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Hello again, and welcome to the Autumn newsletter. I'd like
to say a special "Thanks!" to everyone who stopped by our
stands at Ascot and Harrogate, as well as the numerous smaller
venues we've attended over the summer. Thanks also to those
of you who've ordered from our website, and to those who've
visited for a little surf 'round the site! It's been action
packed, and very exciting! We've met so many fantastic people,
made lots of new friends, and can't wait to do more shows!
It really isn't like work at all! My job is to sew, be crafty
and talk to like-minded people -- What Bliss!!
For those of you who read Patchwork and Quilting Magazine,
check out the 'New to Us' page and be sure to enter the competition
to win a free copy of the hilarious 'Male Bonding' pattern!
We're also due to be in next month's issue with a chance to
win one of the delightful 'Reindeer Rollcall' patterns. Is
this my 15 minutes of fame? If you're unsure of what these
patterns look like, they can be found on the pages for 'Jukebox'
and 'Ginger Cookie Company', respectively.
It's hard to believe that Summer is over and we're on the
slippery downward slope to (dare I say it out loud?) Christmas!!
However stressful, it's still one of my favourite times of
the crafting and decorating year! And I'm sure I'm not the
only one with numerous UFOs from past years lurking in the
cupboard. In July I always think "I'll get started early this
year" followed in November by "Where has all the time gone?!"
followed in January by "I'll keep going on LAST years' project
so it'll be finished in time for NEXT year," which gets shelved
again once the garden starts demanding attention! Plus, there's
always something new to tempt you away from what you were
working on.
Speaking of something new, I only have one thing to say: Houston
International Quilt Festival!!! I will once again be going
at the end of October to search out the very latest treats
and treasures in the Quilting world to bring back to lovely
England. I can't wait to find new things to share with you
at upcoming shows. I've just received my renewal forms for
some of next years' UK Quilt shows, and I think we'll have
to have Even Bigger Stands to accommodate everything. I've
been pleasantly surprised with the enthusiastic response to
our range of stencils!! So many of you are making your own
Christmas cards this year, that I'll bet WHSmith notices a
drop in their card sales!! I've just received (at LAST!) my
stencil order from the states. It should have been here long
ago, but due to the petrol debacle, it languished on a loading
dock somewhere until last week. At any rate, there are a couple
of marvellous new stencils, and some new little charms/embellishments.
Another exciting bit of news on the stencil front is that
we now stock the fantastic Ink Pad Paints that you've seen
me use at various shows to colour in the stencils! They come
in two sizes and lots of colour palettes -- be sure to check
them out on our What's New page!! We've also put together
a kit to make up the little mini-quilts which proved wildly
popular at Harrogate. So popular that I sold out of all that
I'd brought with me and had to drive 'round the narrow streets
in my Enormous transit van looking for a photocopier to make
more kits up! I also had to buy more fabric to make up more
kits -- that's the story I've told my husband and I'm definitely
sticking to it!!!
In my LBQ, (life before quilting) I was very into cross-stitch
and I've recently re-discovered it! I've found some lovely
cross-stitch leaflets with quilting or sewing themes. I've
also included two alphabet samplers, each choc full of different
alphabet styles to stitch, from angels to animals to needlework
themes! I also stock aida band in two widths as well as the
two-piece wire hangers to complete your project. Check out
the Jeremiah Junction page to see all that we stock in this
range.
In order to make room for new products, we are running special
offers on our pattern ranges. Look out for Pattern-Extra-Packs,
which include (wait for it) extra bits and pieces to create
the pattern. It might be charms or embellishments, button
sets, fabric or ribbons, or absolutely everything needed in
the kit!! Please feel free to ring me to discuss contents
of the Pattern-Extra-Packs, or indeed anything else!
So many of you have asked if we'll be at other major shows,
and my answer has always been that this first year we concentrated
on just Quilt shows. With the mad popularity of our stencils,
I am considering other shows for next year. For the immediate
future, we'll be at Nene Quilters on October 7th, and the
Quilters Guild meeting in Newton Abbott on October 21st. I
will be doing some small local venues in the run-up to Christmas,
so hopefully I will see some of you soon!
Now, about this catalogue we've been promising. The main problem
is cost, since to include everything we stock would make it
too large and therefore too costly to print and post. I want
to make sure I've enough capital to buy in lots of new things
for next years' shows, so I'm considering sending out an abbreviated
version of our ranges. If it was a taster or sampler of all
that we stock, would that be enough? I would love to hear
your thoughts, via email or snail-mail. Also, I think we'll
need to charge a small amount for the catalogue to help cover
costs. It would be refundable against your first order of
course!
That's about all for now. I need to get back to my sewing
machine. I've just re-read this from the top and realize that
I type the way I talk - non-stop and full of exclamation marks!!!
Let us hear from you, by email or snail mail, and until my
post-Houston newsletter, Happy Sewing!!
Regards,
Lynn
Stuart's bit at the bottom........ (added whilst Lynn wasn't
looking)
We've moved the web site to a new service provider, hopefully
by the end of the first week in October it'll be up and running
and you won't notice the difference.
Except that now we can add all the bits we really wanted....
so for October I'll be adding:
- Online ordering - at last we have the web facilities to
support secure payment
- Quilt Guilds & Groups - a facility to add your own group,
and be listed in our searchable index
- Chat room - leave message for us, or your friends
- All the things Lynn has listed above such as Jeremiah Junction,
Jukebox, Stencil Paints.... that'll be first
- A What's New page
- All the new products we've added over the summer
- Sadly, remove the Judy Severson products - Judy has stopped
work for a while
- A search facility
- Links to other related UK sites
- A list of shops - and you can add yours, or your favourite
- A simple button to add us to your favourite list
- All the other things Lynn has given me on a (very long)
list
Stuart
PS - Yorkshire Tea keeps me going - literally!
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