Thursday, October 31, 2013

Brisbane Craft and Quilt Show 2013 Wrap Up

Even though it has been more than a week since the Brisbane Quilt and Craft Show finished for 2013 I thought it was still soon enough to do a quick photo essay for everyone who couldn't make it.
We packed as much fabric, patterns and bag hardware as possible into our little 2 x 4m space.
Across the aisle from our stand we had a space where Steph from Cake Patterns demoed sewing her patterns with knit fabrics for the 5 days of the show.

She made up a cute little 1" Yellow Striped Cabarita Top (beautifully modelled here by Cloud) and a 1"Red Striped Tiramisu Dress, both using our high quality Riley Blake Cotton Jersey Knit fabrics. You can read about Steph's Tiramisu dress here.

We don't get much of a chance to look around during the show but we couldn't go past these amazing quilts by Judy Coates Perez without stopping for a look each day.
I thought this underwater scene was incredible, just check out the detail on the squid. Cloud's favourite was the bunny :)

For the last two years we have been sponsoring prizes for the Queensland Quilters Quilt Show which is displayed at the Craft and Quilt Fair every October. This year we were the sponsors for first prize for the Primary and Secondary Categories.


What takes an entire day to set up is pulled down and packed up in less than 2 hours. Then it is back to the showroom to unpack, stocktake, restock and setup the showroom. Whew, no wonder we are a bit tired for the week afterwards.

An exhausting week but well worth it, it is always great to meet with all of our old customers and well as new ones discovering us for the first time.

- Ky and Cloud
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Last Chance Fabrics

Due to the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair I haven't had the time to upload any new stock to the website in the last two weeks. Never fear there is plenty to come over the next few weeks. In the meantime I thought I would share a few last chance fabrics with you. There is less than 2m left of each of these fabrics remaining in stock and most will not be restocked. If you have been thinking about purchasing any of these prints this may be your last chance.

Top Row:
Middle Row
Bottom Row
Till next week,
- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Friday, October 18, 2013

Fabric Friday - Supe Luche Libre mexican Wrestling Fabric from Alexander Henry

So it would seem that Cloud is a closet Mexican Wrestling fan, when she saw these new wrestling fabrics from Alexander Henry she HAD to have them. Today she has teamed the two feature prints with some bright plains and tone-on-tone patterns.
Left
Middle (Top to Bottom)
Right

Since I know next to nothing about Mexican Wrestling I've done a little google search to bring you a few interesting tidbits about Mexican wrestling masks. Mexican wrestling is characterised by colourful masks worn by the wrestlers and the wearing of masks has developed special significance. The mask is considered "sacred" to a degree, so much so that fully removing an opponent's mask during a match is grounds for disqualification. The highest wager a wrestler can make is one in which the loser must permanently remove his mask. You can read a more about Mexican wrestling here.

- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair Starts Today !!

Whew, we have managed to get our stand setup and ready to go for the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair which starts today, October 16 and runs until Sunday October. It is amazing how much preparation goes into preparing for one of these shows which is why we are only doing the local ones in Brisbane for now. 

When: Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th October
Time: 9am - 5pm daily
Where: Stand H14, Brisbane Exhibition Centre Halls 3 & 4, Cnr Glenelg & Merivale Streets, Southbank.

Please note that our East Brisbane showroom will be closed during this event and will reopen on Tuesday 22nd October.
Here are few quick snaps I took of the stand before we left last night.
Front View of our stand
You Sew Girl bag samples
Lots of yummy bolts of fabric
Directly across from us at H15 we have a demonstration space where you can watch StephC from Cake Patterns give short hourly talks about sewing with knit fabrics. Steph will also be available between demonstration times to answer any question you may have about dressmaking, knit sewing or Cake Patterns. You will also be able to purchase Cake Patterns and Riley Blake Cotton Jersey Knits from us during the Fair. 
Click image to enlarge
We hope to see you at the fair,

- Ky and Cloud
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Brisbane Quilt and Craft Fair Starts on Wednesday!!!

It is the biggest event for us each year and we are really looking forward to it.

We have lots of new goodies for you!

  • Brand new Echino from Kokka, Japan
  • Alexander Henry's Ghastlie Holiday Range - new colourways in stock
  • Fabric on the bolt! For the first time we will be able to cut fabric to the length you want :)
  • The fab You Sew Girl! Zip-Away Shopping Bag pattern & interfacing kits
  • Happy Zombie Winterkist Gnoma Claus panels
  • Japanese Fabric Sample packs
  • FREE Red Velvet Mini-Clutch Purse pattern from Cake Patterns with all purchases of $20 or more at the Show (while stocks last)


Some of the bolts we will have at the Show

Ghastlie Holiday by Alexander Henry

Zip-Away Shopping Bag from You Sew Girl
Happy Zombie Winterkist Gnoma Claus Panels

Japanese Fabric Sample Packs


Cake Red Velvet Mini-Clutch Purse

StephC from Cake Patterns will be with us at the Show to demonstrate Sewing with Knit Fabrics over the 5 days. If you have wanted to sew with knits (a Tiramisu Dress perhaps) but don't yet have the confidence to try make sure you stop by. You can find Steph directly opposite our stand.

We will be at Stand H14, right next to Funky Friends Factory. We are at the back of the hall on the right hand side as you come in the front doors so make a beeline straight to us :)
Click to enlarge
Our showroom will be closed the week of the Fair (13th - 21st October and re-opening on Tuesday 22nd).
When: Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th October
Time: 9am - 5pm daily
Where: Brisbane Exhibition Centre Halls 3 & 4, Cnr Glenelg & Merivale Streets, Southbank

- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Friday, October 11, 2013

Fabric Friday - Enchanted Racoons

We are featuring some fairly new additions to our store for today's Fabric Friday. We thought we should get in quick since we don't expect these super cute racoons to last beyond the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair next week.
Top Row:
Middle Row:
Bottom Row:

If you are in the neighbourhood we'd love for you to come and visit us at the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair, you will find us at stand H14 right next door to Funky Friends Factory. 
When: Wednesday 16th to Sunday 20th October
Time: 9am - 5pm daily
Where: Brisbane Exhibition Centre Halls 3 & 4, Cnr Glenelg & Merivale Streets, Southbank

Our showroom will be closed the week of the Fair (13th - 21st October and will re-open on Tuesday 22nd).

- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Zip-Away Shopping Bag Sewing Pattern Test Drive

The Zip-away Shopping Bag is both trendy and environmentally friendly. Small enough for your handbag or car's glove compartment and a great gift idea. The cleverest part of this pattern design is the wallet outer becomes the hard base for the bag when it is opened up. It is also easier than you would think to put together thanks to some handy use of fusible web and interfacing.

Be warned - once you start making these you won't stop - I've made four so far!

The shopping bag is quite large - it unfolds to 29 x 36 x 12 cm . It folds away into a tidy little 15 x 12 x 2.5 cm pouch. The first sample I made (the Dotted Line sample below) has long handles so it is a bigger bundle to zip up. The Sushi sample has short handles and I think I prefer this length.

The best part is working out the fabric combos for the outer pouch & inner shopping bag. You can also save a bit of money if you choose a non-directional print for the main shopping bag - you will only need 75cm of fabric instead of the recommended 95cm.

Difficulty
This pattern is rated for an intermediate sewist but a beginner that is more than confident with zippers should be able to tackle it. The stiff interfacing and the curved zipper make this pattern look a lot harder than it really is. The majority of the wallet section is assembled using Vliesofix to fuse everything, including the zipper, in place before you even sit down to your sewing machine. The entire bag can be made in one afternoon or evening.
Interfacing
I used Peltex 72F for the wallet/base of the bag but you can also use Fast2Fuse. Apparently Peltex is slightly more difficult to manipulate than the Fast2Fuse. I have only ever used Peltex so can't offer a comparison at this time. I didn't have any trouble using it for this particular pattern. Peltex is a very thick and stiff interfacing (approx 2mm thick) and is fusible on both sides. Nicole uses it in a number of her patterns, mainly for bag bases.
The zipper is sewn into place once the wallet and the bag is fused together. Just be careful not to fuse the zipper teeth too close to the wallet edge. The closer to the edge the teeth are, the harder it will be to zip up. Having said that, it is probably one of the easiest zippers you will ever insert around a curve.

The remainder of the shopping bag is sewn up remarkably quickly. This makes it great project for Christmas or Birthday gifts - quick, easyish, practicals and cute to boot! You can customise the fabric
combos to suit both men and women, kids and adults. Perfect!

If you would like to recreate this bag here is everything you will need:
Sushi Bag Fabric Combo:
Dotted Line Bag Fabric Combo:
We will have plenty of the Zip-Away Shopping Bag patterns as well as interfacing kits available at the Brisbane Craft and Quilt Fair next week.
- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Sunday, October 6, 2013

New Fabric In Store - October 6

This week we have new fabric from Tula Pink's Acacia range from Free Spirit fabric and 2 super cute patterns from Funky Friends Factory.
Top Row
Middle Row
Bottom Row

We have added 3 more colours to our Premium Solids range. Don't you just love how fabric looks so nice when it has been colour blocked. The premium solid cotton fabrics from Northcott are the best quality plain cotton we have found. 
We have a few old favourite Alexander Henry fabrics back in stock!
Till next week, happy sewing.
- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Friday, October 4, 2013

Fabric Friday - Special Guest Pauline from Funky Friends Factory

Please welcome today's Fabric Friday guest blogger, soft toy designer Pauline from Funky Friends Factory.

Hey hey hey! 
I'm a crafty guest blogger today! How exciting... I get to choose the fabrics for the Voodoo Rabbit FABRIC FRIDAY.

I love visiting the Voodoo Rabbit fabric shop as I get to see all the new fabrics as they come in, which is cool because I already have LOTS of Voodoo Rabbit's fabrics as there are just so many cool fabrics for making my Funky Friends!

So when I got given "MY BRIEF" - choose 6 fabrics for the Fabric Friday - I picked 6 of my favourites that I have used for my toys....

Ky took one look and I knew she wasn't impressed?

What??? They have to ALL go together?

:(

Mmmmmmmm?

OK, we reached a compromise, and I chose co-ordinating fabrics for 3 Funky Friends! :)

This is my Ollie Owl selection, the Funky Owls Cream by Timeless Treasures is so cute for Ollie's tummy and the colours are amazing, I had a hard time limiting myself to only 2 co-ordinating fabrics. (Kylie managed to restrain me!) I chose Premium Solid Tomato by Northcott for his feet and Victorian Dream Steampunk Cogs Blue by Quilting Treasures for my owls Face, Wings and Tail. Toot Toot, too CUTE!
This is my Kawaii Kuties Bunny selection. It was hard to choose JUST ONE kawaii fabric as Voodoo Rabbit has such a cool selection. Woodland Friends - Tea Party Deer Cream by Cosmo Textiles Co has sweet bunnies on it so I co-ordinated it with Premium Solid Bubblegum by Northcott for a girly bunny. 

And finally I got to choose some fabrics for my NEWEST Funky baby.... Igor Iguana. I used Salt Water Ocean Ponies Seaweed by Free Spirit for his body and Premium Solid Jungle by Northcott for his Legs and Beard. I think some lime yellow felt would make this combo really POP!!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

Do, I HAVE to stop????
:(

OK< we reached a compromise - I get to do this again ONE day!!

Thanks Kylie, I had fun playing with your gorgeous fabrics..... now I 'm off to design my next Funky Toy.. Mmmmmmm what yummy Voodoo Rabbit fabric can I use for a _____?

Cheers,
Pauline

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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Notting Hill Mod Bag

Just over a month ago we asked for help with our Mod Bag Dilemma. The favourite fabric combo by far was the Notting Hill Primrose option, which was fortunate as it was our favourite too. They were made for each other - the design is more than a bit 60's and well... Mod :)
Difficulty
The Mod Bag is an advanced pattern, this is mainly because it has a gusset. Inserting the gusset is the trickiest part of this design, especially the topstitching of said gusset. The first side is not so bad but attaching and topstitching the second side requires all sorts of interesting manoeuvring to get it through the sewing machine. 
I sewed this bag on a basic Brother PS-55 mechanical sewing machine using only the standard foot. Having a needle down option on your sewing machine would be a great help with the topstitching of the gusset to avoid having stitches going astray as you try to wrangle the fabric through the machine.

Options
The Mod is the little sister to the Carry All bag and like the Carry All comes with a lot of optional bells and whistles. I decided to keep it fairly simple and just go with the belt, magnetic closure, o-rings, internal zippered pocket and internal divided pocket. The contrasting belt really makes this bag stand out from the crowd. I would have preferred a slightly larger and simpler belt buckle but they can be quite difficult to find.
Interfacing
As per the Small Tote bag I have used medium-heavy fusible woven interfacing paired with H630 wadding to give the bag structure without being too stiff. The medium-heavy interfacing is one of the trickier interfacings to fuse so I recommend you read through Nicole's Tips for Using Interfacing and Troubleshooting Interfacing before you start. Nicole is a fount of knowledge on interfacing and I picked up a lot of tips from these two article which have vastly improved my bag making skills simply by changing the way I fuse my interfacing and wadding.
The fabric choice combined with the interfacing and wadding make this one of my favourite bags that I have sewn. It is a good sized bag for everyday use. Not overly big but still large enough to carry everyday essentials while you are out and about.

Size comparison of the Carry All on the left and the Mod bag on the right.

More variations of the Mod bag as shown on Nicole's website.


If you would like to recreate this bag here is everything you will need:
- Ky
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Location: 904 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD 4169, Australia
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