Morning Tea at the new Quilt Shop

Eltham's new Quilt Shop provided a lovely morning tea to about ten enthusiastic customers on Friday morning.  "Cake O'Clock" will be held every Friday from 10 am to noon, and due to demand, bookings are essential.  Everyone (except me) brought a patchwork project of some kind to work on; I wasn't sure what to expect, so I just took my Ipad with photos of my latest projects, and showed them to the girls.  I spent time looking at the books they had in the shop, as well as the fabrics and accessories.  They have a great range, and are happy to get anything else in for customers requests.   I bought half a dozen postcard quilt patterns.  I'd never seen them before, but they are a super idea! 

I am planning to go every week (sorry Ken), as I envisage getting a lot of sewing done that I wouldn't get done at home, as well as having help and advice on hand if I get stuck on something.   Watch this space for my weekly report!  I do hope to see some of my blogging friends at the shop from time to time; they will need all the support they can get until they are well known in the area and build up a regular customer base.
Their hours are presently Mon to Fri. 9.30 am to 5 pm and Saturday 9.30 to 1 pm. But the managers say that this may change in time due to demand.

Aprons

I found two vintage embroidered aprons today at an antique market.  I've posted photos on my Aprons blog if you wish to see them.

New Quilt shop in Eltham!

In the 35 years I have lived in Eltham, there have been a variety of craft and fabric shops come and go, and the last patchwork shop which was only a few blocks away from me, closed a few years ago, before I started doing patchwork and quilting.  I have since regretted not going there more often while they were open, as I could have learned so much.  But now we have another quilt shop here - hooray!
I was checking my blogs last night, and noticed a comment from Sharon, asking me if I had been to the new quilt shop in Eltham.  She mentioned where it is and I couldn't believe it was only 5 minutes from our home!  I drive up and down Bridge Street about 5 times a week,  but hadn't seen the quilt shop on one of the corners...eeehh I need new glasses:-(

So I raced down there this morning and the sign hit me like a ton of bricks!  Funny how our mind can play such tricks on us; I wasn't expecting to see a quilt shop in that spot,  the last time I looked it was a bicycle shop, so why would I look in that direction again?
What a treasure trove - owned by two local girls who decided that Eltham needed a quilters shop, so they made it happen.  Huge shop, heaps of gorgeous fabrics, batting, fusible webbing, interfacing, needles, thread, patterns, books, and a big light airy space at the back for classes - YIPPEE!   I was so excited they were laughing at me :-)  In the past I have had to drive for miles to sewing classes, and missed out on many simply because I didn't want to drive for an hour there and back.  So I immediately purchased 2 metres of batting which I needed for my scotty dog mini quilt and some placemats I am making for a Christmas gift.  I had been putting off going across town to buy it, but now I don't have to :-)  I have a loyalty card, and am on their mailing list for future specials and events.
Ken said he is pleased for me, but I am sure he wishes I hadn't found it, as he knows I will be gone for days at a time, LOL!  At least I won't be far away if he needs me in an emergency.
www.thequiltshop.com.au
Shop 2, 38 Bridge Street, Eltham.    How many bloggers who read my blog live nearby?  I know of quite a few who are NOTY (North Of The Yarra) quilters, and I am sure they will be as delighted as me, but I am wondering if there are other 'loners' like me out there?  Look forward to catching up with some of you!

NOTY Quilt show in Eltham, 2015

I have just posted the photos I took at this year's NOTYshow on my Needlecraft Shows blog.

Scotty dogs and Piano cat.

Two more projects are just about ready to remove from the UFO list!  Well, they were never really UFOs as I have been working on them both without stopping to do any other projects.  These are only small items, but there is so much else going on around here at the moment, it's about all I can manage.  They were just for fun and I have enjoyed making them :-)
This was based on a photo I saw on Pinterest, of a black cat sitting on a piano, and I thought it was perfect to make in patchwork.  The background fabric is the one I bought at the last quilt show I went to, and the appliqued cat was fussy cut from a panel that I have with cats in various poses.  

 The back is fabric that I bought after I bought the piano keys fabric.

A friend fell in love with my fabrics and asked if I would make her a mug rug for her son who is a musician.
Here it is.  The backing fabric is the same as above.

And here is my Scotty dog mini quilt (or whatever it turns out to be). 

I fused the dogs to the background, and machined around the edges.  The hexagon flowers are fused to the background but only the centre of them.  I will handstitch around the edges of those.  Then all that is needed is the backing and wadding, and binding, and it's done.