The Circle Game - Gary's Journey - Part 4

Apologies for those following my journey waiting with baited breath for the next instalment of my take on Jen’s Circle Game. (Well that’s mum apologised to, and even then, I have my doubts!) For everyone else I am sure you know and have experienced the best intentions of BoMs and how time slips by.

There have been several competing factors, one I’ll blame Jen for, the others are just life. Some of you may have seen my journey through Jen’s Delilah ToM on my Instagram page (@live.breathe.create). I was determined to get this finished and quilted and into the NSW quilt show, along with my second entry which was a wedding ring quilt I designed for my eldest daughter. This was only 5 years late, but as I am led to believe as wedding (ring) quilts go that’s pretty standard and probably ahead of the game!

 

Anna Maria Horner - The Private Dinner

The Private Dinner with Anna Maria saw 12 ladies, well 14 including Anna Maria and Jen, for dinner!

We converted our cafe into a restaurant with beautiful native flowers, using Anna Maria's Sweet Dreams collection as our inspiration (a range inspired by her previous trip to our beautiful Australia - perfection!)

The flowers were styled by Jen. I assisted but can take no credit because she really worked her magic... this is where I should mention one of Jen's secret talents is she is a trained florist so she has a little leg up in this department!

Now, it's hard to say, but I believe this event was an industry first! We hosted Anna Maria a little over a year ago and offered her lecture and trunk show in Melbourne. We did so in a lecture room where we could welcome the masses to hear Anna Maria speak. It was a great event but this time around we wanted to offer something different... something unique to our store, exploring our new found capabilities with the kitchen on site and sheer size of this building!

Our chef Tana did an amazing job at catering this event- the food was delicious and abundant.

A guest asked me if I was a chef and gave very high praise - I quickly corrected her.

If only I could cook like our Tana!

I mentioned on the previous post that a picture says 1000 words and these are no different.

I'll let the images do the talking!

xoxo

Lucy

Anna Maria Horner - Plot Twist Workshop

On the 23rd and 24th of June we hosted the incredibly talented Anna Maria Horner for a fantastic workshop and what I think has been our most interesting event to date... The Private Dinner.

I think a picture speaks a thousand words and these images do the events more justice than my words ever could.

This post features photos from the Workshop.

Plot Twist was the workshop we chose to hold - a choose your own adventure style of class with each participant working on their own unique version of Anna Maria's pattern.
We love workshops like this one. They encourage the participants to tap into their own creative abilities and go their own way exploring a theme! Fabrics both new and old appear out of bags, and the buzz in the shop is electric.

xoxo

Lucy

FOCUS ON : Delilah by Jen Kingwell

I cannot write anything about Delilah without singing MY, MY MY! It's a curse... but also a little blessing because it's a fun song to sing. This quilt, as many know, was named after a Tom Jones song. Delilah was Jen's first Template of the Month program which we shortened to TOM!

Tom Jones was a staple sound track in our house growing up. 'What's New Pussy Cat' is often played at family affairs because it gets Richard, Jen's husband, up and dancing!

What can I say about Delilah - she is a beauty and is so fun to make. I can say that with confidence because I have made her! This is the only project of Jen's I have made myself and I loved every stitch (I owe you all a blog post on my version but... where does all the time go?! So, soon... I promise!)

MMQG RETREAT

On the weekend we hosted a a wonderful group of sewers from the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild.

This was the first retreat type of event we have ever hosted here in our Torquay space, and we hope it is the first of many! With a class room that comfortably sits 20+ and a kitchen in the space for catering and coffee purposes, it's fun to explore our business' true capabilities!

It's always fun to share time with the MMQG because of their approach to quilting - it goes without saying that it's modern and their enthusiasm for all things fabric is infectious! They see quilts in a different light with a strong focus on improv - it's pretty funky!

The machinists of the group were whipping through their work, but Jen still managed to spread the good word about hand stitching!

STAFF PROFILE - Introducing Nat!

Hey Amitie Addicts,

Time for another staff profile. I love sharing these because our team are the backbone of our business. They are the smiling faces that greet you, the warm voices on the end of the phone and it's important you know how FABULOUS they truly are!

The next cab off the rank is Nat - the wonderful Nat, who many of you might know from her pattern company Cinderberry Stitches.

Jen and I were pretty chuffed when Nat applied to work for us - Instagram has opened the craft world up and Nat's feed always caught out eye. Her attention to detail is fantastic which is why we made her chief Visual Merchandiser!

The thing we love most about Nat is her wicked sense of humour. She always has us laughing and we love her for that!

Thanks for sharing yourself with our wonderful customers, Nat!!

xoxo

*********************************************

Well hello, I thought it was about time I introduced myself to you. 

I'm Natalie Lymer and it's been 2 hours and 18 minutes since I last sewed.

Introducing - Meg Nicholson

Many moons ago I found myself in a trance.

I was at a busy maker's market in Fed Square. It was close to Christmas and busy. Way busier than I could cope with... I was on my way out the door and there they were. The most enchanting stitched artworks with colours that spoke to my soul.

The work belong to Meg Nicolson.

Flash forward to now, years later, and I am proud to include Meg on our class room schedule - sharing her unique skills and knowledge about this gorgeous art form.

Meg was also kind enough to answer some questions for our readers.

I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

xoxo

Lucy