give us a call if there is a class you have a hankering to do.The next class list is currently on the drawing board. Term two is great time to get into a class. Not too cold, not too hot, just right!
After our massive clearance in January, we received stock in from the US direct and we are so excited to be able to get fabrics in the greatest and latest ranges for less than we have been able to for quite some line. We have been able to put the vast majority of he new stock out at $17.95pm. It has been 4 years since we have been able to be assured of that kind of pricing and a real pleasure to be able to pass on some of the advantages of the improvement in the Australian dollar to you.
Two huge hits in the new fabrics have been Winnie the Pooh and the Cars gang.
Just had a look at some signage today and found that our Bazzill cards stock signs said $1.35. If you have bought any for quite some months now you would have realised that we dropped our bazzill price to just $0.99 ages ago. And don't forget that you get you VIP discount on that too making it really affordable.
Jo's papercraft classed were fantastic. Can't wait to see what projects she has lined up for term 2.
The idea behind the class is to learn a new skill with Jo in the first hour and then stay on to do your own scrap booking in good company!
One sad thing to note has been the passing of Canberra Needlework. Robyn and Jo closed their doors after providing great service and support to northside hand sewers.
The first side effect of this is that their regular Wednesday social group are now meeting at Hobbysew every Wednesday morning for sit and sew.
The second one is that Sylvia Frazer has brought back to Hobbysew all her fabulous classes for stitching and little projects. This is great for the crafts person who doesn't want huge projects. Keep an eye out for Sylvia's classes in the next newsletter.
Mother's Day is fast approaching so I have one recommendation to make: Start nagging now. My experience is that families are not that sensitive to mothers needs... so you need to get out and make a noise now so that it sinks in.
Tell them that the Husqvarna Sapphire is what you want and that they can layby it today. Men don't understand "maybe" and "perhaps" and "I wouldn't mind". Tell him today to go and get it!
And tell him to say that it is for Mothers Day and I will throw in a pressie for you too!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Term1 Begins!
The first term is upon us! To start us off, we are going straight into the heavily booked classes. Sue's Quilt As You Go Sampler begins Friday night and then we have a weekend of Luixin's magnificent techniques. The response to Luixin's classes has been enormous and we have people coming from as far away as Melbourne!
We hope that we may be able to get more dates from Luixin for later in the year for all those who missed out.
Our Australia Day sale left us with plenty of room for the new ranges of fabric from the US. We have a complete range of 1930 repros, a Japanese range, a pretty retro range that would be perfect for teenage girls, and a huge range of Batiks have arrived. All these fabrics have been marked at $17.95 pm and of course you will receive our VIP discount on top of that if you have already joined up.
Thanks to the ladies who came along to our meet the teacher day. It was lovely to be able to share our new projects with you. I hope you took advantage of the 20% discount offered to those that attended ;).
It was particularly thrilling to have Buffy share her journal quilts with us. A collection of quilt journals that Buffy curated was featured in this months Down Under Quilts. It will be a fabulous course.
If you have been contemplating a new sewing machine for yourself or as a gift, we have great options. Our Husqvarna range has some great prices and offers and we still have a limited number of free DVD players that will accompany any 7000 series Singer Sewing machine.
Last week we received a gorgeous bundle of Jelly Rolls. Have you seen these yet? They are rolls of 2 1/2 inch strips from a range. We have a couple of classes offered this year that are perfect for using these tempting collections of fabric.
You must go into the shop and see Sylvia's new quilt. I asked her to make a block from Nancy Halverson's new book just before Christmas. She loved making the block so much that she could't help herself. The quilt was so quickly apliqued, pieced and quilted, it takes my breath away!
We hope that we may be able to get more dates from Luixin for later in the year for all those who missed out.
Our Australia Day sale left us with plenty of room for the new ranges of fabric from the US. We have a complete range of 1930 repros, a Japanese range, a pretty retro range that would be perfect for teenage girls, and a huge range of Batiks have arrived. All these fabrics have been marked at $17.95 pm and of course you will receive our VIP discount on top of that if you have already joined up.
Thanks to the ladies who came along to our meet the teacher day. It was lovely to be able to share our new projects with you. I hope you took advantage of the 20% discount offered to those that attended ;).
It was particularly thrilling to have Buffy share her journal quilts with us. A collection of quilt journals that Buffy curated was featured in this months Down Under Quilts. It will be a fabulous course.
If you have been contemplating a new sewing machine for yourself or as a gift, we have great options. Our Husqvarna range has some great prices and offers and we still have a limited number of free DVD players that will accompany any 7000 series Singer Sewing machine.
Last week we received a gorgeous bundle of Jelly Rolls. Have you seen these yet? They are rolls of 2 1/2 inch strips from a range. We have a couple of classes offered this year that are perfect for using these tempting collections of fabric.
You must go into the shop and see Sylvia's new quilt. I asked her to make a block from Nancy Halverson's new book just before Christmas. She loved making the block so much that she could't help herself. The quilt was so quickly apliqued, pieced and quilted, it takes my breath away!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Big News For our First Mall Birthday
Welcome back from the holiday season!
It is our first birthday in the mall and can you believe, nearly 4 years since we first opened at the old address.
To celebrate this, and Australia day we are having the hugest sale you are going to see this year!
30% off all fabric not already on special. The logic behind this madness is a huge shipment of fabric from the US that we are receiving that will re-set the clock on fabric prices! Instead of 2008 you will think it is 1998!
This is crazy! You are going to get such massive savings and right on time for the new year's classes.
It is our first birthday in the mall and can you believe, nearly 4 years since we first opened at the old address.
To celebrate this, and Australia day we are having the hugest sale you are going to see this year!
30% off all fabric not already on special. The logic behind this madness is a huge shipment of fabric from the US that we are receiving that will re-set the clock on fabric prices! Instead of 2008 you will think it is 1998!
This is crazy! You are going to get such massive savings and right on time for the new year's classes.
Hopefully by now you will have received a copy of the new class list. There are so many new classes as well as the older favorites, I found it very confusing to schedule them all!
The most exciting of all is our special guest teacher, Liuxin Newman, The Thimble Lady.
You deserve to learn Liuxin's "no pain" quilting technique. I did the course some years ago and have never felt quilting stiffness in my hands since!
The following day we will be offering you a chance to learn the finer pints of needle turn applique from her. She is an international award winner and this is a chance not to be missed!
You deserve to learn Liuxin's "no pain" quilting technique. I did the course some years ago and have never felt quilting stiffness in my hands since!
The following day we will be offering you a chance to learn the finer pints of needle turn applique from her. She is an international award winner and this is a chance not to be missed!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Bigger than Ben Hur
It is Christmas for you at Hobbysew!
20% off All full priced fabrics
20% off Habby
20% Off Art and Craft Supplies
If your hubby is like mine, you need to buy yourself something for Christmas if you are going to get something you want!
Hobbysew has made it easy!
Only until Sunday 4pm 16th December
Friday, November 30, 2007
Show and Tell
End of year Show and Tell! Yesterday we had the morning version and tonight we have one for the workers!
Yesterdays was great. We saw a lot of finished quilt as you go items. I think that pretty much proves how that technique above all others sees finished quilts.
And one of those ladies won the Ott Light that was the prize offered to all those who joined in with the Show and Tell.
There were other lucky door prizes drawn from all who came.
We had a range of Fat Quarters for only $3 each and half price Fat 8ths too. Double VIP discounts also added to the fun!
Rosemary proved that she has a great eye for colour when she managed to collect over 20 FQs from the reduced range that all coordinated. Amazing! It looked like a jumble sale to me!
Can't wait for tonight to do it all again!
Yesterdays was great. We saw a lot of finished quilt as you go items. I think that pretty much proves how that technique above all others sees finished quilts.
And one of those ladies won the Ott Light that was the prize offered to all those who joined in with the Show and Tell.
There were other lucky door prizes drawn from all who came.
We had a range of Fat Quarters for only $3 each and half price Fat 8ths too. Double VIP discounts also added to the fun!
Rosemary proved that she has a great eye for colour when she managed to collect over 20 FQs from the reduced range that all coordinated. Amazing! It looked like a jumble sale to me!
Can't wait for tonight to do it all again!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Singer Catalogue Specials
Your Christmas Gift
Free from Singer
40,000 homes in Canberra are getting a catalogue from Singer with their very special Christmas promotion.
Buy any.... yes.....ANY
Sewing machine, overlocker or ironing press before 15th of January and you will receive a free DVD player
When you buy something for her, you will receive something for him free.
To celebrate this wonderful offer we have added two great new machines to our already extensive range of Singer machines.
Free from Singer
40,000 homes in Canberra are getting a catalogue from Singer with their very special Christmas promotion.
Buy any.... yes.....ANY
Sewing machine, overlocker or ironing press before 15th of January and you will receive a free DVD player
When you buy something for her, you will receive something for him free.
To celebrate this wonderful offer we have added two great new machines to our already extensive range of Singer machines.
Welcome to:
LED screen, 173 built in stitches. Alphabet and numbers. 7 styles of 1-step buttonhole. Automatic needle threader.
5 year warranty and bonus extension table. Extension tables are worth more than their weight in gold when you are working with large items like curtains or quilts.
It is being launched with a huge savings of $700, priced at just $999!!!!(plus the free you know what..)
Plus you can chose to add software to your machine.
- Singer 7470.
LED screen, 173 built in stitches. Alphabet and numbers. 7 styles of 1-step buttonhole. Automatic needle threader.
5 year warranty and bonus extension table. Extension tables are worth more than their weight in gold when you are working with large items like curtains or quilts.
- Singer Futura CE150
It is being launched with a huge savings of $700, priced at just $999!!!!(plus the free you know what..)
Plus you can chose to add software to your machine.
Storage space at the shop is tight so we can not guarantee that the machines will be still there when you walk in on Christmas eve, so please think ahead and buy or layby your machines now!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Show and Tell Extravaganza
Don't forget to mark your calendars with our Show and Tell dates
Thursday Morning, 29th November
Friday Night, 30th November
What we want to see are all the projects begun in a Hobbysew Belconnen class.
Bring it finished.. or not... for show and tell and be entered in the draw for an table top portable Ott light.
There will be specials, nibbles and a good time.
Let us know if you are coming to help with catering. Thanks.
Monday, October 29, 2007
New Favorite
I just love these sewing caddies.
They are available in two stained timbers. Pine and teak. They have a place for all my little sewing things. Scissors, threads, pins, thimbles, mini hoop and my current applique project.
The large is quite spacious and has a big central storage place that is as deep as the sewing box plus the pull out compartments. It's $125. The small one still has storage for larger bits in the bottom tray but is more compact and the handle slides down to make it even more so. It is $68.95. Think Christmas!
My cunning plan is to put all my bits into one of these, leave it on the coffee table and call it decoration instead of mess!!!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Managers' Special
This week's Managers' Special is our range of 1930's Reproduction fabric.
At $15 per metre they are a fantastic price!
This will run for a week and end 2nd of November when the next special is announced
At $15 per metre they are a fantastic price!
This will run for a week and end 2nd of November when the next special is announced
Monday, October 15, 2007
Tales of Wadding
On the third Monday of the month we hold a free layer and baste class. I always start the class with a walk through our wadding corner in the classroom.
There are so many different waddings/battings available that beginner quilters can feel overwhelmed so I try to describe what you will need from a wadding and which wadding will meet the needs. As I have just run through it all this morning, it is fresh in my mind so I thought I'd try to write it down in an orderly manner!
Are you doing "show off" quilting? Wadding comes with loft. The difference in the height of the wadding as it stands normally and then when squeezed between your fingers is the loft. High loft will give your quilting more definition and low loft will give it a flatter profile. High loft tends to be less dense and low loft more dense.
Washing. Some waddings shrink. Some are easy care, throw-them-in-the-machine and others need hand washing. Some need pre-washing before quilting.
I prefer to do the "worst case scenario" to my materials before I assemble the quilt. That way if they fail the test, I have not wasted my time and effort along with my money!
To pre-wash, fill the trough next to your washing machine with warm-hotter water and hand agitate. Lift gently from trough and into the washing machine to spin out the excess water. Hang on the clothes line by draping over several lines. Do not let the whole weight of the wadding and water hanging from one line on the clothesline. Poly waddings do not, in general, need pre-washing except for health reasons.
Bed or wall. Soft finish for beds to snuggle in the cold and firmer for art to hold it square on the wall.
Who is it for? At both age extremes washing and use can dictate the wadding. Easy washing in nursing homes is important and midnight washing machine cycles on Johnny's "nye nye" means you may need it to survive the dryer. Open fires in the home might steer you to a different decision.
Fire: Wool is resistant, cotton burns cleanly and poly is a disaster. If open flames are a consideration then that will guide your choice.
Ease of use? Some of the Pellon products come with the capacity to be ironed on without needing basting.
Some waddings used to beard. That is when the fine fibres of the wadding get pulled through from the middle to the quilt top making an unsightly fuzz. I haven't heard of this happening much lately as brands become more accountable. Even so there are some types that have taken extra measures to combat bearding such as Bond Tight which is available by special order.
Some waddings need more quilting.
You also need to be aware that if you are going to hand quilt, the choice of wadding will be crucial to a happy experience.
Cost. You have to weigh up whether the use it is going to get warrants the expense.
So what have we got?
We have a needlepunched poly. (needlepunching process is to reduce the chance of bearding and to keep the wadding stable after quilting and not break apart and form clumps. It comes in two widths, 115cm and 250cm, and is budget priced. It is a bit stretchy around the edges but settles down with a pat. Unbeatable value. I use it regularly in quilts that are just for fun and not heirloom-status.
Quilter's Low Loft is well priced. It has a low profile but will still offer good definition to your quilting. It is fully machine washable and does not shrink nor need pre-washing. It is firmer wadding and would suit wall quilts.
Cosy Cotton is lovely and soft. It feeds through the sewing machine really well as it squishes in and through the c-section of your machine. It is dense and heavy so if you are prone to sore shoulders you may prefer to use the wool.
Once quilted it is immediately gorgeous to wrap around you as it drapes really nicely. The cotton will shrink by 4% and must be pre-washed. Buy 105cm for every metre you need. It is a much safer fire option that then 100% polys. This is my personal favorite.
Nu Wool is a blend of wool and poly. It is dense and firm when it is new. It makes an ideal wadding for wall hangings as the firmness helps hold it flat and tidy against the wall. With use though, it quickly softens until you can not tell whether there is wool or cotton in the quilt by its draping. The firmness means that quilting is less easy as far as fitting it through the C-section, but on the other hand, it is lighter and less tiring to maneuver.
In addition to these we have three Pellon products. Pellon is dense and stable and a high quality product. Many ladies use it behind their stitcheries and stitch through all layers to give the stitching better definition and quilting it as they go. It comes in one thickness as a sew-in products and in two with the iron-on capacity.
Well! I can imagine I will be back to edit this as there is so much to say about waddings, but this will do as a start!
There are so many different waddings/battings available that beginner quilters can feel overwhelmed so I try to describe what you will need from a wadding and which wadding will meet the needs. As I have just run through it all this morning, it is fresh in my mind so I thought I'd try to write it down in an orderly manner!
Are you doing "show off" quilting? Wadding comes with loft. The difference in the height of the wadding as it stands normally and then when squeezed between your fingers is the loft. High loft will give your quilting more definition and low loft will give it a flatter profile. High loft tends to be less dense and low loft more dense.
Washing. Some waddings shrink. Some are easy care, throw-them-in-the-machine and others need hand washing. Some need pre-washing before quilting.
I prefer to do the "worst case scenario" to my materials before I assemble the quilt. That way if they fail the test, I have not wasted my time and effort along with my money!
To pre-wash, fill the trough next to your washing machine with warm-hotter water and hand agitate. Lift gently from trough and into the washing machine to spin out the excess water. Hang on the clothes line by draping over several lines. Do not let the whole weight of the wadding and water hanging from one line on the clothesline. Poly waddings do not, in general, need pre-washing except for health reasons.
Bed or wall. Soft finish for beds to snuggle in the cold and firmer for art to hold it square on the wall.
Who is it for? At both age extremes washing and use can dictate the wadding. Easy washing in nursing homes is important and midnight washing machine cycles on Johnny's "nye nye" means you may need it to survive the dryer. Open fires in the home might steer you to a different decision.
Fire: Wool is resistant, cotton burns cleanly and poly is a disaster. If open flames are a consideration then that will guide your choice.
Ease of use? Some of the Pellon products come with the capacity to be ironed on without needing basting.
Some waddings used to beard. That is when the fine fibres of the wadding get pulled through from the middle to the quilt top making an unsightly fuzz. I haven't heard of this happening much lately as brands become more accountable. Even so there are some types that have taken extra measures to combat bearding such as Bond Tight which is available by special order.
Some waddings need more quilting.
You also need to be aware that if you are going to hand quilt, the choice of wadding will be crucial to a happy experience.
Cost. You have to weigh up whether the use it is going to get warrants the expense.
So what have we got?
We have a needlepunched poly. (needlepunching process is to reduce the chance of bearding and to keep the wadding stable after quilting and not break apart and form clumps. It comes in two widths, 115cm and 250cm, and is budget priced. It is a bit stretchy around the edges but settles down with a pat. Unbeatable value. I use it regularly in quilts that are just for fun and not heirloom-status.
Quilter's Low Loft is well priced. It has a low profile but will still offer good definition to your quilting. It is fully machine washable and does not shrink nor need pre-washing. It is firmer wadding and would suit wall quilts.
Cosy Cotton is lovely and soft. It feeds through the sewing machine really well as it squishes in and through the c-section of your machine. It is dense and heavy so if you are prone to sore shoulders you may prefer to use the wool.
Once quilted it is immediately gorgeous to wrap around you as it drapes really nicely. The cotton will shrink by 4% and must be pre-washed. Buy 105cm for every metre you need. It is a much safer fire option that then 100% polys. This is my personal favorite.
Nu Wool is a blend of wool and poly. It is dense and firm when it is new. It makes an ideal wadding for wall hangings as the firmness helps hold it flat and tidy against the wall. With use though, it quickly softens until you can not tell whether there is wool or cotton in the quilt by its draping. The firmness means that quilting is less easy as far as fitting it through the C-section, but on the other hand, it is lighter and less tiring to maneuver.
In addition to these we have three Pellon products. Pellon is dense and stable and a high quality product. Many ladies use it behind their stitcheries and stitch through all layers to give the stitching better definition and quilting it as they go. It comes in one thickness as a sew-in products and in two with the iron-on capacity.
Well! I can imagine I will be back to edit this as there is so much to say about waddings, but this will do as a start!
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