I'm spending a weekend in. We have the UCI bike race starting in my home town his weekend and I can't really get in and out with road closures. I went up to watch the start. Town has never looked better!! So it's a great chance to sit and finish another newsletter / blog post.
On the road again
We have a few very big weeks coming up. If you can't get to the shop, come and see us at any of these events. If you want to place special orders for delivery at these events, please contact us sooner rather than later. We are happy to try and accommodate your needs.
October 7 Friday and 8 Saturday
We will be at BERNINA Academy. The shop will be closed. It's at Wenty Leagues. Join us there - you won't regret it. Purchase tickets through this link
October 14 Friday and 15 Saturday
We will be at Bulli Corner Quilters Quilt and Flower Show. The shop will be open. It's at Northern Illawarra Unity Church Cnr Point St and Princes Highway Bulli. It's always a great show.
October 21, 22, 23 Friday Saturday Sunday
We will be at the QuiltNSW Quilt Show. The shop will be open. It's at Rosehill Racecourse. Join us there you won't regret it.
October 22 Saturday
The Presbyterian Woman are holding their annual Be Creative Retreat at The Tops. The shop will be open. We will be there with our Pop Up Shop. As a side note if you would like us to visit your sewing group or weekend please ask. We will try and work with you to make it happen. Our shop will remain open. This Pop Up shop will only be open to retreat members.
Friday 25 to Monday 28 November
Illawarra Quilters are holding their annual retreat at The Tops. We will be there with our Pop Up Shop. Remember we can come to your retreat too if you would like us to. Our shop will remain open. This Pop Up shop will only be open to retreat members.
Not sure if I missed any news but when I remember I will let you know :)
Shop local
With Christmas coming I thought I would talk a little about sewing machines, fabric and haberdashery and the advantages of shopping locally. It’s not just what you buy, where you buy matters too.
Maybe it’s your first time sewing, maybe you’re ready for a machine upgrade, or maybe you’re getting or giving it as a gift. A machine is a thoughtful, long term purchase. Shopping online, means you miss out on the enjoyment of in-store shopping – seeing, touching, feeling products and socialising. When you shop locally, you have the opportunity for assistance; access to years of experience; expert advice; and are guided through all the features of a machine or the product. More importantly, we hope you will feel secure and confident about your purchase.
In contrast the big chain stores are mostly help-yourself service. If you are seeking good old-fashioned customer service and advice, the best place to shop is at your local shop - us. We will be able to match a machine / product to your sewing needs and answer questions you may not even know to ask.
The extra bonus of buying from us is that should you have a problem with your machine, you can bring it back to the store where there is a real person to speak to face-to-face. We can also offer additional support such as servicing, repairs and upgrades. As part of your purchase, we offer a "how to use your machine" lesson. In this lesson you are also taught how to clean and maintain your machine at home.
We also offer other lessons and sewing classes such as quilting, dressmaking, how to use different presser feet, machine embroidery, etc. If you are just starting out, these are perfect opportunities to ease into the sewing community, make friends with like-minded hobbyists, and have a great deal of fun.
Our aim is to bring you into our sewing family and make you feel welcome.
Machine prices
The feedback I am getting from many companies is prices will be going up later this year or in 2023. I feel it's important to give you the heads up so that those who are thinking of purchasing a machine can act sooner rather than later. Shhhhh - If you are looking at a Brother machine please make contact sooner rather than later. Bernina have some great specials for Academy. Babylock are having a sale for the next few days. Janome also have their sales on. Many of these prices will not be beaten going forward and many will not be repeated.
Although you didn't hear any of this from me and this message will self destruct LOL
2023 Planning
I am currently looking at classes for next year. We will have a combination of teachers and styles and we will run lots ourselves. As I ask this next question, I'll answer the one I know I will get ... yes overlocker classes are running in 2023 .... but what else would you like? What skills? What teachers? What days? How long? Would you be interested in a retreat? What would you want from this? Are you a teacher I need to know about? Now's your chance to speak to us. No promises, but open to discussions and thoughts.
New Projects / Gift Ideas
You may be looking for something new to do, a gift or a friend or even ideas for you to suggest to people as your own gift. While we do gift vouchers sometimes it's nice to have a gift under the tree.
Here are just a couple of ideas.
We had a new template set made to go with our City Chic Hexies and Stars Kit. We are making a range of quilts to complete this template set so that you get maximum use from the templates.
The template set and pattern is less than $40 so a great gift idea. We can add fabrics to suit if you desire.
Next up is this Moda quilt kit - Words to Live by
The messages in this are wonderful and full of meaning. It's great to sew and great to give (if you don't decide to keep it). There is plenty of fabric in this kit and you will be able to put the leftovers into the backing or save for another project.
There are only a couple left and I have discounted them by 10%.
Christmas can always come early too.
We will have our Sewists Advent Calendar - Creative Candy boxes with us at all of the events we are going to. We will also contact anyone who has forward ordered over the next few weeks. These will be ready to pick up from mid October. We have a limited number of these boxes so if you would like one, please make contact soon. You can pay them off between now and the end of November if you would prefer. Or you can buy them through the link below.
I'll touch base with a few more ideas soon.
Have a great weekend. I'm off to my son's soccer presentation tonight, then to watch the start of the men's race tomorrow morning.
Regards
Bernadette